An Encounter with Jesus (StVdP)

An Encounter with Jesus

Reflection for St. Vincent de Paul meeting, Monday, August 17, 2015
By Dcn Bob Bonomi

In today’s Gospel, we see an encounter between a young man and Jesus that leads to the young man having to make a choice: continue to live his life as he has, in pursuit of what he believes to be best for him, or radically change it to pursue the perfection offered by Jesus.

Isn’t that the story of our own lives?  On the one hand, we try to live holy lives in accord with what we believe are the requirements of our faith: we pray, go to Mass, contribute to the upkeep of the Church and its mission – and of course, volunteer our time and talents to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and/or other ministries.  But, on the other hand, we also live our lives pursuing the desires and demands that we believe will lead US to a happy life – a successful career; a nice home; a new car; travel and leisure opportunities – things that represent the “good life.”

The young man, although he had many possessions, by all appearances was living his faith.  He observed all of the commandments and, in Mark’s version of the events, Jesus looked at him and “loved him” so we can tell that he was honestly practicing his faith.  But merely practicing his faith wasn’t enough to lead to perfection because he allowed his possessions to have a priority in his life.

Jesus loves us, too.  But we need to ask ourselves: are we, in our efforts to practice our faith, merely meeting the legal obligations of our faith?  Or are we truly seeking to follow Jesus?

It is a hard choice, to give up everything that we have for Christ.  And not all are asked that; Zacchaeus only offered half of what he owned and it was enough to please Jesus.  But it is the attitude that God looks for – a contrite spirit, a sacrifice of the heart.  If we truly want to follow Jesus, then that must be the priority of our life, to the potential sacrifice of all else.

Are we merely satisfied with where we are in the practice of our faith?  Or are we prepared to radically change it in response to our encounter with Jesus?

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks
Homily for Sunday, August 16, 2015
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time - B
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

If you watch the news or listen to the radio, you cannot help but notice that there is evil all around us in the world.  Is it the worst that it has even been?  Probably not.

In our second reading, we hear St. Paul tell the Ephesians that there is great evil in their day, too.  He cautions them to be on guard and watch how they live, making the most of the opportunities of their life, and he challenges them to discern the will of the Lord.  But instead of being angry or depressed with the evil around them, St. Paul tells them to “Be filled with the Holy Spirit”, to sing and pray, and to give thanks for everything in their lives.

What a challenge!  How often do we find ourselves anxious about our life, instead of at peace?  And yet we see those who are at peace, with joy in their hearts, and we have to ask ourselves, “Why?”

It’s funny but when I was reflecting on Paul’s words, a quote popped into my mind, “Ask not what your country can do for you – Ask what you can do for your country.”  The quote comes from the inaugural address by John F. Kennedy over 50 years ago – January 1961.  I encourage you to look it up, for I doubt you would hear anything like it from a politician today – it is so politically incorrect!  For example, in it, JFK states that our rights in society do not come from the generosity of the State, but from the hand of God.

The Hand of God.  Wow!  He goes further and talks about our shared responsibility to fight our common enemies:  poverty, disease, tyranny and war.  How we need to be united in our fight.

Can we do that and still remain joyful?  How do we do that and be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Well, for the last three weeks we have listened to St. John as he relates Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life.  So first, we need to come here as often as we can to be fed: fed on God’s Word, and especially on the Body and Blood of Jesus.  It nourishes us and gives us the strength to persevere in our attempts to overcome the challenges we face today.

Second, to paraphrase JFK’s quote: “Ask not what your Church can do for you – Ask what you can do for your Church”.  Next Sunday is Stewardship Sunday and you’ll have an opportunity to see the many ways you can fight the evils of the world through the ministries offered at St. Francis.  In a few moments, you’ll listen to how two of our youth have found joy and peace in what they do in our ministries.  Please listen and open your heart to the Holy Spirit.  YOU are called; the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit has laid out the banquet of opportunities for you – an awesome buffet of choices.  Be ready next week to pick and choose SOMETHING.

And DO NOT BE AFRAID.

The Treasure of the Church (StVdP)

The Treasure of the Church

A Reflection for the St. Vincent de Paul Society meeting, Monday, August 10, 2015
By Dcn Bob Bonomi

Today is the feast of St. Lawrence, a deacon who was martyred about 258 AD.  I LOVE the story of St. Lawrence, because it shows me that deacons can have a sense of humor and still be saints.  There’s hope for me, too.

