The King is Coming ~ 1st Sunday of Advent

Here is the cyber version of my homily for this 1st Sunday of Advent

As a deacon it is the responsibility of a servant to herald the King’s coming.  And it is the responsibility of all believers, all servants of the King of Kings to herald  Christ’s coming.  

This first Sunday of  Advent we see the familiar focus of our Liturgy sharing that message, Christ the King is Coming!  The first weeks of this season especially seek to help us focus on the return of Christ as our readings proclaim.  

But this message of the second coming of Jesus is fraught with challenges.  Intense and dramatic teachings abound on our Lord’s return, especially amongst  our Protestant brothers and sisters.  Scoffers delight at the promise of Christ’s return yet often while embracing various popular concepts such as the Mayan calendar conflicting messages.

All these teachings are often set against the intense realities of the actual events of the times in which we live.  Violence, disasters, moral turmoil all fit with the warnings shared by Christ Himself and His prophets.  All this brings us to wonder what is happening?  what is the follower of Christ to do?  Is Jesus returning soon?  How are we to live?  These questions bring us  to examine our Expectations, our Boxes our Paths.

Expectations ~ In our Bible readings this day we hear from Jeremiah the prophet, Paul the Apostle and Christ Himself all sharing expectations of the coming of  Christ, Son of David, Son of man.  The signs of the times, the prophetic beacons that God gives to help us prepare to stand before Him are diverse, many and mysterious.  Perhaps it is due to their mystery and diverse expressions that God’s people have often spent lifetimes seeking to sort them all out.  The early Christian’s of Paul’s times had absolute faith that Jesus would return in their lifetime.  Yet, in the fullest sense, they were mistaken.  The same dilemma  were experienced by many Jews when Jesus ministered in His earthly ministry.  The Messiah had come...yet He did not match THEIR expectations and was missed.  These millenia later we would do well to realize they failed to know Him at His coming because their expectations of God were confined in a box too small for God.

Boxes ~ The Jews of Jesus’s time, the early Christians, and Christians hence have all struggled to fit their expectations of Christ’s coming into the boxes of our understanding.  It may be  our futile efforts to grasp the times of God and squeeze He who is beyond time into our finite schedules of when, how, where..He comes. that distract and confuse us.  Or perhaps it may be our boxes of prayer by which we expect God to work.  Or maybe it is simply the boxes of day to day cares of work, finances, health or family that prevent us from knowing His grace in ways unexpected.  Perhaps it is simply the boxes of understanding that Christ will come again, yes, at the end of time or at the end of our individual time that makes us miss His coming in the stranger, neighbor,  or loved one in need.   It is as we allow Him, with hands nail-pierced, to free us from those distractions and burdens and to walk the path to fullness of His Presence.

Paths ~ Our Psalm today gives us prayerful insight into the solution to the limitations of our expectations and boxes.  It is as we seek the pathS of the King we will come to meet Him at His coming.  Our understanding is essential.  Our expectations are crucial as we seek the Kingdom of God to come.  But it is not solely an understanding of the mind  it is a relationship of the soul with God that then enables our minds to understand and see beyond what we may be seen.  It is vital to note that the Psalmist prays...”show me your pathS...All the pathS of the LORD are kindness and constancy.”  We must allow God to lead us, to lead others, by the paths  of His choosing.  And St. Paul broadens our vision of the paths of God when those early Christians were admonished to abound in love for each other and FOR ALL by which we grow in the holiness God calls us to share.  This brings us to one other point.  Christ, the King is coming. Yes He is coming in the fullness of His glory.  Yes, should He tarry, we will come  stand before Him at the end of our time.  But, if we listen and watch He will, as promised, come again in the poor, the neighbor, the co-worker that crosses our path.  

Wherever, whenever   God chooses, when the Son of Man comes, may we, His servants stand before Him alert and in love.

Compromise ~ With Promise

"Compromise".  It is interesting that for so many people it is a word and concept fraught with fear and negativity.  The ancient conflicts in the Mid-east, our own political strife, relationship discord, economic angst all are opportunities for compromise yet most people fear taking those steps toward finding a compromised solution.
Many people perceive it as a weakness to be avoided at all costs.  Many people are most secure in their perception that life issues are very precise and clear, black and white.  It has been said that with both God and nature there is no compromise.
I for one see both God and creation a bit differently.  Yes there is black, white, darkness and light.  But....there is also gray.  Our Lord who gives us the bright clarity of a sunny day, the inky darkness of a moonless night also gives us the  times and places of fog shrouded faith.  Indeed there are issues, times, places where  clarity is sharp and unarguable..to us.  Yet perhaps we need to remember that not everyone is where we are on all issues.  What may be pristine in clarity to us may be a cloud-shrouded path for others.
Perhaps the issue of compromise can be looked at in another way.  If we were to take the word, literally to the roots, we can share a fresh understanding.  Com=With & Promise = Promise.   On most issues can we look to find a common value, understanding on which to start a place of "sharing the promise"?

Even God, pristine in the total beauty of full holiness found the way of compromise.  In His holy, pure love God came to us, became man and walked the path of compromise, the path of fearless, conquering love.  We know it now as the Way of the Cross.  It leads to the place of compromise, the Cross.

I, for one, am eternally grateful God "shared the promise" of holiness and love to find me.

The Stained Glass Cross

The Stained Glass Cross 

Shards of glass, 

In rainbows shades, 

Shards of glass,

By God made. 

