Father Jim Chern's Blog

DEALING WITH THE EVIL IN OUR MIDST

2012-01-29T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for JANUARY 29, 2012 - THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/012912.cfm . As always, thanks for stopping by my blog, for reading and all your feedback and responses. They are gratefully appreciated! God Bless and have a great week - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    It was a year and a half ago that the Newman Center at Montclair State University welcomed Father Vincent Lampert as a guest lecture. Here was a parish priest from Indianapolis who for the most part is very unknown, coming to a public, state run university campus and he filled the Conference Center (over 600 students) on a Wednesday Night and had people on the edges of their seats for over 2 and a half hours.

    This was no ordinary parish priest. Father Lampert is an official exorcist of the Roman Catholic Church who was trained by the Vatican at his Bishop’s request to learn how to perform this dramatic, often depicted but very rarely understood ritual of the Church.   When we announced that Father Lampert was coming and what the topic was, it’s true, we had fun with the advertising and wanted it to be a bit provacative. Coming a few weeks prior to Halloween, there was already that imaginary “spooky sense” in the atmosphere with decorations of spider webs, tomb stones, witches and black cats. We billed it as “An Evening with an Exorcist” - and before we knew it, there was quite a stir about it both on and off the campus.
    For the most part it seemed most people came out of curiosity. And I don’t know if I could pit a guess on what percentages this falls to, but I would say a majority came in thinking “This isn’t really real, right? We don’t actually believe the devil possesses people — That there’s evil operating in the world?”

    Father Lampert would most definitely disagree with those notions, not simply because of what the Church and the scriptures teach - but by his own personal experiences. Witnessing some incredibly dramatic (and for some in the audience, terrifying) things as he has tends to make you more definitive about things like the presence and activity of evil in the world.

    And while he did share these experiences with us: like seeing levitations, speaking in strange languages and super human strength – one of the major things he wanted people to walk away from the lecture wasn’t just that exorcisms aren’t simply the stuff of the movies and fiction - but that the devil is real. The evil one is real. And while “demonic possession” is very, very, very rare (I think that he said something along the lines of out of 100 calls he receives asking for advice, 99 won’t be demonic possession) the presence and activity of the evil one is much more common, much less dramatic - subtle even, as the evil one doesn’t need to do great and spectacular things. If the main goal of the evil one is to cause division among human beings, to cause division within ourselves so that we find ourselves conflicted falling short of being who we’re called to be; to ultimately desiring to cause separation from the Heavenly Father and we his sons and daughters– who became such through Jesus Christ – then the devil doesn’t need to become overly dramatic in causing such things to happen.

    We can see demons all around us – Roaming our world not so much with red pitch-forks and horns, but in much more real and destructive ways:

    -People who are suffering from a demonic possession by their addictions to alcohol, or drugs blinding them to the pain they are in and causing those around them. . .

    - People who succumb to temptations by the demons of lust, being trapped by pornography, giving into those distorted desires causing them to have pre-marital sex or affairs...

    - There are demons that mask themselves as something good but underneath reveal themselves to be quite different - like a government sponsored health-care bill which was presented on the surface as a way of helping the poor and suffering, but has revealed itself in the last couple of weeks to be attacking our very faith - demanding that Catholic health care would violate our own religious beliefs and give out contraceptives and abortifacients – or else face fines or other punishments. Sorry if this offends some, it offends me, and should offend all of us -whether you believe what our Church teaches on this issue or struggle with it...

    - There are demons who in the forms of celebrity and entertainment mock our religious beliefs, mock our convictions.

    - There are demons of greed and materialism that cause people, institutions even nations to have uncontrollable appetites and will do anything, mis use, abuse and trample of those who stand in the way of those pursuits...

    - There are demons of laziness and boredom - the hours we can waste being lulled by the radiation screens of our TV’s, computers, phones that make us zombie like. (If you doubt this one, see how well we react when “the cable goes out” or there’s a power failure... )

   - and there’s so many personal demons that people suffer from, often times in silence, afraid, embarrassed and in real pain...

    The thing is we’ve gotten so cautious not to speak of these things. It’s not politically correct. People’s sensitivities might be offended. You might panic individuals and “turn them off” to religion. Yet as Father Lampert said in his lecture – if there’s no evil in the world, then there’s no need for Jesus, is there? Jesus simply becomes a nice moral teacher, a guy who said some really nice things that make for nice bumper stickers and gives us an excuse to have parties and gatherings for his birthday.

    We as Catholic-Christians need to realize the reality of this evil enemy we face who comes to destroy. But not getting overwhelmed by fear (which is one of the devil’s greatest tools) but in trust, in confidence, in believing in the one who speaks with authority: this Jesus of Nazareth who even the demons know who he is – the Holy One of God.

    Jesus continues to come casting those demons out who cause us to suffer. The Sacrament of Reconciliation – yes, confession – is one of the most tremendous gifts we should treasure. We have an opportunity to take responsibility for the times I’ve allowed the demons to run free in my life and hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness said directly and personally to us through a priest and those sins are instantly gone. We have an opportunity to receive Jesus body and blood, the only food that can nourish us, strengthen us in these spiritual battles... Only the devil could twist us so much that so few would utilize these Sacred gifts. Someone once said “people go and confess to Oprah or Dr. Phil, and thousands tune in to watch it... and after the show ends and the credits role, those sins and demons remain.

    The day after the exorcist left our campus, there was an inter-faith conversation that one of our professors from the Religion and Philosophy department runs on a weekly basis and she asked students their perceptions - what struck them in the 2 and a half hour presentation. I was expecting that they would share some of the dramatic stories Father had shared with them or some of the interesting and various questions that were asked by the audience. But the first young lady, who wasn’t Catholic, spoke really surprised me in a good way. She said “What struck me? This guy had seen all of this crazy stuff and he just wasn’t scared. And when he said ‘What do I have to fear? Jesus is already victorious over all of this, so there’s nothing to be afraid of’ I really believed him.”

    For those of us who gather here today, those same questions of faith are presented to us - “What do we have to fear?” Do we believe Jesus is victorious over evil? Even more important though is the question that precedes that, Do we recognize the evil that is in our midst... and want it driven out?

WHY I LOVE JESUS AND HIS RELIGION

2012-01-22T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Just returning from an AMAZING weekend with our student leaders at the FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Student Leadership Conference. They truly are an inspiration and a hope for the Church and the world that they will be able to show how to love Jesus and His religion!

Here’s my homily for the THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - January 22, 2012 - the readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/012212.cfm . Thanks as always for your comments and feedback - they are really appreciated. Please keep all of us, especially our students in your prayers. I forget sometimes how hard it is for them to truly live the Gospel message in this crazy world of ours... Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

           I’ve lost track of how many people have sent me an email or facebook msg or asked if I’ve seen the You Tube Video titled “Why I hate religion but I love Jesus.” It was made by a young man named Jefferson Bethke. About a week and a half ago when I first watched it, about 3 million people had done so as well. To see how its gone “viral” with it appearing on facebook walls, twitter tweets - As of Thursday night over 15 million people had seen it – that tells you not only the power of the internet and social media, but that obviously the young man has sparked a lot of people’s interest and what he says in the video resonates for some.

            In the 3-4 minutes that the video runs, with some clever editing, you hear Jefferson’s rap about his take on the difference between Jesus and religion. And it’s obvious from the tone that he’s indicting most of us Christians of falling into the category he claims is “false religion.” Jefferson argues that: In the scriptures Jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day. At it’s core Jesus' gospel and the good news of the Cross is in pure opposition to self-righteousness/self-justification. Religion is man centered, Jesus is God-centered. This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth. Religion either ends in pride or despair. Pride because you make a list and can do it and act better than everyone, or despair because you can’t do your own list of rules and feel “not good enough” for God. With Jesus though you have humble confident joy because He represents you, you don’t represent yourself and His sacrifice is perfect putting us in perfect standing with God!

           Reading that and seeing the video, there are things I could agree with. Are there hypocrites in the Church? Well I know I’ve been guilty of hypocrisy so there’s one... Can we be lazy about living our faith? Again, I know I’ve confessed that as well, so sadly I validate another claim of his. And that some fall into pride or despair through the words and deeds of people who claim to be “religious”- I’ve met more than a few that definitely have suffered from those conditions.

           And statistically we know that combining all the different denominations, Christianity remains the overwhelming majority religion in the United States, yet for weeks we’ve witnessed that one football player - Tim Tebow makes headlines for being one of the very few who publicly gives thanks and praise to God for the gifts and blessings in His life – that’s how rare it is. And there’s plenty of other examples that you can point to debating “how Christian really is this place we call home?” So Jefferson has a point that religious Christians aren’t doing a great job in witnessing to their faith in the world.

           But he’s missing the boat on a whole lot of things as he dismisses “religion” in his love for Christ. And what’s severely troubling is how many will simply buy into this “truth” because of clever rhymes and editing.

           Discovering the truth takes more than just clicking a video and being swept along with the popularity it has received. We believe that “The truth” is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. And in the Gospel we just heard, we see how this person begins forming a religion. Calling these first men to leave their nets, their jobs; leave their homes and families and make a radical decision to follow Him.

           Will these men perfectly follow Christ? Not by a long shot. Would there be hypocrisy and self-righteousness among them as they journeyed along with Christ? Absolutely. James and John would be jockeying to see who Jesus liked best.   Simon Peter would betray him. And the list of failures (sadly) goes on... Yet Jesus calls these imperfect men to be his first apostles. And he would go further and call Peter the “rock” on which he would build His Church. He prepared them for when he would Ascend to His Father telling the 12 to gather together in His name, eating and drinking the gift of Himself in His Body and Blood under the appearances of Bread and Wine. Empowering them with His Spirit to offer forgiveness – a gift he knew all of them, and all of us – would need over and over again throughout our lives. He would commission them to go out and spread this Good News that God has come to us and remains among us. That he remains very much present in the “Church” promising that where “two or more gather in my Name, there I am in their midst.” Commanding us at the Last Supper to come together in this way, to eat His Flesh and Drink His Blood “in remembrance of me.”

    The sad thing for me watching this video and seeing the comments of many who have "liked" it is that in "throwing the baby out with the bath water" they miss a stunning reality: that the only way people have come to know Jesus from generation to generation has been through religion-- namely the Catholic Church. Even though the history of the Church has more than its share of blemishes and low points, it's in this religion being alive and in our humble submission to His call, that Jesus continues to be made known. It's in the Church that we meet Him who first loved us. It's in the Church that the voice of Christ is calling out to us today just as Jesus did over 2,000 years ago to those first imperfect men who dropped their nets that day inviting us to believe “THIS IS THE TIME OF FULFILLMENT - THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND - REPENT & BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.”    It's in the Church that we find direction to love Christ in both word and deed.

    To be honest, it's easy for many of us to say we love someone or something without that word meaning a whole lot. For instance, we have McDonalds telling us "I'm loving it" about their Big Macs. But I wouldn't exactly lay down my life for McDonalds or the Big Mac...although I might be shortening it as I eat one!   But the tangible way we show our love for Jesus is by following, to the best of our ability, the example in today's Gospel-- the example of the men who heard Jesus' words, inviting them to come after Him and followed Him. By following in their footsteps, I leave the life I knew and I thought I loved in exchange for the life He is calling me to. And, in doing so, I realize I’ve come to Love both Him and the religion He founded.

---> For a great video that was made in response to the original "Youtube" sensation, check out: http://vimeo.com/35046708

THE SPACE BETWEEN "YOU ARE" AND "YOU WILL BE"

2012-01-15T20:09:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - JANUARY 15, 2012. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011512.cfm

As always, thanks for stopping by and reading - your feedback and comments - for sharing the blog with others.... I’m grateful for all your support! Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    There was a commercial on the other night for a show called “The Biggest Loser.” I’ve never seen the show, but just from the commercials you can figure out what it’s about - a reality show where a group of people chronicle their attempts to lose weight. But more than that, change their lives, themselves... Viewing the transformation of who “they are” to who “they will be.”

    Television presents these various shows in neat-compact hour long 22 episode season. For most of us, we know that journey is far less scripted, or completed in one season. Whether it’s weight loss or other aspects of our lives. For example, the other day I was complaining to my spiritual director about the “state of my soul.” Here it was just a few days before the end of winter break... all of our students will be returning tonight and tomorrow. I had a few weeks – not with nothing to do as some of my friends kid me (well hopefully they’re kidding) – but some time where the pace isn’t as demanding, where the schedule is not as hectic as it is in session. It seemed an opportune time for me to accomplish some things that I always want, desire to do but in the every day, crazy pace of the “regular schedule” seems impossible:

    -Like sitting down and reading - I have a stack of books that I’ve wanted to read for sometime... I pulled three or four of them off my book shelf and had them on a coffee table at the beginning of break. They got moved around a lot during these few weeks, but remained unopened and went back on the shelf till May when I’ll try again...

    -Like sending Christmas cards (I actually bought the things and intended to write something meaningful to friends and family I haven’t seen in awhile – even if they weren’t done in time for Christmas, I figured I would use the “Liturgical Season” and do them by the Epiphany... here they are, still in their sealed box)...

    -and – Like growing spiritually – There were a few things that I wanted to start doing that I feel the Lord has put on my heart for some time. Things I wanted to start to work on – that again, these few weeks with some more flexible time would have been an opportune time to really delve into. And sadly, like the books that remained unopened; and cards that went unsent – this wasn’t accomplished either.

    There’s a whole list of reasons / excuses I can give. Some legitimate, some, not so much so... And I know I’m not being overly critical of myself when I just said to my spiritual director, completely exasperated – that it’s the same thing over and over – I feel stuck in that space between the guy that I am and the guy I want to be....

    Frankly it stinks. And I know I’m not the first person to feel or experience that– whether it’s the person who made that new year’s resolution and by January 16th has already thrown in the towel on it and given up in frustration.   Or the guy who leaves the confessional after avoiding it for so long and feels the power of Jesus’ love and forgiveness and the grace of that moment and sincerely believes that they will “go and sin no more” only to find those temptations re-emerging and giving into them once again. How often do we find ourselves living in that space between “who we are” and “who we want to be?” It can be discouraging.

    As I was reflecting (or bemoaning) on my less than productive Christmas break - this reality jumped out in today’s Gospel. As Jesus is starting to call His first apostles, the guys who will be His “right hand” men, as He looks at the one who is to be “the Rock” of the Church; the one who will be our very first Pope - Jesus says – “You are Simon the son of John – you will be called Cephas (...Peter)” How interesting to think that Peter would find himself in the same spot as all of us – living in that space between who you are and who you will be.

    Because so often we who look to Peter as “St. Peter” as that first Pope can in our minds fast forward from this scene and in a sense imagine this encounter changed everything for Simon Peter. That as Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God utters those words; that as Simon experiences this intimate, encounter where his very name has been changed, which in scriptures identifies that God has called this person to something of newer, greater, divinely charged significance to Peter – the grace, the sheer awesomeness of this would be something like that cartoon “transformers” that Simon would leave behind the “you are” of Simon and simply by Jesus’ word of “you will be” morph into this super Apostle Peter who would defend Jesus, follow Him perfectly.   That Peter would be everything you’d expect from a right-hand man... from someone you count on to be that rock that you would build the Church on.

    Yet that was far from the reality of things. Throughout the Gospels Peter is often emotional. We find instances where he speaks without thinking first. Incidents where his commitment, his dedication, his loyalty, his fidelity would waver – most spectacularly during Jesus’ Passion where Peter very much resorted back to Simon as he claimed I don’t know him...

    Even in the Acts of the Apostles – after Peter has seen, touched, experienced Jesus being Resurrected from the dead; after He witnessed that glorious Ascension of Jesus into heaven; after he received the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon him and the others in the Upper Room at that first Pentecost – his fears would at times re emerge. His doubts and anxieties would take over and he would find that - despite all that had happened – he too was still living in that space between “you are” and “you will be.”

    But the great hope for us who can relate to living in this space as well is realizing that for Simon Peter, even with his failures - the vision never disappeared. That voice calling him to become a man greater than who he was never ceased calling him to that... That voice would offer words of encouragement. That voice would speak words of forgiveness. That voice would remind him over and over that when he is “beholding the Lamb of God” THEN he can become Peter (and on the opposite is true as well, when he forgets that, he would be Simon) Jesus who knows our humanity meets Simon Peter in this “space in between” - even utilizing his weaknesses so that Simon won’t forget that the desire he has to become “Peter” can only take place when he allows Jesus to set the vision.

    The same is true for us who find ourselves struggling between who we are and who we are called to be. For each of us, it can be so easy to give into the temptation to despair, to give up on ourselves, to tune out that voice of Christ believing that as frustrated as we are that we struggle, that we make mistakes, that we are stuck in this place between the men and women we are and who we want to be, who we’re called to be – that Christ must be as frustrated as well.

    Yet the good news is that he meets us in this space. If we can hear the words of John the Baptist and “behold the Lamb of God” – behold Christ, we will find he’s not looking at us with disappointment that we’ve made our mistakes, that we haven’t fully taken advantage of the gifts we’ve been endowed with… He reminds us that the desire to utilize them, the vision of the men and women who we “will be” comes from Him as well.   May we learn as Simon Peter did that it is in our humble submission to Jesus Christ that he can take us out of our own 'in-between' places, and transform us from who we are to who we will become.

DON'T MISS THIS...

2012-01-08T13:55:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for THE SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - Sunday, January 8, 2012. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/010812.cfm .

Many thanks to all of you who visit this blog, read and “share” these homilies – and for all of your feedback, comments. It’s humbling and much appreciated - God Bless, Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    On Friday, 12 January, 2007, a young man entered the Metro station in the heart of Washington, DC shortly before 8am. Casually dressed and carrying a violin case, he stopped took out his violin, threw a dollar into his opened case, and started playing classical music. He began with six very difficult, yet beautiful, pieces by J.S. Bach. On a normal weekday, approximately 2000 people pass through that station between 8-9am, most on their way to work. It took three minutes before anyone even noticed him.    A middle-aged man stopped briefly and hurried on.   4 minutes after that a woman threw a dollar into the carrying case, but didn’t stop.   Ten minutes after that a three year old boy tried to stop and listen but was dragged away by his mother.

    After 45 minutes of playing, a total of six people had stopped and listened but only for a brief time. The young musician collected a total of $32. After he had been playing continuously for an hour, in which easily over 1000 people had passed by, he stopped playing. No one noticed, no one applauded and none gave any form of recognition or appreciation.

    This mysterious street musician actually turned out to be a world renown concert violinist named Joshua Bell and the Bach pieces he played are some of the most intricate pieces of music ever written. He played his Metro “concert” on a Stradivarius violin which is worth $3.5 million dollars. Amazingly, three days prior, he had played a sold out concert at Boston’s Symphony Hall where the average ticket price was $100.

    Bell’s gig as a street musician was part of a social experiment about concept, perception and priorities conducted and videotaped by The Washington Post. The following three questions were at the heart of the study: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?; Do we stop to appreciate it?; Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? The results of that study were published by the Post in an article entitled Pearls Before Breakfast.

    Today we celebrate one the last feasts of the Christmas season. It’s ironic that most of the world has already moved on and “dropped” Christmas. Yet, today’s feast is an essential part of this season (and in some parts of the world is celebrated even greater than Christmas day itself) - the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The very word epiphany in Greek means appearance or manifestation and refers to the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the wise-men we just heard about in the Gospel. Guided by the appearance of a star, these Magi traveled a great distance in search of the newborn baby who was foretold to be the King of the Jews. And as we just heard, after asking for King Herod’s help, they found the baby Jesus in that lowly stable with his parents. They bowed to pay Him homage and offered Him three precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

    In some ways you can see some parallels between the Feast of the Epiphany and that that social experiment in the train station. In a common stable, at an unexpected time and in an unexpected context, Jesus Christ was born.   The Word of God was made flesh, – God, the very source of all that is Good, True and Beautiful, was made manifest. And yet, very few took notice of it, let alone appreciated it. Not just in his birth and infancy, but throughout Jesus’ life. The Gospels show throughout Jesus’ ministry and teaching, even in the face of spectacular miracles how the Scribes and Pharisees along with a vast majority of people of that time and era would miss this, miss Him.    In the Christmas commemorations we know that that there were some who “got it”: certainly Mary and Joseph did; the shepherds got it, as did these Wisemen. Even Herod got it to a certain extent, sadly not with appreciation but rather with fear and jealousy.   But for the many, this “Glory of the Lord” that was shining was missed.   Which is surprising. In the first reading we heard how Isaiah had predicted this dawn of light a few hundred years earlier, so the people should have been looking for it, expecting it, anticipating it... But for the most part, people were simply focused on their own concerns and the usual tasks of everyday life to take notice of the true beauty that was radiating right there in their midst.   Kind of like thousands of people missing a world renowned musician playing beautiful music as they race to catch a subway train on a typical Friday morning.

    In our celebration of the Epiphany today we are reminded of the need to seek Christ. To not take it for granted that our being here means we’ve “found him.” Because too often we can fall into that mind set and limit Jesus’ presence and activity. We can ignore His presence right here in our midst, in our own lives.    We come together at Mass and know that He continues to make Himself manifest to us in the Eucharist, through the transformation of a small wafer of bread and a bit of wine into His own Body and Blood.   That’s a miraculous, difficult to comprehend mystery for us to fully take in.   And sadly, sometimes we don’t even fully appreciate the radiance of this beauty that we receive on a regular basis.

    But what about beyond these walls, beyond this Eucharist? How often do we recognize how Jesus continues to make Himself manifest in our daily lives? In our world that’s strangely become closer in terms of communication, we’re becoming more isolated. And lump people into these categories that allows us to remain indifferent to one another. Yet what if we stopped and thought for a moment that all the people I encounter, all of the different relationships, situations and experiences are ways that Jesus is revealing his presence to us? Calling us out of ourselves, to stretch ourselves... So yes, that annoying co-worker perhaps is an opportunity for us to be charitable and patient (recognizing how Jesus is incredibly charitable and patient with us). That sick person who “yeah I’ve been meaning to reach out to,” is that face of the suffering Christ who longs for our compassion. Jesus manifests Himself in the people and circumstances of our everyday life, yet, so often we fail to see Him in those ordinary and sometimes unexpected contexts?
    This past Friday, Pope Benedict in his homily for the Epiphany put it like this:

    Our heart is restless for God and remains so... But not only are we restless for God: God’s heart is restless for us. God is waiting for us. He is looking for us. He knows no rest either until he finds us. God’s heart is restless, and that is why he set out on the path towards us – to Bethlehem, to Calvary, from Jerusalem to Galilee and on to the very ends of the earth. God is restless for us, he looks out for people willing to “catch” his unrest, his passion for us, people who carry within them the searching of their own hearts and at the same time open themselves to be touched by God’s search for us.” (Beautiful, huh???)

    Thinking about Joshua Bell in that train station that morning, I can pretty much guarantee I would have walked past him as he performed his beautiful music (at 8 in the morning, most likely I would be searching a Dunkin Donuts for coffee than anything else). And like the thousands of others who passed by, it would have been a true loss not to take in such a gift.   With the feast of the Epiphany, we reaffirm this great mystery of our faith – this glorious message that God has come to us, that God comes to seek us, that He continues to make himself manifest to us. Are we too busy to notice it?

WHAT WE'RE HOLDING IN OUR HEARTS

2012-01-01T11:14:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! On this January 1, 2012, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God . The readings can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/010112.cfm.

Many thanks as always for readings and your feedback and comments. I'm astounded by the "stats" for this past year, with this past month being well over 4,000 people visiting this blogsite from all over the world. I pray that the Lord is able to use me as a tool to touch your hearts with His amazing Love. God Bless you and yours with much Health and Happiness in the year to come! Fr Jim

HOMILY:

    One of the hardest things for us as human beings to do in life can be letting go of old hurts.   How often have we heard someone say, or even said ourselves "What you did to me and my family, or my friends I cannot forgive or forget ...”   Usually those things aren’t over arbitrary squabbles... they come from a place of real pain and hurt. And this challenge isn’t just on a person to person level.   With some distance and objectivity, sometimes you can see how groups of people, even countries can hold onto past grievances with the desire that “maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... but someday, they will pay for this.”    When it comes to our being wronged, it is amazing how memories can go back decades, even centuries, old and looking for revenge.

    The anger, the bitterness, the vile that we can allow ourselves to hold onto, which at first is something unpleasant; in time becomes part of who we are and in a sense we grow comfortable to it in a sense we allow it to change who we are.

    Rather than trying to conceive of another “new years resolution” the scriptures today invite us to look at New Years Day and ask ourselves an important question. What is it that we’re holding onto in our hearts?

    Because, even though as you go passed Malls and see Christmas items reduced to 75% off and Valentines Day displays popping up (seriously – CVS pharmacy, Upper Montclair, December 26th, saw it myself) as trees are discarded and Christmas music disappears from airwaves, the Church is still basking in the wonder of this Feast. We are still trying to unpack the wonder of the magnitude of this great Christmas gift God the Father has bestowed on us -the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. And in the midst of this time where we contemplate his humble, meager beginnings, our gaze today goes to Mary, the Mother of God. And in this feast, one of the lines that jumps out from the Gospel is that all of these Amazing things that have been occurring in the birth of Jesus that we’ve been celebrating – we just heard that Mary kept all these things in her heart.

    Notice that it was these joyous, miraculous wondrous things she kept in her heart. There’s no mention of her remembering the check-in guy at the Inn who wouldn’t let a pregnant woman ready to give birth a place to stay for the night. We don’t hear Mary complaining that the best this guy Joseph can do is find this smelly place where animals are kept for her firstborn child to be born. She’s not wondering who will get even with those who worked with diabolical fervor to try to destroy this child (and killed thousands of other innocents in the attempt to do so). Mary treasures the amazing things – she allows those memories to fill her heart and which leaves no room for the disappointments, angers and hurts. With that, Mary’s soul simply, beautifully and eternally glorifies and praises God.

    What about you and I? Here on this New Year, we have yet another opportunity, another chance to start over again (it seems we get so many of them, doesn’t it?) Are we willing to let go of whatever it is that hurts, that angers, that we continue to feed? Mary, the Mother of God – and our mother gives us a parental example, a pattern to follow which can change our entire outlook of the year that has past and all that is to come. To treasure, to embrace, to keep in our hearts all of the glorious ways our God is actively blessing us. In doing that, we are called to forgive those who have "sinned" against us and not allow that to have any more space in our lives. In making her example our reality we find that we can truly give birth to Christ in our lives, in our families, in our workplace, in our world...

FASTER, GREATER, MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT!

2011-12-25T10:46:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone - MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Here’s my homily for the celebration of THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD - CHRISTMAS DAY. The readings for this homily are for the Mass for the Day. The readings can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/122511-mass-during-the-day.cfm . I’m grateful to all of you for taking the time to stop by, to read and share some comments. God Bless you all - and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    It probably would be a safe bet to say that everyone here has at least heard of a man by the name of Albert Einstein. If you’re like me, you might not really know why he’s considered an intellectual heavyweight – you just accept that his face could be an illustration of “one who is brilliant,” or that his name seems to be synonymous with genius. If you studied physics in High School (I barely got through Chemistry and Biology, so I didn’t) you probably learned a great deal about Einstein and why he is somewhat revered for his knowledge.   Particularly his major contribution to the field of Physics - his discovery of “the speed of light.”

    I remember in college one day trying to understand what this meant and asking friends of mine who were science majors about it in one of our highly enlightened conversations. My one friend started by saying that there’s nothing faster than the speed of light. I questioned that saying “I thought Superman was?” to which my one friend said “no Superman is faster than a speeding bullet... it’s ‘the flash’ who’s faster than the speed of light.” “Who’s the Flash?” I wondered. At which point my science major friend told us to shut up as he pointed out this was why I couldn’t study physics (or a bunch of other things for that matter:) and then went back to trying to explain this theory of the speed of light.

    My buddy explained that if the Sun was a giant light bulb, that got flipped on, that it would take something like 8 minutes for the “light” ray to hit earth. So the speed of light moves 91 million miles in 8 minutes.   The reason this is important, the theory goes, is that everything in the universe affects other things. And by knowing the “speed of light”, Einstein was able to discover this one “constant” in the universe.   That nothing could go faster than the speed of light. So in discovering that, Einstein had come upon an essential thing to beginning to understanding everything.

    Which is why I was kind of puzzled a few weeks ago. There was a headline on (I think) Yahoo - a small headline - very unimpressively listed with dozens of other headlines, that you could easily miss it, that said that scientists have now discovered things, these particles, that are faster than the speed of light. Like I said, I’m not a scientist by a long stretch, but I thought when I saw that - isn’t that kind of a big deal – to the Physics people?

    And, when I read it, yeah, it really is. In fact there’s some that are dismissing it outright trying to protect Einstein. There’s also some healthy skepticism and arguments by various scientific teams who are continuing to study this latest “discovery.” Because quite simply, if they have found something faster than the speed of light - then, as one scientist put it: “Einstein was wrong... [and] our traditional concept of the universe would be ripped apart.”

    The whole thing is fascinating to me - which is strange to me not really being interested in science. And it’s not a matter of wanting to tear down a hero in the science community. Because even if they do discover there’s something faster than the speed of light, it’s obvious Einstein’s work was the first step in them being able to do that.     What’s fascinating though is that something that was seen as the standard by which the universe was measured... that one constant was the speed of light. And now that constant might be gone. That standard might not be in effect. And all that people thought they knew about the mysterious aspects of the vastness of this universe have to be reconsidered.

    We celebrate a similar thing that happened over 2,000 years ago. Christmas proclaims how the whole universe would have to be reconsidered – not by the Speed of Light, but by THE LIGHT Himself.    It’s easy for this essential truth of Christmas to be missed. Our focus on Christmas – very beautifully and appropriately – centers around children. As we see the innocence, the anticipation, the excitement, the joy of kids – they give life to our images of the baby in a manger, blissfully unaware of his meager, humble beginnings. The brilliance in God’s plan is that a baby is unthreatening. The Christ-child, like our kids, simply desire our attention, our affection, our love. God’s entrance into our history does so wishing for our eyes to gaze on him and love him.

    But there’s more to Christmas than meeting Jesus in the manger. Our human nature is prone to ask questions that need grown up answers. We don’t simply wish to unlock the secrets of the universe in an inquisitive way. No, we wonder what has happened to those promises of the “God-with-us” Emmanuel born in the manger. We sing of that “silent night holy night” with “the Son of God, loves pure light” and wonder with the darkness in our lives or the darkness of those near and dear to us, the darkness throughout the world - wonder, was that Silent Night, Holy Night, for just one night only? The darkness gives us pause, makes us wonder if we need to reconsider “the Light’s” affect on the universe.

    Which is why the Church gives us this beautiful and rich word of God from St. John reminding us that with the birth of Christ, the history of humanity, the very course of the universe has changed:

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.

