Happy Mother’s Day (weekend) to all of the Mothers, Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, Great-Great-Grandmothers, Soon-To-Be Mothers, Single Mothers, Mother Figures who care for the children of others, and Mother Surrogates – to me, that includes single men who are both Father and Mother to their children. (Don’t worry, guys. We get our day next month.)
And let’s not forget to include our Heavenly Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. We often hear that Jesus gave his mother TO us when he said to John as he stood at the foot of the cross, “Here is your mother”, but Jesus also made his mother responsible FOR us, when he told Mary, “Woman, behold, your son.”
That is why, I think, that we hear about dozens of Marian apparitions which have occurred throughout the centuries. For example, there’s Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531; Our Lady of La Salette to Maximin and Melanie, two young children in France in 1846; Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette in France in 1858; and Our Lady of Beauraing, also known as Our Lady of the Golden Heart to five children in Belgium in 1932.
These visitations show us a mother’s love and care for her children. She comes, not because she was invited by us to come, but because, as our mother, she is watching over us and she comes to us, uninvited, out of love; to instruct us, to guide us – to warn us – as only a mother can. Time and again, Mary has come to us during periods of great need.
This weekend we celebrate one of best-known of those apparitions: the anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in 1917 to three children: Lúcia Santos, and Jacinta and Francisco Marto. I was watching the 2020 version of “Fatima” on Netflix last week and it moved me to tears, thinking about how people thought the children were liars and how they (the children) were persecuted for what they professed and it got me to wondering: why does it seem that Mary appears mostly to children?
Why children? While I’m sure it has something to do with their innocence, lack of cynicism, and their openness to experiencing something new, children usually trust in their parents or other authoritarian figures when faced with something they don’t understand. Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3-4) I think even Jesus recognized that grown adults would more likely think they knew it all and would have great trouble humbling themselves in the face of spiritual guidance.
How many times have our earthly mothers warned us of the consequences of bad choices in our own lives? Why should we not expect our Blessed Mother to come to us as well? In his homily for the canonization of Jacinta and Francisco, Pope Francis said, “Our Lady foretold, and warned us about, a way of life that is godless and indeed profanes God in his creatures. Such a life – frequently proposed and imposed – risks leading to hell.” Our Lady’s admonition to pray, to repent of our sins, to follow the teachings of her Son and His commandments, is just as important today as it was each time she appeared.
Which, in a way, brings us to today’s Gospel. If you remember from last Sunday Jesus was preparing His disciples for His upcoming Passion and death and had the dialogue with Thomas and Philip about how He and His Father – God – were one. He also told His disciples that He was going to His Father and they would do the same great works He had done, and even greater ones, since He was going to His Father. Today we pick up with Jesus talking about the coming of a new Advocate, the Holy Spirit, which will come and remain with them.
But last week’s Gospel ended with verse 12: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father." This week’s Gospel picks up 3 verses later with Jesus saying, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” and then speaks to the coming of another Advocate, the Spirit of Truth or the Holy Spirit which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks on Pentecost Sunday.
However, in between these verses we miss these two lines: “And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
The two missing lines contain a phrase that is repeated: “in my name”. What does that mean? It has to do with HOW we ask for something. We aren’t merely asking Jesus for a favor. We are asking as if we ARE Jesus. To ask in one’s name is to say, “I am requesting this as if Jesus was asking it.”
Combined with the gospel passage from last week, we should get a more complete picture of what Jesus is trying to tell us.
• Jesus and God the Father are one
• Jesus gives us the authority to serve in His behalf
• If we ask for something, it must be as Jesus would want it
• The bond which links us together with Jesus is Love.
I heard a great explanation earlier this last week, and it has to do with understanding the difference between “God is the god of love” and “God is Love.” In the first instance, love is merely an external aspect that God oversees; in the latter, love is the very essence of God. In his first letter, St. John states, “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.”
Therefore, the very first line of today’s Gospel challenges us: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We might be tempted to think, “I can love Jesus without keeping his commandments.” Or, we might think that love is merely an emotion that we “feel”. But in its depth, we cannot love Jesus without God, and it is God within US which allows us to love both Him and one another, and which empowers us to do the greater works of Jesus. If we allow the Holy Spirit IN us to COMMAND us, then we in turn will be compelled to keep the commandments of Jesus. And the command of Jesus is simple: Love God and Love each other. Simple to say but hard to do. And the best example we have of fulfilling that command is to look to our mothers, especially our Blessed Mother, for how to love.
