No matter what our laws are passed in the NYS legislature, we are to live our lives by the Gospel value that all life is sacred.

Seventh Sunday in OT  C  2019

Last Sunday’s Gospel of the Beatitudes and this Sunday’s Gospel give us a radical profile in Kingdom Living – living by the Gospel values of the Kingdom of God.  Listen to the words of the Gospel:  “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

These Gospel injunctions go way over the top of reasonable expectations.  Jesus is saying:  Do to others as you would have them do to you, and continue to do so to them no matter what they do to you.

This teaching may thin the crowd of Jesus’ followers.  It is a suggestion that goes directly against common sense.  Love your enemies…Give to everyone who asks of you…Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

We are citizens.  We are Americans.  But more importantly, we are the disciples of Jesus who are called to Kingdom living following the values of the Gospel.  There are times for us as disciples of Jesus that following the law is just not enough.  Rather, we are to live immersed in the mystery of God’s love.

Example for us comes from with the passage in New York State on January 22^nd of the Reproductive Health Act that makes it legal to have an abortion right to the moment of giving birth.  Quite bluntly, tragic law does not alter the sacredness of life.  This teaching of the Church is clear and unmistakable.

This tragic legislation does not change what Jesus Himself has taught:  All life is sacred.   When life is threatened in any way, whether by abortion, racism, violence, drug addiction or poverty, Catholics are called to speak   up and stand with those who are being oppressed.

What are we to do?  We the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Spirit must try to change the law but perhaps more importantly change the culture in which we live.  We do that by living lives that demonstrates our genuine respect for life through prayer, through supporting the agencies that support pregnant women with alternatives to abortion, and making our pro-life convictions known to our legislators.

No matter what laws are passed by the New York State legislature, we are to live our lives with Kingdom living, with Gospel living, with affirming that all life is sacred.  We need to begin with ourselves and with our families and with our parish family and affirm the dignity of all life as a precious gift of God. The conversion we seek must begin with ourselves.

Equally important to Kingdom living, to Gospel living is the Vatican summit that has taken place this week on the protection of minors.  The three themes of this international conference called by Pope Francis to deal with the unspeakable crimes of clergy sexual abuse are:  Responsibility, Accountability, and Transparency.  The Church has to take responsibility for this dark cloud in the life of the Church and to commit ourselves to move heaven and earth to have a zero tolerance for placing our precious youth in harm’s way.  There must be prayer.  There must also be action steps so that in our parish and in every parish our children are safe in all the ministries of our parish life.  The Church must hold itself accountable for any and all incidents of sexual abuse.  Priests, Bishops, and Cardinals are to be held accountable for any abuse or any cover-up of abuse.  Finally the Church must be transparent.  A culture of silence or secrecy is not acceptable.

Coming back to our Gospel, Jesus says:  Forgive and you will be forgiven.  Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing will be poured into your lap.  For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.  What does this mean?  Jesus is saying to us:  “Stop the crazy, endless slaughter by stopping it in yourself.  Do not participate in evil on evil’s terms.”

The conversion we seek must begin with ourselves.  As we seek to change the culture of death and abortion in society, we must root out within ourselves all that does not value the dignity of our own life, the dignity of the lives of those around us, and the dignity of all life.  May we value the precious, precious gift of pregnancy.  May we be supportive to the young families of our parish community.  May we value the life of each and every parishioner no matter how old or how young they are.

And as we seek to have zero tolerance for the horrific sin and crime of sexual abuse, may we value the sacredness and dignity of our own sexuality and the precious gift of sexuality with all people.  With God’s grace, may we seek to rid ourselves of the temptation to pornography, the temptation to exploit the sexuality of anyone.

The gospel imperative is that we are to begin with ourselves and to be witnesses of the mystery of God’s love in the way we live our lives.  The voting booth is important and a beautiful exercise of our citizenship, but as the disciples of Jesus we are called to witness to a culture of love and life by the way we live our lives from day to day, from moment to moment.

In loving our enemies, Jesus has opted for the attitude of unconditional love rather than the attitude of reprisal and revenge.   Jesus calls us to move beyond the human logic of reciprocity to the divine logic of superabundance.  We are invited to be immersed in the grace of God.

What determines our response to a laws that support abortion?  What is our response to a Church that has violated the sacred trust given to its leaders?  What is our response to the Gospel demand that are to love our enemies, that we are to do good to those who hate us?  It is our inner relationship to our loving God that determines our response to whatever is happening.  In other words, circumstances do not control us.  We are to embody the love of God that is within us.  Our identity as the disciples of Jesus is to witness to the command of Jesus:  “By this all shall know that you are my disciples in your love for one another.”

Have a Blessed Day.

The conversion we seek is to be agents of change in the way we share the blessings we enjoy.

SIXTH SUNDAY IN OT  C  2019

Stewardship Commitment Sunday

It is incredible in Luke’s Gospel how Jesus consistently stood with the poor and marginalized.  Jesus is looking at us right in the eye when He says: “Blessed are you who are poor” and “Woe to you who are rich.”  Luke’s special concern for the poor, the marginal and the sinner is a central feature in Luke’s unique parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the widow and the unjust judge.  Zacchaeus the tax collector convinced Jesus of his conversion by promising to give half his possessions to the poor, and Jesus advised his wealthy contemporaries to be sure that their banquets were frequented by the poor, blind, crippled and lame.  This is a quick overview of the unique features of Luke’s Gospel.

What are we who live in great comfort to make of this presentation of the “Good News.”  The well-off seem constitutionally ineligible for the Beatitudes that Jesus presents until we come to the third Beatitude.  “Blessed are they who mourn.”  In Luke’s gospel, people weep for reasons of love or compassion.  In today’s world, the blessed who weep are people who mourn over the suffering of others.  The blessed who weep are people who share God’s compassion for the poor and the hungry. 

When we understand that ours are the only hands God can use to make a difference, our compassion will not let us rest until we go into action.  The commitment of the disciples may end up making them poor, but they will experience a blessedness that is priceless.  This is the blessedness that Jesus offer to those who live the Beatitudes in their lives from day to day.

What about ourselves as a parish community who seek to live out the Beatitudes in our lives?  How do hear those challenging words of Jesus:  Blessed are you who are poor.”  “Woe to you who are rich.”

Those of us who have been nourished well and received a decent education understand that we will never experience the poverty of our brothers and sisters who lack that foundation. Further, there is nothing virtuous about destitution and malnutrition.  This is certainly a far cry from blessedness.

The blessedness we seek, the conversion we seek is to commit ourselves to be agents of change in the way we share the blessings we enjoy.  The commitment we seek is find our place among that mysterious group of God’s blessed ones whose hopes are shaped by the needs of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.  As I say, this commitment may end up making us poor, but we will experience a blessedness that is priceless.

How are to listen to this Gospel challenge on our Stewardship Commitment Sunday?  As we consider making our financial pledge to the parish in 2019, how seriously are we to take the Gospel message of Jesus to find our place among that mysterious group of God’s blessed ones whose hopes are shaped by the needs of building up our parish community and responding to the needs of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters?

The tire hits the road in our spiritual journey when we ask ourselves how much of the blessings of life that I enjoy am I willing to share with others?  What commitment will I make to building the ministries of our parish life?  Frankly, Jesus doesn’t give us much wiggle room.

From the prophet Jeremiah in the first reading and in our responsorial psalm, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.”  As our trust in the Lord is deepened, we experience a new freedom in sharing what was previously thought to be impossible.  In my bulletin article this week, I noted that our collections are down $28,000 from a comparable period last year, and we are $22,000 shy of our mandated CMA goal.  In spite of this, I have 100% confidence that as our trust in the Lord is deepened, as we seek to live by the Gospel Beatitudes of sharing, the dynamism and vibrancy of our parish life and ministry will continue to grow.  Our future is full of hope.

I intend to increase my giving to the Sunday offering.  I do this electronically.  If you are able, and only if you are able, I invite you to increase your giving.  The joy of the Lord we seek comes with a spirit of generosity.  The promise I always make is you will never regret your generosity in the service of others.  I have had the privilege of listening to many, many eulogies or Words of Remembrance in our funeral liturgies, I have never once heard a family member or a friend regret the deceased person’s generosity. 

As we think about our hopes and dreams for us as a parish community, we continue to dream that we are a parish characterized by missionary outreach in support of St. Mary’s School in Tanzania, our outreach to urban food cupboards, for our support of refugees serviced by Mary’s Place, for Penfield Hope. We support and empower St Joseph’s School to provide Catholic education for our youth; for youth ministry; for all the ways we provide faith formation and sacramental preparation; for our pastoral care to the hospitalized and for people in hurting moments of life, for ChristLife that supports the spiritual renewal of so many parishioners.  The list goes on and on.

For us to continue to grow as a parish community, our stewardship of treasure is vital for our parish growth.  May your commitment this weekend enable the ongoing spiritual vibrancy of our parish ministries.

We ask you to place the commitment in the collection today.  If you forgot to bring your commitment today, No worries.  There are extra commitment cards in the pews.  We ask you to take a moment now to fill out a commitment card and place it in the collection today.

May our discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ be characterized by a spirit of generosity that leads us to help build our parish community and leads to reach out in service to all our brothers and sisters.

May we take a moment now to fill out a commitment card if you haven’t already done so.  Thank you so and have a Blessed Day.

What is the deep water in your spiritual life that the Lord is calling you to?

FIFTH SUNDAY IN OT  C  2019

From the Gospel, Jesus said to Simon Peter to “put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon was reluctant to start the process of fishing again because the fish just weren’t biting since they had caught nothing all night.  Peter was a professional fisherman, and yet he did what the Lord asked him to do.   From the Gospel account, we know that when the nets went back into the water, the catch of fish was almost immediate.  The nets were straining from the number of fish.

Jesus’ presence has created abundance out of scarcity just as Jesus did at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee when he changed the water into wine.

As we pray over this Gospel account, I invite you to hear the call of Jesus to put out into the deep water --- the area beyond your comfort zone, where you can’t touch the bottom, where you have to take the risk of trusting more fully in the Lord’s grace for you, where you have to give up control of the situation and then to experience the abundance of God’s grace in extravagant ways.

What is the deep water in your spiritual life in which the Lord is calling you with the absolute confidence that His grace is sufficient for you?

Deep water can be the challenge of forgiving someone who has hurt you.  Who is the person in your life you have a hard time sharing the forgiveness that God so readily forgives you?

To look at the other side of the coin, deep water can be our need to ask for forgiveness of someone we have hurt.  It is very spiritual to say I am sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness.

We are here at Mass this moment.  We do this faithfully each week.  This is a beautiful form of prayer in our spiritual life.  But the Lord is a restless God and asks to take the next step in the spiritual life in going out into the deep water.  We are missioned to be prayerful each and every day.

I recommend participating in the parish’s DISCOVERING CHRIST – a seven week spiritual renewal opportunity beginning Monday evening, March 4^th.  This is an opportunity to share a meal, to share friendship with other parishioners, a time for prayer, a time for learning more about your spiritual journey, and, most importantly, an opportunity to come to Know Jesus more deeply in your heart and in your life.

Yes, you live a busy life and can easily think your plate is already full.  But the Lord’s call to go out into the deep and take the next step in the spiritual life needs to be listened to.  I invite you to chat after Mass in the gathering space with parishioners who have participated in Discovering Christ to see it this initiative is right for you.

What is the spiritual deep water for you in terms of a stewardship of treasure?   For sure, you want to provide for your financial security and the financial security of your family? The deep water may be the challenge to share that which you have previously thought to be impossible.  We are blessed financially and we know the words of the Lord that to whom much is given, much is required.  Most of us are capable of going into the deeper water of sharing a bit more that we are used to.

You received in the mail this week a parish commitment card inviting you to make your financial pledge to the parish in 2019.  Next Sunday is our Stewardship Commitment Sunday, and we are asking you to place this commitment card in the collection next Sunday indicating your invitation to go out into the deep in sharing the financial giftedness in which you have been blessed with.  I am going to increase my financial giving to the parish, and I invite you to do the same.

Now I realize all too full the dark cloud of sexual abuse that hangs over the Church today.  This is very painful for me, and I know it is very painful for you.  There is no justification for the sin and the crime of sexual abuse.  There is no justification for any cover-up.  The Church needs to be proactive in moving heaven and earth to insure that sexual abuse is not tolerated in any way.

Some would say that we should withhold our giving to our parish and our Church.  While I fully understand the anger that is in the hearts of people, this is not the time to abandon the ship of our faith life.  Rather, we need to come together in solidarity to stand for the message of Jesus and to insure the Gospel message of love, forgiveness, healing, and care for one another characterizes the life of our parish community.

In these challenging times, my commitment to is continue as your pastor and to continue to stand for the better angels of who we are as a people of God.  We are not perfect; we are sinners; and we are the recipients of the extravagant love of our God.  Further, we are committed to share of our time, talent, and treasure in the service and the building of our parish community.

May we always be a community who deepens our relationship with the Lord Jesus.  Discovering Christ is the deep water we are inviting you to participate in this Lenten season.

What is the deep water you are called in considering your stewardship of treasure?  I invite you to bring this to bring to prayer as you make your commitment next weekend in our Stewardship Commitment Sunday.

Perhaps the question of the day is whether we are willing to allow Jesus to commandeer our boats.  Peter would warn us that allowing Jesus onto our turf will not turn out as we might expect.  We will become painfully aware of our inadequacy and sinfulness.  And in the midst of that, we may be captivated and discover how our small faith and tiny hopes can grow into extraordinary and miraculously realistic expectations. 

As Americans as we are surrounded by violence, prejudice, hatred, and terrorist threats, how do we do our part in developing a culture of love in which we seek to serve and care for all of God’s people?

The conversion we seek is to respond God’s call to go out into the deep and lower our nets not just for a catch of fish but to be fishers of men and women in all the ways we are called to serve and help one another.  In the words of St John of the Cross:  “In the evening of life, we are going to be judged by love alone.”

Have a Blessed Day.