27th Sunday of Ordinary Time –Year C- 2010

Once when I was a boy ( I know centuries ago) our scout troop was sent to camp out under the stars so that we could earn The Order Of The Arrow.

There were no leaders with us they stayed at the base camp.

It was really cold out and damp and we were trying to build a fire.

Rashly we used up all of our matches and the fire was only a few smoldering embers.

We were all disgusted because we were afraid we would be sleeping in the cold without the benefit of a fire.

When all the big mouth kids, myself included, gave up this quiet kid went over to what was supposed to be our fire.

As we all complained and blamed each other, he very slowly and gently built the few tiny embers left into a big fire.

It took time, skill, a lot of persistence and patience. He was a hero.

Faith is a gift from God. God gives it freely and in the end God gives the possibility of faith to every human being because God loves all of us and God longs for all of us to be saved.

Over and over again in our life we experience little moments of faith little epiphanies or glimpses of God.

If left alone they will slowly fade away like the embers of a fire.

But if patiently fanned, fed and nurtured those little experiences of faith, many the size of a mustard seed, can grow into a raging fire which can sustain us in the dark and cold of the night. 

When a person says I have no faith,
Or when my own faith seems weak,
I usually ask myself how I or we have nurtured our faith today?

How can we expect to have a life of faith when we don’t meditate on the Word of God?

How can we expect to live a life of faith if we are not fed at the table of the Lord?

How can we expect the consolation of faith if we don’t notice our brothers and sisters in need?

I realize I am preaching to the choir you are here in the pews trying to live your faith.

But the point is still valid for all of us… myself included.

If we want to be sustained by our faith we have to patiently, lovingly, nurture it like that young man who built a raging fire from a few embers ready to go out.

Looking at the question of faith from an different angle sometimes we have  to remind ourselves that God uses us to bring others to faith.

Or in other words sometimes we are the embers.

Our compassionate forgiveness…
our random unexpected acts of kindness…
our good example…
Can all bring a person to faith….

One day I went to celebrate Mass at 9:00 PM in St. Vincent’s Chapel

There was a whole row of gumbas there.

I only recognized one of them, the others I had never seen before.

I greeted them all warmly and told them I was happy to see them.

After Mass I started talking to them and asked them what brought them to Mass.

They told me they that last weekend they had gone to the Jersey Shore to party and that is just what they did.

When they came to the next morning one of them was missing.
His stuff was there be he was gone.

They started looking for him and became concerned so they started to drive around…

They found him walking on a highway.. And when they asked him where he was going he said…

I have to go to Mass I never miss.

They were stunned… a couple even went with him the rest went back to bed.

When I saw them they had come to Mass the following Sunday because one of them said..

He’s a good kid and he obviously he knows something that we don’t know.

I never saw a most of them again

But one of those kids  became a regular and never missed mass again.

The example of young man who was walking to mass was like the mustard seed.

All of us have the chance to share our faith in simple loving humble, non preachy ways
Non- Preachy ways…

What was that saying of St. Francis
Preach the Gospel always use words only when necessary.

The world would be a better place if we all did.
Jesus made an important point today..

Even the tiniest amount of faith the size of a mustard seed.
Can change the world…

The disciple wanted more faith… do we ?

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2010

May the peace of Christ reign in our heart…

Today’s Gospel passage is a study in contrasts and Jesus goes out of his way to make it so. 

 

The rich man eats sumptuously, and dresses extravagantly.
It is obvious that he has everything he needs and everything he wants.
He is comfortable and satisfied.
For him Life is good.

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

He is so hungry that he would have gladly eaten anything, even the scraps that fell from the rich man table.

They are both children of God in radically different places.

We really don’t know much more about them.

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

We don’t know if Lazarus was lazy or just down on his luck.
We don’t’ know if he was smart or not smart.
We don’t know if he was addicted or not addicted.
We don’t know if his poverty was his fault or not.
We don’t know…. and like I said it really doesn’t matter.

All we really know is that he was poor and that he made it to heaven.

The rich man is not mean.
He doesn’t treat Lazarus disrespectfully.
He doesn’t kick him or taunt him when he passes by.
He even seems to have a twinge of compassion for others, because even in hell, he is worried about his brothers. 

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

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

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

The rich man had squandered away or lost his human ability to feel for others, to pity others, to have compassion on others.

In the eyes of the rich man,
the poor,
those less fortunate,
those who just couldn’t seem to get their act together,
just didn’t matter they were invisible.

How sad, how tragic it is when a heart goes cold.
How sad indeed!

The rich man’s sin is a sin of omission,
and yet it is a serious sin, a sin that cost him eternal life.

He did not notice, and he did not act.

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

So often we forget that we also sin when we fail to do something good.
Yes sin isn’t only something we do but also something we fail to do.

