This and That:
The Pope As a Force for Religious Unity
At this writing, Pope Benedict XVI had not yet arrived in the U.S., so I thought I would share some thoughts of interest to us as Catholics and as members of Our Lady of Grace regarding religious unity.
The Holy Father is convinced that there will be no peace in the world until there is peace among the religions. That is why he came to the table of dialogue here and in Rome with hope and abiding conviction. The Pontiff’s schedule during his five-day trip included four stops dedicated to building these relationships. On April 17th, the Pope met with 200 interfaith leaders at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. At the conclusion of that meeting, he met with religious representatives of the Jewish community and presented to them his greetings for the feast of Passover, which begins on April 19th. The next day, in New York, Benedict XVI led an ecumenical prayer service at St. Joseph’s Church in the Yorkville area of Manhattan. On his way to that service, he made a brief and informal visit to the Park East Synagogue – a visit that was not part of his official program, but which again gave him a chance to express his Passover best wishes. The meeting at St. Joseph’s Church was for the sake of encouraging the work of promoting Christian Unity. On the evening before, April 17th, the Holy Father met with 150 inter-religious representatives from the Jewish, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, and the Jainist communities.
Whereas on Friday evening the theme was “Christ, Our Hope of Unity,” on Thursday evening it was “Peace Our Hope.” With our dear friends from the other religions, the Holy Father spoke about how the great religions must offer a common witness to peace at a time when religiously motivated violence has claimed, as on 9/11, too many lives around the world.
Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue seem to be a priority for Benedict XVI, not just since being elected Pope, but ever since his days as an advisor at the Second Vatican Council. At the time of Vatican II, he was a theological advisor to the German bishops who were proposing new doctrinal formulations that took account of developments in Orthodox and Protestant theology. Later on, he was a contributor to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. As Cardinal Prefect in Rome, he nearly single-handedly saved the historic Joint Declaration on Justification in 1999, between the Lutheran World Federation and the Holy See, through a last minute intervention in a meeting at his brother's house in Germany.
Citing a February study from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Father James Massa, Executive Director of the U.S Episcopal Conference’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, noted that the Holy Father came to America as a nation being reshaped in the realm of religion. He noted that, “The configuration of American Christianity has been changing quite dramatically over the past four decades. The so-called mainline Protestant churches have been shrinking while the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities have seen remarkable growth. Catholics cannot but wonder, and admire, all that explains the vitality of the ‘new churches.’ That must certainly have be on the mind of the Holy Father and other Catholic leaders both in this country and around the world.”
Father Massa contends that the concept of the papacy has changed as well: “Only among a few Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. is the Pope viewed any longer as the ‘anti-Christ.’ Many see him as a defender of conscience, as well as a guardian of historic Christianity, in a morally relativistic age.”
We began last week before “Shepherd One” touched down at Andrews Air Force Base with high hopes for what Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States, and the priority he’s giving to ecumenism and inter-religious relations, may bring about. Hopefully, our Holy Father re-energized ecumenical commitments at a time when so many churches seem to be experiencing new fractures in membership and deepening polarization over moral issues.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for April 20, 2008: Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 20, 2008
Focus: Gathering: The Gatherer and the Gathered
Function: To show how the Church is more than a building and as “Living Stones” is to be found in service to those in any need
Form: Now / Then
Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
Pope in America
Beginning this past Tuesday, Pope Benedict has been visiting our Country.
We have seen the pageantry in Washington, especially the official welcome at the White House. We have seen the poignant speech at the United Nations.
Pope Benedict called all nations to follow the ways of peace and of respect for the dignity of all humanity, which is the real basis of peace.
However, what caught my attention more than anything else was the Mass at Nationals Park in D.C.
Forty-six thousand Catholics gathered around the Holy Father to celebrate the Eucharist. And there is a similar Mass today at Yankee Stadium.
While no church building could accommodate such crowds, no church building was needed for us to be “The Church.”
What I see in both of these Masses is that we, as a Church, are first and foremost a people and not a building.
This is the very point being made in today’s Scripture passages.
Church as Living Stones
In the second reading, St. Peter beautifully expresses who we are as a Church.
He says: “Come to him [Jesus], a living stone, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” What a wonderful image!
The Church is not just a building of granite or limestone or brick. We are persons, a people, or in St. Peter’s word, “living stones…a spiritual house.”
We are a people who have been given God’s very life through Baptism.
We are a people bonded by our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are a people nourished each week by the Eucharist and thus we are “living stones being built into a spiritual house” with Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
The celebration of the Eucharist on the grass fields at Nationals Park and at Yankee Stadium makes this reality very clear.
It lifts up our core identity as Church, as community, for the world to see.
The Church in Service
And yet, we must go one step further in our reflection and today’s first reading does this. In this passage from Acts, we see the early Church responding very creatively to a need by caring for others.
The Church was growing and with the cultural diversity and the addition of thousands of believers every week, some people – especially widows – are being neglected.
What happens? The Church calls forth deacons to make sure that these women are cared for properly.
The important lesson here is that we need to be “Living Stones” who are precisely that, “living” and attentive, “living” and responding to the needs of others. When we see a need, we have to do what we can to assist.
So, for example, here at Our Lady of Grace we try to attend carefully to those who are grieving, those in physical need, those who are hungry for food or spiritual nourishment. We support pregnant mothers, homeless families, and the needy in Baltimore City.
There are needs we are not fulfilling and there will be more needs arising. However, the point is that we are “living” stones and through our caring for other we are “being built into a spiritual house.”
Conclusion
In today’s gospel, Philip asks Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father.”
And Jesus says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. It is the Father who lives in me doing his works.” So, the works of Jesus are the works of the Father and show us the Father.
And then Jesus says: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater ones than these.”
So, our works, our attention and caring and serving one another, these works express who we are as “living stones,” bonded together by Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
And these works, like Jesus’ works, reveal the Father and draw others to the Father.
How appropriate that this profound reality of who we are as a parish and as the Universal Church can be seen from the visit of Pope Benedict to our country.
Our Lady of Grace
April 20, 2008
Focus: Gathering: The Gatherer and the Gathered
Function: To show how the Church is more than a building and as “Living Stones” is to be found in service to those in any need
Form: Now / Then
Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
Pope in America
Beginning this past Tuesday, Pope Benedict has been visiting our Country.
We have seen the pageantry in Washington, especially the official welcome at the White House. We have seen the poignant speech at the United Nations.
Pope Benedict called all nations to follow the ways of peace and of respect for the dignity of all humanity, which is the real basis of peace.
However, what caught my attention more than anything else was the Mass at Nationals Park in D.C.
Forty-six thousand Catholics gathered around the Holy Father to celebrate the Eucharist. And there is a similar Mass today at Yankee Stadium.
While no church building could accommodate such crowds, no church building was needed for us to be “The Church.”
What I see in both of these Masses is that we, as a Church, are first and foremost a people and not a building.
This is the very point being made in today’s Scripture passages.
Church as Living Stones
In the second reading, St. Peter beautifully expresses who we are as a Church.
He says: “Come to him [Jesus], a living stone, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” What a wonderful image!
The Church is not just a building of granite or limestone or brick. We are persons, a people, or in St. Peter’s word, “living stones…a spiritual house.”
We are a people who have been given God’s very life through Baptism.
We are a people bonded by our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are a people nourished each week by the Eucharist and thus we are “living stones being built into a spiritual house” with Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
The celebration of the Eucharist on the grass fields at Nationals Park and at Yankee Stadium makes this reality very clear.
It lifts up our core identity as Church, as community, for the world to see.
The Church in Service
And yet, we must go one step further in our reflection and today’s first reading does this. In this passage from Acts, we see the early Church responding very creatively to a need by caring for others.
The Church was growing and with the cultural diversity and the addition of thousands of believers every week, some people – especially widows – are being neglected.
What happens? The Church calls forth deacons to make sure that these women are cared for properly.
