Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Job 7: 1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1: 29-39

We are here in ordinary time in the church cycle with a perfect first reading for this time of year. During this time we have moved past the Christmas season, the days may be getting longer but that does not seem to happen as fast as the days getting shorter during fall.

We have the bills to pay from Christmas and the day to day world of work, family, making meals and what can seem like the same routine day after day. We hear the news of the plane crash in Taiwan and the train crash in New York and wonder why life seems so miserable. Then we hear from the ground hog in Pennsylvania that we have 6 more weeks of winter. Of course from February 2 we have 6 weeks of the winter season before the spring equinox.

The story of Job is full of these types of days where no matter what he seems to do his life becomes more tortured. He loses his family, his money and his possessions. He was afflicted with boils and other physical afflictions. He was seemingly being thrown to the wayside by God. Yet in all of this, even in the reading we hear today he never curses God or others around him. He goes on seeking to do as God would want.

This is where the rubber hits the road for us as Christians. When we hit those times where it seems as though nothing is going right and we are stuck in a rut we see no way out of, what do we do? We may see others who we know are not doing the right things in life yet they seem to get ahead and wonder why when we follow the gospel and do as we are supposed, yet we seem to be falling behind.

This affliction can hit every one of us at one point in time of our lives or another. We feel awful during it and will become sick as Simon’s mother in law was in the gospel today. Yet we are all called as Jesus assists her in getting up for we all need this type of help on occasion. The curing of the sick and lame by Jesus in and around Galilee was miraculous for some and they believed and followed Jesus and his teachings. There were I’m sure others who thought their being healed by Jesus was expected, because they believed they were righteous and upstanding people who did not deserve whatever affliction was upon them.

There will be times when it may seem like we are being left alone by God. These can seem like great times of suffering for us. How we handle this suffering has an effect on others around us. We can lament our suffering alone and not seek help, as it seems Job does or we can reach out and ask others for assistance. When we see someone suffering we should act like the disciples did and reach out to offer our assistance in getting them the help they may require. I have a friend from high school who lives up in the area of the train crash. She was so impressed and appreciative of all the phone calls and concern shown for her family, as her husband was normally on the train that was involved, commuting home from work. He happened to leave work early that day and had caught an earlier train, but those who knew the couple made sure they reached out to see what if anything they could do to help.

Most all of us in the church today have had some tragedy affect our lives individually and we as a nation have had a number of incidences that have affected us as a whole. These can be as simple as losing a boyfriend, or girlfriend as a teenager, or losing a parent or spouse and including incidences like 9-11 and Pearl Harbor. This feeling of woe and hurt can manifest itself in many ways and we can let if fester and feel horrible about it or we can reach out and describe our feelings to others.

We all also have many people who care for us, even though we may not always see it. During these times of woe and misery we all have people we can lean on. Sometimes these feelings of woe can seem so overwhelming we do not want to share them with others, but just as Jesus healed the sick and the lame in Galilee and moved on we too will find family and friends who will listen and help us through these times of distress. These people may not be in our lives for long but will hold a lasting impression on us as we live out the rest of our lives.

Jesus was called to heal the sick, die for our sins and show us all how to live our life as God wants us too. With a society that believes it is the individual that should decide what makes them happy, which can lead to many different ideas some good, some not so good, it seems harder and harder to live the Gospel and follow Christ.

We see those we know are not following the churches and Christ’s teaching seeming to get ahead in this world while the seemingly good people fall further and further behind. During these times of seeming never ending bad news it becomes more important to lean on the teaching of the church and Christ. We see this manifested with Joy in Pope Francis.

He lives the gospel message today of healing those who are sick and moving to those areas where he is most needed. While many Catholics may be nervous about how he does this, just as I am sure there were disciples who were concerned about what Jesus was doing, the Holy Spirit is working through him to show us the absolute Joy in following the Gospel. He always seems happy and upbeat regardless of the situation and while he may say things that seem unusual, he continues to teach what the church has taught for centuries. The age old precepts are not changing they are just being approached from a more contemporary way, so that those who have not heard or believed will come to believe.

We will all feel the lament and woe of Job at some point, if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us as it did Jesus we will find that all of our struggles served a better purpose. We can use that suffering to do one of two things; we can show the world the joy in suffering, knowing everyone will suffer. We can also allow our afflictions to overwhelm us and begin to do things we know are not the way we should live our lives but make us feel good in the short term. We are all being prayed for, sometimes by the family and friends we know, and sometimes by those who pray for the general well being of all. These prayers help us through those times of lament and we may never know who was praying for us, but we suddenly are no longer looking at the darkness but experiencing the light.

If we are the shining example of using our suffering to help others, then we are living as Christ wants us to live and we will bring more people to know him through us. We will become the priest, prophets and kings we were called to be upon our baptism. Will we follow the Holy Spirit to show the world what can await them, or will we fall into other afflictions that seemingly make us feel better in the short term only to cause us more harm at a later date?

Over the course of my lifetime I have had many people who have inspired me to do my best. The first were my parents and grandparents as I was growing up. They were there to encourage me to explore things I might be interested in and to use the talents I had been given. As I grew older and supposedly wiser I did not always listen very well to that counsel. Then I met a young lady who began to encourage me to look outside of who I was and become a better man. Karen encouraged me to explore things and was there to listen to my fears that I would not succeed. She saw things in me that I did not see, so when we moved from Rochester to Virginia there was a lot of fear on my part. Karen was there for support and encouragement to help alleviate the fear and support our growing family.

That encouragement and support is certainly the case with me giving this homily today. It all began with a seemingly innocent question by a ninth grader about what a deacon does. When I asked Deacon Chris Morash one Sunday morning he answered the question. Then in unison Fr. Rolo and Deacon Chris asked if I wanted to be one. This was where my fear set in and I immediately said no way, I have no time or ability for that. Then when I brought the conversation up to Karen later that day she simply said “I think you would be good at it.”

That was not the answer I had been expecting, but it made me realize there were talents that I have which I had chosen to bury just as we hear in the Gospel today. This was where having a good wife came in handy for me. She was not afraid to tell me what she thought of the idea and encouraged me to explore the opportunity. When I become afraid that I may not be able to accomplish a task, she is there to insure I work for it even though she knew it would mean I would be spending more time doing things outside the home and family.

We have all been given talents, just like the three servants we heard about today. Some have been given more, some less all depending on their ability. The one thing we all need to do is find those talents and use them, not bury them away out of fear. This fear can be overcome by having the support of your family, I know it has helped my children both find their way as Karen has encouraged them in the same way she has encouraged me to excel at what we feel is not possible. Karen’s only reward in all of this is seeing us succeed, which for her is enough.

God has given each of us some sort of talent, with the expectation that we will go ahead and use it for the good of his people and his church. If we hide it away, then when we have to account for it what will we be able to say? Will we have to admit to God we simply buried our talent and felt we would waste if we used it?

The other option is to use your talents to enhance God’s kingdom here on earth. When we do this we will not use up our talent it will expand and allow us to see other talents that we have. My path through the diaconate has certainly provided me with this opportunity. As I said when I was first approached about it I was not just hesitant, but adamant that it was not for me. God had other plans and over the last 6 years, 5 in formation and the last one after ordination I have used talents I was not sure that I possessed. My hope is that some of those who have seen my experience have been touched in a way to help their church, family and community.

If we can utilize our talents for the good of our community and our church we can see benefits from it. When we move forward there will be others that follow our lead, whether for good or not, which is why we need to use our talents as God has given them to us. When we do this the church will come together and grow. When the church grows by using the talents of its members society as a whole can grow and prosper. These talents and abilities that we have been given are to be used for the good of society so that when people look at us they see a person of the light not the darkness.

We are at a time where, our church, our community and our families all need to see the good within the world and work together to expand on the abilities of all people. In doing this we can move toward a more peaceful, compassionate, loving society. We all are leading busy lives, but are those busy lives for the good of all, or are we busy watching our favorite TV show or scanning the internet. When we have to account for our lives, will we be able to say we helped our parish, family or community, or will we have to say we sat on our talents and did little to nothing.

The concept of taking our talents and abilities and hiding them away may seem like the easier way out, and at one point in time I believed that it was. Our God has given us these talents and abilities to use for the good of his kingdom here on earth and in heaven. If we choose not to utilize our talents we will not be doing Gods will but our own. He will make sure that if we put our talents to use in a way that benefits the community of God we will be rewarded for it. There may be times of strife or anguish when we are going beyond what we believe our own abilities are but the community we are in will support us as we move forward. This goes for all in our community from the newborn baby being baptized, to the student moving away to go to college, as well as those looking to expand the churches mission of faith hope and love.

Readings Isaiah 25:6-10, Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20, Matthew 22:1-14

Who is ready to Party?

I can say that when I hear the words party my ears perk up and I tend to get a little excited. The idea of being invited to a party of any kind is exciting because we tend to know we will have fun. If it is a Super Bowl party it tends to be a little louder and a little more raucous than a birthday party. People yelling at the TV for their team to win or laughing at the new commercials that the companies spend millions of dollars to produce and air.

Most of us enjoy being invited to a party because it makes us feel special, but there are times when we are invited to a party and we are hesitant about accepting. We need to know the attendee list or the occasion. We need to know this to help us determine whether or not we will be attending. If the people who will be there are not people we either like or want to be around then we politely decline. I am not sure of anyone here, but I know unlike the gospel today I have never beaten and killed the messenger inviting me to a party. If I have chosen not to go I have either politely declined or simply ignored the invite when it was sent in the mail.

The party that Isaiah is talking about today where all kinds of fun and food are is the invitation to have a relationship with God. We have all been given this invitation and over our lifetime depending on where we are have either accepted his invitation and are pursuing it, or we have declined the invitation. This timing has a lot to do with where we are personally in our lives, are we ready or interested in accepting the invitation. This invitation to have a relationship with Christ and share in the banquet is always open and he will continue to remind us of that over time.

We as Catholics have not always been told we can have a personal relationship with Christ outside of coming to mass and participating in the Eucharistic feast. Christ wants us to be in communion with him so that if we have accepted his invitation here we will receive our invitation to the party on the mountaintop. The other thing we always need to remember is that it is not just the “good” Christians that are called into this relationship. It is all of humanity that Christ invites to the party. While there are certainly plenty who reject this invite, some violently like we hear about in the Gospel today.

This idea that all are invited is something we all wrestle with at times. Does this really mean we need to go to the party with the murderers, the convicts, the poor, the handicapped? Yes that is exactly what both Isaiah and Christ are talking about today. All are called. We all need to be willing to be with others who are different than us and offend us. We see this where the King first invites all his friends and people in his circle of influence. When they chose not to come, whether it was politely or violently he moves on to all the remaining people in the kingdom. The party still goes on and those who reject his initial invitation will be invited again.

To be part of the party we need to be willing to have a relationship with Christ when we leave the church building today. We can do this in any number of ways, but the best way to do this is to allow ourselves to be filled with Christ’s love. While we leave here after taking the Eucharist filled with Christ we need to keep that spirit and build on it through the week. We need to set aside time in our busy week to build on our own personal relationship with God. This is first and foremost in being able to live with Christ. We need to take time to build our relationship with Christ. Whether it be by watching EWTN, looking at the bible, or simply by sitting and praying it all helps to remind us the Christ wants to be a part of our lives. We also need to take this knowledge in Christ and our relationship out and express it in the way we treat others. We need to participate in life outside these church walls and treat all people with the respect and dignity that all human life deserves.

As Paul reminds the Phillipians we can attain all things through him who strengthens us. Christ will strengthen us to be able to withstand the pressures of the world and move forward. He can insure that the party we have here on earth is one we can get to and enjoy regardless of the invited guests. In order to attain this strength all we need to do is invite him to our party. The problem comes up when we decide who is worthy and who is not based on their outward appearance, or actions similar to the king tossing out and binding the person who showed up not dressed appropriately for the wedding feast.

We have the synod of Bishops going on now to see how the church can help strengthen the family and those in marriage, as these seem to be under attack and somewhat tossed to the wayside in today’s society. Everyone keeps trying to get information on what they are discussing and how these discussions will lead to changes in what the church teaches and does. See even the church struggles in its relationships at times and needs to refocus on what is important. We do not know fully what is being discussed, but we will at some time in the future. When they publish their discussions and begin a plan to implement whatever changes the Holy Spirit has helped them decide upon. We all need to remember that regardless of our preconceived notions of what they should be working on the Spirit is guiding them forward because they have invited him to their party.

To recap, there is a party going on and we are all invited to participate in this party regardless of whether we want to or not. The outcome of what happens to us for eternity will be determined by our willingness to participate, not only with those who are like minded, but with all of Gods people. If we follow Christ’s and the prophets lead we can accomplish not only great things but survive all the trials and tribulations of life. So who is willing to go with me and put aside all the petty differences and party on? The other option is to be like those who turned down the king’s invitation in a violent way. It may not be an easy road to the party but I am going to do my best to walk that path. I hope all of you here will join me as well as inviting others to join us along the way.

 

 

Readings for Exaltation of the Cross September 14 2014

Allow me to give a brief history lesson as todays feast is not one that not all of us are familiar with. According to tradition, early in the fourth century Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places in Jesus’ life. As part of her search she excavated the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which was built over the tomb where Jesus was buried. During that excavation workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when a dying woman touched it and was miraculously healed.

That cross immediately became an object of veneration by visitors to the Holy Land. It was kept safe locked away in an ornate shrine. And once a year on Good Friday it was taken out of its precious silver container and placed on a table for viewing and veneration by pilgrims the world over.
We hear today one of the most famous passages in the Bible. For years there was always at least one person holding up a sign with this passage shown at every sporting event on TV. It made no difference whether it was a football or baseball game or the Olympics. The line is John 3:16 and it states, “For 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.”

We all know that Jesus died on a cross for us and we are reminded of this in every Catholic Church we go into. The Crucifix is found not only in churches but probably in many of your homes as well, you may also wear it as a necklace or have it as another piece of jewelry. This reminds of us Christ’s cross and the sacrifice he made for all of us.

We also need to be reminded as Paul does with the Philippians that Jesus emptied himself so he could become a slave. Not the type of slave that we are accustomed to hear about. He did not come and empty himself to serve a human master, but to serve his Father. This service was done in the many miracles and signs that we hear about in the Gospels. This service was such that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for a horrific death on the cross. This was done as we hear in the Gospel today as well not to condemn the world, but to save it.

We see all the violence being perpetuated around the world and wonder what is going to stop it. Is it more violence, or do we ignore the violence since it is not here. These are difficult questions which I do not know the answer too. What I do know is, if we follow the Love that God showed the Jewish people in the desert, we can begin to have a conversation that can lead to a more peaceful society.

We all need to empty ourselves of our egos and preconceived notions of those around us. This will allow God to replace all of those things with the Love he has for each and every one of us. This Love is so powerful that by sending his son into the world we have seen a whole new attitude and religion grow up over the last 2000 years. We are not done with our growing pains, but we need to work on letting go of our egos and showing people the Love that Christ has shown for us.

How do we overcome this and become the people that God would like to lead out of the desert? We need to empty ourselves and become a slave to God and do as Jesus teaches. This means we need to work on our relationship with Christ. We can do this by reading the Bible, praying, helping others and simply sitting quietly to listen to what Jesus is putting in our heart. We all live busy lives, but we need to find the time to do these things to grow our relationship with Christ so that we can show his Love to those around us.

We need to also remember that just as Jesus did we need to talk with our enemies, not at them, but talk with them. What we find when we do this is that we really are not that much different as people as we may think. There may be differences in religion, social or economic circumstances, but deep down all people want the same thing, a better world for their children to grow up in and a more peaceful and loving world. This can be accomplished if we are all willing to pick up our cross and shoulder it with the Love of Christ.

If by emptying ourselves and forming a better relationship with Christ we will all begin to live a life that Christians are called to, one of unending Love and peace. The kind of Love that knows no bounds as God showed us when he sent his son to die for us. We can accomplish this through the sacraments where we are reminded of his Love for us. The sacrament of reconciliation is a beautiful expression of God’s Love for us as it was to the Jewish people in the Desert. They were called and struggled, even as we all struggle today, but God allowed them to be reconciled to him by simply looking at a likeness of the snake that had bitten them. He did this even though they mocked him. We need to remember that God will never forget us. We need to remember to seek his forgiveness when we stray from him with a sincere heart.

To truly exalt the Cross of Christ we must live as Jesus taught us to live – with unconditional love and forgiveness and inclusion for everyone; not just for the people we like, but for the very least and most disliked of our fellow human beings as well. That kind of true exaltation of the Cross of Christ will bring healing into our world; even more than just keeping it locked away in a precious silver container.

So the question comes what are we willing to give up in order to have a better, stronger relationship with Christ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as a reminder this weekend we have two recent Popes were canonized, Saint John Paul II and Saint John XXIII. Both of these men of the church remind us that there is more we can do. I saw this quote from John XXIII the other day and found it inspiring.

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

This brought me back to Fr. Rolo reminding us if we have a relationship with Christ we should be joyful and enjoy life from last week. It also reminds me that there is always mercy to be shown for those things that may not go as planned.

In addition to the two popes being canonized this weekend we are also celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday which John Paul II instituted in 2000. He wanted us all to remember that no matter what we might be going through in Christ there is endless mercy, which the image we use from Saint Faustina shows. It shows that Christ died for our sins and washes us clean in baptism.

This mercy and forgiveness were two things that both of our newly minted Saints were trying to remind us of on a consistent basis. We always need to remember to be able to forgive not only others but also ourselves for our failures. We also need to be able to ask for forgiveness from others who we have wronged. John XXIII showed this by asking forgiveness for the church from the Jewish people who over the centuries some Christians had come to despise. At the same time he was asking for an ecumenism that was unheard of in wanting a dialog with not only the Jewish people but all Christians.

We hear this in Acts today when we are reminded that the apostles were to preach the Gospel to all people, not just the Jews or those who agreed with them. We are also reminded that even though we can all be judgmental at times, the final judge of everyone will be Jesus.               These statements were there to remind the apostles to show mercy and forgiveness to those who would end up persecuting them.

The one thing I remember most about Pope John Paul was his continual preaching and exhorting us all to be more merciful and compassionate. We can relate this to the reading from Peter today that;

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you

With his merciful heart God has given us the keys to eternal life and salvation. He did this because he knew we all need to be shown mercy and forgiveness. Saint Faustina who had the vision of Christ used for Divine Mercy saw this in her vision of Christ. She believed in the mercy of Christ and continued to discuss it, reminding us all the mercy from the Divine is unlimited. This type of mercy is only available to us because of Gods unending ability to forgive us for our sins. All we need to do is ask and that mercy, compassion and forgiveness is freely distributed. We do need to ask with a sincerity of heart that Jesus will know we have.

Now since God has an unlimited capacity to forgive and show compassion, we are also expected to show the same capacity to forgive and show compassion. While we are all pretty good at doing this within our friends and family, I know I can suffer from a lack of compassion for those that I dislike. It seems to be a prevalent attitude in today’s society as well since we hear all the time that two sides cannot come together. Whether it is the political debate in Washington, where everyone tries to talk over one another not listen to what they are saying. We all need to remember that as John XXIII has said that “We were all made in God’s image, and thus, we are all Godly alike”. This statement reminds us regardless of whether we agree with our opponents’ position we need to remember to treat them all with compassion and mercy when we talk with them.

For some of us this comes easy as it seemed to for both of these Popes. We do need to remember though that there is one person we need to remember to forgive for our transgressions before we can truly be repentant and that is ourselves. We tend to be harder on ourselves than we are on others when it comes to criticism and unrepentance. This is a good thing in that it reminds us that we need to seek forgiveness from others, but we also need to remember to seek forgiveness from ourselves. It is not ok to sin, but it is human and we need to remind ourselves to ask for forgiveness. We hear about this today when Jesus tells his disciples whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained.

This call to forgive was given to the disciples to pass on through the sacrament of confession, which I hope all of you participate in as it is a wonderful sacrament of healing and compassion. Jesus also bequeathed to them the Holy Spirit and passes that on to all of us through the sacraments in which we participate within the church. We cannot remain the doubting like Thomas did in the Gospel today until we get to see Jesus, by then it may be too late.

A quote from John Paul II takes on new meaning should we be able to forgive and seek forgiveness.

“Christ, make me become and remain the servant of your unique power, the servant of your sweet power, the servant of your power that knows no eventide. Make me be a servant. Indeed, the servant of your servants.”

If we can remember this quote and seek the mercy and forgiveness of Christ we will be able to be wonderful servants of Christ to his people. If we can continue to show our mercy and forgiveness not only to our friends and family, but also to those we dislike we can move the discussion on. These discussions will then become more open, honest and fruitful. We can all do this through the help of the Holy Spirit and prayer, and if we begin from a stance of mercy and forgiveness we can accomplish a great many things. Are we ready to show that mercy and forgiveness to all those around us? If we are not, which I know I struggle with, are we willing to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us through the mercy of God to that point?

As one last reminder Pope Francis tweeted on Friday “We must not let ourselves fall into the vortex of pessimism. Faith can move mountains!”