28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Terranuova Hermitage
October 10, 2010
“Where Are the Other Nine Lepers?”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Story of the Ten Lepers
"WHERE ARE THE OTHER TEN LEPERS?
Jesus heals ten persons with leprosy.
One returns to thank him. “Where are the other nine?”
The Other Nine
One of the now-clean lepers goes off to build a new life for himself.
He busies himself finding a job, a new place to live, and maybe even a family. He becomes so busy building a new life for himself that he forgets the great blessing he has received.
Another of the lepers is filled with fear and worry because he has few skills and cannot imagine who will hire him and how he will support himself.
He is so afraid and worried that he is virtually paralyzed from doing anything. He remains huddled at the town gate, alone like a leper.
Still another of the lepers determines to even the score with everyone who has ever laughed at him or scorned him or ignored him because of his illness.
He vows: “They will pay for what they did to me.” He is obsessed with vengeance and never experiences any joy in his cure.
One of the now-clean lepers runs as far away as he can.
All he wants is to forget his old life and everything about it. He even tries to block out the cries of others who are suffering.
Another of the lepers just goes out and parties and parties and parties.
His newfound joy lasts as long as the wine and money do. Once they are gone, he has to face his new life lost and alone.
And there is even one leper who believes that there must be a catch and that he is not really clean and healed.
He thinks: “After all, why would anyone, especially God, do this for me?” So, he does nothing and just waits for the leprosy to return.
On it goes with the other nine.
HEALED OR NOT
Without a sense of gratitude for the miracle they have experienced, the miracle does not last very long.
Their self-absorption, their fear and worry, their anger, their repression, their skepticism, their misplaced hope – these responses have just made them lepers all over again.
THE ONE WHO THANKS
But there is the one leper who realizes that he has not just been made clean.
He realizes that he has even been touched by God. And so, he returns to give thanks to Jesus and this reflects the healing that has happened in his soul as well as in his body.
This leper has faith. Faith is primarily the recognition of the love and compassion of God.
This recognition moves us to give praise and thanks to God. In this, the one leper is a great model for us.
OUR RESPONSE
God is in our midst, active in our lives.
But sometimes, like the nine lepers, we are not aware of this. Sometimes our self-centeredness isolates us from one another.
Sometimes our fears and worries trap us. Sometimes our anger dictates our behavior.
Sometimes our skepticism or doubting or questioning becomes an end in itself. Sometimes our misplaced hopes and values lead us away from the divine, the transcendent, away from God.
When all of this is the case, we do not experience God in everyday life. And so, we need to look to the one leper for our lead on this.
We need to approach life with a sense of faith. We are to realize the presence and love of God in the birth of a baby, in the magnificence of creation, in the tenderness of a spouse, in the skill of a doctor, in our own ability to bring life to another through our love and care.
CONCLUSION
Maybe the bottom line is that for no reason other than love so profound that we cannot fathom it, God has breathed life into us and given many other gifts to us as well. Our only fitting response is to stand humbly before God in quiet thanks.
This gratitude can transform us. It can make so much of life an experience of God’s presence, love, grace, and healing action.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for October 3, 2010: Faith -- Of Visions and Mustard Seeds
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Immaculate Heart of Mary
October 3, 2010
Faith: Of Visions and Mustard Seeds
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SENECA
Seneca the Roman philosopher and dramatist once said, “For a ship without a port, any wind is an ill wind.”
That is, unless you have a goal or a vision of where you’re headed, you will surely flounder.
In such situations, opportunities are not utilized; stepping-stones are not realized.
However, with a port in mind, with a destination to which you are clearly heading, you have something beckoning you, and you can pick out and select what contributes to your getting there.
You have something that inspires, something that motivates, and something that gives your efforts meaning and purpose.
HABAKKUK
Habakkuk saw the importance of such a vision or goal.
He speaks of “committing the vision to writing,” for in Habakkuk’s time, as well as in our own, writing something out is to give it permanence.
And to writing it out he adds, “Write it large” which is to say, “Make it public for all to see as they walk by.”
A bit about Habakkuk: Here is a prophet who is burdened with preaching an unpopular message to a “stiff-necked” people.
He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and what has prompted his lament we just heard is the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah, by Nebuchadnezzar and the Assyrians to the north.
His people are giving up hope of things every returning to normal and Habakkuk wants to address the situation quickly. He is eminently clear: no matter how things appear or how hopeless they seem, God does indeed see, God does indeed care, and God will indeed act.
It’s just what the people need to hear and their spirits are buoyed up.
JESUS
A vision or goal, with the faith to get us there, is what’s at stake for the disciples of Jesus as well. They plead with him, “Lord, increase our faith.”
Just before this passage, Jesus has been warning them of the danger involved in leading others astray or the importance of forgiving someone we’ve wronged “seventy times seven times” – meaning there should be no limit to our forgiveness.
So they recognize the need for such an increase in faith, if they are to accomplish these mandates. And what Jesus tells them is that it’s not the quantity of their faith that is important, but it is its quality.
He assures them that with only a miniscule amount of faith, folks who (1) Listen to his Word and (2) Commit themselves to him can do things impossible to unaided human nature.
APPLICATION
Two questions arise for us as we hear God’s word: (1) “What is my vision for my life?” and, (2) “What is the mustard-seed faith I have that I bring to that vision?”
For starters let’s look at your marriage. Think back to your wedding day. What was your vision of where you wanted your marriage to be after 10, 20, or 30 years?
Or look at the birth of your first child. What were your aspirations for becoming a father to that son or daughter?
Or think back to the exhilaration or joy you experienced over being offered the job you now hold. What happened to the excitement and the promise your new position held out to you then?
Where have all those visions gone?
Habakkuk would suggest that you dust off those visions and polish up those goals you once had, in fact rewrite them large so all whom you love can see them. Affirm them; speak them out loud to your loved ones.
And know this, Jesus assures us that with only the tiniest amount of faith you can get back on the path to the joy and happiness of your marriage, your children, or your job can bring you.
Take Habakkuk at his word; Trust in God. No matter how things appear or how hopeless they seem, God does indeed see; does indeed care; and God will indeed act.
CONCLUSION
With a vision of how things can be, coupled with even the smallest amount of honest, sincere faith, we can achieve great results.
We have the Prophet Habakkuk and Jesus’ word for it.
And it’s not just their word; it’s how things actually work in our world – how things work with faith and with a plan.
Immaculate Heart of Mary
October 3, 2010
Faith: Of Visions and Mustard Seeds
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SENECA
Seneca the Roman philosopher and dramatist once said, “For a ship without a port, any wind is an ill wind.”
That is, unless you have a goal or a vision of where you’re headed, you will surely flounder.
In such situations, opportunities are not utilized; stepping-stones are not realized.
However, with a port in mind, with a destination to which you are clearly heading, you have something beckoning you, and you can pick out and select what contributes to your getting there.
You have something that inspires, something that motivates, and something that gives your efforts meaning and purpose.
HABAKKUK
Habakkuk saw the importance of such a vision or goal.
He speaks of “committing the vision to writing,” for in Habakkuk’s time, as well as in our own, writing something out is to give it permanence.
And to writing it out he adds, “Write it large” which is to say, “Make it public for all to see as they walk by.”
A bit about Habakkuk: Here is a prophet who is burdened with preaching an unpopular message to a “stiff-necked” people.
He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and what has prompted his lament we just heard is the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah, by Nebuchadnezzar and the Assyrians to the north.
His people are giving up hope of things every returning to normal and Habakkuk wants to address the situation quickly. He is eminently clear: no matter how things appear or how hopeless they seem, God does indeed see, God does indeed care, and God will indeed act.
It’s just what the people need to hear and their spirits are buoyed up.
JESUS
A vision or goal, with the faith to get us there, is what’s at stake for the disciples of Jesus as well. They plead with him, “Lord, increase our faith.”
Just before this passage, Jesus has been warning them of the danger involved in leading others astray or the importance of forgiving someone we’ve wronged “seventy times seven times” – meaning there should be no limit to our forgiveness.
So they recognize the need for such an increase in faith, if they are to accomplish these mandates. And what Jesus tells them is that it’s not the quantity of their faith that is important, but it is its quality.
He assures them that with only a miniscule amount of faith, folks who (1) Listen to his Word and (2) Commit themselves to him can do things impossible to unaided human nature.
APPLICATION
Two questions arise for us as we hear God’s word: (1) “What is my vision for my life?” and, (2) “What is the mustard-seed faith I have that I bring to that vision?”
For starters let’s look at your marriage. Think back to your wedding day. What was your vision of where you wanted your marriage to be after 10, 20, or 30 years?
Or look at the birth of your first child. What were your aspirations for becoming a father to that son or daughter?
Or think back to the exhilaration or joy you experienced over being offered the job you now hold. What happened to the excitement and the promise your new position held out to you then?
Where have all those visions gone?
Habakkuk would suggest that you dust off those visions and polish up those goals you once had, in fact rewrite them large so all whom you love can see them. Affirm them; speak them out loud to your loved ones.
And know this, Jesus assures us that with only the tiniest amount of faith you can get back on the path to the joy and happiness of your marriage, your children, or your job can bring you.
Take Habakkuk at his word; Trust in God. No matter how things appear or how hopeless they seem, God does indeed see; does indeed care; and God will indeed act.
CONCLUSION
With a vision of how things can be, coupled with even the smallest amount of honest, sincere faith, we can achieve great results.
We have the Prophet Habakkuk and Jesus’ word for it.
And it’s not just their word; it’s how things actually work in our world – how things work with faith and with a plan.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for September 26, 2010: How Much Is Enough?
26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark Church, Fallston
September 26, 2010
Focus: Responding to the Lazaruses in our day
Function: To give people ways that empower them to respond to the needs of the poor
How Much Is Enough?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
WHAT IS ENOUGH?
Several years ago, I was leading a men’s Scripture group and we were talking about this Gospel that we just heard.
One of the men in the group – Rob – asked: “Just what is enough? How do you know when you have enough?”
Rob has a good job. He and his wife are working hard to put some money away for the college education of their two children and, more long range, for their own retirement.
They live in a very nice home, but by no means opulent. They take vacations each summer as a family.
And Rob asks: “How much is enough?” In other words, when do you know that you have enough and ought to be giving some, or more, away to help those in need?
That Scripture group wrestled with the questions and we never did come up with answers for it is a difficult question.
Now years later, I’m confronted with the same Gospel. I have thought and prayed over the question and, while I do not have a simple answer, I do have some guidelines that might help.
These are guidelines, not for knowing when we have enough, but rather for responding to the Lazaruses of our own day.
1. NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM
First, whenever my brother, sister or I would be crying or whining over not having something a friend had, my father always used the occasion to say, “Never forget where you came from.”
For him it meant being looked down upon because he and my mother were Sicilian immigrants; it meant the depression when food was scarce and pasta and beans was a frequent dish on the table; it meant not owning a home or a car of their own for several years into their marriage; it meant walking the 20 blocks to work in order to save the $.15 bus fare.
Of course my dad’s thought was that the three of us would never know the hard times that he had known, but he did not want us to take what we had for granted. He wanted us to appreciate what we had and to be sensitive to those who did not have enough.
“Never forget where you came from” or “Remember your roots” – was his guiding principle to us then, and it remains one for me today. It could serve you as well.
2. KEEP YOUR EYES OPENED
A second guideline for responding to the Lazaruses of our day is to keep our eyes opened. Keyword: “eyes.”
The rich man in today’s parable apparently did not really see the poor man Lazarus. Oh, yes, he may have seen him with these (point to eyes), but not with the eyes of his heart. The eyes of his heart would have seen the reality of Lazarus’ hunger and misery.
We need to be sure that we see the Lazaruses’ of our day.
Perhaps it is the widowed man or woman next door who just needs someone to talk with for a few minutes,
Or maybe it is the 41,000+ children who are dying in our world each day just from starvation; 41,000 yesterday, 41,000 today and every day.
Or perhaps the teenage son or daughter we don’t have time for.
We need to keep our eyes opened to all in need of our presence, love, and support.
3. DO NOT JUDGE
A third guideline for responding is simply to refrain from judging or stereotyping.
In today’s gospel parable, the only thing that Jesus says about Lazarus is that he was poor, not that he was virtuous or not virtuous. And the only thing he says about the rich man is that he was rich, not that he was good or bad.
In the afterlife, the life beyond physical death, the rich man does not fare well for one reason and one reason only. He failed to assist Lazarus in his plight.
So, we need to respond with appropriate assistance to the Lazaruses of our day. We need to refrain from judging and especially from using our judgment as an excuse not to come to their aid.
CONCLUSION
So, how much is enough? When do I know I have enough? The answer: I don’t know.
But I do know that living with certain guidelines or mindsets will steer us in the right direction: (1) ROOTS: Remember where you came from, (2) EYES: Keep them wide open, (3) JUDGLING: Do not, and (4) COMMON GOOD: Promote it
Trust me, these guidelines will help us in sensing when we have enough and in moving us to share what we have with those in need.
Unlike the rich man in the gospel, it will assure us one day of a merciful judgment.
St. Mark Church, Fallston
September 26, 2010
Focus: Responding to the Lazaruses in our day
Function: To give people ways that empower them to respond to the needs of the poor
How Much Is Enough?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
WHAT IS ENOUGH?
Several years ago, I was leading a men’s Scripture group and we were talking about this Gospel that we just heard.
One of the men in the group – Rob – asked: “Just what is enough? How do you know when you have enough?”
Rob has a good job. He and his wife are working hard to put some money away for the college education of their two children and, more long range, for their own retirement.
They live in a very nice home, but by no means opulent. They take vacations each summer as a family.
And Rob asks: “How much is enough?” In other words, when do you know that you have enough and ought to be giving some, or more, away to help those in need?
That Scripture group wrestled with the questions and we never did come up with answers for it is a difficult question.
Now years later, I’m confronted with the same Gospel. I have thought and prayed over the question and, while I do not have a simple answer, I do have some guidelines that might help.
These are guidelines, not for knowing when we have enough, but rather for responding to the Lazaruses of our own day.
1. NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM
First, whenever my brother, sister or I would be crying or whining over not having something a friend had, my father always used the occasion to say, “Never forget where you came from.”
For him it meant being looked down upon because he and my mother were Sicilian immigrants; it meant the depression when food was scarce and pasta and beans was a frequent dish on the table; it meant not owning a home or a car of their own for several years into their marriage; it meant walking the 20 blocks to work in order to save the $.15 bus fare.
Of course my dad’s thought was that the three of us would never know the hard times that he had known, but he did not want us to take what we had for granted. He wanted us to appreciate what we had and to be sensitive to those who did not have enough.
“Never forget where you came from” or “Remember your roots” – was his guiding principle to us then, and it remains one for me today. It could serve you as well.
2. KEEP YOUR EYES OPENED
A second guideline for responding to the Lazaruses of our day is to keep our eyes opened. Keyword: “eyes.”
The rich man in today’s parable apparently did not really see the poor man Lazarus. Oh, yes, he may have seen him with these (point to eyes), but not with the eyes of his heart. The eyes of his heart would have seen the reality of Lazarus’ hunger and misery.
We need to be sure that we see the Lazaruses’ of our day.
Perhaps it is the widowed man or woman next door who just needs someone to talk with for a few minutes,
Or maybe it is the 41,000+ children who are dying in our world each day just from starvation; 41,000 yesterday, 41,000 today and every day.
Or perhaps the teenage son or daughter we don’t have time for.
We need to keep our eyes opened to all in need of our presence, love, and support.
3. DO NOT JUDGE
A third guideline for responding is simply to refrain from judging or stereotyping.
In today’s gospel parable, the only thing that Jesus says about Lazarus is that he was poor, not that he was virtuous or not virtuous. And the only thing he says about the rich man is that he was rich, not that he was good or bad.
In the afterlife, the life beyond physical death, the rich man does not fare well for one reason and one reason only. He failed to assist Lazarus in his plight.
So, we need to respond with appropriate assistance to the Lazaruses of our day. We need to refrain from judging and especially from using our judgment as an excuse not to come to their aid.
CONCLUSION
So, how much is enough? When do I know I have enough? The answer: I don’t know.
But I do know that living with certain guidelines or mindsets will steer us in the right direction: (1) ROOTS: Remember where you came from, (2) EYES: Keep them wide open, (3) JUDGLING: Do not, and (4) COMMON GOOD: Promote it
Trust me, these guidelines will help us in sensing when we have enough and in moving us to share what we have with those in need.
Unlike the rich man in the gospel, it will assure us one day of a merciful judgment.
Monday, September 20, 2010
DAY OF RECOLLECTION for September 24, 2010: "But Who Do You Say I Am?"
Day of Recollection
St. Margaret's Faculty, Bel Air, Maryland
September 24, 2010
But Who Do You Say I Am? (Lk 9:18-22)
By Nicholas Amato
SHALEM’S TRAINING
I was to an intense training earlier this month as a faculty member of the Shalem Institute for Spirituality
As a teacher you have this experience often
It’s sometimes called Teach the Teacher or Train the Trainer
My week was comprised of Morning: the program was as follows:
Mornings: The program itself
Afternoons: Leadership questions
Evening: Reflection
JESUS’ TRAINING
Jesus is doing some of the same with his apostles
They’ve been part of the crowds who’ve heard his teaching so they’ve been through the program
Beyond that, they’ve been singled out to be associate faculty
With the group of these specially selected, he’s been raising leadership issues for example when James and John are quarreling over who is greater
Sometimes they get it; sometimes they don’t
He will soon empower them to do what he does and eventually he’ll send them out two-by-two
TWO CRITICAL QUESTIONS
But let’s stay focused on the two questions that are part of his “Teach the Teachers” program that he’s raising in today’s gospel:
“Who do people say I am?” and more importantly, “Who do you say I am?”