And whether your mother be good or bad, thank her for giving you life this weekend and pray for her. Through her, you’ve been given an opportunity to love others.
Happy Mother’s Day weekend. Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary – pray for us.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Mothers: The Model of Love
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Everything I've Done
Everything I've Done
March 12, 2023 3rd Sunday in Lent - A
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi 1st Scrutiny
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done."
How would you react if a stranger came up to you and told you he knew everything you had ever done? Especially the “bad” parts? (That is, someone besides your mother – we know that SHE knows everything.)
In today’s age of technology, this might not seem to be such a big deal – after all, there are many ways today to invade one’s privacy. But still, I wonder: if Jesus came today, would he be considered a “hacker”?
In any case, today’s Gospel is the story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well, which is only found in the Gospel of St. John. It is a journey in faith, as the woman progresses in her understanding of Jesus:
• First, as a Jew
• Then, a Prophet
• Maybe the Messiah? The Christ?
• Finally, with the rest of the villagers, the Savior of the World
It is also the first of the three Scrutinies which help prepare the Elect, those seeking baptism through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly called RCIA), to enter the Catholic Church. All three Scrutinies take place in Lent during the period of formation known as Purification and Enlightenment, leading to their baptism at the Easter Vigil. We will celebrate this first rite during the 11am Mass.
Back to the story. We’ve all heard this story many times, and we usually focus on certain aspects of it: how tired and thirsty Jesus is; how Jesus breaks down social barriers in speaking with a woman; how he’s willing to drink from a Samaritan’s vessel; how he tells his disciples that he has food of which they are not aware.
But today I would like to focus on what I consider are two often-overlooked key points: (1) the knowledge that Jesus has of the Samaritan women’s life, and (2) the underlying foundation and strength of the woman’s faith.
First point, the woman’s life.
We all know that Jesus encounters the woman alone at about noon, during the heat of the day, and that she is there because she has been ostracized by the other women who would normally come during the cooler hours of the morning. We assume that she is a loose woman because of the many broken relationships she has experienced, and we probably wouldn’t be too wrong.
But the woman’s off-hand confession that she didn’t have a husband and Jesus’ response showing that he already possessed an intimate knowledge of the circumstances of her life, allowed Jesus to initiate a deeper conversation with her. When you don’t have to defend or hide a secret, it is easier to have a conversation.
And notice, while Jesus condone her sins, he doesn’t brand her a sinner either. After all, under Jewish law she could be stoned to death – remember the woman caught in adultery? But Jesus doesn’t condemn her – in fact, he affirms her for speaking the truth – even if she didn’t mean to reveal it.
I think this is one of the most powerful aspects of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. How often do we allow the barriers of our sins to keep us from having a true conversation with God? While we might know in our minds that God knows everything we have ever done – even our thoughts – in our heart we still fight to keep secret those very things which we know, deep down, we need to expose in order to receive God’s healing grace. We see a priest, in his humanity, and forget that, in the confessional, he is the face of God in His divinity. Once reconciled, we can be open to not only receiving the living water of the Gospel, but to His Spirit in order to share it with others.
Second point, the woman’s faith.
The second point is actually more important, for it points to the woman’s strong, if imperfect, faith in God. There is a sense of hope in her comment about the coming of a Messiah someday – and that little spark of faith is enough for Jesus to work with.
For those of you who are fans of “The Chosen”, the story of the Samaritan woman is portrayed in Episode 8 of Season 1. One of the things that this episode reminded me of is that the Samaritans were also “people of the promise”, because of Jacob’s Well. I know I tend to forget that God renamed Jacob as Israel, and from him came the 12 tribes which were the foundation of the Jewish people, including the Jews of Jesus’ time. Jewish scholars point out that the Samaritans included descendants of the 10 northern tribes of Israel, left behind during the first Babylonian exile because they were too old or feeble to be of value, and of the foreigners brought in by the Assyrians.
Jesus not only knew about the woman at the well, he knew HER. In John’s Gospel, Jesus controls the shots and so it would be no accident that he encountered her there, alone, after having dismissed all of his traveling companions to go in search of food. He WANTED to talk with her. He knew her faith and he sought her to evangelize her people.
She is us. We are living in a flawed society today which thinks that it can be just and moral without God, without Jesus. Through our Catholic faith we must not only hang onto our beliefs and traditions, but we must be willing to carry that faith into the world that is in desperate need of the life-giving water of Jesus.
Jesus already knows everything we have done, all of our own faults and sins. He still wants to talk with each and every one of us. We are here today, like the villagers in today’s Gospel, to listen to Him speak. The question is: Can we say that, like them, we believe that He is truly the Savior of the World?
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Going the Extra Mile
Going the Extra Mile
Feb. 19, 2023 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi
Will you go the Extra Mile for Jesus?
In business, especially in the service industry, we use the idiomatic phrase “going the extra mile” whenever someone goes above and beyond what is expected of them, makes a bigger effort than is required of them, or when they exert special energy in order to accomplish something. Most people today don’t realize that the phrase comes from today’s Gospel.
At the time of Jesus, under Roman law a centurion passing a Jew could press him into service to carry his pack a mile. After a mile, the soldier had to pick up the load himself or find another person to shoulder the load. So when Jesus states one should serve for twice as far as he was required to do, it can be seen as an extension of mercy consistent with the rest of his admonitions today.
In fact, all of his admonitions have to do with going above and beyond revenge and justice to show mercy:
• Turn the other cheek
• Hand over your cloak as well as your tunic
• Give to one who asks
• Love your enemies
Some might think that Jesus is changing the existing Jewish law whenever he says, “But I SAY TO YOU …” Is he? Not really.
For example, Jesus refers to Leviticus 24:20 which says: “Limb for limb, eye for eye, tooth for tooth!” This commandment was actually meant to limit revenge – that punishment should not exceed the injury done. That’s the Law of Justice. The punishment must fit the crime.
But do you know what you will get with “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”? According to Tevye, the Jewish dairyman in the movie “Fiddler on the Roof”, you will get a whole world that is blind and toothless!
The Law of Justice did not fulfill the commandments that we heard in our first reading, also from Leviticus; “Do not seek revenge or hold a grudge. Do not hate your brother or sister. Be Holy as the Lord your God is Holy. Love your neighbor.” Jesus refers to this command when he talks about the two greatest commandments: Love God and Love your Neighbor.
Those are the Laws of Mercy.
But that is really hard to accept in today’s society. We tend to equate justice with equal punishment – the “eye for an eye”. We emphasize in our entertainment media that getting even isn’t really revenge and that it is OK, that we are entitled to our “personal justice.” Our news stories are full of people who disagree with the verdicts from our legal system and demand justice through retrials and new charges against those whom they have judged guilty. Our legal system allows for not only reparations for harm but also for “punitive damages” – meant to inflict additional harm so that the perpetrator will not want to risk doing it again. We justify our actions by claiming that we are only defending ourselves.
And, after all, can’t we protect ourselves? What about those we love? Shouldn’t the saying be, “Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you.”?
Justice vs. Mercy. The Old Testament Law represents Justice. Jesus, in clarifying that law, represents Mercy. One is from the perspective of those who govern with earthly rules; the other is from the perspective of God who seeks holiness in all.
And therein lies the problem. How can I love someone at the same time that I think I’m justified in knocking their teeth in or ripping their eyeballs out?
And yet, none of these “legalistic” actions add to our happiness, or take away the hurt that we feel when we have been wrongly injured. I remember a news story a few years ago about a man who had killed a little boy while driving while intoxicated and the child’s mother was still dealing with her grief. After 5 years the man was still awaiting trial, and he claimed that he was deeply grieved by what he had done. Every day he said he looked at the image of the little boy that he had taken from a newspaper clipping and prayed, and he wanted to apologize to the family for the hurt he had caused.
The mother, still deep in her grief after all those years, granted him his request and made a jailhouse visit during which the man publically apologized to her for the harm he had caused. Then he sat there unmoving while the mother vented all her pain and anguish upon him, cursing and reviling him. She said that she would NEVER forgive him, finally telling him to leave. And then, she cried.
The Law of Justice will never bring us peace.
So, what should we do? Well, the common theme of all three readings today, even our responsorial Psalm, tells us: Be Holy for the Lord, your God, is holy. Be Kind and Merciful, for the Lord is Kind and Merciful. Strive to be Perfect as your Heavenly Father is Perfect.
Wait a minute. Be perfect? Not a chance! God may let the sun shine on the bad and the good, but isn’t that just a little too hard for us? After all, the animal in us, when hurt, wants to strike back in self-defense. We run from what we fear, or if cornered we will attack. That’s our animal nature.
But it isn’t our spiritual nature. We are temples of God, and God dwells in us. We can be holy if we let God in His Holiness dwell in us. And that is what Jesus wants us to be. Be holy. Be kind and merciful. Follow the Law of Mercy.
As we enter into Lent this next week, our daily readings will show us how Jesus lived out the words of today’s Gospel. He will be reviled by the Romans and his own people alike. They will strike his cheek, and he will offer the other one. They will stand him before judges and he will not resist; they will strip him of his tunic and cloak, and he will not protest. They will press him into service, making him carry his own cross, the instrument of his own death, and he will do so willingly. All of this he will do in fulfillment of those two great commands: Love of God and Love of our Neighbor. And finally, Jesus will judge the good thief under the law of Mercy.
We should make it our challenge this Lent to go the extra mile in showing mercy to others. Every time evil befalls us, whenever we are harmed in some manner or fashion, we should reflect on the words from today’s Gospel. We may not be perfect, but we can be faithful. And Merciful.
The Law of Justice? Or the Law of Mercy? Which one will we use to judge others this Lent? As Jesus goes the extra mile for us, will we go the extra mile for Him?
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Who's Team Are You On?
What’s it like to be “chosen” by God?
When I was in grade school, before cell phones and video games, we played a game at recess called “Red Rover”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, the teacher appointed two “captains” who then took turns selecting their “team” from the other kids. Usually the most popular kids were picked first; the biggest, toughest and fastest, and then those less qualified for busting lines, working down the list to the smallest and weakest. Eventually, everyone ended up on one side or the other.
Once the teams were selected, each team would create a “wall” by joining hands, and then the captains took turns calling out to the other side, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send so-and-so on over.” That person would then have to run with all of his or her might and try to break through the wall. If they succeeded, then they got to choose a player from that team to come back to their side; if they failed, they had to join the opposing team. Whoever ended up with the most team members at the end of recess was the winner.
Now I realize this may be hard to understand looking at me now, but I was never the first one chosen for a team. Nor the second … in fact, there were times I was one of the last picked because I was pretty scrawny back then.
But because I was so small, I was often one of the first called to attack by the other side – they knew that I would find it pretty hard to break through any line. And once in a line, they would usually put a big or tough kid on each side of me because they could hold my hands tight, even if I couldn’t hold theirs. Needless to say, it was tough being small. Last chosen, first thrown into battle.
But we see in today’s Gospel how, with God, the selection process is just the opposite. Those who were the smartest, popular, the “strongest” in the community were not the ones that Jesus called first. Jesus’ preference was for the poor, the lowly, the outcast. He first chose his disciples, and then He showed them the way. He invited others to “join His wall”.
What kind of people were his disciples? They were just ordinary people – people like us. Today we hear about the call of four of them: Simon-Peter, Andrew, James and John. Jesus’ simple request of them? “Come”.
Several years ago this month I was on a mission trip to Honduras with a priest friend of mine and several fellow parishioners. The Sunday Gospel was the one you just heard, and my priest friend, who spoke fairly good Spanish, was asked to give the homily. But as is so often when we speak, he had a little problem with two very similar words – he said that when Jesus called Simon-Peter, Andrew, James and John he would make them fishers of men – for those of you familiar with Spanish, “Pescadores de Hombres”. However, what he said was “Pecadores de Hombres” – sinners of men. It got a good laugh, and yet, in a sense he was correct, for Peter and the rest WERE sinners – just like you and me.
In Matthew’s Gospels, there is also a sense of urgency in the actions of Jesus and those who follow him. Peter and Andrew leave their livelihood at once; James and John immediately leave their family; For what? Surely they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
True, it must have been pretty exciting at first, being part of the “Jesus Movement”. Jesus was obviously a dynamic preacher given the crowds that followed Him, and it must have been quite a rush to be part of His physical and spiritual healings. It wasn’t until later in the “ministry” that the disciples began to get an inkling of what was ahead for them. For those of you who have been watching “The Chosen” series, it does a pretty good job of just how clueless they might have been.
But Jesus doesn’t immediately send them forth on their own. He works with them, prepares them, strengthens them. God doesn’t choose the qualified; God qualifies the chosen. Jesus shares with them the purpose for which He came and, as seen when He sends them out two by two to preach and perform miracles, He unites them to His work.
St. Paul talks of the importance of that unity in his letter to the Corinthians when he said, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” Sadly, as we celebrate the “International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” this week, it can seem that the sense of dis-unity is stronger than ever.
