A Long But a Good Weekend

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Just finished a long but a good weekend.  It was a long weekend because in addition to the regular Sunday Masses, I had three other events going on.  It was a good weekend because all three events went well and accomplished good ministry.

The first event of the weekend was a Saturday morning Liturgy Committee meeting.  Now, some meetings can be difficult.  This particular meeting was to continue preparations for the Easter Triduum.  The Triduum events of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Crucifixion on Good Friday, and the Resurrection at Easter are the most important time of the year.  There is nothing more important than what we celebrate at Easter (The Church places Christmas as second to Easter).

We didn’t complete all the planning for the Triduum but we made a lot of progress.  We should be in good shape for a good celebration at each of the Triduum Services.  So, I am pleased with what the meeting accomplished.

Then at 1 p.m. I met with a lady (along with her family) who is not baptized and interested in the RCIA process.  She seems like a very nice person with a genuine interest in joining the Catholic Church.  It is always a positive experience to meet with a person with a sincere interest in joining the Catholic Church.

Then came the normal Sunday Mass schedule with me presiding at three Masses.  At the 9:30 a.m. Mass we celebrated the Rite of Sending for our RCIA participants to be baptized, received into the Catholic Church, or complete their sacraments at the Easter Vigil.  Then, in the afternoon the same people traveled to Ithaca to participate in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion with Bishop Clark.  There were two such services last week at the Cathedral for the people in the Rochester area.  Today’s service was for those from parishes in the eastern and southern part of the diocese.  It is encouraging to see so many people joining our Catholic Church.

So, I was certainly busy this weekend but I also feel good about how everything went and encouraged by the interest seen by many in our faith.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Homily for March 4, 2012

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2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B
Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Romans 8:31b-34
Mark 9:2-10
March 4, 2012

For us, it seems impossible that God would have asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  To sacrifice any human being should seem impossible and immoral.  

To add to that Abraham and Sarah had waited a long time to have a child.  She was well beyond child-bearing years but God had made a promise of a son to Abraham. 

And after all the waiting, God now tells Abraham to sacrifice his son.  Remarkable!

What’s even more remarkable is that Abraham is willing to do it!  And if you read the whole story (which I encourage you to do because we skipped a few verses – Genesis 22) Isaac, while not knowing ahead of time what was going to happen, seems to accept all of this.

It seems Abraham’s faith in God is perfect.  A couple of things to note here.  First of all, Abraham’s faith was strong but it wasn’t always perfect.  After all, he doubted when God told them that Sarah, even in her advanced years, would bear a son. 

Secondly, even with perfect faith the command to sacrifice Isaac should seem immoral.  I doubt it would have been enough for Abraham just to hear these words to obey them.  He must have felt God’s divine presence very strongly in that moment to know it truly was God speaking to him.

In the end, God stops Abraham before he sacrifices Isaac.  

But many centuries later, God sacrifices his own son for us.  It has been God’s plan from the beginning.  As Paul writes to the Romans God “did not spare his own Son.”  God held nothing back.

Turning to the gospel, this passage comes shortly after Jesus’ identification by Peter “You are the Christ” and Jesus’ first prediction of his Passion.  His disciples do not understand how it could be.  Peter even rebukes Jesus for suggesting such a thing.

Christ’ Passion is difficult to understand.  Even much of his preaching can be difficult to understand.  Jesus knows what his disciples will have to go through.  He knows they need assurance.

So, as he prepares to go up on the mountain, he takes Peter, James, and John with him to “see” what happens.  He is transfigured but transfigured to what – His divine state.  His clothes became dazzling white, white a sign of purity, the glory of God.

Then Elijah and Moses appear with him?  Why?  For further assurance of course!  Elijah symbolizes the prophets and Moses symbolizes the Law.  The appearance of Elijah and Moses signify that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that has gone before Jesus – more assurance.

Peter saying, “it is good that we are here” recognizes that something incredible is happening.  “He hardly knew what to say.”  That’s ok.  Sometimes people like to say that when they meet God they are going to have a lot of questions to ask.  God will have the answers but when we stand in the divine presence of God I believe we will be so happy and full of grace that we won’t care about those questions.  So, it doesn’t really matter that Peter doesn’t know what to say.  Words aren’t needed in that moment.

But a few words are offered by the Father.  Why?  More assurance!  What does the voice say?  “This is my beloved Son, Listen to him.”  More assurance that we can trust in Jesus.

