Weekly HOMILY for December 30, 2012: Feast of the Holy Family, Cycle C -- A S-P-A-C-E for Families

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Feast of the Holy Family, Cycle C

St. Mark’s, Fallston, MD

December 30, 2012

 

A  S-P-A-C-E for Families

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

Families: Yesterday and Today

In recent decades, family life has changed a great deal in the United States.

In the past, we pictured the “typical” family as a mother and father living together with two or three children.  The father would go out to work and the mother would stay home to care for the children and be the homemaker.

Today, things are very different.  Today, in the majority of families where both parents are present, both are also going out to work and probably have to do that for financial reasons.

Today, there are many single parent families.  And today, there are many blended families.

Blended families consist of a husband and wife who have had children from a previous marriage and now bring them together and form one new family.  This can happen because of the death of a prior spouse or because of divorce.

Well, with these and other developments, on this day in honor of the Holy Family, I want to recommend five specific actions for our families – traditional, single parent, blended, whatever the case may be for you. 

I am grouping these recommendations by the letters: S—P—A—C—E.  

An easy way to remember them is the acronym SPACE, and perhaps we could entitle this homily as “SPACE for Families.”  So, here goes. 

S=Structure

S stands for Structure.  Structure the life of your family in ways that are sensible and that work for you.

Structure a time for the children for getting up and going to bed, a time for working and a time for playing.  Structure some responsibility for everyone for the good of the household, whether for grocery shopping or emptying the trash.

Structure some regular time for the entire family to be together.  And structure certain family rituals, like birthday celebrations, Christmas Dinner, or visits to grandparents and other relatives.

P=Pray

P stands for Pray.  Pray in various ways as a part of family life.

For example, pray by inviting each person to thank God for something at the beginning of a meal together.  Pray a simple bedtime prayer with your children.

Pray by coming to Mass together.  This can be challenging when there are different religious traditions, but look at this and try to pray by coming to church together whenever possible.

A=Affirm

A stands for Affirm.  It is important, first of all, for a husband and wife to affirm each other for something accomplished at work, for looking attractive, or getting a job done around the house that is taken for granted.

It is important for parents to affirm children for their strengths and gifts. And it is just as  important not to harp on failures, mistakes, or deficiencies.

It is also important to affirm by showing affection. Even if you’re not an emotive sort of fellow, exchanging a hug or a kiss is critical to all members of a family.

C=Communicate

C stands for Communicate.  Communicate to one another your feelings of stress, hurt, pride, or sadness.

To communicate means that I risk opening up myself to my spouse, my parent or child, my sibling.  It also means that I listen.

To communicate means that I really try to take in the feelings or ideas of the other person.  It means that I don’t interrupt or simply gear up to say what I want to say while the other person is speaking.

E=Eat

And E stands for Eat.  It is important for families to eat dinner together.

There is research showing that eating dinner together creates strong family relationships.  The effect of eating dinner together at least three times a week is remarkable especially on teens.

Believe it or not, the incidence of teens resorting to smoking, drinking and drugs is far less when families eat dinner together. 

As challenging as this can be with today’s lifestyle and schedules, make every effort at eating dinner together at least three times a week. You will see a difference.

Conclusion

That’s it!

S-P-A-C-E.  Structure – Pray – Affirm – Communicate – Eat.

These five actions will indeed create SPACE for Families.  They will help in the challenging world of today to have healthy, happy and holy families.

Wedding HOMILY for December 30, 2012: Houses Built on Rock

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Wedding of Josh and Amanda Gorby

Our Lady of Grace Church

Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8a; Matthew 7:21, 24-29

December 30,2012

Houses Built on Rock

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Home

Exactly 6 weeks ago this evening, I was invited to dinner at Josh and Amanda’s new home. I didn’t know then that it would be the foundation of this wedding homily.

I began from my home in the Amish area of southeastern PA, following the winding road country road of Route 851 west toward York and observing the beautiful countryside as the sun set before me.

I remember seeing the house for the first time, drenched in candlelight spread over a beautiful patch of farmland.

I was wined and dined by wonderful hosts and the conversation was faith-filled. It was a delightful evening.

It was reflecting on my drive home that I thought to myself, “They’ve put a lot into this house”: lots of money, tons of time, and the hard work of two sets of parents, who’d be millionaires if they had been paid minimum wage!

And then I remembered the words of Jesus in the gospel they chose for their wedding: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise person who built their house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house, but it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.”

A bit of anxiety came over me as I thought, “Gosh, I hope Josh and Amanda don’t get caught up in the beauty and excitement of the home, without realizing what supports and keeps it in place, namely, the ground or rock on which it is built.

For that will, when all is said and done, determine whether it stands or falls.

The Bedrock of Joy

We have only to look at the “words” that Jesus is referring to in order to see the “bedrock” he’s talking about.

The first rock-like sub-strata for your home is the joy you experience in each other.

When God is looking for a suitable mate for Adam, God tries over and over and Adam’s not pleased with any of the things God comes up with.

But then God brings him Eve and his response? “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” And then that marvelous sentence that follows: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.”

So God’s creating you for each other and you having recognized that, is cause for you to leave your families, venturing out to begin one family of your very own.

The bedrock of the joy you feel for each other, the venturing out on your own together is the bedrock. Nothing must every come between the joy you feel for each other. Not parents – all due respects – not friends, not careers, not even children.

The Bedrock of Love

The second rock-like sub-strata on which your home is to rest is the forbearing love you have for each other and which you pledge today.

Notice I qualified “love” with “forbearing” – forbearing love!

It is a love expressed in your second reading from Paul to the Corinthians.

He cites lots of gifts a follower of Jesus might have, including the eloquence of angels, ability to foretell the future, faith to move mountains – now there’s a gift! – the act of giving away everything you own, but even with all these, without a forbearing love are nothing, you gain nothing!

Your love – at this glorious moment – is a love wants to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

Make such a love part of the bedrock of the foundation of your home, and your home will never fail no matter what it looks like, wherever it may be located, or the furnishings it contains.

The Bedrock of Prayer

A third and final source of the bedrock will be the quality of your life in Jesus Christ.

You already share a common faith tradition. You already embrace the Lord as your savior and guide.

Nurture this relationship for you are now to be married in Christ. Your married life is the sacramental presence of Jesus to your families and friends and eventually to your children.

Father Sam and I would encourage you to continue to receive the Eucharist each week, to offer thanks and prayer to God before every meal, to take time for silent reflective prayer.

Conclusion

On this note I’d like to conclude.

Let the word that expresses the season as well as this marriage be joy, J-O-Y.

Let the “J” stand for Jesus, the “Y” for you, both individually and as a couple, and the “O” stand for “zero” meaning that nothing divide you from Jesus, your Lord.

In this symbol, which Fr. Sam and I give you as an ornament for your first Christmas tree as husband and wife, be an annual reminder of the bedrock on which your home, wherever it is, stands.

Daily HOMILY for December 28, 2012: Feast of Holy Innocents, Cycle C

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St. Luke’s Institute

Feast of the Holy Innocents

December 28 2010

THE EVENT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  The gospel story of Herod slaughtering all boys two-years-old and under in the environs of Bethlehem is told only by St Matthew

Ø  It is a chilling story and deserves our attention

THE MAN  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  King Herod was a cruel and ruthless tyrant

Ø  He was very self-centered and insecure

Ø  He was threatened by any possible challenge to his authority

Ø  He even put to death members of his own family whom he perceived as a threat

Ø  Theses traits led him to order the killing of baby boys as a way to kill this Messiah or King of the Jews who was recently born

THE CHILDREN  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  It would be good for us to look at our day and age in light of this piece of history

Ø  Today, children still die in our world with the tragedy of Newtown still fresh in our experience

Ø  And there is the tragedy of abortion, the killing of unborn children

Ø  There are also many incidents of unnecessary deaths and the taking of the life of children who are born

Ø  In some countries, newborn and very young children suffer from malnutrition, impure drinking water, lack of health care and of vaccinations that we take for granted

Ø  In some places, children are the victims of ethnic cleansing

THE CAUSE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Infant mortality runs high in some countries.

Ø  Some of this is caused by self-centered, insecure and amoral leaders

Ø  Some of it is caused by a lack of sensitivity to the sacredness of human life

Ø  Some of it is caused by poverty and by the serious imbalance between rich and poor countries

COMMEMORATION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Because of this, today we are joining churches across the country to remember the death of innocent children w/ five minutes of silence as bells toll and we pray silently for them

Ø  We are invited to do the same here at St. Luke’s as our own bell is tolled at noon

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Daily HOMILY for December 27, 2012: St. John, Cycle C

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St. Luke’s Institute

December 27, 2012

JOHN”S +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  On this feast in honor of St. John, both of our readings are attributed to him

Ø  The 1^st reading especially catches my attention.