    St. John’s Gospel talks about Jesus as being “The Word” – the essential, the unifying thing that unites all the cosmos; He refers to Jesus as “The Light” - an element that without which life would not be possible. For us, Christmas reminds us of these unchanging, eternal realities. God enters as a baby to make himself accessible to humanity. But He remains fully God. And while things like war, poverty, abuse, illness, death continue to ravage the lives of the world around us, His promise that He has come and dwelt among us, and remained with us which is what draws us together for this feast.    We might not be able to fully understand this mysterious presence defined by St John as “light.” But the true gift that is Christmas is that God allows us to come to know Him and love Him and welcome Him in the person of Jesus Christ. To have a personal relationship with this miracle ourselves.

    A famous man once said “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” - That was Albert Einstein. Will we this Christmas allow this universal miracle to penetrate our hearts and radiate in our lives?

WHAT GREAT THINGS DOES GOD WANT TO CONCEIVE IN ME

2011-12-18T17:20:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone - As we draw ever closer to celebrating the manifestation of God’s love at Christmas, I hope that this Advent has been a blessed time and that these homilies have been helpful in welcoming Christ in your life in a new way. Here is my homily for the FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT- December 18, 2011. The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/121811.cfm.   Thanks as always for your feedback and comments. They are always much appreciated! God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    If you haven’t completed your Christmas Shopping yet - do your family, your friends, even yourself a favor and buy a copy of the DVD The Human Experience. You can get it on Amazon – it’s even on Netflix if you want to watch it there (and no, I don’t work for the producers or get a “cut” of their sales! These good Catholic guys are still trying to work out of debt for making the film!)

    In this incredible 90 minute documentary, a group of brothers who set out on a journey to get to the burning questions that humanity asks - Who Am I - Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning to life? I’ve seen it 7 times already and am still moved every time I’ve seen it.    I know I’ve mentioned scenes from it before in a homily, but it’s that good, there’s so much in it that I’m still digesting it. There’s so many scenes that really stand out in my mind.

    One scene that re-emerged in my memory this past week was about Doctor Anthony Lazzara who we meet in one of the several experiences shown in the film. Dr. Tony had held a tenured post at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he supervised these high-tech children’s wards at two of the university’s hospitals. He had this cutting edge career there where had built a stellar reputation. He had job security. A nice home. Financially, he was doing well. He had friends, a nice social life. He knew he was helping people. It was a comfortable existence. And no doubt, he could’ve continued on his life this way and been considered “one of the good guys.”

     One day on a trip to India, I think it was for a conference or something, everything for Dr. Tony changed.    He said that as he came out of a restaurant with a colleague he saw something under a filthy blanket - was this an animal, a child? He didn’t know, because he and his friend felt there was nothing they could do, so they left “it” there. But that memory stayed with him and he couldn’t get the pictures out of his mind of the incredible suffering he witnessed of children, people literally dying in the streets because they lacked just some very basic medical care. It shocked him out of his comfort. He said that over the course of two years after this visit, he gradually came to the realization that he felt called to leave his practice, leave his friends, leave the world that he knew to set out – not to India – but to Peru, where he opened a medical orphanage. The Villa la Paz (Home of Peace) as it is called welcomes children who were born sick, disabled – some severely so (I’m remembering this little boy named Victor who was missing a leg and two arms) that before Doctor Tony had establish this home, some would’ve abandoned them, left them to die - because their parents couldn’t or wouldn’t take care of a child with so many needs, who wasn’t “normal.”

    What is so amazing about seeing these children when you see these kids faces you can not not be moved, be blown away. They proclaim by their very existence to a world that would simply focus on what’s “wrong with them,” on their brokenness and respond DON’T YOU DARE DISMISS ME – GOD LOVES ME AND DESIRED ME INTO EXISTENCE. They don’t say it in words like that - they say it in their strength, they bear witness to it in their resilience - they testify to it with their joy – true, authentic Joy. (One sad side note, I had a college student say to me after we screened the film last year say to me “I keep wondering - why are those little kids who have so little, so much happier than I am who’s got everything...”)

    These kids stories are being told in part because Doctor Tony. He said that when he came back from Calcutta, he knew that he was doing good work at Emory, but he said he “thought, what I was doing here in the United States, anybody could do, really.” That opened him to asking “What great things does God want to conceive in me?” And he was willing to trust those plans, those dreams of God to say“ Yes”.

    That’s a beautiful aspect of our Christian lives: that we witness in the present world how the Gospel isn’t some story from the past. We don’t “read” the Gospel as a history lesson. When God’s word is proclaimed, it is alive, it is a word spoken to us here and now. Doctor Tony is just one (notable) example of today’s Gospel, this beautiful pre-lude to the Birth of Christ at Christmas. St. Luke tells of His “incarnation” - when Jesus came into humanity in the womb of Mary. That in itself is an overwhelming thing to consider, that the almighty, eternal, Holy One would step into human history in the meekest, simplest, quietest way possible. But all of this hinged on Mary’s response.    Would she be open to imaging “What great things does God want to conceive in me?”

    I was struck thinking about this encounter. Because we have to realize that Mary had to have shared this story.   It was only she and the Angel who were there. And if you think about it, how humble she was in her recollection? She doesn’t take any glory for herself. She doesn’t recount all the sacrifice she had to have made in saying Yes to God – that Joseph and her had to abandon their plans, their dreams. She doesn’t dwell on how hard this was, the pain she endured as the Mother of God (imagine her having to witness the brutality of her only son’s Passion and Crucifixion... ) None of that is there. Mary’s remembrance of her being invited into the history of the salvation of the world by Jesus Christ finds her simply blown away that God would conceive His son in her.   This whole experience confirms everything she had learned about her faith in God. Jesus’ entrance into humanity through her took all that she in her heart had believed to this very point to a whole new, deeper, intimate understanding.   All of the negative, challenging aspects from her story that she must have experienced seem to fade from her mind. She’s left awestruck remembering the words of the angel – words that rang true in her own life: that nothing will be impossible for God.

    We’re being offered that same invitation - to be a part of God’s plan. To experience how miraculous things unfold when we are open to imaging, open to asking ourselves “What great things does God want to conceive in me?” Because it’s easy to dismiss all of this, isn’t it? Right now the devil’s whispering “Well that’s Mary, she’s the Mother of God” or “That doctor - well sure he could do that, he probably had a lot of money that enabled him to take such a risk” or “God’s only calling holy people to do holy things.” All of those things are lies, tremendous lies that limit God’s power. That limit us.

    Because the beautiful message the Gospel is proclaiming to you and I is that God wants to include us in His wondrous plan. That’s one reason why we hear at Mass several times “The Lord be with you” (Reminder you respond “And with your spirit”) That’s not just a nice Church greeting. It’s a reminder. It’s a call - That God is with you. He is calling you to be a part of his great, creative, mysterious, plan.

    A week from today, if you can sift through the noise of the commercialism that some of us bemoan - we will gather to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. People around the world will recall that historic event that has forever changed and transformed human history. But the beautiful message from the Gospel is that God is inviting us to live that mystery ourselves, to once again bring Christ to birth here and now. Do we dare to ask “What great things does God want to conceive in me?”

ON TIM TEBOW - ONE MORE THING...

2011-12-18T13:22:00.000-05:00

So a quick PS on Tim Tebow and my homily for last week (which is right underneath this posting). First off thanks to everyone who read it, forwarded it, recommended it -etc. There’s a “stat-counter” on the blog and I was surprised at the numbers of people who were on the site to read it. And thanks to all who sent a note or message... it’s awesome to hear how God works through all of us and how He touches your hearts.

So last night I watched Saturday Night Live. I usually will tune in, always with the hope that perhaps it will be funny as it was. For some reason SNL goes through these cycles of funny/unfunny. When they’re good, they’re really good. When they’re not... well, they get desperate. Which they did last night. Not to mention wildly offensive.

After a funny show – thanks in part to tons of funny former cast members returning as Jimmy Fallon (a former cast member himself) came back for the “Christmas Episode” – with a few moments to spare till the end, they went with a cheap, unfunny, pathetic and insulting “sketch.” Having “Jesus” visit the Denver Broncos locker room post-game – Christ was portrayed telling Tebow to “tone it down”; took credit for all the victories (which is something none of us, including Tebow himself would ever claim) and then told Denver star kicker Matt Prater “Prater I pray to you.”

I’m not a prude or puritanical by any stretch of the imagination. Which you could probably figure out by the fact that I watched the entire episode and found most of it funny. But the lack of any reverence anymore is just surprising to me. Maybe I’m still naivete in being surprised. But seriously, making a faithful, religious, devout man – who happens to play football (and is doing better than any of the Sportswriters had predicted) a target to ridicule by Jesus?

I took comfort that most in the audience seemed to be silent. Perhaps because it was unfunny as well as offensive. Only hope the writers took notice. If not for their jobs, than for their own reflection, to ask themselves – do they really think it’s okay to mock God?

– Phew... I feel better just posting that... Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent to come later tonight. God Bless!

TIM TEBOW OR JOHN THE BAPTIST - SAME MESSAGE

2011-12-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, here is my homily for the THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT - December 11, 2011. The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/121111.cfm. Thanks as always for reading and for your feedback. God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    For the most part, I don’t consider myself a Football fan. Its not that I dislike Football, it’s more a matter of time.   After investing a lot of time in the New York Yankees from late February when Pitchers and Catchers report to Florida for Major League Baseball training till the end of the World Series in late October (which on a somewhat regular basis the Yankees are in, or at least get close to it) by then, Football is already half-way through their season, so I’ve never gotten overly interested or excited about different teams. With most of the games being played on Sunday, which happens to be quite a busy day of the week for me, its hard to get into a team when you’re not able to watch them and support them on a weekly basis. I must admit that I do have teams that I root against, like the Patriots and the Eagles (just because they’re the home towns to Baseball teams I hate); and most Jets fans are Mets fans which is another problem. But aside from those dislikes, and catching a game here or there, I don’t follow the NFL, their teams or their players too much.

    Which is why it’s interesting that I do know who Tim Tebow is. I know that he’s a Quarterback. Off the top of my head I remembered that he played football in college at a School in Florida and got selected for the NFL for Detroit? (A quick check on Google filled in the blanks he actually plays for Denver – I knew the city started with a “D” – and the college was University of Florida).

    But the main reason I know who he is, has little to do with Football. It’s because not only does he not hide his faith in Jesus Christ, but he actually (get prepared to be shocked) tries to live his life as a follower of Jesus Christ. Taking such a public stance has resulted in some surprising things that you’d find few parallels with other athletes. A few years ago at a news conference, he was asked “Are you saving yourself till marriage” and he responded yes - he is still a virgin. Can’t remember seeing that question asked of many athletes at their press-conferences. He has taken things like his signing bonus and gives it to charity. He, at this early stage of his career, has already started a foundation to help inner city kids, orphanages in the Phillipines (where he was born) and get assistance for kids who are suffering from a variety of illnesses through helping establish hospitals or other medical assistance. His belief is that all that he has, all of his gifts, talents, abilities come from the Lord, and so he publically acknowledges that with taking a knee in prayer on the field - as he does off the field.

    Sadly, all of this has become controversial. He’s made fun of both on the field and off for this. A few weeks ago, when Tebow’s team lost, several players on the opposing team mockingly went to their knees in what they called “tebowing.”   And then this past week a retired NFL player, Jake Plummer went even further. He was interviewed on a Phoenix radio station and said he would like Tebow more if he would "shut up" about his faith in Jesus Christ.

    If it had been me I probably would have pointed out the irony of his detractors finding difficulties with how he lives his life rather than looking at their own.   So Tebow challenges me as well as he responded true to himself and his faith as he said: "If you're married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife 'I love her' the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? And that's how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ is that it is the most important thing in my life. So any time I get an opportunity to tell him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I'm gonna take that opportunity. And so I look at it as a relationship that I have with him that I want to give him the honor and glory anytime I have the opportunity. And then right after I give him the honor and glory, I always try to give my teammates the honor and glory.   And that's how it works because Christ comes first in my life, and then my family, and then my teammates. I respect Jake's opinion, and I really appreciate his compliment of calling me a winner. But I feel like anytime I get the opportunity to give the Lord some praise, he is due for it."

    That shouldn’t be controversial. That’s not supposed to inspire hostile reactions. That’s called “testifying” to Jesus Christ. It’s precisely what John the Baptist is doing in the Gospel today.    To put the Gospel in context, we have to remember that for awhile, John had his own followers. People who were coming out to hear him preach. People who were being moved to repentance, to changing their lives, to conversion.

    But John realized that wasn’t because of anything he was doing. He knew that the Lord had commissioned him. Entrusted him to be “the voice of one crying in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord.” He knew that all his gifts, his abilities were not to make him into an idol himself – he clearly knows this as he declares who he is not – I am not the Christ; he recognizes that the “baptism” he’s offering of water (that throngs of people are coming to receive) pales in comparison to the Baptism to come in Jesus Christ.    John the Baptist knows in his innermost being that his goal, his mission was by his very life to point to the one who is the Christ, to prepare people to welcome Jesus into their lives, to be the one who would call humanity to “Behold the Lamb of God.”

    For you and I this Third Sunday of Advent, we’re left with the same mission. We are not unaware of who it is that’s coming, or in fact, already here. We are not confused as to who’s birth it is at Christmas that transformed humanity forever. But perhaps we need to remind ourselves of our responsibility to share that good news, to point to Jesus Christ in all that we say and do in our lives. Which is perhaps why Tebow makes some uncomfortable. In a day and age where there’s been a shift to humanize heroes and to trivialize virtue, people wait for dirt to come. One commentator put it like this in an opinion piece that was published this week:

    “...we don't want heroes who are truly good. We want them to fail the occasional drug test or start a bar fight from time to time. It makes us feel better about ourselves. Tebow, however, doesn't make us feel better about ourselves. People like him make us feel a little convicted about the things we say and do. So we find a reason to dislike them. Or, when Tebow says that glory goes to God and the credit for a victory goes to his teammates, coaches, and family, we are suspicious. An increasingly jaded culture, we don't believe that anyone can say such things and really mean them.

    So we wait.

    We wait for evidence that he really isn't that good. We hope to see him kick a player on the ground, drop an F-bomb on television, or Tweet pictures of his privates.   In the meantime, we always have Penn State's Jerry Sandusky to make us feel better about ourselves. (Larry Taunton, USA Today)

I wonder if that’s true. Have we grown so cynical, so jaded that the life and message of Jesus Christ seems too good to be true, so we profess our belief in him to a certain extent as an insurance policy just in case rather than truly believing with all our hearts and souls that it is true, than nothing else really matters.

Tim Tebow seems to be secure enough as a man not to need the defense of some priest who’s never met him or any of us for that matter. And I’m sure he takes comfort that the Lord Jesus who was ridiculed and mocked as well, till he ended up dead on a cross - is with him when the attacks and mockery get ugly. Because Tebow realizes that the love he has for Jesus barely scratches the surface of the love Jesus has for him and for each of us. So rather than trying to defend Tebow, the challenge is will we try to imitate him, as well as John the Baptist - by using our lives to point to Jesus Christ as well?

BETWEEN EVICTION OF 103 YR OLD & BLACK FRIDAY - Can we prepare a way for the Lord?

2011-12-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, here is my homily for the SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT - DECEMBER 4, 2011. The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120411.cfm . As always thanks for your feedback and comments. God Bless, Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    The past couple of weeks has been a bit of a downer for me when looking at television news, seeing news stories online or reading a newspaper (yeah I actually still get those ancient things called newspapers) To see that each year, how the hype of Black Friday, Cyber Monday - shop on Thanksgiving night gets worse... That no one seems to care about the store workers who have to work, or the public servants cops, firefighters, EMT’s who are even more necessary to deal with greater insanity... That each year we see more commercialization and absolutely atrocious behavior ... hearing all of this “news” described as “Christmas preparations”; leaves me somewhat disheartened.

    Which is why when I was scanning the news and saw a picture of this 103 year old woman in her bed and quickly saw a headline that said something about “evicting” her, I really was about to look for the Maalox or Rolaids. Vinia Hall, who’s three weeks away from her 104th Birthday has been living in this home in Northwest Atlanta (with her 83 year old daughter) for over 53 years.   The family has been in some dispute with Deutsche Bank, to the point that on Tuesday, the Bank had planned on evicting Vinia and her daughter from their home.

    But here’s where the story took an unexpected turn. When the sheriff’s deputies and the moving company hired by the bank arrived at the house of this elderly woman who said of her modest home “I love it... It’s a mansion” - the deputies and movers got back in their cars and left, saying they would not be part of kicking these two older women out. Vinia seemed steadfast through the whole ordeal saying "No, I knew that they know what they were doing. God don't let them do wrong." She added one request, "Please don't come in and disturb me no more. When I'm gone you all can come back and do whatever you want to."

    It remains to be seen if the sheriffs deputies will be charged for insubordination, the movers fired and whether initial promises made by bankers and politicians to allow Vinia and her daughter to remain in their home or not will be fulfilled. But it’s hard not to see in the mix of the daily news feed, how Vinia’s story seemed to be like a prophet’s voice calling out to us who contribute to this “desert” of an environment that we call the “Christmas season”... and that voice cry’s out, as Isaiah did in the first reading, as John the Baptist does in the Gospel – to prepare the way of the Lord... to Make straight his paths.

    Because hearing a story like this, we can go to the usual commentators on the left and right who will all argue about financial stuff - point lots of fingers at one another: politicians, bankers, lenders... And we can go off angry that the other side is wrong and my side is right, as we storm off and line up at midnight for 70% off a HDTV or whatever it is – all the while we continue to ignorie the poor, the needy, the helpless, the sick, the sorrowing, the imprisoned.

    Meanwhile, the scriptures remind us, very simply, that “GOD COMES.” That is the hope filled sentiment of Advent – not “God has come” not “God will come” – GOD COMES - here and now. In this time and space, through the hearts, the souls of His faithful people.   Often times God comes to us in the ordinary, routine, everyday experiences and encounters of daily life. For Vinia, no doubt, as her family and the bank has fought and argued for years over this mess, there were opportunities God was inviting people to come to a reasonable resolution that were ignored.   There were moments where God was trying to break through to people to come to their sanity that were not taken... Which led to the moment where this poor old woman about to be steamrolled out of her apartment.

    Her last refuge was God. Who she put her complete faith and trust in.   That God would come to her, and “save her.” But how sad is it that it had to have been in this dramatic, public way – through the non-actions of those ordered to fulfill their “duties” (which to me seem heroic considering the consequences they could be facing). That’s not how things are supposed to be. That’s probably not how Vinia expected her prayers to be answered, with her face, that sweet smile splattered on the nightly news.

    But she knew that “God comes” - and that if He has to, as He did to Vinia in her moment of trial, He will reveal Himself in quite unpredictable ways.   For you and I, who are blessed to be here - we know the fullness of these prophetic calls – that the hopeful dreams of the prophet Isaiah were realized beyond his imaginations in Christ. That John the Baptist’s knowledge of the Jesus being the “Lamb of God” was only a glimpse to the fullness of who Christ is, probably greater than he could have expected.   We know that God has come to us, and remains with us... That’s why we’re here. We know that Jesus has come and stayed with us.

    But as injustices continue, as the poor and hungry await relief, as the persecuted and suffering long for deliverance, in many ways God’s coming remains simply a promise, or a distant hope. And often times if we look at those situations objectively, there’s no reason it should be that way. His salvation, His redemption remains distant because what we’ve experienced and known to be true of Jesus Christ hasn’t become enrooted in our hearts and transformed our lives to make us the prophets and messengers to proclaim God’s word; we haven’t become the presence of Christ to bring His healing to those desperate for it.

    He who has come, died and rose from the dead - is expecting us who wish to celebrate His birth at Christmas in a few weeks to “prepare His way,” to be His prophet: To proclaim with whatever talents and skills we possess His presence in the wastelands and barren places around us.   To create a highway for His compassion and justice to enter and re-create our world so that the Vinia’s around us who are looking for signs that “God comes” isn’t just a promise, but a reality.

WELCOMING THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL

2011-11-28T21:46:00.000-05:00

Some of our students who weren't able to make it to Mass last evening were upset they missed our "teaching Mass" where we introduced the new English Translation of the Mass, and explained some of the changes and other parts of the Mass that perhaps they had forgotten / never heard before.

Just a "warning" - these are my "notes" - so I didn't write them to be published, so please excuse grammatical/spelling mistakes (which regularly appear even when I do know I'm going to post something!) Also - please know that I used a couple of sources for a great deal of these notes -- Dr. Edward Sri's "Biblical walk through of Mass" and the Magnificat Roman Missal companion; as well as things I remembered from liturgy classes in Seminary... So here we go...

INTRODUCTION:
    Today we start using a new English translation of “THE ROMAN MISSAL” which is the book that contains all the prayers and responses for our worship.

    One of the beautiful things about our Catholic-Christian faith is the Unity of the Universal Church. For centuries the language at Mass was Latin. A major reason for that was to maintain our unity - that no matter where you went to Mass around the world, Catholics would all be saying the same thing.

    In the 1960's the Church recognizing how fewer and fewer understood Latin and prayerful concluded that we could still say the same thing but allow the Mass to be celebrated in the language of the people.

    So we’ve only been celebrating Mass in English (or any other language other than Latin) for close to 50 years (and the Catholic faith has been around for over 20 centuries!) The Church, constantly is prayerfully considering where we are and where we believe the Holy Spirit is moving us to go. In recent years, Bishops (especially those who speak multiple languages) noted that the English translation wasn’t nearly as precise as the other languages to the original Latin texts we used. And that in some cases the meanings and scriptural references were a bit lost or missed.   Not to mention that not all English Speaking peoples were using the same translations of the prayers.   That’s why we have a new translation.

    So tonight at this Mass, as we introduce the new translation with some of the changes that will affect the responses that we’re used to making, we’re going to have what’s called a “teaching Mass” where I’ll try to pause at certain points and explain what it is we’re doing and WHY we’re doing it (in some cases in a new way):

SIGN OF THE CROSS/GREETING:

    As Catholics the first thing we do at Mass after we’ve Gathered is to begin our worship recognizing that God is a God in three persons. The gesture of the sign of the Cross has ancient origins with written descriptions of it being done before the year 200. In making that sign, we invoke God’s presence and invite him to bless us, assist us and guard us.

    Immediately after the sign of the Cross, in the words of Greeting we discover the first change: There’s three possible greetings the priest can use and all of them have origins from both the Old and New Testaments.

    The most common has been “The Lord be With You”. When the priest is saying that it’s not a Church way of saying “hey how are you” and the people responding back “great and you?” The Priest is reminding the people that when we assemble in Jesus’ name – as he told us in the Gospel of Matthew – that He is here in our midst.    So whenever we hear “The Lord be with you” it’s a reminder that we make this space Holy and that sacred things are taking place in our midst.

    Here is one of the first changes for the people. So as your priest, I’m calling on you to remember this important aspect that you by gathering in Christ’s name make him present, From now on in response to that , you will respond“And with your Spirit.” Again, this comes right from scripture from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians.     By saying “And with your Spirit” it’s not exalting the person individually (me Fr. Jim) - it’s the community, who recognizes that “The Lord is with Them” and in response recognizes the deepest interior part of the priest - His Spirit, that has been transformed by ordination, that allows him, that makes him able to lead the people in these most sacred actions of the Church – The Celebration of the Mass.

END OF INTRO RITES/ BEFORE READINGS:
    With the conclusion of that Opening Prayer, which we call “the Collect” which says what it means – it “collects” all the prayers and intentions of the people gathered to participate in the Mass - we have concluded what is called “the Introductory Rites”. Now we begin what is called “The Liturgy of the Word”
    This is considered the “first table” of “two tables” in which God’s people are nourished. So in this First Table - we are fed with God’s Sacred Word coming from scripture. It’s good for us to remember that the scriptures aren’t just moral lessons, reflections on the spiritual life or historical recollections. We believe that in the Liturgy of the Word - God is speaking to us. Yes, through human authors and their writing styles, and historical incidents are recounted, but the fact that are contained in scripture means they are inspired by God. And so we are about to hear God speaking to us.

    This being the first Sunday of Advent, we begin a “New Church Year”-   On the First Sunday of Advent, we start reading from a different Gospel. Last week we finished reading the Gospel of Matthew, now we begin the Gospel of Mark. Next year on the First Sunday of Advent we will hear from the Gospel of Luke. In the course of three years in coming to Mass, you would hear the entirety of the Gospels proclaimed (with the Gospel of John being heard throughout the Easter Season as well as parts of the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Lent and when Liturgically appropriate)

    Our First Reading usually comes from the Old Testament.    At the end of the passage, the lector says “The Word of the Lord” – That’s not our way of saying “The End of this, let’s move onto the next thing” - it should cause us to pause in amazement how marvelous it is for us human beings to hear God speaking to us... Which is why we respond with a heartfelt “THANKS BE TO GOD”

Between our First and Second Reading - we respond not with our own meager words but rather with God’s own inspired words of praise and thanksgiving from the book of Psalms - a collection of poetry that captures the spectrum of Human emotions and experiences and the presence and activity of our God through all of them.

Our Second Reading comes from the New Testament, usually one of the letters written by St. Paul, St. Peter, St. James, St. John to the Early Church communities. While the first reading is often connected to the Gospel, the Second Reading is meant to reflect on the mystery of Jesus Christ and his saving work – and the meaning it has on our lives.

BEFORE THE GOSPEL:

    So while the whole Bible is the inspired word of God – The Gospels hold a special place because they are the “principle source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior” JESUS CHRIST.

    That’s why we do some things to point out the special reverence for hearing the Gospel - we STAND to welcome the Lord Jesus who is about to be proclaimed. We SING “ALLELUIA” - a Hebrew word which is so particular that we cannot fully find an English translation. The closest we can come is “Praise the Lord” - But it’s a word we find in scriptures that captured the angels using that word to praise God for his work of salvation and to announce the coming of Jesus Christ to his people.

    The Priest carry’s the Book of the Gospels - again to underscore the solemnity and importance of about to happen. (You might notice that the priest bows at the altar and seems to mumble to himself, the priest is praying: Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel. AGAIN - this comes from scripture, where the prophet Isaiah’s lips needed to be purified before proclaiming the word of the Lord to Israel).

    The priest reminds the community again “THE LORD BE WITH YOU” and the community reminds the priest of his special role, now speaking the words of Chirst “AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT” - at which point we trace the Sign of the Cross on our head, lips and heart – which is our way of consecrating our thoughts words and actions to the Lord asking that his Word in the Gospel be always on our minds, our lips and in our heart.

HOMILY:

From the earliest days of Christian liturgy, the Word of God was not read on its own - It was accompanied by a homily which explained the meaning of the scriptures and drew out applications for people’s lives - this was an ancient Jewish custom that continued through Christianity to this day.
There’s a reason that only a priest or a deacon preaches a homily. We believe that the Bishops are the successor of the apostles – the priests and deacons are sharers of that authority (the Archbishop could remove my “faculty” to preach and in fact has the responsibility to if I should be leading the people of God astray) And the idea of this is that the scriptures are to be read and understood under the authority of the apostolic faith. That’s why only an ordained minister can preach a homily. That’s not to say that lay people or a religious sister of brother might be more eloquent than a priest, but the homily in the context of the Mass, preached by an ordained minister is meant to be a guarantee that the preaching is passing on the Church’s apostolic faith – not just the private thoughts or experiences of any individual person.

CREED:

    As the Liturgy of the Word comes to a conclusion, we come to the Creed which is an ancient statement of our faith. In a sense, we give a cliffs notes narrative to the entire Scripture from the creation of the world, the Fall of humanity, the incarnation (or coming of Christ) - His Death and resurrection to the sending of the Holy Spirit, the era of the Church and looking forward to the Second Coming.

    There’s a few noticeable changes which is why we need the cards to assist us in our proclamation of something that many of us had memorized:

    First is the shift of the very first word from “WE” to “I” believe – starting with “I believe” is an exact translation of the Latin word “credo” and the difference is that while we are baptized into a community of believers, we acknowledge that we receive the sacrament in our own persons, one by one - that we have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with His Church. So by saying “I believe” I’m making a declaration of what I believe with my heart, my mind, my soul...

    There’s a few other changes of significance - and because this is such an important “statement of faith” that we are making, it’s important to notice the changes and what they mean:

    things visible and invisible instead of Seen and unseen - the emphasis is that it’s not just a matter of perception, but things by there very nature cannot be seen - angels for one; the “moral law” for another – all have their origin in God and are a part of His creation
    only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages – while we celebrate at Christmas Jesus being born into humanity, into time, this is a more precise theological point that before there was a thing called “time” - God existed and that there was never the Father without the Son and the Holy Spirit. All things, all times - from the beginning of the world to its eventual end are a creation of the Blessed Trinity.
    The next change has probably gotten the most attention: from “one in being with the Father” to Consubstantial with the Father - this, again, is a more precise explanation that Christ is not a different God or somehow less significant than the Father. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are of the same substance, so since God is one, Christ being consubstantial with the Father means he too is God - not a different God, but the same God.

    Incarnate of the Virgin Mary - rather than saying “born of the Virgin Mary” which turns our minds to Christmas at Jesus’ actual birth, by being more exact and saying “incarnate” we recall the Annunciation - the moment where Mary said to the Angel “behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to your word.” Jesus became incarnate in the virgin Mary 9 months before his birth.

The Prayer of the Faithful -

    The final act or the culmination of the Liturgy of the Word is what we call “THE PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL” - This has been a part of the Mass from ancient times, as late as the year 155. In a letter written by St. Justin the Martyr where he gave an outline of the prayers and rituals of Mass, he explained that after the readings from scripture and homily – [QUOTE] we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves... and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.”

- Before the Preparation of the Gifts-

    We’ve now concluded the Liturgy of the Word - now we enter into what is called the LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST where Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is made present by the priest – by carrying out what Jesus did at the Last Supper and what he commanded the apostles to do in his memory. The people bring forward bread and wine as gifts which are consecrated and changed into the body and blood of Christ.

During the Preparation of the Gifts, on Sunday, usually we sing a hymn so often times you don’t hear the prayers the priest offers as bread and wine are presented to him. Bread and wine had profound meaning to the Israelites - Bread was the most basic food and necessary to sustain life; wine was not just a side beverage, but a common part of Israelites meals. At the most ancient of Israelite meals, the Passover feast - which was what the Last Supper was – Jesus offered the bread and wine as the priests do today acknowledging that these offerings are gifts of His creation and the result of our labors.    This rite symbolizes our giving of our entire lives to God in the offering of bread and wine.

THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:

    With the prayer over the gifts concluded we now begin “The Eucharistic Prayer” - which from this point till we sing the Great AMEN is one long prayer that consecrates the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

    Because of the importance of this, there’s again a great deal of meaning to the things we do at Mass.

    The first thing is once again the invocation of “The Lord be with You” - as we said earlier, this was a biblical greeting that when God called people to important but daunting missions they were greeted with these words because they needed the Lord to be with them as they set out on their charge - here this greeting is repeated as we embark on the most sacred part of the Mass. You’re response to the priest is a reminder that this isn’t something the priest himself does, it is the work of the Holy Spirit who has transformed the priest’s soul, his spirit at his ordination.

    Then the priest says “Lift up your hearts” - another exhortation that comes right from scripture. In the bible, the heart is the hidden core of a person - their thoughts, emotions, actions all are contained in the heart. So in lifting up our hearts, the priest is calling us to bring our fullest attention to what is about to unfold. Which is why we respond “we lift them up to the Lord” - recognizing this is the only place we should be focusing our attention.

    Finally (and another Change) is when the Priest says “LET US GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD OUR GOD” We now simply say “it is right and just.” This brief translation corresponds to the Latin version. We affirm simply that it is the right, and just thing for us to do.

THE COMMUNION RITE:

Before the Our Father:

Now we begin the final preparations. The Eucharistic Prayer is ended and we begin “The Communion Rite”   - the bread and wine have been consecrated and Jesus is now truly present before us – in a few moments we will receive his body and blood in holy communion. From this point forward these rites are meant to lead all of us to the sacred point of holy communion and help ensure we are properly prepared to receive the body and blood of Christ.

First is the Our Father which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did not simply give us words to pray - He gave his saving command to pray these words which also forms us as Children of God.

THE RITE OF PEACE:

Now we participate in THE RITE OF PEACEIn the Our Father we asked the Father for deliverance from evil and for peace to be established. Now the priest addresses the Lord Jesus recalling his words from the Last Supper where He offered us that deep, longer lasting peace that the world does not give.

We are reminded that in this rite that when Jesus is the foundation of our lives, when we follow his commands, we can withstand life’s many disappointments, trials and sufferings - This is the peace that builds unity between a husband and wife in marriage; in families, in communities and nations. Which is why the priest now shares the words of exhoratation from St. Paul “THE PEACE OF THE LORD BE WITH YOU ALWAYS” and once again you respond that that peace reign in the core of the priest - and with your spirit. Then we exchange a sign of peace. A sign that signifies that we who have called God “Our Father” are brothers and sisters and as apart of that family are called to live in peace with one another – and it challenges us to work to make God’s peace a reality in our love and forgiveness to one another.

   AFTER LAMB OF GOD/BEFORE INVITATION:

    The words “Lamb of God” takes us right up to God’s throne. When we say or sing those words, we join the angels who worship Jesus as the victorious Lamb in the New Testament book of Revelation. So we are crying out with our hearts that this Lamb of God has saved us from our sins by his death and resurrection.

    The change to the “invitation to communion” now has the Priest inviting us to “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” - which comes from the Gospel of John. These are the words of John the Baptist who when he saw Jesus in the Jordan, he cried out with those same words.   So we are being invited to “BEHOLD” to contemplate the mystery, to gaze upon and behold with heartfelt gratitude what God has done for us.

    After that is a signifigant change in translation that uncovers a scriptural reference most of us never noticed before. In the Gospel of Matthew & Luke, there’s an encounter that Jesus has with a Roman Centurion who has a servant who is seriously ill. The Centurion says to Jesus “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed.” With the change in the translation we are recapturing that biblical scene and personalizing the words.

    Jesus was willing to go to the home of that centurion to heal that servant, but the centurion with all humility felt unworthy, uneasy, that Jesus should come into his house and even more had the faith that Jesus only had to “say the word” and his servant will be healed. We know that Jesus wants to come into our “roofs” - into our body’s and souls as we receive His Body and Blood, soul and divinity in this Eucharist, to heal us and transform us. We pray for that faith of that centurion believing that this is possible.

CONCLUDING RITE:

One final time, the priest reminds the people that the Lord is with them (and the people remind the Priest that all that he has just lead them in and this final act is an act of the priesthood, not him personally as they say and with your spirit) and there’s a simpler dismissal “Go Forth, the Mass is ended”

The word Mass in fact means “sending” - we who have celebrated the Eucharist are called to go forth and fulfill God’s will in our daily lives, recalling Jesus’ words at the end of the Gospel of John “As the Father sent me, even so I send you.”

We are called to radiate his life and his love in the world – we are to bring for the mysteries of Christ into the darkness of the world around us.

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ENDING -- That's Good News!

2011-11-27T20:02:00.000-05:00

Here is my homily for the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT - November 27, 2011. It’s a little shorter than usual for me since we were doing a “teaching Mass” explaining the new translation of the prayers and responses the Catholic Church in the English Speaking world is introducing today.    Thanks for reading and your comments and feedback - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    On this Thanksgiving weekend we come to Mass and are greeted with scriptures that talk about the end of time as we know it - the time when God comes to judge the world - the time when Jesus comes again. When people hear or talk about the end times, they might think about that guy Harold Camping who predicted that day was coming, twice, this past year - first in May then on October 21... Some have Hollywood images of the rapture or that movie a couple years ago called “Left Behind:” and those images can be frightening.
    A pastor a few years ago had an interesting take on the end of the world. He asked “imagine how the media would deal with end of the world?”   He came up with a list of examples of different headlines he imagined different papers and magazines would have:
    USA Today - WE’RE DEAD;
    WSJ: Dow Jones plummets as world ends;
    Forbes magazine: 10 ways you can profit from the Apocalypse;
    Rolling Stone Magazine : The Grateful Dead Reunion Tour;
    Sports Illustrated: Game Over;
    Ladies Home Journal: Lose 10 pounds by Judgment day with our new Armageddon Diet -
    Discover Magazine: How will the extinction of all life as we know it affect the way we view the cosmos -
    PC Magazine: If you don’t experience the rapture, Download software patch rapt777.exe.

    Today’s readings don’t sound as comical - Isaiah describing the sun being darkened, the moon not giving light, the stars falling from the sky – the Gospel warning us you do not know when the Lord is coming... so Watch!”

    But before we get ahead of ourselves focusing on the end of the world, maybe we should be asking ourselves why are we suppose to stay awake, what are we suppose to be watching for. Are we looking for signs of the end times? Because, in the past few years, we’ve had enough hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis; wars, terrorist attacks – all kinds of things that people believe that the sun has already darkened and the moon has refused to yield light.

    Even in our own lives, we struggle and are overwhelmed by our own dark clouds - maybe you’re overwhelmed with problems at work, maybe there’s problems at home; maybe sickness or death has thrown you into a very dark place; maybe those sins, failures or temptations keep wearing you down lying to you convincing you that you will never be able to withstand them or be forgiven of them.

    With all of that, it’s easy to want to simply want to zone out and “fall asleep?” Which is why these scriptures invite us into a hopeful posture to wake up!    We are being reminded that we are not on our own - because otherwise the darkness would overwhelm us. No the darkness around us or within us will not overcome us. Jesus comes, light breaks through, and when He does here’s the Good News that the world as we know it ends. Each and every time the true light of Jesus shows itself the world as we know is ends and - that is what we have to keep awake and alert to - so that we don’t miss it!

We see it happening:
    each and every time the hungry are fed;
    each and every time wrongs are righted;
    each and every time peace breaks out where war has raged;
    each and every time forgiveness allows a new beginning,
    each and every time death is faced down with serene faith;
    each and every time fractured families are reconciled...
In all of those ways, and many more, we find that into our lives comes the Messiah Jesus who makes our lives complete and whole, who brings healing and liberation.

May we welcome his coming into our homes and hearts and be attentive to his presence already here in our midst as he ushers us into a new day, a new age, a new world.

WHAT MAKES AMERICA GREAT - A Thanksgiving Reflection

2011-11-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

This was an Opinion piece I wrote for FOX News a few years ago when I was a contributor to their website. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

What makes America great?

Depending upon your perspective, your experience or your history, the answer to that question will vary. For many nations, greatness is measured by military strength. By this measure, the United States is peerless.

The bravery with which young men and women volunteer to risk their lives in service to our country is a measure of American greatness. Today, we are mindful of those serving so far from their homes and families so that we could enjoy this holiday in peace and security.

Another measure of a nations greatness is it's diversity. Whether you use the term "melting pot" or "salad bowl" to describe it, the variety of races, religions, cultures and nationalities that have made their home in the United States is a characteristic of our nation that is uniquely American. Though there have been some serious lapses throughout our nation's history, America has always strived to offer all the opportunity to live in peace. Today, we have a peaceful nation where Muslims, Christians and Jews can be on a line in a department store or in the same restaurant and not fear the other. This is something of which many people in other nations are rightfully envious.

Some would argue that a nation's greatness comes from things over which they have no control, such as the physical land that nation occupies. For some countries, problems such as poverty or hunger are caused by their location. America is also great in this sense--from rich farmland to busy sea ports, from reserves of natural resources to thriving cities, from the Rocky Mountains to California's beaches.

All of these things make America great, but these are not all that make America great. There is something more, which encompasses all of these and reveals the true greatness of this nation. What makes America great is that it is the greatest experiment of faith ever attempted. Our nation was founded by Christians who were fleeing religious persecution. Our forefathers believed that each person had a soul, and that soul was made and given as a gift by a creator. They knew that the greatest gift in the heart of a soul was the freedom to chose between what is right and wrong.

Our Founders had faith in God, and tried to create a nation where everyone could choose their own way to serve him. Our national songs do not say, "God Save the Queen or King;" we sang "God Bless America." We imprint "In God We Trust" on our institutions; We pledge to be "one nation under God."

Today, there are many who disparage religion's influence on America. They don't want to hear that our leaders believe in God and openly practice their faith. They want to remove traces of religion from public places--whether it's a plaque of the Ten Commandments in a court house, or Christmas carols being sung in a public school. Yet, Thanksgiving isn't about turkey, Pilgrims or football.

Thanksgiving was first proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789 with these words "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor...[we] recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors Almighty God."

You'd expect to hear this from a member of the clergy. Yet, our first president, in proclaiming Thanksgiving a national holiday, articulated the belief that was in the hearts of the people who had entered into this great faith experiment that is America. When the United States finally became a truly free and independent nation, it must have seemed miraculous. So our forefathers thanked God for their many blessings.

As millions gather with their families this Thanksgiving, our prayer at this meal is obviously one of thanking God, but also a prayer of petition that Americans will be able to rediscover their spiritual selves, and draw strength and comfort from their individual spiritual faiths in the same matter that our Founders did, a faith that guided them in creating this great nation, and has sustained American greatness to this very day.

WOULD JESUS OCCUPY WALL STREET?

2011-11-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

Here is my homily for the feast of JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE - NOVEMBER 20, 2011. The readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/112011.cfm - As always, thanks for reading and all your feedback. God Bless (And Happy Thanksgiving!)
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    Since late September, there’s been wide-spread protests around the country - around the globe that has been dubbed by some as “the occupy movement.” Here in the New York Metro-area, the local version of it has been called Occupy Wall Street, which has made famous a small park that not only tourists to the Big Apple had never heard of before, but probably many New Yorkers were unaware of as well - Zuccotti Park.   As with any protest movement, there’s been various claims and charges that depending upon your perspective either inspires you or enrages you. There have been things said and done by some individuals associated with the movement that make it hard for anyone to want to be even remotely connected with them (like anti-Semitic sentiments) – to other things that would be hard for anyone to deny or argue against (high unemployment, corruption, the influence corporations have on all aspects of economic, political and cultural life) It’s confused a lot of people because there’s no clear leader, nor has there been any list of specific demands.

    But if you’re able to get to the core of the movement, a common theme or a top reason so many are out there protesting, the reason you would hear given the most is that they are there to fight against “greed.” The protestors argue that greed is the reason there’s so much unemployment, foreclosures, so many problems that affect a great majority of the people (they would claim 99% of the population) because of the excesses done by a few.

    Whether you agree with all of their beliefs, their tactics, or their solutions or not; if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to recognize that greed does lead to destruction. We can argue about the particulars and all, but even in our personal lives we know that to be true. When I’m greedy - when my focus goes to what I alone want, immediately I’ve stopped considering what anybody else needs because my focus is on the pursuit of what I want. When we imagine that on a greater level – corporations, governments, institutions – acting that way, we can see how this could affect even greater numbers of people. So greed is an evil that impacts us not just here and now but poses a danger to our eternal souls...which is what we just heard in today’s Gospel.

    In fact today’s Gospel has been cited by some affiliated with the protests as evidence that Jesus would have been among the people in the crowds that are occupying Wall street. The Washington Post in a recent article on the subject interviewed some religious scholars that seems to support this view:

    “Jesus believed the whole system was corrupt,” says Bart Ehrman, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina. “The people who ran things were empowered by the evil forces of the world, and his followers had to work against these powers by feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and caring for the sick.”

Interestingly with this story there was a picture of a guy dressed as Christ at one of the protests with a sign saying “I threw out the Moneylenders for a reason.” (I would say ‘yes Jesus did... care to know what it was? Because something tells me it’s not the same reason as yours...’) But before people use (or mis-use) Jesus, making him a Che’ Guevera to the occupy movement or some face of “revolution” it’s important for us to know there’s a fundamental difference.

    Yes Jesus is preaching against greed in all it’s forms. Yes, today’s gospel is a warning that the fate of our eternal souls is dependent upon how we cared for our brothers and sisters in great need.   Did we even see them in need? Did we even recognize them as brothers and sisters?     But that only works when we recognize that we have a common Father. That only works when recognize Jesus Christ as King of the Universe who is the one giving us these commands. And that living under his dominion, living under his reign, that there will come a day when we will be asked What did you do for me in your neighbor?

    That’s why, even though it can be easy to see common ground between Jesus and the protesters being “against Greed” - many of the parallels would end there. Jesus isn’t going to favor capitalism over socialism or communism or any other economic system. Jesus isn’t going to register as a Republican or a Democrat (that’s going to tick off both sides of my family) Jesus isn’t going to favor violence as a means to bring about his kingdom (or combat the things that threaten his kingdom) And while Jesus loves those in Zuccotti Park for their passion and their desire to address injustices done to the poor, the weak, the vulnerable – he also loves those in the board rooms, the traders, the financial people. He loves the politicians, the media folks. He loves the Catholic, the Jew, the Muslim. He desires the salvation of everyone of the souls who live in his vast kingdom and continues to reach out to all of us that we will desire that as well.

    He wouldn’t differentiate groups of people between haves and have nots. Or percentages like 99 % vs 1 %.    What we celebrate in today’s feast is that Jesus Christ is the eternal King of the Universe. His kingship came not simply by being God’s son - which should have and could have been enough. It was won by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead. No other has cared so much for each one of us that they would lay down their lives for us. It’s an often quoted statement, but it bares repeating: If you or I were the only person to ever have lived, Jesus would still have come down to earth, suffered and died on the Cross for us, for our sins, for our corrupted, sinful hearts. That loving act has to matter to us. It has to call us out of self-centeredness into selflessness. It has to transform us to recognizing that my sins - whether it’s greed, or any other sin – doesn’t simply upset God because we’ve chosen not to listen to Him and follow him, but because it also affects others. It affects the Kingdom of God in that some of our brothers and sisters are not living the fullness of life they’ve been promised by the Lord, because others of us haven’t been obedient to our King’s commands.

    In the past few weeks, sadly the occupy movements have seen crime, disease and violence filter in. And all of those things seem to have distracted or moved the discussion away from the important questions that were being asked, like: what responsibilities do I have to my fellow citizens? What responsibilities do companies, businesses, government have to there workers, customers, citizens? That loss of focus was going to eventually happen because Jesus Christ wasn’t their motivation, but was being used as an afterthought to build a larger alliance. That doesn’t diminish the issues they’ve raised. And it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t want us to do something about those issues – it’s clear that He does. The caution we have to make is in assuming he would align himself with “Occupy wall Street” or “Occupy DC” or whatever city the protests have popped up. That’s way too narrow for this King of the Universe, who comes to occupy our hearts.

"I CAN'T!!!!" "Just try..."

2011-11-13T20:09:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111311.cfm . As always, thanks for reading and all your feedback. I always appreciate reading your comments and thoughts. God Bless, Fr Jim

HOMILY

    “I CAN’T!”

    If you’ve ever worked with little kids, it’s a bit stunning when you’ll hear them utter those two little words when they’re invited to do something.
    Jump in the water, it’s okay, you’re going to be fine!
    Try riding this bicycle, you’ll be okay - it’s got training wheels
    Tomorrow you’re starting your first day of school

    Hearing “I can’t” from a kid to those things is jarring. Not just because we know that they can do it... but there’s a sadness in hearing this young person has imposed limits on themselves. Maybe it’s from fear or self-doubt. Maybe they have trust issues. Whatever the reason, they’ve somehow limited their potential, limited what is possible, and are not able to see what is right there within their reach as they make their short declaration – I CAN’T. That’s where others - parents, coaches, teachers, other relatives and friends are so important, so essential.   Hoping to remove that fear, helping them to see past their self-imposed limits and encourage them to move beyond those two defeatist words they offer two little words of encouragement – just try.

    Jump in the water, it’s okay - you’re going to be fine! I Can’t...Just try, your coach is right there, see all the other kids, they used to not be able to swim either, and he was right there able to help them... Just try

    Try riding this bicycle, you’ll be okay – it’s even got training wheels on it I CAN’T Just try - Mommy and Daddy are right here, we promise if you even start to fall, we’ll catch you...

    Tomorrow you’re starting your first day of school I CAN”T GO - I don’t know anyone, (and the older brother or sister says) you’ll do great - when I started school, I was scared too, but once you get in there, you’ll see, it’s not bad, it’s okay – Just try....

    When we think about it, those types of experiences don’t end in grammar school or on the playground. Throughout life, fears and doubts re-emerge and seem more justifiable as our mind conjures up seemingly more logical reasons that make them seem true. The lack of trust we have in others, the lack of confidence we have in ourselves can hinder us. We might not vocalize the words but say them in our mind – I can’t.

    If I told my family, my friends that I was thinking about doing this with my life – I can’t

    I hate my job, I hate what I’m doing but I can’t take that new job...

    What good will a degree in that field be, I can’t study that...

    With added responsibilities and commitments we make through life, it’s not as easy to say “just try” as we get older. Perhaps that’s why it bothers us so much when we hear little kids being so defeatist. We don’t want them to believe those lies they’re telling themselves that diminish themselves. We know that those demons can crush a person’s spirit... and that people can become too comfortable with saying “I can’t” as they close their hearts and ears from considering a person’s hopeful invitation to “just try”.

    At the heart of this Gospel, Jesus’ parable is making a similar point. The Master in the parable isn’t just some CEO or disconnected administrator demanding a profit from nameless employees. He knows his “servants” intimately, closely. He knows their strengths and weaknesses. He knows what they’re capable of and what they’re not. That’s why one guy gets more “talents” (an interesting vocabulary quirk that in the original language refers to a large sum of money - for us we use the word “talent” to mean skills, abilities) than the others. He knows what each of his servants is capable of. What’s so frustrating to the Master in the parable – is that the one servant doesn’t even try...

    Here’s he has given these talents not to maximize his own personal fortune (if he had, he would’ve given them all to the first guy). He’s interested in seeing the servants taking what is so precious to him and doing something with it. Making something greater. And the one guy opts out of it completely.

    It’s not hard for us to recognize the deeper meaning in the parable. God has entrusted us with Jesus Christ. He gives us His Word; His Body and Blood... It’s great that we are here - that we recognize our need to receive these gracious gifts. But that’s not enough... It’s not enough for us to simply receive them. We’re expected in this time we have on this earth to somehow invest them, to make them increase the already vast expanse of the Kingdom of God right here in our little patch of it.

    One of our retreat speakers last weekend made an interesting observation. He re-iterated how in Early Christianity, people could see a radical difference in how Christians lived as opposed to those who were pagan. The Early Christians radically loved Jesus and one another in a way that people could see it, feel it, experience it. That’s how the Gospel was proclaimed, how the kingdom expanded. For the first believers, the words “I can’t” didn’t come from the mouths.. They knew that they could do all things through Christ. They were rejected, mocked by the world. They were isolated and abandoned by family and friends. They were martyred for their faith. That love, that joy, that boldness in their lived faith helped fulfill Jesus’ command to “preach the Gospel to all nations.”

    Nowadays in some ways we seem to live, to act as Pagans who go to Mass on Sunday. Because how often in the face of His invitation to live radically, authentically Christian lives, do we find ourselves again saying “I can’t.” I can’t even tell my family or friends that I go to Mass let alone pray with them or invite them to come with me... I can’t go on a mission trip, or work at a soup kitchen – it costs too much, I have too much to do...I can’t go to confession, it’s been too long, I’m afraid the priest is going to yell at me.   I can’t take chastity seriously, my boyfriend won’t want to stay with me/my girlfriend will think I’m not interested in her...I can’t be bothered with pro-life, pro-family issues – that might lead to a fight or a disagreement and I can’t deal with it...

    As brother’s and sisters, we’re meant to support one another in these challenging things. To point out examples of people who said “I can”; to be living examples of people striving to say “I can” – I can live selflessly. I can live lovingly. I can center my life on Christ. I can reject the glamourous, the false lies and empty promises of this world. I can live chastely. I can do all of these things – and countless others – If I can truly believe that God has created us, saved us and sanctified us for Him. That He has given us the capacity, the ability the “talents” to be saints. Not plastic statues on the wall - but real, holy people reflecting his presence in our day and age here and now. That seems out of reach to us. Our humanity kicks in and all those old bad habits re-emerge making us pause and utter I can’t. Jesus Christ with all His Love, all His confidence and Hope in us pleads with us– just try...

NOTHING LIKE BEING LAST MINUTE!

2011-11-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone here’s my homily for the 32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - November 6, 2011 - The readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110611.cfm . As always thanks for reading and all your feedback and comments - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    So let me tell you about a really good friend of mine from college – I’ll call her Allie – truly one of funniest, most random, crazy (in a ha ha; not an EEK way) people I’ve ever met. More simply she was a theatre major. For those of you who are theatre majors, you know that’s totally not a slam – it’s meant to be descriptive. You know what I mean, theatre majors seem to be dramatic on and off the stage. That was Allie... I mean - she seriously could never take drugs or dink alcohol because of some health stuff that she took very seriously - so she was totally drug free and sober as can be - but you would be convinced she was on something. She’d call me up at 3:00 in the morning singing Neil Diamond songs, for no reason. And we were so cutting edge at DeSales University, our dorms had this new thing called “voice mail”. So if I decided I didn’t want to deal with her 3 am serenades, and set it so that it would go straight to voice mail, she would leave 37 messages, fill up the entire voice mail box with her singing. So that is Allie...

    Anyway, so the first time I really spoke to her was Freshman year... I was a bit introverted and somewhat shy the first couple of weeks (shocking I know). I didn’t really know Allie... I mean I heard of her and definitely heard her in some of her more colorful moments in class, in the cafeteria. I tended to stay away from the louder types. We were both in Fr. O’Connor’s Introduction to Philosophy class. It was the morning of our mid-terms - our first midterms as freshmen. Fr. O’Connor was a brilliant, philosophical tormenter. He gave us a week and a half before the exam with a list of 10 Essay Questions, from which he would pick 8 and you had to do 7 - so you could skip 2 questions altogether. But basically you had to memorize and outline your answers to the other ones... So it would be something like “Explain the meaning of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to Socrates final address – note three similarities, three contrasts and explain how its related to your college experience” . So you had to basically write 8 mini-term papers- outline them - memorize them - oh and they had to be correct too - and then write them out the day of the exam.   So like I said, it was Freshman year, it was my first time going through that. I had worked on this stupid review sheet for the whole week and a half. Trying to memorize and remember it was torturous. It caused me for the first time, ever, to have an “all-nighter”. So it’s the morning of the test. I’m pacing in the hall outside the class room, reading through my notes again - waiting for the torture session to start (hoping that certain questions would be eliminated).

    That’s when I had my first conversation with Allie. She came in, looking like she was shot out of a canon - hair was all a mess. She doesn’t even know my name, comes up to me and says to me “Yeah - you look smart... you gotta help me... We have a test today? Right? What’s going to be on it, I mean what do I need to know?”

    That was the first time in a week and a half that I felt reasonably sure I wasn’t going to do the worst on the exam. I think I just looked at her and said something like “you’re joking right?”    That’s when she continued “ YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND – I WAS AT LABUDA ALL WEEK [that was the name of the theatre building]... PLEASE - YOU GOTTA HELP ME” That’s when Fr. O’Connor walked in - and she just turns her head and says “He’s a priest, he has to be nice.” That’s when I said, “Yeah, I know his boss is pretty nice, and you know what, at this point, you’re better off talking to him, because Jesus is the only one who can help you now.”

    I remember the scowl, open mouth, stunned - angry/shocked look she had with a “Jim Chern I can’t believe you just said that” (wow, she did know my name).

    Seriously though, while that story was comical - how unrealistic was that? I mean even if I had considered cheating to help (at that point) crazy stranger - you can’t cheat on an essay exam. And you sure as heck can’t learn all you needed to know - a half of semesters of course work; a week and a half of researching, studying and memorizing things – in just a few minutes. Even if I really wanted to at that point, it was way too late. No charity, no desire on my part would’ve been able to help Allie miraculously learn what she needed to pass the exam.

    That’s the same point Jesus was making in today’s parable. When we hear a parable, Jesus is trying to tell a story to convey some deep truth, some important information in a dramatic memorable way. So this story about the five virgins why don’t they want to share oil with the five foolish ones - what’s up with that? It seems like they’re just being petty doesn’t it? We’re expecting Jesus to come down hard on the “wise” ones as being arrogant or selfish. The thing was to give a little historical context - at the time, this was part of the custom of weddings. Weddings were like “the event” of the year - the whole town would be buzzing about it. But the bridegroom would come at an unexpected time to kind of surprise them. So if you were prepared, you got in. If not, you’re on the D list outside trying to beg the bouncer to let you in.   So Jesus’ initial audience would’ve realized that custom and the deeper meaning that Jesus was sharing to his immediate audience.   That Israel, the Jewish people were the ones invited to the Wedding Feast, and they should’ve been anticipating and awaiting the “groom” - The Messiah...

    For us who are Catholic Christian, hearing this tonight, we see Jesus as the Groom and the Church is her Bride. So how does this parable speak to us? As we await Jesus’ return at the end of all time, the oil in the lamps that we heard about in the parable represents something that cannot be shared. The oil is our personal virtue.   One religious writer put it, The wise virgins “represent all those who possess the ensemble of virtues which characterize a complete Christian life.” So when you look at the parable that way, you see how dramatic the differences between the wise and foolish maidens are. The wise choose to live chastely rather than the foolish one to give into lust; the wisdom to have self-control and restraint rather than getting drunk or high. It’s the difference between the charitable and the greedy; the hardworking versus the lazy; being patient rather than giving into rage; being kind rather than envious. The wise who are humble rather than the foolish who’s pride and ego’s are way out of control.

    When we look at those virtues over vices we realize it’s just like my friend Allie the day of the exam - just like you can’t learn half a semester of material in an instant, we can’t move from being foolish to virtuous in an instant. Those are choices, decisions, steps we make on a daily basis that moves us in one direction or the other.    We grow closer to the Lord or further from him in all the decisions we make.    Jesus shares this parable to illustrate the importance for us to be engaged in that battle to make those virtuous choices. To be working always to fill our lanterns with the oil that has us burning bright to welcome the “bridegroom” who is Jesus Christ who wants to unite with us, in that grand wedding celebration of eternity.   The great thing is, for those of us who find our oil running a little low, we can begin right here, right now to change that. A good confession, a change of heart, a step in the opposite direction can begin to fill our lanterns up to burn brightly the Light of Christ in our lives. So, are you’re lanterns ready for a fill up?

ALL HOLY MEN AND WOMEN PRAY FOR US...

2011-11-01T16:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Feast of All Saints! The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110111.cfm Here’s my homily for the day. Thanks for reading and your feedback! Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    Among the many things that sadly divide Christians - today’s feast is probably one of them: the Saints. A lot of it comes from misunderstandings or misinterpretations. There are some that some accuse Catholics of “worshiping” Saints; making them “gods” and saying “why do you pray to them... why don’t you just go to Jesus yourself with your prayers?”

    And whenever these debates or arguments come up, I usually say “we do go to Jesus ourselves with our prayers, but we also ask others to pray for us. Why? Well, because... the Bible tells us to do so. St. Paul tells the Romans, the Galatians, the Ephesians to pray for Him... He also tells these communities that he’s praying for them. So in scripture we see the Apostles knew of the importance and the power that came from people praying for one another. That it unites us as the Body of Christ to “bear one another’s burdens” as Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians.

    So if we’re going to ask one another to pray for each other, who better to ask then the Saints? Saint James in his letter says “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” (James 5:16). So it makes sense for us to ask the Saints not only to pray for us. We ask those who’ve lived heroic, virtuous, holy lives to inspire us... to encourage us when life gets tough... when we’ve been tempted to sin (or even given into sin) to remember their stories which tells us of a God who never gave up on them and who never gives up on us. That when we have our fears or worries or trials that cause us to doubt – we hear their stories, imagining how they faced similar fears or worries or trials or even worse ones. Yet in those moments of struggle, they found the strength of the Holy Spirit within themselves to never give into despair, never believe the lies of the devil... They carried within themselves the truth that Jesus has conquered the ultimate thing that causes humanity to be afraid – death, and if we focus our lives on Him, like the Saints did, we are promised to live in eternity with Him, and all the saints...

    That’s why this Gospel is such a perfect one. So often when we hear this passage, because it’s familiar we might not pay close attention. But think about how relatable it is. Just going through the list of Beattitudes- who here hasn’t mourned? ; or been wronged and sought justice.   How often are you mocked because you even come to Mass?   More than likely, we can find a lot of things in these verses that seem familiar to our lives and things we’ve experienced.

    What makes the saints Saints is that these countless numbers of men and women experienced those same realities in their own lives, but also found Jesus Christ was there in the midst through it all. So even though they mourned, they knew to call out to God in their sorrow. Even though they were persecuted or hungered and thirsted for righteousness, they didn’t whine, whimper of complain - but struggled for what was just, stood confident in their faith. They were merciful and meek, not in just laying down and getting taken advantage of, but rather doing the more difficult thing – learning to forgive gross injustices, and in that, constantly     displayed the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in every day and age.

    As we continue our life journey’s, we hope to share the same eternal reward that the Saints enjoy: an eternity in the Mansion our Heavenly Father has prepared for us that our Savior has promised us will be ours if we follow Him, follow these words of His. In the meantime, may the Saints continue to pray for us that we will never waver in pursuit of that eternal reward.

UNDERCOVER BOSS: JESUS EDITION

2011-10-30T20:13:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here is my homily for OCTOBER 30, 2011 - 31st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/103011.cfm . Thanks as always for reading -and for your feedback and comments. God Bless! Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    The television program “Undercover boss” has become another reality show that has become an international hit. Millions of people tune in each week to see a high ranking executive or owner of a corporation taking an entry level position in their own company. They do this job for about a week and get to experience what their own employees experience and get a sense of how people feel about the company from an extremely unique vantage point. So, for example, the owner of Dunkin Donuts might get a job as a cashier at one of their shops for a week and then get to see first hand what goes on when the boss isn’t around; hear what the employees really think of the company; see what it’s like on a daily basis with customers.

