Check out my new article on “Implementing the New Roman Missal” and teaching on the Mass at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/ls/implement.htm
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Blessed Are They Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.” These are words spoken by Jesus as he began his Sermon on the Mount. They are words we heard this Sunday in church.
Righteousness is to do God’s will, to do what is right and to stand up for what is right. We are a people of compassion, compassion like Jesus showed for us in his willingness to die for us on the Cross.
Each year, our diocese here in Rochester holds a Public Policy Weekend the second weekend in February. This year’s issue is “Working Out of Poverty.” Often, the petitions focus on a particular bill under consideration in our New York State Government or Congress. However, this year we take a different approach. Mindful of the budget crisis New York State faces and knowing there will be many budgets cuts this year, our petitions ask our elected state officials to be mindful of the needs of the working poor. Here are the exact words of the petition:
Working Out of Poverty: Transportation and Child Care for Low-Income Workers
We understand that difficult decisions need to be made regarding the 2011-2012 New York State budget.
We, the undersigned, urge the Governor, the Assembly, and the Senate to give priority to programs that preserve and promote employment, with special attention to subsidies for child care and transportation for low-income workers.
This year we pay special attention to programs that help the working poor with child care and transportation expenses. We must be aware that some of these people are only able to work because of these programs. They may lose their jobs without the help. What would we gain by cutting these programs if it leads to more unemployment?
Another area facing the budget ax is Medicaid. Last week, our New York State Catholic Conference (www.nyscatholic.org) issued a statement (http://www.nyscatholic.org/pages/news/show_newsDetails.asp?id=526) . Check it out and be mindful of those in need.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
The Disciple’s Response
Here is the text of my homily for today (January 23, 2011 – Third Sunday in Ordinary Time).
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
St. Michael’s 5:00 p.m, 7:00 a.m. & 9:30 a.m
January 23, 2011
Jesus calls Simon and Andrew and James and John to be disciples.
What does it mean to be a disciple?
In the response of Simon, Andrew, James, and John there is no discussion. There are no questions. All we are told is that they immediately left everything and followed him.
That can be pretty hard to imagine. Can you imagine giving up your whole way of life to follow someone you have just met? What would it take to motivate you to do this?
Well, what is it that Simon, Andrew, James, and John are responding to? We are left with the impression that this is their first time encountering Jesus. If that is the case, they have not heard him preach before or seen him do any miracles. Perhaps they have heard from others about him but it would seem doubtful to think 2nd hand information would generate such an immediate response.
So, again, what are they responding to?
They, the people in darkness (meaning the Roman rule) have seen a great light. Jesus is the light and Simon, Andrew, James, and John are immediately drawn to the light.
In essence, they are not responding to the physical presence of Jesus. They are responding to the divine presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within him. With their hearts truly open, they must sense that presence and are immediately drawn to it, without condition or reservation. Without condition – meaning they don’t ask questions (immediately – the questions will come when they ask Jesus to explain the parables). They don’t ask what they must believe to join.
They sense the divine and it is what they seek. They don’t even know who Jesus is yet but they are drawn to him.
Put your feet in the place of theirs. Here comes this man that you don’t really know and he says to you “follow me.” Would you take him to be a nut and walk away? This would be missing the divine presence in Jesus.
Would you start asking questions? The most basic question might be “follow you where?” Or you might ask “what is it you believe in? Tell me what you think and if I agree with you then maybe I will think about it. (–> We all might have a lot of questions for God but are we only willing to be disciples if we like what Jesus has to say?) To be a disciple is to be a student of the teacher and learn what the teacher, who is Jesus, has to say and follow in his way.
Would you say yes and immediately follow him? (–> Your heart is totally open to God and doing it his way)
I think, well I hope, we would all like to be in the third category and say yes. If Jesus stood before us and we knew it was him we would follow him. But it doesn’t seem to be that simple, does it?
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul tells them that they should all agree on what to say, no divisions, and that they should all be united in the same mind. Paul talks about how the people are saying “I belong to Paul” or “I belong to Apollos.” We identify our self by the church we attend. Here we attend St. Michael’s, which is part of Our Lady of the Lakes, and the Diocese of Rochester, and the universal Roman Catholic Church. While we identify who we are by the church we attend, it is not divide us. We do so aware that we are part of something bigger than just St. Michael’s.
What are we to agree on? We can agree that Jesus is our Savior; that he died for our sins and that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
As part of the Catholic Church most of the what we do at Mass is the same in every Roman Catholic Church in the world. But we each are given different gifts to serve in different ways. As Paul writes to the Corinthians he will later speak of being members of the Body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body. But a body has many parts, head, arms, hands, legs, and feet. Every part of the body performs a different function but all the parts work together to form one body.
We each have different gifts. Jesus calls each of us to be his disciples according to the gifts we have been given.
Are you open to discovering God’s will? Are you open to God’s truth? It isn’t as simple as it sounds. What do you need to do to follow Jesus?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Motivation
When we evaluate an action as good or bad we tend to look at the effects. Certainly the effects of our actions are very important. We must consider the effects our actions have not just for ourselves but for others.
But the effects of our actions are not all we should be interested in. We also need to think about why do choose an action. For instance, feeding the poor is always a good action but do we do with love and compassion for those in need or do we do it to ‘show how good we are.’ Do we do something for the good effects or do we do it for pride (which, of course, is a sin)?
We must also realize that sometimes our motivations change in the course of completing a task. We can start a task with very good intentions. We encounter opposition from people who aren’t in favor of what we are doing. We stand up for what we believe in, striving to do the right thing. Somewhere all the way, we become more interested in winning the battle than doing the right thing. It can happen to both sides of an argument.
People of integrity aren’t interested in winning. People of integrity always strive to do the right thing.
How much do you think about why you act as you do?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Doing God’s Will
In today’s readings (January 14, 2011), we once again hear about those whose struggle to do God’s will.
In the gospel, many people are coming to see Jesus and hear him preaching. A group comes with their friend who is a paralytic. Whatever they know about Jesus, they are clearly convinced he can heal the paralytic. Why else would they be willing to climb up on the roof of the house, carrying their friend, tear open the roof, and lower the paralytic down to Jesus? Clearly, they believe God’s power is at work in Jesus.
Jesus takes the opportunity not just to heal the man but to turn it into a teaching moment. He does not say to the man, “Be healed. ” No, he says “Child, your sins are forgiven.” There are some scribes present and they immediately accuse Jesus of blasphemy. They believe that only God can forgive sins. What they fail to realize is who Jesus truly is. If they did, they would know that he does have the power to forgive sins. We must realize that the scribes do not oppose God’s Will. The problem is that they do not know God’s Will. They do not understand that Jesus is The Son of God.
Turning to the first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, it quotes Psalm 95:11, “As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.” One might think of our eternal rest that we enjoy in Heaven. The Psalm is reflecting on the Exodus event. As they made their way into the desert from Egypt, the people failed to trust in the Lord when the food and water supply ran out. For their lack of trust, that generation was not allowed to enter into the promised land, hence never experienced rest in the promised land.
We are called to follow God’s will. When we face struggles in our lives, we might wonder if it is God’s Will. We can wonder why God doesn’t eliminate our problems. Sometimes he does. Sometimes our struggles continue.
Sometimes, when things seem to be going hard, I ask myself why the struggle? Am I facing a struggle because I am not following God’s Will for me? Or are my struggles of human origin? If you read the prophets in the Old Testament, you will find that they faced many people who chose not to follow God’s Will. Through the opposition, the prophets endured in God’s Will.
We are to pray for the wisdom and understanding to know if we are on the path God has laid out for us. How do we know if our struggles are because we aren’t following God’s Will or because of others’ resistance to God’s Will?
One indication can be, when in the midst of the struggle, that we can find some rest. When I say “rest” I am not referring to physical rest. I am talking about rest in our soul, meaning God’s peace. Another way I look at it is to ask myself can I imagine myself doing anything else? Is my heart really in it?
How do you know when you are doing God’s Will?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Baptism of the Lord
Here is the homily I delivered for the Baptism of the Lord
Baptism of the Lord, Year A
St. Theresa’s 11:00 a.m.
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17
January 9, 2011
John the Baptist has been busy calling people to repent. He has been baptizing those who have come to him in repentance. The baptism of John is for the forgiveness of sins. One of our principle uses of water is for cleaning. John baptizes with water as a symbol of how our sins are forgiven.
John’s message is all about repentance. His baptism is solely a ritual act for cleansing of our sins.
Now, here comes Jesus. John immediately recognizes Jesus as the one who is “mightier than I” and will baptize with the fire and Holy Spirit.
Here comes the Messiah and he seeks baptize from John. John questions him “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”
John the Baptist is dumbfounded. He knows how much greater Jesus is than he. He knows that the Baptism of Jesus will mean so much more.
John is confused and so he questions. Why should he baptize Jesus? Why would Jesus need to be baptized by him? Jesus has no sin.
Jesus tells him to allow this to do this “fulfill” all righteousness.
And so John “allows” Jesus to be baptized by him. Isn’t that nice? John “allowed” Jesus to do this. Yet, we sometimes don’t allow Jesus to help us.
So why is Jesus to be baptized? He has no sin but in being baptized by John, Jesus takes a ritual that is a ritual cleansing and makes it so much more.
Yes, in Baptism, original sin and any personal sins up to that time are forgiven and that is important. But something more happens when Jesus is baptized.
“The heavens were opened for him.” In the Jewish understanding this meant that God opened up the heavens to communicate with his Son.
In baptism, the heavens are opened for us. In baptism, we enter into new life with Jesus, become members of the Body of Christ.
That already makes baptism so much more than John’s baptism but there is still more.
What happens next? The “spirit of God” descended upon him like a dove. In baptism, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
One more thing! That voice! That voice from heaven that says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is The Son of God. In baptism, we become children of God.
So much happens in our baptism but once we are baptized do we do much to remember it. I bet that if I asked anyone here they would know the date of their birth. But if I asked you the date of your baptism, I bet you won’t know. I don’t know the exact date of my baptism. I know the year and maybe the month but that is only because when I was applying to seminary I had to get a new copy of my baptismal certificate.
Baptism leaves a permanent mark on us. The church calls it an “indelible mark” on our character. We are forever changed by it. We are to be ever-reminded of that. For instance, at baptism we are dressed in a white garment as a sign that we have been cleansed of our sins. At funerals, a white pall is placed on the casket as a reminder of our baptism.
When was the last time you thought about your baptism and what it means for you? Note I said what it “means” for you (present tense) rather than “meant” for you (past tense).
Baptism is a calling from God. Look at Jesus’ baptism. It was not done on John’s initiative. It was done by Jesus’ initiative. It was done by God’s calling.
God calls us to be his children, God calls us to be his servant. In the first reading we find the first of four “Servant Songs” in the Book of Isaiah that tells us what it means to be a servant, a child of God.
We are called to bring justice to the world but this justice is not “legal justice” but truth and fairness to all. Isaiah says the servant will do this not with shouting or by force. We do it quietly in the way we live, each according to how God has called us.
Do you listen to God’s call?
When we think about God’s call (or vocation), we tend to think of priests, deacons, and religious as those who have been called by God.
As a priest, I do have a special calling in the way I serve the Lord. As a priest I am called to preside over the sacraments and to lead God’s people, to lead you, to do God’s will. Deacons and religious have their callings. It is not the same for all priests, etc. Some teach, some work in parishes, some are missionaries.
As a parish priest I am called to bring the gospel to you, so that in turn you may grow deeper in your faith, live your faith as God has called you and then share that faith with others. Listen to God’s call.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
Faith
In tomorrow’s Gospel (January 7, 2011), the leper sees Jesus, falls prostrate before him and says, ““Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
The act of the leper falling prostrating before Jesus means he recognizes that Jesus is far greater than he. I know that God is far wiser, stronger, powerful, and compassionate than I am. This does mean that I have low self-esteem. I know that I do good works. I believe that I am a good person. I also know that I am good and am able to do the good works that I do by the power of God dwelling through the Holy Spirit in me. God is better than me because he is all-powerful and all-knowing.
What does the leper say to Jesus? “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” The leper has no doubt that Jesus has the power to heal him. In response, Jesus merely says the word, “I do will it. Be made clean.” ” and the leper is healed.
Do you believe in the power of Jesus to transform you and to transform the world? Do you have doubt?
I have no doubt in the power of Jesus to transform the world and to transform me. One might ask then, why is the world not perfect? Why am I not perfect?
It is not a lack of power on God’s part. Sometimes, God has a lesson for us to learn. Much of the time, the problem is our openness to be transformed. Sometimes, the problem might be ‘do we really want to change.’ We might know something is not good for us but perhaps there is some short-term pleasure with it. Sometimes, we might do a behavior that we want to change for no other reason than habit. We do it because we are used to doing it. Of course, addiction can be a problem too.
Other times, when we think God seems to lack the power to do something, we might realize that God is not just all-powerful but also all-knowing. God is wisdom. God knows better than us. When God does not do things the way we might like, it can because he knows more than us and knows better than us.
God has the power to transform the world. May we have the grace to yield to his power and will.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
A Better Place
I think that one of our goals in life should be to make the world a better place. But how do we know when we have done this?
I remember being part of a conversation with a group of teenagers where one of them, probably about fourteen or fifteen years old, said her parents were about to get her a cell phone. While I don’t think she used the word, she basically described a cell phone as a necessity. She talked about how it was a nuisance to have to borrow one of her friends cell phone to be able to text her other friends. I spoke up to say the phone is not a necessity. How could it be? There are still places with no cell phone signal and life goes on. I survived the first thirty-one years of my life without one (over twenty of those years I had never seen a cell phone except maybe on TV).
Cell phones can be convenient. Serving in a parish with several churches, it certainly is convenient so people can get hold of me. Of course, at one of the churches there is no cell signal and yet parish life continues. Ministry is done with or without the cell phone. Cell phones are convenient but not essential.
You might be wondering why I even bring this up. I just watched a story on the nightly news about the Serengeti in Africa. It is currently known as a very rural setting. The videos in the story showed elephants, lions, and other animals having free range. Vehicle travel is possible on “trails.” On the far side of the Serengeti are minerals that are used in manufacturing cell phones. The government is getting ready to built a road across the Serengeti for trucks hauling the minerals. The opposition is concerned about the effect on the wild animals.
Some might say the animals are not important. I say they are part of God’s creation and have a role to play in the balance of nature. We must ask ourselves is it worth it? We can also ask ourselves are there alternatives? Can the road go around the Serengeti?
God has given us dominion over the Earth. It is a beautiful place. Progress cannot be measured by how many gadgets we have. The only progress that really matters is progress towards fulfilling God’s will for us.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
It’s Christmas!
Today is a day to rejoice for
For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord (Luke 2:11 – from Mass at Midnight Readings).
Many people celebrate Christmas as a holiday without really knowing and appreciating its origins as Christmas. There was a Roman holiday on December 25th that pre-dates the celebration of Christmas as a Christian celebration but it wasn’t Christmas.
It became Christmas as the Romans became Christian and took on a new meaning, a meaning we still recognize today – the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Whether people celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday or a secular holiday, many of the external signs of the holiday are the same. Both celebrate by decorating, exchanging gifts and parties. The exchanging of gifts is done as an expression of love. For us who celebrate the day as Christians, the expression of love is rooted in the expression of love God shows us by sending His Son to redeem us.
Christmas celebrations often include a meal. Sharing a meal is a sign of fellowship. As Christians, we remember that Jesus frequently shared meals with his disciples. The final meal he celebrated with his disciples was the Last Supper and the first celebration of the Eucharist. Recognizing the importance of the Eucharist, fundamental to our celebration of Christmas as Catholics is Christmas Mass.
At Christmas Mass, depending on the Mass you attend, there are various options for the readings. The readings will include prophecies from Isaiah of the coming messiah and the gospel will speak of the birth of Jesus or his eternal beginning.
The point to be focused on is that today Jesus has come into the world. He did not come in trumpet fanfare and a royal entrance. Rather, he came as one of us, born of a human mother, and has experienced the world as we have. So, we have a God who knows what it is like to be human. We have a God who fulfills his promises to us, and we have a God who loves us so much as to send his only Son to redeem us.
It centers on the birth of Jesus lying in a manger. When we picture the manger scene, we see a little baby and we see the face of God.
Merry Christmas,
Fr. Jeff
The Christmas Spirit
Many Christians wonder if the true meaning of Christmas has been lost. I share this concern. There are people who have never been to church in their lives who celebrate Christmas. I bet you could even find atheists who celebrate Christmas. Of course, they celebrate it as a secular holiday. Of course, other religions also celebrate their own religious holy days during this time. So in the stores we see signs that say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. That is the store’s decision. But we can always say Merry Christmas.
There are also, of course, the people who celebrate Christmas and it (and perhaps Easter) is the only time they come to church. Sometimes, we might think it is about time they came to church. When these people say “it was a wonderful Mass” at Christmas, you feel like saying, ‘Well, we have Mass every Sunday if you want to join us.’
I could write about all the reasons people don’t come to church. Or I could write how we need to reclaim Christmas as a Christian holy day. In fact, I think I will write how we might reclaim Christmas but perhaps not in the way you think.
How do we reclaim Christmas?
Do we need to put posters up around town or run ads in the newspaper inviting people to our Christmas Masses? That’s not a bad idea. We should definitely let our family and friends know what the Christmas schedule is and invite them to come with us. But what are we inviting them to?
Obviously, we are inviting them to Mass. First, we need to get them to church but that is not enough. We are called to make them feel welcome. This starts with saying hello when they arrive and Merry Christmasas they leave. We need to make sure they know God loves them. We need to celebrate Mass with joy. In short, we need to give them a reason to want to come back.
Jesus welcomed all and made they feel wanted. We are called to do the same.
We reclaim Christmas as a Christian holiday not by forcing it on people. We better reclaim Christmas by sharing with people what Christmas means to us, the story of our Savior Jesus Christ being born to redeem us. We reclaim Christmas by living as Christ calls us to live. At Christmas people become very generous in helping the less fortunate. This shows our faith. We help others because Jesus first helped us. It is all done out of love, love that we are called to share all the time.
In all this we offer fertilizer to the seed of faith that God has given each person.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff