Homily for the Week of December 30, 2012

HOMILY: Feast of Holy Family, 2012
1 Samuel 1:30-22; 24-28
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Luke 2:41-52

On this last day of the calendar year we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What’s really great about this feast day is that it’s about something to which we can easily relate. Each of us are members of a family. Families come in many different sizes: traditional family, or a blended family, or a single parent family, or like myself, a member of a parish family. So when we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we also celebrate our own families.

We know very little of Jesus' life between His birth and when he was about 30 years old. We also know little about his family life. Joseph, his foster father, was a carpenter, so it would have been customary that Jesus would follow his father’s trade as a carpenter. Nazareth was a small village of about 300 persons. In the Jewish homes of Jesus' day, until a child was about 12, the mother was the teacher in religion as well as in learning. When a boy was 12 years old the father took over and began to teach him a trade.

The Bible story about Jesus which I just read took place when Jesus was 12 years old. Each year parents and their older children went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Can you identify with Jesus in this story? Jesus at the age of twelve is on the verge of becoming a man in the Jewish society of his day. He and his parents have traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. After the departure of Mary and Joseph, Jesus remains behind in the Temple. There he amazes the religious teachers with his wisdom and intelligence. When Jesus' parents discover him missing, they are upset. Jesus explains the importance of putting God first in our lives. When we do this, everything else in life will fall into place.

The Church has placed this Feast of the Holy Family in the Christmas Season as an encouragement for all families to be holy. What does that mean? Being HOLY does not mean that we go around all day with our hands folded and our head bowed. Being HOLY means keeping our mind on what it is that the Lord wants us to be and to do. It means having a place in our family for religion and prayer and trying to live the religion and prayer we talk about.

Today's readings remind us that we must care for one another in our family. Even when parents misunderstand or nag, or when children seem not to listen to parents, we cannot say, "That's it. I'm leaving home!" Like Jesus, we go on loving one another and trying to work things out together.

Throughout the ages, the family has been the cradle of the Christian religious spirit. The first places where the Christian communities gathered were not churches, but the homes of families who opened their doors to the Christian way of life. These domestic churches nurtured the spread of Christianity for over two hundred years. And since then the family has been the single most important teacher of Christian virtue and Christian faith.

Many families today are what are known as blended families. This can happen in two ways. A couple practicing different religions get married. Another type of blended family is when a man and a woman who were previously married and both have children, get married a second time. This can be especially challenging when their children become teenagers if their mother and father did not prepare them for this.

The family is the first community we experience where we begin to develop relationships. We all learn the meaning of forgiveness from our experience of being forgiven within the family. We all learn the meaning of thankfulness as we experience thankfulness within the family. These are done in the ordinary moments of daily family life: at mealtimes, household chores, washing dishes, cleaning rooms, workdays, vacations, expressions of love and intimacy, caring for a sick child or elderly parent, or the death of a child. and even at times of conflicts over things like how to celebrate holidays, discipline children or spend money. All of these are threads from which families can weave a pattern of holiness. It is within family that we are either called to God or driven away from God.

This does not mean, however, that family life is always easy. The family photos you receive with Christmas cards show the perfect family. They don't show debts, arguments, times of anger, people who have left their faith, people who are addicted, kids on academic probation,kids with behavior problems. Yet these are the situations of family life. But in the Bible God never really gave us the picture of the ideal family. Consider even the Holy Family of Nazareth. Joseph considers divorcing Mary when he learns she is pregnant. But in all of these God's love overcomes all division. On this feast of the Holy Family, take a inventory of your family. Be generous with thanks and praise for what you do well, ask forgiveness for times you have hurt, and praise God for having given you the gift of marriage and family.

Homily for the Week of December 23, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C, 2012
Mi 5:1-4a
Heb 10:5-10
Lk 1:39-45

Catholics and Christians associate Christmas, not only with the birthday of Jesus, but also with Christmas trees and decorations, gift giving, family gatherings and Christmas cards and Christmas Carols. While each of us may have one or two favorite Christmas carols, O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM is mone of the most popular. It was composed by a young Protestant minister from Philadelphia named Phillips Brooks, The minister had gotten tired out so he needed to do something or go somewhere to get refreshed. He took some time off and decided to go to the Holy Land. He traveled by horse through much of the Holy Land, and on Christmas Eve, he arrived on a hilltop outside the small city of Bethlehem, six miles southwest of Jerusalem. This was the city of David and the birthplace of Jesus. He was struck by its smallness. It was so small it was hardly a town, but it still stirred Rev. Brook’s imagination. As he gazed at the village from the hilltop in the evening light, he was inspired to write a poem.
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
the silent stars go by.

Lewis Henry Redner, the church organist wrote the music for ''Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.''

Our first reading by Micah today mentions Bethlehem. It is interesting that at his time Syria, like today, was being at war. This time the Syrians were invading Israel. But they never destroyed Jerusalem. However, the Syrians appointed corrupt leaders who cheated the Jewish people and also required them to worship strange gods. Micah preached hope for those who still loved God. The poor and the lowly had struggled to remain faithful, and God would rescue them. From a village too small to rank as a clan of Judah, from the poor, would come the one who “shall be peace.” Micah mentions that this village is Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was a very small town, more a village really, a short distance from Jerusalem. It was a one-industry town: it produced bread for sale in Jerusalem. The name ''Bethlehem'' actually means ''little house of bread.'' Its only claim to fame was that it was the birthplace of David, thus it is sometimes identified as ''The City of David.'' Beyond this, it was just another overlooked village among many small villages near Jerusalem. ' If Jesus had not been born there, it might even not exist today. It is an irony that such a small, insignificant place would play such an enormous role in history. It is a reminder to us that those who might seem insignificant -- the poor, the elderly, today's ''widows and orphans'' -- are not insignificant in the eyes of God.

Our Gospel which I just read is the story of two pregnant women meeting each other. Mary, a young woman who had just become pregnant goes to visit Elizabeth, her older cousin who was in her six month of pregnancy with her first child. Both of their pregnancies had unusual circumstances. Mary, a young girl, conceived her son Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, was expecting her child as an older person. When Mary met Elizabeth they hugged each other and her infant leaped, as the Bible mentions. Mary went to see Elizabeth because she trusted her, and she wanted to talk with her about becoming a Mother. Elizabeth also may have needed some comfort. She was a pregnant older woman who must have been tired. Both women needed caring and comfort. Elizabeth provided comfort to Mary whose son Jesus would provide comfort for the whole world.

Like the village of Bethlehem Mary herself was a relatively insignificant person. She was a young girl from another small village. Her responses to the angel Gabriel and even to Elizabeth let us know that even Mary considered herself insignificant. By no means she did suffer from ''poor self-esteem.'' She was just simply humble knowing that she was from a poor family in a poor village.

Mary teaches us a lesson: being from insignificant families in insignificant places does not make us insignificant. We are reminded that idea of significance does not come from places or families. Our significance comes from God. All human life is significant. This was the message of God's choice to become human and enter our world. There were those in Nazareth who tried to put Jesus down by reminding everyone that He was just a carpenter's son, the son of Mary, and everybody knew His family -- meaning no one thought the carpenter's family was anything special. In this context Micah's words take on deep meaning when we ponder how God uses what we might consider insignificant: ''You, Bethlehem, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.''

Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, gives a sense of what we can do for those who are alone or feel abandoned or suffer at this time of year. Elizabeth made clear that she recognized that her young cousin from Nowheresville was significant. Those of you who are parents know first hand that Little babies and children depend entirely on their mother and father. Many of us do not have the experience of pregnancy, but we do not need that experience to understand, to comfort, to reassure, to encourage someone who comes to us. On this Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day, in fact on every day, our greeting must be so full of peaceful love that, like Mary, our greeting will move people to acknowledge Jesus Christ within them. Maybe first all, let us acknowledge that Jesus is in our heart and our faith.

Homily for the Week of December 16, 2012

3rd Sunday of Advent, C 2012 Zephaniah 3:14-18 Phil 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18 St. Rose of Lima is the Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut where yesterday the terrible school shooting took place at Sandy Hook elementary school. Tonight there was to be a Nativity pageant put on by the children of the Parish. The child who was to be the angel Gabriel died in the school massacre yesterday. The pastor of the parish said the pageant will still be held this evening. He said that tonight we now have 20 angels in heaven. One 1st grade boy who survived will light the star of Bethlehem. He was one of those who hid in the bathroom with their teacher. He told his teacher I do not want to die. I want to have Christmas. While many of us may question why this happened, what is far more in need of hope is for the parents who last night did not have their little daughter or son with them, and now must prepare for wakes and funerals. With only one more Sunday before Christmas our Church Bible readings today takes on a more eager and urgent sense of anticipation. You have noticed that today we lighted the rose colored candle in the Advent wreath. We did not do this just because we got tired of purple. We did it because this Sunday is called Caudate Sunday. Caudate is a Latin word that means rejoice as in the entrance antiphon Rejoice, again I say to you rejoice! Our first Bible reading is from the book of the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah comes on the scene in a time of darkness. The people had had awful presidents. In order to stop other countries from taking them over the presidents had made agreements with their neighbors. The Jewish people did not like these agreements which required that they give up their religion and join another religion. That religion would require mothers to abort their children. But fortunately a new president changes all of this. Zephaniah tells the people that they can rejoice again and they need not be afraid. The Lord will rejoice over them in gladness, and renew them in love. St. Paul echoes the same message. Paul writes to the Christians of Phillippi that the Lord is near and that his peace will guard their minds and hearts. Have no anxiety he tells them. The Gospel continues the story of John the Baptist we had last weekend. John the Baptist tells his friends about the coming of the Saviour. They ask him: What shall we do? John tells them to act with justice, charity and honesty so that their lives will reflect the life of Jesus. The Lord is in your midst...Fear not..be not discouraged. The joy of the Church today is in the coming of Jesus who brings us peace and joy and gladness and love. The joy of this Sunday comes in jumbo size. But how do we express it? Do we really feel it? We may feel awkward and embarrassed at expressing joy in a church. After all this is a Mass and not a hockey or basketball game where such expressions of joy are encouraged and expected especially if our team is winning. John the Baptist today dedicates his preaching and teaching to talking about a joyful God. Too often we can get the image of God as a sober God ready to do us in when we do something wrong; a God who gets upset over our failures to live what we believe. We can imagine him planning new punishments for our sins. Rather, God is a joyful God and wants us to catch that joy also. God made us in his own image and likeness. God doesn't make junk. God has to be happy with us. Someone once said: Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same. Jesus and John were such persons, and they can be such persons for us here today. This Advent we are invited to stop what we are doing for a while and listen to our hearts. It is part of our human nature to get caught up in individual anxieties. Twinges of pain, money worries, and family concerns all jostle within us to drain our time and energy as we try to meet demands for immediate attention and solution. We may go in for vigorous exercise, take tranquilizers, diet, or seek out the latest fashion in self-help or positive thinking. And these solutions may work for a time. But, as with physical diseases, the stresses and strains of human life have an incredible capacity to reinvent themselves in different shapes and sizes. As Christians, our belief is that ultimately we have to get in touch with the inner peace that only comes from God. But God's presence and peace began six months ago, or 6 years or 16 years or 60 years, when water was poured over our heads at Baptism. It is ongoing. That water of baptism is not just cleansing but also nourishing and refreshing. It gives us the ability to live at a level of serenity, whatever life throws at us. Preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas, we need to find time to allow that understanding of our need and Christ's response to take deeper root within us. What are we preparing for as we approach his coming? Surely it is the fullness of peace so often mentioned on Christmas cards and Christmas hymns. John the Baptist prepares the crowd for Christ's coming through baptism and a change of heart and behavior. It is only through God's presence that we will find true life and peace. As Christmas approaches we trust in God's loving presence rather than in self-help. Take a look this week of the progress of your Advent preparations so far, especially your spiritual preparations and not just Christmas gifts and Christmas cards. What would John the Baptist say to us today if we asked him what we ought to do? He would undoubtedly tell us to prepare ourselves the best we can for the coming of Jesus.

Homily for the Week of December 9, 2012

2nd Sunday of Advent, 2012 Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 Luke 3:1-6 Each year the Academy of Motion Pictures awards an Oscar for the best supporting actor and actress. Supporting roles are seldom given the recognition they deserve. The Bible reading which I just completed tells about a person who is in a supporting role in the history of Christianity. Today we are given the story of John the Baptist, the main supporting actor in the life of Jesus. To me John the Baptist is certainly the best and most willing supporting actor in Luke’s gospel. He is an announcer of good news; and an advance man for Jesus. He doesn’t pretend to be anything else. He is happy to fulfill this simple role as a supporting actor. And when given the chance to receive the best actor award, he simply states: I am a voice in the desert crying out: make ready the way of the Lord, clear him a straight path. John the Baptist was the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, challenging people to prepare the way of the Lord. But this preparation was not literally about smoothing roads, filling in potholes, or sprucing up the buildings. It was about repenting and preparing our hearts and actions to welcome the person who was to come. And we know now that this person was Jesus. John’s preaching must have sounded strange to the listeners, as does the voice of all persons who try to make significant changes in our society or even in our own personal life.. Who would dare to say: Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill be leveled. For religious Jews this was not all that strange. About 300 years before Jesus was born Baruch wrote about the same promise. The words of John the Baptist are nearly Xerox copies of those of Baruch. But John is different from other supporting actors. Instead of playing the part, he lives the part. He is real; he is humble; he is truthful; and he is faithful. Although the gospel reading for today does not mention it, his truthfulness cost him his life at the hands of Herod. Though our lives are much less dramatic than that of John the Baptist, he is the example of all us who truly and honestly commit themselves to Jesus and the way of life which Jesus showed us. Here in our parish family, in your own families, we are invited to be humble persons making breakthroughs on behalf of Jesus. We can do this only when we allow Jesus to form and transform our lives, so that we might then help others to transform their lives. John the Baptist knew what most of us know but do not want to admit. On the roads of life most of the barriers are those we have put there ourselves. We spend loads of time stating or proving an opinion for ourselves. We set up boundaries, authority, chains of command. As a result we get so absorbed in our work that we create a valley and cannot see beyond it. Or we make the roads crooked. We keep focusing on the future rather than living the here and now. How many of us are focusing on Christmas when we are just at the second Sunday of Advent? We have also encountered and even made rough roads. We find that our moral decisions do not always reflect our Catholic teachings and way of life. Do we give priority to what is good for those with whom we live, our family and school, or what is good just for me? Advent is a time of renewal of our faith and our life. It is a time for us to welcome Jesus more closely and fully in our lives that he might transform all of our actions. Clearing the way of the Lord is not an easy task. To smooth out the roads of our lives takes a lot of work and a lot of change. What personality bumps need smoothing? But this renewal is not something which can be satisfactorily completed by changing a few minor details of daily living. After all, flattening out mountains, filling in valleys and making rough roads smooth are not easy tasks. God has in mind something radical: the coming of a new heaven and a new earth, a new kingdom of peace, of forgiveness, of a clear conscience and blameless conduct, When we do this we might value the things that really matter as Paul wrote to the Philippians. That day will be for each of us our graduation day when we have grown up. The message is clear: Jesus has come to those of us who accept him as did John the Baptist. Acceptance requires of us humility, faith and honesty so that we might remove the mountains of selfishness, valleys of weakness, and crooked roads of sin. We also learn today something new. The Greek and Roman gods did not walk among the people. They kept themselves separate. But the true God in which we believe was not only going to walk among the people — He was actually going to become one of them! Often we might find ourselves still in the wilderness unsure of what we ought to do. But the wilderness is where John the Baptist found Jesus, and where we too we can meet Jesus. The Lord who desires to meet us and lead us through the wilderness is here at this table. Let’s not try to leave our wilderness behind; let’s bring it it to this table where our healing Lord awaits us. We must be made ready for Jesus so that his coming into our lives may be as easy as possible for Him.

