St. Mary Church | Homilies

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy), Year A

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:25:08 GMT

It is said that when Oliver Cromwell had his official portrait painted, he asked that it be a true portrait with “warts and all”.

You may say that the resurrected Christ appeared with “wounds and all”. Here is the resurrected Christ in his glorified body, who could pass through locked doors, appearing with the wounds of his crucifixion. He is resurrected, not simply resuscitated, in his glorified body still bearing the marks of his passion and death.

Why, if he is in his perfect resurrected body, does Jesus still bear the marks of his passion and death?

It is an interesting paradox that the woundedness of our lives can be what makes us who we are. There is a story told about a man in therapy:

When he first met the counselor, he was asked to draw a picture of himself; he drew a picture of a vase with a crack in its side. After many years of therapy, the counselor showed the man the picture he had drawn. The man asked for use of the crayons. He took a yellow crayon and drew yellow strips just above the crack in the vase. When asked why he did that he told the counselor, “The crack is where the light can get in.”

Leonard Cohen summed it up well in his song “Anthem”:

There is a crack, a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

By showing the apostles his wounds, Jesus is reminding them that the wounds, the pain is not the end of the story. Many of us bear wounds from our past; they are what make us who we are. Part of the journey is the struggle. When we reach our destination, we can look back and see how the struggles made us who we are.

Elbert Hubbard, the founder of the Roycrofters, once said, “God will not look you over for medals but for scars.”

I am sure the disciples looked over the past three years and saw how the struggles made a difference; their time with Jesus made them new people.

The Great Easter Vigil, Year A

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 18:42:28 GMT

Growing up on the family dairy farm, there were many difficult things we experienced. Certainly, there was much hard, physical labor. But among the hardest things we experienced was caring for sick animals, and in particular, caring for cows that had been injured or lost muscle strength and were unable to get themselves up to a standing position. This typically would happen around the time of calving and might be due to a nerve injury during birth or mineral and metabolic imbalances that affected muscle strength. We called them “down cows”.

What was so hard about dealing with down cows was really two things: one, the size of the animals — often 1000 lbs. or more — made it difficult, if not impossible, for us to help them physically if they had little or no muscle strength of their own. Secondly, and more profound, was the emotional burden that weighed upon us as their caregivers. We wanted them to get better and be back on their feet. We loved our animals, as all farmers do, and we wanted the best for them. Although we could help them with support therapies and medicine with help from our veterinarian and made sure they had feed and water at all times, it felt like there was only so much in our control. And the longer a cow was down, the less likely it would be that she would ever rise again. Some never did. That outcome happened frequently enough that it was a real possibility. And there is nothing that was more discouraging for us as farmers than a cow we could not help to get better. It cast a pall over our days and robbed us of hope and joy — really, robbing us of life — replacing them instead with weary discouragement.

Late one Lent going into Holy Week, we had one of these down cows. It was a year not unlike this one, with the signs of spring beginning to emerge in early April. My father used to say the best thing we could do for a down cow was to get her out of the barn and out onto the earth in the fields or pasture, where there was no concrete and better footing. So we did, and we were able to get this cow out of the barn and into the hayfield behind the barn. There, day after day, we would take her food and water, administer medicine to her, and roll her over from side to side, to make sure she did not lose circulation in one hindquarter or another. If she seemed like she wanted to get up, we would try to get enough people to see if we could help her get up. Although she ate and drank, she did not get up, and as Holy Week wore on, it felt like she wasn’t going to. That discouragement set in as a constant droning undertone to everything we did throughout the day, seemingly getting louder with each passing day. Whether we were thinking about that down cow consciously or not, it seemed to affect our outlook and demeanor in everything we did.

Late one night that week, my father, brother and I were finishing evening milking. It was after dark; we were at the far end of the barn, near the door going out to the hayfield. As I came out from between two cows holding the milking machine, I turned towards the open barn door and was shocked when I found myself face to face with the previously down cow, standing there, head poked in the barn door, chewing her cud! I shouted to my father, “Dad, she’s up!” We all ran over to the barn door, peering into the darkness of that night to see this risen cow. I will never forget what my father said next, turning to us and smiling:

“Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised.”

In that instant our demeanor changed. The discouragement was gone and we were filled with joy and hope. There was a lightness in our step as we finished chores that night and the following days. We knew the end of the story, and this illness was not to end in death. Everything was going to be OK!

I have to imagine our Passion and Easter experience on the farm those many years ago was something of what the disciples experienced when they encountered the empty tomb, the message of the angels, and ultimately the Risen Christ. I have to imagine that joy and hope that we felt that night was some small measure of the joy and hope that filled and animated them when they encountered the Risen Christ, whom they deeply loved and who deeply loved them. They finally knew the end of the story, and came to know that it did not end with death.

Brothers and sisters, we too have the benefit of knowing the end of the story. We too know that it does not end in death, but in Christ triumphing over death, not only for himself, but also for us! It is this rising to new life that we celebrate in every Mass, in every Eucharist, in every Sacrament, and especially tonight, as we celebrate with our Elect their rising to new life with Christ in the waters of Baptism. So let us be filled with Easter joy and hope, as we should be, for we know the end of the story: He has Risen, He has Truly Risen, and we with Him!

Good Friday, Year A

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:19:29 GMT

A parent of a young child recently shared with me that their child asked a simple, yet profound question: “Why do we call it Good Friday?” A good question to consider, indeed.

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is betrayed by one of his disciples?

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is handed over to authorities and arrested and treated as a criminal?

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is abandoned by His disciples?

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is denied by a disciple?

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is scourged, brutally and bloodily tortured?

Why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is painfully crowned, mocked and beaten?

And why do we call it Good Friday when our Lord is rejected by those he came to save, and put to death by crucifixion?

In all of these sinful human acts, in what is done and what is failed to be done, there is nothing good. But there is a fundamental Good on this day in the sacrificial giving of God and the obedience of Christ, who despite the betrayal, abandonment and abuse, rejection, and torture to death, remains faithful to the Father and steadfast to us.

God the Father gives, without holding back, his only begotten Son for our sake, providing the Sacrificial Lamb, once and for all. God, who in effect says to us, “I love you so much; see how much I love you, that I give the life of my only begotten Son that you might be healed, restored, redeemed, and brought to Eternal Life with us!”

And Christ, God the Son, willingly and obediently accepts the rejection and suffering and sacrifice of His life: all of which is His Passion, all of which is the eternal sacrifice of the Father. He does not turn away but remains steadfast in his commitment to our salvation. It is Christ who, in effect, says to us, “I love you so much. Even though rejected and wounded, I do not turn away from you. I will never turn away from you, and I will not abandon you. Ever. I give you my body -- my flesh, my blood -- that you might have life, and have it more abundantly. I want you to live, truly live!”

In the actions of God the Father and Jesus Christ is nothing more, and nothing less than this: so great a Love for us that they would go to these lengths, give so deeply, endure this suffering, make this final sacrifice once and for all of time, in the face of rejection, sin, and death. To triumph over rejection, sin and death. Two thousand years ago and here, today, for our sake, that we might be restored, redeemed, made whole, one with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with each other.

And that is why it is called Good Friday.

Palm Sunday, Year A

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 19:02:13 GMT

Today is BOGO Mass -- we have two gospel readings. The first came just after we blessed palms and before we processed into the church. The second came during the Liturgy of the Word and was the narrative of the passion and death of Jesus.

Both have a different feel; the first tells the story of why we bless palms on this day, how Jesus arrived on a donkey and the people wave palms as he entered the city. The second gospel tells what happened after Jesus came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city where he was crucified and died.

As Jesus enters the city the people wave palms and shout,

Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest. (Matthew 21:9)

This word Hosanna has a meaning different than what we may expect. The word may be translated as 'Save now’. This is the cry of an oppressed people, a cry for deliverance and in their day of trouble. It is an oppressed people’s cry to their savior and king. This word is taken from Psalm 118:

This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice in it and be glad.

LORD, grant salvation!

LORD, grant good fortune! (Psalm 118:24-25)

As with the disciples, the people were expecting a messiah who would overthrow the Romans. When they realize Jesus is not a messiah who will overthrow the Roman occupiers their cry soon turns into “Crucify him”. It is only in hindsight that we see that the action of Jesus on the cross is about salvation. This will become clear as we journey through Holy Week. On Good Friday we will venerate the torture device that has become a sign of hope for all place faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

When I helped with youth retreats, the lunch on Sunday was lasagna, since it could be made beforehand and heated up for lunch. As the retreat team served lunch they sang, “Lasagna in the highest.” After spending a weekend reflecting on the love of our God, we could sing with joy, “Lasagna in the highest.”

On this day we sing, "Hosanna in the highest.”

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 18:03:59 GMT

And Jesus wept.

These three words are a pivot point in the Gospel passage we hear today. A pivot point between Jesus prophesying about the resuscitation of Lazarus, prophesying about the promise of eternal life for His believers, and testifying to His Divine nature as the Resurrection and the Life. A pivot point between Christ’s prophecy and testimony and Christ acting in His Divine nature as God the Son, calling Lazarus out of the sleep of death, out of the tomb, resuscitating him to life. And in that pivot point, in those three words — “And Jesus wept” — is the fullness of the humanity of Christ.

For we profess a God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is fully Divine and fully human. And what could be more human than to weep? Biblical scholars note that the word “wept,” translated from the original Greek term, in this Gospel means literally that he burst into tears; he is sobbing. It is not the same Greek term used to describe the weeping of Mary and Martha, which is translated as crying and wailing aloud. Jesus’ is a more quiet grief expressed by a profuse flowing of tears. In His incarnation Jesus took on flesh to become one of us, fully human — and there may be no more profound expression of Jesus’ humanity than his sobbing at the tomb of Lazarus. Psalm 116 tells us that “Dear in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his devoted one” (Ps 116:15). What more dear, more sincere way could God express his love for us than to weep for His beloved, to weep for us?

There was a very popular 1970s television war comedy-drama called M*A*S*H . Most of us here today know and remember that television series well; some of us grew up with it. For those of you who have never heard of M*A*S*H , it was a series set in the 4077th M obile A rmy S urgical H ospital — hence M*A*S*H — operating in the early 1950s in Korea during the Korean War. It was humorous, punctuated with the quick verbal wit of Drs. Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John McIntyre, and BJ Hunnicutt — and, at the same time, it was also poignant, laying bare the suffering of humanity — physically, emotionally, and spiritually — amidst the tragedy of war. In one episode, the 4077th receives a wounded soldier with a superficial head wound who has no dog tags. When asked what his identity is, the soldier responds that he is Jesus Christ, and continues to insist so in a calm manner to all who approach and ask him in the hospital ward.

The staff learn through Army intelligence that this man was a highly decorated bombardier named Captain Arnold Chandler, a farm boy from Idaho who had flown over 50 bombing missions in North Korea before his B-29 bomber was shot down. Believing this man might be deeply wounded psychologically, the 4077th doctors bring in the Army psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman to evaluate him. In the poignant exchange between Dr. Freedman and the man, Sidney asks the man how long he has known his true identity, that of Arnold Chandler, and then goes on to give him a short synopsis of his life and military career. The man responds to a series of questions, stating that he is not Captain Chandler, that he is not from Idaho, and that he is not a bombardier and gently insists, “I am Christ the Lord.” Sidney, going along with the new identity, counters by saying, “But you died,” to which the man responds, “I rose”. Sidney replies, “That was a long time ago. Where have you been since then?” The man responds, “I live on in all [mankind].” Sidney then asks, “What are you doing here in an army hospital?” The man responds, “I’m Christ. Where should I be?” Countering the man’s question, Sidney asks further, “Should you be in the nose of a B-29, dropping bombs?” The man responds, “Bombs. On people?” At this, the expression on the man’s face becomes troubled. Sidney replies, “On the enemy,” to which the man responds, “I have no enemies. I love all men.” Sidney counters, asking “Even the North Koreans?” The man looks up, away from Sidney, tears welling in his eyes; now deeply troubled, he says, “They’re my children. Why would I hurt my children?” A tear runs down his cheek.

And Jesus wept.

Do you suppose Jesus Christ, our Resurrected and Ascended, fully Divine and still fully Human Lord, weeps today?

Does He weep for his children who fight and destroy, who suffer, hurting and killing each other today?

I suppose He does.

Jesus is wounded and suffers in and through his Body, that is, all of us, through whom he lives on. All of us, made in the image and likeness of God. We, who are God’s handiwork. We, who are God’s creation.

O Jesus, may your grief and weeping give us to know that the actions of humanity hurt you. May the well-spring of your tears be the living waters that extinguish our thirst for anger, animosity, revenge, and violence. May they be the waters that wash away our blindness, healing us, reviving us to life again. May the tears that well up from your eyes wash over us like the waters that flowed from your side upon the Cross. And may your tears fall upon us like the rains of the Great Flood, flow over us like the waters of baptism, and make an end of our vice and a new beginning of our virtue.

And Jesus weeps.

Third Sunday of Lent, Year A

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:09:43 GMT

Today we are given an image of a disciple, an evangelizer. The woman at the well becomes a disciple as she meets Jesus.

We are tempted to consider her a sinful woman, because she comes to the well at mid-day rather than when it is cool in the morning. Is she avoiding others because of her sins? Does she use more water than others and need to come to the well more frequently?

It doesn’t matter why she is there at midday. The important thing is her encounter with Jesus. No matter her past, the woman goes on to be a disciple. I love the line at the end of the gospel:

Many more began to believe in him because of his word,

and they said to the woman,

“We no longer believe because of your word;

for we have heard for ourselves,

and we know that this is truly the savior of the world. (John 4:41-42)

The woman has no name, so this means we are all the woman. Becoming a disciple begins with meeting Jesus. Our Elect and candidates have been meeting Jesus for a long time and now they are preparing to be welcomed into the body of Christ through Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Like the woman at the well, they will be given living water. They, like the woman, will preach knowing Jesus by the way they live their lives.

The gospel story tells of the faith journey of a woman. Many of us are here because of the example of a woman. When we read the scriptures and history, we discover women who have, like the woman at the well, told others about Jesus. We have been reading from the book of Exodus and I am amazed at the faith of the midwives who saved the Israelite children because they chose to listen to God rather than the pharaoh (Exodus 1:15-21). This week we honored St. Catherine Drexel, who chose to minister with the blacks and native Americans in our country. And what about the 'new Moses', Harriet Tubman, who led so many to freedom in the 19th century.

In this season of Lent we are all invited to thirst for living water. Like the woman at the well, many will come to know Christ by the way we live our lives. Let us pray we may go forward to be good disciples.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:24:52 GMT

The last line of our gospel speaks of saying yes and saying no:

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’. (Matthew 5:37)

When we say ‘yes’ to one thing, we may be saying ‘no’ to another. Sometimes our choices are among goods. We may need to prayerfully consider what to say ‘yes’ to. The words of Jesus imply that once we have made a choice, we need to stick with it. Too often we say ‘yes’ and later regret what we said ‘yes’ to. It may take time to grow into the choice we have made. We may need to stick with it for a time, and in time, our choice may feel right. When I took on my first assignment as a pastor, Bishop Hubbard advised me, “Make no large decisions the first year.” I found this to be sage advice. I found it takes time to get to know others and to find my way. Those who are in recovery are advised not to enter into any new relationships in their first year of recovery. This is also sage advice; the first year is about focusing on a new life of recovery, it is not the time to begin a new relationship. In time things make sense. I recall the words of Tevye and Golde in Fiddler on the Roof :

(Tevye) "Golde I'm asking you a question..."
Do you love me?

(Golde) You're a fool

(Tevye) "I know..."
But do you love me?

(Golde) Do I love you?
For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

(Tevye) Golde, The first time I met you
Was on our wedding day
I was scared

(Golde) I was shy

(Tevye) I was nervous

(Golde) So was I

(Tevye) But my father and my mother
Said we'd learn to love each other
And now I'm asking, Golde
Do you love me?

(Golde) I'm your wife

(Tevye) "I know..."
But do you love me?

(Golde) Do I love him?
For twenty-five years I've lived with him
Fought him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that's not love, what is?

(Tevye) Then you love me?

(Golde) I suppose I do

(Tevye) And I suppose I love you too

(Both) It doesn't change a thing
But even so
After twenty-five years
It's nice to know.

The most important ‘yes’ we make is a ‘yes’ to the Lord. It may take time to figure out what this may entail. This was true for Mary when she said ‘yes’ to the angel. Jospeh also had to say ‘yes’. Neither knew where that ‘yes’ would take them, and so it is for us. I am reminded of the words of Michel Quoist in his book Prayers of Life :

Help Me to Say ‘Yes’

I am afraid of saying ‘Yes,’ Lord.
Where will you take me?
I am afraid of drawing the longer straw,
I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement,
I am afraid of the ‘yes’ that entails other ‘yeses.’

And yet I am not at peace.
You pursue me, Lord, you besiege me.
I seek out the din for fear of hearing you, but in a moment of silence you slip through.
I turn from the road, for I have caught sight of you, but at the end of the path you are there awaiting me.
Where shall I hide? I meet you everywhere.
Is it then impossible to escape you?

But I am afraid to say ‘Yes,’ Lord.
I am afraid of putting my hand in yours, for you hold on to it.
I am afraid of meeting your eyes, for you can win me.
I am afraid of your demands, for you are a jealous God.
I am hemmed in, yet I hide.
I am captured, yet I struggle, and I fight knowing that I am defeated.
For you are the stronger, Lord, you own the world and you take it from me.
When I stretch out my hand to catch hold of people and things, they vanish before my eyes.
It's no fun, Lord, I can't keep anything for myself.
The flower I pick fades in my hands.
My laugh freezes on my lips.
The waltz I dance leaves me restless and uneasy.
Everything seems empty,
Everything seems hollow,
You have made a desert around me.
I am hungry and thirsty,
And the whole world cannot satisfy me.

And yet I loved you, Lord; what have I done to you?
I worked for you; I gave myself for you.
O great and terrible God,
What more do you want?

* * *

Son, I want more for you and for the world.
Until now you have planned your actions, but I have no need of them.
You have asked for my approval, you have asked for my support, you have wanted to interest me in your work.
But don't you see, son, that you were reversing the roles?
I have watched you, I have seen your good will,
And I want more than you, now.
You will no longer do your own works, but the will of your Father in heaven.

Say ‘Yes,’ son.
I need your ‘yes’ as I needed Mary's ‘yes’ to come to earth,
For it is I who must do your work,
It is I who must live in your family,
It is I who must be in your neighborhood, and not you.
For it is my look that penetrates, and not yours,
My words that carry weight, and not yours,
My life that transforms, and not yours.
Give all to me, abandon all to me.
I need your ‘yes’ to be united with you and to come down to earth,
I need your ‘yes’ to continue saving the world!

* * *

O Lord, I am afraid of your demands, but who can resist you?
That your Kingdom may come and not mine,
That your will may be done and not mine,
Help me to say ‘Yes.’

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 16:53:58 GMT

Deacon Greg Kandra tells the story of meeting a person who chose to convert to the Catholic faith. He asked why this person chose to convert and was told, "because of my boss.” Deacon Kandra asked why and was told, “He seemed to glow with the light of God and I decided I wanted what he had.”

I am reminded of the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” It is not the words that attract people to the Lord; often it is how we live our lives that makes the difference. Jesus reminds us not to hide our light under a basket.

The prophet Isaiah gives us a list of how we shine our light in the world:

Share your bread with the hungry,

shelter the oppressed and the homeless;

clothe the naked when you see them,

and do not turn your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn... (Isaiah 58:7-8)

Many will stand on soap boxes and proclaim how good they are. It is not their words that speak to us but their actions. This is what Emerson is speaking about and what that person’s boss proclaimed. They did not hide their lamp but let their good works speak for them.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta spoke about this in her poem Anyway :

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

(Inscribed on the wall of Mother Teresa's children's home in Calcutta)

In these cold dark days, we are invited to share the warmth and light of the spirit of our God with those who we meet.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 20:01:59 GMT

THE SEARCH

by Shel Silverstein

I went to find a pot of gold

That's waiting where the rainbow ends.

I searched and searched and searched and searched

And searched and searched, and then—

There it was, deep in the grass,

Under an old and twisty bough.

It's mine, it's mine, it's mine at last....

What do I search for now?

So often we look at life as a destination. How often as children did we bug the driver of the car with the endless question, “Are we there yet?”

The spiritual masters remind us that life is not about the destination, but the journey. How much we would miss if we didn’t take the journey.

The Prophet Zephaniah encourages us to “seek the Lord”. One way we seek the Lord is by our poverty of spirit. We are blessed as we begin to recognize that I am not in charge, God is the one in charge. I let God set the agenda. One aspect of wisdom is knowing I am not wise.

St. Paul, in his letter to the community at Corinth, speaks about true wisdom:

God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,

and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong.

Sometimes it is the foolish who get it: the foolish see that the journey is the goal, not the pot of gold under the rainbow. The challenge is learning to live day by day and let God be the one in charge. Sometimes God acts to remind us of who is in charge. The storm this week reminded us that we are not in charge. Our plans needed to be changed to address the issues of the storm. We had a choice; we could have cursed the storm or adjusted our expectations. We are on a new journey. The pot of God may have hidden in the people and projects we addressed this week.

In a few short weeks we will begin the season of Lent, a journey we take toward the most important days of the year. Holy Week lays out for us the mysteries of our faith: the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord.

How will we take this journey? How will we seek the Lord?

Lent is a search, not for pots of gold, but for a deeper relationship with the Lord.

I went to find a pot of gold

That's waiting where the rainbow ends.

I searched and searched and searched and searched

And searched and searched, and then—

There it was, deep in the grass,

Under an old and twisty bough.

It's mine, it's mine, it's mine at last....

What do I search for now?

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 19:37:17 GMT

There are two important, related, and relevant themes in the readings we hear today: the Light of Christ and the Call of Christ in our lives.

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah, which we heard not long ago at our Christmas Masses, speaks and prophesies about the Light of the Messiah, Christ, who is to come into the world. The time at which Isaiah writes is the time of the Assyrian exile, when the northern areas of ancient Israel, including the lands of Naphtali and Zebulon, were invaded by the Assyrians who carried off many of the inhabitants into exile. This was the land and people of gloom and darkness that the prophet Isaiah writes about, and prophesies that from the land, in the midst of their gloom and darkness, a great Light would shine. We believe that Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy is fulfilled in Christ, who comes into the world as a Light to all nations, and comes as Light not only for the particular people of a particular time, but for all people (all nations) for all of time . We believe and we hope in Christ’s coming into the gloom and darkness of our lands and lives today . Christ the Light, Christ our Hope, breaks into our lives over and over and over again, in little and sometimes big ways, as with Him, we die to an old way of life of sin and rise, over and over, to a new life in Christ. It is Christ who, on Mt. Calvary, smashes the yoke and pole of sin and death, and the rod of the taskmaster who chains us to that yoke and pole. It is, as Bishop Robert Barron notes, Christ on Calvary who, “swallowed up all of our dysfunction in the ever great mercy of God.”

It is His Light that Christ calls us into, to become one with. We hear of the first disciples’ call from Jesus in the Gospel passage, and Matthew reminds us of Isaiah’s prophecy of Christ as the Great Light. In this we may be reminded of another of Isaiah’s prophecies:

So shall my word be

that goes forth from my mouth;

It shall not return to me empty,

but shall do what pleases me,

achieving the end for which I sent it. (Is 55:11)

We see how, literally, Christ, the Word of God, calls the disciples. Christ’s call, the Divine Fisherman’s casted line, does not come back empty, does it? Repeatedly He casts, and repeatedly His Word lands fish. Christ too casts His line for us. He casts his line into the darkness and gloom of our world and lives today. He casts it, repeatedly, breaking into the day-to-day busyness, caught-up-in-our-own worldliness, until we notice his Light Line and Life Line, and respond to His call. His Word will not return to Him empty, but lead us to his Boat, to His Shore, and into His Light. Thanks be to God!

St. John Henry Newman, a former Anglican priest, convert to Catholicism, and Cardinal of the Church in the 1800s, reflected eloquently on God’s Divine Call of us throughout our lives:

For in truth we are not called once only, but many times; all though our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey his voice or not, he graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent; If we are striving to fulfill our calling, He calls us from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us…we all are in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting place but mounting towards our eternal rest…

Lead, Kindly Light

St. John Henry Cardinal Newman

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home,

Lead Thou me on.

Keep Thou my feet;

I do not ask to see the distant scene;

one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that

Thou shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path; but now

Lead Thou me on.

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will;

Remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still

Will lead me on.

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those angel faces smile,

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 18:15:23 GMT

Now that we are beyond the Christmas season, we are returning to normal. In our first reading, Isaiah reminds us that we are servants. In this new year of grace, we are called to be servants. We are learning about humility; being humble means thinking less of myself and more of others. Is this what it means to be a servant?

We hear the words of Isaiah as we begin the annual week of Christian unity. It is wonderful that men and women from different denominations can come together in prayer. This afternoon many will gather to remember the life and witness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a true servant to the mission of justice for all God’s people. Dr. King was a Christian who acted as a servant to the kingdom of God. Dr. King was a dreamer who shared his dream with the world.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream . . . I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today . . . This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning. “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

Being a servant of the gospel means being a dreamer who works to make the dream a reality. With our brothers and sisters of many faiths, we are servants of the kingdom of God. Like John the Baptist, we prepare the way for the coming of God’s kingdom. Each one of us, have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. With the spirit to help us we are servants of the kingdom of God.

The Epiphany of the Lord, Year A

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:40:53 GMT

From Pope Leo’s Christmas homily:

“For millennia, across the earth, peoples have gazed up at the sky, giving names to the silent stars, and seeing images therein. In their imaginative yearning, they tried to read the future in the heavens, seeking on high for a truth that was absent below amidst their homes. Yet, as if grasping in the dark, they remained lost, confounded by their own oracles. On this night, however, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

Behold the star that astonishes the world, a spark newly lit and blazing with life: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Into time and space — in our midst — comes the One without whom we would not exist. He who gives his life for us lives among us, illuminating the night with his light of salvation. There is no darkness that this star does not illumine, for by its light all humanity beholds the dawn of a new and eternal life.”

Stars are what this season of Christmas is all about. We look at the night sky and see the stars that remind us of the nativity of our Lord. At night God comes to speak to us in dreams. Sometimes the dreams tell what to do as they did for Joseph and the Magi.

The star in today’s celebration is a star that points out the birth of the Christ child. Each child is born with a divine spark. Each human person has the dignity of being a child of God. I am reminded of the words of Leonard Bernstein. He calls his poem Greeting :

“When a boy is born, the world is born again and takes its first breath with him.

When a girl is born the world stops turning round and keeps a moment hushed wonder.

Every time a child is born, for the space of that brief instant, the world is pure."

This time of year, we celebrate the birth of our God. The stars on our trees remind us of our connection with our God.

The words of Frost are appropriate here:

O Star (the fairest one in sight),
We grant your loftiness the right
To some obscurity of cloud—
It will not do to say of night,
Since dark is what brings out your light.
Some mystery becomes the proud.
But to be wholly taciturn
In your reserve is not allowed.
Say something to us we can learn
By heart and when alone repeat.
Say something! And it says, ‘I burn.’
But say with what degree of heat.
Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.
Use language we can comprehend.
Tell us what elements you blend.
It gives us strangely little aid,
But does tell something in the end.
And steadfast as Keats’ Eremite,
Not even stooping from its sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.

Like Mary, we ponder all these things in our heart. As we begin this new year, we are to be like the star who ponders all things. Sometimes it will mean to burn, it will not always be clear, but with the heart of Christ to guide us we will make sense of it. On this New Year's Day, we look to the stars and ponder what this Christmas 2025 has meant to us.

Christmas Day, Year A

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 21:14:38 GMT

Isaiah prophesied:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. (Is 9:1)

John the Evangelist wrote:

...the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…(Jn 1:5)

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world (Jn 1:9)

And Jesus said:

...I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life…(Jn 8:12)

Beginning with Isaiah’s prophecy of the Light of Emmanuel — God-with-us — some 2,800 years ago, through to Christ’s entry into this world of darkness in Bethlehem as the Child of Light, to his ministry of Light and Life, and racing through the millennia to us today throughout the world, to us here in St. Mary’s parish, to the family whose children were baptized at St. Mary’s this past weekend:

The True Light of the World, the Dayspring from on high, the One Morning Star that never sets, the Word who existed in the beginning with God and who, from the beginning, was God, Jesus Christ the Light continually breaks into the darkness of our world and dark nights of our lives.

At each Christmas, in the dark night of the world, we celebrate the daybreak of the Light of Christ coming into the world.

At each Easter, we celebrate the breaking forth of the Light and Life of the Resurrected Christ from the darkness of the tomb of sin and death.

And at each baptism, we recall and celebrate both, as we light the baptismal candle from the Paschal candle (that is, the Christ Candle) and say to the newly baptized, “Receive the Light of Christ.” We then give the parents and godparents, but frankly all of us , a solemn charge:

This light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child…has been enlightened by Christ. [They are] to walk always as a child of the light.

We are to walk not only as children of God enlightened by Christ, but we are to walk also — each one of us — as bearers of Christ and His Light into the world. We can each bear a torch of the Christ Light as we walk with one another through the dark valleys of the night of each other’s lives, illuminating the darkened path for our sisters or brothers, walking with them as long as we can, until another bearer of Christ’s Light joins us to journey with them further.

Never underestimate the brightness of Christ’s Light in the smallest of actions, a kind word or simple deed. In fact, St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata counselled that the smallest of our actions may be infused with the brightest light of love. She said:

Don’t look for the big things, just do small things with great love…the smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.

And never forget that a light appears as its brightest in the deepest dark of night. The Christ Light in the smallest of our actions may be the brightest light in the darkest part of the night of someone's life.

My sisters and brothers, the Light of Christ has been entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly, not for ourselves alone, but for the life of the world. Let us walk with one another, sharing the Christ-Light entrusted to us with each other and with the world outside the walls of this Church!

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:41:27 GMT

Two weeks ago, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we heard the Gospel account of Mary receiving the news of her pregnancy from the Angel Gabriel. Today’s Gospel passage tells us the story of Joseph receiving the same news. It's not a stretch to imagine, knowing this is not his child, that he might have been filled with a range of emotions as this news settles in, with these emotions giving way to a pervasive feeling that his world — and Mary's — have been irreparably changed.

Perhaps, maybe more than likely, he wrestled with this news as a weight-settled-in the-pit-of-his-stomach nameless opponent in fitful sleep until, in a dream, the Angel of the Lord appeared and named that opponent, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid .” Fear — Joseph is wrestling with fear. Fear for himself. Fear for Mary. Fear of a changed and unknown future. Joseph's fear, and the comforting by the angel of the Lord, mirror Mary’s same fear and comforting by the Angel Gabriel when she received the same news.

I don’t think it's a coincidence that the Church gives us bookend accounts of the Annunciation and this parallel comforting message from God to not be afraid twice in Advent, here in these days of waning light and nights of growing darkness. Fear is part of the human condition, and God’s continual assurance to not be afraid is a testament to God’s desire for us — to be free from the shackles of fear. The most common phrase throughout Scripture is, “Be not afraid.”

When I was in formation to become a deacon, I was assigned to assist as a hospital chaplain at Albany Med for a few overnights with a deacon serving as the regular overnight chaplain. One of these nights came after a blistering hot day in August. As we began our shift that evening, we gathered in the pastoral care office at Albany Med to obtain the list of patients to visit, some requesting Communion and some simply requesting a visit from the chaplain. There was the name of a woman to visit; nothing noted other than a room number.

As we approached the room where we were to find this woman, the deacon I was with remarked to me offhand, “This must be a pregnancy complication. The normal pregnancies are all on lower floors.” As we entered the dimly-lit room, I immediately sensed a pervasive weight in the room: things were not alright. Accentuating the atmosphere was the spectacular electrical storm raging outside that night, lightning filling the panoramic window of the maternity room.

We were introduced to the woman on our list: a young mother, her husband, their new baby girl, their first child. Here in this room in Albany Med was a Holy Family. The new mother shared that she had complications in the pregnancy and that she had developed a massive blood clot and was going into surgery the following morning. The lightning bolts arcing across the sky were like the huge red dragon described in the Book of Revelation awaiting the woman to give birth to the child; each bolt was its tail, sweeping away the stars of the night sky. It seemed the dragon was raging at this Holy Family, and as evident on their faces, raging within this Holy Family. And the dragon’s name was Fear.

When we told them that we had brought Communion and asked if they wanted to receive, they were grateful and responded they very much wanted to receive. It was clear at that moment that the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was a gift of great consolation to them, as their fears gave way to tears of relief and release. They were not alone; Jesus, Emmanuel — God is with us — was with them in the midst of the storm in their life that night and calmed their sea of fear. God was with them, just like he was with Joseph and Mary those nights some two thousand-plus years ago when the Angels of the Lord said to both of them, “Do not be afraid.” God is with us.

What are the dragon-storms of our lives threatening to devour us? Do we, like Joseph and Mary, need to hear God’s message, “Do not be afraid” ? Do we need to quiet the din of our lives in order to hear God’s message? Do we need to reconnect with the peaceful presence of God in our midst, accepting God’s message, and like Mary and Joseph, entrusting our fears to God, allowing Him to displace fear in the midst of our storms? Fear does not have the last word; Jesus Christ does, he who dispels the darkness. Emmanuel — God is with us. God is with us now , and God is faithfully with us forever .

Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 17:55:16 GMT

On Sunday we had our monthly “What About Monday?" gathering; one of the topics discussed was faith as one of the theological virtues. We discussed how at times faith can be challenged. We discussed how faith is not simply good feelings, but faith is about staying the course.

The scriptures today give examples of how one is patient in faith, even if faith is challenged. St. James gives us the example of the farmer. Although he may not understand the process, the farmer has faith that the seeds will grow in time, and what is needed is patience. In the gospel we meet John, the one who when he met the Messiah while they were still unborn, leaped for joy. Now that he is in another dark place, he is not so sure. He asks, “Are you the one is to come, or do we wait for another?”

Often our faith is challenged, and we find ourselves questioning our faith, yet questions are okay. It is by asking questions that we firm up our faith. I met a woman this week who kept telling me, “I have lost my faith." As she spoke, I thought that the fact she was telling me this proves she has faith. I thought about how faith is not about good feelings. Like the farmer, we persevere and find we have faith in God and that is sufficient.

In this month of December many are finding faith as they consider the mystery of the coming of the Messiah as a human child who grows to suffer and die for us.

Advent is a season where we wait and listen for signs of our faith in our God.

Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 19:40:38 GMT

On this second Sunday of Advent, we are given the words of John the Baptist:

A voice of one crying out in the desert, "Prepare the way of the Lord..." (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3)

I am reminded of another voice today that voice says, “Bah, humbug.” The voice of John is a voice that calls for conversion. The three ghosts who visited Ebenezer Scrooge were ghosts who called for his conversion.

Each Advent we hear a voice crying out in the wilderness asking us to convert our lives, to prepare a place for the Lord to dwell in our hearts and lives. Before we meet the Christ, we meet the Baptizer. John baptizes with the water of conversion; the one who comes after him will baptize with the spirit.

Advent is a time for waiting, watching and listening. We are not at Christmas yet. In our secular world it feels that way. We already have welcomed Santa Claus. We are intent on wrapping our gifts and placing them under a decorated tree.

Maybe we need some ghosts to wake us up to the season of Advent. In the coming week we will be given Mary, the Immaculate Conception. Mary teaches us about waiting as she waited for the words of an angel and the birth of a child. We meet on Friday Our Lady of Guadalupe, who teaches us to expect the unexpected, such as roses in winter. She is followed by Lucy, who brings light to a dark world.

These ghosts of Advents past remind us to honor this season and to wait for Christmas to come in its own time. Rather than saying “Bah, humbug” to Advent, we say, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

First Sunday of Advent, Year A

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 19:23:23 GMT

Maybe you have a Christmas Cactus. What a surprise it is when it breaks into bloom. We don’t expect flowers to bloom in December. This time of year, I like to buy paperwhite bulbs or the amaryllis bulbs for sale in the stores. How nice it is to have flowers bloom in February.

This season of Advent is about looking for signs of new life as we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. It can be hard to look and to listen in Advent; our culture at large is so focused on celebrating Christmas that will not arrive until December 25. The readings for Advent remind us to slow down, to watch and to listen.

In these dark nights and mornings, we are invited to look up at the sky and see the stars which remind us of the star over a stable in Bethlehem.

If you read Kathleen Norris’s reflection in this month’s issue of Give Us This Day , you will be reminded how it is possible to celebrate Advent in a culture that has moved on to Commercial Christmas.

I am thankful for the discipline I learned in Cursillo. During each day I am invited to look and listen for “close moments to God.” There are many times and ways our God breaks into the business of our days. In Advent, we discipline ourselves to listen and see these moments. In this season of Advent, I invite you to search for the many close moments to our God.

The Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 18:13:32 GMT

(Photo taken from Community of Dannemora Facebook page, accessed February 18, 2026)

The thief who was crucified with Jesus is called the “Good Thief” or Dismas. He is called the good thief for repenting on the cross.

If you visit the prison at Dannemora, NY, you may visit the Dismas chapel. (See the photo above.) It is a magnificent space for prayer and reflection. Those who come to worship in the chapel are serving time for being criminals; some were actually thieves.

One thing I miss since I came to Oneonta was the Fridays once a month where I offered Mass at Hale Creek Prison in Johnstown, NY. The men who came to Mass were motivated to change their lives to become disciples of Jesus. Many had worked the 12 steps of AA and were looking to continue their spiritual growth. Much like Dismas, they wanted to be forgiven by Jesus for their crimes.

It has been said that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. This was true for Dismas: he had a past, and on the cross, he became the first saint. Jesus told him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

On this day it seems ironic to hear about our king dying on a cross. Yet the king we know is not a king who seeks comfort and ease. Christ the King is a king who came to die for each one of us. Because he suffered, died and rose, we also will rise. We may find ourselves praying the prayer of Dismas: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Like Dismas, we hear the words, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 21:06:07 GMT

Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.

Recently I have become acquainted with a man who shared his story that, as a young man from an abusive and drug-addicted family, he found himself on the streets, homeless, fleeing the chaos of his home life. One Sunday morning he found himself, as a homeless person, sitting on a bench outside a Catholic church during Mass. As parishioners were coming out of the church after Mass, he encountered a couple who stopped, reached out and talked with him. Noticing the homeless man did not have a coat, the husband immediately gave him his coat before they went on their way. The homeless man found himself wondering — what made that couple different from all the others he had encountered in his walk as a homeless person? As time went on, he got into a stable situation, landed a job, got married and had a family of his own, and that question in his heart from that day led him to become a Catholic himself. Today he and his wife are discerning his call to a vocation to ordained ministry as a Deacon in the Church.

Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.

The scripture and Gospel passages today contain a lot of disconcerting, and perhaps even scary, imagery regarding the end times: blazing fires, destruction of the Temple, wars, insurrections, deceit, persecutions, and death. But notice how these prophecies conclude:

” But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays”

“...but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

Jesus Christ never leaves us without Hope.

How fitting that we should be reminded of Hope, about Hope in the midst of the tribulations of our lives and world, as we move towards the end of this liturgical year, the Jubilee Year of Hope . It is this same Hope that Pope Leo XIV draws our attention to on this Sunday, the World Day of the Poor in his message for the day, entitled “You are my Hope.” In this message Pope Leo instructs us on the relationship between the poor, ourselves, and Hope, and of our collective responsibility to Hope. Here is what Pope Leo writes:

The poor are not a distraction for the Church, but our beloved brothers and sisters, for by their lives, their words and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel.

[They] can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; … Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere.

God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories and their faces. Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope. (1)

Pope Leo reminds us that in encountering the poor among us, we encounter hope in Christ the Servant who washes both our feet. In serving our poor brothers and sisters — poor in whatever means — serving them in acts of charity and kindness, we find ourselves in the presence of Christ who shows us true Hope, Faith and Charity. We too are fed , washed and healed while we do the same for our brothers and sisters.

While we are fed at this table of Charity, Pope Leo reminds us that we have a responsibility to serve at it.

Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now. Charity is not just a promise; it is a present reality to be embraced with joy and responsibility… to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity… (1)

We are called to the responsibility of charity: it is not an optional thing! Each act of charity is an act of kindness, compassion, mercy. Sometimes they are big acts; and sometimes they are small acts of charity in support of a big act, like contributing time or goods to our food pantry or community Thanksgiving dinner, the Giving Tree or Angel Tree party. And sometimes they are small acts of reaching out, listening, or encouragement. We can all offer those acts of charity and all of us need that charity. Do not give into the temptation that even the simplest act of charity, of kindness, is not of great value! Giving into that temptation leads us to indifference and inaction, which Pope Leo teaches “robs our [brothers and sisters] of hope.”

Kindness matters! Never underestimate that your kindness, your charity, can be a lifeline of hope and light in what might be a dark moment or period in another person's life. Each little act of charity is a stone which we build into the wall of a great temple of Hope, the cornerstone and master-builder of which is Christ himself. A temple of Hope built of living stones which beckons the world into communion with the One who is Eternal Hope, Light and Life. As Jesus Christ gives us Hope, let us persevere in acts of charity and kindness, despite the tribulations of all going on around us and in us, and share that Hope with one another.

(1) Pope Leo XIV. Message of the Holy Father for the 9th World Day of the Poor: You are my Hope

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, November 8, 2025

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 20:10:53 GMT

St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. The church was built on land belonging to the Lateran family, thus the name St. John Lateran. Connected to the church is the baptistry, a large building used for baptisms. This is the oldest baptistry in Rome. The building dates to the days of Emperor Constantine and includes image of the battle of Milvin Bridge (312) when Constantine had a vision of the cross and later declared Christianity the official religion of the empire.

In our first reading on this feast, we hear of the water flowing in the temple. Water is used in the sacrament of baptism. The baptistry at John Lateran is the oldest of its kind and speaks to us of the sacrament. Water speaks of the two elements of the sacrament of baptism, death and life. Those who are baptized die to their old way of life and participate in the resurrection of our Lord as they experience new life in this sacrament.

In the waters of baptism, we are cleansed from the stain of original sin, and we are initiated into the body of Christ. The initiation into the body of Christ is the reason we baptize at the weekend liturgy. The person is being brought in as a member of the body of Christ, and the body of Christ gathers on the weekends at Mass.

In the early church there were adults who were baptized. They would spend a period journeying with a sponsor and learning about the faith and at the Easter Vigil the bishop would come (in the early days there were no priests, just bishops), the community would gather, and the bishop would perform the rites of initiation, baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. The OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) recaptures this practice of the early church. Over the years it has become common to baptize infants. Canon Law, the law of the church, considers a child of 6 years to be an adult and thus is invited to enter the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Baptism is the first and most important sacrament. Each time we enter a church we bless ourselves with holy water to recall our baptism.

In so many of our sacraments the church takes simple things and uses them to speak about aspects of our faith. Water has become a sign of the death of Christ and a sign of his resurrection. We use oil, a simple element, for anointing and healing in the sacrament of Baptism. The lit candle speaks of the light of Christ brought to the person in the sacrament and finally the cross is made on the mouth and ears of the person for hearing and speaking the word of God.

Other sacraments use simple things to speak about a greater reality. We use bread and wine in the Mass; a simple gold ring is exchanged to speak about the love of God that unites a man and wife.

Today we celebrate the dedication of an important space in our world church. The Church of St. John Lateran and its baptistry have allowed many to touch into the love our God for many years. We are thankful for this holy place.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:52:52 GMT

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Simply put, the message we hear in the first reading and Gospel today is that we are to persevere in prayer. In the first reading, Moses perseveres in prayer in the battle between the Israelites and Amalekites. When he lowers his hands from prayer out of weariness (which perhaps we might interpret as ceasing to pray), the battle goes poorly for Joshua and Israel. When he resumes raising his hands in prayer, the battle turns, and Israel has “the better of the fight.” We are to apply this reading to our own earthly battles: the battle between good and evil; between pride/ego and — as Abraham Lincoln wrote — “the better angels of our nature.” We too are encouraged to persevere in prayer. Persevering in prayer is nothing less than relying on the Lord’s help, and is an act of humility, recognizing that, as the saying goes, “God is God and we are not.” In this way, perseverance in prayer is the antidote to pride and selfishness. It is also our act of faith and trust in God : that God has a plan which has our best interests at heart and that God’s action in response to our prayer will happen, in the right time, God’s time , which may not be our time ! In the Gospel parable, Jesus assures us that God’s response to our petitions will be speedy, but God’s time and our time are not always measured by the same clock! Hence, we need to persist in prayer when God’s answer to our prayers comes more slowly than we would hope for.

What are we to make of what seems to be a delay in God’s response to our sincere prayers? Sometimes the case may be that God has already answered our prayers, just not as we were expecting, and we failed to see the response. However, it could be the case that God’s delay in response to our prayers is preparing us for God’s response when it comes. St. Augustine of Hippo wrote:

If God at times seems to be slow in responding, it is because God is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us…Ask, seek, insist. Through this asking and seeking you will be better prepared to receive God’s gift when it comes. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. God wants you to have a lively desire for the greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.

So, in persevering in prayer, there is patience and trust — patience in waiting for the right time, God’s time, and trusting in God’s action in our hearts while we wait.

We should note something else that happens in the midst of that battle scene that teaches us how we are aided in persevering in prayer. When Moses, Aaron, and Hur realize that the battle turns against the Israelites when Moses grows weary and lowers his arms in prayer, Aaron and Hur hold up Moses’ arms so that he may persevere in prayer! We can, and should, hold each other up in prayer and in presence as we together persevere in praying, especially through difficult times in our lives when we grow weary in the battle of earthly life. This can take the form of praying for each other, but equally if not more important, being present to each other, encouraging each other and praying with each other . Often that companionship is exactly what we need to persevere in difficult periods of prayer! And that should come as no surprise, for Christ himself told us that "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). We are strengthened with the presence of Christ himself when we gather together physically in prayer. And let us not forget that we have a God who is fundamentally a God of and in relationship — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity — and that made in the image and likeness of that God, we are fundamentally wired to be in relationship with our God and each other. It is no surprise that we would be aided in persisting in prayer by being in community with each other while we pray! Sometimes we ourselves need to seek out the community to pray together, to push back against the choice to remain isolated, praying (or not) on our own when we are able to gather with others. But you and I are here today, and the fact that we have chosen of our own will and ability to come into community to pray invites us to consider who in our lives is not here today, or at all recently. Perhaps we need to seek them out, to be present to them. To encourage them, and invite them to join in prayer with us. Perhaps we bring presence and prayer to them , if they are homebound. In either case, in so doing we are lifting the arms of a weary sister or brother in prayer and making Christ present to strengthen us all, a presence the world so desperately needs.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 22:01:57 GMT

Language scholars who have studied the origins of the word mammon in Hebrew and Aramaic have found clear association with words meaning wealth, riches, money, profit and possessions. But there is also evidence that one of the root words for mammon also means “that in which one trusts.”

On all of our US currency — each coin and paper bill — is a simple (and, I suspect, often overlooked) phrase: “In God we trust.” This phrase was added during the Cold War to distinguish our currency, and nation, from that of the atheist Soviet Union. On each of our denominations of currency, both coins and paper bills, we have this simple reminder in whom we should be placing our trust in — God — and not what we should be placing it in: the fruit of our human activity, especially money. It is a poignant reminder to us today in light of the Gospel passage we hear and our current experience.

This reminder begs us to ask two questions of ourselves and collectively as a country and society: Do we trust in God first? Always, everywhere, in everything? Or do we place our trust first in small-“g” god, or gods of human origin? In answering those questions, we might ask ourselves, what do our actions say about whether we place our trust first in God, or in humans? Where are we spending our time and treasure?

This past month has brought us yet more tragic and traumatic reminders of our society’s misplaced trust. The recent spate of wounding and taking of innocent lives through gun violence in service of an ideology of retribution is just the most recent in a continuing human saga of such behavior, behavior that places trust in leading with human action to resolve differences, over our openness and trust in allowing God to lead us to a conversion of heart and to reconciliation.

There is more that could be said about the responsible use of wealth in service to God. About detachment from ‘goods’ of this world — goods that God gives us out of love to draw us closer and more deeply into love with God, that we might revere God and God’s creation, but not take those goods in place of God. But in light of our continuing tragedies and the lack of reverence for human life, created by God in the image and likeness of God, of which they are clear evidence, the most important response we can offer is what St. Paul exhorts us to in his letter to Timothy, when he writes:

First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,

petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,

for kings and for all in authority,

that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life

in all devotion and dignity.

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,

who wills everyone to be saved

and to come to knowledge of the truth.

And so we will pray to God, as St Paul asks. Pray collectively for those who have suffered violence in all forms against humanity. We will pray collectively for those wounded, those who have lost their lives and their families. And then perhaps most difficult of all, we will pray for those who perpetrated this violence, and all who are tempted to perpetrate violence against humanity. We should be challenged in our prayers to pray for people we don’t want to pray for. We may find the heart that is converted is our own. In all these prayers we place our trust first and foremost in God, who desires to save us, and who “proves his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).

In this is our act of Faith. In this is our act of Hope.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 20:10:11 GMT

Last week we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus gives us in response to the question, “And who is my neighbor?” Today we hear two readings — the first reading from the Book of Genesis, and the Gospel passage from Luke — that invite us to engage with another question: Who is this stranger in my midst?

In the first reading, three strangers appear in Abraham’s and Sarah’s midst. We are told in the beginning of the passage that it is the Lord who appears to them, but they do not yet know it is the Lord. Yet how do Abraham and Sarah respond? With an outpouring of hospitality — serving the strangers in their midst with gladness . In the Gospel passage, we hear that Jesus enters a village where Martha welcomes him and calls him Lord. But does she really yet know who Jesus is? It’s questionable, as she goes on to triangulate Jesus into a conflict with her sister and attempts to lay a guilt trip on him, saying, “Don’t you care that my sister has left me by myself to do all the serving?” and then proceeds to tell Jesus — God — what to do: “Tell her to help me.” Her words and actions suggest she does not realize who she is in the presence of. Even if she professes him as Lord, does she really believe it yet? Yet her sister Mary seems to. Even if Mary doesn’t really yet know who Jesus is, who is in her midst, she treats him with a focus and attentiveness that in itself recognizes the presence of God in the person in her midst.

In the countries of India and Nepal there is a principle of hospitality that “the guest is God”, which is based on stories that mirror the story of Abraham and Sarah, where the guest is revealed to be God who rewards the provider of the hospitality. Abraham and Sarah receive a son…

The word hospitality derives from the Latin word hospes , which means stranger, foreigner, or guest. It came to signify the relationship between the guest and the provider of hospitality. Hospes is also the root word for hospital — another tie to last week's Gospel passage on the Good Samaritan, for what did the Good Samaritan provide to the robber’s victim but none other than hospital. Today, we view the words ‘hospitality’ and ‘hospital’ in different contexts, yet each is about providing care for the guest, the stranger. And through that care, that relationship, restoration and healing.

These scripture and Gospel passages reveal to us a deeper and profound truth in which we are invited to engage: that in the others we encounter, whether a suffering brother or sister on the side of life’s road, or a visitor come into our midst — whether they are known to us, or they are strangers to us ( especially if they are strangers to us) — we are to recognize God in them and see in them the Face of Christ. And we are invited to attend to them, in the manner the Good Samaritan did; in the manner that Abraham and Sarah did; in the manner Mary did. Giving them our presence and attention , willingly and joyfully pouring out upon them acts of service, caring and entering into a relationship that restores and heals them.

St. John Paul II wrote, "Welcoming our brothers and sisters with care and willingness must not be limited to extraordinary occasions but must become for all believers a habit of service in their daily lives,” (1) hospitality that must “never [be] formal or superficial but identified by 'gentleness' and 'reverence'” (2).

Today, when we exchange the sign of peace, or after Mass, reach out and welcome the stranger in our midst. Let us keep doing the same when we leave the church building, reaching out with our presence and attention, gentleness and reverence that honors God in the ‘other’ in our midst.

1. "Address of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to volunteer workers". The Holy See. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 8 March 1997.

2. "Pastoral visit to the island of Ischia. Homily of John Paul II". The Holy See. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 5 May 2002.

Solemnity of Peter And Paul - June 29, 2025

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:36:48 GMT

Solemnity of Peter and Paul

June 29, 2025

Peter and Paul are called the saints of Rome. Partly this is because, both died in the city. You may visit their burial places. The grave of St Peter is under the Basilica bearing his name and St. Paul is buried under the church of St. Paul outside the walls. (Being a Roman citizen Paul was buried outside the walls of Rome, while Peter was killed and buried in the city of Rome.)

More about the churches later.

Paul and Peter couldn’t be more different. It is said “God draws straight with crooked lines”. Why did God choose these men? A good question. It has been said “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.”

Paul was a well-educated, Pharisee. An official of the temple. Paul spent his early career persecuting the followers of Jesus, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Peter was a simple fisherman. He often said the wrong things and at times had flashes of insight, as in today’s gospel. Peter spent time with Jesus and denied knowing Jesus the night before his passion and death. Later Peter was asked 3 times “do you love me” by Jesus. Peter was the apostles to the Jews, while Paul was the apostle to the gentiles (the non-Jews).

The Basilica of St. Peter is probably the most famous church in the city of Rome. For years it was thought that the church held the remains of St. Peter. This was confirmed in the 1940s when excavations took place to find more room to bury popes in the crypt of the building. Workers found and ancient cemetery under the church. Today we can take the tour, often given by seminarians from the North American College Seminary. Be sure to reserve the tour before you arrive in Rome. The tours are limited. At the end of the tour, you will come to the Marble box with the bones of St Peter in it. When the bones were tested, they were found to belong to a man from the first century.

After Constantine made Catholicism the official faith of the republic, He constructed a simple church over the cemetery. Later it was added to and today it is the large church we know of as St Peter’s Basilica. You may visit the Constantine chapel in the crypt of the church to see where the first church was located.

When I was on my sabbatical in Rome in 2008, I invited my family to visit me and I arranged to offer mass in the Clemintine chapel. After mass I noticed that one of the metal doors on the wall was open. We crawled in and went behind the altar to tough the marble box where the bones of St Peter were placed. What a thrill to be so close to the great saint’s remains.

To visit the tomb of St Paul you need to travel outside of Rome to the church of St Paul outside the walls, most of the tour buses do not go here, so be carful which tour bus you take. The church is next to a monastery with a nice cloister garden. On the base of the dome are faces of the popes. Years ago, excavations took place, and the bones of St Paul were found in the base of the church.

Today we honor the great saints of the early church. It is due to the preaching of St Paul that we the gentiles, non-Jews are here. A few months ago the successor to St. Peter was a man from our nation, Pope Leo the XIV.

Let us give thanks for these great man and these great saints.

Corpus Christi - June 17, 2025

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 19:33:46 GMT

Corpus Christi

June 22, 2025

Today we celebrate the feast of the body and blood of Christ, the eucharist. The second Vatican council reminds us that the eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.

All we are, has its source in this celebration. At this celebration we are given the most ancient text about the last supper, the institution of the Eucharist. In Paul’s letter to the community of Corinth he tells us what took place at the night before Jesus suffered and died.

In this account Jesus says to the disciple “do this in remembrance of me.” This remembrance is not simply calling to mind something that took place over 2000 years ago. The remembrance is about living the life Jesus has asked us to live. We live his example, Eucharist for us is about who we are and how we live.

Each week we come to be fed with the word of God and the gift of the eucharist. This Sharing in the one bread and one cup becomes a moment of transformation. We are changed by this celebration. We go forth to live what we have experienced.

In the gospel today, we hear of the feeding of the 5000 with the five loaves and 2 fishes, Barbara Reed askes an important question in this month’s issue of Give us this day, “Did Jesus actually multiply the loaves and fishes. Or was it a miracle in which everyone was prompted to share with others what they had brought? A better question is: How do we replicate the giving of our whole selves, body, mind and spirit, to the One who is the source of all nourishment so that we may be broken up in love for the life of the world?”

What we do on the weekend does not end at the doors of the church building. We go forth to live the Eucharist. This is what deacon Myers meant when he wrote his book “Living the real presence”.

After we come forward to receive communion we have a moment of silent prayer as we contemplate how this celebration will remain with us for the days to come. Then we stand for the post communion prayer, our home work. The prayer tells us how we live what we have received. This is why we stay after communion. We stay to pray as the body of Christ and to hear what we are do next.

Here is the post communion prayer for this mass:

Grant, O Lord, we pray that we may delight for all eternity in that share in your divine life, which is foreshadowed in the present age by our reception of your precious body and blood

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Each time we come forward to receive the Eucharist we come as a community. We come as the body of Christ. The communion reception is a sign of unity. We come standing to receive. We are united in voice as we sing the communion hymn. We receive communion. We do not grab it we open our hands to receive. We are all receivers of this gift. All that is given to us if a gift and we receive this gift which is freely given by our God and then we go forward to give this gift all who we meet.

The miracle of each mass is the gathering of the body of Christ and what we receive we freely give to others. The mass goes on and on throughout our days for our whole life.

Most Holy Trinity, Year C

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 19:59:58 GMT

There is a widely-held truth of Christianity that is expressed in the statement, “There is no such thing as being a Christian in isolation.” It has also been expressed as, “There is no such thing as being a solitary Christian.” The fundamental reason that there is no such thing as being a solitary Christian or being Christian in isolation is that God, the God of our Christian faith, is a God of relationship — a God in relationship! That relationship is what we celebrate today in the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit — one God, three persons — each with unique roles in relationship to one another: God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Sanctifier.

If, therefore, the God we believe in — the God we profess, the God that we worship and pray to, the God we trust in — is fundamentally a God of and in relationship, it follows that we, who are created in the image and likeness of that God of and in relationship, cannot express what we believe , cannot BE what we profess by being what our God is not: Christians in isolation; solitary Christians. We say that God is Love, and so God is. We sometimes identify the Persons of our Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — as the Lover, the Beloved, and the Love between them . There is a mutual indwelling of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, and mutual giving and receiving in which each shares and receives all that they are with each other. This expression of love of the Holy Trinity is communion . And it is the highest aim of the Love of God to draw us into the life of love of the Holy Trinity that is that communion. The Church teaches that “the dignity of [humanity] rests above all [emphasis added] on the fact that [we] are called to communion with God” (Catechism #27). That is why today is of such high importance among our days of worship that we deem it a solemnity — The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Above all , we are called to communion with God.

In the first reading we hear that the Wisdom of God, the Holy Spirit, “was poured forth before the earth...playing on the surface of God’s earth” and the Spirit of God says, “ and I found delight in the human race." Our responsorial psalm, Psalm 8, reminds us that we are made “little less than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor.” These verses signal that we are created for communion with our creator. In the second reading St. Paul tells us that “ the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” That sounds like communion, doesn’t it? Indeed, the very incarnation of Christ is the manifestation of our God coming out to us to draw us into the life of the Trinity!

Therefore, if we are called into communion with God, then we, as the Body of Christ, are called into communion with each other . The very indwelling-dance of love of the Holy Trinity that we are invited and drawn into, invites — and also urges — that we go out and draw others into this dance of love. That's what the communion of our God does. That's what the love of our God is. The love of God poured into our hearts, as communion with the Holy Trinity, is to be poured forth from our hearts into this world in imitation of our Triune God: in little acts of love as simple as reaching out to make a connection to someone to let them know you were thinking about them, and greater acts of love through service that gather us, feed us, caring for each other in mind, body, and spirit; acts of mercy.

For we are not Christians in isolation.

And we cannot be Christians in isolation.

Pentecost 2025 - June 8

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 19:30:21 GMT

Pentecost

June 8, 2025

On this Pentecost Sunday we read how the spirit came upon the disciples:

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.

This scene recalls the creation in the first chapter of Genesis:

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.

The spirit comes into our lives as a strong creating wind. The spirit is all about creating something new.

The world and the disciples were changed by the spirit.

Yet when the resurrected Christ appeared to his disciples we appeared with the visible signs of his crucifixion. His hands and side still bore the marks of his crucifixion.

We are given an answer to this question in our second reading from I Corinthians:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.

If only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

We suffer with Christ and in doing so we are glorified with him. At the end of the gospel Jesus gives the disciples the mission to forgive sins and retain sins. Forgiveness is painful. We give forgiveness before the hurt of the offense has gone away, it may never go away. The spirit allows us to forgive others and in doing so we experience the glory of our God. Like Christ we may retain the signs of our suffering, but we go forward to forgive and to experience glory.

Like the spirit in Genesis, the resurrected Christ breathed on them giving them the spirit. The spirit comes again as breath of God.

On this Pentecost day we go forward to feel the breath of the spirit in our lives and we take that spirit to offer forgiveness to others and in doing so we experience the glory of our God.

7th Sunday of Easter, Year C

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 19:27:21 GMT

You may recall that, 42 days or so ago, we sat in the dark and heard the first part of the Bible proclaimed for us. We heard of the creation story from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Today, as we end the Easter season, we hear from the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.

Next Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost. We will remember the birthday of the church when the Holy Spirit came to rest upon the disciples. None of the disciples were ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit and have their lives changed forever.

In our reading from Acts of the Apostles, we hear the death of the first deacon of the church. We are told that the cloaks were stacked before a man name Saul. (We know him as St. Paul.) I am sure Paul thought about this episode many times after he became an apostle of Jesus. God often calls those who are not the qualified. It has been said, “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies those who are called.” The same is true for us. God calls each one of us not because we are qualified, but because God chooses those who God qualifies.

As we end the season of Easter, we wait for the Holy Spirit to call us despite our unworthiness. God has a call for each of us. We need to be open to this call. Matthew Kelly calls this the best version of ourselves. We are all called to be the best version of ourselves.

I recently found a story about this call in Lisa Kelly’s book The Spiritual Path. This is what she has to say:

When I first started going to spiritual direction as an Ignatian Associate, I had a narrow understanding of what it means to praise and reverence God. In fact, I outright told my spiritual director I just wasn’t good at that sort of thing. I imagined praising and reverencing to the hands raised and swaying in the air at charismatic renewals I has commonly witnessed with Protestant friend the solemn hours on knees spent in convents of old. My brilliant spiritual director, a seventy-something, gray-haired, no-nonsense Servite sister, smiled and asked, “How do the lilies of the field praise God?" I fumbled for an answer. “Well, they look pretty. They are just naturally beautiful, and they smell good, and they are just… lilies.” I pieced together, thinking to myself, I am no lily! I couldn’t just spend my day blowing in the wind with my face toward the sun. "So, lilies praise God just by being lilies, by being exactly what they were created to be,” she explained with a broad smile that reflected knowledge far beyond anything I could fathom. My face remained blank, not understanding how that made any difference to what I needed to do to save my soul. She added, “Whatever you are uniquely created and called to be, that is how you praise and reverence God.”

As we end this season of the Resurrection, we wait for the Holy Spirit to come and let us know how we live and praise our God. Or in the words of Matthew Kelly, how to become the best version of ourselves.

Easter Sunday 2025

Mon, 12 May 2025 17:18:22 GMT

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Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy), Year C

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 18:28:42 GMT

How many of you recall the following hymn refrain?

Misericordes sicut Pater

Misericordes sicut Pater…

It is the refrain from the hymn of the same title that was composed for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which Pope Francis opened in the first week of Advent in 2015 and concluded with the feast of Christ the King on November 20, 2016. You may recall that throughout that Jubilee Year, we opened our Masses with that hymn and sang that refrain.

Misericordes sicut Pater…

…Merciful like the Father

…Merciful like the Father.

How appropriate that on this Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, is also the weekend in which we have laid our Holy Father Pope Francis to rest, and entrusted him to the tender, eternal mercy of God the Father.

It was no coincidence that Pope Francis declared the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Pope Francis believed Mercy is the primary expression and experience of God’s love for us, and Mercy is the primary expression and experience of the love that God calls us to share with each other.

So important was his belief and trust in God’s Mercy, that when he was ordained to the order of Bishop, he took as his episcopal motto “ miserando atque eligendo ” ( which roughly translates from Latin as “having mercy, he chose him”). It is taken from a homily written by St. Bede the Venerable, an eighth-century saint and Doctor of the Church, reflecting on the call of St. Matthew by Christ to become an apostle. St. Bede wrote, “[Jesus] saw the tax collector [Matthew] and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me .” So important was his belief and trust in God’s Mercy, that when Francis was elected as Pope, he kept this episcopal motto as his papal motto.

This motto expresses so simply and beautifully truths of our faith: God loves us deeply; God expresses that love to us through His mercy for us in our sinfulness; and that despite our sinfulness, God calls us . God calls us to trust and hope in God’s love for us and calls us to express the same love and mercy for one another. That call is reflected also in the Gospel account of Matthew’s call to discipleship by Jesus, which concludes with Jesus challenging the Pharisees, saying “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice'” (Mt. 9:13). Jesus challenges us in the same way. He calls the Pharisees – and us – out of ritual acts of worship and piety that are not also accompanied by acts of mercy!

Jesus is clear about this. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). In his Papal Bull announcing the Extraordinary Year of Mercy, Pope Francis describes God the Father’s mercy for us as like “that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child…a “visceral” love…gush[ing] forth from the depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion, indulgence and mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus, no. 6). He also describes God’s Divine Mercy as a ”wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace.” (MV 2). These words bring to mind the visceral atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins, when blood and water sprung forth from Christ’s side as the cleansing waters of baptism. It is that visceral sacrifice which we recall in the Divine Mercy chaplet when we pray, “O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!” It is that cleansing sacrifice that we recall when we pray in the Anima Christi prayer, “Water from the side of Christ, wash me.” And it is that same merciful cleansing in which we hope and trust, as we place all that burdens us into the waters of God’s grace, as we have done here, symbolically, in placing our Lenten stone-burdens in this fountain of Holy Water from the Easter Vigil Baptismal pool.

As we contemplate God’s Divine Mercy, we place our trust and our hope in that Divine Mercy, recalling the words our late Holy Father Pope Francis left us with: “Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive” (MV 3); “Mercy [is] the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever” (MV 2).

Misericordes sicut Pater

Misericordes sicut Pater…

Palm Sunday, Year C

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 20:50:58 GMT

I have long thought that the Church gives us the two Gospel passages we hear today — the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the account of his Passion and death — for very practical reasons: this is the last Sunday before Easter when we will celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and not everyone is able to attend and celebrate the Triduum liturgies during Holy Week. Therefore, the Church places these two critical Gospel passages together so that we hear and experience them in a regular Sunday Mass setting — literally, to ‘fit them in’ before Easter.

But there is another equally, if not more, important reason we are to experience these Gospel passages together. And I honestly don’t know if the Church intends this reason or not, but I believe the Holy Spirit intends it. These two Gospel passages remind us as much as any passage that Jesus Christ, while fully Divine, is also fully human. He is like us in all manner except one, in committing sin. He therefore shares with us the experience of the full range of our humanity. In these two Gospel passages we experience Christ moving from triumph to tragedy, from soaring to suffering: the triumphant, soaring entry into Jerusalem and the suffering and tragedy of His Passion and crucifixion.

Christ’s human experience is also our human experience, for do not we all experience triumph and tragedy, soaring and suffering? Therefore, we do not have a God and Savior who cannot sympathize with our human experience, but rather one who shares it with us! And we have a God and Savior who not only soared and suffered for us, but soars and suffers with us. Not just two thousand years ago, but right here, right now, in every minute of our lives. For what did Jesus promise? “I am with you always , until the end of time.” (Mt 28:20)

When we soar and triumph, Jesus is with us, by our side. And when we suffer and experience tragedy, especially, Jesus is with us, by our side. We are encouraged to give thanks to God in our triumphs and soaring. And we are invited to unite our suffering with Christ’s suffering and offer it up for whatever or whomever is in need. Christ’s suffering was not pointless, and united to His, neither is ours. We offer it up, trust, and hope.

Sisters and brothers, that hope comes from our knowledge of the rest of the Gospel story that we will experience with Christ: that His triumph and tragedy, His soaring and suffering does not end in death, but in the glory of Easter Resurrection.

5th Sunday of Lent C - April 6, 2025

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 15:30:00 GMT

5 ^th Sunday of Lent C

April 6, 2025

Often someone will approach me and ask if I can do x y or z on such and such a date. I am not always good and knowing my schedule in the future, so I will say, “send me the dates and I will get back to you.” Sometimes they will send me the dates, sometime not. If I say yes, I may find I have a conflict.

This is a stalling tactic giving me time to discern how to respond. This is what Jesus does as he writes on the ground. He knows the Scribes and Pharisees are using the woman to trap him, so he bends down to scribble in the dust to have time to answer them.

When he does answer them, his statement is not about the woman’s actions, but about the motives of the accusers. He knows they hope to trap him. If he suggests the woman be released, he has broken the Mosaic law, if he suggests she be stoned he will be in trouble with the Romans. So, he focuses on the motive and state of the accusers.

In our first reading we are reminded that God is doing something new. Jesus does something new. He doesn’t focus on what the law says, but he focuses on what is in the heart of the accusers. Mosaic law says that those caught in Adultery, both the man and the woman should be killed. Here we only have the woman. We are told she was caught in the act, but where is the man?

For the season of Lent, we have been piling stones in our desert. These stones are the Character defects we wish to reform in this season. They are not for killing others but given to God to use to build us into a new creation. Jesus allows the woman to become a new creation. He refuses to condemn her, He encourages her to sin no more and to go free from the accusations of the temple officials.

Have you been like the woman accused by others? How did you experience the forgiveness of your God? When have you been like a Scribe or Pharisee pointing the accusatory finger at another? Cast aside the stones you have wanted to hurl at the other and look inside your heart and see how God’s forgiveness has made you a new creation.

Third Sunday of Lent C - March 23, 2025

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:45:37 GMT

After Moses has his conversation with God in the Burning Bush, Moses asks God for what name he should use in referring to God. God gives the vague answer, “I am who I am.”

Asking for someone’s name is a common occurrence. When we refer to someone with their name, we honor them. We all like to be referred to by name. This is one way we honor a person. Not all of us are good at remembering names, but when we do remember and use the name of the other person, we honor them.

One of the names for God is taken from our psalm, “The Lord is kind and merciful”. God is also patient.

The parable from the gospel about the fig tree is a parable about God’s patience. God, being the gardener, is willing to wait a year for fruit. God works the same for all of us. God is patient with us. Not everyone comes to faith in the same way or the same time frame. Some take less time, others more. When we see a new face in church we don’t ask “What took you so long?” or “Where have you been?” We simply say, “Welcome! It is good to have you here.” We ask and learn the name of the new person and we speak to him or her each week using their name and making them feel welcome.

Maybe you have been a fig tree or known someone who is or was a fig tree. This is a good reason to give thanks to the patient nature of God. Remember the kingdom is in the future and now.

2nd Sunday of Lent - March 16, 2025

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 14:15:00 GMT

2 ^nd Sunday of Lent C

March 16, 2025

One of my memories of being a student at SUCO in the 1980s were my trips to sit and pray at Table Rock, just above the Hartwick Campus. At that time, I could look down on the world’s largest train roundhouse.

Going up high gives one a new perspective. The disciples saw Jesus in a new way. Going down the mountain meant continuing their journey to Jerusalem. As we know when Luke uses the word Jerusalem he is speaking about passion, pain, and death. Resurrection comes later.

Standing on a mountain top the world feels very different. The problems of the world are far below us. One comes down off the mountain with a new vision. Even if they were allowed, how could the disciples describe what happened on that mountain.

Mountain top moments is one way we speak of the spiritual moments in our lives. A mountain top experience may take place anywhere and at any time. I am reminded of the moment Thomas Merton describes in Louisville.

“In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness… This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud… I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”

When have you had mountain top experience?

Where did it take place? What were you doing at the time?

( Pause here )

Lent is a season for adjusting how we look at ourselves and the world. In Two weeks, we have gone from the desert to the mountain top. Next week we will stand before a burning bush and ask God what do we do now?

Last Sunday I joined 200 Catechumens who placed their names in the book of the Elect as they prepared to celebrate the rites of initiation at the Easter vigil. For the past year of so they have been looking for a relationship with Jesus and the Community. These 40 days of Lent are their final retreat as they adjust their vision to be disciples of Jesus. We journey with them as we fast, pray and give alms. Let our disciplines of Lent help us to invite “mountaintop” experiences into our lives.

First Sunday of Lent, Year C

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 21:22:27 GMT

Man of Sorrows , William Dyce, ca. 1860

One of the enduring memories that I have growing up on the farm as a boy and young man was the annual spring ritual of picking stones from the fields that we had tilled for the planting of corn or a new seeding of hay crop. After the fields had been plowed and then harrowed, we would enter into the field, often the whole family, accompanying our tractor with its bucket loader. Each of us would begin this methodical search for stones that were large enough to cause damage to the crop planting and harvesting machinery. When we found those stones, we would then pick them up and throw them, or carry and drop them, into the tractor bucket. With the largest stones, the best we could do was to pry them up out of the brown earth with our hands and roll and flop them into the tractor bucket.

The image in my mind’s eye of the barren stony field with its brown tilled earth, and our methodical wandering back and forth, back and forth, back and forth in front of the tractor searching for stones to pick, conjures a parallel image of the Israelites wandering in the barren desert, a story we are reminded of by Moses in the first reading we heard today — a story not just of the Israelites wandering in the desert alone but, as Moses reminds them, wandering accompanied by God who heard their cry, saw their affliction, their toil, and their oppression , and led and accompanied them out of that. They were not alone; God was with them in the midst of their deserts and provided for them. We are encouraged to remember this today, as we wander in our own desert fields, picking stones from our lives: God is with us, by our sides, in our midst. And God the Son, Jesus Christ, invites us to seek his help in doing so. He tells us: “Come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28)

It is desert and stones again that we hear of also in the Gospel passage. Jesus Christ has been in a self-sacrificing fast in the desert, is hungry, and is tempted by the devil to use his power to turn stones into bread and to feed on them. He resists the temptation — pointing to and drawing strength from reliance on God.

Are we often tempted to feed on the stones that we carry in the desert fields of our lives? How often are those stones temptations, not to feed on something seemingly desirable, like bread, but rather to feed on that which is unpalatable — such as stones of bitterness, animosity, anger, discord, fear, discouragement, or useless anxiety. I think those are just as often the weighty stones we carry in our desert fields and that we may be tempted to feed on. It takes conscious effort to reach out to God for grace, in even the simplest of prayers, to resist these temptations, recognizing that often God’s grace comes through others around us who help us, support us, and love us. Let us not forget that we have in Jesus Christ one who, like us, has been similarly tested through what he endured; he is able to help us who are being tested ( cf Heb 2:18). One who invites us: “Come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus invites us to give him our burdens, our stones — whatever they may be: bitterness, animosity, anger, judgmentalism, fear, discouragement, anxiety — all of the things that ultimately rob us of the joy God and Christ desire for us.

We have an invitation and a choice to give these over to Christ —to let go of these stones. It is an invitation and choice that is mirrored symbolically in our parish invitation in the bulletin over the last few weeks to leave a stone at the foot of Christ’s Cross here in the well throughout Lent. A ritual act of handing over, letting go, and letting God; letting God take our stones which do not and cannot feed us, and instead feed us with his True Food and life-giving Word and Spirit. If you have not thought to bring a stone from home, fear not; there are a bucket of them here in the well. And, don’t worry about dropping your stone on the burlap desert sands; there is plenty of padding underneath! And as we leave our stones behind, maybe we can pick up and take away with us the kindness Fr. Chris invited us to share in his homily on Ash Wednesday; kindness that we feed each other with, looking out for each other, loving each other. It’ll be the same kindness that will end up feeding us .

Ash Wednesday - March 5, 2025

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 14:32:17 GMT

Ash Wednesday

March 5, 2025

In his book God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater , Kurt Vonnegut tells the story of Mr. Rosewater who decides to give away the family fortune to those who are in need in Rosewater County. At one point a woman who he helped out asks him to baptize her children. He tells his sister about this and she asks him, “What will you say at the baptism?” He responds:

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.'”

Sometimes it feels that is what we have lost as a community is the ability to be kind. I would like to suggest that for this season of Lent 2025 we all resolve to be kinder.

Here are three ways we can accomplish this goal. (I need to thank Fr. James Martin for these suggestions.)

First, don't be a jerk. You may be sick, tired, or upset about some minor catastrophe that happened at work or at home. That doesn't mean that you have to pass along your anger or frustration to others. Once I said to a friend, with mock seriousness, “My life is such a cross.” “Really,” he said. “For you or for others?” While it is important to share your struggles with friends, you don't need to make others miserable.

Second, honor the absent. Stop talking about people behind their backs. Few things are as damaging to our spiritual lives as denigrating other people. It's a serious lack of charity, and needless to say, it makes the other person feel terrible if they discover what you said – which they usually do.

Third, give people the benefit of the doubt. St. Ignatius Loyola mentions this at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises. Whenever there is any doubt about what someone said or did, give them the “plus” sign.

Being kind may be harder to do than giving up chocolate, but it's a lot more helpful to your spiritual life -- and for everyone else's.

8th Sunday C- March 2, 2025

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:14:35 GMT

8th Sunday C

March 2, 2025

The book of Sirach is full of good advice. Today we hear "When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks.” I am reminded of the words of Mark Twain, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

You may remember the movie Being There with Peter Sellers. Peter plays a man who took care of the garden on an estate. When his master dies, he leaves the estate to find a new place to live. His name is Chauncy, and he is the gardener. When he tells people who he is they think his name is Chauncy Gardner. Chauncy likes to watch TV, and he carries the remote control with him. He tells people, "I like to watch," and he shares rules of gardening such as “There will be growth in the spring." He is mostly silent except for these comments and people think he is a genius.

It has been said, “We have one mouth and two ears; which should we use most often?”

This week we will begin the season of Lent. With Jesus we will enter the desert. This season of Lent can be a time to enter the silence. Deserts are quiet places. You may want to listen more closely to what God must share with you.

In our well is our desert. You are invited to add to the desert by bringing in a rock. The rock will represent what defect of character you will try to get rid of in the season of Lent.

In the gospel Jesus warns against pulling the sliver in another’s eye and missing the plank in our own. So often other people are like a mirror to us. What I dislike most in another is what I dislike in myself. We may ask ourselves, “What is the plank in my eye that needs removing? And how will I remove it?" We are given 40 days to consider how to remove this plank.

Years ago, I was on retreat and at the end of the retreat they gave me a "dare rock". A rock with the word 'dare' painted on it. When we received the rock, they played a song from the musical Godspell:

Where are you going?

Can you take me with you?

For my hand is cold

And needs warmth

Where are you going?

Far beyond where the horizon lies

Where the horizon lies

And the land sinks into mellow blueness

Oh please, take me with you

Let me skip the road with you

I can dare myself

I'll put a pebble in my shoe

And watch me walk (watch me walk)

I can walk and walk!

(I can walk!)

I shall call the pebble Dare

We will talk, we will talk together

We will talk (chorus) about walking

Dare shall be carried

And when we both have had enough

I will take him from my shoe, singing:

"Meet your new road!"

Then I'll take your hand

Finally glad

That you are here

By my side

There is a lot in today’s scriptures to reflect upon for the next 43 days or so. Let us be silent and let the words of our God speak within us. In the next few days as we prepare for Ash Wednesday, we may want to consider what character defect we wish to address in this season. We place this upon a rock and give it to Jesus to bring with him into the desert and we pray he may take it to the cross so we may rise again on Easter Sunday.

7th Sunday C - February 23, 2025

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:49:16 GMT

7th Sunday C

February 24, 2025

The scene in the first reading of today’s mass reminds me of the scene from the Broadway Musical Le Miserable where the policeman Javert is spared by the thief Jon Valjean and can’t deal with the debt he now owes to this thief. Before he takes his life Javert sings:

Who is this man?

What sort of devil is he

To have me caught in a trap

And choose to let me go free?

It was his hour at last

To put a seal on my fate

Wipe out the past

And wash me clean off the slate!

All it would take

Was a flick of his knife

Vengeance was his

And he gave me back my life!

This is much the situation for Saul and David. David could have killed Saul, but he chose to spare his life. David had not heard the sermon on the plain in today’s gospel, but he chose to love his enemy, not to hurt God’s anointed one.

Saul was the first king of Israel and when his kingdom was under siege by the Philistines it is a young shepherd boy who goes up against and slays the giant Goliath. Saul should be happy, but when the people begin to praise David over him, he grows jealous and seeks to kill David. The women sing words that hurt Saul:

“Saul has slain his thousands,

David his tens of thousands’

As Saul chases David, one day Saul goes into a cave to relieve himself and there is David hiding and he has the chance to slay Saul, but instead he cuts a tassel off his cloak. The second time David meets Saul is today’ s first reading. David has decided to love his enemy. He sees Saul as the anointed of God and deserving of God and David’s love.

Loving one’s enemy is not an easy thing. We may not all have the kind of grievance David against Saul, but we all have men and woman who we find it hard to love. Love sometimes is a choice, we choose to love not because the other is loveable, but because they are created in the image and likeness of God and therefore deserving of our love, even if they don’t earn it. Choosing to love others may not change them, but it may change who we are.

How hard it is to pray for one’s enemies. The prayers may stick in our throats, but in offering them we change our attitude toward them and the world. A challenge we are given is to see our enemy, as like us, created in the image and likeness of a loving God.

There is a story told of the Christmas truce in the first world war. A group of British and German soldiers stopped the war for a time to celebrate Christmas. After this celebration many of them were unable to continue to fight. They had come to know the enemy as fellow humans and could not choose to destroy the men they came to know.

If we turn on the evening news, we will hear much about violence and hate in our world. We can choose to contribute or look for other news of the kingdom of God at work around us. Looking for the presence of our God during hate and violence is a discipline. One, we develop over time. This doesn’t mean we deny the brokenness of our world, but it means we don’t choose to let that be the whole story.

This week in the New Yorker Magazine I read a story about a deacon and a group of nuns who chose to visit women on death row in Texas. The women went into the prison full of fear and found they had much in common with the women on death row. They met them as fellow travelers and loved them as children of a loving God. The words of today’s psalm ring true:

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,

slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,

nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

We are invited to imitate the attitude of our God. We pray for those who hurt us and let God be the one to judge them and punish them.

We may not like it, but we may be surprised that the mercy of God extends even to those who hate us, or those who we think we hate.

6th Sunday C - February 16, 2025

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:55:27 GMT

6th Sunday C

February 16, 2025

We are already well into the Jubilee year that began on Christmas 2024. The theme of the year is Hope. Hope is also what our psalm speaks of today. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

How do we find hope? One way is to look at what hope does for us. Hope is gained by trusting in God. When I stop trying to control all life and circumstances around me I find hope. Hope is seeing the world as cared for by our God.

Hope is nurtured by planting one near God. The image from Isaih and the psalm are images of trees planted by running streams. When we plant our lives trusting in God, we find ourselves growing as a tree near running water.

Where do we find this running water? One way is to live the beatitudes as found in today’s gospel.

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

and when they exclude and insult you,

and denounce your name as evil

on account of the Son of Man

Poverty of spirit is the quality of trusting in God. When we place our trust in God we find satisfaction, laughter, and persecution. In the midst of persecution, we find the streams of God feeding us what we need.

This image of a tree by running water is an image we can work with as we search for hope. Hope is that quality that arrives when we let go and let God. When we recognize our poverty of spirit and rely upon God, we begin to be people of Hope.

• Hope is poverty of spirit.

• Hope is being hungry for justice.

• Hope is finding laughter rather than despair.

• Hope is the antidote to oppression.

• Hope is found as we focus on how our God is at work in our lives.

• Hope is found when we trust.

• Hope is found in the hands of a friend who reaches out to us in our need.

• Hope is found as I recover from an illness or a situation that makes me feel weak.

Two weeks ago, SUNY had a broadcast of the play Uncle Vanya. I often think about the last scene as Vanya and Sonya consider their lives at the estate. Sonya gives Vanya hope as she touches into her faith.

SONYA: What can we do? We must live out our lives. [A pause] Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live all through the endless procession of days ahead of us, and through the long evenings. We shall bear patiently the burdens that fate imposes on us. We shall work without rest for others, both now and when we are old. And when our final hour comes, we shall meet it humbly, and there beyond the grave, we shall say that we have known suffering and tears, that our life was bitter. And God will pity us. Ah, then, dear, dear Uncle, we shall enter on a bright and beautiful life. We shall rejoice and look back upon our grief here. A tender smile -- and -- we shall rest. I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith. We shall rest. We shall rest. We shall hear the angels. We shall see heaven shining like a jewel. We shall see evil and all our pain disappear in the great pity that shall enfold the world. Our life will be as peaceful and gentle and sweet as a caress. I have faith; I have faith. [Wiping away her tears] My poor, poor Uncle Vanya, you are crying! [Weeping] You have never known what it is to be happy, but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait! We shall rest. We shall rest. We shall rest.

I find myself thinking of the words of Lisel Mueller when I consider hope.

Mueller wrote a poem called Hope.

It hovers in dark corners

before the lights are turned on,

it shakes sleep from its eyes

and drops from mushroom gills,

it explodes in the starry heads

of dandelions turned sages,

it sticks to the wings of green angels

that sail from the tops of maples.

It sprouts in each occluded eye

of the many-eyed potato,

it lives in each earthworm segment

surviving cruelty,

it is the motion that runs

from the eyes to the tail of a dog,

it is the mouth that inflates the lungs

of the child that has just been born.

It is the singular gift

we cannot destroy in ourselves,

the argument that refutes death,

the genius that invents the future,

all we know of God.

It is the serum which makes us swear

not to betray one another;

it is in this poem, trying to speak.

Let us find hope as we trust in the Lord and drink from the stream of our faith.

5th Sunday C February 9, 2025

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 18:01:49 GMT

Have you had the experience of complimenting someone and they say in response, “It was not good”. Last week I told a choir member how much I enjoyed their meditation after communion and this is the response I got, “We made lots of mistakes.” It seems to me I am my own worst critic.

In today’s gospel, Peter says to Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” Peter was being his own worst critic. I am sure he was no more sinful than the other fishermen he was in the boat with. Jesus’ response is “Do not be afraid”.

Jesus is not concerned about the state of Peter’s life, Jesus chooses Peter because or despite who he is. “God never calls the qualified, God qualifies the called.” None of the apostles or the later saints were perfect people, most had no qualifications for the work God set out before them. They took a chance and became the ministers the Lord needed them to be.

In today’s passage from St Paul, St Paul speaks of the gift of grace,

For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.

St. Paul, like Peter, is aware of his own deficits, yet he is also aware of the gift God has given to him. God has given St. Paul the grace to accomplish God’s work.

We are all given the gift of Grace. God’s grace allows us to accomplish the work God has set before us.

David Brooks in his book The Second Mountain speaks about the second mountain of our lives. In the first mountain, we develop our Ego and look for transitory things such as wealth. In the second mountain,n we become more concerned about others.

When Peter and the other Fishermen felt the grace of Jesus’s presence to them, they left all to follow him, they found a new vocation. They were not qualified, but over time God’s grace made them effective.
The same will happen to us. The grace of God impels us to new things, and we leave behind old things to become a disciple of Jesus.

Baptism of the Lord, Year C

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 21:31:44 GMT

I have a question for you: Did Jesus Christ need to be baptized? Approaching this question academically, knowing that Baptism is one of seven sacraments the Church recognizes, we might begin to answer that by asking, “What is a sacrament?” The classic definition of a sacrament is that it is an outward (that is, a visible) sign, instituted by Christ, to convey God’s grace for our sanctification — to help us grow in holiness. So does it make sense that Jesus Christ would receive a sacrament instituted by himself to convey God’s grace when he is already fully divine — God the Son? Yeah, doesn’t make much sense, does it? And on top of that, if we consider that one of the primary sacramental effects of Baptism is the forgiveness of all sin, both original sin and personal sin, and we consider that Jesus Christ, fully divine and at the same time fully human , is like us in all things except sin, then Christ has no need to be baptized to receive this sacramental effect! So pulling those few strands of logic together, I think we can conclude that Jesus does not need to be baptized for the reasons that you and I need to be baptized!

…But does Jesus Christ need to be baptized… for our sake ? That is a different, and interesting, question. Today we hear from Luke’s version of the Baptism narrative, but in Matthew’s version, when John the Baptist questions whether he is worthy to baptize Christ, Jesus says “Allow it now ... to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). Considering the definition of a sacrament I gave you a few moments ago — that a sacrament is a visible sign instituted by Christ — some theologians and Church Fathers point to Christ’s own Baptism as that very institution, or at least the beginning of the institution of the Sacrament! By physically entering into the waters of the Jordan, and by extension the waters of all the earth, Christ blesses them and sanctifies them, that they may in turn become the matter of our sanctification in Baptism. Each of the seven Sacraments of the Church has form and matter: the form consists of the words and actions of the sacrament, and the matter is the substance or prerequisite for the sacrament. Water is the matter for the Sacrament of Baptism. So in a manner, Christ needs to be baptized to establish the sacramental matter and form of Baptism for our benefit. He leads the way for us, that we may watch, listen, and follow him, leading the way by having himself baptized. Interestingly, we re-present Christ’s sanctifying entry into the waters of the Jordan at his Baptism at each Easter Vigil before we baptize our adult candidates when we dip the large Paschal candle, the Christ candle, into the waters of the Baptismal font three times — Father, Son, Holy Spirit — Christ again blessing them, making them holy, making them the matter for Baptism, the matter of our sanctification, symbolic of our cleansing from sin through Christ.

There is another connection to the waters of Baptism and the sacramental effects of Baptism that is pointed to in the imagery of Luke’s Gospel we heard today: it is the descent of the Holy Spirit from heaven “… like a dove .” The dove reminds us of the action of the Holy Spirit, literally the breath of God upon the waters of the earth at the dawn of creation, bringing forth new life. The Holy Spirit descends upon Christ, revealing him as the new creation of humanity. Jesus Christ — God the Son, the Word of God — became flesh, became one of us, that we might become a new creation in Him . In Baptism we die to our old human nature of sin and its consequences that lead to perpetual separation from God and one another. In the waters of Baptism we are united to Christ’s death, with our sins washed and buried in the waters of Baptism. And from the birth-waters of Baptism we rise with Christ, sharing in His Resurrection to new life, united to Christ forever, sharing in Christ’s divine nature.

We invoke this symbolism, and our faith, not only at each Baptism, but each time we bless ourselves with holy water, and at each funeral, when we sprinkle the casket or urn with holy water and pray:

“In the waters of Baptism [person] died with Christ and rose with Him to new life. May he/she now share with Christ eternal glory.”

We symbolize this new creation we have become through Baptism with the white garment that is donned following the Baptismal rite. Infants are traditionally dressed in white outfits. Here at St. Mary’s, we use white garments for infants, hand-made by parishioners, itself beautifully symbolic of the child joining and being welcomed by our parish Christian community. Baptized adults don a white alb, similar to what Fr. Chris and I wear under our vestments. The white garment is symbolic of the newly-Baptized having put on Christ and risen with him. St. Gregory Nazianzus, a fourth-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, also taught that the white clothing of Christ also veils our shame, the wound of our sin. Baptized and resurrected with Christ, the sin is gone, but we bear the scars, just as the Resurrected Christ bore the wounds of His crucifixion.

God’s rich love and mercy are poured out upon us as salvation and grace through the Holy Trinity in the Sacrament of Baptism. There is nothing we do to merit or earn this salvation: it is God’s free gift, poured out upon us. This is what St. Paul spoke of in his letter to Titus:

…not because of any righteous deeds we had done

but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth

and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us

through Jesus Christ our savior. (Titus 3:5-6)

We are only called to seek, accept, and cooperate with God’s grace in leading a holy life. In Baptism we are incorporated into Christ and configured to Christ, marked with an indelible spiritual mark upon our soul, that claims us as belonging to Christ. And once we have been claimed by Christ, we can never be unclaimed.

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 16:39:26 GMT

Okay, so I need to address the pink elephant in the room — you all are thinking Fr. Chris and I are wearing pink vestments today! They are not pink, but technically, liturgically speaking, they are Rose. There is a church joke out there that will forever help you honor this subtle, but important distinction: these vestments are rose-colored because Jesus “rose” from the dead, he did not “pink” from the dead!

But seriously, in the Church, the liturgical colors are important; they have meaning. Today, the third Sunday of Advent, is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means “Rejoice” in Latin. We rejoice because of the imminent coming of our Lord, who literally births into our world like a flower blooming, bursting forth amidst a desert of thorns…like a rose! The rose color reminds us of this truth and that we should rejoice at the Lord’s bursting forth into our lives amidst the desert of thorns we perceive and experience in our own lives — thorns that sometimes scratch us, wound us, hurt us. Yet that beautiful, fragrant bloom comes amidst those thorns, amidst our hurt — just as our God does.

The liturgical color scheme of Advent (and Lent as well) reminds us of this truth. The purple color — technically violet — is a penitential color. I always tell the servers, “ P urple ribbon for P enitential Act!” Advent, like Lent, is a penitential season. We reflect on our fallen nature, our wounded state during this season, not in an unhealthy, perseverative “I am unworthy” way, but rather in a contemplative way that leads us to awareness of how we have hurt others and ourselves and caused separation and division — a way of spiritual growth that leads us in humility to reconciliation with God and one another, drawing us into a communion of love with God and one another.

So the Church chooses the somber violet color to remind and invite us into a somber reflection of our fallen humanity, of our wounded and wounding nature, not to lead us there and leave us there, but in point of fact to lead us out of there through our salvation and redemption in Christ. Something to be hopeful for, something to look forward to, something to anticipate — to anticipate, as we do in this season of Advent, the coming of Christ our Lord! You see, violet is also a color of royalty; so the violet of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ our King!

This Rose color we choose today is a reminder of Christ's imminent arrival, his about-to-burst-forth, blooming into our lives. Fr. Hyacinth Cordell, a Dominican priest, has described the rose color as “violet approaching white.” The pure white is the light of Christ coming into the world. As Fr. Cordell writes, the Rose color anticipates the pure white of the Birth and Resurrection of Christ. A birth and resurrection we are invited to participate in over and over again, with every Baptism, with every Reconciliation, with every Eucharist, with every act of love. Indeed, what’s not to be joyful about? And the Rose color of the Advent candle, the Rose color of these vestments, proclaim that Joy!

But I know; I get it. Most of us are not capital J-O-Y-Joyful! In fact, we often struggle to be lower-case j-o-y-joyful amidst the thorny thickets of daily life that reach out and grab us, hook us, wounding us and distracting us — obfuscating our path and experience of joy. This is real. How do we find joy in the midst of this reality? First, maintain our faith and hope in Christ the Light, despite all that is going on around us, recalling that he illuminates the darkness and conquers all of the trials of this life. Secondly, enter into and become the Light of Christ. Bear the Light of Christ to each other. Reach out to one another, serve one another; give to one another and do not expect anything in return. In bearing the light of Christ to one another, we will find the Joy of Christ blossoming in our lives. Sometimes the best therapy is to go help someone else. The Gospel passage heard today reminds us of this:

Share your cloak and food with the person who has none…

Stop collecting more than what is prescribed…

Do not practice extortion or falsely accuse anyone…

Be satisfied with your wages…

Sisters and brothers, remember the simple act of reaching out to someone you know or a stranger with a simple work or deed of kindness can have the profound effect of imparting the Light of Christ, and joy, abiding joy to both them and us, in whatever darkness we may be experiencing. Never underestimate that.

A story that Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata told reminds of this truth. She writes:

I will never forget the first time I came to Bourke [Australia] and visited with the sisters. We went to the outskirts of Bourke. There was a big reserv[ation] where all of the Aborigines were living in those little small shacks made of tin and old cardboard ... I entered one of those [little shacks] but it was only one room, and inside the room everything .... I told the man living there, “Please let me make your bed, to wash your clothes, to clean your room.” And he kept saying “I’m alright, I’m alright.” And I said to him, “But you will be more alright if you allow me to do it.” [Finally] he allowed me…

After I cleaned the room I found in the corner of the room a big lamp full of dirt and I said, “Don’t you light this lamp, such a beautiful lamp[?]. Don’t you light it?” He replied, “For whom? Months and months nobody has ever come to me. For whom will I light it?” So I said, “Won’t you light it if the Sisters come to you?” And he said “Yes.” So the sisters started going to him for only about 5 to 10 minutes a day, but they started lighting that lamp. After some time he got in the habit of lighting [the lamp]. Slowly, slowly, slowly the Sisters stopped going to him. I forgot completely about that, and after two years he sent word — “Tell Mother, my friend, the light she lit in my life is still burning.”

2nd Sunday of Advent C December 8, 2024

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 10:52:00 GMT

2 ^nd Sunday of Advent C

December 8, 2024

It has been said that “those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it”. It has also been said that “history is so boring. “The list of historical figures at the start of today’s gospel can leave us wondering why we need all these names, most we have never heard of.

When we read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus we have more names, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus ^* that the whole world should be enrolled.

This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

So, why all these names in the accounts of John and Jesus? These names place John and Jesus in the history of the world. When John says he is “preparing the way” the way is not for an imaginary character, but for a real live person, someone who is part of our history.

In the next few weeks, we will be replaying lots of history, “Do you remember the time we had the snowball fight?” “Do you remember when the tree fell over, and grandma’s ornaments were broken?”

History is part of who we are. In this season we are tempted to look back, yet this season is about looking forward. Our savior has been born, died, rose, and ascended. We now watch and wait for his return.

Our waiting is not a hopeless waiting, we look for and see signs of the Christ in our midst. Another aspect of this season is stories of conversion, Scrooges and Grinches become Santa Clauses.

We find joy in the hopes of the Christ child. Our readings today speak of joy. Our Psalm speaks of joy . “ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”

St. Paul, writing from jail, speaks of joy . Brothers and sisters: I pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you,

Joy is a hallmark of this time of year. Joy is also one of the fruits of the spirit. Those who express joy are full of the spirit.

In Advent, we await the coming of the Christ. We seek and find signs of the Christ at work in the hearts of men and woman, and when we see this we are filled with joy.

First Sunday of Advent C Dec. 1, 2024

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 10:50:00 GMT

First Sunday of Advent C

Dec. 1, 2024

This time of year, I remember the song from the Musical Mame, “We Need a little Christmas.” We have barely sung “O Come Emmanual’ and we are into Christmas.

I went looking for a mask to wear on Halloween and was hard-pressed to find the Halloween costumes among all the decorations for Christmas. In my estimation, the season of Advent is one of the most beautiful. These days are days of waiting and anticipation. We like Mary are pregnant with the Christ waiting for him to arrive. The words of Sr. Jessica Powers come to mind:

I live my Advent in the womb of Mary.

And on one night when a great star swings free

from its high mooring and walks down the sky

to be the dot above the Christus I,

I shall be born of her by blessed grace.

I wait in Mary-darkness, faith’s walled place,

with hope’s expectance of nativity.

I knew for long she carried and fed me,

guarded and loved me, though I could not see.

But only now, with inward jubilee,

I come upon Earth’s most amazing knowledge:

Someone is hidden in this dark with me .

The days of this season are short. We spend lots of time in the darkness. In the darkness, we look for the presence of Christ to be with us. In these days of Advent Jesus tells us ” Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

I have had conversations with folk who have told me “I am too busy to pray.” When one of his followers told St Ignatius “I am too busy to pray for 1 hour a day.” Ignatius told him “Then pray for 2 hours a day.”

The season of advent is a good time to look at our daily routines, maybe we begin some new practices. We begin to set aside more time for prayer. If we are vigilant in prayer, we will be better able to read the signs of the times and be better ready to greet the Christ at Christmas. Or in the words of Sr. Powers, we will live our Advent in the womb of Mary.

32nd Sunday B November 10, 2024

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:09:00 GMT

31st Sunday B November 3, 2024

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:58:00 GMT

30THSunday B October 27, 2024

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:27:00 GMT

30 ^TH Sunday B

October 27, 2024

Last Saturday I attended a poetry reading at SUNY. The poet Stephen Kuusisto is legally blind. He read for us some of his poetry. At the Q and A someone asked him how he can be so filled with joy. He told us that he finds joy in so many things in life. As I listened, his joy seemed to bubble over. Here is a man who is totally dependent due to his disability, and he is full of joy. Our scriptures today speak of joy. Jeremiah encourages us to “Shout for joy.” The psalm reminds us that: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit, Stephen Kuusisto, Jeremiah, and the Psalmist are full of the spirit. They are full of joy.

In the gospel we meet the blind man Bartimaeus, we are not told he is full of joy, but he certainly is determined. When he is told that Jesus is near, he calls out. The disciples try to stop him. For some reason, they don’t want Jesus to hear the cries of this beggar. Bartimaeus calls Jesus “the son of David” a messianic title. The one who can’t see light sees clearly “The light of the world” when he is near him. This blind man sees better than the disciples. When he is invited to come forward Bartimaeus leaves behind his cloak, his only possession in the world. Unlike James and John, he gives up all to follow Jesus, when asked what he wants Bartimaeus asks to see, unlike James and John, who sought a seat of honor, he asks to see Jesus as he is. After he receives his vision, he chooses to follow Jesus on the way to the cross.

We are not told of the joy of Bartimaeus, but we can sense the joy as he receives his vision and a new life as a disciple. The blind man, Bartimaeus, has become a disciple and he is full of joy.

29th Sunday B October 20, 2024

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 16:53:00 GMT

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle B August 25, 2024

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:55:00 GMT

25th Sunday B * September 22, 2024

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:29:00 GMT

25 ^th Sunday B

September 22, 2024

My father was often telling my brother, sister, and I, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything.” I am not sure this came from him, but he liked to say this. As I look back on his life, it seems to me he followed this advice himself. I rarely heard him say a bad word about others. (He may have, but maybe I have chosen not to remember those occasions.)

As I get older it seems harder to follow this advice. We turn on the radio or TV and someone is being critical about a politician or a political party. It is easy to criticize the boss or someone who is in authority. The words “I could do better" slip out, without thinking about what we are saying.

In the gospel today the disciples are talking about who is the greatest. When Jesus asks him about their conversation, they feel like the boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Just as long as they thought Jesus couldn’t hear it felt ok to talk about who is greater, but once they find out Jesus heard them they are shamed into silence.