The first, “Who do people say I am?” is to ask them, “What’s going on in the program I’m delivering? How’s it being received by the students in the class?”
The second question: “And what about you? Have you be moved? Been touched? Been transformed by what I’ve been telling them.”
In other words, “Are you ready for leadership in touching the hearts of others?”
WHAT TO TEACH THE TEACHER
A very serious question
As teachers we understand the difference between knowing the information and being able to teach it effectively
If you don’t know, live and breathe the lesson, you’re not a credible or effective teacher of the material
We all know what’s to go on in the classrooms of a Catholic School in terms of our youths’ love of Jesus Christ
How well they will know him through our words, deeds, or values will in large measure depend on our own relationship with Christ and whether that intimacy, union, friendship empower us to have our students want it
“Who do you say Jesus is for you?”
St. Margaret's Faculty, Bel Air, Maryland
September 24, 2010
But Who Do You Say I Am? (Lk 9:18-22)
By Nicholas Amato
SHALEM’S TRAINING
I was to an intense training earlier this month as a faculty member of the Shalem Institute for Spirituality
As a teacher you have this experience often
It’s sometimes called Teach the Teacher or Train the Trainer
My week was comprised of Morning: the program was as follows:
Mornings: The program itself
Afternoons: Leadership questions
Evening: Reflection
JESUS’ TRAINING
Jesus is doing some of the same with his apostles
They’ve been part of the crowds who’ve heard his teaching so they’ve been through the program
Beyond that, they’ve been singled out to be associate faculty
With the group of these specially selected, he’s been raising leadership issues for example when James and John are quarreling over who is greater
Sometimes they get it; sometimes they don’t
He will soon empower them to do what he does and eventually he’ll send them out two-by-two
TWO CRITICAL QUESTIONS
But let’s stay focused on the two questions that are part of his “Teach the Teachers” program that he’s raising in today’s gospel:
“Who do people say I am?” and more importantly, “Who do you say I am?”
The first, “Who do people say I am?” is to ask them, “What’s going on in the program I’m delivering? How’s it being received by the students in the class?”
The second question: “And what about you? Have you be moved? Been touched? Been transformed by what I’ve been telling them.”
In other words, “Are you ready for leadership in touching the hearts of others?”
WHAT TO TEACH THE TEACHER
A very serious question
As teachers we understand the difference between knowing the information and being able to teach it effectively
If you don’t know, live and breathe the lesson, you’re not a credible or effective teacher of the material
We all know what’s to go on in the classrooms of a Catholic School in terms of our youths’ love of Jesus Christ
How well they will know him through our words, deeds, or values will in large measure depend on our own relationship with Christ and whether that intimacy, union, friendship empower us to have our students want it
“Who do you say Jesus is for you?”
Friday, September 17, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for September 19, 2010: Warnings About Money
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Patrick Church, Havre de Grace
September 19, 2010
Warnings About Money
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
JUNO MONETA
Back in the days of the ancient Roman Empire, people believed in many gods and goddesses.
For example, we know they believed that Juno was the goddess of warning. It was her role to protect the empire by warning its people about any impending threat.
Because of this, the Romans installed their mint for making coins in Juno’s temple. The idea was that Juno, as the goddess of warning, would warn against any impending threat to the wealth of the Empire.
The Romans even gave Juno the title of Juno Moneta. The word moneta comes from the Latin word monere – to warn – so Juno Moneta means “Juno, the One Who Warns.”
Interestingly, that word – moneta, as in Juno Moneta – eventually became part of the English language as the word money.
Thus, the word money is derived from the Latin word which means to warn.
WARNING -- MONERE -- ABOUT MONEY
I found this little tidbit of etymology interesting because the Scripture readings often warn us about money.
Money, as a medium of exchange, does call for our attention. No matter who we are, we have to earn it, exchange for goods and services, save it for a rainy day – maybe in an IRA or a 401K plan or even stocks.
Jesus and the prophets before him are not saying that our getting involved in the exchange of money or even our enjoying it is bad – Not at all!
But they are giving us some “warnings” – remember it’s the root meaning of the word money. They are giving us warnings about our attitude toward money and our handling of it. I see three warnings in today’s Scripture readings.
WARNING #1: SERVE GOD
The first warning comes from Jesus’ own lips: we are not to become a servant or slave of money. Money should not be my ego self-image.
He says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or be attentive to one and despise the other.
“You cannot serve God and money.” To appreciate what Jesus is saying here, we have to remember that back in Jesus’ day, slavery was legal albeit a dreadful institution.
A master literally owned a slave and a slave could serve only one master. Jesus wants our relationship with him to be something like that.
Specifically, he is saying that no matter how much money we make, we are to see our relationship with God as the number one, the most important dimension of life.
And with him as absolutely front and center, we are to let this personal relationship with Jesus Christ color everything we do.
We are to let this influence even how we make our money, what we do with our money, and how we save our money.
That is the first warning about money and it leads to the other two.
WARNING #2: BE HONEST AND JUST
The second warning: we are not to cheat or steal or acquire our money in unjust ways.
In the first reading, the prophet Amos is so clear on this. He condemns those who shortchange customers or who charge more than they should.
In the gospel, Jesus says, “If you trust others in little things, you can also trust them in with greater things. If you cannot be trusted with elusive wealth, who will trust you with lasting wealth?”
From these passages, my take on them is that we should not focus only on the latest incident of corporate cheating.
Instead, we need to start with our own behavior – like plagiarizing term papers, or burning CDs of copyrighted music, or under-reporting our income on our tax returns.
The big problems in any society begin with these small, individual actions.
Jesus warns us to be honest and just in the way we acquire our money.
WARNING #3: CARE FOR THE POOR
The third and final warning: do not disregard or take advantage of the poor.
Again, the prophet Amos in the first reading is consumed with this injustice. He sternly warns those who have enough money about taking advantage of the poor and not caring for them.
Again, I think it is more effective not to focus on those pharmaceutical or insurance companies that seem to make profit their god at the expense of the well-being of the sick and needy.
Instead, let’s begin with ourselves and our own behavior.
We need to let our hearts be touched by those in our own community who are unemployed or those suffering in Haiti and other countries that are absolutely destitute.
The warning from sacred scripture is not to be so taken up with our own money to the point of not sharing with those in need.
CONCLUSION
So, Juno moneta – Juno the One Who Warns – and our money.
1) Serve God first not money
2) Be honest and just in the way we acquire money
3) Share with those who lack money and the basics of life.
Three warnings against which to check our attitude and handling of money.
St. Patrick Church, Havre de Grace
September 19, 2010
Warnings About Money
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
JUNO MONETA
Back in the days of the ancient Roman Empire, people believed in many gods and goddesses.
For example, we know they believed that Juno was the goddess of warning. It was her role to protect the empire by warning its people about any impending threat.
Because of this, the Romans installed their mint for making coins in Juno’s temple. The idea was that Juno, as the goddess of warning, would warn against any impending threat to the wealth of the Empire.
The Romans even gave Juno the title of Juno Moneta. The word moneta comes from the Latin word monere – to warn – so Juno Moneta means “Juno, the One Who Warns.”
Interestingly, that word – moneta, as in Juno Moneta – eventually became part of the English language as the word money.
Thus, the word money is derived from the Latin word which means to warn.
WARNING -- MONERE -- ABOUT MONEY
I found this little tidbit of etymology interesting because the Scripture readings often warn us about money.
Money, as a medium of exchange, does call for our attention. No matter who we are, we have to earn it, exchange for goods and services, save it for a rainy day – maybe in an IRA or a 401K plan or even stocks.
Jesus and the prophets before him are not saying that our getting involved in the exchange of money or even our enjoying it is bad – Not at all!
But they are giving us some “warnings” – remember it’s the root meaning of the word money. They are giving us warnings about our attitude toward money and our handling of it. I see three warnings in today’s Scripture readings.
WARNING #1: SERVE GOD
The first warning comes from Jesus’ own lips: we are not to become a servant or slave of money. Money should not be my ego self-image.
He says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or be attentive to one and despise the other.
“You cannot serve God and money.” To appreciate what Jesus is saying here, we have to remember that back in Jesus’ day, slavery was legal albeit a dreadful institution.
A master literally owned a slave and a slave could serve only one master. Jesus wants our relationship with him to be something like that.
Specifically, he is saying that no matter how much money we make, we are to see our relationship with God as the number one, the most important dimension of life.
And with him as absolutely front and center, we are to let this personal relationship with Jesus Christ color everything we do.
We are to let this influence even how we make our money, what we do with our money, and how we save our money.
That is the first warning about money and it leads to the other two.
WARNING #2: BE HONEST AND JUST
The second warning: we are not to cheat or steal or acquire our money in unjust ways.
In the first reading, the prophet Amos is so clear on this. He condemns those who shortchange customers or who charge more than they should.
In the gospel, Jesus says, “If you trust others in little things, you can also trust them in with greater things. If you cannot be trusted with elusive wealth, who will trust you with lasting wealth?”
From these passages, my take on them is that we should not focus only on the latest incident of corporate cheating.
Instead, we need to start with our own behavior – like plagiarizing term papers, or burning CDs of copyrighted music, or under-reporting our income on our tax returns.
The big problems in any society begin with these small, individual actions.
Jesus warns us to be honest and just in the way we acquire our money.
WARNING #3: CARE FOR THE POOR
The third and final warning: do not disregard or take advantage of the poor.
Again, the prophet Amos in the first reading is consumed with this injustice. He sternly warns those who have enough money about taking advantage of the poor and not caring for them.
Again, I think it is more effective not to focus on those pharmaceutical or insurance companies that seem to make profit their god at the expense of the well-being of the sick and needy.
Instead, let’s begin with ourselves and our own behavior.
We need to let our hearts be touched by those in our own community who are unemployed or those suffering in Haiti and other countries that are absolutely destitute.
The warning from sacred scripture is not to be so taken up with our own money to the point of not sharing with those in need.
CONCLUSION
So, Juno moneta – Juno the One Who Warns – and our money.
1) Serve God first not money
2) Be honest and just in the way we acquire money
3) Share with those who lack money and the basics of life.
Three warnings against which to check our attitude and handling of money.
FUNERAL Mass for September 17, 2010: Death, the Ultimate Act of Giving Oneself
Funeral Mass for Douglas Flemming
Shrine of the Sacred Heart
September 17, 2010
Death, the Ultimate Act of Giving Oneself
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To his daughters Leslie and Laurie and their husbands Tom and Bob,
To his grandchildren Rachael and Christen and her husband Zach, and Ian and Andrew,
To his great granddaughter Zoe, we offer you our heartfelt condolences over the death of your father, grandfather, and great grandfather.
When I asked Laurie to whom should I offer condolences this morning, she quickly responded, “Everyone in the church; he had a bazillion friends.”
As we talked earlier in the week about Douglas’ life, I began to see why. So I extend to each of you our heartfelt condolences over your loss.
THE TWO "FALLINGS TO THE GROUND"
In today’s gospel, which the family chose, Jesus sums up (1) The secret of living and (2) The secret of dying and Douglass’ life confirms that reality in his own living and dying.
In the gospel Jesus’ words are simple enough to understand; it’s only when you see them lived out in the life of someone you love, that they reveal several mysteries.
To reiterate Jesus’ words, “I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
It would appear that the grain of wheat can fall to the ground and (1) Either be crushed by the millstone and made into flour or (2) It can fall to the ground and be planted in the earth to give birth to new life.
In either “falling,” there is a kind of dying of the seed to itself.
In the first instance, it is ground into flour, baked into bread and becomes a source of life to others. In the second, it is planted and becomes many new grains.
I would like to suggest that Douglas’ life, as I heard it described to me, contained both of those “fallings to the ground.” (1) He nourished people in his living and I would hold that (2) He has nourished people in his dying.
A word on each reality.
WHEAT BECOMING BREAD
Douglas’ living as a husband, father, and grandfather was one of nurturing and feeding of others.
He was raised an Episcopalian and was very faithful to living a life committed to the Lord. In 1990 he was brought into full communion with the Catholic Church and his faith continued to grow through his regular reception of the Eucharist and attentiveness to Scripture.
I would say that he lived life with gusto and a sense of celebration. To have him dancing on a table with a lampshade on his head was not too far fetched a reality.
He loved ballroom dancing, the company of friends, trips, cruises, and socials – he thrived on them and through them gave life to others.
To use Jesus’ analogy, the secret of a good life is: “Falling to the ground, being milled into flour and baked into bread for others.” Such feeding of others fulfills our deepest desire to give of ourselves.
WHEAT BECOMING A NEW HARVEST
The second way wheat can die is to be buried in the earth.
If our deepest human desire is to give ourselves to others in our living, then we can make our death into a final gift. As a man of faith, I believe that is what Douglas was able to do.
From Jesus, we know that the love between two people is stronger than death and that death has the potential to deepen and strengthen that bond of love.
Remember, it was only after Jesus had died that his disciples were able to grasp what he really meant to them. And isn’t that true for all who die in love?
For it is only when we have died, that our spirits can completely reveal themselves to our loved ones.
The needs and wounds that have kept our spirits captive no longer inhibit us from giving our full selves to those he love.
Douglas knew he was dying as a result of his pancreatic cancer and heart attacks, but his faith convinced him that he was going on to something greater.
At the age of 83 and after 8 weeks of hospitals and rehabilitation he finally arrived at Stella Maris where he really wanted to be. He thanked Laurie for getting him there.
What is very significant is what he said to the nurse when he arrived at the facility: “I’m ready to die, just give me something to not make me nervous.”
And it was after only one day there that at 6:30 Saturday evening he gave up his spirit to pass quietly over to the other side of life.
And now he free of all the encumbrances of his body, free in choosing to die, he can now send you his loved ones his spirit, and you can live in a new communion with him.
CONCLUSION
Douglas’ legacy to us all is clear: we are called to give ourselves, not only in life, but in death as well.
And it is in our dying that we are called to make our greatest gift to God and to those we love.
You are all the recipients of his spirit.
Shrine of the Sacred Heart
September 17, 2010
Death, the Ultimate Act of Giving Oneself
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To his daughters Leslie and Laurie and their husbands Tom and Bob,
To his grandchildren Rachael and Christen and her husband Zach, and Ian and Andrew,
To his great granddaughter Zoe, we offer you our heartfelt condolences over the death of your father, grandfather, and great grandfather.
When I asked Laurie to whom should I offer condolences this morning, she quickly responded, “Everyone in the church; he had a bazillion friends.”
As we talked earlier in the week about Douglas’ life, I began to see why. So I extend to each of you our heartfelt condolences over your loss.
THE TWO "FALLINGS TO THE GROUND"
In today’s gospel, which the family chose, Jesus sums up (1) The secret of living and (2) The secret of dying and Douglass’ life confirms that reality in his own living and dying.
In the gospel Jesus’ words are simple enough to understand; it’s only when you see them lived out in the life of someone you love, that they reveal several mysteries.
To reiterate Jesus’ words, “I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
It would appear that the grain of wheat can fall to the ground and (1) Either be crushed by the millstone and made into flour or (2) It can fall to the ground and be planted in the earth to give birth to new life.
In either “falling,” there is a kind of dying of the seed to itself.
In the first instance, it is ground into flour, baked into bread and becomes a source of life to others. In the second, it is planted and becomes many new grains.
I would like to suggest that Douglas’ life, as I heard it described to me, contained both of those “fallings to the ground.” (1) He nourished people in his living and I would hold that (2) He has nourished people in his dying.
A word on each reality.
WHEAT BECOMING BREAD
Douglas’ living as a husband, father, and grandfather was one of nurturing and feeding of others.
He was raised an Episcopalian and was very faithful to living a life committed to the Lord. In 1990 he was brought into full communion with the Catholic Church and his faith continued to grow through his regular reception of the Eucharist and attentiveness to Scripture.
I would say that he lived life with gusto and a sense of celebration. To have him dancing on a table with a lampshade on his head was not too far fetched a reality.
He loved ballroom dancing, the company of friends, trips, cruises, and socials – he thrived on them and through them gave life to others.
To use Jesus’ analogy, the secret of a good life is: “Falling to the ground, being milled into flour and baked into bread for others.” Such feeding of others fulfills our deepest desire to give of ourselves.
WHEAT BECOMING A NEW HARVEST
The second way wheat can die is to be buried in the earth.
If our deepest human desire is to give ourselves to others in our living, then we can make our death into a final gift. As a man of faith, I believe that is what Douglas was able to do.
From Jesus, we know that the love between two people is stronger than death and that death has the potential to deepen and strengthen that bond of love.
Remember, it was only after Jesus had died that his disciples were able to grasp what he really meant to them. And isn’t that true for all who die in love?
For it is only when we have died, that our spirits can completely reveal themselves to our loved ones.
The needs and wounds that have kept our spirits captive no longer inhibit us from giving our full selves to those he love.
Douglas knew he was dying as a result of his pancreatic cancer and heart attacks, but his faith convinced him that he was going on to something greater.
At the age of 83 and after 8 weeks of hospitals and rehabilitation he finally arrived at Stella Maris where he really wanted to be. He thanked Laurie for getting him there.
What is very significant is what he said to the nurse when he arrived at the facility: “I’m ready to die, just give me something to not make me nervous.”
