Feast of the Epiphany, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
January 2, 2011
The Life-giving Act of Stargazing
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
LIGHTS OF THE HEAVENS
I imagine that we have all had the experience of just gazing at the moon.
I do this especially when there is a full moon. On a clear night, the moon is spectacular as it is framed in darkness.
It is amazing how much it can light up an otherwise dark night. There is something magnetic about it.
Much the same is true of the stars. Isn’t it a special treat to be in the countryside or the mountains on a clear night?
Isn’t it wonderful not to have house lights and streetlights, car lights and lighted signs invading the darkness? Only without them can look up and really see the countless stars shining in all their splendor.
BOTH LIGHT AND DARKNESS
Experiences like these are something like the experience of the three magi.
They look up into the dark winter sky and see a bright star. They followed the star and it brings them to the newborn Jesus, to the Lord himself.
(1) Have you ever thought that stars like the one the magi saw can only be seen against a backdrop of darkness?
This is a simple, perhaps obvious fact, but it is good to recall it and be aware of it.
(2) And isn’t it also true that sometimes we want to have the stars or light without darkness?
Even now, during these 12 Days of Christmas, we may be tempted to say:
➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if every day were like Christmas?”
➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if each day of the year were full of such high spirits?”
➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if there were no bad news, no sadness, no stress, no heartache, no sickness?”
Of course, life is not like that. In the real situations of our lives there is always both sweet and sour, joy and mourning, health and sickness, light and darkness.
I would like to suggest that embracing both the dark and the light can be a sign of wisdom and a way to inner peace, but the wisdom does not end there.
CONTROL YOUR FOCUS
The good news – the added piece of wisdom – is that we have the ability to control our focus and choose what we look at.
We can decide to look at the stars or to look at the darkness.
We know from studies on the workplace that people who are regarded as effective have their share of sorrows and setbacks as anyone else.
What makes them effective, studies have found, is that they generally concentrate on the light rather than on the darkness.
Thus:
➢ If we begin reflecting on all the bad things that take place in our lives, it will soon depress us. But if we focus on the good, we will be uplifted
➢ If we want to find fault with our spouse, friend, children, and co-workers, we will surely find something. But if we look for their good points, we are sure to find them as well
Why choose to live out of misery? Great question!
APPLICATION: SO LOOK TO THE STARS
The point or lesson to be learned from all of this is that life is made or broken by what we consistently look at: the stars or the darkness.
Happiness will most often depend on little more than a simple shift in focus. No, we don’t pretend the darkness does not exist, but like the magi or wise men we can choose to concentrate on the stars.
So the question for us on this Feast of the Epiphany is: “Where is your focus?” “Are you more often than not a star-gazer?”
Do we look for light in any darkness that confronts us? We can take control of where we direct our attention.
CONCLUSION
We can talk more about our dreams of the New Year than our misfortunes this past year.
We can talk more about our hopes in the months ahead, than our disappointments over the past months.
We can notice a storm brewing in a relationship and still look for its rainbow and live out of that.
We get to choose. On this first day of the New Year we’re asked, “What shall it be?”
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
WEEKLY HOMILY for January 1, 2011: The New Year / A Time for Investing
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle A
St. Mark Church, Fallston
January 1, 2010
The New Year: A Time for Investing
BY NICHOLAS AMATO
86,400 DOLLARS
Imagine for just a minute that your bank credits your checking account with $86,400.
The money is yours to do with whatever you want. The only catch is that the balance does not carry over to the next day.
Whatever money you don’t spend is lost. In other words, whatever is left at the end of the day is deleted from your account.
Then, the next morning your account is again credited with $86,400. So, what would you do?
My guess is that you would quickly discover more and more wonderful things to do with each day’s newly given wealth.
You would quickly learn lots of creative ways to spend or give away every cent every day.
86,400 SECONDS
Okay, now let’s go back to reality. I’m not talking about $86,400 dollars a day but something else we get 86,400 of free every day. Any idea what?
If we do the arithmetic, we easily learn that every day, we are given 86,400 seconds to live. Put another way, God invests 86,400 seconds in each one of us every single day.
Every night, God writes off as a loss whatever of this time we have wasted or not used well.
In the Big Bank of Time, there are no balances that get carried over from one day to the next.
Each day a new 86,400 seconds is poured into our account. Each night at precisely 11:59.59 what remains is lost and gone forever.
No, time cannot be saved for a rainy day. If we fail to make use of today’s deposit, the loss is ours.
SPEND TIME WISELY
The lesson here is that we have to spend our time wisely – a great lesson for today, New Year’s Day.
From an investment point of view, we need to spend our time on items that will hold their value from day to day, month to month, year to year. Regardless of our occupation or vocation, regardless of what we have to do day in and day out, we need to spend our time wisely.
Several ways we can do this include:
➢ Coming closer to God through the Scripture, the Eucharist, and personal prayer and reflection, as we see in Mary in today’s gospel
➢ Tending well the primary relationships in our lives, especially with your spouse or close friend or parents or children
➢ Intentionally working to become more compassionate and more understanding of the situation and feelings of others.
In investing our time on these “things,” we will have no regrets. These items will always hold their value.
In fact, their value will increase and mean more and more to us as time goes on.
Someday we will look back on the time we spent on these investments and say, “That was time well spent.”
CONCLUSION
So, today we begin a New Year – a new and significant segment of time.
The question is: how will we spend our 86,400 seconds each day of the New Year?
St. Mark Church, Fallston
January 1, 2010
The New Year: A Time for Investing
BY NICHOLAS AMATO
86,400 DOLLARS
Imagine for just a minute that your bank credits your checking account with $86,400.
The money is yours to do with whatever you want. The only catch is that the balance does not carry over to the next day.
Whatever money you don’t spend is lost. In other words, whatever is left at the end of the day is deleted from your account.
Then, the next morning your account is again credited with $86,400. So, what would you do?
My guess is that you would quickly discover more and more wonderful things to do with each day’s newly given wealth.
You would quickly learn lots of creative ways to spend or give away every cent every day.
86,400 SECONDS
Okay, now let’s go back to reality. I’m not talking about $86,400 dollars a day but something else we get 86,400 of free every day. Any idea what?
If we do the arithmetic, we easily learn that every day, we are given 86,400 seconds to live. Put another way, God invests 86,400 seconds in each one of us every single day.
Every night, God writes off as a loss whatever of this time we have wasted or not used well.
In the Big Bank of Time, there are no balances that get carried over from one day to the next.
Each day a new 86,400 seconds is poured into our account. Each night at precisely 11:59.59 what remains is lost and gone forever.
No, time cannot be saved for a rainy day. If we fail to make use of today’s deposit, the loss is ours.
SPEND TIME WISELY
The lesson here is that we have to spend our time wisely – a great lesson for today, New Year’s Day.
From an investment point of view, we need to spend our time on items that will hold their value from day to day, month to month, year to year. Regardless of our occupation or vocation, regardless of what we have to do day in and day out, we need to spend our time wisely.
Several ways we can do this include:
➢ Coming closer to God through the Scripture, the Eucharist, and personal prayer and reflection, as we see in Mary in today’s gospel
➢ Tending well the primary relationships in our lives, especially with your spouse or close friend or parents or children
➢ Intentionally working to become more compassionate and more understanding of the situation and feelings of others.
In investing our time on these “things,” we will have no regrets. These items will always hold their value.
In fact, their value will increase and mean more and more to us as time goes on.
Someday we will look back on the time we spent on these investments and say, “That was time well spent.”
CONCLUSION
So, today we begin a New Year – a new and significant segment of time.
The question is: how will we spend our 86,400 seconds each day of the New Year?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
WEEKLY HOMILY for December 25, 2010: The Challenge and Comfort of an Infant’s Open Arms
Christmas, Cycle A
St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air and Our Lady of Grace, Parkton
December 25, 2010
The Challenge and Comfort of an Infant’s Open Arms
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
OPEN ARMS: CHALLENGE AND COMFORT
I would invite you to turn your attention for a moment to the crib or nativity scene here in church.
Notice especially the infant and the infant’s arms in the manger. Did you know the arms are always outstretched?
It’s as if the infant Jesus is reaching out or even embracing you. I checked nativity sets on the Internet and found open arms most frequently.
Are the arms of the Infant outstretched on your Nativity set?
This Christmas (evening) (morning) I have a number of reflections centered on the infant and how his open arms both challenge and comfort us this Christmas.
MESSAGES OF THE INFANT
First and most obvious, God comes to us and enters our world as a NEEDY INFANT. In this, Jesus in Bethlehem identifies with children and youth and all those growing to adulthood.
He challenges us to do all we can to protect and nurture the life of children and to foster growthful opportunities for our youth.
When we do this, we respond to the challenge of the crib and bring comfort to children. We are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Then, Jesus’ open arms are extended to the POOR SHEPHERDS attending him. In this, Jesus is identifying with the poor in our midst and throughout the world.
Those open arms challenge us to help feed the hungry and provide shelter for the homeless right here in Harford/Baltimore County, to make sure that families have food and clothing and health care and even gifts at Christmas, in short to care for anyone in need.
When we do this, we accept the challenge of the crib and are providing comfort to those poor. We are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Jesus’ arms are also open to the WEALTHY MAGI from the East who are drawn to him. In this gesture of love and openness, the Infant in the crib identifies with the affluent, the influential, and the successful of our world.
The challenge of the open arms is to use fully the gifts and talents God has given us and with them to care for the common good. In this way everyone can build on the potentials God has placed in each of us.
When we do this, we are accepting the challenge of Jesus’ open arms and are providing comfort to those in and outside our community. And again, we are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Finally, when God sends his son Jesus into our world in HUMAN FORM, as one like us, we are comforted by the fact that God has become one with our humanity. In doing so he’s telling us we are good, loveable, worth the trouble.
Because this message is for all people, the challenge of the open arms is not to hold ourselves above others, not to judge or condemn, but rather to take each other where we are, to allow all people to join us in the manger scene that is our life.
When we do this, we’re responding to the challenge and the comfort of the crib and, yes, we are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
CONCLUSION
I end as I began: God comes to us and enters our world in the birth of a child.
What is more approachable, loveable, or responsive than an infant with outstretched arms?
It is in those arms that Jesus welcomes, embraces, accepts, and includes us all.
Let those open arms remind us not to shun or exclude anyone because of differences in faith or way of living, but to accept and include all – as are we – in God’s family.
What a difference a little child with open arms can make to the quality of our living. The challenge this Christmas is to make his is open arms ours.
Merry Christmas
St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air and Our Lady of Grace, Parkton
December 25, 2010
The Challenge and Comfort of an Infant’s Open Arms
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
OPEN ARMS: CHALLENGE AND COMFORT
I would invite you to turn your attention for a moment to the crib or nativity scene here in church.
Notice especially the infant and the infant’s arms in the manger. Did you know the arms are always outstretched?
It’s as if the infant Jesus is reaching out or even embracing you. I checked nativity sets on the Internet and found open arms most frequently.
Are the arms of the Infant outstretched on your Nativity set?
This Christmas (evening) (morning) I have a number of reflections centered on the infant and how his open arms both challenge and comfort us this Christmas.
MESSAGES OF THE INFANT
First and most obvious, God comes to us and enters our world as a NEEDY INFANT. In this, Jesus in Bethlehem identifies with children and youth and all those growing to adulthood.
He challenges us to do all we can to protect and nurture the life of children and to foster growthful opportunities for our youth.
When we do this, we respond to the challenge of the crib and bring comfort to children. We are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Then, Jesus’ open arms are extended to the POOR SHEPHERDS attending him. In this, Jesus is identifying with the poor in our midst and throughout the world.
Those open arms challenge us to help feed the hungry and provide shelter for the homeless right here in Harford/Baltimore County, to make sure that families have food and clothing and health care and even gifts at Christmas, in short to care for anyone in need.
When we do this, we accept the challenge of the crib and are providing comfort to those poor. We are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Jesus’ arms are also open to the WEALTHY MAGI from the East who are drawn to him. In this gesture of love and openness, the Infant in the crib identifies with the affluent, the influential, and the successful of our world.
The challenge of the open arms is to use fully the gifts and talents God has given us and with them to care for the common good. In this way everyone can build on the potentials God has placed in each of us.
When we do this, we are accepting the challenge of Jesus’ open arms and are providing comfort to those in and outside our community. And again, we are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
Finally, when God sends his son Jesus into our world in HUMAN FORM, as one like us, we are comforted by the fact that God has become one with our humanity. In doing so he’s telling us we are good, loveable, worth the trouble.
Because this message is for all people, the challenge of the open arms is not to hold ourselves above others, not to judge or condemn, but rather to take each other where we are, to allow all people to join us in the manger scene that is our life.
When we do this, we’re responding to the challenge and the comfort of the crib and, yes, we are at our best as Christians and Catholics.
CONCLUSION
I end as I began: God comes to us and enters our world in the birth of a child.
What is more approachable, loveable, or responsive than an infant with outstretched arms?
It is in those arms that Jesus welcomes, embraces, accepts, and includes us all.
Let those open arms remind us not to shun or exclude anyone because of differences in faith or way of living, but to accept and include all – as are we – in God’s family.
What a difference a little child with open arms can make to the quality of our living. The challenge this Christmas is to make his is open arms ours.
Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 16, 2010
WEEKLY HOMILY for December 19, 2010: Fears: What do we do with them?
4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle A
St. Margaret / St. Mark
December 19, 2010
Fears: What do you do with them?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
MY FEAR
In my last parish, Our Lady of Grace in Parkton, there was a challenge in the design of the roof on the new education center and banquet hall.
The contractor wanted me to go up on the roof with him so that I could see and really understand the issue. Well, I have a fear of unprotected heights like that and this was about the last thing I wanted to do.
But, I did it. I climbed up the ladder against the side of the building and quickly walked up the peak to the middle of the roof and there I literally froze in place.
I was in such a frozen state I wasn’t even able to consider the problem regarding the roof. My fears had closed off all communication, all considerations. All I wanted was a helicopter to drop down a cage and lower me down.
“Father, are you okay? Realizing I wasn’t, he continued, “Father, you’re going to be alright. I’m right here with you” as he moved slowly closer toward me. His word and presence put me at ease, at ease enough to have him relate the roof problem to me.
When I look back at that incident, I realize that what enabled me to deal with my fear of being on the pitched roof was (1) His reassuring word that I would be safe, (2) His physical presence, and (3) My trust in the contractor.
Let me just say, I never intend to go up on the roof of any church or even my own home. I’ll trust the professional so much that I’ll take his word for the condition of any roof.
FEAR IN SCRIPTURE
In today’s gospel, Joseph is also dealing with the fear factor. He is afraid to take Mary as his wife, given the religious and social laws of his day.
Yet, in a dream the angel of the Lord says to him, “Joseph, do not be afraid.”
Joseph is willing to listen to the angel’s (1) Reassuring word that things would work out, (2) To experience his presence in the dream, and (3) To trust in God’s messenger.
With all three, he realizes that God’s assurance is stronger than his fear and Joseph is enabled to take Mary as his wife.
Throughout the Bible, there are many incidents of fear like this and of God’s (1) Reassuring word that things would work out, (2) The experience of God’s presence in some form, and (3) The dramatic act of letting go and simply trusting God.
Granted, the fear may not be completely removed, but it does enable Joseph, Mary, the apostles and many others to act positively.
In fact, Joseph’s trust enables him to cooperate in the birth of Jesus. His trust in the midst of fear makes him an agent in bringing God’s Son into our world.
OUR FEARS
Each of us is afraid; each of us has some fear at some particular moment in life.
And today’s gospel in those moments invites us to respond as Joseph does. It calls us to trust God and, even with our fear, to act in accord with God’s will.
For example, the fear of not being liked by his peers may lead a seventh grader to join in bullying a classmate. In that situation, even a twelve-year-old is being called to trust that God is with him and will take care of him even if he still has some fear.
That trust can lead him to refuse to join in the bullying and maybe even to take up for the kid who is being picked on. And in that way, he cooperates – like Joseph – in bringing God’s love and concern more fully into this world.
Or the example the other day when I was speaking with a young woman, a wife and mother, who is being treated for cancer. We actually talked about having both fear and trust at the same time.
Her faith and trust in God is strengthening her in this ordeal. And in this way she is showing how uniting our suffering to Christ’s suffering makes him more present to others especially for her family and friends.
Or perhaps we have a fear of certain people who are different from us – in today’s climate it may be Arab and Muslim people. Trusting in the Lord, even with our fear, leads us to read, to listen, and to try to understand their life experience and their point of view without labeling someone a terrorist just from their ethnic background.
Reading, listening and trying to understand set the stage for the possibility of reconciliation, harmony, and peace. It again enables God to enter our world more fully and be experienced as the Prince of Peace.
CONCLUSION
Yes, fear is a real-life, human issue.
It pops up often in the Scripture and consistently God calls us not to be afraid. Maybe more precisely, God reassures us that he is Emmanuel – God with us.
God calls us to trust in him even with our fears and not allow those fears to freeze us into a defensive posture. If we are open to God’s grace and presence, then like Joseph we can also be agents for God’s entering our world more fully at this moment in the experience others will have.
St. Margaret / St. Mark
December 19, 2010
Fears: What do you do with them?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
MY FEAR
In my last parish, Our Lady of Grace in Parkton, there was a challenge in the design of the roof on the new education center and banquet hall.
The contractor wanted me to go up on the roof with him so that I could see and really understand the issue. Well, I have a fear of unprotected heights like that and this was about the last thing I wanted to do.
But, I did it. I climbed up the ladder against the side of the building and quickly walked up the peak to the middle of the roof and there I literally froze in place.
I was in such a frozen state I wasn’t even able to consider the problem regarding the roof. My fears had closed off all communication, all considerations. All I wanted was a helicopter to drop down a cage and lower me down.
“Father, are you okay? Realizing I wasn’t, he continued, “Father, you’re going to be alright. I’m right here with you” as he moved slowly closer toward me. His word and presence put me at ease, at ease enough to have him relate the roof problem to me.
When I look back at that incident, I realize that what enabled me to deal with my fear of being on the pitched roof was (1) His reassuring word that I would be safe, (2) His physical presence, and (3) My trust in the contractor.
Let me just say, I never intend to go up on the roof of any church or even my own home. I’ll trust the professional so much that I’ll take his word for the condition of any roof.
FEAR IN SCRIPTURE
In today’s gospel, Joseph is also dealing with the fear factor. He is afraid to take Mary as his wife, given the religious and social laws of his day.
Yet, in a dream the angel of the Lord says to him, “Joseph, do not be afraid.”
Joseph is willing to listen to the angel’s (1) Reassuring word that things would work out, (2) To experience his presence in the dream, and (3) To trust in God’s messenger.
With all three, he realizes that God’s assurance is stronger than his fear and Joseph is enabled to take Mary as his wife.
Throughout the Bible, there are many incidents of fear like this and of God’s (1) Reassuring word that things would work out, (2) The experience of God’s presence in some form, and (3) The dramatic act of letting go and simply trusting God.
Granted, the fear may not be completely removed, but it does enable Joseph, Mary, the apostles and many others to act positively.
In fact, Joseph’s trust enables him to cooperate in the birth of Jesus. His trust in the midst of fear makes him an agent in bringing God’s Son into our world.
OUR FEARS
Each of us is afraid; each of us has some fear at some particular moment in life.
And today’s gospel in those moments invites us to respond as Joseph does. It calls us to trust God and, even with our fear, to act in accord with God’s will.
For example, the fear of not being liked by his peers may lead a seventh grader to join in bullying a classmate. In that situation, even a twelve-year-old is being called to trust that God is with him and will take care of him even if he still has some fear.
That trust can lead him to refuse to join in the bullying and maybe even to take up for the kid who is being picked on. And in that way, he cooperates – like Joseph – in bringing God’s love and concern more fully into this world.
Or the example the other day when I was speaking with a young woman, a wife and mother, who is being treated for cancer. We actually talked about having both fear and trust at the same time.
Her faith and trust in God is strengthening her in this ordeal. And in this way she is showing how uniting our suffering to Christ’s suffering makes him more present to others especially for her family and friends.
Or perhaps we have a fear of certain people who are different from us – in today’s climate it may be Arab and Muslim people. Trusting in the Lord, even with our fear, leads us to read, to listen, and to try to understand their life experience and their point of view without labeling someone a terrorist just from their ethnic background.
Reading, listening and trying to understand set the stage for the possibility of reconciliation, harmony, and peace. It again enables God to enter our world more fully and be experienced as the Prince of Peace.
CONCLUSION
Yes, fear is a real-life, human issue.
It pops up often in the Scripture and consistently God calls us not to be afraid. Maybe more precisely, God reassures us that he is Emmanuel – God with us.
God calls us to trust in him even with our fears and not allow those fears to freeze us into a defensive posture. If we are open to God’s grace and presence, then like Joseph we can also be agents for God’s entering our world more fully at this moment in the experience others will have.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Funeral Mass for December 10, 2010d
Funeral Mass for Thelma Blair
(Ecc 3:1-14, 2Cor 1:14-5:1, John 11:17-27)
Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Mt. Washington
December 10, 2010
Prayer → Presence → Practice
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To Bill and Cathy, Tom and Linda,
To Thelma’s grandchildren: Carla and Stephanie and Shelly, Scott, and Molly,
To her great-grandchildren: Toby and Andrew, Connor and Sean,
And to Susan Cromwell, who was like a sixth grandchild,
Father Vince Conti, the Assistant Principal of Gonzaga High School in D.C., and I join all those gathered here this morning to honor your mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
We offer you our condolences on the occasion of her passing over to the other side of life.
When I think back to my years here as Thelma and Bill’s pastor and their home on Crest Road, I’m reminded of a Currier and Ives Christmas card of a snow covered, warm, snug, little house and opening the front door into a cozy living room with doilies and knick-knacks everywhere.
Thelma used to say that they were all gifts and I used to wonder if there was a single knick-knack that Thelma ever re-gifted? Bill and Tom assure me there wasn’t. Every gift received had a place and there was a ton of them!
PRAYER --> PRACTICE
After ministering as a pastor for 21 years, six of which were spent in this wonderful parish with Bill and Thelma Blair, as of this past July 1st I have been leading contemplative retreats and parish missions full time.
One thing I try to have folks understand when ministering is that there are more people who are contemplative than we might first image.
To pray contemplatively is to move beyond (gesture with right hand) words and images and memorized prayers to a direct experience of God, (gesture with left hand) to have a sort of face-to-face encounter with the Divine.
And once here (hand to hand) one gets “dusted” with the Divine and comes out of that encounter with a new frame of mind, a new way of seeing and acting (gesture right moving away from left.)
I say all this because I believe that Thelma had the gift of divine Presence. Her prayer always began with our standard prayers, and because she did not mind living alone and because she had lots of time for reflection and solitude, she was able to come away to a special place with God.
It was there (show movement of hands and union of both) she was fed and nourished in an extraordinary way. This union was further enhanced by Sue Walker’s regularly bringing her the Eucharist.
You might say her Prayer led her to Presence and her Presence to the Lord led her to Practice, as I said, I new way of seeing and acting.
PRESENCE --> PRACTICE
What were the practices resulting from that Presence?
➢ How about 53 years of great and faithful marriage to Bill and the great relationship they had? Bill who, luckily, was easy going and flexible made a great match for Thelma’s strong will. He learned early it was simply best to follow her – shall we say – lead?
➢ Or how about her attendance at daily mass?
➢ Or raising the two boys?
➢ But there were 5 individuals in the house, not four. Thelma’s mother lived with them from the early years while the boys were growing up
➢ And she was an active member of this parish for all those years
All in all, 96 years of faithful service as a follower of the Lord was her practice, her lifestyle, the lifestyle of one who knew God intimately
SCRIPTURE
In looking over the scripture of her funeral Mass, one might wonder what the insights were that Thelma gained from her experience of God’s Presence to her?
From Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians it may have been secure faith: “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus”
Or perseverance in times of trial: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day
Or not being swept up in material possessions: “So we fix our eyes NOT on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Or from the first reading on Living and dying: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die … a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
Or finally from the Gospel as Jesus tells Martha, Thelma heard those same words: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if she dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
CONCLUSION
Fifteen minutes before Thelma passed, Linda went into her room and found Thelma praying the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and ending with the old familiar, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”
Thelma then told Linda that she saw two figures in white communion dresses, like two angels, coming toward her.
With that lustrous image before her and those last words from Thelma’s lips, “I pray the Lord my soul to keep” she passed ever so gently over to that Lord whose Presence she would now experience forever.
It doesn’t get better than that!
(Ecc 3:1-14, 2Cor 1:14-5:1, John 11:17-27)
Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Mt. Washington
December 10, 2010
Prayer → Presence → Practice
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To Bill and Cathy, Tom and Linda,
To Thelma’s grandchildren: Carla and Stephanie and Shelly, Scott, and Molly,
To her great-grandchildren: Toby and Andrew, Connor and Sean,
And to Susan Cromwell, who was like a sixth grandchild,
Father Vince Conti, the Assistant Principal of Gonzaga High School in D.C., and I join all those gathered here this morning to honor your mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
We offer you our condolences on the occasion of her passing over to the other side of life.
When I think back to my years here as Thelma and Bill’s pastor and their home on Crest Road, I’m reminded of a Currier and Ives Christmas card of a snow covered, warm, snug, little house and opening the front door into a cozy living room with doilies and knick-knacks everywhere.
Thelma used to say that they were all gifts and I used to wonder if there was a single knick-knack that Thelma ever re-gifted? Bill and Tom assure me there wasn’t. Every gift received had a place and there was a ton of them!
PRAYER --> PRACTICE
After ministering as a pastor for 21 years, six of which were spent in this wonderful parish with Bill and Thelma Blair, as of this past July 1st I have been leading contemplative retreats and parish missions full time.
One thing I try to have folks understand when ministering is that there are more people who are contemplative than we might first image.
To pray contemplatively is to move beyond (gesture with right hand) words and images and memorized prayers to a direct experience of God, (gesture with left hand) to have a sort of face-to-face encounter with the Divine.
And once here (hand to hand) one gets “dusted” with the Divine and comes out of that encounter with a new frame of mind, a new way of seeing and acting (gesture right moving away from left.)
I say all this because I believe that Thelma had the gift of divine Presence. Her prayer always began with our standard prayers, and because she did not mind living alone and because she had lots of time for reflection and solitude, she was able to come away to a special place with God.
It was there (show movement of hands and union of both) she was fed and nourished in an extraordinary way. This union was further enhanced by Sue Walker’s regularly bringing her the Eucharist.
You might say her Prayer led her to Presence and her Presence to the Lord led her to Practice, as I said, I new way of seeing and acting.
PRESENCE --> PRACTICE
What were the practices resulting from that Presence?
➢ How about 53 years of great and faithful marriage to Bill and the great relationship they had? Bill who, luckily, was easy going and flexible made a great match for Thelma’s strong will. He learned early it was simply best to follow her – shall we say – lead?
➢ Or how about her attendance at daily mass?
➢ Or raising the two boys?
➢ But there were 5 individuals in the house, not four. Thelma’s mother lived with them from the early years while the boys were growing up
➢ And she was an active member of this parish for all those years
All in all, 96 years of faithful service as a follower of the Lord was her practice, her lifestyle, the lifestyle of one who knew God intimately
SCRIPTURE
In looking over the scripture of her funeral Mass, one might wonder what the insights were that Thelma gained from her experience of God’s Presence to her?
From Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians it may have been secure faith: “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus”
Or perseverance in times of trial: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day
Or not being swept up in material possessions: “So we fix our eyes NOT on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Or from the first reading on Living and dying: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die … a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
Or finally from the Gospel as Jesus tells Martha, Thelma heard those same words: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if she dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
CONCLUSION
Fifteen minutes before Thelma passed, Linda went into her room and found Thelma praying the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and ending with the old familiar, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”
Thelma then told Linda that she saw two figures in white communion dresses, like two angels, coming toward her.
With that lustrous image before her and those last words from Thelma’s lips, “I pray the Lord my soul to keep” she passed ever so gently over to that Lord whose Presence she would now experience forever.
It doesn’t get better than that!
Monday, December 06, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for December 12, 2010: Waiting to Be Freed
3rd Sunday of Advent, Cycle A
St. Margaret Church, Bel Air
December 12, 2010
Waiting to Be Freed
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
PRISONS
John the Baptist is the perfect Advent figure. He is waiting for the coming – the Advent – of the Savior
In doing so, he is a mentor to us, showing us how to wait from a prison cell.
John’s imprisonment, a stone walled room in a cold basement, may be more obvious than ours. I’d like to suggest that our prison is more subtle, but no less real.
Each of us is limited to what our minds and senses can manage. Our families, our promises, our responsibilities, and our situation all in some way limit us.
Even if we enjoy them, these bonds nevertheless specify our movement to the same familiar, deeply grooved surroundings and patterns of behavior.
We are hemmed in by our social and cultural constraints.
LOOKING FOR HOPE
And in the midst of our confinements, like John the Baptist, we look for signs of hope or at least we seek indications of how things could be really different for us.
From the restricted vision inside our cell, we have no way of knowing (demonstrate blinders.) All we can do is look out the narrow slit that is our view of things and wonder.
Within our own personal history we see so many hopes dashed.
➢ Parents who didn’t seem to give us what we needed.
➢ Imperfections and faults that we just can’t seem to overcome.
➢ Not becoming the person we wanted very much to be.
➢ Careers that haven’t met our expectations.
➢ Where did we go wrong with our children?
➢ And the list goes on and on.
THE WAY OUT
We seem to have suffered so many failed saviors and broken dreams that we are tempted to lose hope in any savior, any dream.
Our experience however need not get us down. It can actually help us, for at last we understand some very important things:
➢ That nothing we already know (point to head) can save us
➢ That nothing we can do ourselves (swing arms back and forth) can save us
➢ That nothing within our own power (make a muscle) is strong enough to free us.
If we are to be saved, it must be by someone from outside creation sent into our world and that would be God – God, or someone sent by God with this special mission of liberation.
So with John in his prison of dashed hopes we too urgently ask Jesus, “Are you the One?”
And again with John and his followers, we are as unconvinced by the response they got from Jesus: “The sick are cured and the poor hear good news.”
IS THAT ALL?
That is the only sign we get and, frankly, it just doesn’t seem to be enough. So we think: “Is that all? Is this the great salvation we have waited centuries for: curing a few sick folks and listening to a preacher from Nazareth?”
I would suggest that perhaps our hopes are too small. We are looking for “daily pizza” (palm up cupped hand) instead of the “bread of eternal life” (hand open circling before me), that is, we want a short-term solution, rather than a long-term assurance.
So we may have waited for small saviors because we haven’t recognized our gigantic need.
Jesus did not come to save us from sickness or from failure or from pain. He saves us from the only two things (indicate with two digits) that are ultimately beyond our range of sight:
➢ Sin, which we cannot forgive and
➢ Death, which we cannot avoid.
And that is the Savior whom John and we await, the Savior we expect and hope for, the Savior we direly need.
CONCLUSION
The place to begin with our longing is: First, to recognize our gigantic need to overcome sin and death in our own lives.
The second, is to wait with trust and patience and with only four words on our lips and in our hearts: “Come, Lord Jesus. Come!”
I’d like to conclude with a little Advent exercise and invite you to be still for a moment:
➢ Think of your own sinfulness, things you’ve failed to do or live up to, as well as the things you’ve done to offend others. (Pause)
➢ Think now of your own view of death and what five minutes left to live would have you feeling. (Pause)
From this, our personal prison, let us say those four words twice over slowly together: “Come, Lord, Jesus. Come. Come, Lord, Jesus. Come.”
St. Margaret Church, Bel Air
December 12, 2010
Waiting to Be Freed
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
PRISONS
John the Baptist is the perfect Advent figure. He is waiting for the coming – the Advent – of the Savior
In doing so, he is a mentor to us, showing us how to wait from a prison cell.
John’s imprisonment, a stone walled room in a cold basement, may be more obvious than ours. I’d like to suggest that our prison is more subtle, but no less real.
Each of us is limited to what our minds and senses can manage. Our families, our promises, our responsibilities, and our situation all in some way limit us.
Even if we enjoy them, these bonds nevertheless specify our movement to the same familiar, deeply grooved surroundings and patterns of behavior.
We are hemmed in by our social and cultural constraints.
LOOKING FOR HOPE
And in the midst of our confinements, like John the Baptist, we look for signs of hope or at least we seek indications of how things could be really different for us.
From the restricted vision inside our cell, we have no way of knowing (demonstrate blinders.) All we can do is look out the narrow slit that is our view of things and wonder.
Within our own personal history we see so many hopes dashed.
➢ Parents who didn’t seem to give us what we needed.
➢ Imperfections and faults that we just can’t seem to overcome.
➢ Not becoming the person we wanted very much to be.
➢ Careers that haven’t met our expectations.
➢ Where did we go wrong with our children?
➢ And the list goes on and on.
THE WAY OUT
We seem to have suffered so many failed saviors and broken dreams that we are tempted to lose hope in any savior, any dream.
Our experience however need not get us down. It can actually help us, for at last we understand some very important things:
➢ That nothing we already know (point to head) can save us
➢ That nothing we can do ourselves (swing arms back and forth) can save us
➢ That nothing within our own power (make a muscle) is strong enough to free us.
If we are to be saved, it must be by someone from outside creation sent into our world and that would be God – God, or someone sent by God with this special mission of liberation.
So with John in his prison of dashed hopes we too urgently ask Jesus, “Are you the One?”
And again with John and his followers, we are as unconvinced by the response they got from Jesus: “The sick are cured and the poor hear good news.”
IS THAT ALL?
That is the only sign we get and, frankly, it just doesn’t seem to be enough. So we think: “Is that all? Is this the great salvation we have waited centuries for: curing a few sick folks and listening to a preacher from Nazareth?”
I would suggest that perhaps our hopes are too small. We are looking for “daily pizza” (palm up cupped hand) instead of the “bread of eternal life” (hand open circling before me), that is, we want a short-term solution, rather than a long-term assurance.
So we may have waited for small saviors because we haven’t recognized our gigantic need.
Jesus did not come to save us from sickness or from failure or from pain. He saves us from the only two things (indicate with two digits) that are ultimately beyond our range of sight:
➢ Sin, which we cannot forgive and
➢ Death, which we cannot avoid.
And that is the Savior whom John and we await, the Savior we expect and hope for, the Savior we direly need.
CONCLUSION
The place to begin with our longing is: First, to recognize our gigantic need to overcome sin and death in our own lives.
The second, is to wait with trust and patience and with only four words on our lips and in our hearts: “Come, Lord Jesus. Come!”
I’d like to conclude with a little Advent exercise and invite you to be still for a moment:
➢ Think of your own sinfulness, things you’ve failed to do or live up to, as well as the things you’ve done to offend others. (Pause)
➢ Think now of your own view of death and what five minutes left to live would have you feeling. (Pause)
From this, our personal prison, let us say those four words twice over slowly together: “Come, Lord, Jesus. Come. Come, Lord, Jesus. Come.”
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for December 5, 2010: Unwrapping the Mystery to a “Peaceable Kingdom”
2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle A
Terranuova Hermitage
December 5, 2010
Unwrapping the Mystery to a “Peaceable Kingdom”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONFLICT
Imagine this scene.
It’s a warm sultry July evening; Tom gets home from work about 6:00pm. His wife Carol is already home and he immediately says: “I’ve got to get ready to meet Bob for tennis at 7:00.”
Carol snaps back: “You said you were going to mow the lawn this evening.” Already, there is a chill in the air, and Tom without any response races to get out the lawn mower and he cuts the lawn in record time.
He then runs into the house to change into his tennis clothes and Carol says: “Aren’t you going to edge?” Tom: “It doesn’t need edging.”
Carol: “I think it does.” Tom: “Look, no one will notice the difference.”
Carol: “You said you were going to mow and that includes edging.” Tom: “No it doesn’t. Mowing means mowing and edging means edging.”
Carol: “Well, I guess I’ll edge then.” Tom: “No! I’ll do it when I get home.”
Tom angrily leaves for tennis with an icy silence between them. He gets home after dark and Carol is there.
“Well, are you going to edge?” and on it goes. The conflict continues for two days.
RESOLVING CONFLICT
About a year ago, I read this book – The Anatomy of Peace. The subtitle is: Resolving the Heart of Conflict.
One of the authors tells this true story on himself and that is precisely what The Anatomy of Peace is all about. The insights in the book can relate to family relationships, to work settings, and even to relations between countries, cultures, and races.
The same dynamics operate on all levels of conflict. I have extracted three insights for our reflection this morning.
1. OTHERS AS OBJECTS
First, the heart of most conflict is treating others as objects.
In the story, Tom is not alert to Carol – to her thoughts or feelings about his commitment to mow the lawn. He is treating her as an object, an obstacle to his playing tennis.
And what happens here is pretty typical. When we come across to another person in that way, when we treat the other as an object, we invite that person to respond in the same way.
So Carol just gets focused on getting the lawn cut. Maybe she really needs some relief from all the stress in her life that day and Tom is the means to that end.
So Carol in turn treats Tom as an object. And there lies the heart of conflict.
They are treating each other as objects, as things. That is the core behavior or dynamic underneath most conflict.
2. DEMONIZING OTHERS
This takes me to a second and related insight.
When we treat each other as objects, we may tend to demonize the other person. We can see a spouse or teenager or anyone as all bad or all wrong and we might even recite the list of their deficiencies to a third party.
We can also do this demonizing and stereotyping with whole groups of people: whites with blacks and vice versa, Christians with Muslims and vice versa, and on it goes. The demonizing flows from treating each other as objects and it leads to conflict.
3. OTHERS AS PERSONS
The third insight is how to avoid treating others as objects and how to avoid conflict.
One simple sentence: Treat others as persons. Treat others as persons.
We need to adopt the mindset that others are human beings like ourselves, with needs, feelings, dreams, hurts, and problems much like our own. And so we are to see each other and all others as persons like ourselves.
To do this, we have to make relationship primary and this involves a number of things.
(1) It means listening, really taking in the words and life experience of the other and putting ourselves in his or her position.
(2) It means expressing myself in a respectful way without bashing or putting down the other person.
(3) It involves asking:
➢ What are this person’s challenges, burdens, or hopes?
➢ What have I done to add to this person’s burden or to relieve it?
➢ What am I feeling I should do and what can I do to assist?
Such an approach can help to bridge the gap between subject and object and create more oneness between two persons or even between two groups of people. It will help to avoid conflict or get us out of it.
PEACE
Working on treating others as persons could well be our response to the calling of John the Baptist this Advent.
These insights can help us avoid or resolve conflict. They can help us experience more of the peace that Isaiah envisions and that the Lord wants for us.
Terranuova Hermitage
December 5, 2010
Unwrapping the Mystery to a “Peaceable Kingdom”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONFLICT
Imagine this scene.
It’s a warm sultry July evening; Tom gets home from work about 6:00pm. His wife Carol is already home and he immediately says: “I’ve got to get ready to meet Bob for tennis at 7:00.”
Carol snaps back: “You said you were going to mow the lawn this evening.” Already, there is a chill in the air, and Tom without any response races to get out the lawn mower and he cuts the lawn in record time.
He then runs into the house to change into his tennis clothes and Carol says: “Aren’t you going to edge?” Tom: “It doesn’t need edging.”
Carol: “I think it does.” Tom: “Look, no one will notice the difference.”
Carol: “You said you were going to mow and that includes edging.” Tom: “No it doesn’t. Mowing means mowing and edging means edging.”
Carol: “Well, I guess I’ll edge then.” Tom: “No! I’ll do it when I get home.”
Tom angrily leaves for tennis with an icy silence between them. He gets home after dark and Carol is there.
“Well, are you going to edge?” and on it goes. The conflict continues for two days.
RESOLVING CONFLICT
About a year ago, I read this book – The Anatomy of Peace. The subtitle is: Resolving the Heart of Conflict.
One of the authors tells this true story on himself and that is precisely what The Anatomy of Peace is all about. The insights in the book can relate to family relationships, to work settings, and even to relations between countries, cultures, and races.
The same dynamics operate on all levels of conflict. I have extracted three insights for our reflection this morning.
1. OTHERS AS OBJECTS
First, the heart of most conflict is treating others as objects.
In the story, Tom is not alert to Carol – to her thoughts or feelings about his commitment to mow the lawn. He is treating her as an object, an obstacle to his playing tennis.
And what happens here is pretty typical. When we come across to another person in that way, when we treat the other as an object, we invite that person to respond in the same way.
So Carol just gets focused on getting the lawn cut. Maybe she really needs some relief from all the stress in her life that day and Tom is the means to that end.
So Carol in turn treats Tom as an object. And there lies the heart of conflict.
They are treating each other as objects, as things. That is the core behavior or dynamic underneath most conflict.
2. DEMONIZING OTHERS
This takes me to a second and related insight.
When we treat each other as objects, we may tend to demonize the other person. We can see a spouse or teenager or anyone as all bad or all wrong and we might even recite the list of their deficiencies to a third party.
We can also do this demonizing and stereotyping with whole groups of people: whites with blacks and vice versa, Christians with Muslims and vice versa, and on it goes. The demonizing flows from treating each other as objects and it leads to conflict.
3. OTHERS AS PERSONS
The third insight is how to avoid treating others as objects and how to avoid conflict.
One simple sentence: Treat others as persons. Treat others as persons.
We need to adopt the mindset that others are human beings like ourselves, with needs, feelings, dreams, hurts, and problems much like our own. And so we are to see each other and all others as persons like ourselves.
To do this, we have to make relationship primary and this involves a number of things.
(1) It means listening, really taking in the words and life experience of the other and putting ourselves in his or her position.
(2) It means expressing myself in a respectful way without bashing or putting down the other person.
(3) It involves asking:
➢ What are this person’s challenges, burdens, or hopes?
➢ What have I done to add to this person’s burden or to relieve it?
➢ What am I feeling I should do and what can I do to assist?
Such an approach can help to bridge the gap between subject and object and create more oneness between two persons or even between two groups of people. It will help to avoid conflict or get us out of it.
PEACE
Working on treating others as persons could well be our response to the calling of John the Baptist this Advent.
These insights can help us avoid or resolve conflict. They can help us experience more of the peace that Isaiah envisions and that the Lord wants for us.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Weekly BULLETIN NOTE for December 5, 2010: Parish Mission and Advent Longing / St. Margaret Parish Bel Air
Parish Mission
And Advent Longing
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Desire, once claimed, becomes intention. Intention, given the grace not to derail itself into superstitious control, becomes a willing, honest turning toward the source of life. In and through that love, all you need is already given. You do not need to learn another single thing. Only allow your spirit to fly.” Gerald May The Awakened Heart
Dear Friends at St. Margaret,
Several weeks have passed since I was with you for the parish mission on November 8, 9, and 10 and the feedback we have received indicates it was a good experience. Marie Dekowski, your Director of Religious Education, asked me to provide a follow-up bulletin column to the retreat and I am honored to do so. What I would like to do is take a moment to share my thoughts about contemplative prayer and our Catholic people.
There is within us all a desire to know God and to have an intimate relationship with him. This appetite or hunger should not surprise us. In creating us, we are not only made in the image of the creator, in much the same way that a painting mirrors or images the artist; God’s desire was more. He then planted within us a desire to seek him out and find him so that both God and we could experience the joy of union as individuals. This hunger or desire then is an indication that we are destined for unity with God as creator. You might also say that the fact of this desire within us is already an indication of something divine present in everyone.
Second, the fact that we are “image” and have a “drive” to be one with God would imply that we do not have to wait around till we die and go to heaven. That oneness can be achieved in the here-and-now! Of this Jesus himself has assured us. So the fact remains, how do we accomplish or dispose ourselves so the grace of God may flow and that union is achieved? That takes me to my third point.
All you do as a community of faith here at St. Margaret points you in that direction of unity, whether it is an activity relating to worship (mass), word (faith formation), community (festivals, suppers, socials) or service (caring for those in need.) But frankly, you need more. You need to “come away awhile” as Jesus often did with the crowds and communities to which he belonged to be in silent presence with the Father. And that is where contemplative presence has an important part to play. Prepared prayers, psalms, rosaries, meditation, are all important means of prayer and we have all had a try at them. And, as with the Jewish People in Jesus’ time, the simple recitation of prayers often did not get them very close to God’s presence. If we look to Jesus’ praying it was usually alone and in silent reverential presence to his Father. There was a union of hearts, a deep sharing at a non-verbal level. This is the sort of prayer – call it contemplative prayer – of which I am speaking.
At our parish mission we offered four ways or practices that could get us more deeply into God’s presence: namely, poetry, scripture, guided meditation, and review of our day. Make no mistake about it being in contemplative presence is no work of ours. All we can do is dispose ourselves and ask God’s grace to make that presence possible. While it is an august reality, it is very possible to those whose hearts are open and allow their desire to be satisfied by God. The experience makes us more aware of and responsive to Christ’s pervasive and transforming presence to us. Participants also had the opportunity to develop a prayer plan based on the Sunday mass readings.
Jesus’ adult life was not the only occasion for contemplative presence with his Father. So many of the beautiful scenes of Mary in the Gospel of Luke depict her in a Presence in the midst of doubt, confusion, or stress. She “ponders in her heart” and God is with her. This Advent Season can be such a season for us, one where we take a few minutes before the house begins to stir and, over a hot cup of coffee, we try to respond to the real thirst for union with God. All we need at any time of our day can be found in the present moment. We have to be still, be open, and be aware putting our thoughts aside so we can experience a most sublime union. May a savior who has come for you, fill your Advent longing by his presence. He is there waiting!
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
P.S. If you have a follow-up question to the parish mission, I can be reached at FatherNicholasAmato@gmail.com
And Advent Longing
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Desire, once claimed, becomes intention. Intention, given the grace not to derail itself into superstitious control, becomes a willing, honest turning toward the source of life. In and through that love, all you need is already given. You do not need to learn another single thing. Only allow your spirit to fly.” Gerald May The Awakened Heart
Dear Friends at St. Margaret,
Several weeks have passed since I was with you for the parish mission on November 8, 9, and 10 and the feedback we have received indicates it was a good experience. Marie Dekowski, your Director of Religious Education, asked me to provide a follow-up bulletin column to the retreat and I am honored to do so. What I would like to do is take a moment to share my thoughts about contemplative prayer and our Catholic people.
There is within us all a desire to know God and to have an intimate relationship with him. This appetite or hunger should not surprise us. In creating us, we are not only made in the image of the creator, in much the same way that a painting mirrors or images the artist; God’s desire was more. He then planted within us a desire to seek him out and find him so that both God and we could experience the joy of union as individuals. This hunger or desire then is an indication that we are destined for unity with God as creator. You might also say that the fact of this desire within us is already an indication of something divine present in everyone.
Second, the fact that we are “image” and have a “drive” to be one with God would imply that we do not have to wait around till we die and go to heaven. That oneness can be achieved in the here-and-now! Of this Jesus himself has assured us. So the fact remains, how do we accomplish or dispose ourselves so the grace of God may flow and that union is achieved? That takes me to my third point.
All you do as a community of faith here at St. Margaret points you in that direction of unity, whether it is an activity relating to worship (mass), word (faith formation), community (festivals, suppers, socials) or service (caring for those in need.) But frankly, you need more. You need to “come away awhile” as Jesus often did with the crowds and communities to which he belonged to be in silent presence with the Father. And that is where contemplative presence has an important part to play. Prepared prayers, psalms, rosaries, meditation, are all important means of prayer and we have all had a try at them. And, as with the Jewish People in Jesus’ time, the simple recitation of prayers often did not get them very close to God’s presence. If we look to Jesus’ praying it was usually alone and in silent reverential presence to his Father. There was a union of hearts, a deep sharing at a non-verbal level. This is the sort of prayer – call it contemplative prayer – of which I am speaking.
At our parish mission we offered four ways or practices that could get us more deeply into God’s presence: namely, poetry, scripture, guided meditation, and review of our day. Make no mistake about it being in contemplative presence is no work of ours. All we can do is dispose ourselves and ask God’s grace to make that presence possible. While it is an august reality, it is very possible to those whose hearts are open and allow their desire to be satisfied by God. The experience makes us more aware of and responsive to Christ’s pervasive and transforming presence to us. Participants also had the opportunity to develop a prayer plan based on the Sunday mass readings.
Jesus’ adult life was not the only occasion for contemplative presence with his Father. So many of the beautiful scenes of Mary in the Gospel of Luke depict her in a Presence in the midst of doubt, confusion, or stress. She “ponders in her heart” and God is with her. This Advent Season can be such a season for us, one where we take a few minutes before the house begins to stir and, over a hot cup of coffee, we try to respond to the real thirst for union with God. All we need at any time of our day can be found in the present moment. We have to be still, be open, and be aware putting our thoughts aside so we can experience a most sublime union. May a savior who has come for you, fill your Advent longing by his presence. He is there waiting!
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
P.S. If you have a follow-up question to the parish mission, I can be reached at FatherNicholasAmato@gmail.com
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