Only God Knows

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Another tragic shooting has happened in our country.  Yesterday (Friday, December 14, 2012) a man went into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut.  Twenty children are dead along with six adults at the school (including the principal who working to help the children), the alleged shooter, and his mother.  Any murder is a tragedy but especially with children and some many of them.

The details are still coming forth.  No motive has been determined yet.  Some speculate if the shooter suffered from mental illness.  There was confusion at first over who the shooter was.  All of that is for the police to determine.

The question I write to talk about is why this happened.  Why does any tragedy happen?  The honest answer is I don’t know!  I wish I did but only God knows.

Even if and when we have answers to our questions, it doesn’t change what has happened.  Answers may help prevent further shootings.  For right now, we need to focus on the here and now.  We must pray for the families who have lost children and adults.  We must pray for the school.  We must pray for the emergency workers (police, rescue, et al).  We must pray for all the people in the town because they are all affected by this.

I already said only God knows why this happened but God did not cause this to happen.  In recent years, I have heard people say that disasters like the earthquake in Haiti a couple of years ago was God punishing the people for their sins.  I do not believe God causes such things to happen.  God does allow such things to happen (only God knows why) but God does not cause them to happen.  Sometimes bad things happen because we make bad choices and God allows us to face the consequences.  Sometimes we have no idea why bad things happen.  In this case at Sandy Hook Elementary, tragedy happened because one man-made bad choices.  We don’t know why but that is the way it is.

I wish I had great words of wisdom to offer but I can’t explain this.  all I can say is:

God did not cause this shooting to happen but God was present.  I firmly believe God was right there with the children and adults who were shot.  God was present in the emergency workers.  God was present at the prayer vigils that happened last night.  God was and is present in every single tear that is shed over this.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Homily 2nd Sunday of Advent 12/9/12

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2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Baruch 5:1-9
Philippians 1:4-6, 9-11
Luke 3:1-6
December 9, 2012

As we ended the last liturgical year and began our season of Advent our readings pointed to the End Times.  We called to do so with hope of the glory of Heaven but we don’t always feel that way when we think about our own readiness.

Today, the gospel readings begin to turn to the events leading up to the earthly ministry of Jesus.  Today, John the Baptist calls for the people to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  This is exactly what Advent is all about.

John the Baptist preached called for a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  It might seem like a difficult message to accept but it’s not meant that way.  John the Baptist sees the coming of the Lord as a joyous event.

John speaks of how the Lord will make things right.  Jesus is our Savior.  The first part of this gospel where it lists the government leaders may seem to just provide a setting.  That was my thinking about it when I first looked at it this week.  Then, one of the commentaries said that it isn’t just to give a time or speak of a place.  The people it lists are powerful figures of the time but they are not the ones who make things right in the world.  Jesus is our Savior and so we celebrate his birth with great joy.

All of our readings today speak of a joyous attitude in the midst of difficult times.  In the gospel, the earthly difficult lies in the fact that the Israelites are subservient to the Romans.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he opens with his praying with joy for the Philippians.  Paul writes this from prison.  He could be sad and discouraged by his imprisonment but he is not.  Rather he finds joy in the Philippians.  That joy leads to confidence that God will continue to bless them and “continue to complete” what he has begun in them.

Baruch worked with Jeremiah and offers our first reading today in the time of the Babylonian Exile, a time of great distress and sadness for the Israelites.  In their distress, they would have dressed in mourning and misery but Baruch tells them to stop this and “put on the splendor of glory from God forever.”      Baruch does not tell them to be ready to be joyful when God sets them free.  He tells them to do this now.  We are not to wait for good things to be joyful.  We can be joyful simply because God loves us.

What’s keeping you from being joyful?  Sometimes being joyful isn’t all that easy.

I think about when we face the death of a loved one.  We are sad because of the loss.  We mourn and grieve.  That’s natural but when we believe in Jesus and the Resurrection we can find joy in knowing that our loved one may receive the gift of eternal life.

It can be hard to be joyful when we are overburdened by work.  We might find joy in knowing that our work and ministry can help make the world a better place.

It can be hard to be joyful when we face challenges to living our faith from others but we can find peace and joy in knowing that Jesus faced the same thing.  So, as we face this, we know we walk with Jesus and he with us.

War and violence is difficult and trying but we find some peace in knowing this is not God’s way.

This brings us to an important distinction about peace and joy.  When people hear the world peace, the focus often turns to a world without any war or violence.  That is the ideal.   When we think of joy we think that it means we don’t have any problems and are happy and smiling.  These are earthly interpretations of peace and joy.  We should seek this time of both peace and joy.  But God’s peace transcends earthly peace.  God’s joy transcends human difficulty.  Now, if everyone truly and fully accepted God’s peace and joy, there would not be any war or violence.  But not everyone has accepted it so the wars and violence continue.

But in the midst of the wars and violence, we can look beyond what we see in this world to see what God sees, hope, and from this we find God’s peace and joy.  I don’t mean to make it sound too simple.  It isn’t.  We face real challenges in our earthly lives.  We can face what might seem like insurmountable odds.

No matter what we face, God walks with us.  That is our joy.

What challenges do you face that make it difficult to know God’s joy?

The Immaculate Conception

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Today (December 8th) we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This year it falls on Saturday but because it is our National Feast Day in the United States, it remains a Holy Day of Obligation.  I serve as Pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca so it is also the patron feast day of our church and school.

When some people hear “Immaculate Conception” they think of Jesus’ conception in Mary’s womb.  The gospel reading for today is the story of the Annunciation but the Immaculate Conception we celebrate today is not Jesus’ conception but rather Mary.

At the Annunciation, Mary said yes to God.  At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them.  Mary is the one who does God’s Will.

God transcends time and knew from the beginning that Mary was say yes.  Thus, when Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb, God ensured that she was conceived without Original Sin so that she would be worthy to carry Jesus in her womb.  Our prayers at Mass today speak of “prevenient grace.”  That’s grace given before that is given in anticipation of Mary’s yes.  That’s the Immaculate Conception.

Our first reading from Genesis and our gospel reading for this feast tell the story of two women, Eve and Mary.  Eve was the first woman.  In those days there was only one commandment from God.  They were not to eat of the fruit of just one tree.  Just one commandment and Eve, tempted by the serpent, broke that commandment.  That’s Original Sin.  That sin that began with Eve lead to the suffering we knew in this world.

Our gospel reading tells how the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to proclaim that she was to be the mother of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Mary did not understand how this could be but she trusted in God’s Word and said yes.  From her “yes” comes our salvation.

God has a plan for each of us.  When we say ‘no’ to God bad things happen.  It’s not that God is mad at us and causes the bad things to happen.  Rather God doesn’t want us to do “bad things” because He knows what will happen.  When we say “yes” to God, incredibly good things can happen.

Mary is our example.  Let us all have the grace we need to say yes to God.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Homily – 1st Sunday of Advent

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1st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Jeremiah 33:14-16 1
Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
December 2, 2012

We hear Jeremiah speak the prophecy of God’s promise to raise up a “just shoot” for David.  This is the prophecy of a new messiah, a great king for Israel.  It is fulfilled in the First Coming of Jesus.

Jeremiah delivered this prophecy about six hundred years before Jesus was born.  It was the time of the Babylonian Exile.  Thus it was a time of sadness.  God offered the promise of the Messiah to assure the people that there was something better coming.      But Jeremiah delivered this prophecy around six hundred years before the First Coming of Jesus.

But God’s Word and Promise are always good.  God fulfills his prophecy at the appointed time.

In four weeks, we will celebrate Christmas, reminding us of the First Coming of Jesus and how important it is for us.  But it is four weeks away.

You might not know it.  The Christmas shopping season has already begun.  Radio stations are already playing Christmas music.  People are rushing to Christmas.

But we should not rush to Christmas.  We have a whole season before then.  It’s called Advent, which means coming or arrival.  During Advent we are called to reflect on the coming of Jesus but not just the First Coming but the Second Coming.

We wait for the Second Coming.  I mentioned before that Jeremiah delivered his prophecy about 600 years before Jesus.  In fact, the prophecies of a new messiah were not new then.  They started from the time of David a couple of centuries before.

So the people had waited almost a 1,000 years.

Now we wait for the Second Coming.  It has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus last walked on Earth.  When did the prophecies about the Second Coming begin?

It was Jesus himself that spoke of his Second Coming in today’s reading.  He describes how bad things will be at the end but he also speaks of how the Son of Man will come in a cloud with power and glory.