And it was after only one day there that at 6:30 Saturday evening he gave up his spirit to pass quietly over to the other side of life.
And now he free of all the encumbrances of his body, free in choosing to die, he can now send you his loved ones his spirit, and you can live in a new communion with him.
CONCLUSION
Douglas’ legacy to us all is clear: we are called to give ourselves, not only in life, but in death as well.
And it is in our dying that we are called to make our greatest gift to God and to those we love.
You are all the recipients of his spirit.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for September 12, 2010: Themes for Faith Formation
24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Terranuova Hermitage
September 12, 2010
Themes for Faith Formation
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CHILDREN
One day a father was on the beach at the ocean with his children. His little six-year-old Tommy ran up him, grabbed his hand, and led him to where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
Tommy asked, “Daddy, what happened to him?” The father replied, “Well Tommy, he died and went to heaven.”
Tommy just starred and thought for a moment. Finally, he asked, “So did God throw him back down?”
There is another story about a family who had invited a number of relatives over to dinner. They were gathering around the table and the mother asked seven-year-old Brianna to say the grace before dinner.
Brianna said, “Mommy, I wouldn’t know what to say.” Her mother responded, “Just say what you hear mommy say.”
Brianna looked a bit confused but then she bowed her head and prayed. “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
FAITH FORMATION
These humorous anecdotes highlight the beauty of children and the importance of their faith formation.
And that, in a very special way, is what we celebrate each year as we begin a new year of Religious Education and Catholic School.
Immediately after a community begins worshipping in a common space, the first question that is asked is, “What of the children? Let’s begin a Sunday School.”
Then, as the Mass attendance grows so too does the number of children receiving religious education.
Today, as we begin a new year of faith formation in the parishes throughout the Archdiocese, let us recognize the importance of bringing our children to the Lord for them to hear his voice.
What is primary is what we are imparting to the children, namely, a relationship with Christ that once formed will continue to grow and flower as the child grows. What a gift it is for them to know Christ in an experiential way and from within our Catholic tradition!
Today, I would like to mention four main areas for this formation. I see these rooted right in the Scripture readings that we have for this Sunday.
THEMES OF FORMATION
First, the gospel images of the shepherd looking for one lost sheep and the woman looking for one lost coin show God’s great love for us. God’s love in unconditional and we are valuable in God’s eyes. Note also that it is God’s initiative – God looking for us!
This is the foundation of our faith formation and it gives the children a healthy sense of themselves in relation to God. We see this as leading them to becoming whole, holy and loving persons in return.
Next, in our first reading we hear of God’s forgiveness of his people at the time of the Exodus. With this as a basis, we try to impart a strong moral code to the children.
We give them a sense of right and wrong, a knowledge of the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church, and an understanding of our capacity to do good and also to sin. We are clear that God will forgive and gives us the chance to start all over again.
That takes me to the understanding of sacrament that we try to give the children – an understanding of God acting in our lives right now. We introduce the children to the Sacrament of Reconciliation – what we used to call First Confession – and to First Eucharist in the second grade.
We enrich the understanding of these sacraments in all the years following that. We want the children to enjoy coming to Mass every week and we teach them how to pray and to see their faith as a friendship with God.
Finally, the images in today’s gospel picture God as reaching out to all persons, especially those in need. We want our children to have a respect and care for others, beyond themselves.
Children in catechetical programs and Catholic Schools work on special service projects to help meet the needs of the less fortunate.
CONCLUSION
So, as we begin a new school year, we have much to celebrate.
We celebrate our programs in Religious Education and Catholic Schools, all faith formation programs that feed and nurture our children.
We celebrate, we thank God, and we as a parish ask God’s continued guidance and blessing for the programs we offer our children.
Terranuova Hermitage
September 12, 2010
Themes for Faith Formation
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CHILDREN
One day a father was on the beach at the ocean with his children. His little six-year-old Tommy ran up him, grabbed his hand, and led him to where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
Tommy asked, “Daddy, what happened to him?” The father replied, “Well Tommy, he died and went to heaven.”
Tommy just starred and thought for a moment. Finally, he asked, “So did God throw him back down?”
There is another story about a family who had invited a number of relatives over to dinner. They were gathering around the table and the mother asked seven-year-old Brianna to say the grace before dinner.
Brianna said, “Mommy, I wouldn’t know what to say.” Her mother responded, “Just say what you hear mommy say.”
Brianna looked a bit confused but then she bowed her head and prayed. “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
FAITH FORMATION
These humorous anecdotes highlight the beauty of children and the importance of their faith formation.
And that, in a very special way, is what we celebrate each year as we begin a new year of Religious Education and Catholic School.
Immediately after a community begins worshipping in a common space, the first question that is asked is, “What of the children? Let’s begin a Sunday School.”
Then, as the Mass attendance grows so too does the number of children receiving religious education.
Today, as we begin a new year of faith formation in the parishes throughout the Archdiocese, let us recognize the importance of bringing our children to the Lord for them to hear his voice.
What is primary is what we are imparting to the children, namely, a relationship with Christ that once formed will continue to grow and flower as the child grows. What a gift it is for them to know Christ in an experiential way and from within our Catholic tradition!
Today, I would like to mention four main areas for this formation. I see these rooted right in the Scripture readings that we have for this Sunday.
THEMES OF FORMATION
First, the gospel images of the shepherd looking for one lost sheep and the woman looking for one lost coin show God’s great love for us. God’s love in unconditional and we are valuable in God’s eyes. Note also that it is God’s initiative – God looking for us!
This is the foundation of our faith formation and it gives the children a healthy sense of themselves in relation to God. We see this as leading them to becoming whole, holy and loving persons in return.
Next, in our first reading we hear of God’s forgiveness of his people at the time of the Exodus. With this as a basis, we try to impart a strong moral code to the children.
We give them a sense of right and wrong, a knowledge of the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church, and an understanding of our capacity to do good and also to sin. We are clear that God will forgive and gives us the chance to start all over again.
That takes me to the understanding of sacrament that we try to give the children – an understanding of God acting in our lives right now. We introduce the children to the Sacrament of Reconciliation – what we used to call First Confession – and to First Eucharist in the second grade.
We enrich the understanding of these sacraments in all the years following that. We want the children to enjoy coming to Mass every week and we teach them how to pray and to see their faith as a friendship with God.
Finally, the images in today’s gospel picture God as reaching out to all persons, especially those in need. We want our children to have a respect and care for others, beyond themselves.
Children in catechetical programs and Catholic Schools work on special service projects to help meet the needs of the less fortunate.
CONCLUSION
So, as we begin a new school year, we have much to celebrate.
We celebrate our programs in Religious Education and Catholic Schools, all faith formation programs that feed and nurture our children.
We celebrate, we thank God, and we as a parish ask God’s continued guidance and blessing for the programs we offer our children.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for September 5, 2010: Becoming a Disciple
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark, Fallston
September 5, 2010
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE GULL
Recently I read of an incident of a family visiting Niagara Falls. It was late March, and blocks of ice were rushing down the river.
“I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in some of the ice blocks. On some you could see Sea Gulls actually riding down the river on the blocks of ice, feeding on the fish.
“As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would fan out, and they would fly away and escape.
“At one point my eyes became fixed on one solitary Gull that seemed to delay its escape at the precipice.
“It seemed so engrossed in the carcass of the fish, that when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings.
“The bird flapped and flapped and tried to lift the chunk of ice out of the buoyant water, but it had delayed too long. Its claws had become frozen into the ice.
“The weight of the ice was too great and the Gull plunged into the abyss below.”
JESUS AND LETTING GO
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to do what the Gull failed to do.
He calls us to let go of, to “turn our back on … self, family, and possessions.” At first hearing, this sounds like an outlandish idea, and so we may discount it as mere overstatement or hyperbole.
We need to understand Jesus’ words carefully and the story of the unfortunate Sea Gull can be an aid in doing so.
To begin with Jesus is talking about what it means to be a disciple, a wholehearted follower of his. He is saying that self-image, family, or possessions can all be good, as the fish in the ice are good for the growth of the Gull.
But there comes a point in the flow of our own lives of faith that we need let go – not get frozen in the ice – of a lifestyle or frozen in the things that define us like self-image, family and possessions, and take a dramatic stand to let go if that is what moving forward demands.
And Jesus wants us to live with the expectation that this will indeed happen over and over.
THREE CASES OF LETTING GO
The letting go at the right time to be a true follower of Jesus can take many forms.
Sometimes we are called to let go from speaking and asserting ourselves. Voicing our opinions may be all well and good, but sometimes we need to let go of them so someone else can speak and be heard deeply.
Sometimes we may just need to take in another’s words and listen carefully for the frustration of a spouse or the loneliness of an aging parent and see things from their point of view.
Or right now in these very weeks many of our young adults are letting go of their families in a very real way as they leave the nest for college and they’re doing that as a way of taking the next stop in developing themselves as persons and more of the gifts God has given them.
Consciously or not they are following the Lord’s calling
Or parents might let go of going out to dinner to that expensive restaurant they’ve wanted to try.
No question it is good to get together and give this a try, but they may hold off doing this so then can buy the new jeans or sneakers for their daughter who has outgrown her present ones.
So they let it go for the wellbeing of their child.
Maybe we Americans in general need to let go of some of our expectations. Several authors are telling us that the world is shifting and we can no longer expect lifestyle we have been accustomed to.
So perhaps we let go of some of our expectations that were good and legitimate.
But we do this in the spirit of finding happiness and peace through more of an inner life and inner communion with God than in constantly having more and more.
CONCLUSION
All these examples are real life discipleship.
Jesus calls us not to be like that sea gull that just held on too long and got frozen in place.
He’s saying that sometimes we have to let go even of things that are good and we do this to respond to what he is calling us to do right now.
In our very hearing of this Gospel this morning, it is as if Jesus has placed us at the precipice (stand on tiptoe at the top step.)
Our time, like the Sea Gull’s, has run out. What is your decision?
Inaction will only take you over the Falls!
St. Mark, Fallston
September 5, 2010
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE GULL
Recently I read of an incident of a family visiting Niagara Falls. It was late March, and blocks of ice were rushing down the river.
“I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in some of the ice blocks. On some you could see Sea Gulls actually riding down the river on the blocks of ice, feeding on the fish.
“As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would fan out, and they would fly away and escape.
“At one point my eyes became fixed on one solitary Gull that seemed to delay its escape at the precipice.
“It seemed so engrossed in the carcass of the fish, that when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings.
“The bird flapped and flapped and tried to lift the chunk of ice out of the buoyant water, but it had delayed too long. Its claws had become frozen into the ice.
“The weight of the ice was too great and the Gull plunged into the abyss below.”
JESUS AND LETTING GO
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to do what the Gull failed to do.
He calls us to let go of, to “turn our back on … self, family, and possessions.” At first hearing, this sounds like an outlandish idea, and so we may discount it as mere overstatement or hyperbole.
We need to understand Jesus’ words carefully and the story of the unfortunate Sea Gull can be an aid in doing so.
To begin with Jesus is talking about what it means to be a disciple, a wholehearted follower of his. He is saying that self-image, family, or possessions can all be good, as the fish in the ice are good for the growth of the Gull.
But there comes a point in the flow of our own lives of faith that we need let go – not get frozen in the ice – of a lifestyle or frozen in the things that define us like self-image, family and possessions, and take a dramatic stand to let go if that is what moving forward demands.
And Jesus wants us to live with the expectation that this will indeed happen over and over.
THREE CASES OF LETTING GO
The letting go at the right time to be a true follower of Jesus can take many forms.
Sometimes we are called to let go from speaking and asserting ourselves. Voicing our opinions may be all well and good, but sometimes we need to let go of them so someone else can speak and be heard deeply.
Sometimes we may just need to take in another’s words and listen carefully for the frustration of a spouse or the loneliness of an aging parent and see things from their point of view.
Or right now in these very weeks many of our young adults are letting go of their families in a very real way as they leave the nest for college and they’re doing that as a way of taking the next stop in developing themselves as persons and more of the gifts God has given them.
Consciously or not they are following the Lord’s calling
Or parents might let go of going out to dinner to that expensive restaurant they’ve wanted to try.
No question it is good to get together and give this a try, but they may hold off doing this so then can buy the new jeans or sneakers for their daughter who has outgrown her present ones.
So they let it go for the wellbeing of their child.
Maybe we Americans in general need to let go of some of our expectations. Several authors are telling us that the world is shifting and we can no longer expect lifestyle we have been accustomed to.
So perhaps we let go of some of our expectations that were good and legitimate.
But we do this in the spirit of finding happiness and peace through more of an inner life and inner communion with God than in constantly having more and more.
CONCLUSION
All these examples are real life discipleship.
Jesus calls us not to be like that sea gull that just held on too long and got frozen in place.
He’s saying that sometimes we have to let go even of things that are good and we do this to respond to what he is calling us to do right now.
In our very hearing of this Gospel this morning, it is as if Jesus has placed us at the precipice (stand on tiptoe at the top step.)
Our time, like the Sea Gull’s, has run out. What is your decision?
Inaction will only take you over the Falls!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for August 29, 2010: Humility, an Enlighted Perspective
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 29, 2010
Humility, an Enlightened Perspective
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
TURKS AND MUSLIMS
Two years ago this month, it was August 2008; I traveled east to the country of Turkey.
Pope Benedict had declared that as “The Year of Saint Paul.” It was the 2,000th anniversary of Paul’s birth.
So, I, and a priest friend, decided to do something special for our vacation. We signed up for a Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of St. Paul to Turkey. It would take us to the sites of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation, places where Saint Paul had established early Christian communities.
I have to admit that from the outset I had some anxiety. I knew that Turkey is more of an Eastern Country while it is located in both Europe and the Middle East.
I did not speak Turkish and the people of Turkey are 98% Muslim, so I felt a bit anxious about our safety.
I am so glad that I went. Besides feeling very enriched by visiting many historical and sacred sites, I also came away with a far different feeling about Muslims.
I found them to be respectful and courteous. We visited many mosques and observed them at prayer.
Our Guide was a Muslim Turk named Izzet. He was a refined and educated gentleman.
I remember very clearly the day he took us to Ephesus to visit the house where tradition says that Mary lived her last years, died, and was assumed into heaven. I was very touched when this Muslim guide, Izzet, reverently spoke of “Mother Mary” – “Mother Mary,” a lovely term I had never heard before.
I also remember spending a weekend of rest – and we needed the rest because this was an arduous tour – at the beautiful resort town of Antalya located right on the Mediterranean. I was swimming and in line for the water slide.
I noticed a man starring at me and at first I wondered why. Then I realized that I clearly looked western from my features and the color of my skin.
And beyond that, I had a chain around my neck with a cross on it. So I was clearly a Christian.
I remember how well treated I was by this fellow. He motioned for me to go before him on the water slide with the same solicitude he would pay another Turk or Muslim.
HUMILITY
Why do I share this experience with you today? I share it because the heartfelt experience is really about the virtue of humility.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls us not to see others with abstract labels, with preconceived mental constructs, prejudices, or popular stereotypes. Those are all fabrications within my mind.
In contrast, Jesus calls us not to think ourselves as above or beyond or higher than others. This is the lesson of today’s Gospel.
Jesus does call us to see others – indeed all persons – with our hearts and with the same heart that God has for us.
The humility of the Gospel then is:
1. Our heartfelt awareness that each of us is dependent upon God (heart not head knowledge.)
2. Our experience that all the blessings we have really come from God’s love for us and not from our own merit. And with this enlightened awareness, our response is to try and return that love to those around us (again, heart knowledge not head knowledge.)
3. Gospel humility is the awareness that every human being shares with me the same dignity of being made in the image and likeness of God. It is awareness of my dependence on God and of my oneness with all God’s children on this earth (and I feel it here – in my heart – not just here – in my head.)
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
This Gospel humility certainly demands a new perspective, a new vision for seeing ourselves and others, and our relationship with God.
Furthermore, this Gospel humility:
1. Goes against our cultural individualism – our unchecked and excessive assertion of ourselves as individuals
2. It goes against our cultural holding of ourselves as higher, above, or better than someone else. This humility is challenging because it calls us to let go of this point of view, but, remember, this point of view is at the very core of who Jesus is and what he calls us to be as persons of faith
3. And oddly enough, I believe it is also at the core of being both patriotic and a good citizen of the world in this 21st century, because only this way will give us the hope for true peace.
So, in conclusion, humility – the virtue Jesus lifts up for us today.
A humility that comes from a heart that knows and loves the Lord first and through that love is empowered to love others!
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 29, 2010
Humility, an Enlightened Perspective
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
TURKS AND MUSLIMS
Two years ago this month, it was August 2008; I traveled east to the country of Turkey.
Pope Benedict had declared that as “The Year of Saint Paul.” It was the 2,000th anniversary of Paul’s birth.
So, I, and a priest friend, decided to do something special for our vacation. We signed up for a Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of St. Paul to Turkey. It would take us to the sites of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation, places where Saint Paul had established early Christian communities.
I have to admit that from the outset I had some anxiety. I knew that Turkey is more of an Eastern Country while it is located in both Europe and the Middle East.
I did not speak Turkish and the people of Turkey are 98% Muslim, so I felt a bit anxious about our safety.
I am so glad that I went. Besides feeling very enriched by visiting many historical and sacred sites, I also came away with a far different feeling about Muslims.
I found them to be respectful and courteous. We visited many mosques and observed them at prayer.
Our Guide was a Muslim Turk named Izzet. He was a refined and educated gentleman.
