Friday, March 30, 2007

Weekly MESSAGE for April 1, 2007: Some of My Favorite Things

March 30, 2007

Focus: A Few of My Favorite Things

Dear Friend,

To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was “My Favorite Things” from the legendary movie, “Sound Of Music.”

While it may be springtime and the end of Lent is upon us, while we are getting ready for Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, it is a good time to remember how vulnerable we truly are.

Here are the lyrics she used:
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin’,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.

Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 1, 2007: A Fountain of Youth for You?

This and That:
A Fountain of Youth for You?

The final session of our Lenten Family Friday series: “How What We Believe Can Make A Difference” was entitled, A Fountain of Youth for You?

We began the session by looking at some “Youthful Longings” and “Adult Fears”. We named the first fear as mortality – the fear of death and the corresponding longing is for life unending. The second fear is that life has no meaning and we are just drifting through our existence. The longing that counteracts this fear is the longing for meaning and purpose in our life. The third fear is isolation and our longing in the face of that fear is for connections with others. The final fear is being alone in the universe and our deepest longing is for love.

We then turned our attention to some teachings of our Catholic Church that speak to our fears and longings. Those teachings include the following:

➢ This life is NOT all there is.
➢ We believe in resurrection of the body
➢ We believe in life everlasting
➢ We believe in a Risen Lord
➢ We believe that “resurrected” life begins here on earth

With these beliefs in mind, we looked at how our culture promotes a very different set of beliefs, including:

➢ Live for the present moment
➢ Instant gratification
➢ You only live once
➢ Believe in what we can see now

During table discussion, we considered our belief that God has created us for eternal life, so this life is not all there is. We thought about what shows us that when something sleeps, dies, or is in a state of upset – it’s not the end?

Some of the things that came to mind were: how we see in nature that plants die to be born again; how the body heals after illness or injury; how we experience that relationships that were broken can be healed; how grief subsides over time; and the reality that we wake from sleep each morning. These are hints from our experience that point to the promise of our glorification.

Next, we looked at our belief in the resurrection of the body, which is based upon our faith the Jesus rose from the dead bodily. Resurrection of the body builds on our experiences of healing. If the Spirit can raise Jesus, the Spirit can raise us also. What we experience in the hints to glorification will become fully realized when we are resurrected. We read this belief in the New Testament Letter to the Romans:

“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

What’s more, we believe that this glorification will last forever, as we will live forever with God. In the Gospel of John we read, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” John 6:40

Jesus is the Way to this glorification forever. We believe that this is guaranteed by the fact that he is risen and still present to us, bringing us along to glory with him.

All of this is a promise of our own eternal life. The hints to glorification that we experience now become actual through faith in Jesus. In the Gospel of John, we read the story of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, who has died. Jesus tells Lazarus’ sister, Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” We believe that resurrected life begins here and now. We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven after death to live the resurrected life.

Which would you prefer? “Pie in the sky when you die” OR living heaven now? As followers of Jesus, we are called to live our lives NOW in union with him, that we might also live in union with him forever.

How could “living heaven now” influence your choices?

Does this understanding color how we approach death – as a passage to eternal life? Does it change how we prepare for death – by the way we live now?

Does it give us a perspective on our lives – this is not all there is?

Does it call us to live in hope, since we live the resurrected life because of our Baptism in Christ?

Returning to our title for this session, a “fountain of youth” is not about the number of years you live on this earth, it’s the experience of heaven – life in union with God, and we can have it NOW!

So…Does what we believe make a difference?

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

Weekly HOMILY for April 1, 2007: Communion with God

Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
April 1, 2007

Communion with God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

A Monk’s Communion with God

Back in 1959, 47 years ago, the Chinese Communists were occupying Tibet.

During this occupation, the Buddhist monks were targets of many atrocities. So, as the Chinese forces would invade the villages, the monks would flee into the mountains.

When the Chinese invaded one particular village, one Buddhist monk stayed behind. The Chinese commander marched into the monastery and there, in the courtyard, was the one remaining monk, sitting calmly in prayer.

The commander yelled, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can run you through with a sword.”

And the monk calmly replied, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through with a sword.”

That Buddhist monk possessed a real inner communion with God, a communion that remarkably freed him from all fear.

This inner communion, this inner state of being with God freed him from being overwhelmed with anxiety about being killed. It freed him from uncontrolled anger at the injustice being done.


Jesus’ Communion with God

In the story of the Passion that we just heard, Jesus is confronting a similar series of threats moment after moment.

For example, he tells his apostles not to meet violence with violence and he heals the ear of one of the soldiers.

Hanging on the cross in excruciating pain, he is able to whisper, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

And at the very moment of death, he can utter the words of trust: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

There’s no question that his strong inner communion with his Father first, frees him from overwhelming fear and anxiety.

Second, it frees him from feeling vengeful toward his persecutors.

And, third, it empowers him to speak with extraordinary conviction in horrific situations.

It is only such inner communion with the Father that can give him a peace and trust that no sword, no suffering, no injustice can kill.


Our Communion with God

One reason why this story of Jesus’ Passion is so magnetic is that we very much want this inner communion with God.

One day each of us will have to confront horrific hardship, undeserved injustice, or painful suffering. None of us will be exempt from this.

It may be the untimely death of a loved one or our own sickness, being judged harshly or evaluated unfairly, losing a job or not getting admitted to the school of our choice.

Such realities are almost part and parcel of the human condition.

In confronting these hardships, injustices, and sufferings, we will need that inner communion with God that we see in Jesus today.

The good news is that we can have it!

This communion can be achieved through some daily, steady form of prayer. We can experience it through faithfully reading Sacred Scripture and allowing it to shape our thinking.

We can experience this inner communion through the Eucharist – by not making excuses, but by Sunday after Sunday allowing the Lord come to us in the gift of Holy Communion.


Conclusion

There is no question each of us needs this inner communion with God. Will we have it when the need comes crashing into our lives?

This Holiest of Weeks is the time for such communion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil all evening at 7:30pm.

We can have it in the story of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Weekly MESSAGE for March 25, 2007: The Bookend Generations

March 25, 2007

Topic: The Bookend Generations

Dear Friend,

Last evening I was reading a report entitled “The Bookend Generations.” It is a study that shows important differences between youngest and oldest Catholics. While proclamations abound about the unchanging nature of religious truth, the study shows that the beliefs and practices of our Catholic people continue to evolve. Two studies focus on significant generational differences among our Catholic people. Younger Catholics are more individualistic, seem more tolerant of religious diversity, and are far less committed to the practices of their faith than are older Catholics. Based on these findings, researchers speculate that the future Catholic Church in the US may be a fraction of the size it is now.

The two studies compare college students with Catholics who were born before 1941, twenty years before the Second Vatican Council. The researchers claim that, while changes in religious expression between parents and children are often sharp, the differences are even more dramatic when comparing Catholics with 40 or more years between them. For example, for young Catholics, missing Mass is an option, not a sure sign of “going to Hell.” For the older Catholics, it was a grave sin, confession was expected before Communion, and bishops were unquestioned authorities. Vincent Bolduc, one of the researchers, said that 80% of the college students disagreed with the statement: “Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions.” “The college students take religious tolerance as a moral obligation and respect diversity of beliefs and behavior,” he claimed. Young Catholics seem steeped in a national culture that often regards the Catholic sexual prohibitions against premarital sex, artificial birth control, abortion, divorce, women priests and homosexual behavior as anachronistic.

The following are the percentages to questions to which respondents were asked to agree with or disagree:
1. How a person lives is more important than whether or not he/she is Catholic. (87% older Catholics; 85% Catholic students.)
2. Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions do. (61% to 19%.)
3. Being Catholic is a very important part of who I am. (92% to 59%.) (4) It is very important that future members of my family grow up Catholic. (78% to 59%)

The oldest group of Catholics shows the highest rate of Mass attendance at 60% with each successive generation having a lower percentage: that is, 40%, 30%, and 15% for the college students. The researchers say that the trend is troublesome for it moves the Church and sacraments of the youngest farther and farther from the center of their lives and it is unlikely that this will change as they age, since evidence does not suggest the contrary. And it is with the data the researchers have accumulated that they claim that the Church of 2050 may well be a fraction of its present size. These are critical data that need to be considered in our efforts to evangelize and draw our people to worshipping as Catholics.

These findings are borne out each year when a meet with our Confirmation Candidates, who are Sophomores in high school, for an evening of questions and answers.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 25, 2007: Say Yes to God, But Look Out!

This and That:
Say Yes to God, But Look Out!

For the past four weeks we have been looking at how what we believe can make a difference in the quality of our living. Personal belief is a powerful force. If we believe strongly in something, other’s opinions may not matter much and that belief about life or people or our jobs keeps us fired up, energized, and moving forward. Imagine what belief in Jesus could do for the way we treat others, seek reconciliation, or attend worship regularly?

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato


This week’s presentation was entitled “Say Yes to God – but Look Out!” While the objective of saying yes to God may be a noble one, an individual must “look before he leaps.” That is, we need to realize the full implications of what a “yes” to God or anyone else for that matter might imply. As with any big decision such as purchasing a house, buying a car, getting married, having a child, we need to consider the implications, effects, or consequences of our initial action and we need to know them before we perform the act in order to own both act and consequences. Science tells us that the frontal lobe of the brain is the last part of the brain to develop in children and it does so around the age of 19 or 20. It’s for this reason that parents’ favorite phrase to their teenage offspring is “What in God’s name were you thinking!” when they do certain things. They may not know that the frontal lobe is responsible for thinking through the implications of what we do and their children simply do not have the mental ability to do so.

Thus we need to be careful of what we pray for. Most of those items are for our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. So we pray for a team to win, for a positive financial impact, for someone to recover from a serious illness, for life, not death. But when we look at what we pray for we can see a hierarchy in our prayers, e.g. it’s nobler to pray for someone who is sick than to win a Lacrosse game. What then, is the most perfect form of prayer? Given this stream of logic, then, you might say the most perfect form of prayer would be that God’s will, whatever it is, be done in my life, as in, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The reasoning here is that God knows better what I need, than I might, a fact perhaps borne out in what we’ve prayed for and has come to pass only to make the situation worse than it was before.

Rather than looking at prayer as a means of securing “goodies” for ourselves or even for others, let’s look at prayer as a means of maintaining a relationship, as a way of being with a loved one. Who in your life do you rest with, savor relating to, or enjoy spending time with? Those bonds that tie you together emotionally are what prayer is to do in our relationship with God, tie us together. And as in a relationship, being one with the friend or spouse is about a common life that flowers in doing good for each other. In the best of relationships, the loved one often knows better what we need and is always there to provide it. You get the picture. The same is true of our relationship with God. God knows us better than we know ourselves; he loves us more than we love ourselves. Thus the most perfect form of bonding – or for that matter asking for something – is “Thy will be done!”

Without good models of relationships-with-God-bonded-in-prayer we only have our human analogies to rely upon. However, a great model to consider would be Mary of Nazareth, Mary the Mother of Jesus. What were her “secrets” to this deep communion with God? For starters she listened to the stirrings in her heart and responded with complete openness and love. While she may have been frightened or unclear about her call to become the mother of the Savior, she nevertheless allowed his life to be born within her and nurtured that life. Mary’s “yes” was a complete obedience to God’s will. She remained open to God, trusting of God, and with an openness and trust that were based on a prior relationship she had with him.

As a result of her stance with God, Mary became a woman “full of grace” in whom God’s grace was operative and out of that strengthening, she was able to challenge some basic beliefs of our society. So united was she with the Lord that she saw her place in God’s plan clearly. The Annunciation, the fruit of her bonding with God, not only reveals to the world that Jesus would be born, but it also reveals precisely who Jesus would be to our world.

As if Mary were not enough in her modeling, she goes beyond that to actually becoming the “Mother of the Church,” in the same way that a mother becomes the mother of another human being. How does this “birth” come about? Let’s look. The first thing she did after the Annunciation was to visit Elizabeth for whom she was a mentor and Elizabeth helps her understand her gift of complete faith in God’s will. They both recognize God working within them, Elizabeth carrying John the Baptist, and Mary, Jesus. Her dignity of “Mother of the Church” comes in her willingness and complete adherence to the Father’s will by participating in the redemptive work of Jesus and by listening to every prompting of the Holy Spirit. She is “Mother of the Church” because she cooperates by her obedience, faith, hope, and charity in the work of salvation and thus becomes the mother of us all. It is for this reason the Church rightly honors her.

Thus because of her “fiat,” her giving birth to Jesus, her relationship in raising him, her being the first to hear the Word of God and keep it, her relationship to our own mothers, and her own claim that “All generations will call me blessed,” Mary becomes important for us in two respects, as a model for our living and as “Mother of the Church.”

Next week will mark our final presentation in the six-week series and is entitled “A Fountain of youth for you.” As always, all are welcome, whether you signed up or not. Mass on Friday is at 6:30pm, supper at 7:00pm and the presentation at 7:30pm with activities for children of all ages, as well as a nursery.

Weekly HOMILY for March 25, 2007: False Gods

March 25, 2007 was “Deacon Preaching Weekend.” The following is the homily that was to be preached on Friday, March 16, 2007 but wasn’t because of the ice storm.

Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Year 1
Our Lady of Grace
March 16, 2007

False Gods
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


False God’s Today

Homilies and spiritual writing about false gods routinely point out that we don’t blow down before a golden calf these days.

Our false gods are pleasure, power, money, and – uh-uh – work, especially success and “getting ahead” as a result of our work.

Even secular sources warn about becoming trapped on the corporate ladder.

Working overtime or seeking a promotion can begin to feel like treason + betrayal of God, one’s family, and one’s true self.


Scripture and Evangelists

A line in Hosea this evening seems to express just that: “We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands.

You will find more than one televangelist proclaiming that God is itching to make you successful, prosperous, and even wealthy.

The only reason this hasn’t happened yet is that you do not fully believe it. Pump up your faith and soon you can buy that Hummer y ou’ve been eying. Is there any truth to that?

After all, Psalm 90 prays, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands”


Catholic Spirituality

Does this go up against the spirituality of the cross?

Is it Christian faith compromised and infected by the lure of the world?

As usual, the truth lies in the middle and centers on doing the will of God.

Mother Teresa herself once said, “If it’s God’s will that you live in a mansion, fine; just be very sure it’s God who put you there.”

We need to do what we are called to do, give it our best effort, continually take it to God in prayer for evaluation and discernment, and then accept the results.

If we find success, how can we use it to help others?

If we experience setbacks, are they signs that God wants us to switch gears or modify our goals?

Or does God want us to have faith and continue the course?


Conclusion

Only sincere, open-hearted prayer will lead us to the answer.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Weekly MESSAGE for March 18, 2007: Identity -- Who Are We?

March 18, 2007

Focus: Identity, Who Are We?

Dear Friend,

We’re halfway through Lent and these days continue to be a great time for reflection. You might spend some quiet time with the following thoughts that a friends shared with me last week in an email.

Identity is an elusive concept. We feel we must define ourselves using a relatively small selection of roles and conscious character traits, even if none accurately represents our notion of who we are. The confusion surrounding who we really are is further complicated by the fact that society regularly asks us to suppress so much of our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy. Yet we are, in truth, spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies, striving for enlightenment while living earthly lives. Our true self exists whether I acknowledge it or not. It is often buried under lots of fears and learned behaviors. When I recognize my power, my luminosity, I cannot help but live an authentic life of appreciation, fulfillment, and grace.

At birth and throughout our childhood, our thoughts and feelings were more than likely expressions of our true self. Though we may have learned quickly that to speak and act in a certain fashion would win others’ approval, we understood innately that we were no ordinary human being. There are many ways we can recapture the authenticity we once articulated so freely. Silent prayer, meditation, and reflection can liberate us from the bonds of those earthly customs that compel us to downplay our uniqueness. In order to realize our purpose, however, we must embrace our true self by letting our light shine forth.

Rediscovering who we are, apart from our roles and traits, does take time. It also takes courage. If, like many, we have denied our authenticity for a long while, we may find it difficult to separate our true identity from the identity we have created. Once we do find this authentic self, however, we will be overcome by a wonderful sense of wholeness as we reconcile our spiritual side and our physical side, as well as our inner and outer personas. As we gradually adjust to this developing unity, our role as a human being will reveal itself to us, and we will discover that we have a marvelous purpose to fulfill.

Enjoy the beauty of the warmer weather.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 18, 2007: Differences -- Do They Divide or Unite?

THIS AND THAT:
Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?

Our Lenten Family Friday presentations continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” The topic of Session 4 was “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”, and the focus was on the various roles of members of the Church. Unity with diversity is one of the great gifts of the Church.

From the beginning of the church, we have always believed that we are the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head. We have various roles, gifts and functions that serve a common mission: to actualize the Kingdom of God in this world.

We find this image in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 12:
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ… Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” (vv. 12 & 27) St. Paul also says in this letter that we need all of the parts of the Body of Christ and one part cannot say that it does not need any other part.

With this image from St. Paul in mind, we had table discussion on the following questions:

In the Body of Christ – the faith community – what part would you be?

• Eyes – seeing our mission in the needs of others?
• Ears – listening to God in prayer?
• Hands – reaching out in service?
• Feet – going out to others with the Word of God?

Our discussion led us to see that all roles in the Church are of equal value, they all flow from Baptism, and they all involve the investment of time, talent and treasure
This understanding was stated well in the vision of Vatican II: “There is a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in their own unique manner.” (see LG #32)

Differences in roles must not divide us from one another as followers of Christ. There is no difference in the value of the various roles. Differences are not meant to create division or levels of importance in the eyes of God. We are only the Body of Christ when all parts are functioning, and each person, function or role needs all the others.

Even when it comes to leadership in the Church, people with different roles may be calling us or leading us at different times. For example, the Chairperson of the Outreach Committee may be calling us to meet a need, and he or she speaks to ALL about that need. An Ecclesial Minister, such as the Youth Minister, may be serving a specific need, but they are asking for the support of ALL members. In the same way, the Pastor fulfills his role by proclaiming the Word and administering Sacraments to ALL members. We experience the Holy Spirit at work in the Church through multiple ministries: liturgical ministries, service ministries, managerial ministries, spiritual ministries and educational ministries.

We discussed at our tables how this model of the Body of Christ compares with the previous hierarchical model, in which the levels of importance were: 1. Clergy; 2. Vowed Religious; and 3. Laity.

Returning to the vision of Vatican II, we looked at one of the documents that came from that Council, The Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, which states: “The parish offers an outstanding example of community apostolate, for it gathers into a unity all the human diversity of the Church.” This decree outlines the role of the laity in the church as follows:

• Work in the parish in close union with their priests
• Bring before the ecclesial community their own problems, world problems and questions regarding our salvation
• Examine these issues together and solve them by general discussion
• According to their abilities: co-operate in all apostolic and missionary enterprises of church

This helped us to see the valuable that the laity have in the Church.

We then reflected on these two questions:
• As a lay person, what does my Baptism call me to:
– As a member of this faith community?
– As a person of faith with influence in the marketplace?

Our final large group discussion focused on the question: “How do I experience unity in the church, amid the different roles?”

The evening ended with a closing prayer:
Loving God, you keep together those you have united. Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.
We are all consecrated to you by our common baptism; make us one in the fullness of faith and keep us one in the fellowship of love.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Next Week’s Topic is: “SAY YES TO GOD -- BUT LOOK OUT!” Everyone is welcome to join us for an interesting evening!

Weekly HOMILY for March 18, 2007: A Love Stronger Than Sin

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 18, 2007

A Love Stronger Than Sin
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Dostoyevsky

In February 1881 – a little over 126 years ago – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the great Russian novelist, realized that he was near death. He called his children to his side and requested that their mother read to them the parable that we just heard.

