This and That:
The Whole Family of God Is Holy
While away on sabbatical, one of many heartfelt experiences of the Palestinian People came in our visit to a Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Agar and Emenia were parents of six children. They had fled from Iraq, hoping for a better life in the West Bank. It’s hard to know if things are really “better” for them. While they feel safer, life in the camps threatens their family with little or no food, cramped living conditions (8 in two rooms and a small kitchen), and no work to be found for either of them. Could we even imagine our family in a similar situation? Yet, with so little they invited us warmly into their humble home and offered us tea. Salir, their small son, graciously poured tea from a battered metal pot into six small glasses and served them as if he were serving royalty.
Speaking through an interpreter we asked them about their life in the camp. Their explanation only added to the dismay we felt over the living conditions we saw. We entertained the little children, taking their pictures and playing hide-and–seek. After an hour and a half we thanked them and left. What I will always remember is how Emenia bid us farewell saying, “Please come again and maybe next we make you chicken.” Our guide assured us that for them to “make us chicken” would be a very special occasion indeed.
Whether tight-knit, loosely woven, or downright poor, family is the safety net that draws unique and different human persons and holds them together in a unity, however, strong or tenuous. Whether wholesome or fractured, prosperous or poor, the ties that bind us bring tears to every family member’s eyes when one of their own is suffering. When one in the family achieves success, all celebrate it as if it were their own. When a newborn becomes part of the family, all feel a surge of new life; when one member dies, a little dying comes to all.
Today, in the company of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we celebrate our identity as family, as “The Joneses,” the O’Learys,” the “Rossettis,” “the Martinezes.” etc. In addition to our own nuclear family, our Judeo-Christian faith reminds us that we also belong to a global family that excludes no one. But this is a goal we must work for.
At this moment, untold numbers of our worldwide family that includes Agar and Emenia are struggling to survive circumstances that threaten their very existence. War and its consequences destroy thousands in the human family each day. Poverty, hunger and disease claim even more lives, leaving countless children orphaned and alone.
This hard reality is well known and many among us, individually and as a parish, acknowledge our suffering brothers and sisters with generous help, prayers and outreach. But there are other family members whose voices are not heard and whose claim on us is not acknowledged. Millions of people from developing countries are seeking to survive through emigration. Driven by hunger and weighed down by poverty, joblessness and political oppression, these refugees risk their lives to try to provide the basic necessities of life for their own families. Many do not survive the journey; others are turned away at unfriendly borders. Nevertheless, their need is so great, they keep coming and keep hoping that someone will recognize their humanity and welcome them.
In recent years not just America, but other wealthy nations with great resources and room at the table for those who want to work hard and live responsibly are closing their doors to immigrants. Fear of political and economic conflict, supposed threats of terrorism and ethnic shift have challenged even our historic identity as a “Nation of Immigrants.” In recent times, lacking a coherent immigration policy, we have focused on a deportation-only strategy to pursue the millions of undocumented people who are already in the country hoping to find a legal path to citizenship. We read of workplace raids that are dividing families, imprisoning and deporting workers who were first welcomed, but then exploited by employers. While the goals of a national immigration system are in large measure responsible for this, the means have become an assault on human dignity and fairness. Children watch as their parents are taken away in handcuffs to appear later in court in chains. With little help from the legal system, limited cautious support from the Church, and little sympathy from a public that, despite our own immigrant heritage believes the myths about immigrants circulated by hate media, these helpless members of our family have little or no recourse.
Yet at the same time, signs of momentous change are visible. We just witnessed a general election that was a historic struggle to determine who would lead our county and set national goals and policy. Each party made history in presenting either an African American for president or the first woman in history as Vice President.
Inclusivity is undisputedly becoming a reality that enriches the lives of many, but others as families continue to live in a nightmare of fear and insecurity. The dream must expand to every member of the family. Therefore, those of us who are free to celebrate the gift of family on this Feast of the Holy Family are compelled because our membership in the family of Jesus to work diligently and to speak out boldly until absolutely every member of our human family can share the same joys.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Friday, December 26, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 28, 2008: Becoming an Adult Believer Within a Family
Feast of the Holy Family
Our Lady of Grace
December 28, 2009
Becoming an Adult Believer Within a Family
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Two Friends
Two friends of mine, Bill and Doris, came to see me last week and among other things we talked about their pain over asking their 18-year old son finally to leave their home because of his beliefs and behavior.
That was six long years ago and they have not heard from him since. Talk about pain!
Being in their presence reminded me that being a family isn’t easy; remaining a family is even more difficult.
The Task of Parents
In our sharing, I mentioned that the task of parents in childhood is to offer their children a context, a space – limits within which to grow.
And having a First Grader grow into an Eighth Grader is akin to having a balloon slowly fill with helium and occupy the space between your hands.
Your child, your grandchild, needs that containment, if he/she is not to float off into the air.
In these early years, the child is called to grow in faith; parents are called to be (1) Models of faith and, very importantly, to be the (2) Tangible limits for that growth.
They set the parameters, if you will.
The Task of Son or Daughter
However, in the teenage years, the balloon, having filled the space, now wants to push beyond the space. The high school son or daughter wants to extend and expand the limits that were set in childhood.
The tasks for both parents and child have also been redefined. The child, while trying to be true to his or her own beliefs, is challenged to remain obedient to his parents.
The parents, while trying to maintain the context for faith and moral development, struggle at being patient and pray for guidance and the ability to accept their child as he/she is.
The Gospel
It is right here – in this type of family tension – that our gospel contains a special lesson for young people and for adults.
To young people, it says that there’s a time in life when we begin to experience the first movements out of childhood into adulthood.
We begin to think for ourselves and to ask questions about things that we’ve never thought about before.
From a religious point of view, it says that there is a time in life when we must make our own, the faith that we received from our parents and make it our own within our own limits.
There is a time when we must begin to make the transition from being a Christian child to being a Christian adult.
The Challenge
But this is a terrible critical time for both young people and their parents, as it was for my friends Bill and Doris, as it was for Joseph and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel that we just heard proclaimed.
The account describes Jesus’ transition form religious childhood to religious adulthood.
And what is more important to note is that he suggests that this transition was difficult not only for Jesus, but also for his parents.
It was trying, not because Jesus or his parents did anything wrong. It was trying because they were a human family.
In other words, Jesus was feeling the death of his childhood limits set by his parents, and the birth of his adulthood limits set by himself, as every human being does.
This should come as no surprise for Sacred Scripture tells us that he was like us in all things but sin.
And Mary and Joseph had to adjust to the death of Jesus the child and the birth of Jesus the adult – and that wasn’t easy.
The Final Paragraph
The final paragraph of today’s Gospel is especially helpful here.
It holds an important lesson for families to grasp on this Feast of the Holy Family, a lesson that can shed some light on the alienation and estrangement we may have felt in the past or perhaps still do.
It reads: “Jesus went with is parents back to Nazareth and was obedient to them; and Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.”
In other words, both Jesus and his parents are living out the transition of his own parental childhood limits to his own adulthood limits, and Mary and Joseph are struggling to do this in harmony with him and with understanding.
The struggle from Jesus’ side is obedience to their limits against what, in his heart, he knows he has to be doing as an adult, within his own limits.
On Mary and Joseph’s side, it means patience and praying for guidance in this critical period of their child’s life.
In the end, observe that it’s neither parent nor child who win or loose, for, while Jesus does return with them “in obedience” he does tell them very clearly, “Didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”
Conclusion
Sometimes the transition from a childhood to an adult faith is reasonably smooth. Most of the times it is terribly painful.
What the pain seems to be about is letting something of the-way-we-were-used-to-relating, die.
This is the lesson today’s Gospel offers us. This is the message of today’s Feast of the Holy Family.
Our Lady of Grace
December 28, 2009
Becoming an Adult Believer Within a Family
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Two Friends
Two friends of mine, Bill and Doris, came to see me last week and among other things we talked about their pain over asking their 18-year old son finally to leave their home because of his beliefs and behavior.
That was six long years ago and they have not heard from him since. Talk about pain!
Being in their presence reminded me that being a family isn’t easy; remaining a family is even more difficult.
The Task of Parents
In our sharing, I mentioned that the task of parents in childhood is to offer their children a context, a space – limits within which to grow.
And having a First Grader grow into an Eighth Grader is akin to having a balloon slowly fill with helium and occupy the space between your hands.
Your child, your grandchild, needs that containment, if he/she is not to float off into the air.
In these early years, the child is called to grow in faith; parents are called to be (1) Models of faith and, very importantly, to be the (2) Tangible limits for that growth.
They set the parameters, if you will.
The Task of Son or Daughter
However, in the teenage years, the balloon, having filled the space, now wants to push beyond the space. The high school son or daughter wants to extend and expand the limits that were set in childhood.
The tasks for both parents and child have also been redefined. The child, while trying to be true to his or her own beliefs, is challenged to remain obedient to his parents.
The parents, while trying to maintain the context for faith and moral development, struggle at being patient and pray for guidance and the ability to accept their child as he/she is.
The Gospel
It is right here – in this type of family tension – that our gospel contains a special lesson for young people and for adults.
To young people, it says that there’s a time in life when we begin to experience the first movements out of childhood into adulthood.
We begin to think for ourselves and to ask questions about things that we’ve never thought about before.
From a religious point of view, it says that there is a time in life when we must make our own, the faith that we received from our parents and make it our own within our own limits.
There is a time when we must begin to make the transition from being a Christian child to being a Christian adult.
The Challenge
But this is a terrible critical time for both young people and their parents, as it was for my friends Bill and Doris, as it was for Joseph and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel that we just heard proclaimed.
The account describes Jesus’ transition form religious childhood to religious adulthood.
And what is more important to note is that he suggests that this transition was difficult not only for Jesus, but also for his parents.
It was trying, not because Jesus or his parents did anything wrong. It was trying because they were a human family.
In other words, Jesus was feeling the death of his childhood limits set by his parents, and the birth of his adulthood limits set by himself, as every human being does.
This should come as no surprise for Sacred Scripture tells us that he was like us in all things but sin.
And Mary and Joseph had to adjust to the death of Jesus the child and the birth of Jesus the adult – and that wasn’t easy.
The Final Paragraph
The final paragraph of today’s Gospel is especially helpful here.
It holds an important lesson for families to grasp on this Feast of the Holy Family, a lesson that can shed some light on the alienation and estrangement we may have felt in the past or perhaps still do.
It reads: “Jesus went with is parents back to Nazareth and was obedient to them; and Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.”
In other words, both Jesus and his parents are living out the transition of his own parental childhood limits to his own adulthood limits, and Mary and Joseph are struggling to do this in harmony with him and with understanding.
The struggle from Jesus’ side is obedience to their limits against what, in his heart, he knows he has to be doing as an adult, within his own limits.
On Mary and Joseph’s side, it means patience and praying for guidance in this critical period of their child’s life.
In the end, observe that it’s neither parent nor child who win or loose, for, while Jesus does return with them “in obedience” he does tell them very clearly, “Didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”
Conclusion
Sometimes the transition from a childhood to an adult faith is reasonably smooth. Most of the times it is terribly painful.
What the pain seems to be about is letting something of the-way-we-were-used-to-relating, die.
This is the lesson today’s Gospel offers us. This is the message of today’s Feast of the Holy Family.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 25, 2008: Where Christmas Could Find Us
This and That:
Where Christmas Could Find Us
Merry Christmas to each of you from our Pastoral Team: Sr. Mary Therese, Elaine Hagner, Byrdie Ricketts, Deborah Webber, Chris Pignataro, Beth Pugliese, Erin Ingram, Jen Perry, Mary Miller, Joan DeSoto, Mary Kioussis, Chien Dang, Deacon Lee, and yours truly.
To those who are visiting with family and friends, to those whom we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing in a while, and to those who are with us a first time, a heartfelt welcome to our Catholic family on this glorious day. We are happy to have you worship with us as we celebrate Christ’s coming among us and begin the 9th Year of the Third Millennium of the Christian Era. In greeting you, we want to add quickly that you and your loved ones are always welcome here at Our Lady of Grace.
A constant theme we children heard from our mothers was that no matter how difficult times were, no matter what our living situation was, we were grateful to God for the little we did have. Thankfully, that point of view became part of our world view as children and continues in us as adults today. True, these are trying times economically and the financial situation has touched most if not all of us. Yet, it is a time to give thanks and to think of others who are in greater need.
IF you woke up this morning with more health than illness ...
THEN, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
IF you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...
THEN, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
IF you can attend a church service without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...
THEN, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
IF you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep …
THEN, you are richer than 75% of this world.
IF you have some money in the bank or in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ...
THEN, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
IF your parents are still alive and still married ...
THEN, you are a very rare family, even in the United States.
IF you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful ...
THEN, you are blessed because the majority can … but most do not.
IF you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even place a hand on their shoulder . . .
THEN, you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.
IF you can read this message, you have just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you,
AND BEYOND THAT, you are more blessed than the over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
… AND SO may we count our blessings and not only think of others, but reach out to them as well, as we celebrate an event that has Jesus coming to poor shepherds as well as wealthy Magi.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Where Christmas Could Find Us
Merry Christmas to each of you from our Pastoral Team: Sr. Mary Therese, Elaine Hagner, Byrdie Ricketts, Deborah Webber, Chris Pignataro, Beth Pugliese, Erin Ingram, Jen Perry, Mary Miller, Joan DeSoto, Mary Kioussis, Chien Dang, Deacon Lee, and yours truly.
To those who are visiting with family and friends, to those whom we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing in a while, and to those who are with us a first time, a heartfelt welcome to our Catholic family on this glorious day. We are happy to have you worship with us as we celebrate Christ’s coming among us and begin the 9th Year of the Third Millennium of the Christian Era. In greeting you, we want to add quickly that you and your loved ones are always welcome here at Our Lady of Grace.
A constant theme we children heard from our mothers was that no matter how difficult times were, no matter what our living situation was, we were grateful to God for the little we did have. Thankfully, that point of view became part of our world view as children and continues in us as adults today. True, these are trying times economically and the financial situation has touched most if not all of us. Yet, it is a time to give thanks and to think of others who are in greater need.
IF you woke up this morning with more health than illness ...
THEN, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
IF you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...
THEN, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
IF you can attend a church service without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...
THEN, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
IF you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep …
THEN, you are richer than 75% of this world.
IF you have some money in the bank or in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ...
THEN, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
IF your parents are still alive and still married ...
THEN, you are a very rare family, even in the United States.
IF you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful ...
THEN, you are blessed because the majority can … but most do not.
IF you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even place a hand on their shoulder . . .
THEN, you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.
IF you can read this message, you have just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you,
AND BEYOND THAT, you are more blessed than the over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
… AND SO may we count our blessings and not only think of others, but reach out to them as well, as we celebrate an event that has Jesus coming to poor shepherds as well as wealthy Magi.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for December 25, 2008: The Manger Comes Alive
Christmas, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
December 25, 2006
The Manger Comes Alive
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Manger
Ask, “Where do folks place their Nativity or Manger Scenes?” (Answers: under tree, on the mantle, on the hearth, on an end table or coffee table.)
Growing up we placed ours front-and-center under the Christmas tree with the gifts around both sides.
As a child I used to love to lie on my side in front of the manger and act out the parts, a bit like playing with soldiers.
My young boyhood view of the crèche was a more satisfying experience than even our annual Lionel train set-up in the spare bedroom. It seemed that my imagination really came alive when playing with these figures that had to do with God.
I’d pick up each of the figurines and think about the expressions on their faces and how they interacted with each other figurine.
I didn’t know it then, but these little statues each year began to express more and more the profound mystery and gift that the birth of the Son of God was for me.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Child Jesus
(Styrofoam box with all the figurines in it.) The figure of the newborn child Jesus was always in the center of the Nativity scene.
This child has come to symbolize the child that lies dormant within each of us.
My prayer for you this Christmas would be:
➢ That the newborn Jesus calls you to stand in wonder at the greatness of the universe and of creation.
➢ That the birth of the child leads you to reverence the life of every child from the very moment of conception.
➢ That the newborn Jesus leads you to reverence the sacredness of the life of every human being.
Mary and Joseph
And on each side of Jesus were Mary and Joseph looking lovingly over their infant son.
My prayer for you this Christmas would be:
➢ That the example of Joseph and Mary moves you, as a parent, to care tenderly for your children.
➢ That as a parent you understand that “what you say” and “how you say it” will have a direct effect on your child’s self-esteem and security.
➢ That as a parent you have the patience and wisdom to guide your children in the way of the child of Bethlehem
The Shepherds
A bit away from the sacred trio stood the shepherds who came out of their fields to see the Savior whom the angels have announced.
My prayer for you would be:
➢ That you come to the manger with the simplicity of the shepherds.
➢ That, like them, you realize that money and possessions are not the greatest gifts we can give and that it’s our presence to each other that makes the difference.
➢ That you remember, like the shepherds, you and I are spiritually poor and in need of the Savior.
The Magi
And then a little farther removed were those three famous fellows from the East – the Magi or Wise Men – who are seeking the child and bring wonderful gifts.
The gift of gold is the finest of metals.
➢ May you give the gold of yourself, caring for others, even when it may not be returned to you.
Frankincense creates a pleasing aroma when it is burned and rises up as smoke to the heavens.
➢ May you bring the frankincense of prayer to the manger as you lift up your voice to to pray for peace on earth and good will toward all.
Myrrh is used to prepare a body for burial.
➢ May you bring the myrrh of kindness to the sick, the suffering, the homeless, and the hungry.
The Star
And finally, what would a manger be without the star of Bethlehem shining brightly above it.
My prayer here would be:
➢ That the star that is Jesus, light your way on this earth as you struggle to love others.
➢ That he enlighten us with God’s Word and the God’s will.
➢ That the star of Jesus draw us more and more fully into communion with the Church, the Body of Jesus on earth.
Conclusion
Your manger set, or Nativity scene, has a great deal to tell you about how Christ’s coming can make a difference for your quality of life.
Take a few moments
➢ (3:30/5:30) with your children and have them explain what it is telling them)
➢ (10:00) when no one else is around, to see what it is telling you.)
Our Lady of Grace
December 25, 2006
The Manger Comes Alive
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Manger
Ask, “Where do folks place their Nativity or Manger Scenes?” (Answers: under tree, on the mantle, on the hearth, on an end table or coffee table.)
Growing up we placed ours front-and-center under the Christmas tree with the gifts around both sides.
As a child I used to love to lie on my side in front of the manger and act out the parts, a bit like playing with soldiers.
My young boyhood view of the crèche was a more satisfying experience than even our annual Lionel train set-up in the spare bedroom. It seemed that my imagination really came alive when playing with these figures that had to do with God.
I’d pick up each of the figurines and think about the expressions on their faces and how they interacted with each other figurine.
I didn’t know it then, but these little statues each year began to express more and more the profound mystery and gift that the birth of the Son of God was for me.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Child Jesus
(Styrofoam box with all the figurines in it.) The figure of the newborn child Jesus was always in the center of the Nativity scene.
This child has come to symbolize the child that lies dormant within each of us.
My prayer for you this Christmas would be:
➢ That the newborn Jesus calls you to stand in wonder at the greatness of the universe and of creation.
➢ That the birth of the child leads you to reverence the life of every child from the very moment of conception.
➢ That the newborn Jesus leads you to reverence the sacredness of the life of every human being.
Mary and Joseph
And on each side of Jesus were Mary and Joseph looking lovingly over their infant son.
My prayer for you this Christmas would be:
➢ That the example of Joseph and Mary moves you, as a parent, to care tenderly for your children.
➢ That as a parent you understand that “what you say” and “how you say it” will have a direct effect on your child’s self-esteem and security.
➢ That as a parent you have the patience and wisdom to guide your children in the way of the child of Bethlehem
The Shepherds
A bit away from the sacred trio stood the shepherds who came out of their fields to see the Savior whom the angels have announced.
My prayer for you would be:
➢ That you come to the manger with the simplicity of the shepherds.
➢ That, like them, you realize that money and possessions are not the greatest gifts we can give and that it’s our presence to each other that makes the difference.
➢ That you remember, like the shepherds, you and I are spiritually poor and in need of the Savior.
The Magi
And then a little farther removed were those three famous fellows from the East – the Magi or Wise Men – who are seeking the child and bring wonderful gifts.
The gift of gold is the finest of metals.
➢ May you give the gold of yourself, caring for others, even when it may not be returned to you.
Frankincense creates a pleasing aroma when it is burned and rises up as smoke to the heavens.
➢ May you bring the frankincense of prayer to the manger as you lift up your voice to to pray for peace on earth and good will toward all.
Myrrh is used to prepare a body for burial.
➢ May you bring the myrrh of kindness to the sick, the suffering, the homeless, and the hungry.
The Star
And finally, what would a manger be without the star of Bethlehem shining brightly above it.
My prayer here would be:
➢ That the star that is Jesus, light your way on this earth as you struggle to love others.
➢ That he enlighten us with God’s Word and the God’s will.
➢ That the star of Jesus draw us more and more fully into communion with the Church, the Body of Jesus on earth.
Conclusion
Your manger set, or Nativity scene, has a great deal to tell you about how Christ’s coming can make a difference for your quality of life.
Take a few moments
➢ (3:30/5:30) with your children and have them explain what it is telling them)
➢ (10:00) when no one else is around, to see what it is telling you.)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 21, 2008: Reflections on Bethlehem Today
This and That:
Reflections on Bethlehem Today
From my room at the Ecumenical Center for Theological Studies at Tantur (Tantur is Arabic for “hill”), you could see Bethlehem not more than 2,000 feet away. Bethlehem is in the “Occupied Territory,” also called the “West Bank” and separating “us” in Israel from “them” in the West Bank is a 30-foot high concrete wall with even higher lookout turrets and young Israeli soldiers with machine guns slung over their shoulders. The Wall is supposed to be called “the Separation Barrier” since for hundreds of miles it is not a wall, but a fence with barbed wire and 50 feet of forbidden entry alongside its length. It is there to protect Israel from terrorist attacks and suicide bombers. Israelis are not permitted entry into the West Bank, although foreigners are, but you have to show your passport to get in and out.
While the Wall seems to have reduced the number of attacks on Israelis, it was caused undue hardship for the Muslim and Christian Palestinians who live on the other side of it. To just pass through “the Checkpoint,” as it is called to get to a job, it will often take 2 hours of waiting. At other times, if there is what they call a “security alert,” the Checkpoint will be closed for an unspecified time. For some who work with their hands, the fingerprint reader that each Palestinian must pass through may not pick up the print worn down by manual labor and they are turned back. The Wall has separated families in the same town one from another, workers from their jobs, and made travel impossible for so many.
Inside the West Bank, also referred to as “Palestine,” Israel has set up three types of Areas. Keep in mind that Israel is technically “occupying” the West Bank. Areas designated as “A” are under Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Security. Areas designated as “B” are under Palestinian Authority, but with Israeli Security. Areas designated as “C” are under both Israeli Authority and Israeli Security.
Now the vast majority of the West Bank is Area C so, even within the West Bank itself, Palestinians are not free to move about without literally hundreds of lesser checkpoints as you move from one Area to another. To this Israeli presence, we also have the situation of “the settlements.” The settlers who live in these Israeli government built complexes are there either because they believe all the land belongs to the Jewish People or they have a Messianic hope that the Messiah will come in these parts, or finally that they just want a “good buy for the money.” This last category is by far the largest motivator. For example an Israeli Jew can get a newly government built home in a settlement for about $16,000 versus a home of the same quality in Jerusalem for $400,000. Settlers also get tax breaks, special roads built for them to get them from the settlement to employment centers like Tel Aviv, and special Israeli buses to get them through the Checkpoints. On my way home from an Israeli mall the day before I left, some 20 folks got off the bus at my stop and then boarded a special settlement bus to take them safely into the settlement where they live.
At Tantur all two-dozen workers (cooks, housekeepers, maintenance folks, and those in administration) are Muslim and Christian Palestinians. In my three months with them I came to appreciate their gentle ways, sense of hospitality, and warm friendship. They reminded me of my Italian forebears where food, family, and faith were the glue that held us together.
Our studies at Tantur were comprised mainly of three types of input. We had Jewish, Christian, and Muslim presenters for our two classes a day. The afternoons were free to visit local holy sites, museums, and attend lectures. And then there were half-day, full day and full week excursions with special guides to places like Galilee, the Negev, Jordan, and Sinai.
In terms of land area, all of Israel is the size of New Jersey. Living in Israel would be like taking a multitude of different ideologies, religions, political positions, languages (Hebrew, Arabic, and English), and cultures (there are at least a half-dozen different types of Jews in the land), taking them from “sea to shining sea” and squeezing them into New Jersey. Is it any wonder there is so much tension and conflict in this Holy Land and in these two cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem!
I came to Israel three months ago very much a pro-Israeli. After my life here I have come to realize that the situation is not that black and white. I returned home having come to see both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of many issues. Most people from both sides are advocating for a Two-State Solution: An Israel and a Palestine. Israelis need to feel secure; Palestinians need to be treated more humanely. One of our presenters, a Palestinian Christian, told us that when an oppressor has a victim on the ground with one of his boots on the victim’s throat, that both individuals need to be freed for both are in some way “oppressed.” As peace has come to Ireland, South Africa, and East and West Germany, as if by a miracle, my prayer is that a similar miracle take place in this Land I came to love.
Following a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Reverend Phillips Brooks of Philadelphia wrote the words to a very familiar Christmas carol. He was inspired by the view of Bethlehem to write:
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
I had the joy of sharing that same view of Bethlehem from behind a set of sliding glass doors before going to bed each night. My prayer is that “the hopes and fears of all the years” I saw expressed in Israelis and Palestinians will also one day, “meet in thee tonight.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Reflections on Bethlehem Today
From my room at the Ecumenical Center for Theological Studies at Tantur (Tantur is Arabic for “hill”), you could see Bethlehem not more than 2,000 feet away. Bethlehem is in the “Occupied Territory,” also called the “West Bank” and separating “us” in Israel from “them” in the West Bank is a 30-foot high concrete wall with even higher lookout turrets and young Israeli soldiers with machine guns slung over their shoulders. The Wall is supposed to be called “the Separation Barrier” since for hundreds of miles it is not a wall, but a fence with barbed wire and 50 feet of forbidden entry alongside its length. It is there to protect Israel from terrorist attacks and suicide bombers. Israelis are not permitted entry into the West Bank, although foreigners are, but you have to show your passport to get in and out.
While the Wall seems to have reduced the number of attacks on Israelis, it was caused undue hardship for the Muslim and Christian Palestinians who live on the other side of it. To just pass through “the Checkpoint,” as it is called to get to a job, it will often take 2 hours of waiting. At other times, if there is what they call a “security alert,” the Checkpoint will be closed for an unspecified time. For some who work with their hands, the fingerprint reader that each Palestinian must pass through may not pick up the print worn down by manual labor and they are turned back. The Wall has separated families in the same town one from another, workers from their jobs, and made travel impossible for so many.
Inside the West Bank, also referred to as “Palestine,” Israel has set up three types of Areas. Keep in mind that Israel is technically “occupying” the West Bank. Areas designated as “A” are under Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Security. Areas designated as “B” are under Palestinian Authority, but with Israeli Security. Areas designated as “C” are under both Israeli Authority and Israeli Security.
Now the vast majority of the West Bank is Area C so, even within the West Bank itself, Palestinians are not free to move about without literally hundreds of lesser checkpoints as you move from one Area to another. To this Israeli presence, we also have the situation of “the settlements.” The settlers who live in these Israeli government built complexes are there either because they believe all the land belongs to the Jewish People or they have a Messianic hope that the Messiah will come in these parts, or finally that they just want a “good buy for the money.” This last category is by far the largest motivator. For example an Israeli Jew can get a newly government built home in a settlement for about $16,000 versus a home of the same quality in Jerusalem for $400,000. Settlers also get tax breaks, special roads built for them to get them from the settlement to employment centers like Tel Aviv, and special Israeli buses to get them through the Checkpoints. On my way home from an Israeli mall the day before I left, some 20 folks got off the bus at my stop and then boarded a special settlement bus to take them safely into the settlement where they live.
At Tantur all two-dozen workers (cooks, housekeepers, maintenance folks, and those in administration) are Muslim and Christian Palestinians. In my three months with them I came to appreciate their gentle ways, sense of hospitality, and warm friendship. They reminded me of my Italian forebears where food, family, and faith were the glue that held us together.
Our studies at Tantur were comprised mainly of three types of input. We had Jewish, Christian, and Muslim presenters for our two classes a day. The afternoons were free to visit local holy sites, museums, and attend lectures. And then there were half-day, full day and full week excursions with special guides to places like Galilee, the Negev, Jordan, and Sinai.
In terms of land area, all of Israel is the size of New Jersey. Living in Israel would be like taking a multitude of different ideologies, religions, political positions, languages (Hebrew, Arabic, and English), and cultures (there are at least a half-dozen different types of Jews in the land), taking them from “sea to shining sea” and squeezing them into New Jersey. Is it any wonder there is so much tension and conflict in this Holy Land and in these two cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem!
I came to Israel three months ago very much a pro-Israeli. After my life here I have come to realize that the situation is not that black and white. I returned home having come to see both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of many issues. Most people from both sides are advocating for a Two-State Solution: An Israel and a Palestine. Israelis need to feel secure; Palestinians need to be treated more humanely. One of our presenters, a Palestinian Christian, told us that when an oppressor has a victim on the ground with one of his boots on the victim’s throat, that both individuals need to be freed for both are in some way “oppressed.” As peace has come to Ireland, South Africa, and East and West Germany, as if by a miracle, my prayer is that a similar miracle take place in this Land I came to love.
Following a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Reverend Phillips Brooks of Philadelphia wrote the words to a very familiar Christmas carol. He was inspired by the view of Bethlehem to write:
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
I had the joy of sharing that same view of Bethlehem from behind a set of sliding glass doors before going to bed each night. My prayer is that “the hopes and fears of all the years” I saw expressed in Israelis and Palestinians will also one day, “meet in thee tonight.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for December 21, 2008: Deacon Preaching Sunday
Deacon Lee Benson preached this Sunday. Father Nicholas will return for Christmas Day.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 14, 2008: Snapshots of Jesus and the Holy Land
This and That:
Snapshots of Jesus and the Holy Land
It has been a week since I have been home from studies in the Holy Land and this weekend I took the opportunity of inviting those attending weekend Masses to share some photos of the three months away. Just to spare you, I had reduced the 3,000 photos taken of the Holy Sites to a little more than 100!
The time away truly was “study” and every day, apart from days that we spent visiting Sacred Sites, was comprised of two classes in the morning and a reflection session each evening. The afternoons were free to visit a score of museums and the many places of interest in the Old City of Jerusalem, the New City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and scores of other places available by bus. So mornings, afternoons and evenings were full.
The slide show for the most captured the tours we did as a group. I broke the presentation up into five sections:
I. Home Sweet Home – which was the place I lived in community with 12 other folks for the time there. The group consisted of 5 Catholic priests, 1 Anglican priest, 5 Catholic Sisters, and 1 AME (African Methodist Episcopal) seminarian
II. The Holy Land Before Jesus
III. The Coming of Jesus
IV. The Ministry of Jesus
V. The “Not-So-Holy” Holy Land.
The outline served two purposes, first to organize my thoughts and second, to put all the places and sites I’d visited into a context that revolved around Jesus and the chief events of his life, namely his Birth, Ministry, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Where the Jews are focused almost exclusively on the Torah (the first five Books of Moses), we Christians are able to see in Jesus someone who took the Old Law of the Torah and transformed it into a New Law, a New Covenant that went beyond the Jews to the Gentiles and to us. Oh, happy day for us!
After sharing the “digs” I found myself in at Tantur, I began with Abraham’s leaving the Land of Ur (present-day Iraq) and coming to the Land of Canaan in the Negev Desert (Southern Israel.) It was in this very area that Abraham’s son, Isaac, and his son Jacob also lived. We actually drank water from Jacob’s Well. This well was where Jesus was to transform the Samaritan Woman when he asked her for a drink. The area of the Negev Desert here is called Beer Sheba.
It’s a big jump from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to the Jews being lead by Moses through the Sinai Desert to the Jordan River, but the jump was made in the slides. God told Moses he would not take his People into the Promised Land, and the torch was passed to Joshua with Moses dying on Mt. Nebo. Franciscan Fathers now are custodians of the site. It’s quite a view of the entire Holy Land!
The Jews are now in Canaan where they learn to make olive oil for use in temple worship, cooking, and the lighting of lamps. We saw the actual presses they used. With wells like Jacob’s Well and development of the six sacred crops, the Jews were able, in the midst of a barren wasteland, to make “the desert bloom” and bloom it does!
We fast-forwarded on the photo tour to the places that King David and King Solomon inhabited and saw Mount Zion and the City of David and the very place that David is buried. Then I shared the secret of how Jerusalem, on the edge of the Judean Wilderness, was able to survive its enemies. The secret had to do with something called “Hezekiah’s Tunnel.” We actually descended into the tunnel and saw the Gihon Spring that gave the City its water.
And then we moved to the world preparing to receive a Savior in “the fullness of time.” We saw photos of the place Mary visited Elizabeth, where she drew water for her cousin, and where John the Baptist is buried. From there we set off to Shepherds’ Field outside of Bethlehem and saw where the Shepherds heard the greeting, “Behold I bring you good news of great joy…” There was a series of photos from Nazareth Village, a reproduction of the world into which Jesus was born. You met a local farmer tending his donkey, a shepherd acting as a “sheepgate” for his sheep, a carpenter at work in his shop, and a homemaker spinning thread to be woven into clothing and blankets.
The Basilica of the Annunciation is the beautiful church in Nazareth that is built over the home of Mary where the Angel Gabriel appeared to tell her she was to bear the Christ Child. The photos of her home are extraordinary. From Nazareth you have to travel several hours south to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. There were photos that marked the sight of his birth in the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square. Back to Nazareth we went, for photos of the synagogue where Jesus prayed each week on the Sabbath.
And now Jesus, the man, begins his ministry. The first stop was the Jordan River. One of our group was actually baptized at the place. Jesus after his own baptism goes into the Judean Desert to be tempted by the Devil. You joined me for our experience of that same Desert. What a lonely, yet lovely place to be alone and with God! Out of the desert Jesus performs his first miracle in Cana of Galilee. We saw the Wedding Church that marks the spot of that most famous of weddings. From Cana, Jesus moves on to Capharnaum and the Sea of Galilee where he will center his ministry. There we saw Peter’s House – where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law – and the ruins of the synagogue of Capharnaum.
Clustered around the See of Galilee are many of the places describing Jesus’ ministry. The Church of the Beatitudes just off the Sea is spectacular. It was on this very ground that the Lord preached and fed his disciples so long ago. For lunch at the shore we ate St. Peter’s fish caught that day in the Sea. Pass the tartar sauce! And then there was the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves where Jesus fed 5,000 from two loaves and three fish. The final site at this part of the Sea was the Church of Peter’s Primacy where he gave Peter the Keys and the power to be first among equals. That day ended with photos of the boat trip on the Sea where we even cast nets as the Apostles did. Like them we initially caught nothing. We saw an actual boat that was very much like one the Disciples would have used. For 2,000 years it lay in the mud beneath the Sea. Caesarea Philippi and the Temple of the pagan god Pan was where Jesus told Peter that he was to be the “rock.” There was one more site in Galilee that touched Jesus’ life. On Mount Tabor is the Church of the Transfiguration. It’s the highest point in Galilee and is where Jesus took Peter, James and John and was transfigured before them.
After the Transfiguration, Jesus left Galilee and made his way “up” (it’s really south) to Jerusalem to suffer, die, rise, and ascend to the Father. On his way up to Jerusalem Jesus passed through Samaria (the present day West Bank) and we saw photos of actual Samaritans living on Mt. Gerizim. Just outside of Jerusalem, the photo of the Pater Noster Church on the Mount of Olives is where he taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer and of course there also is the Garden of Gethsamane. We saw olive trees that are over 1,000 years old and show clearly the surroundings in which Jesus found himself on that fearful night. Before entering Jerusalem the final time, Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church commemorating that is even called “Dominus Flevit,” Latin for “the Lord wept.” The church itself is in the form of a teardrop. The Franciscan Church of All Nations nearby commemorates where Jesus experienced his “Agony in the Garden.”
A stone’s throw from Mt. of Olives is Bethpage. The town should have an ominous ring to it. It’s where Jesus began his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in order to celebrate the Passover Meal. He would have used the Golden Gate of the City, but it was sealed “not to be opened until the coming of the Messiah,” say the Jews.
In photos we wandered down the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Jerusalem to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. This place is held as most sacred to Orthodox Jews and it’s where I prayed for the people of Our Lady of Grace several times. On the southern end of the Temple Mount are the “Southern Steps” of the Temple. We saw the very steps Jesus would have walked up the three times he visited the Temple. In the vicinity of the Temple was the Church of the Last Supper with a sculpture behind the altar portraying Jesus eating with the Apostles.
Things moved quickly that night for Jesus. The Anatonia Fortress was where he was brought after being arrested and there he condemned. We saw photos of the very pavement where that happened. This site became the “1st Station of the Cross” and the Via Dolorosa throughout the Old City traces his steps to Golgotha and you can see them all. The last of the Stations are actually inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we celebrated Mass, a very moving experience! On the main floor of the Holy Sepulcher is the very tomb of Jesus.
Jesus has now died and risen from the dead and he appears to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Yes we had photos of the site as well. The site of Jesus’ Ascension on the Mount of Olives is actually a site owned by the Muslims. Remember they hold Jesus to be a prophet, though not the Son of God so it is a holy site for them as well as for us.
The slide show ended with my idea of how the Holy Land might be referred to as, “The Not-So-Holy Holy Land” and shared photos of the Wall, the Settlements, and the Refugee Camps, as well as the sources of hope for both Israelis and Palestinians for peace.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Snapshots of Jesus and the Holy Land
It has been a week since I have been home from studies in the Holy Land and this weekend I took the opportunity of inviting those attending weekend Masses to share some photos of the three months away. Just to spare you, I had reduced the 3,000 photos taken of the Holy Sites to a little more than 100!
The time away truly was “study” and every day, apart from days that we spent visiting Sacred Sites, was comprised of two classes in the morning and a reflection session each evening. The afternoons were free to visit a score of museums and the many places of interest in the Old City of Jerusalem, the New City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and scores of other places available by bus. So mornings, afternoons and evenings were full.
The slide show for the most captured the tours we did as a group. I broke the presentation up into five sections:
I. Home Sweet Home – which was the place I lived in community with 12 other folks for the time there. The group consisted of 5 Catholic priests, 1 Anglican priest, 5 Catholic Sisters, and 1 AME (African Methodist Episcopal) seminarian
II. The Holy Land Before Jesus
III. The Coming of Jesus
IV. The Ministry of Jesus
V. The “Not-So-Holy” Holy Land.
The outline served two purposes, first to organize my thoughts and second, to put all the places and sites I’d visited into a context that revolved around Jesus and the chief events of his life, namely his Birth, Ministry, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Where the Jews are focused almost exclusively on the Torah (the first five Books of Moses), we Christians are able to see in Jesus someone who took the Old Law of the Torah and transformed it into a New Law, a New Covenant that went beyond the Jews to the Gentiles and to us. Oh, happy day for us!
After sharing the “digs” I found myself in at Tantur, I began with Abraham’s leaving the Land of Ur (present-day Iraq) and coming to the Land of Canaan in the Negev Desert (Southern Israel.) It was in this very area that Abraham’s son, Isaac, and his son Jacob also lived. We actually drank water from Jacob’s Well. This well was where Jesus was to transform the Samaritan Woman when he asked her for a drink. The area of the Negev Desert here is called Beer Sheba.
It’s a big jump from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to the Jews being lead by Moses through the Sinai Desert to the Jordan River, but the jump was made in the slides. God told Moses he would not take his People into the Promised Land, and the torch was passed to Joshua with Moses dying on Mt. Nebo. Franciscan Fathers now are custodians of the site. It’s quite a view of the entire Holy Land!
The Jews are now in Canaan where they learn to make olive oil for use in temple worship, cooking, and the lighting of lamps. We saw the actual presses they used. With wells like Jacob’s Well and development of the six sacred crops, the Jews were able, in the midst of a barren wasteland, to make “the desert bloom” and bloom it does!
We fast-forwarded on the photo tour to the places that King David and King Solomon inhabited and saw Mount Zion and the City of David and the very place that David is buried. Then I shared the secret of how Jerusalem, on the edge of the Judean Wilderness, was able to survive its enemies. The secret had to do with something called “Hezekiah’s Tunnel.” We actually descended into the tunnel and saw the Gihon Spring that gave the City its water.
And then we moved to the world preparing to receive a Savior in “the fullness of time.” We saw photos of the place Mary visited Elizabeth, where she drew water for her cousin, and where John the Baptist is buried. From there we set off to Shepherds’ Field outside of Bethlehem and saw where the Shepherds heard the greeting, “Behold I bring you good news of great joy…” There was a series of photos from Nazareth Village, a reproduction of the world into which Jesus was born. You met a local farmer tending his donkey, a shepherd acting as a “sheepgate” for his sheep, a carpenter at work in his shop, and a homemaker spinning thread to be woven into clothing and blankets.
The Basilica of the Annunciation is the beautiful church in Nazareth that is built over the home of Mary where the Angel Gabriel appeared to tell her she was to bear the Christ Child. The photos of her home are extraordinary. From Nazareth you have to travel several hours south to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. There were photos that marked the sight of his birth in the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square. Back to Nazareth we went, for photos of the synagogue where Jesus prayed each week on the Sabbath.
And now Jesus, the man, begins his ministry. The first stop was the Jordan River. One of our group was actually baptized at the place. Jesus after his own baptism goes into the Judean Desert to be tempted by the Devil. You joined me for our experience of that same Desert. What a lonely, yet lovely place to be alone and with God! Out of the desert Jesus performs his first miracle in Cana of Galilee. We saw the Wedding Church that marks the spot of that most famous of weddings. From Cana, Jesus moves on to Capharnaum and the Sea of Galilee where he will center his ministry. There we saw Peter’s House – where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law – and the ruins of the synagogue of Capharnaum.
Clustered around the See of Galilee are many of the places describing Jesus’ ministry. The Church of the Beatitudes just off the Sea is spectacular. It was on this very ground that the Lord preached and fed his disciples so long ago. For lunch at the shore we ate St. Peter’s fish caught that day in the Sea. Pass the tartar sauce! And then there was the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves where Jesus fed 5,000 from two loaves and three fish. The final site at this part of the Sea was the Church of Peter’s Primacy where he gave Peter the Keys and the power to be first among equals. That day ended with photos of the boat trip on the Sea where we even cast nets as the Apostles did. Like them we initially caught nothing. We saw an actual boat that was very much like one the Disciples would have used. For 2,000 years it lay in the mud beneath the Sea. Caesarea Philippi and the Temple of the pagan god Pan was where Jesus told Peter that he was to be the “rock.” There was one more site in Galilee that touched Jesus’ life. On Mount Tabor is the Church of the Transfiguration. It’s the highest point in Galilee and is where Jesus took Peter, James and John and was transfigured before them.
After the Transfiguration, Jesus left Galilee and made his way “up” (it’s really south) to Jerusalem to suffer, die, rise, and ascend to the Father. On his way up to Jerusalem Jesus passed through Samaria (the present day West Bank) and we saw photos of actual Samaritans living on Mt. Gerizim. Just outside of Jerusalem, the photo of the Pater Noster Church on the Mount of Olives is where he taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer and of course there also is the Garden of Gethsamane. We saw olive trees that are over 1,000 years old and show clearly the surroundings in which Jesus found himself on that fearful night. Before entering Jerusalem the final time, Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church commemorating that is even called “Dominus Flevit,” Latin for “the Lord wept.” The church itself is in the form of a teardrop. The Franciscan Church of All Nations nearby commemorates where Jesus experienced his “Agony in the Garden.”
A stone’s throw from Mt. of Olives is Bethpage. The town should have an ominous ring to it. It’s where Jesus began his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in order to celebrate the Passover Meal. He would have used the Golden Gate of the City, but it was sealed “not to be opened until the coming of the Messiah,” say the Jews.
In photos we wandered down the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Jerusalem to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. This place is held as most sacred to Orthodox Jews and it’s where I prayed for the people of Our Lady of Grace several times. On the southern end of the Temple Mount are the “Southern Steps” of the Temple. We saw the very steps Jesus would have walked up the three times he visited the Temple. In the vicinity of the Temple was the Church of the Last Supper with a sculpture behind the altar portraying Jesus eating with the Apostles.
Things moved quickly that night for Jesus. The Anatonia Fortress was where he was brought after being arrested and there he condemned. We saw photos of the very pavement where that happened. This site became the “1st Station of the Cross” and the Via Dolorosa throughout the Old City traces his steps to Golgotha and you can see them all. The last of the Stations are actually inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we celebrated Mass, a very moving experience! On the main floor of the Holy Sepulcher is the very tomb of Jesus.
Jesus has now died and risen from the dead and he appears to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Yes we had photos of the site as well. The site of Jesus’ Ascension on the Mount of Olives is actually a site owned by the Muslims. Remember they hold Jesus to be a prophet, though not the Son of God so it is a holy site for them as well as for us.
The slide show ended with my idea of how the Holy Land might be referred to as, “The Not-So-Holy Holy Land” and shared photos of the Wall, the Settlements, and the Refugee Camps, as well as the sources of hope for both Israelis and Palestinians for peace.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for December 14,2000: Need for a Savior
3rd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
December 14, 2008
Need for a Savior
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
I think you would agree that the most familiar of all our Advent hymns is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
Every Advent we sing this beautiful hymn that dates all the way back to the year 800. We sing words and verses like these.
“Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight. To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.”
And again, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel.” All of these expressions are so rich in what they convey about God and us.
A Savior? Is So, from What?
At its heart, this hymn is about the need of a savior.
It is the Advent hymn because this season is about a savior and salvation. But, I think we must ask an important question.
Do you and I, as people who tend to be rather independent and self-sufficient, do we right now honestly believe we need to be saved? (1) Do we really believe we need a savior?
(2) And from what do we think we need to be saved?
These are important questions of faith for us especially during this Advent Season.
A Lutheran theologian named Paul Tillich has what I think is a great insight into why we need a savior and what we need to be saved from.
Tillich says that we human beings today, twenty centuries after the birth of Jesus, still need a savior because we labor under three fundamental anxieties.
We are anxious (1) About death, (2) About meaning, and (3) About guilt.
From Anxiety about Death
First, we have a fundamental anxiety about death.
Each of us knows that eventually we will die and we don’t like thinking about death. A friend dies we think, “Me too some day.” A parent died we think, “My generation is next in line.”
We start showing some gray, and we aren’t too pleased.
We may find ourselves getting tired quicker or having less energy or motivation to do things, and we avoid admitting it.
We do not like to face up to these realities because they remind us, if only subconsciously, of our own death one day.
From Anxiety about Meaning
And then we have a fundamental anxiety about meaning – about the meaning of life.
This anxiety may show itself in our drive for affirmation or our need to be right.
It may show itself in our questioning what is underneath our routines of household chores and work and everything else.
We may worry that we are missing something in life.
We may even have a deep, gnawing feeling that our basic life choices have left us incomplete and that there must be more to life.
From Anxiety about Guilt
And finally, as if that were not enough anxiety to handle, we have a fundamental anxiety about guilt.
We sense that there is evil in the world and even some bad streaks of evil in ourselves. We sense that we have something to do with the lack of goodness.
We know that sometimes we do wrong when our emotions are running hot in spite of all our good intentions.
And no matter how hard we try, we may do better, but we are never completely good.
Salvation from These Anxieties
What I would suggest is that given this human condition, perhaps Advent can be the best time of the year for us.
For Advent invites us:
(1) To link a physical pain to our anxiety over death, or
(2) To link a nagging worry to our anxiety over meaning, or
(3) To link an uneasy conscience to our anxiety over guilt.
When we allow Advent to lead us to these anxieties, we may indeed discover our need for a savior.
We need a savior to transform death to resurrection, and so we sing: “Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight.”
We need a savior to give fundamental meaning to our lives, and so we sing: “To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.”
And we need a savior to love and forgive us when we are caught in guilt, and so we sing: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel.”
Conclusion
This is both the proclamation and the invitation of Advent: to be in touch with our need of a Savior, and to find this need fulfilled in Jesus!
Our Lady of Grace
December 14, 2008
Need for a Savior
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
I think you would agree that the most familiar of all our Advent hymns is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
Every Advent we sing this beautiful hymn that dates all the way back to the year 800. We sing words and verses like these.
“Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight. To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.”
And again, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel.” All of these expressions are so rich in what they convey about God and us.
A Savior? Is So, from What?
At its heart, this hymn is about the need of a savior.
It is the Advent hymn because this season is about a savior and salvation. But, I think we must ask an important question.
Do you and I, as people who tend to be rather independent and self-sufficient, do we right now honestly believe we need to be saved? (1) Do we really believe we need a savior?
(2) And from what do we think we need to be saved?
These are important questions of faith for us especially during this Advent Season.
A Lutheran theologian named Paul Tillich has what I think is a great insight into why we need a savior and what we need to be saved from.
Tillich says that we human beings today, twenty centuries after the birth of Jesus, still need a savior because we labor under three fundamental anxieties.
We are anxious (1) About death, (2) About meaning, and (3) About guilt.
From Anxiety about Death
First, we have a fundamental anxiety about death.
Each of us knows that eventually we will die and we don’t like thinking about death. A friend dies we think, “Me too some day.” A parent died we think, “My generation is next in line.”
We start showing some gray, and we aren’t too pleased.
We may find ourselves getting tired quicker or having less energy or motivation to do things, and we avoid admitting it.
We do not like to face up to these realities because they remind us, if only subconsciously, of our own death one day.
From Anxiety about Meaning
And then we have a fundamental anxiety about meaning – about the meaning of life.
This anxiety may show itself in our drive for affirmation or our need to be right.
It may show itself in our questioning what is underneath our routines of household chores and work and everything else.
We may worry that we are missing something in life.
We may even have a deep, gnawing feeling that our basic life choices have left us incomplete and that there must be more to life.
From Anxiety about Guilt
And finally, as if that were not enough anxiety to handle, we have a fundamental anxiety about guilt.
We sense that there is evil in the world and even some bad streaks of evil in ourselves. We sense that we have something to do with the lack of goodness.
We know that sometimes we do wrong when our emotions are running hot in spite of all our good intentions.
And no matter how hard we try, we may do better, but we are never completely good.
Salvation from These Anxieties
What I would suggest is that given this human condition, perhaps Advent can be the best time of the year for us.
For Advent invites us:
(1) To link a physical pain to our anxiety over death, or
(2) To link a nagging worry to our anxiety over meaning, or
(3) To link an uneasy conscience to our anxiety over guilt.
When we allow Advent to lead us to these anxieties, we may indeed discover our need for a savior.
We need a savior to transform death to resurrection, and so we sing: “Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight.”
We need a savior to give fundamental meaning to our lives, and so we sing: “To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.”
And we need a savior to love and forgive us when we are caught in guilt, and so we sing: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel.”
Conclusion
This is both the proclamation and the invitation of Advent: to be in touch with our need of a Savior, and to find this need fulfilled in Jesus!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for December 7, 2008: Operating Systems and the Present and Future “Comings” of the Lord
2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
December 7, 2008
Operating Systems and the Present and Future “Comings” of the Lord
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Cleaning the Hard Drive
A man named Jack Sacco tells a story about his computer.
Sacco says that he once bought a state-of-the-art computer. Over the years, he installed a number of different operating systems.
One day, after Sacco had just installed the latest and greatest operating system, his computer crashed. He couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.
Sacco took the computer to an expert and explained what he had been doing. The technician asked if he had deleted the former operating systems from the hard drive before installing the new one.
Sacco said, “No, I’ve just been installing new ones on top of the old ones.” The technician replied, “That’s the problem.”
“Your computer has so many confusing instructions telling it how to operate that it doesn’t know what to do. So it shut down.”
The technician then deleted all former operating systems from the hard drive and re-installed the latest one. The computer worked like a charm.
The Coming(s) of the Lord
That story helps us to appreciate what we are to do in this Season of Advent.
Our English word “Advent” is from the Latin word that means “coming.” There are three comings of the Lord that form the heart of this Season, Advent.
First, we believe that the Lord has already come to us in the birth of Jesus. We will celebrate this past coming on December 25th.
Second, we also believe that the Lord comes to us in the present. He comes to us here in the liturgy in the Word and in a few minutes in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
And third, we also believe that the Lord will come again. This will happen at an unknown moment in the future.
Saint Peter in today’s second reading says that. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” So Advent invites us to get ready for this future coming and this is where the image of cleaning out the hard drive comes in.
We need to clean out our spiritual hard drives, if you will. This is what John the Baptist means in today’s Gospel by his Baptism of Repentance.
It is what Isaiah means in the first reading with his images of filling in the valleys and leveling the mountains. The idea is that we need to allow the Lord to come to us more fully in the present moment, right now.
And in doing that, we are also preparing for his coming at that unknown, future moment.
We need to clean out the old operating systems and allow the new operating system, God’s ways, to work within us.
Our Preparation
For example, maybe we, especially we in America, need to clean out the operating mindset that says, “I am what I have.”
So often we are tempted to identify ourselves by the size of our home or the make of our car or the amount of our savings, thus fulfilling my self-identity in the belief, “I am what I have.”
We need to clean out this mindset and allow space for the new mindset of “being more” instead of “having more.” Jesus would say: “It is more important for you to be more than to have more?”
Perhaps we can take this as a positive message from all of today’s negative financial news. If there is a bright spot in all of this negative financial news most of us find ourselves in, it may be that it takes us back to this message.
So, being or becoming more grounded in God’s Word, more reflective, more understanding, more affirming, more willing to listening, more other-centered – this is our real task of life.
I am suggesting that Advent invites us to this very fundamental task of being more instead of having more.
Conclusion
To go back to where we began, we need to clean out the old operating systems and allow the new operating system, which is Jesus Christ’s modeling and his way of loving, to operate within us.
This is the task of Advent. This allows the Lord to come to us more fully into the present.
But, perhaps, equally as important, it prepares us for the Lord’s coming at that unknown future moment, and it enables us to celebrate on Christmas day the real meaning of the Lord’s coming in the past.
Our Lady of Grace
December 7, 2008
Operating Systems and the Present and Future “Comings” of the Lord
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Cleaning the Hard Drive
A man named Jack Sacco tells a story about his computer.
Sacco says that he once bought a state-of-the-art computer. Over the years, he installed a number of different operating systems.
One day, after Sacco had just installed the latest and greatest operating system, his computer crashed. He couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.
Sacco took the computer to an expert and explained what he had been doing. The technician asked if he had deleted the former operating systems from the hard drive before installing the new one.
Sacco said, “No, I’ve just been installing new ones on top of the old ones.” The technician replied, “That’s the problem.”
“Your computer has so many confusing instructions telling it how to operate that it doesn’t know what to do. So it shut down.”
The technician then deleted all former operating systems from the hard drive and re-installed the latest one. The computer worked like a charm.
The Coming(s) of the Lord
That story helps us to appreciate what we are to do in this Season of Advent.
Our English word “Advent” is from the Latin word that means “coming.” There are three comings of the Lord that form the heart of this Season, Advent.
First, we believe that the Lord has already come to us in the birth of Jesus. We will celebrate this past coming on December 25th.
Second, we also believe that the Lord comes to us in the present. He comes to us here in the liturgy in the Word and in a few minutes in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
And third, we also believe that the Lord will come again. This will happen at an unknown moment in the future.
Saint Peter in today’s second reading says that. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” So Advent invites us to get ready for this future coming and this is where the image of cleaning out the hard drive comes in.
We need to clean out our spiritual hard drives, if you will. This is what John the Baptist means in today’s Gospel by his Baptism of Repentance.
It is what Isaiah means in the first reading with his images of filling in the valleys and leveling the mountains. The idea is that we need to allow the Lord to come to us more fully in the present moment, right now.
And in doing that, we are also preparing for his coming at that unknown, future moment.
We need to clean out the old operating systems and allow the new operating system, God’s ways, to work within us.
Our Preparation
For example, maybe we, especially we in America, need to clean out the operating mindset that says, “I am what I have.”
So often we are tempted to identify ourselves by the size of our home or the make of our car or the amount of our savings, thus fulfilling my self-identity in the belief, “I am what I have.”
We need to clean out this mindset and allow space for the new mindset of “being more” instead of “having more.” Jesus would say: “It is more important for you to be more than to have more?”
Perhaps we can take this as a positive message from all of today’s negative financial news. If there is a bright spot in all of this negative financial news most of us find ourselves in, it may be that it takes us back to this message.
So, being or becoming more grounded in God’s Word, more reflective, more understanding, more affirming, more willing to listening, more other-centered – this is our real task of life.
I am suggesting that Advent invites us to this very fundamental task of being more instead of having more.
Conclusion
To go back to where we began, we need to clean out the old operating systems and allow the new operating system, which is Jesus Christ’s modeling and his way of loving, to operate within us.
This is the task of Advent. This allows the Lord to come to us more fully into the present.
But, perhaps, equally as important, it prepares us for the Lord’s coming at that unknown future moment, and it enables us to celebrate on Christmas day the real meaning of the Lord’s coming in the past.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 7, 2008: Father Nicholas Returns from Sabbatical
Yesterday I returned from three months of study in Israel. Each day we had presenters who were Jews, Christians, or Muslims and they lectured on Sacred Scripture (Torah, Acts of the Apostles, and Koran respectively), the Geography of the Land, and History.
Each of the religious groups is tied to the Land as their own Holy Land. We studied those ties and their political implications. In the final month we began looking at the possibilities for a Two-State Solution, with Jews and Palestinians each having their own country.
Some have asked how I am different after my three months of study? I went to Israel with a heartfelt understanding of the Jewish People and the suffering they endured in the Holocaust and the joy of finally having their own homeland. I came home seeing that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a very complex reality, but my heart went out to the Palestinian People who are going through a tremendous amount of suffering.
A second most frequently asked question I have been getting is what the most moving experience I had was? That’s any easy question. It happened my last weekend in Israel. For most of the time there I saw myself as a student and conducted myself in that manner.
The last weekend a priest friend asked if I would concelebrate Mass and hear confessions of 45 pilgrims in Jerusalem who were there from Toronto. The Mass began at 3:00pm in the Church of the Cenacle, the place where Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples. After we priests washed everyone’s feet and celebrated the Eucharist, the entire group followed in Jesus’ steps down the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane where we heard confessions. After confessions, the pilgrims went into the adjoining Church of All Nations for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
My ministering as a priest to faith-filled people in these sacred sites was a very different experience from studying those sites. Bringing faith and reflection to the sights through the presence of the pilgrims gave me an extraordinary sense of being a priest for people.
It was a great way to prepare for coming home. My student life was a wonderful experience. I know it will enhance how I am with others as their priest.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Each of the religious groups is tied to the Land as their own Holy Land. We studied those ties and their political implications. In the final month we began looking at the possibilities for a Two-State Solution, with Jews and Palestinians each having their own country.
Some have asked how I am different after my three months of study? I went to Israel with a heartfelt understanding of the Jewish People and the suffering they endured in the Holocaust and the joy of finally having their own homeland. I came home seeing that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a very complex reality, but my heart went out to the Palestinian People who are going through a tremendous amount of suffering.
A second most frequently asked question I have been getting is what the most moving experience I had was? That’s any easy question. It happened my last weekend in Israel. For most of the time there I saw myself as a student and conducted myself in that manner.
The last weekend a priest friend asked if I would concelebrate Mass and hear confessions of 45 pilgrims in Jerusalem who were there from Toronto. The Mass began at 3:00pm in the Church of the Cenacle, the place where Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples. After we priests washed everyone’s feet and celebrated the Eucharist, the entire group followed in Jesus’ steps down the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane where we heard confessions. After confessions, the pilgrims went into the adjoining Church of All Nations for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
My ministering as a priest to faith-filled people in these sacred sites was a very different experience from studying those sites. Bringing faith and reflection to the sights through the presence of the pilgrims gave me an extraordinary sense of being a priest for people.
It was a great way to prepare for coming home. My student life was a wonderful experience. I know it will enhance how I am with others as their priest.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for August 31, 2008: Farewell for a While
This and That
Farewell for a While
As many of you know, last year Cardinal Keeler granted me a 6-month sabbatical for prayer and study. Instead of taking it as a period of six months straight, I chose to divide it into two three-month segments. This past January, February and March I spent at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in South Carolina. The seven hours of prayer a day, the five hours of manual labor, the horarium (aka “schedule”) that included fasting and abstinence and no talking every day created an extraordinary experience of prayer for me.
I chose to break up the six months inasmuch as a wanted to be here at Our Lady of Grace from April through August. There was a new principal to hire and orient, approve a new 5-year Strategic Plan, and approve the parish and school budgets for the New Year beginning July 1st.
I am now preparing to embark on the “study” part of the sabbatical which will be three months (September 5th through December 4th) studying at the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur, Israel.
At its heart, the Institute is a three-month experience in continuing education and spiritual renewal. What characterizes the program is the context of the Holy Land, what John the Evangelist called “the fifth gospel.” To read the story of Jesus and the first Christians in the context of this “fifth gospel” shapes not only our understanding of the Scriptures and their history of salvation, but also of how our Christian faith is embodied in concrete, complex reality. While we will have many guided excursions (among them, a five-day trip to Galilee) to get to know the land where our Catholic faith originated, we will focus not only on the stones of archeological remains, but also on the “living stones,” the local Christian communities. We will be studying Eastern and Western churches in their difficult situations as minorities in the Holy Land. They share land and life with the Jewish and Muslim communities, whose faith and spirituality will also be part of our study.
The program begins with an introductory week, where some of the historical, cultural and religious realities of the Holy Land will be presented as a frame to understand the Core courses which extend through the three months. I will be taking the following courses:
➢ Ecumenism: with Fr. Thomas Stransky begins with the participants’ reflective experiences of ecumenism, then goes into the biblical foundations for Christian unity work, the development of the ecumenical movement, and where it is now.
➢ Local Churches: with Fr. Michael McGarry roots ecumenism in the local reality, which leads to a study of the Church’s history in the Holy Land, and of differing Eastern and Western spiritualities. This course also includes contact with the local Christian communities.
➢ Biblical Geography: taught by Paul Wright and Mr. Allan Rabinowitz concentrates on the guided field trips, prepared by lectures, with maps and diagrams. Starting with Jerusalem and Bethlehem and their environs, we visit also the Negev and the Judean Deserts and the Dead Sea area. We also devote detailed attention to the Jerusalem of Jesus’ time, as well as a five-day trip to the Galilee of the gospels half-way through the course. The study combines geography and archaeology with the biblical texts, aiming at a deeper understanding of their message.
➢ Scripture: taught by Fr. Michael McGarry as “Jesus in his Cultural Milieu,” and reviews the concrete realities of family life, honor-and-shame culture and other dimensions of Jewish life and Middle Eastern culture at the time of Jesus. Dr. Edward Breuer presents a Jewish reading of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, both Torah and Prophets.
➢ Judaism: taught by Debbie Weissman presents the fundamental tenets of the Jewish faith and Jewish living, its Covenant, Torah, Talmud; family and gender relations; prayer life, the role of the great festivals, the Land; Jewish-Christian dialogue.
➢ Islam: taught by Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway, and Sister Bridget Tighe, FMDM. The course will offer the faith and history of Islam, its encounters with the West, its social organization (family, gender relations) and how it faces modernity and change.
➢ The program will also offer shorter sessions: Among these shorter sessions are “Palestinian Liberation Theology” (Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, Anglican priest and Director of the Sabeel Center) and “Jewish Identity, Nationhood and State” (Mr. Daniel Rossing, Jewish educator, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations). A number of lectures open to the wider public are complemented by others only for the Tantur Community, where invited guests give more informal presentations of their personal experiences and perspectives.
The course is an ecumenical experience in itself. During the three months, the participants create and form a learning community, not only in the classroom, but also by common life and conversations, traveling together, and praying together. The community meets every evening for worship prepared by an ecumenically blended group of residents. A willingness both to stand for and present one’s own spiritual tradition and to be open to learning from others’ is important for the common growth.
As was the case when I lived as a monk at the monastery, while I’m away being a student, Sr. Mary Therese will be acting as Pastoral Leader of the community. During my time in studies, I will not be available by phone or Internet. In case of an emergency, please contact Sister Mary Therese at the parish office. She will know how to reach me.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Farewell for a While
As many of you know, last year Cardinal Keeler granted me a 6-month sabbatical for prayer and study. Instead of taking it as a period of six months straight, I chose to divide it into two three-month segments. This past January, February and March I spent at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in South Carolina. The seven hours of prayer a day, the five hours of manual labor, the horarium (aka “schedule”) that included fasting and abstinence and no talking every day created an extraordinary experience of prayer for me.
I chose to break up the six months inasmuch as a wanted to be here at Our Lady of Grace from April through August. There was a new principal to hire and orient, approve a new 5-year Strategic Plan, and approve the parish and school budgets for the New Year beginning July 1st.
I am now preparing to embark on the “study” part of the sabbatical which will be three months (September 5th through December 4th) studying at the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur, Israel.
At its heart, the Institute is a three-month experience in continuing education and spiritual renewal. What characterizes the program is the context of the Holy Land, what John the Evangelist called “the fifth gospel.” To read the story of Jesus and the first Christians in the context of this “fifth gospel” shapes not only our understanding of the Scriptures and their history of salvation, but also of how our Christian faith is embodied in concrete, complex reality. While we will have many guided excursions (among them, a five-day trip to Galilee) to get to know the land where our Catholic faith originated, we will focus not only on the stones of archeological remains, but also on the “living stones,” the local Christian communities. We will be studying Eastern and Western churches in their difficult situations as minorities in the Holy Land. They share land and life with the Jewish and Muslim communities, whose faith and spirituality will also be part of our study.
The program begins with an introductory week, where some of the historical, cultural and religious realities of the Holy Land will be presented as a frame to understand the Core courses which extend through the three months. I will be taking the following courses:
➢ Ecumenism: with Fr. Thomas Stransky begins with the participants’ reflective experiences of ecumenism, then goes into the biblical foundations for Christian unity work, the development of the ecumenical movement, and where it is now.
➢ Local Churches: with Fr. Michael McGarry roots ecumenism in the local reality, which leads to a study of the Church’s history in the Holy Land, and of differing Eastern and Western spiritualities. This course also includes contact with the local Christian communities.
➢ Biblical Geography: taught by Paul Wright and Mr. Allan Rabinowitz concentrates on the guided field trips, prepared by lectures, with maps and diagrams. Starting with Jerusalem and Bethlehem and their environs, we visit also the Negev and the Judean Deserts and the Dead Sea area. We also devote detailed attention to the Jerusalem of Jesus’ time, as well as a five-day trip to the Galilee of the gospels half-way through the course. The study combines geography and archaeology with the biblical texts, aiming at a deeper understanding of their message.
➢ Scripture: taught by Fr. Michael McGarry as “Jesus in his Cultural Milieu,” and reviews the concrete realities of family life, honor-and-shame culture and other dimensions of Jewish life and Middle Eastern culture at the time of Jesus. Dr. Edward Breuer presents a Jewish reading of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, both Torah and Prophets.
➢ Judaism: taught by Debbie Weissman presents the fundamental tenets of the Jewish faith and Jewish living, its Covenant, Torah, Talmud; family and gender relations; prayer life, the role of the great festivals, the Land; Jewish-Christian dialogue.
➢ Islam: taught by Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway, and Sister Bridget Tighe, FMDM. The course will offer the faith and history of Islam, its encounters with the West, its social organization (family, gender relations) and how it faces modernity and change.
➢ The program will also offer shorter sessions: Among these shorter sessions are “Palestinian Liberation Theology” (Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, Anglican priest and Director of the Sabeel Center) and “Jewish Identity, Nationhood and State” (Mr. Daniel Rossing, Jewish educator, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations). A number of lectures open to the wider public are complemented by others only for the Tantur Community, where invited guests give more informal presentations of their personal experiences and perspectives.
The course is an ecumenical experience in itself. During the three months, the participants create and form a learning community, not only in the classroom, but also by common life and conversations, traveling together, and praying together. The community meets every evening for worship prepared by an ecumenically blended group of residents. A willingness both to stand for and present one’s own spiritual tradition and to be open to learning from others’ is important for the common growth.
As was the case when I lived as a monk at the monastery, while I’m away being a student, Sr. Mary Therese will be acting as Pastoral Leader of the community. During my time in studies, I will not be available by phone or Internet. In case of an emergency, please contact Sister Mary Therese at the parish office. She will know how to reach me.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for August 31, 2008: The Dandelion, Rabbit, Hunter and God: Becoming Divine
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
August 31, 2008
Focus: How to become divine
Function: To show through use of a story how losing ourselves in God we become our real selves
Form: Story as analog
How to Become Divine
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Dandelion, Rabbit, Hunter and God
Once upon a time, a dandelion whispered to the nutrients in its soil: “How would you like to become a dandelion?”
“You need only allow yourself to be dissolved in the earth’s water; and I will draw you up through my roots.
“Afterward you will be able to grow and flower and brighten the world.” The nutrients said: “Okay.”
Next morning, a rabbit hopped by and, in a fit of generosity, said to the dandelion: “How would you like to become a rabbit?
“You would have to let me chew you up and swallow you, and you would lose your pretty petals. It would hurt at first, but afterward you would be able to hop around and wiggle your ears.”
Not being rooted in one place sounded good, so the dandelion allowed itself to be munched and swallowed to become a rabbit.
The next day, a hunter spotted the rabbit, and being in a friendly mood, asked: “How would you like to become a human? Of course, you must let yourself be shot, skinned, stewed and eaten.
“That would naturally be rather painful, but think of what you’d gain. You’d be able to think, laugh, cry, get 50 credit cards and appear on Oprah.”
The rabbit was scared, but who could pass up Oprah? So, he gave up the carefree life of a rabbit and became a human being.
Years later, God noticed this human going about his everyday human way and feeling very fatherly, said: “Hey! How would you like to become a super-human?”
Becoming Divine
That is the question God asks each human being who comes into this world.
And in case we don’t know what is involved, his son, Jesus, spelled it out: “You have to lose your soul to find it.”
Coaches and athletes of last week’s Olympics translate that as: “No pain; no gain.” Psychologists say we must, “lose our false self to find our true self,” and spiritual writers talk about the, “dark night before the dawn and the cross blossoming into resurrection.”
What is it that we actually must lose and what do we actually gain? Well, the good news is that we don’t lose anything essential to our humanity.
We don’t lose anything that is good within us. All we really lose is our inhumanity, our bad self.
What Do We Lose?
Thus we must lose our self-centeredness, which isolates us from other good people.
We must lose our prejudices, which blind us to the truth.
We must lose our lust, which smears and blears our love.
We must lose our insecurity, which restrains us form brave deeds.
We must lose our obsession with money that prevents us from being magnanimous.
We must lose our fear, which strangles our hope.
We must lose our penchant for autonomy, which always leads us into some servitude.
What Do We Gain?
To the degree that we succeed, we enlarge our humanity. And we don’t have to get there all at once. Step by step is normal.
Nor do we have to advance in every department of life. Actually, most saints are unbalance, imperfect, unfinished human beings.
The best part is that in fulfilling our humanity, we simultaneously become divine. We actually participate in divine life.
We become intimate with God, breathe the same pungent air, think the same heavenly thoughts, and love the same Godly way.
We engage in conversation with Father, Son and Spirit.
Conclusion
And here is the really best part. In losing our lives in God, we don’t really lose at all.
We are not sucked through divine roots or chewed up as heavenly nectar. We are not absorbed by God.
No, we retain our own self. In fact, only with God can we be our real self.
Our Lady of Grace
August 31, 2008
Focus: How to become divine
Function: To show through use of a story how losing ourselves in God we become our real selves
Form: Story as analog
How to Become Divine
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Dandelion, Rabbit, Hunter and God
Once upon a time, a dandelion whispered to the nutrients in its soil: “How would you like to become a dandelion?”
“You need only allow yourself to be dissolved in the earth’s water; and I will draw you up through my roots.
“Afterward you will be able to grow and flower and brighten the world.” The nutrients said: “Okay.”
Next morning, a rabbit hopped by and, in a fit of generosity, said to the dandelion: “How would you like to become a rabbit?
“You would have to let me chew you up and swallow you, and you would lose your pretty petals. It would hurt at first, but afterward you would be able to hop around and wiggle your ears.”
Not being rooted in one place sounded good, so the dandelion allowed itself to be munched and swallowed to become a rabbit.
The next day, a hunter spotted the rabbit, and being in a friendly mood, asked: “How would you like to become a human? Of course, you must let yourself be shot, skinned, stewed and eaten.
“That would naturally be rather painful, but think of what you’d gain. You’d be able to think, laugh, cry, get 50 credit cards and appear on Oprah.”
The rabbit was scared, but who could pass up Oprah? So, he gave up the carefree life of a rabbit and became a human being.
Years later, God noticed this human going about his everyday human way and feeling very fatherly, said: “Hey! How would you like to become a super-human?”
Becoming Divine
That is the question God asks each human being who comes into this world.
And in case we don’t know what is involved, his son, Jesus, spelled it out: “You have to lose your soul to find it.”
Coaches and athletes of last week’s Olympics translate that as: “No pain; no gain.” Psychologists say we must, “lose our false self to find our true self,” and spiritual writers talk about the, “dark night before the dawn and the cross blossoming into resurrection.”
What is it that we actually must lose and what do we actually gain? Well, the good news is that we don’t lose anything essential to our humanity.
We don’t lose anything that is good within us. All we really lose is our inhumanity, our bad self.
What Do We Lose?
Thus we must lose our self-centeredness, which isolates us from other good people.
We must lose our prejudices, which blind us to the truth.
We must lose our lust, which smears and blears our love.
We must lose our insecurity, which restrains us form brave deeds.
We must lose our obsession with money that prevents us from being magnanimous.
We must lose our fear, which strangles our hope.
We must lose our penchant for autonomy, which always leads us into some servitude.
What Do We Gain?
To the degree that we succeed, we enlarge our humanity. And we don’t have to get there all at once. Step by step is normal.
Nor do we have to advance in every department of life. Actually, most saints are unbalance, imperfect, unfinished human beings.
The best part is that in fulfilling our humanity, we simultaneously become divine. We actually participate in divine life.
We become intimate with God, breathe the same pungent air, think the same heavenly thoughts, and love the same Godly way.
We engage in conversation with Father, Son and Spirit.
Conclusion
And here is the really best part. In losing our lives in God, we don’t really lose at all.
We are not sucked through divine roots or chewed up as heavenly nectar. We are not absorbed by God.
No, we retain our own self. In fact, only with God can we be our real self.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for August 24, 2008: The New Fountain for Our Courtyard
This and That: The New Fountain for Our Courtyard
Long before the plans for the courtyard were finalized, we were envisioning some sort of fountain to grace its center. The fountain project was made possible by the generous estate of Michael and Felgie Pippi, long-time parishioners of Our Lady of Grace. Michael died in 2000 and Felgie passed in 2007. They had been very dedicated members of our parish since its very beginning. The remainder of their estate will be applied toward our archdiocesan loan for the building of the Education Center and Manor at Gunpowder Falls.
From the very beginning of the construction of the courtyard, the Gutierrez Studios of Baltimore have been working with us on the design of the fountain. We wanted something that was artful and original, that used both fire and water in its design, that was beautiful all year round, especially when not in use, that was “childproof,” and finally, that we could afford.
The photo in the inset is the result of our planning and deliberations. The fountain is designed to stand alone as a piece of art, yet fit in with the look of the courtyard and church.
The fountain will be set upon a precast concrete base. Its base will be a hollow steel structure clad in 16 gage powder coated steel sheet panels and housing the operating equipment for the fountain and flame. The fountain’s basin will be rectangular in shape, fabricated in powder-coated steel with a patinated bronze/brass trim and liner. The center column of the fountain will be fabricated from patinated sheet brass with a cast bronze top crown assembly. The sculptural flames atop the center column will be formed and fabricated of heavy brass. The water feature will be based on a recycling pump system. The live flame will be generated via a plumbed propane gas system whose delivery lines have already been installed underground.
In terms of fitting in with the church and the courtyard, the concrete base will look the same as the border of the courtyard and the center column imitates the bell tower. The water symbolizes the life giving waters of baptism and the flame the tongues of flame that the followers of Jesus received at Pentecost.
The courtyard will be used as a place to greet and chat with parishioners before and after Mass, for hospitalities and social gatherings, conducting religious services as the Blessing of Palms on Palm/Passion Sunday the lighting of the Easter Fire at the Easter Vigil.
We are scheduled to begin construction of the fountain this fall with a dedication in the spring of 2009. How grateful we are to Michael and Felgie Pippi for the gracious gift that will help us remember there love and dedication to Our Lady of Grace. May they rest in peace and their good works continue to echo within this family of faith they loved so much.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Long before the plans for the courtyard were finalized, we were envisioning some sort of fountain to grace its center. The fountain project was made possible by the generous estate of Michael and Felgie Pippi, long-time parishioners of Our Lady of Grace. Michael died in 2000 and Felgie passed in 2007. They had been very dedicated members of our parish since its very beginning. The remainder of their estate will be applied toward our archdiocesan loan for the building of the Education Center and Manor at Gunpowder Falls.
From the very beginning of the construction of the courtyard, the Gutierrez Studios of Baltimore have been working with us on the design of the fountain. We wanted something that was artful and original, that used both fire and water in its design, that was beautiful all year round, especially when not in use, that was “childproof,” and finally, that we could afford.
The photo in the inset is the result of our planning and deliberations. The fountain is designed to stand alone as a piece of art, yet fit in with the look of the courtyard and church.
The fountain will be set upon a precast concrete base. Its base will be a hollow steel structure clad in 16 gage powder coated steel sheet panels and housing the operating equipment for the fountain and flame. The fountain’s basin will be rectangular in shape, fabricated in powder-coated steel with a patinated bronze/brass trim and liner. The center column of the fountain will be fabricated from patinated sheet brass with a cast bronze top crown assembly. The sculptural flames atop the center column will be formed and fabricated of heavy brass. The water feature will be based on a recycling pump system. The live flame will be generated via a plumbed propane gas system whose delivery lines have already been installed underground.
In terms of fitting in with the church and the courtyard, the concrete base will look the same as the border of the courtyard and the center column imitates the bell tower. The water symbolizes the life giving waters of baptism and the flame the tongues of flame that the followers of Jesus received at Pentecost.
The courtyard will be used as a place to greet and chat with parishioners before and after Mass, for hospitalities and social gatherings, conducting religious services as the Blessing of Palms on Palm/Passion Sunday the lighting of the Easter Fire at the Easter Vigil.
We are scheduled to begin construction of the fountain this fall with a dedication in the spring of 2009. How grateful we are to Michael and Felgie Pippi for the gracious gift that will help us remember there love and dedication to Our Lady of Grace. May they rest in peace and their good works continue to echo within this family of faith they loved so much.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for August 24, 2008: Deacon Preaching Sunday
Deacon Lee Benson preached this Sunday.
Father Nicholas will return next Sunday.
Father Nicholas will return next Sunday.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for August 17, 2008: New Ways to Proclaim the Good News
This and That:
New Ways to Proclaim the Good News
The Church has a message to deliver, and the challenge of that task today is to do it in a “mediated” world, said one of the hosts of the 2008 International Catholic Media Convention. Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, who is also the Director of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network, added that the Church needs to be “there on the scene, using all the means of modern social communications to proclaim the Word of God and the message of the Church.” Its theme was “Proclaim It From the Rooftops.”
The following is an interview I read recently with Father Rosica in which he comments on the future of Catholic media and their relationship with the secular press. I thought you would enjoy reading it.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Q: Why the theme “Proclaim It from the Rooftops”?
Father Rosica: We have chosen as the theme “Proclaim It From the Rooftops,” inspired by the Scriptures – Matthew 10:27 – and also by Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Rapid Development.” The reality is that the Church must now speak to a highly technological, “mediated” society. John Paul II said that the Church must be present in the new “Areopagai” of the world – a world replete with so many competing philosophies, ideas and phenomena. [The Areopagus was the hill in Athens where philosophers and scholars came to debate their positions.] The Church has to be there on the scene, using all the means of modern social communications to proclaim the word of God and the message of the Church.
Q: What new developments in Catholic journalism did you want to see highlighted at this conference? Outcomes?
Father Rosica: The 2008 Catholic Media Convention owes its existence to a collaboration that is rare in any part of the publishing world. Two unique aspects of the convention are how we can foster good collaboration among all entities of Catholic media and view our work as part of the New Evangelization.
Second, is our concern for the future, especially how we can reach out to the next generation and involve young adults in the mission of communications. The week was an intensive lesson for North American Catholic journalists in building bridges within and outside the Church as we learned to tell our stories, bear witness to the truth, and proclaim our message from the rooftops.
Q: The Pope said in his message for World Communications Day, “That seeking and presenting the truth about humanity constitutes the highest vocation of social communication.” Does this vision of the role of communications mark a fundamental difference between Catholic and secular journalists?
Father Rosica: Catholic communicators and journalists have a special obligation and mission not only to serve the Church, but to teach the world about seeking the truth and serving the truth. The secular media misses the mark when the truth, goodness and the dignity of the human person are not part of the story. As John Paul II – himself a media expert and master – wrote in 2005, in his final 2005 Apostolic Letter titled, “The Rapid Development”: “Communication both within the Church community and between the Church and the world at large requires openness and a new approach toward facing questions regarding the world of media. This communication must tend toward a constructive dialogue, so as to promote a correctly informed and discerning public opinion within the Christian community.” Good journalists and communicators must be concerned with truth, goodness, beauty and hope, even in the most dire of circumstances.
Q: What can the Catholic media do to get the message of the Gospel more widely known?
Father Rosica: I have learned some powerful lessons in dealing with the media over the years, especially through the adventure of World Youth Day 2002 in Canada, the suffering and death of John Paul II, and my work with Salt and Light Television and our collaboration with the “secular” media.
It serves no purpose for Church officials, leaders, and members to vilify those in the media, to stonewall and not respond to the constant phone calls of this reporter, that producer, some editor. That’s the nature of the beast. They don’t call it breaking news for nothing. Nor does it serve any purpose for those in the “secular” media to ignore or marginalize the Church and religious issues, treating them as trivial matters that don’t merit serious reflection. We have to learn from each other, and we have much good work to do together to serve the cause of truth and decency in a world that is becoming more devoid of value, virtue and meaning. Many times in the Church, our stories are non-stories because key elements are missing. In more biblical language, how on earth do we move the light from under the bushel and onto the lamp stand so everyone in the house may see it? How do we learn the difference between old news and the new news with relevance – a real story worth telling to the world?
High on the agenda of the 2008 Convention was the theme of the so-called hostility of “secular” media to religion and the Church. Is the hostility real or perceived? What can be done to build bridges? The convention helped Church media workers to learn to tell our stories to the world cogently, boldly and courageously.
New Ways to Proclaim the Good News
The Church has a message to deliver, and the challenge of that task today is to do it in a “mediated” world, said one of the hosts of the 2008 International Catholic Media Convention. Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, who is also the Director of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network, added that the Church needs to be “there on the scene, using all the means of modern social communications to proclaim the Word of God and the message of the Church.” Its theme was “Proclaim It From the Rooftops.”
The following is an interview I read recently with Father Rosica in which he comments on the future of Catholic media and their relationship with the secular press. I thought you would enjoy reading it.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Q: Why the theme “Proclaim It from the Rooftops”?
Father Rosica: We have chosen as the theme “Proclaim It From the Rooftops,” inspired by the Scriptures – Matthew 10:27 – and also by Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Rapid Development.” The reality is that the Church must now speak to a highly technological, “mediated” society. John Paul II said that the Church must be present in the new “Areopagai” of the world – a world replete with so many competing philosophies, ideas and phenomena. [The Areopagus was the hill in Athens where philosophers and scholars came to debate their positions.] The Church has to be there on the scene, using all the means of modern social communications to proclaim the word of God and the message of the Church.
Q: What new developments in Catholic journalism did you want to see highlighted at this conference? Outcomes?
Father Rosica: The 2008 Catholic Media Convention owes its existence to a collaboration that is rare in any part of the publishing world. Two unique aspects of the convention are how we can foster good collaboration among all entities of Catholic media and view our work as part of the New Evangelization.
Second, is our concern for the future, especially how we can reach out to the next generation and involve young adults in the mission of communications. The week was an intensive lesson for North American Catholic journalists in building bridges within and outside the Church as we learned to tell our stories, bear witness to the truth, and proclaim our message from the rooftops.
Q: The Pope said in his message for World Communications Day, “That seeking and presenting the truth about humanity constitutes the highest vocation of social communication.” Does this vision of the role of communications mark a fundamental difference between Catholic and secular journalists?
Father Rosica: Catholic communicators and journalists have a special obligation and mission not only to serve the Church, but to teach the world about seeking the truth and serving the truth. The secular media misses the mark when the truth, goodness and the dignity of the human person are not part of the story. As John Paul II – himself a media expert and master – wrote in 2005, in his final 2005 Apostolic Letter titled, “The Rapid Development”: “Communication both within the Church community and between the Church and the world at large requires openness and a new approach toward facing questions regarding the world of media. This communication must tend toward a constructive dialogue, so as to promote a correctly informed and discerning public opinion within the Christian community.” Good journalists and communicators must be concerned with truth, goodness, beauty and hope, even in the most dire of circumstances.
Q: What can the Catholic media do to get the message of the Gospel more widely known?
Father Rosica: I have learned some powerful lessons in dealing with the media over the years, especially through the adventure of World Youth Day 2002 in Canada, the suffering and death of John Paul II, and my work with Salt and Light Television and our collaboration with the “secular” media.
It serves no purpose for Church officials, leaders, and members to vilify those in the media, to stonewall and not respond to the constant phone calls of this reporter, that producer, some editor. That’s the nature of the beast. They don’t call it breaking news for nothing. Nor does it serve any purpose for those in the “secular” media to ignore or marginalize the Church and religious issues, treating them as trivial matters that don’t merit serious reflection. We have to learn from each other, and we have much good work to do together to serve the cause of truth and decency in a world that is becoming more devoid of value, virtue and meaning. Many times in the Church, our stories are non-stories because key elements are missing. In more biblical language, how on earth do we move the light from under the bushel and onto the lamp stand so everyone in the house may see it? How do we learn the difference between old news and the new news with relevance – a real story worth telling to the world?
High on the agenda of the 2008 Convention was the theme of the so-called hostility of “secular” media to religion and the Church. Is the hostility real or perceived? What can be done to build bridges? The convention helped Church media workers to learn to tell our stories to the world cogently, boldly and courageously.
Weekly HOMILY for August 17, 2008: In What Does Faith Consist?
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
August 17, 2008
Focus: In what does faith consist?
Function: To assist members of the assembly in recognizing the elements of their own faith and what needs to be done to “activate” them
Form: Problem/Solution
In What Does Faith Consist?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Everyday Faith Challenges
We all face challenges to our faith each day. We have them today and if not, they will be there tomorrow, of this we can be sure.
A single parent asleep in a downstairs bedroom with her three children sleeping on the second floor is killed by a truck that crashes into their home.
A middle-age woman learns that she has breast cancer.
A father of four is laid off from work and the family has fallen behind in their mortgage payments.
Tragic deaths, health challenges, difficult financial situations plague us all.
Such incidents raise the question of what is our faith made up of? How can we better understand faith so it can help us meet the everyday challenges of life?
Image of Transmitter and Receiver
“The Constitution on Revelation” of the Second Vatican Council states that: “The obedience of faith must be given to God as he reveals himself.”
It would seem then, that faith consists first in God’s revealing himself in different ways at different times and second, that faith consists in our obedience to that revealing God.
Perhaps an image would help.
Think of God as the transmitter, the divine broadcasting station, emitting a wave, a grace, or energy into the environment.
Think of yourself as the receiver, the radio or TV that gets this signal and digests it into sound and a visual picture.
God As Transmitter
Let us talk about the transmission end of the image first.
God was revealing himself in Old Testament times where he was asking the people he has chosen for a fundamental response of faith. You have folks like Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and Aaron.
Fast forward (Make zipping sound) to a different time and a different place where this faith is called to be renewed and to be increased. God calls his people to respond to the revelation of his Son Jesus.
Jesus, you will recall, expressly asks for it from his disciples at the Last Supper when he says: “Believe in God, believe also in me.”
So the first thing that faith consists in is a transmitter, a God who is sending out a signal at different times and in different places to those whom he has chosen.
You As Receiver
The second thing that faith consists in is the receiver, you or I who take in this “signal” and have it make a difference in our own life.
To be such a receiver we must look at our intellect – that is, our ability to think and reason – and our will – the ability to choose and act according to what our intellect holds as true.
We’re all very much aware of these faculties and use them constantly, as in my intellect says, “No more dessert”; my will helps me say, “No) to the second piece of pie.
The same document of Vatican II says that, “a person freely commits his/her entire self to God, making the full submission of their intellect and will to God who reveals.”
Thus faith is not only the intellect’s adherence to the truth revealed, but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to the God who is revealing himself.
Because it involves intellect and will, it is a stance that involves one’s entire existence.
Grace
Now this power for the intellect to understand and the will to submit requires the grace of God to move or assist them.
Thus, it is the Spirit within us, and the gifts of that Spirit, that will open the eyes of our mind and make is easy to accept and believe the truth.
However, without God’s grace, without the Spirit within us, it’s only going to be our natural seeing and our natural desperate attempt to will it. And it simply isn’t going to happen as we kno
w all to well from experience!
The Canaanite Woman
What a wonderful example of such faith is the Canaanite woman in the Gospel, who in faith, asks that Jesus heal her little daughter.
Remember, she is an outsider to the People of Israel. She is a woman held in low esteem. Despite it all, she’s bold, she’s insistent, she’s undaunted in her request!
And what’s Jesus’ response? “Woman, how great is your faith!”
What we’d say, knowing intellect and will as the elements of faith, is how responsive she is to God’s grace “transmitted” to her and “received” as a flash of understanding in her intellect, and the indefatigable power of her will.
Our Lady of Grace
August 17, 2008
Focus: In what does faith consist?
Function: To assist members of the assembly in recognizing the elements of their own faith and what needs to be done to “activate” them
Form: Problem/Solution
In What Does Faith Consist?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Everyday Faith Challenges
We all face challenges to our faith each day. We have them today and if not, they will be there tomorrow, of this we can be sure.
A single parent asleep in a downstairs bedroom with her three children sleeping on the second floor is killed by a truck that crashes into their home.
A middle-age woman learns that she has breast cancer.
A father of four is laid off from work and the family has fallen behind in their mortgage payments.
Tragic deaths, health challenges, difficult financial situations plague us all.
Such incidents raise the question of what is our faith made up of? How can we better understand faith so it can help us meet the everyday challenges of life?
Image of Transmitter and Receiver
“The Constitution on Revelation” of the Second Vatican Council states that: “The obedience of faith must be given to God as he reveals himself.”
It would seem then, that faith consists first in God’s revealing himself in different ways at different times and second, that faith consists in our obedience to that revealing God.
Perhaps an image would help.
Think of God as the transmitter, the divine broadcasting station, emitting a wave, a grace, or energy into the environment.
Think of yourself as the receiver, the radio or TV that gets this signal and digests it into sound and a visual picture.
God As Transmitter
Let us talk about the transmission end of the image first.
God was revealing himself in Old Testament times where he was asking the people he has chosen for a fundamental response of faith. You have folks like Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and Aaron.
Fast forward (Make zipping sound) to a different time and a different place where this faith is called to be renewed and to be increased. God calls his people to respond to the revelation of his Son Jesus.
Jesus, you will recall, expressly asks for it from his disciples at the Last Supper when he says: “Believe in God, believe also in me.”
So the first thing that faith consists in is a transmitter, a God who is sending out a signal at different times and in different places to those whom he has chosen.
You As Receiver
The second thing that faith consists in is the receiver, you or I who take in this “signal” and have it make a difference in our own life.
To be such a receiver we must look at our intellect – that is, our ability to think and reason – and our will – the ability to choose and act according to what our intellect holds as true.
We’re all very much aware of these faculties and use them constantly, as in my intellect says, “No more dessert”; my will helps me say, “No) to the second piece of pie.
The same document of Vatican II says that, “a person freely commits his/her entire self to God, making the full submission of their intellect and will to God who reveals.”
Thus faith is not only the intellect’s adherence to the truth revealed, but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to the God who is revealing himself.
Because it involves intellect and will, it is a stance that involves one’s entire existence.
Grace
Now this power for the intellect to understand and the will to submit requires the grace of God to move or assist them.
Thus, it is the Spirit within us, and the gifts of that Spirit, that will open the eyes of our mind and make is easy to accept and believe the truth.
However, without God’s grace, without the Spirit within us, it’s only going to be our natural seeing and our natural desperate attempt to will it. And it simply isn’t going to happen as we kno
w all to well from experience!
The Canaanite Woman
What a wonderful example of such faith is the Canaanite woman in the Gospel, who in faith, asks that Jesus heal her little daughter.
Remember, she is an outsider to the People of Israel. She is a woman held in low esteem. Despite it all, she’s bold, she’s insistent, she’s undaunted in her request!
And what’s Jesus’ response? “Woman, how great is your faith!”
What we’d say, knowing intellect and will as the elements of faith, is how responsive she is to God’s grace “transmitted” to her and “received” as a flash of understanding in her intellect, and the indefatigable power of her will.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for August 10, 2008: St. Paul, an Expert in Dialogue
This and That:
Saint Paul: An Expert in Dialogue
Dear Friends,
I am writing this column (on July 4th) after a retreat with my Priests’ Support Group, having used St. Paul as our “Retreat Director.” It is also in anticipation of using my vacation time for a pilgrimage to Turkey to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul and the many churches he founded in that area of Asia Minor.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
“St. Paul was not only a zealous preacher of Christianity, but also a man open to dialogue with those who do not know Christ,” affirmed the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke with L’Osservatore Romano recently about the Apostle to the Gentiles on the occasion of the beginning of the Pauline Jubilee Year on June 28, 2008.
He started with a biographical sketch of St. Paul, noting that he was in prison many times, beaten and in danger of death. Five times he suffered 39 lashes, was scourged three times, stoned once, shipwrecked, endured hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, slander, persecution and finally decapitation by the sword. “How did he endure all this?” the cardinal asked. He affirmed that the answer was given by Paul, himself, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” And again, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”
“[Here] we touch upon the central point of [Paul's] life and faith,” Cardinal Kasper affirmed. “He attributed nothing to his own merit; but believed that everything was owed to God and his grace. God was the power and strength of his life.” The Vatican official proposed that Paul’s message is, in fact, “the message of grace. We have courage and dignity, salvation and holiness only from God and his grace,” he explained. “We cannot save ourselves through good works. Salvation is given to us because of our faith. This grace is offered to each one of us. With God’s grace, a new beginning is always possible.”
Converted
Cardinal Kasper reflected on the key event in Paul’s life, his conversion on the road to Damascus. “That experience made such an impression on him that he forgot all his past, projecting himself with determination towards the future,” he said. “For Paul, the Gospel was not an abstract doctrine but a person: Jesus Christ. God is not far away. He is God for us, close to us and with us. He humbled himself and lowered himself in Jesus Christ. If God has resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead, he will also resurrect us. Therefore, in every suffering and every sorrow, in all of life’s adversities, hope will shine for us even beyond death.” Such a message, the Cardinal added, is joyful but also exacting.
He explained: “We must always be oriented to Jesus Christ, to his example, life and Word. We must always be converted again, allow ourselves to be taken by him and to follow him. Jesus Christ is the fulcrum of the Christian faith; he is its identity and characteristic. Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God distinguishes us from the Muslims. We must not hide our faith, but witness to it courageously as Paul did. This is realized not only with words, but above all through a convincing life of faith, through affability, availability, benevolence, goodness and active charity.”
Rooted in Turkey
Cardinal Kasper focused on another of Paul’s characteristics: his dedication to dialogue. “Paul was an ardent witness of Christ and, at the same time, a man of dialogue,” the Cardinal said, citing an affirmation from the Turkish bishops in their pastoral letter for the Pauline year. And he noted Paul’s familiarity with the Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, that he spoke both Aramaic and Greek. On referring to other religions in the Areopagus of Athens (a hill on which met the highest governmental council and later the judicial court), Paul quoted their own poets, saying that God, “Is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.”
In this connection, Cardinal Kasper recalled that, “Vatican Council II made this exhortation its own and stated that the Catholic Church does not reject anything that is true and holy in other religions. The Council spoke of respect for Muslims, appealing for collaboration with them when it comes to protecting and promoting social justice, moral values, peace and liberty for all men.” To dialogue “does not mean to leave one’s own faith aside, or to make a flexible adaptation,” he clarified. “It is about giving reasons for the faith with all due amiability and patience. To explain what, how, and why we believe. To be witnesses of the faith in an active way.”
The Vatican official noted that St. Paul is a teacher in this type of dialogue. “Thanks to him, the Church has become universal,” he noted. And mentioning Paul’s roots in Turkey, the Cardinal observed that, “Christians in Turkey are a small flock that does not always have an easy life, but they form part of a great universal community of believers. The whole Church has one of its roots in Tarsus and Turkey. That is why the universal Church can never forget the Christians in Turkey.”
Saint Paul: An Expert in Dialogue
Dear Friends,
I am writing this column (on July 4th) after a retreat with my Priests’ Support Group, having used St. Paul as our “Retreat Director.” It is also in anticipation of using my vacation time for a pilgrimage to Turkey to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul and the many churches he founded in that area of Asia Minor.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
“St. Paul was not only a zealous preacher of Christianity, but also a man open to dialogue with those who do not know Christ,” affirmed the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke with L’Osservatore Romano recently about the Apostle to the Gentiles on the occasion of the beginning of the Pauline Jubilee Year on June 28, 2008.
He started with a biographical sketch of St. Paul, noting that he was in prison many times, beaten and in danger of death. Five times he suffered 39 lashes, was scourged three times, stoned once, shipwrecked, endured hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, slander, persecution and finally decapitation by the sword. “How did he endure all this?” the cardinal asked. He affirmed that the answer was given by Paul, himself, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” And again, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”
“[Here] we touch upon the central point of [Paul's] life and faith,” Cardinal Kasper affirmed. “He attributed nothing to his own merit; but believed that everything was owed to God and his grace. God was the power and strength of his life.” The Vatican official proposed that Paul’s message is, in fact, “the message of grace. We have courage and dignity, salvation and holiness only from God and his grace,” he explained. “We cannot save ourselves through good works. Salvation is given to us because of our faith. This grace is offered to each one of us. With God’s grace, a new beginning is always possible.”
Converted
Cardinal Kasper reflected on the key event in Paul’s life, his conversion on the road to Damascus. “That experience made such an impression on him that he forgot all his past, projecting himself with determination towards the future,” he said. “For Paul, the Gospel was not an abstract doctrine but a person: Jesus Christ. God is not far away. He is God for us, close to us and with us. He humbled himself and lowered himself in Jesus Christ. If God has resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead, he will also resurrect us. Therefore, in every suffering and every sorrow, in all of life’s adversities, hope will shine for us even beyond death.” Such a message, the Cardinal added, is joyful but also exacting.
He explained: “We must always be oriented to Jesus Christ, to his example, life and Word. We must always be converted again, allow ourselves to be taken by him and to follow him. Jesus Christ is the fulcrum of the Christian faith; he is its identity and characteristic. Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God distinguishes us from the Muslims. We must not hide our faith, but witness to it courageously as Paul did. This is realized not only with words, but above all through a convincing life of faith, through affability, availability, benevolence, goodness and active charity.”
Rooted in Turkey
Cardinal Kasper focused on another of Paul’s characteristics: his dedication to dialogue. “Paul was an ardent witness of Christ and, at the same time, a man of dialogue,” the Cardinal said, citing an affirmation from the Turkish bishops in their pastoral letter for the Pauline year. And he noted Paul’s familiarity with the Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, that he spoke both Aramaic and Greek. On referring to other religions in the Areopagus of Athens (a hill on which met the highest governmental council and later the judicial court), Paul quoted their own poets, saying that God, “Is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.”
In this connection, Cardinal Kasper recalled that, “Vatican Council II made this exhortation its own and stated that the Catholic Church does not reject anything that is true and holy in other religions. The Council spoke of respect for Muslims, appealing for collaboration with them when it comes to protecting and promoting social justice, moral values, peace and liberty for all men.” To dialogue “does not mean to leave one’s own faith aside, or to make a flexible adaptation,” he clarified. “It is about giving reasons for the faith with all due amiability and patience. To explain what, how, and why we believe. To be witnesses of the faith in an active way.”
The Vatican official noted that St. Paul is a teacher in this type of dialogue. “Thanks to him, the Church has become universal,” he noted. And mentioning Paul’s roots in Turkey, the Cardinal observed that, “Christians in Turkey are a small flock that does not always have an easy life, but they form part of a great universal community of believers. The whole Church has one of its roots in Tarsus and Turkey. That is why the universal Church can never forget the Christians in Turkey.”
Weekly HOMILY for August 10, 2008: God's Whisperings
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
August 10, 2008
Focus: God’s presence is often seen in his “whisperings”
Function: To offer members of the assembly a way of discerning God’s presence in their lives
Format: Establishing theme from the three readings and then developing a method for encountering God more effectively
God’s “Whisperings”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Seeking, Finding and Knowing God’s Presence
Knowing God’s presence forms the theme that weaves together the experiences of Elijah the prophet, Paul the Apostle, and the tempest-tossed disciples of Jesus this evening/morning.
Elijah seeks out the God’s divine presence on a mountain, in the manifestations of nature, but God surprises him by being revealed instead in a tiny whispering sound.
Paul thinks that he has experienced the fullness of God’s presence in his careful observance of the Law, but he too is surprised when the divine presence becomes a person and is revealed to him in Jesus Christ.
On the stormy sea, the disciples think themselves to be on their own, with no defense against the elements, yet God’s power and presence is revealed to them in the person of Jesus, who calms the sea and their fears.
Each of these experiences affirms that God indeed wants to be found and known and experienced. It’s as if God says: “I am ever near. All you need do is open your eyes, your heart, your life to me.”
The issue I would like to address this evening/morning is how can I maximize this encounter with God? What can I do to tie into the divine presence that seems to elude me? What am I doing wrong in my efforts at prayer and meditation?
In short, God has found me, but how can I more effectively find God?
Desire
Some time ago I discovered a three-step process as a good way of getting deeply into prayer and getting there more quickly – a way of contacting the “whispers” of God in my life.
It can be summarized in three words: (1) Desire, (2) Humility, and (3) Openness. Let’s take a look at each briefly.
First, to experience God in the here-and-now I must stir up desire. One thing we all would admit is that we know the feel of desire: we desire food, comfort, rest, intimacy, support, love, and admiration.
Such desires are the motivators that get us their proper objects and thus satisfy us. The desire of hunger gets us food. Gathering with friends and family gets us love and belonging. Reading a good book gets our minds off problems and provides us relaxation.
In much the same way there is a desire in each of us for God, a desire for us to possess the Divine Presence.
In a moment of stillness I can speak words that express this desire as in, “I long for you Oh Lord; with all my heart I search for you.”
By just such a simple statement of desire, a desire that is rooted in our experience of all things we hold dear, God becomes closer to my experience.
Humility
A second factor that makes possible our interaction with God who is already with us, but whom we haven’t fully encountered, is to allow ourselves to feel a bit of humility.
By this I mean that it is important to know who you are before this almighty, all powerful God. We’re the clay; he’s the potter. We’re the portrait; he’s the artist.
The God who created me, the source of all life, the power that has existed for all times sends us a Son who will put a face on God, a Son who will show us how to relate to this loving Father.
Add to that the fact that this loving God plants his own Spirit within me, so that I may know him as he is in himself.
The chasm between God and me would be impossible to breech without the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This reality leaves me spell bound with the statement we speak before we receive Communion at every Mass: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to me, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
If desire gets you hungering for God, humility closes the breech between you and the source of your desire.
Openness
Finally, it is with a simple attitude of openness that you are ready to experience this God who has been present all along.
The incident of Elijah in the first reading tells us that God’s presence for us, as for Elijah, won’t come in a strong and heavy wind, nor in an earthquake, nor as a huge fire, but instead in a tiny whispering sound.
What are those “whisperings” in which we might find God?
He may not be found in getting us out of the financial crisis we find ourselves in, but in bringing us closer together as a family.
He may not be found in curing the cancer of a loved one, but in the renewed dedication of a spouse and children to their mother.
He may not be found in the ending of a long family conflict, but in the stamina to accept people as they are.
Conclusion
Yes, God is in the very “stuff” of our daily lives. God is where we are, including the very weaknesses that vie for our souls.
Knowing God’s presence will take finding some quiet time and a quiet place and (1) Stirring up our desire, 2) Having a sense of humility, and (3) Being open to his presence.
Our Lady of Grace
August 10, 2008
Focus: God’s presence is often seen in his “whisperings”
Function: To offer members of the assembly a way of discerning God’s presence in their lives
Format: Establishing theme from the three readings and then developing a method for encountering God more effectively
God’s “Whisperings”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Seeking, Finding and Knowing God’s Presence
Knowing God’s presence forms the theme that weaves together the experiences of Elijah the prophet, Paul the Apostle, and the tempest-tossed disciples of Jesus this evening/morning.
Elijah seeks out the God’s divine presence on a mountain, in the manifestations of nature, but God surprises him by being revealed instead in a tiny whispering sound.
Paul thinks that he has experienced the fullness of God’s presence in his careful observance of the Law, but he too is surprised when the divine presence becomes a person and is revealed to him in Jesus Christ.
On the stormy sea, the disciples think themselves to be on their own, with no defense against the elements, yet God’s power and presence is revealed to them in the person of Jesus, who calms the sea and their fears.
Each of these experiences affirms that God indeed wants to be found and known and experienced. It’s as if God says: “I am ever near. All you need do is open your eyes, your heart, your life to me.”
The issue I would like to address this evening/morning is how can I maximize this encounter with God? What can I do to tie into the divine presence that seems to elude me? What am I doing wrong in my efforts at prayer and meditation?
In short, God has found me, but how can I more effectively find God?
Desire
Some time ago I discovered a three-step process as a good way of getting deeply into prayer and getting there more quickly – a way of contacting the “whispers” of God in my life.
It can be summarized in three words: (1) Desire, (2) Humility, and (3) Openness. Let’s take a look at each briefly.
First, to experience God in the here-and-now I must stir up desire. One thing we all would admit is that we know the feel of desire: we desire food, comfort, rest, intimacy, support, love, and admiration.
Such desires are the motivators that get us their proper objects and thus satisfy us. The desire of hunger gets us food. Gathering with friends and family gets us love and belonging. Reading a good book gets our minds off problems and provides us relaxation.
In much the same way there is a desire in each of us for God, a desire for us to possess the Divine Presence.
In a moment of stillness I can speak words that express this desire as in, “I long for you Oh Lord; with all my heart I search for you.”
By just such a simple statement of desire, a desire that is rooted in our experience of all things we hold dear, God becomes closer to my experience.
Humility
A second factor that makes possible our interaction with God who is already with us, but whom we haven’t fully encountered, is to allow ourselves to feel a bit of humility.
By this I mean that it is important to know who you are before this almighty, all powerful God. We’re the clay; he’s the potter. We’re the portrait; he’s the artist.
The God who created me, the source of all life, the power that has existed for all times sends us a Son who will put a face on God, a Son who will show us how to relate to this loving Father.
Add to that the fact that this loving God plants his own Spirit within me, so that I may know him as he is in himself.
The chasm between God and me would be impossible to breech without the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This reality leaves me spell bound with the statement we speak before we receive Communion at every Mass: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to me, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
If desire gets you hungering for God, humility closes the breech between you and the source of your desire.
Openness
Finally, it is with a simple attitude of openness that you are ready to experience this God who has been present all along.
The incident of Elijah in the first reading tells us that God’s presence for us, as for Elijah, won’t come in a strong and heavy wind, nor in an earthquake, nor as a huge fire, but instead in a tiny whispering sound.
What are those “whisperings” in which we might find God?
He may not be found in getting us out of the financial crisis we find ourselves in, but in bringing us closer together as a family.
He may not be found in curing the cancer of a loved one, but in the renewed dedication of a spouse and children to their mother.
He may not be found in the ending of a long family conflict, but in the stamina to accept people as they are.
Conclusion
Yes, God is in the very “stuff” of our daily lives. God is where we are, including the very weaknesses that vie for our souls.
Knowing God’s presence will take finding some quiet time and a quiet place and (1) Stirring up our desire, 2) Having a sense of humility, and (3) Being open to his presence.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for August 3, 2008: Trappist Monks Hit the Charts
This and That:
Trappist Monks Hit the Charts
Dear Friend,
Every morning I wake up at 4:30am to the chanting of monks. A new CD for such a purpose is one from the Cistercian (Trappist) monks of a Viennese abbey. What singles this CD out is that it has made it to pop music’s Top 10 list; it is No. 9 in the United Kingdom. A CD of their prayer, “Chant: Music for Paradise,” (sold as “Chant: Music for the Soul” in some countries) has been called a “must-have” by reviewers. Cistercian Father Karl Wallner, rector of the Benedict XVI Papal University of Heiligenkreuz, attributed the CD’s overwhelming welcome to the fact that, “Gregorian chant spreads harmony, peace and consolation in the depth of the soul.” The following is a recent interview I read with Father Wallner about the CD and the monks who made it. It’s a great way to wake up in the morning or listen to during the nerve wracking drive in the morning or evening commute.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Q: Entitled “Chant – Music for Paradise,” the Cistercians’ CD has had extraordinary success. It would seem that Gregorian chant could be described as “music for the world.” How do you account for this?
Father Wallner: The CD enables one to listen to our daily prayer to God, which we sing in the holy traditions of the Church and of the order, on the basis of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Its success, on one hand, is amazing. And it is amazing that suddenly a world that has become so profane is interested in a soft and harmonious Latin chant and that our CD jumped to the top of the pop music charts. In England, not only is the CD number one in the field of classical music, but it is also among the top 10 on the charts where usually only pop and similar music is found. Even in stores, our CD has been put under the title “pop.” Here is my interpretation of this: Secular music has arrived at a dead point. In a world anguished by stress and nerves, it now causes more stress and nerves. Sacred music, above all Gregorian chant, has always been an oasis to bring relief to the soul. And it seems that many seek this oasis with nostalgia. We have observed that for years, young people whom we invite to hear our chant, listen in silence, are fascinated, and then say with enthusiasm how they [found it] “cool.” Therefore, it seems clear that there is an instinct in men's ailing hearts, which drives them to look for a medicine. Hence Gregorian chant is a medicine for the soul.
Q: Not long ago the Holy Father said that music, and in general true art, does not separate us from our daily concerns or from the reality of every day. Is this also true for Gregorian chant?
Father Wallner: I consider our choral prayer, during which we use Gregorian chant to praise and exalt God, a moment of relaxation and spiritual uplifting. Benedict speaks of [it as the] “work for God” – in Latin, “opus Dei.” Thus, it isn’t a waste of time. It isn’t something absurd; it’s an action full of significance, a “work” – a work, in fact, for God. And in true music, there isn’t only one man who sings, rather, it is a dimension of the Eternal that penetrates man, creating in him an ability to listen. Why has Gregorian chant always been called “the song of the angels?” Because something is felt that comes from and resounds from another world, something that cannot be measured with mere coordinates, such as rhythm, harmony and notes. That is why this form of music is not foreign to daily life, but heals the wounds of every day and helps to overcome them.
Q: What are the characteristics of this form of sung prayer, which is “daily bread” in convents and monasteries?
Father Wallner: Gregorian chant is very ancient. It was born in the first millennium, appearing already in the 4th century, and in many aspects is addressed to the Most High. First of all the texts are, for the most part, verses from the Bible: hence it is the word of God, which from the mouths of men returns to God in the form of singing. In the second place, the composers of the melodies were pious anonymous men consecrated to God, mostly monks, who created the music not out of a desire for fame, but men who desired, once the work was complete, to return to total anonymity. Hence, men who in their longing for holiness created something holy. In the third place, chant is very fascinating, inasmuch as it is situated outside our normal experience of music. There are no tones of C major or D minor, there are no tempi, there is no established rhythm; it is a song for only one voice. Hence, it is a different sound from all other sounds that we today call music. And at the same time, it is at the root of all that which subsequently developed as music. Fourth point: chant is above all a sung prayer. We sing it always before the altar; therefore, it is not for the people, but for God. That is why we can never go on tour with our chant, because it is always a question of prayer. The recordings for the CD “Chant – Music for Paradise” were also taken from prayer.
Q: In the month of June, the Pope prayed that all Christians cultivate a profound personal friendship with Christ, thus witnessing to his love. In what way can music and song create this friendship and perhaps also reinforce it?
Father Wallner: As a youth I learned to pray through the rosary. If I want to intensify my friendship with Jesus, I kneel before the Most High. Gregorian chant is, in fact, a form of prayer which is not about aggression or intensity, but is like “daily bread” – so one can sing throughout life. The relationship with God that comes from the heart is already a premise. In our meetings with young people, in which between 200 and 300 youth participate, we begin by singing a piece of Gregorian chant. This serves to create an atmosphere of peace for the young people. Then we sing the very beautiful new sacred songs that have the power to create in young people's hearts a personal relationship with Jesus. Then we pray a part of the rosary, and kneel in silence with young people in adoration of the Most High; we [also] teach them to formulate in their hearts a “you” with Jesus, to start this dialogue of the heart. Returning to your question: Yes, music can lead to God, it can open hearts – uplift the soul and unite it to God.
Q: Could you talk about the background of this CD?
Father Wallner: “Chant – Music for Paradise” was born from joy and carries joy. And the reason is that the singing is based on our liturgy for the dead. The entire Requiem is on the CD, that is, the Mass for the dead. Joy? Yes, because true joy is joy for eternal life. We experienced this in February of this year at Heiligenkreuz, when over the span of 16 days, three of our brethren died, while in the preceding five years, no brother had died. One of them had reached 100 years of age. At the time of the Nazis he had been imprisoned in a death cell. However, for many of the young monks who have come to us in recent years and who experienced for the first time the gentle death of one of our brothers, to participate in songs of the liturgy for the dead made a great impression. In convent life, there is no liturgy more edifying than the liturgy for the dead, because one of us has arrived where we all want to go: to eternal communion with God. For this reason the CD is called precisely “Music for Paradise.”
Q: One last question: Is Gregorian chant reserved exclusively for specialists, or can the rest of us also appreciate it?
Father Wallner: The CD is for everyone, in my opinion, also for young people. In any case, the ratings already demonstrate this. When I entered [the monastery] at age 18, initially chant was strange for me. Today I love it very much because it really isn’t “fast food” music, which leads to laziness and indolence of soul, but – to continue the analogy – it is a strong broth, a vitamin concentrate. Gregorian chant spreads harmony, peace and comfort in the depth of the heart. And I would like to add a personal thought, because as a Catholic dogmatic I believe that the divine can be imprinted in a sacred way on the earthly reality. In our convent we are living a moment of grace, because we are in close union with the Church, with the Pope and with the magisterium. And it is possible to feel this internal harmony with all that is in the hearts of the 17 singers. This music is a small sacred gift that God has willed to give to the world through us.
Trappist Monks Hit the Charts
Dear Friend,
Every morning I wake up at 4:30am to the chanting of monks. A new CD for such a purpose is one from the Cistercian (Trappist) monks of a Viennese abbey. What singles this CD out is that it has made it to pop music’s Top 10 list; it is No. 9 in the United Kingdom. A CD of their prayer, “Chant: Music for Paradise,” (sold as “Chant: Music for the Soul” in some countries) has been called a “must-have” by reviewers. Cistercian Father Karl Wallner, rector of the Benedict XVI Papal University of Heiligenkreuz, attributed the CD’s overwhelming welcome to the fact that, “Gregorian chant spreads harmony, peace and consolation in the depth of the soul.” The following is a recent interview I read with Father Wallner about the CD and the monks who made it. It’s a great way to wake up in the morning or listen to during the nerve wracking drive in the morning or evening commute.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Q: Entitled “Chant – Music for Paradise,” the Cistercians’ CD has had extraordinary success. It would seem that Gregorian chant could be described as “music for the world.” How do you account for this?
Father Wallner: The CD enables one to listen to our daily prayer to God, which we sing in the holy traditions of the Church and of the order, on the basis of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Its success, on one hand, is amazing. And it is amazing that suddenly a world that has become so profane is interested in a soft and harmonious Latin chant and that our CD jumped to the top of the pop music charts. In England, not only is the CD number one in the field of classical music, but it is also among the top 10 on the charts where usually only pop and similar music is found. Even in stores, our CD has been put under the title “pop.” Here is my interpretation of this: Secular music has arrived at a dead point. In a world anguished by stress and nerves, it now causes more stress and nerves. Sacred music, above all Gregorian chant, has always been an oasis to bring relief to the soul. And it seems that many seek this oasis with nostalgia. We have observed that for years, young people whom we invite to hear our chant, listen in silence, are fascinated, and then say with enthusiasm how they [found it] “cool.” Therefore, it seems clear that there is an instinct in men's ailing hearts, which drives them to look for a medicine. Hence Gregorian chant is a medicine for the soul.
Q: Not long ago the Holy Father said that music, and in general true art, does not separate us from our daily concerns or from the reality of every day. Is this also true for Gregorian chant?
Father Wallner: I consider our choral prayer, during which we use Gregorian chant to praise and exalt God, a moment of relaxation and spiritual uplifting. Benedict speaks of [it as the] “work for God” – in Latin, “opus Dei.” Thus, it isn’t a waste of time. It isn’t something absurd; it’s an action full of significance, a “work” – a work, in fact, for God. And in true music, there isn’t only one man who sings, rather, it is a dimension of the Eternal that penetrates man, creating in him an ability to listen. Why has Gregorian chant always been called “the song of the angels?” Because something is felt that comes from and resounds from another world, something that cannot be measured with mere coordinates, such as rhythm, harmony and notes. That is why this form of music is not foreign to daily life, but heals the wounds of every day and helps to overcome them.
Q: What are the characteristics of this form of sung prayer, which is “daily bread” in convents and monasteries?
Father Wallner: Gregorian chant is very ancient. It was born in the first millennium, appearing already in the 4th century, and in many aspects is addressed to the Most High. First of all the texts are, for the most part, verses from the Bible: hence it is the word of God, which from the mouths of men returns to God in the form of singing. In the second place, the composers of the melodies were pious anonymous men consecrated to God, mostly monks, who created the music not out of a desire for fame, but men who desired, once the work was complete, to return to total anonymity. Hence, men who in their longing for holiness created something holy. In the third place, chant is very fascinating, inasmuch as it is situated outside our normal experience of music. There are no tones of C major or D minor, there are no tempi, there is no established rhythm; it is a song for only one voice. Hence, it is a different sound from all other sounds that we today call music. And at the same time, it is at the root of all that which subsequently developed as music. Fourth point: chant is above all a sung prayer. We sing it always before the altar; therefore, it is not for the people, but for God. That is why we can never go on tour with our chant, because it is always a question of prayer. The recordings for the CD “Chant – Music for Paradise” were also taken from prayer.
Q: In the month of June, the Pope prayed that all Christians cultivate a profound personal friendship with Christ, thus witnessing to his love. In what way can music and song create this friendship and perhaps also reinforce it?
Father Wallner: As a youth I learned to pray through the rosary. If I want to intensify my friendship with Jesus, I kneel before the Most High. Gregorian chant is, in fact, a form of prayer which is not about aggression or intensity, but is like “daily bread” – so one can sing throughout life. The relationship with God that comes from the heart is already a premise. In our meetings with young people, in which between 200 and 300 youth participate, we begin by singing a piece of Gregorian chant. This serves to create an atmosphere of peace for the young people. Then we sing the very beautiful new sacred songs that have the power to create in young people's hearts a personal relationship with Jesus. Then we pray a part of the rosary, and kneel in silence with young people in adoration of the Most High; we [also] teach them to formulate in their hearts a “you” with Jesus, to start this dialogue of the heart. Returning to your question: Yes, music can lead to God, it can open hearts – uplift the soul and unite it to God.
Q: Could you talk about the background of this CD?
Father Wallner: “Chant – Music for Paradise” was born from joy and carries joy. And the reason is that the singing is based on our liturgy for the dead. The entire Requiem is on the CD, that is, the Mass for the dead. Joy? Yes, because true joy is joy for eternal life. We experienced this in February of this year at Heiligenkreuz, when over the span of 16 days, three of our brethren died, while in the preceding five years, no brother had died. One of them had reached 100 years of age. At the time of the Nazis he had been imprisoned in a death cell. However, for many of the young monks who have come to us in recent years and who experienced for the first time the gentle death of one of our brothers, to participate in songs of the liturgy for the dead made a great impression. In convent life, there is no liturgy more edifying than the liturgy for the dead, because one of us has arrived where we all want to go: to eternal communion with God. For this reason the CD is called precisely “Music for Paradise.”
Q: One last question: Is Gregorian chant reserved exclusively for specialists, or can the rest of us also appreciate it?
Father Wallner: The CD is for everyone, in my opinion, also for young people. In any case, the ratings already demonstrate this. When I entered [the monastery] at age 18, initially chant was strange for me. Today I love it very much because it really isn’t “fast food” music, which leads to laziness and indolence of soul, but – to continue the analogy – it is a strong broth, a vitamin concentrate. Gregorian chant spreads harmony, peace and comfort in the depth of the heart. And I would like to add a personal thought, because as a Catholic dogmatic I believe that the divine can be imprinted in a sacred way on the earthly reality. In our convent we are living a moment of grace, because we are in close union with the Church, with the Pope and with the magisterium. And it is possible to feel this internal harmony with all that is in the hearts of the 17 singers. This music is a small sacred gift that God has willed to give to the world through us.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for July 27, 2008: Our Parish's Strategic Plan, Part 4: What to do? How?
This and That:
Our Parish’s Strategic Plan, Part 4: What to do? How?
Dear Friends,
Well, this is the fourth and final installment of our Parish Strategic Plan. After having considered our vision, mission, and purpose as a parish, it is now time to turn to the objectives – the actions that will bring about the desired goals.
As I have said the preceding weeks, as you read this fourth and “installment,” your impressions, feedback and comments are welcome and can be shared with any Council member. They are the parishioners wearing the red ribbon and pin at Sunday Masses. You are also invited to share your thoughts via email to our Parish Council Chairperson, Bill Campbell at Bill.campbell@milliman.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Celebrating Life through Worship and Service
Strategic Plan
Our Lady of Grace Parish
2008 through 2013
Approved by Pastoral Council May 12, 2008
Objectives
The strategic planning process and the resultant Strategic Plan document are the means by which we align our near-term goals and objectives with our mission statement. Objectives have been established for the next several years that will ultimately enhance our ability to “Worship and Serve.” These objectives are broad in nature and provide benchmarks and milestones to guide our Parish Staff, committees, ministries and volunteers. These organizations and individuals then establish their own near-term goals and action lists to meet their commitments and contribute to the attainment of these strategic objectives.
Objective # 1: Increase evangelization efforts to assist all on their faith journey
Our faith journey begins with a first step: Coming to know God through Jesus Christ. The journey advances as God becomes one with us as we hear The Word and partake of the Eucharist at Mass. The journey continues as we then become one in God through living the life of Jesus in service and evangelization. Every aspect of our parish, Liturgy, Evangelization, Education and Stewardship, exists for one purpose—to assist the individual on his/her faith journey.
Our parishioners are at different stages in their personal faith journeys. We must have activities in place that allow us to identify the disenfranchised and provide the means to introduce or bring them back to the faith. We must also take action to find out why Catholics in our parish are not attending Mass and respond appropriately, where we can, to increase their participation. And finally, we must encourage our parishioners to “move out of the pew” and into “service within the community,” thereby progressing further in their individual faith journeys through living the life of Jesus.
Increases in RCIA participation, Mass attendance, participation in Religious Education for children and faith renewal for adults, Welcome Orientation attendance, as well as the numbers of volunteers in ministries and outreach will indicate success in meeting this objective. Particular attention will be focused on activities that will result in an increased attendance at Mass, specifically those identified by the Think Tank on Filling the Pews, and those expressed in Bishop Rozanski’s findings from his Pastoral Visit.
Objective # 2: Prepare the parish for the Church of the Future (Address the issues outlined in “The Hope That Lies Before Us.”)
The current, and soon to become critical, shortage of priests has created the need to take an honest look at what the Church can expect in the next 10 to 20 years in terms of clergy staffing of parishes. In some areas of the Archdiocese, alternatives to a resident Pastor are already a reality. In “The Hope That Lies Before Us,” the Archdiocese outlines activities that parishes can undertake to prepare for the days ahead when priests may not be available to be assigned as pastors. Among the parishes of the York Road Corridor (St. Pius X, Immaculate Conception, Nativity, St. Joseph, St. Francis Xavier, and Our Lady of Grace), pastors have hired a facilitator to meet every six weeks to develop a plan for the area with involvement of Parish Staffs, Pastoral Councils, Parish Corporators, and parishioners by June 2010.
As a parish, we have taken steps to analyze the situation as we see it at Our Lady of Grace. We must now review those findings, establish priorities and address the impact of those issues on our parish, both as it may be when Father Nicholas takes his next assignment in 2010, and as it may be in the next 10 to 20 years. We must prepare for several possible scenarios and plan accordingly.
Objective # 3: Ensure Financial Stability (Through management of expenses and increased giving.)
Our Lady of Grace must be fiscally responsible in order to continue its mission. We cannot implement programs and practices that place the financial future of the parish at risk. The requirements for compensating our Parish Staff, maintaining our facilities, performing our outreach services, and providing our educational programs must be tied to revenue generating activities, the largest of which is offertory income, that result in a balanced or surplus budget each fiscal year. The need to cut back on expenses for any services at the start of a year or during the year has a profoundly negative impact on the community.
More and more demands are being made on our parishioners for their time and financial resources; our last stewardship campaign was just such a demand. Creative and innovative means will be required in the future to achieve and maintain the increased giving necessary to ensure financial stability.
Objective # 4: Enhance our “Service and Outreach” efforts
“Worship without service cannot be true worship.” Our record of service to the community is noteworthy, as is our phenomenal number of “outreach volunteers.” Yet, as the past has demonstrated, there are always more people who need assistance. As more people become “in need” and those needs change, we must be able to respond to meet those needs.
Additional volunteers and additional “givers” would allow us to identify better those in need and match them up with the services or assistance they require. Indeed, when it comes to Service and Outreach, more is better. Enhancing the quality and quantity of our outreach services will enable us to do more for more people. By doing more for others, we will help ourselves in our individual faith journeys and help to reinforce Our Lady of Grace as a strong presence in our community – living our faith among others as the Body of Christ in Northern Baltimore County.
Implementation
Our Parish Staff, the Pastoral Council, and our Parish Corporators are responsible for most of the planning and oversight of the Church’s endeavors. This Strategic Plan will help to guide and focus as we go forward.
Each year, the Pastoral Council will establish annual goals to measure progress of the various objectives and action plans to implement the objectives. Each year’s goals will be reviewed at the end of that year. Accomplishments as well as areas in need of improvement will be identified. A Yearly Status Report will be prepared each year to document this yearly assessment. Action plans to implement these objectives may be found in the Implementation Plan. The Pastoral Council Panel Coordinators will work with the ministries and committees to communicate the goals and action plans associated with each objective and to monitor progress.
The Church’s activities are actually carried out by the Pastor, Parish Staff, numerous committees, ministry groups, “partner organizations,” and individual volunteers. These individuals are what make this parish the faith community that it is today. Short-term goals and longer-term objectives that are tied to our Mission Statement and Parish Vision are what will keep Our Lady of Grace Parish thriving in the years to come. We will continue to develop objectives within the Strategic Plan to provide guidance to the staff and committees as they do God’s work throughout the years to come.
Our Parish’s Strategic Plan, Part 4: What to do? How?
Dear Friends,
Well, this is the fourth and final installment of our Parish Strategic Plan. After having considered our vision, mission, and purpose as a parish, it is now time to turn to the objectives – the actions that will bring about the desired goals.
As I have said the preceding weeks, as you read this fourth and “installment,” your impressions, feedback and comments are welcome and can be shared with any Council member. They are the parishioners wearing the red ribbon and pin at Sunday Masses. You are also invited to share your thoughts via email to our Parish Council Chairperson, Bill Campbell at Bill.campbell@milliman.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Celebrating Life through Worship and Service
Strategic Plan
Our Lady of Grace Parish
2008 through 2013
Approved by Pastoral Council May 12, 2008
Objectives
The strategic planning process and the resultant Strategic Plan document are the means by which we align our near-term goals and objectives with our mission statement. Objectives have been established for the next several years that will ultimately enhance our ability to “Worship and Serve.” These objectives are broad in nature and provide benchmarks and milestones to guide our Parish Staff, committees, ministries and volunteers. These organizations and individuals then establish their own near-term goals and action lists to meet their commitments and contribute to the attainment of these strategic objectives.
Objective # 1: Increase evangelization efforts to assist all on their faith journey
Our faith journey begins with a first step: Coming to know God through Jesus Christ. The journey advances as God becomes one with us as we hear The Word and partake of the Eucharist at Mass. The journey continues as we then become one in God through living the life of Jesus in service and evangelization. Every aspect of our parish, Liturgy, Evangelization, Education and Stewardship, exists for one purpose—to assist the individual on his/her faith journey.
Our parishioners are at different stages in their personal faith journeys. We must have activities in place that allow us to identify the disenfranchised and provide the means to introduce or bring them back to the faith. We must also take action to find out why Catholics in our parish are not attending Mass and respond appropriately, where we can, to increase their participation. And finally, we must encourage our parishioners to “move out of the pew” and into “service within the community,” thereby progressing further in their individual faith journeys through living the life of Jesus.
Increases in RCIA participation, Mass attendance, participation in Religious Education for children and faith renewal for adults, Welcome Orientation attendance, as well as the numbers of volunteers in ministries and outreach will indicate success in meeting this objective. Particular attention will be focused on activities that will result in an increased attendance at Mass, specifically those identified by the Think Tank on Filling the Pews, and those expressed in Bishop Rozanski’s findings from his Pastoral Visit.
Objective # 2: Prepare the parish for the Church of the Future (Address the issues outlined in “The Hope That Lies Before Us.”)
The current, and soon to become critical, shortage of priests has created the need to take an honest look at what the Church can expect in the next 10 to 20 years in terms of clergy staffing of parishes. In some areas of the Archdiocese, alternatives to a resident Pastor are already a reality. In “The Hope That Lies Before Us,” the Archdiocese outlines activities that parishes can undertake to prepare for the days ahead when priests may not be available to be assigned as pastors. Among the parishes of the York Road Corridor (St. Pius X, Immaculate Conception, Nativity, St. Joseph, St. Francis Xavier, and Our Lady of Grace), pastors have hired a facilitator to meet every six weeks to develop a plan for the area with involvement of Parish Staffs, Pastoral Councils, Parish Corporators, and parishioners by June 2010.
As a parish, we have taken steps to analyze the situation as we see it at Our Lady of Grace. We must now review those findings, establish priorities and address the impact of those issues on our parish, both as it may be when Father Nicholas takes his next assignment in 2010, and as it may be in the next 10 to 20 years. We must prepare for several possible scenarios and plan accordingly.
Objective # 3: Ensure Financial Stability (Through management of expenses and increased giving.)
Our Lady of Grace must be fiscally responsible in order to continue its mission. We cannot implement programs and practices that place the financial future of the parish at risk. The requirements for compensating our Parish Staff, maintaining our facilities, performing our outreach services, and providing our educational programs must be tied to revenue generating activities, the largest of which is offertory income, that result in a balanced or surplus budget each fiscal year. The need to cut back on expenses for any services at the start of a year or during the year has a profoundly negative impact on the community.
More and more demands are being made on our parishioners for their time and financial resources; our last stewardship campaign was just such a demand. Creative and innovative means will be required in the future to achieve and maintain the increased giving necessary to ensure financial stability.
Objective # 4: Enhance our “Service and Outreach” efforts
“Worship without service cannot be true worship.” Our record of service to the community is noteworthy, as is our phenomenal number of “outreach volunteers.” Yet, as the past has demonstrated, there are always more people who need assistance. As more people become “in need” and those needs change, we must be able to respond to meet those needs.
Additional volunteers and additional “givers” would allow us to identify better those in need and match them up with the services or assistance they require. Indeed, when it comes to Service and Outreach, more is better. Enhancing the quality and quantity of our outreach services will enable us to do more for more people. By doing more for others, we will help ourselves in our individual faith journeys and help to reinforce Our Lady of Grace as a strong presence in our community – living our faith among others as the Body of Christ in Northern Baltimore County.
Implementation
Our Parish Staff, the Pastoral Council, and our Parish Corporators are responsible for most of the planning and oversight of the Church’s endeavors. This Strategic Plan will help to guide and focus as we go forward.
Each year, the Pastoral Council will establish annual goals to measure progress of the various objectives and action plans to implement the objectives. Each year’s goals will be reviewed at the end of that year. Accomplishments as well as areas in need of improvement will be identified. A Yearly Status Report will be prepared each year to document this yearly assessment. Action plans to implement these objectives may be found in the Implementation Plan. The Pastoral Council Panel Coordinators will work with the ministries and committees to communicate the goals and action plans associated with each objective and to monitor progress.
The Church’s activities are actually carried out by the Pastor, Parish Staff, numerous committees, ministry groups, “partner organizations,” and individual volunteers. These individuals are what make this parish the faith community that it is today. Short-term goals and longer-term objectives that are tied to our Mission Statement and Parish Vision are what will keep Our Lady of Grace Parish thriving in the years to come. We will continue to develop objectives within the Strategic Plan to provide guidance to the staff and committees as they do God’s work throughout the years to come.
Weekly HOMILY for July 27, 2008: Father Nicholas is on a pilgrimage
Father Nicholas is away on a pilgrimage "in the footsteps of St. Paul" to Turkey and will return to the parish on August 2.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for July 20, 2008: Father Nicholas on Pilgrimage
There is no homily this week.
Father Nicholas is away on a Pilgrimage "in the footsteps of St. Paul."
He will return to the parish on Saturday, August 2 and homilies will resume the weekend after that.
Father Nicholas is away on a Pilgrimage "in the footsteps of St. Paul."
He will return to the parish on Saturday, August 2 and homilies will resume the weekend after that.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for July 20, 2008: Our Parish's Strategic Plan, Part 3: Our Background As a Parish
This and That:
Our Parish’s Strategic Plan, Part 3: Our Background As a Parish
Dear Friends,
This is the 3rd installment through the bulletin of our Parish Strategic Plan. It deals with the background of who we are as a parish and how our ministry, worship and service are expressed.
As you read the remaining two parts, this week and next, your impressions, feedback and comments are always welcome and can be shared with any Council member. Remember, they are the ones wearing the red ribbon and pin at Sunday Masses. You are also invited to email the Council Chairperson, Bill Campbell at Bill.campbell@milliman.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Celebrating Life through Worship and Service
Strategic Plan
Our Lady of Grace Parish
2008 through 2013
Approved by Pastoral Council May 12, 2008
Background
Our Lady of Grace Parish is a dynamic faith community in which our beliefs are exhibited on a daily basis through word and deed. We are blessed with a Parish Staff and core of volunteers who are dedicated to serving our parish members and our outreach community. For three decades, Our Lady of Grace Parish has met the needs of this community in the Liturgy of the Word, the Breaking of the Bread, and our numerous Education and Service programs. Our faith journey is truly constituted by “Worship and Service.”
Over the past few years, we have expanded our ministries to 60+ volunteer organizations (committees, groups, ministries, etc.). We have 620 volunteers to assist our Pastor and Parish Staff. We have an infrastructure that allows us to meet effectively many, if not all, of the needs of the parish. As our parish grows and the world around us continues to change, it will be a challenge to maintain and enhance our ability to do so. Our parish has increased in size to almost 1,400 families. The needs of this community and its many constituents will continue to change in the future. With the growth and changes come new constituents, additional requirements, and different sets of needs. We must plan for and be prepared to meet the challenges that will accompany this change.
Our ability to provide a Catholic School education for Kindergarten through grade 8 complements our other Education and Youth Activities (parish religious education, youth ministry, Confirmation, adult education and faith renewal, etc.). We plan to study the possibility of a pre-school for 3 and 4 year olds as a feeder for our Kindergarten. We also plan to study the needs of our people as they relate to the use of our middle school grades 6 through 8.
In order to support our future plans, we will endeavor to ensure that: (1) we have the appropriate Stewardship programs in place to maintain and, when needed, upgrade our infrastructure, and; (2) we can finance these projects to ensure the parish remains fiscally sound.
While we continue to meet the needs of many parishioners and residents of the community, we are aware that there are individuals and groups that we have not been able to serve—or serve well enough. There are three groups within our community that have, and will continue to present, such unique challenges:
• Of the nearly 1,400 families registered at Our Lady of Grace, less than one-third attend Mass regularly. The other two-thirds represent parishioners that have not elected to avail themselves of our Liturgy on a routine basis (or most likely many of our other services and ministries).
• There are Catholics in the Northern Baltimore community who are not registered as parishioners, but are still members of our faith community.
• There are those in need that have an affiliation with the parish because they are our neighbors.
If we are to remain a community of “Worship and Service,” we must identify and reach out to these community members as well. Through additional efforts in Evangelization and other activities, we can identify and seek out the “disenfranchised” and work to expand the benefits they receive from the Church, increase their level of participation and assist them in moving forward in their personal faith journeys.
Mass attendance will continue to have an impact on our financial status and must continue to be monitored. For a while, weekly attendance at Mass was declining. However, Mass attendance has been rising gradually since the end of 2007 and into 2008. We must ensure that the parish remains financially sound year after year while continuing to meet its spiritual and mission-related obligations.
An old challenge, but new initiative, has come to the forefront over the past several years. This initiative will continue to be one of the primary focuses of the Pastoral Council and the Parish Staff. The “Hope That Lies Before Us” is a wide-ranging initiative within the Archdiocese that seeks to address the impact that the increasing shortage of priests will have on the Church, the Archdiocese, and the parish. This is a subject that we have been addressing and will be devoting more attention to in the future, especially when Father Nicholas’s departure in 2010 is taken into consideration.
Planning, commitment and action are required if we are to continue to meet our current obligations and stay abreast of the changing needs of our community. The objectives contained in this Strategic Plan will provide direction for our activities over the next several years. The plan focuses on coordinating activities at all levels of the parish so that the results are aligned with the established long-term objectives of the parish and, ultimately, enhance our ability to carry out our Mission.
Our Parish’s Strategic Plan, Part 3: Our Background As a Parish
Dear Friends,
This is the 3rd installment through the bulletin of our Parish Strategic Plan. It deals with the background of who we are as a parish and how our ministry, worship and service are expressed.
As you read the remaining two parts, this week and next, your impressions, feedback and comments are always welcome and can be shared with any Council member. Remember, they are the ones wearing the red ribbon and pin at Sunday Masses. You are also invited to email the Council Chairperson, Bill Campbell at Bill.campbell@milliman.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Celebrating Life through Worship and Service
Strategic Plan
Our Lady of Grace Parish
2008 through 2013
Approved by Pastoral Council May 12, 2008
Background
Our Lady of Grace Parish is a dynamic faith community in which our beliefs are exhibited on a daily basis through word and deed. We are blessed with a Parish Staff and core of volunteers who are dedicated to serving our parish members and our outreach community. For three decades, Our Lady of Grace Parish has met the needs of this community in the Liturgy of the Word, the Breaking of the Bread, and our numerous Education and Service programs. Our faith journey is truly constituted by “Worship and Service.”
Over the past few years, we have expanded our ministries to 60+ volunteer organizations (committees, groups, ministries, etc.). We have 620 volunteers to assist our Pastor and Parish Staff. We have an infrastructure that allows us to meet effectively many, if not all, of the needs of the parish. As our parish grows and the world around us continues to change, it will be a challenge to maintain and enhance our ability to do so. Our parish has increased in size to almost 1,400 families. The needs of this community and its many constituents will continue to change in the future. With the growth and changes come new constituents, additional requirements, and different sets of needs. We must plan for and be prepared to meet the challenges that will accompany this change.
Our ability to provide a Catholic School education for Kindergarten through grade 8 complements our other Education and Youth Activities (parish religious education, youth ministry, Confirmation, adult education and faith renewal, etc.). We plan to study the possibility of a pre-school for 3 and 4 year olds as a feeder for our Kindergarten. We also plan to study the needs of our people as they relate to the use of our middle school grades 6 through 8.
In order to support our future plans, we will endeavor to ensure that: (1) we have the appropriate Stewardship programs in place to maintain and, when needed, upgrade our infrastructure, and; (2) we can finance these projects to ensure the parish remains fiscally sound.
While we continue to meet the needs of many parishioners and residents of the community, we are aware that there are individuals and groups that we have not been able to serve—or serve well enough. There are three groups within our community that have, and will continue to present, such unique challenges:
• Of the nearly 1,400 families registered at Our Lady of Grace, less than one-third attend Mass regularly. The other two-thirds represent parishioners that have not elected to avail themselves of our Liturgy on a routine basis (or most likely many of our other services and ministries).
• There are Catholics in the Northern Baltimore community who are not registered as parishioners, but are still members of our faith community.
• There are those in need that have an affiliation with the parish because they are our neighbors.
If we are to remain a community of “Worship and Service,” we must identify and reach out to these community members as well. Through additional efforts in Evangelization and other activities, we can identify and seek out the “disenfranchised” and work to expand the benefits they receive from the Church, increase their level of participation and assist them in moving forward in their personal faith journeys.
Mass attendance will continue to have an impact on our financial status and must continue to be monitored. For a while, weekly attendance at Mass was declining. However, Mass attendance has been rising gradually since the end of 2007 and into 2008. We must ensure that the parish remains financially sound year after year while continuing to meet its spiritual and mission-related obligations.
An old challenge, but new initiative, has come to the forefront over the past several years. This initiative will continue to be one of the primary focuses of the Pastoral Council and the Parish Staff. The “Hope That Lies Before Us” is a wide-ranging initiative within the Archdiocese that seeks to address the impact that the increasing shortage of priests will have on the Church, the Archdiocese, and the parish. This is a subject that we have been addressing and will be devoting more attention to in the future, especially when Father Nicholas’s departure in 2010 is taken into consideration.
Planning, commitment and action are required if we are to continue to meet our current obligations and stay abreast of the changing needs of our community. The objectives contained in this Strategic Plan will provide direction for our activities over the next several years. The plan focuses on coordinating activities at all levels of the parish so that the results are aligned with the established long-term objectives of the parish and, ultimately, enhance our ability to carry out our Mission.
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