Tuesday, May 28, 2019

HOMILY for May 26, 2019: 6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

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6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Church of the Nativity
May 26, 2019          

Empowered Conflict Resolution
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 


The Branding


There is a story about a family from New York who bought a ranch out in the West where they planned to raise cattle.

Things were moving along okay and then a problem arose. The father, his wife and his sons disagreed on what name to give the ranch.

One day, the father said to some of his neighbors who lived near the ranch: “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored the Suzy-Q.

“My one son liked the Flying-W and the other son wanted to name it the Lazy-Y. So, we’re calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.”

The neighbors thought that this was a long and strange name, but didn’t comment on that; instead, one of them asked, “Well, where are all the cattle?” The father replied, “Oh! None of them survived the branding!”

Early Church Conflict 


At the moment we are between two message series. One ended last Sunday and Tom Corcoran begins our new series today at the end of Mass.

So I thought it would be good to give us a quick message in a humorous way of conflict resolution based on today’s first reading. 

The passage is about a disagreement among the early Christians that was more serious than the naming of a ranch. The issue was this.  

Did the non-Jews who wanted to be baptized and become Christian first have to become Jews and accept all the Jewish practices? The issue caused a significant conflict.

The early Christians resolved this disagreement and the way they did it is a good model for us in dealing with the conflicts in our own lives. I see three important ingredients here: (1) Act, (2) Ask, and (3) Appreciate.

1.    Act

First, we need to act. We need to face up to the conflict and not try to sweep it under the carpet, whether that conflict is in our family, our workplace or our social contacts.

The early Christians in today’s first reading acted quickly to address the conflict and heal the rift that was growing. If we don’t do this, the conflict will probably just get worse and become harmful or go underground and affect all our interactions.

That’s basically what happened with the family who disagreed on the name of the ranch and the result was that they ended up with no cattle. I think the Scriptural counsel of Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger,” is another way of telling us to act and deal with a conflict before the sun goes down.

2.    Ask 

The second important ingredient for conflict resolution is to ask for assistance. Sometimes conflicts need discernment from a third party.

Again, today’s Scripture passage says that the whole Jerusalem church participated in working out the disagreement. The lesson here? If the persons directly involved cannot resolve the conflict, the wisdom of others may be needed.

This might include another family member, a trusted friend, or a professional counselor. The point is: let’s be open to ask for the assistance of others when we are not successfully resolving a conflict.    

3.    Appreciate

Finally, the third conflict resolution ingredient is to appreciate the other individuals involved in the conflict. Be respectful of them and try to understand their perspective or point of view.

The Scripture shows the early Christians doing exactly that. So, we need to work on the issue – how late the teens should be allowed to stay out or which household responsibilities will each spouse be responsible for? 

Doing this, we need to stay focused on the issue and not attack each other personally or call each other names, things like that. We need to appreciate each other as persons. 
  
God, the Holy Spirit

So, (1) Act, (2) Ask, and (3) Appreciate – three “A” words for dealing maturely and spiritually with conflicts.

As we do all of this, we also turn to God in prayer. We ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide us.

The early Christians prayed together and, in the end, they were able to testify, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and ours too.” That’s how clear they were about God’s presence and grace in what they were doing. You might say they were in the flow.

Now, it will not always be possible to reflect on the Scripture or to pray together with others with whom we are in conflict. But, we can at least do this on our own, privately.

If we do, the chances of resolving a conflict become higher. And the chances are also much higher for experiencing the peace that Jesus offers as his farewell gift in today’s Gospel.



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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

HOMILY for May 19, 2019: 5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

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5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Terranova Hermitage
May 19, 2019

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By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

 

The Heifer Project


Several years ago, a dear friend and his wife sent me a different kind of Christmas gift.

The gift was a sheep. Now, they didn’t Fed-X or U.S. Mail a sheep to me.

What they did was to donate a sheep to a very poor family in Uganda. They gave this in my name and as part of what is called is called the Heifer Project.

The Heifer Project is a not-for-profit organization that helps very poor families in Third World countries. The plan is to give a specific animal to a specific family.

The animal might be a water buffalo, a sheep, a goat, a heifer, chickens, and on it goes. The family is taught how to care for the animal and then the animal becomes a source of income.  

For example, the family might sell the eggs from the chickens or the wool from the sheep. In some Third World countries, this money enables parents to send their children to school, since they do not have free public education.  

“By Your Love For One Another…”


Well, I remembered all of this when I was reflecting on today’s Gospel.

Jesus says, “Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for one another. This is how people will know you as my disciples: by your love for one another.”  

The Heifer Project is a good example of living out Jesus’ words. My friend and his wife gave a sheep in my name as an expression of their love for me at Christmas.
And their giving this also helped others who were very much in need. Now, as I look at Jesus’ life and dig into the real meaning of his words today, I am seeing three components or ingredients that are part of our loving others as Jesus has loved us.

Step 1: Looking Beyond Myself

First, we need to look beyond ourselves.

We are to look beyond what I need or what I want. And sometimes we are even to look beyond what is in my best interest to the needs and well-being of others.

When you think about it, this is exactly what Jesus does for us in the Eucharist. He is looking beyond himself to us and our needs.

When I see parents giving of themselves so unselfishly to care for their little baby or child – that, for me, is a great example of this. So, looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others is Step 1 in loving as Jesus has loved. 

Step 2: Feeling Compassion

Then, Step 2 is to allow the needs of others to touch our hearts.

This means that we feel compassion for others. We feel empathy for those who are burdened in some way. 

Jesus repeatedly feels compassion – for the hungry, the sick, the grieving, the rejected. So, we feel compassion for the friend who has lost his job and facing a lot of uncertainty 

Or we feel empathy for people whom we only know through the news – maybe persons who are subjected to ethnic cleansing or religious persecution. So, allowing the needs of others to touch our hearts is Step 2 in loving as Jesus has loved.

Step 3: Committing Something

Finally, Step 3 is to do something – to commit something of ourselves to assist others.

The point is that we actually do something positive and concrete. Jesus does this when he commits himself so fully to us that he even gives his life for us.

Maybe a father resolves to spend more time with his college-age son who may be going off the tracks a bit. Or maybe you decide to prepare and take a meal over to your neighbor who is grieving the loss of her husband.

Or maybe we donate some money to Catholic Relief Services to assist them in their work in Third World countries. So, committing something of ourselves to assist others is Step 3 in loving as Jesus has loved.

Conclusion

“Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for one another.”

1)   Looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others
2)   Allowing their needs to touch our hearts, and 
3)   Committing something of ourselves to help – 

This is loving as Jesus has loved. 

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And as Jesus says, “This is how people will know you are my disciples: by your love for one another.”

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

Daily HOMILY for May 2, 2019: Thursday 2nd Week of Easter, Cycle C

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Thursday 2nd Week of Easter
The Institute at Retreat and Conference Center
May 2, 2019
JESUS COULD HAVE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
·      To believe in God means to open oneself to God 
·      If science were the sole avenue to the Creator, then Jesus would have appeared at Oxford as a scientist. But he didn’t 
·      If philosophy were the sole means to God, then the Lord would have appeared in Athens; as a philosopher. But he didn’t 
·      If music were the venue to God, then writer of the Song of Songs would’ve started Graceland, but didn’t 
·      Jesus chose to write no music, play no instrument
BUT INSTEAD ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
·      The Lord chose none of the above because he knew we would do them better 
·      Instead, what he chose to do something that hadn’t been seen, done or thought of before 
·      He chose something we still marvel at every time we witness, hear about, and think about it
·      Jesus chose to be small.
OUR CHOICES ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
·      All our lives we look to be big. We want to grow 
·      We want a bigger room, role, and impact
·      Something inside us drives us to be bigger & better. And guess what? That’s good 
·      But how to be bigger & better is the question
·      J’s answer:“Be small.” Be humble & you’ll be great! 
·      Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground… The Kingdom of God may be likened to a mustard seed … We know the many verses
·      There’s nothing wrong w/ being big; that’s the goalbut if you want to be really big, then make yourself really small. That’s the key
BEING BIG IN THE WORLD +++++++++++++++++++++
·      Being big in the world isn’t the answer
·      Philosophers seem to care more about their theories then care about us. 
·      Scientists are great for their discoveries, but they’ve never invented a thing they discovered 
·      They never give credit to God who did it all
APPLICATION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
·      So God is very big and made himself very small
·      Those who wish to be big must think big (eternally) but not act big (as if they were God) 
·      To quote the Gospel: “The one who comes from above is above all,”I’d add, “Including me” 
·      That makes a lot of sense, given the fact that The one who comes from above came down to me
·      He did that so we might become more like him
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