Very few people confess sins of omission.

You see, we sin when we fail to do what love calls us to do.
We sin when we don’t notice and we don’t act.

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

Please repeat it with me…

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;

We have prayed those words over and over again…

May their meaning sink into our hearts
May they change us and transform us…

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

Loving our neighbor is not optional.

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

May our hearts never grow cold.
May we never lose out ability to feel for others,
to be kind to others and merciful to others no matter what.

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

May the Gospel this week call us to examine ourselves,
and ask ourselves…

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

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

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

Amen 

Blessed John Henry Newman

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time -Year C– 2010

The Gospel today is simple.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is stark in its simplicity.
Jesus does not mince words when he says..

“No servant can serve two masters. 
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other. “

After hearing those simple words all of us should be moved, to ask ourselves, “who do we love and who do we hate?”

Is God really our Master?
Do we follow His will?
Day in and day out do we try to realize God’s will in our lives?
Do we trust His Word?
Are we true disciples ?

Do we love God or are we going through the motions?

Are we simply dipping our big toe into the pool of faith or have we thrown ourselves into our faith as real love would have us do?

There can be nothing ½ way about being a Catholic because there can be nothing ½ way about love.
You either do or you don’t.

These are indeed fundamental questions and the fact that Jesus challenges us in the scriptures today means that he wants us to reflect on them.

You know, I have know very few people in my life who have openly and thoughtfully and deliberately rejected God.

Rather quite frequently their or our apostasy has been made up of hundreds or maybe even thousand of little compromises.

When we compromise our faith over and over again after a while God’s will
and God’s word
and God’s love can only seem a distant memory.

It should be no surprise that sometimes people who go to Church every week… and priests who celebrate Mass ever day find themselves in similar situations.

Let’s all reflect on the challenges of the today’s Gospel.
Let’s all strive to give God more and more and more of our lives.

May God be our true Master and may we all fall in love with Him.


------------------------------
Today is an important day in the life of our Parish.
Today is the day that when we bless and commission our Catechists for the coming school year.

Theirs is an awesome responsibility, they deserve our respect, our prayers and are gratitude.

We all know that being a Catholic today means going against the tide or swimming against the cultural stream.

And that goes double for the man or woman who volunteers to teach our faith.

To all heroes who will serve as our Parish Catechists this year…
I say Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

May the Lord who has begun great things in you bring them to fulfillment.
Amen

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2010

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts.

Recently I read a book by Cardinal Francis George the Archbishop of Chicago. It was a collection of the talks he has given around the country. Many of them were way above my head, but I persevered because at the time the book cost $26.75 and I didn’t want to waste my money.

As is usually the case my perseverance paid off because in the midst of these very philosophical discussions I found one phrase which really struck me…

That simple sentence made the book worthwhile and this is what he said..

“The world permits everything and forgives nothing
God and the Church do not permit everything but forgive everything”

There is so much truth in that sentence.
The world indeed does indeed seem to permit everything but if things go awry or the sin becomes public or the media picks it up, the world refuses to forgive.

A person who sins in the world view is never the same.
He or she is marked for life.

We can all remember famous personalities who fell from grace in the world and were consigned to the ash heap of life.

Mercy, forgiveness, compassion, even rehabilitation, are not values that the world shares with those who follow Christ.

Instead retribution, vengeance, revenge always seem to hold sway.

From today’s Gospel it becomes clear that vengeance, or retribution or even anger cannot be a part of a Christian’s life.

According the world’s values the young man in the story of the prodigal son deserved everything the father could dish out to him.

He sinned in every imaginable way.

The Prodigal Son himself expected only to be welcomed home as a slave.

Instead he received from his Father radical and some would say reckless mercy and forgiveness.

The first two passages in the Gospel about the finding the lost sheep and finding the lost coin teach us that not only does God forgive everything,
but Jesus expects us to take the first step.

Notice it was the shepherd who looked for the sheep not vice versa.

Like God we have to seek out the lost sheep even if it’s the sheep’s fault that it was loss.
(Who doesn’t have a lost sheep in their family?)
If you don’t tell me your secret.

Catholics  are called to search  for the lost coin or the  lost soul even when it takes a lot of effort.

Holy ones…
We Catholics have to be known as men and woman of forgiveness.

When Terry Anderson who was a hostage in Lebanon for years was freed one of the first questions he was asked was if he could ever forgive his captors. After years of unjust confinement he said

“…. I’m Catholic and we forgive.”

You know when I was a little boy there was an exaggerated legalism.
You were always worried that you were sinning.

And so in the hippie days the pendulum swung in the other direction. There are some former hippies in this congregation… We’re getting old.

In the hippie days it became fashionable to rewrite God’s law,

and say things like oh that’s not a sin even when it was .

We cannot rewrite God’s law,
rather we need to be a people who proclaim God’s mercy.

We need to say yes you made a mistake..
Yes you sinned…
but God loves you and God longs to forgive you.

In a world so broken and afraid we need to proclaim by our word and  especially by our good example that,

Forgiveness can be ours for the asking no matter what.

In our own lives we need to imitate God’s example and be radical in our willingness to forgive.

You know when Pope John Paul was shot… and almost lost his life one of the first things he did when he was fully recovered was to go to the prison and pardon the man who tried to kill him

This is what Pope John Paul said as he emerged from the cell,

“What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me, the Pope said. I spoke to him as brother whom I have pardoned, and who has my complete trust."

Holy ones I know its hard so very hard to let go of resentment and bitterness.

For some reason we convince ourselves that bitterness and resentment give us comfort

They don’t…

Until we forgive like the Prodigal Son’s Father

Until we forgive with reckless abandon like God forgives us over and over again.

We will never be whole
We will always be the victim
We will never be free.

As Catholics let us teach the world how to forgive.

Challenging words indeed..

How we love Your Word Oh Lord.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C - 2010

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts…

In today’s homily I want to talk briefly about two things.

The first is this, today’s Gospel gives us the perfect occasion to reflect on how Catholics read the bible.
If I were to say to you,
”I am so hungry I could eat a horse. “

What would you think?

Would you think you would see me running across a field with a knife and a fork in my hand chasing a horse ?
No you would understand that I was really hungry.
If I said to you I waited in line for centuries at the DMV
You might think that I really waited in line for millions of years at the DMV,
but probably you would think that I waited a long time.
Because we are from the same culture and understand each other it was easy for you to see that what I intended to say and the literal meaning of the words I spoke were different.
Catholics read the bible trying to understand the intention of the writer what was the message the evangelist was trying to convey ?
Many fundamentalists read and understand the bible according to literal meaning of the words.
The Book of Genesis says the world was created in seven days.

We have archeological data that says  it took million of years.
Catholic trying to understand the intention of the author tend to think that the 7 days are referring to a process which was always guided by God but may have taken millions of years
Many Fundamentalists say the bible says 7 days so it is 7 days period.
That’s like thinking that I really was going to catch a horse and eat it with a knife and  fork.
There are moments when Jesus and  others in the scriptures intended to use the literal meaning of the words to be the meaning of the message.
For example when he said “Take this all of you and eat this is my body”
We know that Jesus intended  the literal meaning of the words because there are other places in the Gospel where he refers those very special words in a literal sense.
The reason I bring this up is that In today’s Gospel Jesus says
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Jesus does not want us to hate our family.
He does cannot intend the literal meaning of the words, like I wasn’t going to really eat a horse.
The ten commandments say honor your father and mother.

Hhow can you hate them and honor them at the same time? 

Jesus uses the word hate to make the point that discipleship should even come before our family.
Summing up my first thought then…
When Catholics read the  bible we ask ourselves what was author trying to say to us. What did he intend the us to understand what is the message ?
When many fundamentalist read the bible they say it says seven so it means seven.
He said hate so He means hate. Etc.

Obviously we and fundamentalists look at the Bible in very different lights.
The second point I want to make is this.
Jesus makes it clear in this gospel that the cost of discipleship is great.
Yes if we love ourselves more than God you won’t be free to be his disciple.
If we can’t accept the cross in our lives we can’t be his disciples.

Therefore a willingness to suffer for love is part and parcel of being a disciple.
If we love our possessions  more than God we can’t be his disciples…
The message of the Gospel is clear… discipleship is very demanding and if we only go half way we aren’t really disciples.
Discipleship is an all or nothing proposition. We already have enough “catholics” in quotes who just go through the motions.
Brothers and sisters the best way a husband can love his wife or a wife love her husband is to love God first and be holy.
The best parents are those who love God and follow God’s will and because they do so can love their children like God loves them.
The best way for me to be your priest is for me to be a holy priest a priest who wants to conform my life completely to God’s will.
Simply put the Gospel is asking us today are we really willing to pay the cost of discipleship ?

That’s a lot to think about.  Amen..

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time –Year C – 2010

When Jesus went to the Pharisee’s house for a meal he observed how the guests were all trying to sit at the head of the table.
Each one felt they deserved a place of honor.
Each one felt that they deserved be recognized as someone special, in fact more special  than the others present.

You see some of the guests either thought too highly of themselves or to little of the others.
Sadly our world and our time are also filled with people who think too highly of themselves or fail to recognized the good in others.
Ego and pride are still very real problems almost 2000 years after Jesus.

With all that mankind has accomplished we have yet to free ourselves from ourselves.
Sadly, it almost seems that things have gotten worse in this regard.
How often do we and others begin our sentences with words like:
I want
I think
I deserve
Give me
I come first?
And if we don’t say them how often do we think them?
So much of the violence and pain present in our society today is rooted in ego and pride.
Quite often a marriage fails when one or both of the spouses try place themselves first, at the head of the table, or convince themselves that the other is no longer serving their needs.
And when someone steals something they somehow convince themselves that they deserve to possess what they steal more than the rightful owner.
In other words they place themselves at the head of the table.
One time a young man simply spoke to a young woman he saw in the hall of his DC public school.
He wasn’t aware that she was dating someone already and when her boyfriend found out was outraged.
He felt that he had been dissed or disrespected.

He felt that his “offender” had placed his own interests ahead of him at the table of life.
Tragically the young boyfriend was so overcome by rage and hurt that he took out a gun and killed his the young man who had simply spoken to his girlfriend.
What a tragedy what a horrible tragedy  two precious young lives lost because of ego and pride.
How often to we see jockeying for power and position at work?
Instead of  doing their job to the best of their ability so that their work may be recognized…
…people use office politics to place themselves at the head of the table before their co-workers.
This pridefullness, this feeling of entitlement, this placing oneself at the head of the table before others, is not limited to individuals or even small groups of people.
Every war starts because some country feels itself more deserving to sit at the head of the table of the world than their neighbor.
Holy ones every sin is rooted in pride or ego.
We sin when we think that our well being, and our will, and our desires are somehow more important that God’s will and God’s law.
In other words when we sin we dare to place ourselves at the head of the table even in place of God.
The only cure to all of this pain and destruction caused by putting oneself ahead of others and God is humility.
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to being humble.
Being humble does not mean feeling bad about yourself.
Being humble does not mean having low self esteem.
Being humble does not mean we deny our God given gifts.
We are humble when we realize that we don’t have to be first in line.

We are humble when we don’t have to have the most possessions or the biggest or fanciest house..

We are humble when we recognize the wonderful gifts that others possess.

We are humble when we realize that all we have
our families,
our friends,
our talents,
our dreams,
and even our very next breath are gifts wonderful gifts from God.
Being humbled means that we realize that we and those at the table with us are loved equally by God and precious in His sight.
In God’s eyes we are all at the head of the table.
Jesus did not place himself at the head of the table.
He did not come in power and might but rather chose to be born at the very end of the table in the tiny little backwater town of Bethlehem where there was no room in the Inn.
If God had placed himself at the head of the table of creation he never would have forgiven us or paid the price of our sin by dying on the cross.
Yes indeed
Our families
our neighborhoods
our parish
our town and villages
our cities and our countries
even our world would be such better places
If we remembered the important lesson of today’s Gospel and lived humble lives.
For Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This week let us all pray for the gift of humility.
Amen

Some Thoughts on Family Prayer

A lot of families pray at meals. Some families pray at night before the kids go to bed, especially when the children are young.

Often family prayer falls by the wayside at the critical moments of a young person’s life when it is needed most. If we want our kids to pray, we have to pray. We have to show them by our example that we really believe in prayer. I read some place that strong moments of shared family prayer were one of the best ways to bring one’s children to faith and keep them Catholic. It makes so much sense doesn’t it? I believe that a family that prays together and goes to Church together will have a much better quality of life. At Catholic University some of the students most involved in the life of the Church casually spoke about family prayer as if it was a given in everyone’s life.

I would like to propose to you 4 moments of family prayer... Some of you are thinking, “Oh for heaven sake. Is he out of his mind? We’re too busy already ?” Don’t stop reading hear me out.

Wouldn’t it be great if, before everyone left the house, there was a brief moment, maybe even a quick huddle if you will, with a prayer like “Lord thank you for this day, please help us make good choices and return us all home safe and sound Amen.” Maybe just Mom and Dad could say it. Maybe you could say it in the car as you drive the kids to school. Whatever the case might be, I’m not talking about an hour long novena in the morning. All that is needed is a moment, a simple moment together as a family, together with the Lord.

What about expanding our evening meal prayer together. Hopefully, some people still have an evening meal together (more on that another time). I would propose in addition to the traditional “Bless us oh Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive…” what if each member of the family added a petition for some need they felt, or maybe someone could add a prayer of thanksgiving for a grace received that day. What a beautiful way to start a meal and what a beautiful window into the heart of your family.

And what about trying to gather everyone together before the littlest one goes to sleep. I know… I know easier said than done. Here is another opportunity for a short prayer, a moment of thanksgiving, maybe even just a Hail Mary. You know the whole Church finishes it’s day with a hymn to Our Lady every night. Why not join your prayer with the whole Church and do the same.