How often do we speak ill of someone else when they are not around, but would never consider doing so to their face? Trash talk seems ok when the person is not there to defend themselves, but we are silent when they are around. This is how a bully acts. A bully is all bluster and wind when with his cronies, but if confronted he is silent. This was what happened to the disciples. When their words were spoken back to them they were shamed into silence.

“If you don’t have anything good to say, say nothing.”

In the section of Mark’s gospel we are reading from this month, Jesus is giving important teachings to the disciples. This section of the gospel is the “listen up” section. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the cross and he wants to make sure his disciples can continue on without him when he is gone.

Last week Jesus spoke to the disciples about the cross, “Can you carry a cross?"

Today we hear him speaking about what it means to be a disciple.

Mark tells us that Jesus sits down to speak with the disciples. When a Rabbi or teacher sat down it was recognized that his words would be important. This is the “listen up” position.

Today Jesus teaches about what it means to be a disciple. A disciple is about service. A disciple is like a child. A child in the time of Jesus was one without a voice or authority. The child was just above a slave and the child would be about helping out others. A child would not question “who is greater”; a child knows he/she is powerless.

The disciple in Jesus’ kingdom is a disciple who thinks of the other first and is of service to others. Pope Francis said; “if we are to be shepherds we must smell like the sheep.” To serve is a willingness to be one with the poor and needy.

I am reminded of the words of President John Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

Maybe part of being a disciple is making a decision to speak only the good news to others. Trash talk or criticism can be just fodder for the rumor mill. The book we read from each week is called The Gospel, The Good News. What we need is more good news, not trash talk. Let us speak in such a way that we would not mind the one we were speaking about hearing what we said.

Jesus reminds us, again and again, that being a disciple is not easy. One way we can school ourselves in discipleship is to be quiet. We watch our words and are careful not to speak about another in a way we would not be comfortable speaking to his/her face.

My father was not perfect, but maybe he hit upon a good way to live life.

“If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.”

20th Sunday B August 18, 2024

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:36:00 GMT

20 ^th Sunday B

August 18, 2024

In our first reading from Sirach, we hear mention of Wisdom.

Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.

Wisdom is often referred to as a female. A name for Jesus is Sophia, the Greek word for wisdom.

Sophia, Jesus in the gospel speaks about feeding with his body.

Jesus said to the crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

Like wisdom, Jesus feeds us with his body and blood.

It is in this likeness to a woman that we may find one way to understand Jesus’ words in John 6:51-58. Just as a mother gives her very flesh and blood to nurture a new life carried within her, and then continues to feed the child from her own body after it is born, so Jesus nourishes with his very self all who are birthed to new life through him (John 3:3). Similar to the union of mother and child while the latter dwells in the womb, so Jesus promises, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them” (John 6:56). The life that results is eternal (6:54, 58) and for the whole world (6:51). The mystery of how this life will last forever is also expressed by the Fourth Evangelist in a birthing metaphor when at the Last Supper Jesus likens his coming passion to the pangs of a woman in labor (John 16:21). The death of his earthly body is the birth to new life for all.

Some of the medieval mystics also found the image of motherhood a help for understanding the mystery of Jesus giving us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. Julian of Norwich spoke of “God all wisdom” as “our natural mother” and elaborated on how “a mother can give her child milk to suck, but our precious mother, Jesus, can feed us with himself. He does so most courteously and most tenderly, with the Blessed Sacrament, which is the precious food of true life” ( Revelations of Divine Love ).

(Barbara Reid, Within the Word, August 18-24)

Jesus, Sophia, wisdom tells us “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them.”

Each time we come to this meal we are fed as children are fed by our parent. We are united with our God who cares for us as our divine parent. We take the body and blood of our God into our bodies and we go forth to share this gift with those who we meet.

19th Sunday B August 11, 2024

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:29:00 GMT

19 ^th Sunday B

August 11, 2024

Today I find myself thinking about Raymond’s mom. In the series Everyone Loves Raymond , whenever someone comes into his mom’s house, she says, “Are you hungry dear?” Even if you answer no, she says, “I’ll make you a plate.”

When the prophet Elijah was down God sent him an angel to feed him. Elijah has good reason to be down. He just defeated the priests of Baal and now Queen Jezebel wants him dead.

The angel of the Lord knew enough to feed Elijah. He will do better on a full stomach. Just like Raymond’s mom. He needed to be given food. After Elijah ate, he could get up and go climb a mountain where he heard the voice of God speaking to him in a still small voice.

When I get down. I find myself looking for something to eat or someone to offer me a cup of coffee. In time I feel better, and I go to face what ever challenge God has placed before me. The one who feeds me or sits with me as I eat and drink, is like the angel who cared for Elijah. After a time I feel better and I can get up and face what I need to face.

The angels in my life bring me “Powder Milk Biscuits” (the long-time sponsor of A Prairie Home Companion ). “Powder Milk Biscuits give shy people the courage to do what needs to be done.”

How often do I meet people over lunch or coffee, and we seem to accomplish what we need to accomplish. When I feel at the end of my rope, that is when I am reminded that I am not in charge, God is in charge. When God asks me to do one more thing, God provides me the help I need.

Elijah is in the desert when God sends him an angel to minster to him. We have all have desert moments in our lives. We may consider who are the angels who God sends us to help us out. We may want to look for the angels; they may not be readily apparent to us. When we are in the desert it may be hard to see who an angel to us. We may wait and be frozen.

I am reminded of the play Waiting for Godot. After waiting in vain for Godot, the two hobos decide to go. One says to the other, “Let us go." The stage direction says they do not move. We can be the same, we can give up and become frozen. It is good that Elijah didn’t get frozen, for if he was, he would have missed God’s voice in the still small whisper.

When we are in a desert place, we are in danger of losing Hope. Hope can come in the person who brings us food. A letter from a friend. A song that lifts our spirits. Hope comes when we ask God to be in charge and we step aside to listen for the still small voice.

So often the ministering angel is the one who sits down and shares a drink or a meal with us.

Today’s Psalm number 34 speaks of the goodness of our God, “Taste and see the goodness of God.”

When life seems hard, we look for and seek the goodness of our God. We taste and see how good our God is. We find hope as we taste and see the goodness of our God.

We will all hit bumps in the road, we will all have desert days, but that is not the end of the story. We pause; we eat and drink and go forward to find hope in the words of our God. We, like Elijah, listen for the still small voice of our God and we go forward to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

14th Sunday B July 7, 2024

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:47:00 GMT

14 ^th Sunday B

July 7, 2024

Here is an insult you can add to your repertoire, “You are a thorn in my flesh.”

This is what St. Paul complains about in today’s excerpt from the second letter to the community at Corinth. One thorn Paul must deal with is those who he calls “Super apostles”. Those who think they have the corner on holiness in the community. Being super means that they are pumped up with their own abilities. They are far from humble. Paul is quick to remind them that he is not super. He has a thorn that keeps him humble. We are not clear what this thorn takes, but we are sure it serves to remind Paul that he is weak. He is humble because he is weak. Paul ends this excerpt by reminding us that weakness leads to strength from above. In his words, “When I am weak, I am strong.”

Paul has been given a thorn to keep him humble. We may ask ourselves what thorn keeps us humble?

How does my thorn keep me humble?

In the gospel being in one’s hometown keeps him humble. Many in his hometown can’t see beyond the child they knew in years past. Here is the child whose dirty diapers were changed by those in the synagogue that day. This is the child they spanked when he misbehaved. Are we now to see him as a prophet?

Being a prophet is not easy. So many of the prophets rejected the call from God. “I am too young”, “I don’t have the words.” “I will run away.” The prophets before Jesus and Paul took time to recognize that God chooses the weak. “When I am weak, I am strong.” One’s weakness allows one to rely upon God.

Recognizing one’s weakness means one allows the power of God to work through one. I am glad to be weak, for it means I am not the one in control. I don’t have to worry about the sun coming up without my willing it so.

So many of the saints were weak men and women who God called. When they let go and let God be in charge, they were able to do the will of God.

I am a great fan of the Serenity prayer by the teacher Reinhold Niebler. (This is the original longer version)

God grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time ,
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would like it.

Trusting that he will make all things right,
If I surrender to his will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this world
And supremely happy in the next.

One thorn I have been given is the thorn of fear. When I give in to my fear, I become frozen. When I let the fear recede and let the spirit take over, I go forward to do what God wants me to do.

One of the things I know is that I am not in charge. It is when I try to take control that I get in trouble. The work of my redemption is done. I just need to be weak enough to allow the spirit to work through me.

“Because Christ wore a crown of thorns, I bear the thorn of weakness.”

11th Sunday of Ordinary time B / June 16, 2024

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 11:03:00 GMT

11 ^th Sunday of Ordinary time B

June 16, 2024

This week we began the part of the liturgical year called Ordinary time. After the seasons of Lent, Easter and the Solemnities of The Holy Trinity and The Body and Blood of Christ we enter Ordinary time. This time is called ordinary because there are no major feasts in these days. We will be in ordinary time until we begin the new liturgical year with the first Sunday of Advent. These days are much like our lives, these are ordinary days. We get up, we go through our days, we look for the presence of God in our days. These days are ordinary that in these days our God acts in ordinary ways. In ordinary time we are like the farmer in today’s parable. We plant seeds that grow without our knowing how. We wake one day to discover a new harvest where barren soil was just a few days before.

This parable reminds me of the trees I purchased for my parent’s 25 ^th wedding anniversary in 1987. They were small trees today they provide much shade for the yard. They tower over the top of the house. How did this happen? It happened day after day, one day at a time. Today my parents are not here to sit in the shade of these trees. They have gone home.

Today in our third reading, St. Paul speaks about being home and away from home and the need for courage as we wait to go home. St. Paul reminds us that our home is not here on this earth, our home is with God. While we are away from home, “we walk by faith, not by sight”. We are courageous while we are away. Often courage is about the willingness to live one day at a time. We wait and hope. We place our faith in what we have heard from our Lord. We have faith in what we have not seen yet. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

We walk by faith, but our God offers us glimpses of what is to come. My friends in the Cursillio movement speak of “close moments” those times and occasions where God feels close or present. Close moments are not always found in the walls of a church. A close moment may take place in a family gathering, on a hillside, in a garden, in a card or phone call. We may not see fully, but we are given glimpses of our true home.

I am reminded of a meditation by the late Cardinal Bernardin.

Benadin wrote in his book The Gift of Peace;

“Many people have asked me to tell them about heaven and the afterlife. I sometimes smile at the request because I do not know any more than they do. Yet, when one young man asked if I looked forward to being united with God and all those who have gone before me, I made a connection to something I said earlier in this book. The first time I traveled with my mother and sister to my parents’ homeland in Tonadico di Primiero, in northern Italy, I felt as if I had been there before. After years of looking through my mother’s photo albums, I knew the mountains, the land, the houses, the people. As soon as we entered the valley, I said, “My God. I know this place. I am home.” Somehow, I think crossing from this life into life eternal will be similar.”

Last week St. Paul reminded us that in this life we dwell in a tent, that is temporary. We wait and with faith we wait for our eternal home in heaven. In this life we walk “By faith, not sight.” Someday we will see the fullness of our home in heaven. In the meantime, we look for glimpses of the world to come. Like a farmer, we watch day by day and in time we see the fullness of our home to come.

June 9, 2024, 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:18:00 GMT

10 ^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

The words of St Paul to the community at Corinth spoke to me this week. St. Paul is speaking about the shortness of life. He reminds us that our faith tells us is true, that our God takes care of us when we die.

Maybe it is an occupational hazard, but I have been thinking about the brevity of life recently.

I attended my annual retreat last month. I returned to the National Shrine of St. Anne where I have attended a retreat the past three years. The first time I was pastor of St Paul’s in Hancock I made a connection with Fr. Francis Landry at the shrine. He is a Passionist, a community that meditates daily on the passion and death of Jesus. They take care of the shrine in Scranton. I have known Fr. Fran since 2010, it was hard to see him struggling with the effects of Parkinson’s disease. I received a letter last week from the provincial informing me Fran had fallen and is now in residence at the provincial house in Jamacia Queens. I fear this was my last retreat at the shrine.

2 weeks ago, the final episode of Young Sheldon was broadcast. In the second to last episode, Sheldon’s dad suffered a fatal heart attack. In the final episode, we found Sheldon reenacting the last time he saw his dad. In his imagination, he thought about what he should have said or done differently. I recalled my last moments with my dad and how life can change in a moment.

Last week I offered Last Rites to three people. Those who have practiced their faith over the years seemed more ready to trust in God and go on to “the dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.”

There is an old credo that encourages us to “Live One Day at a Time”. This is easier said than done, but the truth of the matter is that all God gives us is this day this moment. We can make plans, but God is the one in charge. We live like the Israelites in a tent. This tent can be destroyed at any time. We leave it behind and go forward to a new dwelling. We are invited to trust our God today and into the future.

Every night St Ignatius recommends one take a daily Examen. One reviews the day and considers what one did well, did not do well, and gives thanks for the day that has been and offers a prayer for the day to come.

The examen helps in living one day at a time. When looking back over the day I discover many people, events and things to be thankful for. Each time I pray the examen it brings me back to living one day at a time. When told by a follower that he was too busy to pray St. Ignatius told him, “Never forget to pray the daily examen.”.

We are living under a tent, none of us knows when the tent will be folded up, but our faith tells us that we will be given” a dwelling not made by human hands, eternal in heaven.”

Holy Trinity, May 26, 2024

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:16:00 GMT

Pentecost, May 19, 2024

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:12:00 GMT

April 28, 2024 5th Sunday of Easter B

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:45:00 GMT

April 28, 2024

5 ^th Sunday of Easter B

Promise #3 of the 12-step movement is, “ We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.” These words come to mind when I hear about Saul in today’s first reading.

It must have been difficult to be accepted by the early Christians when he spent so much time in the recent past persecuting the Christians. Now he wishes to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Last Sunday we heard how the people piled their cloaks at the feet of a man named Saul as they killed Stephen.

Saul did horrible things in his past. I am sure many had a hard time overlooking what Saul did in the past. I am sure he had many sleepless nights when he regretted his past, yet his past is part of who he was and is. As he was strident in persecuting the Christians in the past, he was strident in preaching the good news in his present. His past is part of who he is. His nature didn’t change, what changed was his cause and his outlook on life.

We all have things in our past that we are not proud of. We all sowed some wild oats. What we were is not the end of the story. God uses the most broken to accomplish the building up of the kingdom. It is said, “every sinner has a future, and every Saint has a past.” What we were in the past is not the whole story. Saul was a single-minded persecutor of the Christians who became a single-minded preacher of the gospel. His way of operating has not changed, just what his goal is has changed.

Our past has formed each one of us into who we are. We can’t change the past, we may regret it, but we can’t change it. The best we can do is strive to do better in the future. It is often hard to put behind us our past. Some will judge us according to what we did in the past. Some will not see how we are different.

It takes someone willing to see beyond our past and look to today and the future.

Barnabas did this for Saul. Barnabas was able to see the man who was there at the moment. He didn’t’ t let the past sway him. He was willing to take Saul at his word and trust that the spirit was at work in him and that he was a new man.

Today we may want to consider what is in our past that we wish to put behind us. Who has been a Barnabus for us? Who was willing to give us the benefit of the doubt.

Who is a Saul for us in our life? Who are the ones who have a past? Are we willing to let them try on a new way of life, or do we prejudge them according to their past? Remember the saints, “Every sinner has a future, every saint has a past”.

I am not sure I would have liked Paul, but I am thankful for him and his ministry. Without Paul, few of us would know about the gospel.

As Fr. Scott shared with us this week, each type of person has a sin; sin doesn’t’ t define the person. Our pet sin can be a deficit and an asset for the way we interact with the world. So, it was with Paul. He was, in his past, and after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, a man with a mission. He brought all he was and is to his mission to spread the gospel.

Saul may have tried to get away from his past, he was even given a new name. A new name accompanies a new mission. Abram became Abraham, Saul became Paul. The pope takes on a new name Cardinal Bergoglio becomes Francis.

It must have been hard for Paul and the early church. There were many growth pains in the early church. The Holy Spirit came to help the disciples and apostles form the church. The church was and is made up of many who have a past. Our past is not the end of the story. As broken as we may be, we are created in the image and likeness of our God. Therefore, we are created and loved by our God and that makes all the difference in the world.

4th Sunday of Easter B April 21, 2024

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 13:51:00 GMT

4th Sunday of Easter B

April 21, 2024

When I hear about the cornerstone that is rejected I receive an image of a singing frog. Do you remember the Warner Brother’s cartoon One Froggy Night where the man finds a singing frog inside of the cornerstone of a building? He takes the frog and puts him up on stage, but the frog will only sing for the man when they are alone. He finally puts the frog in the cornerstone of a new building that is demolished in the future and the worker in the future thinks he will cash in on the singing frog. We can guess that he will have the same issue that the frog will only sing for him when they are alone.

In the time of Jesus a cornerstone was a stone used to link two walls at right angles, thus holding up a significant part of the building’s weight. If the rejected stone is used for this job it must have been rejected for a reason. As in so many of his images, Jesus turns upside down our expectations. With God that which we think is the correct thing often is not. God uses the imperfect, the broken to advance the kingdom of God.

In the cartoon One Froggy Night a singing frog is certainly a foolish thing. Sadly only one at a time can hear the foolish frog sing. We don’t expect a frog to sing and dance, so we reject the possibility and fail to be delighted by the show.

St. Paul has referred to himself as a fool for Christ. The gospel is often proclaimed by the foolish among us.

We began this month with April 1 being All Fools day. On this day it was ok to pull jokes and pranks on others. Jokes and pranks work because they upset our expectations. April fool’s day, Holy Thursday this year, was followed by Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. I am told that in the Russian Orthodox tradition is common to tell jokes on Easter Sunday since the resurrection is a joke on the devil.

Like a singing frog, the resurrection was unexpected and only a few were able to see and understand what had happened. The truth of the resurrection takes time to unpack and to understand.

Foolish things may be foolish, but that does not mean they are unimportant.

In history it has been the fools who speak truth to power. Foolish ones are those who help us to see the absurd nature of life.

In the plays of Shakespeare the fool is the one who speaks truth to power. In the history of the Russian church Holy Fools were held up as sacred persons. The fool is the one who sees in a clearer way. How often does a joke cut through all the posturing and get to the truth of the matter.

God has used the fool to advance the kingdom of God. How many of the saints were considered foolish in the eyes of the world. To embrace the gospel means to be out of step with the rest of the world.

The fool cares about things that and others when the world at large has given up on them.

In the gospel Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. Anyone who has worked with sheep knows they are not the brightest of God’s animals, yet the shepherd cares for them. Sheep are foolish animals.

To care for sheep one must get to know them. The shepherd gives them names and comes to know each one according to its ways of being. The sheep come to recognize the voice of the shepherd. Pope Francis has said that good Christians are shepherds who smell like the sheep.

The shepherd risks life caring for these simple animals. At night the sheep are gathered into an area with a wall around it and one way in and out. The shepherd completes the wall with his body and sleeps there so the sheep can’t leave and no intruders can get into the sheep fold.

In this season of Easter the joke is on the devil. Our God is the Good shepherd. Our God loves us so much he was willing to become human, to lower himself to be a fool, a member of the flock.

The stone rejected has become the cornerstone. The followers of Jesus were stones rejected. They were simple fishermen, fools in the eyes of the world. God used these fools to build the church that has lasted to today. Peter was a fool who promised to stay with Jesus till death until he quickly denied knowing the man. Judas saw Jesus as a stumbling block to his grasp for power so he betrayed Jesus. Paul saw the Christians as a problem to be eliminated so the sought them out and persecuted them, and on and on. These fools became the cornerstone of the church.

We often see children as foolish for they see all as new and speak their minds readily. How much truth and humor comes out of the mouths of babes. St. John in his letter, the second reading from today’s mass, calls us blessed and children of a loving God. He reminds us that we have gone astray like sheep, but have now returned to God.

A singing Frog is a foolish thing for those who can’t hear him. The resurrection is a foolish thing for those who refuse to believe. Sheep are foolish animals for those who refuse to know them. And our God is a foolish God loving us as we are as foolish children.

Thank God our God is so foolish. For our God loves us and in God’s wisdom we are saved from our foolish ways.

Second Sunday of Easter April 7, 2024

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 13:49:00 GMT

Second Sunday of Easter

April 7, 2024

We have spent 40 days working to grow as we prayed, fasted, and gave alms. The hope is that we are changed by the experience.

Our first reading from the book of acts tells of a community which is changed by the experience of resurrection.

“The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.”

We contrast this picture with the 12 disciples hiding in an upper room. They are full of fear after the resurrection. They seem to be the same as they were before the crucifixion. They are still full of fear and hiding out. Thomas takes a look at this crowd, and he is full of doubts, not in the resurrection, but in the status of the disciples. The resurrection is to have an effect on those who were the closet to Jesus.

These men are cowering in an upper room, (is it the same room as the last supper?), meanwhile it is the women who stood at the foot of the cross, it is the women who found the empty tomb on Easter morning. It is the women who are proclaiming the resurrection rather than hiding away in an upper room.

Where was Thomas the first time the resurrected Christ walked through the door of the upper room? Maybe Thomas was out looking for Christ or the woman who saw the empty tomb. Thomas was not cowering, he was active.

Luke in his gospel and his companion volume Acts of the Apostles is giving an example of what resurrection is all about. Thomas has doubts in the disciples, so he doubts their reports of the meeting of the resurrected Christ. Their actions do not match reports of seeing Christ. They don’t exhibit a new life due to the resurrection.

The goal of the resurrection is the image we found in the reading from Acts, unity. The disciples are united, but not as a community. They are united in fear. Soon the holy spirit will come and take away that fear. In the meantime, Thomas is there to challenge the disciples to proclaim the words “My Lord and my God.”.

Easter Vigil March 30, 2024

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:03:00 GMT

Easter Vigil

March 30, 2024

We began the Lenten Season with fire, and we ended Holy Week with fire. 50 days ago, we burnt the palm from last year’s Palm Sunday liturgy and today we lit the Easter fire. Fire is the sign of the spirit. (Isn’t it interesting that we see so many visitors when we deal with palm. They come for ashes and palms.) The spirit lead Jesus and us into the desert. We walked in the darkness of our sin, and we thirsted for the water of baptism to renew us in our journey in the desert.

The fire of palms and Easter is a fire that overcomes the darkness of our lives. Darkness is more about the inability to discern objects often the ability to see is about seeing beyond the concrete world into the other world. In the gospels it is the blind who see most clearly. The blind cry out “Son of David”, they see beyond the outside of Jesus into his messianic person, born in the line of David. Those who are blind find that their other senses become clearer.

This year I had number 5 and 6 surgeries on my eyes. My vision is something I have come to take for granted. I am glad doctors and surgeons can accomplish so much these days.

When I had my first large tear, surgery number 3, I was scheduled to travel to Rome for the canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha. I could not fly to Rome because of the gas bubble placed in my eye to hold the tear in place. I recalled that our local saint had vision problems due to smallpox as a girl. Tekakwitha means to feel around. I prayed and asked the pilgrims to pray, and my doctor told me I was fortunate to have any vision in my right eye. A year later I developed a tear in my left eye, a giant tear. Once again, our local saint came through. 2 years later I was sent to be vicar in the Mohawk Valley just down the road from the Kateri shrine.

Kateri was one of those people who could see with the eyes of faith, she had difficulty seeing the light and objects around her, but when she heard the words of the Jesuit missionaries she came to believe in Christ and his promises.

This year I met another girl who could see clearly with her eyes of faith. Marie-Laure LeBlanc in the book and series All the Light we cannot see sees clearly what is most important in life. This is what Elizebeth Hamilton has to say about the series “ …this is a miniseries about how sight can be deceptive. What looks one way, might be another. The invisible may be what matters most. The one who is blind may be able to see best.

Marie-Laure is quoted as saying “The most important light of all is the light we cannot see.”

The story takes place in the contest of Nazi occupied France. Marie-Laure as a child listened to radio broadcasts from the “Professor” when she is evacuated to friends of her father, she discovers the Professor is her host. She uses his radio to make her own broadcasts, some are used to transmit coded messages to the underground. He father has taken a gem from the museum and a Nazi wishes to find it because there is a legend it gives eternal life to the bearer.

There are many references to light in the story, Like the stories of the gospel healings, often Mari-Laure sees more clearly than many around her.

Another fan of the professor’s broadcasts is a German boy. He is tasked to seek and destroy the woman who is broadcasting readings from Jules Verne that in code give messages to the underground. Werner discovers affection for the broadcaster and seeks to protect her. She sees something good in him, even though he has conspired with the Nazis.

Hamilton again: viewers might go so far as to see a vision of the kingdom of God in this story, an upside down, hidden world that nonetheless exists, and is in face even more important and meaningful that what we can see with just our two eyes.” ….

Love is stronger. Love cannot be touched by pain. Love, ultimately, is the most important light we cannot see-and idea that once again recalls passages from the gospel where Jesus, who so often sees goodness where others see nothing, associates himself, his love his life with light. As their dear professor puts it, ‘Darkness last not even for one second when you turn on the light.”

All of us in our Lenten journey have been seeking for the light. Our fasting, our prayer, our alms are to provide us with a new light to see ourselves and the world in a new way.

I came to appreciate the gift of light that helped to illuminate the missal pages as I prayed the prayers at mass. Thank God for word-processes that allowed the words to be enlarged. I was told by members of the congregation that the words were visible from the pews. Isn’t it wonderful that God has provided men and woman who know how to heal broken eyes and bodies. Not too many years ago, I would have been blind forever. Thank God I didn’t have to shop for a white cane. I am thankful for a car that has safety features that keep me safe as I drive.

I stopped taking things for granted. I discovered we live in a world designed for the young and healthy. The labels on my eye drop bottles are so small I need a magnifying glass to read them. Thank God the caps are color coded. Why do all my appliances have black letters on a black background?

I pray that what I cannot see with my eyes I see with my eyes of faith. With the eyes of faith, one sees medical breakthroughs as a miracle. One sees the power of intercessory prayer as real. The words of scriptures and the psalms are words of the truth of God’s presence in our world.

Our 40 days in the desert were not wasted they served to sharpen our sight, as they did for Jesus. Back to the story All the light we cannot see.

Love is stronger. Love cannot be touched by pain. Love, ultimately, is the most important light we cannot see-and idea that once again recalls passages from the gospel where Jesus, who so often sees goodness where others see nothing, associates himself, his love his life with light. As their dear professor puts it, ‘ Darkness last not even for one second when you turn on the light.”

Good Friday March 29, 2024

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 17:59:00 GMT

Good Friday

March 29, 2024

Two of the names for Jesus are Light of the world and Lamb of God. We see both names are present in the Passion according to John.

In his telling of the passion John has a back and forth of Pilate as he seeks to find the truth. The Praetorium is the place where Pilate places charges upon Jesus. He goes in alone while the church leaders wait outside. For John’s telling of the trial, he goes in and out of the Praetorium. For John the Praetorium is the place of Darkness, and the stone steps are the place of light. Ray Brown in his commentary has this to say.

“” The Jews’ are outside the praetorium refusing ot enter; Jesus is inside the praetorium; these are the separated forces of darkness and light.

Pilate must shuttle back and forth, for he is the person-in -between who does not wish to make a decision and so vainly tries to reconcile the opposing forces.

For John, however, one must decide for light or darkness and thus judge oneself as one face the light come into the world.

By not deciding for the truth, Pilate is deciding for falsehood and darkness .”

Light is an image that will be very present in the Easter Vigil and season. As we gather in the darkness at the Easter Vigil the darkness will be torn by the light of the Easter fire and the Paschal candle ( A name meaning sheep) the Paschal candle will be lite from the fire and many small lights will be lite as the light of the world is passed from person to person. We will sit in darkness and listen the words of scripture telling us about the actions of our God before the time of Christ.

Later a light will be taken from the Paschal Candle and given to the newly baptized Christians.

On Easter Morning we greet the light of a new day, a day that reminds us of the light of the resurrection. A light we will all experience as we also experience resurrection.

Easter is possible because Christ died and rose for us.

John tells his story of the passion. He notes that Jesus is condemned to death, at the same time the lambs are being slaughtered for the Passover meal. The lamb of God dies to take away our sins to free us in the same way the Passover lamb freed the Jewish people. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Pilate asks the question, “What is truth”. For Pilate the truth is that Jesus is the son of God and Pilate is unable to grasp this truth. Here is Brown again;

‘” Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice’ is a test of Pilate; the judge is being judged.

Pilate’s response, ‘What is truth?’ is not to be understood as a profound philosophical question.
It does echo the imperiousness of the Roman who challenged; but ironically it is a self-condemnation.

His failure to recognize truth and hear Jesus’ voice shows that he does not belong to God.

This the last time in John that Jesus shall speak of truth, and his voice has not been heard.”

After these scenes in the gospel, we go with Jesus to witness his life-giving death. Unlike Pilate, we know the end of the story and we know the truth of Good Friday. A day that recalls a Roman execution has been named good not because suffering and death are good, but because as a result of Jesus’ passion and death we meet the resurrected Christ on Easter Sunday.

In a few moments we will venerate the cross, a torture device, that has became a sign of hope for all who know the truth of the cross and resurrection.

I applaud you for being here. Many will join us to celebrate the resurrection on Easter, but few are willing to stand and witness the passion and death of Christ.

May this day truly be good for all who join us this night to venerate the cross and honor the passion and death of our Lord.

Fifth Sunday of Lent A March 17, 2024

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:21:00 GMT

Third Sunday of Lent A March 3, 2024

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:53:00 GMT

2nd Sunday of Lent B February 25, 2024

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:48:00 GMT

2 ^nd Sunday of Lent B

February 25, 2024

When this old world starts a getting me down

And people are just too much for me to face

I climb right up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift into space.

On the roof, its peaceful and can be

And there the world below can’t bother me

The Drifters

Going up to high places is an old method to get away from life’s concerns.

Many like to climb to the top of the stairs, or on top of mountain peaks.

The problem is that we need to come down again and face what we left in the lower places.

In today’s scriptures, we find Abraham, Isaac, Jesus, Peter, James, and John climbing onto mountain tops. These are places where they receive messages from God.

In our first reading, we hear how Abraham and his son Isaac go to the mountain top to make an offering to God. One can only imagine what the trip down the mountain and the days to follow will be like.

Benjamin Brittan puts words in the mouth of Abraham and Isaac in his Canticle II.

Isaac: Father, I am full sore afeared
To see you bear that drawn sword.

Abraham: Isaac, son, peace, I pray thee,
Thou breakest my heart even in three.

Isaac: I pray you, father, layn† nothing from me,
But tell me what you think.

Abraham: Ah! Isaac, Isaac, I must thee kill!

Isaac: Alas! Father, is that your will,
Your owne child for to spill
Upon this hilles brink?
If I have trespassed in any degree
With a yard you may beat me;
Put up your sword, if your will be,
For I am but a child.
Would God my mother were here with me!
She would kneel down upon her knee,
Praying you, father, if it may be,
For to save my life.

I would like to ask the same question Isaac asks, “Where is the mother? Where is Sarah?” Did Abraham not consult the mother of his son? Did Abraham decide on his own, to sacrifice his son? Both Abraham and Isaac will be very quiet coming down off the mountain. Isaac will withdraw from his father and Sarah will comfort her son. Abraham will be left to wonder what this challenge from his God meant. We are left with some of the same questions. Why would a God ask for the sacrifice of one’s own son? This is the son who lived out the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars. Many have tried to explain this riddle, Many greater than I. This could be a homily for another time and place.

The second mountain is the Mt of Transfiguration. Jesus takes his closest companions up the mountain to pray, and they have a vision of him in glory with Moses and Elijah. Both companions speak of the promises of God to the people. Jesus tells the companions to tell no one of the vision. This vision will feed them as they face the challenges awaiting them in Jerusalem.

For Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Jesus, Peter, James, and John the problem with mountain tops and roofs is that one needs to come down. Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah are left with feelings of sorrow over the possible loss of a son and a God who demands such a sacrifice. Jesus and the apostles come off the mountain to go to Jerusalem, a place that offers passion and death. (The transfiguration may point to the resurrection, but they do not know about that yet.)

The same is true for us we can go to the roof or the mountain, and for a time we find release from life’s troubles and woes, but we come back down to face the slings and arrows of our life.

In these days of Lent, we face our struggles and invite God to speak with us on our mountain and provide a vision of hope as we come down the mountain.

Many will gather on Easter morning on a mount to watch the sun rise. As they climb the mount the night is dark, cold, and damp. In time the horizon reveals a patch of red and soon the sky is full of light. The night is ended and as they return to meet the day, they take with them the vision of the morning sun to reassure them that all will be well. The time on the mount changes the time spent in the valley.

Or in the words of the Drifters:

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I've found a paradise that's trouble proof (up on the roof)
And if this world starts getting you down
There's room enough for two

Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, baby (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, honey (up on the roof)
Everything is all right (up on the roof)

First Sunday of Lent B Feb 18, 2024

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:52:00 GMT

Ash Wed February 14, 2024

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:49:00 GMT

5th Sunday B - February 4, 2024

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:53:00 GMT

4th Sunday B January 28, 2024

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:48:00 GMT

To teach with authority means not the words spoken, but the actions that follow the words. Jesus spoke not only with his words, but with his actions. It may be that the actions were more important, it is only later that we look for his words. So often we hear someone speak and later we look at their actions. If the words and actions are out of sync, we reject both. Jesus spoke the love of God and he acted on that love of God. He chose to share God’s love on the sabbath, for the love of God is more important than the rules of humans. In his actions, as well as his words, Jesus taught about the love of God for others. We often speak of the Old Testament and New Testament God. The Old Testament God is often seen as a God who punishes people for their inconsistencies. Jesus, being the second member of the New Testament God, chose to look beyond the actions of the person and love the one created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus chose to share the healing love of God on the sabbath saying that the love of God is more important than the rules of humans. Humans can get caught up in laws and forget the love of God. Part of the ordination rite, is when the man to be ordained is handed the book of the gospels, the bishop says to the candidate: “Receive the word of God. Believe what you read, Preach what you believe, And practice what you preach.” In the words of Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel always. And use words when necessary.” We are all called to live lives of authority, just as Jesus did.

2nd Sunday of ordinary Time B January 14, 2024

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:46:00 GMT

Epiphany B - January 7, 2024

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:43:00 GMT