    In the course of the couple of years the show has been on the air, it’s obvious why the shows been so successful. For millions of hard-working people who are employed by larger corporations, it’s nice to imagine their boss doing something like the owner of the chain of convenience stores named 7-11 did – donning a red apron on for a week, getting behind the cash register, grabbing a mop and seeing firsthand for themselves what people on the “front lines” of these business’ experience. Even more exciting for viewers to see is that company change as a result of the experience. Several companies showcased on the show have addressed issues that were really affecting workers that perhaps had been ignored up to that point.

    This one executive worked one day packing boxes in his company’s warehouse. At the end of the day, the 37 year old called his mother and said “Mom there’s no way I’m going to be able to do this again tomorrow.” The experience caused him to mandate that all his executives rotate into some of the call centers the company has on a regular basis, just so they will always keep their employees in mind and what they go through. The owner of White Castle was so moved by the stress and health concerns of his employees that there company created a place online where their workers could access health information from a Doctor or nurse directly and then took it a step further and re-evaluated the medical coverage his employees received which resulted in White Castle paying their employees some of their out of pocket co-payments.

    Its amazing that with just the visit of the boss to their people could transform the whole company.

    In a similar way, Jesus, the not-so-Undercover Boss attempts the same thing. In today’s Gospel, we come to the conclusion of the back and forth that Jesus’ has been having with the Pharisees and scribes that we’ve been hearing in the last few Sunday’s at Mass. The debates, the dialogues have not gone well. Jesus has been engaging these “employees” and they continue to reject his authority. Rather than being open to changing – not just for their own salvation, but even more, as individuals who were supposedly representing the Almighty – they reject the boss’ Son’s advice, His counsel, ultimately rejecting Him personally...

    Jesus realizes that this will leave people confused. So he separates the Word of God from the teachers. They preach but they don’t practice; they tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulder’s but they will not lift a finger to move them.

    So Jesus isn’t discounting the importance of following the laws, the commandments found in the Scriptures. He’s not saying “yeah those 10 commandments; those laws of the Lord in the Torah - you don’t have to follow it because the Pharisees and Scribes aren’t doing a good job in following them.” Jesus is frustrated with this. He has come to save the world, and finds that some of the employees have not only puts their souls in danger, they undermine the Word of God in the minds and hearts of God’s people.

    I can’t help but think that’s part of the problem we as Catholics find ourselves in this day and age. The failures of some of our leaders - Bishops, priests – coming to light, and amplified as it has been by an all too eager media – has left many faithful Catholics shocked in disbelief and those who were perhaps a bit on the side lines in the first place in terms of their faith feeling even more cynical about the relevance of faith and religion in their lives at all.

    God has always had high expectations of those He calls into leadership.   Jesus wasn’t the first one to express how the “not-so-Undercover” Boss, God the Almighty Father wasn’t happy. In the first reading we heard the prophet Malachi rip into the priests in the Old Testament pretty fiercely because they “have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by [their] instruction).”

    But the Lord isn’t letting the rest of us off the hook either. We can’t look at the failures, the disappointments, the sinfulness of some in leadership to be a reason for us to reject the calls we hear from the Gospel to conversion, change our lives; to bring this Saving message to the world. Because it’s amazing to see how some are trying to do just that. Use the sins of some to diminish the Word of God. Just a few weeks ago on one of those talking heads news shows, there was a lively debate about the fact that the new healthcare legislation that is slowly being implemented. Promises were made when it narrowly made it through congress that there were going to be religious exemptions in the law.   They cited an example that Catholic Hospitals that provides and has provided critical medical care to the poorest of the poor for centuries – before any politician ever even imagined the government getting involved – they were promised at the height of the debate that they would be allowed to be exempt from having to perform abortions or to give out contraception. Because we as Catholics know that abortion is the killing of an innocent human life and contraception is a means to make sex into a self-centered act rather than drawing a husband and wife closer together and bringing new life into the world.    On this news program, when one of the politicians was asked about these Catholic concerns his response was “well I’d tell the Catholic Church they should focus on stopping priests from raping kids.”

    Hearing such things hurts and angers me. Partially I’m hurt and angered that the actions of the few that have given any credence to such an appalling statement. But the other reason that hurts and angers me is that when people say things like that, whether they are a politician or some professor at a University, is that they are using the reprehensible actions of a few to be reprehensible themselves; and they're ignoring the entire argument that went before it - that conscientious objectors of ANY religion should not be forced to act against their conscience while administering compassionate care They are no different than those in the Church who they pointed out were failing by there example – they too are leading people astray.

    Following the way of the Lord is hard. People do fail at it - which is why we as a Church who have to call people to acknowledge those failures, also need to amplify the tremendous Love, the Mercy, the Forgiveness of our “Boss.”   How blessed are we that he doesn’t hide His presence or limit his visits to a random week. He remains with us here - in His Word and in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. May we recapture our amazement that he visits, he remains with us - with the promise to transform the world...if we would just cooperate with Him.

WHERE'S THAT HEART BEAT COMING FROM?

2011-10-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my Homily for October 23. 2011 - the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/102311.cfm . As always, thanks for reading and your feedback and comments.

    Okay so let me warn you, this is a bit of a tear jerker: The headline read “Couple Married 72 years dies holding hands.” I know... seriously, get some tissues. It’s a true story about Gordon and Norma Yeager, a couple who got engaged the day they graduated high school, were married in 1939 and have been by each other’s side ever since. The news stories showed pictures of the couple that their children had shared from over the years. One photo showed Gordon fooling around like he was the life of the party, while Norma has holding her hand up in the air sort of waving him off as she was smiling. That picture seemed to be the perfect illustration of the two who, their son Dennis described saying - “They just loved being together.[my dad would say:] I can't go until she does because I have to stay here for her and she would say the same thing.”

    A week and a half ago, Gordon and Norma were involved in a car accident. They were rushed to an Intensive Care Unit in a local hospital. When they got to the Emergency Room, the doctors could tell quickly how serious the injuries were and that there wasn’t a lot that they could do for them. The hospital staff had put them in the same room together. By the time their children came in to visit their parents, there they were; together; in the ICU unit, side by side, holding hands.

    Gordon passed away holding the hand of his bride of 72 years with the family they had raised surrounding them, at 3:38 pm, exactly one hour before Norma would pass. Before she did though, this amazing thing occurred. Their son Dennis explained: "It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going. But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up."

    It seems too dramatic to be real, doesn’t it? It’s sad that even a priest would be so cynical to say “come on, really???” which was what I thought when I first read the headline to the story. Because we’ve heard and experienced so much broken ness hearing that a couple has remained faithful to each other for 72 years, sounds like something you’d read about in Guinness Book of World Records. When you learn of the dramatic circumstances of how Gordon and Norma passed away within an hour of each other - it sounds like a scene from a movie where all we need is Celine Dion singing a song in the background for the film and then we can roll the credits. Yet it was all true. And that image, that after Gordon had passed away, they could still measure through the monitors that her heart was beating through him kept coming to mind praying with this Gospel passage.

    For the last few weeks at Sunday Mass we’ve been hearing this back and forth between those who didn’t accept Jesus, who were trying to entrap Him, accuse Him, discount Him, raise more critics or opponents to Him. So this passage we just heard picks up from this ongoing debate. Today we hear how another scholar comes forward and asks, of all the Laws that the Jews had, and they had a lot – not just the 10 commandments, there were over 613 laws that could be found in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) – out of all of those - which was the most important. The reason this was another “trap” was that a variety of Jewish leaders, teachers would have all had a variety of different answers to that. Depending upon how Jesus answered, he could be attacked, mocked... He could lose followers with one answer (it was like an ancient example of a modern political debate, one wrong answer and you could be toast)

    And just like we’ve heard these past few weeks with each of these back-and-forths, Jesus’ speaks in such a clever way that He is able to get out of whatever bind that he’s presented with. On the surface it seems like he’s answering by not answering. He doesn’t chose one of the 613 they were expecting. Jesus answers by saying “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind... you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   Jesus is reminding them and us that the foundation to the commandments, the laws is all about Love.

    We don’t follow His commands, we don’t obey His laws out of fear... we do it because that’s the only thing that we can offer Him. The only thing God doesn’t have (and so the perfect gift we an give Him) is our obedience.   Think about that – God who is all powerful, all knowing, all loving has everything He could ever have, except for that one thing – our obedience, so in trying to give a gift to someone who has everything – the perfect gift we can offer God is our obedience. So Jesus doesn’t dismiss any of the other laws or commandments with some warm fuzzy “just love” and everything is okay. Those laws and commandments are important, they mean something because they are ways of expressing our Love for God.

    That might sound strange because the word “Love” has been so mis-used and misunderstood. Sometimes people have misused it saying the word love when what they mean is “lusting” or “using” someone.   Love is something that costs something, means something, demands something. Love is more than a feeling. Love is a choice, a decision.

    The story of Gordon and Norma gives us a beautiful example of marital love, the love of husband and wife. Not simply in the dramatic ending that brought them worldwide attention. But rather in the lives lived for 72 years of a husband and wife who experienced ups and downs, trials, struggles, as well as joys and blessings they could never had imagined as two young 18 year olds out of high school. What made the end of their lives so dramatic was that it was a perfect expression of what had been happening for all those years. They faced a trial together; they held one another’s hands; and their love, their hearts beat through one another right to the end.

    Love in the Christian understanding is perfected in Jesus laying down His life for us on the Cross. When we lay down our own desires, wants, needs; when we are willing to “die to self” for another – whether it’s the Mom changing the dirty diaper, the Dad taking care of a sick child in the middle of the night; the husband and wife putting the other ahead of themselves, the child giving their allowance to a charity - there are countless ways and examples where we see glimmers of that Love reflected in our own lives.

    And another thing we should note – Jesus’ “command” to Love God in this way reveals something that is really important. He’s asking us to love Him this way, because that’s how He loves us. That the creator of the universe loves you and I with all His heart, all His Soul, all His Mind.   That’s breathtaking when you think about it. Jesus invites us to let those words penetrate our lives. To open ourselves to experiencing that Love - in His word; in His body and blood in the Eucharist. And even more, to live that Love - sharing our very selves with one another. To obey His commands. Its in doing those things that we grab onto His hand and if we were hooked up to a heart monitor one might be able to pick up Jesus’ heartbeat beating through us...

Full story about Gordon and Norma : http://www.kcci.com/r/29528191/detail.html

USING GOD, SKIPPING CLASS...

2011-10-16T20:01:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone here is my homily for OCTOBER 16, 2011 the 29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/101611.cfm. Thanks as always for your feedback and comments.
Fr Ji,

– Announcement: If you wish to join in the Novena to Blessed John Paul II (who’s feast day we celebrate for the First Time ever this Saturday, October 22nd) check the Newman Catholic at Montclair State University website at www.MSUNEWMAN.com

HOMILY:

    The closest I ever was to being “truant” or intentionally “tardy” for school was with my two older brothers. I was in 7th Grade, My brother Craig was in 10th and oldest brother Chris was a senior in High School. It was a February morning... a day after a snow storm had kept us home all day and it was a Wednesday. I remembered that because it wasn’t just any Wednesday - it was Ash Wednesday. My mother had looked at the Church Bulletin and noticed that there was a 8:00 Mass in the morning. She raced us out the door at 7:45 so that we could get to St. Agnes in time for the 8:00 Mass (the Church wasn’t even a 5 minute car ride from our home) And she gave us each a note for being late (Since Home Room was 8:20, we were going to be a few minutes late - maybe miss a few minutes of first period since she told us to leave Mass after communion - something I DO NOT ENCOURAGE!)

    It’s amazing how quickly with my oldest brother driving, and the three of us not in any hurry to get to school, that other options came to mind. Truth be told, and not to make my brothers look badly, but they weren’t exactly interested in going to Mass at all. So when my brother decided to take the long route to St. Agnes (actually going out of his way and driving passed his high school and my middle school) I wasn’t shocked.    And with the streets still in bad condition, the longer route was taking even longer than usual. So we were already late for 8:00 Mass. That’s when I, very helpfully, offered that there was also a 9:00 Mass that we could attend.   In fact that was the school Mass, with Music and everything - so we could be sure that it might even go to 9:45... even 10 if we lit a candle and said a prayer at one of the shrines (which we did until one older parishioner came over and said “don’t you guys think you better be heading to school?”). We easily missed the first two periods of the day (I was hoping to miss part of the third period which was Math)   We told ourselves that we were good Catholics - had to get to Mass for Ash Wednesday right? And we completely got away with it. Ashened headed with notes from Mom there was no questions asked when I got to school (I skipped going along with my brothers who decided they had to go to the Diner after Mass... even though Chris made a compelling argument that breakfast is the most important meal of the day...forgetting of course that since it was Ash Wednesday we were supposed to fast, but...)

    In the grand scheme of things, I know it’s not the most earth-shattering act of disobedience that one could commit. Sadly, I can give countless examples that were even worse that my brothers and I did. But there’s something about this one that always bothered me - still bothers me to this day. Sure I regret our being dishonest to my parents, teachers and all. But the thing that really makes this stand out is the fact that we used God, simply so we could be late for school.

    The idea of “using God” isn’t something that the Chern boy’s invented. Not by a long shot. We see that is at play in this Gospel... the pivotal question in this encounter “is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” was simply designed to stir up opposition against Jesus. If Jesus said Yes then the Roman officials could move in against this radical revolutionary who threatened their civil authority. If Jesus said No, then the Jews of that day would have people arguing that he was siding with the Romans, the very people that had taken over their land. Even more, if Jesus gave some support to the idea of taxes, state, Roman authority – for many, that was seen as violating the commandment to love, to serve, to obey God alone. Not quite a popular view to most Jews. So Jesus’ opponents are trying to be clever and they try to use God and their covenant with Him - not just to get out of paying taxes but even worse as a means of trying to eliminate Jesus, the Son of God simply so they could continue what they wanted - to maintain their positions of power and influence.

    Interestingly though, if we dig at this a bit deeper. We realize that Jesus isn’t simply delivering a clever dig at his opponents (he is)   But in the process Jesus tries to move them from asking about loopholes, responsibilities, obligations and says – well since you brought the question of God up What do we owe God? How does being a member of the Kingdom of God affect all aspects of our lives?

    Because the thing is, by asking the question about whether to pay the tax to Caesar or not the opponents of Jesus revealed something more about themselves. In choosing to have the coins with Caesar on it, they had chosen to be a part of the empire. They were utilizing the form of currency of their oppressors. So even though they complained about being “occupied”; they had already compromised their identity as God’s people by buying into the Roman economy.

    Both the Old and New testaments talk about the need for us to be detached from the things, the structures, the institutions of this world, recognizing where our true citizenship lies. That we are to live as members of the Kingdom of God. Jesus points out in His clever response to their questioning that if we chose to engage the things of this world - we’re free to do so - then we have obligations and responsibilities to them.    We can’t then try to turn it around and claim that with God the Father as our true King, that we don’t have to fulfill these earthly obligations that we’ve entered into. And that doesn’t exclude us from our ultimate responsibilities to God. The Ten Commandments don’t come second to The Constitution. The call to “tithe” our time, talent and treasure to God doesn’t disappear because our expenses (or our desires for things) cost more.

    God must always come first. In Jesus telling us to “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” - is a nicer way of saying we need to stop trying to use God as an out when it’s convenient and recognize our obligation is to serve Him.

STEVE JOBS R.I.P. -- NOW WHAT ABOUT US?

2011-10-09T20:10:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for OCTOBER 9, 2011, the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/100911.cfm. Thanks as always for reading and your feedback and comments. God Bless -   Fr Jim

HOMILY:
    How many of us know who Steve Jobs is? Think about that. A former CEO of a computer company has such incredible name recognition that whether you have an iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, or iMac – or not, I bet a vast majority of people know he founded Apple Computers. How rare is that though. If I look at all the products that I’ve used or owned, there’s few parallels: For example, I’ve driven a Jeep for over 12 years; I’ve watched TV on a Sony brand television; I’ve drank Coca Cola; I have had and replaced and purchased new variations of the DELL laptop. Everyone of those products, those companies have CEO’s.   All of them have these individuals who work to create and manufacture new and better variations of their products... but I haven’t a clue who any of them are. But I knew who Steve Jobs was.

    As we all know, this past week he died. As brilliant a man as he was. As creative and innovative an individual that he was - conceiving products that even if you didn’t buy his brand, has truly changed our world in how we receive and process information and media – The fact is that even he met the ultimate fate that everyone of us will meet. He’s no longer here on this earth. He’s gone. And right now he’s in one of two places – heaven or hell.   (Of course purgatory is also a possibility, but those who are in purgatory are enroute to heaven...)

    We don’t like to hear that, do we? It can be scary to think about. And many will chose to blind themselves to these realities. Instead they will do something that has become common with the death of someone a public figure like Steve Jobs was. They will “celebrate his life” saying how “he will live on” in the products, the innovations he brought about. But it doesn’t change the fact that Steve Jobs has died. He is no longer creating Apple products. We won’t see him unveiling an iPhone 5. He is gone. And right now, he is either heading towards an eternity in union with God, or not.

    That thought isn’t meant for us to get into a discussion or debate trying to pose theories or attempt to determine where we think he ended up. That’s not our decision to make.   What is our decision to make is which of those two options we chose. Do we desire Heaven. Do we chose Heaven. Do we live as people who want to go there? Or are we on a road that leads to damnation? Do we allow sins to creep in that we aren’t even remorseful of - we have grown comfortable with and allowed them to lead us into deeper sin? Do we shut our hearts down from hearing His word calling us to love one another – ignoring the poor, the sick, the needy? Do we allow hatred to grow into a bitterness that divides us from others?

    For many of us, we end up treating this decision, for heaven or not, like it’s a Facebook invitation to an event... You know what those things are? You get a computer notification that is inviting you to something and you can RSVP Yes or No or Maybe. Any of you who’ve used this thing know that most times, most events, the largest category of responses is those who make no response at all - the NOT YET REPLIED group of people. They don’t make a clear decision. But guess what. Eventually that decision not to make a decision turns into a “NO” - because if it was something we were excited to do, interested in, wanted to be at - we’d say YES. We’d jot that down in our calendars. We’d make sure that we had the time, place correct.

    Because the No’s are pretty clear - they’re not interested. The Maybe’s want to see if something better comes along... the Not Yet Replied don’t seem to want to make any decision on making a decision. And so they end up “Not replying”. Which is pretty much the lazy way of saying “NO.”

    So again, what is it that we desire? To have ultimate union with God for all eternity? Or not...Because as uncomfortable as this is to hear (and even to say) that is the point of today’s Gospel. Even by “parable standards” which with there metaphors and meanings can be difficult to understand without an explanation, this one’s pretty clear. The King invites people to the wedding feast of his son. Even by modern standards, we can recognize this feast was a big deal - he’s killed the calves and fattened cattle – everything is ready.   All the King desired is for the invited to come, to be with him.

    One thing that Jesus makes incredibly obvious in this Gospel story is what a tremendous gift each of us has. That on top of all the things that the Lord has blessed us with - the gift of life; the talents and abilities we have - He even blesses us with the most ultimate of gifts ever - the gift of Freedom. That we have the ability to make choices and decisions.   It’s a spectacular and terrifying prospect - that he allows us to choose whether we want to be with Him or not.

    In the parable, one of the striking things is that not everyone in the parable was downright evil. Sure there were some who killed the people extending the invitation on behalf of the king. (Seems a bit of an overreaction to a wedding invitation.... so yes, they were evil). But the others, look at it - some had other things to do - they were busy. They had other things going on. Some just ignored the invitation. It wasn’t even a second thought.   And in reacting like that, all of them - the murderers and those who thought they were just too busy for this were similar in one fatal mistake. They never acknowledged that it was the King who was responsible for their peace and prosperity.

    We must be clear not to simply try to be “good people.” Jesus calls us His followers to greatness. He offers us His very life - His body and blood in the Eucharist; His word in the scripture; His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; His Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation – He pours out gift upon gift onto us to help us navigate the ups and downs of life; so that we can achieve that greatness, that holiness that is the wedding garment that if we choose to accept the invitation to the feast, we’re properly prepared to be seated. But we have to decide that we want that.

    As I look at my iPhone today (and try to pre-order the new one to replace it) I realize how I’ve personally been influenced and changed by the contributions of this one man. And if we can multiply that the world over, it’s amazing to think that million’s of people’s lives have been effected by Steve Jobs. It’s good to acknowledge that and honor him with the appropriate tributes that are being made. But in this world where gadgets, machines and computers break, are replaced by the next big breakthrough, the next great gadget - even all of these things that Steve Jobs created speak to the truth that everything on this earth is fleeting; nothing in this world of ours lasts forever.

    Our hope though in the face of that comes from knowing that Jesus Christ has had an effect on all eternity and has extending an invitation to you and I and all humanity to be apart of that eternal feast of heaven.    For those of us who have “not yet replied”, or have been stuck on a “maybe” or even in some ways kind of said “no” -we’re blessed to still have an opportunity to change that. So, how are you RSVP’ing?

WHAT DISCIPLES COULD LEARN FROM A NAVY SEAL

2011-10-02T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here is my homily for the 27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - October 2, 2011. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/100211.cfm - Thanks as always for reading and your feedback - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    This past Tuesday, an author visited our campus to speak about his new book.   Just the title was intriguing - “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the making of a Navy Seal.” The author, Eric Greitens gave such an incredible presentation that even though I have a pile of books that have collected dust and not been opened, it just seemed to be a “must” read that I wanted to put it on the top of that pile. Hearing from this Rhodes Scholar who embarked on some incredible mission experiences that brought him to places of great need like Rwanda and Croatia who also happened to be a member of one of the most specialized military forces in the world was riveting not to mention inspirational.

    One thing that has always fascinated me – whether it’s the SEALS or the Marines or some other elite military group – is how these individuals endure all that is physically and mentally necessary to complete their training. To have whatever it takes to become a SEAL. When you read what the minimum requirements that are necessary in order to get accepted I can see that they are attainable goals for me personally. For example I can run 1.5 miles in about 12 and a half minutes. The minimum requirement to be accepted is to complete that run in 11 minutes. So if I push myself harder for a couple of weeks, I know I could reach that. How does a guy go from doing that, reaching that goal to doing the grueling and increasingly difficult challenges that are a part of their 12 weeks of training to become this warrior?

The training moves quickly from running a mile and a half to a 50 meter swim underwater that's so difficult and dangerous that instructors swim above to monitor the recruits in the event someone should pass out. During an underwater "knot tying" exercise, one of Grietens classmates had to be pulled from the water and revived. Another part of the training involves a 7 mile run while wearing 40 pounds of gear. They must also alternate and carry a fellow teammate for a mile to help prepare for a potential emergency rescue out in the field.

    It’s something few will succeed at. I think Mr. Greitens said that his class started with 200 candidates and in the end only 21 would eventually become Navy Seals. And Greitens was able to pinpoint one major reason for it. While obviously a person needs to be in incredible physical shape, arguably one of the essential components is the guy’s head. Because the thoughts of the candidate would determine if they had the mindset to go all the way.

    One example that Greitens he shared was from what is called Hell Week - the final week of training. That week is make or break time - the instructors work the recruits non-stop. They get something like 3 hours of sleep the entire week - while undergoing all kinds of tests: Running, swimming, enduring terrible extremes in weather. They endure a “Drown Proofing” exercise where their feet are tied together, their hands are tied behind their backs - and like that they are expected to swim fifty meters, retrieve a face mask from the bottom of the pool with their teeth, and bob up and down a bunch of times.
Throughout this entire week, they can quit at any time. The instructors remind them of that fact all the time. There’s a bell out there that at any moment, they can just go and ring it. Mr. Greitens shared that at one point, they had just finished one of these torturous exercises. They were standing at attention and the instructors said to them, that the next thing they were going to do was grab their gear, and go for a 5 mile run. At that, Mr. Greitens said you heard “DING” – one guy quit; and then another “DING” - and then a third “DING”.    They lost three guys at that moment, the most they had all week. Moments after the last guy quit, the instructor said “Just kidding, we’re going to go have lunch.”

    Can you imagine? I know, that would’ve been me - one of the dings would’ve been me (some say that’s already true). It sounded just so cruel. But Greitens said it was part of the whole test. It’s part of this process... In that moment they showed they didn’t have the mind set of a SEAL.   Because the thing was, those who quit at that point weren’t even willing to take one step to give it a try. They made that decision solely in their minds that they couldn’t, they wouldn’t even attempt to go any further. Once they had done that, there wasn’t anything else that could be done. It just another example that - What you think; how you think; is one of the most important factors in determining who you are.

    That’s not just a truth in becoming a Navy Seal, or in our personal lives, but it’s a truth in the spiritual life as well.   In today’s Gospel, let’s look at this parable Jesus gives us. This landowner has given the tenants use of his land. And it’s good land - it’s been cared for, maintained.   All the tools necessary for good produce are there. The tenants who’ve leased this land, benefitted from it, enjoyed all that was right at their disposal – they don’t simply refuse to pay the owner what was owed him. They mistreat, they kill those who were sent to remind them of their obligations. They go even further and kill the owner’s son.

    But what about the thinking that had to go into that? There were self-centered thoughts that turned into thoughts of jealousy, envy and entitlement. Thoughts that they used to justify themselves and how they could excuse themselves from the legitimate obligations simply by refusing to fulfill them. And when messengers arrived to remind them this isn’t your land, you owe the landowner something - the tenants thoughts turned vicious, killing those messengers. Once you’ve believed your own lies, it becomes easier to believe even more delusional ones. Which we see when they actually convince themselves that they could eliminate the son that the owner will just go away and they could carry on as they pleased.   All of these self-centered thought led them to believe they could do whatever they wished and helped determine who they were- a murderous, wretched group of people.

    Jesus gives us this parable hoping it might trigger some introspection: What are we thinking? Do we recognize the gifts, the talents, the abilities the Lord has blessed us with? Do we know that even in this terrible economy how incredibly fortunate we are in comparison with others around the world that live in dire need and abject poverty? Do we look at even something like the gift of time 1,440 minutes a day and ask ourselves what do we do with that gift? Do we see all of these things as blessings that we’ve been given – not something that any of us were entitled to or manufactured on our own – these and many other things were gifts given from our loving, generous landowner who desires us to make incredible vineyards right where we are.

    Left on our own, we can become just as delusional as the wretched crew in the parable. We can believe the lies of the world that feeds this mentality that, if they even acknowledge God, dismiss him as a disinterested bystander. Jesus shatters that theory, not just in this parable, but even more, on the cross. In the cross, Jesus puts asides arguments, debates, words, miracles and in that act makes a final appeal to the closed minds and hearts of humanity. Like the men training for the Navy Seals, the decision rests on us though. Will we throw in the towel, ring the bell and decide we can go no further, quit and go off on our own? Or are we willing to go all the way with Christ? Knowing that the transformation to being the follower Jesus calls us to be starts with a decision in our minds.

MATT MAHER SENTENCED TO JAIL???

2011-09-24T23:38:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, here's my homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 25, 2011. The readings for today can be found here http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092511.cfm Thanks as always for reading and your comments and feedback!

HOMILY:

    Some of you may have heard of the popular Catholic-Christian songwriter Matt Maher. He’s written a number of albums that are religious in nature and seem to fit well both at Mass and just to listen on your iPod. Over the last couple of years of celebrating Mass on a college campus where we favor Christian contemporary music over traditional hymns, I’ve really become a fan of Maher’s. So I was happy to hear a few weeks ago that he had a new album debuting.

    Trying to find out about it, I did what all you hip kids do, I went to google to find out when the new album was coming out. As I typed Matt Maher in the search line, the auto-fill in and search results instantly popped a headline I didn’t expect “Matt Maher sentenced for manslaughter.” Yeah, didn’t expect that headline to pop up. So of course my curiosity was peaked and I clicked the link (is it any wonder my ADHD is out of control and I can’t get anyting done)

    Well as you might have guessed - it was a different person who happened to share the same name. This Matt Maher had quite a different story. Just a little over 2 years ago, Matthew Maher had been drinking, got into a car, was driving home at a high rate of speed on the Atlantic City Expressway.   Matthew struck the vehicle of 55 year-old Hort Kap, husband and father of six children, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Matt was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter.   He was eventually sentenced to 5 years 5 months in prison, in which he must serve 85 percent of his time.

    Prior to going to prison, Matt presented the story of his life called,"I'm That Guy" to over 34 schools in three months reaching over 7,000 students. In this powerful testimony of how “decisions determine destiny” Matt explains that he was "That Guy" who grew up achieving in every area of his life. He was a role model, active in his community, excelled in academics and athletics, earned himself a full scholarship to Temple University, and eventually signed a professional contract as a soccer player. Now he is "That Guy," a drunk driver, who killed an innocent man and who now resides in prison.

    It’s sad that such a tragedy had to make Matt Maher realize a truth that he should have known – that drunk driving kills innocent people... That it wrecks many lives and families. It’s sad reading his website where there’s updates from jail. Where he’s sitting in a cell every night. And you know the depth of his remorse when he said in an interview "If they told me I could leave prison tomorrow, I would refuse because God is teaching me so much and I have more to learn."

    Watching videos, you see Matt breaking down as he apologizes to the family face to face in court. You start to tear up as you see Mr. Kap’s son hug Matt in a sign of forgiveness. And as you read on his website, Matthew has said that he will dedicate himself to honoring the memory of his victim, by telling this story about choices, consequences and how our actions can change countless lives--for the good or bad.

    In a similar way, Jesus is talking about the same thing - how our actions can change lives, specifically our own life – for the good and bad. And not just for consequences that can wind up with someone being in jail, or hurt, or killed - but for all eternity.

    In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells this brief story about two brothers are asked to do something. The Father asks them to go take care of his vineyard. The one says no, feels bad and then decides to go. The other says yes and then decides not to. Jesus uses this minor story to get to a bigger issue. He is worried about the religious experts and their salvation. Because after this brief story, he quickly refers to the fact that prostitutes and tax collectors (who were doing more than a civil service of collecting money for the government – they were helping the enemy Romans in suppressing their own people AND basically stealing from their own people by charging a little bit extra that they could pocket themselves) when they heard the word of God preached from John the Baptist, they made a radical change in their life. They had a conversion of heart. The religious experts didn’t. They dismissed the teaching of John assuming they “knew” God well enough that they didn’t need his prophetic calls. They were now having that same arrogant indifference towards not a prophet, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

    So Jesus is worried that a great tragedy is unfolding. That if they continue to chose to be blind to His presence, if they continue to be deaf to His words, they’re making a terrible choice that can result in a tragedy – them missing being a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

    You and I need to constantly be reminded that the call to repentance, the call to conversion, the call to turn away from sin is something we need to hear over and over because the devil is not going to cease trying to tempt us. There’s never going to be a time where we have completely overcome them. Jesus knows that - it’s why that parable is somewhat comforting, because neither son really acts appropriately. The correct response to the Father’s command should have been “Yes Father” in word and in action. Yet, Jesus moves past the failures on both of the sons parts to highlight the one who had the change of heart.

    For Matthew Maher, he can probably recall a number of bad choices that resulted in the tragedy he has to live with. The decision to drive to wherever he was going to party, the decision to have that extra drink or two, that choice to get behind the car and drive home. And as he replays those decisions and choices, he’s left with having responsibility for what he did, knowing that while he is doing something good now, he can’t change those choices and undo the damage he’s done to his life, or bring back the life that his actions killed.

    For you and I, our story is still unfolding. There are choices and decisions we are confronted with every day that will either bring us closer or further away from the Lord. Jesus hasn’t given up on us. Our Loving Father looks at us, His sons and daughters, hoping that we will learn this lesson, and avoid a tragedy in the making.

"THE SITUATION" GOT YOUR ATTENTION?

2011-09-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the 25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - September 18, 2011. The readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/091811.cfm . Thanks as always for reading and your feedback and comments. God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY

You have to feel bad for “The Situation.” If you’re unaware, that’s a person. Mike “the situation” whatever his last name... a cast member of the horrific “Jersey Shore.” He and his cast mates over the summer were in a sense targeted by the clothing chain Abercrombie and Fitch who offered them money to stop wearing their clothes in public because, they claimed, that the people from Jersey Shore are bad examples and they didn’t want to associate their brand with the antics of these individuals or this show. Who can blame them? Being Italian and from Jersey, I cringe at any association with them (even though, truth be told, I still haven’t watched an episode - this is all coming from watching the opening credits and getting disgusted once and reading about their antics).

Anyway, call me conspiracy minded, but something didn’t seem right about the whole story. First off, as much as I think the show is trash, it is one of the most popular television programs for people aged 18-29 year olds - the exact group of people that Abercrombie and Fitch try to market to buying their clothes. And in case anyone forgot, Abercrombie and Fitch just a few years ago had their own controversy when they were published a clothes catalog that had young men and women barely wearing any clothes. So it’s not like they’ve seemed to be overly concerned about taking the high moral ground in terms of decency in recent years.

    Well sure enough, the NY Times did an article pointing out that this was a clever marketing technique to gain the public’s attention. In an era where product placement in movies and TV has become a common an effective way of advertising products - clothes, sodas, whatever – the idea that Abercrombie and Fitch did – offering to pay someone to stop wearing the product was a completely different approach.   Now people, especially potential customers and fans of the show were asking “would the Situation take the deal?”   They would watch episodes (most of which were filmed months ago) looking to see if he wore that label or not. There would be back and forth between company executives and the cast member in interviews on the topic. Coincidently, all of which took place in August - a slow news month, what just so happens to be the time when people are heading to the shopping centers and malls for“Back to School” sales.

    It’s safe to say that Abercrombie and Fitch simply wanted to get people’s attention. Which they did in a very clever way.

    It seems harder and harder to grab people’s attention. Which is why today’s Gospel is so interesting. 2,000 years later, Jesus’ story, this parable he offers every time it’s proclaimed stirs people up and gets them talking. Which is one of the main purposes of a parable. To present something in a dramatic way that it captures your imagination to get to the deeper message.

    So think about what we just heard - this landowner, he goes out hires people at the start of the day, then at 9:00, noon, three o’clock, and then at five o’clock and pays them all the same salary at quitting time, which is 6:00. So just imagine that - imagine you got a job the last week of the summer. You couldn’t or wouldn’t or weren’t able to find anything since May. But that last week of August you did and you got paid the same amount as your friends who’ve worked since May.     If that happened to you, if say for example, Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister did that, that would definitely get a lot of people’s attention. And most likely many would be arguing about how fair this was or not.

    In the example of the Gospel story, Jesus makes a valid point (shocking I know, that I’m going to agree with Jesus) - it’s the landowners money, it’s his right to do as he sees fit.... He’s not being unfair to one group over the other. But we can’t shake it that it still feels like its unfair though, doesn’t it? If you’re the one working since 6 am, and you see these people walking in at 5 pm and you both walk out at 6 pm with the same wage, wouldn’t you be slightly ticked off?

    The parable is doing what it’s designed to do – get our attention in a very dramatic way. And what does Jesus want us to pay attention to? A couple of things. The first thing is that God is incredibly generous. That His Love for us isn’t determined by the length of time we’re in His vineyard. He simply offers that invitation to us to come. And once we’re there, he treats us as if we had been there all along.

    The second point is often missed as we argue over how employee relations would go-over in this story – but to me seems even more important, or beautiful. And that is that God never stops looking for us. He is constantly coming after us. Longing for us to come and be a part of his vineyard. In the parable it is the landowner who isn’t satisfied with going out once at the break of day... No, he keeps looking for late comers. Going out to find people throughout the day who are finally ready to seek Him out. What we learn is that the most important thing isn’t when we find him it’s that we eventually do.

    Because in the parable, the people at the start of the day were seeking one thing - a job. They wanted to work. They wanted security. They wanted to know they would be able to survive, provide for their loved ones.   And they are blessed to find that was readily available. What was it that had prevented those who would come along later? Who knows:
    maybe they were lazy;
        maybe they looked for a job in the wrong place;

    Maybe they believed lies about themselves and felt “no one would hire me” or “they’re going to hire someone else instead of me.”

    Whatever it was – something prevented them from showing up earlier.   For them, the joy they must’ve experienced to realize that no, they weren’t too late... to see that the generous landowner was still hiring, was still interested in them, that he truly wanted them...

    What makes this even more beautiful is when we realize this is more than just a story about employment. Those of us who were blessed to be born and raised Catholic-Christians, we can’t forget how blessed it is that we’ve known the truth of those words from the first reading to– seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.    Jesus wants us to see how we are renewed in those blessings when we find a newcomers has found their way here.   We are to rejoice when those who’ve wandered away come back. And we should want to tell others, the landowner, the Loving Father hasn’t given up on those still lost, still afraid, still telling themselves lies like “God doesn’t want me” or “I can’t go there, I’m not holy enough” or the other opposite extreme “I don’t want to go there - they’re a bunch of hypocrites.”   Because the truth of the matter is all of us are blessed to be here, not because of anything we’ve done, but because God has sought us first.

    Jesus had a way of getting peoples attention long before Abercrombie and Fitch and The Situation. Now that he has it, are we willing to share it with those in desperate need of it themselves?

I KNOW, BUT -- 9/11 ten years later...

2011-09-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for Sunday September 11, 2011 - the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time and the 10th Anniversary of the Terrorist Attacks on the United States. The readings for today can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091111.cfm . As always thanks for reading and your feedback and comments. God Bless, Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    I KNOW – But...
    I know what you’re saying is true – but I don’t, I can’t, I won’t do it...
    Ever found yourself saying or thinking that? The “I know, but’s”
    I know I need to get 8 hours of sleep... But I got to get this project done.

    I know I shouldn’t carry a debt on my credit card.... But I need a car for work, what choice do I have?

    I know I shouldn’t be texting while driving, but I’m careful, I’ll make sure nothing happens.

    There are times and examples where I know what is being said is true, is valid, is important. But - either I don’t do it, I can’t do it or I won’t do it for some reason (legitimate or illegitimate) The thing is, no matter how valid the reason, it doesn’t change how true the thing is we’re dismissing.

    I know I should keep up with my assignments all semester, but the reading is so boring – that’s not going to change the fact that at the end of the semester you’re going to be expected to have done it.

    I was thinking about the “I know - buts”, how many of them we have in our lives. And I think for many of us, Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel would end up in that category too. Look at what’s happened. Jesus is asked a straight forward question by Peter “how many times must we forgive?” Notice that Peter’s specific too, he says that this was a wrong done by a brother. So he’s not talking about some bad thing done by a person he could care less about... this was someone close to him, someone he called a brother, so it’s personal, and the hurt is greater. I wonder if he had someone specific in mind. Has to be Judas, right?

    Peter probably thinks he’s being overly generous in proposing 7 times (which considering Jewish rabbis taught at the time that you were to forgive only 3 times, he was being generous). So what Jesus says had to have taken them by surprise - 77 times. Towards the end of that passage, Jesus reveals he’s not interested in how many times, but rather that everyone must forgive one another from their hearts.

    Whenever this or similar passages reflecting the same sentiment come up, I’m sure I’m not the only person who puts it in the context of our own lives and have an “I KNOW – BUT” all ready:   I know Jesus, BUT - that cousin was so hurtful to my mother what he did was unforgivable... I know Jesus, BUT that ex-friend, deserves that pre-fix – of “EX” because, well she knows why...   We all know somebody who said something, did something that makes us want to ignore these words of wisdom, find a loophole that we can say to Jesus how we believe His words are good and true, they just don’t count in this case.

    Even more challenging, that this Gospel should fall on this day, this year, of all days and years - this 10th Anniversary of 9/11 - especially for those of us living 15 miles from the destruction; who’ve had loved ones perish both on that day and the days since because of that awful day. Our collective memories bring back so much of the pain that was experienced that day. A day of so much loss, loss of life, loss of security, loss of peace.

    Because of how unprecedented all of that was and still is; Because of the thousands of innocent men and women who were simply living life and disappeared in such a horrific way; Because of the understandable thirst for justice; Because of our need as a nation to protect ourselves and defend ourselves, there’s a strong temptation that many fall into saying I KNOW JESUS DOESN’T EXPECT US TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO DID THIS. We don’t even need the “but” in this “I know, but” example.

    I’ve struggled myself with it, and I know I’m not alone on that. Talking with families who had to prepare for heart-wrenching funerals... Speaking with men and women who worked in rescue operations that became recovery operations far too soon... Seeing loved ones preparing to go to distant lands and continuing to risk their lives in battle...Even just driving around this area, 10 years later you still feel the absence of those two twin towers in the skyline... (I don’t know how many times I’ve said “it just doesn’t look right” maybe that’s why I’m still disappointed that we’re not rebuilding them, if for no other reason, to help me deny what happened and pretend to go back to life as usual) All of these things make a good case for us to excuse ourselves from Jesus’ words.

    I know Jesus I’m supposed to forgive, But I’m still angry... It still hurts... it’s just not right that this happened.   And that’s not even having personally lost a family member or friend. That’s just coming from the pain I felt for parishioners who I loved and cared about who were suffering. That’s just coming from the pain of having friends who are cops and firefighters and military and rescue workers who were down there or who’s lives have been changed forever because of that day. That’s just coming from the collective pain and anger we’ve all felt to various degrees in these past 10 years.


    Yet Jesus turns it around on us. He doesn’t just usher in some hard command, ordering us under obedience to listen -or else... Because here’s the thing, as we hear these challenging words from the Gospel on this solemn day of remembrance, he has his own “I KNOW - But.” Jesus says to us - I KNOW...

    I know how hard it can be to even consider forgiveness when you’ve been so hurt.
    I know how painful it can be.
    I know how unfair it seems.
    I know that it even seems illogical or that you’re opening yourself up to be hurt again.
    I know you will most likely get hurt again.
    Jesus says I know all of that -

    BUT - if you don’t learn to forgive- then something worse happens.
    Your heart gets hardened;
    Your soul gets weighed down;
    Your mind will never find the peace you’ve been searching for - which only multiplies the evil that has already hurt you and the anger you’ve experienced.

    Jesus says to us I know all that, but that’s why I came. That’s why I offered myself up, suffered the torture, the death on the cross for you. And in rising from the dead, He speaks with an authority of which there is no equal. He assures us that he is with us as we try to live out His command. He invites us to trust that the only thing we truly need to know is him and to leave the "buts" behind ( no pun intended).   If we can do that, we will find that his grace enables us to attempt what seems impossible to imagine... to learn to forgive.

"GET THE HELL OFF THE BEACH"

2011-09-04T20:25:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Here is my homily for September 4, 2011 - 23rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090411.cfm - As always thanks for reading and posting your comments and feedback - God Bless & Pray for all of us here at Montclair State as we begin a new Academic Year! Fr. Jim

HOMILY

    A week ago, we were preparing for the worst. It appeared that Hurricane Irene was gearing up the coast for a direct hit on New York City as a Category 1 or 2 storm. Some predictions said we should expect 18 hours of driving rain with sustained winds of over 85 miles per hour. The nightmare scenarios that meteorologists painted caused a lot of fear and concern. It also brought about widespread evacuations, from the Jersey Shore to parts of New York City, which for many residents was a first.

    For a variety of reasons, some who were told to evacuate were hesitant, resistant, even defiant to heed the warnings. And for those in authority, given the responsibility to care for their fellow citizens, they tried a variety of approaches to get people to listen. Along the shoreline, an official said something along the lines of “if you ignore these warnings, know that once the tropical force winds and rains hit, we will not come to your aid if there’s an emergency.” In Cape May County NJ they tried a different approach, saying “if you choose not to heed the evacuation order, we ask that you do one thing. Get an index card, write your name and social security number on it, put it in your left shoe before you put your shoes on so that we can identify your body.” Mayor Bloomberg in New York City tried reasoning and laying out the penalties and fines you could receive if you ignored the warning. While Governor Chris Christie was less subtle, and characteristically blunt as reporters showed him pictures of people soaking up some sun and surfers enjoying the rough tide yelling “GET THE HELL OFF THE BEACH.” (In some parts of the country that would’ve been considered profane, by Jersey standards, that’s considered tame)

    Fortunately, all of these messages eventually seemed to sink in. For the most part people evacuated. Temporary emergency shelters opened at University campuses throughout the area, people went to stay with friends and relatives in areas away from the storm, neighbors checked on one another. Considering the dire predictions of what could have happened, for the most part, the worst fears of death and injury didn’t happen. All because people heeded the warnings.

    The readings today pretty pointedly tell us that each one of us are responsible for one another, not just when a category 2 hurricane is coming at us, but for something far more important, our souls and our eternal lives. In both the first reading and the gospel, there is clearly an order that we are to give warnings to one another when we see one another is going “the wrong way” (away from God), when our brother (or sister) sins.

    Most of us feel uncomfortable when we hear that. We have been conditioned to “mind our own business.” Look at what happens when the Church tries to speak these ancient, eternal truths whether it be about the destruction of human life in abortion or the destruction of human families with attacks on marriage. The Church is accused of trying to “impose” it’s will, mocked for being out of date or out of touch; and it’s own failures and sins are recounted as reasons that people shouldn’t listen to the Church (kind of interesting that some of the same people who can recognize there are absolute rights and wrongs about things when it comes to the Church, fail to see that anywhere else in society).

    Just seeing how the Church is treated, that can intimidate us personally to say things to one another. To say to your husband or wife that they need to forgive that relative; to say to that friend they have to stop that affair they are having and work on their marriage; to say to that colleague they have to stop stealing from the company; To say to your buddies they shouldn’t be drinking or doing drugs; to say to your best friend they shouldn’t be sleeping with their girlfriend; to say to that roommate they shouldnt be stealing from the book store; to say to that classmate - they have to stop cheating.

    Just hearing those general examples, more than likely thoughts start to stir — uncomfortable ones because we can fill in those general illustrations with names, faces and real-life examples. And we don’t like that. Fear of our own sinfulness and our own failures mixed with a mis-reading of Jesus’ command to “not judge one another” paralyzes us into inaction. We try to put it in a more “positive” perspective telling ourselves “but Jesus says we are to love one another.”

    Love isn’t about being nice. Love can be difficult. It often times is. That’s what St. Paul is getting at when he said in the Second Reading - “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

    God calls us not simply to strive for righteousness, to obey his laws, to seek his forgiveness and trust in his mercy when we fail, but to be “watchmen” who look out for one another; to be brothers and sisters who love one another enough to be concerned for one another. Not just to evacuate and make sure people have the supplies and material things they need when a crisis like a hurricane is approaching - but for more important things like our salvation, our eternal lives. To, warn one another to get the hell off of the roads to hell we find ourselves on.

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT

2011-08-27T21:58:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for August 28 , 2011, the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082811.cfm. Thanks as always for all your feedback and comments. God Bless, Fr. Jim

True story:

    This young woman had just started a new job and had to go thru three days of training.   Right away, she felt that the job was absolutely terrible, but she had never quit a job. She didn’t know what to do since she felt that throughout the training she was being treated like an idiot and it was making her angry. After her third day of training, she came home so angry and worked up she decided to go down to a small bar to have a drink (yes she was over 21 folks). She walked in and her friends started asking her about the new job and she just went off with and unloaded everything that had been pent up inside her from the past three days: How the place stunk, the people were jerks, how she couldn’t believe the place stayed in business with such morons running the place. The bartender started laughing so hard, he was practically doubled over falling on the ground. He looked at her and said, it’s probably too late to tell you this, but you are sitting next to the general manager of your new company.   Must’ve been fun going to work on Monday, huh?

    Sticking your foot in your mouth - when we hear story like that we are REALLY uncomfortable, and probably laugh not only because they’re just so BRUTAL and INSANE but because we know we’ve been there too. All of us can remember times when we’ve “stuck our foot in our mouth.”

    In today’s gospel, St. Peter has that kind of experience. St. Peter (in the verses right before this passage, which we heard last Sunday) says to Jesus when he’s asked “Who do you say I am” - Peter responds - you are the Christ, the son of the Living God - and Jesus says to Peter – who so often is just a screw up, who so often gets it wrong, who so often ends up with HIS foot in his mouth – Blessed are you - you are Peter, and upon [you] I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you [Peter] the keys to the kingdom of heaven - whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.

    So that had just happened. Peter’s feeling like, for once in a LONG time, I’m having a good day - and, here it comes... - Jesus tells his disciples - look guys, things are going to get bad - we’re going to Jerusalem, everyone’s going to turn on me, I’m going to get tortured, killed - and on the third day I’ll be raised from the dead. And Peter jumps up “God forbid Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you” - and with that, Jesus the son of God calls Peter - Satan.   YIKES!   Sorry Peter, Open mouth, insert foot...

    But on the surface, it doesn’t seem like a foot in a mouth thing though, does it? I mean, Peter’s trying to look out for Jesus, and saying “I don’t want you to suffer and die.” Jesus seems a bit harsh, doesn’t he?

    What Jesus was trying to do to Peter was to say - you can’t just think in human, earthly ways - you can’t let emotion get the best of you or operate out of your feelings all the time. You can’t go from calling me “the Christ, the son of God” to then not listening to what I’m telling you, to not believing that my Father and I know what we’re doing...You can’t think you know the way to go. You have to follow me...

    So in this case, maybe the problem wasn’t the foot in his mouth as much as it was the foot in his ears closing him off from listening to what the Son of God was saying - it was the foot in his heart (or would that be on his heart? Whatever..) The foot on his heart blocking those words challenging him to have that deeper faith, more intimate, more powerful relationship with Jesus - a relationship he would need in order for Peter to be our first Pope and lead the Church after Jesus’ ascension.

    Jesus was trying to get Peter out of himself, out of his ego of thinking that “here I am, Jesus just said I’m the Rock, I’m going to be the Pope” - he’s moving Peter out of thinking simply in human terms and to realize he must always be focused on Jesus alone.

    That’s what Jesus is challenging all of us to do as well in this Gospel passage tonight. To as St. Paul put it, not conform ourselves to this age - to take up our cross and follow him.   Jesus is telling us that when we do that when we embrace our cross, follow Him, and live as he did - we find true freedom, we find true independence, we find our very selves. Then, our feet remain far from our heart, ears and yes, even our mouth. In embracing the cross our feet end up being right where they belong – taking steps to follow Christ.

WITH APOLOGIES TO MRS. JONES

2011-08-21T11:43:00.000-04:00

Greetings everyone! Here's my homily for SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2011 - the 21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - The readings for today's Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082111.cfm. As always, thanks for reading and your comments and feedback are appreciated. God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    With Back to School Sales in full swing (if I see that stupid Target commercial with the guy singing about Denim one more time I’m going to lose it) - I can’t help it that my mind goes right into school memories this time of year.    I remember the teachers that were my favorites – 5th Grade with Mrs. Gagliardi still ranks as one of my all time favorite years in school ever.... High School English with Mr. Epps and Mrs. Allen – both extremely different, both highly memorable for a variety of different reasons – Mrs. Allen being much more formal and demanding, Mr. Epps - well let’s say he was “colorful”, insanely entertaining, but no less demanding than Mrs. Allen.   The three of them still stand out as some of my all time favorites.

    Just as vivid in the memory are quite a few of my teachers that didn’t rank high on my or my classmates lists. The ones that either we didn’t like them, they didn’t like us, or it was a mixture of the two (perhaps it’s one of those chicken and egg type questions – which came first - them not liking us or us not liking them?)

    One science teacher that comes to mind, in hindsight, I believe it was us, the students, who did her in every year. She really tried. Every September she would have that hopeful look in her eye. That somewhat nervous smile as the 6th, 7th and 8th grade students would pile in. Mrs. Jones (not her real name) would talk about the various stuff that we would be doing to try to excite us for the year to come. And no matter what she did it seemed always to turn into a disaster. Someone would eventually do something that would set her off - we would get out of control, she would start yelling, we would start laughing. And we all make Mrs. Jones just lose it... in fact we kind of wanted to make her lose it.

    This one time we had to dissect frogs...I’ll never forget it. Now honestly, I wasn’t looking for trouble. With two older brothers, the oldest who always got into trouble, the middle guy, well he was a Phi Beta Kappa honor student from Kindergarten through Graduate school. I somehow as the youngest, fell in the middle of the two.   So I really wasn’t trying to ruin Mrs. Jones’ day.    So we were to dissect this frog. And I’m looking that the thing, and in my head I’m saying “Nah, I ain’t touching that...” Now Mrs. Jones had already instructed us to open it’s mouth, to make an incision here, make a cut there - I don’t know it’s gross thinking about it... but she was about 4 steps ahead and I’m sitting there staring at this dead frog. Well she came down the center aisle, started screaming at me - thinking I was just being another nuisance, another pain, not paying attention or whatever... And I remember she said “don’t be a baby” - which I admit ticked me off, so now I was definitely not touching the thing. So I just said “no way, I’m not touching it, it’s nasty.” To which she grabbed the frog and said “What’s the big deal, just break open it’s jaw like this” and without the instruments or whatever, she just used her fingers, used whatever anger she had at that moment and broke open the frogs jaw. Yes, Mrs. Jones was much more brave than I was. I couldn’t let this, in my mind, old, crotchety teacher make me look bad so as she did it, I pointed out that she had opened the frog with her hands and then had brushed her hair. (Which she did by the way). The class started laughing at her, she started yelling, they made more and more stupid remarks. It was just a bad, bad scene. We never even finished the lesson that day... All those dead frogs were wasted.

    Somehow I survived and passed the class and I never had Mrs. Jones again. What makes Mrs. Jones stand out in my mind though is that to this day I feel guilty about her. And I know why. This one Sunday, a few years after I had her for class, I went to Mass at a neighboring parish for some reason. And that Sunday I saw Mrs. Jones was there at Church. She sat there with her husband and her kids. Then at communion, she went up and served as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. I was too embarrassed to go up to her for communion. Not because it was Mrs. Jones the science teacher all of us tortured in 6th, 7th and 8th grade... But because she was so much more than that. I finally saw her as Mrs. Jones a wife, a Mother, a devout Catholic-Christian woman As time went on I started to learn of all the charitable things she did. The volunteer work she did at the parish. What an incredibly loving mother she was (I actually met her daughter at a meeting a few years ago). I had missed a whole lot more of who she really was. Perhaps had I not been so narrow minded about Mrs. Jones, I would’ve reacted differently not just the day with Kermit’s friends, but all those other days that I dismissed her and her class.

    No matter how many times we go through a similar experience, we never seem to fully learn that lesson, do we? How our perception of someone can greatly affect our relationship with them. That’s why Jesus’ question is such an interesting one. He looks to his disciples and says “Who do people say that I am?” But then quickly turns it to something much more direct - Who do you say that I am? The responses, reactions, expectations we see and hear not just in today’s passage but all throughout the gospels show there was a variety of different thoughts on Him. To some Jesus was simply a miracle worker. By this point people had heard of healings, water becoming wine, massive amounts of food being supplied from a few loaves and fish... He was definitely a master orator that could draw crowds who wanted simply to listen to him as he spoke to them. Jesus was a brilliant teacher who could use those opportunities to pass on eternal truths that to this day even unbelievers respect. All of those attributes and qualities are true. But they’re narrow. And for those who saw Jesus only as those things - or as a prophet or mistaking him for John the Baptist, or Elijah – they were missing so much.

    Peter is able to discern Jesus is so much more than the sum of all those things. He has left everything to follow him not because he does incredible feats or says memorable things... The only one who would deserve the gift of his life, where he has dropped everything and followed him is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

    Our perception of people very often affects our relationship to that person and our perception is greatly influenced by our proximity. How much time we spend with them. More time allows us to know more things or aspects about them.   Peter’s confession of faith was possible because the Holy Spirit had nudged him one day to listen and pay attention that day when he first met Jesus. And he listened to that voice and was willing to leave everything and spend his days in the company of Christ. This allowed him to have an intimacy that he would really know Jesus– all the many things that made him perceive Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah.

    I suppose our answer to that same question would also depend on our perception of Jesus and our perception is also influenced by our proximity to him. To really know Jesus is no different than anyone else – it requires that we spend time with them and that takes...well, time! How much time do we really spend getting to know Jesus? “And you, who do you say that I am?”. May you and I take time, literally, before we answer that.

HOW COULD FATHER LEAVE THE PRIESTHOOD?

2011-08-07T12:05:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 7, 2011. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/080711.shtml. Thanks as always for reading and your responses and feedback. Thanks Fr. Jim

    On the list of challenging, difficult, even awkward things for Catholics to discuss (and there’s quite a few things on that list) has to be when parishioners learn that a priest has decided to leave the priesthood. It’s something that can be shocking, and saddening for people - both parishioners and priests alike. People describe it as this weird mixture of emotions that would often be associated with a death or a divorce – while at the same time the parishioners want the man to be happy and at peace. It’s confusing.   What makes it so shocking is that after anywhere from 4-7 years of prayer, study, talking, discussions, and formation people assume that a man would be reasonably sure of who they are, what they are called to when they are finally ordained. And there’s some truth to that. It’s not like it’s a surprise on ordination day to find out that priests make promises that include obedience and chastity.

    Probably the most public example of this was about a year ago involved a priest by the name of Fr. Albert Cutie, who had a popular television show in Florida. After a tabloid found him on a beach with a woman, he admitted he had an affair - and within weeks, left the Catholic Church joined the Episcopal Church, got married, is considered a “priest” in their Church and even has a new TV program. Examples like that give life to this (mistaken) belief that if only priests could get married, things like that wouldn’t happen.

    This isn’t to judge Fr. Cutie or interpret the actions of other priests who’ve left. It’s true what they say – that we can never know what’s in another person’s heart or what it is they are going through. So I’m trying to be careful not to make assumptions and lump everyone together because no two cases are the same. But a great spiritual director once shared an insight he gained from his experience in counseling many priests. He said that whenever a priest would tell him that he is leaving the priesthood, the first question he always asks is “When did you stop praying? When did you lose sight of Christ?”

    I know that when I was on the receiving end of that question about 6 years ago when I was at a crossroads and was close to leaving the priesthood, I was ticked off by the question. Because in my mind I was leaving not because I had a girl friend or anything like that but because I was ticked off about certain things, disillusioned about others. And this spiritual director’s question ticked me off even more - because I knew that my anger was justified, my disillusionment were valid - and his question to me... well they were completely appropriate. I’m embarrassed to admit (and can realize now) that I had invested more energy in the things I was upset about than my prayer life.   I had relied on myself more than on Jesus (because I didn’t like the way He was handling it), and so I found myself at the breaking point... and I give thanks to God that I wasn’t too far gone - that in time with help and especially the prayers of good friends, I was able to call out to the Lord and found He had been there all along, waiting for me to do so.

    That’s the lesson that Peter learns in the Gospel we just heard. Just hours before this episode (as we heard in last Sunday’s Gospel) Jesus had fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. That was an amazing experience for everyone, especially the disciples to witness and experience. Now Jesus had gone off on his own, we learn, to pray (right there we should take notice and realize, that if Jesus would need time to connect to God then perhaps that is telling us something...) Not long after, the disciples find themselves in a jam - the winds pick up, the waves start crashing, they grow increasingly scared and fearful. So Jesus, taking the short cut - walks right on the water towards them. Peter who’s seen so many incredible things isn’t sure what’s going on, so he says “if it’s you, tell me to come out and walk on the water to you.” And Jesus does! Peter experiences yet another amazing feat...

    Yet his amazement is soon diminished.   The waves, the winds, the fears, the distractions... they grab his attention and he stops looking, stops going towards Jesus and the second he does, he becomes overwhelmed, he starts to sink, starts to flounder, starts to drown.

    Being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower of His can be hard. Because we know all of the miracles and incredible stuff that He is capable of.   We hear in the Gospel “Nothing is impossible for God.” And when we see the miracle, those words ring true. But what about when those storms, those winds creep in... When we’re tempted to something (or someone) that makes us compromise our commitments, our values, our promises... When we’re overwhelmed by bad news, trials and struggles. What do we do? Do we turn inward and believe the lie that Jesus has forgotten us because he hasn’t rectified all these situations, or made us stronger to resist those temptations? Or do we cry out with all our hearts “Lord save me?”

    The beautiful thing we learn in this Gospel is that as soon as Peter does cry out with those very words, he comes to find that Jesus hasn’t gone anywhere... in fact he hasn’t stopped looking at Him. Jesus respects that first gift given to us – our free will – so much that even when he knows what’s better for us, He is not going to violate that without our invitation.

    Unfortunately as we go through life, we realize that this isn’t just a one time experience or test that we’ll encounter at some point and never go through again. In many ways, this is a daily challenge that we as followers will go through over and over again - whether we’re priests, married people or single people...   Again, look at Peter - he will learn all too well how often the temptations, the distractions re-emerge.   Good Friday, in the midst of His Passion, not only would Peter not look to Christ for strength for himself - he abandoned Jesus at the moment Christ needed him. Yet, we’ll read how after Jesus rose from the dead, he searches Peter out, and lovingly reaches out to him, inviting him to trust in Him again...

    For each of us, as we go through life with our own commitments to the Lord and to one another, it might feel like we’re all alone at times, that Jesus has forgotten us as we’re going through whatever it is that makes us believe that. Yet the reality is often the reverse. It’s us who lose sight of Him.    And everyone one of us is susceptible - whether it’s a college student going through a difficult time, the couple on the verge of a divorce or the priest who “leaves” the priesthood. The question, “When did you lose sight of Christ” or more directly Jesus’ words from the gospel ask “...why did you doubt?” Too often we forget that its more than just showing up to Mass and being in Church waiting for something to happen, we have to do something and want something more. The good news we have heard today is that Jesus never leaves us. He is waiting for us, looking for us in all humility and sincerity to cry out “Lord Save Me.”    Will we let go of our egos, lift up our eyes to God, look into His, and say those same words - and trust Him?

"QUIT IT!" Vying for the Father's attention...

2011-07-31T10:42:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 18th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - July 31, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/073111.shtml . Thanks as always for reading and for your notes and feedback. God Bless, Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    “QUIT IT” the one brother screams at the other as they annoy each other...

    If you ever have the opportunity to watch little brothers and sisters interact, (and sometimes even not so little) - a somewhat common experience is when they seem to be vying for their parents attention and affection almost in a competitive sense.    Children sometimes fear that when Mom and Dad give love, give time, give energy to one child there won’t be enough for them.   And while they are in the throws of this “competition,” the kids can resort to all kinds of things - tattling on each other, faking illnesses or injuries, sabotaging family activities, even picking fights with one another to see who’s side Mom or Dad will side with. It can be somewhat severe and disruptive for a family.

    Hopefully in time, the children will learn there’s no reason to fear or doubt the love of their parents.   That Mom and Dad have more than enough love for all their children - there isn’t a limited supply of love - the more it is given, the more it multiplies.

    That image of possessive children unwilling to share the love of their parents came to mind in today’s Gospel. Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for the crowds - he is attentive to them and what is the disciples reaction? They tell him “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

    They want Jesus all for themselves. They don’t want to share Him, share His love with anyone else, and in fact, how many times through the Gospels do we see the sibling rivalry among the disciples themselves?

    One realization that comes from the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is that when we give love, it isn’t a limited supply, the more it is given, the more it multiplies - it can supply more than enough, even an abundance to all those who need it. 5 loaves and two fish feed thousands and the left overs fill over 12 baskets full.

    For some reason though, that lingering doubt, that fear can still creep in over time. We see someone else is blessed in some way, and we become jealous – why doesn’t God do that for me? A prayer that we have been praying for isn’t answered the way we want it answered and we become frustrated – why doesn’t God answer my prayers the way he does for other people?

    And the more these doubts, these fears, these irrational childish thoughts run thru our heads, the more we begin to feel God doesn’t love us as much as his other children.

    Which is why today’s reading from St. Paul to the Romans is one of my favorites. St. Paul basically puts that question out there - what can separate us from the Love of God?    When do we have the proof that, yeah, he must love His other kids better than us? When we have tribulations? When we experience death? When we are being persecuted or feel abandoned? When we are poor, and needy and hungering and thirsting? Is that it?

    Paul responds - Nothing can separate us from the Love of God poured out in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    No matter what circumstance, situation, or position we find ourselves in at this moment... No matter what our sometimes childish behavior or attitudes might seem to be telling us - God’s extravagant, overwhelming and generous Love is for all of us.   There’s not a limit to it for us or for anyone else. And if we are willing to take the risk to share that Love, instead of annoying each other, attacking each other, acting like possessive children vying for our Father’s affection – we might be surprised to see how that Love is more than enough to fulfill all our needs, and those of all those around us.

...DISCOVERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD - Priceless

2011-07-24T10:46:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 17th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - JULY 24, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/072411.shtml Thanks as always for reading & your feedback and comments. God Bless (and if you’re living in the East-Coast of the United States - STAY COOL!!!!)
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    The only way you wouldn’t know the tag-line for Mastercard would be if you haven’t turned your television on in the last 15 years. Since 1997 the motto “there are some things that Money cannot buy, for everything else there’s Mastercard” has been practically drilled into our brains with new commercials all based on the same simple but incredibly effective marketing technique. They itemize a list of things that people spend money on and present it under the umbrella of why people are spending this money, why the cost is worth it.

    The creators did that intentionally. By the mid 90's when the economy was roaring along (remember those days) and people were spending in more and more extravagant ways, credit cards became more and more associated with greed, with excess. Which wasn’t attractive to the public. It wasn’t so unattractive that people changed their ways - but it was harder to “sell” or market credit cards in a positive light. So these advertising geniuses came up with this strategy that they called the “What Matters” umbrella. That there’s a valid, greater reason, some noble purpose, people need to spend this money, even if it is expensive, for something else that is - priceless. So an ad goes something like this “Tickets to Yankee Stadium $80; Souvenier T-shirt $25; Hot dog $8 - taking your son to his first baseball game - priceless.”

    It has been so successful an advertising campaign that not only has it continued for over 14 years here in the US, it has spread to over 100 countries in over 40 different languages. It seems almost a universal understanding that there are some things that money can’t buy - that there are priceless things out there.

    What are those priceless things for us? Pretty quickly we would probably rattle off the list of family, friends, our health. If we were to poll all of us here, no doubt we would add “our faith” to the list - perhaps out of obligation, perhaps because on some level we do believe that to be true. But it’s interesting to look at today’s Gospel and hear how Jesus is asking us, is it really?
    Is He someone we see,
    is what He is offering, namely eternal life, something we desire,
...are these Priceless to us? Are we willing to pay whatever the cost to achieve them?

    A few weeks ago, this speaker I was listening to shared a story. A woman had been a religious education director in her parish for over 30 years. She had worked tirelessly in her parish preparing kids for First Communion, Confirmation, supervising all the other grades whether in CCD classes or in the Parish Elementary School - monitoring the books used, the tests given, attendance reports. After doing this for close to 25 years she said she had felt burnt out. She was busy, she was tired, she was working hard. But it seemed year after year was just flowing one year into another. There were lots of kids in CCD, few at Mass. The Parish School was getting smaller and fears that it would close were becoming more real. The parish itself seemed “stuck”. So she had gone to this conference sponsored by “Renewal Ministries” which is dedicated to helping Catholics have a deeper appreciation of the love that Jesus Christ has for them individually and once they’ve met Jesus in that way - once they recognize that, the response is people want to grow in holiness themselves.

    After this weekend long conference, this religious ed professional had an earth-shattering realization. She told one of the main speakers whom she had been listening to all weekend, that after 25 years of service she didn’t believe that she had ever brought a single person into relationship with Jesus Christ.

    Imagine that? There’s a part of us that wants to dismiss that saying she’s being hyper-critical of herself. But she was brutally honest saying the kids looked cute at their First Communion; the young men and women behaved appropriately at their Confirmations, and the class attendance sheets and religious ed books were all accounted for. But for her, when she heard the Gospel presented to her anew. When she heard the story afresh of how Jesus Christ has this personal, intimate love for her, that were she the only person to have ever lived in the whole world, he would still accept the Passion, the Cross, the Death for her – that’s how much God loves her - she realized that she and all of those with her in her parish had lost sight of what was essential in the faith and in the process had taken all these other beautiful, important things of our faith and in a sense made them empty.

    She went back to her parish and with her Pastor and her Bishops approval, they simply asked over and over “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of my Life?” “Is he the Lord of this Classroom?” “This parish group?” “This school?” If He wasn’t, then they made Him such, or they got rid of it. Within 5 years the parish had been transformed. The school went from near closing to having a waiting list. The Parish was thriving in every way imaginable.

    When we find the treasure - When we find the pearl of great price – When we truly believe what we say we believe and realize that nothing else compares to it... nothing else matters, even remotely in importance, then we start to see, experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of all those around us. That one woman felt convicted in her heart that Jesus wasn’t Lord of her life or her parish, so she made him it. She might have doubted she brought people to Christ before, but ever since, Jesus had changed her and many others lives.

    I know personally how difficult that can be. For me these past 12 years of priesthood have gone quickly. And the ways that I’ve diminished Jesus Christ in thoughts, words, deeds, or lack of thought, word or deed, well those are reasons I find myself in confession so often. How often have I not spoken up to defend my faith because I was afraid “someone might be offended.” How many opportunities have I passed on an opportunity to be a witness to my faith because I worried how others might perceive me?   In each of those opportunities, on some level, I said my ego, my fears, my whatever where more valuable than my faith in Jesus Christ.

    I don’t want to keep doing that anymore - do you? And that’s the point - we have to want it - we have to have a change of vision recognizing that what Jesus is offering us is “What Matters” most. We have to realize that it’s not just going to cost us a little, it’s not something we can put on our Mastercard (or Visa or AMEX for that matter) - it’s going to cost us our reputations, our pride, our egos. It’s going to cost us friends and being comfortable. Yes it will cost us our whole lives. But in the end, we will find that discovering, and living in the kingdom of God is... priceless.

THE GUY WHO CAUGHT DEREK JETER'S 3000TH HIT

2011-07-17T10:33:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - thanks for reading my homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time - July 17, 2011. The readings for the day can be found at: http://www.usccb.org/nab/071711.shtml. As always, thanks for reading and your feedback and comments.

“The Kingdom of heave is like a mustard seed... it is the smallest of seeds, yet when full grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
    So imagine, for a birthday gift a good friend buys you tickets to a baseball game to see a team you’ve been a fan of your whole life - the New York Yankees (would there be any other???) You’re there with your dad. One of your favorite players comes to the plate, Derek Jeter, and the entire stadium of over 50,000 people is waiting and wondering will this be the time he hits his 3,000 career hit. Jeter steps to the plate and not only does he get the hit, but he launches it - a Home Run ball that after it bobbles in your dads hands, lands in yours.

    Not only is that the stuff that every little kid whose a fan (even some of us kids not so little or “young”) dreams of happening to them, but what’s even more amazing about this occurrence is this isn’t just being apart of a historic sports moment, but it’s like winning the lotto too. Before the game, sports memorabilia experts were saying that the value of the historic ball could gain 100,000-250,000 dollars from sports fanatics. With the additional theatrics of this being a home run ball hit in Yankee Stadium, some said it could have hit $400,000.

    When all of this happened to a young man named Christian Lopez a week and a day ago though, unlike so many others in our day and age who would immediately think “what can I get for this, what do I deserve for catching this ball, who is going to give me the most or owes me the most...” Lopez’s reaction was that he just wanted to give Derek Jeter the ball back. Immediately he simply said this was Jeter’s milestone - he’s worked hard for his entire career for this, he deserves it. The story sounded way too good to be true.

    And the guy wouldn’t budge at all believing that this was the right thing to do. Even when his father said he didn’t know if this is what he would’ve done. Even though, as the public learned later in the week, the guy has something like $100,000 in student loans to pay back, and on top of everything else the government was making noise that he might owe them taxes for this whole thing even though he didn’t make any money off of it.   But for Christian, he just kept saying he knew that it was the right thing to do.

    In the grand scheme of life, the story is kind of silly. Yeah it’s a game that people get paid way too much to play - It’s a baseball that people seem to get attached to like its some relic. All of us know there’s so many other more serious things that people face on a daily basis and real heroes are often not acknowledged for true selflessness. But this simple, small act of selflessness of a guy who didn’t want to hold a baseball hostage because he knows that Jeter has the money to pay for it if he wanted it is so refreshing, isn’t it? And the effect it’s had has been unprecedented too. Modells Sporting Goods is calling this Christian Lopez week and will donate 5% of the proceeds from any Yankee Merchandise purchased to help pay the guys Student Loan debt (with a minimum of $25,000 guaranteed) Miller Brewing is offering to pay for the tax bill saying “he should not be punished for doing the right thing.” Steiner sports, the company that would have probably auctioned the ball had Christian wanted to sell it, is auctioning a bunch of Yankees memorabilia with the profits going to Lopez, saying “the kids been good...I just wanted to do something good for him.”

    So now all of these other people and companies have been moved by this simple, small act by this young man, that it made them want to do something to help him out... So now a whole slew of other people have been able to participate and continue this great story.

    Christian Lopez helps illustrate part of what Jesus is getting at in these parables. When we were baptized, when we became a part of the Kingdom of God, we entered into the story of how His kingdom continues to grow. Christ’s message, his presence, his word is as alive as when he first walked and talked on this earth. That message, that presence, that word comes through you and I. People are changed and influenced by our witness, our testimony to what Jesus Christ means in our lives. They either are inspired or scandalized by the decisions, choices, and examples we put forth.

    And it’s true, there are more than a fair share of weeds we can all point out to – both in and outside of the Church.    And we get distracted by them and wonder “God why don’t you just eliminate all the weeds once and for all.” When we’re in a state of grace, knowing we’re free of some mortal sin, it’s easy to say such things. Fortunately, God is much more patient with all of us.   On the other extreme, we can get down on ourselves. Arguing that sainthood, holiness is out of our reach. We look at someone like Mother Teresa who years after she’s died still captures our imaginations and think “we can never do what she did.”

    But if these parables tell us anything, Jesus is inviting us - you and I into His story. He’s reminding us that when we chose to imitate Him in whatever corners of this vast creation in this precise moment of history - He is glorified. When we allow His voice to come out of our mouths, His gaze from our eyes, His gentle touch from our hands - the seemingly smallest, insignificant things can take on proportions larger than life. The mustard seed becomes this huge bush, the brush of yeast makes this doughy mass rise...

    Who is it that will encounter Jesus Christ’s presence through you and I this day, this week? Who’s very life will change because of that encounter? Just because we simply reflected in a simple, small, loving way the love we’ve experienced ourselves in Jesus Christ?

    What Jesus is trying to tell us in the parables is that Sainthood, holiness is only out of our reach if we choose to let it be. It was Mother Teresa who encouraged people to do small acts with great love. Those small actions done with great love are the seeds of our own holiness and they impact peoples lives in ways we may never have imagined. Christian Lopez returned a baseball he felt rightly belonged to someone else. Again, in the grand scheme of life it was basically a small act. But that small act had within it the seeds of kindness, charity, civility and selflessness which inspired a somewhat jaded, cynical world to act in the same way. Who would ever have imagined that right here in New York?

    In the parable of the mustard seed, Christ reminds us that the same opportunity is ours if we so choose.

WE INTERRUPT THIS BEAUTIFUL BEACH DAY FOR BREAKING NEWS...

2011-07-10T12:41:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!
This is my homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - JULY 10, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/071011.shtml. As always, thanks for reading and your comments and feedback. Always appreciate people taking time to read and respond... God Bless, Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    This past Tuesday was a beautiful, 80 something degree, sunny, light wind blowing off the ocean afternoon. I had escaped for a few days down the shore and was enjoying the peace, quiet and tranquility of the afternoon. What made it a bit more quiet was, uncharacteristically, my family and some of their close friends who sit with them on the beach hadn’t arrived yet.   But to be honest I was enjoying the solitude too much to notice.

    Not exactly sure how much time had passed when I heard my Mother’s voice. She was still a little ways off, but she yelled to me “ I DON’T BELIEVE THAT... DID YOU HEAR???” “Hear what” I asked, somewhat startled out of semi-consciousness.   “The Verdict!” (Do I even have to mention which verdict?) Before long the entire circle of family and friends had formed and a debate about the trial, the verdict not to mention a wider-variety of tangents ranging from dissecting what’s wrong with the justice system, our country, kids, parents, morality in general with everyone giving their theories, opinions and explanations. Even people at the circle next to us were chiming in.

    Just your average, perfect, summer day on the beach, huh?

    Very easily and quickly I got drawn into all of the discussions and debates myself. I found myself getting aggravated and upset with some of the conversation. I could feel the blood pressure starting to rise. And before I knew it, my peaceful, relaxing, beautiful day on the beach was spoiled (at least a little bit).

    For those of us not into gardening and kill full grown plants so easily that we wouldn’t even think about messing with seeds... Just looking at this Gospel reading, it hit me that my less than perfect beach day could be a modern take on Jesus’ parable.   Because in the past, when I’ve heard this parable, I kind of looked at it as Jesus is affirming us who are here week after week and kind of shaking his head in a mixture of anger and sadness at all those who don’t join us every week (or at all) . We’re the good seed, the good plants - they’re the rocky, weed infested soils...

    But the more I’ve prayed with it, it seems that the point of the parable is to question us about the state of our own souls:   How’s our soil. How open are we to God in our lives? Because one of the central things Jesus is asking us here is How easy is it for people, events, things to distract us? How easy is it for our faith to be undermined, our relationship with Jesus to be questioned, our joy in Him to be robbed?

    On days when things are okay, when all is well with family and friends, we can come to Mass and feel reasonably comfortable that our faith is strong.    But then we see our neighbor has that new car and we fixate on it and then we look at our dependable, reliable, paid off car with contempt... We see friends and relatives who are losing their jobs and we wonder how secure our job really is? A family member is rushed to a hospital and is awaiting results... There’s an unexpected death of a loved one...    All of those somewhat random, but absolutely real things can shake our faith, cause us to doubt, unleash fear, makes us wonder – How present is Jesus to us? Is He really listening to our prayers? Why even bother praying; why follow Him when I can’t seem to get ahead, or even get by for that matter.

    Everyone of us will at sometime endure weeds entering our soil... or there will always be something that disrupts our pleasant, sunny, beach days. The real-life crises and tragedies, the temptations that we endure (and sometimes succumb to) can make the most devout, devoted of believers begin to doubt. Which is why Jesus is gives us this bit of a pulse check, asking How is our soil, or rather our souls? How deep are our roots in Him?

    Because he’s trying to tell us that it’s in the day to day, week to week, somewhat routine parts of life that we keep nourishing and deepening our relationship with Him that makes it possible to withstand those varied things that life throws at us and still remain faithful, still trust that He is with us, still know deep within that He is the only way, the only truth, the only life worth following. If we can attune our ears to His voice and set our eyes and see His presence in the everyday... if we allow His word to speak to us, His Body and Blood nourish us on a regular basis, then we are more and more confident that His grace is enough to help us endure whatever it is we face.

    When we do, it’s true we might not see the miracle we want. God may not answer our prayers in the exact fashion we want (I know that’s often the case in my own prayer life). But here’s the thing, we will be okay with that, because we would know on a personal, intimate level that He does desire what is best for us.   We might suffer through some painful situations, but our faith will be remain and even grow... Our seedlings would grow strong... even our beautiful beach days could endure a few disruptions without forgetting the beauty and peace that was there (and remained) before we were interrupted.

DEMEANING OURSELVES AS "LITTLE ONES"

2011-07-03T07:30:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the 14^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - July 3, 2011 - the readings can be found http://www.usccb.org/nab/070311.shtml Thanks as always for reading and your feedback! God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

In terms of "little ones" in my life, I’ve been blessed with God-children, cousins and my two little nieces, one who will be no longer five but five and a half, as she corrected me in about 2 weeks and her little sister who is a year and a half... Lizzie and Gracie.

Thanks to them, my understanding of this Gospel passage has changed a great deal. When Jesus speaks of what is hidden from the learned and wise that has been given to the "little ones" - well in the past I sort of understood that as Jesus making a comparison of two "opposites"; that Jesus was contrasting two groups of people - The adults are the educated, the somewhat worldly or sophisticated... while the children, not to diss them, but understandably are not as educated, they’re innocent... It seems a bit demeaning to become like a "little one." Throughout our lives we’re encouraged to grow up, to be mature, to be responsible. Hearing this seems to contradict all of that. With this contrast I kind of imagined that Jesus was telling us we can be too smart for our own good when it comes to our relationship with God and that Jesus was telling us that if we wish to have that yearning within us fulfilled, that yearning for God that every human heart has, we have to be like the little ones... more simplistic - not over-thinking things, just follow along.

But as I’ve learned, little ones can be quite smart, they can be quite creative, and not for nothing, they’re hardly innocent! Watching 1 and a half year old Gracie who loves to eat, so much so that she’s learned where Mom and Dad keep a loaf of bread, she’s learned how to open the drawer all by herself and she might not know how to open the plastic bread, but that’s okay, she just bite right into it to get what she wanted – after she was told "no more" - well that was just one more example to me that you cannot simply dismiss the "little ones" as simple little people that are easily led. Gracie is also now into exploring things, so she likes to grab, feel, touch just about anything. Especially the family dog Buff. She grabs the poor guy’s ears, tail. Last week she went over to him and the dog is looking at me with this pitiful look like "please help me" - she slowly was petting him, nice and gently and I said "That’s nice Gracie, be nice to Buff" and she’s staring at me, watching to see if I was watching as she slowly in her little fingers started to grab hold of his hair, getting ready to pull it - and I just looked and said "NOOO, GRACIE, NO, DON’T DO THAT, BE NICE..." and she just stared me down and walked away.

I really don’t know how you parents do it.

I’m sure parents out there can give even more colorful stories. So what characteristic is it that Jesus is seeing in these "little ones" that he finds so essential in terms of growing in knowledge, deepening our relationship with God the Father? Trust. Because as I’ve seen, "little ones" might not want to listen all the time, but they always, always know who to run to. When my nieces don’t get the answer they want from their Uncle Jim or from Grandma or Grandpa, they run to Mommy and Daddy and try there. Or when they get scared or hurt or upset... they cry out for their parents. In their little hearts and minds, they might not always get what they want, but they know who to go to...They might not fully understand, the "Why" behind the "No Gracie you can’t eat bread all day" - but they trust that eventually, Mom and Dad will provide them the bread they need. They trust their parents. Which is why when that trust is hurt, violated or broken, it has such long term consequences beyond the moral failure of that one instance. It can warp a person’s mind for life. Maybe that’s why Jesus warns people about that saying if you do it, it would be better for you to have a stone attached to your neck and you were thrown into the sea. That trust is essential for each of us, that trust is what is at the core of what Jesus is saying will unlock our personal encounter with God.

To trust in God the Father, to trust that God is our Father. Trust that God the Father wants what’s best for us. That’s why our older brother Jesus is reminding us of that. And what Jesus tells us through word and example is that when we can trust in that childlike way, then the other theological virtues – Faith, Hope and Love make sense. We have Faith when we trust that what God reveals is true. We have Hope when we trust that what he promises will come to pass. We have Love when we trust that what He asks us to do is what we should do. If we put our trust in God - then we will find God. (The Better Part, John Bartunek - p. 163)

The other night, I heard a story on the radio of a woman some years ago who had given birth to her second son. One morning she confirmed a fear that she had, that something was wrong, as she took the child out into the bright sun light and those infant eyes didn’t blink or change at all. She realized her son was blind. They then discovered some other physical ailments. And the mother was devastated... she was solely focused on all the things that would make the child "different" or in her mind, "less than" every one else. The older son, retelling the story, said "then one day she walked into Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris France with the infant in her arms and as she prayed the ‘Our Father’ and got to the words ‘thy will be done’ - she described it as the first time that she actually prayed those words and meant it. And the change in her heart was almost instant. It was as if the fears left and this peace came over her as she stopped looking at his deficiencies and saw this child as a pure gift, a pure joy and simply loved her child."

When she was able to go past her disappointment and trust God again, no her son wasn’t miraculously healed and able to see... but there was a miracle that was even more important for an even more important bodily organ – her heart was healed.

It would be hard to imagine anyone not sitting here today who doesn’t have some trials, fears, or sadness they’re dealing with. Suffering doesn’t seem to bypass any of us, it’s usually a matter of to what extent or degree. And the hurts we’ve suffered, the trusts that have been violated make us cynical or skeptical. To open ourselves up can make us vulnerable... and as adults we don’t really like to do that.

Jesus isn’t being pollyannaish here. Jesus knows true suffering... another reason that we always have a crucifix before us to remind us of that reality that he endured. And as we look at that crucifix, we are captivated by the trust that he had throughout his life and death in His Father. The rest of the story finds us here today - that trust didn’t stop Good Friday, but brought about Easter Sunday - and continues to make Jesus really present in His word and in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist here today. He’s making himself vulnerable to us, inviting us to receive Him, to trust Him, to come to Him - finding when we do, the peace that we long for. Suddenly, becoming a child, becoming like a "little one" doesn’t seem so demeaning.

THE EFFECT OF WHAT WE BELIEVE

2011-06-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here's my homily for CORPUS CHRISTI - THE FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/062611.shtml . Thanks for reading and all of your feedback

HOMILY:

    This was one of the weirdest, not to mention tragic stories I’ve read in a long time. In Friday’s Daily News it was reported that a Russian woman died from a heart attack that was brought on by the shock of waking up at her own funeral.   The 49 year old woman, Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov, was mistakenly declared deceased by doctors. But she later woke up - in a coffin surrounded by sobbing relatives. She started screaming after realizing she was about to be buried alive. She was rushed back to the hospital where she was declared dead -- this time for real. Her husband, Fagili Mukhametzyanov, said in his distraught: "Her eyes fluttered and we immediately rushed her back to the hospital but she only lived for another 12 minutes."

    Dealing with the death of a loved one, is always a painful and difficult thing to endure, but in this situation, you can imagine how much more painful and difficult this is. Questions like – How did this happen? How could someone have made such a mistake? As well as justifiable anger and disbelief has got to be tormenting them. The thought that this woman didn’t have to die and that it was her being surrounded by her family and friends that believed she was dead that shocked her so much, that caused this to happen, has got to be tormenting them.

    That’s just, yet another dramatic example that confirms that what we believe, what we do, can have incredible effects on one another.

    I was thinking about this story in praying with this Gospel as we celebrate a feast that is so central to something that we as Catholics believe. Today we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, or in Latin Corpus Christi.   This feast, we focus on the belief that at Mass, in the consecration, the Holy Spirit changes a simple piece of bread, a simple cup of wine, to make Jesus as real, as present in His Body and Blood as he was 2,000 years ago as He walked and talked and lived with his apostles.

    Recent surveys of Catholics say that close to 50% don’t know or mistake that teaching to believe that it’s just symbolic. It was surprising to see that number, but perhaps it shouldn’t have been. We see that in the numbers of people we’re missing at a regular Sunday Mass.   We see that even in the behaviors sometimes of people who do come to Mass.   There was the time this one guy actually got a cell-phone call on line for communion and had it to his ear as he stood in front of me almost looking for me to give him communion while he was talking. Even worse, a couple of years ago on Ash Wednesday this guy came up in the communion line and I said “The Body of Christ” to which he responded “Oh I don’t want that Father, I just want ashes.”

    It saddened me that this man wanted ashes - which is a symbol, to remind us that our sins separate us from God and that without Him, we would be reduced to a pile of ashes, rather than the living body of Christ, which is His generous answer to that, His promise that if we eat his flesh and drink his blood we will have this unity with our God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit that not only will we have eternal life, we start to experience that here and now.

    Why this disbelief? Maybe the problem is we seem to be overwhelmed with evidence that points to death and destruction. We’ve had natural disasters -whether it’s earthquakes in Japan or Haiti that killed hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of minutes - that we cannot even begin to comprehend the devastation. We’ve grown numb and barely muster a response to attacks that are waged on life, family, marriage that are all done in the name of privacy, inclusion and tolerance.   Even within the walls of our own churches, we’ve gotten comfortable, sometimes making Mass simply a part of our weekly routine. I know even in my own family we’ve said “yeah I wanna make Mass Saturday Night so I can have Sunday free.”

    This feast and this Gospel invites us to take a step back and really consider what it is Jesus offers us who are “welcomed to this table.”   Jesus shares with us His very Body and Blood.   That’s why we always have that crucifix before us, to remind us what He endured to make that possible. And we believe that in the Eucharistic prayer, that sacrifice is made real and present here on this altar. We’re brought to Calvary at every Mass.

    If we can let those realities sink in, and realize what a special gift it is, then we begin to realize our call to make a radical shift in our lives to embrace the life of God. To see that there is joy in humble service to others; to be focused on the life of Jesus, a life which is centered on unconditional, total, sacrificial love; to not look for fulfillment in the conventional wisdom of this world - but the holiness of the next. In the “bread” Jesus gives us to eat - we become the Body of Christ with and for one another; in his blood of the new covenant, his life of compassion, justice and selflessness flows within us.

    The husband of that woman who woke up at her own funeral told a reporter: "I am very angry and want answers. She wasn't dead when they said she was and they could have saved her." He was obviously upset by the response of the doctors to his wife's situation. Because they believed she was dead, because they perhaps treated his wife in a manner that was too routine it resulted in a tragedy.

    What about us? What about our response to the gift of Himself that Christ gives us in the Eucharist? If someone who is totally unfamiliar with our faith tradition were to sit here and watch our reception of Communion, would how we act reflect at all the immensity of what we claim to believe? Would our gestures, our appearance, our attire speak to how special this is?   Would our observer be able to see on some level that through our reception of the Eucharist we are coming into communion with God? Would they see the effect of this communion with God by how we live, what we say, what we do even minutes after we pull out of the parking lot?

    I sometimes wonder if God is too subtle for His own good. One of the dangers of our celebrating Mass is repetition, that can, if we are not careful, make us somewhat lazy, overly familiar, and can dull our senses, both physical and spiritual. It can be easy for any of us to take the gift of the Eucharist for granted that can result in a spiritual tragedy.

Trinity Sunday: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD...

2011-06-19T14:17:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY - June 19, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/061911.shtml Thanks as always for reading and your comments and feedback - Fr Jim

HOMILY:

    A speaker at a recent lecture that I attended shared a pretty startling statistic. Ireland, often considered one of the strongest of Catholic countries since the days of St. Patrick in the last decade has seen weekly Mass attendance go from close to 90% of Catholics attending Sunday Mass regularly to about 18% - in one decade. A major reason is attributed to the revelation of the decades long Priest-abuse scandal that had occurred and only recently came to light in the Irish Church. Not being Irish, and looking at where my Grandparents emigrated from didn’t paint a rosier picture - Italians have had a Mass attendance rate in the low 20% range, and have so for years. In a sense it’s sadder than Ireland because there’s not a single identifiable reason for this, just a sense of indifference to religion.

    If we’re honest, we can see that indifference to religion, especially to Catholicism throughout our culture. Christianity in particular seems to have taken a beating in public perception. Participation or connectedness to parishes isn’t what it used to be in a lot of ways. This same speaker pointed out that we had a Pope, who after his death because of the outpouring of admiration from around the world, his cause for sainthood moved faster than any in recent history, so we now refer to this Pope as Blessed John Paul II -- well Pope John Paul II was the most traveled Pope in history for one of the longest periods in Church history... And when he traveled around the world and spoke to millions of people one recurring theme was his call to our Church to embrace a “New Evangelization.”   For every Christian to recognize their duty to proclaim the Gospel in each of their corners of the world. Our current Pope Benedict has continued in his predecessors example - a man in his mid 80's - who travels, writes, meets, preaches that same message - the need for the Church to evangelize - not just those who aren’t Catholic or Christian, but almost re-evangelize itself... And this speaker made a somewhat sad evaluation – he pointed out that for the most part this has fallen on deaf ears.

    Those thoughts are troubling. No doubt there’s researchers and statisticians who will cite a host of reasons why this shift. While that’s important to get to some of the roots of all of this, those things can also distract us, the Church of God from simply analyzing the problem rather than moving forward.

    Because when we look at our culture, our world, it seems more and more lost. Motivated by fear, and distrust of one another.   People seem to be making bad choices and decisions (and then make more bad choices and decisions to make up for the first ones) which reflects a relativistic “do what you want, just leave me out of it” philosophy.    You see that in marriages that fall apart, in legalized abortion killing millions of innocent babies in this nation alone for over 37 years. You see that in horrific examples of war, terrorism. You see that in the collapse of the economy. In so many ways, this distrust, this fear, this sense of lack of connectedness is widespread.

    Real happy thoughts huh? On Father’s Day no less... But here’s our hope, here’s our answer, here’s our duty as Christians who are here, who find ourselves in these pews. To hear in this Gospel how Jesus reveals the inner heart of God who’s love is so pure, so perfect He is a unity a trinity of One God in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These beautiful words from this Gospel is His answer to all of our deepest questions, confusions, fears... We need to listen again and believe what these words tell us about the Heart 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.

    What had motivated Jesus to share those words was a question by Nicodemus, a Jewish pharisee who wanted to know what it meant to be a follower of His... He wondered what was it that made Jesus so different that people were only beginning to experience His glory through His Words, through His presence, through His miracles.

    And thousands of years later, Jesus’ response to Nicodemus needs to convict our hearts and cause us to do some reflection. Because it’s easy for us to dismiss the problems of the world, the problems of the Church as too big for any of us as individuals. We can tell ourselves that “someone has to do something” or that a committee or leader needs to emerge. But the reality is there is no program or committee.

    These problems, these issues have in a sense have always been around. There were failures in government and society during Jesus time that would make Washington look pretty tame. There were people being used, abused and devalued as human beings in just as, if not more, atrocious ways then as there are today.

    But here’s the thing, what captivated the minds and hearts of people to begin to address those wrongs to effect real change was when they connected to God, when they heard this revelation by Christ of who God is and lived their lives as if that was the only thing that ultimately mattered was God... which is in fact the case.

    Just think about it, because of Jesus Christ, the sick, who when he walked on earth were seen as sinful and people to be avoided and discarded (left on the sides of the road) now mattered because “God so loved the world” - and so the Catholic Church was the first institution to develop a “universal” health care system - where rich and poor were cared for, were healed in the name of Father Son and Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus Christ who spoke of the value, the dignity of every human life, the Catholic Church recognized how important that message needed to be communicated to every corner of the world, so that every human being could learn that they mattered and were apart of the world that God so loved... and so the Church developed the first wide-spread, universal educational system that still teaches millions around the world to this very day.

    Those are just two of the many things that were started by Catholics, motivated by that core belief and understanding. What are we doing now? For us, the challenge is to re-evaluate what it is we do:

    If we’re not coming to Mass because we believe that God so loved the world

    If we’re not sending our children to Religious Education because we believe that God so loved the world

    If we’re not gathering in our groups, societies and organizations that all do good things - whether it’s the Knights of Columbus or ICAPS or Campus Ministry because we believe that God so loved the world...

    Then why are we? What have we made those things? If it’s not motivated out of a belief that God has this love for you and everyone of His creation, then He is not being glorified by these things and they will die.

    On this Trinity Sunday, it is easy for us to be transfixed by the mystery of trying to imagine One God in three persons. To get lost in that mystery of who God is and in our highly analytical minds try to figure that mystery out, like it’s a puzzle or a question to be answered. Jesus reminds us God is not a thing, but a Person - three Persons but one God. And offers us the opportunity to go beyond figuring Him out, but to actually participate in the very life of God. If we would but let His love resonate in our hearts – A love which created, redeemed and sanctifies us to this very day. A love the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit needs you and I to share with a world that seems to forgotten how much they matter to Him as well.

REALLY, ST. JOHN???

2011-06-11T18:14:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone...My preaching schedule has been a bit altered since I've been serving as a chaplain for FOCUS Staff Training out here in Champaign, Illinois. Here's my homily given to the missionaries for SATURDAY OF THE 7th WEEK OF EASTER - June 11, 2011. The Gospel reading comes from the Conclusion of the Gospel of John (can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/nab/061111.shtml) As always, thanks for reading and your feedback
- Fr. Jim

HOMILY:
    Really John?

    I’m sorry, I should be more respectful - Really St. John?

    You close your Gospel with a tease? There are many other things that Jesus did that are not recorded here... it’s like when you were in grade school and you had a book report and you got lazy or bored or just wanted to finish it and just said “I don’t want to spoil the rest of the story for you, you’ll have to read the book yourself.”(Did any of you ever do that? Did any of you ever go out and read the book when someone said that? Me neither.)

    But back to St. John... here we are, the end of the Easter Season, the last “day of Easter” as we await the Feast of Pentecost tomorrow. The conclusion to this gospel of John with this kind of tease. My curiosity goes off - What did he leave out? Why? What other amazing things did they see? Experience? Hear? Jesus had been risen and among them in His Resurrected body for 40 days - there had to have been all kinds of remarkable things that had happened. My curiosity gets peaked.    Maybe even a bit jealous too. How cool would it have been to be there and see and witness and experience it all first hand.

    Curiosity, Jealousy... Isn’t it interesting how they seem to come out of left field? Look at Peter in this same gospel, poor St. Peter.. Last night, we heard that dramatic discussion where Jesus asks Peter 3 times “do you love me...” “do you love me more than these?” And Peter has that deep realization within that he does love Jesus... That's where we pick up with this Gospel. And what happens? Peter sort of turns it around asking “Jesus do you love me more than these?” Not in those words but look at what happened. Right after Peter confesses his love for Christ, Peter turns and sees St. John, the one described as the disciple whom Jesus loved and he’s no longer thinking about his past denials, his past failures, or even his realization of his deep love for Jesus, he turns and says “what about him?” curiosity - jealousy...

    If there’s a silver lining, it reminds us that we’re in good company. How easy it is for each of us to fall into similar thoughts or feelings even when we’re doing things for the Lord. That curiosity and jealousy seems to come when we least expect it: When we see someone who’s able to get their MPD’s together without any problem... when they got that parish talk... got an assignment that we think is better than the one we received... when our bible study isn’t as well attended as someone elses... When our campus isn’t spiritually multiplying but almost seems to be spiritually subtracting...   And just to be fair, it happens to us priests too... I look at this chapel, see what an incredibly thriving Catholic Campus Ministry here at the University of Illinois and see what God has been able to do here and definitely feel a bit jealous – our center looks like a shack compared to this place! It happens to all of us, that we can go from wondering why - what’s missing, what remarkable things are happening for someone else.    And in the process, we lose our focus and stop thinking about our relationship with Jesus as we fixate on our curiousity about their relationships with Him.   And in that, we can become jealous.

    And when or if that ever happens, when we look at those things or experiences and start to feel those feelings – we need to recall what Jesus says to Peter... “WHAT CONCERN OF IS IT OF YOURS? YOU FOLLOW ME.”

    It’s that blunt. It’s that simple and complex at the same time. Jesus has called each of us to a special, significant task. Called each of us individually, particularly for this task.

    We’re not to be comparing where we are in those tasks to others who’ve experienced similar calls.

    We’re not to be simply looking at the many things that Jesus is doing elsewhere.

    We are to hear Him say to us YOU FOLLOW ME. When we do, we may come to see how unnecessary it is for John to share any more of the “many things Jesus did” that he didn’t include in his Gospel. Because we’ll be solely focused on what Jesus continues to do with and through you and me.

JESUS' LAST LECTURE

2011-06-05T00:47:00.000-04:00

This is my homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The readings for today's Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/060511c.shtml- Thanks for all of your comments and feedback, it’s much appreciated!!! Fr Jim

HOMILY:

A few years back, in "Parade" - that mini-magazine thing you find buried inside your Sunday Newspaper had on the cover this story with the headline “MY LAST LECTURE” - with a picture of a man named Randy Pausch (April 6, 2008). Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was asked by the school to give what they call a “Last Lecture.” This is a somewhat common event in many universities where professors are asked to present their own reflections to the question What wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance.

Randy Pausch’s preparations went from a hypothetical thing where he was just reflecting on the question and coming up with some type of words of wisdom to a deeply personal, emotional experience when two weeks later he was told he only had months to live and was dying of pancreatic cancer. Professor Pausch knew he could cancel the lecture and spend time with his wife and three yong children. But instead he said “I knew I could put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe” and then he went on to share the points of his “Last lesson” - They were:

1 - Always have fun - realizing that each of us must make a decision (which he related to Winnie the pooh) - are you a fun loving Tigger or a sad sack Eeyore. For Pausch, he says I could pack a lot of fun into 30 years. If that’s not meant to be, I’ll pack fun into the time I have.

2 - Dream Big - For Pausch, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon inspired him - we have to allow ourselves permission to dream big too.

3 - Ask for what you want - Pausch was at Disney with his 4 year old son and looking at the mono-rail, the little boy wanted to sit in the nose-cone with the driver. Pausch said he and his father thought it would be fun and that’s when his father said “too bad they don’t let regular people sit there”. Randy saud “Actually, I’ve learned there’s a trick to getting to sit up front. With that he walked to the attendant and said “Excuse me, could we please sit in the front car” and she said “Certainly” – Randy’s point - you’d be surprised that more often than you’d suspect, just ask and the answer you’ll get is sure.

4 - Dare to Risk - Randy’s point was not to worry about failing, to take some risk, realizing that experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted – and it can be the most valuable thing you have to offer.

5 - Look for the best in Everybody - it might take awhile - you might be frustrated, angry with people, and it might take GREAT PATIENCE and YEARS of time, but peoplew will show you their good side... Just keep waiting, it will come out

6 - Make time for what matters - Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think, and finally

7 - Let kids be themselves. Randy’s last lesson is the most personal As a professor he says I’ve seen how disruptive it can be for parents to have specific dreams for their children. My job is to help my kids foster a joy for life - I want to be clear: Kids don’t try to figure out what I wanted you to become. I want you to become what you want to become. And I want you to feel as if I am there with you, whatever path you chose.

Since he first penned those 7 points, over 6 million people have either watched the lecture, purchased the book “The Last Lecture” or tuned into one of his many interviews on different TV and radio shows. But as he says - I am honored that my lecture will live on and that people have found it beneficial. Honestly though, the talk was for my kids, and it gives me comfort to know that they will one day watch it.

Last words have incredible weight to them. If you’ve ever lost someone you loved, you probably can recall pretty readily (and with some great emotion) the last conversation you had with them.

As a Church - we’ve celebrated Jesus’ ascension into heaven. After that happened, the apostles had to deal with the fact that once again, Jesus was physically gone from their presence. The last time Jesus was gone from their presence, after he had been brutally killed and they had all failed him in stopping that they were just overwhelmed with grief. There was nothing else they could think about.

Then they experienced Jesus rising from the Dead. This resurrected Jesus stayed with them for 40 days. And kind of suddenly and surprisingly to them, they watched him Ascend into heaven. They’re so stunned, they stand there staring up into the sky until some angels tell them they have to go - While that had to have been a pretty awesome and incredible experience for them - as opposed to the other way Jesus left them - they still were upset that he was gone. So what do they do - they, like we are doing right now - gather together in prayer (first reading) and we focus on Jesus’ last lecture before he died. And in that lengthy, very poetic passage, Jesus’ central point - he says - You know why I came? You know why I’m here? You know what my purpose is? That they should know you - the only true God. And how would they (or we) know the only true God? - through Him - through the one God sent - Jesus Christ.

It’s almost like a brief pause. For 83 days we’ve focused on the Passion - Death - Resurrection and now the Ascension of Jesus. And so now it’s like we take a moment to pause and remember Jesus words before that Passion, Death and Resurrection where he tells the apostles and all of us in his Last lecture - the Glory of this event is the Glory of God done through God’s son. You can almost hear the apostles coming back from the Mount of the Ascension, recalling those words and saying “OHHHH - so that’s what he was talking about” (Sorry to make the Apostles sound like a Surfer from California).

Jesus isn’t done with them (or us!) yet, though. The disciples would soon be participating in glorious things as well as Jesus’ promised Holy Spirit comes upon them on Pentecost - comes upon us in our Baptism and Confirmation and allows us to become part of his glorious story.

Jesus' 'last lecture' and Doctor Pausch's have some startling similarities. Everyday, we need to simply - and directly - ask God for what we want, for what we need to be His people. We are called to look for the best in our neighbor, even when that 'best' is very hard to see. We are challenged to carve time out of our busy schedules for what truly matters - our love-relationship with our Creator, and with our fellow human beings. And if you're going to talk about risk taking, and dreaming big - well, look at Jesus Christ - He had the biggest dream of them all, and He saw it through to fulfillment. We, as His followers, are oblidged - and honored - to try and do the same.

LEARNING HOW TO LOVE

2011-05-29T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - MAY 29, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/052911.shtml. Thanks as always for reading and your feedback - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    About a week ago, I was able to celebrate a wedding at the parish I had been assigned to for 7 years.   And what makes weddings like these even more special was being able to see so many people I had worked with, ministered to, served as a priest for those years. Kids that were altar servers now in college or graduated and working. Young couples who I had helped prepare for marriage sitting in the congregation with 2 or 3 children of their own who I was fortunate to baptize. It was hard for me not to look out and see all their faces and get a little bit choked up. Not that I get overly-sentimental. What hit me is that the Lord really has blessed me. To be a priest, to try to be His presence at those different monumental moments in their lives, sometimes I can forget how fortunate I am to be a priest.

    Over the days leading up to the wedding, between the rehearsal and some other random encounters, I kept bumping into people from this time of my life. And a couple in a sense “stayed” with me. After the excitement at seeing them, I asked the customary “How are you guys doing?” And I got the head shake with “Yeah... Fine.... Fine...” The one woman who said that to me I just looked at and said “you’re as good a liar as I am.” She kind of laughed and pulled me aside and just said “Father, it’s nothing... I know it’s me... I’m over reacting... He’s a good guy. But I just don’t know, it’s been 7 years now and I feel like we are going through the motions. We argue over nothing. I don’t want to say I’m not in love with him anymore, because I don’t believe that. But it just doesn’t feel the same anymore and I’m just scared.”

    Talking with her, it didn’t seem like there was anything of major concern going on - like a major problem of abuse or infidelity or something. It sounded more like the excitement, the anticipation, the newness that young couples experience, when they first meet, when they get engaged - the planning the wedding – and the afterglow of being newlyweds, buying a new home, having two beautiful new children... nothing seemed “new” anymore. It started to seem like a routine or even somewhat boring. Which can be scary. Because if we judge our relationships, if we judge our commitments based solely on feelings then it can spell trouble. And sometimes we can forget that love is more than just a feeling...

    That’s what came to mind looking at these readings. In today’s Gospel we have a flashback to the Upper room, to Holy Thursday’s Last Supper. Jesus is speaking to his apostles before His Passion, His Death and His Resurrection and he gives them a lengthy speech. Throughout it, we hear this recurring theme - if you love me, you will keep my commandment – the greatest of which, the one which encompasses all others - to love one another as I have loved you.

    So often we can have this tendency to look at this Gospel reading as poetic words that Jesus was sharing with his closest friends. Yet we can forget he invites us to be his closest friends too. The Gospel is meant for all of us. Jesus is speaking not just spoke in a historic scene one night 2,000 years ago that we’re just recalling, like we’re watching a re-run on television. He’s speaking to all of us - Priest, married people , single people.

    And what Jesus is saying is important - He defines love – He’s saying the key to being in relationship with others, is first being in relationship with Him. To know that we have been created out of nothingness, saved from our self-centeredness and sin and are sustained the by love of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Once we know that, we are commanded that the only way to truly experience the fullness of life and love is when we love each other as Jesus loves- by laying down our lives for each other.

    That is essential. We can’t walk around that. That is the definition of love. To lay down your life for another. That is where love finds meaning. Sadly there’s so many of us who settle for a very saccharine, quasi-looks-like-feels-like something-nice-that-makes-me-feel-good form of love, that inevitably reveals itself to be fleeting or empty.

    This real form of love is meant to be the definition for all of our relationships... not just something we hear and think about at Mass. So to that couple that was feeling a bit “stuck”, laying down their lives might not be as horrific as being nailed to a cross - but maybe, just maybe, she will put up with his being forgetful, he will put up with her nagging, they will forgive each other’s insensitivities not because “I have to”, or to keep the peace, or to avoid another fight... but that’s going to be a way they serve each other – that’s a way they love Jesus Christ. It’s a way they lay down their lives for Him...

    That can translate no matter where we are in our lives. At the workplace - imagine loving that annoying coworker by doing them a favor, helping them on a project and realizing we’re doing that for Jesus Christ. Or refraining from gossiping about them, even though we know it’s juicy, probably true and might even make us look better. But refraining from doing that out of love for Christ. There’s probably countless ways we can come up with “laying our lives down” for one another, loving one another that sure doesn’t look “romantic” and most likely isn’t easy, but brings our hearts into alignment with the heart of Christ.

    For you and I, who are drawn to this place, drawn to hear His word and receive His Body and Blood at this altar, we’ve already begun to experience His love for us.   We know that Jesus has loved us and called us in our baptisms to be His. And so the Gospel calls us to go even deeper in that love. To look for ways, to welcome the opportunities we can serve one another, lay down our lives for one another, knowing that He is the one we’re ultimately doing all that for. Then perhaps we will not only move away from a “feeling” driven notion of love, but begin to experience Jesus’ presence throughout our days, throughout our lives. And then find that far from leaving us orphan, He has remained the constant companion He promised us to be.

POST-RAPTURE HOMILY

2011-05-22T01:24:00.001-04:00

HI EVERYONE!
A short homily this week, since I'm actually not "assigned" to preach this weekend and have been a little under the weather. The readings for today's Mass - the FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - MAY 22, 2011 can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/052211.shtml . Thanks for reading and your feedback, as always is appreciated! God Bless- Fr Jim

HOMILY:
So we’re still here.

May 21 came and went. There was no catastrophic earthquakes striking around the world at 6PM in each time zone bringing about the beginning of the end times. Thank God...

And isn’t that what’s been lost in all of this hoopla, this quasi-hysteria about the Rapture? Instead of focusing on Thanking God, which should be our daily prayer - the world has focused it’s attention on the rambling’s of one terribly misguided and end-of-times obsessed individual.

The millions of dollars in advertisements taking out warning people in a sense opened the followers of the apocalypse up for skepticism. There were Front page covers around the world with mocking headlines. The NY Daily News gave the entire front page to the words “Buy This Paper! If it’s the last thing you do” - the Star Ledger used over 3/4 of it’s top of the fold paper for a graphic “THE END IS HERE *or maybe not”. I was even invited to a “Post-Rapture looting party” on Facebook.

One preacher, and his followers were able to get this type of world-wide attention (only now to fade into oblivion once the post-non-Rapture stories are boring and we’re intrigued by the next great media-creation) Some observers maintain that because of the rough economy, the numerous instability throughout the world that the belief that the world is coming to an end doesn’t seem that far fetched that this preacher, this message was able to gain momentum.

I don’t know. The sad thing to me and the irony is that all of that over-emphasis on a mis-reading of the bible that no credible theologian or Church gave any credence too has been played to death and only helped add additional levels of skepticism, sarcasm, and doubt to some people’s fragile faith lives. Helping them to discount the Gospel as unreal as the predictions of the rapture were.

Which is beyond sad, particularly hearing this Gospel. Because if the realities that are affecting all of us which caused some of this fear-preaching, how much more do all of us need to hear the words our Savior speaks to us, lovingly saying:
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.

Yes, there will be an end times. An end of the world. An end to our own time on this world - which will come first, is the Lord’s calculation - not a radio preachers or anyone elses. But Jesus has proven in this Easter Season with his rising from the dead - which validates every other promise he has ever made - that those end times do not need to bring us fear, or trouble our hearts. If we do one thing - have Faith in God and Faith in Him.

For 2,000 years, since Jesus first left His Church to His Apostles with the promise he would return, we’ve joyfully awaited that day. In the meantime He commissioned us to go and spread His Good News...That is good news. That if we reject all the other material gods that manipulate our time, distract us from Him, confuse and frighten us. If we turn away from the false prophets who preach gospels of their own creation or manipulations and distortions of His true word. If we turn away from that, and simply look to Him as the way, the truth and the life, and commit to that – then we won’t have fear today, tomorrow (if it should come) or the next time a rapture is said to be coming.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE -- IN ABUNDANCE...

2011-05-15T13:07:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - MAY 15, 2011 (readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/051511.shtml) - Thanks as always for reading and your emails, replies and responses... I also want to thank everyone who “shares” this/posts the link/etc. I just checked the “stat counter” and was shocked how many people visit here in a week. Thanks so much. It’s all for God’s glory... I’m happy to be one of His instruments. Peace,
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    I wonder how many of the younger folks out here know of the television program This is your life.   The only reason I remember it is from watching re-run episode of it when I would be home sick from school or on a snow day since it was a show from way before my time... It started on radio in the 1940's and then was a hit television program for almost a decade in the 1950's. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the show was something like a documentary/reality TV/ game show. A person would be brought to the TV studios under some false pretense, surprised to learn that they would be the focus of an hour-long retrospective on their lives with people from their past – many of whom they hadn’t seen or heard from in years – surprising them. That’s why I’m not sure if the program could work nowadays. With facebook, twitter people are at least more familiar and can keep tabs on one another to a much greater extent than back then. Part of the drama of the program was to see the honoree hearing a voice of a friend or someone influential in their lives who they hadn’t seen or heard from in decades; you watched the expressions, the excitement, the flood of memories that would overwhelm the guests of honor as they recognized those voices.

    It was interesting to learn how the show started. The creator and host of This is your Life, Ralph Edwards was working on another program for NBC radio called Truth or Consequences.   At the time, he was approached by some people from the United States Army and asked if he could “do something” for soldiers who were paraplegic in a hospital and were dealing with major depression as a result of their injuries. Edwards went and visited them and found one soldier who was particularly despondent. So he came up with the idea of presenting the man’s life on air. Rather than focusing solely on where he was at that point, he wanted to integrate happier times from his past. So he brought in his former track coach, military officials he knew, and so on. Two years later to the day that this episode aired, the soldier, now rehabilitated, wheeled into Edward’s studio by his new bride for one of the most emotional scenes in a career that had many high emotions. As the soldier was wheeled in, Edwards said "I told him, 'Here's your year's rent, and here's your key. Come and get it.' And the young soldier who just two years earlier was imprisoned by the wreckage he viewed his life as, got up and walked to the mike. Edwards continued “It was the greatest thrill I ever had. The crowd stood up and cheered..” Edwards recognized that the key to helping the soldier to move out of his depression and begin his rehab and start a new life was to bring back memories, through the voices of those who knew him of a happier past, to help the young man see that there was still hope for a happier future.

    Throughout the Easter season, as we’ve heard the Gospel narratives, you might have noticed that even though Jesus’ friends keep hearing news of the empty tomb, angelic visitors announcing that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead - but the news itself isn’t enough to relieve the fear, the terror, the sadness that the first followers were experiencing from Good Friday. The realization that among those closest to Jesus, they had rejected, betrayed and abandoned him – the images from Good Friday of His torturous, brutal, gruesome death had left them devastated. Last week we heard that as the two disciples were heading out of town to Emmaus even though they had heard the “good news”... Mary Magdalene upon seeing the empty tomb fears that there’s been another insult to Jesus, someone stealing His body – and when she first sees Him, she thinks he’s a gardener and asks him did he steal the body and where did he put it...

    What is it that is able to transform the “good news” of Jesus’ victory over death from something they’ve heard to something they experience?   Hearing the voice of Jesus... In hearing that voice - they were reminded of all that Jesus had taught them.... all that he spoke of how God had never and would never abandon his people... and how that had been definitively, eternally demonstrated in His being risen from the dead, never to die again. And with that, their hope for a happier future would resurrect as well.

    All of this leads us to today’s Gospel.   Jesus refers to himself as “the Good Shepherd,” which is a popular, known image, but needs a bit of an explanation to those of us who don’t have a lot of experience with sheep. Sheep have a connection with the shepherd. The Shepherd knows every one of his sheep- the one with the strange looking ear, that one with the cute face - the other one who’s bigger and fuller than the rest- He knows all of them - he knows when one out of 100 of them are missing. At night, during Jesus' time, there would be three or four shepherds who’d put all of their sheep together in a pen while one of the shepherds would watch all of them, protecting them from thieves, or wild animals; and in the morning, the shepherds would call, and the flocks would split and follow their respective shepherd. They knew which voice to follow in order to find direction in life. They recognized the voice of their shepherd.

    As our Good Shepherd, Jesus tells us in this Gospel that if we but listen to His voice and follow Him, we will have life in abundance. That we will be saved. That death will have no power over us.   But That “good news” doesn’t seem to be enough to wipe out the fears, the doubts, the anxiety that so many of us endure.   We know that there are many of our families and friends who have experienced painful, difficult things. We ourselves may be weighed down by legitimate anxieties – are experiencing sickness, death in our own lives. And those experiences can makes us feel abandoned... lost... hopeless.

    We may hear the good news of the resurrection - and be like the disciples on the road to Emmaus on the way out of town, unable to truly believe it; or like Mary Magdalene, unable to recognize Jesus Christ standing right in front of her; or like that soldier who’s a paraplegic, thinking that his future was a limited one of despair and pain.

    Which is why we come today and need to hear the voice of the shepherd. Listening to the voice of the Shepherd, we hear him reminding us of God’s promises, how He has fulfilled those promises and has never, and will never abandon His People. Listening to the voice of the Shepherd, we hear Him inviting us to follow Him, even as we walk through our own dark nights with things that terrorize us. Listening to the voice of the Shepherd, we too can have our hopes for a happier future restored. If we are able to listen and hear that voice, follow that voice, we’re reminded that despite the unpleasant chapters we have to endure, the ending to our own episodes of this is your life has a promise of eternal, abundant conclusion.

POST A SECRET. . .CRYING FOR HELP

2011-05-08T19:58:00.000-04:00

                   Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER - MAY 8, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/050811.shtml. Thanks as always for reading and your feedback and comments! Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    This past week in the basement of the Student Center of Montclair State University, students were invited to “post a secret.” Aside from a few rules there was not any real limitations to what people could write on the post-it-notes that were stuck on the wall of glass windows for the whole week. There must’ve been hundreds of these handwritten notes on various pieces of paper all in different colors up and down that hallway. And college kids being college kids they ran the gamut of emotion, there were some secrets that were funny:

    “I care way too much about the San Francisco Giants”
    “I am afraid of Cats” (maybe that wasn’t meant to be funny...)
    “I HEART BATMAN”

    Considering the time of year, some decided to vent about Montclair State or college life in general that not too judge them - they didn’t seem to be so secretive. You can hear these comments all over campus:

    “MSU Parking makes me want to transfer” (no doubt someone had a difficult morning trying to find a parking space)
    “Finals are killing me”
    “I wish major requirements didn’t change every semester”
    “Life after college both terrifies and excites me”

    And then, you saw some pretty serious ones. Ones that you couldn’t help but look at, pray that they don’t just post these things on a wall of windows, but that they talk to someone. Things ranging from dealing with painful things in their pasts, revealing fears about who they are, talking about being abused, or used. There they were - all on a small post it note, asking passerbys to see, to take notice of the private pain they’ve been holding secret from the world:

    “I wish my mother loved me”
    “When a relationship requires depth and work, I’m out”
    “ I’ve used alcohol to self-medicate anxiety”
    “I’m afraid because I don’t know how to love myself, no one else will”

    Those definitely got attention from a host of people - administrators, chaplains - yet, these were all anonymous postings. What could they do? How could they reach out to them? Especially when there was some postings that were especially troubling. Earlier in the week where one student wrote - “I feel so alone, so unloved, I wish I was dead.”

   Somewhat spontaneously students started posting other notes right on that one -“please call me, I’ve felt like that before and I want to help ” with their phone number written on it; or a few simple notes like: “You are Loved!” “please don’t give up” among several others. On Thursday, there was a new post, right where the original one had been. It said: I’ve been struggling worse then ever with the most important part of my life. Last week I posted my secret and today I got the replies people posted on it. They made me cry and have faith again. Thank you so much. Thank you all for sharing... No one has to be alone.

    I couldn’t help but think about all of this reading this Gospel this week.    This is one of my favorite Gospel accounts of the Easter experience. We hear about two of Jesus’ disciples who’ve experienced the worst event they could’ve imagined - witnessing the one they had come to believe in, the one that gave them hope of a God that was intimately interested in them, the one that they had come to love . . .in the course of a few days they’ve seen Jesus go from being welcomed into Jerusalem where the followers imagined he would begin to “reign” as a new King to being betrayed, abandoned, rejected and dead on a cross. Quite a dramatic change of events.   So much so, they don’t know what to do anymore. They are lost. Frightened. Scared. Even though they had each other, the absence of Christ and the pain they had all experienced left a void that they didn’t know how to fill.   They’re hopes and dreams and images of who God was seemed to have come to an end on the cross. And so they were devastated.

    So devastated that, here it is three days later, they’ve heard this news of an empty tomb; angelic witnesses telling the women of his being risen from the dead– news which should’ve been enough to at least keep them around to see what was going on. But where were they? They were on their way out of town. The story seemed too good to be true while the pain was all too real. So wrapped up in their pain and fear, that they don’t recognize the risen Jesus Christ when he starts to walk and talk with them on their way to Emmaus. We read they were looking “downcast” - meaning they were so depressed, they were blind to Him. Look at what Jesus does. He walks with them. He talks with them.

    He starts to remind them of how God has always loved His people. How God has never abandoned His people. As he gently reminds them of all these things, their hopes which were as dead as Jesus was on the Cross a few days earlier, start to become alive again, just as alive as He was, speaking and walking with them. “STAY WITH US” They beg... which he does. And what does he do? He doesn’t just keep talking - He shares the Eucharist - In the breaking of the bread, He gives them Himself - His very body and blood, reminding Him of His everlasting presence in the midst of the Church.   In that, they come to understand how Jesus has come to tell all humanity that “No one has to be alone.” They run all the way back to Jerusalem to share the good news with the others recounting how they came to see him alive in the breaking of the bread.

    What strikes me is that in looking at that wall of postings in the student center is how many people seem to be walking along their paths of life, extremely“downcast” themselves. There’s real suffering here. There’s real suffering all around us, isn’t there? In our families - we know of loved ones who are hanging by a thread. In our work places, there’s that guy who’s sitting alone desperately counting the minutes going by so they can go home and do the same...The visual that this wall of post-it-notes gave was a patchwork of pain, of people who feel unloved, unwanted - of people who feel alone.

    The story of Emmaus, tells us, those of us privileged to be able to approach this altar and consume Jesus’ Body and Blood that this isn’t just a gift that is given to us to make us feel better about ourselves. We have a duty when we take that Body of Christ: We are to be that presence of Christ walking, and talking with our brothers and sisters who are “downcast.” We are to be Jesus Christ who “Stays with” them to help lift those weary dreary hearts to start “burning” within as they hear how Jesus Christ has changed our lives. That in our coming to know Him, we have been saved. Our sins and failures don’t have to define us and limit us. Our fears will ultimately be proven to be unfounded. That yes, truly we have been given a promise of an eternity where we will experience the same glorious triumph Jesus did of a new life, if we will only cling to him as we endure our own Good Friday’s.

    The one young person recognized in the love of strangers reaching out to him that “no one has to be alone” . As Jesus’ disciples, it is inexcusable that 2,000 years of preaching the Gospel that people go around not knowing that. That Jesus would remain hidden from the downcast eyes of those suffering pain, and fear. As we are invited to this table, may our hearts burn within us with the love of the Risen Jesus Christ so intensely that our only option is to share it with a world in such dire need of it.

POPE JOHN PAUL II & EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED

2011-05-01T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here is my homily for the SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER - May 1, 2011. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/050111.shtml   Thanks as always for reading and your feedback and comments...
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    Some years ago, a priest was visiting Rome and was fortunate to have an audience with Pope John Paul II. Just an FYI, that’s not an extremely common thing. Being the head of over one billion Catholics, the Pope’s a busy man - I can’t just email the Holy Father’s secretary and schedule something.   Anyway, this priest had an hour free before he was to meet with the Pope so he decided to go to the Church across the street from his hotel to pray before his meeting. On the steps of the Church were several beggars. As the priest passed to go in to pray, he thought he recognized one of the beggars sitting on the steps. But, he passed him by and went in to the Church to pray. As he knelt down in the Church, he realized where he knew the beggar from. He rushed back out of the church and asked the man, “Do I know you?” To which the beggar replied, “Heh, yeah, we went to seminary together.” The priest replied, “So, you’re a priest then?” And the beggar replied, “I used to be, but look at me now.” So the priest told the beggar that he would pray for him to which the beggar replied, “Lot of good that will do.”

    The priest left for his meeting with the Pope but was saddened and startled by this reunion. So much so that, ordinarily when someone meets the Pope, it’s a pretty formal thing - there’s usually some introductions and a respectful gesture and that’s it... Not a lot of chit-chat or anything.   But when this priest went to meet the Pope, he bowed his head and found himself kind of blurting out the story about the beggar he had met earlier in the day. John Paul looked concerned and told the priest that he would pray for the beggar. The following day, the priest went to the same church and saw the beggar once again. He told the beggar, “Guess what, not only am I praying for you but now Pope John Paul is!” The beggar replied, “Yeah, so what, it won’t do anything.”

    Later that day, the priest got a call from the Pope’s office. The Holy Father wanted to have dinner with the priest and he wanted him to bring the beggar. So, the priest tracked down the beggar a third time and told him, “The Pope invited me to dinner and he said that I had to bring you as well.” “Me?” said the beggar, “Look at me, I haven’t showered or shaved in who knows how long and look at my clothes.” “I rented you a room in the hotel across the street and got you some clothes as well, but we have to hurry,” said the priest.

    Not long after, the priest and the beggar were meeting with the Pope to have dinner. They met in the Pope’s private residence and enjoyed wondrous hospitality. The first course came and the second and third. Before dessert, the Pope motioned to the priest and asked him to leave the room for a bit. So, the priest went outside and left the Pope and beggar in the room by themselves. Almost a half hour went by before the priest was allowed back in for dessert. After which the two men said goodbye to the Pope and left.

    When they were outside, the priest asked the beggar, “What did John Paul say to you in there, what happened? ” The beggar said a little timidly and quietly, that the Pope asked the beggar if he would hear his confession. The beggar said, “Me! How could I? I’m just a beggar now.” The Pope replied, as he clasped the man’s hands in his, “So am I.” So he heard the Pope’s confession, and then the Pope returned the favor and heard the beggar-priest’s very lengthy confession. After that moment of reconciliation, the beggar was re-instated as a priest and the Holy Father sent him to that parish church where he once begged to minister to those who still did.

    Think about those words of the priest-beggar – “A lot of good that will do” when his former classmate from seminary promised his prayers for him... or “It won’t do anything” when he learned the Pope was praying for him. Those cynical words aren’t so unfamiliar to us are they? We’ve may have heard them – maybe even said them ourselves... and often times about the same things:   What good will going to confession do, I’m just going to repeat the same things again? What good does going to Mass do– it’s so boring... What good does any of this faith in Jesus do when awful things keep happening to me, to my family and friends, to the world around us...

    What we celebrate this season of Easter is a God who tells us that when we turn to Him, we should expect the unexpected... In raising Jesus Christ from the dead, God has shown in a way that has altered history forever very clearly to expect the unexpected. In this Gospel, the apostles who knew that they had failed miserably are gathered together. There weren’t able to stop Jesus from being arrested, falsely accused, tortured and crucified. They weren’t able to stop it, because they weren’t even there! They had bailed on him. In the midst of that failure of epic proportions, their worlds must’ve seemed to have been destroyed forever. More than likely that first Good Friday and Holy Saturday, they remembered all Jesus had said and done over those three years they followed him, and maybe a cynical thought came to mind saying – yeah, a lot of good that did.   Perhaps somewhat jaded themselves thinking there was nothing left to do, they lock themselves and isolate themselves from the world.

    And it is right there... There in the midst of that isolation, that cynicism, the sense of defeat that the resurrected Jesus Christ comes to meet them. He stands in their midst, not inhibited by the locked doors or their broken, dis-spirited hearts.    He doesn’t offer words of condemnation, or judgment on their failures. “Uh, guys, so what happened???” - Instead he comes and says “Peace be with you.” And then He tells them what they’ve just experienced, this undeserved forgiveness, they are to go forth in His name and do the same, share the same (which is one of the places in Scripture we see the basis for the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession by the way...)

    In the matter of moments, these first followers experience Easter themselves... something quite unexpected became real to them. Not just that Jesus was risen from the dead, but that they too were to rise up from their own feelings of death, their own experiences of destruction and to start anew.

    Then there’s Thomas, who is I think, a bit unfairly considered by many to be the cynic, the “doubter” because he misses this first encounter. (I always wonder what he had going that night? He should be the patron saint of people who miss Mass on Sunday Night, cause “something else came up”) But the reason I think it’s unfair that he’s simply referred to as “Doubting Thomas” is because it’s understandable that he would doubt. The story sounded too good to be true, the failures on their parts were all too real. Yet, we can’t miss something that’s so important to this story: There’s a part of him that wants to believe and Hopes it’s true - Hopes that the Easter news is real. Wants to expect the unexpected himself. How do we know that? Because HE’S THERE the following week. Despite his objections and initial dismissal of his fellow apostles testimony, he’s with them in that upper room the next week and is able to experience the Risen Jesus Christ revealing His living presence to him. And so now Thomas experiences how real Easter was as well. And the God who had raised Jesus from the dead would continue to do amazingly unexpected things in all of their lives.

    Which is the promise of Easter for those who continue to follow Jesus Christ. The sad reality is that a week ago, churches were overflowing with present-day disciples who came to hear, once again, this good news of Jesus’ victory over death. And yet with their absence today, you wonder if as they heard that news recounted do they think to themselves “so what? A lot of good that will do?” Even for those of us who are here, maybe some of us are going through things that make us doubt... have had things that have hurt us and left us somewhat cynical. Like Thomas, we hope for the best, we want to believe but... we’re not getting ourselves too excited lest we are let down again. Yet Easter calls us to expect the unexpected. The new life of Christ wants to resurrect that which has been beaten down, even died within us. Just think about it, in the matter of a dinner, and experiencing the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Pope John Paul II was able to help a beggar become an active priest once again. Jesus Christ was able to reach this man who had felt abandoned, enveloped in darkness through a former classmate and a Pope who today is honored as a “Blessed” in the Church because of his extraordinary witness and example of trying to live a life imitating Jesus Christ.

    What is going to be our story? Right now, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead wants us to expect the unexpected - to do amazing, life-giving things for each one of us.    Too often we find ourselves like the apostles were that Easter night - limiting ourselves by our mistakes and failures and forgetting what wonders our God is capable of (which is exactly what Satan, the prince of darkness wants us to do). How is Jesus trying to cast his glorious light into the darkness of our lives? How is He trying to break into the rooms of isolation we lock ourselves away in to speak his words of Peace, of Forgiveness of Life-altering transformation? If we open our hearts to let Him, we might be surprised to find the good it will do.

1,000 WAYS TO DIE - ONLY ONE WAY TO LIVE

2011-04-24T20:04:00.001-04:00

HAPPY EASTER! ALLELUIA!!! HE IS RISEN!!!Here’s my homily for EASTER SUNDAY - THE FEAST OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD - April 24, 2011. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/042411.shtml . Thanks for reading and your feedback - HAPPY EASTER! Fr. Jim

HOMILY

    I must confess that at times I am not the greatest influence on my friends when it comes to calling their attention to junk television shows that they inevitably start watching because of my suggestion. Not junk like “Jersey Shore” - that’s a whole different class of trash (my apologies Paulie, Snookie and to all their fans). Junk as in, well, I don’t know exactly how to classify it. It’s best just to give you the most recent example that I’ve gotten more than a few friends of mine to watch. It’s on the cable channel Spike TV, which is the manly answer to Lifetime – it’s “Television for Men.” So as a man I felt an obligation to check the channel out. As I did, a couple of months ago, this program came on called “A thousand ways to die...” It is stupidity at its extreme. They recount stories from police, news, coroner reports that talk about really stupid things that people have done that caused their death or the death of their friends around them, and dramatically re-create them for you.

    On New Year’s Eve this past year, being laid up with bronchitis, this was my choice of entertainment for the evening. (Gives you some clue as to how I was feeling) One story was of these two drunk idiots who got into this huge plastic sphere (think of those plastic balls that hamsters run around in, but for humans), and decided it would be fun to run down this steep hill in the ball. As they picked up more and more speed they violently ended up slamming into each other with such power and with their full body weight (and these weren’t slim men) that they literally bludgeoned each other to death.

    In another episode focusing on people from another culture, they told (and showed) a father who really disliked his daughter’s boyfriend.   So to kind of call the guy out and embarrass him, he invited him to a dinner, (which the young man knew in that culture he had to attend if he had any chance of remaining with his girlfriend) where they would dine on live seafood... not sushi, fish that was still squirming and all...(yeah I didn’t know these things happened) With each course, the challenges got more and more difficult - with the father and the young man rising to each challenge by eating each dish in this bizarre duel. Till the last one - an alive octopus. The young man looked at the slimy fish moving on his place and just shook his head that he wasn’t going to eat it, as the father took his chopsticks out, put the entire thing in his mouth, and ended up dying of suffocation when the fish fought back as he tried to swallow.

    Sorry if I grossed you all out. . . or if I’ve encouraged you to waste your time in checking the show out for yourselves (I’ve already apologized to a bunch of friends who never knew about the show and now find themselves watching it) But something sort of hit me about it as I was trying to figure out if I was sick and twisted for watching this show...

    Everyone of us from our own experiences, our own lives knows how un-funny, un-entertaining, un-amusing death truly is. And that there’s far more than a thousand ways for people to die. Whether that occurs through stupidity like those recounted on a program on Spike TV, or through the enormous tragedies, natural disasters, sickness and disease, the evil things human beings do to one another. Death at some point, in some way affects every single one of us.

    What makes it possible to watch that junk TV show? What makes it possible to recover from an enormous tragedy or natural disaster?   What makes it possible to stare sickness and disease in the face and say “bring it on?” What makes it possible to recover from the horrible things that people do to one another? The answer is Easter.

    Jesus’ having been betrayed, abandoned, mocked, scorned, tortured, unjustly condemned, crucified and buried would have been more than enough to end a group of mis-guided, brain-washed, foolish fishermen to snap out of whatever delusional spell they had been under for three years. Those horrifying images and terrifying days would have been enough to cause them to explain away the countless miracles; to erase the teachings that they had heard which they treasured in their hearts; to eradicate the life-changing encounters where Jesus spoke to the pain of someone’s personal failures and sinfulness, offering them forgiveness.

    Yet, we stand here today, 2000 years plus and hear of:

    A stone removed.
    An empty tomb.
    Burial cloths rolled up.

    Those first things, that first day of that first Easter that opened the eyes of the hearts of the first followers to understanding everything had changed. They would be seeing something more miraculous, more unprecedented, earth and death shattering than they had ever imagined. Those first things got them moving, got their hearts pumping again. Those things made it possible for them to talk openly and recount in graphic detail all of the horrific things that had happened a few days earlier, because it was no longer a story of defeat for Jesus, or a threat of what could happen to them. It was in fact, a beginning – a beginning that would change the world forever.

    Remarkably this isn’t just His story. This Jesus who has died and has risen from the dead remains with us here. In our baptisms we have been born again as members of His family. In this proclamation of this Gospel, we hear his words of everlasting life. In the Eucharist, his living Body and Blood are given to us. This Easter, the true feast we’re invited to partake in is not the dinners, the chocolate bunnies, or gorging on whatever it was we’ve fasted from through these 40 days of Lent. He wants us to feast on Him. To rejoice in Him. To know that in following Him, while there may be 1,000 ways to die, in the miracle of Easter we come to know that there is only one way to live eternally – through Jesus Christ. He still invites us to come and follow Him and His example. Not for His sake, but for ours. He did not suffer and die for His sake, but ours. Come. Let us follow.

INDIFFERENCE

2011-04-22T17:12:00.001-04:00

Here is my homily for Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion - April 22, 2011. Thanks as always for reading and your comments.   God Bless- Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    A few weeks ago, maybe it was around 1:00 in the morning.   I was brushing my teeth, getting ready for bed and I had the radio on listening to the news on 1010 WINS.   A disturbing report came on talking about how Police had discovered, yet another body out on Long Island, making 6 murder victims who had been identified in just a few days all in this neighborhood. Investigators realized at this point that they were dealing with a Serial Killer. They started to put together a profile of the victims - all were women, similar in age, and appearance. It also turned out that all of the victims were prostitutes. It was a sad and disturbing story right there. But what came next on this broadcast has troubled me ever since I heard it and is probably the reason that despite the fact that we hear horrible things on the news on a daily basis this story really troubled me.

    The reporter interviewed a woman who lived in the neighborhood and asked her how she felt about the serial killer and these attacks. She said, without even a seconds pause, that she had been worried about it when she first heard about the murders, but once she learned that all of the women who were killed were prostitutes, she was relieved. As soon as she heard that, she said, she and her family and friends could relax and go back to life as usual. It was startling to hear – this horrific thing was occurring right in her own neighborhood, terrorizing her community but suddenly it didn’t matter at all to her - all because she felt that since she and those closest to her didn’t fit the victim profile, they were “safe.”

    Perhaps she’s watched too much CSI or Criminal Minds and thinks the “unsub”wouldn’t go after her.   I doubt I’d ever feel safe if I knew that there’s a homicidal maniac killing people running around my town or neighborhood. As I spit the toothpaste out and yelled at the radio saying “Hey Genius – killing people isn’t exactly a logical thing to do, perhaps one day this killer might decide to kill someone other than prostitutes...”

    Besides that initial rant, what was stunning to me was that sense of disengagement from the horrific thing that was occurring right in her neighborhood. She was genuinely relieved as she spoke to the reporter. As horrific as murder is, this lady revealed something that is equally destructive to humanity – indifference. What concern is this to me? It’s not my problem... who cares?

    A friend of mine who recently traveled to the Holy Land and walked the “Way of the Cross”, the actual places where Jesus trial, passion and route to Calvary was stricken by a similar experience. He said it was amazing because this was the first time, and perhaps the only time he’d travel to the Holy Land to make this pilgrimage. As he walked and made the different stops on the Way of the Cross - he said it bothered him that here he was trying to pray and there was merchandise being sold, people conducting their daily business and seemingly unmoved that this was a sacred thing for him and his fellow pilgrims. The tour guide realizing how unsettled the group was by all of this pointed out to them that this was what occurred that first Good Friday. We have a image in our head that the entire world stopped what it was doing and paid attention to events that 2,000 years later we know to be not only Sacred, but the story of our salvation.   Yet for many, it was an ordinary Friday. Prisoners would be escorted with cross beams on them and soldiers pushing them around on a regular basis. People had to get provisions, it was almost the Sabbath, they needed to get things done.   For many, they would be indifferent to all that Jesus was enduring.

    We could even hear that in the Passion we just proclaimed. Pilate doesn’t want to be bothered “Take him yourselves” - why are you bothering me with this problem? He’s a Jew, this is a jewish problem, I don’t see anything wrong with the guy... Why are you bringing this to me? I don’t care, you want to crucify an innocent man, fine, I wash my hands of it - go ahead.

    Indifference.

    Something tells me that if the woman who the reporter interviewed knew one of the victims who had been found murdered by the serial killer, that individual wouldn’t have felt so relieved or disinterested. Knowing and caring about the person would have radically made a difference.

    As it does for us here. Recounting, remembering, reliving the Passion of Jesus Christ as his disciples today calls us out of the indifference we can sometimes fall into in our faith lives. To realize that Jesus’ death meant something, means something, radically important for you and for me. That Jesus came to express to us in the most intimate, profoundly personal way God’s deep love for each of us. That our sinfulness crucifies that love. Yet, the power of that Love can not be destroyed by the gruesome horrific death of Jesus we’ve just recounted, nor the indifference of those who let it happen, ignored the proceedings at the time or those who seem completely oblivious to what it is we’re celebrating this very day. We come to the cross and realize that Jesus death is able to conquer all of that, for each of us. He beckons us to come, to embrace that cross ourselves... knowing when we do, it makes all the difference.

DIVIDING LINE

2011-04-17T20:01:00.000-04:00


The new banner of Jesus Christ Crucified used at Mass at Montclair State University

Hi everyone... Thanks for stopping by to read this Homily for PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST April 17, 2011 given at Montclair State University. By way of explanation, I should point out that for this Homily, I preached before the proclamation of the Passion. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/041711.shtml . If you’d like to learn more about what we do at the Newman Center, please check out our website www.MSUNEWMAN.com

Happy Holy Week! Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    Normally we hear only one Gospel reading proclaimed at Sunday Mass. Typically there’s a homily after that. Today this will be the second Gospel reading, the first we heard at the very start of Mass recounting the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where he was greeted with cheers and cries of “Hosanna.”   We don’t stay with that story for long, knowing how short lived the sentiment of the cheers were for Jesus. So in a few moments we will proclaim the arrest, trial, false sentencing, torture, murder and death of Jesus. A Gospel that in some ways doesn’t need a homily. . .it can speak for itself.   This is obviously not a “normal” or “typical” Sunday.

    Before we enter into this second Gospel - the one time in the Church year that we proclaim it together - it’s important for us to pause and realize what a truly defining moment this is for each of us and what this means.   This past week, at Montclair State University, we had the Grand Opening of what is called the Center for Faith and Spirituality. At our secular, state, public school, for the University to acknowledge of religion to students is a great thing. One of the center’s goals is to open more possibilities for discussions and dialogues to take place where people can come together from their various faiths and beliefs to see all of the similarities and focus on what unites us.   As valuable as that is, often times people can begin to have a mistaken belief that the differences don’t really matter, that they are simply slight variations that are insignificant. A popular expression some who hold this view will say is “We’re all on different paths to the same destination.” Or there’s a flawed comparison saying the differences between all religions are no more important than the fact that people around the world speak different languages. Often this is done out of good intention, to minimize the differences and amplify the universal beliefs that all people share.

    While we can appreciate that good intention - particularly to promote understanding between different faiths - we have to realize that what we are about to do, what we are about to proclaim is an important dividing line, that in a very bold, shocking to some and scandalous to others, breaks us away from that unity - and must be acknowledged. Mohammed, the gods of the Hindus, the philosophies espoused by the Buddha and Confuscious will not be able to find a parallel with what we are about to proclaim...

    We cannot – we must not overlook this important dividing line that reveals:
- Only Christians believe in a God who was fully divine and fully human.

- Only Christians believe that this fully divine, fully human named Jesus Christ loves us, loves me, loves you that he sees and knows our sinfulness that continues to reject, mock, yes even crucifies God every day in the public square. That this has caused a brokenness we cannot repair on our own... it’s has created a debt we can never pay back.

- Only Christians believe and acknowledge that this reality which has existed from the fall of Adam and Eve to this moment - has been paid, has been healed by the blood of Jesus Christ shed for each of us.

- Only Christians believe that God steps in our place, so much does he love the world he created.

    As members of the Catholic Church that Jesus founded, at this moment, we are asked - do we believe this? Do we see this dividing line and why it is so important? Do we realize we aren’t simply recounting of a historic event from 2,000 years ago or taking part in some drama play that’s an annual tradition? Do we recognize how fortunate we are to have a God that loves us this much? ... He loves us so much that Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection is re-presented on our altar at every Mass in the Eucharist as the enduring, lasting gift that our God has given us.

    Palm Sunday calls us to re-awaken to these realities of our faith and to enter into this Passion, knowing that all of us - me and you are central to this story.    If you are ready to acknowledge these truths that make you a Christian, If you are ready to add your voices to our story of our salvation; then we are ready to take our place, to stand and join in the proclamation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

JESUS WEPT

2011-04-10T20:03:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here is my homily for the FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT - April 10, 2011. Readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/041011.shtml . Thanks for reading and your feedback.
Fr. Jim

HOMILY:

    So a random fact-toid for you the next time you’re on Jeopardy or playing Trivia Pursuit. While the Gospel we just heard is somewhat lengthy one, within that reading was the shortest scripture verse recorded in the whole New Testament: John 11:35 “And Jesus Wept.” In some translations, they even drop the word “and” – which would tie it as the shortest verse in the whole Bible. Those two words: Jesus Wept.

    A couple of words that say so much.

    Because think about it. What does it means when we say someone wept? It’s more than just feeling sad. It’s more than the act of crying. You weep when you feel deep, intense feelings. Raw emotions for someone or something... You can feel it in the pit of your stomach. Your heart aches. You’re so overwhelmed by the feelings that you’re experiencing that you’re unembarrassed by the flood of tears. On the one hand no one would wish this experience on another, knowing how hard and painful an experience it truly is.    But on the other hand, the silver lining can be that when you’ve experiencing that much pain, you know without a doubt that something has touched you that deeply to the core of your being that you realize the depths of love. When someone has wept, it’s because something meant that much to them.

    Which is why this shortest of scripture verses is somewhat puzzling. Jesus wept. Jesus? That this is recorded tells us how striking it must’ve been for the witnesses. It’s not like Jesus didn’t know what he was able and capable of doing and would accomplish for his friend Lazarus. He knew he could and would raise him from the dead.   He didn’t weep for himself. So why? Why deep he weep? It was probably several things:

    Jesus wept over the fear that His disciples still had after all this time they had spent with Him.   After all they had seen that He could do, after all they had heard Him speak of a God who would not let anything, ANYTHING stop Him from attending to His children in need... For the disciples, as soon as they hear this news that Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, was seriously ill and needed Jesus their response to this news was but Jesus, the last time we were in Judea, people wanted to stone you...it’s not safe - So Jesus wept over that fear that still gripped and grips his followers.

    Jesus wept over the distress Lazarus’ sisters had experienced in seeing their brother die and be entombed. Their pain, pained him. Their hurt, hurt him and so he wept.

    Jesus wept because he knew that as much as his followers loved him and wanted to believe in Him, and did believe in Him to a certain extent... that it was to a certain extent.   Jesus wept because of that doubt. The doubt that came from seeing this dead man who was in a tomb. That this reality made them worried that maybe this was the end, rather than being able to truly trust and believe that it was not... Rather than fully being able to comprehend that Jesus would have power over death.

    Jesus wept because he saw that the hoped for future promise of eternal life and resurrection of the dead wasn’t enough to remove all of this pain they were going through. His followers, despite all that was to come, despite his ultimate victory over death in His own resurrection would still experience the pains and sting of death.

    Jesus wept because He realized that if the death of Lazarus could cause some of his closest followers such distress, He could only imagine what his passion and death on the cross would do to them. Yet He knew that He needed to endure that passion and death so that God would be able to do even more miraculous, life-changing things for humanity, namely saving them.

    Jesus wept because in spite of all of that he would say, all that he would do, some would remain entombed, some would chose to remain dead because they believed their sins were too big, too unforgivable. He wept over those who would refuse to hear His life-giving voice, calling them out of those tombs, rejecting the opportunity to experience newness of life in His radical gift of forgiveness.

    Yes, Jesus wept because he Loved.

    Jesus wept, because he Loves.

    Jesus wept because he knows that for some people, the gift he offers of Himself so freely, so willingly, so selflessly - for some that wouldn’t be enough... Some would simply question, put their trust in other “gods.”   Reject the only God ever known to have come down and wept with us and for us, so much does He care for us.

    That’s why Jesus wept.   And why He still does.

TWEET THIS

2011-04-03T20:05:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Here’s my homily for the FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT - APRIL 3, 2011 given at Newman Catholic at Montclair State University. The readings for today can be found here http://www.usccb.org/nab/040311.shtml . Thanks as always for reading and your feedback. Fr Jim

A FAVOR TO ASK - GO TO www.MSUNEWMAN.com and check out our link for RELAY FOR LIFE - please consider making a donation to our efforts to defeat Cancer!

HOMILY:
    How many of you have heard of a guy by the name of Biz Stone?

    OK - now how many of you have heard of “Twitter?”

    More than likely few knew Biz Strong, but everyone knows what Twitter is. I know what it is, but I still don’t exactly “get” it. Which is kind of frustrating since I’ve prided myself at being able to master Facebook a few years ago when it was just starting to take off (actually, I shouldn’t really be proud of that fact - I should hang my head in shame...) But the twitter - I have it, I’ve “tweeted” I’ve subscribed or “follow” people on there. Overall though, I’m not quite sure I know how to use it. I don’t know how to message people when they write something - does everybody get to see what I’m writing. How do I send messages to everyone. There’s people I’m following but I don’t get their messages. It’s all very confusing.
    But it is another cultural phenomenon growing at some crazy rates. Celebrities use it to connect to their fans. Charlie Sheen uses it to remind us he’s still alive and encourage us to tune into his self-destruction. Politically it’s been credited with helping organize the protests in Iran, and Egypt. As a media tool, it can effectively reach thousands of people in seconds to warn of natural disasters or other important information. I for one enjoyed following the Bronx Snake who escaped from the zoo for most of the week “tweeting” asking among other things “Does anyone know if the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle sells organic mice?”

    Biz Stone and two of his friends back in 2006 looked at the fact that the number of people who have cell-phones has skyrocketed beyond anyone’s imaginations - and thought “imagine if we can create a social networking thing that people could use on their cell phones through text messaging.    That’s why it’s only 140 character messages so that you can send it over text message. Well you
guys know the rest of the story (and are helping to write it) The phenomenon of it is only growing. Reportedly, there was talks that Twitter was offered $500 million for the company by Facebook and that Twitter turned it down thinking the company is worth a lot more than that...

    Listening to interviews where he shared some of his life story, it’s hard to imagine him being in this position.   He grew up in a very poor area of Boston.   His father abandoned his family when he was 10, has battled substance abuse, and that has fathered brothers and sisters that Biz doesn’t even know. (In one sad example, Biz shared how a year ago when he saw his dad, the man didn’t realize that Biz was his son) Biz dropped out of two universities after attending each of them for a year each. He said that he was amazed that he was even able to land a job a few years ago at Google. He said he was hired more because a good friend who worked there advocated for him than because of his background or qualifications. After rising to a high-executive position he left that company with two buddies to create Twitter.

    With all the obstacles, all the challenges, all the problems, it’s hard to imagine that Biz Stone’s story would turn into out the way it did - many of his family and friends seem pretty surprised to this day... Because often times when we hear the background, when we hear what all of that brokenness, we fall into the same trap that a majority of the people in today’s Gospel have. Not daring to see things could be beyond the small little box we have ourselves, we have one another, we have even God confined to.

    In this Gospel, we hear a miracle story - this man who has been blind from birth is blessed with the gift of sight after this encounter with Jesus. But the bulk of the story is about all the outside characters who put the blind man, each other, and God in a box.

    Look at how the conversations go - “Why is he blind?” - Well he must’ve sinned or his parents did. Well now he’s cured - that’s not really the blind man, is it? No it just looks like him. NO IT IS HIM.    Really? I don’t believe that, get his parents - ask them... The parents arrive and confirm he’s their son, but even they don’t know what to make of it “we don’t know how he sees nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age, he can speak for himself.”   Even the blind guy now seeing is a bit cautious at first.    When he’s questioned he gives the very basic facts “that guy Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, said go wash up in that pool and I did...” Why all the hesitation?

Well the Pharisees had already had been frustrated with Jesus and for reasons like this, that he cured this guy on the Sabbath. Doing such a thing as curing on the Sabbath was seen as against the commandments, so then the Pharisees argue he can’t be from God. After all this back and forth the blind man argues - look I can’t say that he’s a sinner, I can’t say he’s not from God... [HOWS THAT FOR A RINGING ENDORSEMENT? JESUS HEALS THE GUY AND THAT’S THE BEST HE CAN SAY– HE’S NOT A SINNER?] The guy goes on All I can say is that I was blind, now I can see. It’s almost like the guy doesn’t want to be bothered anymore, he basically asks his interrogators Why are you hassling me as he asks them - Do you want to follow him?
    At that the Pharisees are done. They are know what they know:   God spoke to Moses... They learned to keep holy the Sabbath from Him, Jesus is doing stuff he shouldn’t be doing on the Sabbath - so we don’t know where Jesus is from. Because He did this on the Sabbath, he must be a sinner and God doesn’t listen to sinners...

    A nice little box they have there.

    It’s easy for us to be critical of the characters in the Gospel - But how limited is our visions?   Often times we don’t even realize how narrow our views have become we’ve gotten into such a narrow view of who we are, who God is, or what’s possible when we let Jesus into our lives. Like the people in the Gospel, we allow ourselves to be trapped into these diminished roles that we find ourselves into. The guy who’s been blind since birth, probably thought he’s supposed to remain that way... that’s all he’s known, so nothing is going to change that.    People had assumed that he or his parent’s did something wrong, so the whole family has been living with this cloud of shame for years.

     When Jesus Christ is able to do something incredibly miraculous, something that should have brought rejoicing and wonder and awe, look what happens. The parent’s who had already felt someone in their house must have done something wrong that caused their son to be blind - a messed up thought in the first place, thanks to some of these people from the temple – are now scared they might be thrown out and rejected from that very temple. Because Jesus didn’t do things the way “He was supposed to,” because He didn’t conform to their understanding or expectations,- they go for broke, they say he must not be of God.    What’s so sad is that with these reactions, only one man’s sight is restored. The rest of this man’s family, the rest of this town miss the opportunity to have their lives changed by having their vision corrected by Jesus Christ.

    We live In a world that is overly cynical, distrustful of anyone or anything.   Biz Stone could have easily allowed all the negatives in his life to be an excuse to opt out of even trying to do something meaningful with his life and blame his father, his surroundings, everything around him for a limited and diminished existence rather than becoming the founder of something that has changed our culture yet again...

    For you and I we might not even realize how blind we’ve become – to who we are...to what it is that blinds us, to what it is that diminishes us... blind to the sins that cripple us... to the lies that we’ve believed about ourselves because of those sins that trap us into thinking there’s nothing we can do - nothing’s going to change... Blind to how Jesus is among us, how he wants to save us – not just for eternity, but here and now. How Jesus wants us to experience miracles... unexplained, unexpected, life altering miracles where God blesses us with a new vision, a new perspective that helps us see past the limited existence we experience now into a life we could have never imagined or conceived of.   You can tweet this (and it’s under 140 characters so it will fit:) God never stops trying, we do... If we continue to have a limited vision of God, then his activity in our lives will remain limited.