But Lawrence’s story is particularly suited for your work as Vincentians.  According to his bio, Lawrence was a deacon for Pope St. Sixtus II.  Legend has it that after Sixtus II was killed, the prefect of Rome sent for Lawrence in order to confiscate the treasures that he believed that the Church held.  Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, so he sought out the poor, the widows and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum.

When he met with the prefect, the prefect twisted Scriptures in order to claim rights to what he thought was the wealth of the Church, quoting how Church doctrine said to render to Caeser what belonged  to Caesar, and how God didn’t need earthly wealth, only His words.

So Lawrence agreed to bring the Church’s treasure to the prefect.  After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons in the church and when the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The prefect was obviously ticked off, so he supposedly had Lawrence roasted over a bed of hot coals.  Before he died, Lawrence told his tormentors, “This side’s done. Turn me over!”

But what is important about St. Lawrence to us as Vincentians is Lawrence’s insight into the gift that is those whom we serve.  When we look at the assistance board with all the various cases of those who are seeking help, we sometimes only think about how hard these poor people have it and how they are depending on us to help them.  And looking on the magnitude of their need, we question how we can ever help them enough.  They are so MANY and their needs are so GREAT!

But if we look to the story of St. Lawrence, we should realize that THEY are the true treasures of the Church.  THEY are what give value to the Church – to us.  They are God’s treasures; they are God’s gift to us.  And unlike treasures that are displayed in a museum somewhere, to be stared at from a distance, these treasures are meant to be touched and shared like a family around the dinner table.

Our clients show us the way to holiness.  If there were no needy – if they did not exist – then there would be no need to serve them and there would be no need for the Church.  Jesus said that whenever we help the least of our brothers, we are helping Him.  It is in our service to them that we encounter Christ.  We think we are helping them, but they are helping us far more.  We help with their earthly needs, but they open the doors of Heaven for us.  We must always remember to treat them as the treasures that they are.

Answered Prayers

Praying the Rosary to Resist Temptation

Praying the Rosary to Resist Temptation
A Day of Blessings, August 8, 2015
By Dcn Bob Bonomi

(Edited Photo)

I was doubly blessed today to participate in two prayer events where people took to the streets to ask God to help combat evil in the world.  The first was when several men, some with their families, gathered on Pioneer Hill in front of the Dallas Convention Center to pray the Rosary asking God to help us resist temptations and to grant us His Divine Mercy. These men came from Plano, Frisco, Arlington - even Norman, Oklahoma - in response to a call for prayer.
 

Afterward, on our way home we passed several prayer warriors outside the Plano Planned Parenthood facility who were praying for an end to abortion, healing for those who have been hurt by the culture of death, and a return to a culture that respects life.  We joined them in saying the Rosary while sign-bearers drew attention of passers-by.


I would like to share with you a series of special Scriptural mysteries which we used when we prayed today.  St. John Paul II once talked of how we could expand our prayers - to own our prayers, make them more personal - by reflecting on other scriptural passages as we prayed.  Reflecting on the five mysteries below may help you, too, to battle the temptations and evils in the world, and they recall the infinite mercy and forgiveness shows us whenever we fail in our attempts to be holy.


MYSTERIES FOR MERCY AGAINST TEMPTATION

1.    Jesus Cautions Against Temptation.
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 26:41)

Dear Jesus.  You told us through St. Paul that no temptation comes to us but what is human. God is faithful and will not let us be tried beyond our strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that we may be able to bear it.  Strengthen us in our moments of temptation. (1 Cor 10:13)

2.    Jesus is tempted by the Devil
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. … When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. (Luke 4:1-2, 13)

Dear Jesus, You allowed the devil to tempt You and You resisted him.  Send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we, too, may resist temptation.

3.    Jesus talks of the Father’s mercy
Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36)
Dear Jesus, You instructed us to be merciful to others as the Father is merciful to us.  You forgave the sinful woman; you forgave the paralytic when his friends brought him to you, and you forgave many others who sought your mercy.  Help us to remember our own weaknesses whenever we see weakness in others, and to ask for mercy for them and for ourselves.

4.    Jesus teaches us the Lord’s prayer
 “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.  If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. (Mt 6:9-15)

Dear Jesus, You taught us the perfect prayer.  Help us always to remember that we, too, have an obligation to pray to you unceasingly, and that you promised to forgive us as we forgive others.  Give us the strength and the courage to seek your forgiveness whenever we falter.