Holy hues of faith and hope. 

Vibrant hues of life and growth. 

Quiet darks of sorrows known. 

Crushed and broken by hammers strong. 

Shards there be, with cutting edge. 

Oft avoided with painful dread. 

Other pieces gently worn, 

In sands of time, by waters borne. 

By angels gathered, shards, aplenty.

Brought together in mercies many, 

Placed in His hands holy pierced. 

And so melded by Love’s Spirit, 

Then carried by the holy Dove, 

The shards were made a cross grow. 

 But others aghast,

 sought and fought, 

some shards to cast, 

out from the cross. 

 Their hue, their cast, 

 they held best, 

Did not fit the mold,

they felt blessed. 

So, nail-pierced hands, 

 in sadness wrought, 

From those other hands, 

 the tiny molds of fear

 and hate they brought. 

 That others differ in journeys made, 

And perhaps their differing loves portray

 Realms of my Kingdom to be framed. 

To cast them away you may try, 

Yet to my Sacred Heart they fly. 

 So the stained glass cross is being made. 

Windows aglow in holy shades. 

 Windows into His Kingdom's love portrayed.

 That together, His Holy love we seek,

 Free in Truth, to reach and speak, 

His love and light to shine and share, 

Within and to all who dare

 Peace and love's light to know.

 [Picture: East Apse Window St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA}

FEAR LESS

FEAR LESS. That is a concept that is rarely heard in our world today. Economic woes, global conflicts, ceaseless health warnings, climate change and of course the ceaseless rabid fear mongering in some political circles can cause even the strongest of hearts to despair. The use of anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications is higher than any other sort of medications. The epidemic of alcohol and substance abuse also testifies to the struggle of humans to face their fears. A most prevalent and basic of fears, that of being alone or not belonging, is pandemic even with (or because of) the vast array of ways to cyber-relate. FEAR LESS. Is this even realistic? Aren't the multitude of worries we face real and to be....feared? Is it not at least naive or even irrational not to be afraid? FEAR LESS. Although the access to the tsunami of frightening information (much of which is false) is much worse in our information addicted world the reality of fears has always been a part of humanity. Facing wild beasts, plagues and murdering hoards was often a daily genuine reality in ancient times. The very real threats of nuclear war in the Cold War or of homelessness and hunger during the Great Depression again were deeply real fears for those generations. FEAR LESS. But another quality is just as accessible today as it was in times past. The capacity to FEAR LESS, i.e., to exercise COURAGE is a choice we all can make, daily. Will we listen too and share uncertain rumors and fears or will we seek to share...courage? Will we actually seek to learn about and face our fears or will we cower behind flimsy walls of ignorance? Dare we to discover that the monsters we fear may actually become friends that can help us grow when seen in the light of courage? FEAR LESS. Daily, what could happen if instead of seeking to instill fear we sought to build up courage, in our self, our family, our community and world? What would happen if we purposefully, daily invested in courage? "So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE, BUT PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us. If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also." ~ I John 4:16-21 Remember we cannot exercise courage except when facing our fears. FEAR LESS.

Doing...Being...Trusting

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time ~ From the Gospel [John 6:28-29]: "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." People are consumed with their work. We identify our SELF by our work. "I am a teacher", I am a student. I am...unemployed". So much of our identity and our self perceptions, our self-worth is built upon the sometimes insecure sands of our work and accomplishments. We strive to follow a path that will fulfill our plans, hopes and expectations. In the Gospel reading this Sunday we observe those who were seeking Jesus presenting Him with a vital question: "What must we DO, to be doing the works of God?" Perhaps to better understand our Lord's response we might distill the question into six words: WHAT MUST WE DO...TO BE?" The question of our being is one that is central to our existence, to our identity. What must I be doing? What am I to...BE? At 60 plus years old I confess I still wonder and dream what I will be..when I grow up! The answer to our being isn't found in our work, ethnicity or culture. It isn't found in our genealogy or environment. All those facets and more help form who we are but they are just that, facets of the gem that is our soul. To know what we must "DO...TO BE" we need to heed the response of Jesus. "This is the work of God, to BELIEVE in Him and whom He has sent." Our present day obsession with self will find this difficult. Are we not to believe in self? Is not all the universe at my beck and call? Hardly. If the extent of our faith is our self it is a faith of infinite ...smallness. Christ makes the path very clear..TO BE we are called to BELIEVE in God, in Him. It is from the simplicity of this relationship that God then can lead us on the path of BEING the person He created. As God leads over the bridges of His making, through the mountains and valleys of His purpose we not only work the will of God we discover His work, daily in our lives. It is important to realize this is profoundly a relationship of FAITH, rooted in LOVE. We may not know the way or purpose. But we can trust that God does. And, we discover, as we follow faith we live out our being, our purpose, In God. "WHAT MUST WE DO...TO BE?" In believing in God we discover we are His. We discover we are created to be God's creation and children of faith lived courageously in Love with God alive in His eternal hope. God, may my words, my works, my being proclaim my trust and love in you. May my being be yours.

Am I a Tomb or Temple?

Easter Reflections 2012

As I have been making candles this week I have been pondering the message of Christ's cross and resurrection. The beauty of our Sunday liturgy and the Holy Triduum helps us focus on His passion, death and conquest of sin and death. I was especially meditating upon our Lord's words shortly before He left the upper room and went to Gethsemane.

"Love one another as I have loved you"...by this shall all men know you are my followers, by the love you have one for another...this is my commandment, that you love one another, that your joy may be full." [John13-15].

But as I observe how the church, how Christians are known today it seems we are most known for..our politics, or our focus upon issues instead of Christ. While we can blame the media for much of this there are sad reasons why we are known, not for God's love and His joy in our lives but for being judgmental and at times hateful. This brings me to ask, Am I a tomb or a temple?

We are called to bear the Risen Christ in our body, in our life. Our words, our actions should be proclaiming the hope and joy of our risen Lord. Yet so often Jesus can become buried in the tombs of our doubts, distractions and fears. We become so focused on our moral priorities and politics, upon issues, that we lose the light of His love, that indeed leads us ALL from sin to forgiveness. We lose sight of...Christ. We become so hung-up on politics and problems that the promise of God's mercy becomes buried in judgment and fear.

For myself, Lord, please forgive the times I have buried you in doubts and fears, when I have focused on issues, in my life and others and not allowed you to reign as the King of Holy Love. Please, Jesus, help me, not be a tomb, but a temple of your mercy.

Two Arms

Our world is increasingly torn with strife and hatred. Politics, culture wars, even in the church, the right and the left are seemingly intent on the others demise. Perhaps it may help to remember we are designed with two arms...

Two Arms
March 2012

Two arms there were,
that were sure,
their arm alone,
was strong and pure.

Arm the right,
knew the way.
And strove and carried
right to make.

Arm the left too was strong
and with skill and power
fought alone,
good and truth to grow and own.

Arm the left and arm the right
hated the other
with all their might.
They hit and held the other arm,
and did all they could to rid and harm.

For they knew,
the arm opposed,
must be fought
or at least controlled.

To tolerate the other,
with respect to hold,
To listen or to learn,
Left them truly cold.

Then one day the two arms,
realized in dismay,
that they were lost
and they grew afraid.

Afraid and in their ignorance,
the other they did blame,
for bringing them to a place
of cold and darkening shame,
For failure...
each would not claim.

While the cold,
the dark greater grew.
the two arms longed
a light, some warmth,
their dying hopes to brew.

Then in the darkness
each arm did find
an unlit candle and
some dry pine.

With arm the right some matches dwelt.
While arm the left some kindling felt.
But alone the arms did long and fight
a fire warm to quell the night.

Finally in weary fear,
for the dark and cold
they could not bear,
Arm the right and arm the left,
together with their different gifts
a fire bold did they make.

And in the shelter of the fire warm
the arms embraced and soon learned,
they were joined, they were one.
And although opposed
they shared the one
heart and hope
and strength to claim.

So arm the right and arm the left
discovered together
how to reach
and how to rest.
And what the other really did do best.

They helped to let loose
the hate the other held.
And with the other did they find
together the good they could meld.



I am reminded of a place where arms of conflict wrought hate and fear yet were conquered by the arms of love.

1st Week of Advent: Know ~ Hope

A prayer for this 1st week of Advent:

Heavenly Father as we seek Christ the King, your Son, our Savior, we ask you,
to help us to be ready
for His coming.
Forgive us our failings.
Our world is deeply wounded and struggling
and this is seen
in many wounded and struggling souls.
Holy Love,
help us to cherish all life,
to nurture our life choices
by sharing your compassion.
Help us comfort the wounded and anxious.
May our words bring hope,
our deeds, healing.
May we live and share faith,
in your mercy,
and, together,
Know Hope,
as we discover the beauty of Your Truth, Jesus.
Holy King, Holy Love, come!
Amen.

Being Thankful

It is the day before Thanksgiving. Here in Northern California, as I look out the window of my candle shop I see the heavy grey clouds thickening from the west as a storm approaches. As the rain comes I realize how much for which I have to be thankful. The work of Dolorosa slowly grows. Family, loved ones are well, even as some are now gone and missed. Our Lord, in His love, brings the rain to both nourish and cleanse.
Yet as I observe the news I sense little thanksgiving in our world. The economic pressures are being daily confronted by most. The political atmosphere in the country is seemingly as acrimonious and divisive as it was prior to the Civil War. Instead of thanks we see the obsession to blame. Hate and the bitter intolerance for anyone not in agreement is pandemic. Humanity is battered by storms of destructive visions and words. How our human-caused storms differ from those God brings into creation. Yet, if we but stop and allow God to lift us out of our selves there is always ...hope. There is always cause for being thankful.
So...
This holiday season what would happen if instead of...
passionate divisive intolerance we share,
a shared compassion for life in all creation and each other.
Instead of blaming and casting stones of destruction,
we take responsibility and build bridges of hope.
Instead of wallowing in the stye of entitlement attitudes,
we resurrect our noble gifts of service for God and others.
Instead of obsessing with Occupying and Getting
we seek simply healing and nourishing and giving.
Instead of stressing to judge and condemn,
we seek to love as He loved.
Instead of choking on the bitter gruel of resentments,
We feast on ...being Thankful.

Respect for Whole Life & Capital Punishment - Double Standard?

I am , without apology, an advocate for Respect Life, for Whole Life. This includes fighting for the unborn child, my opposition to euthanasia, assisted suicide and the tragic disregard of life for the infirm, mentally afflicted or disabled. It includes the rights of mothers (and fathers) to know the destructive affects of abortion on their own health, physical, mental, spiritual. But it also includes the people of Dafur, Somalia, and other areas where life and our environment is destroyed through the greed and the cruelty of humanity.

In this entry, however, i want to briefly focus in the double standard of being right to life, except in Capital punishment. I find it very troubling to see politicians extol their "pro-life" stand regarding abortion yet at the same time be aggressive in their pursuit of capital punishment. A powerful example is Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. He is commendable in his efforts for the unborn, yet it would appear that once born, life is no longer sacred. He has one of the largest records of inmates executed in the execution-happy state of Texas. That he has overseen over 230 executions would be troubling enough. However there is at least one, if not more of those executed who, by all indications, was innocent. One case, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, is for a man that is, by prosecution efforts and words now on death row because he is black. This ignores those executed (in Texas and elsewhere) with strong indications of mental illness or mental disability.

There are news clips of pro-life politicians speaking of their efforts FOR capital punishment and then being loudly cheered by their "pro-life" crowds, many of which are Christians. Is not this a double standard? There are noble rosary programs being said "For the Unborn", yet are those praying also cheering for capital punishment?

As we pray for the unborn we need to pray for their moms and dads, we need to pray for the courage to love them and help them support their child, with words, deeds and money. As we pray for the unborn, as we say our rosaries, we need to remember our Blessed Mother's Son was on Death Row and was executed unjustly.

Jesus our Good Shepherd

Mass Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter: 1st Reading: Ac. 2: 14, 36-41: Psalm: 23; 2nd Reading: I Pet. 2:20-25; Gospel: Jn. 10:1-10 [The Web version of my homily.]

Who is in charge? Who is in charge of your life? Our western culture takes immense pride in the concept that it is all about us, that I (capital I of course) am entitled to the choices of life. That I am entitled and best qualified to chose the course of my life.
While God has blessed us each with our free will it is a myth of fools to pretend we are in charge. It has been said if you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans. Yes, while God does give us free will our Creator, the Shepherd of our souls also gives us the ability to know we are...Followers..we choose to follow. In today's Gospel Christ makes clear that we are sheep and that He is the Good Shepherd. He also makes clear the reality that there is evil, that Satan would seek to lead us astray, to rob, destroy that which is treasured and made by God. This brings us to ask, if we are honest, who is in charge? Who is guiding my life? As we look to Christ, as we look to the Good Shepherd we learn what it is to follow Him.

First we come to learn Jesus knows His sheep. He knows each human soul, created by Him. Christ, Lord, God, Savior, Shepherd knows.....you. Whether we are the purest of spotless white lambs or if perhaps we may be the odd sheep of the flock, the proverbial black sheep. He knows, He created, He loves us for who we are. He knows and calls us each by name. Well He knows the paths we may have wandered, the wounds or struggles we have encountered. Yet His love never ceases. He calls, searches..seeks to bring us each into the fullness of His love, the safety of His fold. As we heed Word, His voice, as we yield to the loving guidance of His staff He leads us home to Him.

As sheep of His flock, as His followers, the guidance of Christ's Spirit brings us ever closer into His Kingdom. Our Psalm today is a powerful prayer and confession of the faithful. While most often heard at a funeral we need to remember that if we think to wait until death before we start to follow Him, it may be too late, or at least we will have missed the fullness of life He created us to know. This Psalm of David, a man who knew what it was to follow God, is powerful in its honest confession. Christ will indeed lead us to the lush pastures, abundant waters of which we seek. But, because He is the good Shepherd He will also lead us through the valley of death, those dark nights of faith pressing close to He who leads us. Christ promises, that through His Holy Spirit He will lead us into His will, His path, His truth. This is not just some ethereal mystic hope. It is the promise to lead us with the wisdom of God, daily, taking up the Cross He shares to lead us, in our hearts, our families to do His will to love as He loved.

And it is as we yield to His voice calling our name, as we follow Him we come to learn the Shepherd provides for all we need as we follow His way. As we follow the Good Shepherd, as we follow the Risen Christ we soon learn He leads to the impossible. The God Shepherd leads us beyond our own limited resources and abilities to ....trust, to love...to know He will never forsake us. It is when we sit at the table, abundantly set for us, even at times in the presence of our enemies, we learn how faithful God is. We learn that, thanks be to God we don't always get that to which we are truly entitled. We find instead God's mercy, healing and love. We learn, Jesus is in charge. He is risen. He is Lord. He is my Savior and Shepherd.

Entering His Wounds

'
Contemporary rendition of Carraviggio's "Doubting Thomas" painted by: John Granville Gregory


The door is locked. Fear has them bound, hidden away in a room.

This Second Sunday of Easter, also recognized as Divine Mercy Sunday, we return to the followers of Christ. On Easter Sunday our joyful songs express our faith in our Risen Savior and Lord. Today we find the disciples where we too may be at times in our life, locked away in our fears.
Of what are you afraid? Yes we profess our faith in Christ, yet, sadly, we sometimes place more faith in our doubts and fears than in Him. We focus on failures, real or feared of others, or ourself. Fears and doubts of health, or economic well-being, relationships, careers, families, our Church, all may well bring us to be locked in darkened rooms of doubt and fear. Where is our faith? In our fears and doubts or in Him who conquered fear, doubt, sin and death?

It is easy to sing, to say we believe. We may well express our amen's and alleluia's yet when we leave the church and return to the rooms of our lives we may once again find our life locked in fear and doubt. Is there really any hope? How can we know true freedom from that which we fear, from the doubts that would cripple our souls and our lives. This Sunday of Divine Mercy, we find in God's word the true and practical way to that freedom as we heed Christ's Words and enter His Wounds we will enter into His Holy love by which all fear and doubts is conquered.

The voices of fear, the messages of doubts are loud and abundant. The cacophony of noise from this world composed by the dark prince of fear and despair is always available to fuel our fear and renew our doubts. Yet the Prince of Peace can enter the darkest of doubts, the rooms of fiercest fear and in His noble voice of holy love proclaim His Peace in our midst and in our hearts. We have the ability to seek to call upon Jesus to enter our hearts, our homes, our most difficult places and to guide us to His Peace. No dark voice of fear or doubt can overcome Him who proclaims His holy peace that conquered the powers and places of hell itself. From the cacophony of darkness we can enter hear the symphony of grace of which we all are called to join His holy angels in songs of hope, mercy and joy. As we seek, as we heed His Words of peace, mercy, healing and hope we will find Him guiding us closer to His Presence. We will experience Jesus the Truth that sets us free.

Out of the dark rooms of our fears and doubts the Risen Christ calls and leads us to..Himself. It is in His Presence we, along with the early disciples, can see His wounds, like Thomas himself we can touch and enter into the very wounds of Christ. While it is true we may not physically see Jesus as did the disciples in Scripture we can know His very real blessing He gave all who were not there, the blessing to see Him, and enter His wounds with eyes of faith. It is as His nail-scared hands touch our soul that we then can see Him, His wounds in others, in each other, in the needy, in the suffering of all creation as we await the return of our Savior and Lord. It is in our own brokenness we can enter His wounds as well. It is also in the simple places of prayer, during Mass, before the Blessed Sacrament, in the prayer closets of our life that God can call and bring us to enter into His presence, His wounds and find the hope, the freedom to believe and follow Him in the power of the Risen Christ.

From the locked room of fear we discover His voice proclaiming His peace, we draw close to Him, we see, we touch, we enter into His wounds, we enter into His Love by which all fear and doubt is conquered.



Cyber-version of my homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Mass Readings: Reading I: Acts 2:42-47; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 118:2-4,13-15,22-24; Reading II: I Pet. 1;3-9; Gospel: John 20:19-31

Resurrection Heart

The Cyber-version of my homily for Easter Sunday
Readings for Easter Sunday Mass: I: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps: 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23; II: Col. 3:1-4; Gospel: John 20:1-9

"They did not yet understand the Scriptures that He had to rise from the dead..."

The closing words of John's Gospel account of the resurrection told how the disciples who came that Easter morning did not yet get that Jesus was indeed risen from the dead. Would those words apply to us today? Over 2000 years later..do we still not get it?
For we share the same peril that the Jews, Romans and even the disciples faced in those intense days in Jerusalem. But while facing the same perils we also have the same hope and promise of knowing Jesus is indeed risen from the dead.

Understanding and reason had failed.
The Jewish hierarchy could not let go their pride and fear that held them enslaved to their education, their status and their sense of control. They could only see Jesus as the poor son of a carpenter, born of very unclear circumstances. This self-centered vision crippled their ability to see Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, their Messiah.
The Romans, slaves to their assumptions of power, pride and might could not find the strength of heart to reach out to the true King of Kings and Savior of the world.
The disciples, who had followed Jesus in growing faith and unsure understanding had found their hopes dashed, overcome by the cruelty this world would bring.

So, on that first Easter morning they came, Mary Magdalene, in mourning came to attend the body of Jesus more properly for burial. Thinking to come to the tomb sealed by her understanding, she came instead to enter into God's Resurrection Heart.

Following the words of her Lord she went to Peter and John telling them, not what she understood, but what she had experienced in God. Peter and John ran to the tomb. Peter with his heart torn by his threefold denial, gasping for breath as he sought his Lord. John, the Beloved could not run fast enough..dare he hope that his beloved Jesus could be alive? Coming to the tomb, John looks in, Peter catching up brushes aside and enters, John follows. As they enter the tomb where understanding and reason fail us..they entered into the God's resurrection heart.

Today, we come. Perhaps like Mary Magdalene we come seeking closure on seeming losses and failure. Maybe we are like Peter, struggling with the a soul burdened with known denial and fear of following in His steps. Or perhaps like John with hearts broken yet racing with a hope that refuses to die..not understanding but knowing the call of His love.

200o years later we are now the people of the Easter story. Do we hide in our fears, pride, sense of control and status? We hear of this Jesus, this resurrection but our understanding is bound, locked in the our self. Or are we going to follow in the steps of the courageous women and men who dared to come, with all their human frailties and dare enter into the heart of the resurrection, the very sacred heart of God's love.

The hope, the promise has not changed. We can know as did Mary, as did John and Peter the love of Christ calling us beyond our selves into His holy, healing love that will raise us up to believe and then to understand.....He is risen, Alleluia.

Sensing God ~ Knowing God

The cyber-version of my homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent

Scripture Readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent: Reading I: Ezek. 37:12-14; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 130:1-2,33-4,5-6,7-8;
Reading II: Eph. Rom. 8:8-11; Gospel: John 11:1-45

What would you do, if in these last days of Lent, Jesus came to you and said..."we need to talk"? He would find a comfortable place for you both to sit. He would look you in the eye and say..."don't be afraid." He would then explain that He understood how hard it was to trust, to follow Him, but that He just wanted this Lent, this Holy week to really open your life to the promise and joy of His resurrection..to open your life to Him. Maybe you would feel compelled to start sharing the struggles, doubts, fears you had, how sin was a battle. He would lift your head ..look you in the eyes and say.."I forgive you, I give you my peace, just follow me".
Such an experience would, literally, beyond doubt, change our life for the rest of eternity.

Yet it is so often so hard to sense God's Presence in our lives. To KNOW that He is with us, to know what He really wants us to do. In today's Gospel, the experience of the raising of Lazarus from the dead is shared. In this vibrant message we are given an important lesson in sensing God in our life.

Lazarus had died. Jesus, close friend of Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha was days away. When Lazarus had fallen ill they had sent for Jesus, TRUSTING that He could do something. Jesus had delayed His response. Lazarus was dead. Mary, Martha, their friends were heart broken. Not only had Lazarus died...but they had trusted Jesus to come, to heal as He had so many others. Where was He? Where was God? Their feelings..their sense of God's Presence was seemingly destroyed.
But the Lord had a greater blessing to share.

Jesus arrives to find Martha confronting Him in her grief. Mary, the others, bound in mourning. They go to the tomb. Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days. Jesus weeps. SEEING His tears, they then HEAR him say "remove the stone". Martha, ever practical, recoils, telling Christ, "he's been in the tomb four days..He will STINK! They HEAR, again the Words of Christ: "...Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Their fearful sweaty hands remove the cold hard stone. "LAZARUS COME FORTH" They all HEAR Christ call. Lazarus comes forth. Again HEARING HIS WORDS..."Loose Him". They FEEL the cold clothes of the dead. Then they SEE..LAZARUS is alive!

Using all of the five physical senses Jesus lead Mary, Martha, His disciples, the mourners to see beyond their vision. To sense beyond what they could feel. So He would do today these many centuries later. He longs to sit with us, look into our soul and call us to... Himself.

In simple trust we place our hands in His nail-scarred hands, seek Him to touch our ears, ask that we may see as He sees, to smell the holy fragrance of holy love in the scent of a rose, to taste His goodness in His Body and Blood we come to the place of Mary and Martha...to truly sense and know God's Presence. St. Paul shared this lesson in another way..we are called to grow beyond life in the flesh (what we just physically feel) to life in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As our souls are filled with God's Spirit He then brings us to know His touch..those words of Christ..."don't be afraid..be at peace".

The Journey of Lent ~ Called to God's Mountain

[The cyber-version of my homily for this 2nd Sunday of Lent]
Scripture Readings:
Gn.12:1-4; Ps. 33:4-5,18-19,20,22; II Tim. 1:8-10; Mt. 17:1-9

Sometimes when we travel we find it helpful or perhaps necessary to stop and figure out where we are and where we are intending to go. This may well cause us to change our direction and re-focus on our goal. It is in this journey of faith, in our lives as Christians, that we would do well to stop, take stock of where we are and where it is Christ seeks to brings us. This is the essence of the season of Lent. It is in today's Bible readings that we see and hear God doing this very thing with His people.

From where we are called: In our first reading we see God calling Abram from the land of his kinfolk to the land of God's promise. We hear God's promise to Abram that as he follows in faith God's promises will be his.
So it is with each of us. God calls us out from the land of our fallen humanity to come to the land of His promise, life in the Kingdom of God. As it was for Abram, so it is for each of us. This is a journey of faith, trusting in the guidance, providence and grace of our God. It is also a journey that as we follow we discover our true, full name, that person god has created, called us to be.

Called to God's Mountain: In the Gospel we see the disciples, led by Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration. It, again, is a journey of faith that wearies their human strength. Yet in following they are brought to see, to know Christ as they never have before. Their realization of the saints, the power and dimension of God's Kingdom are forever changed. But this power-filled revelation brings them to collapse in fear and awe before the majestic power and beauty of God. So it is as we allow God to lead us, we are brought to the fearful realization of our failings...and God's majesty...This is the journey of Lent, the journey of the faithful as we seek to follow the Shepherd of our souls. And it was from this mountain that Jesus would lead His disciples to another mountain where they would even more powerfully see and know the majesty of His love.

It would be at the Mount of Calvary, where our Lenten journey will end that we too will be called to enter into His love at the Cross and the joy of His resurrection on Easter morning. It is as we each follow our Lord this season of Lent, and every day of our lives, that with His disciples we can know His touching us as He calls to us "Rise and do not be afraid".

Seek His Kingdom

Cyber-version of my homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Seek His Kingdom

Seek His Kingdom,
clear the clutter
and the clamor
with all this world
makes us stagger.

Seek His hands,
pierced by love,
to help remove ,
this world’s sludge.

Earthly riches,
this and that,
things we seek,
that from Him, distract.

Walk with Him.
Let Him show,
in field and flower,
His treasure troves.

Let God be.
And before us bring,
His Kingdom’s riches,
of which angels sing.

Seek His Kingdom,
clear the clutter,
and the clamor,
with all this world
makes us stagger.

Seek His voice,
His words of truth,
that in our lives,
His freedom soothes.

May that freedom,
of His Kingdom,
in His Spirit,
lead us all.

To those riches,
that never fail.
To that trust,
that will prevail.

Heed His voice,
follow His call,
in courage bold,
to His Love belong.

Seek His Kingdom,
clear the clutter,
and the clamor
with all this world,
makes us stagger.

In simple trust, His hand to take,
In His courage bold to make,
In His Love forward to go,
may we then,
His Kingdom grow.

Integrity of Faith, Love, of Heart

Homily (cyber-version) for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time;

Valentines Day is right around the corner. Setting the hyper-commercialism of the holiday aside we are reminded that this is the Feast Day of St. Valentine. He was a priest and martyr in the early church. He is the Patron St. of holy love. While imprisoned he was well known for his care and love of the imprisoned but also of his guards of which several he converted to follow the Christ. In his life he chose to follow with courage the high calling of our Lord to faith, love and integrity of heart.
Our readings today contain some of the most difficult and challenging in God 's Word to hear and follow. In many ways it would seem God calls us to the impossible. Yet, if we prayerfully heed the fullness of our readings we are brought to a realization that God calls us each, like St. Valentine to live a life following our Lord in the integrity of our faith, love and heart.

In the First Reading we are reminded that created in love by God who is Love, that we are given the freedom of choice..to follow God's Commands of Love or the ways of the enemy of our soul. We are called to choose who we are going to follow...and grow in integrity of faith, love and heart.

"Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord" echoes the refrain from our Psalm. This brings us to the second reading where St. Paul, in writing to the faithful in Corinth reminded them that "eye has not seen nor ear heard..what God has prepared for them that love Him".. It is with the Spirit of God that our FAITH is empowered to make the choices of life that will cause us to follow God's Word, His Commands to life and love for Him. God calls us to have a heart of faith that enables us to discern, with His help, the way of obedience and discovery of His will in our lives. It is the call to ever growing INTEGRITY, genuineness OF FAITH, that enable us to follow our Lord in the integrity His love.

In the Gospel reading Christ challenges us to that INTEGRITY OF LOVE. Called away from murderous, life destroying deeds Jesus raises the standard even higher to calls us away from life destroying anger and words, however subtle they may seem.

Calling lonely humanity from adultery He calls us to an even deeper integrity and quality of our very vision of life , of love for each other. Called away from seeing others as possessions to lust for, He calls us to the higher calling of relationships wherein we no longer lust for ..but have true love for each other in the deepest integrity of our heart.

Again in the Gospel Jesus speaks of the integrity of our choices..our promises. In speaking of oaths and vows He call His people to an even simpler, yet higher standard in that we are to affirm our choices of FAITH, Our LOVES from the integrity of our heart. The Psalmist prays.."give me discernment...that I may keep your law with all my heart". Jesus warns us not to make promises based upon things beyond our ability to control or change. He calls us to the highest INTEGRITY of our distinct HEART where from we follow His path for us with all the heart He created, with all the soul He created us each to be.

May God who created each of us, for who we are, and calls us each to follow Him help us know and do so with the fullest of integrity of Faith, of Love and Heart.

Choose Life, The Natural Choice

38 years ago the United States Supreme Court ruled in the landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade that it was the Constitutional right for a woman to abort her unborn child. Volumes have been written and spoken both in support and opposition of this ruling.
It is a topic that politically correct (or perhaps politically polite people) seek to refrain from discussing.

But it is a subject, however painful and unpleasant, that needs be addressed. God does not violate our free will. God allows us choice. But God also speaks very clearly that as a people we called to know right versus wrong, good versus evil, life versus death. It is also a sacred responsibility we share to be stewards of, protectors of, LIFE. This especially pertains to those unable to speak for or protect themselves.

This stewardship of LIFE applies to the unborn, the aged or infirm, and to all creation, trees, birds, whales....people, especially...people. In the often the more politically correct topic of the environment we find the concept of being "green" that has much to teach us. The concept of living a lifestyle that respects nature, eating real foods, making choices that both honor and respect all LIFE is profoundly valid. It is a concept that honors creation, but more importantly our Creator the Giver of Life.

The Scriptures teach us that God's truth is found in all creation (Romans 1). For those who are considering or who are proponents of abortion it would be good to look to...nature, as they consider their choices. Nature teaches us LIFE is the NATURAL CHOICE. Humans are the only species of life that so vehemently teaches and practices the destruction of their unborn, the destruction of their species. It is an interesting commentary on evolution that we humans, alleged to be the most evolved, are the species that practices the most widespread destruction of itself. This is seen in war, violence, destruction of our environment, the destruction of our unborn.

There will be those who would rush to point out species that eat their young, or weaker members of their own. Yes, all creation cries out in sad witness to the wounds the fall of humanity as wrought (Romans 8). Species may, in times of environmental or interior stress practice this self-destruction. But is it their NATURAL, their normal practice?

We cry out when a baby whale is found dying on a beach at the possible "unnatural" damage our environment has suffered to cause such loss.

When will we cry out for the approximately 4000 thousand abortions a day in the United States? When will we find the courage to face the facts of what is being done and then to find the courage to Choose Life, the Natural Choice.

Our Life ~ Immersed in God

Cyber-Version of homily for Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

The new year is underway. We are resolving issues of the past. We are planning, perhaps resolving, perhaps worrying about the year ahead. And we gather here today to worship God who is eternal. We seek to listen to Scripture, God's everlasting Truth. We prepare to received Christ in Holy Communion. And we are reminded we are called, created by Him, to have our lives immersed in God.

Isaiah the prophet, in our first reading recognizes the purpose of our Creator, from before our birth, to glorify Christ. We are to share and reveal Him in our daily lives and for eternity, in simplicity of our faith and love well lived.

St. Paul in his first letter to the early church in Corinth echoes the message of the early prophet. To a struggling church, seeking to live their faith in the midst of world set against them and wrestling with their own weak humanity Paul affirms that they too are called by God to be set apart, immersed in Christ's holy love, eternally.

Our Gospel reading reminds us of our Lord's baptism in the Jordan and brings to focus that from the waters of baptism we are to grow on in the baptism of the Holy Spirit given by Christ Himself. Celebrated in the Sacrament of Confirmation the Church is called to live, immersed in God. This realization of being immersed in God comes from the very word "baptize'. Literally expressed we see the longing of Christ to immerse, to drench us in His Father's redeeming love. Perhaps to better understand and hence to enter into this holy immersion we can look at our life, immersed in God. Christ seeks to immerse our life in Him, past present and future, that is, for all eternity.

So often we dwell in the past. We may lament lost youth or opportunity. We may fret and carry heavy burdens of guilt and sorrow of things done or not done. We may carry poisonous resentments while remembering and accusing others of wrongs, real or imagined. All the while, by this crippling posture of past walks we fail to live fully..now. It is in the refrain from our psalm we can share the solution. "Here I am (present tense, today) Lord, I come to do your will, immerse my past in Your Holy Spirit, immerse my past, in Your mercy and forgiveness".

We also worry about the future. Health, finances, relationships, world peace, the environment all or real, cause us to lose sleep at night. All these unknowns, when dwelt upon, can rob of us of the peace and joy Christ longs for us to know, now. Striving to see beyond today we can lose sight of Christ with us in the present. This does not mean God would not have us plan or prepare for the future. It means we are to simply immerse our will, our plans, our hopes in the wisdom of His love. As we do so the Holy Spirit then can lead and prepare us for that which God alone knows will lie ahead. Today, then, we pray, "Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will." We then trust God to immerse our will in His where He will nurture and guide our hopes and faith to the fullness of His love for all eternity.

This brings us to the present. God, eternal, calls us to be His eternally. To be immersed in the mercy and hope of Christ forever we must live with Him in the present. Today, Christ calls and speaks to all who seek Him. Today we are sought by the Crucified to live in hIs Real Presence, nourished by His sacred Body and Blood. For all the Confirmed Christ seeks to remind and renew our immersion in His Holy Spirit. For those preparing for that holy immersion Christ will be drawing you closer to fill you with His Spirit and power. Today Christ longs to here us say to Him: " Her I am Lord, I come to do your will."

May Christ immerse our past in mercy and forgiveness, our future in His hope and courage and today in His Spirit of Holy love. And for all eternity may we be immersed in God.

Baptism of our Lord

Cyber-version my homily for the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord 2011

The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord brings to the close of the Season of Christmas. As a part of the broader Epiphany manifestation of God's Presence and Love it bridges the birth and early life of Jesus into the time of His public ministry. Christ's baptism is reported in all four Gospels. Mark and Luke share brief accounts of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. John provide's perhaps the most detailed of insights. This year our Gospel account comes from Matthew's witness and addresses one of the oldest challenges about our Lord's baptism.

Why was Jesus baptized in the first place? If as God's only begotten Son without any stain of sin (Original or committed) why did Jesus even have to be baptized? John the Baptist himself struggled with this as he tries to prevent our Lord from this humbling step. As he tells Jesus: “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” John recognizes the sinless, holy Love of God Present in Jesus. We, as Catholics affirm in our Christian faith the reality of original sin and of the need of our shared fallen humanity to receive the grace and mercy of God through this Sacrament. But...Why, Jesus?

Baptism is indeed the first sacred act, the first Sacrament, given by God to bring to us the saving graces of our Savior. This receiving the solution of sin is indeed the heart of of this holy step. But it is also the first step by which we share with God (and the world) our faith and our love for Him. As St. Peter would write in his first letter it is an answer of a good conscience toward God. It is a sacred, precious step of faith into the holy, grace-filled embrace of God the Father. It is what should be the first Yes! to God's will in our life. Baptism is a public entrance into the Kingdom, the family of God.

As followers of Christ, whether we enter the holy waters of baptism through the faith of our parents (as did the household of Cornelius, and many others in the early Church) or through our own volition as a matter of personal conscience we are taking a holy step of love and faith. It is the first step by which the faithful enter into their holy Communion with the Body of Christ.

We cannot see how or where this step may lead, but with Christ we seek to say: "Yes. Thy will be done"
Sharing these holy waters with Jesus we seek to enter into and receive share the Cross of His Love, and even in our struggles to share His sufferings that we, through and with Him may know the joy of His resurrection.
Our faith then can lead us to know the healing embrace from the wounds of our fallen nature, the heartbreak of our sins, into His merciful eternal embrace.

Why was Jesus baptized? To show us the way, to take our hands and lead us to His Father's mercy and love. Today as we listen to Him, as we receive prepare to receive His Sacred Body & Blood, may we say Yes Lord, I trust you, I'll follow you."