I remember very clearly the day he took us to Ephesus to visit the house where tradition says that Mary lived her last years, died, and was assumed into heaven. I was very touched when this Muslim guide, Izzet, reverently spoke of “Mother Mary” – “Mother Mary,” a lovely term I had never heard before.
I also remember spending a weekend of rest – and we needed the rest because this was an arduous tour – at the beautiful resort town of Antalya located right on the Mediterranean. I was swimming and in line for the water slide.
I noticed a man starring at me and at first I wondered why. Then I realized that I clearly looked western from my features and the color of my skin.
And beyond that, I had a chain around my neck with a cross on it. So I was clearly a Christian.
I remember how well treated I was by this fellow. He motioned for me to go before him on the water slide with the same solicitude he would pay another Turk or Muslim.
HUMILITY
Why do I share this experience with you today? I share it because the heartfelt experience is really about the virtue of humility.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls us not to see others with abstract labels, with preconceived mental constructs, prejudices, or popular stereotypes. Those are all fabrications within my mind.
In contrast, Jesus calls us not to think ourselves as above or beyond or higher than others. This is the lesson of today’s Gospel.
Jesus does call us to see others – indeed all persons – with our hearts and with the same heart that God has for us.
The humility of the Gospel then is:
1. Our heartfelt awareness that each of us is dependent upon God (heart not head knowledge.)
2. Our experience that all the blessings we have really come from God’s love for us and not from our own merit. And with this enlightened awareness, our response is to try and return that love to those around us (again, heart knowledge not head knowledge.)
3. Gospel humility is the awareness that every human being shares with me the same dignity of being made in the image and likeness of God. It is awareness of my dependence on God and of my oneness with all God’s children on this earth (and I feel it here – in my heart – not just here – in my head.)
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
This Gospel humility certainly demands a new perspective, a new vision for seeing ourselves and others, and our relationship with God.
Furthermore, this Gospel humility:
1. Goes against our cultural individualism – our unchecked and excessive assertion of ourselves as individuals
2. It goes against our cultural holding of ourselves as higher, above, or better than someone else. This humility is challenging because it calls us to let go of this point of view, but, remember, this point of view is at the very core of who Jesus is and what he calls us to be as persons of faith
3. And oddly enough, I believe it is also at the core of being both patriotic and a good citizen of the world in this 21st century, because only this way will give us the hope for true peace.
So, in conclusion, humility – the virtue Jesus lifts up for us today.
A humility that comes from a heart that knows and loves the Lord first and through that love is empowered to love others!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for August 22, 2010: Love and Suffering: The “Narrow Gates” of Our Lives
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 22, 2010
Love and Suffering: The “Narrow Gates” of Our Lives
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Mugged into Reality
A psychiatrist tells of a patient who was a widow and could not get over her husband’s death. She wept and grieved and refused to be comforted.
The psychiatrist could not understand why this woman was finding it so difficult to move beyond her grief.
One day the woman was mugged and her purse with $300 stolen.
To the utter surprise of the psychiatrist, the terrible incident helped the woman come to terms with the loss of her husband.
She came to understand that she had a loving marriage for most of her years – healthy, happily, and financially secure. That was why her husband’s death was so “unacceptable” to her.
Things like that she thought only happened to other people.
You could say that the mugging had robbed her not only of her cash, but of her illusion that she was immune to misfortune and that bad things happen only to others, to those who somehow “deserve” it.
The mugging forced her to realize that she was more like others than she wanted to believe. This widow finally made her way through the “narrow gate” the Gospel speaks of this morning.
The Gospel’s “Narrow Gate”
Jesus is trying to help us understand that life – this widow’s, yours and mine – are a series of difficult passages, “narrow gates” we struggle through – and there is no easy way to pass through them.
The “narrow gate” is:
1. The honest confrontation of who we are
2. The realization of our littleness before God
3. The understanding that we are nothing more nor less than brothers and sisters to every other human being.
From these descriptors, the “narrow gate” to God is difficult to enter because it is the way of limitless love and sacrificial selflessness. It can only be entered by letting go of our fears, our control, our pride, and our self-absorption. No easy task!
Yet, Jesus promises that anyone willing to struggle through the “narrow gate” will be welcomed into intimate communion with him and his Father.
Love and Suffering
In case you haven’t realized it yet, love and suffering are the narrow gates to the divine.
They are so, because only those two experiences are strong enough to break down our self-centered selfishness and open us up to the Mystery that is God in our midst.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are part of all human lives and they are the primary spiritual teachers, more important than any bible, church, priest, sacrament or sage.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space, breaking us into breadth and depth and communion.
RE LOVE: You must at one point in your life “love with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength” (Mark 12:30) or it will not be love at all. That’s how love works and why it leads to the giving up of control.
RE SUFFERING: When you are inside of great suffering, you have a much stronger possibility of surrendering your controls and because you do not have much choice, now God himself can lead you.
Great love and great suffering make you willing to risk everything, holding nothing back.
Conclusion
It should come as no surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position of great suffering!
Love and suffering were portals to Jesus’ union with the Father. They are no less portals to our union with Jesus in the very moment.
What great suffering, what great love right now is nudging you into reality and deeper life in God?
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 22, 2010
Love and Suffering: The “Narrow Gates” of Our Lives
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Mugged into Reality
A psychiatrist tells of a patient who was a widow and could not get over her husband’s death. She wept and grieved and refused to be comforted.
The psychiatrist could not understand why this woman was finding it so difficult to move beyond her grief.
One day the woman was mugged and her purse with $300 stolen.
To the utter surprise of the psychiatrist, the terrible incident helped the woman come to terms with the loss of her husband.
She came to understand that she had a loving marriage for most of her years – healthy, happily, and financially secure. That was why her husband’s death was so “unacceptable” to her.
Things like that she thought only happened to other people.
You could say that the mugging had robbed her not only of her cash, but of her illusion that she was immune to misfortune and that bad things happen only to others, to those who somehow “deserve” it.
The mugging forced her to realize that she was more like others than she wanted to believe. This widow finally made her way through the “narrow gate” the Gospel speaks of this morning.
The Gospel’s “Narrow Gate”
Jesus is trying to help us understand that life – this widow’s, yours and mine – are a series of difficult passages, “narrow gates” we struggle through – and there is no easy way to pass through them.
The “narrow gate” is:
1. The honest confrontation of who we are
2. The realization of our littleness before God
3. The understanding that we are nothing more nor less than brothers and sisters to every other human being.
From these descriptors, the “narrow gate” to God is difficult to enter because it is the way of limitless love and sacrificial selflessness. It can only be entered by letting go of our fears, our control, our pride, and our self-absorption. No easy task!
Yet, Jesus promises that anyone willing to struggle through the “narrow gate” will be welcomed into intimate communion with him and his Father.
Love and Suffering
In case you haven’t realized it yet, love and suffering are the narrow gates to the divine.
They are so, because only those two experiences are strong enough to break down our self-centered selfishness and open us up to the Mystery that is God in our midst.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are part of all human lives and they are the primary spiritual teachers, more important than any bible, church, priest, sacrament or sage.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space, breaking us into breadth and depth and communion.
RE LOVE: You must at one point in your life “love with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength” (Mark 12:30) or it will not be love at all. That’s how love works and why it leads to the giving up of control.
RE SUFFERING: When you are inside of great suffering, you have a much stronger possibility of surrendering your controls and because you do not have much choice, now God himself can lead you.
Great love and great suffering make you willing to risk everything, holding nothing back.
Conclusion
It should come as no surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position of great suffering!
Love and suffering were portals to Jesus’ union with the Father. They are no less portals to our union with Jesus in the very moment.
What great suffering, what great love right now is nudging you into reality and deeper life in God?
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 22, 2010
Love and Suffering: The “Narrow Gates” of Our Lives
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Mugged into Reality
A psychiatrist tells of a patient who was a widow and could not get over her husband’s death. She wept and grieved and refused to be comforted.
The psychiatrist could not understand why this woman was finding it so difficult to move beyond her grief.
One day the woman was mugged and her purse with $300 stolen.
To the utter surprise of the psychiatrist, the terrible incident helped the woman come to terms with the loss of her husband.
She came to understand that she had a loving marriage for most of her years – healthy, happily, and financially secure. That was why her husband’s death was so “unacceptable” to her.
Things like that she thought only happened to other people.
You could say that the mugging had robbed her not only of her cash, but of her illusion that she was immune to misfortune and that bad things happen only to others, to those who somehow “deserve” it.
The mugging forced her to realize that she was more like others than she wanted to believe. This widow finally made her way through the “narrow gate” the Gospel speaks of this morning.
The Gospel’s “Narrow Gate”
Jesus is trying to help us understand that life – this widow’s, yours and mine – are a series of difficult passages, “narrow gates” we struggle through – and there is no easy way to pass through them.
The “narrow gate” is:
1. The honest confrontation of who we are
2. The realization of our littleness before God
3. The understanding that we are nothing more nor less than brothers and sisters to every other human being.
From these descriptors, the “narrow gate” to God is difficult to enter because it is the way of limitless love and sacrificial selflessness. It can only be entered by letting go of our fears, our control, our pride, and our self-absorption. No easy task!
Yet, Jesus promises that anyone willing to struggle through the “narrow gate” will be welcomed into intimate communion with him and his Father.
Love and Suffering
In case you haven’t realized it yet, love and suffering are the narrow gates to the divine.
They are so, because only those two experiences are strong enough to break down our self-centered selfishness and open us up to the Mystery that is God in our midst.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are part of all human lives and they are the primary spiritual teachers, more important than any bible, church, priest, sacrament or sage.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space, breaking us into breadth and depth and communion.
RE LOVE: You must at one point in your life “love with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength” (Mark 12:30) or it will not be love at all. That’s how love works and why it leads to the giving up of control.
RE SUFFERING: When you are inside of great suffering, you have a much stronger possibility of surrendering your controls and because you do not have much choice, now God himself can lead you.
Great love and great suffering make you willing to risk everything, holding nothing back.
Conclusion
It should come as no surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position of great suffering!
Love and suffering were portals to Jesus’ union with the Father. They are no less portals to our union with Jesus in the very moment.
What great suffering, what great love right now is nudging you into reality and deeper life in God?
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Mark Church, Fallston
August 22, 2010
Love and Suffering: The “Narrow Gates” of Our Lives
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Mugged into Reality
A psychiatrist tells of a patient who was a widow and could not get over her husband’s death. She wept and grieved and refused to be comforted.
The psychiatrist could not understand why this woman was finding it so difficult to move beyond her grief.
One day the woman was mugged and her purse with $300 stolen.
To the utter surprise of the psychiatrist, the terrible incident helped the woman come to terms with the loss of her husband.
She came to understand that she had a loving marriage for most of her years – healthy, happily, and financially secure. That was why her husband’s death was so “unacceptable” to her.
Things like that she thought only happened to other people.
You could say that the mugging had robbed her not only of her cash, but of her illusion that she was immune to misfortune and that bad things happen only to others, to those who somehow “deserve” it.
The mugging forced her to realize that she was more like others than she wanted to believe. This widow finally made her way through the “narrow gate” the Gospel speaks of this morning.
The Gospel’s “Narrow Gate”
Jesus is trying to help us understand that life – this widow’s, yours and mine – are a series of difficult passages, “narrow gates” we struggle through – and there is no easy way to pass through them.
The “narrow gate” is:
1. The honest confrontation of who we are
2. The realization of our littleness before God
3. The understanding that we are nothing more nor less than brothers and sisters to every other human being.
From these descriptors, the “narrow gate” to God is difficult to enter because it is the way of limitless love and sacrificial selflessness. It can only be entered by letting go of our fears, our control, our pride, and our self-absorption. No easy task!
Yet, Jesus promises that anyone willing to struggle through the “narrow gate” will be welcomed into intimate communion with him and his Father.
Love and Suffering
In case you haven’t realized it yet, love and suffering are the narrow gates to the divine.
They are so, because only those two experiences are strong enough to break down our self-centered selfishness and open us up to the Mystery that is God in our midst.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are part of all human lives and they are the primary spiritual teachers, more important than any bible, church, priest, sacrament or sage.
LOVE AND SUFFERING are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space, breaking us into breadth and depth and communion.
RE LOVE: You must at one point in your life “love with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength” (Mark 12:30) or it will not be love at all. That’s how love works and why it leads to the giving up of control.
RE SUFFERING: When you are inside of great suffering, you have a much stronger possibility of surrendering your controls and because you do not have much choice, now God himself can lead you.
Great love and great suffering make you willing to risk everything, holding nothing back.
Conclusion
It should come as no surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position of great suffering!
Love and suffering were portals to Jesus’ union with the Father. They are no less portals to our union with Jesus in the very moment.
What great suffering, what great love right now is nudging you into reality and deeper life in God?
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for August 8, 2010:
19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
St. Patrick Church, Cumberland
August 8, 2010
That’s Real Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Now that’s faith”
One day one of our Catholic Sisters was driving to the home of a person who was sick.
This Sister was a nurse and doing this home healthy visit on behalf of the hospital where she worked. She was driving through the streets of the town and lo and behold, her car ran out of gas.
Fortunately, there was a gas station just one block away. Unfortunately, the station had no gas can to lend the Sister and she did not have one either.
But then Sister got an idea. She had a brand new bedpan in the trunk of her car.
The gas station attendant knew her and trusted her and let her fill the bedpan with gasoline. Sister carefully carried it back to the car and started pouring the gasoline into the tank.
As she was doing this, a car slowed down to a stop and the driver was just staring at the Sister pouring from the bedpan into the gas tank. He called out through the passenger window, “Now that’s what I call real faith.”
Abraham’s Faith and Life
That theme of faith emerges for us today.
Our second reading extols the faith of Abraham. This ancient, Old Testament patriarch was probably illiterate, but he believed firmly in God.
God called him to leave the only land that he knew and journey to a foreign country. Abraham, because of his faith, did just that.
God promised Abraham that he and Sarah, in spite of being older, would have a son. Abraham, with his faith, rejoiced in the birth of Isaac.
God told Abraham that his “descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands on the seashore.” Abraham had faith and so it happened.
Abraham basically had only one article of faith – he believed in God and trusted in God’s power. That one article of faith dominated his life and determined what he did.
We have many articles of faith – the basics contained in our Creed or Profession of Faith. Like Abraham, we are to allow them to dominate our lives and determine how we live.
Our Faith and Life
For example, to believe in a Creator is to believe in a livable universe that supports us rather than fights us. To believe in the Father is to know that God cares and that we have a home to go to.
To believe that God became human is to know that the unbridgeable chasm between God and us has been spanned. It is to know that God and we can walk life together and can actually love one another.
To believe that the Son of God suffered and died is to believe that absolutely nothing in life can overwhelm us. It is to believe that it has already been overcome by our Brother Jesus.
To believe that Jesus rose from the dead is to understand that nothing in life is futile. It is to know that everything we do has value and great potential for good.
To believe in the Holy Spirit is to understand that God lives within each of us and forms our deepest identity. To believe in the sacraments is to understand that God comes to us right now through ordinary things like bread and wine.
To believe in the church is to understand that God has formed us as a people, a family, a community. It is to know that we are to figure out a way to love one another regardless of religious or racial or ethnic or cultural or national differences.
To believe in the communion of saints is to understand that our community of life in the Lord is so strong that it continues even beyond physical death. And to believe in the forgiveness of sins is to understand that no mistake we make is fatal in God’s eyes and no hurt between us is so big that reconciliation is impossible.
Conclusion
They are our basic articles of faith.
We are to approach as Abraham did his one article of faith centuries ago. They can have a profound, positive impact on our lives if we allow them to do that.
St. Patrick Church, Cumberland
August 8, 2010
That’s Real Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Now that’s faith”
One day one of our Catholic Sisters was driving to the home of a person who was sick.
This Sister was a nurse and doing this home healthy visit on behalf of the hospital where she worked. She was driving through the streets of the town and lo and behold, her car ran out of gas.
Fortunately, there was a gas station just one block away. Unfortunately, the station had no gas can to lend the Sister and she did not have one either.
But then Sister got an idea. She had a brand new bedpan in the trunk of her car.
The gas station attendant knew her and trusted her and let her fill the bedpan with gasoline. Sister carefully carried it back to the car and started pouring the gasoline into the tank.
As she was doing this, a car slowed down to a stop and the driver was just staring at the Sister pouring from the bedpan into the gas tank. He called out through the passenger window, “Now that’s what I call real faith.”
Abraham’s Faith and Life
That theme of faith emerges for us today.
Our second reading extols the faith of Abraham. This ancient, Old Testament patriarch was probably illiterate, but he believed firmly in God.
God called him to leave the only land that he knew and journey to a foreign country. Abraham, because of his faith, did just that.
God promised Abraham that he and Sarah, in spite of being older, would have a son. Abraham, with his faith, rejoiced in the birth of Isaac.
God told Abraham that his “descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands on the seashore.” Abraham had faith and so it happened.
Abraham basically had only one article of faith – he believed in God and trusted in God’s power. That one article of faith dominated his life and determined what he did.
We have many articles of faith – the basics contained in our Creed or Profession of Faith. Like Abraham, we are to allow them to dominate our lives and determine how we live.
Our Faith and Life
For example, to believe in a Creator is to believe in a livable universe that supports us rather than fights us. To believe in the Father is to know that God cares and that we have a home to go to.
To believe that God became human is to know that the unbridgeable chasm between God and us has been spanned. It is to know that God and we can walk life together and can actually love one another.
To believe that the Son of God suffered and died is to believe that absolutely nothing in life can overwhelm us. It is to believe that it has already been overcome by our Brother Jesus.
To believe that Jesus rose from the dead is to understand that nothing in life is futile. It is to know that everything we do has value and great potential for good.
To believe in the Holy Spirit is to understand that God lives within each of us and forms our deepest identity. To believe in the sacraments is to understand that God comes to us right now through ordinary things like bread and wine.
To believe in the church is to understand that God has formed us as a people, a family, a community. It is to know that we are to figure out a way to love one another regardless of religious or racial or ethnic or cultural or national differences.
To believe in the communion of saints is to understand that our community of life in the Lord is so strong that it continues even beyond physical death. And to believe in the forgiveness of sins is to understand that no mistake we make is fatal in God’s eyes and no hurt between us is so big that reconciliation is impossible.
Conclusion
They are our basic articles of faith.
We are to approach as Abraham did his one article of faith centuries ago. They can have a profound, positive impact on our lives if we allow them to do that.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
MARRIAGE Service: Love's Three Levels
Marriage of Seth and Jewel Barnard
(1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8a)
St. Patrick Church
August 7, 2010
Love’s Three Levels
By Nicholas P. Amato
Fiddler on the Roof
In the famous Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, the father of a Jewish family living in Russia was certainly not the first man ever to ask a woman, “Do you love me?”
Nor was Golde, his wife, the first ever to respond, “Do I love you? For all these years, I’ve cleaned your house, cooked your meals, and washed your clothes. Do I love you?”
You’ll recall it’s not the response Tevye is looking for, “No, no Golde, I mean do you LOVE me?”
Golde replies with still more of the “laundry list.” “For all these years, I’ve walked with you, talked with you, starved with you, slept with you. Do I love you? If that’s not love, what is?”
We’ve all been there when we really want to know higher levels to this question of being loved.
Love Has Its Levels
That question of higher levels has a fitting place here at the marriage of Seth and Jewel and the reading from Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, which they’ve chosen, helps us address it.
Let’s look at this deeper love Tevye and Paul are raising.
I’d suggest there are three levels of love, and that the first prepares you for the second, and the second prepares you for the third.
Foundational Level
The first level of love is FOUNDATIONAL LOVE. It’s the kind of love Golde talks about with Tevye.
Simply put, the first level of love consists in mutual sharing and fidelity. The mutual sharing and fidelity is the very bedrock of love. Without it, there can be no genuine love.
It’s St. Paul’s “Love is patient, love is kind, not envious, it does not boast.”
And it’s only from working at these tasks of patience and kindness that we get drawn into love expressions that are truly higher.
Joy-Filled Level
The second, or higher level of love could be called JOY-FILLED LOVE.
Here, the lover is not content with mutual sharing and mutual fidelity. At this level the lover wants to do more. The lover searches for ways to surprise and to please the beloved.
This is what we mean by it being JOY-FILLED. It is never satisfied with the bare minimum. It always wants to do more.
St. Paul touches this level in his words, “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.” The truth of the relationship has grown and it needs higher expressions of love to satisfy.
As a spouse no longer rejoices in what is wrong with the other spouse, as two people embrace each other’s shortcomings, as a couple is able in the face of it all to rejoice in the fact that God has joined them together, something begins to happen in the relationship.
Folly of Love Level
The highest level of loving begins. It might be called the FOLLY OF LOVE. It is the most perfect form love there is.
At this level the lover can now do what other people truly consider madness. At this level the lover does what ordinary people cannot understand.
It is important to know that this step into the heights of love cannot be taken without a profound sense of having first been loved by God. For Christians it is an understanding of having been lost and having been found in Christ Jesus.
Without a saving experience of this kind, there is no motivation, no energy, no resource you can depend on for loving at this level of folly for this is the level where I will give up all, including life itself, for another.
That is why the word FOLLY sums it up so well. It is why those who haven’t had the experience can have no understanding of it.
It is the mind of Paul, of a Jesus, all individuals who been there. And Paul’s words are addressed to this highest level of love, “There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.
My friends, those words only make sense to one who’s been lost and now is found.
Conclusion
Seth and Jewel, most of us, most of the time, love at the first level and we work at being patient and kind.
And most of us have moments in our lives when we love at the second level, rejoicing in the truth of our relationships with a spouse.
We go out of our way to please or to surprise those we love.
The challenge for you Seth and Jewel, on this day of blessing, is to value and live your love at the third level, feeling no limits to love’s forbearance, its trust, its power to endure.
Doing so you will love in a way that makes non-loving people think you are mad. Yet it’s only this kind of love that is capable of transforming, not only each other, but also ourselves, as well as the world in which we live.
(1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8a)
St. Patrick Church
August 7, 2010
Love’s Three Levels
By Nicholas P. Amato
Fiddler on the Roof
In the famous Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, the father of a Jewish family living in Russia was certainly not the first man ever to ask a woman, “Do you love me?”
Nor was Golde, his wife, the first ever to respond, “Do I love you? For all these years, I’ve cleaned your house, cooked your meals, and washed your clothes. Do I love you?”
You’ll recall it’s not the response Tevye is looking for, “No, no Golde, I mean do you LOVE me?”
Golde replies with still more of the “laundry list.” “For all these years, I’ve walked with you, talked with you, starved with you, slept with you. Do I love you? If that’s not love, what is?”
We’ve all been there when we really want to know higher levels to this question of being loved.
Love Has Its Levels
That question of higher levels has a fitting place here at the marriage of Seth and Jewel and the reading from Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, which they’ve chosen, helps us address it.
Let’s look at this deeper love Tevye and Paul are raising.
I’d suggest there are three levels of love, and that the first prepares you for the second, and the second prepares you for the third.
Foundational Level
The first level of love is FOUNDATIONAL LOVE. It’s the kind of love Golde talks about with Tevye.
Simply put, the first level of love consists in mutual sharing and fidelity. The mutual sharing and fidelity is the very bedrock of love. Without it, there can be no genuine love.
It’s St. Paul’s “Love is patient, love is kind, not envious, it does not boast.”
And it’s only from working at these tasks of patience and kindness that we get drawn into love expressions that are truly higher.
Joy-Filled Level
The second, or higher level of love could be called JOY-FILLED LOVE.
Here, the lover is not content with mutual sharing and mutual fidelity. At this level the lover wants to do more. The lover searches for ways to surprise and to please the beloved.
This is what we mean by it being JOY-FILLED. It is never satisfied with the bare minimum. It always wants to do more.
St. Paul touches this level in his words, “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.” The truth of the relationship has grown and it needs higher expressions of love to satisfy.
As a spouse no longer rejoices in what is wrong with the other spouse, as two people embrace each other’s shortcomings, as a couple is able in the face of it all to rejoice in the fact that God has joined them together, something begins to happen in the relationship.
Folly of Love Level
The highest level of loving begins. It might be called the FOLLY OF LOVE. It is the most perfect form love there is.
At this level the lover can now do what other people truly consider madness. At this level the lover does what ordinary people cannot understand.
It is important to know that this step into the heights of love cannot be taken without a profound sense of having first been loved by God. For Christians it is an understanding of having been lost and having been found in Christ Jesus.
Without a saving experience of this kind, there is no motivation, no energy, no resource you can depend on for loving at this level of folly for this is the level where I will give up all, including life itself, for another.
That is why the word FOLLY sums it up so well. It is why those who haven’t had the experience can have no understanding of it.
It is the mind of Paul, of a Jesus, all individuals who been there. And Paul’s words are addressed to this highest level of love, “There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.
My friends, those words only make sense to one who’s been lost and now is found.
Conclusion
Seth and Jewel, most of us, most of the time, love at the first level and we work at being patient and kind.
And most of us have moments in our lives when we love at the second level, rejoicing in the truth of our relationships with a spouse.
We go out of our way to please or to surprise those we love.
The challenge for you Seth and Jewel, on this day of blessing, is to value and live your love at the third level, feeling no limits to love’s forbearance, its trust, its power to endure.
Doing so you will love in a way that makes non-loving people think you are mad. Yet it’s only this kind of love that is capable of transforming, not only each other, but also ourselves, as well as the world in which we live.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for August 1, 2010: Projecting the Present into the Future
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
August 1, 2010
St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Projecting the Present into the Future
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Write a Latter
Last September, at the beginning of the school year, the chaplain at a high school in Massachusetts gave an assignment to the students.
The chaplain began: “In fifteen years from now you’ll be in your unimaginable thirties somewhere. That’s worth thinking about.
“What will you remember about this year, I wonder? Will you remember important things or, like me, only disconnected bits and pieces of things like part of a movie you saw?
“I am asking you to write a letter today to the person you will have turned into fifteen years from now. Picture what you might look like, how you might be dressed.
“First, write this letter to yourself about the kind of person you are today, right now.
“Second, write to yourself about the kind of person you want to be, fifteen years from now.
“Write about who the person is right now that you would rather spend a day with more than anyone else in the world.
“Write to yourself about what you hope you will be doing with your life fifteen years from now.
And write about the kind of thing you hope you won’t be doing.
“Write to yourself about the last thing that made you cry and the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen up to now.
Write about the nicest thing someone has ever done for you and the nicest thing you have ever done for somebody else.
“Write all this to yourself and give the letter to someone to mail to you sometime in the year 2025.
My bet is that it will turn out to be one of the most interesting and useful letters you will ever receive.”
All of Us Write
I am thinking that each of us, regardless of our age, might consider writing a letter like this.
The point of the chaplain’s assignment is to help the students realize how precious and fragile and short our life is. We can get so caught up in the busyness and activities of living and only skim the surface of our life.
We can allow ourselves to be ruled by the pursuit of jobs and things to buy and places to go. Very often all of this busyness and activity really ends up stealing our time and attention from those we love and who love us.
The result is that we live our lives as if:
➢ There will always be time “later on” to do the things our schedules force us to put off
➢ We can always make it up to our loved ones tomorrow or this weekend
➢ Or as soon as this project is done there will time to relax
But we all know too well there is always something else we just have to do, someplace else we just have to go, and on and on it goes.
All Is Vanity…Wake Up
Today’s Scripture passages try to wake us up to all of this.
The wisdom writer in the first reading has come to see so much of this activity in life as “vanity,” as foolishness – that’s his rather negative way of looking at things.
Jesus in the Gospel calls our preoccupation with so many things as “foolish.”
And Saint Paul in the second reading gives us the positive direction for approaching life. “Seek what is above. … Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”
His point is that our lives are about:
➢ Finding and embracing the selfless love of God
➢ Discovering how to love one another as God loves us in Jesus
➢ Being God’s beloved children, being brothers and sisters to one another, even being brothers and sisters to all God’s children on this earth
➢ Living in the love and compassion of God
That is what I hope we will write in our letters for fifteen years from now
It’s an exercise you might try today.
August 1, 2010
St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Projecting the Present into the Future
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Write a Latter
Last September, at the beginning of the school year, the chaplain at a high school in Massachusetts gave an assignment to the students.
The chaplain began: “In fifteen years from now you’ll be in your unimaginable thirties somewhere. That’s worth thinking about.
“What will you remember about this year, I wonder? Will you remember important things or, like me, only disconnected bits and pieces of things like part of a movie you saw?
“I am asking you to write a letter today to the person you will have turned into fifteen years from now. Picture what you might look like, how you might be dressed.
“First, write this letter to yourself about the kind of person you are today, right now.
“Second, write to yourself about the kind of person you want to be, fifteen years from now.
“Write about who the person is right now that you would rather spend a day with more than anyone else in the world.
“Write to yourself about what you hope you will be doing with your life fifteen years from now.
And write about the kind of thing you hope you won’t be doing.
“Write to yourself about the last thing that made you cry and the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen up to now.
Write about the nicest thing someone has ever done for you and the nicest thing you have ever done for somebody else.
“Write all this to yourself and give the letter to someone to mail to you sometime in the year 2025.
My bet is that it will turn out to be one of the most interesting and useful letters you will ever receive.”
All of Us Write
I am thinking that each of us, regardless of our age, might consider writing a letter like this.
The point of the chaplain’s assignment is to help the students realize how precious and fragile and short our life is. We can get so caught up in the busyness and activities of living and only skim the surface of our life.
We can allow ourselves to be ruled by the pursuit of jobs and things to buy and places to go. Very often all of this busyness and activity really ends up stealing our time and attention from those we love and who love us.
The result is that we live our lives as if:
➢ There will always be time “later on” to do the things our schedules force us to put off
➢ We can always make it up to our loved ones tomorrow or this weekend
➢ Or as soon as this project is done there will time to relax
But we all know too well there is always something else we just have to do, someplace else we just have to go, and on and on it goes.
All Is Vanity…Wake Up
Today’s Scripture passages try to wake us up to all of this.
The wisdom writer in the first reading has come to see so much of this activity in life as “vanity,” as foolishness – that’s his rather negative way of looking at things.
Jesus in the Gospel calls our preoccupation with so many things as “foolish.”
And Saint Paul in the second reading gives us the positive direction for approaching life. “Seek what is above. … Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”
His point is that our lives are about:
➢ Finding and embracing the selfless love of God
➢ Discovering how to love one another as God loves us in Jesus
➢ Being God’s beloved children, being brothers and sisters to one another, even being brothers and sisters to all God’s children on this earth
➢ Living in the love and compassion of God
That is what I hope we will write in our letters for fifteen years from now
It’s an exercise you might try today.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
FUNERAL Mass for July 26, 2010: Lifting the Veil of Ego Self-Image
Funeral Mass for Rodgers Brooks
Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church
July 26, 2010
Lifting the Veil of Ego Self-Image
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To his wife Ruth, who is unable to be with us,
To his five treasures: Marygill, Rebecca, Lucy, Sutton, and Fran,
And their husbands Lewis, Bob, Andre, Peter and Andy,
To his 11 beloved grandchildren,
And to his brother, Harvey.
We gather this morning to offer you our condolences over the death of your dad and brother and to stand by you in solidarity over your loss. What an extraordinary man he was. It is such an honor for me to return here to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart and celebrate his Funeral Mass with you.
It’s no secret that Rodgers led a full, active and successful life of 89 years; 64 of them he was married to his dear wife and best friend, Ruth.
Thinking about it over the weekend had me realize that the secret of Rodgers’ success had to do with a different vision of how he saw himself, and how that vision was played out in relationships.
WHO WE ARE NOT
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah describes a high mountain where God will one day gather all his people. We are assured that it will be a time of feasting not fasting, a time of smiles, not tears, a time of enlightenment not darkness.
Isaiah says, “On this mountain God will destroy the veil that veils all peoples and the web that is woven over all nations.”
The Prophet seems to imply that we can’t see God or this mountain paradise clearly because of this veil that covers us.
I would like to suggest that the veil is the ego self-image most of us have of ourselves, a self-image that places me in the center of the universe and everyone else on the periphery. Such a perspective can only lead to our demise.
You will recall that in the gospel the question those excluded from heaven ask Jesus is, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and not feed you, in prison and not visit you, sick and not tend you, etc.?”
Lifting the veil, then, has to do with seeing ourselves in a different way and this is where Rodgers’ life is such a gift to us.
My identity – who I am – is fundamentally a son or daughter of God. In short, I am not just like the God who created me; I am one with the God who created me. I am his presence here, as are you.
That self-identity of “being-in-God” that Rodgers had came from his strong faith and it was lived out in his family and the community-at-large.
THE POWER TO LIFE THE VEIL: A STRONG FAITH
It takes faith to go from my “ego self-image” to know that who I am is in God. Rodgers had that faith. It was nurtured by weekly Mass attendance, which he continued even during his six years at Mercy Ridge.
He was a member of the First Friday Club at Loyola College.
His dad and mom were good models for giving to Catholic causes and great supporters of the Archdiocese.
The way he saw himself created the relationships with family, community and the world. It made him a lover of people. He was as Sutton says,“the eternal optimist who smiled all the time and lifted people spirits.”
You can be that way when you are not the center of the universe … and God is.
RODGERS' IDENTITY AND THE FAMILY
Rodgers loved his family more than anything. The girls unanimously award him, “Best father ever.” That’s quite a title.
He was a very athletic masculine individual though surrounded by five daughters. His interest in them was intense from the color of their nail polish to the dishes he enjoyed cooking for them.
True, he always wanted a son, but he went a bit far when he cut the girls’ hair and made them all look like little boys. Ruth put a quick end to his hair cuttery days!
And how the women of the house loved him. The girls would literally fight over who was to get him his glass of ice water.
As his siblings died, Rodgers would take his nieces and nephews and just put his loving arms around them. He knew well how to meet the emotional needs of children in their times of great loss.
He was a firm yet gentle disciplinarian. The girls learned that quickly and did what they were told.
In all, it was a happy wonderful childhood and Rodgers for a dad was a great way to grow up.
RODGERS' IDENTITY AND THE COMMUNITY
Rodgers was a shrewd dealmaker. He did well in the family insurance business of Tongue Brooks and Company where he worked hard with his brothers.
And how he saw himself also got him involved in the community. He served on many boards and was a great supporter of the Vincent de Paul Society and their charitable works to those in need.
Yes, he was a “Good neighbor Sam” in the fullest sense of the phrase.
Perhaps that could best been seen in his being a Jack-of-all-trades. He was able to mix well with the most sophisticated of the cocktail circuit, yet climb in under the sink of a humble dwelling to fix a faucet.
You need a job done; you call Sam or I should say Rodgers.
CONCLUSION
Our ego self-image is truly a veil. Isaiah noted that it covers all peoples and all nations.
On the occasion of Rodgers’ passing, Marygill’s husband Peter remarked, “Every act and scene of this wonderful life was led with class and dignity. In this modern world of ‘me first’ greed and weak principles, Rodgers was a rarity, yet a reminder to all of us of what that virtue really entails.”
It is who Rodgers saw himself to be and his “identity in God” that made it possible for him to be God to family and community and for that he now enjoys the fullness of life.
Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church
July 26, 2010
Lifting the Veil of Ego Self-Image
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES
To his wife Ruth, who is unable to be with us,
To his five treasures: Marygill, Rebecca, Lucy, Sutton, and Fran,
And their husbands Lewis, Bob, Andre, Peter and Andy,
To his 11 beloved grandchildren,
And to his brother, Harvey.
We gather this morning to offer you our condolences over the death of your dad and brother and to stand by you in solidarity over your loss. What an extraordinary man he was. It is such an honor for me to return here to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart and celebrate his Funeral Mass with you.
It’s no secret that Rodgers led a full, active and successful life of 89 years; 64 of them he was married to his dear wife and best friend, Ruth.
Thinking about it over the weekend had me realize that the secret of Rodgers’ success had to do with a different vision of how he saw himself, and how that vision was played out in relationships.
WHO WE ARE NOT
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah describes a high mountain where God will one day gather all his people. We are assured that it will be a time of feasting not fasting, a time of smiles, not tears, a time of enlightenment not darkness.
Isaiah says, “On this mountain God will destroy the veil that veils all peoples and the web that is woven over all nations.”
The Prophet seems to imply that we can’t see God or this mountain paradise clearly because of this veil that covers us.
I would like to suggest that the veil is the ego self-image most of us have of ourselves, a self-image that places me in the center of the universe and everyone else on the periphery. Such a perspective can only lead to our demise.
You will recall that in the gospel the question those excluded from heaven ask Jesus is, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and not feed you, in prison and not visit you, sick and not tend you, etc.?”
Lifting the veil, then, has to do with seeing ourselves in a different way and this is where Rodgers’ life is such a gift to us.
My identity – who I am – is fundamentally a son or daughter of God. In short, I am not just like the God who created me; I am one with the God who created me. I am his presence here, as are you.
That self-identity of “being-in-God” that Rodgers had came from his strong faith and it was lived out in his family and the community-at-large.
THE POWER TO LIFE THE VEIL: A STRONG FAITH
It takes faith to go from my “ego self-image” to know that who I am is in God. Rodgers had that faith. It was nurtured by weekly Mass attendance, which he continued even during his six years at Mercy Ridge.
He was a member of the First Friday Club at Loyola College.
His dad and mom were good models for giving to Catholic causes and great supporters of the Archdiocese.
The way he saw himself created the relationships with family, community and the world. It made him a lover of people. He was as Sutton says,“the eternal optimist who smiled all the time and lifted people spirits.”
You can be that way when you are not the center of the universe … and God is.
RODGERS' IDENTITY AND THE FAMILY
Rodgers loved his family more than anything. The girls unanimously award him, “Best father ever.” That’s quite a title.
He was a very athletic masculine individual though surrounded by five daughters. His interest in them was intense from the color of their nail polish to the dishes he enjoyed cooking for them.
True, he always wanted a son, but he went a bit far when he cut the girls’ hair and made them all look like little boys. Ruth put a quick end to his hair cuttery days!
And how the women of the house loved him. The girls would literally fight over who was to get him his glass of ice water.
As his siblings died, Rodgers would take his nieces and nephews and just put his loving arms around them. He knew well how to meet the emotional needs of children in their times of great loss.
He was a firm yet gentle disciplinarian. The girls learned that quickly and did what they were told.
In all, it was a happy wonderful childhood and Rodgers for a dad was a great way to grow up.
RODGERS' IDENTITY AND THE COMMUNITY
Rodgers was a shrewd dealmaker. He did well in the family insurance business of Tongue Brooks and Company where he worked hard with his brothers.
And how he saw himself also got him involved in the community. He served on many boards and was a great supporter of the Vincent de Paul Society and their charitable works to those in need.
Yes, he was a “Good neighbor Sam” in the fullest sense of the phrase.
Perhaps that could best been seen in his being a Jack-of-all-trades. He was able to mix well with the most sophisticated of the cocktail circuit, yet climb in under the sink of a humble dwelling to fix a faucet.
You need a job done; you call Sam or I should say Rodgers.
CONCLUSION
Our ego self-image is truly a veil. Isaiah noted that it covers all peoples and all nations.
On the occasion of Rodgers’ passing, Marygill’s husband Peter remarked, “Every act and scene of this wonderful life was led with class and dignity. In this modern world of ‘me first’ greed and weak principles, Rodgers was a rarity, yet a reminder to all of us of what that virtue really entails.”
It is who Rodgers saw himself to be and his “identity in God” that made it possible for him to be God to family and community and for that he now enjoys the fullness of life.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Weekly HOMILY for July 18, 2010: Martha and Mary: Animus and Anima
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
July 18, 2010
Martha and Mary: Animus and Anima
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Letting Our Souls Catch Up
There is a story told by Terry Hershey about a group of Americans who hired a guide to take them on a safari to the wilds of the African Serengeti.
Their guide assured them that is was a long long way.
The 1st day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The 2nd day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The 3rd day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The end of the day the guide was nowhere to be found. They finally discover him sitting in a meditative posture in the high grass and ask him, “Why aren’t we hurrying forward?”
He replies, “I’m not going.” “Not going! Why not?” they ask. I simply have to wait for my soul to catch up with my body!
We know well the feeling when our souls become detached from our bodies. We’re out of joint, out of kilter.
The Story, Luke, and the Gospel
That African guide’s point is precisely what Jesus is talking about in today’s story about Martha and Mary.
To understand this passage, we need to remember its context in Luke’s Gospel. Not to do this would be like evaluating a club sandwich by looking only at the bacon, lettuce, and tomato and not at the kind of bread that it is on.
Just before this story about Martha and Mary, Saint Luke recalls Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. We heard this at Mass last weekend. That parable illustrates the commandment regarding the love of neighbor.
Today, Jesus is not putting down the love of neighbor nor is he saying that is not as important as the love of God.
Instead, he is calling for a balance – much like the African guide was seeking a balance of his soul and body.
Martha and Mary – Balance
We are told that Martha was “very busy with all the details of hospitality” that is she was “Rising very very early, going very very fast, and getting very very far.”
Apparently, Martha was preparing a full course meal, from shrimp cocktail right through to Crème Brulle. Jesus says, “Martha, you are anxious about so many things; one thing only is necessary.”
This does not mean that Jesus is asking for a simple bologna sandwich and nothing else. What he is saying is: “Martha, you’ve got to make sure that you are seeking God’s kingdom, because if you are not, everything else counts for nothing.”
In other words, busyness and caring for others become empty, if we are not tending to our relationship with God. And at the same time, our relationship with God is incomplete without real-life caring for others.
The issue is a question of balance. Again, it is something like the African guide saying that his soul needed to catch up with his body.
The Animus and the Anima
My guess is that many of us tend to be Marthas. We tend to be busy and active. We live by calendars and schedules and lists of things we have to get done.
The famous psychiatrist Carl Jung gives us a helpful insight into all of this. Jung talks about the difference between the “animus” (a-n-i-m-u-s) or our masculine traits, and the “anima” (a-n-i-m-a) or our feminine traits.
In this Gospel story, Martha represents the “animus.” She is assertive, logical, and well organized.
She tends toward power and control, so when she herself cannot control Mary’s behavior, she seeks out someone – Jesus – who might be able to control her.
On the other hand, Mary represents the “anima.” She is sensitive, gentle, and nurturing.
Notice, she is more focused on relationships than on tasks. She is more concerned with understanding than with controlling.
Carl Jung says that both the “animus” and the “anima” are needed. All of us – regardless of our gender –need both facets to our personality.
One side is not better than the other. Both sides together make us whole persons.
The Balance
This idea of balance is a helpful way to understand Jesus’ interaction with Martha and Mary.
Jesus is not putting down Martha’s hard work and her desire to be hospitable. But he is questioning a life of constant activity that may neglect our fundamental relationship with God or even the very persons that we may be caring for with our work.
Jesus is calling us to balance our task-centeredness with person-centeredness. He is reminding us to make room for God and our relationship with God.
He is awaking us to a careful, healthy, and holy balance in our lives.
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
July 18, 2010
Martha and Mary: Animus and Anima
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Letting Our Souls Catch Up
There is a story told by Terry Hershey about a group of Americans who hired a guide to take them on a safari to the wilds of the African Serengeti.
Their guide assured them that is was a long long way.
The 1st day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The 2nd day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The 3rd day they rise very very early, go very very fast, and get very very far
The end of the day the guide was nowhere to be found. They finally discover him sitting in a meditative posture in the high grass and ask him, “Why aren’t we hurrying forward?”
He replies, “I’m not going.” “Not going! Why not?” they ask. I simply have to wait for my soul to catch up with my body!
We know well the feeling when our souls become detached from our bodies. We’re out of joint, out of kilter.
The Story, Luke, and the Gospel
That African guide’s point is precisely what Jesus is talking about in today’s story about Martha and Mary.
To understand this passage, we need to remember its context in Luke’s Gospel. Not to do this would be like evaluating a club sandwich by looking only at the bacon, lettuce, and tomato and not at the kind of bread that it is on.
Just before this story about Martha and Mary, Saint Luke recalls Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. We heard this at Mass last weekend. That parable illustrates the commandment regarding the love of neighbor.
Today, Jesus is not putting down the love of neighbor nor is he saying that is not as important as the love of God.
Instead, he is calling for a balance – much like the African guide was seeking a balance of his soul and body.
Martha and Mary – Balance
We are told that Martha was “very busy with all the details of hospitality” that is she was “Rising very very early, going very very fast, and getting very very far.”
Apparently, Martha was preparing a full course meal, from shrimp cocktail right through to Crème Brulle. Jesus says, “Martha, you are anxious about so many things; one thing only is necessary.”
This does not mean that Jesus is asking for a simple bologna sandwich and nothing else. What he is saying is: “Martha, you’ve got to make sure that you are seeking God’s kingdom, because if you are not, everything else counts for nothing.”
In other words, busyness and caring for others become empty, if we are not tending to our relationship with God. And at the same time, our relationship with God is incomplete without real-life caring for others.
The issue is a question of balance. Again, it is something like the African guide saying that his soul needed to catch up with his body.
The Animus and the Anima
My guess is that many of us tend to be Marthas. We tend to be busy and active. We live by calendars and schedules and lists of things we have to get done.
The famous psychiatrist Carl Jung gives us a helpful insight into all of this. Jung talks about the difference between the “animus” (a-n-i-m-u-s) or our masculine traits, and the “anima” (a-n-i-m-a) or our feminine traits.
In this Gospel story, Martha represents the “animus.” She is assertive, logical, and well organized.
She tends toward power and control, so when she herself cannot control Mary’s behavior, she seeks out someone – Jesus – who might be able to control her.
On the other hand, Mary represents the “anima.” She is sensitive, gentle, and nurturing.
Notice, she is more focused on relationships than on tasks. She is more concerned with understanding than with controlling.
Carl Jung says that both the “animus” and the “anima” are needed. All of us – regardless of our gender –need both facets to our personality.
One side is not better than the other. Both sides together make us whole persons.
The Balance
This idea of balance is a helpful way to understand Jesus’ interaction with Martha and Mary.
Jesus is not putting down Martha’s hard work and her desire to be hospitable. But he is questioning a life of constant activity that may neglect our fundamental relationship with God or even the very persons that we may be caring for with our work.
Jesus is calling us to balance our task-centeredness with person-centeredness. He is reminding us to make room for God and our relationship with God.
He is awaking us to a careful, healthy, and holy balance in our lives.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for June 27, 2010: My Final Column: Of Exits and Entrances
This and That
My Final Column: Of Exits and Entrances
The car is packed; the driveway to the campus is clear. What has been the entrance to the grounds the past 15 years is now become for me the exit. The last two “projects” to what was envisioned as the plan for the parish included the entrance marquee and the courtyard fountain. With both completed, there’s a sense that what needed to be done has been done.
Over the past twelve months the questions that have occupied the attention of many of our people including our Parish Corporators, Pastoral Council, and Staff have been, “Who will be our new pastor?” “Will he be what Our Lady of Grace needs to continue growing in faith?” How pleased we are to have Archbishop O’Brien appoint Father Sam Young as our new pastor. He has now visited the parish several times and spent an entire day with the Pastoral Team preparing for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2010. He has visited teachers and students of our Catholic School. All have found him affable, caring and attentive to what was shared with him.
Six Challenges
There are some wonderful challenges ahead for Our Lady of Grace and include the following:
1. Blue Ribbon Report: Outcome of the Blue Ribbon Committee Report and how it affects the future of Catholic Schools and in particular Our Lady of Grace School will be worked on in the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010.
2. Capital Campaign: The Archdiocese will be mandating all parishes to participate with the Local Church of Baltimore’s Capital Campaign in two years. A new master plan will first be developed and a case made for what is needed to further enhance our ministries and service to people
3. Kneelers: Whenever it is decided that we need to refurbish the interior of the church that will be the time also to study the possibility of having kneelers.
4. Shifts in Responsibilities: Transitions of Dr. Jack Buchner to some of Sister Mary Therese’s responsibilities, Rick Gonzales to some of Elaine Hagner’s, and Elaine to some of Sister’s will allow Sister Mary Therese the opportunity to become part-time in the new fiscal year and depart in July 2011.
5. New Parishioner Registrations: Care will be given to the fact that registrations of new families have leveled off over the past three years. The budget will continue to increase only modestly based on these projections.
6. New Expenses: Two additional expenses for FY 2012 will be purchase of the new web-based parish data system called “Parish Soft” and increasing the support to the school as dictated in recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee.
Six Opportunities
1. Youth Programs: Programs for our youth are already strong and will continue to increase. Our young people are the future of the Church.
2. Annual Offertory Renewal: The fall Annual Renewal Program will take on some of the aspects of the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal that have proven very successful.
3. Extra Efforts in Giving: Whenever we have been hit with unexpected expenses and decreased income such as happened during the three white out weekends of snow this year, our people always respond generously when asked. It is important to ask.
4. Loan Pay Off: Once our loan indebtedness to the Archdiocese is paid off in September 2012, an additional $7,000/month for worship, programs and services will be available.
5. Master Plan: The Parish Corporators have approved the creation of a new Master Plan for 2011. The last 10-Year Master Plan ended in 2007. The new plan will help us better address our needs in the years ahead and lay the groundwork for the Case Statement for new Capital Campaign. It will be a very exciting time to dream as a parish.
6. Our New Pastor: It will be very easy to get to know Father Sam, our new pastor. This will happen very quickly inasmuch as he is very open, affable and enjoys people.
A final word of thanks and gratitude to all who worked on the Testimonial Weekend: the dinner, the three receptions, the music, servers, ministers at the Masses – it was all more than I could have hoped for or expected. My “exit” from the campus today is not a farewell. I promise to visit and not be a stranger. I would ask you to pray for me as I begin my new ministries. Be assured of my prayers for you and your loved ones. Our Lady of Grace will always be my home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
My Final Column: Of Exits and Entrances
The car is packed; the driveway to the campus is clear. What has been the entrance to the grounds the past 15 years is now become for me the exit. The last two “projects” to what was envisioned as the plan for the parish included the entrance marquee and the courtyard fountain. With both completed, there’s a sense that what needed to be done has been done.
Over the past twelve months the questions that have occupied the attention of many of our people including our Parish Corporators, Pastoral Council, and Staff have been, “Who will be our new pastor?” “Will he be what Our Lady of Grace needs to continue growing in faith?” How pleased we are to have Archbishop O’Brien appoint Father Sam Young as our new pastor. He has now visited the parish several times and spent an entire day with the Pastoral Team preparing for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2010. He has visited teachers and students of our Catholic School. All have found him affable, caring and attentive to what was shared with him.
Six Challenges
There are some wonderful challenges ahead for Our Lady of Grace and include the following:
1. Blue Ribbon Report: Outcome of the Blue Ribbon Committee Report and how it affects the future of Catholic Schools and in particular Our Lady of Grace School will be worked on in the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010.
2. Capital Campaign: The Archdiocese will be mandating all parishes to participate with the Local Church of Baltimore’s Capital Campaign in two years. A new master plan will first be developed and a case made for what is needed to further enhance our ministries and service to people
3. Kneelers: Whenever it is decided that we need to refurbish the interior of the church that will be the time also to study the possibility of having kneelers.
4. Shifts in Responsibilities: Transitions of Dr. Jack Buchner to some of Sister Mary Therese’s responsibilities, Rick Gonzales to some of Elaine Hagner’s, and Elaine to some of Sister’s will allow Sister Mary Therese the opportunity to become part-time in the new fiscal year and depart in July 2011.
5. New Parishioner Registrations: Care will be given to the fact that registrations of new families have leveled off over the past three years. The budget will continue to increase only modestly based on these projections.
6. New Expenses: Two additional expenses for FY 2012 will be purchase of the new web-based parish data system called “Parish Soft” and increasing the support to the school as dictated in recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee.
Six Opportunities
1. Youth Programs: Programs for our youth are already strong and will continue to increase. Our young people are the future of the Church.
2. Annual Offertory Renewal: The fall Annual Renewal Program will take on some of the aspects of the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal that have proven very successful.
