Opportunity For Learning

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We all need keep learning throughout our lives.  Learning about faith doesn’t end with Confirmation or when religion classes end.  I have a master’s degree in theology and I feel like I just know the tip of the iceberg of what our faith has to offer.  With that in mind I attended day one of our diocesan “Households of Faith” annual conference.

I went to three different workshops.  The first one was not actually part of the conference.  It was a meeting of pastoral leaders like myself in relatively new assignments.  It is part of a two-year leadership process I have been part of since I became a pastor.  This particular workshop helped us explore ways to seek feedback from staff and parishioners on how I am doing in my leadership role as a pastor.

The second workshop I attended was on evangelizing families given by Dr. Jo Ann Paradise.  One of the points presented in this talk was on the importance of questions.  The first part of this is knowing what questions to ask, not just questions testing facts but questions that make people think like “What do you think the Pharisees thought when Jesus said…..”  The second part of “questions” was that evangelization isn’t about asking questions (as teachers) that we have answers to.  We need to ask questions that lead people to open their hearts to Jesus leading to a deeper relationship with Jesus.  I look at the importance of questions another way when I give a presentation.  I believe that when people ask questions when I give a presentation, it means that what I have talked about means something to them.  When nobody asks a question, it might be because I did a really good presentation that answered all their questions but more likely is that it didn’t touch their hearts in a new way that evangelized them.

The third presentation (and keynote address) was given by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran, authors of the book Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, Making the Church Matter.  They spoke of the story of how they turned the parish around where they served in Maryland.  Discussion points included reasons why people don’t come to church, number of programs, and what it means to be church, all of which can be found in their book.  There was discussion about what we have “to compete with” such as sports, work, and leisure to get people to come to church.  There is no doubt that these things are drawing people away from church.  Why?  Because they feel they get more out of them than they do out of coming to church.

We might often ask the question “Why don’t people come to church?” when really maybe the question they have is “Why should I come to church?”  Translation – we have to make church a place people want to be.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN CATERING TO THEIR BELIEFS!  We need to hold fast to the teachings of Jesus, even when it isn’t what people want to hear.  What I do mean is that we need to make church a place where people feel welcome.  We need to be a church where people care about each other.  We need homilies that are relevant to people’s lives.  People will come to church when they feel it makes a difference in their lives.

Sometimes, we think we need to offer more “programs” to draw people in but if we aren’t making the Sunday Mass a place they want to be, why would we expect them to come to anything else? It all starts with Sunday Mass.

What can you do to help make our church a place people want to be?  Have you ever talked to the family sitting next to you in church?  Being welcoming might just start with saying “hello” and asking “how they are doing.”  It might be thinking about how you react when their little child starts to cry?  Is it distracting and annoying when the child cries?  It certainly can be but there is another way to look at it.  I want to see the little children in church.  Why?  Because if there are no little children in the church then there is no hope for the future.  We need to remember a child only cries when they need something. Sometimes families with little children who cry or other another annoyances in church stop coming because they feel unwelcome.  Some of these might say they will start coming again when the children are older and behave better.  Some of them never come back.  The only way the children are going to learn how to behave in church is to come.  I want to see the children in church and so does Jesus.

“People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.   Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Homily – The Lord’s Prayer

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Genesis 18:20-32
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-13
July 28, 2013
I’m always astonished at this story of how Abraham barters with God.  Normally when we barter is to find a mid-range price.  We might all be familiar with bartering with buying a car.  There is a price on the window but we ask ourselves is that the best price.  We counteroffer with a lower price and we go back and forth with the seller until a mutually agreeable price is reached.

Abraham asks God to save the city if there are just fifty innocent people live there.  God accepts the terms.  The bartering should be done with but it isn’t.

Abraham then proceeds to negotiate a ‘lower price,’ forty-five, forty, and eventually done to just ten.  To me it is remarkable how bold Abraham was in doing this but what is more remarkable is that with each step Abraham makes in the offer, God goes along.

Why should God be willing to negotiate with Abraham?  God is the almighty and would have had every right to make an offer to Abraham, take it or leave it.

But God doesn’t.

God is not giving up to let Abraham get his way.  God isn’t bartering.  He is doing what he would have always done save the innocent but do we “barter” in our prayers?

God doesn’t want to destroy Sodom.  God does not want to destroy any innocent people.  God wants to save each and every one of us.

That’s why God sends Jesus to save us.

It is Jesus who teaches us the Lord’s Prayer.