The important lesson here is that we need to be “Living Stones” who are precisely that, “living” and attentive, “living” and responding to the needs of others. When we see a need, we have to do what we can to assist.
So, for example, here at Our Lady of Grace we try to attend carefully to those who are grieving, those in physical need, those who are hungry for food or spiritual nourishment. We support pregnant mothers, homeless families, and the needy in Baltimore City.
There are needs we are not fulfilling and there will be more needs arising. However, the point is that we are “living” stones and through our caring for other we are “being built into a spiritual house.”
Conclusion
In today’s gospel, Philip asks Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father.”
And Jesus says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. It is the Father who lives in me doing his works.” So, the works of Jesus are the works of the Father and show us the Father.
And then Jesus says: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater ones than these.”
So, our works, our attention and caring and serving one another, these works express who we are as “living stones,” bonded together by Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
And these works, like Jesus’ works, reveal the Father and draw others to the Father.
How appropriate that this profound reality of who we are as a parish and as the Universal Church can be seen from the visit of Pope Benedict to our country.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 13, 2008: Back from the Monastery
This and That:
Back from the Monastery
If I had to summarize what my stay at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina these past 3-months has been it would be: “A journey into self.” After all, an environment consisting solely of a 90-day daily routine of no talking, light eating, no meat, prayer, spiritual reading, and manual labor will create the conditions for such a journey; what else is there to do?
So what did I find along the way of this “journey”? Let me begin by saying it wasn’t an easy journey like getting into a car and driving to grandma’s house a half-hour away. Nor was it a journey to a more distant city like New York or Montreal. I really didn’t know where I was going nor did I have any sort of a roadmap. All I knew was that I was going to a Cistercian monastery (the monks prefer “Cistercian” to their popular name “Trappist”) as a way of satisfying a desire I have to be closer to God through prayer. I know this because prayer, for many years now, has been the most exciting, life-giving thing of all my activities. (By way of information, preaching is second, and giving talks is third, cooking is fourth, exercising is fifth … but I’m digressing.)
I also went with three areas I wanted to address over the course of the three months: (1) In January “A Review of My Life,” (2) In February decide “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” beginning June 2010, and (3) In March “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life”. Each Friday evening for the hour between Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer) I met with my Spiritual Director, Father Guerric, and the agenda was basically the same: What was your high point this week? What was your low point? Do you have any questions arising about life here in the monastery? and my week’s prayer and reflection on the “question of the month.” I might add that I kept a journal the entire time – a sort of “Mepkin Chronicle” – that is 215 typewritten pages long so I would say my journey is well documented.
To put some flesh on the bones, I wanted to share at least one of the many insights regarding each of the questions. From “A Review of My Life” I came to realize that from my earliest days as a child I have enjoyed solitude. At the time I didn’t know it was prayer that I was really desiring, since we were not a family that attended church or religious education. I know if I had had some content and worship my journey may have gotten me to my destination quicker. (A note to parents with young children.) A love for solitude perhaps sounds strange, given my nature, but it was a fact that I unearthed through some wonderful techniques I learned about journaling to get to deeper levels within myself.
From “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” I learned that in order to discern God’s will more clearly, what I eventually will do needs to grow out of my talents and gifts and where they can best be utilized. It is looking like the journey is leading toward parish weekend work, giving retreats and days of recollection, and possibly spiritual direction.
Finally, “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life” helped me realize my own level of readiness when I might hear the dreaded words about my own death. The example I used was, “Father Nicholas, I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you have advanced stages of inoperable prostate cancer.” (This was more an exercise and not a fact, for I am in excellent health at the moment.) I reflected on the stages we will all go through in such cases, the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the end, from my pages and pages of reflection and processing them all with my spiritual director, I believe I was ready to be with the Lord.
Overall, the journey was filled with some marvelous moments of union with God in prayer as well as many lackluster hours where the experience was simply sitting patiently and being present as best I could. There were lots of new insights into who I am and what makes me tick. (Some I liked; some I didn’t, but the truth is the truth.) I learned the Cistercian way to “quiet the mind” so the Lord can speak and I came to understand their “Ladder to Humility,” and the “Three Denunciations” necessary for anyone to have prayer be more fruitful. These are all topics I am exploring as future talks for Our Lady of Grace.
My seminary years and priestly life have exposed me to wonderful schools of spirituality such as Carmelite (St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross), Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare), and Jesuit (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Anthony DeMello), but I had never known much about Cistercian Spirituality. This school is derived from the Desert Fathers of Egypt from the 3rd century, through St. John Cassian and St. Benedict. (Cistercians began in the 12th century and trace their roots to St. Benedict.) Cistercian Spirituality has a more monastic, contemplative flavor, where solitude and a common ascetical lifestyle are stressed.
As I mentioned at the Masses last weekend, the most difficult thing during the three months was not being silent. (I know that’s hard to imagine!) Nor was it the fasting and abstinence from meat that the monks practice every day. And it wasn’t getting up at 2:45am and going to bed at 8:00pm or praying a total of 7 hours a day. The most difficult thing, honestly, was the manual labor which included: clearing fields of debris that had been dumped in a section of the 3,000 acres before the monastery received the property as a gift from Henry and Clare Booth Luce, working in the hen houses picking eggs from 25,000 chickens, working in the grading house, where the eggs were washed and packaged for market.
The thing I missed most – and this may bear repeating as well – was gathering you together as your pastor to worship. Remember, a monastic community is a group of 30 men coming together to worship; 15 men facing 15 men in church, choir style. It’s very different from gathering families and children and all the rough edges that make your lives as families so real. And while Our Lady of Grace on a Sunday morning may feel more like real life, my experience at the monastery did something to my prayer life that I want to keep and share and live out of each day. The key for me will be to take that prayer life and fit it into the life of our faith family.
I thank you for all your prayers and kind words upon my return. I remain grateful to Sr. Mary Therese who served as our Interim Pastor and to Elaine Hagner, who remained at the helm in terms of Parish Administration. Without their gift of themselves I could never have done this. God bless us all. It’s good to be home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
PS. I am preparing a presentation to share in church after Masses on the weekend of April 19-20th. It will include photos and video clips of the “journey” with time for Q/A. It should last a half-hour and I will pitch it to youth as well, so you can come as a family.
Back from the Monastery
If I had to summarize what my stay at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina these past 3-months has been it would be: “A journey into self.” After all, an environment consisting solely of a 90-day daily routine of no talking, light eating, no meat, prayer, spiritual reading, and manual labor will create the conditions for such a journey; what else is there to do?
So what did I find along the way of this “journey”? Let me begin by saying it wasn’t an easy journey like getting into a car and driving to grandma’s house a half-hour away. Nor was it a journey to a more distant city like New York or Montreal. I really didn’t know where I was going nor did I have any sort of a roadmap. All I knew was that I was going to a Cistercian monastery (the monks prefer “Cistercian” to their popular name “Trappist”) as a way of satisfying a desire I have to be closer to God through prayer. I know this because prayer, for many years now, has been the most exciting, life-giving thing of all my activities. (By way of information, preaching is second, and giving talks is third, cooking is fourth, exercising is fifth … but I’m digressing.)
I also went with three areas I wanted to address over the course of the three months: (1) In January “A Review of My Life,” (2) In February decide “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” beginning June 2010, and (3) In March “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life”. Each Friday evening for the hour between Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer) I met with my Spiritual Director, Father Guerric, and the agenda was basically the same: What was your high point this week? What was your low point? Do you have any questions arising about life here in the monastery? and my week’s prayer and reflection on the “question of the month.” I might add that I kept a journal the entire time – a sort of “Mepkin Chronicle” – that is 215 typewritten pages long so I would say my journey is well documented.
To put some flesh on the bones, I wanted to share at least one of the many insights regarding each of the questions. From “A Review of My Life” I came to realize that from my earliest days as a child I have enjoyed solitude. At the time I didn’t know it was prayer that I was really desiring, since we were not a family that attended church or religious education. I know if I had had some content and worship my journey may have gotten me to my destination quicker. (A note to parents with young children.) A love for solitude perhaps sounds strange, given my nature, but it was a fact that I unearthed through some wonderful techniques I learned about journaling to get to deeper levels within myself.
From “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” I learned that in order to discern God’s will more clearly, what I eventually will do needs to grow out of my talents and gifts and where they can best be utilized. It is looking like the journey is leading toward parish weekend work, giving retreats and days of recollection, and possibly spiritual direction.
Finally, “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life” helped me realize my own level of readiness when I might hear the dreaded words about my own death. The example I used was, “Father Nicholas, I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you have advanced stages of inoperable prostate cancer.” (This was more an exercise and not a fact, for I am in excellent health at the moment.) I reflected on the stages we will all go through in such cases, the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the end, from my pages and pages of reflection and processing them all with my spiritual director, I believe I was ready to be with the Lord.
Overall, the journey was filled with some marvelous moments of union with God in prayer as well as many lackluster hours where the experience was simply sitting patiently and being present as best I could. There were lots of new insights into who I am and what makes me tick. (Some I liked; some I didn’t, but the truth is the truth.) I learned the Cistercian way to “quiet the mind” so the Lord can speak and I came to understand their “Ladder to Humility,” and the “Three Denunciations” necessary for anyone to have prayer be more fruitful. These are all topics I am exploring as future talks for Our Lady of Grace.
My seminary years and priestly life have exposed me to wonderful schools of spirituality such as Carmelite (St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross), Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare), and Jesuit (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Anthony DeMello), but I had never known much about Cistercian Spirituality. This school is derived from the Desert Fathers of Egypt from the 3rd century, through St. John Cassian and St. Benedict. (Cistercians began in the 12th century and trace their roots to St. Benedict.) Cistercian Spirituality has a more monastic, contemplative flavor, where solitude and a common ascetical lifestyle are stressed.
As I mentioned at the Masses last weekend, the most difficult thing during the three months was not being silent. (I know that’s hard to imagine!) Nor was it the fasting and abstinence from meat that the monks practice every day. And it wasn’t getting up at 2:45am and going to bed at 8:00pm or praying a total of 7 hours a day. The most difficult thing, honestly, was the manual labor which included: clearing fields of debris that had been dumped in a section of the 3,000 acres before the monastery received the property as a gift from Henry and Clare Booth Luce, working in the hen houses picking eggs from 25,000 chickens, working in the grading house, where the eggs were washed and packaged for market.
The thing I missed most – and this may bear repeating as well – was gathering you together as your pastor to worship. Remember, a monastic community is a group of 30 men coming together to worship; 15 men facing 15 men in church, choir style. It’s very different from gathering families and children and all the rough edges that make your lives as families so real. And while Our Lady of Grace on a Sunday morning may feel more like real life, my experience at the monastery did something to my prayer life that I want to keep and share and live out of each day. The key for me will be to take that prayer life and fit it into the life of our faith family.
I thank you for all your prayers and kind words upon my return. I remain grateful to Sr. Mary Therese who served as our Interim Pastor and to Elaine Hagner, who remained at the helm in terms of Parish Administration. Without their gift of themselves I could never have done this. God bless us all. It’s good to be home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
PS. I am preparing a presentation to share in church after Masses on the weekend of April 19-20th. It will include photos and video clips of the “journey” with time for Q/A. It should last a half-hour and I will pitch it to youth as well, so you can come as a family.
Weekly HOMILY for April 13, 2008: Herding Sheep
4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 13, 2008
Herding Sheep
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Sheep Pens
In Jesus’ day, shepherds used two different kinds of pens for their sheep at nighttime.
If they were near a village, they would herd their sheep into a common village pen. If they were outside of a village, they would use a field pen.
Actually, Jesus alludes to both kinds of sheep pens in today’s Gospel.
Each kind of pen reveals something different to us about Jesus and each one calls us to do something different.
The Common Village Pen
As I said, the first type is the common village pen.
Imagine that sheep from five or six flocks belonging to different shepherds spend the night in this one pen. In the early morning, the shepherds come to this pen to get their flocks and lead them out to pasture.
Now the sheep know their own shepherd so well that they respond only to his voice in much the same way your dog’s tail begins to way when he hears your voice.
This is the background when Jesus says today, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
Jesus is saying that he wants to be our shepherd. He wants to lead us in ways that are spiritually good and life giving.
But before this can happen, we, like the sheep, need to be listening for his voice. The challenge, I’m sad to say, is that there are so many shepherds and so many voices in our individual worlds.
And, I might add, they are all clamoring for our attention and allegiance. These other shepherds promise us a better or fuller life, if only we have this additional line of credit or if only we own a BMW or wear Ralph Lauren clothing, things like that.
Sometimes our personal lives may be in turmoil or our family may be in conflict because we are listening so closely to these voices. Sometimes an entire society can be led away by misplaced values.
Sometimes it takes a real upset to wake us up – an economic downturn, the price of gas, a family break-up, an emotional depression or physical sickness. It may take something like this to make us realize how shallow these voices are.
The truth of the matter is that whatever the times – in easy times or in challenging times – we are led to true fulfillment, happiness, and peace, if we listen to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
For true, inner peace and long-term happiness, it doesn’t mean that we don’t hear all those false voices, but that we can distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and the hirelings who are out to use us for their own profit.
That is the message from the image of the shepherd calling his sheep from the common village pen.
The Field Pen
And then, there is the field pen.
This sort of pen is outside of a village and consists of a circular stone wall with a narrow opening for the sheep to enter and exit. A shepherd herds his sheep into this pen and then he himself lies down across the narrow opening.
So in the field pen the shepherd himself becomes the gate, if you will. No sheep can stray and no wild animal can enter without touching his body and waking him.
With this as background, Jesus says today, “I am the gate for the sheep.” This image of the shepherd laying his body down across the opening of the field pen is supposed to remind us of Jesus laying down his life for us.
Jesus does that on the cross and continues to give himself for us and to us in the Eucharist. And we, for our part, must allow him to do this.
This means that we need to make weekly Eucharist a priority and be aware that Jesus is here giving himself – body and soul – to us. In fact, he does this in each of the Sacraments.
To make that Body and Blood of Jesus have an impact on the quality of our lives, we need to cultivate an inner life where it can be received.
We need to be persons who prepare their interior by prayer and personal reflection. This preparation of the place that is to receive the Flesh and Blood of the Lord is absolutely crucial.
And this is the massage from the image of the shepherd laying his body down across the gate of the field pen.
Conclusion
So, two very powerful images: Jesus as the shepherd and Jesus as the gate – the common village pen and the field pen with sheep being able to listen for and hear his voice above other voices and sheep allowing him to give himself to us in the Eucharist.
Our Lady of Grace
April 13, 2008
Herding Sheep
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Sheep Pens
In Jesus’ day, shepherds used two different kinds of pens for their sheep at nighttime.
If they were near a village, they would herd their sheep into a common village pen. If they were outside of a village, they would use a field pen.
Actually, Jesus alludes to both kinds of sheep pens in today’s Gospel.
Each kind of pen reveals something different to us about Jesus and each one calls us to do something different.
The Common Village Pen
As I said, the first type is the common village pen.
Imagine that sheep from five or six flocks belonging to different shepherds spend the night in this one pen. In the early morning, the shepherds come to this pen to get their flocks and lead them out to pasture.
Now the sheep know their own shepherd so well that they respond only to his voice in much the same way your dog’s tail begins to way when he hears your voice.
This is the background when Jesus says today, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
Jesus is saying that he wants to be our shepherd. He wants to lead us in ways that are spiritually good and life giving.
But before this can happen, we, like the sheep, need to be listening for his voice. The challenge, I’m sad to say, is that there are so many shepherds and so many voices in our individual worlds.
And, I might add, they are all clamoring for our attention and allegiance. These other shepherds promise us a better or fuller life, if only we have this additional line of credit or if only we own a BMW or wear Ralph Lauren clothing, things like that.
Sometimes our personal lives may be in turmoil or our family may be in conflict because we are listening so closely to these voices. Sometimes an entire society can be led away by misplaced values.
Sometimes it takes a real upset to wake us up – an economic downturn, the price of gas, a family break-up, an emotional depression or physical sickness. It may take something like this to make us realize how shallow these voices are.
The truth of the matter is that whatever the times – in easy times or in challenging times – we are led to true fulfillment, happiness, and peace, if we listen to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
For true, inner peace and long-term happiness, it doesn’t mean that we don’t hear all those false voices, but that we can distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and the hirelings who are out to use us for their own profit.
That is the message from the image of the shepherd calling his sheep from the common village pen.
The Field Pen
And then, there is the field pen.
This sort of pen is outside of a village and consists of a circular stone wall with a narrow opening for the sheep to enter and exit. A shepherd herds his sheep into this pen and then he himself lies down across the narrow opening.
So in the field pen the shepherd himself becomes the gate, if you will. No sheep can stray and no wild animal can enter without touching his body and waking him.
With this as background, Jesus says today, “I am the gate for the sheep.” This image of the shepherd laying his body down across the opening of the field pen is supposed to remind us of Jesus laying down his life for us.
Jesus does that on the cross and continues to give himself for us and to us in the Eucharist. And we, for our part, must allow him to do this.
This means that we need to make weekly Eucharist a priority and be aware that Jesus is here giving himself – body and soul – to us. In fact, he does this in each of the Sacraments.
To make that Body and Blood of Jesus have an impact on the quality of our lives, we need to cultivate an inner life where it can be received.
We need to be persons who prepare their interior by prayer and personal reflection. This preparation of the place that is to receive the Flesh and Blood of the Lord is absolutely crucial.
And this is the massage from the image of the shepherd laying his body down across the gate of the field pen.
Conclusion
So, two very powerful images: Jesus as the shepherd and Jesus as the gate – the common village pen and the field pen with sheep being able to listen for and hear his voice above other voices and sheep allowing him to give himself to us in the Eucharist.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for April 6, 2008: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
3rd Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 6, 2008
Focus: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
Function: To have the assembly understand the difference and be able to so something about it
Form: Then / Now
Heartburn and Burning Hearts
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Heartburn
Heartburn is a common ailment in our day. Pyrosis, commonly called, acid reflux, is a momentary burning pain that rises and falls within the chest cavity.
It was another kind of heartburn – a sudden burning awareness as if from within the heart – that the pair from Emmaus attributes as the sign that the stranger they met on the road was in fact Jesus.
Has your heart ever burned for a closeness with the Lord, Jesus? Have you ever longed for the peace that only Christ can give? Or the secure feeling of knowing the Lord will see you through a tragic loss or painful situation?
If so, then today’s Gospel gives us a way of understanding both how to stir up those desires for Christ in your life or if you already experience them how to have them met more effectively.
From Closed to Open
You will notice in the Gospel that the two companions on their walk to Emmaus at first consider the stranger in ignoramus. After all, who doesn’t know about the events of the week in Jerusalem, as they ask him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Consequently, they completely tune him out as he explains the scriptures to them. Yet, something in his manner and in his words unnerve them. He has an unsettled challenging quality to his words that draw them into serious consideration, much as my talking to you is drawing you in a deeper consideration of the Gospel.
It is when they begin to listen, really listen and see with their hearts, that they begin to connect with him personally. By “really listening” I mean that they are letting the Sacred Scripture touch their deepest longings, satisfy their deepest desires for hope and for their future.
From Political to Spiritual
And for his part the “stranger” leads them from a political discussion into a deeper spiritual one.
Remember the tide turns when the disciples say, “But we had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel.” In the next few moments they are lead into new specifically spiritual territory – real spiritual needs being met by real concrete answers.
No wonder they’ve got heartburn – no, excuse me – burning hearts!
And Then the Evening
But note that it isn’t until the evening that the discomfort leads to deeper awareness of Christ’s presence.
I would like to suggest that it is truly a sacramental encounter with Jesus around the supper table and how does it come about?
Basically, it comes about from (1) The quickening of their hearts in Scripture as their discuss and journey together on the road, and (2) Now in the very simple but profound gestures of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.
Application
My sisters and brothers, think of the implications of this profound reality.
Whenever my conscience is troubled over what is the right thing to do, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus
Whenever my mind is burdened with what’s important or what could be placed second or third on my priority list, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Whenever my spirit is downtrodden and I’m feeling bad about myself, or not feeling loved or accepted as I am, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Conclusion
What we are preparing for in this Eucharist is a burning heart, a burning heart that will generate a presence of Christ that will be warmth and nourishment, support and affirmation.
So, please put away the Rolaids, the Tums, the Mylanta and Pepsid AC. The heartburn from this sacred time together will be welcomed relief and will come through the presence of Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Grace
April 6, 2008
Focus: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
Function: To have the assembly understand the difference and be able to so something about it
Form: Then / Now
Heartburn and Burning Hearts
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Heartburn
Heartburn is a common ailment in our day. Pyrosis, commonly called, acid reflux, is a momentary burning pain that rises and falls within the chest cavity.
It was another kind of heartburn – a sudden burning awareness as if from within the heart – that the pair from Emmaus attributes as the sign that the stranger they met on the road was in fact Jesus.
Has your heart ever burned for a closeness with the Lord, Jesus? Have you ever longed for the peace that only Christ can give? Or the secure feeling of knowing the Lord will see you through a tragic loss or painful situation?
If so, then today’s Gospel gives us a way of understanding both how to stir up those desires for Christ in your life or if you already experience them how to have them met more effectively.
From Closed to Open
You will notice in the Gospel that the two companions on their walk to Emmaus at first consider the stranger in ignoramus. After all, who doesn’t know about the events of the week in Jerusalem, as they ask him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Consequently, they completely tune him out as he explains the scriptures to them. Yet, something in his manner and in his words unnerve them. He has an unsettled challenging quality to his words that draw them into serious consideration, much as my talking to you is drawing you in a deeper consideration of the Gospel.
It is when they begin to listen, really listen and see with their hearts, that they begin to connect with him personally. By “really listening” I mean that they are letting the Sacred Scripture touch their deepest longings, satisfy their deepest desires for hope and for their future.
From Political to Spiritual
And for his part the “stranger” leads them from a political discussion into a deeper spiritual one.
Remember the tide turns when the disciples say, “But we had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel.” In the next few moments they are lead into new specifically spiritual territory – real spiritual needs being met by real concrete answers.
No wonder they’ve got heartburn – no, excuse me – burning hearts!
And Then the Evening
But note that it isn’t until the evening that the discomfort leads to deeper awareness of Christ’s presence.
I would like to suggest that it is truly a sacramental encounter with Jesus around the supper table and how does it come about?
Basically, it comes about from (1) The quickening of their hearts in Scripture as their discuss and journey together on the road, and (2) Now in the very simple but profound gestures of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.
Application
My sisters and brothers, think of the implications of this profound reality.
Whenever my conscience is troubled over what is the right thing to do, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus
Whenever my mind is burdened with what’s important or what could be placed second or third on my priority list, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Whenever my spirit is downtrodden and I’m feeling bad about myself, or not feeling loved or accepted as I am, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Conclusion
What we are preparing for in this Eucharist is a burning heart, a burning heart that will generate a presence of Christ that will be warmth and nourishment, support and affirmation.
So, please put away the Rolaids, the Tums, the Mylanta and Pepsid AC. The heartburn from this sacred time together will be welcomed relief and will come through the presence of Jesus Christ.
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