Finally, I would propose that as you and your spouse go to bed, before you nod off after a long day, that you pray together. Some of you are thinking, “We have never done that Father Robert.” Why not give it a try? If a husband and wife can’t pray with each other, who can they pray with? I repeat… If a husband and wife can’t pray with each other, who can you pray with. When you pray before you go to sleep, nothing elaborate or drawn out is needed. As you lay there you could simply say the name of each of your children, then either in the silence of your heart (the chicken’s way out) or out loud, you could pray for that Child. Ask God to bless and protect them, ask God to help you figure out how to love them more and parent them as he would have you do. You can also add other petitions. If one of you is a night owl and the other one a sleepy head, why not stop what you are doing and pray before the first one goes to bed. Radical you think? Is it really radical to pray with your spouse or your kids ?: By the way Grand parents can pray for their children and grandchildren in just the same way. I can hear it already, “For heaven sakes Fr. Robert, we’ve been married 40 years and now she wants to start praying together! Thanks a million.” My response will be after 40 years you should know to be quiet and do as you’re told (just kidding). All I can say is if your priest doesn’t call you to prayer, who will?

When we begin to insert little moments of prayer in our lives beyond the “Lord find me a parking space…” or “Give me some good numbers Lord,” or whatever, our life will be changed. By inserting little moments of prayer throughout your day it reminds us that we continually live in the loving presence of God.

I know what I am asking may seem crazy to some of you. I know that once relationships and family routines are established, it is really hard to change them. I know that many of you might have already stopped reading, thinking to yourself “this is too much”. All I can say to that is …

Jesus said,

“Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you.” Let’s take him at His Word and give it a try. I’ll be praying for you this week

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2010 – Year C

 

Jesus was not a proud or arrogant man.

He and his disciples simply spent their time walking from town to town proclaiming the good news to anyone who would listen.

As we heard in today’s Gospel,
one day as he was walking into a village
someone asked him. 

“Lord, will those who are saved be few?".

Jesus didn’t answer the question,
but rather he used the opportunity to talk to them about what people needed to do to grow in holiness and be saved. 

You see for most of its history Israel was a tiny country among giants.

It was at the crossroads of many nations and because of this it was continually being taken over.

In order to survive and maintain its identity Israel became very insular and isolated.

The people of Israel rarely interacted with others.

In fact they looked down on  people from other countries and somehow convinced themselves that only they would enjoy eternal live.

It was the opinion of many during Jesus’ time that simply being an Israelite and following the letter of the law was enough.

And so in today’s passage  Jesus warned them  not to take their salvation for granted.

Being an Israelite or  simply following the letter of the law was not enough.

Jesus explained that in order to be saved a person had to strive or work at being holy.

And when he said strive he used  the word which describe the strenuous exercise of an athlete.

I don’t know about you but for me strenuous exercise is not easy.

His point was simple
being the men and women God wants us to be is not easy.

It is strenuous because  we have to change..

We have to change our hearts.

It’s not easy to let go of our wills,
it is not easy to let go of our desires and our plans.

To be holy there has to be a continual surrender of our wills to God’s will ….  our plans to God’s plan.

Religious practice, going to Mass, going to confession, are so important because they help us understand God’s will and fall in love with him.

But without love and a conversion of heart all the  religious practice in the world is worth nothing.

Being holy is indeed like trying to squeeze a big body through a tiny door.

You have to pull in tummy and fold over your arms and bend your neck and tuck up your legs and then if you are like me you need someone to unfold you when you if and when you get through.

What does this have to do with all of us here is Berlin Connecticut?

Holy ones
If our presence here on Sunday is to bring us closer to God…

We have to strive
We have to really work at being the men and women of God.

We have to work really hard at being holy.

If we think it’s easy  then something is wrong.

Coming here every Sunday and warming the bench is important but it is not enough.

In in this passage Jesus is  reminding us
warning us if you will that 
we can’t just sit back and take salvation for granted.

We can’t permit ourselves thoughts like
I go to Church every Sunday
and there are a lot of people worse than me 
so that’s enough.

We have to be more loving,
more merciful,
more kind,
less judgmental,
less angry,
more trusting,
more concerned about the need of others,
more forgiving,
less proud
more faithful… etc etc etc…
and it is not easy.

The Word of God which we hear at Mass will inspire us.

The grace of the Eucharist will nourish us and sustain us.

The incredible grace of a good confession will make us more humble and merciful.

No going to Mass is not enough.
And being baptized Catholic is not enough.

We can never take our salvation for granted.

The message of the today’s Gospel is simple.

We have to work at conforming ourselves to Christ every day of our lives so that someday we may pass though the narrow door of holiness to life eternal.

Amen

The Assumption of Mary

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts…

You know the twentieth century was an incredible time.

It was like no other century in the history of the world.
There were huge advances in medicine to many name

There were advances in technology and science….
Remember “One small step for man who giant step for mankind.”

I can remember that day so clearly when humanity walked on the moon for the first time.