With eyes closed, he listened, drank in the words, intent on the vision he saw in his mind as the story unfolded.

When the reading was completed, Dostoyevsky said in a feeble voice: “My children, never forget what you have just heard. Have absolute faith in God and never despair of his pardon. I love you dearly but my love is nothing compared with the love of God for those who are his creation.

Even if you should be so unhappy as to commit a crime in the course of your life, never despair of God. You are God’s children. Humble yourselves before God as before your father.

Implore God’s pardon and God will rejoice over your repentance as the father rejoiced over that of the prodigal son.”

In short, the vision that Dostoyevsky wished to leave with his children was one of a love that is stronger than sin.


Gospel

It is this very same vision that has been left us by Jesus, who through all his words and works stated profoundly and forever God’s love for sinners.

Yes, God’s love is a love stronger and more powerful than sin and for this reason we need not harbor fear as we limp homeward for forgiveness.

Rather, our steps should be lighter and faster because we are encouraged to trust in a love that is beyond all measure.

Our way is gladdened because we know that the One who is waiting for us to arrive will welcome us, not with reproach, but with rejoicing, because we have made our way back, through forgiveness, to life.

Again, we have a story of God’s love, a love for us that is stronger than sin.


First Reading

That Joshua and the Israelites knew this same joy and cherished the promise of a new start is illustrated in today’s first reading.

Having arrived at a land they believe God has given them, they celebrate it as an event through which they have become a people liberated from slavery and bonded to God in a covenant of love.

True, they have proven themselves unworthy and unfaithful partners in this relationship with God before, but they have also learned that God is eager to reconcile and reinstate those who sincerely repent and return to him for forgiveness.

It is this vision of a loving and forgiving God that enables them to continue to repent and return more times than can be counted.

Again, we see this “love stronger than any sin” lived out.


Application

If it is indeed a “love stronger than any sin,” then no matter how much I have wronged or been wronged by infidelity with a friend,

No matter how much my vision of my marriage has been clouded by my or my spouses’ offenses,

No matter how hardened my heart has become because of long-held grudges,

There is one reality that is stronger than every disappointment, bitterness or ingrained mistrust that ties me down; it is that God’s love for you and me is stronger!

And God’s love for me, as seen and tasted and touched, in his son Jesus, draws me into the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.


How to Do It

To claim this forgiveness and reconciliation, we need only return to the story of the Prodigal Son and do what the son did, namely, (1) Come to my senses, (2) Admit my need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in my heart.

Despite all the mistakes he had made, the son can be credited for having enough sense to realize that no matter how great was his sin, his father’s love was greater still.

With only that awareness, that vision, to urge him homeward, the son does what so many of us do when we come to the point where we want to reconnect with family members or friends we have injured.

He practices what is called a soliloquy, a putting into the right words a little script with which to approach his father.

Of course, when the meeting finally takes place there’s no need for the rehearsed speech for it is the father who runs out to embrace him interrupting the soliloquy.

From clenched arms and through tears, he reinstates the boy as his son and calls for a celebration of one who was lost and now is found, one who was dead but lives again.


Conclusion

When the original audience heard this parable, how did they react?

For some, the parable was cause for rejoicing in the love and forgiveness of God. For others, the parable may have been like salt on a wound or a probe into their pride and self-satisfaction.

How will you and I respond to a love that is stronger than any one or all of our sins?

This coming Tuesday we will have our Lenten Penance Service: a great time to (1) Come to our senses, (2) Admit our need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in our heart.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Weekly MESSAGE for March 11, 2007: Winning Neologisms from the Washington Post

March 11, 2007

Focus: Winning Neologisms from the Washington Post

Dear Friend,

Every year, The Washington Post publishes the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. I thought you might enjoy reading what they were.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

12. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

14. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 11, 2007: The Story of Dry Bones, Yours and Ours

This and That:
Session #3: “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours

Our topic for consideration this past Friday – “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours” – was part of the six-week series entitled: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.”

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato


The evening began with a consideration of death in the Prophet Ezekiel. For Ezekiel, as for the ancient Hebrews, the body without “ruah,” that is, without breath, air, or wind was considered dead. A living sort of “death” in people we know may be seen as lifelessness, sinfulness, or relationships that bring us down. And when, at times, we feel “dead” is it not because we are without breath – as in out of breath or exhausted? Is it not as if without air – as in the sense of breathing polluted air or thin air? Is it not as if we were without wind – as if the air was stifling, listless, or smothering?

The Followers of Jesus after his passion and death were feeling this same sort of “death.” They were disillusioned with Jesus. Their hopes for Jesus as the promised Messiah were dashed. There was conflict and division among them in their bickering. Add to this the fact that they were fearful of the Jews. Feeling dead for them was feeling adrift, without purpose or hope.