5.    The Infinite Love of God
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

Dear Jesus, You came to save us and show us the way to salvation.  You do not condemn us in our weaknesses but to love us with infinite love.  Let us always remember that love whenever we stumble, for You are there to pick us up.  Thank you for Your love and Mercy.

May God bless you with the strength to withstand the evils of the world that you face every day of your life.  And should you fail in a moment of weakness, know that He still loves you and forgives you, if you only accept His merciful love.

Charity and Justice

Charity and Justice

A Reflection for the St. Vincent de Paul Society meeting, Monday, August 3, 2015

By Dcn Bob Bonomi

I read an interesting story this morning about a Sister Blandina Segale, of the Sisters of Charity, who spent the greater part of her life in New Mexico where she died in 1941, and whose cause for sainthood was promulgated last year.  What caught my eye about her, other than she once faced down Billy the Kid, was how she tried to address not just the immediate problems of those in need, but the systemic problems of social justice issues.  She would work to feed and house railway workers, for example, but then she’d ask why they weren’t being treated fairly and needed help in the first place.

This is also the mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  In the back of our minds there must always be, not only the question of “how to tend to those in need?”, but “why are they in need and what can we do to change the institutions that leaves them in need for our love and charity?”  Sr. Blandina founded schools and hospitals through her work in New Mexico; she was not afraid to personally confront situations of conflict in order to bring peace and justice, and to do so with love.  That remains our challenge today.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the prayer intentions at the end of the meeting was to pray for all St. Vincent de Paul advocates and their clients.  Last Friday, Pope Francis announced that the universal Church’s prayer intention for the month of August would be:  “That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the needy”; and his intentions for evangelization would be:  “That setting aside our very selves we may learn to be neighbors to those who find themselves on the margins of human life and society”.

Sounds like Pope Francis heard your prayers, and he is praying for you, too.

Human Mercy and Divine Mercy

Human Mercy and Divine Mercy
A Reflection for the St. Vincent de Paul meeting on Monday, July 27, 2015
By Dcn Bob Bonomi

Today’s (Monday) second reading from the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings was taken from a sermon by the late 5th/early 6th century bishop, Saint Caesarius of Arles.  It addresses the relationship between divine mercy and human mercy, and how important it is for us to show mercy to others if we, in turn, would receive mercy. 

Let us listen to what St. Caesarius has to say:

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. My brothers and sisters, sweet is the thought of mercy, but even more so is mercy itself. It is what all men hope for, but unfortunately, not what all men deserve. For while all men wish to receive it, only a few are willing to give it.

How can a man ask for himself what he refuses to give to another? If he expects to receive any mercy in heaven, he should give mercy on earth. Do we all desire to receive mercy? Let us make mercy our patroness now, and she will free us in the world to come. Yes, there is mercy in heaven, but the road to it is paved by our merciful acts on earth. As Scripture says: Lord, your mercy is in heaven.

There is, therefore, an earthly as well as heavenly mercy, that is to say, a human and a divine mercy. Human mercy has compassion on the miseries of the poor. Divine mercy grants forgiveness of sins. Whatever human mercy bestows her on earth, divine mercy will return to us in our homeland. In this life God feels cold and hunger in all who are stricken with poverty; for, remember, he once said: What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me. Yes, God who sees fit to give his mercy in heaven wishes it to be a reality here on earth.

What kind of people are we? When God gives, we wish to receive, but when He begs, we refuse to give. Remember, it was Christ who said: I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. When the poor are starving, Christ too hungers. Do not neglect to improve the unhappy conditions of the poor, if you wish to ensure that your own sins be forgiven you. Christ hungers now, my brethren; it is He who deigns to hunger and thirst in the persons of the poor. And what He will return in heaven tomorrow is what he receives here on earth today.

Do we sometimes forget that it is really Jesus who comes to ask for assistance? We’ve heard the story of the sheep and the goats so often that we may forget that it is truly Jesus who we are encountering.  That is our challenge; that is our blessing.  We come face to face with Jesus in our encounters.  As we pray at the close of each meeting, “We thank You, Lord, for the many blessings which we receive from those whom we visit.”  May we always recognize the blessings that our clients are to us.  They aren’t just people in need; they aren’t just children of God.  They are Christ.