For many especially here in the United States during the second half of the 20th Century there was  significant growth in the standard of living
things seemed so good.

On the other side of the coin…

The 20th century was also time of great suffering.
Never in the history of the human race had so many people died from war and violence.

World War I was a terrible war of attrition with 16 Million deaths.

During the Second World War 60 Million people died .

At the end of the war we developed the atomic bomb and for the first time in the history of world humanity had the power to wipe itself off the face of the earth.

The 20th century was  the best of times and it was the worst of times  Just like Charles Dickens described the  period leading up to the French Revolution.

In the context of such suffering and loss of lives….

It almost seems like we had forgotten who we were and where we were headed.

We forgot that we were the children of God.
We forgot that each and every person matters.

We forgot living and loving according to God’s plan is the best possible choice we can make.

Humanity forgot that our destiny is to be with God forever.
That’s why God created us…
He wants to love us forever heaven.

For centuries some say as early as the third century Catholics had believed that Mary the Mother of Jesus was assumed into heaven

She did not ascend into heaven like Jesus.

Mary was assumed into heaven as
Like Fr. Martin said the other day notice the passive voice.

Jesus ascended into heaven on his own.
Mary needed God to be assumed into heaven.

Since she was conceived without original sin.
She did not have to suffer death one of consequences of original sin.

Catholics believed that  Mary’s Assumption
was God’s way reminding us we too were destined to be united with Him in heaven.

In a world marked with so much suffering and death
Pope Pius XII wanted to find a way to give us hope again.

And so after lots of prayer and consultation he proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Mary.

He did so to call mankind back to faith 
He proclaimed the dogma to remind us who we are.

He wanted us to remember our destiny,
the goal of our lives, is to be with God.

It was his hope that by proclaiming the dogma of  the Assumption of Mary humanity somehow find its heart again and come back to faith.

Sometimes like humanity we too forget who we are.
We allow ourselves to be filled with anger and resentment.

Sometimes you would never know that we are Catholic by the way we talk to each other.

Sometimes we live as if all that matters is how much money we have in the bank or how big our house is 
or how much power and influence we can amass.

We allow ourselves to loose hope in God’s love.
Sometimes we just don’t trust God’s loving providence.

Sometimes like the many who lived during the 20th Century we loose our way home…

May this feast day of Mary remind we are children of God

May it remind us that we are indeed very loved by God.

May it help us refocus our efforts to live good and holy and generous lives.

May the Assumption of Mary help us set or reset our priorities and our values.

And once again point us in the direction of home.

Holy Ones…
No matter what life throws our way…
No matter what….

May we be filled with hope and be consoled with Joy

Mary our Mother was assumed into heaven and someday if we live good lives it will be our destiny to find our way home to God and in heaven to be with her,
our loved ones  and God forever.

Amen

Catholic iPhone Apps

At the Buffalo Garden Walk. Every moment is a gift.

From Office of Readings Today

Make room for Christ. When you possess Christ you are a rich man,
for he is sufficient for you. He himself, shall provide for you and
faithfully administer all your cares. You will not have to place your
hope in men. Put all your trust in God; let him be both your fear
and your love. He will respond on your behalf and will do whatever
is in your best interest.

Amen

(from the Imitation of Christ)

Day 8 at the Genesee Monastery

I have been here at the Abbey for 8 days. It is a wonderful experience. The Monks are very kind gentle souls. They pray hard and they work hard. I am especially edified by how much they care for the senior monks. This is a concern for lots of religious communities nowadays and a real sign of the health of community life. Getting up at 2:00 AM for Vigils is really not hard at all. Actually it is really kind of nice to rise with the monks and sing the psalms.  The hard part is going to bed at 7:00 PM to be able to get up at 2:00.
I have been doing a lot of praying, reading, walking, and thinking. The whole experience has been very moving. My transfer to St. Paul's in Kensington CT has been voted on and will be announced this weekend. I already received a very nice note from a parishioner welcoming me.
Lest you think I am getting holy or something. Today for the first time I left the Monastery and went into Genesso to have a McDonalds Hamburger and a chocolate kiddie cone. Somethings never change. The food is great here but the monks eat healthy and there is no meat in their diet. You know me and eating healthy are not usually in the same sentence, hence the escape to McDonalds.

Peace and Prayers
Fr. Bob
By the way for all you skeptics who said "the poor monks" when you heard I was coming here. I have been able to keep quiet and not disturb the peace.

From the Monastery of the Genesee

I found this poem in a book I'm reading on retreat and thought I would share it with you...

Anoint the wounds
of my spirit
with the balm
of forgiveness
pour the oil
of your calm
on the waters of my heart

take the squeal
of frustration
from the wheels
of my passion
that the power
of your tenderness
may smooth
the way I love

that the tedium
of giving
in the risk of surrender
and the reaching
out naked to a world
that must wound

may be kindled
fresh daily
to a blaze
of compassion
that the grain
may fall gladly
to burst in the ground
- and the harvest abound

Dom Ralph White, 'Messiah'
as found in "The Coming of God" by Maria Boulding page 125

Great Reflection after Trinity Sunday

An Embrace

I am wading through all "my stuff" trying to clean  it out with little success I found this prayer I had placed in a scapular 20 years ago... I don't know who wrote it but it still applies to me and still touches my heart... I share it with you....

God of Truth
You know the deepest recesses of my heart.
Enter in and clear out what does not belong there.
Fill me with your goodness so that I will walk in your ways.
Create in me a strong desire to put you first in my life.

I place my hope in your constant love for me...

 Amen

Author Unknown...

Given to my Brother Priests and Religious in Curely Hall

When you guys started teasing me about preaching to you last week I thought I better read the scriptures to begin thinking about what I might say.

And to my chagrin… it was this passage where Jesus tells disciples that even though they think understand, even though they think they get it

They will not remain faithful and that they will all abandon him.

Oh boy I said to myself, wonderful I’m going to tell some of the finest theologians around that knowing is not enough. Great…

But the more I thought about it and prayed about it there is indeed an important message here for all of us to hear in this passage.

Think about it even though they “got it” even though they thought they understood when Jesus was arrested the Apostles still lost heart and they abandoned him.

Why?
Why did they run and hide when they were just starting to understand.

The fact of the matter is simple. Their knowledge was simply not enough

They needed something more…
Something more was required for their fidelity

And that something was and is a life giving relationship,
a relationship rooted in and sustained by love.

In chapter 15 of the Gospel of John Jesus said  “Greater Love than this no one has than to lay down his life for his friends."

It would seem then that love and laying down your life go hand in hand.

Knowing someone or something is one of God’s most incredible gifts.
Often the knowledge we have of something or someone else is the first thing that attacks us them.

And with the gift of knowledge we can go  deeper and deeper into the mystery of the other.

But just knowing about someone is rarely enough for us to be willing to suffer for them
or die for them.
The disciples scattered because even though they began to know Jesus better
their love for him was not yet strong enough.

We all know that eventually everyone of them would get it and  everyone of them would willingly give their lives for Jesus whom they loved.

And so dear brothers… this gospel reading should call us all to examine our hearts
How strong is our love for Christ
How strong is our love for the Church
How passionate is our love?
And when we are able to truthfully answer questions like these then we will know
how much of our life are we willing to give away,
how much of our life we are willing to lay down for Christ, and his people, the Church.

Will we stay or will we run?
He loves us either way.

And I know in my life
running doesn’t necessarily mean leaving…
sadly running often means compromising.
Running often means getting and working to stay comfortable.


It is so easy to go about our business or busyness and allow our hearts to grow lukewarm or even cold.
It is so easy to forget the passion that brought us to this place.

Sadly sometimes it seems that for so many of our brothers
the incredible gift of our vocation to the priesthood or religious life is just burdensome.
They or we are tired, and lonely and fed up,
They or we have been disappointed  just one too many times,
or even worse…
sometimes they or we get the “father knows best syndrome”
where they or we think that only our view and our perspective seem to matter…
What a mess that turns out to be.

I have come to believe that the one best ways for a priest to avoid all of the above
is the company of priests.

And when I say priests for those of us who live in religious communities
I also include Brothers or friars or monks in that older traditon and even, the Jesuits.

Living in the company of fellow priests and religious is such an incredible gift.
Some might disagree and there are always exceptions…
but I really only feel comfortable being myself in the company of priests.

I only feel comfortable really comfortable sharing my feelings and doubts and weaknesses in the company of priests and religious.

I say things to you that I just would not feel right about saying to others.

A priest or religious can be most vulnerable with other priests.
There is no one like a fellow priest or religious to put you in your rightful place,
Or put things in perspective.
No one…

Recently I was all worked up about something… and someone in this room a fellow priest listened very patiently and when I had finished spewing out my… concerns or frustration and resentments
He simply looked at me and said…
Get over it.
(I could not have received better advice.)

The unpretentious subtle example of good priests and religious is such a wonderful thing

Yesterday when I was fishing for homily points at breakfast.. as I often do..
by the way some of you are a little stingy.

One of you said.. plagiarize St. Augustine from Office of Readings today…
I hadn’t said Office of Readings…  but I did later because he had reminded me to.

When we are in the company of our fellow  Priests and Religious in the “drink room” or at the table…

Its about being together.
It’s about sharing our day and the gossip of the University.
It’s about being together like any family.
We laugh…  we share each others concerns..
we feel free to ask questions or express our frustrations.

