Homily for the Week of May

HOMILY PENTECOST 2012 Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 104: 1, 29-30, 31, 34 1 Cor 12: 2-7; Jn 20:19-23 One day there was a young traveler who was wandering through the Alps in Switzerland. While hiking he came upon a vast stretch of barren land devoid of trees or anything green. In the middle of this wasteland, he noticed a bent old man. On his back the old man had a sack of acorns and in his hand he held an iron pipe about four feet long. The old man used the pipe to punch holes in the ground. Then, from his sack he would take an acorn and put it into the hole. To the traveler, the old man said: I have planted well over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps 10,000 of them will grow some day. My wife and son died a few years ago, and I want to do something useful before I die. The old man was planting the acorn for the good of others. He knew he would never get to enjoy the beauty of the few acorns that would grow into oak trees. So, he planted the potential trees for others. He knew that the oak trees would produce more acorns which would be the food for survival for much wildlife such as jays, squirrels, deer. At one time acorns were the food for Native Americans and other cultures. The old man planted the acorns for the common good, much as we heard St. Paul tell us today in his letter to the Corinthians that the breath of the Holy Spirit is given for the common good. We all know how important the ability to breath is to a new born baby, and for each of us until our last breathe. Right now probably none of you noticed you were breathing. We don't give enough thought to what it means to be able to breathe. We just do it. But if our ability to breathe is compromised, we will most likely panic. Asthma and emphysema sufferers, and those with other respiratory or heart problems, live with this panic. They know what is happening to them, and fortunately their crises can be relieved with oxygen, at least for a while. Many years ago, people would hold a mirror to the mouth of a dying person; if there was breath, it would form a mist on the mirror, showing that the person was still alive. The presence of breath was for them and still is for us the sign of life and energy within. Fifty days after his resurrection Jesus breathed on the disciples, a sign that he was sharing his life, his Spirit, his energy with them. Having breathed on them, he said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." He breathed the energy, the life of God into the disciples. And this changed them in ways unimaginable. At Pentecost new persons of God were formed, made up of women and men like us, reluctant and fearful; persons who before Pentecost were like a tower of Babel, unable to understand each other. Now they discovered they were able to speak in foreign languages. And this new life gave them the courage to come out of the rooms in which they had hid themselves, paralyzed with fear, dispirited, confused, and disillusioned. Spirited and excited they were able to enjoy a new life unknown to them just minutes before. The first breath or our religious and spiritual life came at our Baptism when we first received the Holy Spirit. This Pentecost Day can remind us of those who brought us to our Baptism and those who planted the acorns in our life; of those who transformed us by teaching us our Catholic faith, by introducing us to prayer and spirituality, by introducing us to sacraments such as First Communion, or Confession, or Confirmation, or the person on whom you placed the wedding ring saying Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. But if we are to transform our society, we cannot live only for ourselves. The gifts we have received we must give as gift. We cannot be stingy with our gifts. As followers of Jesus we all have a variety of talents, yet we form one body in Jesus, one communion, one Eucharist. WE ARE CALLED UPON TODAY, THIS PENTECOST, TO BE TRULY AND FULLY REBORN IN THE SPIRIT. BUT HOW WILL WE KNOW THAT THIS CHANGE HAS TAKEN PLACE WITHIN US? WE WILL KNOW WHEN THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ARE FULLY THERE; WHEN SLAVERY GIVES WAY TO FREEDOM; WHEN LOVE OF EVERYONE REPLACES PREJUDICE; WHEN WE CAN PARDON THOSE WHO INJURE US; WHEN WE CAN LIVE AT PEACE WITH EVERYONE; WHEN WE BECOME DYNAMIC MESSENGERS OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS ACCORDING TO OUR OWN GIFTS. THIS IS ALSO AN EXCELLENT WEEK-END TO HAVE BOTH A MEMORIAL DAY AND THE CELEBRATION OF PENTECOST. JUST AS IT WAS AT PENTECOST THAT THE CHURCH GOT ITS NAME AND ITS FIRM FOOTING, IT IS THE PERSONS WE REMEMBER BURIED IN THE CEMETERIES OF OUR LIFE THAT WE ARE REMINDED THAT IT WAS VERY OFTEN THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO GAVE US OUR SPIRITUAL FOOTING. COME HOLY SPIRIT, RENEW US. HOLD US IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND. HELP US TO LIVE DAILY AS WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT. GIVE US A NEW BIRTH AND RENEW US IN YOUR SPIRIT.

Homily for the Week of May 20, 2010

HOMILY Seventh Sunday of Easter, 2012
First Reading: Acts 1:15–17, 20a, 20c–26
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1–2, 11–12, 19–20
Second Reading: 1 John 4:11–16
Gospel: John 17:11b–19

Today we live in a world of quick, instant success, food preparations, everything else that comes in an "instant" variety, whether it be our coffee and tea, or a political sound-bite. While walking in the supermarket the other day I thought back years ago when all we had was a small country store. These stores had one freezer which included ice cream, frozen strawberries, and a few of those newfangled TV dinners. Almost all the food in the store was in the form of ingredients that had to be mixed and matched, cooked, fried, or baked, and then served up to the table.

I wonder what our fast food mentality has done to our spirituality. Because we want instant solutions to our problems it can also be tempting for us to seek instant spirituality. An Internet Google search for instant spirituality gives you 13 million choices. Today people flock to self-made gurus, shamans, healers, readers and TV channels for answers and quick spiritual fixes to their lives. The interesting point about this New Age spirituality is no one has to prove anything to anyone. All one has to do is project the illusion of sincerity, truth and a personalized style to your truth.

Many persons distinguish between organized religion and their own “spirituality.” Almost everyone will say that they are spiritual. By this they refer to their personal faith or spirituality as being something inside themselves. In some cases it may be related to some power they call God, or it could be related to belonging to an organized religion. They separate spiritual from religion. For these persons religion means belonging to a church with its buildings, rituals, customs, traditions, sacraments and doctrines. Religion means going to church. For them an individual's religious practice can be separated from one's faith or spirituality. However, from the beginning of recorded human history a person’s religious and spiritual lives strengthened and reinforced each other. The 3rd commandment given to us by God tells us to Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day. God connects what we do as religious persons to how we act as spiritual persons.

Spirituality influences how we view the world and relationships. For most people, the desire for a spiritual dimension in their life is strong and finding a way to express it has brought about a variety of religious practices. This sometimes puts us at odds with our culture. Our efforts to live a good life is expressed in the practice of religion without which our spiritual behavior would be hypocrisy.

As followers of Jesus we must accept that becoming a total spiritual being is a lifelong process in living out the commandments, the beatitudes and the works of mercy. There is no such thing as instant spirituality. Instant spirituality is similar to building a house on quicksand. The practice of religion is a means for us to become a truly spiritual person. In addition to going to Church our Catholic faith provides us with many different ways by which we can live an active spiritual life. These can include looking at the crucifix, or a special statue or religious picture; reading the Bible, praying with someone, saying a prayer before meals. In each of theses events we may ask ourselves: "How does this particular action change me into a truly spiritual person?”

On this last weekend of Easter we can try to place ourself in the position of the close friends of Jesus who have just seen their best friend leave them and ascend into heaven a few days ago. Their spirituality had changed from being members of the synogogue to becoming followers of Jesus. They had given up everything for him, and many of them had been laughed at, and some killed, because they had decided, not only to be spiritual as Jesus was, but also to practice this religion publicly.

And so in today’s Gospel Jesus prays to God. He prays that his disciples will be protected from evil and that they may experience the same unity in love among themselves as Jesus shares with God in heaven. This will be achieved by the disciples being consecrated in the truth. While he was talking to his friends standing or sitting with them, he has also made it known that each us here today are his disciples. And what are we to teach? We are to teach the truth. And where do we find that truth? Jesus tells us that we find the truth in God's word found through the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.

If the disciples are to continue the mission of Christ they must continue to hear this word of love, reflecting in the life and work of Jesus.

Just as the apostles were going to find their mission a difficult and dangerous one in the midst of a hostile world we too may find ourselves in a hostile world. It is tempting for us to replace our religion with some simple spiritual facts such as God exists, people ought to be nice and fair to each other, the purpose of our life is to be happy and good people go to heaven. At the same time we may believe that God doesn’t need to be actively involved in our lives unless we are in trouble. These facts are very common among persons who say they are spiritual. These are also included in Catholic morality. But they are not what we professed as our Catholic faith on the day we were Baptized.

Only when we continue to dwell on Christ and the word of God will we be drawn nearer to God and to one another--only then will Christ's prayer be fully realized--Let is be done to me on earth as it will be in heaven. The joy Jesus offers is to be found in abiding with Him — both when it is easy and, especially, when it is difficult. We are always under God’s protection.

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 9:26-31, Ps 22, 1 John 3;18-24, John 15:1-9 In today’s gospel Jesus is trying to teach those around him how we all belong together. In order to emphasis this he uses a very common agricultural example taken from a garden or orchard. As a person in the Middle East who depended on plants and gardens for survival, and where wine was an essential drink, Jesus would have been familiar with the need and benefits of pruning. And it is also that time of the year when many of you may take out your electric hedge trimmers. Jesus tells us today that he is the vine and we are the branches. That example might have great meaning in Palestine where most families had their own grape vines. If Jesus were living in this part of the North Country he might have used the example of apple trees instead of grape vines. Those of you who have done some pruning of vines or branches know pruning sheers can be dangerous to a vine or a tree. If not done right and at the proper time you could kill the vine. When a vineyard is begun, vintners know that it will take several years for a vine to produce the quality of grape necessary for making wine. Young vines are not even allowed to produce fruit for the first several years. They are continually pruned back to allow the plant to sink deep roots and for the main vine to grow thick and strong. Drastic pruning takes place so the plant can develop to its potential. When it is time to let the vine start producing grapes, the branches are not allowed to grow very long. The farther the bunch of grapes is from the main part of the vine, the less they develop in quality. The house plant, the bush and the vine must be cut back if they are to grow. If there is no cutting, then the plant never reaches its potential. Unlike a tree, a grapevine has a relatively small central trunk. Pruning in the proper time with the proper tools and the proper technique improves survival chances at planting time, controls size and shape. removes dead, diseased, weak or broken branches. maintains natural beauty. controls flowering, fruiting or colored twig effect in certain plants. Our first reading tells us how God pruned Saul who became St. Paul. Saul had just finishing throwing stones to kill Stephen. On his way to Damascus to kill more Christians he was thrown off his horse, and turned to Jesus. And became one of Jesus’ great followers. The mystery of plant pruning is also the story of our lives. We too are like the plant that needs to be pruned. For some people surgery or serious sickness has been pruning time. A stay in the hospital oftens brings persons back to their faith. Relationships also have a tendency to prune people. It might be a husband and wife relationship, or one between friends or within a community. Pruning takes place when we admit mistakes, accept others as they are, overlook the faults of others, see the goodness in others in spite of their humanity. Many of us have experienced pruning in prayer. Sometimes we have to give away the old forms of prayer and accept newer forms as we did in late November when we used new prayers and responses at Mass. Otherwise we continue saying prayers but never praying. The various changes in our Mass can be examples of this pruning, the greatest being from years ago when we prayed the Mass in Latin and you people in the pews were told to be silent and pray your Rosary. Pruning can hurt and it can be difficult especially if we are trying to give up an old habit. Union with the wine, however does not always guarantee a peaceful life. St. Paul, for instance, met death threats and had to escape over the city wall in a basket. I am sure he had expected something better as he began to preach in the name of Jesus. Those of you experience that same pain at times when others wonder why you continue to go to church when so many in our society do not, or why you try your best to live as you believe that God would want you to live. When we try to avoid the pruning however, what happens is that we sprout all over the place, we have no direction, we have no depth; plenty of branches but we produce nothing worthwhile. Pruning reveals to us the immense goodness of Jesus, a Jesus who has no harshness, no urge to control others, or to make us feel guilty. All he ever wants is the best for each of us. You may not have ever considered that Jesus is talking to each one of us in his example. As Jesus tells us today, we must be connected to him in order to have a spiritual life. If we are connected, however, Jesus promises us everything. I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. IF YOU REMAIN IN ME, ASK FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT AND I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU. This sentence also teachers us that we are connected to each other. We are all branches on the same vine. We may not like all the other branches, or we may think they are in need of serious pruning or cutting. Yet our initials are not carved on the trimmer. God’s is. We are not in charge of pruning others. God is. Our job is to stay connected to the vine and to one another, and even to welcome those that we might find distasteful or suspicious. It is Jesus himself who will be the judge of those branches which are useless and produce nothing. Our job is to always stay connected to Jesus and to our religious faith.