Zephaniah 3:14-18a, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:10-18
Today, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, we celebrate Gaudete Sunday – Gaudete is a Latin word that means “rejoice”.
Our readings today and the rose colored candle and vestments are to remind us that we are called to be a “joyful” people – not just a “happy” people – but a “joyful” people – and that we are called to radiate our joy to others – those around us.
But it goes a little further than that – we are called to be a “joyful” people not only when things are going well in our lives but also when things aren’t going so well.
All too often we let the routine of our daily lives dull our senses and steal this joy – that is ours – away from us – all too often we let the problems of our lives and the problems in the world steal this joy – that is ours – and pull us down – we may even fall into anxiety or despair over things that we really have little or no control over.
So it is good, it is actually spiritually healthy – that today we take a step back and look at the big picture – and what is the big picture – that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Therein lies our joy. For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. That's the Good News!
In our first reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah we hear that we are to “Shout for joy; to sing joyfully; and, to be glad and to exult with all our hearts. And WHY is this – because he says our salvation is at hand – because God comes not to judge – but to save and to renew – but not only that – we are also to rejoice because the Lord, our God, is in our midst, He is here with us.
In our Second Reading, the apostle Paul – even while in prison and with his life in jeopardy – urges the Philippians – and each of us today – that we must rejoice for the Lord is with us. The abiding presence of our caring God is enough assurance that we will triumph in our battle against all evil.
“Have no anxiety at all,” he says, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” We are to put all of our trust in God – and when we do that – then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds and we will find joy in all circumstances.
And in our Gospel reading from Luke, the coming of the Lord as proclaimed by John the Baptist should make us even more joyful. “I am baptizing you with water,” he said, “but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
We Christians are people of the Good News. We must be joyful people because our faith is anchored on a God who is victorious over all and in all. Amidst all the uncertainties around us, we must have that joy that comes from Christ Jesus in our hearts and we must be ready and willing to share that joy with others, especially to those who are in most need of it.
“What should we do?” the crowds asked John – and perhaps that is our question today to – what should we do? John’s answer was simple and direct – whoever has more than they need should share what they have with those in need. And what we will find that in doing that – in giving we will receive – we will receive joy in our hearts and our kindness will be known to all.
Perhaps we might think that the little we might have to share won’t make a difference – but it will – and if enough people changed their lifestyles and if politicians and government leaders changed their hearts – we could eliminate much of the pain and suffering in this world.
Perhaps a familiar story will help: One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.”
That is what we have to do – we aren’t called to save the world – but just a small part of it – who is it in your life who needs your help?
The Advent season is a period of joyful anticipation for the coming of Christ into our hearts. May we welcome him warmly by making others – all of those we meet – as joyful as we are. Christianity is a joyful religion. The birth of our Savior brings joy to the world. He is the only source of true joy that this world has to offer.
Only Jesus can give us the strength to overcome the challenges and difficulties of life. Patience is essential if we are to be joyful and never allow ourselves to be crushed by the difficulties of life.
Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5: 17-18).
In closing let me offer one more story:
There was a priest who went to work with some poor people in a village in the mountains of northern America. He was deeply impressed by one old man, who despite having no running water, no electricity and little food, was so joyful.
“How come you’re so happy when you have so little?” asked the priest.
“Because I know Jesus,” replied the old man. “But I know Jesus as well.” “No. You might know about Jesus in your head, but not in your heart.”
My friends, if we only know about Jesus in our heads we will never realize true joy. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in all circumstances give thanks to God – Amen!
Be Prepared!
Daniel 12:1-3, Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32
In Marks Gospel today we hear about the second coming of our Lord and Savior + Jesus Christ +. Jesus will come – of this we can be certain – He will come in Glory to judge the living and the dead.
Exactly when that will happen, exactly when He will come – we don’t know – and Jesus even tells us “of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Many people today waste their time trying to predict when and where Jesus will return – when or where He is coming is not important – all that is important to you and I is that He is coming and the question we have to ask ourselves is – Am I ready?
Consistently throughout scripture we hear that it isn’t important when He is coming but whether or not we are ready, if we are prepared for His arrival.
We have all heard the stories and parables:
• about the owner of the house: “if he had known the hour of night that the thief was coming he would not of allowed his house to be broken into …”
• about the ten virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom, 5 were foolish and 5 were wise …
• about the king who invited guests to his sons wedding that made excuses as to why they could not attend …
• or the man going on a journey, who called in his servants and entrusted each of them with different amounts of his money …
These and so many more Gospel stories “warn” us to be prepared – to be vigilant – for at a time we do not expect – Jesus will return. We can’t wait until the master of the house arrives – for then it will be too late – we must be prepared, each and every day we must make ready for His arrival OR our departure – because none of us knows the day nor hour of that either. If, we do live each day, in joyful expectation of His return – we will be greatly rewarded:
For “blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.”
Jesus wants us to be prepared – He doesn’t want us to be caught off guard. He tells us today that we must know and recognize the signs:
• "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.”
And speaking to the Pharisees Jesus said: When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain – and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot – and so it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time.
The Pharisees where blind to who Jesus was.
Recall that when John the Baptist sent his followers to ask Jesus if He was the one – what did Jesus say? "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
In just the same way, Jesus tells us the signs we need to watch for that reveal His second coming: hear what scripture says:
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (40 years later the temple was destroyed)
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Let us not be blind to the signs of our times like the Pharisees were.
We hear that before Christ’s second coming there will be a period of tribulation like never before – and the faith of many will be shaken. The reality is that we are in “end times” today – this very moment – and the question we have to ask ourselves remains – Am I ready?
I think – that we may very well be ready – if we have St. Paul’s attitude – listen to what he said in his letter to the Philippians:
My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.
If that is our attitude – that we don’t know which is better – to die to and be with Christ or to remain here to fight the good fight – if that is our attitude then we are probably ready for His second coming.
And when the Son of Man comes, in all His glory, with all His angels – he will sit upon His throne and all nations will be assembled before Him. He will separate them as a Shepard separates the sheep from the goats – He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
Then He will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
And the righteous will say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And our Lord will say to them, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
And they will say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' Jesus will say to them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
So what are you and I supposed to do? We must live each day as if it were our last – we must strive to be in a constant state of grace – and if we did that we would find – believe it or not – ourselves – we would become the people we have been called to be – we would find peace – His peace – we would find strength – His strength - and we would find love – His love – we would become more and more like Him – He who came to serve and not be served.
You may say that is all well and good but what am I supposed to do. Perhaps a story will help:
A man went to Calcutta to see Mother Teresa. He was swept off his feet as he watched this small giant wash sick bodies. He said to her, "I want to remain here permanently with you." Mother Teresa, whose wrinkled face showed thousands of miles of wear, said to him with a smile, "No, no. It is but an illusion. Go home and bloom where you are planted. The message that each one of us is a member of God's family is as much needed where you came from as it is here. Go home.”
Mother’s message to that man and to each of us is that We must (all) do small things with great love." – where we have been planted – with those God has given us – our families, our friends and neighbors and those strangers amongst us.
There will be a generation that witnesses our Lord’s second coming to judge the living and the dead – and we don’t know when that will be, all we know for certain is that He will come and each passing day brings us one day closer.
If we aren’t that generation then each passing day brings us closer to our natural death – either way the question each of us must ask ourselves remains – Am I ready?
In Marks Gospel today we hear about the second coming of our Lord and Savior + Jesus Christ +. Jesus will come – of this we can be certain – He will come in Glory to judge the living and the dead.
Exactly when that will happen, exactly when He will come – we don’t know – and Jesus even tells us “of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Many people today waste their time trying to predict when and where Jesus will return – when or where He is coming is not important – all that is important to you and I is that He is coming and the question we have to ask ourselves is – Am I ready?
Consistently throughout scripture we hear that it isn’t important when He is coming but whether or not we are ready, if we are prepared for His arrival.
We have all heard the stories and parables:
• about the owner of the house: “if he had known the hour of night that the thief was coming he would not of allowed his house to be broken into …”
• about the ten virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom, 5 were foolish and 5 were wise …
• about the king who invited guests to his sons wedding that made excuses as to why they could not attend …
• or the man going on a journey, who called in his servants and entrusted each of them with different amounts of his money …
These and so many more Gospel stories “warn” us to be prepared – to be vigilant – for at a time we do not expect – Jesus will return. We can’t wait until the master of the house arrives – for then it will be too late – we must be prepared, each and every day we must make ready for His arrival OR our departure – because none of us knows the day nor hour of that either. If, we do live each day, in joyful expectation of His return – we will be greatly rewarded:
For “blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.”
Jesus wants us to be prepared – He doesn’t want us to be caught off guard. He tells us today that we must know and recognize the signs:
• "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.”
And speaking to the Pharisees Jesus said: When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain – and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot – and so it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time.
The Pharisees where blind to who Jesus was.
Recall that when John the Baptist sent his followers to ask Jesus if He was the one – what did Jesus say? "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
In just the same way, Jesus tells us the signs we need to watch for that reveal His second coming: hear what scripture says:
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (40 years later the temple was destroyed)
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Let us not be blind to the signs of our times like the Pharisees were.
We hear that before Christ’s second coming there will be a period of tribulation like never before – and the faith of many will be shaken. The reality is that we are in “end times” today – this very moment – and the question we have to ask ourselves remains – Am I ready?
I think – that we may very well be ready – if we have St. Paul’s attitude – listen to what he said in his letter to the Philippians:
My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.
If that is our attitude – that we don’t know which is better – to die to and be with Christ or to remain here to fight the good fight – if that is our attitude then we are probably ready for His second coming.
And when the Son of Man comes, in all His glory, with all His angels – he will sit upon His throne and all nations will be assembled before Him. He will separate them as a Shepard separates the sheep from the goats – He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
Then He will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
And the righteous will say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And our Lord will say to them, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
And they will say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' Jesus will say to them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
So what are you and I supposed to do? We must live each day as if it were our last – we must strive to be in a constant state of grace – and if we did that we would find – believe it or not – ourselves – we would become the people we have been called to be – we would find peace – His peace – we would find strength – His strength - and we would find love – His love – we would become more and more like Him – He who came to serve and not be served.
You may say that is all well and good but what am I supposed to do. Perhaps a story will help:
A man went to Calcutta to see Mother Teresa. He was swept off his feet as he watched this small giant wash sick bodies. He said to her, "I want to remain here permanently with you." Mother Teresa, whose wrinkled face showed thousands of miles of wear, said to him with a smile, "No, no. It is but an illusion. Go home and bloom where you are planted. The message that each one of us is a member of God's family is as much needed where you came from as it is here. Go home.”
Mother’s message to that man and to each of us is that We must (all) do small things with great love." – where we have been planted – with those God has given us – our families, our friends and neighbors and those strangers amongst us.
There will be a generation that witnesses our Lord’s second coming to judge the living and the dead – and we don’t know when that will be, all we know for certain is that He will come and each passing day brings us one day closer.
If we aren’t that generation then each passing day brings us closer to our natural death – either way the question each of us must ask ourselves remains – Am I ready?
They Just Didn't Get It!
Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45
Three times Jesus tells His disciples about His coming passion, death and resurrection and three times He tells them about what it means to be His disciple:
1. (Mark 8:27-35) “Who do people say that I am?” – John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets. “But who do you say that I am?” – Peter said in reply “You are the Christ.”
Jesus then tells them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Upon hearing this Peter rebukes Jesus – “no master you must not do this” and Jesus rebukes him saying “Get behind me satan!”
Then Jesus says “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.”
2. (Mark 9:30-37) Jesus was teaching His disciples telling them “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But His disciples did not understand and when they came to Capernaum Jesus asked them what they were arguing about on the way – who among them (the disciples) was the greatest.
Jesus calls them over and says: “if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” and He calls a child over and says “whoever receives one child such as this in my name – receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me but the One who sent me.”
3. And today, the lines just prior to our reading reveal the third prediction of the passion: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”
And the sons of Zebedee – James and John – worrying only about themselves – ask Jesus if in His glory (when He comes into His kingdom) that they may sit one on His right and the other on His left. And Jesus basically replies that they don’t know what they are talking about or what they are asking.
Jesus uses this opportunity to tell His disciples and us: “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Three times Jesus tells His disciples about His coming passion, death and resurrection and three times He teaches them about what means to be His disciple. And they just don’t get it.
And it isn’t an easy lesson – for them of for us – because they thought and we think in worldly terms. Jesus isn’t supposed to die – He is supposed to set up His Kingdom and rule over it – Jesus isn’t supposed to serve – Kings don’t serve others – they have servants who wait on them.
But Jesus tells them and us that is the way of the world – not His way – and to be a disciple of His they must and we must embrace our crosses, follow Him, and give our lives completely over to God and become the servant of all – just like He did.
We heard last week that whoever does that – whoever “has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or lands for” his “sake and for the sake of the gospel … will receive a hundred times more now in this present age with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Following Jesus is not easy – it is demanding – to humble ourselves – and to serve others – but the rewards are great – perhaps not in the eyes of the world or in this lifetime but in eyes of God and in eternity – which is all that really matters.
A journalist once saw Mother Teresa of Calcutta engaged in picking up the abandoned sick and dying people lying in the gutters along the streets and caring for them. He said to her, “Not even for a million dollars would I do a job like that.” “Neither would I,” answered Mother Teresa. She wouldn’t have done what she did for all the treasures in the world. She cared for those people out of love for God – she did what she did in obedience to His will for her life – and in doing so – she lived the message we find in Mark’s Gospel today– “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; who ever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.”
Now not all of us are called to be Mother Teresa – but each of us are called just the same – we are called to embrace whatever crosses or persecutions come our way, we are called to serve one another, we are called to do God’s will for our lives, not our will – we are not to abuse our positions (at home or at work) by lording it over family or coworkers or make our authority be felt.
Jesus, though He was in the form of God did not regard equality with God – something to be imitated. Though He was the true Son of God he assumed a human nature – deprived of all glory, subject to suffering and death – so that he could live in obedience to the Father, even to His ultimate sacrifice on the cross – for our redemption. He who was truly “first” came to serve and not be served. Jesus asks no less of His apostles and of us.
Nowhere is this kind of leadership better exemplified than in a normal family. In such a family, the leaders—the father and mother —are completely at the service of the family, especially the children. Aside from providing them with food, clothing, shelter and education, they also teach them the basics of our faith and this, more by their example than by what they say.
Wives be subordinate to your husbands as to the Lord; Husbands love your wives. The greatest gift we can give our children is the love we have for each other and for God.
The question each of us must ask ourselves is who is it we are called to serve – and how well are we serving them? Do we put God first in our lives, everybody else second – an ourselves third? If we did this then we would truly be followers of Christ – and if all Christians did this we would – as the body of Christ – change the face of the earth.
Three times Jesus tells His disciples about His coming passion, death and resurrection and three times He tells them about what it means to be His disciple:
1. (Mark 8:27-35) “Who do people say that I am?” – John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets. “But who do you say that I am?” – Peter said in reply “You are the Christ.”
Jesus then tells them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Upon hearing this Peter rebukes Jesus – “no master you must not do this” and Jesus rebukes him saying “Get behind me satan!”
Then Jesus says “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.”
2. (Mark 9:30-37) Jesus was teaching His disciples telling them “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But His disciples did not understand and when they came to Capernaum Jesus asked them what they were arguing about on the way – who among them (the disciples) was the greatest.
Jesus calls them over and says: “if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” and He calls a child over and says “whoever receives one child such as this in my name – receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me but the One who sent me.”
3. And today, the lines just prior to our reading reveal the third prediction of the passion: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”
And the sons of Zebedee – James and John – worrying only about themselves – ask Jesus if in His glory (when He comes into His kingdom) that they may sit one on His right and the other on His left. And Jesus basically replies that they don’t know what they are talking about or what they are asking.
Jesus uses this opportunity to tell His disciples and us: “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Three times Jesus tells His disciples about His coming passion, death and resurrection and three times He teaches them about what means to be His disciple. And they just don’t get it.
And it isn’t an easy lesson – for them of for us – because they thought and we think in worldly terms. Jesus isn’t supposed to die – He is supposed to set up His Kingdom and rule over it – Jesus isn’t supposed to serve – Kings don’t serve others – they have servants who wait on them.
But Jesus tells them and us that is the way of the world – not His way – and to be a disciple of His they must and we must embrace our crosses, follow Him, and give our lives completely over to God and become the servant of all – just like He did.
We heard last week that whoever does that – whoever “has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or lands for” his “sake and for the sake of the gospel … will receive a hundred times more now in this present age with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Following Jesus is not easy – it is demanding – to humble ourselves – and to serve others – but the rewards are great – perhaps not in the eyes of the world or in this lifetime but in eyes of God and in eternity – which is all that really matters.
A journalist once saw Mother Teresa of Calcutta engaged in picking up the abandoned sick and dying people lying in the gutters along the streets and caring for them. He said to her, “Not even for a million dollars would I do a job like that.” “Neither would I,” answered Mother Teresa. She wouldn’t have done what she did for all the treasures in the world. She cared for those people out of love for God – she did what she did in obedience to His will for her life – and in doing so – she lived the message we find in Mark’s Gospel today– “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; who ever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.”
Now not all of us are called to be Mother Teresa – but each of us are called just the same – we are called to embrace whatever crosses or persecutions come our way, we are called to serve one another, we are called to do God’s will for our lives, not our will – we are not to abuse our positions (at home or at work) by lording it over family or coworkers or make our authority be felt.
Jesus, though He was in the form of God did not regard equality with God – something to be imitated. Though He was the true Son of God he assumed a human nature – deprived of all glory, subject to suffering and death – so that he could live in obedience to the Father, even to His ultimate sacrifice on the cross – for our redemption. He who was truly “first” came to serve and not be served. Jesus asks no less of His apostles and of us.
Nowhere is this kind of leadership better exemplified than in a normal family. In such a family, the leaders—the father and mother —are completely at the service of the family, especially the children. Aside from providing them with food, clothing, shelter and education, they also teach them the basics of our faith and this, more by their example than by what they say.
Wives be subordinate to your husbands as to the Lord; Husbands love your wives. The greatest gift we can give our children is the love we have for each other and for God.
The question each of us must ask ourselves is who is it we are called to serve – and how well are we serving them? Do we put God first in our lives, everybody else second – an ourselves third? If we did this then we would truly be followers of Christ – and if all Christians did this we would – as the body of Christ – change the face of the earth.
Catechetical Sunday - Family
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Jas 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37
Today is Catechetical Sunday – it is celebrated across the United States – on the third Sunday of September every year since 1935. The Church sets aside this day each year to honor those who serve the Christian Community as catechists – a person who teaches – in the name of the Church – our faith to our children, teens and adults.
Evangelization and catechesis go hand and hand – they are the most important things – the Great Commission - that we as a faith community are called to do – the Church realizes how important evangelization and catechesis are and each of us needs to realize it too – if we, as the body of Christ, can do these two things right – then all the other social and moral issues we face today would be properly addressed and most likely resolved.
Catechetical Sunday is an excellent opportunity for each of us to rededicate ourselves to this commission that we share by virtue of our baptisms – to go out and evangelize and teach the whole world – to pass on faithfully all that Jesus taught – today is an excellent opportunity for each of us to think about our responsibility to share our faith with others.
Catechists who teach our children and teens assist the parents in our faith community, who are called to be the first teachers of their children in our faith.
While the catechesis offered within the family is ordinarily informal, unstructured, and often times spontaneous, it is no less crucial for the development of a child’s faith. “In a certain sense nothing replaces family catechesis, especially for its positive and receptive environment, for the example of adults, and for its first explicit experience and practice of the faith.” The catechesis of infants and young children nourishes the beginnings of the life of faith.
“God’s love is communicated to infants and young children primarily through parents." Parents have shared the gift of human life with their children and, through Baptism, have enriched them with a share in God’s own life. Parents have the duty to nourish that life – not just physically but spiritually too. Your faith, your attitude toward other human beings, and your trust in a loving God strongly influence the development of your child’s faith. Parents are catechists precisely because they are parents. Their role in the formation of Christian values in their children is irreplaceable. They “should speak naturally and simply about God and their faith, just as they speak about other matters they want their children to understand and appreciate.”
The Family – Parents – play a crucial role in nurturing faith in children. It is for that reason over the past couple Sundays there have been inserts in the bulletin that focus on the family. It is for that reason and the reality that the family is under attach today and that the definition of marriage maybe decided by a small politically active group that the Archbishop has asked that we talk about marriage today.
• In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the relationship of child and parent to teach an important lesson about our relationship with God. To those listening to Jesus, it was not the innocence or the inquisitiveness of the child that first came to mind but rather the reality that children had no rights, no rank in society. Children were utterly dependent on their parents.
• Jesus is teaching his disciples that just as the child is utterly dependent on his or her parents, we too are dependent on God, our father. Like all good parents, the needs of his children and the desire for all good things for them are what God desires for you and for me—his children.
• As a church we share in society’s responsibility for nurturing and educating our children. The Church knows from its work on the frontlines in providing education, foster care, healthcare, and counseling, and child protection what makes for good healthy environments for children and what helps children to thrive.
• Research in the social sciences has found that the best environment for raising children is a home with a biological mother and father married to each other in a caring relationship. The Church has always known this. Every culture identifies marriage and family as the fundamental building block of society.
• Before the time of Jesus, in the time of Jesus and since the time of Jesus, all societies have shared the common understanding that marriage is the fundamental building block of society, that marriage creates the best environment for raising children.
• Today, though if you read the newspapers, follow blogs or watch the news there is a lack of understanding of the meaning of marriage. Often times this can be seen in the couples who come to prepare for marriage and it is not surprising given the way marriage is portrayed on T.V. and in the movies. It seems that people think about marriage in terms of “what’s in it for me?” or more worried about planning the perfect wedding.
• It’s important that we understand the meaning of marriage. Marriage is more than just a contract—a civil union. Marriage is a personal relationship with a public significance. Marriage has been raised to a sacrament by Christ. Married love imitates Christ’s love for the Church. We speak about the family and the domestic church as a school of love.
• We know that today, conversation about marriage is heated, difficult and, for some of us, deeply personal and at times painful. I speak out of love for Jesus and for all of you whom I serve.
• Our teaching that marriage is the unique human institution that bonds men and women in a permanent relationship is not meant to discriminate against our homosexual brothers and sisters. Our teaching affirms what society has always believed and known to be true as Jesus points to in today’s Gospel.
• Just as strongly as the Church stands for this definition of marriage, it stands in opposition to any unjust discrimination of homosexual men and women. The Church welcomes any person seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Our teaching affirms what society has always believed and known to be true. That in marriage men and women experience a natural synergy in which they cooperate and bond physically, psychologically and emotionally. This union is a is an experience of what it means to be fully human, it is only man and woman together in marriage that imitate Christ’s relationship with the Church. (Ephesians 5:32)
• This natural and human reality transcends history and culture; it originates in natural law and cannot suddenly be redefined by a small group. In looking at life through the eyes of a child as Jesus asks us to do in today’s Gospel, we can see the importance of the married love of a man and woman.
• We know that mothers and fathers are not interchangeable. Every child has the right to a mother and father and a right to share in the unique gifts that a mother and a father bring to a family and to a home. Remember the age at which you were fascinated by knowing where you came from. We know that mothers and fathers play differently with their children. We learned different things from our mothers and our fathers. Sadly, it is true that some children don’t know their mother or their father, society has never, up until the present time, intentionally deprived children of a right to a mother and a father. But that could all soon change.
• Marriage matters, it is more than just two people who love each other. It is more than legislating rights for a small number of people, rights that can be achieved with other legislation. Marriage between a man and a woman is essential for our children and there is no reason to define it otherwise.
• By virtue of our Baptism, we are all called to give witness to the Gospel and to the love of Jesus Christ and in this way all of us are catechists of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We know some people, and perhaps this is true for yourself, that you do not think with the mind of the Church on this issue. All of us who have gathered at this table to share in the Eucharist desire a deeper union with Jesus.
• We are called to pray, to study, to think, to converse about this issue which is of such great importance with our children and with society. We are called to learn of the Church’s teaching and experience and to call on the Holy Spirit’s gifts of wisdom and counsel. Like a child we are called to be utterly dependent on our Father’s love. We are called to love all of our sisters and brothers, to meet them where they are in charity and to speak the truth to them in love.
It is indeed a good day to rededicate ourselves to evangelizing and catechizing, it is a good day for each of us to think about our responsibility as parents, as Catholics and as children of God to share our faith with others.
Today is Catechetical Sunday – it is celebrated across the United States – on the third Sunday of September every year since 1935. The Church sets aside this day each year to honor those who serve the Christian Community as catechists – a person who teaches – in the name of the Church – our faith to our children, teens and adults.
Evangelization and catechesis go hand and hand – they are the most important things – the Great Commission - that we as a faith community are called to do – the Church realizes how important evangelization and catechesis are and each of us needs to realize it too – if we, as the body of Christ, can do these two things right – then all the other social and moral issues we face today would be properly addressed and most likely resolved.
Catechetical Sunday is an excellent opportunity for each of us to rededicate ourselves to this commission that we share by virtue of our baptisms – to go out and evangelize and teach the whole world – to pass on faithfully all that Jesus taught – today is an excellent opportunity for each of us to think about our responsibility to share our faith with others.
Catechists who teach our children and teens assist the parents in our faith community, who are called to be the first teachers of their children in our faith.
While the catechesis offered within the family is ordinarily informal, unstructured, and often times spontaneous, it is no less crucial for the development of a child’s faith. “In a certain sense nothing replaces family catechesis, especially for its positive and receptive environment, for the example of adults, and for its first explicit experience and practice of the faith.” The catechesis of infants and young children nourishes the beginnings of the life of faith.
“God’s love is communicated to infants and young children primarily through parents." Parents have shared the gift of human life with their children and, through Baptism, have enriched them with a share in God’s own life. Parents have the duty to nourish that life – not just physically but spiritually too. Your faith, your attitude toward other human beings, and your trust in a loving God strongly influence the development of your child’s faith. Parents are catechists precisely because they are parents. Their role in the formation of Christian values in their children is irreplaceable. They “should speak naturally and simply about God and their faith, just as they speak about other matters they want their children to understand and appreciate.”
The Family – Parents – play a crucial role in nurturing faith in children. It is for that reason over the past couple Sundays there have been inserts in the bulletin that focus on the family. It is for that reason and the reality that the family is under attach today and that the definition of marriage maybe decided by a small politically active group that the Archbishop has asked that we talk about marriage today.
• In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the relationship of child and parent to teach an important lesson about our relationship with God. To those listening to Jesus, it was not the innocence or the inquisitiveness of the child that first came to mind but rather the reality that children had no rights, no rank in society. Children were utterly dependent on their parents.
• Jesus is teaching his disciples that just as the child is utterly dependent on his or her parents, we too are dependent on God, our father. Like all good parents, the needs of his children and the desire for all good things for them are what God desires for you and for me—his children.
• As a church we share in society’s responsibility for nurturing and educating our children. The Church knows from its work on the frontlines in providing education, foster care, healthcare, and counseling, and child protection what makes for good healthy environments for children and what helps children to thrive.
• Research in the social sciences has found that the best environment for raising children is a home with a biological mother and father married to each other in a caring relationship. The Church has always known this. Every culture identifies marriage and family as the fundamental building block of society.
• Before the time of Jesus, in the time of Jesus and since the time of Jesus, all societies have shared the common understanding that marriage is the fundamental building block of society, that marriage creates the best environment for raising children.
• Today, though if you read the newspapers, follow blogs or watch the news there is a lack of understanding of the meaning of marriage. Often times this can be seen in the couples who come to prepare for marriage and it is not surprising given the way marriage is portrayed on T.V. and in the movies. It seems that people think about marriage in terms of “what’s in it for me?” or more worried about planning the perfect wedding.
• It’s important that we understand the meaning of marriage. Marriage is more than just a contract—a civil union. Marriage is a personal relationship with a public significance. Marriage has been raised to a sacrament by Christ. Married love imitates Christ’s love for the Church. We speak about the family and the domestic church as a school of love.
• We know that today, conversation about marriage is heated, difficult and, for some of us, deeply personal and at times painful. I speak out of love for Jesus and for all of you whom I serve.
• Our teaching that marriage is the unique human institution that bonds men and women in a permanent relationship is not meant to discriminate against our homosexual brothers and sisters. Our teaching affirms what society has always believed and known to be true as Jesus points to in today’s Gospel.
• Just as strongly as the Church stands for this definition of marriage, it stands in opposition to any unjust discrimination of homosexual men and women. The Church welcomes any person seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Our teaching affirms what society has always believed and known to be true. That in marriage men and women experience a natural synergy in which they cooperate and bond physically, psychologically and emotionally. This union is a is an experience of what it means to be fully human, it is only man and woman together in marriage that imitate Christ’s relationship with the Church. (Ephesians 5:32)
• This natural and human reality transcends history and culture; it originates in natural law and cannot suddenly be redefined by a small group. In looking at life through the eyes of a child as Jesus asks us to do in today’s Gospel, we can see the importance of the married love of a man and woman.
• We know that mothers and fathers are not interchangeable. Every child has the right to a mother and father and a right to share in the unique gifts that a mother and a father bring to a family and to a home. Remember the age at which you were fascinated by knowing where you came from. We know that mothers and fathers play differently with their children. We learned different things from our mothers and our fathers. Sadly, it is true that some children don’t know their mother or their father, society has never, up until the present time, intentionally deprived children of a right to a mother and a father. But that could all soon change.
• Marriage matters, it is more than just two people who love each other. It is more than legislating rights for a small number of people, rights that can be achieved with other legislation. Marriage between a man and a woman is essential for our children and there is no reason to define it otherwise.
• By virtue of our Baptism, we are all called to give witness to the Gospel and to the love of Jesus Christ and in this way all of us are catechists of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We know some people, and perhaps this is true for yourself, that you do not think with the mind of the Church on this issue. All of us who have gathered at this table to share in the Eucharist desire a deeper union with Jesus.
• We are called to pray, to study, to think, to converse about this issue which is of such great importance with our children and with society. We are called to learn of the Church’s teaching and experience and to call on the Holy Spirit’s gifts of wisdom and counsel. Like a child we are called to be utterly dependent on our Father’s love. We are called to love all of our sisters and brothers, to meet them where they are in charity and to speak the truth to them in love.
It is indeed a good day to rededicate ourselves to evangelizing and catechizing, it is a good day for each of us to think about our responsibility as parents, as Catholics and as children of God to share our faith with others.
Do You Also Want to Leave?
Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ephesians 5:21-32, 25-32; John 6:60-69
Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” – and the Jews murmured among themselves saying “how can this be – isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
Jesus said “Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” – and many of His disciples who were listening said “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” – and they returned to their formal way of life and no longer followed Jesus.
Then Jesus said to His twelve disciples: “Do you also want to leave?”
I am certain that at that moment those 12 disciples didn’t understand any better what eating His body and drinking His blood meant – you see they hadn’t yet experienced the last supper or witnessed the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord or see Him ascend into Heaven – but Peter, speaking for the others, at that moment, professes faith in Jesus, Peter says: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
We aren’t called to understand all things – because we can’t with our tiny little human brains – there are mysteries of faith (like the Trinity, the Real Presence, and Mary the Mother of God) things that cannot be explained nor understood – and there are people who if they can’t explain something who will refuse to believe it – but we are called to have faith – to have faith in everything Jesus said and in everything that the Church teaches.
Both of these things – the mysteries of our faith and Church teachings are the things that cause people – like the disciples to today’s Gospel – to leave the Church today.
A new study published this year found that it was Church teaching on two issues – abortion and homosexuality – that where important reasons given for the majority of Catholics leaving the Church today.
There are many people today who want to simplify what we believe and our morality – to make it understandable, to make it less demanding and more in line with the larger pagan world that we live in.
We have all seen and experienced this - many couples today have decided that marriage comes after living together – not before living together – and they don’t want to hear the statistics showing the elevated percentage of failed marriages for those who cohabitate – but the Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament and that sex outside of marriage is a sin.
We live in a culture now that has been rightly called the culture of death – where birth control and abortion is common and generally acceptable and euthanasia threatens our seniors and the genetically impaired – people who place increased financial burdens on society. But the Church teaches the sanctity of all life – from the cradle to the grave.
The Church teaches against pornography, against homosexuality, against same-sex marriages, against the death penalty and these Church teachings are hard – and good Catholics ask “can’t we just tone down our faith and our morality” to be more in line with today’s culture?
Well Jesus answers that question for us today – and His response was simple: are you going to leave too? When some of His disciples walked away He did not stop them nor did He compromise the Truth just to keep them from leaving. He let them go.
Truth has nothing to do with understanding; it has nothing to do with numbers, the majority or popular opinion. Truth has nothing to do with surveys, legislation or elections. Truth is from Jesus Christ alone and it is what it is – unchangeable.
We see that in our first reading today, Joshua wasn’t concerned about whether the majority of the people of Israel would choose to live as the pagans do – he knew where he stood – “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
As Catholics we are called to follow Jesus and Church teaching – and more often than not – doing that today that will put us in direct conflict with our culture, with our family and with friends – but to whom shall we go – only Jesus has the words of eternal life.
So we must take every advantage of our Catholic faith – we must go to confession regularly, we must receive Holy Communion daily – we must allow God to work wonders in our lives by breaking down those barriers – sin and disbelief – that stand between us and Him.
No one, we are told in today’s Gospel, can come to Jesus unless it is granted by His Father – you and I are here today because we have been called to this supper – to be nourished on the Word of God and the body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ – to give us the strength to carry our crosses, to fight the good fight and to finish the race. We can’t do it alone – we need Jesus and we need each other. That is what Communion is all about.
By taking part in this Eucharist, we join ourselves to this one holy sacrifice of Christ. The Risen Lord Jesus comes to dwell personally within us, and so we share in his life and friendship. He gives himself completely and entirely to us, and we are called to give ourselves completely and entirely to him.
We are also lifted up into his heavenly Kingdom, and, in union with him, we are embraced by the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit as his redeemed sons and daughters. Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, therefore, fortifies us against sin, which damages our relationship with God; heals us of our weaknesses; and
empowers us to live holy lives of sacrificial love for one another.
So when the going gets tough and life is hard – don’t return to your former way of living and stop following Jesus, don’t give in to popular opinion or peer pressure – each of us are called to be in the world but not of the world – turn to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament – He is waiting for us there – to give us the strength we need to carry on.
Jesus said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” – and the Jews murmured among themselves saying “how can this be – isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
Jesus said “Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” – and many of His disciples who were listening said “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” – and they returned to their formal way of life and no longer followed Jesus.
Then Jesus said to His twelve disciples: “Do you also want to leave?”
I am certain that at that moment those 12 disciples didn’t understand any better what eating His body and drinking His blood meant – you see they hadn’t yet experienced the last supper or witnessed the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord or see Him ascend into Heaven – but Peter, speaking for the others, at that moment, professes faith in Jesus, Peter says: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
We aren’t called to understand all things – because we can’t with our tiny little human brains – there are mysteries of faith (like the Trinity, the Real Presence, and Mary the Mother of God) things that cannot be explained nor understood – and there are people who if they can’t explain something who will refuse to believe it – but we are called to have faith – to have faith in everything Jesus said and in everything that the Church teaches.
Both of these things – the mysteries of our faith and Church teachings are the things that cause people – like the disciples to today’s Gospel – to leave the Church today.
A new study published this year found that it was Church teaching on two issues – abortion and homosexuality – that where important reasons given for the majority of Catholics leaving the Church today.
There are many people today who want to simplify what we believe and our morality – to make it understandable, to make it less demanding and more in line with the larger pagan world that we live in.
We have all seen and experienced this - many couples today have decided that marriage comes after living together – not before living together – and they don’t want to hear the statistics showing the elevated percentage of failed marriages for those who cohabitate – but the Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament and that sex outside of marriage is a sin.
We live in a culture now that has been rightly called the culture of death – where birth control and abortion is common and generally acceptable and euthanasia threatens our seniors and the genetically impaired – people who place increased financial burdens on society. But the Church teaches the sanctity of all life – from the cradle to the grave.
The Church teaches against pornography, against homosexuality, against same-sex marriages, against the death penalty and these Church teachings are hard – and good Catholics ask “can’t we just tone down our faith and our morality” to be more in line with today’s culture?
Well Jesus answers that question for us today – and His response was simple: are you going to leave too? When some of His disciples walked away He did not stop them nor did He compromise the Truth just to keep them from leaving. He let them go.
Truth has nothing to do with understanding; it has nothing to do with numbers, the majority or popular opinion. Truth has nothing to do with surveys, legislation or elections. Truth is from Jesus Christ alone and it is what it is – unchangeable.
We see that in our first reading today, Joshua wasn’t concerned about whether the majority of the people of Israel would choose to live as the pagans do – he knew where he stood – “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
As Catholics we are called to follow Jesus and Church teaching – and more often than not – doing that today that will put us in direct conflict with our culture, with our family and with friends – but to whom shall we go – only Jesus has the words of eternal life.
So we must take every advantage of our Catholic faith – we must go to confession regularly, we must receive Holy Communion daily – we must allow God to work wonders in our lives by breaking down those barriers – sin and disbelief – that stand between us and Him.
No one, we are told in today’s Gospel, can come to Jesus unless it is granted by His Father – you and I are here today because we have been called to this supper – to be nourished on the Word of God and the body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ – to give us the strength to carry our crosses, to fight the good fight and to finish the race. We can’t do it alone – we need Jesus and we need each other. That is what Communion is all about.
By taking part in this Eucharist, we join ourselves to this one holy sacrifice of Christ. The Risen Lord Jesus comes to dwell personally within us, and so we share in his life and friendship. He gives himself completely and entirely to us, and we are called to give ourselves completely and entirely to him.
We are also lifted up into his heavenly Kingdom, and, in union with him, we are embraced by the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit as his redeemed sons and daughters. Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, therefore, fortifies us against sin, which damages our relationship with God; heals us of our weaknesses; and
empowers us to live holy lives of sacrificial love for one another.
So when the going gets tough and life is hard – don’t return to your former way of living and stop following Jesus, don’t give in to popular opinion or peer pressure – each of us are called to be in the world but not of the world – turn to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament – He is waiting for us there – to give us the strength we need to carry on.
Called to Evangelize
Amos 7:12-15;Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13
Last month Arch Bishop Wuerl celebrated Mass here at Ascension on Father’s Day. I had the privilege to serve as Deacon at that Mass.
As we lined up in the back of Church, there were the altar servers, the concelebrating priests, myself and then the archbishop – and just before we started the entrance procession – the archbishop’s assistant came over and in a low voice said to the archbishop – “what a beautiful Church” – and the archbishop agreed.
And this is – a very beautiful Church – we come here, you and I – the body of Christ – to spend time with God; to be nourished on His Word in scripture – and His Word made flesh – Jesus Christ – truly present, body blood soul and divinity – in the Eucharist – and to be able to do all of that here in this beautiful Church is a real blessing.
We need to be nourished here because we live in culture that questions our Faith and our morals, we need to be nourished here because evil exists and bad things happen to good people; we need to be nourished here because temptation exists – so we come here to be reminded, we come here to be taught, we come here to be strengthen in our faith so that we can stay the course, so that we can persevere, so that we can fight the good fight, run the good race, so that we can enter though the narrow gate.
We need to be nourished here so that we can boldly and bravely take Christ out into the world – just like the disciples in our Gospel today. If we aren’t out there calling people to repentance, if we aren’t out there feeding the hungry or clothing the naked or welcoming the stranger; if we aren’t out there visiting the sick or the imprisoned – then this remains just a beautiful Church.
Jesus didn’t send His disciples out alone – He sent them out two by two so they could support each other on their mission – and their mission was focused – they called people to repentance. You see, I believe that if we all fulfilled our apostolic calling; if we all repented – then there wouldn’t be any hungry to feed, there wouldn’t be and naked to clothe or any need to visit the sick and imprisoned – because the world would be a better place – God’s kingdom – God’s will would be done here on earth like it is in heaven – Amen.
Last month Arch Bishop Wuerl celebrated Mass here at Ascension on Father’s Day. I had the privilege to serve as Deacon at that Mass.
As we lined up in the back of Church, there were the altar servers, the concelebrating priests, myself and then the archbishop – and just before we started the entrance procession – the archbishop’s assistant came over and in a low voice said to the archbishop – “what a beautiful Church” – and the archbishop agreed.
And this is – a very beautiful Church – we come here, you and I – the body of Christ – to spend time with God; to be nourished on His Word in scripture – and His Word made flesh – Jesus Christ – truly present, body blood soul and divinity – in the Eucharist – and to be able to do all of that here in this beautiful Church is a real blessing.
We need to be nourished here because we live in culture that questions our Faith and our morals, we need to be nourished here because evil exists and bad things happen to good people; we need to be nourished here because temptation exists – so we come here to be reminded, we come here to be taught, we come here to be strengthen in our faith so that we can stay the course, so that we can persevere, so that we can fight the good fight, run the good race, so that we can enter though the narrow gate.
We need to be nourished here so that we can boldly and bravely take Christ out into the world – just like the disciples in our Gospel today. If we aren’t out there calling people to repentance, if we aren’t out there feeding the hungry or clothing the naked or welcoming the stranger; if we aren’t out there visiting the sick or the imprisoned – then this remains just a beautiful Church.
Jesus didn’t send His disciples out alone – He sent them out two by two so they could support each other on their mission – and their mission was focused – they called people to repentance. You see, I believe that if we all fulfilled our apostolic calling; if we all repented – then there wouldn’t be any hungry to feed, there wouldn’t be and naked to clothe or any need to visit the sick and imprisoned – because the world would be a better place – God’s kingdom – God’s will would be done here on earth like it is in heaven – Amen.
The Healing Power
We hear in Mark’s Gospel today about the miraculous healing of not one but two people.
The first – a 12 year old girl. A man named Jairus approaches Jesus and in front of a large crowd falls at His feet and begs Him to come lay his hands on his daughter so that she might live.
This certainly can be seen as a courageous act – Jairus, who we are told was a synagogue official – would have known the “official” position and opinions held by the Sanhedrin concerning this Jesus – and we can be certain that those weren’t good – but Jairus didn’t care – in front of a large crowd of witnesses he falls on his knees and begs Jesus for his help.
His actions could very well have put his position as a synagogue official in jeopardy – but he doesn’t care – Jairus, you see was more than a synagogue official – he was a father – and his daughter was dying and he was desperate.
Certainly parents here today can easily relate to his desperation over his child – how many of us anguished in a similar way over our children.
Obviously Jairus had heard about Jesus – obviously he loved his daughter – and he was going to do whatever it took – even if he had to risk his position – to save his daughter. While on their way to his house though – we are told that his servants come and tell him that his daughter has already died and that there is no need to trouble the “teacher” any longer.
But Jesus says to him as he does to all parents today – do not be afraid – have faith.
We know the rest of the story – Jesus goes to the house, there is a lot of commotion – people weeping and wailing – but He says to them that the child is not dead – that she is only sleeping. And they ridiculed him – because they knew, they had seen that she was dead.
And in the back of our minds – his words echo – do not be afraid – have faith. Jesus takes the child by the hand and tells her to get up and she does.
You have to wonder – who really was healed that day – was it the little girl – I think not – I think it was Jairus and those that witnessed the power of faith – the power of God.
Jesus speaks though His word today to all parents who anguish over their children – do not be afraid, have faith.
Pray for your children, bring them spiritually to the Father and have faith – for if we parents, sinful as we are, worry about the salvation of our children how much more, does our heavenly Father worry about them.
We must do what we can to teach our children about our faith – but in this culture today we may not always be able to reach them – we must keep trying and we must trust in the Lord – we must have faith – though our actions and our words we must demonstrate to the world that we believe we are saved and that God can and does work miracles in the lives of those who are dead to the world – just like that little girl was, just like some of our children may be – perhaps not physically dead but more importantly spiritually dead.
The second healing that takes place in Mark’s Gospel also emphasizes the importance of faith and the power of God.
A woman who has suffered for 12 long years – who has seen many doctors and tried many remedies – perseveres in her affliction – she doesn’t give up – she courageously reaches out to Jesus believing that if only she can touch His clothes that she will be healed – and indeed she is.
Jesus we are told was surrounded by a crowd of people who were pressing in on him – imagine how many others that day touched or bumped Him – they weren’t healed though were they – just like today – many people come into contact with Jesus – they hear His Word spoken in the Gospels, they receive Him – body blood soul and divinity in the Blessed Sacrament – but I tell you – they aren’t healed.
There is an incredible difference in touching Jesus in faith and in just touching Jesus. Many touch Jesus not expecting anything to happen and nothing does.
But the woman in our Gospel today touched Jesus for a reason and with confidence – she wanted to be helped, she expected to be helped and she was helped.
The difference between those people who just bump into Jesus and those who reached out to Him – is faith, confidence, perseverance and trust.
The questions we have to ask ourselves today is – do we have the courage to have faith and do we have the faith to express that courage?
The power of God to heal is there it is abundant and surrounds each of us – all we have to do is believe.
God bless you.
The first – a 12 year old girl. A man named Jairus approaches Jesus and in front of a large crowd falls at His feet and begs Him to come lay his hands on his daughter so that she might live.
This certainly can be seen as a courageous act – Jairus, who we are told was a synagogue official – would have known the “official” position and opinions held by the Sanhedrin concerning this Jesus – and we can be certain that those weren’t good – but Jairus didn’t care – in front of a large crowd of witnesses he falls on his knees and begs Jesus for his help.
His actions could very well have put his position as a synagogue official in jeopardy – but he doesn’t care – Jairus, you see was more than a synagogue official – he was a father – and his daughter was dying and he was desperate.
Certainly parents here today can easily relate to his desperation over his child – how many of us anguished in a similar way over our children.
Obviously Jairus had heard about Jesus – obviously he loved his daughter – and he was going to do whatever it took – even if he had to risk his position – to save his daughter. While on their way to his house though – we are told that his servants come and tell him that his daughter has already died and that there is no need to trouble the “teacher” any longer.
But Jesus says to him as he does to all parents today – do not be afraid – have faith.
We know the rest of the story – Jesus goes to the house, there is a lot of commotion – people weeping and wailing – but He says to them that the child is not dead – that she is only sleeping. And they ridiculed him – because they knew, they had seen that she was dead.
And in the back of our minds – his words echo – do not be afraid – have faith. Jesus takes the child by the hand and tells her to get up and she does.
You have to wonder – who really was healed that day – was it the little girl – I think not – I think it was Jairus and those that witnessed the power of faith – the power of God.
Jesus speaks though His word today to all parents who anguish over their children – do not be afraid, have faith.
Pray for your children, bring them spiritually to the Father and have faith – for if we parents, sinful as we are, worry about the salvation of our children how much more, does our heavenly Father worry about them.
We must do what we can to teach our children about our faith – but in this culture today we may not always be able to reach them – we must keep trying and we must trust in the Lord – we must have faith – though our actions and our words we must demonstrate to the world that we believe we are saved and that God can and does work miracles in the lives of those who are dead to the world – just like that little girl was, just like some of our children may be – perhaps not physically dead but more importantly spiritually dead.
The second healing that takes place in Mark’s Gospel also emphasizes the importance of faith and the power of God.
A woman who has suffered for 12 long years – who has seen many doctors and tried many remedies – perseveres in her affliction – she doesn’t give up – she courageously reaches out to Jesus believing that if only she can touch His clothes that she will be healed – and indeed she is.
Jesus we are told was surrounded by a crowd of people who were pressing in on him – imagine how many others that day touched or bumped Him – they weren’t healed though were they – just like today – many people come into contact with Jesus – they hear His Word spoken in the Gospels, they receive Him – body blood soul and divinity in the Blessed Sacrament – but I tell you – they aren’t healed.
There is an incredible difference in touching Jesus in faith and in just touching Jesus. Many touch Jesus not expecting anything to happen and nothing does.
But the woman in our Gospel today touched Jesus for a reason and with confidence – she wanted to be helped, she expected to be helped and she was helped.
The difference between those people who just bump into Jesus and those who reached out to Him – is faith, confidence, perseverance and trust.
The questions we have to ask ourselves today is – do we have the courage to have faith and do we have the faith to express that courage?
The power of God to heal is there it is abundant and surrounds each of us – all we have to do is believe.
God bless you.
Pentecost
Come Holy Spirit – fill the hearts of your faithful – kindle in them the fire of Your love.
Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost – one of the oldest feasts of our Church – coming 50 days after Easter and 10 days after the Ascension of Our Lord, Pentecost – which literally means “fifty days” marks the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. After this baptism in the Spirit the Apostles went out proclaiming Christ to the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often called the “birthday of the Church”.
After the resurrection of our Lord – Jesus presented himself alive to His disciples – He told them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father – He reminded them that John baptized with water; but in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
We hear in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that after Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover.
While they were together a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads.
This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by God through the prophet Joel. The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival.
Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many which had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. (speaking in tongues)
This created quite a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result of all that we are told was that about three thousand were baptized that day – the birth of the Chuch.
(There are two second readings – both important – this one perhaps a little more controversial) We are all one body – each with separate gifts – and the gifts we are given are meant to be shared.
In our second reading today the advice St. Paul gives to the Galatians then certainly applies to each of us today. We who follow Jesus are asked to give up the works of the flesh. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
These works are just as strong if not stronger in our world today! Our modern culture almost teaches that these works of the flesh are wonderful gifts of goodness. If we watch television, go to movies, listen to radio or use the internet, so much of what is described here as works of the flesh is exalted and proposed as good – and we become desensitized to these temptations.
How much more today do we need the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us! Only when our hearts and minds are open to the presence of the Spirit do we have the strength to struggle against the works of the flesh. Only this inner focus on the Spirit gives us courage to stand against the values of our present world.
The letter to the Galatians gives us a description of the person who lives in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How different this is from the works of the flesh!
(Apostolic Succession – whose sins you forgive are forgiven …)
Today's readings give us a clear message: God the Father and Jesus continue to be with us and guide us in the Holy Spirit. The guidance that they give us is a concrete and clear direction for our lives.
Because Pentecost is the day that God poured out His Holy Spirit on Christ's disciples, the Season after Pentecost is centered on sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit in the day to day routine of our lives.
This is reflected in the liturgical color for Ordinary Time: green, the color of life and growth. Through the gift of faith that comes only from the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to trust in Christ and proclaim Him in their daily lives by service to their neighbors.
The season after Pentecost is the longest season of the church year -- it lasts from Trinity Sunday until the first Sunday of Advent. This is the non-festival portion of the liturgical calendar during which the church stresses vocation, evangelism, missions, stewardship, almsgiving, and other works of mercy and charity as ways in which Christ empowers us by His grace to share the Gospel with others.
Before they received the Spirit, the disciples were timid and fearful, hiding behind locked doors, scared to death that the authorities would come and crucify them, too. But at Pentecost the Spirit transformed them into fearless and powerful witnesses of the Gospel.
A lot of Christians mistakenly think that only a few specially-chosen people can be filled with the Spirit and do great deeds for the Kingdom of God. When we think of Spirit-filled warriors for Christ, we think of great evangelists preaching in packed stadiums, talented singers drawing people to the Lord with their electrifying songs, or dedicated missionaries sacrificing everything to teach others about Jesus.
However, the fact of the matter is, EVERYONE – you and I, each of us have a special gift and we are called to use that gift to promote the Gospel. The job of promoting the Kingdom of God is not just for the Mother Teresas, John Paul IIs, and Billy Grahams of the world.
This important job is for each of us gathered here today – the gifts we have been given, whatever they may be, we are called to share them with one another – to build up the kingdom of God.
So let us ask the Holy Spirit today to re-kindle in each of our hearts the fire of His love so that we too – on fire with the Spirit – may Renew the face of the Earth.
Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost – one of the oldest feasts of our Church – coming 50 days after Easter and 10 days after the Ascension of Our Lord, Pentecost – which literally means “fifty days” marks the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. After this baptism in the Spirit the Apostles went out proclaiming Christ to the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often called the “birthday of the Church”.
After the resurrection of our Lord – Jesus presented himself alive to His disciples – He told them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father – He reminded them that John baptized with water; but in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
We hear in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that after Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover.
While they were together a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads.
This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by God through the prophet Joel. The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival.
Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many which had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. (speaking in tongues)
This created quite a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result of all that we are told was that about three thousand were baptized that day – the birth of the Chuch.
(There are two second readings – both important – this one perhaps a little more controversial) We are all one body – each with separate gifts – and the gifts we are given are meant to be shared.
In our second reading today the advice St. Paul gives to the Galatians then certainly applies to each of us today. We who follow Jesus are asked to give up the works of the flesh. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
These works are just as strong if not stronger in our world today! Our modern culture almost teaches that these works of the flesh are wonderful gifts of goodness. If we watch television, go to movies, listen to radio or use the internet, so much of what is described here as works of the flesh is exalted and proposed as good – and we become desensitized to these temptations.
How much more today do we need the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us! Only when our hearts and minds are open to the presence of the Spirit do we have the strength to struggle against the works of the flesh. Only this inner focus on the Spirit gives us courage to stand against the values of our present world.
The letter to the Galatians gives us a description of the person who lives in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How different this is from the works of the flesh!
(Apostolic Succession – whose sins you forgive are forgiven …)
Today's readings give us a clear message: God the Father and Jesus continue to be with us and guide us in the Holy Spirit. The guidance that they give us is a concrete and clear direction for our lives.
Because Pentecost is the day that God poured out His Holy Spirit on Christ's disciples, the Season after Pentecost is centered on sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit in the day to day routine of our lives.
This is reflected in the liturgical color for Ordinary Time: green, the color of life and growth. Through the gift of faith that comes only from the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to trust in Christ and proclaim Him in their daily lives by service to their neighbors.
The season after Pentecost is the longest season of the church year -- it lasts from Trinity Sunday until the first Sunday of Advent. This is the non-festival portion of the liturgical calendar during which the church stresses vocation, evangelism, missions, stewardship, almsgiving, and other works of mercy and charity as ways in which Christ empowers us by His grace to share the Gospel with others.
Before they received the Spirit, the disciples were timid and fearful, hiding behind locked doors, scared to death that the authorities would come and crucify them, too. But at Pentecost the Spirit transformed them into fearless and powerful witnesses of the Gospel.
A lot of Christians mistakenly think that only a few specially-chosen people can be filled with the Spirit and do great deeds for the Kingdom of God. When we think of Spirit-filled warriors for Christ, we think of great evangelists preaching in packed stadiums, talented singers drawing people to the Lord with their electrifying songs, or dedicated missionaries sacrificing everything to teach others about Jesus.
However, the fact of the matter is, EVERYONE – you and I, each of us have a special gift and we are called to use that gift to promote the Gospel. The job of promoting the Kingdom of God is not just for the Mother Teresas, John Paul IIs, and Billy Grahams of the world.
This important job is for each of us gathered here today – the gifts we have been given, whatever they may be, we are called to share them with one another – to build up the kingdom of God.
So let us ask the Holy Spirit today to re-kindle in each of our hearts the fire of His love so that we too – on fire with the Spirit – may Renew the face of the Earth.
Looking for a Witness
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 1; 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48
Our readings today remind us that Christ died on the cross for our sins – and that three days later He rose from the dead – in Christ our sins are forgiven and death has been defeated.
In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles – we find Peter – who as we know denied Christ three times – we find him now though speaking out – boldly – to the people – there is no denying Christ anymore for Peter – he tells them that they acted out of ignorance – he treats them with compassion – he gives them an excuse to hide their sinful actions behind – he tells them that they didn’t know any better – when they handed Jesus – the Son of God – over to Pilate – and even when Pilate could find no case against Jesus and had decided to release him – they denied Christ when they asked for the release of a murderer – Barabbas – instead of the release of Jesus. He tells them that what they did was wrong – it was a sin – but he allows them to keep a little dignity by saying they didn’t know any better – that they acted out of ignorance.
Peter tells them that this Jesus - the man they crucified on the cross was indeed the Son of God – the fulfillment of all that was spoken by the prophets – and that now because of His death and resurrection – of which he himself was a witness to – now – for you and I – sinners – there is hope. Peter encourages each of us today – to repent, to change our hearts, to be converted, so that our sins – no matter how bad or no matter how many – may be washed clean – wiped away – by the Blood of the Lamb.
Peter tells them that it was God’s will – His plan for salvation, a plan that Jesus accepted and that the prophets announced – it was our heavenly Father’s will that His Son should suffer, die, and then rise again – and that this Holy Sacrifice would restore to those of us – who believe, who repent, who change our hearts – this Holy Sacrifice – which will be re-presented today here on this altar – restored our relationship with God – this Holy Sacrifice opened once again the gates of Heaven.
So we have to ask ourselves in light of our first reading – do we want to be part of that – do we want our families and friends to be part of that? The answer of course to that question is yes if we truly love them – we want only what is best for them and ourselves – and whats best for us and them is Jesus – a personal, loving relationship with Him.
So if you want to be part of all that then listen to what St John says in our second reading – “I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin – but if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ – He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.”
St. John is encouraging us today to avoid sin as much as possible – but he realizes that we are weak and no matter how hard we might try we can and do fall into sin but we need not stay there – we have an Advocate now – one who pleads for us with the Father – Jesus Christ.
We are surrounded by temptations – but guess what – we are also surrounded by God’s love too. Although committing sin may be inevitable – the effort you and I make just to avoid sin expresses our love for the Lord and a sincere gratitude for all that He has done for us.
So what are we supposed to do – well first if we have committed sin we have to go to reconciliation because sin separates us from God – going to reconciliation – receiving absolution – allows His grace to work in us to help us avoid sin – and second when we feel temptation we need to pray – to ask the Lord to be with us – to help us – to give us the strength we need to avoid sin and temptation.
That’s what I do – I pray when I am tempted to sin – I ask the Lord to help me with whatever temptation it is that I might be facing – and it works – it works because I have a relationship with God – it works because I love Him and I know He loves me – and just like He does everything for me – I want to do everything I can to please Him – so I pray and I remind myself of everything the Lord has done for me and I turn away from sin because what did St John say – “those who say I know him but do not keep His commandments are liars and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps His word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
That’s what I want – that’s what each of us should want – the love of God perfected in each of us – then and only then will we be able to share that love with others.
And in our Gospel reading from Luke we hear just one of the many stories about Jesus appearing to the disciples after His resurrection – we hear that they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus puts their fears to rest – He shows them the wounds on His hands and feet – He encourages them to touch Him and He eats in their presence – so they can see that He is not a ghost but real flesh and blood – that He truly did rise from the dead and is alive – now in His gloried body.
Then He opened the scriptures to them and explained how everything was fulfilled and that now they are witnesses – called to share with all nations this good news – that anyone who believes in Him and keeps His commandments will be saved.
Today's readings remind us that Christ died on the cross for not only our sins but those of the whole world; our readings remind us that by dying on the Cross Jesus destroyed death and that by rising He restored life and on top of that Jesus now intercedes for each of us before our Heavenly Father; our readings today remind us of the importance of witnessing to our faith – sharing it with all nations – but that witness has to begin with each of us – in our hearts – and then in our homes – and then with everyone we come into contact with – today we are reminded that we are called to witness to our faith by keeping His commandments – and if we do that God’s love will be perfected and abound in each of us and we will become lights unto the nations. Amen!
Our readings today remind us that Christ died on the cross for our sins – and that three days later He rose from the dead – in Christ our sins are forgiven and death has been defeated.
In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles – we find Peter – who as we know denied Christ three times – we find him now though speaking out – boldly – to the people – there is no denying Christ anymore for Peter – he tells them that they acted out of ignorance – he treats them with compassion – he gives them an excuse to hide their sinful actions behind – he tells them that they didn’t know any better – when they handed Jesus – the Son of God – over to Pilate – and even when Pilate could find no case against Jesus and had decided to release him – they denied Christ when they asked for the release of a murderer – Barabbas – instead of the release of Jesus. He tells them that what they did was wrong – it was a sin – but he allows them to keep a little dignity by saying they didn’t know any better – that they acted out of ignorance.
Peter tells them that this Jesus - the man they crucified on the cross was indeed the Son of God – the fulfillment of all that was spoken by the prophets – and that now because of His death and resurrection – of which he himself was a witness to – now – for you and I – sinners – there is hope. Peter encourages each of us today – to repent, to change our hearts, to be converted, so that our sins – no matter how bad or no matter how many – may be washed clean – wiped away – by the Blood of the Lamb.
Peter tells them that it was God’s will – His plan for salvation, a plan that Jesus accepted and that the prophets announced – it was our heavenly Father’s will that His Son should suffer, die, and then rise again – and that this Holy Sacrifice would restore to those of us – who believe, who repent, who change our hearts – this Holy Sacrifice – which will be re-presented today here on this altar – restored our relationship with God – this Holy Sacrifice opened once again the gates of Heaven.
So we have to ask ourselves in light of our first reading – do we want to be part of that – do we want our families and friends to be part of that? The answer of course to that question is yes if we truly love them – we want only what is best for them and ourselves – and whats best for us and them is Jesus – a personal, loving relationship with Him.
So if you want to be part of all that then listen to what St John says in our second reading – “I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin – but if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ – He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.”
St. John is encouraging us today to avoid sin as much as possible – but he realizes that we are weak and no matter how hard we might try we can and do fall into sin but we need not stay there – we have an Advocate now – one who pleads for us with the Father – Jesus Christ.
We are surrounded by temptations – but guess what – we are also surrounded by God’s love too. Although committing sin may be inevitable – the effort you and I make just to avoid sin expresses our love for the Lord and a sincere gratitude for all that He has done for us.
So what are we supposed to do – well first if we have committed sin we have to go to reconciliation because sin separates us from God – going to reconciliation – receiving absolution – allows His grace to work in us to help us avoid sin – and second when we feel temptation we need to pray – to ask the Lord to be with us – to help us – to give us the strength we need to avoid sin and temptation.
That’s what I do – I pray when I am tempted to sin – I ask the Lord to help me with whatever temptation it is that I might be facing – and it works – it works because I have a relationship with God – it works because I love Him and I know He loves me – and just like He does everything for me – I want to do everything I can to please Him – so I pray and I remind myself of everything the Lord has done for me and I turn away from sin because what did St John say – “those who say I know him but do not keep His commandments are liars and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps His word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
That’s what I want – that’s what each of us should want – the love of God perfected in each of us – then and only then will we be able to share that love with others.
And in our Gospel reading from Luke we hear just one of the many stories about Jesus appearing to the disciples after His resurrection – we hear that they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus puts their fears to rest – He shows them the wounds on His hands and feet – He encourages them to touch Him and He eats in their presence – so they can see that He is not a ghost but real flesh and blood – that He truly did rise from the dead and is alive – now in His gloried body.
Then He opened the scriptures to them and explained how everything was fulfilled and that now they are witnesses – called to share with all nations this good news – that anyone who believes in Him and keeps His commandments will be saved.
Today's readings remind us that Christ died on the cross for not only our sins but those of the whole world; our readings remind us that by dying on the Cross Jesus destroyed death and that by rising He restored life and on top of that Jesus now intercedes for each of us before our Heavenly Father; our readings today remind us of the importance of witnessing to our faith – sharing it with all nations – but that witness has to begin with each of us – in our hearts – and then in our homes – and then with everyone we come into contact with – today we are reminded that we are called to witness to our faith by keeping His commandments – and if we do that God’s love will be perfected and abound in each of us and we will become lights unto the nations. Amen!
God is zealous and jealous!
Exodus 20:1-17, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, John 2:13-25
Our readings this weekend present us with a different side of God and Jesus than perhaps we are accustomed to – in our first reading we hear that God is a “jealous” God and in our Gospel today it appears that Jesus looses His temper overturning tables and chasing people out of the temple – isn’t Jesus the One who said “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”?
How are we to understand these things?
[ The second book of the Old Testament is called Exodus from the Greek word for “departure”. The Book of Exodus is about the departure of the Israelites – God’s chosen people – out of the land of Egypt. ]
Our first reading today is taken from the Book of Exodus – After the birth and call of Moses, after the plagues that God sent to convince Pharaoh to let His people go, and after their exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai – and that is the where our first reading takes place.
It was there, at Mt. Sinai, that the chosen people of God – the Israelites – entered into a covenant with God – He would be their God and they would be His people – and it was there that they received the Law – by which they were to become a holy people, in whom the promise of a Savior for all mankind would be fulfilled.
We hear in our first reading the Ten Commandments – which were authored by God and given to Moses in the form of two stone tablets.
The first three commandments – I am the Lord your God; you shall not have false gods before me – you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain – and you shall keep holy the Sabbath day – all deal with our relationship with God – and were inscribed on the first tablet.
The remaining 7 commandments – inscribed on the second tablet - deal with our relationship with each other – you shall honor your mother and father – you shall not kill – you shall not commit adultery – you shall not steal – you shall not bear false witness – you shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse and you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Two stone tablets – the first dealt with our relationship with God and the second our relationship with each other. Is it any wonder then, that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was that He responded with two, what did He say: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself – there is no other commandment greater than these.
Jesus took the whole Mosaic Law and reduced it down – not to two tablets – but to two commandments – in which all the other commandments could be justified. The first commandment deals with our relationship with God and the second with our relationship with everyone else.
If we truly love the Lord our God like we are called to do – with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds and all our strength – then we would gladly give to God what is truly His – our whole selves and all of our love – and if we did that we would then be truly free to love our neighbors as ourselves.
But what about that word “jealous”? Is God really jealous? He is – but not in the same way we are.
When we use that word we use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we don’t have. I might be jealous of someone who has a nicer car than I do, a bigger house, more money or more hair than I do. I want what they have.
When we look at that verse in our first reading though – we find that God isn’t jealous because someone has something He wants – “You shall not have other gods besides me” He says. “You shall not carve idols for yourselves … you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,” – notice that in this verse God is talking about being jealous if someone (you or I) gives something that rightfully belongs to Him – our love our worship our adoration – to another someone or something. This type of jealousy is not sinful – in fact it is entirely appropriate. We find in our first reading today – that God has a “zeal” – a righteous zeal – for the truth that He alone is God.
So what does that mean – here is where things get hard - God cannot just be another priority in our lives – He can’t be just another item to check off our to-do list – but hold on, it goes further than that – you see God can’t even be the first priority in our lives – wait, what are you saying “He can’t be my first priority” – that’s right – because if you make God your first priority that means you have other priorities too. God cannot be a priority – GOD has to be who we are – He has to be our very lives.
All that we say all that we do all that we are has to reflect the love of God – for it is through Him with Him and in Him that we have life – and all glory and honor truly belongs to Him and Him alone.
You and I were created by God – to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him. And whether it is 10 commandments or just 2 – or even a hundred – you and I are free – we have a choice – to love like God loves us – unconditionally – which is what Jesus chose to do – or not.
So the first question we have to ask ourselves now is – Where is God in the choices we make?
I know there are a lot of tough choices out there to make and those choices – depending on if you are a child in school, a teenager or an adult – are difficult and hard to make. But you will find if God is the center of your life – all of those tough choices become easy.
Where is God in your relationships – with your boyfriend or girlfriend – with your parents – with your brothers and sisters, and co-workers. Where is God in embryonic stem cell research? Where is God in same-sex marriages, abortion, euthanasia or the death penalty? Where is God in how you chose to spend your gifts of time, talent and treasure?
God loves us so much that He gave us free will – the freedom to choose – He wouldn’t force us to Love Him – He won’t coerce us into loving Him – and He won’t frighten us into loving Him – because that wouldn’t be true love. And He won’t force us to choose to do the “right” thing.
Freedom is the ability we have to do what is right – but many of us believe that freedom is the ability to do what we want – when we choose to do what we want to do and that what we do is not right – we abuse our freedom – we turn away from God – He doesn’t stop loving us – but we, in our pride – in our arrogance – in our selfishness – turn away from Him – and the love He wants to share with us is fractured and if we continue in our harmful ways – we distance ourselves further and further from God.
This is, all too often, the path that most of us take. [ It's my body I can do what I want. That's my business not yours. It's my choice. I am free to do what I want. ]
That is why in addition to giving each of us free will – God gave us something else – His only Son – Jesus – and the Holy Spirit. Left on our own we could never make the right choices.
That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important – that is why receiving our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, hearing His word in Holy Scripture, spending an hour with Him in adoration and praying often is so important to our spiritual health.
Ok – so what about Jesus in our Gospel today – turning over tables and chasing people out of the temple. Well just like God in our first reading who had a righteous zeal for the truth that He alone is God and worthy of all our love and adoration – Jesus has a righteous zeal for His Father’s House.
Merchants were abusing the Temple – a place that was reserved, set aside, consecrated for prayer and worship. Certainly the merchants were entitled to earn a living – but not in the Temple. Jesus was right when He drove them out.
Just think – what if Fr. Calis (our pastor) stood at the front door of the Church and chased away people that he thought weren’t dressed appropriately; what if before Mass he went around asking people to talk quietly or not at all; or what if, he asked the ushers to stand by the doors and not let anyone leave right after communion – would he be wrong in doing these things – I don’t think so but oh man – I would love to be down at the archdiocese – the phones would be ringing off the wall – people would carpool down there and demand to speak with the Cardinal – then the Cardinal would have a word or two with Fr. Calis. But tell me – isn’t this God’s House – and just like Jesus shouldn’t each of us have a “zeal” for our Father’s House? Fr. Calis shouldn't have to talk to anyone about how they are dressed, how loud they are in Church or leaving early - we shouldn't put him in that position.
Our readings this weekend present us with a different side of God and Jesus than perhaps we are accustomed to – in our first reading we hear that God is a “jealous” God and in our Gospel today it appears that Jesus looses His temper overturning tables and chasing people out of the temple – isn’t Jesus the One who said “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”?
How are we to understand these things?
[ The second book of the Old Testament is called Exodus from the Greek word for “departure”. The Book of Exodus is about the departure of the Israelites – God’s chosen people – out of the land of Egypt. ]
Our first reading today is taken from the Book of Exodus – After the birth and call of Moses, after the plagues that God sent to convince Pharaoh to let His people go, and after their exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai – and that is the where our first reading takes place.
It was there, at Mt. Sinai, that the chosen people of God – the Israelites – entered into a covenant with God – He would be their God and they would be His people – and it was there that they received the Law – by which they were to become a holy people, in whom the promise of a Savior for all mankind would be fulfilled.
We hear in our first reading the Ten Commandments – which were authored by God and given to Moses in the form of two stone tablets.
The first three commandments – I am the Lord your God; you shall not have false gods before me – you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain – and you shall keep holy the Sabbath day – all deal with our relationship with God – and were inscribed on the first tablet.
The remaining 7 commandments – inscribed on the second tablet - deal with our relationship with each other – you shall honor your mother and father – you shall not kill – you shall not commit adultery – you shall not steal – you shall not bear false witness – you shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse and you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Two stone tablets – the first dealt with our relationship with God and the second our relationship with each other. Is it any wonder then, that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was that He responded with two, what did He say: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself – there is no other commandment greater than these.
Jesus took the whole Mosaic Law and reduced it down – not to two tablets – but to two commandments – in which all the other commandments could be justified. The first commandment deals with our relationship with God and the second with our relationship with everyone else.
If we truly love the Lord our God like we are called to do – with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds and all our strength – then we would gladly give to God what is truly His – our whole selves and all of our love – and if we did that we would then be truly free to love our neighbors as ourselves.
But what about that word “jealous”? Is God really jealous? He is – but not in the same way we are.
When we use that word we use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we don’t have. I might be jealous of someone who has a nicer car than I do, a bigger house, more money or more hair than I do. I want what they have.
When we look at that verse in our first reading though – we find that God isn’t jealous because someone has something He wants – “You shall not have other gods besides me” He says. “You shall not carve idols for yourselves … you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,” – notice that in this verse God is talking about being jealous if someone (you or I) gives something that rightfully belongs to Him – our love our worship our adoration – to another someone or something. This type of jealousy is not sinful – in fact it is entirely appropriate. We find in our first reading today – that God has a “zeal” – a righteous zeal – for the truth that He alone is God.
So what does that mean – here is where things get hard - God cannot just be another priority in our lives – He can’t be just another item to check off our to-do list – but hold on, it goes further than that – you see God can’t even be the first priority in our lives – wait, what are you saying “He can’t be my first priority” – that’s right – because if you make God your first priority that means you have other priorities too. God cannot be a priority – GOD has to be who we are – He has to be our very lives.
All that we say all that we do all that we are has to reflect the love of God – for it is through Him with Him and in Him that we have life – and all glory and honor truly belongs to Him and Him alone.
You and I were created by God – to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him. And whether it is 10 commandments or just 2 – or even a hundred – you and I are free – we have a choice – to love like God loves us – unconditionally – which is what Jesus chose to do – or not.
So the first question we have to ask ourselves now is – Where is God in the choices we make?
I know there are a lot of tough choices out there to make and those choices – depending on if you are a child in school, a teenager or an adult – are difficult and hard to make. But you will find if God is the center of your life – all of those tough choices become easy.
Where is God in your relationships – with your boyfriend or girlfriend – with your parents – with your brothers and sisters, and co-workers. Where is God in embryonic stem cell research? Where is God in same-sex marriages, abortion, euthanasia or the death penalty? Where is God in how you chose to spend your gifts of time, talent and treasure?
God loves us so much that He gave us free will – the freedom to choose – He wouldn’t force us to Love Him – He won’t coerce us into loving Him – and He won’t frighten us into loving Him – because that wouldn’t be true love. And He won’t force us to choose to do the “right” thing.
Freedom is the ability we have to do what is right – but many of us believe that freedom is the ability to do what we want – when we choose to do what we want to do and that what we do is not right – we abuse our freedom – we turn away from God – He doesn’t stop loving us – but we, in our pride – in our arrogance – in our selfishness – turn away from Him – and the love He wants to share with us is fractured and if we continue in our harmful ways – we distance ourselves further and further from God.
This is, all too often, the path that most of us take. [ It's my body I can do what I want. That's my business not yours. It's my choice. I am free to do what I want. ]
That is why in addition to giving each of us free will – God gave us something else – His only Son – Jesus – and the Holy Spirit. Left on our own we could never make the right choices.
That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important – that is why receiving our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, hearing His word in Holy Scripture, spending an hour with Him in adoration and praying often is so important to our spiritual health.
Ok – so what about Jesus in our Gospel today – turning over tables and chasing people out of the temple. Well just like God in our first reading who had a righteous zeal for the truth that He alone is God and worthy of all our love and adoration – Jesus has a righteous zeal for His Father’s House.
Merchants were abusing the Temple – a place that was reserved, set aside, consecrated for prayer and worship. Certainly the merchants were entitled to earn a living – but not in the Temple. Jesus was right when He drove them out.
Just think – what if Fr. Calis (our pastor) stood at the front door of the Church and chased away people that he thought weren’t dressed appropriately; what if before Mass he went around asking people to talk quietly or not at all; or what if, he asked the ushers to stand by the doors and not let anyone leave right after communion – would he be wrong in doing these things – I don’t think so but oh man – I would love to be down at the archdiocese – the phones would be ringing off the wall – people would carpool down there and demand to speak with the Cardinal – then the Cardinal would have a word or two with Fr. Calis. But tell me – isn’t this God’s House – and just like Jesus shouldn’t each of us have a “zeal” for our Father’s House? Fr. Calis shouldn't have to talk to anyone about how they are dressed, how loud they are in Church or leaving early - we shouldn't put him in that position.
My heart and prayers go out to all the good priests who over the years have been crucified by their parishioners for calling them back to God.
So what does that mean to you and me – here is where it gets difficult again – just like Jesus you and I are called to point out to our family members, our friends and all those that we come into contact with – those things they are doing that dishonor truth and love – that is just another way of saying those things that dishonor God.
Certainly we have to do this with charity and love and in a non-judgmental way – even then we run the risk of receiving the brunt of their anger – we can’t let that stop us. If we truly love them then we want what is best for them – and the most loving thing we could do for them is to call the back to the Lord.
But there is ever more we are called to – when our Church leaders – the Pope, our Cardinals and Bishops, and our Pastors – make statements that support Church teaching and correct us in our actions – we are called to support them – and when they make statements that don’t support Church teaching – we are called to question them – in a respectful way of course.
Jesus – driving the merchants and money changers from the temple – was as much a reproach on the behavior of the Pharisees who allowed them to enter in the first place as it was an attack on those conducting their business.
Our readings today call us – during the time of Lent – to take a good look at where is God in our lives, where is He in what we do, what we say – in the choices we make – and even how we worship – here in this House of God – is Christ truly the center of our lives and is it Him we are serving our ourselves?
God Bless you!
40 Days
We hear in our Gospel today that Jesus was driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit – we aren’t told what form that Spirit took – but Jesus probably felt in His heart a strong desire to go out into the wilderness. A desire so strong that He couldn’t have refused it even if He wanted too.
Remember – that this story that we hear in our Gospel today takes place right after His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. And what did Jesus hear then as He came up out of the water – “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Perhaps it was that experience itself that was enough to stir in His heart the desire to spend time alone with God – His Father.
I doubt if Jesus knew what awaited Him out there in the wilderness and I am certain He was probably afraid – and why not – we are told there were wild beasts there and He was flesh and blood just like you and me.
If you cut Him He bled, He felt the heat of the noon sun and the chill of the night air, and after a long walk He would be tired and hungry just like us. I am certain He knew his humanity well – but I think He was just starting to understand His divinity.
I think that is what drove Him into the wilderness – He hoped to discover out there – something more about Himself – something more about His Father’s plan for His life.
(How often have each of us been driven – by the Spirit – to discover something new about ourselves – about our relationship with God and His plan for our lives – God dwells in each of us because Jesus said “Remain in me as I remain in you” – and how we long to discover more about that God that remains in us – and perhaps no better way that through prayer and fasting.)
Even though Jesus might have been afraid – even though He might not have known what would take place out there in the wilderness or how long He would be there – Jesus put His faith in God His Father to take care of Him – He didn’t take any food and He went alone.
We know that Jesus was there 40 days and that while there He prayed and fasted, was ministered to by Angels – and that He was tempted by Satan.
Forty days is a long time – that number 40 comes up a lot of times in the Bible – it rained for 40 days and 40 nights when God wanted to cleanse the world and start over; Moses was on the mountain of God for 40 Days and returned with the Commandments; the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years; and after His resurrection Jesus spent 40 days on earth before His Ascension.
Forty days seemed like a long enough period of time to test a person’s resolve – whether or not they have the heart, the desire to see things though to the end – whatever that might be. And on top of those 40 days of prayer and fasting, Jesus was tempted by Satan – another test of His resolve.
Now we don’t hear in Mark’s Gospel today the nature of tests Satan used – be we know from the other Gospels that the tests were these:
1. After 40 days of fasting Jesus was hungry and Satan approached Him and said – If you are the Son of God command that these stones become loaves of bread. To which Jesus replied – “It is written that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
2. Then Satan took Jesus to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the temple and said to him – If you are the Son of God throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you lest you dash your foot against a stone. To which Jesus answered: Again it is written, you shall not put the Lord you God to the test.
3. And finally, Satan took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said to him “all of these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me” to which Jesus replied “Get away Satan! It is written The Lord, you God shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.
These 3 tests tell us something about Satan – he didn’t know that Jesus was the Son of God – he probably thought that Jesus was just another man – and he hoped to create fear, doubt and anxiety in Jesus by saying “if you are the Son of God”. Satan tempts Jesus and us on a physical level – with Jesus we are told it was his hunger – he appeared to Jesus after the 40 days when Jesus was hungry – with us it might be some physical handicap, disability or desire. Satan tempted Jesus to doubt and test God and he offered Jesus power and riches.
Well we know too that Jesus with withstood these temptations and that the devil left him. Jesus’ strength came from his knowledge of scripture – Jesus defeated each temptation by drawing on His knowledge of scripture – quoting passages to resist the temptation – once again a lesson for each of us when we are tempted – we too should turn to scripture for the strength to withstand it. But we shouldn’t wait – we should turn to scripture each and every day.
We also hear in our Gospel today that after His 40 days in the desert John the Baptist was arrested – and Jesus started His ministry - saying, 'This is the time of fulfillment, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’. The kingdom of God had come in the person of Jesus.
So what does all this mean to you and me? Each of us must take time from our busy lives and spend time, quality time with God our Father – in prayer – in fasting – and in scripture.
And especially during this period of Lent – 40 days before Easter – we need to reflect on those areas of our lives – those temptations we face – that we need the grace of God to overcome these temptations.
Each of us, no matter what our circumstances may be, must put our trust in God to work out all things in our lives, we must bear the crosses He has given us bravely – knowing that somehow in those crosses are our forty days of wilderness – somewhere in those crosses our resolve is being tested – and when things get difficult and we are weak and we don’t think we can go on – it is then when we are weakest that we will be strong if we only turn to Jesus.
Stop the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)
As you all know – in just a few days we will have a new president. Unlike any other inauguration this one will be different – this one will stand out – because for the first time in the history of the United States our new president will be an African American.
Aware of the history of slavery in America and the problems this country has endured and continues to face with racial discrimination – a remarkable and wonderful step forward – not only for our country but especially for our African American brothers and sisters – is about to be taken.
The triumph of this moment, the greatness of this event however – is overshadowed by a bill that is once again before Congress – a bill that was co-sponsored by president elect Barack Obama – that bill is called the Freedom of Choice Act.
Despite its deceptive title the Freedom of Choice Act has a lot of people worried because it is without doubt the most radical abortion legislation ever considered in the United States.
A lot of people are worried because president elect Obama has said that the first thing he would do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.
The Catholic bishops of the United States, realizing the immense evil this bill will usher in, have unanimously called us to prayer and action to prevent the passage of this bill – they have also provided for us a summary of what this bill would do if passed:
· It would overthrow current laws that protect women from unsafe abortion clinics and eliminate the requirement that women be fully informed about abortion
· It would require tax payers to pay for abortions
· It would require all states to allow “partial-birth” and other late-term abortions
· It would require states to allow abortions by non-physicians
· It would bar laws protecting a right of conscientious objection to abortion – currently Catholic and other pro-life hospitals, doctors, medical students and health-care workers can opt out of participating in abortion in many places – if passed this option would no longer exist
· And finally, if enacted this bill would deny parents the opportunity to be involved in their minor daughter’s abortion decision
The bishops have done their part and now it is up to us to do our part. We must act and we must act now. Our parish along with parishes across the archdiocese of Washington DC and across the nation is participating in the “Fight FOCA Postcard Campaign”.
The hope is that this effort will send the message to Congress that the radical policies of Freedom of Choice Act are out of step with the most basic values of the American people and should not become part of our nation’s laws.
Today each of us has the opportunity to sign postcards that will be delivered to our Representatives and Senators. The message on these cards urges our elected officials to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act and to retain existing laws against government funding and promotion of abortion.
Because this matter is so important, the bishops have also asked us to take time during Mass to fill out these cards. And that is what we will do in just a moment – but first there is one other pro-life initiative I want to mention – and that is the March for Life in Washington DC on January 22nd.
The parish is sponsoring a bus and there is still room left for those of you who would like to attend. There will be two pickups right here in the Church parking lot – the first pickup is at 6:30 for those who would like to attend the Youth Rally and Mass at the Verizon center as well as the march and second pickup is at 9:30 for those who just want to participate in the march.
Please, if you can, sign up for the march – having a large turn out this year – with the new president and administration taking office – is definitely more important than the past years.
Today, just like Samuel in our first reading – each of us has the opportunity to respond – speak Lord your servant is listening – but all too often we turn that statement around and say “listen Lord your servant is speaking”.
And just like St. Paul in our second reading – who raised his voice in opposition to the immorality in Church in Corinth – each of us here today has the opportunity to lend our voices – to speak up against the immorality in our society and in defense of the most vulnerable in our society – the unborn babies.
Just like there is no place in this country for discrimination against African Americans or any minority – there is no place in this country for discrimination against unborn babies.
The Church’s position on abortion is very clear – sacred scripture, sacred tradition and magisterial teaching have always taught that the sanctity of all life – from conception to natural death – is to be protected and defended by all Catholics.
In the pew today you will find the post cards and pens. We ask that all who would like to participate take the time now to fill out the back of the post cards. They come three post cards to a sheet and we ask that you not separate the cards. Each parishioner should fill out three postcards that will be delivered to your senators and representatives.
I really encourage everyone to participate in this campaign – just as all the bishops have spoken with one voice against the freedom of choice act – so too do we – the body of Christ – need to speak with one voice on this issue.
Please sign and print your name on each card as well as your address. If you don’t know the name of your senators or representatives for the front of the cards – leave them blank and we will fill them in for you – but we need your address in order to identify the correct officials to send the cards to and in order for the those people to respond to each of us.
Thank you for your participation – we will now take about three minutes for those of you who wish to participate to fill out the cards and then the users will be by to pick them up.
I now invite the ushers to pick up the cards and thank you once again for your participation in this most serious matter.
Without doubt our nation – our new president and his administration – face serious challenges – and just like we need as the body of Christ to speak with one voice on this issue – we need also to pray for President Obama – that the Lord grant him the courage, the resolve and the wisdom to do what is right for this country. May God continue to bless America. Amen!
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