Homily for the Week of December 2, 2012

First Sunday of Advent (C) 2012 Jeremiah 33:14-16 1 Thes 3:12-4:2 Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36 This is a great time of year! We have so many enjoyable things to do, and have many warm memories of Christmases past, and we enjoy the effort to make new Christmas memories. If this is the happiest season of all, then why does the Church give us such a bleak Gospel on the First Sunday of Advent. We want to celebrate, but today’s Gospel speaks of the frightening experience of the end of time. Perhaps one of the best reasons for being given our Gospel selection today can be found in the popular Christmas song, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year made famous by Andy Williams. The song is a description of activities associated with family get-togethers and gatherings of friends during the holiday season. It captures what many describe as the “spirit of the season.” While the song is full of merriment and fun, what is absent from the song is God. What the song does not acknowledge is that not everyone is happy at this time of year. Some families have relatives serving in military. Some families have loved ones who are critically ill or in hospice care. Many families are living in poverty. Many parents suffer anxiety because they cannot provide the kind of Christmas for their children that our culture says children should have. Many people have a job, a place to live, and no worries — except they are alone and lonely. Why does the Church give us a vision of the apocalypse on the First Sunday of Advent? It is because Christmas will make no sense unless we ponder how much we still need God. Today’s first reading describes Jeremiah as he witnessed the death throes of his nation. Judah and its capital Jerusalem had been conquered. The able-bodied intelligentsia had been taken into exile in Babylon. The leadership had been executed. And even more destruction loomed. Jeremiah placed the reason for Judah’s demise on one factor: It had lost its religious center; it had forgotten God. Through the years of domination, especially by Assyria, the Jews had gradually given up their faith, beliefs and identity in order to accommodate their oppressors. After almost 40 years of calling Judah back to its truths of faith and religious practices that had real meaning, Jeremiah had begun to realize that staying the course with Yahweh was humanly impossible. Earlier, Jeremiah had experienced some success and religious reform, but for every step forward in faith the nation seemed to take two steps back. Jeremiah deeply understood how desperately his people needed God. His story serves to remind us that although the people of Judah had lost their way and stood defeated and suffering, God’s promise to be faithful to them remained. God would restore from the stump of Jesse a new hope and a new relationship. The good news of Jeremiah was that God would help His people remember who they were. We must remember that the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise. We must be very careful that, unlike the people of Judah, we don’t gradually surrender our faith, beliefs or religious celebrations in favor of secular replacements. We must remember what happens when people give up their faith and beliefs in order to accommodate other gods. We cannot afford to overlook Advent and zoom straight into Christmas. And, this year, Advent is more important than ever. It is in Advent that Paul tells us that we must “learn to make greater progress still.” Not only do we need our faith — the world needs our faith. We must remind ourselves how badly we need God. Or have our “spirits become bloated with indulgence and worldly cares” so that we no longer think we need God? Advent is our time to “be on the watch.” Advent is a message of encouragement to those for whom this is not the happiest season of all. Advent reminds us that each of us still needs God, and that with Him there is hope. Perhaps we should be a little somber in Advent so that the great joy of Christ’s birth makes more sense. Patience is a word or a quality that most of us would like to have more of, especially as we prepare for Christmas. In 23 days many of you will be gathered here in church for Christmas Mass. When the Bible mentions patience, it usually means active waiting and hoping. As we begin a new church year, as we will soon bless the Advent wreath and light one of its candles, let us focus for the next 23 days on the Advent virtues of patience, hope, joy and fidelity. Advent is a time of waiting and hoping, of renewing our trust in God’s merciful love and care and of reflecting on the several comings of Christ in our lives. The key New Testament word for Advent is “watching"— of keeping careful watch of ourselves and conducting our lives in such a way that we may be found blameless and holy before God. Advent is also a time for proclaiming an end to the actions of our life that prevent us from giving birth. And because death is so difficult and so much to be avoided, then Advent, in a spiritual sense, can be considered as a time of suffering and self-denial. Advent comes at the shortest days of the year, the darkest of days almost as a reminder that we must take an honest look at how our lives can easily be filled with darkness. Advent is a time for us to admit that the coldness within us can hurt as much as the coldness our bodies sense from the outside. But the hope of Advent is not that Jesus will come at the end of time -- it is not that Jesus will come some time in the future --not even as far away as tomorrow - but right now. Advent is taking place right now. But we must stay awake or we will miss His coming. This Advent, as we wait for Christmas, let each of us try to accept delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Homily for the Week of November 25, 2012

Feast of Christ the King, 2012 First Reading: Daniel 7:13–14 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1, 1–2, 5 Second Reading: Revelation 1:5–8 Gospel: John 18:33b–37 This week I was talking to one of my priest friends who mentioned that one Sunday he made a grand gesture and he accidently swept his sermon notes off the pupil and onto the floor. After he picked them up and tried to reassemble them, the congregation heard him say to himself: Now, where was I. One member of the congregation answered back: Right near the end. Now this has no connection with what I intend to speak on today, but I thought it was funny. This special Mass in Honor of Christ the King can leave most of us wondering what does it mean. We in the United States have never been much for kings. Our nation began with a nasty war to free us from a king. Yet there’s something about royalty that fascinates us. Princess Diana and Prince Charles repeatedly captured the world’s attention. In the United States we watch with interest the doings of Queen Elizabeth. High School students still appoint members of their Junior class to be King and Queen of the Junior Prom. It may be that the lives of kings and queens represent a fairy-tale-like image of the good life that we just can’t help dreaming about. For poor people when the Bible was written, the notion of a kindly king who has the good of the people at heart may have held just as much attraction. When one’s life is a constant struggle, believing in a powerful king fuels hope and gives a reason to keep plodding on. Yet so very, very often our prayers use the image of king and kingdom. In the OUR FATHER we prayer your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. At funerals we pray that the person will enter the kingdom of God. We often end our prayers through Jesus Christ our king. Because of this you and I find it always difficult to see Jesus as a King. The image of KING is not one that appeals to our imagination or even our mind very much. Catholics in many other countries have a different viewpoint. And also a different spirituality based on Christ the King. For example our neighbors in Mexico don’t share our misgivings and indifference. The Mexican people are just as proud of their revolution, just as proud of their democracy, just as scornful of royalty as we are. Still, they have a great love for Christ the King. However, kings and royalty would not have seemed usual to Jesus. Political power in Palestine at the time of Jesus was with the King of Rome and his local governor, King Herod. Jesus crossed paths very often with King Herod. The Romans made Herod the King of Palestine about 50 years before Jesus was born. Herod built the temple in Jerusalem where Jesus prayed and taught. He was the king of Bethlehem when Jesus was born. He was the King of the Jews who heard that the new born baby Jesus was going to be a King, so Herod ordering that all young males living in Bethlehem would be killed. Herod’s son Pilate was king of Galilee where Jesus lived. He is the one who had John the Baptist killed. So it would not be surprising if Jesus had anything but hatred for kings, but it seems he didn’t. As an educated and devout Jew, Jesus knew how important kings, both good ones and bad ones, had been in Jewish history. He knew that the Jewish people would have a savior who was a descendent of the lovable King David. The Old Testament is filled with references to a ruler who is to come. Daniel in our first reading speaks of a person who is to come to give people victory over sin and death. By the time the Book of Revelation was written, that person became an historical person. The early Christian community that first heard the words of Revelation associated any reference to this person as being the person of Jesus Christ. Our Gospel passage can be a bit frustrating for us because we want Jesus to stand up for himself. We want Jesus to be clear with Pilate and with the Jewish authorities and chief priests about who He is. We want Jesus to be like an American hero who, having taken all the abuse he can take, comes out with guns blazing to set the world in order. This not only does not happen, in this story the hero dies. In this Gospel reading we find Jesus on trial. He is bound and handed over to be tried in court. Pilate is the prosecuting attorney. Jesus is his own lawyer trying to defend himself from the title KING OF THE JEWS. which Pilate hated. KING OF THE JEWS meant one thing for Pilate. It meant another thing to Jesus and his followers who were longing for an earthly kingdom. The Jews saw in the title ''King of the Jews'' a religious reality while Pilate saw a political one. But Jesus was also trying to teach his followers -- the early Christians who were at one time Jews. For thousands of years the Jews had prayed that God would establish his kingdom on earth. God had told them many times that the kingdom would be in heaven. But they forgot or did not understand. They had substituted an earthly kingdom which would replace the kingdom of King David. Jesus is trying to tell Pilate and the Jews that his kingdom does not belong to this world. Jesus says he is king where truth resides. He is the king of human hearts. Whether or not we call Jesus our king, spiritually we must have the faith to place our lives under his authority. We must freely allow him to rule us. Unlike Herod and Pilate and other kings, Jesus does not rule with a sword or a gun, but with the power of love. It is the only power that can bring a real sense of freedom - a freedom from sin. Jesus has come to make up for anything which we cannot handle. He came to teach us about God. Jesus was simply a witness for us of the power and love of God. He showed us this power by the way he lived. This is how we are to understand this feast of Christ the King. Jesus threats us with love. Perhaps the only ones who would fear Jesus would be those, who like Pilate, want to be control others. Again, we must ask ourselves what does it mean for we Catholic Americans to call Jesus a king? Is Jesus my king only when I am in church, or does He remain my king wherever I might be? Does my piety in church travel back home with me or to work with me or to school with me or when I am with my friends? Do I profess my faith in church but show little sign of it anywhere else? Living with Jesus is not like living with a president who is here for a few years then gone. Jesus is king all of the time and in all places. We must see the way that Jesus sees. We must try to live our daily life with the values and love of Jesus. If we do, when our earthly life is ended, we will then be ready to live in our first kingdom: the kingdom of God which is known as heaven.

Homily for the Week of November 18, 2012

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2012 First Reading: Daniel 12:1-3 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 Gospel: Mark 13:24-32 Human beings have always tried to answer the question: When will the world end? And there have been about as many different answers as there have been those asking the question. Throughout history, end-of-the-world movements missing their mark number in the "hundreds of thousands at the very least. A blockbuster movie named 2012 was released in movie theaters November 13, 2009. The movie tells us that the world is coming to an end on December 21, 2012 as predicted by the Mayans. That date is not based on a specific prophecy, but the end of their calendar which is about to roll up. The Mayans of Guatemala and Mexico viewed time and the concept of time different than we do. We’re linear in our time and we think of time as a timeline with a beginning point and an end point. Time for the Mayans was very much a cyclic pattern based on the sun. Bible writers have also tried to tell us when and what will happened at the end of the world. From reading or listening to the Bible readings over the years you must be convinced that Jesus reminds us that the choices we make in this life will determine what is ahead for us in the next. But our culture believes somehow everyone will end up happy in God’s heaven. If that were the case why would Jesus have spent so much time telling us how we ought to live our life right now. In today’s first reading and the Gospel, we are given two different biblical writers who reflect on the end times. Both are writing for a people under a lot of pressure, a people who may feel that the trials and tribulations they are undergoing are the signs of the end time. Will there be something beyond this earthly life? The ancient Israelites thought there was not. Some believed they would merely live on in the memories of their descendants. Some spoke of Sheol, the shadowy underworld in which a shade of the former self survived. It was only in the second century B.C. that the belief in resurrection and an eternal reward for the righteous began to emerge. Daniel also mentions “everlasting horror and disgrace” for the wicked, but he focuses his attention on what happens to those who have lived wisely and who have led others to seek and do justice. He envisions these people as shining brightly. He says they will be “like the splendor of the firmament...[they] shall be like the stars forever.” In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks to his disciples about the things that will happen at the end of time. The light of the sun and moon will be extinguished with the stars falling from the sky. Against the backdrop Jesus interjects the assurance that he will come again in power and glory, gathering his elect from “the end of the earth to the end of the sky.” We think of Jesus as being young, but Jesus, about thirty when he began his public ministry, would have been in the oldest 10 percent of the population. Rather than being seen as a young rabbi, Jesus would have been seen more as a wise old teacher. In that day, disease and malnutrition were so common that only one in five children lived past their first birthday. Most parents were dead by the time children reached the age of 16. This context of life being so short is another context for our passage today that gives us some the last things Jesus said. Jesus gives us an image of a tender green shoot at springtime, one that bursts forth from the fig tree. Stripped of its leaves and giving every appearance of having died, its life tenaciously sprouts forth anew, much like the yellow dandelions blossom or crocuses that seem to blossom overnight after being dormant all winter. And so Jesus assures us that no matter what horrendous suffering we endure, life will rise again in us through his power. In the Gospel there is no reference to punishment of those who are not faithful, only of gathering in all his scattered “elect.” The question of when all this will take place hangs unanswered. There is a tension in the Gospel. Jesus first says that it will happen in the lifetime of “this generation,” but then he asserts that no one knows the day or the hour—not even he—but only God the Father. Being followers of Jesus does not exempt us from ordinary problems of human life. Yes, there will be sickness, there will be auto accidents, our homes may be hit by lightening, marriages may break up. Jesus never told his followers how to avoid trouble. Instead, he tells them how to prepare for it. If Daniel's words do not persuade us that rescue and redemption are ours, the reading from Hebrews should. The author points out that Christ's sacrifice for us was not only perfect and true, but once and for all. It is important for us to realize that the great challenges of our life are not a punishment for our sins or an indication that God has forgotten us. After we have tried out every solution we come to the conclusion that nothing helps but our faith in a loving God. The reality of death is probably the last thing we want to consider as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this is exactly what the Church is asking us to do. The Church does not want to make us afraid. This is not what Daniel was trying to do and certainly not what Jesus was trying to do. Both offered the cold reality that tribulations and ends were coming, but both of them also put these realities in the context of hope. This world is only our temporary home. We are all made for something greater than this life.

Homily for the Week of November 11, 2012

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE B: 2012 1 Kings 17:10-16; Ps 146; Heb. 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 On April 11, 2009, an unknown unemployed 47 year old woman took the stage of the television talent show: Britain’s God Talent. She was awkward on the stage, filled with nervous fear as she walked out to the small piece of tape marking her spot at center stage. She faced an audience that was used to beautiful young talent, and three judges to evaluate her. She was an unappealing contestant, if ever there was one. But as the muffled laughter of the audience quieted down, Susan Boyle opened her mouth and out poured the haunting lyrics and melody of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. It was a powerful and confident voice that seemed it did not belong to the body from which it sprang. And as she sang the audience was transformed to converts and believers. They listened with stunned silence for a few seconds, and then burst forth in a standing ovation throughout the rest of the song. At that moment the dream that Susan Boyle dreamed actually came true. It is a great story. From rags to riches. An unknown who becomes a YouTube sensation overnight. She makes us wonder this weekend when the Bible speaks of the poor and unknown who make a difference. It also makes us wonder how many heros and champions are living right among us, lacking only their chance to show the world their hidden gifts. What great business ideas fail to be born for lack of enough money. What leaders remain in the back of the room because they do not have the courage and hope to keep trying after early defeats. What loving hearts stay locked up in loneliness rather to risk opening up after experiencing betrayal or bereavement. What great novel or music remains unwritten because the author cannot face another round of rejection slips. But sometimes the most important moments in the human story do not happen on center stage, and they are not captured on YouTube. Some of the greatest stories are not played out in front of thousands of adoring fans, nor affirmed by thunderous applause. This might be the patient caregiver who tirelessly tends to the physical and emotional needs of a single bedfast patient or family member. Or a person with very little money who nonetheless opens their heart and their wallet to share with another person even less fortunate than they are, or who drops a single coin in the collection basket. These are the silent, unknown champions of the human spirit. Because of their faithfulness the world turns and God’s goodness is made known. Our Bible readings for today tell us the story of two unlikely champions, both widows, both who were heros of faith and generosity. At the time the Bible was written widows were at the very bottom of the economic ladder. In the first reading today, there is a story of a widow who is down to her last handful of flour and a tiny bit of oil. She is just about to try to make something for her son and herself to eat, certain it will be their last meal. While gathering sticks at the entrance of the city, the widow encounters Elijah, who asks her first for a cup of water and then for a bit of bread. She explains her situation, and Elijah’s response seems initially to be incredibly insensitive. He asks her to bring him a little cake, even before she prepares something for herself and her son. What the biblical author does not recount is the kind of conflict such a request must have produced for the widow. Should she trust Elijah’s God, who insists that her jar of flour will not go empty nor the jug of oil run dry? Or should she follow her motherly instincts to feed her child first? The obligations of hospitality win out; she gives all she had to live on. Miraculously, the prophet’s promise of a never-ending supply of flour and oil comes true. In the Gospel Jesus tells us about another widow who came into the Jerusalem temple one day just a week before Jesus would be nailed to a cross. At the entrance were several trumpet shaped metal containers into which people tossed coins. Those who had lots of money tossed in many coins and this made lots of noise. But a widow comes in, tosses in 2 small coins, the only money that she had. As far as we know, she didn’t even know that Jesus was watching her. But Jesus did notice her. Jesus knew that these two small coins represented her entire net worth. It was all the money she had. And Jesus said to his surprised disciples that her gift was the largest one given, because she gave her very life. It was the same thing Jesus would do later that week on the cross. These two widows gave away what they had. These two widows did not give of their left overs, but what they needed to live. Our first and third readings of today demand of us that we turn around society. We are called to open up pathways and doors of opportunity. Jesus demands of us that. He cautions us that we not be like the money makers of the society who often invite us to invest with them or to buy their goods often persuading those who can least afford it. These scribes were good at telling others what to do. For the widow, giving was not to impress others, but an expression of the love of God and love of others. Our American culture invites us to make sure we receive more than we give. Too often we identify poverty with lack of money. But the first beatitude of Jesus says: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. The glass that is full can receive no more. It is only the empty glass or cup that can be filled. If we find ourselves filled with everything that is not of God, then it is difficult for God to empty our lives. We become completely attached to material things. There is nothing bad in having possessions and money. But poverty of spirit allows us to detach ourselves from always wanting more and newer and newer, or having what someone else has. Too often we associate what we have to material things. But we are also a spiritual person with a spiritual and religious life. Our faith is also a gift that comes from God. Most people intend to take care of their material things including their money. They are usually proud of what they have. Most people lock up their house, put their money in safe places. They intentionally do this. They get advice from others to help them. Are we equally attentive to our Catholic faith? How well do we take care of it, and make it increase in our life? How well do we make our Catholic faith our own, or do we still believed that it was grandfathered to us -- passed down from our parents or grandparents? The widows were not told what to do. It was part of what they believed their faith in God wanted them to do. After the final blessing of the Mass, the priest says to you: GO IN PEACE TO LOVE AND SERVE THE LORD. To which you respond: THANKS BE TO GOD!

Homily for the Week of November 4, 2012

HOMILY: 31ST week in Ordinary Time, B 2012 Deu 6-2-6; Ps 18-2-3,47; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12: 28-34 A political race for President of the United States ultimately comes down to two persons, squaring off through a marathon of campaign stops and speeches seeking to win the hearts and hopes, and the ultimately the votes, of the American people. But a year ago,before the two major political parties fielded their respective candidates for the general election, there was a larger list of hopeful candidates. But in the end the presidential race comes down to just two. But this is the way we like it. We prefer things to be simplified, reduced to choices between few options. Somehow, an ultimate finale between two finalists who have survived the winnowing process, to stand in the last test for the prize, seems like the best and clearest way to settle a complex race. And it is not just in politics that we like this reduction to a final two but in also in high school sports such as football or basketball or soccer. We need a smaller number in order to capture our imagination, to focus our perspective, and to inspire a passionate debate. In the days of Moses, according to our Old Testament reading for today, God gave the people of Israel many commandments to help them know God's heart, and to follow in His ways. These commandments and laws were intended to serve as a blueprint, or a set of instructions, a moral GPS, guiding and guarding God's people through the world. They also helped to distinguish individuals as special people after His own heart. But in the five books of Moses there are 613 unique and distinct commandments given by God through Moses to the people. Try to imagine how you would remember 613 laws or regulations. So the instruction booklet started sounding a bit cumbersome. And so God, knowing our preference for summaries and simpler reductions of complex matters, narrowed the entire its 613 laws to just ten great commandments. He wrote this "Top Ten" out on two tablets of stone, and gave them to Moses to give to the people. It is easier to wrap our minds around 10 commandments, than to memorize 613 laws. But God was not through reducing and summarizing His set of instructions with just this Top Ten. In today's reading from Deuteronomy Moses is instructed to give the people a single sweeping summary of the entire law. Here it is: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your strength. As you might expect, that single sentence carries great weight for those who would be God's people. And to this very day, this phrase ,called the Shema, is repeated every day by faithful Jews. Orthodox Jews write this phrase in small scrolls and place it on the doors of their homes, or in small pouches worn on their arms and around their heads. All of this is to physically remind them, every time they pass through their front door, or stretch forth their hand, or look out into the world, that they are marked by their obedience to this single sentence summary of how God wants them to live. In fact if you remember or were to read the first three of the Ten Commandments you will find that these first three commandments tell us to love God with our whole heart, soul, and strength. The remaining seven of the Ten Commandments talk about what it means to live in loving relationship with one another: honoring parents, no killing, no adultery, no stealing, no lying. Clearly God did not think it was possible to love Him correctly, or completely, in isolation from the way we relate to each other. In fact most of the 613 laws were given to show us in specific details of how we are to live in love with one another. And so we are now to the Gospel which I just read. By the time when Jesus was meeting people in public a law student of the asked Jesus which was the "first" commandment, that is, which is the most important one. How did Jesus reply? Jesus replied by quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy, our first reading, but then added a quote from the Bible book of Leviticus, as if it was a continuation of the same "first" commandment. The quote was: And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." When you think about it, this phrase summarizes the last seven of our Ten Commandments. So the 613 rules are summarized in just Ten Commandments. And even those ten are summarized in just two great commandments, according to Jesus. Jesus ties these two great commandments into one: Love God, love your neighbor. It is as simple, and as profound, as that. Jesus places the love of neighbor in the same category as the love of God These two dimensions - love God and love one another - are two directions of love that are the absolute minimum of God's plan for our lives. These are the twin towers of loving. They are inseparable actually, like giant sequoia trees growing from a common root, since we cannot really love God and despise each other. And we cannot adequately love our each other without the grounding anchor of love for God. Love for God in isolation from love for the neighbor is empty piety, a mere theoretical form of religion that makes no difference in this world. But equally so, those who would serve and love the world apart from the foundation of love and obedience for God, are not able to sustain their desire for good works over the long haul. It all comes down to two. Two paths of love----one pointed vertically to God, toward the heavens; and the other pointed horizontally to humanity, toward our neighbor. Where they meet they form a cross. A cross, where the two beams of love were fastened by a single life poured out for the love of God and for the love of the world. And that is why we make the sign of the cross as we pray. It is why a crucifix is displayed so prominently in our places of worship. We are people marked, and redeemed by the twin beams of love that cross in Jesus. Many civil organizations and programs exist to help people in need. Billions of dollars are spent by political officials to show caring for those in need. But these efforts often leave people feeling empty, hurt and lonely. It is because they are not empowered by the love OF God, and the love FOR God that is seen in the love of our neighbors. Without such love, efforts to help others are cold and impersonal. Our care for others must give love a human face, the face of Jesus, always promoting human freedom and dignity.

Homily for the Week of October 28, 2012

30th Sunday B - 2012 First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7–9 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1–2, 2–3, 4–5, 6 Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1–6 Gospel: Mark 10:46–59 Most of us have lived in Northern New York much of our lives with the largest city being Plattsburgh or Burlington. When we think of the homeless we often identify them with cities like Albany, or New York or Montreal. But homelessness occurs in communities of all sizes. The homeless are persons without a regular dwelling or a house. They often are street people living in boxes or on park benches. They are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing. These persons customarily beg for money or food from passers-by. Most of these persons suffer from the effects of our economy, of mental illness, dependence on drugs and alcohol, aging with little or no support. Yet, behind all of these facts and statistics, they are flesh-and-blood human beings living with the reality of not having a permanent place to call home. They, too, like us were created in the image and likeness of God. Now bring that scene 2000 years ago. You and Jesus are walking together after meeting him in Jericho just 18 miles from Jerusalem. On the side of road is a blind, homeless beggar who yells out to Jesus. Some with you try to silence him, but he calls out all the more. Because of the crowd, Jesus might not have been able to see the man. But Jesus hears him yelling out. Jesus finds out that his name is Bartimaeus. Jesus hears him say: Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. But Jesus tells them to have the man come to him. Bartimaeus comes to Jesus. Jesus' attention is turned completely to this person in need. Jesus and Bartimaeus get into a deeply interpersonal exchange and Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” He says to Jesus: I want to see. Jesus says to him: Go your way, your faith has saved you. Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus. What Bartimaeus sought was something far more important than being cured from blindness. Bartimaeus teaches us about what Jesus really offers, and he teaches us how to approach Jesus with our needs This poor, blind homeless was the only one in this scene who recognized who Jesus is. His call to Jesus was an acclamation of faith. Bartimaeus was not traveling with Jesus to see signs and miracles as were the others. Bartimaeus had faith in Jesus. So Bartimaeus does not go away, but instead follows Jesus on the way. By throwing his cloak away Bartimaeus gave up all he had to follow Jesus. In Jesus' day, to have a handicap was an outward sign that one had been affected by sin, either their own or someone's within their family. Despite this, in most healing stories, family or friends bring the handicapped or sick to Jesus, asking that He intervene and give the person health. In every case, Jesus heals the person for the good of the whole community. Each healed person benefits, but somehow the healing serves all believers as well. We learn something more of Bartimaeus. ''He threw aside his cloak.'' It was the practice of beggars to spread out their cloaks and sit on them. Not only did the cloth keep them off the ground, but also a cloak made it easy for beggars to gather up coins thrown by those who passed by. When Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, it meant he abandoned his dependence on the money and transferred his dependency to Jesus. As faithful Catholics, our ears must be attuned to the calls of those who are crying out for healing and reconciliation. In many instances we are the ones who hear the cry of friends or family members who call out for reconciliation and healing. In other instances, especially when one member of our family or parish community is especially weighed down by suffering, perhaps we can lead that person to a priest. But in my 50 years as a priest I have found that it is very, very often people like you who have led a person to me to seek spiritual help or healing. Many times persons need your eyes and ears and common sense to help those most in need to come to me for help. We must commit ourselves to working together to bring about healing and reconciliation. It is important to note what occurred after Jesus cured Bartimaeus. Our own share in the priesthood, given to us in baptism, demands that we as well come to know and understand all those around us. In coming to know people and the human condition, we become more compassionate and less likely to shun someone. With compassion, our first instinct becomes to serve someone's needs, not shun them. The lesson for us from the story of the blind man is that in his darkness he never gave up hope that one day he would be able to see the world as it is. Thus when Jesus came to him he was prepared to see. Jesus touched him and for the first time he SAW--- and the first thing he saw was the face of Jesus Christ. Now he could finally see the world for what it was -- a place where Jesus Christ lived. The man happily put aside the memory of his blindness and now seeing, began to follow Jesus down the road that led to the land beyond all times. So it shall be for us if we try our best to follow Jesus in this life. May the Lord forgive us for all the times we have asked for foolish things, rather than for the help to see better the road to salvation. Let us also pray to be a close friend of Jesus like Bartimaeus was. And then we too will hear Jesus say to us: What do you want me to do for you?

Homily for the Week of October 21, 2012

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY October 21, 2012 29 B Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45 or 10:42-45 Most TV news channels have what is known as Eyewitness News. Eyewitness News is what it says it is. What you are watching on the TV is what actually happened as if you yourself had been there for the event. Jesus lived thousand of years before TV news, but he nevertheless invited every one of his followers to witness to others what he taught them. Those who believe in Jesus were chosen to be his messengers on the day of Baptized.The promises that the parents and godparents of a child to be baptized are the same as the Creed we proclaim together at Mass right after I leave the pulpit. Each year a special Sunday is set aside for us to remind us to think about and to pray that the way we live is and eyewitness to the way that Jesus would live if he were here. We call this action our mission and the individual who carries it out is called a missionary. To be a missionary means to respond to the invitation of Jesus to go and do the same. Jesus is no longer here in person, so he needs us to represent him. While we often associate a missionary as a person who goes to a far away country to talk about Jesus, by our Baptism each of us are asked to be misssionaries every minute of our lives. This weekend, however, we honor and identify with those who leave the comfort of their homes and communities to go to other places in our world to bring the news of Jesus to those who have not yet heard of Him. Most of us probably don’t realize that some of these persons have a close identification with our country and with Cadyville. Two hundred years ago an 18 year old girl by the name of Pauline Jaricot was born to a wealthy family in France. Her father owned a silk factory in Lyon, France and Pauline worked in the factory. During that time many young men and women left France to become missionaries in what was called New France -- the Eastern part of the United States. Pauline's brother was one of these young men. One day Pauline received a letter from her brother who lived in New Orleans in which he described the extreme poverty of the Catholic people in Louisiana. As the result of her brother's letter Pauline organized a group of the women working with her in the silk factory. She called the group the circle of 10. Their purpose was to support the French Catholics in the United States. Each woman was asked to pray each day and to give a penny a week. Pauline then sent the money to her brother. Pauline Jaricot was convinced that not enough people represented Jesus because they could not find the time. This group became what we Catholics today call the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. At that time this parish was part of the Diocese of Albany. Two thirds of their collection benefited the young Catholic church in the United States including the Diocese of Albany in which St. James, Cadyville was located, and benefited financially. The Bishop of Albany wrote to Pauline and said that we could not exist but for your charity. This weekend we also have a great example of persons who gave, not their money but their lives to be missionaries. Tomorrow Pope Benedict XVI in Rome will declare that Kateri Tekakwitha is a saint.. Kateri is the first Native American saint in the Catholic Church. Kateri was of Algonquin and Mohawk descent. She became an orphan as a young child. A smallpox epidemic left her sight severely damaged and her face scarred for life. It so happened that missionary priests from France come to Albany. Kateri learned about our Catholic faith from Issac Jogues, one of these missionaries. She was Baptized when she was 16. After her Baptism members of her village made fun of her and threaten to remove her from the Village. To protect her two Christian Indians placed her in their canoe and brought her up the Hudson River, to Lake George, Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River to Kahnawake, near Montreal where some Catholic Indians lived. She died in 1670 at the age of 24. All of this happened because some young men decided to leave France and come to what was known as New France and teach about Jesus to the Native Americans around Albany and Lake George 350 years ago. In our first reading today Isaiah tells of the suffering servant: If he gives his life as an offering for sin. the will of the Lord will be accomplished through him. We know that God wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. While Isaiah wrote this thousands of years ago, I am sure that we who believe in our faith and try to live it the best we can often find some persons who think it is ridiculous that we do. And because of this many persons quit the practice of their religion. In the Gospel today Jesus asks James and John Can you drink the cup I shall drink or be baptized in the same bath of pain as I? In a sense Jesus is asking each of this personal question. As we celebrate World Mission Sunday we are reminded that our missionary work takes place not only among family, friends and neighbors, but also extends to all peoples. Two thirds of the worlds people have not yet been reached with the Good News that Jesus told us about. We must help them to hear, and to experience the saving love of Jesus, teaching and healing of those who serve. We are called by Jesus today and always to a radically new way of life in which the criteria of success are totally different from the world's criteria. We are call to a new relationship and friendship with Jesus. We are expected to express the values that Jesus realized in his own life. Each of us have been given much, but from whom much is expected. We are called in a special way to be “missionaries of faith,” The greatest and most effective gift you and I can give to others is to let them see in us an eyewitness of the goodness and love of Jesus. Without saying a word we will bring hope and peace to many who have been waiting to hear good news.

Homily for the Week of October 14, 2012

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2012 First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30 [17-27] On Thursday St. James Parish and every Catholic parish throughout the entire world began a Year of Faith. The year will end in November next year. This Year of Faith is an opportunity for all of us to rediscover our faith and become more deeply involved in living out our Catholic faith. We are invited to renew our commitment to our religion and, if necessary, to return to the practice of our religion. In so doing we can rediscover its beauty and truth and a chance to claim it more deeply for ourselves and for our families. The number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation has grown very rapidly in the past 5 years to about 30% , The largest number of these are persons in their twenties. Obviously, many of these were Catholics who were baptized and made their First Communion as young children. There is also a large group of persons who say they do not practice their religion every week. These are not strangers: they are our parents, spouses, children, and friends. And they are Catholics but for various reasons do not come to Mass on a regular basis. Many of them find that they have busy schedules or a lack of time, some have family responsibilities and health problems or disabilities; conflicts with work. Some have sadly come to the conclusion that they are not religious enough and should not be here. Reconnecting with our Catholic faith in this year of faith can help us begin a process whereby we reclaim our lives for important things, like the question that the young man asked Jesus: what must I do to inherit eternal life? In the Bible we occasionally find Jesus upset with some who had little faith. Jesus often linked faith to his healing miracles. His followers would often beg him to increase their faith. Probably if we thought about it, most of us would also tell Jesus that we need His help to increase our faith. A lot of us if we were asked why we were Catholic rather than another religion, we would probably answer: “I was raised that way.” Today's gospel features a young and gifted man who was challenged to overcome an obstacle. No doubt, it was an obstacle with which many of us might liked to be burdened: riches. Unfortunately, the young man was not up the invitation Jesus extended to him. His riches stood between him and a share in everlasting life. Whether or not he eventually overcame his attachment to his wealth and opted to follow Jesus is not ours to know. But it is enough that this experience and many like them cause us to look at ourselves and find out what in our personal faith is lacking and is standing between ourselves and God. Jesus is trying to tell us that nothing should stand in the way of those called to participate in the work of God. In contrast to the rich young man, in our first reading we find that Solomon did not allow anything to stand between him and God. Although he was far from perfect, Solomon had his priorities in order when he came to God in prayer. His money, power and prestige did not stand in the way or cloud his vision or prevent him from making the right decisions. We all understand the point Jesus is making in today's gospel. To share everlasting life, the rich man had one more thing to do. Go, Jesus told him, and sell what you have and give to the poor...After that, come and follow me. The implications are not only bothersome but downright staggering if we look only at our material possessions. But what if we also included another possession or gift which is our Catholic faith? In fact it might be a lot easier to give away some of our possessions than to share our Catholic faith. Giving away a possession is a one time gift. But sharing our faith is a lifetime obligation, and it is often a gift that is refused by those to whom you want to give it. In fact, that command might be even more difficult than to give away our possessions. In fact it may be that many of us have not considered our faith as a gift, but maybe a burdened. But there is one more thing that Jesus is asking of us. Look closely, he would say, an you'll see that there is no sell by date on this gospel. Our faith is there 24 hours a day that comes in all types of expression. The faith of a young child or teenager or young adult is not the same as that of a senior citizen or newly married couple, or of a widow. Our faith is molded by our family and culture and experiences. It may be on hold for years or it may be loaded with question marks. However as we walk day after day it will always be there, waiting. Faith also fills us. One person once told me. I was living a barren life without God. I still so miserable? I felt like there was a big hole in my chest with a cold wind blowing through.After realizing that I had no relationship with God, I began attending Mass, and finally felt that I was home. Each and every day or at least once a week we have the opportunity to hear the word of God as read from the Bible to challenge us. Each time we hear the word of God being read or seen in our Mass booklets it should penetrate us to the heart. It confronts us where we are. It should make us look at our values, our priorities, our lifestyle. We will also find within the word the direction we need to remain faithful to it. And above all, the only possession or richness which we must have is the power of love which power is given to every human being.

Homily for the Week of October 7, 2012

27th Sunday Year B 2012 First Reading: Genesis 2:18–24 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 128:1–2, 3, 4–5, 6 Second Reading: Hebrews 2:9–11 Gospel: Mark 10:2–16 [2–12] This weekend we are given a series of Bible readings about equality between sexes, and marriage. Given all the questions about marriage and the issues that surround marriage today, our passage from Mark can make everyone very uncomfortable. Most of you don't know that women in this country got the right to vote just about 100 years ago. At the time of Jesus, women were regarded as possessions, which meant that only a man could ask for divorce. There was also a debate going on among the Jews. Some followed the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy and the rabbi Shammai who interpreted God to allow divorce only in cases of adultery. On the other hand, the followers of Rabbi Hillel taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason including loosing her youthful looks. Today's first reading as been used for thousand of years to justify treating women as inferior to men. But experts in ancient culture have shown that the basic point is that none of the animals was an equal partner to the man. He has dutifully named all the animals, but could not find a fully satisfying partnership. Consequently, God created the first woman, as he did the first man, with a unique act of creation. The stress is on the unique relationship between the first woman and the first man. The gospel is very difficult to understand and, for some, difficult to accept even today. Many families have suffered the agony of divorce, and today's Gospel could very well be another wound. Jesus is very clear about divorce, but the context must be noted. To whom is Jesus speaking? He is not speaking to those who are divorced. He is speaking to a group of Pharisees, a group of religious lawyers. In speaking to them Jesus uses the phrase hardness of your heart. In Greek that is a phrase which is known in medicine as cardiosclerosis, a possibly fatal physical condition. The people of Jesus’ day thought that the heart was the center of the will, which made decisions. Jesus is clearly saying that the Pharisees’ hearts were no longer able to listen and thus no longer able to make decisions regarding the teaching of Bible. Pharisees are lawyers who have challenged Jesus on legalistic grounds, and He responds in kind. They ask about the law. Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ legal question not with legal language, but with theological language. All that Jesus says about marriage is in the context of God’s intention for us, not in the context of law. Everything Jesus says is about what should exist in the Kingdom, not about what existed then — or now. Another context for our Gospel is to remember that while women could be charged with adultery, men could not. In the house with the disciples, Jesus makes clear that, in His mind, not only could women commit adultery, but men could as well. The creation story of man and woman does not create a hierarchy of men over women, it creates a partnership of equality, and in the debate over divorce, Jesus reminds His disciples of this. The most startling parts of Jesus’ statements about marriage is that His teaching does not exist in the Old Testament. It is new. Also, only husbands could ask for a divorce, yet Jesus says that His teaching applies to both husbands and wives. The question before Jesus was about much more than divorce. It was about exceptions to the rules and the law. Like the pharisees how often do we too read the rules, but we want to know the exceptions. Today's readings provide us with an opportunity to reflect on whether we are prepared to take risks in our relationships with others and trust each other. They also challenge us to look at our relationship with God and assess how much we are prepared to love God as opposed to simply believing in God or asking God for what we need. Obviously, because of various reasons, for some there is no way in which two persons are able to make such a lasting agreement. Too often a man and woman about to get married bring into the marriage a lot baggage. In most cases problems began years before the wedding day. Often these personal difficulties were hidden or covered over in the process of marriage preparation. In our times when the tools of communication such as cell phones and the internet are so readily available, it is a real tragedy that many preparing for marriage do not or are afraid to be honest in trusting with each other. The ability to trust one another is lacking at the time of marriage. Often, the marriage is only a public event that happened to take place in a Catholic church. While no bride and groom whose marriage I have witnessed as a priest planned to get divorced, many do. Sometimes divorce may be the best solution. However, parents who are divorced must not hate one another. Parents who are divorced can be gentle with each other and treat each other with love and respect. Children must never feel that they are the cause of the divorce. For those of you who are happily married take this day to reflect and to thank each other for the gift of each other. Let your wedding ring, which is round and has no beginning and no end, be a sign of God's love for you, and your love for each other. For those of you preparing for marriage, take time by yourself to consider what must be done so that you will give to your future partner the best person that could ever be expected, and change what needs to be changed before you are married. As you prepare for marriage remember that God must be a partner in that marriage. That means that both of you should have a relationship with God before getting married. For those of you who may be in a struggling marriage, plan to do something immediately by seeking assistance through others and through prayer alone and together to face the problems which you have. And for those of you whose marriage may have ended, be like the little children of the gospel who trusted Jesus, and then were embraced and blessed by him. Loving God or loving another completely is never easy. Neither is marriage easy. However, letting the love of God be a partner to the love of one another, can make marriage easier and last until death. Ultimately, there is very little that cannot be kept good, or made better by prayer. Believe in the spiritual guidance of: the family that prays together stays together. Let all of us promise ourselves that we make prayer the absolute necessity of our lives, especially family prayer.

Homily for the Week of September 30, 2012

Twenty-sixth Sunday, B 2012 First Reading: Numbers 11:25–29 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 10, 12–13, 14 Second Reading: James 5:1–6 Gospel: Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48 A few years ago once a week in the Plattsburgh newspaper Rabbi Marc Gellman and Msgr. Tom Hartman write about a religious topic each from a Jewish and from a Catholic viewpoint. They take a look at how religious beliefs are the same and different from each other, issue by issue. They wrote stories for parents and for the classroom as a way of understanding the Bible better. Among their books is one by the title of DOES GOD HAVE A BIG TOE? Another little book is titled HOW DO YOU SPELL GOD? In the book they tell the story of a king who had a beautiful ring and three sons. Each of the sons wanted the ring. When the king died he left three rings one for each of his sons along with a letter telling them that one of the rings was real and two were fake. The way you will know who has the real ring, wrote the king, is that the son with the real ring will be kind and generous to all people. The story goes on and tells us that each of the sons spent the rest of his life being good to others to prove that he had the real ring. The truth of our religious how well we live as a follower of Jesus is not proven by yelling and screaming about our values but by LIVING them. That was not quite the case in the story with Moses and Joshua as told in our first reading today. Joshua was a tattling. He was talking about persons whom he thought were outsiders but acting as if they were God. Joshua was unwilling to share what he had been given by God. Moses tells him that he must not keep it to himself. And that God at times takes a person whom we do not like very much of to do good things. But each of us, if we would admit it, have favorites. Each day we usually meet persons whom we will accept and others whom we do not care much about. This unequal treatment of each other is known as prejudice. Prejudice springs from ignorance, insecurity, thoughtlessness, and sometimes jealousy. Prejudice begins when someone sees someone else as not one of us. The Bible's response to prejudice is very clear. Moses shows a generous attitude in the face of Joshua's complaints: Joshua's jealousy must not stand in the way of the Lord's work. The Lord gives his love and care to all persons regardless of their personal life story. Some of our second reading by St. James seems very James very 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 the residents called the highway department to remove the stone. That is justice and not charity. If you looked carefully at the various examples listed in our second reading you can quickly see what happens when a society depends on the laws of justice to get things done rather than the gifts of charity and love to do them. In our life both justice and charity are needed, but they must not be confused. 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 insufficient reason for him to be excluded from the ministry of Jesus. Prejudice has no place among those who say they believe in Jesus. The judgment of Jesus is not against those who differ or stand apart from the group but rather against those who tolerate sin. We could interpret the cutting off of the sinful hand in a literal way, although even the most literalist of Christians find a way of avoiding this drastic advice of Christ. We can instead see it as a comment on the Christian community, that what is sinful and what hinders spiritual growth must be removed. When we tolerate prejudice we agree with it and therefore are guilty of it. 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. Neither Joshua nor the disciples of Jesus receive praise for this thinking. We, too, can expect to receive little reward for thinking and acting with charity. 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 our 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 September 23, 2012

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, B 2012 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 The first thing that strikes me about today’s Gospel is the contrast between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was trying to prepare them for Good Friday, for dying by being nailed to a cross, but the disciples were preoccupied with which of them was the greatest. They just did not understand what Jesus was telling them. But they were also afraid to question him. Jesus had a lot of big egos in his group. With that attitude they wouldn’t be very good at attracting people to Jesus. It is easy to imagine that as Jesus was talking with them, there were a few children close by. They could very well have been some of the children of these men Jesus was talking with. Jesus motioned to one child to come to him. He put his arm around the child. And then says: WHOEVER RECEIVES ONE CHILD SUCH AS THIS IN MY NAME RECEIVES ME; AND WHOEVER RECEIVES ME, RECEIVES NOT ME BUT THE ONE WHO SENT ME. By doing this Jesus was showing the disciples what kind of attitude he expected of them. Jesus was not asking us to adopt the attitude that we are not worth anything or that we have no importance. Jesus shows himself to be an effective teacher. He uses a visual aide to get a message to his unbelieving friends. 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 lives 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 we finished high school as valedictorian, or how many touchdowns we made; they don't care about how many honors we got; they are not interested in the kind of car we drive, or where we live, or how much money we have in the bank, or even the size of our 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 lives 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 a young 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 was 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 (Judges 11:29-40) promised that he would sacrifice the first one who would come to meet him when he returned home after winning a battle. Sadly, that person was his young daughter who rushed to meet him, and he kept his promise. So with this history of child abuse ingrained in the Jewish culture it came as 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. As I was preparing these reflections I was thinking of Jesus and what he has done for me and or all of you. His service to us begins first of all by creating us. He spent his public life doing good for all kinds of people. Because of this he encountered a lot of people who liked him, but also a lot of people who complained about him and rejected him. In fact this viewpoint hasn’t changed that much in the last 2000 years. Each one of you have been with persons who question why you still believe, or still practice your religion. They may often make fun or make undignified remarks about you because of your religious beliefs. Because so many who even mention they are Catholic know about as much about their religion as when they made their First Communion or maybe Confirmation. Their religion may be childish, and not child like. But the message of Jesus today is that we are all called to a higher life, and surprisingly, even those we complain about may be in that higher life. There is a story about a man who died and went to heaven. He was amazed when he got there to find people he never expected to find. He commented to God: I never expected to find some of these people here, and by the way why is everyone so quiet? God said: They did not expect to see you here. Most of us will probably be greatly surprised when we get to heaven and see who is there and who enjoys a higher position. We praise and thank God for all he has done for us. Let us pray that we might learn from his example of generous kindness and service to us.

Homily for the Week of September 16, 2012

24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 2012 Year B Is 50: 5-9 Ps116: 19 James 2:14-18 Mark 8: 27-35 Most of us are curious to know a little more about those with whom we work, or in our classrooms, or live next door. Today there is an abundance of Internet sites known as social media through which persons can talk about themselves or others. Those who have cell phones or other technology can see these messages 24 hours a day if they wish. But an abundance of information does not necessarily mean that it can all be trusted, or that we should place our dignity or life on it. It may be unfortunate that we may have lost the joy of face to face conversation and relationships. In today’s Gospel Jesus is having a face to face conversation with Peter. Peter was concerned that Jesus was too harsh. He was turning people away. So he took Jesus aside and tried to persuade him to tone down his speeches a little. He then said to Peter: WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM? WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? Peter says that Jesus is the long, hoped for savior of the world. But Jesus was not quite satisfied with that answer. Jesus says it is great to have faith, but that is not enough. Our faith must be put in action by good deeds or good works. St. James in today's second reading talks about this. He says WHAT GOOD IS IT IF SOMEONE SAYS HE HAS FAITH BUT DOES NOT HAVE WORKS? FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD, James tells us. Martin Luther years ago use to preach that it did not matter what you did. All God wanted of you was to have faith. 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? When we go to those who are suffering and those who are searching, and we give them joy, it is then that we carry out the good works of faith that St. James talks about. Doing this is also contagious. We receive in return many times more than we have given. We know that people often imitate bad behavior. But we should also know that people also imitate good behavior. Our faith is built on the shoulders of others. Most likely these are our parents, our teachers, our close friends our 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 about 158 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. The face of our Catholic Church here in the North Country is made up of people of all walks of life. Each year at this time we begin what is known as the Bishop’s Fund to help support the many spiritual and religious good works for the Catholics of our North Country. Many of you have already received communication on the Bishop’s Fund. They tell about the Faces of Faith of persons in Northern New York. You received a smaller version of this composite photograph. In it there are about 500 faces of North Country persons of faith. Like with Jesus and St.Peter, these faces all tell the story of faith in times of need: Hope in times of despair. Like the parents whose child was diagnosed with a heart defect but came to know the support of their friends and neighbors through a grant from the Bishop’s Good Samaritan Fund; Perseverance when times are difficult. Like the folks who participate Family Guggenheim, working hard to strengthen their marriages and families; Education in order to serve. Like the Seminarians and Commissioned Lay Ministers who study our faith so that they may serve in parishes across the diocese; Building foundations for life. Like the children in Catholic Schools and Religious Formation who are learning Christian values and the importance of bringing their gifts to the service of others. 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. How would you or I answer the question of Jesus today: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Homily for the Week of September 9, 2012

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time B 2012 First Reading: Isaiah 35:4–7a Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:7, 8–9, 9–10 Second Reading: James 2:1–5 Gospel: Mark 7:31–37 Those of you that follow the gospel readings Sunday after Sunday, or those of you who spent some time each day in reading from the Bible realize that Jesus is at times long winded. For example, his Sermon on the Mountain covers three entire chapters in St. Matthew's Gospel, and his speech at the Last Supper covers four chapters. More often, however Jesus follows the traditional advice given to preachers, namely Be bold, be brief, be gone. Jesus frequently presents his point in a concise form using a story. There are times, like today, when Jesus cuts to the very meaning of the message that you can count the words on one hand. There are times when a situation is so critical and his reaction and response so urgent that he cannot waste a word. For instance at one time he heals a crippled person with four words: Your sins are forgiven. He heals a person who had leprosy with three words: Be made clean. He calls Levi, the tax collection with two words: Follow me. But Jesus wins the bonus for few words in today's Gospel when he heals the deaf man with a speech impediment, not with five words, not with four words, not with three or two words, but with just one single, emphatic and dramatic word ephphatha (ef-fa-tha). This word is from the ancient Aramaic language that Jesus and his friends spoke. It is translated into English by the two words: Be opened. Today's gospel tells us that no sooner had Jesus said this one word immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. What is our reaction to this story? Is this just another episode that happened almost 2000 years ago but has little or no meaning or impact upon us today? After all, hearing aids are available to improve the hearing of the deaf. There are speech therapists trained to deal with speech impediments. As a matter of fact, most of us do not have a hearing or speech problem. Or do we? How well do we listen? We hear that we should quit smoking, but we keep puffing, polluting the fresh air that we breathe. We hear that we should moderate our drinking, but we keep guzzling the booze that does nothing to nourish us and everything to hurt us and harm others. We ignore traffic laws, drive too fast, jabber on cell phones -- instead of giving full attention to the difficult duty of driving. How often do we allow our friends or class mates to pressure us into doing something we know is wrong? Are we listening? Do we listen when Jesus speaks to us? Do we turn a deaf ear to all the commercial and domestic noise that bombards us, and instead open the ear of the heart to the words of Jesus? Do we really pay attention to the message Jesus has prepared for us whenever we come to Mass and hear again his Good News? Do we take prime time to read a chapter of the Bible and ask ourselves, What do these words mean to me personally, and what am I doing about them? We may not have a legitimate speech impediment. But how well and how often do we speak up in the face of obvious injustice and discrimination? How long do we wait to report a serious unfair act or omission? Most of all, do we remember what St. Paul says about speaking? If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. Do we speak the language of love or the vocabulary of violence, arrogance, domination, superiority, or control? At every Catholic baptism much of what Jesus did to the deaf person is done to the child. At the baptism of an infant, a prayer is recited: The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and those who could not speak, speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father. While saying the prayer the priest touches the ear and the lips of the child. The invitation to us all is to be “open” to talking about and living our religious faith. How often do we thank God for our double gift of hearing and speaking? It is so easy for us to become deaf to these signs and words of Jesus and God. Most of us probably have fairly good hearing, but our ability to know what to listen for may not be very well developed. I would like to give you an example that illustrates what we just heard from the Bible. Some of you may have listened to the violin music of Joshua Bell, a 45 year old classical violinist. A few year ago the Washington Post newspaper wanted to conduct an experiment as to how people listen. Joshua Bell was dressed like a street musician. He was placed in one of the subway stations of Washington, DC with his expensive Stradivarius violin. He was videotaped on hidden camera. He started playing the same violin compositions which he had played the night before as solo violinist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. During 45 minutes 1,097 people passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him. I presumed that those who passed by had good hearing, but their ability to know what to listen for may not have been well developed -- at least not in the area of music. We who are blessed with hearing are sometimes not good listeners. This happens in families a lot. spouses with each other, children with parents and parents with children. This happens with God too.God hears but we don’t always hear him. That is why we need to keep reading the Bible over and over. That is why we need to take quiet time to pray, because there is so much noise around us. God usually speaks to us in a very quiet voice. In fact often speaks to us in thoughts rather than in words. Today Jesus continues to do all things well as he steps out of the page of the gospel and stands before each of us. He lovingly touches our ears and our mouth and says to us in his powerful word of healing: Ephphatha--that is, Be opened. We leave this Mass today with new ears open to hear the Good News of God's unconditional love. We leave this Mass today with a new tongue loosened to speak up and speak out the truth, the peace that are God's gift to us and to all.

Homily for Week of September 2, 2012

HOMILY: TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY, 2012 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. 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 not part of the Jewish law but were added practices. 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 but the Pharisees had made them part of what they should do at home. 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. 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. Before eating Jesus most likely washed his hands because they were dirty, not as part of a Jewish ritual before eating. The pharisees made the rituals equal to the law. By so doing they were neglecting justice and charity. Following Jesus does not not 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. We just heard in our first reading that Moses did not see the teachings he offered as merely rules to be obeyed. Fulfilling the law was not an act of obedience; it was an act of love. Moses gave the statutes and decrees in order to teach people how to respond to God in love. For Moses, fulfilling the law was a choice that comes from deep within; fulfilling the law was an expression of our inner desire to live with God. 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. Jesus said that sinful attitudes and actions of people are not caused by things or events outside of us. Sinful attitudes and behaviors come from their hearts. We think of the heart as the symbol or seat of love and feelings. But not so in Jesus’ culture. The heart was seen as the seat of the will. It was in the heart that decisions were made. What Jesus is saying is that all evil is a personal choice. The choice to do these things comes from within us. 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 offer a dozen excuses to the police officer so we don’t get 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 or others 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 to our life situation. It could mean overcoming a selfish relationship; or work towards protecting the rights of all persons, especially laborers whom we honor this weekend; or being better prepared and having more enthusiasm for 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.