Homily for the Week of February 24, 2013

Second Sunday of Lent, 2013 year C Gen 15:5-18 Ps 27:1-13 Phil 3:17-4:1 Lk 9:28-36 Most of us can remember a childhood fear of darkness. At night we could no longer recognize the familiar scenes of daylight: people, places, sounds, smells. Even the comforting hand of a protecting mother was not quite enough to ease our anxiety. But then in the morning it all looked so different. The day dawned and took the darkness away and with it our worry, at least for the time being. Yet, some people are still afraid of the dark. As we begin the second week of Lent we might also use the ideaof light and darkness as a reflection on our spiritual life. Lent then becomes of time of penance and conversion. Lent is not meant to bog us down or depress us; it is a time to learn and to be encouraged to move forwar on the way to becoming a true follower of Jesus. We all have moments in which we want to conquer the unknown. Every time we play a game we play to win. We might buy lottery tickets, we hope we will win; we buy chances at raffles and various events with the hope that we will win. We play monopoly or cards or chess or computer games or sports to win. None of us start out wanting to be losers, and if we do, then we need some special attention. Salvation, however is different. We can’t win at salvation because we are already saved. God saved us once and for all. At times we call it God’s grace; at other times God’s gift. All of us have heard that God desires us to be with him. He has always done that. But to be saved we need to be transformed into the image and likeness of God which we received at Baptism. Our Gospel today is known as the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus takes Peter with James and John to a mountain to pray. In the Old Testament mountains were considered as holy places where people get a glimpse of God. Moses received the Ten Commandmeents from God on Mount Sinai. But on the mountain unusual things take place. The face of Jesus changes and his clothes become dazzling white. Suddenly Moses and Elijah were talking with him. Thousands of years before Moses had led the people to safety in a forty-year march to the Promised Land, a place that God had promised the Jews who obeyed him. Jesus saw the cross to which he would be nailed, and he prayed that God would change his mind. With Jesus on the mountain are a few of Jesus closest friends. Their reaction to this display is very human. They first show no interest. They fall asleep. But after they wake up they try to get some control over the situation by building tabernacles in an attempt to box in the experience. God tells them that it is better for them to listen to Jesus than to build buildings in his name. Most of us from time to time have intense moments of religious experience. Parents see a happy look on a joyful child's face. Maybe it's how they light up when special friends arrive, or maybe the look of delight at a special gift or surprise. Other examples are the placing of an engagement ring on the hand of a future bride; or when the mother sees her new-born child; or at the Baptism of a child. These are all transfiguration events. Unsure how to make sense of them and feeling others will not understand, most people do not divulge these moments to anyone. Yet such moments change significantly the way we live. The invitation that Jesus gives us today is to be transformed: to be changed. It is also the invitation of Lent. As you finish the first week of Lent, take an inventory of your Lenten life: How much time have you taken for quiet, personal prayer; have you opened yourself up to God and Jesus and discussed with him your most important concerns; have you desired a change of heart? Lent is a reminder for you to pray. Lent also may remind you of how sloppy your prayer can be. The apostles were caught sleeping. How many times do you say you should pray more, but never do it. Can you honestly say to the Lord: Lord, how good it is to be here? Lord how good it is for us to see visions of what Jesus can do for me, or am I caught up in fixing meals, lunches, meetings, classes and car pools, doing laundry and school schedules and meeting deadlines, waiting for a job to come. Each of us carry memories of events in our life that have changed us. Today and this week share places where you have seen change, perhaps in your family and home, school, work place, neighborhood or community. Suggest ways that these changes are transforming for you and others. Yes, today and always, we can go up the mountain with Jesus and be transformed. But, first of all, we must express clearly what in our spiritual life needs to be transformed, and then be willing to go up the mountain, to ask Jesus to help us. Let us take that first step with Jesus today.

Homily for the Week of February 17, 2013

First Sunday of Lent (C), 2013 Deut 26:4-10; Ps 91:1-2, 10-15; Rom 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 "The times when you have seen only one se We begin today a time of spirituality and prayer known as Lent. Lent is a time of 40 days when we are invited to refocus ourselves on what it means for you and for me to be a follower of Jesus. Each year Lent is that time when we are given 40 days during which we can sharpen our focus on Jesus, and if necessary, to straighten out the paths of our life. This weekend I want to talk about temptations. The Gospels tells us that Jesus went out to the desert for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. It may surprise us that Jesus was tempted. But it should not surprise us. Everyone is tempted. Often Catholics confuse temptation with sin. A temptations is never a sin. In fact temptations are necessary if we are going to be truly a spiritual and holy person. Many times a day we are tempted to do something wrong or something bad. So very often each day we may find it difficult to do what is right. And there can be years in our life during which we have an endless struggle between being good and being bad. In fact a temptation can lead us to be a better person. For instance, if we are tempted to anger, then we may learn to be forgiving; if we are tempted to do some impure action, then we can find ways of being chaste; if we are tempted to be critical of others, we may a way to see some good points in others. We can be tempted to all kinds of horrible and shameful actions, but as long as we do not give in to them they remain temptations. Sometimes the smaller temptations are actually harder to deal with. We are rarely tempted to murder, but we often be tempted with getting even or arguing or complaining -- sometimes with those who love us the most. If a mad and mean dog confronts us there are usually certain things we can do to protect ourselves. However, it can be much more difficult to deal with hordes of mosquitos at a cookout on a warm summer night. To live as Jesus wants us to live is most often a daily battle with pesky insects than with mean dogs. The best help during times of strong and never ending temptations is to talk honestly about them to someone you can trust, who will give you some practical suggestions. That is sometimes done in an honest confession. We heard in the first reading how Moses saw the need to remind his people to regain their focus. He reminds the children of Abraham just who gave them all they have. And how God came to them when they were in need. During most of the 40 years they were in the dry and forsaken desert they spent most of their time complaining. They were starving to death. They were depending just on themselves because they had forgotten God. It took Moses to remind them over and over again of the stories of how God had come to the help of so many in the past and even their families. Moses told them that they needed to return to God. God had never let them down. Don't despair, he told them. Our gospel reading gives us the story of how Jesus was tempted. Let us take a closer look at how Jesus was tempted. He went to the desert to pray. After fasting for 40 days his defenses were down. While in the desert he was tempted by the devil three times. He was tempted He was tempted to have power over hunger. Satan tempts Jesus to use his wonder-working powers to satisfy his own physical needs The devil wants Jesus to turn the stones into bread, and he would never be hungry again. He could feed the world. He was tempted to have political power and authority over all the world. All this will be yours if you worship me. That is the temptation we have when we say: if I were President, if I were Pope, if I were my Mom or My Dad, if I were the teacher, if I were the Cop. Think of how much good we think we could do! He was tempted to become famous and have power over death and the suffering that comes before death. But why doesn't Jesus give in to the temptations? Because he believed that God is his God. It may be news to many of you that the most common and hidden temptation is lack of faith. Too often we can be tempted to satisfy our hungry hearts by ourselves rather than with the love of Jesus. Our society is filled with billboards, newspaper and magazine ads. For example the 4 1/2 hour long Oscars this weekend will be interrupted about every 3 minutes to tell us to buy this or that so as to be happy. Unless we have developed a set of moral and family values, these are all temptations to find Jesus where he is not. Sometimes we turn to Jesus as a last resort, but even then do we really believe that he can help us? And lack of faith then leads us to stop praying and to stop practicing our faith. Paul says that Confession on the lips leads to salvation. Can we state clearly and with conviction what it is we believe? and then let our actions be the test of how well we live as we say we believe. Jesus could. God cannot keep us from death. But in our faith we believe that God is with him, loves us and is our strength. Today on this First Week of Lent, Jesus offers us both a challenge and a comfort. If we try to fast and pray more, we can expect temptations like those of Jesus. But when we push them away we can expect to become more in tune with Jesus and make good choices. The greatest comfort is that Jesus also was tempted, but he learned to remain faithful to God. Let us put our faith in the final words of the Lord's prayer: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen