Homily for the Week of September 27, 2009

Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time,2009
Nm 11:25-29 · Jas 5:1-6 · Mk 9:38-43,45,47-48

Birth is always a painful experience -- for mother and child. Birth is also a painful experience for organizations and nations. The establishment of this country was preceded by a Revolutionary War. The first centuries of the Catholic Church were marked by struggling, internal bickering, and divisions. For example, St. Paul, the new convert, differed radically with St. Peter, the first pope, with regard to how strictly the Jews were bound to follow the old law of Moses once they became Catholics. The Creed that we will all pray together after my homily was formed in the 4th century but had violent disagreements over the basics of what Catholics were to believe.
The idea of God and who is God was especially difficult. It still is. We are like the kindergarten child who was scribbling on a paper drawing the picture of God. When her teacher told her that no one knew what God looked like, the child replied: They will when I'm finished.

Today our church defines the human person in terms of ''body and soul.'' But not so with Jesus. Mediterranean Middle Eastern people thought of the human person in terms of three zones of the body. The heart and head was the zone of will and emotion. The mouth and ears was the zone of self-expression. The eyes and extremities were thought of as the ''zone of purposeful action.'' Jesus insisted that we should be willing to sacrifice our eyes or extremities if they cause us to give scandal or cause us to stumble.

At the end of our Gospel we hear the word ''Gehenna'' which most persons think it means hell. Gehenna was a real place. It was a valley outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem. It was used by pagan cults for child sacrifice which the Jews forbade. Because it was so desecrated by these killings it was turned into the Jerusalem garbage disposal. The garbage fires burned continually. Their glow could be seen at night, and the stench could be smelled in the wind. No wonder it became our modern image of hell.

In our second reading James is harsh in his condemnation of the rich and powerful who take advantage of the poor and weak. He challenges the so called important persons who went out to plan the murder of Jesus. St. James points out that there is a difference between doing things out of charity and doing things out of justice.
Charity is needed for justice, but they are not the same.

For example what if we heard that a huge stone rolled down the mountain and landed in the middle of a narrow, curving roadway. A car crashed into the stone. Families living nearby rushed to rescue the injured passengers, brought them into their own homes and took care of them until they got medical attention. That's charity. Two weeks later, another car collides with the stone and the families take care of them also. That's charity. But after taking care of the medical needs of the persons some of the neighbors got rid of the stone. That is justice. In our reading today, James was not recommending charity; he was recommending justice.

When John tries to stop a man casting out devils in Jesus' name because the man is not one of the disciples, Jesus corrects him. Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. The fact that the man is not among Jesus' followers is not a good enough reason for him to be excluded from the ministry of Jesus. Prejudice has no place among those who say they believe in Jesus. The judgement of Jesus is not against those who differ or stand apart from the group but rather against those who tolerate sin.
Jesus says: If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Jesus did not intend this literally, but as a way of speaking. We can instead see it as a comment on the Christian community, that what is sinful and what hinders spiritual growth must be removed. Jesus is using examples to help us understand that we must be in a healthy relationship with him. That is called Grace. Grace is not something we store up but our relationship with God. It is not something we earn. It is a gift. When we do something our conscience tells us we should not do, then we break of that relationship with God. In a sense we become God less.

Rather than looking for security in groups, we can dare to reach out to others who do not belong and perhaps have nowhere to belong. We can see in the outsider the person to whom Christ would reach out. Those who do not actively oppose the gospel can be on the side of the gospel, even if they do not seem to belong to any Church or religious grouping.

We can expect to receive little reward for thinking and acting justly. But Jesus does tell us that those who even give a drink of water to his friends will receive a reward. How do we give that drink of water? Maybe it could be by helping each other find God in their lives. At this time of the year we have beautiful colored oaks, maples, elms. Each of them give praise to God. Each of us can give praise to God if we invite God into our lives.

Homily for the week of August 20, 2009

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, B 2009

First Reading: Wisdom 2:12, 17–20

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 54:3–4, 5, 6–8

Second Reading: James 3:16 — 4:3

Gospel: Mark 9:30–37

Many of our parishioners are correction officers or have some connection with prison work. Perhaps the last story you want to hear is about prisoners. Regardless, considering the Bible readings for today I want to mention the following which I heard while I was at an assembly of students in one of the Watertown Catholic schools. After the principal was certain that a man who had served many years in prison due to embezzlement and had no restrictions in being with children, he was invited to speak to the Middle Grades students. His talk was intended to persuade these students not to end up where he had been. Much of what he said was predictable. He told stories of violence, boredom and loneliness. But he made one point that no one had anticipated. And more than any other, it seemed to strike home among the students who talked about it later. He described prison as A WORLD WITHOUT CHILDREN. He spoke of what it was like to go for 15 years without ever seeing a child, or anything belonging to a child. He never saw a toy. He never heard a little girl's squeals of delight. He never heard a little boy's laughter. He indicated that the thing he missed most in prison was the presence of children, and is own children.

I would have never guessed this. Ordinarily, we think of children needing us. But this ex-con was saying that we also need them. Children are so much part of our world that we take them for granted. Sometimes we are even bothered by them. But their very presence helps to keep life in balance. Can you imagine how lifeless a Mass would be without children of every age with us as Mass?

Jesus understood children very well. When his disciples were arguing and quarrelling among themselves as to who was the most important, what does Jesus do? He brings them back to the real world, and turns their thoughts from nonsense things to things that really matter.

Jesus responds by giving them a one sentence summary of what importance really means and how to get it. He brought a child to them and said: WHOEVER RECEIVES ONE CHILD SUCH AS THIS IN MY NAME RECEIVES ME; AND WHOEVER RECEIVES ME, RECEIVES NOT MEBUT THE ONE WHO SENT ME. Only Jesus would have thought of this. The jealous disciples were nursing their broken egos. Instead of lecturing them about their silliness, he told them to make room in their live for children. That short sermon of one sentence had more impact than any sermon he could have preached. Children have a way of putting life in perspective.

Children teach us humility. Children are not impressed with college degrees or whether or not you finished high school as valedictorian, or how many touchdowns you made; they don't care about how many honors you got; they are not interested in the kind of car you drive, or where you live, or how much money you have in the bank, or even the size of your pay check.

What children want to know is whether we are warm, and real and loving. Do we know how to smile with our eyes as well as our mouth? Can they believe in us? Can they depend on us? Will we accept them or reject them, help them or hurt them? A little boy is not concerned about what position his father holds where he works. What concerns him most is whether his father has time to play or to read a book. A little girl may be pleased that her mother is beautiful. But that does not matter unless her mother is also gentle, kind and patient.

Of course children are very naive. They have a lot of learning and maturing to do. But often in some areas their feel for life is better than ours. As I mentioned, they are not impressed with our fame or our fortune. For them the key word is LOVE. When we welcome children into our lives they do teach us humility. Without knowing it, they teach us what really matters.

Children have a long period of dependence on us. Someone must take care of them for years, or children will not survive. When we welcome children into our live we are committing ourselves to a helping role. This requires us to forget ourselves and look for the needs of others.

I wonder if the disciples of Jesus knew what he was talking about. The disciples wanted to start at the top. But Jesus reverses that order and starts at the bottom with the worst and the least, namely a child. In the time of Jesus a child was a nobody. Two thousand years ago in a very poor country like Palestine, a child could be more of a burden than a blessing, another mouth to feed when there ws never enough food. The infant death rate sometimes reached 30% of live births, and 60% of children were dead by the age of 16. Child abuse was almost a religious ritual in the Old Testament. Abraham came within an inch of killing his beloved son Isaac thinking that God wanted him to do so. Jephthah promised that he would sacrifice the first one who would come to meet him when he returned home after winning a battle. Sad to say, he kept his promise against his daughter who rushed out to greet him.

So with this history of child abuse ingrained in the Jewish culture it came to a shock that Jesus would place a child in their midst and tell them: WHOEVER RECEIVES A CHILD SUCH AS THIS IN MY NAME, RECEIVES ME.

Several years ago, there was a movie THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING. The story is about a Russian submarine that had some mechanical problem. It surfaced at the dock of a small American fishing village. The villagers and the Russians were both afraid of each other. They stood facing each other with guns in hand. Just then the tension was broken by a cry for help. A young boy, wanting a better view had climbed the church steeple A railing broke and left him dangling 50 or 60 feet in the air. Soon national and political differences were forgotten. All put down their guns, and Americans and Russians worked side by side to save the boy.

This story is only make believe. But it points to one question: WHY NOT? We need to commit ourselves to saving children, not only the unborn but those recently born, those who are eager to know what is right and wrong; children who become excited when they hear stories about Jesus, or those who do things that Jesus would do. Children do not need guns or bullets. They need food and shelter, schools and playgrounds, loving and kind teachers.

This is catechetical weekend in which we pray for and promise to give our prayers and assistance to all those who in one way or other teach children and help them to grow knowing Jesus, the loving teacher. Each of us today have received an invitation from Jesus to support, protect and assist children, those least among us with whom Jesus identifies. This is the last weekend to register for religious education. We are fortunate to have dedicated teachers and others who teach and assist in our religious education program. While I thank those who already assist in this program, I am inviting, and asking today, many of you to volunteer to become part of the program. I pray that some of you will talk to me about it. Children needs SOWERS OF GOD'S PEACE. They may be inviting you.

Homily for the week of September 13, 2009

24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 2009 Year B

Is 50: 5-9 Ps116: 19 James 2:14-18 Mark 8: 27-35

By mid September most schools have welcomed students to the beginning of a new school year. So there is an obvious connection between the opening of a school year and today’s gospel that has Jesus giving his friends a quiz. One day Jesus took Peter aside and tried to persuade him to tone down his speech a little. Jesus ask two basic questions: Who do people say that I am? andWho do you say that I am?

Peter responds first by proclaiming what he sense deep in his heart. He says that Jesus is the long, hoped for savior of the world. Peter names Jesus the Messiah. He is the one that John the Baptist talked about. Other persons think that he is one of the famous persons in the Old Testament like Elijah. What Jesus’ friends were really saying is that most persons did not know who Jesus was.

And then Jesus asks another question: But who do you say that I am? In other words, Jesus was making it personal. It is easy for us to say we believe in Jesus, but there is more to it than that. WHAT GOOD IS IT TO PROFESS FAITH WITHOUT PRACTICING IT? To say that we believe or that we are Catholics or Christians means that in some way we must show off our faith by how we live and what we do. Our truest identity as Catholics is being connected to Jesus. We truly cannot consider ourselves to be the friends of Jesus without walking in his footsteps.

It is clear that it is not enough to NAME Jesus as our Lord, If we profess to be Christians, we must walk the talk. We must be prepared to live our faith. St. James in today's second reading unites FAITH with WORKS. He says WHAT GOOD IS IT IF SOMEONE SAYS HE HAS FAITH BUT DOES NOT HAVE WORKS? Other wise we could be accuse of being religious hypocrites. That is why St. James says rather forceful that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.

We must live what we believe, we must make decisions on what we believe; our spiritual life must be lived as Jesus lived. Otherwise, faith that does not affect how we live and how we act is quickly lost, and it cannot save us. Just as with Peter, Jesus takes us aside as asks us: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Our society says INDULGE. When was the last time you saw a commercial that told you that you do not need the product being advertised. But Jesus comes and says: deny yourself. Be willing to be rejected; refuse to follow the crowd; let your Catholic moral life affect the decisions you make each day. Our society so often tells us that anything goes; fit in; do not be different.

Even Peter had been taken in by his society. For him to say Jesus is my Lord was enough. But the response to Peter was strong: IF YOU WISH TO COME AFTER ME YOU MUST FOLLOW IN MY FOOTSTEPS. There is no short cut, no other way.

As I give you these thoughts I am well aware that we are here you are here today because we do wish to follow Jesus. I am also aware that each of us are here because we wish to be better. To live out in our live more of what we believe.

What kind of Jesus do we want? How do we describe and define Jesus? Is he a teacher who makes no challenges, who demands no hard work, who prefers to entertain us rather than to energize us, who prefers pious platitudes instead of words that wench us out of our apathy? Is he a leader who is willing to let us plot our own course, or is he the one who says: Follow me? Does he offer us a soft cushion or a hard cross?

Our faith is built on the shoulders of others. Most likely these are our parents, our teachers, our close friends or spouse. Specifically, in the case of St. James Parish, these shoulders are the very poor, homeless Irish immigrants who were invited to come to Cadyville by Oblate priests 155 years ago. Their faith has provided for us a building to worship God; a place where we can come to pray, or to be married, or have a child baptized, or be forgiven, and at the end of life, a place to be buried. This building is the GOOD WORK spoken of my Jesus today.

This good work is also carried out by our commitment to give to the Bishop's Fund appeal this year. Most of the money is to be used for educational purposes: education of those in the seminaries; of those in religious education classes; education of those young boys and girls who use the Guggenheim center for summer camp.

For Catholics charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could be left to others, but it is a part of our identity as Catholics. It is a description of who we are. Charity along with prayer and fasting are not options. It is simply a part of who we are. When you or I answer the question: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? Does our answer include charity, prayer and fasting?

Homily for the Week of September 6, 2009

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY, 2009

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

Second Reading: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Many great things have been done in the name of religion, but also many bad things have also been done in the name of religion. All religions can be guilty of encouraging their followers of causing great harm to others. For example, over 1000 years ago the Catholic church organized Crusades to go to Palestine and get back that country that had become Muslim. Many were killed in the name of religion. In more recent times some Muslims organized under Al Quaeda or Hassbellah, or countries like Iran and Syria use air planes and bombs to attack the infidels living in places like the United States or Lebanon. All of these will quote the Koran as authority for their actions. We also have many Catholic cults who teach what they call the truth about Our Blessed Mother or some saint.

The Gospel I just read finds Jesus having the same problem with a group of religious fanatics called Pharisees. The Pharisees were more concerned about what the laws were, rather than why the laws are followed. The Pharisees were actually good people and probably very holy. Getting everything just right was very important to them. But they were more concerned about the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

The Pharisees have been noticing that Jesus and his disciples do not keep the Jewish traditions. These “traditions” were added practices. They were not the laws. There were all kinds of traditions affecting every aspect of their lives. Many of them had to do with how and when to wash your hands and cups and saucers. These were purity laws that were to be used in the temple. The washing of hands was not done for hygienic purposes. They didn't even know about germs and bacteria. Washing the hands was a religious ritual meant to prepare the priest for offering sacrifice. Priests today wash their hands in a ritual way as part of the Preparation of the Gifts. The Pharisees insisted that this ritual be done in the homes as well as in the temple. Jesus was not doing away with the teachings of his Jewish religion. He was doing away with certain customs or rituals which had been started by certain persons in the name of religion.

Catholics believe that our faith or our religion is based on the words of the Bible and Sacred Tradition. However, many ceremonies or rituals were added to our worship over the past 2000 years. For instance, those of us who started to learn our religion before 1965 remember the many changes in our Mass. We had altar rails. The altars and the priest faced the back wall. There were side altars. Most people came to communion twice a year: at Easter and at Christmas. The anointing of the sick was called THE LAST RITES. When a priest came, then it was sure the person was dying. These changes had nothing to do with why we go to Mass. They were about what the priest and people do and don't do at Mass.

To understand Jesus better, imagine Jesus having very dirty hands from having been working in his garden. His disciples are seated at the side of the garden at a picnic table. They too have been helping Jesus pull weeds. They had also pulled and plucked their noon meal, peeled the onions, washed some beans and were enjoying themselves while listening to Jesus discussing thoughts with the scribes and Pharisees. At the same time these persons were complaining that Jesus was too liberal. But their religion consisted of lots of rituals. They believed they would go to heaven if they followed all these rituals. They made the rituals equal to the law. By so doing they were neglecting justice and charity.

Following Jesus does not no mean acting religious, but rather it involves being like Jesus. All the religious behavior in the world cannot cover up a mean and unloving heart. I think we all know religious people who are really very nasty inside and we all know unreligious people who would give us the shirt off their back if we needed it. Which of these is truly religious? Jesus calls us to a happy medium where both our behavior and our heart are centered on him.

Using the law as a straightjacket to condemn others or reducing the law to mere external observance is not what Jesus asks of us. Jesus came to move our hearts to love. When we love, we go beyond the law and live in union with Jesus. Like him we live a life of service to God and others. Being truly religious means we serve others with a joyful heart.

As Americans, we have a love/hate relationship with law. We want the law to be enforced on others, but we want laxity for ourselves. If someone is speeding and cuts us off, we want to know where the police officer is who will ticket that person, but if we do the same thing we will have a dozen excuses for the police officer not to write us a ticket. We also want the law to be specific, and at the same time we don't. We want a clear speed limit so we will know how fast we can go. Once the limit is posted, however, we then want to know how far over the limit we can go before we risk getting a ticket. We often do the very same thing with the moral law. We might condemn another while forgiving ourselves for doing nearly the same thing. There is a saying that goes: "If you can't take it, don't dish it out." Whatever you do to someone else, you should be willing to have it happen to you.

Yet, if properly written and enforced, law is instructive, and not burdensome. The Law can gave us an identity, a sense of purpose, and a sense of meaning. It was clear that when we strayed from the Law we lose our sense of purpose and our identity. We have seen this happen in our economic crisis. As soon as financial institutions strayed from their rules, purpose and integrity, our economy tanked.

Each of us must find our ways to respond more generously o our life situation. It could mean overcoming a selfish relationship; or works towards protecting the rights of all persons, especially laborers whom we will honor next weekend; or being better prepared and having more enthusiasm for the coming to church or for our religious faith. We are called today, not so much to know the laws, but to live our Catholic way of life, especially, as we have come here to Mass. Let this time in church today be a time of prayer, and a time to unite ourselves with God.