All this assurance is important to help Peter, James, and John to get through the events that will follow.  Peter has already called Jesus the Christ but without knowing what it really means.

Seeing the Transfiguration is a step towards understanding what it truly means to say Jesus is the Christ.

Jesus told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone about this until he had risen from the dead.  At that point, they didn’t know what risen from the dead even meant but they remembered what had happened and when Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, they understood.

We each face challenges in our own lives.  Where do we stand in our own faith in the midst of those challenges?  

Do we hold back or do we give God our all?

These are the questions that we are to ask ourselves in this season of Lent.

Abraham was called to sacrifice his Son Isaac.  God calls each of us to make sacrifices because of our love for God and love for one another.  

What sacrifice are you being called to make?  

Are you holding back?

Why?

Just Beginning Lent

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We began our yearly celebration of the season of Lent this week on February 22nd. 

During Lent, we abstain from meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday.  We give up something for Lent.  We fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  It is forty days long remembering the forty days Jesus spent in the desert after his Baptism being tempted by Satan.

Our celebration of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.  The ashes serve as a sign of repentance.  In the Old Testament and Jesus’ time, ashes came from the burnt sacrifices offered for sins.  So ashes became a sign of repentance.  Today, our ashes come from burning palms but remain as a sign of our repentance.

These are our Lenten practices but if Lent is to truly help us, then we must think about why we do these things.  We might even ask why we even have a season of Lent.

Lent actually has its origin in what we call RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) for those who seek to join the Catholic Church.  It was an “extended retreat” for their final preparations.  In RCIA, this final period of preparation has become known as the Period of Purification of Enlightenment.

The Church realized that it would be good for all people to spend some time before Easter thinking about what we need to do to open our hearts to a deeper relationship with Jesus.  From here, Lent was born. 

To deepen our relationship with Jesus, we seek forgiveness for our sins.  We admit our sins by accepting the ashes and most especially by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We fast and abstain from meat to remind us that our priorities lay not in earthly things but on God.

To make for Jesus in our hearts, we are called to spend some time in Lent thinking about what we can get rid of in our lives.  As Jesus puts it, ‘we must deny ourselves, take up our Cross, and follow him.’  To deny ourselves is to send aside earthly pleasures in favor of God and the needs of all his people.  In taking up our Cross we acknowledge that we continue to face sufferings and difficulties but that, as we do, Jesus walks with us.

What might you change in your life to make room for Jesus?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Do You Let Jesus Forgive You?

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Here is my homily for today.

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Mark 2:1-12
February 19, 2012

Isaiah is speaking in the first reading to the people who have been held in exile for 50 years in Babylon.  Israel had once a great nation.  It was God who made them a great nation under King David.

But they had come to think they were a great nation by their own merit.  They turned to false gods or no god.  For this, God withdrew his protection from them and allowed their enemy, the Babylonians to defeat them as punishment for their sin.

Many of the Israelites were taken in exile from their own lands to Babylon.  It would have been good if this had led them to repentance but many did not.

After 50 years, God says he is going to do something new.  God removes their sins in a new way and restores the freedom of his people and returns them to the Promised Land.

Jesus comes with the power to do something incredibly new.  He comes doing miracles and preaching God’s word and he comes to forgive sins in a way.  Now, in today’s gospel, he combines the miracles and his preaching.  He does a miracle and uses it as an opportunity to preach the truth.

Jesus has returned “home” and is preaching to the people.  So many people have come that there is absolutely no space left.  It’s even more crowded than we see at Christmas and Easter.

In the midst of the crowd, four incredible men arrive, actually five with the fifth being carried by his friends.  I call them incredible men for two reasons.  First, they care enough about their paralyzed friend to bring him to Jesus.  Secondly, they have enough faith to do it.

When they find the crowds, they are not discouraged.  They know that nothing is impossible for God.  They know in their hearts that Jesus can help their friends.  This is so important to them that they climb up on the roof and open it up.  They get their friend up on the roof and lower him down to Jesus.

What is Jesus’ reaction?

Is he surprised?  Does he yell at them for tearing the house apart?

No.  We are told “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Child, your sins are forgiven.”

It does not say ‘when Jesus saw what they were doing” but “when he saw their faith.”  He saw their faith in what they were doing for their friend but it is not their action that he is interested in but the faith behind the actions.

But he doesn’t just heal the paralytic.  He forgives his sins. 

Immediately the scribes react, seeing Jesus’ words of forgiveness as blasphemy for they know that only God can forgive sins.  What they don’t realize is Jesus is Son of God.  They say Jesus is blaspheming because he is making himself to be like God.

We have to remember that in those days, illness was seen as a penalty for sin.  So, they should have seen a natural connection between healing and forgiving but they don’t.

It’s easy to see that the man’s paralysis is healed.  It’s far less easy to see that his sins are forgiven.

Do we believe Jesus can forgive our sins?  

Do we truly believe that Jesus has paid the price for our sins on the Cross?

Do we let Jesus forgive us?

Jesus freely dies for our sins but he does not force forgiveness on us.  We need to reach for it with a contrite heart.  To do so we must admit our sins.  If we aren’t willing to admit our sins, we cannot be forgiven.  

To offer us forgiveness, Jesus has given us the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, most commonly known as Confession.  

It used to be that people would go as often as weekly.  “Catholic guilt” said you must have done something bad.  Now, the pendulum has swung the other way and people seldom go.  

Some people don’t see their own sins.  Some say why would I confess my sins to a priest.  God is the one who forgives.  

They are right.  God is the one who forgives the sins.  As a priest, I merely say the words as an instrument of God.  I will also add that when we “confess” we aren’t telling God anything he doesn’t already know.  God is everywhere and sees all we do.  

So, the sacrament is not about telling God about something He already knows.  It’s to declare our sorrow for our sins with contrite hearts.

We accept a penance not just as a “punishment” but as a sign of our desire to make amends.  Then, the priest says the words of absolution and we are forgiven. 

I know I haven’t always gone to Reconciliation as much as I should.  But I know now that I am in the habit of going often, I am very much aware that God does not just forgive my past sins in the sacrament but also strengthens me with the grace to resist future temptation.

Jesus wants to forgive.  Do you want to be forgiven?

Why Do We Have “Lent”?

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On February 22nd, we will begin our season of Lent for 2012.  Lent is a time of preparation to help us prepare for the celebration of the Easter Triduum. 

Lent has origins in a retreat period for the catechumens in the early church who were preparing for Baptism at Easter.  While they had spent months (even years) learning about our Catholic faith, this retreat period was a time of more intensive and immediate study.  The church began to realize that we all need to reflect on our lives.  We can (and should) do this throughout the year. 

Yet, realizing that Easter is the most important celebration of the liturgical year, it is an especially fitting time to reflect on our sins and faults.  Thus, Lent is a penitential time.

During Lent we are expected to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays in Lent.   This is meant to be a sacrifice to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the Cross on Good Friday.  If you have to love fish, it isn’t much of a sacrifice but for people like me, not eating meat is definitely a sacrifice, although be it nothing compared to Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.  (We don’t actually have to eat fish on the Fridays of Lent.  The rule says we cannot eat meat.  So meatless pasta, casseroles, and any vegetarian dishes are options .)

Throughout Lent, we are called to make some sort of sacrifice.  Traditionally, this has meant giving up something we like.  Since it is something we like, it is a sacrifice to give it up, saying God is more important.  For most people, as soon as Lent is over, they go right back to enjoying what they have given up.

I suggest two alternative possibilities.  First, do you have a bad habitat such as smoking that you would like to quit?  Why not start with Lent?  Make it your Lenten sacrifice and ask for God’s grace to quit permanently.

The second possibility is to spend extra time in prayer, attending Mass, or helping those in need.  The sacrifice is giving up the time from something else you like to do.  Hopefully, the extra time spent in prayer and helping others might become a permanent practice.

It all begins with Ash Wednesday.  Abraham  says “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes!” (Genesis 18:27).  As Abraham sees, ashes are a sign of humility.  Originally the ashes came from the burnt offerings from the sacrifices made in atonement for sin.  Because of the association with the burnt offerings, ashes are a sign of repentance as we read in Judith 4:11, “And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord.”

May we repent of our sins and always seek to turn our hearts to God!

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Who Is Jesus To You and What Do You Seek From Him?

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Here is the prepared text for my homily for this past weekend.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Mark 1:29-39
February 5, 2012

Today’s gospel is just 12 verses but it tells us a lot about Jesus.  It tells us all the types of actions Jesus did between his baptism and the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

It also tells us some of the response of the people.  For instance, Jesus heals people.  When he heals Simon’s mother-in-law, it tells us how in response, she immediately gets up and waits on them.  Jesus has healed her and in response she cares for his human needs.

Of course, as Christians, we shouldn’t just look at the fact that Jesus healed her but ask why?  He heals her because he cares about her as a person.

Then, Jesus drives out demons.  Why?  Because he cares about the people.  Jesus isn’t just about doing miracles.

After Jesus has healed many people and driven out many demons, what does he do?  He goes off to pray.  Jesus is a man of prayer.  If Jesus, who is the Son of God and the Messiah, takes the time to pray how much more do we need to spend time in pray to seek the Father’s Will?

While Jesus is praying, Simon and the others come looking for him.  He says “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.”  Jesus is a man who preaches his Father’s Word.

Notice Jesus doesn’t say let us go to the nearby villages so I can do miracles there but rather preach there.  Are miracles good things?  Is it wonderful that Jesus heals sick people and drives out demons?  Absolutely, but that is not all he is.  

He does these things because he cares about us.  In turn, we should not just think about what Jesus can do for us.  We need to reflect on what he teaches us.  

Who is it that knows truly and fully who Jesus is?  It is the demons!  We know this because we are told that Jesus did not permit them to speak “because they knew him.”

Why won’t Jesus want people to know who he truly is?  Won’t it be better for them to know that he is no mere prophet or miracle worker but the Son of God?

After all, many of the people who were looking for Jesus just followed him because they were looking for miracles.  Some of them might not even have cared who he was if he did a miracle for them.

Some may have hoped he was the messiah but they had their own expectations of what the messiah would be like and Jesus didn’t meet those expectations.

In Mark’s Gospel, we call this pattern of Jesus not allowing the demons to tell the people who he really is “The Messianic Secret.”

Jesus wants each person to come to believe in Jesus for themselves.  The miracles and exorcisms are meant to help with that but there were other miracle workers then, so the miracles don’t prove Jesus is the Messiah and much more.

The people only come to know who Jesus is at his Crucifixion and Resurrection.  For those who don’t come to fully know Jesus, the Crucifixion is defeat.  For those who do, the Crucifixion is victory over death.

Who is Jesus to you?

Do you seek Jesus as a miracle worker?  Crying out to him in times of illness and despair?  Jesus is a miracle worker but he is also much more than that.

Do you come to Jesus to rid yourself of the “demons” in your life?  Jesus can help but he is much more than that.

Do you come to Jesus to learn how to pray?  Do you just pray for an hour here at church?  Do you ever talk to Jesus during the week? 

Do you seek Jesus’ advice on how to deal with whatever is going on in your lives?

Is your faith in Jesus just one part of your life (faith) or do you seek Jesus is all things?

For instance, when you are making a decision, is your faith in Jesus part of how you determine what is good and bad?

Jesus wants to be part of our lives when we are sick and when we are healthy.  Jesus wants to help us be good moral people.

Who is Jesus to you and what do you seek from him?

Freedom to Believe

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If you follow the Catholic News in America, then by now you have probably heard about the new federal mandate to require all health insurance plans to cover sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients as preventative health care. 

Here in the Diocese of Rochester, our Bishop Clark issued a letter today (2/1/12) to be distributed this weekend  in parishes speaking on this very issue.  (You can find more information of our diocesan website at http://www.dor.org/index.cfm/news/news-docs/catholics-urged-to-oppose-hhs-mandate/)

The New York State Catholic Conference distributed an email this week encouraging us to contact our U.S. Senators through the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (click here to take action). 

And, of course, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is speaking very loudly and clearly on this issue.

Yes, there is debate about the morality of abortion, contraception, and sterilization.  The problem with mandating coverage for these procedures is that it forces the Catholic Church to either violate its own beliefs and offer the coverage or stop offering insurance coverage for its employees.  Since we are moving towards mandatory health care coverage, the latter may not be an option.  This may lead to the only acceptable option being for the Catholic Church to shut down many of its schools, hospitals, and agencies that offer assistance for the poor and the vulnerable.  Could this lead to shutting down Catholic hospitals and Catholic Charities agencies across the nation? 

These regulations are set to become affecting in August 2012.  A one year extension has been granted for non-profits to “come into compliance.”  A one year extension does not help in any way when we are talking about violating our fundamental beliefs.

The regulations do provide for an exemption for religious organizations.  Here is what the USCCB says about that.

The exemption provided for “religious employers” is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified (http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm).

The exemption for religious organization would probably only include individual parishes and would not include Catholic schools, hospitals, or Catholic Charities.

It is a matter of conscience.  While the teaching of the Catholic Church stands against abortion, contraception, and sterilization, the Catholic Church and its schools, hospitals, and agencies do not prohibit people from receiving this procedures (admitting we would like to see these procedures, most especially abortion, prohibited).  In regards to this new policy, we are simply asking that we not be forced to pay for procedures that violate our beliefs. 

Our society is moving more and more towards absolute relativism.  Relativism says that there is no (absolute) truth.  Each person is free to believe what they want as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else.  If society is moving towards relativism, then how come the Catholic Church (and any other church or group with similar beliefs) is being forced to violate its beliefs?

Remember you can take action at

 http://actions.nchla.org/Core/core.aspx?APP=GAC&AID=970&IssueID=25200&SiteID=-1.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

P.S.  By the way, there is an absolute truth.  It is defined by God.

P.S.S. If you don’t follow Catholic News in the United States but would like to check out www.catholicnews.com

 

The Forgotten Sacrament

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I have been teaching our RCIA Catechumens and Candidates about the Sacraments.  There are seven sacraments that we can separate into three categories. 

Under the category of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.  Marriage and Holy Orders are categorized as Sacraments of Service.  Lastly, Reconciliation and Anointing are Sacraments of Healing. 

We seek the Anointing of the Sick when we are facing a serious physical illness, seeking God’s grace as we face the illness.  We seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation when our souls are in need of healing from our sins.  Unfortunately many do not seek the grace of this sacrament.  Some because they fail to see their sins and others because they don’t fully understand the sacrament.

Before continuing I should say a few words about the name of the sacrament.  I am calling it the Sacrament of Reconciliation but its more traditional name is Confession.  For some it is known as “Penance.”  Both confession and penance are part of the sacrament but are not the whole sacrament.  I like the name “Sacrament of Reconciliation” because it signifies the purpose of the sacrament, seeking reconciliation with God.

I said that confession and penance are part of the sacrament.  There are four parts to this Sacrament.  They are contrition, confession, absolution, and penance.

Contrition is to be sorry for our sins.  To be open to the grace God offers us in the sacrament, we must admit our sins and be sorry.  But it is not just about admitting our sins.  We must really want to change our ways to resist temptation and change our lives. 

Confession is an important part of admitting our sins.  Since God is everywhere God already knows our sins.  But there is a therapeutic value in being willing to speak aloud our sins.  It shows that we acknowledge what we have done is wrong and that we know we need God’s forgiveness.

Absolution is the act of God forgiving us for our sins.  It is what we come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for.  It gives us the grace we need.

Penance is the fourth and final part of the Sacrament.  Penance is not about serving a punishment.  It is about conversion, seeking to change our lives to live in accord with God’s will. 

I have to admit for a while I wasn’t going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation as often as I should.  When I got myself back to the Sacrament of Reconciliation I became all the more aware of how much I needed it and that I need God’s grace to do better in the future. 

How often should we go?  The answer is different for each of us.  We should not go, say once a month, just to say we went.  We are to go to this sacrament whenever we are aware that we have offended God by failing to live in accord with his Will.  Sometimes, it might be a few days between our need for the sacrament and at other times a few weeks.

I titled this article “The Forgotten Sacrament” because it seems a lot of people don’t come to the sacrament on an individual basis.  When was the last time you went and what do you need to seek God’s forgiveness for?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Struggle To Be A Disciple

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Here is my homily for today (Sunday, January 22, 2012)

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B (Click here to see the readings)
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
January 22, 2012

We see a pretty lofty example of what being a disciple means today.  Jesus is just beginning his public ministry and immediately begins to call disciples.

As this point in Mark’s Gospel, we haven’t heard of Jesus doing any miracles or preaching.   All that we have been told so far in Mark’s Gospel is that he was baptized by John and then tempted by Satan.  As he begins his ministry, John the Baptist has been arrested and Jesus picks up where John leaves off.  Jesus proclaims the same message “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

No new profound message.  Perhaps one might find a sense of urgency with the kingdom of God is at hand.  No more making excuses.  Now is the time for action.

Even if they have that sense of urgency the response of Simon, Andrew, James, and John is nothing short of amazing.  Jesus calls them and they immediately abandon their lives to follow Jesus. 

If an unfamiliar face came to be and told me to “come after them” my first response would probably be “Who are you?” and “Why should I follow you? I don’t even know who you are.”  Simon and the others didn’t respond that way.  They didn’t know who Jesus truly was but they were willing to follow him.

For Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow Jesus so suddenly they must have sensed the divine presence in Jesus.      Why else would they have followed Jesus?

In coming here today, we are showing that we want to follow Jesus.  But it is a struggle.  I don’t know about you but for one thing I struggle to know what Jesus is asking of me.  I love being a priest.  I very much want to serve God and you as his people.  There is a lot of work to do.  What am I supposed to do myself?  What am I supposed to lead others to do?  What is not for me to deal with at all?  Where do God priorities lay?

I wish it seemed so simple as for Simon, Andrew, James, and John who simply abandoned everything and followed Jesus.  Well, it wasn’t all that simple when you read the rest of the story.  The disciples will screw up.  They don’t really fully understand who Jesus is.  Even Peter will deny Jesus three times.

We have to look at the whole story of the disciples.  

The same is true with Jonah in the first reading.  The opening verse sounds like Jonah is the perfect disciple.  God tells him to go to Nineveh and proclaim a message.  Jonah immediately goes and proclaims the message as God directs.  The people of Nineveh immediately repeat and are saved.  Sounds perfect right?  

You need to read the rest of the story. 

This is not the first time God has asked Jonah to preach in Nineveh.  If you read the whole story, the first time God asked Jonah to go, Jonah refused and ran away from God.  Of course, you can’t really run away from God since he is every way.  As the story goes, God sent a storm to punish Jonah.  The sailors throw Jonah overboard to save themselves from the storm.  Along comes a large fish (a whale in the children’s story) that swallows Jonah up.  Jonah spends three days in the belly of the fish before the fish spits him back out.

So when God asks Jonah a second time, Jonah does as God asks.  I guess he got the message when he was in the belly of the fish.

But Jonah hadn’t really changed his mind as to why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  He only went out of “fear of the Lord.”  Why didn’t he want to go?  

Nineveh was known as a wicked city of sin.  Jonah thought they deserved to be punished (they did).  Jonah also knew God was merciful and he knew if the Ninevites repented God would not destroy them for their sins.  Jonah wanted to see the Ninevites destroyed.  Of course, they repented and God did not destroy them.  Jonah is actually mad at God for this.  Yet Jonah has also done what God asks of him.

We don’t always follow Jesus (especially on the first try).  We have our own ideas (just like Jonah) of how things should be.  We might even have someone like Jonah did who we don’t want to forgive.

How many times does God have to tell us something before we get it?  For instance, we count on God’s mercy for ourselves.  Do we show mercy and forgiveness to others?  Jesus taught us to pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Do we have someone we need to forgive?  Or what other struggles do we face?  Do we stand up for what Jesus taught us?  Do we stand up for life and good moral conduct?

Discipleship isn’t easy but we come to Jesus seeking the wisdom and courage to be his faithful disciples.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Need For Mental Health Care

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Each year our Diocesan Public Policy Committee selects three issues to promote awareness of.  This year’s issues are

  • Sex Trafficking – Even in our own country, people are exploited and treated as objects of pleasure.  Our faith is clear that people are not objects and must always be treated with dignity and love.  The exploitation of people for sex stands in direct opposition to the dignity of the person.
  • The Common Good – The concern here is rooted in the growing separation of the rich and the poor.  There is the old saying, “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.”  We must work to make sure that everyone has what they need and ensure that no one is denied their needs because of the rich holding all the wealth.
  • Access to Mental Health Care – People face mental health difficulties for various reasons.  Some because of medical conditions and some because of the circumstances of their lives.  All people have a right to health care and that includes mental health care (for more on the right to health care see my website on “Why the Catholic Church is Concerned With Health Care?“).

Focusing now on the Mental Health Care, it is an issue that is bigger than just the person with the mental health issue.  I attended a presentation this week on this issue by Catholic Charities.  Two of the speakers were mothers who both had a child with mental health issues.  It didn’t just affect them.  It affected their whole family, the children at school, and even the parents’ work.  If you read the diocesan material on this issue you can hear stories of parents losing their jobs because of the time they spend just trying to make sure the child gets the care they need.  One of the mothers even talked about not being able to attend church because of the child’s behavior.  Eventually, her church began to understand what was really going on.  Do we?

There is, of course, a cost element to mental health care but statistics also say that there is simply not enough trained professionals (especially for children) to provide the amount of mental health care is needed. 

We need to do what we can to support those with mental health care.  Is there something you can do?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff