Easter Sunday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
April 8, 2007
Why do you search for the living One among the dead?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Two Angels at the Tomb of Jesus
“Why do you search for the living One among the dead?”
This morning, I think it is good for us to allow this question in today’s Gospel to be asked directly to ourselves. “Why do you or I search for the living One among the dead?”
Today is a day of great celebration for us Catholics and all Christians. We sing: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
But the truth of the matter is that many of us struggle with our faith in that very fact: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Will we really rise from the dead? Is there a resurrection, a life after death?
Messengers of Life and Messengers of God
I would submit that one reason for this struggle with faith is that we, in fact, “Looking for the living One among the dead” – to use the words of our Gospel passage.
Yes, we are quote, “among the dead” when cynicism holds us back from loving or when fear paralyzes us from really living. I believe we are “among the dead” when loneliness overcomes us or when prejudice blinds us to truth or goodness.
In being part of these experiences, we have, in effect, one foot in the grave. And it can be very difficult from that place we stand, to trust in a loving God or even believe in a risen Savior.
In the face of this, today’s Gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ friends find his tomb empty and they are bewildered and confused. And then the Gospel says, “While they were at a loss what to think of this, two men in dazzling garments appeared beside them.”
The two individuals are not identified, but our tradition sees them as messengers of God, as divine spokespersons, as angels. And these two messengers speak the key words: “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead?”
I would like to suggest that you and I, right from within our everyday lives, have similar messengers of God, similar divine spokespersons, similar angels.
Yes, we might very well have individuals who steer us away from “looking for the living One among the dead” and actually take us to the places and experiences where we can find “the living One.”
Angel of Trust
I would like to suggest that most of us have an angel of trust in our lives.
For example, a mother instinctively reassures her frightened little boy when he wakes up in the middle of the night. She says, “Everything’s going to be all right” as she holds him close.
Is she lying? Or naïve? Or is she expressing a profound truth about the ultimate goodness of life?
Is she not instinctively saying what Jesus himself believed as he commended his life to the Father on the cross? Today is the day to remember your angel of trust.
See if that divine messenger doesn’t also reassure you that everything’s going to be all right. And see if that assurance doesn’t lead you to say today with trust: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Hope
I think that most of us also have an angel of hope in our lives.
We see this angel in someone refuses to get down in the dumps, no matter what. As a priest, I have seen this with people who are sick and even actively dying.
Yes, there are people who refuse to give in to their sadness and are able to see even their illness as leading to something greater, in some way to greater life.
Today try name the angel of hope in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not call forth the very best in you. And see if that leads you to say today with hope: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Humor
Finally, I think most of us have an angel of humor in our lives.
I remember years ago leading the graveside prayers for my father’s funeral. My brother and I were grieving, but then I came to the words in the ritual about coming to the heavenly banquet.
Well, my father really, really enjoyed food, and I instinctively looked up from the funeral book and said something like “Dad must really be enjoying this whole thing now.” We all had a good laugh and even though I did not understand it then, I do now.
Our humor and laughter is a sign, a signal that death is not the last word and that life ultimately wins out. Today is the time to identify the angel of humor in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not draw you more fully into life. And see if that doesn’t help you to say with joy: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Conclusion
So, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” A good question for us today as we answer it with, “Seek the living One among the living!”
Seek the living One in our experiences, in our divine messengers, in our angels of trust and hope and humor.
Only then will we be better able to take the risk of faith and to believe in the risen Christ and in our own future life with him.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for April 1, 2007: Some of My Favorite Things
March 30, 2007
Focus: A Few of My Favorite Things
Dear Friend,
To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was “My Favorite Things” from the legendary movie, “Sound Of Music.”
While it may be springtime and the end of Lent is upon us, while we are getting ready for Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, it is a good time to remember how vulnerable we truly are.
Here are the lyrics she used:
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin’,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.
Focus: A Few of My Favorite Things
Dear Friend,
To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was “My Favorite Things” from the legendary movie, “Sound Of Music.”
While it may be springtime and the end of Lent is upon us, while we are getting ready for Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, it is a good time to remember how vulnerable we truly are.
Here are the lyrics she used:
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin’,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 1, 2007: A Fountain of Youth for You?
This and That:
A Fountain of Youth for You?
The final session of our Lenten Family Friday series: “How What We Believe Can Make A Difference” was entitled, A Fountain of Youth for You?
We began the session by looking at some “Youthful Longings” and “Adult Fears”. We named the first fear as mortality – the fear of death and the corresponding longing is for life unending. The second fear is that life has no meaning and we are just drifting through our existence. The longing that counteracts this fear is the longing for meaning and purpose in our life. The third fear is isolation and our longing in the face of that fear is for connections with others. The final fear is being alone in the universe and our deepest longing is for love.
We then turned our attention to some teachings of our Catholic Church that speak to our fears and longings. Those teachings include the following:
➢ This life is NOT all there is.
➢ We believe in resurrection of the body
➢ We believe in life everlasting
➢ We believe in a Risen Lord
➢ We believe that “resurrected” life begins here on earth
With these beliefs in mind, we looked at how our culture promotes a very different set of beliefs, including:
➢ Live for the present moment
➢ Instant gratification
➢ You only live once
➢ Believe in what we can see now
During table discussion, we considered our belief that God has created us for eternal life, so this life is not all there is. We thought about what shows us that when something sleeps, dies, or is in a state of upset – it’s not the end?
Some of the things that came to mind were: how we see in nature that plants die to be born again; how the body heals after illness or injury; how we experience that relationships that were broken can be healed; how grief subsides over time; and the reality that we wake from sleep each morning. These are hints from our experience that point to the promise of our glorification.
Next, we looked at our belief in the resurrection of the body, which is based upon our faith the Jesus rose from the dead bodily. Resurrection of the body builds on our experiences of healing. If the Spirit can raise Jesus, the Spirit can raise us also. What we experience in the hints to glorification will become fully realized when we are resurrected. We read this belief in the New Testament Letter to the Romans:
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8:11
What’s more, we believe that this glorification will last forever, as we will live forever with God. In the Gospel of John we read, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” John 6:40
Jesus is the Way to this glorification forever. We believe that this is guaranteed by the fact that he is risen and still present to us, bringing us along to glory with him.
All of this is a promise of our own eternal life. The hints to glorification that we experience now become actual through faith in Jesus. In the Gospel of John, we read the story of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, who has died. Jesus tells Lazarus’ sister, Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” We believe that resurrected life begins here and now. We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven after death to live the resurrected life.
Which would you prefer? “Pie in the sky when you die” OR living heaven now? As followers of Jesus, we are called to live our lives NOW in union with him, that we might also live in union with him forever.
How could “living heaven now” influence your choices?
Does this understanding color how we approach death – as a passage to eternal life? Does it change how we prepare for death – by the way we live now?
Does it give us a perspective on our lives – this is not all there is?
Does it call us to live in hope, since we live the resurrected life because of our Baptism in Christ?
Returning to our title for this session, a “fountain of youth” is not about the number of years you live on this earth, it’s the experience of heaven – life in union with God, and we can have it NOW!
So…Does what we believe make a difference?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
A Fountain of Youth for You?
The final session of our Lenten Family Friday series: “How What We Believe Can Make A Difference” was entitled, A Fountain of Youth for You?
We began the session by looking at some “Youthful Longings” and “Adult Fears”. We named the first fear as mortality – the fear of death and the corresponding longing is for life unending. The second fear is that life has no meaning and we are just drifting through our existence. The longing that counteracts this fear is the longing for meaning and purpose in our life. The third fear is isolation and our longing in the face of that fear is for connections with others. The final fear is being alone in the universe and our deepest longing is for love.
We then turned our attention to some teachings of our Catholic Church that speak to our fears and longings. Those teachings include the following:
➢ This life is NOT all there is.
➢ We believe in resurrection of the body
➢ We believe in life everlasting
➢ We believe in a Risen Lord
➢ We believe that “resurrected” life begins here on earth
With these beliefs in mind, we looked at how our culture promotes a very different set of beliefs, including:
➢ Live for the present moment
➢ Instant gratification
➢ You only live once
➢ Believe in what we can see now
During table discussion, we considered our belief that God has created us for eternal life, so this life is not all there is. We thought about what shows us that when something sleeps, dies, or is in a state of upset – it’s not the end?
Some of the things that came to mind were: how we see in nature that plants die to be born again; how the body heals after illness or injury; how we experience that relationships that were broken can be healed; how grief subsides over time; and the reality that we wake from sleep each morning. These are hints from our experience that point to the promise of our glorification.
Next, we looked at our belief in the resurrection of the body, which is based upon our faith the Jesus rose from the dead bodily. Resurrection of the body builds on our experiences of healing. If the Spirit can raise Jesus, the Spirit can raise us also. What we experience in the hints to glorification will become fully realized when we are resurrected. We read this belief in the New Testament Letter to the Romans:
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8:11
What’s more, we believe that this glorification will last forever, as we will live forever with God. In the Gospel of John we read, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” John 6:40
Jesus is the Way to this glorification forever. We believe that this is guaranteed by the fact that he is risen and still present to us, bringing us along to glory with him.
All of this is a promise of our own eternal life. The hints to glorification that we experience now become actual through faith in Jesus. In the Gospel of John, we read the story of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, who has died. Jesus tells Lazarus’ sister, Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” We believe that resurrected life begins here and now. We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven after death to live the resurrected life.
Which would you prefer? “Pie in the sky when you die” OR living heaven now? As followers of Jesus, we are called to live our lives NOW in union with him, that we might also live in union with him forever.
How could “living heaven now” influence your choices?
Does this understanding color how we approach death – as a passage to eternal life? Does it change how we prepare for death – by the way we live now?
Does it give us a perspective on our lives – this is not all there is?
Does it call us to live in hope, since we live the resurrected life because of our Baptism in Christ?
Returning to our title for this session, a “fountain of youth” is not about the number of years you live on this earth, it’s the experience of heaven – life in union with God, and we can have it NOW!
So…Does what we believe make a difference?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly HOMILY for April 1, 2007: Communion with God
Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
April 1, 2007
Communion with God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Monk’s Communion with God
Back in 1959, 47 years ago, the Chinese Communists were occupying Tibet.
During this occupation, the Buddhist monks were targets of many atrocities. So, as the Chinese forces would invade the villages, the monks would flee into the mountains.
When the Chinese invaded one particular village, one Buddhist monk stayed behind. The Chinese commander marched into the monastery and there, in the courtyard, was the one remaining monk, sitting calmly in prayer.
The commander yelled, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can run you through with a sword.”
And the monk calmly replied, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through with a sword.”
That Buddhist monk possessed a real inner communion with God, a communion that remarkably freed him from all fear.
This inner communion, this inner state of being with God freed him from being overwhelmed with anxiety about being killed. It freed him from uncontrolled anger at the injustice being done.
Jesus’ Communion with God
In the story of the Passion that we just heard, Jesus is confronting a similar series of threats moment after moment.
For example, he tells his apostles not to meet violence with violence and he heals the ear of one of the soldiers.
Hanging on the cross in excruciating pain, he is able to whisper, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
And at the very moment of death, he can utter the words of trust: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
There’s no question that his strong inner communion with his Father first, frees him from overwhelming fear and anxiety.
Second, it frees him from feeling vengeful toward his persecutors.
And, third, it empowers him to speak with extraordinary conviction in horrific situations.
It is only such inner communion with the Father that can give him a peace and trust that no sword, no suffering, no injustice can kill.
Our Communion with God
One reason why this story of Jesus’ Passion is so magnetic is that we very much want this inner communion with God.
One day each of us will have to confront horrific hardship, undeserved injustice, or painful suffering. None of us will be exempt from this.
It may be the untimely death of a loved one or our own sickness, being judged harshly or evaluated unfairly, losing a job or not getting admitted to the school of our choice.
Such realities are almost part and parcel of the human condition.
In confronting these hardships, injustices, and sufferings, we will need that inner communion with God that we see in Jesus today.
The good news is that we can have it!
This communion can be achieved through some daily, steady form of prayer. We can experience it through faithfully reading Sacred Scripture and allowing it to shape our thinking.
We can experience this inner communion through the Eucharist – by not making excuses, but by Sunday after Sunday allowing the Lord come to us in the gift of Holy Communion.
Conclusion
There is no question each of us needs this inner communion with God. Will we have it when the need comes crashing into our lives?
This Holiest of Weeks is the time for such communion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil all evening at 7:30pm.
We can have it in the story of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Our Lady of Grace
April 1, 2007
Communion with God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Monk’s Communion with God
Back in 1959, 47 years ago, the Chinese Communists were occupying Tibet.
During this occupation, the Buddhist monks were targets of many atrocities. So, as the Chinese forces would invade the villages, the monks would flee into the mountains.
When the Chinese invaded one particular village, one Buddhist monk stayed behind. The Chinese commander marched into the monastery and there, in the courtyard, was the one remaining monk, sitting calmly in prayer.
The commander yelled, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can run you through with a sword.”
And the monk calmly replied, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through with a sword.”
That Buddhist monk possessed a real inner communion with God, a communion that remarkably freed him from all fear.
This inner communion, this inner state of being with God freed him from being overwhelmed with anxiety about being killed. It freed him from uncontrolled anger at the injustice being done.
Jesus’ Communion with God
In the story of the Passion that we just heard, Jesus is confronting a similar series of threats moment after moment.
For example, he tells his apostles not to meet violence with violence and he heals the ear of one of the soldiers.
Hanging on the cross in excruciating pain, he is able to whisper, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
And at the very moment of death, he can utter the words of trust: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
There’s no question that his strong inner communion with his Father first, frees him from overwhelming fear and anxiety.
Second, it frees him from feeling vengeful toward his persecutors.
And, third, it empowers him to speak with extraordinary conviction in horrific situations.
It is only such inner communion with the Father that can give him a peace and trust that no sword, no suffering, no injustice can kill.
Our Communion with God
One reason why this story of Jesus’ Passion is so magnetic is that we very much want this inner communion with God.
One day each of us will have to confront horrific hardship, undeserved injustice, or painful suffering. None of us will be exempt from this.
It may be the untimely death of a loved one or our own sickness, being judged harshly or evaluated unfairly, losing a job or not getting admitted to the school of our choice.
Such realities are almost part and parcel of the human condition.
In confronting these hardships, injustices, and sufferings, we will need that inner communion with God that we see in Jesus today.
The good news is that we can have it!
This communion can be achieved through some daily, steady form of prayer. We can experience it through faithfully reading Sacred Scripture and allowing it to shape our thinking.
We can experience this inner communion through the Eucharist – by not making excuses, but by Sunday after Sunday allowing the Lord come to us in the gift of Holy Communion.
Conclusion
There is no question each of us needs this inner communion with God. Will we have it when the need comes crashing into our lives?
This Holiest of Weeks is the time for such communion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil all evening at 7:30pm.
We can have it in the story of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for March 25, 2007: The Bookend Generations
March 25, 2007
Topic: The Bookend Generations
Dear Friend,
Last evening I was reading a report entitled “The Bookend Generations.” It is a study that shows important differences between youngest and oldest Catholics. While proclamations abound about the unchanging nature of religious truth, the study shows that the beliefs and practices of our Catholic people continue to evolve. Two studies focus on significant generational differences among our Catholic people. Younger Catholics are more individualistic, seem more tolerant of religious diversity, and are far less committed to the practices of their faith than are older Catholics. Based on these findings, researchers speculate that the future Catholic Church in the US may be a fraction of the size it is now.
The two studies compare college students with Catholics who were born before 1941, twenty years before the Second Vatican Council. The researchers claim that, while changes in religious expression between parents and children are often sharp, the differences are even more dramatic when comparing Catholics with 40 or more years between them. For example, for young Catholics, missing Mass is an option, not a sure sign of “going to Hell.” For the older Catholics, it was a grave sin, confession was expected before Communion, and bishops were unquestioned authorities. Vincent Bolduc, one of the researchers, said that 80% of the college students disagreed with the statement: “Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions.” “The college students take religious tolerance as a moral obligation and respect diversity of beliefs and behavior,” he claimed. Young Catholics seem steeped in a national culture that often regards the Catholic sexual prohibitions against premarital sex, artificial birth control, abortion, divorce, women priests and homosexual behavior as anachronistic.
The following are the percentages to questions to which respondents were asked to agree with or disagree:
1. How a person lives is more important than whether or not he/she is Catholic. (87% older Catholics; 85% Catholic students.)
2. Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions do. (61% to 19%.)
3. Being Catholic is a very important part of who I am. (92% to 59%.) (4) It is very important that future members of my family grow up Catholic. (78% to 59%)
The oldest group of Catholics shows the highest rate of Mass attendance at 60% with each successive generation having a lower percentage: that is, 40%, 30%, and 15% for the college students. The researchers say that the trend is troublesome for it moves the Church and sacraments of the youngest farther and farther from the center of their lives and it is unlikely that this will change as they age, since evidence does not suggest the contrary. And it is with the data the researchers have accumulated that they claim that the Church of 2050 may well be a fraction of its present size. These are critical data that need to be considered in our efforts to evangelize and draw our people to worshipping as Catholics.
These findings are borne out each year when a meet with our Confirmation Candidates, who are Sophomores in high school, for an evening of questions and answers.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Topic: The Bookend Generations
Dear Friend,
Last evening I was reading a report entitled “The Bookend Generations.” It is a study that shows important differences between youngest and oldest Catholics. While proclamations abound about the unchanging nature of religious truth, the study shows that the beliefs and practices of our Catholic people continue to evolve. Two studies focus on significant generational differences among our Catholic people. Younger Catholics are more individualistic, seem more tolerant of religious diversity, and are far less committed to the practices of their faith than are older Catholics. Based on these findings, researchers speculate that the future Catholic Church in the US may be a fraction of the size it is now.
The two studies compare college students with Catholics who were born before 1941, twenty years before the Second Vatican Council. The researchers claim that, while changes in religious expression between parents and children are often sharp, the differences are even more dramatic when comparing Catholics with 40 or more years between them. For example, for young Catholics, missing Mass is an option, not a sure sign of “going to Hell.” For the older Catholics, it was a grave sin, confession was expected before Communion, and bishops were unquestioned authorities. Vincent Bolduc, one of the researchers, said that 80% of the college students disagreed with the statement: “Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions.” “The college students take religious tolerance as a moral obligation and respect diversity of beliefs and behavior,” he claimed. Young Catholics seem steeped in a national culture that often regards the Catholic sexual prohibitions against premarital sex, artificial birth control, abortion, divorce, women priests and homosexual behavior as anachronistic.
The following are the percentages to questions to which respondents were asked to agree with or disagree:
1. How a person lives is more important than whether or not he/she is Catholic. (87% older Catholics; 85% Catholic students.)
2. Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other religions do. (61% to 19%.)
3. Being Catholic is a very important part of who I am. (92% to 59%.) (4) It is very important that future members of my family grow up Catholic. (78% to 59%)
The oldest group of Catholics shows the highest rate of Mass attendance at 60% with each successive generation having a lower percentage: that is, 40%, 30%, and 15% for the college students. The researchers say that the trend is troublesome for it moves the Church and sacraments of the youngest farther and farther from the center of their lives and it is unlikely that this will change as they age, since evidence does not suggest the contrary. And it is with the data the researchers have accumulated that they claim that the Church of 2050 may well be a fraction of its present size. These are critical data that need to be considered in our efforts to evangelize and draw our people to worshipping as Catholics.
These findings are borne out each year when a meet with our Confirmation Candidates, who are Sophomores in high school, for an evening of questions and answers.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 25, 2007: Say Yes to God, But Look Out!
This and That:
Say Yes to God, But Look Out!
For the past four weeks we have been looking at how what we believe can make a difference in the quality of our living. Personal belief is a powerful force. If we believe strongly in something, other’s opinions may not matter much and that belief about life or people or our jobs keeps us fired up, energized, and moving forward. Imagine what belief in Jesus could do for the way we treat others, seek reconciliation, or attend worship regularly?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
This week’s presentation was entitled “Say Yes to God – but Look Out!” While the objective of saying yes to God may be a noble one, an individual must “look before he leaps.” That is, we need to realize the full implications of what a “yes” to God or anyone else for that matter might imply. As with any big decision such as purchasing a house, buying a car, getting married, having a child, we need to consider the implications, effects, or consequences of our initial action and we need to know them before we perform the act in order to own both act and consequences. Science tells us that the frontal lobe of the brain is the last part of the brain to develop in children and it does so around the age of 19 or 20. It’s for this reason that parents’ favorite phrase to their teenage offspring is “What in God’s name were you thinking!” when they do certain things. They may not know that the frontal lobe is responsible for thinking through the implications of what we do and their children simply do not have the mental ability to do so.
Thus we need to be careful of what we pray for. Most of those items are for our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. So we pray for a team to win, for a positive financial impact, for someone to recover from a serious illness, for life, not death. But when we look at what we pray for we can see a hierarchy in our prayers, e.g. it’s nobler to pray for someone who is sick than to win a Lacrosse game. What then, is the most perfect form of prayer? Given this stream of logic, then, you might say the most perfect form of prayer would be that God’s will, whatever it is, be done in my life, as in, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The reasoning here is that God knows better what I need, than I might, a fact perhaps borne out in what we’ve prayed for and has come to pass only to make the situation worse than it was before.
Rather than looking at prayer as a means of securing “goodies” for ourselves or even for others, let’s look at prayer as a means of maintaining a relationship, as a way of being with a loved one. Who in your life do you rest with, savor relating to, or enjoy spending time with? Those bonds that tie you together emotionally are what prayer is to do in our relationship with God, tie us together. And as in a relationship, being one with the friend or spouse is about a common life that flowers in doing good for each other. In the best of relationships, the loved one often knows better what we need and is always there to provide it. You get the picture. The same is true of our relationship with God. God knows us better than we know ourselves; he loves us more than we love ourselves. Thus the most perfect form of bonding – or for that matter asking for something – is “Thy will be done!”
Without good models of relationships-with-God-bonded-in-prayer we only have our human analogies to rely upon. However, a great model to consider would be Mary of Nazareth, Mary the Mother of Jesus. What were her “secrets” to this deep communion with God? For starters she listened to the stirrings in her heart and responded with complete openness and love. While she may have been frightened or unclear about her call to become the mother of the Savior, she nevertheless allowed his life to be born within her and nurtured that life. Mary’s “yes” was a complete obedience to God’s will. She remained open to God, trusting of God, and with an openness and trust that were based on a prior relationship she had with him.
As a result of her stance with God, Mary became a woman “full of grace” in whom God’s grace was operative and out of that strengthening, she was able to challenge some basic beliefs of our society. So united was she with the Lord that she saw her place in God’s plan clearly. The Annunciation, the fruit of her bonding with God, not only reveals to the world that Jesus would be born, but it also reveals precisely who Jesus would be to our world.
As if Mary were not enough in her modeling, she goes beyond that to actually becoming the “Mother of the Church,” in the same way that a mother becomes the mother of another human being. How does this “birth” come about? Let’s look. The first thing she did after the Annunciation was to visit Elizabeth for whom she was a mentor and Elizabeth helps her understand her gift of complete faith in God’s will. They both recognize God working within them, Elizabeth carrying John the Baptist, and Mary, Jesus. Her dignity of “Mother of the Church” comes in her willingness and complete adherence to the Father’s will by participating in the redemptive work of Jesus and by listening to every prompting of the Holy Spirit. She is “Mother of the Church” because she cooperates by her obedience, faith, hope, and charity in the work of salvation and thus becomes the mother of us all. It is for this reason the Church rightly honors her.
Thus because of her “fiat,” her giving birth to Jesus, her relationship in raising him, her being the first to hear the Word of God and keep it, her relationship to our own mothers, and her own claim that “All generations will call me blessed,” Mary becomes important for us in two respects, as a model for our living and as “Mother of the Church.”
Next week will mark our final presentation in the six-week series and is entitled “A Fountain of youth for you.” As always, all are welcome, whether you signed up or not. Mass on Friday is at 6:30pm, supper at 7:00pm and the presentation at 7:30pm with activities for children of all ages, as well as a nursery.
Say Yes to God, But Look Out!
For the past four weeks we have been looking at how what we believe can make a difference in the quality of our living. Personal belief is a powerful force. If we believe strongly in something, other’s opinions may not matter much and that belief about life or people or our jobs keeps us fired up, energized, and moving forward. Imagine what belief in Jesus could do for the way we treat others, seek reconciliation, or attend worship regularly?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
This week’s presentation was entitled “Say Yes to God – but Look Out!” While the objective of saying yes to God may be a noble one, an individual must “look before he leaps.” That is, we need to realize the full implications of what a “yes” to God or anyone else for that matter might imply. As with any big decision such as purchasing a house, buying a car, getting married, having a child, we need to consider the implications, effects, or consequences of our initial action and we need to know them before we perform the act in order to own both act and consequences. Science tells us that the frontal lobe of the brain is the last part of the brain to develop in children and it does so around the age of 19 or 20. It’s for this reason that parents’ favorite phrase to their teenage offspring is “What in God’s name were you thinking!” when they do certain things. They may not know that the frontal lobe is responsible for thinking through the implications of what we do and their children simply do not have the mental ability to do so.
Thus we need to be careful of what we pray for. Most of those items are for our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. So we pray for a team to win, for a positive financial impact, for someone to recover from a serious illness, for life, not death. But when we look at what we pray for we can see a hierarchy in our prayers, e.g. it’s nobler to pray for someone who is sick than to win a Lacrosse game. What then, is the most perfect form of prayer? Given this stream of logic, then, you might say the most perfect form of prayer would be that God’s will, whatever it is, be done in my life, as in, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The reasoning here is that God knows better what I need, than I might, a fact perhaps borne out in what we’ve prayed for and has come to pass only to make the situation worse than it was before.
Rather than looking at prayer as a means of securing “goodies” for ourselves or even for others, let’s look at prayer as a means of maintaining a relationship, as a way of being with a loved one. Who in your life do you rest with, savor relating to, or enjoy spending time with? Those bonds that tie you together emotionally are what prayer is to do in our relationship with God, tie us together. And as in a relationship, being one with the friend or spouse is about a common life that flowers in doing good for each other. In the best of relationships, the loved one often knows better what we need and is always there to provide it. You get the picture. The same is true of our relationship with God. God knows us better than we know ourselves; he loves us more than we love ourselves. Thus the most perfect form of bonding – or for that matter asking for something – is “Thy will be done!”
Without good models of relationships-with-God-bonded-in-prayer we only have our human analogies to rely upon. However, a great model to consider would be Mary of Nazareth, Mary the Mother of Jesus. What were her “secrets” to this deep communion with God? For starters she listened to the stirrings in her heart and responded with complete openness and love. While she may have been frightened or unclear about her call to become the mother of the Savior, she nevertheless allowed his life to be born within her and nurtured that life. Mary’s “yes” was a complete obedience to God’s will. She remained open to God, trusting of God, and with an openness and trust that were based on a prior relationship she had with him.
As a result of her stance with God, Mary became a woman “full of grace” in whom God’s grace was operative and out of that strengthening, she was able to challenge some basic beliefs of our society. So united was she with the Lord that she saw her place in God’s plan clearly. The Annunciation, the fruit of her bonding with God, not only reveals to the world that Jesus would be born, but it also reveals precisely who Jesus would be to our world.
As if Mary were not enough in her modeling, she goes beyond that to actually becoming the “Mother of the Church,” in the same way that a mother becomes the mother of another human being. How does this “birth” come about? Let’s look. The first thing she did after the Annunciation was to visit Elizabeth for whom she was a mentor and Elizabeth helps her understand her gift of complete faith in God’s will. They both recognize God working within them, Elizabeth carrying John the Baptist, and Mary, Jesus. Her dignity of “Mother of the Church” comes in her willingness and complete adherence to the Father’s will by participating in the redemptive work of Jesus and by listening to every prompting of the Holy Spirit. She is “Mother of the Church” because she cooperates by her obedience, faith, hope, and charity in the work of salvation and thus becomes the mother of us all. It is for this reason the Church rightly honors her.
Thus because of her “fiat,” her giving birth to Jesus, her relationship in raising him, her being the first to hear the Word of God and keep it, her relationship to our own mothers, and her own claim that “All generations will call me blessed,” Mary becomes important for us in two respects, as a model for our living and as “Mother of the Church.”
Next week will mark our final presentation in the six-week series and is entitled “A Fountain of youth for you.” As always, all are welcome, whether you signed up or not. Mass on Friday is at 6:30pm, supper at 7:00pm and the presentation at 7:30pm with activities for children of all ages, as well as a nursery.
Weekly HOMILY for March 25, 2007: False Gods
March 25, 2007 was “Deacon Preaching Weekend.” The following is the homily that was to be preached on Friday, March 16, 2007 but wasn’t because of the ice storm.
Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Year 1
Our Lady of Grace
March 16, 2007
False Gods
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
False God’s Today
Homilies and spiritual writing about false gods routinely point out that we don’t blow down before a golden calf these days.
Our false gods are pleasure, power, money, and – uh-uh – work, especially success and “getting ahead” as a result of our work.
Even secular sources warn about becoming trapped on the corporate ladder.
Working overtime or seeking a promotion can begin to feel like treason + betrayal of God, one’s family, and one’s true self.
Scripture and Evangelists
A line in Hosea this evening seems to express just that: “We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands.
You will find more than one televangelist proclaiming that God is itching to make you successful, prosperous, and even wealthy.
The only reason this hasn’t happened yet is that you do not fully believe it. Pump up your faith and soon you can buy that Hummer y ou’ve been eying. Is there any truth to that?
After all, Psalm 90 prays, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands”
Catholic Spirituality
Does this go up against the spirituality of the cross?
Is it Christian faith compromised and infected by the lure of the world?
As usual, the truth lies in the middle and centers on doing the will of God.
Mother Teresa herself once said, “If it’s God’s will that you live in a mansion, fine; just be very sure it’s God who put you there.”
We need to do what we are called to do, give it our best effort, continually take it to God in prayer for evaluation and discernment, and then accept the results.
If we find success, how can we use it to help others?
If we experience setbacks, are they signs that God wants us to switch gears or modify our goals?
Or does God want us to have faith and continue the course?
Conclusion
Only sincere, open-hearted prayer will lead us to the answer.
Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Year 1
Our Lady of Grace
March 16, 2007
False Gods
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
False God’s Today
Homilies and spiritual writing about false gods routinely point out that we don’t blow down before a golden calf these days.
Our false gods are pleasure, power, money, and – uh-uh – work, especially success and “getting ahead” as a result of our work.
Even secular sources warn about becoming trapped on the corporate ladder.
Working overtime or seeking a promotion can begin to feel like treason + betrayal of God, one’s family, and one’s true self.
Scripture and Evangelists
A line in Hosea this evening seems to express just that: “We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands.
You will find more than one televangelist proclaiming that God is itching to make you successful, prosperous, and even wealthy.
The only reason this hasn’t happened yet is that you do not fully believe it. Pump up your faith and soon you can buy that Hummer y ou’ve been eying. Is there any truth to that?
After all, Psalm 90 prays, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands”
Catholic Spirituality
Does this go up against the spirituality of the cross?
Is it Christian faith compromised and infected by the lure of the world?
As usual, the truth lies in the middle and centers on doing the will of God.
Mother Teresa herself once said, “If it’s God’s will that you live in a mansion, fine; just be very sure it’s God who put you there.”
We need to do what we are called to do, give it our best effort, continually take it to God in prayer for evaluation and discernment, and then accept the results.
If we find success, how can we use it to help others?
If we experience setbacks, are they signs that God wants us to switch gears or modify our goals?
Or does God want us to have faith and continue the course?
Conclusion
Only sincere, open-hearted prayer will lead us to the answer.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for March 18, 2007: Identity -- Who Are We?
March 18, 2007
Focus: Identity, Who Are We?
Dear Friend,
We’re halfway through Lent and these days continue to be a great time for reflection. You might spend some quiet time with the following thoughts that a friends shared with me last week in an email.
Identity is an elusive concept. We feel we must define ourselves using a relatively small selection of roles and conscious character traits, even if none accurately represents our notion of who we are. The confusion surrounding who we really are is further complicated by the fact that society regularly asks us to suppress so much of our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy. Yet we are, in truth, spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies, striving for enlightenment while living earthly lives. Our true self exists whether I acknowledge it or not. It is often buried under lots of fears and learned behaviors. When I recognize my power, my luminosity, I cannot help but live an authentic life of appreciation, fulfillment, and grace.
At birth and throughout our childhood, our thoughts and feelings were more than likely expressions of our true self. Though we may have learned quickly that to speak and act in a certain fashion would win others’ approval, we understood innately that we were no ordinary human being. There are many ways we can recapture the authenticity we once articulated so freely. Silent prayer, meditation, and reflection can liberate us from the bonds of those earthly customs that compel us to downplay our uniqueness. In order to realize our purpose, however, we must embrace our true self by letting our light shine forth.
Rediscovering who we are, apart from our roles and traits, does take time. It also takes courage. If, like many, we have denied our authenticity for a long while, we may find it difficult to separate our true identity from the identity we have created. Once we do find this authentic self, however, we will be overcome by a wonderful sense of wholeness as we reconcile our spiritual side and our physical side, as well as our inner and outer personas. As we gradually adjust to this developing unity, our role as a human being will reveal itself to us, and we will discover that we have a marvelous purpose to fulfill.
Enjoy the beauty of the warmer weather.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Identity, Who Are We?
Dear Friend,
We’re halfway through Lent and these days continue to be a great time for reflection. You might spend some quiet time with the following thoughts that a friends shared with me last week in an email.
Identity is an elusive concept. We feel we must define ourselves using a relatively small selection of roles and conscious character traits, even if none accurately represents our notion of who we are. The confusion surrounding who we really are is further complicated by the fact that society regularly asks us to suppress so much of our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy. Yet we are, in truth, spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies, striving for enlightenment while living earthly lives. Our true self exists whether I acknowledge it or not. It is often buried under lots of fears and learned behaviors. When I recognize my power, my luminosity, I cannot help but live an authentic life of appreciation, fulfillment, and grace.
At birth and throughout our childhood, our thoughts and feelings were more than likely expressions of our true self. Though we may have learned quickly that to speak and act in a certain fashion would win others’ approval, we understood innately that we were no ordinary human being. There are many ways we can recapture the authenticity we once articulated so freely. Silent prayer, meditation, and reflection can liberate us from the bonds of those earthly customs that compel us to downplay our uniqueness. In order to realize our purpose, however, we must embrace our true self by letting our light shine forth.
Rediscovering who we are, apart from our roles and traits, does take time. It also takes courage. If, like many, we have denied our authenticity for a long while, we may find it difficult to separate our true identity from the identity we have created. Once we do find this authentic self, however, we will be overcome by a wonderful sense of wholeness as we reconcile our spiritual side and our physical side, as well as our inner and outer personas. As we gradually adjust to this developing unity, our role as a human being will reveal itself to us, and we will discover that we have a marvelous purpose to fulfill.
Enjoy the beauty of the warmer weather.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 18, 2007: Differences -- Do They Divide or Unite?
THIS AND THAT:
Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?
Our Lenten Family Friday presentations continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” The topic of Session 4 was “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”, and the focus was on the various roles of members of the Church. Unity with diversity is one of the great gifts of the Church.
From the beginning of the church, we have always believed that we are the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head. We have various roles, gifts and functions that serve a common mission: to actualize the Kingdom of God in this world.
We find this image in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 12:
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ… Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” (vv. 12 & 27) St. Paul also says in this letter that we need all of the parts of the Body of Christ and one part cannot say that it does not need any other part.
With this image from St. Paul in mind, we had table discussion on the following questions:
In the Body of Christ – the faith community – what part would you be?
• Eyes – seeing our mission in the needs of others?
• Ears – listening to God in prayer?
• Hands – reaching out in service?
• Feet – going out to others with the Word of God?
Our discussion led us to see that all roles in the Church are of equal value, they all flow from Baptism, and they all involve the investment of time, talent and treasure
This understanding was stated well in the vision of Vatican II: “There is a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in their own unique manner.” (see LG #32)
Differences in roles must not divide us from one another as followers of Christ. There is no difference in the value of the various roles. Differences are not meant to create division or levels of importance in the eyes of God. We are only the Body of Christ when all parts are functioning, and each person, function or role needs all the others.
Even when it comes to leadership in the Church, people with different roles may be calling us or leading us at different times. For example, the Chairperson of the Outreach Committee may be calling us to meet a need, and he or she speaks to ALL about that need. An Ecclesial Minister, such as the Youth Minister, may be serving a specific need, but they are asking for the support of ALL members. In the same way, the Pastor fulfills his role by proclaiming the Word and administering Sacraments to ALL members. We experience the Holy Spirit at work in the Church through multiple ministries: liturgical ministries, service ministries, managerial ministries, spiritual ministries and educational ministries.
We discussed at our tables how this model of the Body of Christ compares with the previous hierarchical model, in which the levels of importance were: 1. Clergy; 2. Vowed Religious; and 3. Laity.
Returning to the vision of Vatican II, we looked at one of the documents that came from that Council, The Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, which states: “The parish offers an outstanding example of community apostolate, for it gathers into a unity all the human diversity of the Church.” This decree outlines the role of the laity in the church as follows:
• Work in the parish in close union with their priests
• Bring before the ecclesial community their own problems, world problems and questions regarding our salvation
• Examine these issues together and solve them by general discussion
• According to their abilities: co-operate in all apostolic and missionary enterprises of church
This helped us to see the valuable that the laity have in the Church.
We then reflected on these two questions:
• As a lay person, what does my Baptism call me to:
– As a member of this faith community?
– As a person of faith with influence in the marketplace?
Our final large group discussion focused on the question: “How do I experience unity in the church, amid the different roles?”
The evening ended with a closing prayer:
Loving God, you keep together those you have united. Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.
We are all consecrated to you by our common baptism; make us one in the fullness of faith and keep us one in the fellowship of love.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Next Week’s Topic is: “SAY YES TO GOD -- BUT LOOK OUT!” Everyone is welcome to join us for an interesting evening!
Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?
Our Lenten Family Friday presentations continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” The topic of Session 4 was “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”, and the focus was on the various roles of members of the Church. Unity with diversity is one of the great gifts of the Church.
From the beginning of the church, we have always believed that we are the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head. We have various roles, gifts and functions that serve a common mission: to actualize the Kingdom of God in this world.
We find this image in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 12:
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ… Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” (vv. 12 & 27) St. Paul also says in this letter that we need all of the parts of the Body of Christ and one part cannot say that it does not need any other part.
With this image from St. Paul in mind, we had table discussion on the following questions:
In the Body of Christ – the faith community – what part would you be?
• Eyes – seeing our mission in the needs of others?
• Ears – listening to God in prayer?
• Hands – reaching out in service?
• Feet – going out to others with the Word of God?
Our discussion led us to see that all roles in the Church are of equal value, they all flow from Baptism, and they all involve the investment of time, talent and treasure
This understanding was stated well in the vision of Vatican II: “There is a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in their own unique manner.” (see LG #32)
Differences in roles must not divide us from one another as followers of Christ. There is no difference in the value of the various roles. Differences are not meant to create division or levels of importance in the eyes of God. We are only the Body of Christ when all parts are functioning, and each person, function or role needs all the others.
Even when it comes to leadership in the Church, people with different roles may be calling us or leading us at different times. For example, the Chairperson of the Outreach Committee may be calling us to meet a need, and he or she speaks to ALL about that need. An Ecclesial Minister, such as the Youth Minister, may be serving a specific need, but they are asking for the support of ALL members. In the same way, the Pastor fulfills his role by proclaiming the Word and administering Sacraments to ALL members. We experience the Holy Spirit at work in the Church through multiple ministries: liturgical ministries, service ministries, managerial ministries, spiritual ministries and educational ministries.
We discussed at our tables how this model of the Body of Christ compares with the previous hierarchical model, in which the levels of importance were: 1. Clergy; 2. Vowed Religious; and 3. Laity.
Returning to the vision of Vatican II, we looked at one of the documents that came from that Council, The Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, which states: “The parish offers an outstanding example of community apostolate, for it gathers into a unity all the human diversity of the Church.” This decree outlines the role of the laity in the church as follows:
• Work in the parish in close union with their priests
• Bring before the ecclesial community their own problems, world problems and questions regarding our salvation
• Examine these issues together and solve them by general discussion
• According to their abilities: co-operate in all apostolic and missionary enterprises of church
This helped us to see the valuable that the laity have in the Church.
We then reflected on these two questions:
• As a lay person, what does my Baptism call me to:
– As a member of this faith community?
– As a person of faith with influence in the marketplace?
Our final large group discussion focused on the question: “How do I experience unity in the church, amid the different roles?”
The evening ended with a closing prayer:
Loving God, you keep together those you have united. Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.
We are all consecrated to you by our common baptism; make us one in the fullness of faith and keep us one in the fellowship of love.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Next Week’s Topic is: “SAY YES TO GOD -- BUT LOOK OUT!” Everyone is welcome to join us for an interesting evening!
Weekly HOMILY for March 18, 2007: A Love Stronger Than Sin
4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 18, 2007
A Love Stronger Than Sin
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Dostoyevsky
In February 1881 – a little over 126 years ago – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the great Russian novelist, realized that he was near death. He called his children to his side and requested that their mother read to them the parable that we just heard.
With eyes closed, he listened, drank in the words, intent on the vision he saw in his mind as the story unfolded.
When the reading was completed, Dostoyevsky said in a feeble voice: “My children, never forget what you have just heard. Have absolute faith in God and never despair of his pardon. I love you dearly but my love is nothing compared with the love of God for those who are his creation.
Even if you should be so unhappy as to commit a crime in the course of your life, never despair of God. You are God’s children. Humble yourselves before God as before your father.
Implore God’s pardon and God will rejoice over your repentance as the father rejoiced over that of the prodigal son.”
In short, the vision that Dostoyevsky wished to leave with his children was one of a love that is stronger than sin.
Gospel
It is this very same vision that has been left us by Jesus, who through all his words and works stated profoundly and forever God’s love for sinners.
Yes, God’s love is a love stronger and more powerful than sin and for this reason we need not harbor fear as we limp homeward for forgiveness.
Rather, our steps should be lighter and faster because we are encouraged to trust in a love that is beyond all measure.
Our way is gladdened because we know that the One who is waiting for us to arrive will welcome us, not with reproach, but with rejoicing, because we have made our way back, through forgiveness, to life.
Again, we have a story of God’s love, a love for us that is stronger than sin.
First Reading
That Joshua and the Israelites knew this same joy and cherished the promise of a new start is illustrated in today’s first reading.
Having arrived at a land they believe God has given them, they celebrate it as an event through which they have become a people liberated from slavery and bonded to God in a covenant of love.
True, they have proven themselves unworthy and unfaithful partners in this relationship with God before, but they have also learned that God is eager to reconcile and reinstate those who sincerely repent and return to him for forgiveness.
It is this vision of a loving and forgiving God that enables them to continue to repent and return more times than can be counted.
Again, we see this “love stronger than any sin” lived out.
Application
If it is indeed a “love stronger than any sin,” then no matter how much I have wronged or been wronged by infidelity with a friend,
No matter how much my vision of my marriage has been clouded by my or my spouses’ offenses,
No matter how hardened my heart has become because of long-held grudges,
There is one reality that is stronger than every disappointment, bitterness or ingrained mistrust that ties me down; it is that God’s love for you and me is stronger!
And God’s love for me, as seen and tasted and touched, in his son Jesus, draws me into the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.
How to Do It
To claim this forgiveness and reconciliation, we need only return to the story of the Prodigal Son and do what the son did, namely, (1) Come to my senses, (2) Admit my need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in my heart.
Despite all the mistakes he had made, the son can be credited for having enough sense to realize that no matter how great was his sin, his father’s love was greater still.
With only that awareness, that vision, to urge him homeward, the son does what so many of us do when we come to the point where we want to reconnect with family members or friends we have injured.
He practices what is called a soliloquy, a putting into the right words a little script with which to approach his father.
Of course, when the meeting finally takes place there’s no need for the rehearsed speech for it is the father who runs out to embrace him interrupting the soliloquy.
From clenched arms and through tears, he reinstates the boy as his son and calls for a celebration of one who was lost and now is found, one who was dead but lives again.
Conclusion
When the original audience heard this parable, how did they react?
For some, the parable was cause for rejoicing in the love and forgiveness of God. For others, the parable may have been like salt on a wound or a probe into their pride and self-satisfaction.
How will you and I respond to a love that is stronger than any one or all of our sins?
This coming Tuesday we will have our Lenten Penance Service: a great time to (1) Come to our senses, (2) Admit our need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in our heart.
Our Lady of Grace
March 18, 2007
A Love Stronger Than Sin
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Dostoyevsky
In February 1881 – a little over 126 years ago – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the great Russian novelist, realized that he was near death. He called his children to his side and requested that their mother read to them the parable that we just heard.
With eyes closed, he listened, drank in the words, intent on the vision he saw in his mind as the story unfolded.
When the reading was completed, Dostoyevsky said in a feeble voice: “My children, never forget what you have just heard. Have absolute faith in God and never despair of his pardon. I love you dearly but my love is nothing compared with the love of God for those who are his creation.
Even if you should be so unhappy as to commit a crime in the course of your life, never despair of God. You are God’s children. Humble yourselves before God as before your father.
Implore God’s pardon and God will rejoice over your repentance as the father rejoiced over that of the prodigal son.”
In short, the vision that Dostoyevsky wished to leave with his children was one of a love that is stronger than sin.
Gospel
It is this very same vision that has been left us by Jesus, who through all his words and works stated profoundly and forever God’s love for sinners.
Yes, God’s love is a love stronger and more powerful than sin and for this reason we need not harbor fear as we limp homeward for forgiveness.
Rather, our steps should be lighter and faster because we are encouraged to trust in a love that is beyond all measure.
Our way is gladdened because we know that the One who is waiting for us to arrive will welcome us, not with reproach, but with rejoicing, because we have made our way back, through forgiveness, to life.
Again, we have a story of God’s love, a love for us that is stronger than sin.
First Reading
That Joshua and the Israelites knew this same joy and cherished the promise of a new start is illustrated in today’s first reading.
Having arrived at a land they believe God has given them, they celebrate it as an event through which they have become a people liberated from slavery and bonded to God in a covenant of love.
True, they have proven themselves unworthy and unfaithful partners in this relationship with God before, but they have also learned that God is eager to reconcile and reinstate those who sincerely repent and return to him for forgiveness.
It is this vision of a loving and forgiving God that enables them to continue to repent and return more times than can be counted.
Again, we see this “love stronger than any sin” lived out.
Application
If it is indeed a “love stronger than any sin,” then no matter how much I have wronged or been wronged by infidelity with a friend,
No matter how much my vision of my marriage has been clouded by my or my spouses’ offenses,
No matter how hardened my heart has become because of long-held grudges,
There is one reality that is stronger than every disappointment, bitterness or ingrained mistrust that ties me down; it is that God’s love for you and me is stronger!
And God’s love for me, as seen and tasted and touched, in his son Jesus, draws me into the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.
How to Do It
To claim this forgiveness and reconciliation, we need only return to the story of the Prodigal Son and do what the son did, namely, (1) Come to my senses, (2) Admit my need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in my heart.
Despite all the mistakes he had made, the son can be credited for having enough sense to realize that no matter how great was his sin, his father’s love was greater still.
With only that awareness, that vision, to urge him homeward, the son does what so many of us do when we come to the point where we want to reconnect with family members or friends we have injured.
He practices what is called a soliloquy, a putting into the right words a little script with which to approach his father.
Of course, when the meeting finally takes place there’s no need for the rehearsed speech for it is the father who runs out to embrace him interrupting the soliloquy.
From clenched arms and through tears, he reinstates the boy as his son and calls for a celebration of one who was lost and now is found, one who was dead but lives again.
Conclusion
When the original audience heard this parable, how did they react?
For some, the parable was cause for rejoicing in the love and forgiveness of God. For others, the parable may have been like salt on a wound or a probe into their pride and self-satisfaction.
How will you and I respond to a love that is stronger than any one or all of our sins?
This coming Tuesday we will have our Lenten Penance Service: a great time to (1) Come to our senses, (2) Admit our need, and (3) Limp home with repentance in our heart.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for March 11, 2007: Winning Neologisms from the Washington Post
March 11, 2007
Focus: Winning Neologisms from the Washington Post
Dear Friend,
Every year, The Washington Post publishes the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. I thought you might enjoy reading what they were.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
12. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
14. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Winning Neologisms from the Washington Post
Dear Friend,
Every year, The Washington Post publishes the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. I thought you might enjoy reading what they were.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
12. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
14. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 11, 2007: The Story of Dry Bones, Yours and Ours
This and That:
Session #3: “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours
Our topic for consideration this past Friday – “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours” – was part of the six-week series entitled: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
The evening began with a consideration of death in the Prophet Ezekiel. For Ezekiel, as for the ancient Hebrews, the body without “ruah,” that is, without breath, air, or wind was considered dead. A living sort of “death” in people we know may be seen as lifelessness, sinfulness, or relationships that bring us down. And when, at times, we feel “dead” is it not because we are without breath – as in out of breath or exhausted? Is it not as if without air – as in the sense of breathing polluted air or thin air? Is it not as if we were without wind – as if the air was stifling, listless, or smothering?
The Followers of Jesus after his passion and death were feeling this same sort of “death.” They were disillusioned with Jesus. Their hopes for Jesus as the promised Messiah were dashed. There was conflict and division among them in their bickering. Add to this the fact that they were fearful of the Jews. Feeling dead for them was feeling adrift, without purpose or hope.
Though these very concrete forms of death surrounded them, they did experience a coming to life. It came in the gathering that we have come to call Pentecost. After that event, the followers of Jesus were transformed. The fear was gone; it have been transformed into a desire to get out there and proclaim good news to a weary world. All the boundaries, chains, inhibitions – call them what you will – were gone! The significance of Pentecost was that it fulfilled, in the disciples of Jesus, the passing over from death to life that had taken place in him. That is to say that in Pentecost the Passover was being fulfilled in the disciples. As if by magic, they are opened up to hear the Word of God. In that very event they came to know the Spirit because the Spirit that dwells in us is the very power of God. In that very event the Spirit helped them in their weakness
Through table sharing, participants that evening came to realize that it was Jesus who had promised to send the Holy Spirit who will lead us to all truth (John 14:26) and each of them shared times when they had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their own life. Those moments may have been moments of new hope (the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude), or as “fresh air” (the Spirit’s gift of understanding), or as a new perception (the Spirit’s gift of knowledge).
At this point all present played “Baltimore Catechism” and who could name the Seven-Fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit? (Don’t peek; the answers are on the last page of this bulletin.) If you got those correct, do you remember any of the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit? (Again, don’t peak, till you give the question a try.)
We believe that the Church possesses the fullness of Christ’s Spirit. In contrast to ourselves, who possess the Spirit at times, Christ was always filled with the Holy Spirit. And because the Church is his Body, the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church. “Just how is the power of the Spirit at work in the Church?” you may ask. After his Resurrection and Ascension, and after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Christ became present in the world by being manifested in the Church, which becomes the Sacrament of his presence. And through the Church-Presence-of-Christ, the Spirit does three important things: (1) It has the power to draw us. (2) It has the power to manifest Jesus Christ to us. (3) It has the power to bring us into communion.
This powerful presence of The- Church-Presence-of-Christ operates at several levels, namely, the Church as the Local Assembly at Parkton, the Church as the Local Church of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Church as the Universal Community of Believers. Thus this three-tiered reality of grace draws her life at all three levels from the Word and the Body of Christ and so becomes the living Body of Christ in our world.
Enough for the Church as the reality of presence of Christ! Where do the Sacraments fit in? The seven sacraments, as actions having both a “sacred” and “material” dimension, are powers that come forth from the “Body of Christ.” They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. Thus what the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, the Church. They are how God becomes manifest and operative.
A second round of table sharing centered on three items for sharing: (1) How we see the Holy Spirit acting in the Body of Believers today? (2) What experiences have most helped us understand the Church as a community, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit? and finally, (3) What charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit have we been given? How can we use these for the common good?
The topic for next week’s Session 4 is “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”
(Answers to questions from “This and That” above)
7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Wisdom
➢ Understanding
➢ Counsel
➢ Fortitude
➢ Knowledge
➢ Piety
➢ Fear of the Lord
12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Charity
➢ Joy
➢ Peace
➢ Patience
➢ Kindness
➢ Goodness
➢ Long Suffering
➢ Mildness
➢ Faith
➢ Modesty
➢ Continence
➢ Chastity
Session #3: “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours
Our topic for consideration this past Friday – “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours” – was part of the six-week series entitled: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
The evening began with a consideration of death in the Prophet Ezekiel. For Ezekiel, as for the ancient Hebrews, the body without “ruah,” that is, without breath, air, or wind was considered dead. A living sort of “death” in people we know may be seen as lifelessness, sinfulness, or relationships that bring us down. And when, at times, we feel “dead” is it not because we are without breath – as in out of breath or exhausted? Is it not as if without air – as in the sense of breathing polluted air or thin air? Is it not as if we were without wind – as if the air was stifling, listless, or smothering?
The Followers of Jesus after his passion and death were feeling this same sort of “death.” They were disillusioned with Jesus. Their hopes for Jesus as the promised Messiah were dashed. There was conflict and division among them in their bickering. Add to this the fact that they were fearful of the Jews. Feeling dead for them was feeling adrift, without purpose or hope.
Though these very concrete forms of death surrounded them, they did experience a coming to life. It came in the gathering that we have come to call Pentecost. After that event, the followers of Jesus were transformed. The fear was gone; it have been transformed into a desire to get out there and proclaim good news to a weary world. All the boundaries, chains, inhibitions – call them what you will – were gone! The significance of Pentecost was that it fulfilled, in the disciples of Jesus, the passing over from death to life that had taken place in him. That is to say that in Pentecost the Passover was being fulfilled in the disciples. As if by magic, they are opened up to hear the Word of God. In that very event they came to know the Spirit because the Spirit that dwells in us is the very power of God. In that very event the Spirit helped them in their weakness
Through table sharing, participants that evening came to realize that it was Jesus who had promised to send the Holy Spirit who will lead us to all truth (John 14:26) and each of them shared times when they had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their own life. Those moments may have been moments of new hope (the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude), or as “fresh air” (the Spirit’s gift of understanding), or as a new perception (the Spirit’s gift of knowledge).
At this point all present played “Baltimore Catechism” and who could name the Seven-Fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit? (Don’t peek; the answers are on the last page of this bulletin.) If you got those correct, do you remember any of the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit? (Again, don’t peak, till you give the question a try.)
We believe that the Church possesses the fullness of Christ’s Spirit. In contrast to ourselves, who possess the Spirit at times, Christ was always filled with the Holy Spirit. And because the Church is his Body, the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church. “Just how is the power of the Spirit at work in the Church?” you may ask. After his Resurrection and Ascension, and after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Christ became present in the world by being manifested in the Church, which becomes the Sacrament of his presence. And through the Church-Presence-of-Christ, the Spirit does three important things: (1) It has the power to draw us. (2) It has the power to manifest Jesus Christ to us. (3) It has the power to bring us into communion.
This powerful presence of The- Church-Presence-of-Christ operates at several levels, namely, the Church as the Local Assembly at Parkton, the Church as the Local Church of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Church as the Universal Community of Believers. Thus this three-tiered reality of grace draws her life at all three levels from the Word and the Body of Christ and so becomes the living Body of Christ in our world.
Enough for the Church as the reality of presence of Christ! Where do the Sacraments fit in? The seven sacraments, as actions having both a “sacred” and “material” dimension, are powers that come forth from the “Body of Christ.” They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. Thus what the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, the Church. They are how God becomes manifest and operative.
A second round of table sharing centered on three items for sharing: (1) How we see the Holy Spirit acting in the Body of Believers today? (2) What experiences have most helped us understand the Church as a community, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit? and finally, (3) What charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit have we been given? How can we use these for the common good?
The topic for next week’s Session 4 is “Differences: Do They Divide or Unite?”
(Answers to questions from “This and That” above)
7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Wisdom
➢ Understanding
➢ Counsel
➢ Fortitude
➢ Knowledge
➢ Piety
➢ Fear of the Lord
12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
➢ Charity
➢ Joy
➢ Peace
➢ Patience
➢ Kindness
➢ Goodness
➢ Long Suffering
➢ Mildness
➢ Faith
➢ Modesty
➢ Continence
➢ Chastity
Weekly HOMILY for March 11, 2007: Reform Your Lives: A Lesson Taught Through Sculpture
3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 11, 2007
Reform Your Lives: A Lesson Taught Through Sculpture
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Bent Torso
This past summer I spent several days visiting with friends in Roanoke, Virginia and one of the mornings we went to a lecture at the local art museum.
The speaker was a sculptor named Betty Branch who was discussing the motivation and artistic urge that gave life to her art form. That is, what inside her gave life and vibrancy to her creation of art?
I would invite you to create in your mind a fascinating piece of sculpture entitled “Bent Torso.” It is the life-size bronze torso of a woman, bent back and to one side at the waist, the back, neck, and head are not portrayed, nor are the arms or legs. So it’s just a torso.
What you have then is a beautifully formed figure up to the shoulders where it ends in a rather jagged and irregular way.
Betty’s eyes gleam as she explains that the sculpture portrays the human in each one of us and does so in a very dynamic way. As human beings you and I are at one and the same time: whole and fragmented, complete and incomplete, at peace and in tension.
Her passion as an artist is to bring that message to others as they look at the work called “Bent Torso.”
There I sat in the museum thinking to myself, “This would make a great homily someday,” and here we are!
The Parable of the Fig Tree
The parable of the fig tree in today’s Gospel is Jesus’ great assurance that the God of mercy and compassion is in our very midst, that God’s love, which knows neither limit nor condition, is ours in every moment we live.
Like the merciful and generous gardener, God continues to see our worth and calls forth that goodness within each of us.
The fig tree is an invitation to hope in the unlimited love of our God. Thomas Merton once wrote: “We think our life is important to ourselves alone and do not know that our life is more important to the Living God than it is to our selves.”
No matter what the condition of our “Bent Torso” – that is, where we are in the continuum of fragmented-to-whole, incomplete-to-complete, or tension-to-peace – there is hope for us with God’s grace.
But it is important to know precisely what keeps us fragmented, incomplete or tense as a first step to the reform, which Jesus calls us to.
I’d like to suggest two areas to consider. The first is our attitude; the second is our particular weakness or sin.
Sinful Attitudes
There is such a thing as a sinful attitude – a way of looking at things that is a breeding ground for sinful choices and sinful actions.
These attitudes are acquired in places where we spend time; they are acquired – passed on to us like the flu – from people with whom we spend time.
So for example, we may acquire an attitude of racial or ethnic prejudice just from the people we call our friends or acquaintances, people who live and breathe an air of joking about others or making disparaging remarks.
Or we may acquire an irresponsible attitude toward sex outside of marriage because sexuality was never discussed at home or we’ve never learned how to be intimate without necessarily having sex.
Such attitudes create a climate within us of fragmentation, incompletion, and tension because they are so out of sync with our being created in God’s image.
I should quickly add that the sin in this area is not so much in the racial prejudice or our feelings about sex, but in our awareness of the roots of our difficulty and not being willing to re-form or re-shape that part of us.
We need to take responsibility to root out the weeds someone else may well have planted within us; that’s the call of Jesus for re-form today.
Sinful Acts
The second type of sinfulness that contributes to our fragmentation, incompletion, and tension is behavior, those actions voluntarily, that knowingly hurt or diminish ourselves and others.
So for example, one day I may decide to go full-throttle into profit-making where I make a buck at the expense of others or cheat on tax returns or on an exam in school.
Or perhaps I become so absorbed in my job or activities outside the family, as a way of escaping responsibilities as a parent or working on my marriage.
Just as attitudes hurt the human personality, so too can our voluntary actions. The sinfulness here is not so much changing an attitude, but looking at the behavior itself and choosing to sin no more.
Conclusion
How then does the piece of sculpture called “Bent Torso” help us in the reform of attitudes and behavior that Jesus calls us to today?
It assists us by dramatically showing us the good and bad, the whole and fragmented, the complete and incomplete, what’s at peace and what’s in tension within us all.
It also helps us not confuse the two, which is what we often do, pursuing the bad as if it were good.
Once the two are differentiated, what is good, whole, complete and peaceful in us motivates us, and what is bad, fragmented, incomplete and tension-filled becomes our goal for reform.
God speaks to us in so many ways; we give thanks for his voice in sculpture, as we respond to re-form this Lenten Season.
Our Lady of Grace
March 11, 2007
Reform Your Lives: A Lesson Taught Through Sculpture
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Bent Torso
This past summer I spent several days visiting with friends in Roanoke, Virginia and one of the mornings we went to a lecture at the local art museum.
The speaker was a sculptor named Betty Branch who was discussing the motivation and artistic urge that gave life to her art form. That is, what inside her gave life and vibrancy to her creation of art?
I would invite you to create in your mind a fascinating piece of sculpture entitled “Bent Torso.” It is the life-size bronze torso of a woman, bent back and to one side at the waist, the back, neck, and head are not portrayed, nor are the arms or legs. So it’s just a torso.
What you have then is a beautifully formed figure up to the shoulders where it ends in a rather jagged and irregular way.
Betty’s eyes gleam as she explains that the sculpture portrays the human in each one of us and does so in a very dynamic way. As human beings you and I are at one and the same time: whole and fragmented, complete and incomplete, at peace and in tension.
Her passion as an artist is to bring that message to others as they look at the work called “Bent Torso.”
There I sat in the museum thinking to myself, “This would make a great homily someday,” and here we are!
The Parable of the Fig Tree
The parable of the fig tree in today’s Gospel is Jesus’ great assurance that the God of mercy and compassion is in our very midst, that God’s love, which knows neither limit nor condition, is ours in every moment we live.
Like the merciful and generous gardener, God continues to see our worth and calls forth that goodness within each of us.
The fig tree is an invitation to hope in the unlimited love of our God. Thomas Merton once wrote: “We think our life is important to ourselves alone and do not know that our life is more important to the Living God than it is to our selves.”
No matter what the condition of our “Bent Torso” – that is, where we are in the continuum of fragmented-to-whole, incomplete-to-complete, or tension-to-peace – there is hope for us with God’s grace.
But it is important to know precisely what keeps us fragmented, incomplete or tense as a first step to the reform, which Jesus calls us to.
I’d like to suggest two areas to consider. The first is our attitude; the second is our particular weakness or sin.
Sinful Attitudes
There is such a thing as a sinful attitude – a way of looking at things that is a breeding ground for sinful choices and sinful actions.
These attitudes are acquired in places where we spend time; they are acquired – passed on to us like the flu – from people with whom we spend time.
So for example, we may acquire an attitude of racial or ethnic prejudice just from the people we call our friends or acquaintances, people who live and breathe an air of joking about others or making disparaging remarks.
Or we may acquire an irresponsible attitude toward sex outside of marriage because sexuality was never discussed at home or we’ve never learned how to be intimate without necessarily having sex.
Such attitudes create a climate within us of fragmentation, incompletion, and tension because they are so out of sync with our being created in God’s image.
I should quickly add that the sin in this area is not so much in the racial prejudice or our feelings about sex, but in our awareness of the roots of our difficulty and not being willing to re-form or re-shape that part of us.
We need to take responsibility to root out the weeds someone else may well have planted within us; that’s the call of Jesus for re-form today.
Sinful Acts
The second type of sinfulness that contributes to our fragmentation, incompletion, and tension is behavior, those actions voluntarily, that knowingly hurt or diminish ourselves and others.
So for example, one day I may decide to go full-throttle into profit-making where I make a buck at the expense of others or cheat on tax returns or on an exam in school.
Or perhaps I become so absorbed in my job or activities outside the family, as a way of escaping responsibilities as a parent or working on my marriage.
Just as attitudes hurt the human personality, so too can our voluntary actions. The sinfulness here is not so much changing an attitude, but looking at the behavior itself and choosing to sin no more.
Conclusion
How then does the piece of sculpture called “Bent Torso” help us in the reform of attitudes and behavior that Jesus calls us to today?
It assists us by dramatically showing us the good and bad, the whole and fragmented, the complete and incomplete, what’s at peace and what’s in tension within us all.
It also helps us not confuse the two, which is what we often do, pursuing the bad as if it were good.
Once the two are differentiated, what is good, whole, complete and peaceful in us motivates us, and what is bad, fragmented, incomplete and tension-filled becomes our goal for reform.
God speaks to us in so many ways; we give thanks for his voice in sculpture, as we respond to re-form this Lenten Season.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for March 4, 2007: Powerful Practices for Lent
March 4, 2007
Focus: “Powerful Practices for Lent”
Dear Friend,
In his homily to begin the Lenten Season, delivered in the Basilica of St. Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill, the Holy Father presented several useful instruments as the condition to live authentic community renewal. They are the three fundamental practices, also appreciated by the Jewish tradition, because they contribute to purify men and women before God. These external gestures, which should be done to please God and not to win the approval and praise of people, are pleasing to him if they express the heartfelt determination to serve him alone, with simplicity and generosity.
Fasting, to which the Church invites us during this time, is not born from motivations of a physical or aesthetic order, but springs from the need the individual feels for interior purification, to be detoxified from the contamination of sin and evil.
Benedict XVI said that fasting educates us in “those healthy self-denials that free the believer from his/her ‘I,’ and makes us more attentive and ready to listen to God and to serve our brothers and sisters…. For this reason, fasting and the Lenten practices of prayer and works of charity, in particular almsgiving, are considered by the Christian tradition spiritual ‘weapons’ to combat evil, evil passions, and vices,” the Pope said.
It’s never too late to begin these powerful practices.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: “Powerful Practices for Lent”
Dear Friend,
In his homily to begin the Lenten Season, delivered in the Basilica of St. Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill, the Holy Father presented several useful instruments as the condition to live authentic community renewal. They are the three fundamental practices, also appreciated by the Jewish tradition, because they contribute to purify men and women before God. These external gestures, which should be done to please God and not to win the approval and praise of people, are pleasing to him if they express the heartfelt determination to serve him alone, with simplicity and generosity.
Fasting, to which the Church invites us during this time, is not born from motivations of a physical or aesthetic order, but springs from the need the individual feels for interior purification, to be detoxified from the contamination of sin and evil.
Benedict XVI said that fasting educates us in “those healthy self-denials that free the believer from his/her ‘I,’ and makes us more attentive and ready to listen to God and to serve our brothers and sisters…. For this reason, fasting and the Lenten practices of prayer and works of charity, in particular almsgiving, are considered by the Christian tradition spiritual ‘weapons’ to combat evil, evil passions, and vices,” the Pope said.
It’s never too late to begin these powerful practices.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for March 4, 2007: How Can I Deal with Suffering?
This and That:
How Can I Deal with Suffering?
Our Lenten Family Friday talks continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” This second session addressed the question of how we can deal with suffering, as followers of Jesus Christ.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
We began by looking at the question: “What is our view of suffering?” Is suffering something to be avoided, resisted and rejected, or is suffering a normal part of life? Can suffering be both of these at different times?
Sometimes in our modern American society, we find the attitude that bad things should never happen to good people. Yet everyone experiences suffering in their life.
When do I accept suffering as a normal part of life, leading to something new, or better?
Examples included the pain of childbirth, the separation that parents of teens and young adults feel when their children move away, the loss of elderly parents, the letting go that is required when it’s time to leave a job or a home
We then looked at times when we experience suffering that is extraordinary, such as a car accident, a terminal illness, or the experience of being abused.
When you do experience suffering, whether it’s the ordinary suffering that comes in the course of life or an unexpected suffering, what has given meaning to your suffering? Was it believing that the present suffering was leading to new life? Was it the supportive presence of others? Was it your faith that God was with you? Any of these attitudes or beliefs involve TRUST in God and others.
If we believe in Jesus Christ, how does that influence our experience of suffering? Since Jesus became incarnate and lived our human life, we see that he is God with us, he enters into our human experience and takes our sufferings upon himself. Jesus relieves the suffering of others through his healing presence, and Jesus accepts his own suffering, for our sake.
The Paschal Mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News for those who believe. Our faith in Jesus assures us that by his death, he liberates us from sin and by his Resurrection, he opens the way for us to new life. From looking at Jesus, we learn a basic principle: that accepted suffering gives rise to new life.
If we reflect upon the purpose of Jesus’ life, we also find the purpose of our own lives as his disciples. Jesus lived his whole life in obedience to his Father’s love for us. In that obedience, Jesus endured the opposition of sinners. Ultimately, he was put to death because of sin – and thus triumphed over sin. Through Baptism, we are partners in the Paschal Mystery and we are called to live in obedience to God’s love, just as Jesus did. Part of this obedience is the call to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Taking up our cross means accepting our humanity and the humanity of others, with love and mercy.
Let’s not forget that the cross is only half of the Paschal Mystery. We must remember the Resurrection! We learn from the Paschal Mystery the balance between death and new life. Jesus’ death was not the end of the story, because love cannot be put to death. Jesus is present in a new way following his Resurrection and his Spirit guides the church to this day.
In the Letter to the Romans, we find an explanation of how we participate in the Paschal Mystery: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves and being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 6: 3-4, 10-11)
If we think of the Paschal Mystery as a template placed over our lives through our Baptism, then how do each of us answer these questions:
How do I experience my suffering or little deaths, in light of the cross of Christ?
➢ When have I experienced new life from an experience of dying?
➢ Do Christians face suffering and death differently than non-believers?
➢ These are good questions to reflect upon during this season of Lent.
Next Friday’s topic is “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours.” Please consider joining us and find out what this intriguing topic is all about!
How Can I Deal with Suffering?
Our Lenten Family Friday talks continued this week with our theme: “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” This second session addressed the question of how we can deal with suffering, as followers of Jesus Christ.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
We began by looking at the question: “What is our view of suffering?” Is suffering something to be avoided, resisted and rejected, or is suffering a normal part of life? Can suffering be both of these at different times?
Sometimes in our modern American society, we find the attitude that bad things should never happen to good people. Yet everyone experiences suffering in their life.
When do I accept suffering as a normal part of life, leading to something new, or better?
Examples included the pain of childbirth, the separation that parents of teens and young adults feel when their children move away, the loss of elderly parents, the letting go that is required when it’s time to leave a job or a home
We then looked at times when we experience suffering that is extraordinary, such as a car accident, a terminal illness, or the experience of being abused.
When you do experience suffering, whether it’s the ordinary suffering that comes in the course of life or an unexpected suffering, what has given meaning to your suffering? Was it believing that the present suffering was leading to new life? Was it the supportive presence of others? Was it your faith that God was with you? Any of these attitudes or beliefs involve TRUST in God and others.
If we believe in Jesus Christ, how does that influence our experience of suffering? Since Jesus became incarnate and lived our human life, we see that he is God with us, he enters into our human experience and takes our sufferings upon himself. Jesus relieves the suffering of others through his healing presence, and Jesus accepts his own suffering, for our sake.
The Paschal Mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News for those who believe. Our faith in Jesus assures us that by his death, he liberates us from sin and by his Resurrection, he opens the way for us to new life. From looking at Jesus, we learn a basic principle: that accepted suffering gives rise to new life.
If we reflect upon the purpose of Jesus’ life, we also find the purpose of our own lives as his disciples. Jesus lived his whole life in obedience to his Father’s love for us. In that obedience, Jesus endured the opposition of sinners. Ultimately, he was put to death because of sin – and thus triumphed over sin. Through Baptism, we are partners in the Paschal Mystery and we are called to live in obedience to God’s love, just as Jesus did. Part of this obedience is the call to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Taking up our cross means accepting our humanity and the humanity of others, with love and mercy.
Let’s not forget that the cross is only half of the Paschal Mystery. We must remember the Resurrection! We learn from the Paschal Mystery the balance between death and new life. Jesus’ death was not the end of the story, because love cannot be put to death. Jesus is present in a new way following his Resurrection and his Spirit guides the church to this day.
In the Letter to the Romans, we find an explanation of how we participate in the Paschal Mystery: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves and being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 6: 3-4, 10-11)
If we think of the Paschal Mystery as a template placed over our lives through our Baptism, then how do each of us answer these questions:
How do I experience my suffering or little deaths, in light of the cross of Christ?
➢ When have I experienced new life from an experience of dying?
➢ Do Christians face suffering and death differently than non-believers?
➢ These are good questions to reflect upon during this season of Lent.
Next Friday’s topic is “The Story of Dry Bones: Yours and Ours.” Please consider joining us and find out what this intriguing topic is all about!
Weekly HOMILY for March 4, 2007: Diastolic and Systolic Rhythms: The Secret to Life in the Spirit
2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
March 4, 2007
Diastolic and Systolic Rhythms: The Secret to Life in the Spirit
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Physical Diastolic and Systolic
I suppose we would all say that the most fascinating and vital part of our human body is the heart.
From Medieval Times, we learned that the heart operates in a two-fold movement called the diastolic and the systolic.
First, in the diastolic movement, the heart dilates and expands and the chambers fill up with blood.
Then, in the systolic process, the heart contracts, and blood is pumped and forced outwards, back into the body.
This in-and-out action is essential got getting oxygen, enriched blood to all parts of the body. It forms the heartbeat of human life.
When this two-fold movement fails us, we suffer heart attacks, arrhythmia, and other serious problems.
The Spiritual Diastolic and Systolic
As is often the case, the world of the spiritual parallels the world of the spiritual. This morning, I would suggest that this is one of those times.
This same two-fold movement – the diastolic and systolic, the drawing in and pumping out – this same process forms the heartbeat of our spiritual life and journey.
The Spiritual Diastolic
First, in our spiritual life – there is a time for drawing in, for filling up our inner resources.
There is a time for taking in the spiritual energy and personal power that is needed to survive.
We see this spiritual diastolic in today’s readings.
In the passage from Genesis, Abraham has an encounter with God. He experiences God as present and giving him a vision and hope.
Then, in the Gospel, Jesus has been busy traveling from place to place, teaching, healing and responding to the needs of others.
Worn down by his ministering, we are told that he withdraws and goes up a mountain where he prays, meditates, and enters into quiet time with his Father.
This, then, is his time for filling up his inner resources and taking in the spiritual energy and power that he needs.
We also, all of us, need this spiritual diastolic movement.
It is vital for each of us to draw back and draw into ourselves the spiritual life – the oxygenated blood of God’s peace, wisdom, and love.
One of the main ways that we do this is by coming to Mass and hearing the Word and receiving the Eucharist each week with other persons of faith.
We also do this by slowly reading and reflecting on a passage of Scripture or just being quiet and letting God come to us in what we think are our ordinary thoughts and feelings.
Or we can do this by slowly praying some favorite prayers, like the rosary or the Stations of the Cross.
This spiritual diastolic movement puts us in touch with God and in touch with ourselves at one and the same time.
The Spiritual Systolic
After this drawing in, there is also a need for the spiritual systolic movement. In other words, we need to go back into our ordinary life, back to the journey.
In the first reading today, after his experience with God, Abraham is sent forth on a journey that must have looked daunting and uncertain.
In the Gospel, Peter goes up on the mountain with Jesus. He enjoys the experience so much that he wants to continue it by pitching three tents – one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
However, he cannot do that and must join Jesus in coming down off the mountain and getting on with their work.
We all have a sense that we have got to get on with things. We simply can’t stay in church or quietly pray all day. There’s little choice regarding our many responsibilities so there’s no sense even thinking about pitching tents and staying in the diastolic.
But, for us, it is the diastolic that shapes our lives:
➢ It sends us back better able to cope with the stresses and tensions that are there.
➢ It sends us back better able to deal with hurts, upsets, and worries.
➢ And it sends us back even empowered to choose to do things for the Lord, perhaps to volunteer in our children’s schools or to participate in some outreach to the needy.
It is as if the spiritual diastolic movement pumps us into the spiritual systolic with renewed spiritual oxygen and energy.
Conclusion
To conclude: I believe this twofold action, the in and the out, the diastolic and the systolic, is a great way of understanding our own spiritual journey.
If we choose to live our lives with this rhythmic movement, the results will be there. We, little by little, will be transformed as Jesus was on the mountain today.
Step-by-step, degree-by-degree, the God present within us will emerge and be visible. We will become more alive and on the journey that leads to the fullness of life with God.
Our Lady of Grace
March 4, 2007
Diastolic and Systolic Rhythms: The Secret to Life in the Spirit
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Physical Diastolic and Systolic
I suppose we would all say that the most fascinating and vital part of our human body is the heart.
From Medieval Times, we learned that the heart operates in a two-fold movement called the diastolic and the systolic.
First, in the diastolic movement, the heart dilates and expands and the chambers fill up with blood.
Then, in the systolic process, the heart contracts, and blood is pumped and forced outwards, back into the body.
This in-and-out action is essential got getting oxygen, enriched blood to all parts of the body. It forms the heartbeat of human life.
When this two-fold movement fails us, we suffer heart attacks, arrhythmia, and other serious problems.
The Spiritual Diastolic and Systolic
As is often the case, the world of the spiritual parallels the world of the spiritual. This morning, I would suggest that this is one of those times.
This same two-fold movement – the diastolic and systolic, the drawing in and pumping out – this same process forms the heartbeat of our spiritual life and journey.
The Spiritual Diastolic
First, in our spiritual life – there is a time for drawing in, for filling up our inner resources.
There is a time for taking in the spiritual energy and personal power that is needed to survive.
We see this spiritual diastolic in today’s readings.
In the passage from Genesis, Abraham has an encounter with God. He experiences God as present and giving him a vision and hope.
Then, in the Gospel, Jesus has been busy traveling from place to place, teaching, healing and responding to the needs of others.
Worn down by his ministering, we are told that he withdraws and goes up a mountain where he prays, meditates, and enters into quiet time with his Father.
This, then, is his time for filling up his inner resources and taking in the spiritual energy and power that he needs.
We also, all of us, need this spiritual diastolic movement.
It is vital for each of us to draw back and draw into ourselves the spiritual life – the oxygenated blood of God’s peace, wisdom, and love.
One of the main ways that we do this is by coming to Mass and hearing the Word and receiving the Eucharist each week with other persons of faith.
We also do this by slowly reading and reflecting on a passage of Scripture or just being quiet and letting God come to us in what we think are our ordinary thoughts and feelings.
Or we can do this by slowly praying some favorite prayers, like the rosary or the Stations of the Cross.
This spiritual diastolic movement puts us in touch with God and in touch with ourselves at one and the same time.
The Spiritual Systolic
After this drawing in, there is also a need for the spiritual systolic movement. In other words, we need to go back into our ordinary life, back to the journey.
In the first reading today, after his experience with God, Abraham is sent forth on a journey that must have looked daunting and uncertain.
In the Gospel, Peter goes up on the mountain with Jesus. He enjoys the experience so much that he wants to continue it by pitching three tents – one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
However, he cannot do that and must join Jesus in coming down off the mountain and getting on with their work.
We all have a sense that we have got to get on with things. We simply can’t stay in church or quietly pray all day. There’s little choice regarding our many responsibilities so there’s no sense even thinking about pitching tents and staying in the diastolic.
But, for us, it is the diastolic that shapes our lives:
➢ It sends us back better able to cope with the stresses and tensions that are there.
➢ It sends us back better able to deal with hurts, upsets, and worries.
➢ And it sends us back even empowered to choose to do things for the Lord, perhaps to volunteer in our children’s schools or to participate in some outreach to the needy.
It is as if the spiritual diastolic movement pumps us into the spiritual systolic with renewed spiritual oxygen and energy.
Conclusion
To conclude: I believe this twofold action, the in and the out, the diastolic and the systolic, is a great way of understanding our own spiritual journey.
If we choose to live our lives with this rhythmic movement, the results will be there. We, little by little, will be transformed as Jesus was on the mountain today.
Step-by-step, degree-by-degree, the God present within us will emerge and be visible. We will become more alive and on the journey that leads to the fullness of life with God.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for February 25, 2007: Chocolate Free -- Chocolate Full!
February 25, 2007
Focus: “Chocolate Free – Chocolate Full!”
Dear Friend,
Lent: the only festival among world religions to be celebrated by the non-eating of chocolate!
Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, fasting and praying, preparing a mission, fighting temptation, working through his calling. Then, in the early church, Lent was the time for new Christians to learn the faith, and for the rest of them to devote themselves to prayer and fasting, a sort of spring cleaning of the soul in readiness for the big day.
And we have a six-week chocolate-free diet.
Did you ever feel today’s practice of our faith was missing out on something? Identifying Lent with not eating chocolate misses the point almost as much as identifying Easter with eating it!
This year let us bring you an Idea-A-Day for Lent: 40 ways to do something more with your 40 days.
A friend sent me the following list as a more creative and adventurous way of approaching the season. They are a bit more challenging, more reflective, an alternative, and they are more ancient. They involve carrier bags, paint, money, traffic jams and poetry. They are designed to stretch you, make you think, tone up some forgotten spiritual muscles, put your time to good use and get some fresh air in there. They are practical and positive. I hope you’ll try some of them, and give your spirit something new to do. And sure this year, go on, have a Mars Bar!
Day 1 – Wed 21 Feb: Go on a media diet
Day 2 – Thur 22 Feb: Find Lent readings
Day 3 – Fri 23 Feb: Recycle, free cycle
Day 4 – Sat 24 Feb: Upload a poem
Day 5 – Mon 26 Feb: Walk and watch
Day 6 – Tues 27 Feb: Your chore is my chore
Day 7 – Wed 28 Feb: Bake a cake
Day 8 – Thur 1 Mar: Out your doubts
Day 9 – Fri 2 Mar: Someone else’s preference
Day 10 – Sat 3 Mar: Send a message
Day 11 – Mon 5 Mar: Give blood
Day 12 – Tues 6 Mar: Phone a friend
Day 13 – Wed 7 Mar: Go walking
Day 14 – Thur 8 Mar: The boss
Day 15 – Fri 9 Mar: Extra worship
Day 16 – Sat 10 Mar: Pray the paper
Day 17 – Mon 12 Mar: Look out the window
Day 18 – Tues 13 Mar: Read a Gospel
Day 19 – Wed 14 Mar: Pay some compliments
Day 20 – Thur 15 Mar: Research Lent
Day 21 – Fri 16 Mar: Slim down your wardrobe
Day 22 – Sat 17 Mar: Make a joy jar
Day 23 – Mon 19 Mar: Don’t Moan Day
Day 24 – Tues 20 Mar: Christmas in Lent
Day 25 – Wed 21 Mar: Almighty email
Day 26 – Thur 22 Mar: Help a child in school
Day 27 – Fri 23 Mar: Widen your prayers
Day 28 – Sat 24 Mar: A week of giving
Day 29 – Mon 26 Mar: Who’s next door?
Day 30 – Tues 27 Mar: Think small
Day 31 – Wed 28 Mar: Random acts of kindness
Day 32 – Thur 29 Mar: Stop shopping
Day 33 – Fri 30 Mar: A note of thanks
Day 34 – Sat 31 Mar: Your carbon footprint
Day 35 – Mon 2 Apr: Don’t interrupt
Day 36 – Tues 3 Apr: Instead of money
Day 37 – Wed 4 Apr: Write your own obituary
Day 38 – Thur 5 Apr: Empty your wallet
Day 39 – Fri 6 Apr: Light a virtual candle
Day 40 – Sat 7 Apr: A clean sweep
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: “Chocolate Free – Chocolate Full!”
Dear Friend,
Lent: the only festival among world religions to be celebrated by the non-eating of chocolate!
Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, fasting and praying, preparing a mission, fighting temptation, working through his calling. Then, in the early church, Lent was the time for new Christians to learn the faith, and for the rest of them to devote themselves to prayer and fasting, a sort of spring cleaning of the soul in readiness for the big day.
And we have a six-week chocolate-free diet.
Did you ever feel today’s practice of our faith was missing out on something? Identifying Lent with not eating chocolate misses the point almost as much as identifying Easter with eating it!
This year let us bring you an Idea-A-Day for Lent: 40 ways to do something more with your 40 days.
A friend sent me the following list as a more creative and adventurous way of approaching the season. They are a bit more challenging, more reflective, an alternative, and they are more ancient. They involve carrier bags, paint, money, traffic jams and poetry. They are designed to stretch you, make you think, tone up some forgotten spiritual muscles, put your time to good use and get some fresh air in there. They are practical and positive. I hope you’ll try some of them, and give your spirit something new to do. And sure this year, go on, have a Mars Bar!
Day 1 – Wed 21 Feb: Go on a media diet
Day 2 – Thur 22 Feb: Find Lent readings
Day 3 – Fri 23 Feb: Recycle, free cycle
Day 4 – Sat 24 Feb: Upload a poem
Day 5 – Mon 26 Feb: Walk and watch
Day 6 – Tues 27 Feb: Your chore is my chore
Day 7 – Wed 28 Feb: Bake a cake
Day 8 – Thur 1 Mar: Out your doubts
Day 9 – Fri 2 Mar: Someone else’s preference
Day 10 – Sat 3 Mar: Send a message
Day 11 – Mon 5 Mar: Give blood
Day 12 – Tues 6 Mar: Phone a friend
Day 13 – Wed 7 Mar: Go walking
Day 14 – Thur 8 Mar: The boss
Day 15 – Fri 9 Mar: Extra worship
Day 16 – Sat 10 Mar: Pray the paper
Day 17 – Mon 12 Mar: Look out the window
Day 18 – Tues 13 Mar: Read a Gospel
Day 19 – Wed 14 Mar: Pay some compliments
Day 20 – Thur 15 Mar: Research Lent
Day 21 – Fri 16 Mar: Slim down your wardrobe
Day 22 – Sat 17 Mar: Make a joy jar
Day 23 – Mon 19 Mar: Don’t Moan Day
Day 24 – Tues 20 Mar: Christmas in Lent
Day 25 – Wed 21 Mar: Almighty email
Day 26 – Thur 22 Mar: Help a child in school
Day 27 – Fri 23 Mar: Widen your prayers
Day 28 – Sat 24 Mar: A week of giving
Day 29 – Mon 26 Mar: Who’s next door?
Day 30 – Tues 27 Mar: Think small
Day 31 – Wed 28 Mar: Random acts of kindness
Day 32 – Thur 29 Mar: Stop shopping
Day 33 – Fri 30 Mar: A note of thanks
Day 34 – Sat 31 Mar: Your carbon footprint
Day 35 – Mon 2 Apr: Don’t interrupt
Day 36 – Tues 3 Apr: Instead of money
Day 37 – Wed 4 Apr: Write your own obituary
Day 38 – Thur 5 Apr: Empty your wallet
Day 39 – Fri 6 Apr: Light a virtual candle
Day 40 – Sat 7 Apr: A clean sweep
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 25, 2007: Is Jesus Believable?
This and That:
Is Jesus Believable?
Over the next six weeks of Lent, each week will feature the presentation given at the Lenten Family Friday the Friday before. It can therefore serve as a refresher for those who attended and perhaps an incentive to others to try the next Friday out. Mass on the Fridays is at 6:30pm followed by supper for the entire family at 7:00pm. The presentations begin at 7:30pm with nursery and age-appropriate children’s activities. Youth are welcome to attend and help us out in serving, takedown, or working with the children.
The overall theme of the evenings’ talks is “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” The thought here is that believing should have an impact on our actions and ultimately on the quality of our lives. Sacred Scripture tells us that belief without actions is no belief at all. The first presentation begins, as it should, at the beginning, namely with Jesus himself. Is he believable or was he simply an itinerant preacher who meant well, but whose words were either unreasonable or, if true, he could not be trusted?
Why is the question even pertinent today? While spirituality in America is high, religious practice is not what it was in the past. Without the support of religious practice one is less inclined to hear the scriptures, be preached a homily, celebrate with other believers, and feed on the Body and Blood of the Lord. One wonders why spirituality can be up and worship down? In our discussion, we would like to present Jesus as a person who is indeed believable, but to look into precisely why he is so. For someone to be believable, whether it is a bystander, friend, family member or Jesus himself, several things must be present. We must know WHO he is, know WHAT he says, have a RELATIONSHIP with him and be able to TRUST him. What is true of anyone in our daily lives is also true of Jesus.
Who Is he?
Our first consideration, then, becomes, “Who is Jesus?” For an answer, we turn to Philippians 2:5ff: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”
From this quote, let’s look at Jesus as “God.” From the very beginning Jesus was called “Lord.” In the early church, the honor and glory due to God were also seen as due to Jesus, after all, he was seen as “in the form of God.” Jesus’ sovereignty can be seen in God raising him from the dead. And yet, while, God, he was also a man just like us. His character and teachings were so attractive, that folks followed him. All were amazed at what he did for the sick and sinners, how he spoke with authority and challengingly, and the way he lived, simply and prayerfully.
What implications of Jesus as both human and divine could be drawn, implications for our own daily living? For starters, he lives our lives with their ups and downs, with the pains and joys; he dies our death so he helps us see how we too might face the coming of that final day for ourselves. In addition, Jesus models a life of concrete values and choices that we might emulate. Finally, he teaches us how to contact and interact with God.
What Does He Say?
Jesus’ words are often about healing, which show his intimate relationship to God or they may be about the poor and lowly, which show the need for humble hearts or he speaks practically of love and turning the other cheek. Finally, he speaks of forgiveness and the need to forgive without limit. He follows up what he says with his own actions, with signs and wonders, and concludes with an invitation to follow in his footsteps. And it is in this way we learn the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
Table discussion centered on which actions or teachings of Jesus you find most compelling: healing, being poor and lowly, love, or forgiveness?
Having a Relationship with Him
Entering God’s Reign is about having a new relationship. It is about a growing recognition that, “I am loved by God and that I need to respond to that love.” Being drawn into a relationship with Jesus Christ, as a living, breathing human being wants to make me imitate him. However, this relationship of a disciple to the Master is not something that just magically happens; it must be worked on regularly.
Any change in how I relate to another can come about in one of two ways. I can “think my way into acting” or I can “act my way into thinking.” For example, children learn to become adults by playing house. With such games, they are “acting their way into thinking.” In a similar fashion the hospital intern “acts his way into thinking” he is a doctor by playing the part. On the other hand, “thinking your way into acting” might come from attending a workshop on self-assertion or going through therapy. Coaching girls on a soccer team would seem to approach transformation from both “acting” and “thinking.”
So do we “act” like Jesus and thus become like him or do we learn of Jesus and “think” our way into acting? It may have more to do with personalities and how we learn things best.
How Might We Trust Him?
The final question we considered had to do with trust. As we do with a friend or spouse whom we seek out for advice, perspective, or support, we would want to count on Jesus in the same way.
It has been said that a moment calling for trust must necessarily also be a time of risk, trial, pain, suffering, or darkness where we place ourselves at the hands of the one to whom we look. Participants were asked to surface such a time for themselves and how their faith in Jesus Christ made a difference. We shared on whether the trust came of “acting” or “thinking” our way through it.
Summary Thought
“From Jesus, we come to know God because Jesus is the complete and total revelation of God. If we look at the life of Jesus, we find a person who is a model of love, our savior and Redeemer.” (Catechesi Tradendae, 9)
Next Friday’s topic is “How Can I Deal with Suffering?” Please consider joining us. It could make a difference for you.
Is Jesus Believable?
Over the next six weeks of Lent, each week will feature the presentation given at the Lenten Family Friday the Friday before. It can therefore serve as a refresher for those who attended and perhaps an incentive to others to try the next Friday out. Mass on the Fridays is at 6:30pm followed by supper for the entire family at 7:00pm. The presentations begin at 7:30pm with nursery and age-appropriate children’s activities. Youth are welcome to attend and help us out in serving, takedown, or working with the children.
The overall theme of the evenings’ talks is “How What We Believe Can Make a Difference.” The thought here is that believing should have an impact on our actions and ultimately on the quality of our lives. Sacred Scripture tells us that belief without actions is no belief at all. The first presentation begins, as it should, at the beginning, namely with Jesus himself. Is he believable or was he simply an itinerant preacher who meant well, but whose words were either unreasonable or, if true, he could not be trusted?
Why is the question even pertinent today? While spirituality in America is high, religious practice is not what it was in the past. Without the support of religious practice one is less inclined to hear the scriptures, be preached a homily, celebrate with other believers, and feed on the Body and Blood of the Lord. One wonders why spirituality can be up and worship down? In our discussion, we would like to present Jesus as a person who is indeed believable, but to look into precisely why he is so. For someone to be believable, whether it is a bystander, friend, family member or Jesus himself, several things must be present. We must know WHO he is, know WHAT he says, have a RELATIONSHIP with him and be able to TRUST him. What is true of anyone in our daily lives is also true of Jesus.
Who Is he?
Our first consideration, then, becomes, “Who is Jesus?” For an answer, we turn to Philippians 2:5ff: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”
From this quote, let’s look at Jesus as “God.” From the very beginning Jesus was called “Lord.” In the early church, the honor and glory due to God were also seen as due to Jesus, after all, he was seen as “in the form of God.” Jesus’ sovereignty can be seen in God raising him from the dead. And yet, while, God, he was also a man just like us. His character and teachings were so attractive, that folks followed him. All were amazed at what he did for the sick and sinners, how he spoke with authority and challengingly, and the way he lived, simply and prayerfully.
What implications of Jesus as both human and divine could be drawn, implications for our own daily living? For starters, he lives our lives with their ups and downs, with the pains and joys; he dies our death so he helps us see how we too might face the coming of that final day for ourselves. In addition, Jesus models a life of concrete values and choices that we might emulate. Finally, he teaches us how to contact and interact with God.
What Does He Say?
Jesus’ words are often about healing, which show his intimate relationship to God or they may be about the poor and lowly, which show the need for humble hearts or he speaks practically of love and turning the other cheek. Finally, he speaks of forgiveness and the need to forgive without limit. He follows up what he says with his own actions, with signs and wonders, and concludes with an invitation to follow in his footsteps. And it is in this way we learn the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
Table discussion centered on which actions or teachings of Jesus you find most compelling: healing, being poor and lowly, love, or forgiveness?
Having a Relationship with Him
Entering God’s Reign is about having a new relationship. It is about a growing recognition that, “I am loved by God and that I need to respond to that love.” Being drawn into a relationship with Jesus Christ, as a living, breathing human being wants to make me imitate him. However, this relationship of a disciple to the Master is not something that just magically happens; it must be worked on regularly.
Any change in how I relate to another can come about in one of two ways. I can “think my way into acting” or I can “act my way into thinking.” For example, children learn to become adults by playing house. With such games, they are “acting their way into thinking.” In a similar fashion the hospital intern “acts his way into thinking” he is a doctor by playing the part. On the other hand, “thinking your way into acting” might come from attending a workshop on self-assertion or going through therapy. Coaching girls on a soccer team would seem to approach transformation from both “acting” and “thinking.”
So do we “act” like Jesus and thus become like him or do we learn of Jesus and “think” our way into acting? It may have more to do with personalities and how we learn things best.
How Might We Trust Him?
The final question we considered had to do with trust. As we do with a friend or spouse whom we seek out for advice, perspective, or support, we would want to count on Jesus in the same way.
It has been said that a moment calling for trust must necessarily also be a time of risk, trial, pain, suffering, or darkness where we place ourselves at the hands of the one to whom we look. Participants were asked to surface such a time for themselves and how their faith in Jesus Christ made a difference. We shared on whether the trust came of “acting” or “thinking” our way through it.
Summary Thought
“From Jesus, we come to know God because Jesus is the complete and total revelation of God. If we look at the life of Jesus, we find a person who is a model of love, our savior and Redeemer.” (Catechesi Tradendae, 9)
Next Friday’s topic is “How Can I Deal with Suffering?” Please consider joining us. It could make a difference for you.
Weekly HOMILY for February 25, 2007: Super Size Me
Ash Wednesday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
February 21, 2007
Super-Size Me
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Super-Size Me
This past year, I saw a movie called Super Size Me.
This movie is a documentary done by a man named Morgan Spurlock. For a full month, Spurlock ate nothing but junk food.
He consumed three fast-food meals a day at McDonalds or other fast-food restaurants. Whenever the server asked Spurlock if he wanted to super-size his order, he always said yes.
So whenever he was asked, he always got the extra-big hamburger or order of fries or coke or milkshake, whatever it was. And what do you think happened to Morgan Spurlock?
In one month, he gained twenty-five pounds and really fouled up his health. His blood sugar went way up and he developed intestinal and, I think, even some heart troubles.
Morgan Spurlock illustrated how choosing fast and easy food can hurt us. He illustrated how this is a failure to take responsibility for our bodily health.
Responsibility for Spiritual Health
The season of Lent that we begin today reminds us to take responsibility for our spiritual health.
The ashes that we use today are a powerful symbol of this. Unlike Morgan Spurlock who ate junk food and did not care for his physical health, the ashes remind us to take care of our spiritual health in two ways.
Lenten Responsibility
First, the ashes remind us that we come from God.
The Book of Genesis says that God breathed life into the dust of the earth and formed us from this. So, the ashes remind us that we have come from God and someday we will return to God.
Because of this, we are called to some special prayer during Lent. Jesus in today’s gospel calls us to pray not to be seen, but to pray from our hearts so as to grow closer to God.
Maybe we can just make sure that we pray in some way every day during Lent, like when we get out of bed in the morning, or maybe we can come to Stations of the Cross sometime during Lent or come to weekday Mass once a week. The ashes remind us that we come from God and they call us to grow in our relationship with God.
And second, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family.
We are signed with ashes much as we are signed with the holy oil when we are baptized and confirmed and made part of God’s family. And so, the ashes remind us that we part of God’s family and need to be repent for not respecting and caring for one another.
I think this is why we are called to do some fasting during Lent. The Church asks all of us Catholics together not to eat meat today and on all the Fridays of Lent, and also to eat only one full meal today and on Good Friday.
That is fasting – watching what we eat. We could also choose to do some personal fasting, like giving up desserts or candy.
This fasting from food leads us to think about the behaviors that we need to fast from, like picking on a classmate or gossiping or not helping poor people who are in need. So, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family and to repent for not respecting and caring for one another.
Conclusion
So, the ashes remind us (1) that we come from God and need to grow in our relationship with God, and (2) that we are part of God’s family and need to repent of not respecting and caring for God’s family.
If we do these things, we are caring for our spiritual health, unlike the guy who ate fast food three times a day for an entire month. With these thoughts, we now bless and receive the ashes.
Our Lady of Grace
February 21, 2007
Super-Size Me
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Super-Size Me
This past year, I saw a movie called Super Size Me.
This movie is a documentary done by a man named Morgan Spurlock. For a full month, Spurlock ate nothing but junk food.
He consumed three fast-food meals a day at McDonalds or other fast-food restaurants. Whenever the server asked Spurlock if he wanted to super-size his order, he always said yes.
So whenever he was asked, he always got the extra-big hamburger or order of fries or coke or milkshake, whatever it was. And what do you think happened to Morgan Spurlock?
In one month, he gained twenty-five pounds and really fouled up his health. His blood sugar went way up and he developed intestinal and, I think, even some heart troubles.
Morgan Spurlock illustrated how choosing fast and easy food can hurt us. He illustrated how this is a failure to take responsibility for our bodily health.
Responsibility for Spiritual Health
The season of Lent that we begin today reminds us to take responsibility for our spiritual health.
The ashes that we use today are a powerful symbol of this. Unlike Morgan Spurlock who ate junk food and did not care for his physical health, the ashes remind us to take care of our spiritual health in two ways.
Lenten Responsibility
First, the ashes remind us that we come from God.
The Book of Genesis says that God breathed life into the dust of the earth and formed us from this. So, the ashes remind us that we have come from God and someday we will return to God.
Because of this, we are called to some special prayer during Lent. Jesus in today’s gospel calls us to pray not to be seen, but to pray from our hearts so as to grow closer to God.
Maybe we can just make sure that we pray in some way every day during Lent, like when we get out of bed in the morning, or maybe we can come to Stations of the Cross sometime during Lent or come to weekday Mass once a week. The ashes remind us that we come from God and they call us to grow in our relationship with God.
And second, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family.
We are signed with ashes much as we are signed with the holy oil when we are baptized and confirmed and made part of God’s family. And so, the ashes remind us that we part of God’s family and need to be repent for not respecting and caring for one another.
I think this is why we are called to do some fasting during Lent. The Church asks all of us Catholics together not to eat meat today and on all the Fridays of Lent, and also to eat only one full meal today and on Good Friday.
That is fasting – watching what we eat. We could also choose to do some personal fasting, like giving up desserts or candy.
This fasting from food leads us to think about the behaviors that we need to fast from, like picking on a classmate or gossiping or not helping poor people who are in need. So, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family and to repent for not respecting and caring for one another.
Conclusion
So, the ashes remind us (1) that we come from God and need to grow in our relationship with God, and (2) that we are part of God’s family and need to repent of not respecting and caring for God’s family.
If we do these things, we are caring for our spiritual health, unlike the guy who ate fast food three times a day for an entire month. With these thoughts, we now bless and receive the ashes.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for February 18, 2007: The Pope Changes His Approach for Lent
February 18, 2007
Dear Friend,
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I was looking over Pope Benedict’s Lenten message for this year. In it he seeks to show how our faith can lead to charity’s deepest dimensions. The message is centered around the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Worldwide entrepreneurs like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet establish social foundations. Film stars and politicians invite folks to charity dinners. Governments create friends for themselves in public opinion thanks to international cooperation. And great fund-raising endeavors – especially at times of catastrophes – reach considerable quantities. As Christians we can observe, not without some satisfaction, that in social life the biblical commandment of “Love Thy Neighbor” seems universally accepted.
The Pope’s message for Lent is considerably different than previous ones, either written by him or by Pope John Paul II. Previous messages have focused on works of charity in the sense of Christians’ social commitment. This time, the Pontiff forcefully places God the Father of Jesus Christ at the center. Therefore, the focus is not “anthropocentric” but “theocentric.” It appears that the Holy Father is less concerned with the horizontal dimension (people to people), in order to bring into clearer light the vertical dimension (God above; we below) of Christian living. This change of thought can be observed in general in Benedict XVI’s preaching. In the Pope’s encyclical or in other writings, the central theme is always the love of the Father in heaven becoming one of us in the Son, Jesus Christ.
Why has the Pope changed the focus of the Lenten message? One commentator believes that for the Holy Father the absence of God is worse than material poverty, because it kills every firm hope and leaves us alone with only our pain and lament. In the Lenten message, the commentator says, “The Pope is bound to the pain that weighs on our lives because of our own or others’ faults, and invites us to look up from down here toward the heights.” That is why the Pope chose the theme: “They Shall Look upon Him Whom They Have Pierced.”
The Vatican official, Archbishop Cordes, clarified that Benedict XVI does not forget to invite the faithful to concrete works of charity. According to Archbishop, the Holy Father says that the pierced side of Christ, “Will impel us, in particular, to combat every form of contempt of life or of exploitation of the person and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so many people.”
My thought is that our Lenten acts might begin with a healthy dose of charity toward others based on these thoughts.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Dear Friend,
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I was looking over Pope Benedict’s Lenten message for this year. In it he seeks to show how our faith can lead to charity’s deepest dimensions. The message is centered around the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Worldwide entrepreneurs like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet establish social foundations. Film stars and politicians invite folks to charity dinners. Governments create friends for themselves in public opinion thanks to international cooperation. And great fund-raising endeavors – especially at times of catastrophes – reach considerable quantities. As Christians we can observe, not without some satisfaction, that in social life the biblical commandment of “Love Thy Neighbor” seems universally accepted.
The Pope’s message for Lent is considerably different than previous ones, either written by him or by Pope John Paul II. Previous messages have focused on works of charity in the sense of Christians’ social commitment. This time, the Pontiff forcefully places God the Father of Jesus Christ at the center. Therefore, the focus is not “anthropocentric” but “theocentric.” It appears that the Holy Father is less concerned with the horizontal dimension (people to people), in order to bring into clearer light the vertical dimension (God above; we below) of Christian living. This change of thought can be observed in general in Benedict XVI’s preaching. In the Pope’s encyclical or in other writings, the central theme is always the love of the Father in heaven becoming one of us in the Son, Jesus Christ.
Why has the Pope changed the focus of the Lenten message? One commentator believes that for the Holy Father the absence of God is worse than material poverty, because it kills every firm hope and leaves us alone with only our pain and lament. In the Lenten message, the commentator says, “The Pope is bound to the pain that weighs on our lives because of our own or others’ faults, and invites us to look up from down here toward the heights.” That is why the Pope chose the theme: “They Shall Look upon Him Whom They Have Pierced.”
The Vatican official, Archbishop Cordes, clarified that Benedict XVI does not forget to invite the faithful to concrete works of charity. According to Archbishop, the Holy Father says that the pierced side of Christ, “Will impel us, in particular, to combat every form of contempt of life or of exploitation of the person and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so many people.”
My thought is that our Lenten acts might begin with a healthy dose of charity toward others based on these thoughts.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 18, 2007: Part 5 of Bishop Rozanski's Report: Our Shool
This and That:
Part 5 of Bishop Rozanski’s Report on Our Lady of Grace
This week we end with the fifth and final bulletin note on the November 8, 2006, visit of Bishop Mitch Rozanski and his staff to our parish. The complete report has been shared in this column over the past five weeks. This final installment deals with his commendations and recommendations regarding our parish Catholic School. As I have mentioned in prior weeks, you are invited to share your thoughts with members of the Pastoral Team or any members of the Pastoral Council. (They are the folks with the red ribbons around their necks each weekend at Sunday Mass.) Council members have an opportunity, at the conclusion of each monthly meeting, to share with the entire Council comments, kudos, or concerns made by individual parishioners.
Our Catholic School opened in 2000 and was the first new school in the Archdiocese in 35 years. From the very beginning, the parish supported the school by building the Education Center, which would also house our Religious Education Program and Youth Ministries. Over the past years the parish has covered the interest on the loans assumed by the school for its start-up costs and also outfitted the Library Media Center, the Arts Center, and the Science Lab with furniture and built-in cabinetry. The commitment of the pastor and the services of Deborah Webber, as Coordinator of Youth Ministries, Chris Pignataro, as Administrator of Religious Education, and Elaine Hagner, as Parish Administrator are all other ways the parish supports the efforts of the school. Finally, a grant of $20,000 is given to the school by the parish each year to go toward tuition assistance.
We are very proud of the comments made by Bishop Rozanski of our principal, Sister Helen, our teachers, and our students. How blest we are to have such a wonderful vehicle for parents to support their children’s growth in faith.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
OUR LADY OF GRACE SCHOOL
Acknowledgement:
The purpose of the Pastoral Visitation is to gain a greater understanding of the parish on many levels. Time spent in the parish meeting with parishioners, parish staff, pastor, lay corporators, council members, volunteers and various committees provides a lens through which the Vicar Bishop can gain insight into the many aspects of parish life and ministries of the parish. As such, the Pastoral Visitation does not include an in-depth assessment of either entity. The Division of Catholic Schools and the Division of Evangelization and Catechesis provide to the Bishop’s Office ongoing information and evaluation of both schools.
The Principal and Staff are commended for the following:
➢ The Principal, for her continued commitment to the growth and viability of Our Lady of Grace School.
➢ The faculty, for their continued energy and hard work in striving for academic excellence.
➢ The Principal and DRE for the appreciation they show for each other’s ministries and their willingness to collaborate together to better serve parish youth.
➢ The school leadership and faculty for fostering an appreciation of our Catholic heritage through creatively presented initiatives that foster community.
Recommendations:
The Principal and Faculty are asked to address the following recommendations:
1. The provision of specific opportunities for younger school parents to work with senior parishioners on major events and fundraisers.
2. The development of a strategic plan to market the school to young families.
3. The initiation of an action plan to address areas of need as reflected in the recent Parent Satisfaction Survey.
4. The strict monitoring of the budget and enrollment as a means to develop strategies to address future tuition assistance and other needs.
December 21, 2006
Part 5 of Bishop Rozanski’s Report on Our Lady of Grace
This week we end with the fifth and final bulletin note on the November 8, 2006, visit of Bishop Mitch Rozanski and his staff to our parish. The complete report has been shared in this column over the past five weeks. This final installment deals with his commendations and recommendations regarding our parish Catholic School. As I have mentioned in prior weeks, you are invited to share your thoughts with members of the Pastoral Team or any members of the Pastoral Council. (They are the folks with the red ribbons around their necks each weekend at Sunday Mass.) Council members have an opportunity, at the conclusion of each monthly meeting, to share with the entire Council comments, kudos, or concerns made by individual parishioners.
Our Catholic School opened in 2000 and was the first new school in the Archdiocese in 35 years. From the very beginning, the parish supported the school by building the Education Center, which would also house our Religious Education Program and Youth Ministries. Over the past years the parish has covered the interest on the loans assumed by the school for its start-up costs and also outfitted the Library Media Center, the Arts Center, and the Science Lab with furniture and built-in cabinetry. The commitment of the pastor and the services of Deborah Webber, as Coordinator of Youth Ministries, Chris Pignataro, as Administrator of Religious Education, and Elaine Hagner, as Parish Administrator are all other ways the parish supports the efforts of the school. Finally, a grant of $20,000 is given to the school by the parish each year to go toward tuition assistance.
We are very proud of the comments made by Bishop Rozanski of our principal, Sister Helen, our teachers, and our students. How blest we are to have such a wonderful vehicle for parents to support their children’s growth in faith.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
OUR LADY OF GRACE SCHOOL
Acknowledgement:
The purpose of the Pastoral Visitation is to gain a greater understanding of the parish on many levels. Time spent in the parish meeting with parishioners, parish staff, pastor, lay corporators, council members, volunteers and various committees provides a lens through which the Vicar Bishop can gain insight into the many aspects of parish life and ministries of the parish. As such, the Pastoral Visitation does not include an in-depth assessment of either entity. The Division of Catholic Schools and the Division of Evangelization and Catechesis provide to the Bishop’s Office ongoing information and evaluation of both schools.
The Principal and Staff are commended for the following:
➢ The Principal, for her continued commitment to the growth and viability of Our Lady of Grace School.
➢ The faculty, for their continued energy and hard work in striving for academic excellence.
➢ The Principal and DRE for the appreciation they show for each other’s ministries and their willingness to collaborate together to better serve parish youth.
➢ The school leadership and faculty for fostering an appreciation of our Catholic heritage through creatively presented initiatives that foster community.
Recommendations:
The Principal and Faculty are asked to address the following recommendations:
1. The provision of specific opportunities for younger school parents to work with senior parishioners on major events and fundraisers.
2. The development of a strategic plan to market the school to young families.
3. The initiation of an action plan to address areas of need as reflected in the recent Parent Satisfaction Survey.
4. The strict monitoring of the budget and enrollment as a means to develop strategies to address future tuition assistance and other needs.
December 21, 2006
Weekly HOMILY for February 18, 2007: Forgiveness -- The Hardest Thing to Do
7th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
February 18, 2007
Forgiveness: The Hardest Thing to Do
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
What Is Hardest?
I’d like to begin our reflection this morning with a question for you to answer.
What is the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do? (Pause a few seconds.) What is the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do?
Is it letting go of a spouse or child in death? Is it watching someone struggle with a sickness or addiction and feeling completely helpless?
It is caring for an elderly parent who is suffering the ravages of aging?
Or is it perhaps taking Jesus at his word when he says today: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.”
Is Forgiving the Hardest?
“Yikes!” I know my most difficult; I just heard it from the lips of Jesus. I wonder if, for many of you, the same is not true for you?
Taking Jesus at his word – taking that enemy or the person who has wronged you – and then loving, doing good, blessing, and praying for them.
If it still doesn’t sound difficult, let’s add some names. Maybe the one who’s wronged you is a spouse who has been unfaithful.
Perhaps it is a neighbor has injured your reputation.
Or a relative as I saw in two of my aunts who did not talk to each other for 20 years and they lived next door to one another. When we visited, we had to visit each house separately and not always go to the one house first.
Or what about the 9/11 terrorists who attacked us?
In any of thises situations, the tendency is to say: “Forgiveness, yes, but this forgiveness command does not apply to me in this situation.”
Or, “I have a right not to forgive, the deed is so heinous.” Or, “We need to protect ourselves don’t we?”
There is no question that forgiveness takes strength. It fact it takes real, inner strength to forgive someone who has hurt us, to love those who do not care for us, or to let go of resentment or long-harbored bitterness.
There is no question that we do need to protect ourselves from a hurtful person, from criminals, or terrorists. We need to do this as individuals, as a community, and as a Nation.
But forgiveness – that is, not inflicting or wanting pain for others in retaliation, and being open to reconciliation and peace – this, as hard as it can be, is important.
I see three reasons why it is so crucially important for the quality of our life.
Why Forgiving Is So Important
First, harboring bitterness, anger, and vengeance in the end can kill us. It is like a cancer growing within us.
It consumes and destroys and twists the human spirit beyond recognition. Regardless of what it does to the other person or even the other nation, it does end up chewing up stomach, mind, and spirit and eventually destroying us.
Second, the greatest motive for forgiveness and for letting go of anger, grudges, and bitterness comes from beyond this world. Jesus says today: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.”
When we are forgiving, we are God-like, acting like God, being like the One in whose image we are created. When we are forgiving, we are living out of the spirit, that is, the divine life that is within us.
And the third reason why forgiveness is so important is that it connects us with our eternity. Jesus says: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”
“For the measure you measure with, will in return be measured back to you.” Apparently, our acts of forgiving foreshadow and even shape our eternity.
Conclusion
So yes, forgiveness may be – for many of us in some particular instance – life’s most difficult challenge.
At its root, it is important to remember that forgiveness is a choice and not a feeling. It is an act of our will – to release and to be open to reconciliation with a person who’s wronged us or with an enemy.
It is a decision to respond to such persons with a light that dispels the darkness of resentment and vengeance. It is a decision to set them and us free for better possibilities and will bring us at the very least, peace of mind.
Our Lady of Grace
February 18, 2007
Forgiveness: The Hardest Thing to Do
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
What Is Hardest?
I’d like to begin our reflection this morning with a question for you to answer.
What is the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do? (Pause a few seconds.) What is the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do?
Is it letting go of a spouse or child in death? Is it watching someone struggle with a sickness or addiction and feeling completely helpless?
It is caring for an elderly parent who is suffering the ravages of aging?
Or is it perhaps taking Jesus at his word when he says today: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.”
Is Forgiving the Hardest?
“Yikes!” I know my most difficult; I just heard it from the lips of Jesus. I wonder if, for many of you, the same is not true for you?
Taking Jesus at his word – taking that enemy or the person who has wronged you – and then loving, doing good, blessing, and praying for them.
If it still doesn’t sound difficult, let’s add some names. Maybe the one who’s wronged you is a spouse who has been unfaithful.
Perhaps it is a neighbor has injured your reputation.
Or a relative as I saw in two of my aunts who did not talk to each other for 20 years and they lived next door to one another. When we visited, we had to visit each house separately and not always go to the one house first.
Or what about the 9/11 terrorists who attacked us?
In any of thises situations, the tendency is to say: “Forgiveness, yes, but this forgiveness command does not apply to me in this situation.”
Or, “I have a right not to forgive, the deed is so heinous.” Or, “We need to protect ourselves don’t we?”
There is no question that forgiveness takes strength. It fact it takes real, inner strength to forgive someone who has hurt us, to love those who do not care for us, or to let go of resentment or long-harbored bitterness.
There is no question that we do need to protect ourselves from a hurtful person, from criminals, or terrorists. We need to do this as individuals, as a community, and as a Nation.
But forgiveness – that is, not inflicting or wanting pain for others in retaliation, and being open to reconciliation and peace – this, as hard as it can be, is important.
I see three reasons why it is so crucially important for the quality of our life.
Why Forgiving Is So Important
First, harboring bitterness, anger, and vengeance in the end can kill us. It is like a cancer growing within us.
It consumes and destroys and twists the human spirit beyond recognition. Regardless of what it does to the other person or even the other nation, it does end up chewing up stomach, mind, and spirit and eventually destroying us.
Second, the greatest motive for forgiveness and for letting go of anger, grudges, and bitterness comes from beyond this world. Jesus says today: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.”
When we are forgiving, we are God-like, acting like God, being like the One in whose image we are created. When we are forgiving, we are living out of the spirit, that is, the divine life that is within us.
And the third reason why forgiveness is so important is that it connects us with our eternity. Jesus says: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”
“For the measure you measure with, will in return be measured back to you.” Apparently, our acts of forgiving foreshadow and even shape our eternity.
Conclusion
So yes, forgiveness may be – for many of us in some particular instance – life’s most difficult challenge.
At its root, it is important to remember that forgiveness is a choice and not a feeling. It is an act of our will – to release and to be open to reconciliation with a person who’s wronged us or with an enemy.
It is a decision to respond to such persons with a light that dispels the darkness of resentment and vengeance. It is a decision to set them and us free for better possibilities and will bring us at the very least, peace of mind.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for February 11, 2007: The $20 Bill
February 11, 2007
RE: The $20 bill
Dear Friend,
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by who we are and whose we are. You are loved by God and belong to God, a fact we should not forget. So it is our blessings we should count, not your problems. Keep in mind when you think your not doing very well at life, it was amateurs who built the ark and professionals who built the Titanic. As they used to say, “If God brings you to it, God will bring you through it.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
RE: The $20 bill
Dear Friend,
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by who we are and whose we are. You are loved by God and belong to God, a fact we should not forget. So it is our blessings we should count, not your problems. Keep in mind when you think your not doing very well at life, it was amateurs who built the ark and professionals who built the Titanic. As they used to say, “If God brings you to it, God will bring you through it.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for February 11, 2007: Part 4 of Bishop Rozanski's Report on Our Lady of Grace
This and That:
Part 4 of Bishop Rozanski’s Report on Our Lady of Grace
The following is the fourth of five bulletin notes on the November 8, 2006, visit of Bishop Mitch Rozanski and his staff to our parish. The complete report is being shared in this column over five weeks. This fourth part deals with his commendations and recommendations regarding our Stewardship of Finances and Faith Formation. All are invited to share their thoughts with members of the Pastoral Team or any members of the Pastoral Council. (They are the folks with the red ribbons around their necks each weekend at Sunday Mass.) Council members have an opportunity at the conclusion of each monthly meeting to share with the entire Council comments, kudos, or concerns made be individual parishioners.
It should be noted that Ms. Judy Hvisc tendered her resignation at Director of Religious Education in early January and that we now have a new Administrator of Religious Education, Ms. Chris Pignataro. She will be tending to the Recommendations made by Bishop Rozanski and his staff in the report below.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCES
➢ The Finance Personnel and the Parish Administrator are commended for the following:
➢ The collaborative approach to the development of the parish budget.
➢ The expertise of Elizabeth Scholz in forecasting to assure that the budgeting process is realistic.
➢ The monthly monitoring income and expenses as it is reflected in the overall budget.
➢ The attachment of the budget to the strategic planning process
➢ The commitment to 10% tithing.
➢ The ongoing focus on seeking new and creative ways to grow the revenue.
➢ The dedication and sense of the responsibility evidenced by the Finance Committee’s efforts to “think of everything.”
➢ The current success of the Capital Campaign.
➢ The focus on electronic giving, which generates about $2500 of the weekly offertory.
➢ The acceptance of the Mustard See Match and commitment to raise the matching funds.
➢ The fostering of the Legacy League in the parish.
➢ The practice of presenting the budget reports quarterly to the Pastoral Council.
➢ The Annual “State of the Parish” presented to the parish community annually by the Finance Council Chairperson from the pulpit.
Acknowledgement:
1. It is noted that the Pastor has wisely selected parishioners who have expertise in areas of financial management to serve in various capacities in the parish to foster good stewardship and to utilize the gifts of people for service to the community.
FAITH FORMATION
➢ Those involved in Faith Formation are commended for the following:
➢ Judy Hvisc, the new Director of Religious Education, for her attempts to get to know the parishioners and the catechetical needs of Our Lady of Grace.
➢ The commitment of the school and religious education leadership to trying to bring everyone into compliance with the child protection requirements.
➢ Sr. Mary Therese and her “Why Catholic” committee for the excellent parish participation in the program and for the committee’s commitment to attending the program training opportunities.
➢ The youth minister for her commitment to providing diverse service opportunities for the parish youth.
➢ The development of the Youth Center where the youth of the parish can gather as a group.
➢ The establishment of the weekly “Pizza Time” for middle school to socialize as an outreach effort of Youth Ministry.
➢ The initiation and building of the Theatre Ministry by Mary Miller.
The establishment of the Edge Program.
Those involved in Faith Formation are asked to address the following recommendations:
1. Bringing the parish into compliance with the catechesis for human sexuality portion of the child protection regulations by spring of 2007
2. Possible recruitment and development of teams of adults who can assist with the diversity of youth activities.
3. The encouragement of parents to take more ownership in the parish youth activities.
4. Development of a parish evangelization plan for reaching out to the inactive members of the parish.
Part 4 of Bishop Rozanski’s Report on Our Lady of Grace
The following is the fourth of five bulletin notes on the November 8, 2006, visit of Bishop Mitch Rozanski and his staff to our parish. The complete report is being shared in this column over five weeks. This fourth part deals with his commendations and recommendations regarding our Stewardship of Finances and Faith Formation. All are invited to share their thoughts with members of the Pastoral Team or any members of the Pastoral Council. (They are the folks with the red ribbons around their necks each weekend at Sunday Mass.) Council members have an opportunity at the conclusion of each monthly meeting to share with the entire Council comments, kudos, or concerns made be individual parishioners.
It should be noted that Ms. Judy Hvisc tendered her resignation at Director of Religious Education in early January and that we now have a new Administrator of Religious Education, Ms. Chris Pignataro. She will be tending to the Recommendations made by Bishop Rozanski and his staff in the report below.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCES
➢ The Finance Personnel and the Parish Administrator are commended for the following:
➢ The collaborative approach to the development of the parish budget.
➢ The expertise of Elizabeth Scholz in forecasting to assure that the budgeting process is realistic.
➢ The monthly monitoring income and expenses as it is reflected in the overall budget.
➢ The attachment of the budget to the strategic planning process
➢ The commitment to 10% tithing.
➢ The ongoing focus on seeking new and creative ways to grow the revenue.
➢ The dedication and sense of the responsibility evidenced by the Finance Committee’s efforts to “think of everything.”
➢ The current success of the Capital Campaign.
➢ The focus on electronic giving, which generates about $2500 of the weekly offertory.
➢ The acceptance of the Mustard See Match and commitment to raise the matching funds.
➢ The fostering of the Legacy League in the parish.
➢ The practice of presenting the budget reports quarterly to the Pastoral Council.
➢ The Annual “State of the Parish” presented to the parish community annually by the Finance Council Chairperson from the pulpit.
Acknowledgement:
1. It is noted that the Pastor has wisely selected parishioners who have expertise in areas of financial management to serve in various capacities in the parish to foster good stewardship and to utilize the gifts of people for service to the community.
FAITH FORMATION
➢ Those involved in Faith Formation are commended for the following:
➢ Judy Hvisc, the new Director of Religious Education, for her attempts to get to know the parishioners and the catechetical needs of Our Lady of Grace.
➢ The commitment of the school and religious education leadership to trying to bring everyone into compliance with the child protection requirements.
➢ Sr. Mary Therese and her “Why Catholic” committee for the excellent parish participation in the program and for the committee’s commitment to attending the program training opportunities.
➢ The youth minister for her commitment to providing diverse service opportunities for the parish youth.
➢ The development of the Youth Center where the youth of the parish can gather as a group.
➢ The establishment of the weekly “Pizza Time” for middle school to socialize as an outreach effort of Youth Ministry.
➢ The initiation and building of the Theatre Ministry by Mary Miller.
The establishment of the Edge Program.
Those involved in Faith Formation are asked to address the following recommendations:
1. Bringing the parish into compliance with the catechesis for human sexuality portion of the child protection regulations by spring of 2007
2. Possible recruitment and development of teams of adults who can assist with the diversity of youth activities.
3. The encouragement of parents to take more ownership in the parish youth activities.
4. Development of a parish evangelization plan for reaching out to the inactive members of the parish.
Weekly HOMILY for February 11, 2007: The BE-Attitudes
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
February 11, 2007
The BE-Attitudes
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
BE-Attitudes at Home
When I was growing up, I remember certain statements that my mother used to make.
To my older brother Jim and my younger sister Fran she’d say things like: “Never forget where you came from.” While she knew that we would have better educational and professional opportunities than she had had – she had to quite school to help support the family – she didn’t want that to ever go to our heads.
Mom never wanted us to hold ourselves above others. She wanted us to be sensitive to those who had less than we had.
Another favorite statement of hers was, “Give the other person the benefit of the doubt.” She taught us that erring on the side of good helped us better understand the viewpoint of others.
The “other person” could be our teacher in school, one of our many cousins that we saw regularly, or the neighbor next door, who, I might add wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with.
Mom wanted us simply to listen and make an effort to understand before making up our minds and being critical.
BE-Attitudes of Jesus
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also makes a few such statements.
And beneath the statements, he knows that following God seriously does means more than a few prayers each week and a couple of acts of charity now and then. He knows that following God or himself is a life-transforming work.
Discipleship gets down to adopt and holding as our very own certain attitudes, much as my mother was trying to instill in the three of us with her statements of, “Never forget where you came from.” And “Give the other person the benefit of the doubt.”
Following God means that we move from being ego-centered or ego-driven to being God-centered or God-driven.
Jesus himself models this way of being and living. And today, in this Gospel, he teaches us these BE-Attitudes – spelled capital B-E. Capital A-t-t-i-t-u-d-e-s.
Jesus is teaching us attitudes for being. He is teaching us how “to be,” more than how “to do” or how “to achieve.”
Jesus’ Specific BE-Attitudes
(1) THE POOR: For example, Jesus says that we are and will be blessed when we are poor. This means that we are holy when we are humbled in our inner selves by the presence of God in creation or in the Eucharist.
“Blessed are the poor,” means that we are close to God when we are not so caught up in ourselves, but are caught up in something or someone beyond ourselves. It means that we are compassionate and patient with others.
(2) THE HUNGRY: Secondly, Jesus says that we are, and will be blessed, when we are hungry. What he means is that we are holy when we have an inner yearning for the fullness that only God can give.
“Blessed are the hungry” means that we crave the lasting satisfaction of a relationship with God and see how passing is the satisfaction of money, possessions, and all things material. It means that we hunger for God’s affirmation more than the recognition of others.
(3) THOSE WHO WEEP: Finally, Jesus says that we are and will be blessed when we weep. This means that we are holy when we mourn our lack of personal faithfulness or commitment or integrity.
“Blessed are those who weep,” means that we cry over the superficial values that are promoted on TV ads and how they affect even our own lifestyle. It means that we grieve the poverty and violence in our world and do something in our own way to alleviate the suffering of the oppressed.
Conclusion
So, when Jesus calls “Blessed” those who are (1) Poor, (2) Hungry or (3) Weeping, he is not exalting these conditions as we usually think of them.
No, instead he is saying that when we are rich or satisfied or always having a good time or well thought of, it can be difficult to be transformed from within. It can be difficult to embrace his attitudes for being – his BE-Attitudes.
Today, Jesus implores us to allow ourselves to be changed from within for our present and future happiness. He implores us to embrace his BE-Attitudes or “attitudes for being” for our lasting blessedness.
It worked with my mother giving us lasting attitudes; it can surely work with Jesus!
Our Lady of Grace
February 11, 2007
The BE-Attitudes
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
BE-Attitudes at Home
When I was growing up, I remember certain statements that my mother used to make.
To my older brother Jim and my younger sister Fran she’d say things like: “Never forget where you came from.” While she knew that we would have better educational and professional opportunities than she had had – she had to quite school to help support the family – she didn’t want that to ever go to our heads.
Mom never wanted us to hold ourselves above others. She wanted us to be sensitive to those who had less than we had.
Another favorite statement of hers was, “Give the other person the benefit of the doubt.” She taught us that erring on the side of good helped us better understand the viewpoint of others.
The “other person” could be our teacher in school, one of our many cousins that we saw regularly, or the neighbor next door, who, I might add wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with.
Mom wanted us simply to listen and make an effort to understand before making up our minds and being critical.
BE-Attitudes of Jesus
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also makes a few such statements.
And beneath the statements, he knows that following God seriously does means more than a few prayers each week and a couple of acts of charity now and then. He knows that following God or himself is a life-transforming work.
Discipleship gets down to adopt and holding as our very own certain attitudes, much as my mother was trying to instill in the three of us with her statements of, “Never forget where you came from.” And “Give the other person the benefit of the doubt.”
Following God means that we move from being ego-centered or ego-driven to being God-centered or God-driven.
Jesus himself models this way of being and living. And today, in this Gospel, he teaches us these BE-Attitudes – spelled capital B-E. Capital A-t-t-i-t-u-d-e-s.
Jesus is teaching us attitudes for being. He is teaching us how “to be,” more than how “to do” or how “to achieve.”
Jesus’ Specific BE-Attitudes
(1) THE POOR: For example, Jesus says that we are and will be blessed when we are poor. This means that we are holy when we are humbled in our inner selves by the presence of God in creation or in the Eucharist.
“Blessed are the poor,” means that we are close to God when we are not so caught up in ourselves, but are caught up in something or someone beyond ourselves. It means that we are compassionate and patient with others.
(2) THE HUNGRY: Secondly, Jesus says that we are, and will be blessed, when we are hungry. What he means is that we are holy when we have an inner yearning for the fullness that only God can give.
“Blessed are the hungry” means that we crave the lasting satisfaction of a relationship with God and see how passing is the satisfaction of money, possessions, and all things material. It means that we hunger for God’s affirmation more than the recognition of others.
(3) THOSE WHO WEEP: Finally, Jesus says that we are and will be blessed when we weep. This means that we are holy when we mourn our lack of personal faithfulness or commitment or integrity.
“Blessed are those who weep,” means that we cry over the superficial values that are promoted on TV ads and how they affect even our own lifestyle. It means that we grieve the poverty and violence in our world and do something in our own way to alleviate the suffering of the oppressed.
Conclusion
So, when Jesus calls “Blessed” those who are (1) Poor, (2) Hungry or (3) Weeping, he is not exalting these conditions as we usually think of them.
No, instead he is saying that when we are rich or satisfied or always having a good time or well thought of, it can be difficult to be transformed from within. It can be difficult to embrace his attitudes for being – his BE-Attitudes.
Today, Jesus implores us to allow ourselves to be changed from within for our present and future happiness. He implores us to embrace his BE-Attitudes or “attitudes for being” for our lasting blessedness.
It worked with my mother giving us lasting attitudes; it can surely work with Jesus!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for February 4, 2006: Five Fingers to Prayer
February 4, 2007
Dear Friend,
When I was in Alaska on our parish trip last year I learned that the easiest way to remember the five kinds of salmon is to use the fingers of your hand. The following came across my desk on how to use the fingers of your hand to pray more effectively.
Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”
The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
And lastly comes our little finger – the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
By the way the five types of salmon are: Sockeye, Pink, King, Chum, and Silver. Can anybody guess which salmon for which finger?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Dear Friend,
When I was in Alaska on our parish trip last year I learned that the easiest way to remember the five kinds of salmon is to use the fingers of your hand. The following came across my desk on how to use the fingers of your hand to pray more effectively.
Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”
The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
And lastly comes our little finger – the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
By the way the five types of salmon are: Sockeye, Pink, King, Chum, and Silver. Can anybody guess which salmon for which finger?
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
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