This and That:
A Day to Recall Saints: So What’s the Big Deal!
We rarely see them as radical, but the saints, whose lives we celebrate this weekend and every November 1st, were. They were radical in how intensely they lived in God’s presence, radical in how intensely the served the poor, radical in how intensely they called the faithful and the hierarchy from Popes on down to radical transformation. By the standards of their times and by our own today, they certainly went in the words of Pope Benedict “against the flow.” And for this reason they make great models for our own living.
Earlier in October, Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints. To “canonize” a person is to say that the individual, because of his or her exemplary life is sharing in the fullness of God’s life in the hereafter. This fact has been documented by the testimony of the faithful and the presence of a miracle done through the individual’s intercession. “A saint is one who doesn’t put him or herself at the center, but rather chooses to go against the grain and live according to the Gospel,” says Benedict XVI. These were his words during the canonization Mass at St. Peter’s of five “Blessed”; they included a bishop, two priests, a religious brother and a religious sister.
Among the five canonized was Father Damien DeVeuster, the first Hawaiian saint. The Pontiff began the homily by asking the question posed to Christ by the rich young man in Luke’s Gospel: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “The Divine Master looks at him with love,” the Holy Father said, “and proposes the qualitative leap, he calls him to the heroism of sanctity, he asks him to abandon everything and follow him: ‘Sell what you own and give the money to the poor...then come, follow me!’”
“This is the Christian vocation that flows from a proposal of love by the Lord, and that can be realized only thanks to our loving reply,” he said. “Jesus invites his disciples to the total giving of their lives, without calculation or personal gain, with unfailing trust in God. The saints welcome this demanding invitation and set about following the crucified and risen Christ with humble docility. Their perfection, in the logic of a faith that is humanly incomprehensible at times, consists in no longer placing themselves at the center, but choosing to go against the flow and live according to the Gospel.” Benedict XVI then commented on each one of the new saints.
Archbishop Zygmunt Szsczęsny Felińsk (1822-1895), archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, “was a great witness of faith and pastoral charity in very difficult times for the nation and for the Church in Poland,” said Benedict XVI. As the Archbishop of Warsaw, he encouraged everyone towards an interior renewal,” the Pope continued. “Prior to the insurrection of January 1863 against the Russian annexation, he warned the people against the futile shedding of blood. However, when the uprising occurred and was put down, he courageously defended the oppressed. Under the rule of the Russian Czar he spent 20 years in exile in Jaroslavl in Siberia, without being able to ever return to his diocese. Today may his dedication to God and to people, full of trust and of love, become a shining example for all the Church,” the Holy Father added.
The Pope said Spanish Dominican Father Francisco Coll (1812-1875), founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “eagerly dedicated himself to the proclamation of the Gospel, faithfully accomplishing his vocation in the Order of Preachers, in which he worked.” Francis Coll “reached the hearts of others because he transmitted what he himself lived with passion, that which burned in his heart: the love of Christ, his devotion to Him.”
Jozef DeVeuster (1840-1889), of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, “left his home in Flanders to proclaim the Gospel on the other side of the world, the Hawaiian Islands,” the Pontiff recounted. “His missionary activity, which gave him so much joy, reaches its summit in charity. Not without fear and repugnance, he chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who were there, abandoned by all; thus he exposed himself to the disease they suffered from. He felt at home with them. The Servant of the Word thus became a suffering servant, a leper with lepers, during the last four years of his life. We recall, faced with this noble figure, that charity makes unity,” Benedict XVI continued. “It gives birth to it and makes it desirable. In following St. Paul, St. Damien leads us to choose the good battle, not those that lead to division, but those that gather together. He invites us to open our eyes to the lepers that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and sisters and today still calls, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence.”
Brother Rafael Arnáiz (1911-1938), who was 27 when he died as an oblate of the Trappists of Saint Isidore de Duenas, “was from a well-to-do family, as he said himself, with a ‘slightly dreamy spirit.’ He said yes to the proposal to follow Jesus, in an immediate and decisive way, without limits or conditions,” the Pope continued. “Thus he set out on his path, which from the moment in the monastery when he realized that he ‘did not know how to pray,’ led him in just a few years to the summit of spiritual life, where he describes with great simplicity and naturalness in many writings. “Brother Rafael, still close to us, continues to offer, through his example and his works, a fascinating journey, especially for young persons who are not satisfied easily, but who aspire to the full truth, the most inexpressible joy, reached for in the love of God.”
Blessed Marie de la Croix Jugan (1792-1879, founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, is “like a beacon to guide our societies which must always rediscover the place and unique contribution of this period of life,” the Pope said. “Jeanne lived the mystery of love by peacefully accepting darkness and divesting herself of all material possessions until her death,” he continued. “Her charism is always relevant, while so many aged persons suffer different types of poverty and solitude, sometimes even abandoned by their families. The spirit of hospitality and fraternal love, founded on limitless trust in Providence, which Jeanne Jugan drew from the Beatitudes, illuminated her whole existence.
I can find no better words with which to conclude than those of the Holy Father’s. “Let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of sanctity that today shines in the Church with a singular beauty,” the Pontiff concluded. “While I salute each of you affectionately, I would like to invite all of you to let yourselves be drawn by the shining example of these saints, to allow yourselves to be guided by their teachings, so that our whole existence can become a hymn of praise to the love of God.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Weekly HOMILY for November 1, 2009: Saints Beyond the Margins
Feast of All Saints, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
November 1, 2009
Saints Beyond the Margins
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Ben Franklin’s Sayings
We all learned about Benjamin Franklin when we are in school. Everybody here today could say something about him, he was so famous.
Franklin was a political theorist, a diplomat, a civic activist, an inventor, and more. And maybe we know him above all for his many famous sayings.
(Have them guess the second half of each) For example: “A stitch in time saves nine.” “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
“A place for everything; everything in its place.” “God helps those who help themselves.”
And here is a good one: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” “Honesty is the best policy.”
“Haste makes waste.” “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”
An important point I want to make is that Ben Franklin’s sayings tell us something about him as a person. They tell us that Franklin was clever, practical, frugal, witty, and understood marriage.
Jesus’ Sayings
Now, in today’s Gospel, we hear some of the important sayings of Jesus and in a similar way they tell us something about him.
If we look through these sayings, we see that they are about people who often fall through the cracks. They are about the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the sorrowing, the lonely, the peacemakers, the simple, and the persecuted.
We see people who are not on the Fortune 500 list or on the cover of Time magazine. We see people who do not quite make it and are out of the mainstream.
And, in effect, Jesus says: “I am concerned about these people. They have my compassion, my thoughts, and indeed my blessing.”
In fact, Jesus says that they are and will in the future be “blessed.” So these sayings reveal something of the mind and heart and person of Jesus.
Jesus’ Scope of Concern
The reason for Jesus’ concern for these people is clear in our first reading.
Saint John gives this great vision of heaven. He sees countless holy ones there – 144,000.
This number is of course symbolic. The biblical number of perfection and fulfillment is twelve.
So John is saying: “Wow! Twelve thousand times twelve thousand – perfection times perfection! You can’t even count the number of people who are among the holy ones.”
Like Jesus’ sayings, this also reveals something about God. God’s love and concern, Jesus’ love and concern are inclusive, unlimited, and universal.
So today’s Feast of All Saints celebrates the love of God that is way beyond our understanding and imagination. As the reading says, God’s love has found a way to redeem “people from every race, language, and way of life.”
This means that God’s love includes those in and those not in the mainstream. It includes those who have not heard or accepted his love in Jesus.
God’s love includes Jews and Muslims and Hindus and everyone. It is simply beyond anything or anyone we know.
All Saints
So, today, on this Feast of All Saints, we celebrate all saints.
We celebrate those formally recognized by the Church, like the newly canonized Saint Damien of Molokai.
And we celebrate those unsung saints – good, Christ-like people like our grandparents or parents or teachers or volunteers here at our parish.
And in celebrating these saints, we really celebrate God’s love that we see so clearly in Jesus and in the sayings that we hear today. God’s love will find what we would never find and redeem what we would think is irredeemable.
This is a feast of God’s love and because of that, it is feast of hope. For it is because of God’s love that there is always hope – for you and me, for those on the margins and those insensitive to those on the margins, for our Church and other religions, for our country and our world.
We celebrate God’s love for all and the hope that this gives us. That is what All Saints Day is really about.
Our Lady of Grace
November 1, 2009
Saints Beyond the Margins
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Ben Franklin’s Sayings
We all learned about Benjamin Franklin when we are in school. Everybody here today could say something about him, he was so famous.
Franklin was a political theorist, a diplomat, a civic activist, an inventor, and more. And maybe we know him above all for his many famous sayings.
(Have them guess the second half of each) For example: “A stitch in time saves nine.” “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
“A place for everything; everything in its place.” “God helps those who help themselves.”
And here is a good one: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” “Honesty is the best policy.”
“Haste makes waste.” “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”
An important point I want to make is that Ben Franklin’s sayings tell us something about him as a person. They tell us that Franklin was clever, practical, frugal, witty, and understood marriage.
Jesus’ Sayings
Now, in today’s Gospel, we hear some of the important sayings of Jesus and in a similar way they tell us something about him.
If we look through these sayings, we see that they are about people who often fall through the cracks. They are about the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the sorrowing, the lonely, the peacemakers, the simple, and the persecuted.
We see people who are not on the Fortune 500 list or on the cover of Time magazine. We see people who do not quite make it and are out of the mainstream.
And, in effect, Jesus says: “I am concerned about these people. They have my compassion, my thoughts, and indeed my blessing.”
In fact, Jesus says that they are and will in the future be “blessed.” So these sayings reveal something of the mind and heart and person of Jesus.
Jesus’ Scope of Concern
The reason for Jesus’ concern for these people is clear in our first reading.
Saint John gives this great vision of heaven. He sees countless holy ones there – 144,000.
This number is of course symbolic. The biblical number of perfection and fulfillment is twelve.
So John is saying: “Wow! Twelve thousand times twelve thousand – perfection times perfection! You can’t even count the number of people who are among the holy ones.”
Like Jesus’ sayings, this also reveals something about God. God’s love and concern, Jesus’ love and concern are inclusive, unlimited, and universal.
So today’s Feast of All Saints celebrates the love of God that is way beyond our understanding and imagination. As the reading says, God’s love has found a way to redeem “people from every race, language, and way of life.”
This means that God’s love includes those in and those not in the mainstream. It includes those who have not heard or accepted his love in Jesus.
God’s love includes Jews and Muslims and Hindus and everyone. It is simply beyond anything or anyone we know.
All Saints
So, today, on this Feast of All Saints, we celebrate all saints.
We celebrate those formally recognized by the Church, like the newly canonized Saint Damien of Molokai.
And we celebrate those unsung saints – good, Christ-like people like our grandparents or parents or teachers or volunteers here at our parish.
And in celebrating these saints, we really celebrate God’s love that we see so clearly in Jesus and in the sayings that we hear today. God’s love will find what we would never find and redeem what we would think is irredeemable.
This is a feast of God’s love and because of that, it is feast of hope. For it is because of God’s love that there is always hope – for you and me, for those on the margins and those insensitive to those on the margins, for our Church and other religions, for our country and our world.
We celebrate God’s love for all and the hope that this gives us. That is what All Saints Day is really about.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Weekly THIS AND THAT for October 25, 2009: Newly Canonized Saint Ministered to the Elderly
This and That:
Newly Canonized Saint Ministered to the Elderly
Next weekend, we will celebrate the feast of All Saints on November 1st. While we may think of the saints as mostly those we heard about as children, the church continues in every age to recognize women and men who have lived outstanding lives as followers of Jesus Christ and to canonize them as models for our inspiration and encouragement.
Recently, the church canonized two new U.S. saints on October 11—Damien of Molokai and Jeanne Jugan. I would like to tell the story of Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who serve the elderly poor here in our Archdiocese and around the world.
Blessed Jeanne Jugan isn't exactly a household name. Yet those who live on Harewood Road in northeast Washington know well the story of the new saint. "She took one lady, put her on her shoulder, took her home and gave her her own bed," said Mary Nathan, 77, who has lived for nine years at the Jeanne Jugan Residence on Harewood. "My heart sees her always as a saint."
"She was very much like a Mother Teresa of her time," said U.S. Sister Diane Shelby, one of the Little Sisters at the Washington home. "She reached out to the elderly poor and took care of them in her own home."
It was in 1839 when Blessed Jeanne, 47, took in her first resident, Anne Chauvin, a blind and ill widow. She gave Chauvin her own bed and went to sleep in the attic. Soon Blessed Jeanne and two companions were attending to several other women who could not care for themselves.
Today, the sisters—2,700 worldwide—look after more than 13,000 people age 65 or older at homes in 32 countries. They operate 31 residences in North America, emulating their founder's ministry and her spirituality.
The sisters rely on the generosity of others in the same way Blessed Jeanne went door to door with a "begging basket" to support her home.
As she sat in the cafe of the Washington home, Sister Diane reflected on how Blessed Jeanne saw the elderly. "She believed that old age is a stage of life deserving of respect and love."
The bright and charming cafe is a gathering place for celebrations, sing-a-longs, impromptu card games and even a frozen daiquiri happy hour every now and then. "Loneliness is one of the biggest poverties for the elderly," Sister Diane said. "But here, there is much love."
And there's also serious work. The sisters provide for 100 residents, providing professional nursing care for the very ill, planned activities and full-service dining for those less active, and meals and aid to those in assisted-living apartments. Spiritual care, including daily Mass, is an integral part of the home's routine. Paid staff plus volunteers help with the day-to-day workload.
"An important part of our ministry is to accompany those who are dying," Sister Diane said. When a resident is near death, a sister is always with that person, holding his or her hand, talking and praying. "We make a point of being there with them, making them as comfortable as we can," she said.
There are many challenges in working with the aged. But Blessed Jeanne gave her sisters this advice: "Never forget that the poor are Our Lord. In caring for the poor say to yourself: 'This is for my Jesus.'"
In our own Archdiocese of Baltimore, the sisters currently have a home for the elderly in Catonsville. Since 1869 when the first home of the Little Sisters of the Poor opened on Calvert Street in Baltimore, an estimated 15,000 elderly Baltimore men and women of all backgrounds and with very limited financial means have found a home with the Little Sisters.
As we celebrate All Saints Day, let’s be grateful for the example of those who have made the Gospel real in our local area, including Jeanne Jugan and the sisters who continue to carry out her mission.
Blessings,
Sister Mary Therese
Newly Canonized Saint Ministered to the Elderly
Next weekend, we will celebrate the feast of All Saints on November 1st. While we may think of the saints as mostly those we heard about as children, the church continues in every age to recognize women and men who have lived outstanding lives as followers of Jesus Christ and to canonize them as models for our inspiration and encouragement.
Recently, the church canonized two new U.S. saints on October 11—Damien of Molokai and Jeanne Jugan. I would like to tell the story of Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who serve the elderly poor here in our Archdiocese and around the world.
Blessed Jeanne Jugan isn't exactly a household name. Yet those who live on Harewood Road in northeast Washington know well the story of the new saint. "She took one lady, put her on her shoulder, took her home and gave her her own bed," said Mary Nathan, 77, who has lived for nine years at the Jeanne Jugan Residence on Harewood. "My heart sees her always as a saint."
"She was very much like a Mother Teresa of her time," said U.S. Sister Diane Shelby, one of the Little Sisters at the Washington home. "She reached out to the elderly poor and took care of them in her own home."
It was in 1839 when Blessed Jeanne, 47, took in her first resident, Anne Chauvin, a blind and ill widow. She gave Chauvin her own bed and went to sleep in the attic. Soon Blessed Jeanne and two companions were attending to several other women who could not care for themselves.
Today, the sisters—2,700 worldwide—look after more than 13,000 people age 65 or older at homes in 32 countries. They operate 31 residences in North America, emulating their founder's ministry and her spirituality.
The sisters rely on the generosity of others in the same way Blessed Jeanne went door to door with a "begging basket" to support her home.
As she sat in the cafe of the Washington home, Sister Diane reflected on how Blessed Jeanne saw the elderly. "She believed that old age is a stage of life deserving of respect and love."
The bright and charming cafe is a gathering place for celebrations, sing-a-longs, impromptu card games and even a frozen daiquiri happy hour every now and then. "Loneliness is one of the biggest poverties for the elderly," Sister Diane said. "But here, there is much love."
And there's also serious work. The sisters provide for 100 residents, providing professional nursing care for the very ill, planned activities and full-service dining for those less active, and meals and aid to those in assisted-living apartments. Spiritual care, including daily Mass, is an integral part of the home's routine. Paid staff plus volunteers help with the day-to-day workload.
"An important part of our ministry is to accompany those who are dying," Sister Diane said. When a resident is near death, a sister is always with that person, holding his or her hand, talking and praying. "We make a point of being there with them, making them as comfortable as we can," she said.
There are many challenges in working with the aged. But Blessed Jeanne gave her sisters this advice: "Never forget that the poor are Our Lord. In caring for the poor say to yourself: 'This is for my Jesus.'"
In our own Archdiocese of Baltimore, the sisters currently have a home for the elderly in Catonsville. Since 1869 when the first home of the Little Sisters of the Poor opened on Calvert Street in Baltimore, an estimated 15,000 elderly Baltimore men and women of all backgrounds and with very limited financial means have found a home with the Little Sisters.
As we celebrate All Saints Day, let’s be grateful for the example of those who have made the Gospel real in our local area, including Jeanne Jugan and the sisters who continue to carry out her mission.
Blessings,
Sister Mary Therese
Weekly HOMILY for October 25, 2009: Unlikely Teachers
30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Sacred Heart Church, Island Park, New York
October 25, 2009
Unlikely Teachers
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Oceanside High School Teachers
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I return to Oceanside High School for our 50th Reunion.
Doing so brings to mind so many good teachers we had way back then. And there’s always one that stands out, one whose talent for teaching stirred in us a sense of discovery and left us hungering for more.
Fine teachers have the ability to turn on lights in darkened heads and open up new worlds that invite deeper exploration, admiration, and respect.
Good teachers are, more often than not, also good people whose character, ethics and lifestyle also teach and challenge their students to respond in the same manner and thus grow into the adults we are today.
Goethe, the great German poet and humanist, once said, “A teacher who arouses feelings in us for one good action…accomplishes more than the teacher who fills our heads with interminable lists of natural objects.”
God bless the teachers of Oceanside High School.
The “Remnant” as Teachers
Today, the Scripture selections, particularly the first reading and Gospel, present us with teachers, albeit unlikely ones, who also are intended to arouse in us feelings that will prompt us toward good actions.
These teachers are “unlikely” in that they are what the prophet Jeremiah calls the “remnant of Israel.”
The “remnant” among the Jewish People, referred to those few survivors who remain after a catastrophe. The most poignant imagery for “the remnant” appears in Amos where the “remnant of Israel” is compared to the remnant of a sheep, just a pair of legs or the tip of an ear, after an attack by a lion.
This graphic description was applied to the precious few who survived the calamities of war and exile because of their unquestioning reliance on God.
They are the poor, the voiceless, the disenfranchised; they are the blind, the lame, the mother with child.
But what precisely do these unlikely teachers have to teach us?
Lessons of Faith, Hope and Helplessness
I’d suggest they teach us three important lessons for a successful life.
FAITH: Foremost among the lessons imparted by God’s special remnant is the faith that inspired them to hold fast to God, while all else seemed to elude their grasp.
Faithful in all things and in all seasons, they did not allow fear to cripple them or thwart their efforts.
Even when it seemed utter foolishness to rely on the unseen God of Abraham in the face of obvious, formidable adversaries, God’s remnant believed.
HOPE: Along with faithfulness, The Remnant of God’s poor ones teach hope. Hope is based on the character of God whose promises are never broken but always kept, whose word never lies fallow, but is always fulfilled.
Hope dares to follow as God leads The Remnant homeward; hope dares to cry out with Bartimaeus, “Jesus, have pity on me!”
Hope harbors no doubt even when its questions are unanswered and its needs unmet; hope follows Jesus up the road without benefit of map or any other directions save that of his presence in our lives.
HELPLESSNESS: While our unlikely educators, “The Remnant,” appear to be weak, they are actually teaching us that true strength lies in knowing oneself to be utterly helpless and absolutely dependent upon God.
Like the blind Bartimaeus, they teach us the courage to cry out from our needs and our desires when popular mores would dictate that we be quiet and unobtrusive.
They teach us to throw caution and decorum to the wind when Jesus calls; they bid us jump at the chance to come to him, to know him and to experience his power.
They teach us the wisdom of following God’s will and God’s ways, even when these seem impractical, unpopular, and outdated.
They teach us not to sacrifice morals or principles or values on the altar of a popular culture that attributes its choices and behaviors to the signs of changing times and excuses its sins with: “This is the 21st Century, after all!”
Conclusion
The class of 1959 gathers to celebrate the wisdom its teachers imparted 50 years ago.
And you, the Catholic Community of Sacred Heart Parish, gathers on this Sabbath to celebrate the wisdom Jeremiah and Bartimaeus and those teachers of faith, hope, and hopelessness.
There is cause for celebration that binds us all together today as children of Abraham.
Sacred Heart Church, Island Park, New York
October 25, 2009
Unlikely Teachers
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Oceanside High School Teachers
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I return to Oceanside High School for our 50th Reunion.
Doing so brings to mind so many good teachers we had way back then. And there’s always one that stands out, one whose talent for teaching stirred in us a sense of discovery and left us hungering for more.
Fine teachers have the ability to turn on lights in darkened heads and open up new worlds that invite deeper exploration, admiration, and respect.
Good teachers are, more often than not, also good people whose character, ethics and lifestyle also teach and challenge their students to respond in the same manner and thus grow into the adults we are today.
Goethe, the great German poet and humanist, once said, “A teacher who arouses feelings in us for one good action…accomplishes more than the teacher who fills our heads with interminable lists of natural objects.”
God bless the teachers of Oceanside High School.
The “Remnant” as Teachers
Today, the Scripture selections, particularly the first reading and Gospel, present us with teachers, albeit unlikely ones, who also are intended to arouse in us feelings that will prompt us toward good actions.
These teachers are “unlikely” in that they are what the prophet Jeremiah calls the “remnant of Israel.”
The “remnant” among the Jewish People, referred to those few survivors who remain after a catastrophe. The most poignant imagery for “the remnant” appears in Amos where the “remnant of Israel” is compared to the remnant of a sheep, just a pair of legs or the tip of an ear, after an attack by a lion.
This graphic description was applied to the precious few who survived the calamities of war and exile because of their unquestioning reliance on God.
They are the poor, the voiceless, the disenfranchised; they are the blind, the lame, the mother with child.
But what precisely do these unlikely teachers have to teach us?
Lessons of Faith, Hope and Helplessness
I’d suggest they teach us three important lessons for a successful life.
FAITH: Foremost among the lessons imparted by God’s special remnant is the faith that inspired them to hold fast to God, while all else seemed to elude their grasp.
Faithful in all things and in all seasons, they did not allow fear to cripple them or thwart their efforts.
Even when it seemed utter foolishness to rely on the unseen God of Abraham in the face of obvious, formidable adversaries, God’s remnant believed.
HOPE: Along with faithfulness, The Remnant of God’s poor ones teach hope. Hope is based on the character of God whose promises are never broken but always kept, whose word never lies fallow, but is always fulfilled.
Hope dares to follow as God leads The Remnant homeward; hope dares to cry out with Bartimaeus, “Jesus, have pity on me!”
Hope harbors no doubt even when its questions are unanswered and its needs unmet; hope follows Jesus up the road without benefit of map or any other directions save that of his presence in our lives.
HELPLESSNESS: While our unlikely educators, “The Remnant,” appear to be weak, they are actually teaching us that true strength lies in knowing oneself to be utterly helpless and absolutely dependent upon God.
Like the blind Bartimaeus, they teach us the courage to cry out from our needs and our desires when popular mores would dictate that we be quiet and unobtrusive.
They teach us to throw caution and decorum to the wind when Jesus calls; they bid us jump at the chance to come to him, to know him and to experience his power.
They teach us the wisdom of following God’s will and God’s ways, even when these seem impractical, unpopular, and outdated.
They teach us not to sacrifice morals or principles or values on the altar of a popular culture that attributes its choices and behaviors to the signs of changing times and excuses its sins with: “This is the 21st Century, after all!”
Conclusion
The class of 1959 gathers to celebrate the wisdom its teachers imparted 50 years ago.
And you, the Catholic Community of Sacred Heart Parish, gathers on this Sabbath to celebrate the wisdom Jeremiah and Bartimaeus and those teachers of faith, hope, and hopelessness.
There is cause for celebration that binds us all together today as children of Abraham.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Weekly THIS AND THAT for October 18, 2009: Evangelized Church Ready to Reconcile
This and That:
Evangelized Church Ready to Reconcile
Synod on Africa Opens in Rome
A Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome this month will consider the Catholic faithful in Africa as “salt of the earth and light of the world.” It will run through October 25th. The Church there has enjoyed years of extraordinary growth.
Some of the elements of that growth made up the introduction to a synodal address delivered by Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Archbishop’s contribution came in the form of a report on “Ecclesia in Africa.” That was the title of the Apostolic Exhortation written by Pope John Paul II after the First Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops in 1994.
That assembly is focused on the “evangelizing mission” of the Church in Africa. The numerical growth that the Church has enjoyed in the 15 years since that first Synod confirms the evangelization that has occurred. For example, Archbishop Pasinya drew from 2007 statistics to point out there have been 79 dioceses created and six more elevated, as well as 24 dioceses elevated to archdioceses. In Nigeria alone, 16 new dioceses were created between 1994 and 2007. Dioceses, both new and old, are being served by 10,736 more priests than 15 years ago. Additionally, Africa has two more cardinals, 117 more diocesan bishops and 38 religious bishops, and 11 more archbishops and 10 more religious archbishops. Over all, according to the 2007 statistics, there are 61 million more Catholics in Africa.
From Evangelization to Reconciliation
In this context, the theme for this second Synod is “The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. ‘You Are the Salt of the Earth ... You Are the Light of the World.’” (Matthew 5:13,14) Archbishop Pasinya reflected on what the call to reconciliation really means. He noted that the word itself implies “recomposing the tissue of human relations which were broken for one reason or another.” And that in Africa, it further means “putting back together the state of cohesion of the clan and of the family in view of total harmony and balance of lineage and for the collective.”
But Christian reconciliation, he explained, “goes much further, because it belongs to the ‘love, pardon, reconciliation’ trilogy, which for its part implies gratuity in the example of the love of God.” Thus, the prelate noted, this reconciliation participates in the New Law, and is an invitation to love as God loves, “that is to say, our friends as well as our enemies, the good as well as the evil.” In this “logic of gratuity,” the Archbishop said, the Christian must offer love, pardon and reconciliation “freely, without something in return from the outset.” Instead, these offerings are “by nature so disinterested that they provoke in themselves a return.” This ideal “transcends all human efforts,” Archbishop Pasinya acknowledged.
He continued: “The trilogy love, pardon and reconciliation is inseparably tied to this other one: fraternity, justice and truth. “We can only reconcile ourselves in the truth: the material truth of facts, the formal truth of the internal dispositions of the heart. Truth, in fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication and communion. A reconciliation based on lies cannot be the source of lasting peace,” Archbishop Pasinya affirmed, “nor can a reconciliation that ignores the elementary imperatives of justice.”
Citing the Bishop of Rome, the Archbishop concluded: “‘No peace without justice; no justice without forgiveness,’ said John Paul II in his message for the World Day of Peace 2002. And Benedict XVI would say: ‘In truth, peace!’”
This way to peace would also hold within families and our workplaces.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Evangelized Church Ready to Reconcile
Synod on Africa Opens in Rome
A Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome this month will consider the Catholic faithful in Africa as “salt of the earth and light of the world.” It will run through October 25th. The Church there has enjoyed years of extraordinary growth.
Some of the elements of that growth made up the introduction to a synodal address delivered by Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Archbishop’s contribution came in the form of a report on “Ecclesia in Africa.” That was the title of the Apostolic Exhortation written by Pope John Paul II after the First Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops in 1994.
That assembly is focused on the “evangelizing mission” of the Church in Africa. The numerical growth that the Church has enjoyed in the 15 years since that first Synod confirms the evangelization that has occurred. For example, Archbishop Pasinya drew from 2007 statistics to point out there have been 79 dioceses created and six more elevated, as well as 24 dioceses elevated to archdioceses. In Nigeria alone, 16 new dioceses were created between 1994 and 2007. Dioceses, both new and old, are being served by 10,736 more priests than 15 years ago. Additionally, Africa has two more cardinals, 117 more diocesan bishops and 38 religious bishops, and 11 more archbishops and 10 more religious archbishops. Over all, according to the 2007 statistics, there are 61 million more Catholics in Africa.
From Evangelization to Reconciliation
In this context, the theme for this second Synod is “The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. ‘You Are the Salt of the Earth ... You Are the Light of the World.’” (Matthew 5:13,14) Archbishop Pasinya reflected on what the call to reconciliation really means. He noted that the word itself implies “recomposing the tissue of human relations which were broken for one reason or another.” And that in Africa, it further means “putting back together the state of cohesion of the clan and of the family in view of total harmony and balance of lineage and for the collective.”
But Christian reconciliation, he explained, “goes much further, because it belongs to the ‘love, pardon, reconciliation’ trilogy, which for its part implies gratuity in the example of the love of God.” Thus, the prelate noted, this reconciliation participates in the New Law, and is an invitation to love as God loves, “that is to say, our friends as well as our enemies, the good as well as the evil.” In this “logic of gratuity,” the Archbishop said, the Christian must offer love, pardon and reconciliation “freely, without something in return from the outset.” Instead, these offerings are “by nature so disinterested that they provoke in themselves a return.” This ideal “transcends all human efforts,” Archbishop Pasinya acknowledged.
He continued: “The trilogy love, pardon and reconciliation is inseparably tied to this other one: fraternity, justice and truth. “We can only reconcile ourselves in the truth: the material truth of facts, the formal truth of the internal dispositions of the heart. Truth, in fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication and communion. A reconciliation based on lies cannot be the source of lasting peace,” Archbishop Pasinya affirmed, “nor can a reconciliation that ignores the elementary imperatives of justice.”
Citing the Bishop of Rome, the Archbishop concluded: “‘No peace without justice; no justice without forgiveness,’ said John Paul II in his message for the World Day of Peace 2002. And Benedict XVI would say: ‘In truth, peace!’”
This way to peace would also hold within families and our workplaces.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for October 18, 2009: You Be Jesus
29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
October 18, 2009
Our Lady of Grace
You Be Jesus
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“You be Jesus”
There is a story about a mother who was making pancakes for her two hungry sons.
Kevin was five and Ryan was three. As the first pancake was getting golden brown, the boys began arguing over who would get it.
Their mother quickly saw a teachable moment. She said to them, “Okay boys, if Jesus were here, what would he say?
“He would say, `Let my brother have the first pancake; I can wait.’”
With that, Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Okay Ryan, you be Jesus.”
Being a Servant: A Mindset
Kevin and Ryan show how difficult it can be to accept Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel.
Being a “servant” of others is very challenging. It seems to go against our natural instincts.
Because of that, we need to look carefully at this passage. As I look at this passage and at the Gospels in general, I note that Jesus does not spell out specific actions that make up service.
Instead, our being servant or our serving one another is more of a mindset. It is a perspective on life and an approach to living and to relationships.
In other words, Jesus is getting at some personal qualities that are important for us to have. I see four traits that make us persons of service.
Traits of Service
First, respecting. This means that we place the wellbeing and dignity of others on the same level as our own.
Respecting others means that we are concerned for their physical and emotional and spiritual good. It even means that the common good of everyone is dominant in our mindset.
Second, listening. This means that we take in what another person is saying with both ears and not just one ear.
Listening means that we try to discern the feelings underneath the words. It means that understanding the person and the values of the person is dominant in our mindset.
Third, communicating. This means that we share our insights and faith and contribute to a conversation.
Communicating means that we are careful not to dominate a conversation. It means that standing up for something without putting down someone is dominant in our mindset.
And fourth, helping. This means that we ignore those messages about not getting involved or not interrupting our own plans.
Helping means that we step forward to assist someone in need. It means that the question “What can I do to assist?” is dominant in our mindset.
So, respecting, listening, communicating, and helping – these are four traits that emerge in the person of Jesus. These also make us persons of service – servants to one another.
Priests
I want to add that I find these traits especially important for priests.
Our second reading today speaks of Jesus as “the great high priest who sympathizes with our weakness.” In other words, he is one with us in our humanity.
I believe that what is important in priesthood is not status and certainly not title. I believe that priests, unlike some times in the past, are not to be apart from or above.
Instead, what is important is that we be one with people, with the People of God. And what makes us priests distinct or different is the quality of our being with – the quality of our being part of instead of a-part from.
Holy Orders marks us with the responsibility to lead in the human journey with Jesus and back to the Father. It marks us with more of a responsibility than a right – a responsibility to be respecting, listening, communicating, and helping.
This gets expressed in our leading the Eucharist and the other sacraments. But that must be an expression of how we are trying to live in everyday life.
Not perfect or pretending to be so, not having all the answers to life or pretending that we do – but first being authentic in our following the way of Jesus, the High Priest who was the servant of all.
In our doing this, we are to be leaders for all of us in doing this.
This is the great responsibility and the wonderful fulfillment of being a priest.
Conclusion
And in a similar way, it is also the great responsibility and wonderful fulfillment of being a Christian or Catholic Christian.
October 18, 2009
Our Lady of Grace
You Be Jesus
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“You be Jesus”
There is a story about a mother who was making pancakes for her two hungry sons.
Kevin was five and Ryan was three. As the first pancake was getting golden brown, the boys began arguing over who would get it.
Their mother quickly saw a teachable moment. She said to them, “Okay boys, if Jesus were here, what would he say?
“He would say, `Let my brother have the first pancake; I can wait.’”
With that, Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Okay Ryan, you be Jesus.”
Being a Servant: A Mindset
Kevin and Ryan show how difficult it can be to accept Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel.
Being a “servant” of others is very challenging. It seems to go against our natural instincts.
Because of that, we need to look carefully at this passage. As I look at this passage and at the Gospels in general, I note that Jesus does not spell out specific actions that make up service.
Instead, our being servant or our serving one another is more of a mindset. It is a perspective on life and an approach to living and to relationships.
In other words, Jesus is getting at some personal qualities that are important for us to have. I see four traits that make us persons of service.
Traits of Service
First, respecting. This means that we place the wellbeing and dignity of others on the same level as our own.
Respecting others means that we are concerned for their physical and emotional and spiritual good. It even means that the common good of everyone is dominant in our mindset.
Second, listening. This means that we take in what another person is saying with both ears and not just one ear.
Listening means that we try to discern the feelings underneath the words. It means that understanding the person and the values of the person is dominant in our mindset.
Third, communicating. This means that we share our insights and faith and contribute to a conversation.
Communicating means that we are careful not to dominate a conversation. It means that standing up for something without putting down someone is dominant in our mindset.
And fourth, helping. This means that we ignore those messages about not getting involved or not interrupting our own plans.
Helping means that we step forward to assist someone in need. It means that the question “What can I do to assist?” is dominant in our mindset.
So, respecting, listening, communicating, and helping – these are four traits that emerge in the person of Jesus. These also make us persons of service – servants to one another.
Priests
I want to add that I find these traits especially important for priests.
Our second reading today speaks of Jesus as “the great high priest who sympathizes with our weakness.” In other words, he is one with us in our humanity.
I believe that what is important in priesthood is not status and certainly not title. I believe that priests, unlike some times in the past, are not to be apart from or above.
Instead, what is important is that we be one with people, with the People of God. And what makes us priests distinct or different is the quality of our being with – the quality of our being part of instead of a-part from.
Holy Orders marks us with the responsibility to lead in the human journey with Jesus and back to the Father. It marks us with more of a responsibility than a right – a responsibility to be respecting, listening, communicating, and helping.
This gets expressed in our leading the Eucharist and the other sacraments. But that must be an expression of how we are trying to live in everyday life.
Not perfect or pretending to be so, not having all the answers to life or pretending that we do – but first being authentic in our following the way of Jesus, the High Priest who was the servant of all.
In our doing this, we are to be leaders for all of us in doing this.
This is the great responsibility and the wonderful fulfillment of being a priest.
Conclusion
And in a similar way, it is also the great responsibility and wonderful fulfillment of being a Christian or Catholic Christian.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Weekly THIS AND THAT for October 11, 2009: Explain God: An 8-Year Old Responds
This and That:
Explain God: An 8-Year Old Responds
It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, California. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to “explain God.” Who among us could have come up with a better explanation?
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
EXPLANATION OF GOD:
One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn’t make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn’t have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.
God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps him pretty busy. So you shouldn’t go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad’s head asking for something they said you couldn’t have.
Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. I don’t think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren’t any who come to our church.
Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him, but he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K. His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth, so he told him he didn’t have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing to things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. He’s like a secretary, only more important.
You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there’s anybody you want to make happy, it’s God! Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.
If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know he’s around you when you’re scared, in the dark, or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.
And that’s why I believe in God.
Explain God: An 8-Year Old Responds
It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, California. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to “explain God.” Who among us could have come up with a better explanation?
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
EXPLANATION OF GOD:
One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn’t make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn’t have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.
God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps him pretty busy. So you shouldn’t go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad’s head asking for something they said you couldn’t have.
Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. I don’t think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren’t any who come to our church.
Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him, but he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K. His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth, so he told him he didn’t have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing to things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. He’s like a secretary, only more important.
You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there’s anybody you want to make happy, it’s God! Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.
If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know he’s around you when you’re scared, in the dark, or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.
And that’s why I believe in God.
Weekly HOMILY for October 11, 2009: Consumed by What We Consume
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
October 11, 2009
Consumed by What We Consume
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Story of the Snail
There is a species of jellyfish found in the Italian Mediterranean that feeds on tiny snails of the nudibranch variety.
The snail, however, is protected by its shell, so the jellyfish cannot digest it.
So, once the jellyfish eats one of these snails, a bizarre reversal of roles takes place: the dinner – the snail – becomes the diner of the jellyfish.
Attaching itself to the wall of the jellyfish’s digestive tract, the snail begins to eat the jellyfish. By the time the snail grows to maturity, it has completely consumed the jellyfish.
Yes, the poor jellyfish is eventually consumed by what it had first consumed!
I share the story because in a similar way what we consume can also consume us. Think of the workaholic, the sports adict, or Mr. or Ms. Perfect.
Yes, you and I can be swallowed up in our pursuit of wealth, prestige, power, or a hundred other things, and in the process become immune to the joy of God’s presence in our lives.
Jesus’ warning to the rich young man is a warning to all of us to be careful of the “snails” we consume, “snails” that can swallow us up, displacing the eternal things of God with the immediate, but momentary things of the world.
The Rich Young Man
The story of the rich young man is a case in point and reflects issues appropriate for our times.
This man’s money is not the real problem; rather, it’s allowing any earthly thing to dominate us. That is at the heart of the problem!
Any thing, any person, any life goal that “possesses” us, pulling our focus off our ultimate destination, this is the problem and for this reason, people with wealth or lots of “stuff” can make poor disciples.
Why? Because they lose the ability to approach God with empty hands. The “rich-in-stuff” lose a sense of being in need of anything. Being filled with earthly “things” leads to holding on to those things with the clenched fists of comfort or control.
Camel and the Needle’s Eye
What are you clutching far too tightly in your life? What prevents you from letting go and letting God?
The phrase Jesus uses in today’s Gospel is, “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Any good Jew at the time would understand the image well.
The “Needle Gate” was a narrow opening in the walls of Jerusalem, requiring camel heavily laden with riches and possessions to be unloaded before entering.
So it would be easier for that laden camel (arms out and on hips) to get through the narrow passage than for you or I to get to heaven burdened by what we’re holding on to.
What is the “love of your life” to which you cling? How free are you of your “stuff”?
What’s Consuming You?
As I think about moving next June, I have been trying to get rid of two-thirds of my personal books. It hasn’t been an easy task and I’m ashamed to say how stuck to them I am.
When I look at what the “holding on to the books” is about what comes to mind is (1) How they make me look, (2) The false sense of thinking that I know everything that is in them, and (3) Believing that someday I will actually need the information.
Notice that each of those reasons removes me from God as my source of satisfaction, joy, and possession.
So I too being “rich-in-stuff” – in my case, books – must unburden myself to enter more deeply into a relationship with Jesus, a relationship that will one day help me enter heaven’s gates!
Earthly treasures – my books or your “stuff” – have deceived us. They have given us a false sense of security. They have demanded loyalty, attention, and care, all of which belong to God alone.
Conclusion
So what is it for you? Whatever you need to let go of, to unburden yourself from, to release control of, to enter heaven’s narrow gate – do it now!
It isn’t so much what you’ll be loosing, but more a question of the security and joy you will be finding in God!
Our Lady of Grace
October 11, 2009
Consumed by What We Consume
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Story of the Snail
There is a species of jellyfish found in the Italian Mediterranean that feeds on tiny snails of the nudibranch variety.
The snail, however, is protected by its shell, so the jellyfish cannot digest it.
So, once the jellyfish eats one of these snails, a bizarre reversal of roles takes place: the dinner – the snail – becomes the diner of the jellyfish.
Attaching itself to the wall of the jellyfish’s digestive tract, the snail begins to eat the jellyfish. By the time the snail grows to maturity, it has completely consumed the jellyfish.
Yes, the poor jellyfish is eventually consumed by what it had first consumed!
I share the story because in a similar way what we consume can also consume us. Think of the workaholic, the sports adict, or Mr. or Ms. Perfect.
Yes, you and I can be swallowed up in our pursuit of wealth, prestige, power, or a hundred other things, and in the process become immune to the joy of God’s presence in our lives.
Jesus’ warning to the rich young man is a warning to all of us to be careful of the “snails” we consume, “snails” that can swallow us up, displacing the eternal things of God with the immediate, but momentary things of the world.
The Rich Young Man
The story of the rich young man is a case in point and reflects issues appropriate for our times.
This man’s money is not the real problem; rather, it’s allowing any earthly thing to dominate us. That is at the heart of the problem!
Any thing, any person, any life goal that “possesses” us, pulling our focus off our ultimate destination, this is the problem and for this reason, people with wealth or lots of “stuff” can make poor disciples.
Why? Because they lose the ability to approach God with empty hands. The “rich-in-stuff” lose a sense of being in need of anything. Being filled with earthly “things” leads to holding on to those things with the clenched fists of comfort or control.
Camel and the Needle’s Eye
What are you clutching far too tightly in your life? What prevents you from letting go and letting God?
The phrase Jesus uses in today’s Gospel is, “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Any good Jew at the time would understand the image well.
The “Needle Gate” was a narrow opening in the walls of Jerusalem, requiring camel heavily laden with riches and possessions to be unloaded before entering.
So it would be easier for that laden camel (arms out and on hips) to get through the narrow passage than for you or I to get to heaven burdened by what we’re holding on to.
What is the “love of your life” to which you cling? How free are you of your “stuff”?
What’s Consuming You?
As I think about moving next June, I have been trying to get rid of two-thirds of my personal books. It hasn’t been an easy task and I’m ashamed to say how stuck to them I am.
When I look at what the “holding on to the books” is about what comes to mind is (1) How they make me look, (2) The false sense of thinking that I know everything that is in them, and (3) Believing that someday I will actually need the information.
Notice that each of those reasons removes me from God as my source of satisfaction, joy, and possession.
So I too being “rich-in-stuff” – in my case, books – must unburden myself to enter more deeply into a relationship with Jesus, a relationship that will one day help me enter heaven’s gates!
Earthly treasures – my books or your “stuff” – have deceived us. They have given us a false sense of security. They have demanded loyalty, attention, and care, all of which belong to God alone.
Conclusion
So what is it for you? Whatever you need to let go of, to unburden yourself from, to release control of, to enter heaven’s narrow gate – do it now!
It isn’t so much what you’ll be loosing, but more a question of the security and joy you will be finding in God!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Weekly THIS AND THAT for October 4, 2009: How Can An Explanation of Indulgences Help Ecumenism?
This and That:
How Can An Explanation of Indulgences Help Ecumenism?
The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is calling for a clarification of Catholic doctrine on indulgences, in order to foster ecumenical dialogue.
Cardinal Walter Kasper noted that the granting of indulgences for the Pauline Year that just ended was an occasion to clarify this issue that continues to divide Christians and is difficult even for Catholics to understand. The Cardinal explained that there is no contradiction between the Catholic doctrine on indulgences and ecumenical dialogue, and called for a “correct understanding” of this topic.
He was responding to criticisms received from some representatives of the Protestant Reformation Communities, who criticized the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary (the Vatican Office that deals with such matters) announcing the granting of indulgences to those who went on pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The Cardinal acknowledged that this subject continues to be a point of disagreement between the two confessions. He noted that the Protestants’ criticisms are “understandable,” given the “trauma” that indulgences caused in Martin Luther’s time, but he pointed out that today indulgences “at least in practice, are not those of the 16th Century.” He continued, “Today not even Catholic historians argue over the fact that in the Middle Ages grave inconveniences were created that caused controversy over the practice of indulgences.” Cardinal Kasper affirmed that this practice “has existed in the Church since the beginning,” linked to the “expiation [atonement] of sins through temporal punishment” and to the value of the intercession of the Martyrs, which was practiced in the Early Church.
In the wake of the degeneration of this practice during the Low Middle Ages and the Reformation, the Council of Trent reformed indulgences “in a radical way,” he explained, returning to “the former and proven use of the Church,” as a “valid, though not binding, pastoral offer.” The Cardinal also stressed the importance of Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution “Indulgentiarum Doctrina” saying that it is “still today almost unknown,” but suggesting that it “might put ecumenical dialogue on this topic on a new basis.” In this sense, he highlighted the importance of the Symposium on Indulgences, held in February 2001, to which Protestants were invited, to explain that indulgences do not contradict the joint declaration on justification signed with Lutherans in 1999.
Cardinal Kasper pointed out that the question of indulgences, far from being a secondary issue, is an essential topic, as it is connected with the Doctrine on the Sacraments, especially Reconciliation, and issues having to do with our understanding of ourselves as Church. He affirmed that, “The fact that misinterpretations and controversies arise constantly is due to the close connection between the Theology of Penance and of indulgences and ecclesiological issues, in which differences persist among the confessions which are yet to be surmounted.” The Protestants’ main objection, namely, to what point the Pope or a bishop can grant indulgences, is addressed “not only to indulgences but to the Catholic interpretation of the ministry in general,” he said, which states that the minister acts “in persona Christi,” (in the person of Jesus Christ) something that the Reformation communities do not admit. The Cardinal clarified that, “When we speak of the treasure of grace of the Church, we do not understand a material reality or a sort of deposit.” “The treasure of grace is,” he said, “in a word, Jesus Christ himself, his incommensurable mercy and infinite satisfaction, in which we are able to participate as his Body.”
This idea of penance is difficult to accept even by many Catholics, as it is in contrast to “a soft Christian life that does not take seriously the reality of sin and its consequences,” he asserted, as well as “with the individualist error, which is so widespread, of thinking that Christians can relate to God on their own.” He added that it is also difficult for those for whom “salvation is no longer a problem.”
If the doctrine of indulgences is well understood, it makes manifest among separated Christians “more common elements than it seems,” noted the Cardinal, exhorting readers “not to trivialize the question.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
How Can An Explanation of Indulgences Help Ecumenism?
The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is calling for a clarification of Catholic doctrine on indulgences, in order to foster ecumenical dialogue.
Cardinal Walter Kasper noted that the granting of indulgences for the Pauline Year that just ended was an occasion to clarify this issue that continues to divide Christians and is difficult even for Catholics to understand. The Cardinal explained that there is no contradiction between the Catholic doctrine on indulgences and ecumenical dialogue, and called for a “correct understanding” of this topic.
He was responding to criticisms received from some representatives of the Protestant Reformation Communities, who criticized the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary (the Vatican Office that deals with such matters) announcing the granting of indulgences to those who went on pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The Cardinal acknowledged that this subject continues to be a point of disagreement between the two confessions. He noted that the Protestants’ criticisms are “understandable,” given the “trauma” that indulgences caused in Martin Luther’s time, but he pointed out that today indulgences “at least in practice, are not those of the 16th Century.” He continued, “Today not even Catholic historians argue over the fact that in the Middle Ages grave inconveniences were created that caused controversy over the practice of indulgences.” Cardinal Kasper affirmed that this practice “has existed in the Church since the beginning,” linked to the “expiation [atonement] of sins through temporal punishment” and to the value of the intercession of the Martyrs, which was practiced in the Early Church.
In the wake of the degeneration of this practice during the Low Middle Ages and the Reformation, the Council of Trent reformed indulgences “in a radical way,” he explained, returning to “the former and proven use of the Church,” as a “valid, though not binding, pastoral offer.” The Cardinal also stressed the importance of Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution “Indulgentiarum Doctrina” saying that it is “still today almost unknown,” but suggesting that it “might put ecumenical dialogue on this topic on a new basis.” In this sense, he highlighted the importance of the Symposium on Indulgences, held in February 2001, to which Protestants were invited, to explain that indulgences do not contradict the joint declaration on justification signed with Lutherans in 1999.
Cardinal Kasper pointed out that the question of indulgences, far from being a secondary issue, is an essential topic, as it is connected with the Doctrine on the Sacraments, especially Reconciliation, and issues having to do with our understanding of ourselves as Church. He affirmed that, “The fact that misinterpretations and controversies arise constantly is due to the close connection between the Theology of Penance and of indulgences and ecclesiological issues, in which differences persist among the confessions which are yet to be surmounted.” The Protestants’ main objection, namely, to what point the Pope or a bishop can grant indulgences, is addressed “not only to indulgences but to the Catholic interpretation of the ministry in general,” he said, which states that the minister acts “in persona Christi,” (in the person of Jesus Christ) something that the Reformation communities do not admit. The Cardinal clarified that, “When we speak of the treasure of grace of the Church, we do not understand a material reality or a sort of deposit.” “The treasure of grace is,” he said, “in a word, Jesus Christ himself, his incommensurable mercy and infinite satisfaction, in which we are able to participate as his Body.”
This idea of penance is difficult to accept even by many Catholics, as it is in contrast to “a soft Christian life that does not take seriously the reality of sin and its consequences,” he asserted, as well as “with the individualist error, which is so widespread, of thinking that Christians can relate to God on their own.” He added that it is also difficult for those for whom “salvation is no longer a problem.”
If the doctrine of indulgences is well understood, it makes manifest among separated Christians “more common elements than it seems,” noted the Cardinal, exhorting readers “not to trivialize the question.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for October 4, 2009: How to Treat Wives, Children, and Slaves
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
October 4, 2009
How to Treat Wives, Children and Slaves
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Headship in the Family
A topic that often gets a reaction from wives is the teaching about “Headship” within many Fundamentalist Christian communities.
“Headship” is the belief that God ordained that the man be the head of the household and that the woman’s role is subservient to him.
Of course such a value goes against the gifts of women to share that “Headship,” that leadership within the family.
While Jesus’ teaching seems to support male dominance within the home, on closer examination, we see that is really not the case.
Women, Children and Slaves
Texts from Sacred Scripture emerge from a culture that is so far removed from ours and
(1) Need to be examined for what they are. And then
(2) They must also be interpreted for our own time.
The text we just heard in the Gospel addresses the first of three sets of relationships that the New Testament treats:
(1) Wives and husbands.
The other two sets of relationships are
(2) Children and parents, and
(3) Slaves and masters.
In none of the three kinds of relationships do the writers of Sacred Scripture tackle the rightness or wrongness of the underlying structure where wives, children, or slaves are considered property.
Why not?
(1)Probably because, from the author’s vantage point, the world as he knew it was short-lived. He was expecting that the end of the world would end during his generation.
(2) In addition, he didn’t have the power or influence to change anything, whatever he might say, write, or do.
That’s hard for us to understand today, believing as we do that religious and spiritual leaders need to take a more prophetic stance.
When you look at the text more carefully, however, you see that it indeed calls for a transformation, even though it leaves social structures unchanged.
The A’s and B’s
In each set of relationships, the author works with what can be called an A-B structure. There’s an “A” and a “B” in a wife’s relationship with her husband, an “A” and a “B” in a child’s relationship with his parents, and an “A” and a “B” in a slave’s relationship with his master.
In each case, “A” reflects the culture and calls for obedience, e.g. the well-known phrase in Ephesians “Wives be subject to your husbands.” In each case, “B” – “Husbands love your wives as Jesus loved the Church” – moves beyond (use hands) the culture and completely absorbs obedience into a higher value, a higher experience.
The “A” and “B” Regarding Divorce
Let’s look now at the “A” and “B” in the relationship between husband and wife regarding divorce.
Jesus’ stance against divorce arises from a very particular concern. Moses had said that a man could write a certificate of divorce and dismiss his wife. Moses says nothing about what a woman could do.
For a woman to dismiss her husband was a long, complicated and public process, while a man could simply write up a certificate, if she so much as burned the toast.
So the “A” for divorce is easy for guys; tough for gals to do. In Jesus’ view, that’s not what God had in mind.
In affirming the sacredness of the bond, men and women are placed side-by-side in his teaching when he says, “They are no longer two, but one flesh,” so breaking of the “one flesh” through divorce has the same consequences for each of them.
So in the culture of Jesus’ time wives may have had a station in a marriage below the husband (A), but she is no less equal to her husband in being one flesh with him (B).
Understanding “A” and Moving to “B”
Equality – which is spelled out in the “B” part – demands:
(1) equal Belief that it is enduring.
(2) equal Commitment to holding the marriage as sacred, and
(3) equal Respect
(4) equal Work in sustaining the marriage
And when things go awry, that same equality demands:
(1) Looking the problem squarely in the face.
(2) mutual Support in defrosting the wall of ice between you
(3) equal effort at Healing the rift
(4) equal effort in Making it work
In short, do the roles that a husband and wife play in their marriage speak of equality? They should, says Jesus.
Conclusion
We are challenged in our marriages to acknowledge a cultural bias against the wife (A), but more importantly, we are challenged to live equally as spouses (B).
Today may be the perfect time to have a discussion about that matter of equality in marriage.
Our Lady of Grace
October 4, 2009
How to Treat Wives, Children and Slaves
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Headship in the Family
A topic that often gets a reaction from wives is the teaching about “Headship” within many Fundamentalist Christian communities.
“Headship” is the belief that God ordained that the man be the head of the household and that the woman’s role is subservient to him.
Of course such a value goes against the gifts of women to share that “Headship,” that leadership within the family.
While Jesus’ teaching seems to support male dominance within the home, on closer examination, we see that is really not the case.
Women, Children and Slaves
Texts from Sacred Scripture emerge from a culture that is so far removed from ours and
(1) Need to be examined for what they are. And then
(2) They must also be interpreted for our own time.
The text we just heard in the Gospel addresses the first of three sets of relationships that the New Testament treats:
(1) Wives and husbands.
The other two sets of relationships are
(2) Children and parents, and
(3) Slaves and masters.
In none of the three kinds of relationships do the writers of Sacred Scripture tackle the rightness or wrongness of the underlying structure where wives, children, or slaves are considered property.
Why not?
(1)Probably because, from the author’s vantage point, the world as he knew it was short-lived. He was expecting that the end of the world would end during his generation.
(2) In addition, he didn’t have the power or influence to change anything, whatever he might say, write, or do.
That’s hard for us to understand today, believing as we do that religious and spiritual leaders need to take a more prophetic stance.
When you look at the text more carefully, however, you see that it indeed calls for a transformation, even though it leaves social structures unchanged.
The A’s and B’s
In each set of relationships, the author works with what can be called an A-B structure. There’s an “A” and a “B” in a wife’s relationship with her husband, an “A” and a “B” in a child’s relationship with his parents, and an “A” and a “B” in a slave’s relationship with his master.
In each case, “A” reflects the culture and calls for obedience, e.g. the well-known phrase in Ephesians “Wives be subject to your husbands.” In each case, “B” – “Husbands love your wives as Jesus loved the Church” – moves beyond (use hands) the culture and completely absorbs obedience into a higher value, a higher experience.
The “A” and “B” Regarding Divorce
Let’s look now at the “A” and “B” in the relationship between husband and wife regarding divorce.
Jesus’ stance against divorce arises from a very particular concern. Moses had said that a man could write a certificate of divorce and dismiss his wife. Moses says nothing about what a woman could do.
For a woman to dismiss her husband was a long, complicated and public process, while a man could simply write up a certificate, if she so much as burned the toast.
So the “A” for divorce is easy for guys; tough for gals to do. In Jesus’ view, that’s not what God had in mind.
In affirming the sacredness of the bond, men and women are placed side-by-side in his teaching when he says, “They are no longer two, but one flesh,” so breaking of the “one flesh” through divorce has the same consequences for each of them.
So in the culture of Jesus’ time wives may have had a station in a marriage below the husband (A), but she is no less equal to her husband in being one flesh with him (B).
Understanding “A” and Moving to “B”
Equality – which is spelled out in the “B” part – demands:
(1) equal Belief that it is enduring.
(2) equal Commitment to holding the marriage as sacred, and
(3) equal Respect
(4) equal Work in sustaining the marriage
And when things go awry, that same equality demands:
(1) Looking the problem squarely in the face.
(2) mutual Support in defrosting the wall of ice between you
(3) equal effort at Healing the rift
(4) equal effort in Making it work
In short, do the roles that a husband and wife play in their marriage speak of equality? They should, says Jesus.
Conclusion
We are challenged in our marriages to acknowledge a cultural bias against the wife (A), but more importantly, we are challenged to live equally as spouses (B).
Today may be the perfect time to have a discussion about that matter of equality in marriage.
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