This and That:
Holy Spirit: Presents or Presence?
Our Lenten Family Friday series on the Gospel of Luke continues this week by exploring the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus and his disciples. Saint Luke highlights this role of the Holy Spirit more than any other Gospel writer.
We think of God giving us gifts (presents) of the Holy Spirit, but the first gift that God gives us is God’s SELF. This is the Holy Spirit – the very PRESENCE of God
The persons of the Trinity are so much in communion with one another that it seems contrived to talk about them separately.
During Jesus’ life on earth, the Spirit was always present with him, because the Trinity is always in union with one another.
In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit guides Jesus’ life and mission. Luke is the only Gospel writer who gives us the story of the Annunciation, in which the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary and makes her the mother of the savior. (Lk 1:35). Continuing in that same story, Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, who proclaims Mary “blessed among women”. (Lk 1:41) This is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, Simeon and Anna recognize the Messiah through the Spirit’s enlightenment. (Lk 2: 25 – 27)
Later, when Jesus is ready to begin his mission, the Holy Spirit plays an important role in his preparation:
1. Baptism – Holy Spirit confirms Jesus’ identity as the beloved Son of God
(Lk 3: 21-22)
2. Temptation – Jesus is led into the desert where he experiences empowerment against evil. (Lk 4:1)
3. Beginning of Mission – Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God (Lk 4:14, 18)
Saint Luke wrote a second volume in addition to the Gospel. His second writing was the Acts of the Apostles, which shows the Holy Spirit empowering the beginning and spread of the church and continuing to guide those early disciples.
While we see the Holy Spirit’s role in the life of Jesus and the early church, we need to keep in mind that the Spirit continues to guide believers throughout history, right up to our own time.
It is the Holy Spirit who REVEALS God to us. The Spirit draws us to believe in Jesus and also draws us into relationship with God as our loving parent.
Saint Paul expresses the Christian belief in the Spirit throughout his writings:
➢ “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3)
➢ “God had sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba Father’” (Gal 4:6)
Holy Spirit Guides the Church
Just as the Holy Spirit guided the early Church, we believe that dynamic continues in our own time. We are all members of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides the Magisterium, which is our bishops exercising their teaching role. Throughout the history of the Church, the Sense of the Faithful has also guided the church to proclaim what people actually believe.
Holy Spirit Empowers US
In Baptism, the Holy Spirit incorporates us into the Body of Christ and reminds us that we belong! In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit gives us a share in the mission of Jesus and a strong sense that we are sent! In our daily living, the Holy Spirit REMINDS us of what Jesus did, taught, suffered, and experience in Resurrection.
In the experience of individuals, the Holy Spirit relates to each believer:
➢ Holy Spirit quickens my faith in relationship with God/Jesus
➢ Reveals truth/identity about myself
➢ Calls me to mission – with Jesus
➢ Calls me to union with other believers
Luke’s Gospel gives us the promise of Jesus: “When you ask the Father, he will give you the Holy Spirit” (Lk11:13) This is God’s gift to us – God’s self! The purpose of the gift is the same as it was for Jesus. The Holy Spirit kept Jesus in Communion with his Father throughout his life and the Holy Spirit does the same for us.
To conclude, the Holy Spirit does gift us presents (spiritual gifts), all within the context of the greatest Gift – God’s very Presence!
Blessings,
Sr. Mary Therese
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for March 7, 2010: The Name of God
3rd Sunday of Lent
Cycle C
March 6-7, 2010
Our Lady of Grace
Taking God’s Name in Vain
When I was a child, I learned early on not to take God’s name in vain.
My parents and teachers taught me that there is a good way to use the name of God or Jesus. This is usually when we pray.
And there is also a bad way to use God’s name. This was like when I fell off my bike and scraped my knee or when I now lose my patience with traffic.
There are also some other ways that we commonly use God’s name. Insurance companies call storms and earthquakes “acts of God.”
In our Christian history, the inquisition and even executions were seen as the “work of God” in defense of truth. Wars have been fought “in the name of God.”
And, of course, accidents, sickness, and even death have sometimes been referred to as “the will of God.” In contrast to all of this, today’s Scripture readings give us two valuable insights into our use of God’s name.
Jesus’ Lesson on the Name
First, Jesus solidly challenges anyone who would use God’s name in the ways I just mentioned.
Some people were questioning Jesus about the Galileans whom the Roman ruler Pilate put to death. They figured that these people must have been sinners and deserved what they got.
Jesus responds: “Do you think that these Galileans were the greatest sinners because they suffered this fate? By no means!”
And then Jesus adds: “Or what about those eighteen people on whom that building collapsed? Do you think they were worse than anyone else? No way!”
So Jesus is saying: Don’t evaluate the lives of others by events like these and don’t use the name of God in this way. Instead, focus on yourself and your need to grow in the ways of God.
The road to life and being close to God is not just intellectually assenting to certain truths. It is not just reciting or accepting a creed or profession of faith.
Instead, the road to life is trying to live God’s way or Jesus’ way the best we can. This is what the parable of the fig tree is about.
The vinedresser is the image of God who is patient and gives the tree time to produce. But even that wonderful care does not substitute for the fig tree’s own inner resources.
So, we, like the fig tree, must not in the name of God denounce others – that is shallow religion and homilies that do this are shallow. We need instead to be looking at ourselves and working to grow in the name and identity of God.
God’s Lesson on the Name
And then in the first reading God himself gives us a lesson about using his name.
Moses wants to know God’s name. God simply says: “I am,” or “I am who am.”
God is implying: “Don’t fence me in. Don’t put me in a box and try to control me.”
Implied in this name that God gives himself is that we humans are not to assume that we know all about God. Implied in this is that we are never to say that God is here but not there, behind this but not behind that, and on it goes.
Just last Friday evening, at the Lenten Souper, someone came up to me and said that you must be a Christian to be saved. Those who do not explicitly believe in Jesus cannot be saved.
Well, as I responded to that person, no question, we believe that Jesus is the fullness of God and we want everyone to know and believe in Jesus. And we believe that the way of Jesus has been faithfully passed down in our Catholic tradition and we want to invite everyone to this.
But, and this is crucial, we cannot limit or box God in. God also acts in Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and on it goes.
And persons in those religions or in no religion can also be saved. That is one of the valuable insights and teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
We ought not to take the name of God in vain by saying that God does not save these people. This is the implication of the name that God gives himself – “I am who am.”
Conclusion
So, some strong lessons this morning about God and God’s name and how to use and not use that name!
Cycle C
March 6-7, 2010
Our Lady of Grace
Taking God’s Name in Vain
When I was a child, I learned early on not to take God’s name in vain.
My parents and teachers taught me that there is a good way to use the name of God or Jesus. This is usually when we pray.
And there is also a bad way to use God’s name. This was like when I fell off my bike and scraped my knee or when I now lose my patience with traffic.
There are also some other ways that we commonly use God’s name. Insurance companies call storms and earthquakes “acts of God.”
In our Christian history, the inquisition and even executions were seen as the “work of God” in defense of truth. Wars have been fought “in the name of God.”
And, of course, accidents, sickness, and even death have sometimes been referred to as “the will of God.” In contrast to all of this, today’s Scripture readings give us two valuable insights into our use of God’s name.
Jesus’ Lesson on the Name
First, Jesus solidly challenges anyone who would use God’s name in the ways I just mentioned.
Some people were questioning Jesus about the Galileans whom the Roman ruler Pilate put to death. They figured that these people must have been sinners and deserved what they got.
Jesus responds: “Do you think that these Galileans were the greatest sinners because they suffered this fate? By no means!”
And then Jesus adds: “Or what about those eighteen people on whom that building collapsed? Do you think they were worse than anyone else? No way!”
So Jesus is saying: Don’t evaluate the lives of others by events like these and don’t use the name of God in this way. Instead, focus on yourself and your need to grow in the ways of God.
The road to life and being close to God is not just intellectually assenting to certain truths. It is not just reciting or accepting a creed or profession of faith.
Instead, the road to life is trying to live God’s way or Jesus’ way the best we can. This is what the parable of the fig tree is about.
The vinedresser is the image of God who is patient and gives the tree time to produce. But even that wonderful care does not substitute for the fig tree’s own inner resources.
So, we, like the fig tree, must not in the name of God denounce others – that is shallow religion and homilies that do this are shallow. We need instead to be looking at ourselves and working to grow in the name and identity of God.
God’s Lesson on the Name
And then in the first reading God himself gives us a lesson about using his name.
Moses wants to know God’s name. God simply says: “I am,” or “I am who am.”
God is implying: “Don’t fence me in. Don’t put me in a box and try to control me.”
Implied in this name that God gives himself is that we humans are not to assume that we know all about God. Implied in this is that we are never to say that God is here but not there, behind this but not behind that, and on it goes.
Just last Friday evening, at the Lenten Souper, someone came up to me and said that you must be a Christian to be saved. Those who do not explicitly believe in Jesus cannot be saved.
Well, as I responded to that person, no question, we believe that Jesus is the fullness of God and we want everyone to know and believe in Jesus. And we believe that the way of Jesus has been faithfully passed down in our Catholic tradition and we want to invite everyone to this.
But, and this is crucial, we cannot limit or box God in. God also acts in Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and on it goes.
And persons in those religions or in no religion can also be saved. That is one of the valuable insights and teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
We ought not to take the name of God in vain by saying that God does not save these people. This is the implication of the name that God gives himself – “I am who am.”
Conclusion
So, some strong lessons this morning about God and God’s name and how to use and not use that name!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 28, 2010: What's Lost Can Always Be Found
This and That:
What’s Lost Can Always Be Found
In Chapter 15 of St. Luke’s gospel, we have three stories of what God is like. Each story is given to us by Jesus Himself. Our image of God is very important because how we look at God will influence how we respond to Him.
Jesus is eating with some publicans and sinners. The scribes and Pharisees come up and ask: “What on earth are you doing? Why would you have anything to do with these people? And Jesus told them three stories. The first is the story of the lost sheep. Remember, it wasn’t the lost lamb who sought Jesus out! Then there is the story of the lost coins. Remember, this is not an economics lesson. Each coin was sought because each is important, just as each lamb is important. However, then comes the craziest story of them all. Can you imagine a young Jewish or Arabic boy coming up to his father and essentially saying, “I wish you were dead so I could have my inheritance now.” This would have broken every rule of etiquette. But, the real corker is that the father says, “Yes, my son, your portion will be prepared for you..
The son sets out and lives high, wide, and handsome. Until, of course, the money runs out. So, one day, he says to himself, “I’m starving. Its unpleasant. I’ll get up and go home, where my father’s slaves have it better than I do.” Now, the father must have been on the look-out every day in hopes his son would return. One day he went out and saw a spot on the distant road. And now comes one seemingly ridiculous point after another.
First of all, he told his servants to go get some gifts. While this was happening, he ran out after his son, and embraced him. At about this time, the servants showed up with the things the Father had sent them to get. Each one is a story in itself.
The first gift was the shoes. Obviously, the son needed them. But, only sons wore shoes, not the servants. So, the son learns right away that he isn’t taken back as a servant, but as a son. Also, the shoes meant that the father was giving him a new standing point for his life.
Next comes the gown. The dad puts the gown over the stinking swine swill from the pigs the boy had been tending. With this filth covered over, the robe means that the boy is to receive a new attitude towards life. But, there is more. The father wants to throw a big party, and everyone is invited. Now, the elder son receives an invitation but doesn’t attend. But what is the point of the party? That whenever someone receives God’s loving embrace, and loving forgiveness, everyone who comes into contact with that person will be different. Once we have opened ourselves up to God’s touch in our lives, we can’t help but share this generously with ALL other people, without exception.
Remember, according to Jesus, God is like that father.
So the question is: when have you ever come home after making a huge mess of your life, and been treated in this way? God is beyond good, and beyond generous!
Lets us spend the rest of Lent, disciplining ourselves to turn to God, seek His values, His ideals, His principles, and know a forgiveness, and a love, and joy, that belies description.
Love and prayers,
Dr. Jack Buchner
Director of Religious Education
What’s Lost Can Always Be Found
In Chapter 15 of St. Luke’s gospel, we have three stories of what God is like. Each story is given to us by Jesus Himself. Our image of God is very important because how we look at God will influence how we respond to Him.
Jesus is eating with some publicans and sinners. The scribes and Pharisees come up and ask: “What on earth are you doing? Why would you have anything to do with these people? And Jesus told them three stories. The first is the story of the lost sheep. Remember, it wasn’t the lost lamb who sought Jesus out! Then there is the story of the lost coins. Remember, this is not an economics lesson. Each coin was sought because each is important, just as each lamb is important. However, then comes the craziest story of them all. Can you imagine a young Jewish or Arabic boy coming up to his father and essentially saying, “I wish you were dead so I could have my inheritance now.” This would have broken every rule of etiquette. But, the real corker is that the father says, “Yes, my son, your portion will be prepared for you..
The son sets out and lives high, wide, and handsome. Until, of course, the money runs out. So, one day, he says to himself, “I’m starving. Its unpleasant. I’ll get up and go home, where my father’s slaves have it better than I do.” Now, the father must have been on the look-out every day in hopes his son would return. One day he went out and saw a spot on the distant road. And now comes one seemingly ridiculous point after another.
First of all, he told his servants to go get some gifts. While this was happening, he ran out after his son, and embraced him. At about this time, the servants showed up with the things the Father had sent them to get. Each one is a story in itself.
The first gift was the shoes. Obviously, the son needed them. But, only sons wore shoes, not the servants. So, the son learns right away that he isn’t taken back as a servant, but as a son. Also, the shoes meant that the father was giving him a new standing point for his life.
Next comes the gown. The dad puts the gown over the stinking swine swill from the pigs the boy had been tending. With this filth covered over, the robe means that the boy is to receive a new attitude towards life. But, there is more. The father wants to throw a big party, and everyone is invited. Now, the elder son receives an invitation but doesn’t attend. But what is the point of the party? That whenever someone receives God’s loving embrace, and loving forgiveness, everyone who comes into contact with that person will be different. Once we have opened ourselves up to God’s touch in our lives, we can’t help but share this generously with ALL other people, without exception.
Remember, according to Jesus, God is like that father.
So the question is: when have you ever come home after making a huge mess of your life, and been treated in this way? God is beyond good, and beyond generous!
Lets us spend the rest of Lent, disciplining ourselves to turn to God, seek His values, His ideals, His principles, and know a forgiveness, and a love, and joy, that belies description.
Love and prayers,
Dr. Jack Buchner
Director of Religious Education
Weekly HOMILY for February 28, 2010: Transfiguration Versus Transformation
2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Parish Mission at St. Ann’s, Hagerstown
February 28, 2010
Transfiguration Versus Transformation
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Dulcinea
Many of us are familiar with the popular musical The Man of La Mancha.
This musical is about an elderly Spanish gentleman named Don Quixote. Quixote is caught up in romance novels and flights of fantasy.
And so, he sets out as a knight to forge a life of romance and chivalry for himself. He meets a woman named Aldonza.
Aldonza is a woman of the street, an object of scorn, but Don Quixote loves and cares for her and the result is that Aldonza is transformed.
Quixote re-names her Dulcinea, which means “The Sweet One.” What happens is that the lowly Aldonza responds and lives up to her new name.
She is faithful and remains with Quixote until his death. In the final scene of the play, as Quixote is dying, Dulcinea sings that song that has become so famous, “The Impossible Dream.”
Don Quixote has made the impossible possible for her. He has enabled what was only a dream to become a reality in the respect and love that Aldonza-turned-Dulcinea now feels.
And, as she concludes her song, someone calls to her “Aldonza!” And with dignity and pride, she responds, “My name is Dulcinea!”
Transfiguration
This story of Aldonza becoming Dulcinea helps us to appreciate what Jesus’ transfiguration can mean for us today.
The gospel tells us that Jesus is “transfigured” before these three apostles. This word – transfigured – is not one that we often use.
The root of it is the word “figure” or “appearance.” So, Jesus takes on a new appearance or appears differently to them.
Of course it is the same Jesus. He himself is not changed or different, but his appearance is different – transfigured.
What happens is that these three Apostles now see Jesus differently; they see him clearly for who he really is, that is, as God’s “beloved Son,” as the voice from heaven says.
So, the Transfiguration of Jesus is about his change of figure or appearance so that the Apostles can experience him for who he really is.
Transformation
Now I suggest that Jesus’ trans-figure-ation calls us to trans-form-ation. These are very different words with very different meanings.
Trans-form-ation means a change in our being, in who we are, and this is much more than a change in appearance.
Jesus did not need to be transformed. He always was God’s beloved Son and he only needed to be transfigured for the sake of the Apostles.
We, on the other hand, do not need to be transfigured or be concerned about our appearance. Instead, we need to be transformed or changed in our very being, in who we are, something like Aldonza being transformed into Dulcinea in the musical.
The question then is: How can this happen? What can we do to bring it about?
“Listen to Him”
Today’s Gospel tells us.
The voice from the heavens that the Apostles and we hear says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” The point being made is that Jesus is now our guide, the guide to salvation.
Pure and simply, we need to “listen to him.”
(1) For example, listening means trying to hear what God is saying to me when I pray and not just praying by my speaking to God. Remember two ears one mouth; listen twice as much as you speak.
(2) Listening means no longer sifting through the gospels, taking what comforts and avoiding what discomforts, like Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and not seeking revenge, but turning the other cheek. It means working to accept the entire message.
(3) Listening means being attentive to the voice of Jesus in the poor and powerless. It means doing this even though it may put us at odds with popular opinion or with the powers that be.
Conclusion
The point is that this listening will transform us. It will change not just how we appear, but more profoundly who we are.
It will change us in much the same way that Don Quixote’s love changed Aldonza into Dulcinea.
Jesus’ transfiguration calls us to this transformation.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week (tomorrow and Tuesday) I will be offering a Parish Retreat here at St. Ann’s with Mass at 7:00 and the retreat at 7:30pm.
The focus of the two days will be how to experience Jesus directly, how to come into his presence and once there, how to have that presence make a difference in your life.
That Presence is a personal experience. It’s not about reciting prayers. It’s not about being lectured to. It’s not about have great information.
It is about direct experience that can transform situations in your life that once were boring or mundane into now seeming graced and alive. It is about strivings and graspings that once carried a life-or-death importance can now be calmed and eased with deep reassurance. It is about concerns and attachments that previously muddied awareness and kidnapped attention can now dissolve into amazing clarity.
Parish Mission at St. Ann’s, Hagerstown
February 28, 2010
Transfiguration Versus Transformation
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Dulcinea
Many of us are familiar with the popular musical The Man of La Mancha.
This musical is about an elderly Spanish gentleman named Don Quixote. Quixote is caught up in romance novels and flights of fantasy.
And so, he sets out as a knight to forge a life of romance and chivalry for himself. He meets a woman named Aldonza.
Aldonza is a woman of the street, an object of scorn, but Don Quixote loves and cares for her and the result is that Aldonza is transformed.
Quixote re-names her Dulcinea, which means “The Sweet One.” What happens is that the lowly Aldonza responds and lives up to her new name.
She is faithful and remains with Quixote until his death. In the final scene of the play, as Quixote is dying, Dulcinea sings that song that has become so famous, “The Impossible Dream.”
Don Quixote has made the impossible possible for her. He has enabled what was only a dream to become a reality in the respect and love that Aldonza-turned-Dulcinea now feels.
And, as she concludes her song, someone calls to her “Aldonza!” And with dignity and pride, she responds, “My name is Dulcinea!”
Transfiguration
This story of Aldonza becoming Dulcinea helps us to appreciate what Jesus’ transfiguration can mean for us today.
The gospel tells us that Jesus is “transfigured” before these three apostles. This word – transfigured – is not one that we often use.
The root of it is the word “figure” or “appearance.” So, Jesus takes on a new appearance or appears differently to them.
Of course it is the same Jesus. He himself is not changed or different, but his appearance is different – transfigured.
What happens is that these three Apostles now see Jesus differently; they see him clearly for who he really is, that is, as God’s “beloved Son,” as the voice from heaven says.
So, the Transfiguration of Jesus is about his change of figure or appearance so that the Apostles can experience him for who he really is.
Transformation
Now I suggest that Jesus’ trans-figure-ation calls us to trans-form-ation. These are very different words with very different meanings.
Trans-form-ation means a change in our being, in who we are, and this is much more than a change in appearance.
Jesus did not need to be transformed. He always was God’s beloved Son and he only needed to be transfigured for the sake of the Apostles.
We, on the other hand, do not need to be transfigured or be concerned about our appearance. Instead, we need to be transformed or changed in our very being, in who we are, something like Aldonza being transformed into Dulcinea in the musical.
The question then is: How can this happen? What can we do to bring it about?
“Listen to Him”
Today’s Gospel tells us.
The voice from the heavens that the Apostles and we hear says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” The point being made is that Jesus is now our guide, the guide to salvation.
Pure and simply, we need to “listen to him.”
(1) For example, listening means trying to hear what God is saying to me when I pray and not just praying by my speaking to God. Remember two ears one mouth; listen twice as much as you speak.
(2) Listening means no longer sifting through the gospels, taking what comforts and avoiding what discomforts, like Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and not seeking revenge, but turning the other cheek. It means working to accept the entire message.
(3) Listening means being attentive to the voice of Jesus in the poor and powerless. It means doing this even though it may put us at odds with popular opinion or with the powers that be.
Conclusion
The point is that this listening will transform us. It will change not just how we appear, but more profoundly who we are.
It will change us in much the same way that Don Quixote’s love changed Aldonza into Dulcinea.
Jesus’ transfiguration calls us to this transformation.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week (tomorrow and Tuesday) I will be offering a Parish Retreat here at St. Ann’s with Mass at 7:00 and the retreat at 7:30pm.
The focus of the two days will be how to experience Jesus directly, how to come into his presence and once there, how to have that presence make a difference in your life.
That Presence is a personal experience. It’s not about reciting prayers. It’s not about being lectured to. It’s not about have great information.
It is about direct experience that can transform situations in your life that once were boring or mundane into now seeming graced and alive. It is about strivings and graspings that once carried a life-or-death importance can now be calmed and eased with deep reassurance. It is about concerns and attachments that previously muddied awareness and kidnapped attention can now dissolve into amazing clarity.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 21, 2010: Dining in God's Kingdom
This and That:
Dining in God’s Kingdom
I talked with a young man recently who had attended a Mass at the parish and heard my homily. He was rather upset and was calling because in my remarks I had said that, “All can be saved, including Muslims, Jews, and atheists.” Very surprised, he had learned differently as a child that only Christians could be saved. I shared quotes from the Second Vatican Council that supported my statement, but he was seemingly undone by the “revelation.” St. Luke in his Gospel is the Evangelist for going beyond the pale and including all in salvation. That non-Jews could be saved was unheard of at the time he was writing his Gospel.
This past Friday began our Lenten Family Friday Series on Luke’s Gospel entitled “Who Matters to God?” The quick response is “Everybody matters!” Over the six weeks, Sister Mary Therese, Dr. Jack, and I will each be doing two presentations on that theme. The first week’s was “Dining in God’s Kingdom.”
Background on St. Luke
Luke, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, was a 3rd generation Christian looking back on the traditions that he had inherited. He was not an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’ ministry and was dependent upon others who had already taken the testimony of such witnesses and put it in narrative form. Nor was Luke a Jew. By profession he was a doctor. It has been said that, “A priest sees people at their best; a lawyer sees them at their worst; and a doctor sees them as they are.” Luke saw men and women and loved them all! Not very familiar with Palestine or with Jewish customs, Luke was nevertheless an educated person and well versed in Greek literature. He most probably came from a prosperous urban family.
When you read his Gospel, it is clear that Luke wrote mainly for Gentiles, that is, non-Jews. There is nothing in the Gospel that a Gentile could not grasp and understand. His purpose in writing is to provide assurance for the instruction that Christians are giving, to show that what the Church preaches is rooted in the ministry of Jesus and the preaching of the first Apostles. He calls his work a narrative account, not a history. In the Acts of the Apostles he shows that God’s salvation moved beyond Jerusalem and the pious of Israel into the whole world. This wonderful Gospel shows how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus and how the salvation promised to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has been extended to the Gentiles.
Shifts in Luke’s Gospel
Given that background on Luke the following are some of the shifts in it.
➢ God’s divine plan was accomplished during the period of Jesus, who through the events of his life fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies and this salvation is now extended to all humanity in the period of the Church.
➢ He is concerned with presenting Christianity as a legitimate form of worship in the Roman world, a religion that is capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a world empire like that of Rome.
➢ Christianity is the logical development and proper fulfillment of Judaism and is therefore deserving of the same toleration and freedom traditionally accorded Judaism by Rome.
➢ Luke accordingly shifts the early Christian emphasis away from the expectation of an imminent return of Jesus to the day-to-day concerns of the Christian community living in the world.
➢ Luke calls upon the Christian disciple to identify with the master, Jesus, who is caring and tender toward the poor and lowly, the outcast, the sinner, and the afflicted, indeed toward all those who recognize their dependence on God.
➢ His Gospel provides an account of Jesus’ life and teaching for a universal mission.
➢ Luke’s desire to show that the Church belongs to the larger world of the Roman Empire is evident in references to Roman emperors and events, e.g. he links the birth of Jesus to Caesar Augustus.
➢ Luke is a gifted storyteller. He switches from the third-person report into dialogue between the characters. This makes him more engaging to his listener.
➢ God is not waiting for people to come crawling back, begging forgiveness. Instead, God is out looking for people to help like the shepherd and the lost sheep, the woman and the lost coin, or the wayward son’s father, who goes running out of the house and immediately orders a large celebration.
➢ In Acts of the Apostles Luke will show us that God directed the Disciples to take the Gospel to all the people of the earth.
How His Gospel Differs from Other Gospels
➢ News is given to a group of shepherds in the field and the message is from angels: “Good news of great joy for all the people.”
➢ Simeon: Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit rested on him. He prophesies that Jesus will be a light and salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus will be a new beginning for the whole of humanity. Luke was convinced that Jesus came for the whole of humanity. He had seen for himself how God’s Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus was manifest and at work in people of all races, cultures, and nationalities.
➢ From the very beginning of his Gospel Luke explains that Jesus had the whole world in his view. He does not trace Jesus’ genealogy back only to Abraham as Matthew did in his family tree but to Adam, the ancestors of all mankind.
➢ He stresses the same universality in the Acts of the Apostles when writing about Jesus’ ascension into heaven. When Disciples ask him, “Lord, is this the time that you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” he answers by sending them “to the ends of the earth.”
➢ There are times when people around Jesus have difficulty with his global approach, when we welcomes sinners, Samaritans, lepers, the homeless, and disabled people.
➢ The episode with Dismis, the repentant criminal, shows that even in death Jesus extends salvation and forgiveness to others.
➢ The Infancy stories awaken the joyful expectation that Israel’s Messianic King has arrived to bring salvation. Through him, God’s peace and blessings will come to both Jews and Gentiles. Yet, as the story unfolds, this glorious promise will not be fulfilled. Persistent rejection, first of Jesus and then of the Disciples’ mission, leaves Israel excluded from the day of Salvation that had dawned with the coming of Jesus.
➢ Jesus’ ministry reached out to all sorts of people, even to those who had never before had a chance at salvation. Zacchaeus is an example of the sinful tax collector. Samaritans, traditional enemies of the Jews, turn out to be examples of Jesus’ teaching. Samaritan leper, sinful woman, Mary is permitted to sit and listen without condemning Martha’s to serving her guests
➢ The 3rd Gospel is the best life of Christ ever written
➢ Gives Hebrew words in their Greek equivalents. Never uses the Jewish term “Rabbi” for Jesus, but “Master”
➢ No question about it, he’s writing for people like us.
After the above instruction on Luke, all were asked, “What gave Luke his unique perspective? “Where are we coming from in our openness to others?” and “How can we change our perspective to more like Luke’s?” Through a simple exercise and a period of mediation those attending confronted these important questions and then had time to reflect and share their responses with others.
In conclusion, we can say that today people sometimes think that Christianity and its Gospels belong to North American and European culture. They wonder whether Christians can spread the message to people in other cultures without destroying those cultures. We need to remember that the story of Jesus originated in a Semitic culture. Luke and other early Christians were already engaged in intercultural dialogue when they retold the story of Jesus for the Greek-speaking, non-Jewish converts of the cities in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. In Luke, above all, barriers are broken down and Jesus is for Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner alike. He is the savior of the whole world! The Kingdom of God is shut to no one: Samaritan, Gentiles, the Poor, outcasts, or sinners. All four Evangelists quote from Isaiah 40 when they give the message of John the Baptist, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” but it is only Luke who continues the quotation to its triumphant conclusion, “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke of all the gospel writers sees no limits to the love of God.
Do you? And if you do not, what can you do to extend it to others? Join us next week for: “What’ Lost Can Always Be Found.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Dining in God’s Kingdom
I talked with a young man recently who had attended a Mass at the parish and heard my homily. He was rather upset and was calling because in my remarks I had said that, “All can be saved, including Muslims, Jews, and atheists.” Very surprised, he had learned differently as a child that only Christians could be saved. I shared quotes from the Second Vatican Council that supported my statement, but he was seemingly undone by the “revelation.” St. Luke in his Gospel is the Evangelist for going beyond the pale and including all in salvation. That non-Jews could be saved was unheard of at the time he was writing his Gospel.
This past Friday began our Lenten Family Friday Series on Luke’s Gospel entitled “Who Matters to God?” The quick response is “Everybody matters!” Over the six weeks, Sister Mary Therese, Dr. Jack, and I will each be doing two presentations on that theme. The first week’s was “Dining in God’s Kingdom.”
Background on St. Luke
Luke, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, was a 3rd generation Christian looking back on the traditions that he had inherited. He was not an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’ ministry and was dependent upon others who had already taken the testimony of such witnesses and put it in narrative form. Nor was Luke a Jew. By profession he was a doctor. It has been said that, “A priest sees people at their best; a lawyer sees them at their worst; and a doctor sees them as they are.” Luke saw men and women and loved them all! Not very familiar with Palestine or with Jewish customs, Luke was nevertheless an educated person and well versed in Greek literature. He most probably came from a prosperous urban family.
When you read his Gospel, it is clear that Luke wrote mainly for Gentiles, that is, non-Jews. There is nothing in the Gospel that a Gentile could not grasp and understand. His purpose in writing is to provide assurance for the instruction that Christians are giving, to show that what the Church preaches is rooted in the ministry of Jesus and the preaching of the first Apostles. He calls his work a narrative account, not a history. In the Acts of the Apostles he shows that God’s salvation moved beyond Jerusalem and the pious of Israel into the whole world. This wonderful Gospel shows how God’s promises to Israel have been fulfilled in Jesus and how the salvation promised to Israel and accomplished by Jesus has been extended to the Gentiles.
Shifts in Luke’s Gospel
Given that background on Luke the following are some of the shifts in it.
➢ God’s divine plan was accomplished during the period of Jesus, who through the events of his life fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies and this salvation is now extended to all humanity in the period of the Church.
➢ He is concerned with presenting Christianity as a legitimate form of worship in the Roman world, a religion that is capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a world empire like that of Rome.
➢ Christianity is the logical development and proper fulfillment of Judaism and is therefore deserving of the same toleration and freedom traditionally accorded Judaism by Rome.
➢ Luke accordingly shifts the early Christian emphasis away from the expectation of an imminent return of Jesus to the day-to-day concerns of the Christian community living in the world.
➢ Luke calls upon the Christian disciple to identify with the master, Jesus, who is caring and tender toward the poor and lowly, the outcast, the sinner, and the afflicted, indeed toward all those who recognize their dependence on God.
➢ His Gospel provides an account of Jesus’ life and teaching for a universal mission.
➢ Luke’s desire to show that the Church belongs to the larger world of the Roman Empire is evident in references to Roman emperors and events, e.g. he links the birth of Jesus to Caesar Augustus.
➢ Luke is a gifted storyteller. He switches from the third-person report into dialogue between the characters. This makes him more engaging to his listener.
➢ God is not waiting for people to come crawling back, begging forgiveness. Instead, God is out looking for people to help like the shepherd and the lost sheep, the woman and the lost coin, or the wayward son’s father, who goes running out of the house and immediately orders a large celebration.
➢ In Acts of the Apostles Luke will show us that God directed the Disciples to take the Gospel to all the people of the earth.
How His Gospel Differs from Other Gospels
➢ News is given to a group of shepherds in the field and the message is from angels: “Good news of great joy for all the people.”
➢ Simeon: Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit rested on him. He prophesies that Jesus will be a light and salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus will be a new beginning for the whole of humanity. Luke was convinced that Jesus came for the whole of humanity. He had seen for himself how God’s Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus was manifest and at work in people of all races, cultures, and nationalities.
➢ From the very beginning of his Gospel Luke explains that Jesus had the whole world in his view. He does not trace Jesus’ genealogy back only to Abraham as Matthew did in his family tree but to Adam, the ancestors of all mankind.
➢ He stresses the same universality in the Acts of the Apostles when writing about Jesus’ ascension into heaven. When Disciples ask him, “Lord, is this the time that you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” he answers by sending them “to the ends of the earth.”
➢ There are times when people around Jesus have difficulty with his global approach, when we welcomes sinners, Samaritans, lepers, the homeless, and disabled people.
➢ The episode with Dismis, the repentant criminal, shows that even in death Jesus extends salvation and forgiveness to others.
➢ The Infancy stories awaken the joyful expectation that Israel’s Messianic King has arrived to bring salvation. Through him, God’s peace and blessings will come to both Jews and Gentiles. Yet, as the story unfolds, this glorious promise will not be fulfilled. Persistent rejection, first of Jesus and then of the Disciples’ mission, leaves Israel excluded from the day of Salvation that had dawned with the coming of Jesus.
➢ Jesus’ ministry reached out to all sorts of people, even to those who had never before had a chance at salvation. Zacchaeus is an example of the sinful tax collector. Samaritans, traditional enemies of the Jews, turn out to be examples of Jesus’ teaching. Samaritan leper, sinful woman, Mary is permitted to sit and listen without condemning Martha’s to serving her guests
➢ The 3rd Gospel is the best life of Christ ever written
➢ Gives Hebrew words in their Greek equivalents. Never uses the Jewish term “Rabbi” for Jesus, but “Master”
➢ No question about it, he’s writing for people like us.
After the above instruction on Luke, all were asked, “What gave Luke his unique perspective? “Where are we coming from in our openness to others?” and “How can we change our perspective to more like Luke’s?” Through a simple exercise and a period of mediation those attending confronted these important questions and then had time to reflect and share their responses with others.
In conclusion, we can say that today people sometimes think that Christianity and its Gospels belong to North American and European culture. They wonder whether Christians can spread the message to people in other cultures without destroying those cultures. We need to remember that the story of Jesus originated in a Semitic culture. Luke and other early Christians were already engaged in intercultural dialogue when they retold the story of Jesus for the Greek-speaking, non-Jewish converts of the cities in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. In Luke, above all, barriers are broken down and Jesus is for Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner alike. He is the savior of the whole world! The Kingdom of God is shut to no one: Samaritan, Gentiles, the Poor, outcasts, or sinners. All four Evangelists quote from Isaiah 40 when they give the message of John the Baptist, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” but it is only Luke who continues the quotation to its triumphant conclusion, “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke of all the gospel writers sees no limits to the love of God.
Do you? And if you do not, what can you do to extend it to others? Join us next week for: “What’ Lost Can Always Be Found.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for February 21, 2010: Fasten Your Seat Belts
5th Sunday of Lent
Cycle C
March 21, 2010
Our Lady of Grace
Fasten Your Seat Belts
Sometimes at meetings, I use the expression “Fasten your seat belts.”
I say this when I think the air may get a bit turbulent. In other words, my use of this expression means that there will be some challenging, maybe uncomfortable things to talk about.
This morning, I am inclined to say: “Fasten your seat belts.” Today’s gospel story strikes me as packed with lessons.
And naturally, as I often like to do, I see three lessons packed into this story. So, “Fasten your seat belts.”
Sexual and Social Morality
First, the story centers on a woman who is accused of adultery.
This leads me to recall our Catholic teaching on sexuality. Our Church teaches that sexuality is a gift from God and is sacred.
The Church’s understanding is that sexuality expresses something within us, perhaps we would say something deep, something even at the core of who we are. Sexual expression is powerful because it affects who we are and who others are.
And so, our teaching is that sexual expression is to be reserved to the committed relationship of marriage. It is in marriage that our human sexuality finds its true and authentic and fullest meaning.
At the same time, our Catholic morality is not limited to sexual morality. Especially in the last forty years or so, we are also clear that there is a social morality.
There is a Catholic social teaching that guides us in our relationship with society. For example, this social teaching emphasizes the priority of the poor who lack the basics for human life.
It emphasizes our acting for the common good of all, even when that may not be best for my own interests. Our Catholic social teaching, like our sexual morality, is to form our conscience and guide us in what we do.
Men and Women
The second lesson I see in this story also concerns the woman.
Some people, actually they are religious leaders, bring this woman to Jesus because she was caught in adultery. But they do not bring her partner, the man.
In the culture of that day, women were treated as inferior, as not equal to men, and only women were severely punished for this sin. So, the woman was blamed for this and the man got off the hook.
This leads me to think about our Church. Our Church allows only men to be ordained to the priesthood.
Our teaching is that this is not an issue of equality or inequality, but rather a revelation of Jesus. Our teaching is that Jesus ordered priesthood in this way and we need to adhere to that.
At the same time, ministry in the Church flourishes only when both men and women are engaged in it. Right in this parish, women are engaged in all ministries – education, liturgy, administration, outreach, and on it goes.
They are gifted and essential ministers and leaders in our Church and our parish. We need to be in forefront of respect for the dignity and rights of women within our Church and in our society in general.
Exclude and Include
The third and last lesson I see here concerns the religious leaders.
They want Jesus’ approval to stone her to death. This is the most radical way of rejecting, putting down, and excluding her.
The only problem – Jesus will not go along with it. Instead, Jesus invites those who are sinless to throw the first stones.
In this way, he confronts them with the truth that we are all human and sinful. So to these religious leaders, Jesus in effect says: “Get off it!”
He accepts and includes this woman just as he does with others – like having dinner with tax collectors, or like including Judas who betrayed him and Peter who denied him at the Last Supper – the first First Communion Mass. There’s a sharp point here for us.
It is not ours to reject, to put down, to exclude others who are sinful. When we as individuals or as today’s religious leaders do that, we are not following Jesus’ way. (I’m sure you’re aware you might get some “feedback” on this statement.)
Instead of all that, we are to follow Jesus’ way of accepting and including and then respectfully, gently, inviting others to grow and embrace his way more fully. This is not the way of feel-good self-righteousness, but it is the way of being right with God.
Conclusion
So, I see some challenging lessons here today and that’s why at least I felt it was a good idea to “Fasten our seat belts.”
Cycle C
March 21, 2010
Our Lady of Grace
Fasten Your Seat Belts
Sometimes at meetings, I use the expression “Fasten your seat belts.”
I say this when I think the air may get a bit turbulent. In other words, my use of this expression means that there will be some challenging, maybe uncomfortable things to talk about.
This morning, I am inclined to say: “Fasten your seat belts.” Today’s gospel story strikes me as packed with lessons.
And naturally, as I often like to do, I see three lessons packed into this story. So, “Fasten your seat belts.”
Sexual and Social Morality
First, the story centers on a woman who is accused of adultery.
This leads me to recall our Catholic teaching on sexuality. Our Church teaches that sexuality is a gift from God and is sacred.
The Church’s understanding is that sexuality expresses something within us, perhaps we would say something deep, something even at the core of who we are. Sexual expression is powerful because it affects who we are and who others are.
And so, our teaching is that sexual expression is to be reserved to the committed relationship of marriage. It is in marriage that our human sexuality finds its true and authentic and fullest meaning.
At the same time, our Catholic morality is not limited to sexual morality. Especially in the last forty years or so, we are also clear that there is a social morality.
There is a Catholic social teaching that guides us in our relationship with society. For example, this social teaching emphasizes the priority of the poor who lack the basics for human life.
It emphasizes our acting for the common good of all, even when that may not be best for my own interests. Our Catholic social teaching, like our sexual morality, is to form our conscience and guide us in what we do.
Men and Women
The second lesson I see in this story also concerns the woman.
Some people, actually they are religious leaders, bring this woman to Jesus because she was caught in adultery. But they do not bring her partner, the man.
In the culture of that day, women were treated as inferior, as not equal to men, and only women were severely punished for this sin. So, the woman was blamed for this and the man got off the hook.
This leads me to think about our Church. Our Church allows only men to be ordained to the priesthood.
Our teaching is that this is not an issue of equality or inequality, but rather a revelation of Jesus. Our teaching is that Jesus ordered priesthood in this way and we need to adhere to that.
At the same time, ministry in the Church flourishes only when both men and women are engaged in it. Right in this parish, women are engaged in all ministries – education, liturgy, administration, outreach, and on it goes.
They are gifted and essential ministers and leaders in our Church and our parish. We need to be in forefront of respect for the dignity and rights of women within our Church and in our society in general.
Exclude and Include
The third and last lesson I see here concerns the religious leaders.
They want Jesus’ approval to stone her to death. This is the most radical way of rejecting, putting down, and excluding her.
The only problem – Jesus will not go along with it. Instead, Jesus invites those who are sinless to throw the first stones.
In this way, he confronts them with the truth that we are all human and sinful. So to these religious leaders, Jesus in effect says: “Get off it!”
He accepts and includes this woman just as he does with others – like having dinner with tax collectors, or like including Judas who betrayed him and Peter who denied him at the Last Supper – the first First Communion Mass. There’s a sharp point here for us.
It is not ours to reject, to put down, to exclude others who are sinful. When we as individuals or as today’s religious leaders do that, we are not following Jesus’ way. (I’m sure you’re aware you might get some “feedback” on this statement.)
Instead of all that, we are to follow Jesus’ way of accepting and including and then respectfully, gently, inviting others to grow and embrace his way more fully. This is not the way of feel-good self-righteousness, but it is the way of being right with God.
Conclusion
So, I see some challenging lessons here today and that’s why at least I felt it was a good idea to “Fasten our seat belts.”
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 14, 2010: "No" to "Yes": Six Lenten Suggestions
This and That:
“No to Yes: Six Lenten Suggestions”
As we prepare for Lent 2010, please don’t forget about:
1. Lenten Family Fridays
2. Friday Stations of the Cross at 2:00pm in church on February 19th, March 5th, 12th and the 19th.
3. Adult morning of recollection in the church on Thursday, February 18th from 9:30am to 11:00am.
Lent is best viewed as a journey; a journey from “no,” to “yes.” These “no’s” include: deceit, infidelity, betrayals, broken relationships, the moral destroyers of our society, and our own sins that we will smear on our foreheads, in the form of ashes, for all to see on Wednesday. We will seek the Easter waters, forty days hence, that will wash them away. On Easter Sunday, we will be challenged to start all over again as we are asked:
➢ Do you renounce Satan? And all his ways? And all his works?
➢ Do you believe in God the Father? In Jesus Christ? In the Holy Spirit?
We get forty days to work up to our answer, to say, yes. We all have our own Lenten strategies. Permit me to offer my own suggestions, six of them, three to do, three to start.
➢ First one to do: Say no to indiscriminate television watching. TV is commercial television, designed to create needs and make you buy what you don’t really need. Much of it is filled with soft and hardcore pornography and values that are contrary to the gospel. You really can’t absorb those powerful images day in and day out without being affected and spiritually desensitized. Be very selective in your television watching.
➢ Second one: Say “yes” to spiritual reading. Buy a little pocket New Testament and read a passage a day from the gospels. Listen to audiotapes or CD’s on the way to work, school or shopping.
➢ Third: coffee can the table. That is, put a coffee can on the family table and have everyone empty his or her change into it. That goes to the poor.
Now we come to three that are a little more personal, a little more difficult, a little more long range.
➢ Fourth suggestion: be an encourager. That is, at work, at school give an encouraging word, the encouraging deed, at least once a week. For example, make the Wednesdays of Lent your encouraging days. So, on Wednesdays at least, be a repairer of broken spirits, a healer of wounds, a harbinger of hope. Speak an encouraging word for every put-down remark. Give a pat for every shove.
➢ Fifth suggestion – and this is tough: prepare to heal, work up to it. That is, make an attempt at reconnecting a broken connection that often, in my experience, starts out with a misunderstanding.
➢ Sixth and final suggestion: Reconnect basics. Put aside a day every week or two when friends, spouses, or families reconnect. Or, I guess I’m saying, review that reason you’re doing all that work and all that running around like crazy to begin with. Too often today, we act like we need to “do” and “get” things. It is time to reconnect with the importance of relationships. Even God, within Godself, is in relationship!
All six are ways of getting from Ash Wednesday no to Easter yes!
Happy Lent, Love,
Jack
“No to Yes: Six Lenten Suggestions”
As we prepare for Lent 2010, please don’t forget about:
1. Lenten Family Fridays
2. Friday Stations of the Cross at 2:00pm in church on February 19th, March 5th, 12th and the 19th.
3. Adult morning of recollection in the church on Thursday, February 18th from 9:30am to 11:00am.
Lent is best viewed as a journey; a journey from “no,” to “yes.” These “no’s” include: deceit, infidelity, betrayals, broken relationships, the moral destroyers of our society, and our own sins that we will smear on our foreheads, in the form of ashes, for all to see on Wednesday. We will seek the Easter waters, forty days hence, that will wash them away. On Easter Sunday, we will be challenged to start all over again as we are asked:
➢ Do you renounce Satan? And all his ways? And all his works?
➢ Do you believe in God the Father? In Jesus Christ? In the Holy Spirit?
We get forty days to work up to our answer, to say, yes. We all have our own Lenten strategies. Permit me to offer my own suggestions, six of them, three to do, three to start.
➢ First one to do: Say no to indiscriminate television watching. TV is commercial television, designed to create needs and make you buy what you don’t really need. Much of it is filled with soft and hardcore pornography and values that are contrary to the gospel. You really can’t absorb those powerful images day in and day out without being affected and spiritually desensitized. Be very selective in your television watching.
➢ Second one: Say “yes” to spiritual reading. Buy a little pocket New Testament and read a passage a day from the gospels. Listen to audiotapes or CD’s on the way to work, school or shopping.
➢ Third: coffee can the table. That is, put a coffee can on the family table and have everyone empty his or her change into it. That goes to the poor.
Now we come to three that are a little more personal, a little more difficult, a little more long range.
➢ Fourth suggestion: be an encourager. That is, at work, at school give an encouraging word, the encouraging deed, at least once a week. For example, make the Wednesdays of Lent your encouraging days. So, on Wednesdays at least, be a repairer of broken spirits, a healer of wounds, a harbinger of hope. Speak an encouraging word for every put-down remark. Give a pat for every shove.
➢ Fifth suggestion – and this is tough: prepare to heal, work up to it. That is, make an attempt at reconnecting a broken connection that often, in my experience, starts out with a misunderstanding.
➢ Sixth and final suggestion: Reconnect basics. Put aside a day every week or two when friends, spouses, or families reconnect. Or, I guess I’m saying, review that reason you’re doing all that work and all that running around like crazy to begin with. Too often today, we act like we need to “do” and “get” things. It is time to reconnect with the importance of relationships. Even God, within Godself, is in relationship!
All six are ways of getting from Ash Wednesday no to Easter yes!
Happy Lent, Love,
Jack
Weekly HOMILY for February 14, 2010: Deacon Preached
Deacon Jim Prosser preached this Sunday at Father Nicholas' Masses
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