3. Extra Efforts in Giving: Whenever we have been hit with unexpected expenses and decreased income such as happened during the three white out weekends of snow this year, our people always respond generously when asked. It is important to ask.
4. Loan Pay Off: Once our loan indebtedness to the Archdiocese is paid off in September 2012, an additional $7,000/month for worship, programs and services will be available.
5. Master Plan: The Parish Corporators have approved the creation of a new Master Plan for 2011. The last 10-Year Master Plan ended in 2007. The new plan will help us better address our needs in the years ahead and lay the groundwork for the Case Statement for new Capital Campaign. It will be a very exciting time to dream as a parish.
6. Our New Pastor: It will be very easy to get to know Father Sam, our new pastor. This will happen very quickly inasmuch as he is very open, affable and enjoys people.
A final word of thanks and gratitude to all who worked on the Testimonial Weekend: the dinner, the three receptions, the music, servers, ministers at the Masses – it was all more than I could have hoped for or expected. My “exit” from the campus today is not a farewell. I promise to visit and not be a stranger. I would ask you to pray for me as I begin my new ministries. Be assured of my prayers for you and your loved ones. Our Lady of Grace will always be my home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for June 27, 2010: The Wake We Leave in Life
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
June 27, 2010
The Wake We Leave in Life
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Principle
A wise old priest was meeting with a young man who was feeling conflicted about the decisions confronting him. He felt pretty clear about the sort of material success he was after, but uncertain about everything else in his life.
So the priest asked him what he thought he was committed to. What path did he think he was on? Could he describe it?
He warned the old priest that he wasn’t going after some sappy religious fantasy. “Sappy or not,” the priest countered, “everyone has a religion of some sort.”
“Everyone functions from a grand operating principle whether or not they admit it,” he added.
“Mostly that principle can be inferred by the wake they leave behind as they pass through their lives,” he continued.
What the priest meant was that the tangible content of our commitments – what we spend our time on and the things we do – tells the tale for all of us, notwithstanding what we say. That’s true of each of us as individuals; that’s true of us as a parish.
The priest then suggested that the young man check out the wake he was currently leaving behind, or if he was brave, he might ask a couple of others what they saw there.
The question remained, “Did he want to hear the evidence of what his wake revealed?”
Our Individual Wakes
Jesus is asking that very question in today’s Gospel: What is our “grand operating principle” – what are the values that we live, not just talk about, as individuals and as a parish?
To realize your “true religion,” – that is, what you worship – look at what you leave in your wake, look at the harvest your life is reaping.
Think for a moment of what you love. (Pause after each for a moment of reflection)
Think of your disappointments. How is your wealth spent? In what areas are you poor? What can you say you have accomplished? And what do you still hope to do?
Now ask yourself, “Are you satisfied?” “Are you fulfilled?” “Are you happy?”
Our Parish Wake
In theology we say that gifts given and received make people what they are. Over our 15 years together, you have been a gift to me and my life and ministry have hopefully been a gift to you.
You have loved this parish and me as I have loved you who make it up. The marvelous reciprocity of grace – how love begets love, and zeal produces zeal, and that generosity over the years has engendered more giving – is evident.
Just look around at our relationships, our sense of welcome, our concern for those in need, and our campus.
I love being a priest and I have loved being your pastor these past 15 years. And reciprocally, I have felt your love for me. And yes, that has moved me to love you all the more.
Out of this give-and-take of love we have both reached even deeper and farther in our support of each other, for love feeds on love. That reaching and deepening is the mystery of what we celebrate on this altar each Sunday.
Farewell
But, the final act of service, as Jesus has taught us, is how to leave friends and faith family and by the very act of leaving send more spirit into the community you love.
The Ascension after all is followed by Pentecost. Jesus’ final ascent to the Father sends the Holy Spirit’s fresh descent on the Apostles.
Those who are able to depart from what they love most know something special about Jesus and they inspire even more grace in their wake.
And, the grace for this community will come because of who you are and what gifts I am tangibly and intangibly leaving behind here in this marvelous parish.
“Remember such a one in time to come…” it says on my anniversary card. I count myself as one who will not forget you; please remember me, as well.
God bless you all.
Our Lady of Grace
June 27, 2010
The Wake We Leave in Life
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Principle
A wise old priest was meeting with a young man who was feeling conflicted about the decisions confronting him. He felt pretty clear about the sort of material success he was after, but uncertain about everything else in his life.
So the priest asked him what he thought he was committed to. What path did he think he was on? Could he describe it?
He warned the old priest that he wasn’t going after some sappy religious fantasy. “Sappy or not,” the priest countered, “everyone has a religion of some sort.”
“Everyone functions from a grand operating principle whether or not they admit it,” he added.
“Mostly that principle can be inferred by the wake they leave behind as they pass through their lives,” he continued.
What the priest meant was that the tangible content of our commitments – what we spend our time on and the things we do – tells the tale for all of us, notwithstanding what we say. That’s true of each of us as individuals; that’s true of us as a parish.
The priest then suggested that the young man check out the wake he was currently leaving behind, or if he was brave, he might ask a couple of others what they saw there.
The question remained, “Did he want to hear the evidence of what his wake revealed?”
Our Individual Wakes
Jesus is asking that very question in today’s Gospel: What is our “grand operating principle” – what are the values that we live, not just talk about, as individuals and as a parish?
To realize your “true religion,” – that is, what you worship – look at what you leave in your wake, look at the harvest your life is reaping.
Think for a moment of what you love. (Pause after each for a moment of reflection)
Think of your disappointments. How is your wealth spent? In what areas are you poor? What can you say you have accomplished? And what do you still hope to do?
Now ask yourself, “Are you satisfied?” “Are you fulfilled?” “Are you happy?”
Our Parish Wake
In theology we say that gifts given and received make people what they are. Over our 15 years together, you have been a gift to me and my life and ministry have hopefully been a gift to you.
You have loved this parish and me as I have loved you who make it up. The marvelous reciprocity of grace – how love begets love, and zeal produces zeal, and that generosity over the years has engendered more giving – is evident.
Just look around at our relationships, our sense of welcome, our concern for those in need, and our campus.
I love being a priest and I have loved being your pastor these past 15 years. And reciprocally, I have felt your love for me. And yes, that has moved me to love you all the more.
Out of this give-and-take of love we have both reached even deeper and farther in our support of each other, for love feeds on love. That reaching and deepening is the mystery of what we celebrate on this altar each Sunday.
Farewell
But, the final act of service, as Jesus has taught us, is how to leave friends and faith family and by the very act of leaving send more spirit into the community you love.
The Ascension after all is followed by Pentecost. Jesus’ final ascent to the Father sends the Holy Spirit’s fresh descent on the Apostles.
Those who are able to depart from what they love most know something special about Jesus and they inspire even more grace in their wake.
And, the grace for this community will come because of who you are and what gifts I am tangibly and intangibly leaving behind here in this marvelous parish.
“Remember such a one in time to come…” it says on my anniversary card. I count myself as one who will not forget you; please remember me, as well.
God bless you all.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for June 20, 2010: Vacation WITH God, not FROM God
This and That:
Vacation WITH God, Not FROM God
Now that school is out for the summer and there are less activities or meetings for children and adults, many people take on a different schedule for the summer. In a sense, it’s like the Jewish and Christian tradition of Sabbath, a time to rest from labors and to be rejuvenated.
Summer is actually a great time to renew or deepen our relationship with God. The beauty of nature inspires praise for our Creator. Longer days of daylight mean a little more time in the morning or evening to spend in prayer. I love summer evenings, and taking a 30 minute walk becomes a time of prayer.
If we have a little more leisure time, we can reflect on the past year and where we are in our lives since last summer. Don’t miss the opportunities for some moments of quiet prayer, whether to give thanks for blessings or to turn our troubles and challenges over to the Lord, asking for his help.
Without school work, summer is a great time to do some Bible study or read some books on spiritual topics. For children, lives of the Saints or Bible stories can be inspirational. For adults, there are many books on prayer, Scripture, and Christian living. Lots of people spend their time on the beach reading, so why not include a spiritual book on your summer reading list?
If you take a vacation as a family or as an individual, find a Catholic parish and attend Mass. It may be interesting to see how other parishes celebrate – what kind of music they sing, how the priest or deacon preaches, how they greet people or minister to children. We have often found good ideas for our parish through experiences from other parishes.
We notice that Mass attendance is lower once Religious Education classes are over for the year and Sacraments have been celebrated. We know that some of this is due to people being away on vacation different weekends. We also know that some folks take the summer “off” from church, and I think they may be missing spiritual nourishment that we all need so much.
On last exhortation – LISTEN for God’s messages to you – in the quiet of your own heart, in conversations with friends or family members while sipping a cool drink, and in the beautiful sounds of nature. Everyone is so “plugged in” these days – always listening to music on IPods or watching videos or television – and these are good things. However, sometimes we miss the beautiful sounds of nature – birds singing, crickets chirping, leaves swaying in the breeze, waves crashing on the shore. We need to be quiet to hear these sounds. Listening to them can be very calming and can connect us with our God, who created us to enjoy all of these other parts of creation.
So enjoy your summer vacation, whether at home or away. Spend some time being quiet each day and know that the Spirit of God dwells within your own heart. LISTEN – to your own thoughts and feelings, to God’s Word in Scripture and to the sounds of creation, and RESPOND as a disciple of Jesus Christ – sharing love, forgiveness, healing presence and joy with others.
Happy Summer!
Sister Mary Therese
Vacation WITH God, Not FROM God
Now that school is out for the summer and there are less activities or meetings for children and adults, many people take on a different schedule for the summer. In a sense, it’s like the Jewish and Christian tradition of Sabbath, a time to rest from labors and to be rejuvenated.
Summer is actually a great time to renew or deepen our relationship with God. The beauty of nature inspires praise for our Creator. Longer days of daylight mean a little more time in the morning or evening to spend in prayer. I love summer evenings, and taking a 30 minute walk becomes a time of prayer.
If we have a little more leisure time, we can reflect on the past year and where we are in our lives since last summer. Don’t miss the opportunities for some moments of quiet prayer, whether to give thanks for blessings or to turn our troubles and challenges over to the Lord, asking for his help.
Without school work, summer is a great time to do some Bible study or read some books on spiritual topics. For children, lives of the Saints or Bible stories can be inspirational. For adults, there are many books on prayer, Scripture, and Christian living. Lots of people spend their time on the beach reading, so why not include a spiritual book on your summer reading list?
If you take a vacation as a family or as an individual, find a Catholic parish and attend Mass. It may be interesting to see how other parishes celebrate – what kind of music they sing, how the priest or deacon preaches, how they greet people or minister to children. We have often found good ideas for our parish through experiences from other parishes.
We notice that Mass attendance is lower once Religious Education classes are over for the year and Sacraments have been celebrated. We know that some of this is due to people being away on vacation different weekends. We also know that some folks take the summer “off” from church, and I think they may be missing spiritual nourishment that we all need so much.
On last exhortation – LISTEN for God’s messages to you – in the quiet of your own heart, in conversations with friends or family members while sipping a cool drink, and in the beautiful sounds of nature. Everyone is so “plugged in” these days – always listening to music on IPods or watching videos or television – and these are good things. However, sometimes we miss the beautiful sounds of nature – birds singing, crickets chirping, leaves swaying in the breeze, waves crashing on the shore. We need to be quiet to hear these sounds. Listening to them can be very calming and can connect us with our God, who created us to enjoy all of these other parts of creation.
So enjoy your summer vacation, whether at home or away. Spend some time being quiet each day and know that the Spirit of God dwells within your own heart. LISTEN – to your own thoughts and feelings, to God’s Word in Scripture and to the sounds of creation, and RESPOND as a disciple of Jesus Christ – sharing love, forgiveness, healing presence and joy with others.
Happy Summer!
Sister Mary Therese
Weekly HOMILY for June 20, 2010: Who's Saved and Who Isn't?
12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
June 20, 2010
Who’s Saved and Who Isn’t?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Who do you say that I am?”
Last year, I participated in a gathering of about twenty-five ministers here in Northern Baltimore County.
I was the only Catholic pastor. The rest of the group was from some of the mainline Protestant denominations, but most of them were from Evangelical or Pentecostal churches.
I had been asked to lead the prayer and reflection for the day. I did not use today’s Gospel passage, but in my reflections I was really addressing Jesus’ question today.
“Who do you say that I am?” In effect, I was personally responding to the question: “Who do I say that Jesus is?”
The Savior…
I began my reflection by stating that Jesus is the full, complete revelation of God. He is the Word of God made flesh.
He is, as our Profession of Faith says, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
Jesus is our way to the Father because he and the Father are one. He brings us an intimacy with God and a sharing in God’s life.
And it is in these ways that Jesus is our Savior:
➢ He saves us from a profound, existential loneliness
➢ He saves us from not knowing how to live
➢ He saves us from having our hunger for eternal life unsatisfied
Because of this, we obviously want everyone to come to know Jesus. We want to share Jesus – his person, his life, his message with everyone.
… But All Can Be Saved
At the same time, I also stated at that gathering of clergy that all people can still be saved. Those who have never heard of Jesus or those who follow some other religious tradition can still be saved.
Why? Because Jesus reveals the unlimited, unconditional, inclusive, universal love of God.
Jesus reveals that God is pure love – love itself! So in some way, all people must be able to be saved and to live with God in eternity.
God has revealed himself fully and completely in Jesus, but he has and is present in some way also in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and all religions of the world.
That fact is that all who sincerely seek God can be saved.
This wonderful insight does not in any way diminish who Jesus is. It recognizes who he is and also who God is and God’s mysterious love for all humanity.
Response
When I shared these thoughts at that clergy gathering, some ministers immediately nodded and agreed.
But several other ministers – they happened to be from the more fundamentalist churches – disagreed. They believe that only Christians, only those who have accepted Jesus and been baptized, could be saved.
This led me to recall that, when I was a child, we Catholics were often taught much the same thing. In fact, we were even taught that outside the Catholic Church, there is was no salvation.
The Second Vatican Council has taken us back to the Scripture and to the best of our theological tradition. It has helped us to see both the uniqueness of Jesus and the universal possibility of salvation.
I share all of this today because I feel so passionate about it. I feel concerned that the rather limited notion of God and of Jesus and the exclusivist idea of salvation still seem so alive.
Our Faith: Both/And
Perhaps at the root we need to realize that our faith is more of a “both/and” and not an “either/or.”
We can:
➢ Both believe in Jesus as God’s Son
And also allow the possibility of salvation for all peoples
➢ Both respect Catholicism and Christianity as the way
And also respect other religions or peoples of no religion who sincerely seek God
I sometimes wonder if there is not something in our human psyche, in our emotional or psychological make-up that we have to deal with here.
It’s something like:
➢ My “being okay” does not mean that I have to judge others as “not okay”
➢ My “being good” does not mean that I have to judge others as “bad”
➢ My being “included in God’s family” does not mean that I have to judge others as “excluded”
➢ And yes, my “being saved” does not mean that I have to judge others as “not saved”
God, who is love itself, God who is Jesus, does not seem to approach things this way at all – just read through the Gospels and that is so very clear.
Conclusion
So, “Who do I…” or “Who do you say that Jesus is?”
The answer is crucial.
Our Lady of Grace
June 20, 2010
Who’s Saved and Who Isn’t?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Who do you say that I am?”
Last year, I participated in a gathering of about twenty-five ministers here in Northern Baltimore County.
I was the only Catholic pastor. The rest of the group was from some of the mainline Protestant denominations, but most of them were from Evangelical or Pentecostal churches.
I had been asked to lead the prayer and reflection for the day. I did not use today’s Gospel passage, but in my reflections I was really addressing Jesus’ question today.
“Who do you say that I am?” In effect, I was personally responding to the question: “Who do I say that Jesus is?”
The Savior…
I began my reflection by stating that Jesus is the full, complete revelation of God. He is the Word of God made flesh.
He is, as our Profession of Faith says, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
Jesus is our way to the Father because he and the Father are one. He brings us an intimacy with God and a sharing in God’s life.
And it is in these ways that Jesus is our Savior:
➢ He saves us from a profound, existential loneliness
➢ He saves us from not knowing how to live
➢ He saves us from having our hunger for eternal life unsatisfied
Because of this, we obviously want everyone to come to know Jesus. We want to share Jesus – his person, his life, his message with everyone.
… But All Can Be Saved
At the same time, I also stated at that gathering of clergy that all people can still be saved. Those who have never heard of Jesus or those who follow some other religious tradition can still be saved.
Why? Because Jesus reveals the unlimited, unconditional, inclusive, universal love of God.
Jesus reveals that God is pure love – love itself! So in some way, all people must be able to be saved and to live with God in eternity.
God has revealed himself fully and completely in Jesus, but he has and is present in some way also in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and all religions of the world.
That fact is that all who sincerely seek God can be saved.
This wonderful insight does not in any way diminish who Jesus is. It recognizes who he is and also who God is and God’s mysterious love for all humanity.
Response
When I shared these thoughts at that clergy gathering, some ministers immediately nodded and agreed.
But several other ministers – they happened to be from the more fundamentalist churches – disagreed. They believe that only Christians, only those who have accepted Jesus and been baptized, could be saved.
This led me to recall that, when I was a child, we Catholics were often taught much the same thing. In fact, we were even taught that outside the Catholic Church, there is was no salvation.
The Second Vatican Council has taken us back to the Scripture and to the best of our theological tradition. It has helped us to see both the uniqueness of Jesus and the universal possibility of salvation.