Where are we as a community, as Christians? Are we divisive, finding fault with those we disagree with? We're called to remain firm and strong in our faith and not compromise our values, but can we do so without hatred? Can we say that we love each other, and treat each other with respect, even if we disagree with them? Or do we harbor hatred in our hearts for those that we disagree with – whether it be because of their faith, their politics, or even their sports affiliation?
(OK, maybe we don’t HATE them because of their favorite teams.)
When I hear the first four words of the Apostles’ Creed, “I Believe in God…” which we recite each time we begin a Rosary, I’m reminded that belief in God is being challenged by society today more than almost any other time in history. And there may be even those here at Mass today who question those words.
Ironically, given our entertainment industry’s fascination with portraying the devil as either hideously grotesque or as misunderstood entity that might be admired, they prove the existence of God. You cannot believe in a devil (the divider) without believing in God (the unifier).
In his letter to the Corinthians today, St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians over the divisions in their fledgling community. He points out to them that they are losing their focus on the only one they were to follow – Christ. Not Peter; not Apollos; not even Paul himself. No matter who they “liked” or “disliked”, they had only one purpose: to witness to Christ. They followed the command of Christ to Love God and to Love their Neighbor. The same is true for us today - it isn't our political leaders, our sports favorites, or even our friends that we are called to follow, but Christ.
One final thought. In the game, when I was united with stronger guys, the line usually held. At times it seemed like I got beat up, but the line held. The same was true of Jesus’ disciples. They would not have been able to accomplish the signs and wonders that they did when Jesus sent them out, nor withstood the trials they experienced if they were not united to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We too are part of that union, that communion, when we share in the Eucharist as one body in Christ.
Today, listen for God’s call. When you hear His voice – and you will, if you listen – harden not your heart. You do not want to be picked for the wrong team.
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Twas the Week Before Christmas
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and in homes far and near,
People were seeking true holiday cheer.
But caught in the stress of holiday giving,
Peace on Earth wasn’t what they were living.
“What should I buy? What should I get?”
Will my expectations for Christmas be met?
Mom in her apron, in a very foul mood,
Worried about cooking: would there be enough food?
Dad, too, was cranky, showing ill-will,
Worried about paying those big Christmas bills.
And the children were impatient – the girls and the boys,
As they thought only of presents: the gifts and the toys.
As with many things in life, they were caught unprepared,
Forgetting that it was Jesus who was meant to be shared.
But then what to my blood-shot eyes should appear,
But an angel of God, with good tidings to share.
“A child will be born – he’s on his way,
That if you will let Him, will change all your ways.”
“The gifts He brings are Joy, Mercy and Love,
Sent by the King of Kings from above.”
Are you ready for Christmas? At this time of year, that question is often used as a mundane conversation starter, similar to and with the same intent as “What do you think of the weather?” – we really don’t care what the answer is, but it tends to break the ice for further conversation.
But an answer I received to that question a couple of weeks ago really caused me to stop and think. Oh, I’ve heard the same answer before, and I’m sure some of you might even feel this way today. But for some reason it really disturbed me this year.
The Answer?
“I’ll just be glad when it is all over.”
Almost as bad was the sign on the door of one of our residents where I work: “Please no Christmas gifts. I’m allergic to them.”
Why do we allow the Advent season leading up to Christmas to sour us toward the spiritual celebration that should take possession of our hearts? After all, although the story of Santa Claus and gift-giving in general in one of its various forms or another has come to be part and parcel of our holiday tradition, the real Christmas story is that God so Loved the World that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our salvation history as a baby, and we celebrate it not because it is a birthday party (well, maybe a little), but because it reminds us of the wonderful gift that we have received from God of Himself, becoming Man to be with us and to save us from ourselves. And we celebrate to remind ourselves that Jesus not only became one of us in history, but He will come again in Glory.
It can be easy to forget that. For many, Christmas will be a joyous occasion with lots of gifts, lots of food, and maybe even a bit of overindulgence. But for many, it will also be a time of sadness, stress, worry or, frankly, more than a little aggravation. And I’m sure that it wasn’t any better 2,000 years ago.
Today’s Gospel gives us some insight into the worry, the stress, the sadness, of one of the key players in Jesus’ birth – St. Joseph.
Of all of the significant players included in the entire Bible – both Old and New Testament – whose lives played an integral part in salvation history, there are few as enigmatic as St. Joseph. Considering the role he played as the foster-father of Jesus, when compared to all other characters in the Bible he is, if not the only one, one of the very few who had no lines whatsoever in the story of our faith. What little we know of him comes from today’s Gospel and a handful of other asides scattered here and there, and through Church tradition:
So what do we know of St. Joseph? Well:
• According to Matthew’s geneology, Joseph was a son of Jacob. But according to Luke, he was the son of Heli. And when the Angel in today’s Gospel calls him “son of David”, it of course doesn’t mean literally, but that he is direct descendant of David. It is through that relationship that Jesus comes to fulfill the prophesy and promise of the coming of a savior made by the prophets.
• It is also through Matthew’s Gospel that we learn that Joseph was a carpenter. In Mark’s Gospel, Joseph is never mentioned by name. In fact, he only refers to Jesus as the carpenter – and as the son of Mary. And while in the infant narratives of Luke he gets a lot of coverage, Luke never identifies either Joseph or Jesus as carpenters.
• Finally, in all of the Gospels Jesus himself never refers to Joseph as his father. He only refers to God as being his father, as when as a child his mother asks him: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety” and he replies: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” and he didn’t mean Joseph’s. And again, when he was told that his family was outside wanting to talk with him: “Who is my (family)? … (W)hoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Anything else concerning Joseph as a person comes from today’s Gospel:
• He was to be married to Mary, who was betroved to him.
• He was a righteous man.
• He had a strong faith in God – enough to believe the visions he received in his dreams from God’s angel messengers, and
• He did as he was told by angels:
o When told not to be afraid to Mary as his wife, he obeyed and took her into his home.
o When told that the child’s life was in danger and to flee to Egypt, he obeyed and did it.
o When told to return from Egypt, he did, and upon returning he was directed to the region of Galilee, where he went.
In a sense, St. Joseph might be considered the first deacon, as he called to serve Jesus through Mary.
I don’t know about you, but I personally would find it hard to believe anything I was told to do in a dream – especially if it was as dramatic as what Joseph was commanded to do.
And why do we assume that Joseph was overly poor? After all:
• He was a craftsman, a necessary trade of the times and he must have been somewhat successful since his personal skill was recognized by those in the region.
• There was no room at the Inn – but not because he couldn’t afford it. They sought lodging but, probably due to Mary’s condition, they had to travel slowly and so arrived later than expected. Knowing that Mary needed shelter, Joseph did the best that he could.
One thing for certain, even without ever recording a word spoken by Joseph, we know that through his actions that he had to have had an impact on Jesus as he grew up. And like Joseph, good or bad, the presence – or in many cases the absence – of our fathers have shaped us in into the people we are today. It then becomes up to us to shape our children and those who God puts into our lives, knowing that if our personal examples were poor we still have a loving Father-God who has shown us the loving and merciful way to serve our family and friends.
Which brings us back to our Christmas poem. During this next week and into the Christmas season, it can be easy for us to get caught up in the stress and worry of this season instead of celebrating the joy that it represents – the gift of God from God to us. We may not feel like celebrating – we may be grieving the loss of a loved one, or we might even be angry or scared or worried or just overwhelmed by life.
But the true gift of Christmas – Jesus – and His peace and joy and strength is for each and every one of us. Drawing on that gift can help us in how we face our challenges and will affect those we encounter – as parents and co-workers and neighbors and friends. And we have an opportunity to share the Good News with all who we encounter. So let us embrace the gift of Jesus and next week proclaim to one and all:
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Prophetic Times
Here we are, once again celebrating the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle C. It is sort of ironic that I stood here before you just three years ago, reflecting on these same readings. For those of you who remember that weekend, I started with a general comment about how, as we approach the end of our liturgical calendar, the readings for the next few Sundays’ reflect an “es-cata-logical” theme. I still hate the word as I continue to mispronounce it, but the definition for it is clear: it’s the study of 'end things', whether it’s the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world. Or, to quote the R.E.M. song used in the movie, “Chicken Little”, “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”.
I then went on to talk about the five main scenarios that are usually used to predict the end of the world in our movies today: an Alien Invasion; being hit by an Asteroid; a Catastrophic Geological Phenomena; our own Self-Inflicted Armageddon (whether that be from nuclear war, biological war or Climate Change; or (of course, my favorite): the Zombie Apocalypse. And, at least in the movies, we usually seem to avert annihilation.
However, who would have predicted – outside of maybe an ancient biblical prophet like Isaiah or Jeremiah – that other than an invasion by zombies or aliens we would experience all those other events which, by any measure, would be worthy of a movie of impending doom. For within roughly a month of my preaching, CoVid-19 hit – one of the worst pandemics in modern history. During it we experienced massive natural disasters such as the catastrophic fires in the western US and Australia, record-setting heat waves in the Northwest and indeed globally, and a war between two “civilized” industrial countries which has displaced millions of people and which continues to this day. All this has happened within the short span of the last three years. And no, I had no idea of what we were about to face when I preached that Sunday.
By the way, the total number of deaths from CoVid, which at one point was thought by some to be the end of the world, is estimated to be just over six point six million, which is only about one-fifth of the number of deaths attributed to HIV/AIDS just a couple of decades earlier.
And yet, I think we once again find ourselves becoming, after the initial panic associated with these tragic events, like the villagers in the Aesop’s Fable story about the little shepherd boy who cried “wolf”: complacent about our own future.
Maybe even more so. In past crises, people would turn to God for help and protection, but today it seems that as a society we are turning away from God. At least when people blamed God for bad things, it indicated that they still believed He existed. Today, I’m not so sure. It’s like the recent Netflix movie about a planet-killing asteroid hurling toward Earth (movie scenario #2) called “Don’t Look Up”: everyone knows that it’s coming, but they don’t care. God can work to heal one’s anger and pain; but how does He reach someone who doesn’t care if He exists?
And we should care, for even if the times are not signaling the End of the World As We Know It, there will always be events which will make it seem like it is. And just as we need God to help us through those difficult times when we face them, we also need Him to help us care for those who are affected by tragedies of their own. We all need someone who cares, and no one cares for us more than God, even if we don’t believe in Him or are angry with Him.
Now, since these things have been happening for over 2,000 years, does that mean that we are not living in the “end times” that Jesus warned us of? No – of course we are. But He points out that, while there will be many tragic events that may occur in our lives before the second coming, they, in and of themselves, do not mean that the second coming is here.
Each of us still has a mission to fulfill, despite the scary-ness of the times in which we live. And each of us will face our own “End of the World” – we just don’t know when or where.
So each of today’s readings are just as important to us today as they were to the Israelites and the Jews of Jesus’ time, both as a warning to us against becoming too complacent in our lives and as a pointer to who we should be looking to in order to help us face those challenges: God. And the true challenges we face are not aliens, zombies, nuclear wars, pandemics or other catastrophes. The challenges are much more personal than that.
In the movie, “Rim of the World”, four misfit pre-teens are caught up in a doomsday scenario – the end of the world by alien invasion (that’s movie option number one, by the way). Although these kids have to fight aliens and even their own people in order to save the world, their biggest challenges are in overcoming their own personal battles – the boy who is afraid of everything; the kid who has been labeled a criminal because he has a learning disability which caused him to make some serious mistakes; the girl who is an orphan because her parents didn’t “want” her; and the kid who has lost everything because his dad was sent to jail. It wasn’t the aliens who threatened them the most; it was their own fears.
That’s US. And it is how we face our individual fears, those challenges, those OPPORTUNITIES to witness to others the love and mercy of God through the light of Christ, which will define how we will meet our own “end times.” Not everyone will agree or accept our testimony. We may face persecution; we may lose everything we have including our friends, our livelihoods – yes, even our lives. But if we persevere; if we do not become complacent; God will save us.
And we will receive the best of all possible end times – an eternity with God.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Persistence in Prayer
Of the five types of prayer – Praise, Thanksgiving, Blessing or Adoration, Petition and Intercession – while I would venture that the first three types may arguably be the most important to our relationship with God, the greatest majority of our prayers fall into one of the two last categories: prayers for ourselves or prayers for others.
In a way, it is only natural. There is often a sense of urgency when we offer the last two types of prayer that we don’t feel present for the first three. If something happens that is beneficial to us or to those closest to us, we will thank God after the fact; we might praise Him out of awe and reverence just because of our witness of His goodness throughout all of creation; and we should adore God out of sheer love of Him.
But there is a sense of timelessness associated with these prayers. There is no expectation that something should happen as a result of them, other than our development of a closer personal relationship with God, which, by the way, is crucial for us to get to Heaven. It is through these three types of prayer that we get to know God the Father and His Son, Jesus through the interaction of the Holy Spirit. That is why the first three prayers types are so important and should not be neglected. We NEED them if we expect God to listen to the last two types of prayer.
We offer prayers of petition or intercession asking God to grant our request whenever we, or someone we love, have a problem to be faced or an obstacle to be overcome, or there’s something we think we need or desire strongly. And while all five types of prayer need it, the last two will always call for persistence.
What is persistence? First of all, persistence doesn’t mean stubbornness. It isn’t likely that God, unlike the dishonest judge in the Gospel, will be worn down by our prayers and just give into our demands. I’ve known people (myself included) who have thought, “If I just pray harder and more often, God will give into me.” And if I don’t get what I want, I’m not praying hard enough.”
It’s not as if we can manipulate God like a puppet on a string. God isn’t a puppet, but a loving Father who “knows what we need before we do” and grants our requests “according to His Will”. But He also wants to know if we are serious in our prayers and if WE have the right mindset when we ask them. And that’s where persistence can come into play.
If there’s one word which can be used to describe the theme of all three of our readings today, it is persistence.
• Persistence in prayer, as seen in the parable from today’s Gospel;
• Persistence in action, as seen in our 1st reading about the Israelites at war; and
• Persistence in faith, which we are encouraged to have as seen in St. Paul’s letter to Timothy.
Of what value is persistence to us? We’ve all probably heard the little ditty that has been taught to school children since the mid 1800s: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” (I love the scene in the original “Miracle on 34th Street” where a young Natalie Woods recites it to her mother in response to her mother’s statement that she needs to have faith. Of course, she was referring to Santa Claus, but you get the idea.)
So, why keep trying? Why not W.C. Field’s version; “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – and then give up”? Can you imagine the old recruiting slogan, “When the going gets tough, the tough give up”? But it seems that that has become the mantra for far too many people today.
St. James stated the reason quite clearly: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (Ja 1:12)
We live in a world that is full of challenges, but despite what some people think, the challenges of today are no more or less severe than those faced by previous generations. War, natural and man-made disasters and life-threatening illnesses were part of the world that faced those in Jesus’ time and the early Christians, just like we do today. So what’s different?
Maybe it is because as a society, we are losing a sense of hope for a better world. And that loss begins with our loss of faith.
In a Pew report from 2018, while 80% of adults in the United States said they believed in a “god”, only 56% believed in the God of the Christian faith, while a total of 33% said they believed in some other sort of god or some higher power. And about 10% stated no belief in a higher power at all! Sadly, I believe the numbers are even lower today.
Unfortunately, as belief in God diminishes, so does hope. A recent report from the Center for Disease Control states that despair is at an all-time high, especially for young men and women in the ages between 15 and 34. That’s OUR children! Is it any wonder that our world seems to be more cynical and less loving today?
BUT, there really is HOPE. God has promised to never abandon us, and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. The Gospels are full of hope, and with every generation God continues to call upon his saints-in-the-making to help us see the brightness of our futures, or, as God said through the prophet Jeremiah: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you – plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.” (Jer 29:11-12)
Which brings us back to our readings. The hope of our future lies in our persistence in the face of adversity, as seen in the three examples given to us today:
1. St. Paul calls to us to “proclaim the Word of God and to be persistent in doing so, whether it is convenient or inconvenient” – in other words, whether we, or others, like it or not. We must persistently live our faith; we must persistently profess our faith. And we must do so with humility and charity.
2. Jesus tells us that in order to proclaim the Good News, we too must reach out to God and “pray always without becoming weary”, for God will always listen and answer our prayers, and will give us the strength to persevere in our efforts.
3. Finally, we are reminded that we cannot do it alone – it takes the Church to help us. Moses, although God’s favored one, was still unable to sustain his “prayer” in the heat of the battle without the help of Aaron and Hur, his priests. If we ever think that we don’t need our “religion” because we can go “directly to God”, this should remind us that we need friends of faith to sustain us. God has placed others in our lives to help us to get to heaven. Just as important, He has provided us to others to help them as well. We should not be afraid to turn to others when we need help – and to be persistent in our efforts to help others in need.
This is what gives meaning to life – a belief in God, the promise of heaven, and help for the journey. And we need persistence in our lives: persistence in our prayers, persistence in our actions; persistence in our faith. Praying to God leads to Faith; Faith leads to Hope; Hope leads to Action; and Action leads to God.
And it is God Who gives meaning to our lives. Because He loves us, He is persistent in His pursuit of us.
One final thought. As I said earlier, persistence isn’t stubbornness. God ALWAYS answers our prayers, although it may not be with the answers we want. I think I’ve shared this poem before, but it bears repeating:
“Our prayers to God, they come and they go.”
Sometimes with “Yes”, sometimes with “No”.
But when we demand that He do our bidding,
Sometimes God answers, “You’ve got to be kidding!”