A lot of people “missed” the First Coming of Jesus, not realizing that it ever happened.  With all that will happen before it and the Second Coming being one of power and glory, nobody will miss it.  Everyone will know when it happens.

But not everyone will be ready.

We just have to wait.

And that waiting isn’t all that easy.  Jesus warns against becoming drowsy and calls us to be vigilant.

The early disciples thought the Second Coming was going to happen in their earthly life time.  They keep vigilant.

Now 2,000 years later, we have let our guard down.  Sometimes we just think if it hasn’t happened yet, it probably isn’t going to happen today.  So, we go about our earthly business.

Do we ever think about the Second Coming?      The images that Jesus speaks of leading up to the Second Coming are fearful.  So much so that Jesus says people will die of fright.  With that in mind, we don’t like to think about those kinds of images.

Additionally, the Second Coming also means Judgment Day has arrived.  We might not feel ready for that.  Maybe we haven’t gotten our act together.  So we fear the Second Coming because we know we are not ready.      Advent is a season to remind us of what we are waiting for.  It is not a time of dread but joyful anticipation.

We do not need to fear the Second Coming.  God does not want us to dread the Second Coming.  When it does happen, all who believe in Jesus will be taken up to Heaven.  That’s a good thing.  Heaven is the ultimate gift.      But we have to wait for the gift.  Often, we don’t like to wait, especially when a gift is involved.  But waiting can be a good thing.

During our waiting, we can take time to reflect on what Christmas really means to us as our celebration of the First Coming of Jesus and what we need to do to become ready for the Second Coming.

We need to strive to do God’s Will but we can fall short.  When we fall short, then we turn to Jesus who makes Heaven possible for us by dying on the Cross.

Be vigilant.  Seek God in this season of Advent.

A Great Treasure

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After the Sunday morning Masses, I had the opportunity to join our two parish youth groups (Middle School & Senior High) for a joint session where they had the opportunity to ask me questions.  I went in with no set text to talk about and there were no restrictions on the questions except that they should have to do with Church.

I really enjoy doing this.  It is really only the second or third time since my ordination that I have been able to do something like this.  Normally, our Youth Group Leaders would often have a prepared topic to cover.  That is not to say they aren’t flexible.  I have observed both of our youth groups in action and believe our leaders are open to answering any questions our youth might have.

Since it isn’t as often as I like that I am able to visit the youth groups I like to put “the ball in their court.”  They are smart intelligent people who, I believe, truly want to understand our faith better.  Answering their questions is important to helping them do this.  By letting them ask the questions, I also hope it helps make our faith relevant for them.  After all, when we ask questions isn’t it often because of what we see in our own lives.

Our youth are a great treasure.  I like to show that I value them as a treasure by spending time with them at youth group.  Our youth are our future.  By helping them to understand and live our faith, we are building for a better tomorrow.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

God Gets Us Where We Need to Be

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Yesterday our parish office was closed to give our staff a long weekend with the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I had no special plans when I stopped in the office for a little while to check my email.  I had been thinking about going to the hospital to make some routine visits.  I had reason to believe that we had at least one parishioner there.  But given the office was closed I was leaning against going, instead finding some rest time.

Just as I was about to leave the office, my phone rang.  It was a parishioner asking me to visit their mother who was in the hospital and not doing well.  I said I would there in half an hour (I had to walk back to my house to get my car and change my clothes or it would have been faster).

So I saw the woman I was called for.  While there I visited three other parishioners and a couple of others listed as Catholic but no parish, including one woman who had come in during the night who I anointed.

There was no great profound visit.  But I saw more people during this trip to the hospital than any other time since I came to Ithaca.  The phone call for the one lady was perhaps God’s way of getting me to the hospital to see just not that one lady but several.

God gets us where we need to be.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Thanksgiving

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Today we celebrate a national holiday, Thanksgiving.  It has been part of our history since before we were even a nation of our own.  The pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts in 1620.  They arrived in winter and faced great difficulties.  Native American Indians came to their help and helped learn local farming.  At the first harvest they celebrated a great meal with the Native American Indians to give thanks to the Native American Indians for their help and to thank God.

In some ways, Thanksgiving has become ‘another family holiday,’ a day to spend with family.  But we need to remember to give thanks.

Giving thanks is nothing new.  It didn’t begin with the Pilgrims.  People have been thanking each other and thanking God since the beginning of time.  We hear it in the readings recommended for Thanksgiving Day Mass.  In the second reading, Paul speaks of how he gives thanks for the people and the grace God has given them.  We should give thanks for the same.

In the gospel reading, ten lepers come to Jesus seeking to be healed.  All ten were healed.  Nine continued on their way (Jesus had told them to go to the priests).  Only one returned to give thanks.  It is easy to remember to pray to ask for something when we need help.  But do we remember to pray to give thanks when we have received blessings?  Ten lepers were healed, only one returned to Jesus, glorifying God and giving thanks to Jesus.

When we receive a great miracle like the lepers, it should be easy to remember to give thanks but we don’t always, do we?  Sometimes, it is hard to see the blessings we have received in the midst of any difficulties we face.

The saying ‘do you see the cup as half full or half empty comes to mind.’   If we see the cup as half empty, we think of what we don’t have and may be saddened or depressed.  If we see the cup as half-full, we see the blessings that we have received, and can find some peace in the midst of difficulty.

Sometimes there are blessings we don’t realize.  I think of myself right now.  Yesterday, I spent three hours cutting down a tree and carting it away.  I’m a little sore right now but I am thankful that I am not real sore or stiff now.

I also think of coming to Immaculate as Pastor.  I have been very busy and working a lot.  I do get tired but when I do, I still try to remember to give thanks to God because without him, I could not do what I do.  I also give thanks for a parish that has been so warm and welcoming to me and willing to help.

What blessings have you received this year?  Count your blessings and give thanks to God.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The End is Coming!

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Another Sunday Homily

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 
Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14,
18 Mark 13:24-32
November 18, 2012

The end of the year is just two weeks away.      No, I’m haven’t flipped my lid.  I know very well that the secular calendar year still has six weeks to go.  I’m talking about the church year or “Liturgy Year” as we call it.  The new liturgical year begins on the First Sunday of Advent and that is just two weeks away.  So, right now we are at the end of the year.

With that in mind, our readings speak of ‘End Times.’  When will the End Times come?  We don’t know.  There are people who try to predict the exact day.  Just last year somebody issued their proclamation of when the “Rapture” was coming.  I don’t remember the exact date they predicted but I do remember it was a Saturday night at 6 p.m. because when I finished Mass that evil, I reminded people about the prediction but said we had nothing to worry about because the prediction was for the “Rapture” not the final end and as Catholics we don’t believe in the Rapture so we have nothing to worry about!      What makes us think about the End Times?

In the reading from Daniel, they were in a time of intense persecution and wondered if it could be the end.  Wondering, they described the final end as ‘a time unsurpassed in distress.’  In their fear, God assures them by speaking of Michael the Archangel as our guardian.

In the gospel, Jesus speaks of the days after “that tribulation” and the Second Coming of the Son of Man.  At the time Mark’s Gospel was written, the people were again facing a great persecution.  The Temple would soon be destroyed and that could mean the End was coming.

When the End come?

Today in the news we hear of many natural disasters.  Hurricanes like Sandy, flooding and droughts, and earthquakes.  Sometimes it makes me wonder if the end is coming.  It might really seem like it for the people affected by Sandy or any other of disasters.      The truth is we don’t know when the End will come.  Jesus tells us that it will come like a thief in the night; But of that day or hour, no one knows.”

The End will come and we will be judged.  Some will live forever in Heaven while others might know an “everlasting horror and disgrace.”      We don’t know when the End will time.  It shouldn’t really make a difference.  The early Christians after the Resurrection lived with an expectation that the Second Coming was going to happen very soon.  Jesus say this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

Well, a lot of people have passed away since then and the Second Coming hasn’t happened.  Jesus wasn’t wrong.  He was speaking collectively of the ‘Christian generation’ from the time of Jesus’ First Coming to his Second Coming.

The End hasn’t come yet but many people have faced their own end in earthly death.  The question we must ask is ‘are we ready?’      Are we ready for the Second Coming?  Are we ready to face judgment at our own earthly death?  How much time do we need to get ready?  What does it mean to be ready?

Ideally, being ready means we will be without sin.  Being ready means we are doing God’s Will.  If only these was an easy as we would like.

What are you doing to prepare for the End?  We should ask ourselves what do need to be doing to get ready.  Are we putting any effort into getting ready?       We could ask ourselves do we put more effort into getting ready for all the Christmas festivities or to getting our live in order for Jesus’ arrival.

As to our past sins, Jesus is dying to forgive our sins.  That’s the sacrifice we celebrate in the Eucharist.  We just need to confess and repent.  Are we ready?

Homily – Sunday November 11, 2012

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
1 Kings 17:10-16
Hebrews 9:24-26
Mark 12:38-44
November 11, 2012

Today we hear stories involving two different women who lived a few hundred years apart but have a common story. They are both widows.
As widows they would have no status or property. They would have little and had to rely on the generosity of others.

As the story goes, they have something else in common, their great faith.

In the story from Kings, there is a drought upon the land and Elijah is sent to Zarephath to find refuge where God says a widow will provide food.
Elijah probably would have been a surprise that God would provide for him through a widow because of their lack of status or property. How could a widow help? But Elijah trusts God and follows his instruction.

When Elijah finds the widow, he asks for water and a bit of bread.

The widow explains that she has very little to offer. Note she does not appear to be complaining. Remember the stories from Exodus of the Israelites grumbling and complaining in the desert.  She doesn’t complain.  She is simply stating the facts of the situation. Given the situation, many may have felt abandoned or forgotten by God and/or lost faith.

Even though she knows she is about to run out, she gives Elijah the bread he asks for. Then her jar never runs out because God provided.

In the gospel, Jesus is watching the people who are contributing to the temple treasury. He sees many rich people who give large sums but there is also the widow who gives little. It is her that Jesus says “put in more”.

How did the poor widow put in more? Jesus isn’t measuring their contributions by dollar value.  No, Jesus is concerned with the “attitude” of their giving.

The rich gave a lot but they gave of what they didn’t need while the widow gives of what she needs for herself.

What motivates our actions? Not just our financial giving but all our actions! Are we looking for seats and places of honor like the Pharisees? Or do we give out of generosity?

How about an “attitude of gratitude”?

Are we thankful for what God has given us?

Do we give out of “obligation” or because we want to?

Is God first for us or do we fit God in from what is left over?

Remember, I’m not talking just about money here. For instance, during the week do you make time to pray? Or do you just pray if there is time left over?

The widows trusted God. The rich gave to make themselves look good. May we always seek to do God’s Will above any self-interest.

Saints & Purgatory

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While we can always be mindful of those who have gone before us, November is considered a special time to pray for the dead.  We begin the month on November 1st first with the celebration of All Saints’ Day.  Anytime I speak of the saints I always like to begin with clearing up a misconception that some people have.  Catholics do not worship the saints.  We worship God and God alone.  We venerate the saints.  To venerate is to give honor and respect.  We ask for the intercession of the saints as the ones who are in Heaven but we ask for their prayers knowing that it is God who performs the miracles.

There are many saints known by name such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, and St. Peter.  These are the people officially canonized by the Church but all who have entered into the eternal kingdom of Heaven are saints, whether they are known by name or not.  On All Saints’ Day we give honor for the good lives they lived and ask that they be praying for us before God.

On November 2nd, we celebrate The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, more commonly known as All Souls’ Day.  On this day, we especially pray for the souls in Purgatory.  Some Catholics think the Catholic Church no longer believes in Purgatory.  Protestants might say it isn’t in the Bible.  The Bible does mention praying for the dead.  It is found in 2 Maccabees 12:38-46 which is found in the Old Testament (found in the Protestant Apocrypha).

Purgatory is not a bad thing.  It is a gift.  Our sins are forgiven in this life when we ask for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  But that sin has an effect on us and is part of who we are.  In Purgatory, we are cleansed of any effect of sin and transformed to be with God in his glory.  Purgatory is God’s way of making this happen (Philippians 3:21).

The Catholic Church also speaks of the Communion of Saints.  When we say “The Saints” we are referring to those in Heaven.  The ‘Communion of Saints’ involves three groups, those in Heaven (The Saints), those in Purgatory, and those of us alive on Earth.  We are united by our common baptism.  The Saints in Heaven pray for us, we pray for those in Purgatory, and God provides for all.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff