Pentecost–Year C 2013

The Disciples were filled with fear.

They were afraid of the Jewish and Roman Authorities .
They didn’t know what the future would hold for them or their families.

And some of them even feared that somehow they had been duped or tricked.

They doubted all of the incredible things that they had experiences with Jesus who they had thought was the Messiah.

And so they locked themselves in a room together and allowed their fears to paralyze  them.

Sometimes it seems that we have a lot to be afraid of too.

While the economy seems to be recovering so slowly many people have been left out and others are afraid to trust again. 

Our society seems stuck in fast forward or fast backward depending on how you look at it.

So many things are changing.

We seem almost cavalier when we throw away things we have believed for centuries, like our traditional understanding of Marriage.

Bishop Mansell warned the priests  at a recent Presbyteral Council Meeting that there are legislators who are advocating for assisted suicide in Connecticut. It was just approved in Vermont this week.

God forbid if assisted suicide is ever approved in Connecticut. Where it is the law of the land our poor and our sick and our elderly will be encouraged to end their lives because it is too expensive or burdensome to care for them. 

And even if no one encourages them to commit suicide some will feel guilty for even being sick and needing care.

Many especially in the Northeast of our Country only have the experience of what appears to be a diminishing Church. That’s easy to understand .

Since 1966 the Church going population here in the Archdiocese of Hartford has diminished by 1/2

Racked by scandals and empty churches there are those who are afraid that we really are becoming a post Christian / post religion culture.

And many of us face significant challenges in our own personal lives or in the lives of their loved ones.

I could probably keep on talking about our fears but you get the point.

What happened ?

What allowed the Disciples so consumed with fear to boldly step out into the world with the power of the Gospel?

What allowed the Church (that little community of frightened believers) to almost literally explode onto the world scene.

We find our answer...in today’s celebration of Pentecost

Somehow through God’s grace and mercy the Apostles were able to allow God’s spirit in their lives.

They opened their hearts to the Holy Spirit and they were never the same.

They realize that they were not alone.

They understood that their fears were not and could not be stronger than God’s love

With this realization they were finally able to accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit

Wisdom

Understanding

Council

Fortitude

Knowledge

Piety

and the fear of the lord

These gifts created them anew.

The feast of Pentacost  challenges us to accept the gifts of the sprit and recognize the presence of God in our live.

Yesterday 90 of our teenagers were confirmed by

When I spoke to them some of them understood what was happening and some of them didn’t

That’s OK God never takes back a gift which he has given.

I am convinced that when they seek the Holy Spirit will be there for them even if  they didn’t understand on the day of their confirmation.

So good people

What are we going to do ?

Stay locked in  the room our fears and insecurities  of our past failings and doubts,

or  are we going to let go of all of that stuff and welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives like the Apostles finally did.

As Jesus said in the Gospel Do not be afraid .

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your love.

Amen

Seventh Sunday of Easter Year C - 2013

“That they might be one as We are one “

These words spoken by Jesus remind us that unity is part and parcel of being a follower of Jesus.

They remind us that working towards unity is an essential responsibility of all of us.

Jesus wants the best for us so he wants us to have...
unity in our families,
unity in our society.
and unity among all those who call themselves Christian.

God wants us and calls us to be of one mind and one heart.

We live in a very divided world.

That’s no surprise to anyone in this Church.

Washington is so divided that nothing gets done, our country is poorly served, and both sides blame each other.

Our society is becoming more and more polarized on all kinds of issues, important fundamental issue,s which mold and shape our society.

Even our Church often appears divided between liberals and conservatives.

Most sadly the Body of Christ itself  is divided into countless denominations which continually give up on building communion when they cannot find common ground on an issue.

I read on the internet that during the depression a man... went to Knoxville for some business and for the first time saw a refrigerator which made ice in the summer.

He returned to his little church in the hills of Appalachia and told his friends, some believed him and some didn’t and before you knew it the church split over the issue and a new Church was founded called the  “No Ice in the Summer Baptist Church.”

In a world so divided such as ours you can understand why people ask themselves if unity is possible.

Our faith teaches us that working for unity is indeed possible and important because God himself is one.

That’s what the word unity means to make things one.

And because God is one there is only one truth.

What’s true for you is true for me and what’s true for me is true for you.

We  don’t live in our own worlds with our own truths no matter what some would say.

Truth is not ours to create rather it is ours embrace.

This error is one of the biggest obstacles to the unity that God longs for us to have.

Many believe that truth depends not on God but on each and everyone’s personal opinions.

For them truth is not based on God’s will or on natural law but on what we believe.

Pope Benedict called this belief the dictatorship of relativism.

Those who subscribe to relativism believe everything is relative to themselves.

They posit that there is no common or ultimate truth.

This error goes against everything thing revealed to us by God and causes our society great harm.

Put simply We don’t make the truth... God does.

How can we work toward the unity  in a world so divided?

How can we make our homes, our families, our society, and our Church more united as God would have us do?

The first and most important thing we need to do is humbly seek to understand God’s truth and God’s will.

All of us have an obligation to read the scriptures and to study the living tradition of the Church and once we have done so to humbly submit to it.

After having tried to discern God’s will and surrender to it when differences arise we must listen to each other and respect each other.

Especially when different people see the same reality in different ways.

Unity is not something that just happens.

Sometimes, most of the time, in fact unity doesn’t just happen, it takes effort and patience and humility.

Experience has proved to us that friendship and relationships built on trust and respect are much more fertile grounds for unity that bitterness and discord.

Let’s put down our boxing gloves and let’s listen to each other

Let us respect those who look at things differently

Let us listen to them and patiently share our understanding God’s will and God’s truth with them.

Jesus knew that unity would not be easy to create so He gave his Body the Church the Ministry of Peter or his successor the Pope.

Catholics have the consolation of knowing that when all else fails, when a common understanding of truth cannot be found we can turn to Peter or his successor the Pope and  ask for his help.

Jesus said you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.

The Petrine ministry guarantees the unity of the Church

Peter has the final word.

As St. Ambrose said. “Where there is Peter, there is the Church

This is an incredible gift which keeps our Church from splitting over and over the again.

Let us not give up on building a united society.

Let us discern God’s will and God’s plan for ourselves and our Church and our world.

Let us humbly submit to God’s plan

Let us patiently refrain from hitting each other over the head when we don’t agree on things.

The challenge of unity, a communion of heart and mind, to work for.

For as we heard in the Scriptures Jesus longs for us to be one as He and the Father are one.

Happy Mother’s Day

Sixth Sunday of Easter Time Year C - 2013

And Jesus said to his disciples.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word”
Our world is filled with words. Words are the primary way we communicate with each other.
We use words to express our deepest hopes and our most sincere convictions. Think back to the first time you heard someone say “I love you” besides your Mother.
Those 3 words probably changed your life.
Words have the power to build up and to inspire. Sadly, they also have the power to destroy and alienate.
Because words are so powerful, because they can do so much harm, and so much good, it is very important that we must consider not only the meaning of the words spoken to us. but also the person who speaks them.
Only when we consider the source can we really understand how important words are.
For example, the media is a very powerful force in contemporary society. We all know it tries to guide our lives and shape public opinion. The media is famous for shaping the truth rather than simply reporting it.  So often there is a hidden agenda when people communicate with us.
We have continually to ask ourselves  whose words do we want to trust?
Whose words do we want to mold and shape the lives of our children?
Whose words do we want to shape the lives of our grandchildren?
Do we trust the New Testament or the New York Times?
If we want to keep God’s Word as Jesus asks us, it is important for us to do three things:
First, we have to listen to God’s Word with a pure heart.
We should never try and use God’s word for our purposes or our agenda.
Some are of the opinion the Church has to update what we preach or get with the times. They are of the opinion that we have conform God’s Word to our modern culture.
I’ve read that and heard it over and over again.
Lots of Churches have done this and most of them are empty.
When people say something like this, it becomes crystal clear to me that they don’t understand our responsibility is to respect God’s Word.
The moment we change it for our purpose, the moment it ceases being God’s Word and becomes our word.
The Word of God is not ours to rewrite, even when the culture changes or the tide of public opinion moves in one direction or the other.
We must be faithful to God’s word and God’s will in season and out of season no matter what the rest of the world thinks.
Second, We have to listen to it and allow it to prune and shape our lives.
This requires time, it requires a significant investment in time.
If we are to use to Word of God to shape our lives we have to be familiar with it.
God’s word has to be on our fingertips ready to guide us when questions arise.
Speaking frankly there is a lot of room for growth here in our Church.
Yes, we have a Scripture study that meets periodically in peoples’ homes but we have to do more in this area.
And it can’t always be from the top down.
It can’t always be the priest feeding the parish.   Every Catholic has the responsibility to step up and feed themselves.
Finally, if we want to keep God’s words we have to be willing to give it away, or proclaim it.
Our appreciation of God’s word can’t be a just a personal thing something we keep for ourselves.
We have to be willing to share its
It is the responsibility of the Church, and each one of us to proclaim the Words given to us by God and the truths they contain without fear and without compromise not matter what the cost.
Let us keep God’s Word  by being faithful to it .

Allowing it to change our hearts and proclaiming it without fear.

For Jesus said “Whoever loves me will keep my word,and my Father will love him,

and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Amen

Inspiring

4th Sunday of Easter Year C - 2013

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.”

When I was growing up, our neighborhood was like a huge playground.

There were many young families with kids and the whole neighborhood was under watchful eye of stay at home moms.

If someone fell off their bike a mom would be there.

If there was a fight or should I say when there was a fight, a mom or a couple of moms would appear and break it up.

The cool moms wouldn’t even tell your mother.

Until High School the rule on our street  was when the first street light came on the game stopped and you went home.

All of the families enforced it equally.

The problem was getting us in for supper.

There there was even a system for that in our neighborhood.

The Cheektowaga moms would simply go out and scream.

“Rob / Greg supper time,” and we were supposed be listening for her, hear her and go home.

Mrs Bashnagle got so sick of yelling for her son Joey that she went out and got herself a bell.

Half of Cheektowaga heard when Joey had to go home.

We all hoped that our Mothers wouldn’t get a bell.

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.”

• Speaking frankly sometimes we heard our moms call and we didn’t go home.

• Sometimes we really didn't hear and one of the other moms  would come out and say Robert Schlageter you go home right now your mother has been calling you for 15 minutes.

• Sometimes we heard and did what we were supposed to do.

Its the same with our relationship with God.

Sometimes we just don’t hear God’s word and we need someone to help us hear it.

Sometimes we choose to ignore God’s word and refuse to follow.

Sometimes we hear God’s word and we integrate it into our lives and we follow it.

My sheep hear my voice; (or rather hear my word)

I know them, and they follow me.”

Yes sometimes people need our help and encouragement to understand God’s will and God’s Word.

There are so many people in our world who don’t know God.

They don’t know God’s word  and they never have the opportunity to hear it.

They don’t go to Church.

They are not surrounded by people with the consolation of faith.

It is very hard for them to change their hearts it's very hard for them to come to faith.

We are called to help people understand God’s word in their life.

Someone share God’s word with us, someone brought us to faith.

We are in this church right now because someone important to us proclaimed God’s word to us in a way which really motivated us.

Maybe it was what they said,

most probably it was their example, whatever the case we are here.

Who have we shared this most precious gift with?

Certainly sharing God’s word has to be done gently, humbly, tactfully, and above all compassionately.

If we are going to be arrogant or prideful when we try to share God’s word we are doomed to fail.

If we are angry or fed up or disappointed in someone sometimes It is better to keep our mouth shut until we calm down.

However,  God’s will, and God’s word and God’s love must be share truthfully, and completely, without fear and without compromise.

If we see someone making a mistake which puts them or their spiritual lives at risk we have an obligation to reach out.  

Catholics are not good at this.

We see the shipwreck coming but we simply choose not to do or say anything.

Once I heard a man talking about his friend’s marriage which had just ended horribly.

He said “I knew it wasn’t going to last. I saw all of their mistakes.”

I asked him, “did you pray for them... or fast for them, did you say anything to help them?

Did you try and stop the wreak?”

He looked at me sincerely and said “Who am I to say anything ?”

Jesus says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,

It’s not just the priest’s job to share God’s word... we will be judged by how many people we bring home with us to heaven.

Sometimes not only do we fail to share God’s word but we also just don’t listen ourselves

All of us have ignored God’s word on occasion.

There is a word for that, we call it sin.

We sin when we place ourselves above God’s word and God’s will.

As strange as it sounds somehow we convince ourselves that we know better than God.

The world is filled with people who have been given every opportunity to know God’s will but refuse to listen to it..

Just like we heard our parents’ call but refused to go.

You know the first time you sin, you feel guilty,

but the more compromises we make,

and the more sins we commit the easier it becomes.

There are lots of us who know what is right and wrong but still choose wrong.

Do we really think we know better than God ?

Do we really think that something can be good for us when it is clearly against God’s will or God’s law?

Experience has shown that  only loneliness and sadness and bitterness, anger and even violence accompany us when we trust in ourselves rather than God.

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.”

I am convinced

If we dare to hear Gods word and follow it,

if we chose to lovingly give our lives away rather than to keep them for ourselves,

if we willingly  follow in the footsteps of Christ and pick up our cross,

we might not be the richest,

or the most successful people in the eyes of world,

but we will have peace, and enjoy the consolation of faith.

Our life will be better if we choose to follow the Good Shepherd.

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Amen

One more thing...

In light of the events in Boston. I want to read something that Cardinal O’Malley said..

This Patriots’ Day shakes us out of our complacency and indifference and calls us to focus on the task of building a civilization that is based on love, justice, truth and service.

We do not want to risk losing the legacy of those first patriots who were willing to lay down their lives for the common good.

We must overcome the culture of death by promoting a culture of life, a profound respect for each and every human being made in the image and likeness of God, and we must cultivate a desire to give our lives in the service of others.

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.”

This Patriots’ Day shakes us out of our complacency and indifference and calls us to focus on the task of building a civilization that is based on love, justice, truth and service. We do not want to risk losing the legacy of those first patriots who were willing to lay down their lives for the common good. We must overcome the culture of death by promoting a culture of life, a profound respect for each and every human being made in the image and likeness of God, and we must cultivate a desire to give our lives in the service of others. - Cardinal O'Malley

The Baptism of the Lord 2012

Jesus was born in turbulent times.
The Romans occupied Israel.

There were always tensions between the occupiers and the occupied.
Some accommodated the Romans and their religious practice grew weak.

Others did their best to remain faithful and observe the tiniest letter of the law.

These were not easy times and many knew that they had drifted away from their Covenant with God.

The problem was they were not sure that they could be forgiven.
In this context....

John the Baptist inspired by the Holy Spirit appeared proclaiming a baptism of repentance.

His message was simple and direct, the forgiveness of sin is  possible...  come and be baptized.

Encouraged by the chance of a fresh start, people came in droves to be washed in the living waters of the Jordan and be forgiven.

When you think about it the symbolism is obvious, water has always been used to wash or purify something.

By stepping into the water and completely submerging oneself
a person was saying I am sorry for every possible sin I have committed.

Just like there is not a dry spot on my body there is not an area of my life that I don’t want to clean.

And so the message of John the Baptist was look into your heart realize your faults and step into the water.

When people came to be baptized by John they acknowledged their brokenness and enjoyed God’s mercy and forgiveness.

The first step in being forgiven has to be admitting that you did something wrong.

Then all of a sudden Jesus came to be baptized...

Why did He who was without sin feel drawn to John the Baptist’s ministry of forgiveness?

There are lots of interpretations but the one I read the most was that with His Baptism Jesus took upon himself all of our sins.

Humanity washed away it’s sin in the Jordan but Jesus, God’s son took our sins upon himself.

In a sense the baptism of the Lord was a prefiguring of his sacrifice on the cross when He paid the price of our sins.

What does all of this have to do with us... we live in turbulent times.
Our world our country our communities are becoming more and more polarized and violent.

Many of us know that something has to change.

And it seems to have become a national pastime to look at others and point out what’s wrong with them.

It is so easy to point the finger at someone else and say they have to change.

Hardly any of us admit that we might have to change.

Hardly any of us admit that there are things in our lives which need to be healed or forgiven.

You know years ago when I was growing up we were taught everything was a sin and there was a lot of fear and anguish.

After the Council in reaction the pendulum swung to the other side and nothing was a sin.

And the Church contributed to this confusion... How could eating meat on Fridays be a sin and all of a sudden not be a sin?

Today for many or maybe even most the practice of confession has fallen away.

If John the Baptist came today very few would come to Jordan to be forgiven, because so many of us don’t understand that we need it.
Sometimes people come to confession and say gee it’s been several years.. and I can’t think of any sins...

How far the pendulum has swung.

The feast of the Baptism of our Lord and the Ministry of John the Baptist should remind us all that each and everyone of us needs forgiveness.

The feast of the Baptism of our Lord should also call us to deeper understanding of our own sinfulness and need for healing.
Today’s feast should remind us that forgiveness is indeed possible and challenge us to seek it out.

If we want the world to be a better place we have to start with ourselves.

Let’s stop pointing each other’s faults, lets examine our own conscience and walk to the Jordan seeking God’s mercy and God’s healing.

Jesus wants to forgive us.
With His baptism He shows us that He is willing to carry our brokenness and forgive our sins.

All we have to do is acknowledge our sins and confess them.
Amen

From the Bulletin 1/13/2013

We’re almost there!!!
We are almost there!   Our goal for the End of the Year Appeal is $ 74,000  and we have received $ 73,197.  Thank you for caring so much about our parish. Now that we are so close to our goal, we will review our bids and begin to work on all of the proposed safety projects listed in the appeal. I know that I will sleep a lot better knowing that our Church and everyone in it is protected by a state of the art Fire Alarm System and access control. The  new doors and access control in the Parish Center will also be a big improvement. I promise to stay within our budget. Any extra funds will be placed in reserve in case we need some security enhancements for our school in light of the Newtown Tragedy.

Stuff
Just so you know, the furnace in the Parish Center is giving us fits. The repairman has been out several times to fix it, but it keeps breaking.  I’m not sure where this is going to go, but I hope that for the time being they can keep it running.

A lot of you complimented our new snow removal crew.  They seemed to do a good job getting rid of the snow and the ice. However, one of our parishioners was very concerned and  pointed out to me that they also hit the playground fence and dug up the grass all over the place. I know, and I want to assure you we’re on it. When the ground is covered with snow, it’s hard to see what you are doing. Once the crew learns our property a little better, they have promised that these types of mistakes won’t happen. They have assured me they will fix everything when spring comes.

Chatty Kids
Last week I received a couple of polite emails (Thank You) concerning our confirmation students and their behavior at Mass. It seems that several of them forgot where they were and continually talked during Mass last week. The glances given by the adults around them did not seem to have any effect. I will speak to our kids and their teachers about behavior in Church. Experience has shown that perhaps a glance is not sufficient to get the point across that they should be quiet in Church. Maybe next time you should simply politely and calmly say, “Hey guys, can you be quiet in Church?”  Slow but sure...

First Confessions
Yesterday (Saturday) our Third Graders made their first confessions. It was beautiful. Most of them were very well prepared. I want to thank our catechists for all of their hard work. Hearing those beautiful little ones humbly confess their sins was like being stoned with cotton balls. Their good example should cause us all to reflect on how we appreciate and approach this most challenging but beautiful sacrament. If you don’t have any sins and don’t need to go to confession, come up and introduce yourself. I’d love to meet you.

More on our Kids
Our Youth Ministry is going well.  Sal and those who work with him are doing a good job. I am impressed by both the number attending our High School Youth Group and the consistency with which they attend. Sal and Chris are doing a great job at forming good healthy relationships with our High School kids. The experts tell us that good relationships are the key to a great youth ministry program.

Sal met with some great Middle School parents last week and it went well. The Middle School Youth Group starts tonight. In the future, it is our hope to have Open Gym Nights for Middle School students on Sunday Nights after the youth group. We’ll keep you posted.

I want you to know that Fr. Peter, Sal and I regularly visit our Religious Education classes to try and get to know our kids.  This week, Sal will be adding a regularly scheduled presence in our school during the school day.  It has always been clear to me that this parish is most concerned about our youth. A couple of years ago, it was the number one concern. As you can see, we are working very hard with time and resources to address this concern. Yes, our children are the future of the Church.

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year

May the Peace Christ Reign in our hearts,

Once upon a time I asked a young man what he wanted most in life, and how he would know if he had made it.

He responded immediately without hesitation by saying “ I want the 4 P’s “

When  he saw the confused look on my face he elaborated,

Property
Power
Prosperity
Prestige

Then he said “When I have the 4 P’s I will know that I made it.

That’s is success for me. “

I said, “you sure had that list on the tip of your tongue” and he told me “I think about it alot.”

Prosperity and Property involved physical assets

Power and Prestige are more concerned about how people saw him.

I was saddened because he never mentioned love or companionship or caring for others at all.

For this young man success was all about having more..and sadly success was all about him.

We all know that power and prosperity, property and prestige don’t make a person happy.

Just look around... at people like Michael Jackson, and Lindsay Lohan, in fact it’s hard to find someone in the entertainment world that is happy and lives a fulfilling life

Even if they have an abundance of property, power, prestige and prosperity often they still have lives that resemble a train wreck.

Today’s Gospel shows us that the Apostles were not immune to the glitter or temptation of the 4 p’s

When Jesus was sharing with them  his future passion and death. Instead of listening and trying to comfort him they were arguing about who had the greatest prestige.

Jesus knew he had to make them understand once more that happiness was not about how much property they had,

or how much money they had,

or what people thought of them

or how much influence they had over others.

You know today we treasure Children, but this was not always the case.

During the time of Jesus Children were insignificant.

A father could simply refuse to accept a child and it would be put outside to die in neglect.

Children were the poorest of the poor with no rights and with no means to repay any kindness.

So Jesus took a little child and told His Apostles success is welcoming and caring for them he was saying success is welcoming and caring for someone who can never pay you back.

For a follower of Christ…

Success is giving without expecting anything in return.

Success is a life poured out in loving service.

Success is letting go rather than holding on.

Success is caring about others more than you care about yourself.

I never heard what happened to that kid but I will always remember his determination to have his property, power, prestige and prosperity.

Sadly some people never get it.

I once visited a lonely old lady.

She lived in a huge house and every time we spoke she told me that someone was after her money.

The people that were living in her home and caring for her kept changing because after awhile she would convince herself that they were after her money and fire them.

She had no contact with her family.

You know the story she was sure that they wanted her money.

I went to see her once a month and listened to her and tried to help her understand the people actually cared about her. Sometimes I was this close to getting through to her

But she never really believed me and could not accept that they were not just after her money.

Then one day her helper called and said you don’t have to come tomorrow father.

I immediately asked if she was OK or if she had take ill.

The helper responded candidly Father. She thinks you are after her money.

So much for the four p’s

What do we think about success ?

And Jesus said….

"If anyone wishes to be first,

he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."

Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,

and putting his arms around it, he said to them,

"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;

and whoever receives me,

receives not me but the One who sent me."

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year–B - 2012

Recently while I was walking down Hart Street I saw a bunch of kids over by Papergoods Pond and some of them looked familiar.

So I mustered up my courage and I walked right up to them.

I had it in my mind to walk by if none of them said hello or gave any sign that they recognized me.

All of a sudden one of the kids who was confirmed last year looked up and said Hi fr. Robert and the door was opened for me to strike up a conversation.

We bantered for a while about a bunch of stuff, then we got into a rather heated discussion about football and if Berlin could beat Xavier.

Then the conversation took another turn when out of the blue the Confirmation Kid said “I know I haven’t been to Church for a while.”

“A while” I said with a chuckle “I haven’t seen you since Confirmation…”

He nodded with a sheepish grin and responded, “Isn’t it enough to be a good person?  I’m a good person I don’t hurt anyone.”

I told him I knew he was a good person and that’s very important but that God wants more for him.

God’s law says keep holy Sabbath.

Catholic do that by going to Mass..

I went on to explain that we can’t change God’s law.

We can’t add to it nor can we subtract from it.

All we can do is discern God’s law and follow it.

That’s exactly what the first reading is speaking about today.

God gave the Israelites His law so that they could take possession of the land… for the Jewish People that was the promised land and let me tell you it looked good after 40 years in the desert.

For us the promised land is heaven.

The Law, God’s law guides us to heaven.

That’s the purpose of God’s law.

It is not to enslave us, or take away our fun.

It  is not so God can win and have his way.

It is not to give the priests or the Church power over us.

God’s law was given to us so that we might live a good and holy life and when our time on earth is finished end up in heaven.

Pure and simple

But then one of the other kids piped up and said what about all those people who go to church every Sunday but just go through the motions.

And I told him that he had a good question.

While it’s very important to follow God’s law it’s not enough to go through the motions.

There also has to be a change of heart.

When we surrender ourselves to God’s law it has to change our heart.

That’s what Jesus was talking about in today’s Gospel.

Sometimes people who just go through the motions of following God’s Law do more damage than those who don't follow it at tall

The Pharisees observed the letter of the law and all the minute prescriptions but they never changed their hearts… they were still angry, bitter, merciless people.

At another place in the Gospel Jesus compares them to whitened sepulcures beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside.

In the end even though they followed all of the prescriptions of the law and washed their dishes the right way, the pride, jealousy, and anger of the Pharisees pushed them to plot against Jesus

My conversation with the kids at Papergoods Pond ended on a cordial note and I moved on..

I have seen  them a couple of times since roaming around town.

A couple of days ago a whole bunch of them were sitting outside of Stop and Shop on those picnic tables and they waved to me before I waved to them...

How often do we ask the same questions as those kids.

One day a woman was said to me “come on fr. Robert the Church has to get with the times you guys gotta be more open and change all those rules.” as if God’s law is ours to change.

There’s a name for Catholics like that they are called them cafeteria Catholics… picking and choosing what they feel is important or convenient and leaving out the rest.

Let me assure you Robert’s law will not get you into heaven nor will it give you a better quality of life.

Only God’s law so us the way to the promised land only God’s Law.

How often do we allow ourselves to sit back on our laurels and say things like..

I keep the law.

I go to Mass

I don’t hurt anyone,

but still allow ourselves to be angry or bitter or to think we are better than other people just like the Pharisees.

No God’s law is not ours to change the only thing that we can and must change is our lives and our hearts.

When it comes to God’s law our only choice is to be faithful… no matter what the rest of the world is doing.

Help us love and help us live your Law O Lord

Amen

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - 2102

Once upon a time… a couple came to me and It was obvious that they were not happy.

When they came in the door they would not even look at each other.

It took them a while even to talk.

After I welcomed them for a long time we sat there in very uncomfortable silence.

Finally she said I simply can’t take it anymore. I can’t take it.

He just can’t accept that I love him or even worse he is manipulating me to get what he wants.

Over and over, day in and day out he asks me to prove my love for him by doing something

And no matter what I do or no matter what I say it is never enough for him never enough.

There is always another request he always wants more.

I don’t know how the story ended. After a few more words he simply got up and left and after a while I drove her home.

I never heard from them again.

The crowd in today’s Gospel witnessed an incredible miracle.

Jesus fed 5000 families with a few loaves and a few fish and there was an abundance of leftovers.

They all saw the little he had and they all knew that they had eaten well

They all say that there was even an abundance of leftovers.

But they missed the point of the whole experience

They did not recognize this miracle as a sign of God’s Presence or God’s  love

They did not understand that the miracle was that the Messiah, God’s chosen one was in their midst.

The miracle was the revelation that God himself was in their midst.

They simply wanted more bread and they thought they had found a way to get as much bread as they wanted and fill their empty stomachs

That was the reason they sought out Jesus and requested another sign.

They simply wanted more bread to eat.

How often is Jesus asked for a sign?

How often do the people of the Gospel say things like give us a sign and we will believe.

Frequently in the Gospel people ask him for a sign right after one has been given to them.

This Sunday the question each and everyone of us need to ask ourselves is; 

How often do we relate to God in the very same way

If I had a nickel for every time that someone said to me I pray and pray and pray and God doesn’t give me what I want. This would be a very rich parish indeed.

Prayer which only requests prayer which wnats

Prayer which demands a sign (“give me prayers” as one of our senior citizens calls they) betray a faith which only seeks or only wants.

I’ll love I’ll trust you as long as you give me what I want or what I think I want.

Sometimes, infact most to the time we pray As if God doesn’t know what we need and when we need it.

Yes Jesus said ask and your shall receive and seek and you shall find.

But if all we do is ask

If our prayers always start with phrases like I want, show me, prove to me.

Then there is something drastically wrong with our relationship with God just like there was something terribly wrong with the relationship between that sad young couple who came to my door one day.

In the most difficult of situations maybe our prayer could be Jesus I trust you

Or Jesus show me the way you would have me act.

May we pray to understand God’s will and live it to the best of our ability.

May we pray for the gift of self surrender

Let’s not work for things that perish, that rust, wear out or go stale

Let’s not pray and work for things that we have to throw away when the smell in the refigerator

Let us work instead for a life giving relationship with the God.

Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Only God understands our hunger and only a relationship with God can satisfy it.

Amen

The Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist

In the first reading (from the Vigil Mass) we heard one of the most beautiful passages in Sacred Scripture.

It is known as the call of the Prophet Jeremiah and in it God calls a young man to his prophetic service.

The words are so touching...

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

From the very first moment of his life God had a plan for Jeremiah.

From the very first moment of his life Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nations.

And just like Jeremiah,
God had a plan for John the Baptist.
God’s plan for John was also to be a prophet.

By his preaching and his simple humble life
John was to call people to repentance and conversion through baptism.

John the Baptist gave those who followed him  the hope that they could be better people.

And in his ministry John prepared a place for God in the hearts and minds of the people  who came to Him.  

John did indeed prepare the way of the Lord.

We all know that rather than renounce his mission as prophet John the Baptist surrendered his life.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you”

When God called Jeremiah he had every excuse in the book:
I’m too young.
I know not how to speak.
Who knows what else he said?

However, in the end he gave himself to God and God’s plan.

John the Baptist did the same hundreds of years later.

Good People,
God also has a plan for each one of us.
God needs every single one of us.
From the very first moment of our lives God had a plan for us.

There is a special place for each and every one of us in the puzzle of God’s loving providence.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you”

Those words were not only spoken to Jeremiah or John the Baptist they are also spoken to us.

And just like the prophet Jeremiah
sometimes we look for excuses.

I’m too old,
or I’m too young,
or I’m too busy,
I have other things to do (That’s a big one).
I assure you God never calls at a convenient time.
You should see me when the phone rings at 3:00 in the morning.
It is not a pretty sight but I answer and I go.

Sometimes when God calls people say,
I’m not holy enough,
or I’m not smart enough,
or that’s not what I want.

Sometimes we not only refuse God’s call for ourselves
we try and convince others to do the same.

Not too long ago I was walking at the Meridan Mall and a woman came up to me and said...

Aren’t you Fr. Robert?
When I said yes n she told me that her grandson is one of the new altar servers and was so excited.

Then she said that and one day he mentioned being a priest.

Then in a rather animated voice she told me..

I’m telling you right now Fr. Robert you will never ever make my grandson a priest.

That’s not want for my grandson and it is not going to happen.

I didn’t know what to say.

Certainly her grandson was too young to decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

I do know that our job is to help a person find God’s call not determine it for them.

From all of my years in Campus Minsitry I learned that when someone forces their dreams on a young person it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking
I answered God’s call and I’m all set.

I answered God’s call and
I got married and had a family.

I found the woman who would do my laundry for the rest of my life I answered God’s call.

I know I answered my call to be a priest...
I can’t imagine myself living my life in any other way.
I have never ever gone to bed at night with the thought of leaving..

I don’t smile all the time because only crazy people do that.

Truth be told,
God doesn’t call just once.
He calls us over and over again.

There are many vocations inside of our vocations.
I know I was called to be a Franciscan priest
but I also know that  was called to come to St. Paul Church in Kensington CT.

I admit I came to St. Paul with a lot of fear and trepidation.

There is always a dialog between the friar and the provincial when we are assigned but when I was asked to come there there was an extended dialog with Fr. Provincial regarding this assignment.

We as friars have the consolation of knowing that when we receive our letter of obedience it is indeed God’s Call.

And I have to say that with everything that has happened
and everything that we still have to face I am grateful for the chance to be here
to serve here
to get to know you and your families.

Being 100% truthful the only fly in the ointment for me is that my Mom is 421 miles away.

And I know part of my call is surrendering that worry and conern and offering it to God.

I know God loves her and God loves me
and I trust I have to trust that God holds her in the palm of his hand
and will send her the people she needs to care for her.

This is my call...

***********
All of you,
Rather all of us are called everyday over and over and over again.

All of us have calls within our calls.

God needs us until our very last breath and I assure you God will call us into his service until our very last breath.

All of us like the prophet Jeremiah and like John the Baptist must be attentive to God’s call.

When God calls you and when God calls me let’s say yes
and let’s help each other say yes.

Let’s say yes without fear (easier said than done)
Let’s say yes with trust (God won’t give us anything more than we can handle)

Let’s say yes even if we don’t understand and it makes no sense.
(Remember It’s God plan not ours)

Lets say yes filled with hope and anticipation.
(For following God’s will is often a great adventure.)

For God’s words to Jeremiah
and God’s words to John the Baptist
are also God’s word to you and God’s words to me.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you”

Amen

Trinity Sunday–Year B - 2012

Have you ever noticed that chairs have four legs.

When you study a chair you can figure out that its is to give us a place to sit.

They all have a big place for your
and all Chairs are meant to support us no matter which way we lean
that's why they have four legs.

A pitcher has one large opening at the top and a spout.

When you look at it carefully you can see that  a pitcher is meant to hold something and then to pour it out easily.

You can tell a lot about the purpose of a something by how it is made.

Today is Trinity Sunday and the Church calls us to reflect on the sacred mystery of the Trinity.

And when we contemplate the mystery of the trinity we learn not only about God but we also learn about ourselves.

The mystery of the Trinity as revealed to us  in the Scriptures  gives us a tiny insight into the very nature of God.

Scripture teaches us that there is
One God and this God  is Three Persons
God the Father – Creator  
God the Son – Savior
and God the Holy Spirit – Sanctifier

We also know from Scripture that  this one God in  three persons lives forever in communion and forever in love.

The love
the unity and the communion that
God the Father
and God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit
share with each other is so beautiful that it is beyond our understanding.

And perhaps the most amazing truth revealed to us is that we are created in the image and likeness of God.

Remember you can tell a lot about something or someone by how they were made.

Because we were created in the image and likeness of God.  

It follows in some small way that we too share in the love that exists between the God the Father
and God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever wondered why we love,  
Have you ever wondered why we are at our best when we love ?

Have you ever wondered why our desire to be in relationship is so strong?

Have you ever wondered why loneliness which is the lack of relationship is so difficult?

Have you ever wondered why we would gladly sacrifice ourselves for someone we love?

Our faith teaches us long for love and we long for communion because that’s how we were made.

We were created to live in communion with each other.

We long to love and be loved because God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit  loves and longs to be loved.

This desire to love and be loved,
this passionate need for communion with others is part of us.

It resides in the depths of our heart at the very core of our being.

Our desire to love and be loved is probably the strongest influence in our lives.

When we love, when we live to give ourselves away, like the Three persons of the Trinity, our lives can be truly heroic.

When  our desire for love is disordered and self seeking when we love only ourselves then we are capable of doing horrible things.

So holy ones as we contemplate the wonderful mystery of of the Most Holy Trinity.

Let us also see how we are made, who we are and who we were created to be.

And just like every chair has four legs so that it can hold us up.

And every pitcher has on large opening and a spout because it is was created to hold something and then pour it out.

Let us never forget that we are created to live in communion and love with God and with our neighbors.

And may our prayer be this day...

Thank you Lord for creating us  to love and be loved.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and every shall be world without end Amen.

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year - B 2012

May the peace of Christ Reign in our heart,

God has a funny sense of humor. Last week I was sitting in my rocker on the stoop and a man walking his dog went by.

We started talking as is often the case.
He was very friendly and of course the conversation quickly went to religion.

The gentleman was Catholic but doesn’t go to Church and he told me point blank why when he said...
“I don’t go to Church because all you priests talk about is love,
love this and love that....
It just gets old that’s all...
you heard it once you heard it a hundred times.”

I listened politely and then I went back into the friary to read the Gospel for this Sunday... and low and behold “agape” John the evangelist’s’ favorite word for love is mentioned 7 times in today’s Gospel...

And so I decided I better speak about prayer.

Toward the end of today’s Gospel Jesus says,
“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”

Obviously Jesus is talking about prayer...
When we speak to God,
when we give God glory or praise,
when we ask God anything we are praying.

And the only reason we pray is because we know that God loves us and we understand that God’s love like God Himself is forever.

God’s love like God  is infinite.

God’s love is not like our love.
It does not depend on God’s mood.
It is not dependent on how we act.
It does not grow cold or hot.

It is our  knowledge of God’s love for us that allows us to be filled with hope,
hope for better lives,
hope for holier lives.

A prayer uttered without any hope of being heard
or answered by God is a prayer that can never be fulfilled.

But as we learned from another Gospel passage, faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that there is more to prayer than just asking and receiving.

In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us to make our requests in His name.

We do this all the time when we end our prayers with a phrase like “we ask this through Christ our Lord.”

So if we must pray in Jesus’ name we can’t pray for things that Jesus would not approve of.

We can’t pray for a selfish ambition or greedy reasons.
We can’t pray that God favor us over someone else.

Obviously the Our Father or the perfect prayer teaches us that every prayer must contain a statement of trust and or surrender to God’s will.

And so every prayer must contain a statement like
“thy will be done” or “thank you for hearing my prayer” or
as St. Faustina used to say “Jesus I trust you”

“Thy will be done” means our prayer should never be our attempt to change God’s will as if we know better.

As William Barclay a biblical scholar said
with prayer we should always try to discern God’s will in our lives and accept God’s will in our lives.

Finally we must never pray as if no one else matters.

Our prayer can never be a string of self-centered requests.
Sometimes when we pray for a sunny day there is a farmer who is also loved by God just as much as God loves us prays for rain.

Only when we grow in the habit of praying for the good of all will our prayer be authentic.

Only when our interests transcend ourselves can we begin to love and call ourselves God’s friends.      

Amen

3rd Sunday of Easter Year–B 2012

I would like to look at three  profound truths of our faith found in today’s readings.

First of all the today’s readings remind us that God’s plan to save our world always involved suffering love.

The cross was not a mistake. It was not something forced on God. Suffering love was God’s choice and God tried to prepare humanity for this choice throughout salvation history.

In the first reading from Luke the author of the Acts of the Apostles  tries to explain this to his readers.

In the Gospel Jesus explains once again for the umpteenth time that the  Messiah had to suffer and die.

Jesus submitted to the Cross because it was the will of His Father and with His suffering love on the Cross Jesus paid the price of our sins.

No matter how many times Jesus had explained this to them and no matter how clearly Moses and the prophets and the psalms had foretold this profound truth, the disciples and the people of Jesus’ time just did see the cross coming.

Jesus’ followers and the people of His time held on to their misconception for dear life. They thought that salvation was just about getting their political independence back, they were convinced that the messiah was sent simply for the restoration of Israel’s political independence, not the salvation of the world.

This misconception proved a serious stumbling block to their faith.
I would almost say a grave stumbling block for their faith in Jesus.

The second profound truth of our faith is this.
The Cross was not the end of the story.
Jesus rose from the dead.

Death did not win, sin did not win, evil did not win.
The tomb was empty indeed and Jesus was alive.

In today’s Gospel passage Jesus went out of his way to make sure that the disciples and those who would follow them knew this profound truth.

He presented himself to them and interacted with them and went so far as to eat something to prove that he was not a ghost or a spirit but rather had indeed risen from the dead.

Next He showed them his hand and his feet, and the scars of the cross to prove he was not someone who looked like Jesus.
If Jesus had not risen,
and If the tomb was not empty,
if the early Church had not been absolutely convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead we would not be sitting here now.

The power of  resurrection faith transformed the disciples and gave them new hope and new courage.

After the resurrection they were no longer afraid, rather they boldly proclaimed that what Jesus said and what Jesus did was true
Tradition teaches us that their faith so transformed them that all but one of the Apostles chose suffering love over life and died martyrs for their faith.

The third and last truth I would like to mention is this.
Jesus had every right to be hurt or angry or disappointed in his dear friends

He had walked with them and laughed with them.
He had depended on them and they had depended on him.
He knew and loved their families
He had worked miracles in their sight and gave them incredible insights into God’s love for them and God’s plan for them.

But they all abandoned him.
It is important to notice that the first words out of His mouth after the resurrection were not words of reproach
or even disappointment
rather they were words of encouragement and hope.

“Peace be with you” he said.

Dear friends good people.
The people of Jesus’ time were not the only ones burdened with misconceptions about God and his presence in our lives.

So often we look on God as some kind of slot machine where if we ask long enough or pray long enough or play long enough we will get what we ask for.

Many people think that our faith is about our own little needs and our own little wants rather than the salvation of the whole world.
Quite frankly I’ve heard people say I prayed and God didn’t give me what I asked for so I don’t believe anymore.

People in this boat don’t see God as Father and source of all life
People who think this way don’t understand that every moment of our life is a gift from God.

They just don’t see that God is to be thanked and praised rather than peppered with our wants and desires.

Next as followers of Jesus
If we think that we can go through our lives somehow spared from suffering we are sadly mistaken.

God was willing to give his life away
and so must we be willing to surrender to suffering love.
Love is God’s call for us and suffering love is the Highest form of love,
suffering love is the way that God loved us.

When suffering love comes our way we must not run and hide like the Apostle but we must embrace it like Jesus, God Himself, accepted it.

Lastly
Holy ones our entire faith rests on the resurrection…
After the resurrection the faith of the Apostles changed.

We are the post resurrection followers of Christ yet quite frequently we act like the pre resurrection disciples afraid to give any public witness to our faith in Jesus Christ.

Our love for the world
and the proclamation of our faith must be bold
we must live our lives, and profess our faith,  without fear but rather filled with hope.

For when Jesus said
“You are witnesses to these thing”

He wasn’t only speaking to the Apostles he was also speaking to us.

Let us meditate on God’s place in our lives

Let us embrace the cross and accept the suffering love which comes our way.

Let us be bold and confident post resurrection Apostles of our Lord Jesus.

For we are indeed witnesses to these things.
How we love your word O Lord.
Amen

2nd Sunday of Easter–Year B 2012

Two moments stand out in today’s Gospel.

The first is what Catholics believe is  the institution of the sacrament of Confession.

“Jesus breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you hold bound are held bound.” (John 20:21)

We  believe that with these words Jesus gave the Apostles and those who follow after them the power to forgive sins.

All of us are sinners.
all of us make mistakes.

There have been moments in each of our lives when we have chosen not love not to share not to give.

Many of us carry the burden of our mistakes for a long time.
I have met women who mourn their children lost to the plague of abortion for years and year and years.

I have met men who live with the regret of past sins and try as they might can never seem to get beyond them.
Sometimes they seem doomed to repeat them over and over again.

Jesus understand us,
he understands that we need an clear and infallible way of knowing that our sins are forgiven.  

So many people pray and pray and pray for forgiveness in the silence of their heart but remain burdened and broken.

And so when Jesus  rose from the dead he gave the Church the power to heal and the power to forgive.

Confession is not something that the priest made up to hear people’s secrets.

Believe me there are only so many variations on a theme.

When we hear the words of Absolution in confessions Confession God is simply telling us I’ll never give up on you.

Confession is God’s way of picking us up and dusting us off.
As you have heard me say so many times... God is reckless with his mercy.

God is reckless indeed.
Please write this on your heart.
When you hear the words of absolution your sins are gone.

The other moment which pops out when you read this Gospel is Thomas’ encounter with the risen Lord.

Some might say oh that’s the doubting Thomas Gospel and I’ve heard that before.

Yes Thomas doubted but tradition tells us that there was more to him than his doubt.

Thomas is mentioned twice in the Gospel of St. John
After the rising of Lazarus from the dead Jesus announced that they would be returning to Judea where the Jews had previously tried to stone him.

The other Apostles were afraid to go but not Thomas.
He said... “Let us go and die with him.”

Thomas was more than his doubt and after his encounter with Jesus his profession of faith was strong and immediate.
My Lord and My God.

Tradition has it that he would later suffer martyrdom rather than renounce his faith in our Lord.

We have to be so careful that we don’t judge people by one moment or one mistake or one action.

We have to be careful that we don’t judge ourselves in the light of one moment or one failure or one action.

Jesus did not give up on Thomas but he encountered him where he was and called him to more.

We can’t give up on people but like Jesus must encounter them where they are and call them to more.

That’s what love demands and that’s what God’s mercy demands.

Pope John Paul II declared today the Second Sunday of Easter Mercy Sunday. It’s fitting the Gospel certainly speaks of God’s incredible mercy.

Mercy Sunday is a day when all Catholic should meditate on and great comfort in the Loving Mercy of God

St. Faustina a religious nun who lived in the first half of the 20 century was gifted by God with the task of proclaiming to world the loving His loving unfailing mercy.

Mercy was Thomas’ for the asking because Jesus knew that Thomas was more than his doubts.

Mercy is ours for the asking...
for Jesus said
“Receive the Holy Spirit who sins you forgive are forgiven them whose sins you hold bound are held bound. “

The World doesn’t need us to re writing God’s law proclaiming this is not a sin and that is not a sin like they used to do in the 70s when I was growing up.

Rather the world needs a greater understanding of God’s law  and a desire to share his mercy with each and everyone of us after each and every one of our sins.

Amen

Easter Vigil 2012

A few moments ago the bells rang out from our bell tower.

They did not toll rather they peeled,
and from the sound that echoed around town,
it was easy to discern that something special was going on at St. Paul’s, something joyous.

Once after a school mass I rang the bells as the kids walked back to school and as the kindergarteners came out of Church I asked them what those bells meant and a little boy responded the “Church is happy.”

Yes the Church is happy and our Church is happy tonight, very happy.

Tonight we gathered in vigil to meditate on the Word of God.

Tonight we will baptize two beautiful children Brittany and Gary.

Tonight after a year of preparation we will welcome Thomas into full communion.

Tonight after a year of preparation we will confirm Sebastian in his Catholic faith.

A very special thank you to Fr. Raymond and the RCIA Team that helped prepare them for these special moments.

And tonight everyone including two more beautiful children Tyler and  Kyle will make their first communions.

Our Church our parish has great reason to be happy tonight.

Someone passing by might ask themselves what are they so happy about at St. Paul’s the economy is bad, gas prices are up... the world’s a mess.

And every once in a while it is also appropriate for all of us to ask ourselves that very same question.
Why are we happy ?
What is the reason for our joy ?

During this beautiful Triduum of prayers,
we have commemorated the institution of the incredible gift of the Eucharist Christ’s living sacrificial presence among us. We have reason to be happy.

For the last few days we have walked with our Lord on his way to Calvary reverenced the Cross and meditated on his passion and death.
God so loved the world. We have reason to be happy.

Many of us have taken stock of ourselves and our own brokenness.

Some even made their Easter duty and went to confession and experienced the healing forgiveness of God’s mercy. We have reason to be happy.

The Church is happy tonight because we know that resurrection confirms everything that Jesus said and did.

Death doesn’t win.
Sin doesn’t win.
Despair doesn’t win.

When all seemed lost in darkness and anger and violence
the Light of our Risen Lord appeared in our world,
just like the light of our paschal candle appeared in the darkness of this church.

We know that the light of faith given to us by our Lord will always sustain us even in our darkest moments.

Holy ones... the Easter message doesn’t take away all of the challenges and trials of this life rather,
Easter reminds us that there is always hope, hope for something better.

As the women made their way to the tomb they were overcome with grief but they were determined to anoint His body because they loved Him.

The Apostles Jesus’ dearest friends were so overcome with grief and fear that they were in hiding and wouldn’t even show their faces.

But once they encountered the empty tomb their lives were changed forever.

Their meeting with the angel changed everything

They understood that the power of Jesus’ suffering love on the cross had conquered even death itself.

The experience of the resurrection took away their fear and challenged them to go out... and share the good news.

“Go and tell the others and Peter” the Angel said
and that’s what they did and the world has never been the same.

And we are sitting in this church right now because they did as they were told.

Filled with hope,
filled with joy,
Guided by the very light of Christ as we go through life
let us go and do the same.

Someone is waiting,
someone desperately needs to hear the reason for our joy.

After this night of prayer and vigil let us leave this Church with a new and certain hope of God’s promise and God’s love.

He is risen
Alleluia
Amen

Palm Sunday Year B - 2012

As we just heard in the powerful reading of the Passion Jesus encountered many people on his way to Calvary.

There was the crowd that welcomed Him to Jerusalem in triumph  then screamed crucified him when he stood before Pilate.

There was the woman who begged for forgiveness and anointed Jesus with expensive oil.

There was the anonymous man who gave Jesus and his friends the upper room for their last Passover together.

There were his disciples, his dearest friends, who filled with fear abandoned him  as soon as there was trouble.

There was Judas who was filled with a tragic mixture pride and died lonely and broken in despair.

There were the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees who only thought about themselves and were worried about their power and prestige.

There was the woman at the fire, a gossip, who taunted Peter to deny Jesus.

There was Peter who overcome with fear denied his dearest friend and wept bitterly because of it.

There was Pilate who didn't care about the truth but was only concerned about satisfying the crowd and keeping peace.

There were the Roman guards who cruelly made sport of Jesus and whipped and scourged Him.

There was Simon of Cyrene who when pressed into service helped carry the cross.

There were the people who taunted him as he hung in agony on the cross.

There were the women and the youngest disciple who remained faithful to him to the end.

My dear friends there is a little bit of each one of those people, in each and everyone of us.

Sometimes we are eager to love and help others..
Sometimes we are filled with pride and anger.

Sometimes we care about the truth and sometimes the truth doesn't matter at all..

Sometimes we go with the crowd even when they are wrong simply because it’s easier.

Jesus knew each and every one of those people he encountered those last few days of his life and yet he loved all of them.

Jesus knows everyone of us,
and everything about us and he loves us too.

He loves us so much that Last Supper He gave us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist and He chose to die for us paying the price of our sins, a price which was not His to pay.

This week we have some unique opportunities to know more about Jesus and his love for us.

On Monday there are our Easter Confessions. I hope many of you chose to attend especially  if it’s been a long time since you’ve gone to confession.

I love giving someone absolution especially when they’ve been away from the sacrament a long time.

On Tuesday there is the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral my Dad always took our family to the Chrism Mass we never missed it. At this Mass the Archbishop blesses the oil for all of the sacraments celebrated in the coming year.

On Thursday we can mediate on Holy Eucharist and the saving power of humble service.

On Friday once again we can meditate on the cross it’s power over sin and death.

On Saturday we can keep vigil at the most sacred liturgy of the year the Easter Vigil.

This year our parish will have 2 baptisms and we will receive two fine young men into the Church.

If you’ve never been to the Easter Vigil I promise you, it’s beautiful and rich in symbolism, The Easter Vigil  is timeless and ancient, some of the prayer date back to the very beginning of the Church.

I encourage you to make your Holy Week Holy by participating in these most special moments in the prayer life of the Church.

May we walk together on these most holy days.
Amen

The Mandate…

It has always been my practice to preach on the readings of the day and the only time I’ve ever varied from that was the business report that you give the parish once a year.

Recently I attended a meeting with Archbishop Mansell and during the meeting he spoke about the new Health and Human Services Mandate and its implication for Catholic institutions in our country.

How many of you know what that it ?

For those who don’t know what I am talking about It seems that the government has decided that that all employers including religious institutions will be mandated to provide contraception and abortifacients in their health care plans.

This clearly goes against both our religious conscience and our religious freedom.

It true that there are exemptions in the  mandate for religious institutions  when the majority of people employed are of the same faith.

However, in our larger institutions like hospitals and universities it puts our church in a terrible place because it either means that we don’t hire non Catholics who might be best suited for the job or that we violate our conscience... by provide medications and procedures which violate our conscience.

If we compromise on this principle one has to wonder what will come next.

I can’t imagine signing a check that would pay for medication that would kill a baby... I just can’t do it and I won’t do it even if it is the law.

Some of you might be thinking to yourselves I don’t want to come to church and hear the priest talk about government policies.

I know my email box is going to fill up with complaints and I know my voice mail will too.

I’m willing to accept that.

I assure I am making these comments only after a lot of prayer and discernment.

A homily is supposed to take the Gospel and apply it to our everyday lives and circumstances.

Good people I feel compelled to look at  this mandate from the federal government in the light of the Gospel of our Lord.

This is not a partisan issue. I believe that there are both democrats and republicans who are for and against this mandate.

This is simply the matter of a government agency making a radical change to our constitution by forcing us to violate our conscience.

Never before has the government put itself so clearly in between our conscience and our God.

When our founding fathers wrote the separation of church and state into our constitution  it simply meant there would be no recognized national church.

During our meeting Archbishop Mansell expressed grave concern about the whole situation and he begged the priests present to speak about it and make sure their congregations knew what was going on.

After listening to him I  admit I studied the mandate even more and now I almost feel guilty that I did not bring this to your attention early.

This week I have included a fact sheet in the bulletin so that those who wish can inform themselves more about the mandate.

I promise to put a  bunch of links on our website  which will explain the HHS Mandate and its implications for the free practice of our faith here in the United States we all love.

I know that you will agree we must always remain faithful to the Gospel not matter what the cost.

I am sure you will also agree that Catholics have always tried to be faithful citizens of our great country .

This mandate will place us all in a  most difficult situation because it is the  the first time our government seems to be inserting itself between our individual conscience and our faithfulness to God’s Word.

There is an old latin say which goes like this
Qui tacet consentit

He who is silent consents...

I can’t remain silent anymore I fear I have been silent too long.

Thank you for listening

God bless you all and God bless America.
Amen