Ø  It contains the basic themes that are common to John’s thinking and these themes are very appropriate this week as we celebrate the birth of Christ

WORD ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Fundamental to John is that he speaks of Jesus as the Word – with a capital W

Ø  John says, “What was from the beginning… concerns the Word of life”

Ø  John sees Jesus as pre-existing with the Father, as existing prior to moment of creation

Ø  He is the Father’s thought or Word of himself

Ø  It is in this way and in this sense that Jesus is the Son of God and God himself

MADE VISIBLE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  And then John says that in Jesus “the life was made visible”

Ø  “We proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us”

Ø  So, God is life itself, life with no beginning or end, eternal life

Ø  The Word or Son of God is also this life or eternal life

Ø  And now, in Jesus, that eternal life is visible to us

FOR FELLOWSHIP +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Finally, John proclaims this to us so that we may have “fellowship… with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”

Ø  The idea is that through Jesus, we share the life of God right now

Ø  We actually have begun to share and live eternal life

Ø  Jesus initiates us into this through baptism and continually nourishes this life within us through the Eucharist

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  That is the rich theology and the statement of faith that St John gives us this morning

Ø  It is because of this theology of the Word made flesh or God becoming visible that we in our Catholic tradition celebrate St. John just two days after Christmas

Ø  It is not a life to be understood; more importantly, it is a life to be lived and experienced  

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Christmas HOMILY for December 25, 2012: Christmas, Cycle C -- The Difference Between Night and Day

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Christmas, Cycle C

December 25, 2012

Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air

The Difference Between Night and Day

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

When Night Ends

Some centuries ago, a wise old rabbi once asked his students how they could tell when night had ended and day was on its way back.

A student responded, “Could it be when you see an animal in the distance and can tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?”  The old rabbi answered, “No!”    

Another student said, “Could it be when you look at a tree in the distance and can tell whether it is a fig tree or a peace tree?”  And again the old rabbi answered, “No!”

Now the students were becoming frustrated.  “Well, then, when is it?”

The old rabbi pondered a moment and then gently said, “It is when you look on the face of any man or woman and see that he or she is your brother or sister.  Because if you cannot do that, then no matter what time it is, it is still night for you.”

O Holy Night

Tonight, we celebrate a very holy night.

We celebrate a night that the famous Christmas Carol address as O Holy Night.  And we call this night Holy because what happens on his night marks or intends to mark the end of night.

The birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the son of God, the Word of God taking on human flesh – however we state it – is the moment when “day is on its way back,” to use the words of the rabbi in the story.  

In Jesus Christ night is ending and day is returning in several ways.

Day Returns: Brothers and Sisters

First, the infant in Bethlehem can be seen as embracing all human beings.

This little innocent child attracts and reaches out to the poor, lower class, uneducated shepherds.  And he also attracts and reaches out to the more affluent, upper class, educated wise men.

With his outstretched arms, Jesus wants to be loved and love everyone as a brother or sister.  With him, the day is on its way back for us also as we look on the face of man, woman, or child and see our oneness with them.

The words of O Holy Night express this very truth.

“Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His Gospel is peace.”

Day Returns: Self-Worth

Secondly, the infant in Bethlehem manger also affirms the worth of every single one of us here tonight and everywhere.

God by taking on our humanity proclaims the inherent worth of each person.  No longer do we need to look for self-worth or self-esteem in any other person, in any other place, or in any other object.

The Son of God in this little human body has fused the divine with the human and the night of self-doubt and self-deprecation, feeling bad about ourselves is over.  

The day has come to reverence the value of each person, from our first moment in the womb to our last breath before meeting God face-to-face.

And again, the words of O Holy Night capture this truth.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

Day Returns: Hope

And finally, the infant in Bethlehem so importantly gives us hope.

Sometimes we all – myself included – can grow weary trying to keep up with the stresses of everyday life.  We can feel weary as we look at the extent of the problems facing our country and our world.

In the midst of this, this beautiful infant gives us the hope of “Emmanuel – God is with us.”  

He offers us the assurance of his presence each step of life’s way, sustaining us and guiding us until our personal night and darkness begins to end and our personal day and light start to come back.

And again, the words of O Holy Night lift up this hope.

“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”   

Conclusion

So, the night begins to end and the day is on its way back.

The infant in Bethlehem enables us to:

Ø  See all persons as brothers and sisters

Ø  Lifts up our self-worth in a way that no one else and nothing else can do

Ø  And by gives us hope for life

That’s why we sing: “O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!”

Weekly HOMILY for December 23, 2012: 4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle C -- Receiving Instead of Giving

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4^th Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Terranuova Hermitage

December 23, 2012      

 

Receiving Instead of Giving

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Some years ago the comic strip For Better or For Worse had a humorous episode just before Christmas.

Mom and Dad and six-year-old April are shopping at the mall.  April is absolutely captivated by all the toys, the decorations, and the glitter.

“Look, Dad!  I want it for Christmas!  I want a ‘Wake-Up-Willy’ and a rocket sleigh!  An’ a real camera an’...an’…an’…”

  

“Whoa! Slow down,” he says, trying to put the breaks on the runaway request list. “The perfect time to make a point,” he thinks to himself, “April, Christmas is a time for giving!  There is more joy in giving to others and it far outweighs any other pleasure.”

April stops and without a blink, responds, “I know, Dad.  But somebody has to receive or there’d be nobody to give stuff to.”

Elizabeth and Mary

Little April, of course, has a lot of child-like, self-interest going on here.

But April also leads us to a good insight.  In truth, it is important for us to see ourselves first as receivers and that insight will have real effects on us as givers.

We know from the background of today’s gospel that Mary’s cousin Elizabeth is an older woman, older for at least those times.  She was probably in her 40s with an average lifespan about 50.

Elizabeth and her husband have had no children and now surprisingly she gets pregnant.  She sees this as a gift from God and knows that she is a receiver.

Mary is Elizabeth’s much younger cousin, just a teenager.  She doesn’t fully understand the angel’s message, but she trusts God and sees herself as receiving a gift from God.

So both Elizabeth and Mary see themselves as blessed by God – as receivers.  And, very significantly, seeing themselves as receivers moves them both to be givers and also shapes how they give to others.

Receivers First, Then Givers

This may be a different way of looking at things, but it is a valuable insight.

We need to live first as receivers, not exactly like April in the comic strip, but as receivers from God hands.  We need the awareness that ultimately, everything in our life is a gift from God.

If we acknowledge at least to ourselves that all we have received is from God and we can feel some gratitude for that, the that awareness of receiving will indeed shape our giving. 

Receiving Shaping Our Giving

For example, this awareness that first we are receivers will (1) Lead us to be attentive to others and to give what they really need. 

In the gospel, Mary gives her time and assistance to Elizabeth when her cousin really needed it. 

We might give our listening or empathy to a spouse or child or friend, and not just a sweater or whatever the item is, good in itself, but maybe not what the person most needs from us. 

The awareness that first we are receivers will also (2) Lead us to give without our ego needs getting in the way.

Again, in the gospel, Elizabeth praises and exalts Mary as greater than herself, even though Mary is much younger and much less significant in the eyes of others. 

We might give an apology or recognition to a son or daughter or an employee, without letting our need to be well thought of get in the way.

And the awareness that first we are receivers will also (3) Lead us to give with no expectation of return.

Mary gives her time to Elizabeth and Elizabeth gives praise to Mary – each of them doing this because they want to do it and it is the good thing to do and each of them expecting nothing in return. 

We might give care to our parents or a nice present to a friend because we want to do it and it is good to do and expect nothing in return.

 

Conclusion

So, it may sound surprising, but it seems correct to say that Christmas is first about receiving and our giving should  flow from that experience.

Elizabeth and Mary both realize that first, they have received from God and this leads them to give.  It also shapes their giving.

Our awareness that we also are first of all receivers will also lead us to give and it will shape our giving. 

It will stir us (1) To give what others really need, (2) To give without our ego getting in the way, and (3) To give with no expectation of return.

Daily HOMILY for December 19, 2012: Wednesday of 3rd Sunday in Advent, Cycle C

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Wednesday of 2^nd Advent

St. Luke Institute

December 19, 2012

SILENCE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Today’s Advent readings make me wonder if that first Christmas could have happened the way we recall that it did without silent waiting?

PEOPLE IN SCRIPTURE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Without the silent yearning of the centuries of hopeful anticipation of the people of Israel

Ø  Zechariah, when it is announced to him by the archangel that Elizabeth is going to have a baby, is struck down into silence by losing his power of speech

Ø  Elizabeth herself speaks only a few words that seem to be chosen carefully, to praise God and salute her blessed cousin, Mary

Ø  Joseph says absolutely nothing that’s recorded in the Gospel, talk about silence!

Ø  And Mary’s divine maternity is contingent upon what? Her quiet, docile, humble discipleship

Ø  It’s almost as though speech is completely useless in the face of the marvelous ways and manifestations of God

CAPTURING THE WONDER +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  A stillness, a stillness captured so well by medieval and Renaissance artists, Bellini, DaVinci, Fra Angelico, as they portray the dramatic solitude in the silence at the moment of the Annunciation

Ø  All of these great personalities of Advent teach us the wonder of silence

Ø  They teach us of the necessity of stillness at the most pivotal moments of God’s breaking into our world

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  We need to make to time to be still, to be silent, and to listen to the birthing in our midst of the Son of God

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Daily HOMILY for December 18, 2012: Tuesday of 3rd Sunday in Advent, Cycle C

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Tuesday Advent 3

St. Luke Institute

December 18, 2012

A PERFECT SITUATION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary you wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her."

Ø  Family life is not a Thomas Kincade Christmas card

Ø  Many of our issues and challenges can't be solved with Father Knows Best-like sitcom simplicity

Ø  And Martha Stewart's idea of domestic perfection seems to be located in another galaxy far away from our own reality

AN IMPERFECT SITUATION +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus’ birth is the cause of great turmoil and scandal to Joseph and Mary

Ø  Mary's unexpected pregnancy puts a great strain on the still new relationship between the Mary and her fiancé

Ø  But, with faith in God and trust in one another, the couple manages to work through it and create a loving home for one another and the child

JOSEPH HELPS CREATE HOPE ++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Every family knows some kind of situation that causes tension, disappointment, hurt and estrangement

Ø  Often holidays only exacerbate those situations

Ø  We’re invited today to resolve that Joseph will be who we will emulate for our family this Christmas

Ø  That we will make efforts to let go of our hurts

Ø  Make efforts to resolve the anger

Ø  And with God’s grace think of Joseph as a member of our small group sharing his consternation, hurts and anger, humbly yet joyfully

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Today’s Advent prayer?

Ø  That Joseph may be a source of new insights, reconciliation, and welcome for ourselves as Christmas approaches

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Daily HOMILY for December 17, 2012: Monday of 3rd Sunday in Advent, Cycle C

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Monday of 3^rd Advent

St. Luke Institute

December 17, 2012

GOD AND HUMAN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Matthew and all the evangelists take great pains to insure that their readers believe that Jesus was truly God and truly a human

Ø  This is why John, on the one hand, would say, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” and add immediately, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”

Ø  Today Matthew weighs in with, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”

Ø  By his genealogy Matthew situates Jesus among the families of humanity according to the flesh, while still remaining God

GENEAOLOGY ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø   This reading, a challenge for any lector, mentions the patriarchs and many of the welcomed and unpleasant characters of human history

Ø  Matthew’s point? That Jesus participates in our human generation and in our very nature

Ø  Thus Matthew includes individuals who had shocking carnal relations, for he writes “And Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar” or even plainer yet, “And David became the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife.”

Ø  So we’ve got in Jesus’ lineage adulterers and murders!

Ø  By this means, the genealogy reveals that it is our very sinful nature that Christ himself comes to heal in the root by being born of it and sharing in it

Ø  It is the very nature – our very nature – that had fallen, revolted and plunged into inordinate desires

ASSURANCES ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  So the genealogy assures me that when my nature flees God, Jesus takes hold of me

Ø  When I dash out and run away from God in revolt, Jesus stops me and holds me close

Ø  When the last thing I may want in my life is God, Jesus’ face in prayer or his words give me pause and enable me to return

Ø  In all these ways I am blocked from the downward spiral that can be my life

CHRISTMAS  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  So what we prepare to celebrate in Christ’s birth is a God who has entered fully into my life

Ø  It is that reality that gives me hope to start again today

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