We tease each other… and we all know deep in our hearts
that we are in the company of good men
who share a call for which none of us are worthy.

I’m afraid that during my years, here especially my first years, I really didn’t commit enough to this community  and I didn’t commit enough to you. Please forgive me.


You know Jesus didn’t tell the Apostles they would all scatter to make them feel bad.

He wasn’t saying you bunch of losers you are all going to abandon me.
And in fact at the moment they didn’t seem to believe him.

They all thought that they would be faithful and that he was talking to someone else.

He foretold their lack of fidelity because when it happened when fear took over
when they ran and hid…
they would remember that what Jesus had foretold and that he still loved him.

Brothers those words were not meant only for the Apostles
they were also meant for us and they are meant for the whole Church

No matter how far we fall
no matter how much we mess up

Or how… discouraged we become…

Jesus loves us
He loves us so much he called us to this wonderful  life
Despite our messiness.
And just like he conquered the world
He can also conquer our sins and our weakness
And the sins and weaknesses of our brothers
And the sins and weaknesses of the whole Church

Let us always be filled with great hope…

Thank you for 12 wonderful years.

Amen

Trinity Sunday – Year C 2010

When Fr. Luigi walked into the class he carried with him his “dispensa” or large book  of mimeographed graphed notes in Italian.

It was 1 1/2” think and we knew that we all would becoming intimate friends with it’s pages. 

There was a collective sigh when he started handing them out. 
The sigh was heartfelt but almost inaudible because you didn’t mess with Fr. Luigi.

The notes contained many chapters.
There were chapters on the historical development of the dogma Trinity,
and the scriptural basis for the belief in the Trinity.

There was a chapter on what the Church Fathers had said about the Trinity,
and  also a long chapter on the theological controversies which were rooted in our understanding of the Trinity. 

We dutifully memorized and quizzed each other over and over again,
On the exam I gave Fr. Luigi back everything he gave me so much so  that I got an A on the Trinity.

It sounds weird even to say it ,
“I got an A on the Trinity.”

At the end of the class the notes were put back on the shelf hopefully never to be opened again.

After all I reasoned the Trinity was and is a mystery and we can never really go much deeper than memorizing the formula.

Remember the vision of St. Augustine and the little boy.

St. Augustine was walking along the shore meditating on the mystery of the Trinity when he caught sight of a little boy  who had dug a hole and was running to the sea filling up a shell and dumping it in the hole.

When Augustine asked him what he was doing he said, “I am going to put the sea into that hole.”

Augustine responded, “you will never  be able to put the sea into that hole.”

The little boy responded, “you will never be able to figure out the  mystery of Trinity” and disappeared.

It just goes to show you that even brilliant saints need humility.

Then one day  a little Nun named 
Sr. Bianchini brought up the Trinity.

Her theology came not from a big dispensa or book of formula rather it sprang from the hours she spent in prayer.

She said to me.
”We were created by God who is a communion of love.”

The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit love each other in the most intense and passionate communion of love which ever has existed and ever will exist.

She went on to explain that
our desire to love and be loved is so strong because  God who created us is Himself a communion of love which we call  the Trinity.

It made so much sense to me.
Our fear of loneliness,
our desire to share our lives with others,
our ability to love,
our ability to do heroic things,
all of these come from a tiny  memory in our heart of the communion which exists in the Trinity.

We spend our whole life and all of our energy trying to get back to that communion and live in the presence of God.

As St. Augustine said.
“Our souls can’t rest until they rest in You”

So once we understand that because we were created by God who revealed Himself as a community of never ending love we can understand that we too were created to love,

Our desire to love in a small way is a mirror of God’s passionate love in the Trinity.
Our love can be generative because God’s is.
Our love  heals because God’s does.
Our love is faithful because God’s is.

Think about it,
this deep seated desire to love motivates almost all of what we think, say or do.

Why else would a father or mother get up and go to a job they hate for years and even decades if it wasn’t motivated by love of their families?

Why would a husband and wife struggle through all the seasons of marriage if they were not motivated by love?

And why else would parents refuse to give up on their kids even when they seem distant and cold?

And why else would anyone lay down their life for for a complete stranger like st. Maximillian Kolbe did … in the horror of Aushwitz?

What is a person really looking for when they casually hook up or go on the internet for things they would never watch with their mother?

Even these sins are often vain attempts to be loved to be freed from loneliness, to be whole.

GK Chesterson said “Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God”

Yes on this day on which the Church calls us to meditate on the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
we have also gain insight into ourselves,
what motivates us and  
how we were created to live and love.

Holy ones,
our faith properly understood is not a dry collection of formula and ritual in a dusty book on a shelf,
it is a passionate search for unity and communion with our God,
our God, who lives in the incredible communion of the Trinity
and longs for us to love Him,
Father Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen