The spiritual conversion we seek is to ask ourselves what is God's plan for me in 2020?

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

The life of Jesus begins with Mary at the Bethlehem crib.  Therefore it is most appropriate we begin the New Year with a Feast of Mary – Mary the Mother of God.

As a people of faith we gather on this New Year’s Day to honor Mary, the great woman of faith.  We are told, once again, how she used time…to treasure and reflect in her heart all that God had done for her and how God was giving direction to her life.  Her example should speak to us for we also need to take the time to treasure and reflect within our own hearts what God is doing and what God is calling us to do.

It’s the time of year when we roll out the old and bring in the new.  It’s the time for making new resolutions, new promises to ourselves.  We resolve to devote more time to family life; we resolve to work more efficiently; and we decide to become healthier by dieting and exercising.

Our resolutions are filled with our dreams and hopes and goals for the coming year.  But the question that the Scriptures today invite us to reflect on is:  What are God’s plan for us this year?  Instead of focusing on our resolutions for the New Year, may we be open to God’s resolutions for us this year.

This is such a fundamental spiritual conversion the Scriptures call us to.  How do we become more aware of God’s plan for us in 2020?  Instead of naming my resolutions for the coming year, I seek to listen to God’s resolutions for me this coming year.

There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.  We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her.  With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy Word.”

Can we with Mary speak these words at the beginning of 2020:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your word.”

In contrast to the frenzy of our celebrations on New Years’ Eve, Mary pondered in silence and stillness in the Bethlehem crib.  “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

Mary pondered and wondered and discerned about all that had puzzled her in the message of the angels and in the gifts of the magi.  Yes, there was uncertainty and questions for Mary and Joseph as they pondered the messages given to them about their Son.  But her uncertainty about the messages given to her by the shepherds and the Magi did not keep her from reflecting and pondering about God’s plan for her life. 

To ponder means more than thinking, organizing, worrying, doing, procrastinating, scurrying, etc.  To ponder means that we pray with a faith-filled heart over the joys and the struggles and challenges of the day.  It means to meditate, quiet down and know we are surrounded by God’s unending love.  We give thanks for the blessings of the day.  May we commit ourselves again to imitating her openness to God’s will and her love for Christ and His Church.

If we want to celebrate Christmas Season as Mary did, we need to ponder this sign:  the frail simplicity of a tiny newborn child, the meekness with which he is placed in a manger, the tender affection with which he is wrapped in his swaddling clothes.  This is where God is.

What Mary pondered reveals a Gospel paradox.  The Gospel speaks of the emperor, the governor, the high and mighty of those times, yet God does not make himself present there.  He appears not in the splendor of a royal palace, but in the poverty of a stable; not in pomp and show, but in simplicity of life; not in power, but astonishing smallness.  In order to meet him, we need to go where he is.  We need to bow down, to humble ourselves, to make ourselves small.  The newborn Child challenges us.  We need to discover in the simplicity of the divine Child the peace, joy and the luminous meaning of life.

Jesus enters our life to give us His life; He comes into our world to give us His love.  In 2020  through the intercession of Mary, may we be challenged and called by Jesus.  Let us draw close to God who draws close to us.  Let us pause to gaze upon the crib, and relive in our imagination the birth of Jesus: light and peace, dire poverty and rejection.  With the shepherds, let us enter into the real Christmas, bringing to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds, our sins.  Then, in Jesus, we will enjoy the taste of the true spirit of Christmas:  the beauty of being loved by God.  With Mary and Joseph, let us pause before the manger, before Jesus who is born as bread for my life.

May the blessing that the Lord said to Moses be the blessing the Lord speaks to each of us:

The Lord bless and keep you.

The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.

Have a blessed day and a blessed New Year.

The mystery of Christmas celebrates that the power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.

CHRISTMAS 2019

Thanksgiving day is a special day for the Schwartz family.  56 of us gather at my brother John and Linda’s home.  After a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the many blessings we enjoy as a family, my brother John shared the announcement that went to the heart of the blessings of our family.  He announced with considerable joy that his daughter Jennifer was pregnant.  The gift of new life is our most precious family blessing.

With similar joy, one of the great blessings on my priesthood is the Sacrament of Baptism.  To experience and to share in the joy that parents have in the birth of their child celebrates again and again the miracle of God’s love in the lives of a family.  It changes dramatically the meaning and the way of life of young parents. Their child is now the center of their world.

The mystery of Christmas celebrates that the power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.

In one simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed.  From the evangelist Luke:  “While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.”  The power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.  God is with us in the Bethlehem infant born to Mary and Joseph.

This night of mystery had its origins on the darkened hills of Judea.  In the dark of night, an angel proclaimed to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid.  For behold, I proclaim to you good news of a great joy to be shared by all.  Today in David’s city, a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.  And this will be a sign for you; you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  No room in the inn is not simply a description of the housing situation in Bethlehem at the time.  It is a probing statement that is meant for us to continually reflect upon as we retell the Christmas story.

 And so, may I ask you what is the housing situation in the inn of your heart?   Is there room in the inn of our hearts for the birth of the Savior?    Is there room in the inn of your heart for the family member for whom you have difficulty getting along with?  Is there room in the inn of your heart for people who think differently than you -- politically, religiously, or in any way whatsoever?  Is there room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus who lives in the hearts of the poor, the immigrants, and children of all cultures and of all ways of life?

The mystery of Christmas happens for us when we connect the story of our lives with the story of Christmas.  Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.  The Christmas message is the story of God’s unconditional love for us.  As his disciples we are to fill this world with many other stories that mirror and give witness to God’s love for us.  That is the meaning and wonder of the Incarnation.

Our exterior Christmas decorations are up and they are beautiful.  What about our interior Christmas decorations?  May we allow the peace of Christ to enter once again into our lives, calming all of our anxieties and filling us with all that is good.

Many of us support the theme to “Keep Christ in Christmas.”   This is a great idea as far as it goes, but it just doesn’t say enough.  What about Christ are we keeping in Christmas?  The fact of his birth?  That’s not enough.  We need also to keep in Christmas the humility and simplicity of his birth.  We need to keep in Christmas the message that all are welcome at the Bethlehem crib.  We need to keep in Christmas the compassion and love and joy and the light that shines through all the dark places of life.   

Christmas is not simply about Mary and Joseph and the baby.  It is about God becoming part of our daily struggle, transforming the world through us.  We are the people who walk in darkness – the darkness of sin, the darkness of war, the darkness of relationships that are broken, and the darkness of the threat of violence and terrorism.  How many people in our world today experience “no room in the inn” because of race, color, religion, gender, or sexuality?  What attitude and actions of ours communicate to people in need that there is no room for them in the inn of our hearts?  Do we ever in our parish life make people feel unwelcome and there is no room for them?  The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes for people in dark places.  The real, lasting and deep joy of Christmas is that light shines in the darkness.

 

You may be sure that to whatever area of our life we allow the Christ child to enter, the darkness recedes.  The mystery of Christmas is allowing the person of Jesus to enter the inn of our hearts.  It is an invitation to look at our present moment through a different lens, the mystery of the nativity of Jesus, the wonder of the Incarnation.  This new lens enables us to see a new and radiant vision, a light for people who walk in darkness.

The story of Bethlehem points to a vision of hope, one that relies not on the exercise of military power but an on appeal to the common instincts of the human heart.  These common instincts of the human heart are very spiritual – a spirit of peace, a spirit of joy, a spirit of family, a spirit of love, the spirit of Christmas.

In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  We are missioned to be the keepers of the mystery of Christmas – God is with us. We give birth to Christ when we allow the light that is within us to extend to our family, and our parish family, and to all of creation.

The meaning of Christmas is to be found in the presence of Jesus among us and in our love for one another.  This is the time to celebrate and strive for the ideals that are the best of who God calls us to be.  May God give you peace and may we share this peace with one and all.

May you cherish every moment and every person in your life.

Have a Blessed Day and Merry Christmas.

When we are in touch with our spiritual center, Advent waiting is characterized by joy and not impatience and by hope rather than anxiety.

Second Sunday of Advent A  2019

We light the second candle of the Advent season today.  The countdown to Christmas is moving on.  The media, and especially advertisements, remind us constantly that the time is drawing short.  Of course, the reminder is too often in terms of how many shopping days till Christmas.

Today’s Scripture readings give us a different point of view.  “John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’  It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:  A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

John’s message is direct and to the point.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Repentance is a fundamental change of heart that results in abandoning sin and embracing God’s freely shared life and love.  John the Baptist had no trouble preaching about the reality of sin in our lives. 

To us who are still searching for the deepest truths of our lives, John the Baptist speaks to our spiritual journey.

Before we fast forward to the joy of Christmas, we need to repent.  Coming to terms with the gravity of our sinfulness and our need for repentance can be enlightening and life giving.  There is a school of thought that would like us to forget about the reality and even the possibility of sin.   John the Baptist did not belong to this school of thought.  John’s preaching challenged us to confront the demons of our lives.

We need to more aware of the wilderness that is in our lives and in our world.   We need to repent of all that keeps us from placing God at the center of our lives and in this Advent season we need to find our way back to God. 

The repentance we seek is a fundamental change of heart which results in leaving sin behind and embracing God’s freely shared life and love.  The prophet Isaiah promises that the Savior will usher in a new era of relationships.  Then the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together…There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain.  Woody Allen’s comment to this was:  The lamb and the wolf shall lie down together – but the lamb won’t get any sleep.’’

Could it be that we make this season so hectic that we haven’t got time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ.  It is the spiritual wilderness that we live in -- a wilderness in which the spiritual dimension is too far underground.

May we use the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a way of letting go of the sinfulness of our lives, of experiencing repentance, of turning away from sinfulness?

Legend has it that there was an island in the Pacific Ocean with a monastery in which there were 1000 bells that produced the most beautiful sound on the face of the earth.  Regrettably there was a volcano sank the island into the ocean and the monastery with its beautiful bells ended up on the bottom on the ocean.

Legend has it that you could visit the neighboring island and if you listened very carefully, you could still hear the sound of the monastery’s bells.  So this adventuresome gentleman went on a two week vacation to this island with the hope of being able to hear the sound of the bells of the monastery.

So he went to the edge of the island at sunrise to listen for the bells.  But all he could hear was noise -- noise from the birds, noise of the ocean’s waves, and the noise of the strong winds.  For two weeks, each day he tried in vain to hear the bells of the monastery.  He was confronted by the distractions of the birds, the wind, and the waves.  At the end of the two weeks, just before he was to leave, he went to the edge of the island to say goodbye to the birds and to the ocean.  In saying goodbye, he listened to the sound of the birds rather than seeing them as a distraction.  Then something happened.  As he listened with a spirit of openness to the sound of the birds, he heard the sound of the first bell.  As he listened for the sound of the waves, he heard the sound of the second bell.  As he listened for the wind, he heard the third bell and then he heard the sound of all 1000 bells and the monastery became alive again.

The message here when we notice the beauty of all that is around us, we will come to be aware of our spiritual center.  We will put on the Lord Jesus Christ who in the mystery of the Incarnation became one of us.  The mystery of the Incarnation continues until this day in the humanness of daily life.

In this Advent season, may we know the mystery of the Incarnation in the beauty of Christmas trees, of candles that reveal the light of Christ overcomes all darkness, the meaning of gifts and presents, the joy of children, the joy of the parties and the family gatherings that are such a wonderful dimension of this festive season.  May we listen to the sound of our children in a way that we hear the mystery of God’s love that is in them.

When we are in touch with our spiritual center, Advent waiting is characterized by joy and not impatience and by hope rather than anxiety, for we know the One for whom we wait.

rrow we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this.  Mary said:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your Word.”

Mary is our example of John the Baptist’s call of repentance.  When Mary said yes to the plan of God for her life, she made the decision to live out God’s plan for her life, rather than providing for her security and comfort. 

Each year the church marks the season of Advent as a time to nourish hope in God’s kingdom.  During these four weeks, we open the Word of God to hear anew God’s dream.  Advent is a wonderful time of hope and trusting in God’s promise that a Savior will be born to us who is Christ the Lord.   But for us to make room in our hearts for the Savior, we must heed the call to repentance from John the Baptist.

Advent, like discipleship, calls us to firmer conversion and deeper commitment.  The spirituality of the Advent season calls us to repentance of all that keeps us from placing at the center of our lives.  When we embrace the call to repentance, we experience the joy, the beauty of the presence of Jesus in our lives and in our world.

Have a Blessed Day.

If you cannot recognize in another's face the face of your brother or sister, the darkness has not begun to lift, and the light has not yet come.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT A 2019

So, Advent begins! A new liturgical year begins! A new Lectionary year begins anchored in the Gospel according to Matthew.

The theme of today’s Gospel can be summed in two words:  STAY AWAKE.

Stay Awake – we preachers like to give this good advice to you who listen to us.

In some ways, this Advent theme to stay awake is counterintuitive.  It doesn’t mean “don’t get any sleep.”  Stay awake is certainly not the advice parents give to children when it is time to go to bed.  Staying awake doesn’t mean setting your alarm clock to anticipate this major religious event of the coming of the Day of the Lord.  It can’t have this meaning as the Gospel tells us we do not know the day nor the hour.

To stay awake is to stay awake to the spiritual center that is within each one of us.  To stay awake is to pay attention to that which matters in life, paying attention to the relationships of our lives, paying attention to our relationship with God.  Within us, there is a deeper longing that never goes away.  It is the longing for love.  It is the longing to experience the mystery of God’s love in our life.

The scripture readings for the first Sunday of Advent always look to history’s end.  We look forward to the second coming of Christ.  We are to direct our minds to the Day of Judgment.  Today’s readings invite to focus on the end, not to emphasize our vulnerability but to remember where we are going.

The invitation of Advent is to remember our future so that it will transform our present.  As we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ at history’s end and the end of our lives, we are to stay awake in the present moment for the ways we encounter the Lord.

Thus, Advent is also about now, the present moment.  Stay awake.

In the Gospel, the evangelist Matthew sharpens our awareness that if we live our daily lives actively waiting for the Lord, we will not be caught off-guard when Jesus makes his appearance.  “For at the hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

We are getting better and better at protecting ourselves and our property from would-be intruders.  Does your home have a burglar alarm?   Our schools are becoming more and more vigilant in protecting our students from those who would harm them.  Getting on an airplane is becoming more and more of a security event to provide for our safety.  We spend millions, perhaps billions of dollars, for the Department of Homeland Security for the safety we seek to protect ourselves against unwelcome intruders who could come like a thief in the night.

The Advent season is our spiritual Department of Homeland Security to help us recognize the Lord in our midst coming at a time we least expect.  In fact, Advent is more that a season of four weeks.  Advent is a spiritual way of life lived in watchfulness to the God who comes – not just on Christmas but everyday.  The best way to get ready for the coming of the Lord is simply to be ready. 

We are to say awake – not just for the next crisis that may or may not appear in our lives.  We are to stay awake to the God who is relentlessly pursuing us in every situation and in every relationship of our lives.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, we gathered with family and celebrated the blessings of our family life.  Indeed, it is a precious God moment when we recognize the presence of our loving God in the life of each and every member of our family.  We affirm our family as our school of love. We are to stay awake as to the many ways God reveals himself to us in our family life.

I am blessed with a family of siblings, many nieces and nephews, even more grand nephews and grandnieces, and my niece Jennifer is pregnant and so we look forward to another precious gift of God to our family life.

I am also blessed in looking forward to coming to work each and every day as your pastor.  May all of us continue to stay awake to the many God reveals God’s self to us in our parish life and ministry.

We are not to bucket God’s presence to the heavens; rather, in the ups and downs of our daily life, may we experience the presence of God with us.  May we have an inner resource which speaks to us the mystery of God’s love that is within each one of us.

It goes without saying that the run-up to Christmas is a busy time.  We as a parish hesitate to schedule activities during the Advent season because everyone is too busy.  There are the Christmas cards, Christmas shopping, Christmas parties and decorating the Christmas tree.  There is nothing wrong with this Christmas run-up except that it is all consuming.  In fact, the demands of the Christmas season can be merciless.  There is always more to do and not enough time to do it.

Unfortunately, this busyness can put us asleep spiritually.  The rush of the season works against the message of the season.  It is what T. S. Eliot calls living and partly living.

I have heard the story of a wise old Rabbi who instructed his students by asking questions.  He asked: “How can a person tell when the darkness ends, and the day begins?”  After thinking for a moment, one student replied, “It is when there is enough light to see an animal in the distance and to know if it is a sheep or a goat.  Another student ventured, “It is when there is enough light to see a tree, and to tell whether it is a fig or an oak tree.

The old Rabbi gently said: “No, it is when you can look into a person’s face and recognize him as your brother.  For if you cannot recognize in another’s face the face of your brother or sister, the darkness has not begun to lift, and the light has not yet come.

As the old Rabbi suggests, we are to stay awake to the ways that indeed we are all brothers and sisters to each other.  In so doing, we are staying awake to the presence of the Lord in our midst.

God give you peace and have a Blessed Day.

Just remember that far beneath the winter snow lies a seed planted in our hearts that in the spring becomes the rose of God's love..

Thirty Third Sunday in OT  C   2019

As we head toward the end of the liturgical year, the evangelist Luke uses apocalyptic language to describe the end of the world.  We are confronted with the end of our own life and the judgement of God.  At first glance, today’s Gospel is not a feel-good Gospel of the merciful love of Jesus.

It leaves us ill at ease and puzzled about the end of the world.  The evangelist says: “Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.   There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”

At the time of Jesus, the Jerusalem Temple was an architectural masterpiece admired by Jews and Gentiles alike.  Imagine the shock effect of hearing Jesus declare that this grand temple is headed for total destruction.  It will end up as nothing more than rubble.

We would be alarmed if these words were spoken about St Joseph’s Church.  We have sacrificed much to build this Church – this magnificent organ, our baptismal font, our beautiful stained-glass windows, our beautiful mosaic.  We are attached to it.

The people who were present with Jesus were attached to their temple and all of its magnificence.  But Jesus admonished them not to be too attached to this external structure.

During times of adversity, Jesus was directing his disciples to focus on a more important Temple – the Temple of the Spirit.  Temples of the Spirit are being built for eternity.  Through baptism we become incorporated into Christ and become temples of the Holy Spirit.

We have within us the wellspring of eternal life; we have within us the spirit of Christ Jesus.  We are the Temples of the Holy Spirit.  We reverence the tabernacle in which the Eucharistic Christ is present.  We are to reverence the tabernacle of our own souls in which God dwells.  This presence within us will live beyond all the challenges of life and even beyond the death of our earthly life.

Yes, there will be adversity in life – struggles and suffering.  Some of this adversity will be the result of the forces of nature – earthquakes, fires, and flood.  Some adversity will be caused by brokenness in relationships.  Some setbacks will be caused by ourselves when our inner demons get the best of us.

There are plenty of dark clouds in the life of the Church and there are plenty of dark clouds in our country as we are in the midst of an impeachment inquiry.

But the meaning of the scriptural apocalyptic language is a story of hope in the midst of adversity.  In a word, God goes with us.  God is always a merciful, forgiving God -- not a hair on your head will be lost.  The fact that we face sometimes more than our share of issues to be dealt with that leave us vulnerable does not contradict our deep faith in a merciful, forgiving God.  Please God we can continue to trust even when we feel very, very vulnerable.

The message of the crucified Christ which is in the center of our sanctuary and is at the center of our faith life is a story of hope in the midst of the challenges of life.  The most significant challenge we face as the disciples of Jesus is to trust that there is a way forward to the struggles we face.  In fact, the setbacks of life can and hopefully do lead us to trust more fully in God’s promise that the cross is our pathway to sharing more fully in the risen life of Jesus.

Yes, today’s scriptures at the end of our liturgical year invite us to consider our own mortality – what happens when we die; are we prepared to face God’s judgement?  Somehow, some way, we have to deal with the truth that we are going to die.  For those of us in the second half of life, this reality of our own death is more on our radar screen.

One of the deep truths of our Christian faith is that only when we do not fear death can we truly begin to live.  We live life with the end in mind.  We live with the faith that in dying we are born to eternal life.

How do we prepare for the final judgment of God when our time on earth comes to an end?   We do this best when we recognize the inbreaking of God in our daily life.  Our first encounter with God is not at our death; rather God seeks to encounter us this day.  How we deal with the little deaths of life is how we prepare to encounter the loving mercy of God ultimately.  The little deaths of life are all the setbacks, the disappointments, the times we have been misunderstood and treated unfairly.

God’s judgment of us will not be feared if we can trust in God’s merciful and forgiving love that is given to us each and every day of our life.  God never takes a vacation in his love for us.  Even though there are situations in life that leave us fearful and vulnerable, may we still hope and trust in the merciful love of Jesus.

God even uses Mother Nature to remind us of the story of hope in the midst of adversity.   This time of year is a time of dying, but this reality doesn’t have to be terrifying.  As the leaves fall from the trees and have died, as the days grow shorter and the hours of darkness increase, we are very much aware of the change of seasons and the cycle of life.  But as was inscribed in the haunting song of Bette Midler’s THE ROSE:  “Just remember that far beneath the winter snow lies the seed that in the spring becomes the rose.

So too, just remember beneath the adversity we face in the Church and in the world, far beneath the winter snow there lies a seed planted in our hearts that in the spring becomes the rose of God’s love.

Have a blessed day.

Our spirituality of stewardship invites us to place God first in our lives.

Thirty Second Sunday in OT  C  2019

The Sundays of November bring us to the conclusion of the Church Year.  Today’s readings also call to our minds the conclusion of our own years on earth.  The mystery of life and death, like holy twins, reside within each one of us. 

One of my all-time favorite song is Bette Midler’s The Rose.  She sings, “It’s the soul afraid of dying, who never learns to live.”  She is right.  Unless we have identified our ultimate values, we have not begun to live fully, for we are locked behind the bars of fear.

So my question for you today is: “Just what are you willing to die for?”  I realize this is a rather heavy question, especially if you haven’t had your first cup of coffee this morning.  This is the question the Scriptures invite us to consider.  Just what is big enough, important enough that I would give my life for it?

As we edge toward the end of another liturgical year and the beginning of Advent, the Scriptures address our deepest fears and offer our profoundest hope.  What happens when you die?

In the first Scripture reading from the Book of Maccabees:  “It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law.  One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:  “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us?  We are ready to die rather than transgress the law of our ancestors.”

The brothers and their mother had drawn a line in the sand.   Their trust and faith in God was that important to them.  Their trust in a resurrection faith was non-negotiable.  It was to die for.

The Scriptures today invite to reflect on the lives of people who place God first in their lives.

Today’s Gospel passage comes late in Luke’s Gospel and late in the liturgical year.   In the Gospel, the Sadducees were the religious leaders who denied that there was life after death.  To prove their belief, they asked Jesus a trick question about a woman who ended marrying seven brothers.  Then they Jesus the absurd question:  whose wife will this woman be in the resurrection?

The Scriptures calls us to reflect on the last things – on death and the mystery of the resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of Christian faith, the source of our hope, the cause of our joy.  In the light of a resurrection faith, we seek to place God first in our lives.

On this Stewardship Commitment Sunday, we are inviting you to reflect on the spirituality of stewardship.  It means we wish to place God first in our lives.  It means we live a life of gratitude, conscious of the many blessings that are part of our lives.  We are inviting you to make a stewardship commitment of time and talent.

Today is our annual Stewardship Commitment Sunday.  The bulletin last week had a stewardship section on time and talent.  Our stewardship of time is our prayer life.  Does our prayer reflect our desire to place God first in our lives?  Where is there room for improvement?  Our stewardship of talent is our commitment to use one of our God-given talents for the building up our faith community in ways that we witness to the love of Jesus to one another and to all in our community.  Our stewardship of talent affirms that all of us are stakeholders in our parish life.

Our vibrancy as a parish is affirmed by all of us sharing what we have in the service of one another. 

We ask you in today’s Sunday offering to place the tear-off section of last Sunday’s bulletin in the collection.  If you forgot to bring the stewardship commitment form with you this morning, no worries.  There are extra commitment forms in the pews.  We ask to take a couple of moments after the homily to fill out a commitment form and place in the collection basket.  

I invite you to think about your commitment to stewardship and filling out a commitment card in the context of placing God first in your life.  The choices we make reflect our level of commitment.  Know that the Scriptures place our stewardship commitment in the context of our ultimate stewardship – to give our whole life back to God.  As proclaimed in the first Scripture reading from the Book of Maccabees, the stewardship of the brothers and their mother was not just 10%; it is about giving our whole life back to God.  We belong to God.  How much of ourselves can we afford to give? 

The Gospel answer to that question is clear and unmistakable.  As long as our loving continues to give to us, we are never to stop giving in the service of one another.

May we take the next few minutes either to fill out a stewardship commitment card or if your card is ready to be placed in the collection, simply be still in the presence of our loving God.

Have a Blessed Day.

What tree do I need to climb in order to encounter the Lord more deeply in my life?

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN OT  C  2019

What was he thinking?  This short-of-stature tax-collector who took advantage of people climbed this sycamore tree.  Zacchaeus wanted to catch sight of Jesus as he was about to pass by.  Something must have been going inside of Zacchaeus.  Perhaps he simply meant to see Jesus without being seen.

Zacchaeus surely didn’t expect Jesus to stop and to look up at him as he was passing by.  But that’s what happened.  In fact, Jesus looked into the heart of Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus experienced the compassionate love of Jesus at this moment.  Jesus said: “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay in your home.”

That simple word of friendship was all Zacchaeus needed to undergo a complete transformation.

The story of Zacchaeus is our story as well.  How does the Lord encounter you in your life?  As was the case of Zaccheaus, what would it take for you to realize that you need the Lord?

It is worth noting in this Gospel account that both Jesus and Zacchaeus sought each other out.  Zacchaeus climbed the sycamore tree to get a better vantage point from which to see Jesus.  In turn, Jesus called forth Zacchaeus by name saying:  “Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.”  The joy is palpable between them.

The back story on Zacchaeus:  He was an unloved sinner.  He is not an attractive person.  He worked for the enemy as a Roman tax collector.  He had become a wealthy man, perhaps by overtaxing the poor.  His physical smallness matched the low esteem in which he was held.   Then there was an awareness in Zacchaeus that his lifestyle led to loneliness and greediness.  He was coming to the awareness that there was more to life than getting rich by taking advantage of people. 

At this point, Zacchaeus just wanted to see Jesus.  And so, he climbed the sycamore hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was going to be passing by.

A significant moment of grace in this Gospel account is when Jesus stopped and caught sight of Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree.  Jesus looked into his heart with love and invited him down as Jesus wished to come to his house today.  Zacchaeus, at that moment, experienced himself as loved by the Lord.  This beautiful moment of encounter with the Lord was a conversion in Zacchaeus.  Nothing would ever be the same.

This is our story as well when we experience ourselves as being loved by the Lord.  Nothing is ever the same.

Notice the sharp contrast between Zacchaeus as he is the recipient of the Lord’s extravagant mercy and unconditional forgiveness and the crowd of the so-called righteous who grumbled judgmentally at God’s mercy.   In this Gospel account, Jesus desired to save not only the sinner Zacchaeus, but Jesus wanted also to save the people who were so ready to condemn Zaccheaus.  As a sinner’s home became salvation’s house for Zacchaeus, Jesus was directing this message to the religious leaders of his day that God is extravagant in mercy and unconditional in the forgiveness of sins.  Instead of anger and violence and judgment, they are to proclaim to one and all the merciful love of God to people in need.

Who are the lost in the Gospel today?  Is it Zacchaeus who rejoices in the compassion and forgiveness of Jesus or is it the righteous who grumble that Jesus is staying at the house of a sinner. Jesus is inviting Zacchaeus to experience repentance and to move forward into life and the fullness of life.  The folks who were accompanying Jesus were left grumbling at God’s mercy.

Where do find ourselves in this Gospel account as we gather for this celebration of the Eucharist.  Are we aware of our need to encounter the Lord as did Zacchaeus or are we more focused on our judgments on the worthiness or unworthiness of others?  Are we scandalized by the extravagance in which Jesus reaches out to others?

In the Gospel, Zacchaeus  wanted more of life that what his wealth provided him.  He had isolated by his greed and wealth.  He wanted to experience the love he saw in the followers of Jesus.  This awareness of his need for the healing and forgiving love of God provides the fertile soil to experience the extravagance of God’s mercy.

As we gather for Eucharist, please God we too have that awareness of our need for God’s healing love.  If you recall last Sunday’s Gospel about another tax collector, his simple prayer:  “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.”  Do we come before the Lord in a spirit of humility? 

I invite you as pray over this Gospel is to ask yourself the question:  What tree do I need to climb in order to encounter the Lord more deeply in my life?  

  

I tell you in our parish life, the tree we are climbing is to share ministry more intentionally with parishioners of Holy Spirit.  As you take home a bulletin today, you will notice that it is a joint bulletin and this bulletin is being given to parishioners of both parishes.  The cover of the bulletin highlight our call to a stewardship of time and talent.  There is a tear off section to the stewardship section.  We are asking you to tear off this section of the bulletin and to prayerfully commit to a stewardship of time in which prayer become a more focused priority for your life,  and a stewardship of talent in which you commit a talent of yours in helping us as a parish community to witness to the love of Jesus in our parish and in our communities.

In receiving Jesus into his home, Zacchaeus accepted God’s outreach of love.  Zacchaeus was then inspired to share what he had.  Zacchaeus said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.

Zacchaeus not only physically welcomes Jesus into his home but also offers him every aspect of his life.  Are we willing to welcome Jesus into our hearts, and are we willing to commit ourselves to a life of stewardship in our spiritual journey.  Perhaps you have never previously filled out a commitment card reflecting your desire to share some of your talents in the service of others.

The Lord wishes to encounter you as much as the Lord desired to encounter Zaccaheus.  When we open ourselves up to accepting God’s love into our hearts, we like Zacchaeus will experience how our lives change in our desire to serve the needs of one another.

Next Sunday is Stewardship Commitment Sunday in which you will be invited to place your tear-off commitment in the collection next Sunday.

Have a Blessed Day.

May we measure our discipleship of the Lord Jesus not by what we have but by what we have given away.

Thirtieth Sunday in OT  C  2019

Have you thought about what Gospel you would like proclaimed at your funeral liturgy?  What Gospel best describes your spirituality?  I suppose this seems like a strange question.

When the late Benedictine Cardinal Basil Hume learned that he had terminal cancer, he specified that this Gospel of the Pharisee and the Publican tax collector was to be the Gospel for his funeral liturgy.  When asked why, the Cardinal explained:  Two short months ago when I learned of my terminal cancer, I was at first tempted to think “If only”…”if only” I could start all over again, I would be a much better monk, a much better abbot, and a much better bishop.  But then on second thought how much better to come before God not to say thank you that I was such a good monk, a good abbot, a good bishop, but rather I simply want to say to the Lord: “O God. Be merciful to me a sinner.”  For If I come empty-handed, then I will be ready to receive God’s gift of his merciful love.

Indeed, this beautiful Gospel can make every day of our life a jubilee of mercy.   May we come before the Lord not impressed by our own accomplishments, but rather in a spirit of humility we are loved and healed and forgiven by the merciful love of Jesus.

The parable reminds us that when we pray, we must remember our need for God in our lives. If we are too full of ourselves, there is too little room for God's grace to work in us.  And so we begin our liturgy with the penitential rite asking for God’s merciful forgiveness; before receiving Communion, we pray:  “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; say only the word and my soul shall be healed.”

The unspoken question in today’s Gospel:  which of the two:  the Pharisee or the publican tax collector are you?  In our personal inventory of the actions of our lives, there is probably a bit of the Pharisee and a bit of the publican in all of us.

The Pharisees were for the most part religious people.  Most of the people held them in high esteem.  We too can point to many accomplishments in our lives.  Many “I” statements:  I succeeded in school; I make good money; I know the right people; I support the Church and charitable causes; I once worked in a soup kitchen.

There is a temptation for some of us who come to Church Sunday after Sunday and wonder why the Church is not more packed with parishioners like the good old days. We are not called to come to Church on Sunday and look down on those who no longer have faith. That would make us exactly like the Pharisee in today’s Gospel from Luke.   Instead, we should be asking the Lord to have mercy on us, to change our lives, to make us fully alive in Him so that others can see the presence of God once more active in our world.

If you listen closely to the Pharisee’s prayer, he really isn’t speaking to God, the evangelist Luke says:  “He spoke this prayer to himself.”  He probably was one of those churchy types whose very presence makes you aware that you don’t measure up.   

Let me be quick to say the problem for the Pharisee was not his piety and religious observance, but his inability to name his dependence on God.

In fact, we are asking you to be generous in your generosity to the CMA, and on the weekend of November 10 we celebrate Stewardship Commitment Sunday of Time and Talent.  We are not trying to turn you into proud Pharisees by which you list all your proud accomplishments on your commitment card.  We are asked to give and share ourselves generously with others so that we then come before the Lord empty-handed and trust that we then will be the recipients of the merciful love of Jesus.

We really have it right it right as disciples of Jesus when we give and share ourselves so completely that we need to trust only in the merciful love of Jesus. The perfect example of one who has given himself so completely is the apostle Paul.  In the second Scripture reading, Paul writes:  “I am already being poured out like a libation and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight; I have completed the race; I have kept the faith.”   Paul is saying that his entire life has been a pouring out, an emptying of himself.

The temptation for us is to think that life in Christ is measured by our successes, our achievements.  Our house is filled with credentials and trophies.  Life is about

Me, and what I have.  The spiritual problem is that we are filled with ourselves and there is no room for God.

In contrast, Paul writes from prison and measures his discipleship by what he has given away.  So much so, that he comes the Lord empty handed and simply trusts in the merciful of Jesus.

Please God we do not consider our plate as already too filled to be available for others.  As long as the Lord keeps on loving us, we are to keep on loving others -- in gratitude for the love we have received.  As with St Paul, may our lives be poured like a libation, and may we measure our discipleship of the Lord Jesus not by what we have but by what we have given away.

Going back to the Gospel, the tax collector comes empty handed before the Lord and simply says:  “O God be merciful to me a sinner.”  It is important to know the reputation of tax collector in Jesus’ day.  Tax collectors commonly stole from those they taxed and pocketed the money for themselves.  They accepted bribes as a matter of routine.  In this Gospel account, the significant message is that this tax collector trusted in God’s mercy.

If a tax collector can find mercy before God, who is excluded?   May we never exclude anyone in our parish life from being the generous recipients of the mercy of God.   Instead of the Pharisee, may our model for prayer be the tax collector.  We are drawn to trusting in the great mercy of God.  Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, say only the word and my soul shall be healed.

Have a Blessed Day.

As disciples of Jesus, how could we ever dare to judge or exclude a fellow leper, a fellow sinner?

The story of the ten lepers is a very familiar one, and everyone is reminded of the need for gratitude.  We are to live in gratitude.  All of life is a gift to us. May we live life with an attitude of gratitude for the ways that our lives are so richly blessed.

Gratitude is not a just social grace in learning to say thank you.  Gratitude is a habit of the heart.  Gratitude enriches us:  it opens us to experience the bounty of God and the generosity of others.  The more we become grateful people, the more we will find to be grateful for.  I know for myself as I am open to seeing the goodness and the beauty of others, I find myself more and more recognizing the many blessings of life.

The great mystic, Meister Eckhart, once said, “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.  The prayer of gratitude is our best prayer.  Each time we gather to celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist, we gather to give thanks to the Lord our God.

Lepers in ancient times were unclean, as people to be shunned and kept far apart.  It was one of so many things for which society ostracized individuals.  When Jesus healed the lepers, he told them to go to the priest who could end their isolation and restore them to the community. 

For Jesus, the mission of the priest, indeed the mission of the whole Church is to reconcile and welcome one and all into the community of the disciples of Jesus.  In God’s eyes, we are all meant to be brothers and sisters with each other.  This is the great truth of our lives as the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Spirit.  In Christ Jesus, we are brothers and sisters to one another.

Did Jesus cast aside anyone as He traveled the roads or cities of His times?  How often did He point out that love of God was central, and that the temple and law were to facilitate and serve women and men, not to burden and harden their journey.  Anything separating us from each other or from God is not then in God’s plan.  Unnecessary burdens or regulations or laws are just that and should be abandoned.

Truth be told.  In some way or another are we not all Samaritans and lepers, outsiders and outcasts, yet graciously admitted to the covenant by the love of God that dares to violate boundaries in order to make us whole again.  As each one of us examines our conscience, we need to confess that our sinfulness separates us from God’s loving embrace, and yet it is always God’s desire that we are welcomed back into the covenant of His love.  How then could we ever dare to judge or exclude a fellow leper, a fellow sinner?

Is this Gospel message motivational for you to give to the CMA in support of all the diocesan ministries?  The purpose of your CMA gift is to enhance the capacity of the Church to be a Church of welcome, to be a Church of healing, and to be a Church that reconciles outsiders and outcasts.  The more we hold ourselves to be accountable to giving to the CMA, the more blessed our generosity becomes and the more we experience in the depths of our being the heart of God.

Today Jesus sees ten lepers from afar and shows extraordinary mercy.  Jesus looks upon us as well and shows extraordinary mercy.  We are called to be witnesses of the extraordinary mercy of Jesus in the lives of one and all.  This is our God-given mission as a parish community.

We see the Samaritan healed leper coming back to give thanks.  God’s healing love is a gift (a grace) that is given to the ten lepers in the Gospel account and God’s gift of His love is given to each one of us, but God’s love to us demands a response, a RSVP.  Our response to the love of God is that we are to live in gratitude; we are to live a life of stewardship in which we show our gratitude by sharing what we have with others.  As disciples we seek to live out our faith in the actions of our lives as a means of giving thanks. 

The profound message and warning that can be found in the healing of the ten lepers is the temptation of treating salvation as an entitlement given to us Catholics.  The missing ingredient for nine of the lepers is gratitude. 

All ten lepers believed Jesus could heal them.  Their mistake was in taking that healing for granted, thinking somehow that their faith made them deserving of healing as an entitlement.  Only one realized that his healing was an unmerited grace, the one who returned to give thanks. 

The grace we receive is a free gift from God who loves us.  It is the power with which we overcome obstacles, find healing, resist temptation and serve the needs of the kingdom.  May the graces we receive from our loving God lead us to a lifetime of thanksgiving. 

Have a Blessed Day and may we live lives of Thanksgiving.