Though these very concrete forms of death surrounded them, they did experience a coming to life. It came in the gathering that we have come to call Pentecost. After that event, the followers of Jesus were transformed. The fear was gone; it have been transformed into a desire to get out there and proclaim good news to a weary world. All the boundaries, chains, inhibitions – call them what you will – were gone! The significance of Pentecost was that it fulfilled, in the disciples of Jesus, the passing over from death to life that had taken place in him. That is to say that in Pentecost the Passover was being fulfilled in the disciples. As if by magic, they are opened up to hear the Word of God. In that very event they came to know the Spirit because the Spirit that dwells in us is the very power of God. In that very event the Spirit helped them in their weakness

Through table sharing, participants that evening came to realize that it was Jesus who had promised to send the Holy Spirit who will lead us to all truth (John 14:26) and each of them shared times when they had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their own life. Those moments may have been moments of new hope (the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude), or as “fresh air” (the Spirit’s gift of understanding), or as a new perception (the Spirit’s gift of knowledge).

At this point all present played “Baltimore Catechism” and who could name the Seven-Fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit? (Don’t peek; the answers are on the last page of this bulletin.) If you got those correct, do you remember any of the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit? (Again, don’t peak, till you give the question a try.)

We believe that the Church possesses the fullness of Christ’s Spirit. In contrast to ourselves, who possess the Spirit at times, Christ was always filled with the Holy Spirit. And because the Church is his Body, the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church. “Just how is the power of the Spirit at work in the Church?” you may ask. After his Resurrection and Ascension, and after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Christ became present in the world by being manifested in the Church, which becomes the Sacrament of his presence. And through the Church-Presence-of-Christ, the Spirit does three important things: (1) It has the power to draw us. (2) It has the power to manifest Jesus Christ to us. (3) It has the power to bring us into communion.

This powerful presence of The- Church-Presence-of-Christ operates at several levels, namely, the Church as the Local Assembly at Parkton, the Church as the Local Church of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Church as the Universal Community of Believers. Thus this three-tiered reality of grace draws her life at all three levels from the Word and the Body of Christ and so becomes the living Body of Christ in our world.

Enough for the Church as the reality of presence of Christ! Where do the Sacraments fit in? The seven sacraments, as actions having both a “sacred” and “material” dimension, are powers that come forth from the “Body of Christ.” They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. Thus what the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, the Church. They are how God becomes manifest and operative.

A second round of table sharing centered on three items for sharing: (1) How we see the Holy Spirit acting in the Body of Believers today? (2) What experiences have most helped us understand the Church as a community, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit? and finally, (3) What charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit have we been given? How can we use these for the common good?

The topic for next week’s Session 4 is “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”


(Answers to questions from “This and That” above)

7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Wisdom
➢ Understanding
➢ Counsel
➢ Fortitude
➢ Knowledge
➢ Piety
➢ Fear of the Lord

12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Charity
➢ Joy
➢ Peace
➢ Patience
➢ Kindness
➢ Goodness
➢ Long Suffering
➢ Mildness
➢ Faith
➢ Modesty
➢ Continence
➢ Chastity

Weekly HOMILY for March 11, 2007: Reform Your Lives: A Lesson Taught Through Sculpture

3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 11, 2007

Reform Your Lives: A Lesson Taught Through Sculpture
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Bent Torso

This past summer I spent several days visiting with friends in Roanoke, Virginia and one of the mornings we went to a lecture at the local art museum.

The speaker was a sculptor named Betty Branch who was discussing the motivation and artistic urge that gave life to her art form. That is, what inside her gave life and vibrancy to her creation of art?

I would invite you to create in your mind a fascinating piece of sculpture entitled “Bent Torso.” It is the life-size bronze torso of a woman, bent back and to one side at the waist, the back, neck, and head are not portrayed, nor are the arms or legs. So it’s just a torso.

What you have then is a beautifully formed figure up to the shoulders where it ends in a rather jagged and irregular way.

Betty’s eyes gleam as she explains that the sculpture portrays the human in each one of us and does so in a very dynamic way. As human beings you and I are at one and the same time: whole and fragmented, complete and incomplete, at peace and in tension.

Her passion as an artist is to bring that message to others as they look at the work called “Bent Torso.”

There I sat in the museum thinking to myself, “This would make a great homily someday,” and here we are!


The Parable of the Fig Tree

The parable of the fig tree in today’s Gospel is Jesus’ great assurance that the God of mercy and compassion is in our very midst, that God’s love, which knows neither limit nor condition, is ours in every moment we live.

Like the merciful and generous gardener, God continues to see our worth and calls forth that goodness within each of us.

The fig tree is an invitation to hope in the unlimited love of our God. Thomas Merton once wrote: “We think our life is important to ourselves alone and do not know that our life is more important to the Living God than it is to our selves.”

No matter what the condition of our “Bent Torso” – that is, where we are in the continuum of fragmented-to-whole, incomplete-to-complete, or tension-to-peace – there is hope for us with God’s grace.

But it is important to know precisely what keeps us fragmented, incomplete or tense as a first step to the reform, which Jesus calls us to.

I’d like to suggest two areas to consider. The first is our attitude; the second is our particular weakness or sin.


Sinful Attitudes

There is such a thing as a sinful attitude – a way of looking at things that is a breeding ground for sinful choices and sinful actions.

These attitudes are acquired in places where we spend time; they are acquired – passed on to us like the flu – from people with whom we spend time.

So for example, we may acquire an attitude of racial or ethnic prejudice just from the people we call our friends or acquaintances, people who live and breathe an air of joking about others or making disparaging remarks.

Or we may acquire an irresponsible attitude toward sex outside of marriage because sexuality was never discussed at home or we’ve never learned how to be intimate without necessarily having sex.

Such attitudes create a climate within us of fragmentation, incompletion, and tension because they are so out of sync with our being created in God’s image.

I should quickly add that the sin in this area is not so much in the racial prejudice or our feelings about sex, but in our awareness of the roots of our difficulty and not being willing to re-form or re-shape that part of us.

We need to take responsibility to root out the weeds someone else may well have planted within us; that’s the call of Jesus for re-form today.


Sinful Acts

The second type of sinfulness that contributes to our fragmentation, incompletion, and tension is behavior, those actions voluntarily, that knowingly hurt or diminish ourselves and others.

So for example, one day I may decide to go full-throttle into profit-making where I make a buck at the expense of others or cheat on tax returns or on an exam in school.

Or perhaps I become so absorbed in my job or activities outside the family, as a way of escaping responsibilities as a parent or working on my marriage.

Just as attitudes hurt the human personality, so too can our voluntary actions. The sinfulness here is not so much changing an attitude, but looking at the behavior itself and choosing to sin no more.


Conclusion

How then does the piece of sculpture called “Bent Torso” help us in the reform of attitudes and behavior that Jesus calls us to today?

It assists us by dramatically showing us the good and bad, the whole and fragmented, the complete and incomplete, what’s at peace and what’s in tension within us all.

It also helps us not confuse the two, which is what we often do, pursuing the bad as if it were good.

Once the two are differentiated, what is good, whole, complete and peaceful in us motivates us, and what is bad, fragmented, incomplete and tension-filled becomes our goal for reform.

God speaks to us in so many ways; we give thanks for his voice in sculpture, as we respond to re-form this Lenten Season.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Weekly MESSAGE for March 4, 2007: Powerful Practices for Lent

March 4, 2007

Focus: “Powerful Practices for Lent”
Dear Friend,

In his homily to begin the Lenten Season, delivered in the Basilica of St. Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill, the Holy Father presented several useful instruments as the condition to live authentic community renewal. They are the three fundamental practices, also appreciated by the Jewish tradition, because they contribute to purify men and women before God. These external gestures, which should be done to please God and not to win the approval and praise of people, are pleasing to him if they express the heartfelt determination to serve him alone, with simplicity and generosity.

Fasting, to which the Church invites us during this time, is not born from motivations of a physical or aesthetic order, but springs from the need the individual feels for interior purification, to be detoxified from the contamination of sin and evil.

Benedict XVI said that fasting educates us in “those healthy self-denials that free the believer from his/her ‘I,’ and makes us more attentive and ready to listen to God and to serve our brothers and sisters…. For this reason, fasting and the Lenten practices of prayer and works of charity, in particular almsgiving, are considered by the Christian tradition spiritual ‘weapons’ to combat evil, evil passions, and vices,” the Pope said.

It’s never too late to begin these powerful practices.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 4, 2007: How Can I Deal with Suffering?

This and That:
How Can I Deal with Suffering?

Our Lenten Family Friday talks continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” This second session addressed the question of how we can deal with suffering, as followers of Jesus Christ.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato


We began by looking at the question: “What is our view of suffering?” Is suffering something to be avoided, resisted and rejected, or is suffering a normal part of life? Can suffering be both of these at different times?

Sometimes in our modern American society, we find the attitude that bad things should never happen to good people. Yet everyone experiences suffering in their life.

When do I accept suffering as a normal part of life, leading to something new, or better?
Examples included the pain of childbirth, the separation that parents of teens and young adults feel when their children move away, the loss of elderly parents, the letting go that is required when it’s time to leave a job or a home

We then looked at times when we experience suffering that is extraordinary, such as a car accident, a terminal illness, or the experience of being abused.

When you do experience suffering, whether it’s the ordinary suffering that comes in the course of life or an unexpected suffering, what has given meaning to your suffering? Was it believing that the present suffering was leading to new life? Was it the supportive presence of others? Was it your faith that God was with you? Any of these attitudes or beliefs involve TRUST in God and others.

If we believe in Jesus Christ, how does that influence our experience of suffering? Since Jesus became incarnate and lived our human life, we see that he is God with us, he enters into our human experience and takes our sufferings upon himself. Jesus relieves the suffering of others through his healing presence, and Jesus accepts his own suffering, for our sake.

The Paschal Mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News for those who believe. Our faith in Jesus assures us that by his death, he liberates us from sin and by his Resurrection, he opens the way for us to new life. From looking at Jesus, we learn a basic principle: that accepted suffering gives rise to new life.

If we reflect upon the purpose of Jesus’ life, we also find the purpose of our own lives as his disciples. Jesus lived his whole life in obedience to his Father’s love for us. In that obedience, Jesus endured the opposition of sinners. Ultimately, he was put to death because of sin – and thus triumphed over sin. Through Baptism, we are partners in the Paschal Mystery and we are called to live in obedience to God’s love, just as Jesus did. Part of this obedience is the call to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Taking up our cross means accepting our humanity and the humanity of others, with love and mercy.

Let’s not forget that the cross is only half of the Paschal Mystery. We must remember the Resurrection! We learn from the Paschal Mystery the balance between death and new life. Jesus’ death was not the end of the story, because love cannot be put to death. Jesus is present in a new way following his Resurrection and his Spirit guides the church to this day.

In the Letter to the Romans, we find an explanation of how we participate in the Paschal Mystery: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves and being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 6: 3-4, 10-11)

If we think of the Paschal Mystery as a template placed over our lives through our Baptism, then how do each of us answer these questions:

How do I experience my suffering or little deaths, in light of the cross of Christ?
➢ When have I experienced new life from an experience of dying?
➢ Do Christians face suffering and death differently than non-believers?
➢ These are good questions to reflect upon during this season of Lent.

Next Friday’s topic is “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours.” Please consider joining us and find out what this intriguing topic is all about!

Weekly HOMILY for March 4, 2007: Diastolic and Systolic Rhythms: The Secret to Life in the Spirit

2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 4, 2007

Diastolic and Systolic Rhythms: The Secret to Life in the Spirit
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


The Physical Diastolic and Systolic

I suppose we would all say that the most fascinating and vital part of our human body is the heart.

From Medieval Times, we learned that the heart operates in a two-fold movement called the diastolic and the systolic.

First, in the diastolic movement, the heart dilates and expands and the chambers fill up with blood.

Then, in the systolic process, the heart contracts, and blood is pumped and forced outwards, back into the body.

This in-and-out action is essential got getting oxygen, enriched blood to all parts of the body. It forms the heartbeat of human life.

When this two-fold movement fails us, we suffer heart attacks, arrhythmia, and other serious problems.


The Spiritual Diastolic and Systolic

As is often the case, the world of the spiritual parallels the world of the spiritual. This morning, I would suggest that this is one of those times.

This same two-fold movement – the diastolic and systolic, the drawing in and pumping out – this same process forms the heartbeat of our spiritual life and journey.


The Spiritual Diastolic

First, in our spiritual life – there is a time for drawing in, for filling up our inner resources.

There is a time for taking in the spiritual energy and personal power that is needed to survive.

We see this spiritual diastolic in today’s readings.

In the passage from Genesis, Abraham has an encounter with God. He experiences God as present and giving him a vision and hope.

Then, in the Gospel, Jesus has been busy traveling from place to place, teaching, healing and responding to the needs of others.

Worn down by his ministering, we are told that he withdraws and goes up a mountain where he prays, meditates, and enters into quiet time with his Father.

This, then, is his time for filling up his inner resources and taking in the spiritual energy and power that he needs.

We also, all of us, need this spiritual diastolic movement.

It is vital for each of us to draw back and draw into ourselves the spiritual life – the oxygenated blood of God’s peace, wisdom, and love.

One of the main ways that we do this is by coming to Mass and hearing the Word and receiving the Eucharist each week with other persons of faith.

We also do this by slowly reading and reflecting on a passage of Scripture or just being quiet and letting God come to us in what we think are our ordinary thoughts and feelings.

Or we can do this by slowly praying some favorite prayers, like the rosary or the Stations of the Cross.

This spiritual diastolic movement puts us in touch with God and in touch with ourselves at one and the same time.


The Spiritual Systolic

After this drawing in, there is also a need for the spiritual systolic movement. In other words, we need to go back into our ordinary life, back to the journey.

In the first reading today, after his experience with God, Abraham is sent forth on a journey that must have looked daunting and uncertain.

In the Gospel, Peter goes up on the mountain with Jesus. He enjoys the experience so much that he wants to continue it by pitching three tents – one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

However, he cannot do that and must join Jesus in coming down off the mountain and getting on with their work.

We all have a sense that we have got to get on with things. We simply can’t stay in church or quietly pray all day. There’s little choice regarding our many responsibilities so there’s no sense even thinking about pitching tents and staying in the diastolic.

But, for us, it is the diastolic that shapes our lives:
➢ It sends us back better able to cope with the stresses and tensions that are there.
➢ It sends us back better able to deal with hurts, upsets, and worries.
➢ And it sends us back even empowered to choose to do things for the Lord, perhaps to volunteer in our children’s schools or to participate in some outreach to the needy.

It is as if the spiritual diastolic movement pumps us into the spiritual systolic with renewed spiritual oxygen and energy.


Conclusion

To conclude: I believe this twofold action, the in and the out, the diastolic and the systolic, is a great way of understanding our own spiritual journey.

If we choose to live our lives with this rhythmic movement, the results will be there. We, little by little, will be transformed as Jesus was on the mountain today.

Step-by-step, degree-by-degree, the God present within us will emerge and be visible. We will become more alive and on the journey that leads to the fullness of life with God.