Prayer is part of who we are.  It defines us.  The disciples of Jesus knew this when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  Each religion has prayers particular to it.  As Christians, it is the “Lord’s Prayer” that identifies us as such just like the Rosary identifies us as Catholics.

The very first line of the Lord’s Prayer identifies who we are.  Jesus tells us to call God “Father.”  Our God is not some distant god is far removed from our lives.  Back to the story of Abraham, it is God who comes to Abraham to tell him about Sodom and Gomorrah.

God invests in himself in our lives.  God gives us his all in sending his only Son to redeem us.  God wants to be in relationship with him.  This is what it means to be Christian.

Then we pray “hallowed be thy name.”  God is great and we are called to help others know how great God is “hallowing his name.”

We also pray not to get our way but that God’s kingdom come, for God’s will to be done, knowing God knows better than us.

We pray for our daily bread knowing we can’t do everything on our own.  We need strength from God.

We pray for forgiveness, knowing we have screwed up at times and are in need of God’s forgiveness.

Praying isn’t always as easy as it seems and we don’t always get what we what.  Jesus tells us to ask and we shall receive.  Why don’t we get what we ask for?

Jesus speaks of the father who doesn’t give his son and scorpion when he asks for an egg, or a snake when he asks for a fish.  We might think of course not but what does this have to do with anything about prayer?

The scorpion Jesus speaks of could curl itself up in a little ball.  As such, it actually looked like an egg.  A person would see the “egg” and seek it as something good, only to find out it was a poisonous scorpion.  Likewise, there was a snake that looked like a fish.

Sometimes in prayer we can ask for something we think is very good only to find out it is deadly.  God isn’t going to give us something that will kill us.

Other times, we really do ask for something good but may not get it.  Sometimes we don’t get it because of human choices made by others (free will) and at other times we have no idea.

We need to trust God.  It isn’t always easier.  It takes courage to pray the Lord’s Prayer and meant it.  That’s why when we say the Lord’s Prayer at Mass, I introduce it with the words “At the Savior’s command, and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say…”

We pray this way because Jesus taught this pray but it still takes courage to pray that God’s will and not our own be done.

 

 

 

Administrating vs. “Pastoring”

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Today (July 26, 2013) is thirteen months from the day I arrived as Pastor of Immaculate Conception.  I have learned a lot and I hope I have helped our parishioners come closer to God.  Most directly, this comes from homilies, the way I preside at Mass, hearing confessions, and ministering with the people who are dying and with the families at funerals.  These ministries as essential to who I am called to be as a priest.

As an extension of my teaching role as a priest I maintain this blog and website.  I also have done a few presentations in the parish this year (recorded on video for this website) about various aspects of our Catholic faith.  These are done as evangelization activities to help people deepen their faith but it also helps me deepen my own faith as I do the research and reflection to prepare for the presentations (the same is true for homily preparation).

Today, I would like to reflect on what it means to be a pastor.  I titled this blog “Administrating vs. Pastoring”.  As a pastor, I am the administrator of the parish and there is a lot that goes on here.  If you were to look at my desk, this would be immediately obvious because my desk is covered with piles of papers.  Some might say, ‘big deal, my desk always looks that way.’  In the past, my desk was never entirely covered with papers.  I am an organized person and a person who is driven to get things done so seldom would my desk be entirely covered.  Now, it routinely is.

In my efforts to get things done, sometimes I get stuck in a rut of administering vs. pastoring.  By administering, I mean simply doing what needs to be done to keep things going.  When I focus on administering, I become exhausted and don’t feel like I am accomplishing what I am supposed.

Pastoring includes administering but it is not simply administering.  Pastoring requires leadership.  Leadership requires reflection.  In administering, I can hop from one thing to the next, multi-task, and work on a lot of different things in a day.  Pastoring requires reflection not just on what needs to be done but what it means for the mission of the parish.  Administering can be as simple as giving a yes or no answer when one of the parish staff comes to me with a question but pastoring means reflecting on what it means in light of our mission as a church and the other ministries of the parish.

One example of something that might seem entirely like administration but I see as more is our needed building repairs.  Some would see building repairs as simply keeping the building working.  The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind.  Certainly, building items that are broken need to be fixed but we don’t have to wait for something to actually break to fix it.  Since I have an engineering degree, it would easy for me to think of building needs solely in terms of physical need but I don’t.  Our Building and Grounds Committee is working on a five-year plan to be proactive about our building needs.  As we prioritize needed repairs, it isn’t just a question of what is the worst shape.  We also need to ask what building needs we have that affects our ability to perform our ministries.

It is when I pastor “reflecting” on these issues that I feel that I am doing what God is calling me to do rather than just doing a job.

Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut or are you finding fulfillment in what you are doing?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

 

 

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Genesis 18:1-10a
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42
July 21, 2013
This gospel might beg the question, “So are you more like Martha or Mary?”

Some people are ‘doers’ and ‘followers.’

Martha is trying to be a good host.  Mary just wants to visit with Jesus.  Both have their merits.  We certainly need to listen to Jesus but we must also provide for the needs of our guests.  Didn’t Jesus feed the 5,000?

It’s good to reflect on our lives but asking if we are more like Martha or Mary might be making things too black and white.  It can also be interrupted to Mary was right and Martha was wrong.  Jesus never says what Martha did was wrong, merely that “Mary has chosen the better part.”

Martha was doing exactly what would be expected of her culturally but not just culturally but biblically.  Look at Abraham.  He sees three strangers coming and immediately provides a great meal with a tender choice steer.  It was no ordinary meal.

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor and to help them in their needs.  Martha sets out to do this as a good host.

So where does Martha go wrong?

Have you ever been to someone’s house for dinner and you hardly see the host because they are busy in the kitchen?  I have.  On a couple of occasions, I have literally been to people’s houses for dinner and not seen much of the host.

Now, it can be nice to have a good meal but I’m not into “fancy” food.  Given a choice, when I go to someone’s house for dinner and given a choice of hamburgers from the grill and talking with the host or a big fancy meal but not seeing the host, I would choose the hamburgers.

Now, there can be a middle ground there someplace.  It is possible to fix a ‘complete meal’ without spending hours and hours in the kitchen.

For me, it’s about the people, not the food.  It’s about relationships.

I think this is what Jesus is saying to Martha.  Jesus never says “Martha, you’re doing something wrong.”  It’s more like “Martha, you are missing the point.”

Martha is being a very gracious host in feeding Jesus but she is missing out on something wonderful – Jesus.

We should all want to spend time with Jesus.  Martha has the opportunity to spend time with Jesus face to face but she misses that opportunity.

Do you make time for other people?  Do you make time for Jesus?

We are all unique individuals but we are not created to live in isolation.  How do you view your relationship with other people?  Providing for their needs, being a good host is just part of our relationship.

How about Jesus?  Do you make time for Jesus?

Now, the quick answer to that could be, “Of course, we make time for Jesus.  That’s why we are here in church.”  Just being here is a start.  Are you listening though?  How about the rest of the week?

Do you listen to Jesus throughout the week?  Do you actually make your faith part of your whole life?

 

 

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Homily on the Good Samaritan

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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 10:25-37
July 14, 2013

The story of the Good Samaritan is familiar to many.  The phrase “Good Samaritan” is still used today to describe the laws that protect people are genuinely trying to do a good deed.

Familiar story yes but does it make you think?  Do you love God with all your heart, being, strength, and mind?  How about your neighbor?

Every time I hear this story, it strikes a cord for me.  It reminds me of a day eight or ten years ago.  I was in seminary in Washington, DC and went out to take a daily walk.  As I began my walk I encounter a man lying on the sidewalk.

Other people were just walking past.  Mind you this was the busiest street in the area.  I had encounter people sleeping on park benches before but never on the sidewalk.  Was he ok and just sleeping?  Seeing people sleeping on a bench, you assume they are intentionally resting but in the middle of the sidewalk?

I wondered what to do.  As I approached, I observed him.  There were no signs of an injury.  He was breathing normally.  He didn’t “half-dead” like the man helped by the Good Samaritan.

I hate to say it but I decided to pass by without offering assistance.  Perhaps I was making the standard excuse that I couldn’t do anything to help.

When I returned from my walk, he was gone.  I don’t know if he just woke up and moved on or if someone stopped to help him.

Now, every time I hear the story of the Good Samaritan, this is what I think of.  Was I like the priest or Levite?  I could make the excuse that at least I didn’t cross to the other side of the road to avoid him.  I walked right up to him to look for injuries but I didn’t offer help.

Normally when I encounter a person on the street looking for help or someone comes to the parish, I refer them to Catholic Charities.  I don’t do this as a “cop-out”.  We give money to Catholic Charities as a parish and I also do personally to help them.  Catholic Charities can give them not just a hand-out but a hand-up in ways I can’t.

In the long-term, I think this is a great approach but sometimes I wonder about the short-term.

What would it take for you to stop and help?  Do you try to help anyone in need (how)?  Or do you cross to the other side to avoid them?  Do you take the time to ‘assess their condition’ to see if they need immediate help?  It might be as simple as calling an ambulance if they are injured.

How are you the Good Samaritan?

 

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Isaiah 66:10-14c
Galatians 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
July 7, 2013

Once again, Jesus is teaching us as believers of what it means to be a disciple.  We have different callings in a common faith.

Jesus had previously sent out the Twelve and now he sends out 72.  There are common aspects and there are differences in what they do.

The point here is that the 72 are appointed by Jesus to be “sent ahead” of him.  They are to prepare people for Jesus’ coming.

Sometimes as disciples we think we don’t know enough to share the gospel.  It’s a fact we don’t know everything about our faith.  I spent seven years in seminary and I know I don’t know everything.

None of us knows everything but we don’t have to teach “everything” to people that we share faith with.  It all starts with just sharing our faith to encourage people to come to church.  Then, we can teach them more as a church.  And then we leave it in Jesus’ hands.

Is it easy?  Jesus speaks of carrying no money bag, sack, or sandals.  We are to trust that God will provide (often through the people we minister to).  As Isaiah speaks of, God will provide for the needs of those who serve him.

Will everyone like us?  No.  Jesus says if they don’t accept us, we move on.  Being a disciple of Jesus is not about being liked.  It isn’t about how many people we bring to church (although more is better).

It isn’t about being perfect ourselves before we share faith.  If we wait to be perfect, we’ll never get there.  In fact, the fact that we are not perfect and that Jesus loves us anyway is part of what we need to be telling others.

It’s about knowing Jesus as the Way, and the Truth, and the Life and sharing that with other people.

Jesus knows it’s not going to be easy.  That’s why he says we will be like lambs among wolves.  People will attack us when we speak up for our faith.  People may ridicule us when we speak against abortion.  People wonder why the Catholic Church is so involved in the gay marriage debate.

We need to get involved because our faith must be part of who we are and what we stand for.  Jesus handed himself over for Crucifixion for our sake.  Let us stand up for Jesus.

 

 

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Homily

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
1 Kings 19:16b: 19-21
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Luke 9:51-62
June 30, 2013

Sr. Edna’s Retirement

Jesus demands an immediate response of his disciples.  When I say immediate, Jesus does not even grant time to go say farewell to their families.

This seems tough.  I think specifically here of my call to priesthood.  From the time I first felt called to the priesthood to the time I entered seminary was almost 18 months.  Most of that was deciding to go but then waiting for the start of a semester.  It wasn’t a question of saying no at first.  I like to think a lot of the time was me deciding it was really God calling me.  Regardless, my “yes” response was not immediate.

This “demand” for an immediate response was not new with Jesus.  We see it in our reading with Elijah and Elisha.  Elijah was a great prophet and God had picked Elisha to be his successor.  When God told Elijah this, he didn’t argue.  He did what God told him to do.

He goes and puts his cloak on Elisha.  This is a sign of Elisha’s appointment as his successor.  Elisha offers no objections but does ask for time to go say goodbye to his parents.  Even this much can seem amazing to us but it is not enough.  Elijah demands an immediate response.

Elisha gives that response, burns the equipment and gives the meat from the livestock to others and follows Elijah.

An immediate response.

As I listen to the story of Elijah and Elisha, I can’t help but think how it parallels Sr. Edna’s call to be a religious.

It was back in 1958 that she joined the Sisters of Mercy.  She was having an ordinary day going about her business when the mother superior came to her, put a habit on her, and said come with me.

Well, there was some difference.  As she was plowing the fields, Sr. Edna didn’t ask to go say goodbye to her parents.  Her response was to tell ‘mother superior’ that she had a date that night to which ‘mother’ replied “no more dating.”  Sr. Edna followed her and the rest is history.

Of course, I am making this up.  I don’t know how Sr. Edna received her call to join the Sisters of Mercy (although I suspect she’s going to tell me after this!).

The point is she said yes and for the last 55 years she has continued to say yes.  This Sunday is her last day of work as she retires.  She is retiring from her job but she doesn’t stop being a Sister of Mercy and she doesn’t stop serving God.  That will continue to the day she dies.

These readings today and celebrating Sr. Edna’s retirement should lead us all to think and pray about how we are responding to God’s call.

Now I hope there are males here today who are think about becoming a priest, deacon, or religious and I hope just as much that there are some females here who think about becoming a religious sister.  It can be a rewarding life.  It is a lot of work for me to be a priest and pastor but I can’t imagine doing anything else.  Sr. Edna over the years has put in a lot of hours as a sister.  I’m sure there were struggles along the way but in faith she preserved.

If you are thinking about priesthood, talk to me.  If you are thinking about religious life, talk to Sr. Edna or Sr. Elise.

But also realize that if you aren’t called to be a religious, deacon, or priest that doesn’t mean that God isn’t calling you to serve in some way.

We are all called through our baptism to serve God.  We can serve God in the way we are parents to our children.  We serve God in the way we care for other people.  We can serve God by helping our parish to fulfill its mission using the gifts we have been given as good stewards.  We serve God by visibly living out our faith to help others come to faith.  We can serve God by standing up for what we believe in.  We can serve God by simply doing our best.

God is calling you to do something.  What is it and what are you waiting fo

Asking Questions About Our Faith

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Last night we had another gathering for our Young Adult Group.  For those unfamiliar with the group, we started the group in January and it is open to any young adult (Eighteen – thirty-something) Catholic in the Tompkins County Area.  It is meant to be both social, giving our Catholic Young Adults a chance to come together with people who share their faith and values and to help deepen our own faith.  You can find the group on Facebook at “Catholic Young Adults – Ithaca, NY”.

For last night’s meeting, we gathered at 6:30 p.m. for some social time and then prayed Evening Prayer together from the Liturgy of the Hours.  The floor was then opened for questions to me.  There were no restrictions on the questions as long as they had something to do with our Catholic faith.

There were various questions but I would like to focus here on an underlying theme that I was pleased to see in several of the questions.  It was the question of how do we live and speak about our faith in our culture today, both with people who share our faith and those with other opinions.  For instance, the Supreme Court decisions on Wednesday regarding gay marriage was discussed (click here to see our diocese’s statement).  One person told of a friend that had read various postings on Facebook from others on their wall about the court decisions.  Ninety-three supported the decisions and the only one against was this person at our gathering.  Another person spoke of a comment made by another in support of gay marriage that they responded to.  Once they responded against gay marriage, others joined them.  Somebody has to be first.  Maybe it’s you.

People asked what do we put on our Facebook or other social media accounts about such things.  Sometimes, we might want to post something with “anger” about such decisions but we know acting in angry can just get everyone ratting and raving.  Sometimes, we don’t know what to say to contribute constructively to a discussion.  I have to say this is true for me too.  For instance, I haven’t posted anything on this blog about the Supreme Court decisions because I don’t know what I could add to the discussion.  I support the Church’s position.  You can read the Church’s position at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/backgrounder-on-proposition-8-and-doma.cfm.  I think where I can do a better is using this blog to point people to such resources.  Not everyone knows about these resources.  I would suggest the same time of approach for people who want to post something on their social media accounts but aren’t sure what to put.  The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB – www.usccb.org) offers the Catholic perspective on many positions.  In New York State, the bishops have a joint website, www.nyscatholic.org , that discussions many issues that are being discussed in our state government.

Turning to another example of the theme of how do live and speak about our faith was a question on how to we speak to people who do not share our faith or even have a faith.  It can be hard to find a common ground with them.  The topic of gay marriage can again be an example of this.  As Catholics, we believe that the Bible teaches that homosexuality activity is wrong but if a person doesn’t believe in the Bible, that doesn’t help.  Here I offered that we might turn to an argument from natural law that a male and female coming together in marriage complement one another physically in a way that points to something deeper.  Two males or two females don’t complement each other in this way.  Yet, I have to admit this natural law argument is weak without faith to say it is God’s design.

Sometimes we know what we belief but we really don’t know what to say.  So we say nothing.  The problem with this is how do people interpret our silence.  For instance, if we are part of conversation where people are speaking in support of gay marriage and we say nothing, others may interpret our silence to mean we agree with them.  Sometimes, all we need to say is that we don’t agree and that, through faith, we believe it’s wrong.

My examples here have focused on the gay marriage issue.  Last night’s discussion also included parallel discussion on abortion and birth control.  The same principles of talking about our faith apply to any issue.

Ask yourself if you keep silent on such issues or if you speak up to let others know what you believe and what the Catholic Church teaches.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Homily – 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1
Galatians 3:26-29
Luke 9:18-24
June 23, 2013

What defines who we are?

If someone asks you about yourself, what do you tell them?  Do you tell them about your job?  How about your family?  How about your hobbies?  How about your faith?

Which of these would you list first?

What does Paul say?  “Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.”  Paul says we are no longer Jew or Greek, or slave or free.  These are human distinctions.  None of these matter in faith.  What matters to God is that we become his children in Baptism.

It’s not that these earthly distinctions don’t say something about who we are and what we are good at.  In our job, we can use the gifts God has given us to make God’s Kingdom come.  Our family says something about the type of person we are.

Yet, who we are is not defined by earthly things but rather by our faith in God.

To understand who we are as Christians, we need to understand who Jesus is.

Jesus wants us to understand who he is.  He knows people are talking about him.  So, he asks his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

The responses all focus on comparing him to other people, John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets.  Then Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answers “The Christ of God.”

Peter nails it.  Yet, Jesus then tells them not to tell anyone about this.  Why?

We need to understand what it means to say Jesus Christ.  First, we tend to say “Jesus Christ” like a first and last name.  “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name.  It is a title.  More correctly, we would say ‘Jesus the Christ’ but we have internalized that Jesus is the Christ so well that we treat it as part of his name.

But again, why does Jesus tell the disciples not to tell anyone about this?

Christ is a Greek word for “messiah.”  The coming of a messiah had long been foretold by the prophets.  The Jews had their own expectation of what the messiah would be like and do, namely become a king and defeat their enemies.

Jesus doesn’t do that, at least not as they expected an earthly king and defeat of the earthly enemies.  Jesus is not an earthly king defeating the enemy but he is our heavenly king defeated our ultimate enemy, sin.

The disciples don’t know this and won’t until they see him pierced in his side and hanging on the Cross.  They know he is the Messiah but they don’t understand what that really means.

It means sacrifice.  It means love, love with no limits.

Agnostics or atheists look at the Cross and see foolishness.  We look at the Cross and see Jesus’ love.

That love defines who we are.  It makes us who we are.  It leads to our redemption.  It makes possible our salvation.  It changes the way we look at life.  It defines who we are.

 

Finding God in the Busyness

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What a week!  I’ve been busy going here and there.  It’s the last week of school so I’ve been at the school a lot.  There was the final visits of the year to the classrooms on Monday.  (Pre-K celebrations were last week)  On Tuesday morning there was the Kindergarten celebration.  Yesterday (Thursday) was the final School Mass of the year with graduate recognition in the morning with an awards ceremony in the afternoon.  Our Principal (Diana Oravec) is leaving the school so there was an Ice Cream Social/Farewell for her on Tuesday evening.

Of course, things also continue in the parish.  We had a staff picnic for both the parish and school staff on Monday.  Monday afternoon was a meeting with a parishioner.  Tuesday included an unexpected trip to the hospital to see parishioners and a home visit.  Thursday afternoon brought another unexpected trip to the hospital.  This included two wonderful visits each lasting around half an hour because they were good visits.

There’s always administrative things to do as Pastor and time coordinating things with staff.  Today (Friday) brings an open day on the calendar without meetings but that doesn’t mean I’m not busy.  Of course, there is always the chance that something unexpected could come up but even without the unexpected, I have plenty I can work on today.  With everything on my schedule, I haven’t worked on the ‘piles’ on my desk this week.

I am not complaining and I am not boasting of how much I do.  As I see it, everything I have done this week is part of being a Pastor.  Certainly the hospital and home visits are.  I also feel it is important to be at all the school celebrations to show support and commitment for our school and the wonderful students.  Even the administrative work is part of being a Pastor.

I do not do all this to boast.  In fact, I know the only reason I can do all of this is because God makes it possible.  One of the ways that I see God’s involvement is the peace I have had throughout the week.  Left to do all this on my own, I would be worried about all the things that I haven’t gotten done.  When I get too busy, I don’t pray often enough and lose track of God.  With God, I have a sense of peace knowing that while I’m not getting done everything I would like to, God is taking care of it.  I don’t need to worry.

How busy do you feel in your life?  Do you set your own priorities for what gets done first or do you let God set the priorities?  When you get too busy, are you aware of God?

The Gospel for Mass on Thursday was Jesus teaching his disciples the Lord’s Prayer.  In that prayer we pray “thy will be done.”  Is it God’s Will we seek to do?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff