The two great commandments are the guts of Catholic morality.

One of the Pharisees, a scholar of the law, tested Jesus by asking:  “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

The humoroous part of this Gospel was that this particular scholar of the law was giving Jesus a religion exam and using a trick question to catch Jesus in an embarrassing theological mistake.  As in last week’s Gospel in asking Jesus:  “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not,” the Pharisees seek to engage Jesus in debate and to win the argument.  Good luck with that.

Jesus responded:  “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  The second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

These two commandments are the currency of God’s kingdom, a currency completely different from last week’s Roman coin and completely  different from the self-centered transactions that too often characterize our contemporary way of life.

Jesus summarizes in the two great commandments  the two stone tablets on which God was said to have engraved the ten commandments.  The first tablet set out the three laws concerning the love of God – such as the command not to take His name in vain; the second tablet contained seven commands regarding love of neighbor, such as stealing and adultery.

Love is the hinge that binds the two tablets of the law.  For we can’t love God, whom we can’t see, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we can see.

Jesus is not attempting to do away with the law and the prophets by reducing everything to the so-called new commandment.  This commandment becomes the lens through which everything is to be seen.  It is the interpretative key for understanding all of revelation.

The love command is the guts of Catholic morality.  Church practices and rules are there to help us avoid everything that is opposed to the “love command.”  Sin in our lives is when we do not live up to our baptismal commitment, to our discipleship witness of loving God and our neighbor.

If you ask yourself, what does God want of us, what is God’s priority for us?  God’s priority for us is that we love our neighbor as ourself.  For Jesus, our neighbor is anyone and everyone, unconditionally, no exceptions.  To say again, for Jesus, our neighbor is anyone and everyone, unconditionally, no exceptions.

Jesus teaches that we only love God as much as the neighbor we love the least.  Since Jesus teaches that we only love God as much as the neighbor we love the least, whom do I need to begin looking at differently this week if I hope  looking more – and acting more – like God?

We can recall the story of the Good Samaritan to remind us that our neighbor is everyone who is in need in any way.  This is a call to universal love.  It is not an invitation to try to figure out those whom we don’t have to love.  Our Church is still struggling with how to love those who don’t follow the rules, how to love who do not conform, how to love those who reject the teachings of our Church.  This is all part of learning how to love.

May the next rosary we pray be for those it is difficult for us to understand and for those it is difficult to love.

In a family or in a religious community or in a parish community, it is not easy to love those who reject the way of life of the family, of the religious community or of the parish.  Loving these people does not mean rejecting the way of life handed down by the Lord.  It does mean seeking ways to love those who reject it.   This is part of the ongoing challenge of following Jesus Christ.

Indeed, the love we are called to is far more than a simple affection or warm sentiment.  We must give ourselves totally to God – loving with our whole beings, with all our heart, soul and mind.  Our love for  our neighbor must express itself in concrete actions.

In the second Scripture reading, Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about being examples for others.  He see that the Thessalonians have followed the example of Paul and Jesus, and have themselves become examples for all other Christian communities.  We don’t do it for our own glory, but we also don’t want to put  this light under a basket since it may inspire others to do more.

A beautiful example in our parish life of showing love in concrete terms is our baby shower benefitting the Focus Pregnancy Help Center.  We need to help people choose life with concrete actions so that they choose life giving solutions rather than abortion.

Our generosity with the diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal helps in a concrete way for the Church of Rochester to respond to the needs so many needy people.

When we see our neighbors as God sees them, we will treat them with the clarity of God’s compassion.  How can I see my neighbor as God sees them?

The law of love has compassion at its base.  Compassion means feeling or suffering with others.  Unless we have some sense of the needs of our neighbors, the sufferings of our neighbors, we cannot really be compassionate.  We can give because this is what we are told to do, but my hope for us today, is that we can be compassionate as God  is compassionate, love as God loves, and show that love by treating everyone as we would want to be treated were we in the same situation.

May we be transformed by God’s grace, who desires us to care for all among us who are in need, not just because particular laws govern us but because the love of God and love of neighbor burns in us.

In the divine economy, money is not the currency of God. Rather, love is the currency of God.

As we reflect in today’s Gospel on how the Pharisees tried to entrap in speech, we ask the simple question:  Who in their right mind starts a debate with Jesus and expects to win?  It isn’t going to work.  On second thought, maybe I try to debate with Jesus when I seek to adjust the demands of discipleship to suit my own way of life. Can anyone honestly say we do not debate with Jesus a bit when it comes to the Gospel demand to love even our enemy, to be willing to forgive seventy times seven, and when it comes to the words of Jesus:  “Go, sell what you and give to the poor, and then come and follow me.”

The Pharisees’ henchmen try to trap Jesus by entering that dangerous territory of mixing politics and religion and so they asked what they thought was a “gotcha”  tax question:  “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”    Answering this question usually is a no-win situation.  For example, do you know any candidate for political office this November whose campaign message is to raise taxes?

Jesus responds by asking them to show Him the coin used to pay the census tax.  Showing him the coin, Jesus then asked:  “Whose image is this and whose inscription.”   They responded:  “Caesar’s.”  Jesus then narrows his response to the need to pay the census tax.  “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” 

Then note carefully the second half of Jesus’ response:  “And to God what belongs to God.”  There is one crucial question for us to reflect upon that is not asked in the Gospel conversation.  If Caesar’s image is on the coin, where do we find God’s image?  For we are to give to God that which bears the image of God.  What do I owe to God?

We will find God’s image in all of creation, on each human person and each human work.  All of us are made in the image and likeness of God.

Speaking very personally, this past Thursday I celebrated the funeral liturgy for my sister Sue who was just 13 months older than myself.  My sister Sue courageously and lovingly lived with the illness of MS for 45 years.  Clearly she was made in the image and likeness of God, and the cross of her life – MS – was a very visible dimension of her discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.  For me, clearly the image of God was imprinted in who she was. 

The fact is there are many Sue’s in the world – people living with illness and struggles and deprived of many of life’s blessings we take for granted.  To the question, to what do I owe to God and to what do you owe to God.  My sister and anyone else who lives with some limitation bears the image of God’s love.  In the divine economy, money is not the most important currency.  The currency God expects of us is love and the sharing of our talents with all who bear the image of God in their hearts.

 Our parish theme for the next few weeks is to rediscover our Catholic Faith.  A key part of this rediscovery is to be mindful of the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.  This is rooted in our deep belief that every single human being on planet earth is made in the image and likeness of God.  We are to have a profound reverence for the dignity of all human life – life in the womb of a mother-to-be and life after birth in all its stages.

A key role for us as Catholics in the midst of a chaotic and consumer-driven society is always to ask the question:  How are the poorest and most vulnerable among us being treated?  If, in good conscience, we cannot say that our society is doing all it can to feed the hungry and provide shelter to the homeless, then we have work to do!  I think it’s safe to say, we have a lot of work to do.  Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is continually challenging us to be mindful of the poor.

Moreover, all of God’s creation bears the image of God.   Our care for our environment, our stewardship of the earth is giving back to God what belongs to God.

Even though none of us enjoy paying taxes, in the big picture, giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s is not the demanding component of today’s Gospel.

Where we are challenged is:  Giving to God what is God’s.

You may ask then:  Well what then doesn’t belong to God?  This is such a good question.  There is no aspect of our lives that God is not present.  There is no aspect of our life that God is not present, and there is no dimension of our life that does not belong to God.

It is important to note that the response of Jesus:  “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” can be taken out of context and be used to justify a “two-kingdom” theology, which divides life into two autonomous realms, the secular and religious.  While the separation of Church and State can be a very useful principle in our Bill of Rights as Americans, it is essential that we seek to be very aware of the spiritual dimension of all of life.  The truth of our lives is that there is no dimension of our lives in which God is not present.  This is not to say we are always aware of God’s presence, but may we seek to be more and more aware of the God dimension of all of life.

The image of God is found in all of life and in all of creation.  If we are to repay to God what belongs to God, we need to be mindful of the pastoral care and love we provide for each other in our parish community.  We are not a group of isolated individuals who come to worship on Sunday.  We are called to be a community of faith who love and support one another.  We are all made in the image of God.

But, as beautiful as this is, it is not enough.  The social outreach dimension of our parish life demands that we repay to God our commitment to God’s poor, to God’s anawim anywhere and everywhere. 

As stated in our Catechism:  God created everything for humanity, but humanity in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him.  To the question what do I own God, is a one hour commitment on Sundays enough?  The Sunday Eucharist is essential but it is only the beginning of what we owe back to God.  As long as the Lord loves and forgives and heals us from day to day, from moment to moment, we are to give back to God by loving and honoring all those who bear the image of God in their hearts, and by the way we reverence and serve all of creation that is God’s precious gift to us.

In what area of your life is Jesus not yet Lord?

My sister Sue went home to God. Alleluia, Alleluia.

This weekend I am participating in my annual retreat at the Linwood Spiritual Center in Rhinebeck, NY.  This beautiful retreat center is in the Hudson Valley with a magnificient view of the mighty Hudson.  It is an eight day silent Ignatian retreat with my retreat director being Fr Jack Repolgie, SJ.  I need this time to be still and to increase my awareness of our loving God's presence in my life.

My retreat experience was cut short by the sad news that my older sister Sue had gone home to God Sunday morning.  I immediately left the retreat to be with my brother-in-law Don and their three children, Donna, Mary Ellen, and Mark, and my brother John and my sisters Anne and Jean.

My sister Sue has been dealing with MS for over 40 years.  She has experienced the cross in her life.  She has always been a giving, loving person.  She and her husband Don have shared a beautiful love story of marriage for 52 years.  She is a mother and a grand mother.  Her children Donna, Mary Ellen, and Mark generously share their love for their mom and dad in ways that show their gratitude for the love that have been given to them.

I look forward to presiding at my sister's funeral liturgy this Thursday at 10:00 am at St Joseph's Church and to celebrate my sister's sharing in the fullness of God's eternal life.  I have celebrated the funeral liturgy for my mom and dad and my brother Bill and will now do for my sister Sue.  I will once again affirm the deep truth that death is not a defeat.  Death is not the end.  Death is a birth into the fullness of God's eternal life.


My retreat continues...in a different sort of way.

Our real treasure is not in what we possess but in what we give away.

Today’s Scripture readings use the imagery of a vineyard to describe God’s love for us.  In the first Scripture from the prophet Isaiah, the house of Israel is God’s vineyard.  In the Gospel parable the vineyard is the reign of God.  God goes to great length to prepare wondrous blessings for the vineyard.  But the tenants to whom the vineyard is entrusted got greedy and wanted everything for themselves.  The message is that God’s reign will be transferred to new tenants -- both Jews and Gentiles.  The Gospel states the God’s blessings will endure, even if bestowed on other people.

A key message to this Gospel parable is who are the tenant farmers with closed and greedy hearts?  Who are the people that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from and given to other people who will produce its fruit?

It’s easy to identify the tenant farmers as the chief priests and the elders of the people in the time of Jesus – the unfaithful Israelites?  But we also need to recognize ourselves in the Gospel parable.  In our prayer where are we in this Gospel parable?

How about the vineyard of our own lives?  Just as God cares for the vineyard in Isaiah, so God cares for the vineyard of our lives.  We are nurtured by God’s Word, fed at God’s table, helped by the commandment of love.  All we need do is let God tend us and bring us to produce good fruit.  All we need do is be faithful; God will take care of the rest.

My question for your reflection: What is the produce from your vineyard?  How do you give it back to God, the landowner?

The following are some questions for us to ponder as we reflect on the vineyard of our own hearts that God has blessed.

This is RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY.  In the words of Pope Francis, each of us is a masterpiece of God’s creation.  Do we stand for the dignity of all human life?  Do we clearly and unmistakably stand against abortion as the unjust taking of precious human life?  Do we stand for the dignity of human life before birth?  Do we stand for the preciousness of human life after birth as well -- in all its forms?

Today the Extraordinary Synod on the Family begins in the Vatican.  How do we as individuals and as a parish support family life?  Do we everything possible to encourage families to come together to worship at our Sunday Eucharist?  How can be even more family friendly?  In our faith formation programs, how do we encourage family prayer and family faith formation? How can we do it better than we do?  Is our parish known as a family friendly parish?

Bishop Matano has called to be financially generous in supporting the diocesan Catholic Ministry Appeal (the CMA).  Again, going back to the tenant farmers in the Gospel parable, are we greedy and want to reject our support of the vineyard of the kingdom of God or do we wish to give back to the God who has generously loved us?   How we use our financial resources is very much a spiritual question.  All we have been given; we have been given to share.

In today’s second Scripture reading, St Paul writes:  “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Ask for what we need, and ask with a thankful heart….Jesus insists that gratitude must be an accompaniment to our prayer, and that if we approach him with a grateful spirit, God's peace will keep our hearts and minds safe.

The diocesan theme for the CMA is taken from the spirituality of St. Paul.  We are to live life with an attitude of gratitude.  We are to give to the CMA with an attitude of gratitude.  We are to support  pro-life values from birth to death with an attitude of gratitude.  We are to prayerfully support the Vatican Synod on the Family with an attitude of gratitude.  Our family life is a precious, precious gift that has been given to us.  We gather at Eucharist so that we can give thanks to the Lord our God.

Our lives are a vineyard that God entrusts to us.   Each of our lives, each of our vineyards, is richly blessed.  The voice of God’s son calls out to us to share our talents, our riches, our giftedness with those around us and with those who have less.  We may we be conscious that like the tenant farmers in the Gospel we are tempted to be greedy and provide only for ourselves.  When we excuse ourselves from generous sharing and love of others, when we become more interested in security rather than a Gospel commitment to sharing, we fail to respond to the call of God in our lives.  The vineyard of our own heart is ripe for the harvest, and God calls out to each one of us:  “Come, share what you have and discover that the real treasure is not in what you possess but in what you are willing to give away.

  

Do we say YES or NO to doing god's will in our life?

Now if I were our singing deacon Don Germano, I would begin by singing Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way.”  “And more, much more than this, I did it my way.”  There is something life-affirming about doing it “my way,” charting one’s own path, following one’s conscience and not compromising one’s values along the way.

And yet, when we think about it in the light of today’s Scriptures, we are called not to do it my way but to “Do it God’s way.”  Doing it God’s way is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.   Jesus in following the path of the cross chose to do it God’s way.

In the second Scripture reading, Paul begins his beautiful hymn to Christ by encouraging the Philippians to have the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose as did Jesus. 

“Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.  Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; he humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For us, even when we lose our way and fall into sin, the mercy of God is on display in the Gospel parable.  In the parable, one son says no to the father’s request to work in the vineyard but later changed his mind and his ways. He started out doing it his way but experienced the conversion of changing direction and then did it God’s way.

In the Gospel parable, the first son said:  “No” “I will not.”  It’s too hot out there.  Locusts may destroy it tomorrow.  The town is a lot more interesting than the vineyard.

What are today’s versions of saying no to the will of God in our lives?  I can’t bother with religion.  I’m too busy getting ahead in life.  I’m too busy having fun.  The Church has too many defects.  Or I have nothing against organized religion, but I really don’t need it to have a relationship with God.

Later the first son changed his mind, as do many Catholics today.  Some reasons:  wanting the sacraments for their children; the gentle, respectful influence of another person; increased maturity; a close encounter with death or serious injury; recovery from a serious illness.

I invite you to reflect upon your conversion story and hopefully you can discover God in the changes of your life.  What does conversion mean to me?  Our first response is not always the best.  Thanks be to God, conversion is a lifelong journey.

I have been struck by the words of Mark Twain who once said:  “When I was a boy of 14,  my father was  so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Just as Mark Twain had a conversion experience about the wisdom of his dad,  so too, we have a conversion experience about the meaning of our discipleship of the Lord Jesus. 

The conversion I have experienced as a priest.  As a young priest, the illusion I sometimes lived under that everything depended on me and my ability.  The older I get I recognize more clearly this is God’s work.  Everything depends on God’s grace working in me and in others.

As we reflect this weekend on our commitment to the diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal this weekend, does the CMA tie into the Gospel message of conversion or is Father Jim just going to force this situation in asking your support of the CMA.

I would suggest that how we use and share the blessings we have been given is a significant component of our conversion story.  Like the sons in the Gospel, are we saying yes or no to God’s way in our life.  How we use the financial resources we have is a very spiritual question.   Jesus is very clear on the Gospel message that we have been given, we have given to share.  Love is the first requirement of being a disciple of Jesus.  Love is shown in the actions of our life.  Are we aware and responsive  to the poor and to those who are in need?  I have never met a person in my 72 years who regrets being generous in the ways we love one another.

Discipleship is placing Christ first in our lives  -- first in regard to finances, relationships, use of our time, and in all other ways.  Just as a young child has a hard time learning how to share his toys, so too we as adults can have a hard time sharing from our financial resources.  

In the Gospel, Jesus said:  “Amen, l say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”  Because the tax collectors and prostitutes accepted the forgiveness Jesus offered them, they were able to change in ways that would have been unthinkable before that.  We too will experience conversion as we accept the forgiveness God offers us.

In the Gospel the two sons were told to go out and work in the vineyard today.  As you pray over this Gospel, into what vineyard is the Lord sending you today – the vineyard of your family, of your neighborhood, of your parish, the vineyard of supporting the CMA 

I dedicate myself to the task of being all the things I want my parish to be.

A PARISHIONER’S PRAYER

My parish is composed of people like me.

I help make it what it is.

It will be friendly, if I am.

It will be holy, if I am.

Its pews will be willed, if I help fill them.

It will do great work, if I work.

It will be prayerful, if I am.

It will make generous gifts to many causes

If I am a generous giver.

It will bring others into its worship, if I invite and bring them.

It will be a parish of loyalty and love,

Of fearlessness and faith,

Of compassion, charity, and mercy,

If I, who make it what it is,

Am filled with these same things.

Therefore, with the help of God,

I now dedicate myself to the task of being all the things

That I want my parish to be.  Amen.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the exaltation of the crosses we experience.

Before or after our liturgies, I find most beautiful and most sacred the simple gesture of a mom teaching her son or daughter to make the sign of the cross from the water of our baptismal font.  The sign of the cross is a simple and most significant prayer for us as the disciples of Jesus.  Even though it is far beyond a child’s capacity to understand, the sign of the cross represents the power of God and the gift of eternal life.  This simple sign reflects the mystery of God’s unending love in the life of this beautiful  child.

Equally it is profoundly moving for me at the beginning of the baptismal rite to welcome the child about to be baptized into the Christian community. I say:  “In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of the cross.  I now make the sign of the cross on your forehead and invite your parents and godparents to do the same.  And so, the child to be baptized is five times blesses by the sign of the cross  -- this most central symbol of our Catholic faith.

Today’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross embodies a great mystery.  Like the people of Israel in the first reading, we are called to a long journey to the Promised Land of Heaven.  Like them, too can lose patience and fall into sin.  Like them, our only hope for salvation is to cling to God’s unending mercy and love.

The Gospel for this feast reminds us of the meaning of this great mystery:  God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that might be saved.   As said in the children’s book THE LITTLE PRINCE:  “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.  What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  Our parish message this Sunday and in the upcoming Sundays is YES “it is only with the heat that cone can see rightly.  The conversion we seek as the disciples of Jesus is a conversion of our hearts.

That conversion happens in our prayer over the mystery of the cross – this sign of God’s self-giving love for us.  The mystery of God’s emptying and self-giving love for us is seen in the mystery of the cross.

The conversion of the heart that we seek is to keep the eyes of our hearts fixed on something that gives us life.  It is no longer the snake, as for the Jews, who gives life and saves us from death, but the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.  With the eyes of faith we do not see the cross only as an instrument of torture, but a symbol  of God’s self-giving love.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says:  In my Father’s house there are many mansions and I am going to prepare a place for you.  Jesus’ promise of a home for us means a communion of life with Him.  This communion of life with Jesus has begun to be realized from his pierced side on the cross.  Indeed, this is a great mystery for us  -- a sign of hope and a sign of exaltation.

St Paul expressed this great mystery in the second Scripture reading:  “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.  Because of this, God greatly exalted him.

The tire hits the road for us in our discipleship of Jesus is when we experience the cross in our lives  -- the cross of illness, the cross of death, the cross of the brokenness of our spirit, of loneliness, of depression, not experiencing the love we seek and we need.

Jesus emptied himself and accepted and embraced the cross out of love for us.  How does that work for us.  Are there we accept and embrace the crosses of our lives?  In fact, embracing the cross leads us to deeper life in Christ and the mystery of God’s love.

There was a time in my life when I was a big-time runner.  I use to run in marathons and running was part of my daily routine.  On many Saturdays, I would run in 10 k races.   It was physically and spiritually energizing.  In time, running took a toll on my knees.  To the point, I could no longer run and in fact needed knee replacements in both knees.  Indeed this was a cross to bear.  Did I accept and embrace this weakness and use it as an opportunity to unite myself more deeply with the cross of Christ.

I would be overly pious if I said this was beautiful and I embraced this cross in life.  The truth is most of us do not choose the crosses of life that come our way.  It takes a long time to process suffering. However we are not to stop living when crosses becomes part of our life experience.   And certainly, there are far worse life experiences than knee replacements.  But for me and for all of us, I need to play the cards that are dealt.  The truth of our lives Jesus accompanies us in the pain and the losses of our lives.  The truth is Jesus promises the fullness of life.  The sufferings we experience, the losses and struggles we endure do lead us to a deeper life in Christ.  Through them we become more aware of who we are, people who stand in need of God’s healing grace.  We carry within ourselves the dying and rising of Jesus.

St Paul says:  “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and distress for Christ:  for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  It is though the experience of the cross of life that our discipleship of the Lord Jesus becomes very genuine.  At some point in the life of the young child whom mom is teaching to make the sign of the cross from our baptismal font, at some point the cross is going to become real in this person’s, I pray that this person will be able to see with the eyes of a faith-filled heart to be able to embrace this cross and so become more trusting in God’s unending love.

Today w celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Indeed, Jesus was exalted as he hung upon the cross -- exalted because of his self-giving love that led to his glorification by his heavenly Father.  We too are exalted when we join our cross with the cross of Jesus who leads us to a deeper sharing in God's unending love for us.