I share all of this today because I feel so passionate about it. I feel concerned that the rather limited notion of God and of Jesus and the exclusivist idea of salvation still seem so alive.
Our Faith: Both/And
Perhaps at the root we need to realize that our faith is more of a “both/and” and not an “either/or.”
We can:
➢ Both believe in Jesus as God’s Son
And also allow the possibility of salvation for all peoples
➢ Both respect Catholicism and Christianity as the way
And also respect other religions or peoples of no religion who sincerely seek God
I sometimes wonder if there is not something in our human psyche, in our emotional or psychological make-up that we have to deal with here.
It’s something like:
➢ My “being okay” does not mean that I have to judge others as “not okay”
➢ My “being good” does not mean that I have to judge others as “bad”
➢ My being “included in God’s family” does not mean that I have to judge others as “excluded”
➢ And yes, my “being saved” does not mean that I have to judge others as “not saved”
God, who is love itself, God who is Jesus, does not seem to approach things this way at all – just read through the Gospels and that is so very clear.
Conclusion
So, “Who do I…” or “Who do you say that Jesus is?”
The answer is crucial.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for June 13, 2010: Catholic Evangelization
This and That:
Catholic Evangelization
The document “Go and Make Disciples” is a national plan and strategy for Catholic evangelization in the U. S., written by our national council of Catholic bishops. The bishops note that the simplest way to say what evangelization means is to follow Pope Paul, who wrote in the encyclical “On evangelization in the Modern World,” that “evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself.” Too, the bishops write that evangelization must always be directly connected to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, there is no evangelization without conversion. Conversion is the change in our lives that comes about through the power of the Holy Spirit. All who accept the Gospel undergo change as we continually put on the mind of Christ by rejecting sin and becoming more faithful disciples in His Church. Unless we undergo conversion, we have not truly accepted the Gospel. So, conversion is crucial: we must be converted – and we must continue to be converted.
But faith is not something that only happens to each of us individually. The Gospel also speaks to society itself, with its values, goals, and systems. The Gospel must overflow from each heart until the presence of God transforms all human existence. The fruit of evangelization, then, is changed lives and a changed world – holiness, spiritually, and peace.
The Bishops speak of three goals of evangelization:
1. To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
2. To invite all people to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.
3. To foster Gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of family, and the common good of out society.
This fall at Our Lady of Grace, we will implement goal one in two ways. On the Tuesday mornings of October 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th at 9:30am, we will do an adult bible study on the Psalms, Jesus’ prayer book. Secondly, we will look at the role and significance of the sacraments in our daily lives on the Sunday mornings of September 26th and October 3rd, and on Thursday night, October 7th. We will ask the parents of ALL sacrament candidates in 2010-11, to come to one of these sessions, but, most certainly, these sessions are open to ALL adult parishioners.
We will implement goal two in three ways this fall. One, we will continue to offer the RCIA for all non- Catholics who wish to become Catholic, and for all Catholic adults who have not yet received Eucharist or Confirmation, or both. Too, we will offer the “Welcome Back” ministry for all Catholics currently inactive in the practice of the faith, but seek help in returning to an active practice. Please send me the names and addresses of your loved ones and friends to whom you would like me to send a kind note of invitation to this program, which will be held on the Tuesdays of September 14th, 21st and 28th at 7:00pm.
Goal two will also be addressed through the St. Monica Ministry. This ministry is intended to facilitate the healing of parents whose loved ones are no longer active in the practice of the faith. This ministry will be held on the Mondays of September 13th, 20th and 27th at 7:00pm.
We will look to help transform society through the power of the sacraments and gospel by inviting parishioners from other parishes to join with us for any of our faith enrichment opportunities.
Please do not forget to get me the names and addresses of those to whom you’d like me to send a personal letter of invitation to Welcome Back.
God bless,
Dr. Jack Buchner
Catholic Evangelization
The document “Go and Make Disciples” is a national plan and strategy for Catholic evangelization in the U. S., written by our national council of Catholic bishops. The bishops note that the simplest way to say what evangelization means is to follow Pope Paul, who wrote in the encyclical “On evangelization in the Modern World,” that “evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself.” Too, the bishops write that evangelization must always be directly connected to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, there is no evangelization without conversion. Conversion is the change in our lives that comes about through the power of the Holy Spirit. All who accept the Gospel undergo change as we continually put on the mind of Christ by rejecting sin and becoming more faithful disciples in His Church. Unless we undergo conversion, we have not truly accepted the Gospel. So, conversion is crucial: we must be converted – and we must continue to be converted.
But faith is not something that only happens to each of us individually. The Gospel also speaks to society itself, with its values, goals, and systems. The Gospel must overflow from each heart until the presence of God transforms all human existence. The fruit of evangelization, then, is changed lives and a changed world – holiness, spiritually, and peace.
The Bishops speak of three goals of evangelization:
1. To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
2. To invite all people to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.
3. To foster Gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of family, and the common good of out society.
This fall at Our Lady of Grace, we will implement goal one in two ways. On the Tuesday mornings of October 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th at 9:30am, we will do an adult bible study on the Psalms, Jesus’ prayer book. Secondly, we will look at the role and significance of the sacraments in our daily lives on the Sunday mornings of September 26th and October 3rd, and on Thursday night, October 7th. We will ask the parents of ALL sacrament candidates in 2010-11, to come to one of these sessions, but, most certainly, these sessions are open to ALL adult parishioners.
We will implement goal two in three ways this fall. One, we will continue to offer the RCIA for all non- Catholics who wish to become Catholic, and for all Catholic adults who have not yet received Eucharist or Confirmation, or both. Too, we will offer the “Welcome Back” ministry for all Catholics currently inactive in the practice of the faith, but seek help in returning to an active practice. Please send me the names and addresses of your loved ones and friends to whom you would like me to send a kind note of invitation to this program, which will be held on the Tuesdays of September 14th, 21st and 28th at 7:00pm.
Goal two will also be addressed through the St. Monica Ministry. This ministry is intended to facilitate the healing of parents whose loved ones are no longer active in the practice of the faith. This ministry will be held on the Mondays of September 13th, 20th and 27th at 7:00pm.
We will look to help transform society through the power of the sacraments and gospel by inviting parishioners from other parishes to join with us for any of our faith enrichment opportunities.
Please do not forget to get me the names and addresses of those to whom you’d like me to send a personal letter of invitation to Welcome Back.
God bless,
Dr. Jack Buchner
Weekly HOMILY for June 13, 2010: Our Shadows Have a Lesson to Teach
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Testimonial Weekend
Our Lady of Grace
June 13, 2010
Our Shadows Have a Lesson to Teach
By Nicholas P. Amato
Shadow As Metaphor
This evening’s/morning’s readings have a very powerful lesson to teach us about forgiveness and to get us to those lessons, let us think for a moment about shadows.
Imagine with me the shadow you were casting just this afternoon (or the last sunny day.) If I stand with my back to the sun (gesture sun=forward; shadow=behind) I am definitely going to see my shadow as it is cast by the sun.
However, if a stand facing the sun, my shadow will be behind me.
Oh, it is still very much there, but I simply do not see it and after a while, I am not even aware of it.
Our Shadows and God
Now, let us identify our physical shadow with something in our lives that we are not proud of. Perhaps it is something we have done or a negative personality trait that pops up from time to time or even a hidden secret sin I have never shared with anyone.
And then, let us identify the sun as Jesus who has been known as “The light of the world.”
Notice: I only see my shadow when I have my back turned to Christ, the Sun. When I do that, I am focused on my shadow and in some cases even living out of it.
Today’s Scripture
I believe that this is a good way to understand today’s readings and especially the Gospel we just heard.
The woman in the Gospel has come to terms with her shadow – she knows she is a sinner and so does most of the town – yet, she has turned herself toward Christ.
Yes, her shadow remains part of her past, part of her life, but it is in a real sense put behind her.
She experiences God’s forgiveness and has been able to move beyond her shadow, if you will, into the light that is Christ.
I can see three important lessons about our shadows here.
Lesson #1: All Have Shadows
The first lesson is that we all have shadows – from the most saintly of Popes to the most sinful of sinners.
Jesus tells the story about the creditor and the debtors and how the individual who has been forgiven much will be able to love more.
Simon misses the point completely and instead disdains this unnamed, so-called sinful woman.
An underlying message here is that we all have something that needs forgiveness. The worse or sinful the act, trait, or imperfection is, the greater love that person will have toward the one forgiving.
The sins, little or great, are there and imaged (look over shoulder) as our shadow.
This is the core truth of life and of our relationship with God.
Lesson #2: Face God the Son
The second lesson is that we all need to turn and face God, who is represented by the sun or the light.
We can do this turning only by entrusting ourselves to the power of God. We can do this by prayer, by feeding on the Eucharist, and especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In this turning through the grace of God, God is then able to forgive us of the thing or the trait that make up our shadow, in much the same way that Jesus has done with the woman in the Gospel.
God first draws us into his light and then God empowers us to live in him.
Make no mistake about it, our shadow is still there, but it is, in a sense, behind us. It no longer has to determine what we do or who we are. We don’t have to live out of it.
Lesson 3: Don’t Look at Others’ Shadows
The third and final lesson drawn from this shadow and light image is that we need to be careful not to get focused on the shadows of others.
When we are facing God – the light, the sun – we can still see the shadows of others. The caution here is not to get focused on their shadows.
This is what the Pharisee named Simon is doing in the Gospel. He thinks he is facing God, but he is really focused on the woman’s shadow and he is feeling very self-righteous and condescending.
Amazingly, in focusing on the shadow of the woman, Simon is really in his own shadow without even knowing it. So, a telltale sign of living in our own shadow, even when we think we are facing God, is when we get focused on the shadows of others.
We, as individuals, can easily slide into this with one another. And quite honestly, we as a Church, can get into this in the way we talk about or treat others whom we think are not facing God fully, such as some politicians.
Far better to make sure that we ourselves are facing the Lord, the light! And far better for us to invite others to do this respectfully and positively!
Conclusion
So, some extremely powerful lessons to us about our shadows and what they have to tell us this evening/morning!
“Let those who have ears, hear.”
Testimonial Weekend
Our Lady of Grace
June 13, 2010
Our Shadows Have a Lesson to Teach
By Nicholas P. Amato
Shadow As Metaphor
This evening’s/morning’s readings have a very powerful lesson to teach us about forgiveness and to get us to those lessons, let us think for a moment about shadows.
Imagine with me the shadow you were casting just this afternoon (or the last sunny day.) If I stand with my back to the sun (gesture sun=forward; shadow=behind) I am definitely going to see my shadow as it is cast by the sun.
However, if a stand facing the sun, my shadow will be behind me.
Oh, it is still very much there, but I simply do not see it and after a while, I am not even aware of it.
Our Shadows and God
Now, let us identify our physical shadow with something in our lives that we are not proud of. Perhaps it is something we have done or a negative personality trait that pops up from time to time or even a hidden secret sin I have never shared with anyone.
And then, let us identify the sun as Jesus who has been known as “The light of the world.”
Notice: I only see my shadow when I have my back turned to Christ, the Sun. When I do that, I am focused on my shadow and in some cases even living out of it.
Today’s Scripture
I believe that this is a good way to understand today’s readings and especially the Gospel we just heard.
The woman in the Gospel has come to terms with her shadow – she knows she is a sinner and so does most of the town – yet, she has turned herself toward Christ.
Yes, her shadow remains part of her past, part of her life, but it is in a real sense put behind her.
She experiences God’s forgiveness and has been able to move beyond her shadow, if you will, into the light that is Christ.
I can see three important lessons about our shadows here.
Lesson #1: All Have Shadows
The first lesson is that we all have shadows – from the most saintly of Popes to the most sinful of sinners.
Jesus tells the story about the creditor and the debtors and how the individual who has been forgiven much will be able to love more.
Simon misses the point completely and instead disdains this unnamed, so-called sinful woman.
An underlying message here is that we all have something that needs forgiveness. The worse or sinful the act, trait, or imperfection is, the greater love that person will have toward the one forgiving.
The sins, little or great, are there and imaged (look over shoulder) as our shadow.
This is the core truth of life and of our relationship with God.
Lesson #2: Face God the Son
The second lesson is that we all need to turn and face God, who is represented by the sun or the light.
We can do this turning only by entrusting ourselves to the power of God. We can do this by prayer, by feeding on the Eucharist, and especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In this turning through the grace of God, God is then able to forgive us of the thing or the trait that make up our shadow, in much the same way that Jesus has done with the woman in the Gospel.
God first draws us into his light and then God empowers us to live in him.
Make no mistake about it, our shadow is still there, but it is, in a sense, behind us. It no longer has to determine what we do or who we are. We don’t have to live out of it.
Lesson 3: Don’t Look at Others’ Shadows
The third and final lesson drawn from this shadow and light image is that we need to be careful not to get focused on the shadows of others.
When we are facing God – the light, the sun – we can still see the shadows of others. The caution here is not to get focused on their shadows.
This is what the Pharisee named Simon is doing in the Gospel. He thinks he is facing God, but he is really focused on the woman’s shadow and he is feeling very self-righteous and condescending.
Amazingly, in focusing on the shadow of the woman, Simon is really in his own shadow without even knowing it. So, a telltale sign of living in our own shadow, even when we think we are facing God, is when we get focused on the shadows of others.
We, as individuals, can easily slide into this with one another. And quite honestly, we as a Church, can get into this in the way we talk about or treat others whom we think are not facing God fully, such as some politicians.
Far better to make sure that we ourselves are facing the Lord, the light! And far better for us to invite others to do this respectfully and positively!
Conclusion
So, some extremely powerful lessons to us about our shadows and what they have to tell us this evening/morning!
“Let those who have ears, hear.”
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Weekly THIS AND THAT for June 6, 2010: What Would I Tell an Individual Considering the Priesthood Today?
This and That:
What Would I Tell an Individual Considering the Priesthood Today?
The vast parking lot of St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park was empty as I drove up for my monthly Clergy Support Group meeting. The seminarians had come in September and had now gone home to their respective dioceses for the summer and with them went our own Deacon Chris Ballard. I began thinking what does an old geezer celebrating his 40th ordination anniversary tell a young man like Chris about being a priest?
As I parked my car in the deserted lot, I quickly jotted down the ideas that were swirling in my head. It was easy writing as I pictured sharing my thoughts with Deacon Chris.
Joy of Being a Priest
I have never regretted not being able to marry or be the father of children. Both marriage and fathering do find an expression in the life of a priest. People will often ask, “Are you going home for Christmas or Thanksgiving?” and my response is always, “I am home.” After God, there is no close second to my parish as my family. As for children, the constant calling “Father Nicholas” and trying to realize what the title really means is very compelling. I am reminded of the teen who asked me what cologne I was wearing. When I asked why, she said she wanted to buy it for her father because we wears “old man’s cologne.” There are a multitude of such connections where our children are my children.
The other joy of being a priest has been to celebrate the Sacraments. It is an extraordinary experience to glimpse from time to time what I am really doing at the Mass and in Jesus’ name to say, “This is my body…this is my blood” and have what I say become the fact! In each of the sacraments there is something: what a joy it is to see the relief in the eyes of the penitent, the peace in the one anointed before surgery, the excitement in the signing of the hymn at Mass, or the thrill of raising that little bambino at baptism and have you all applaud!
Sadness of Being a Priest
Being a priest does have a “heavy” side, particularly in the sexual abuse scandals of last 20 years. What heartbreak to see so many children abused at the hands of a beloved and trusted priest or to see the failure in leadership of bishops not dealing with the issues more responsibly or to know priests themselves who were part of our “Band of Brothers” in such profound trouble.
A second sadness has to do with the legion of cases where, in pastoral care of our people, the law or teaching of the Church is considered more important than the individual in anguish or pain. Among such people are the divorced and remarried, persons with same-sex attraction, and women who have had abortions. I often think that people know what the Church’s teachings are; what they do not often receive is the Church’s compassion.
Challenges of the Priesthood
I have always liked the distinction of the Church as being both human and divine. As divine, it is the Body of Christ in our world. As human, it is the sinful spouse, the weak and unfaithful disciple. Thank God the “greats” like Peter and Paul had their own faults and failings. In their changes of heart there is hope for all of us. I have found that it helps others, as well as myself, for me to recognize my own sins and failings. When we are able to admit that, people see us as real and the mercy of God becomes more tangible.
A second challenge has to do with the things we lament in our lives as a Church. Unfortunately, we all think that the challenges and crises are unique to our own lifetime. History is such an aid in seeing that parents have complained about children from the dawn of creation. We need to honestly admit that perhaps there were never any real “good old days.” Oh, I know we think there were, but we often fail to see the problems experienced then and, as our lives become past memories, we tend to romanticize them. That is all to say that “this too shall pass away” and when the journey gets tough, just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.
Response to One’s Call to Priesthood
As I sat in the car, I searched for the ways I had been able to better experience the joys, carry the sadness, and confront the challenges of the past 40 years. First and foremost has been the acquiring of the habit of prayer as a way to remain regularly in Christ’s presence from one day to the next. It is that presence that gives one the ability to hope, to endure, and to stay motivated.
Finally, as choices and opportunities of all sorts presented themselves, it has helped to simply reiterate the popular saying many teens have on their wristbands, “What would Jesus do?” If you have put on the mind of Jesus Christ through prayer, then the answer and the grace to know and to follow would flow more easily. I suddenly realized I needed to get into the Seminary to my brother priests. And with that thought, my little parked car reflection quickly drew to a close.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
What Would I Tell an Individual Considering the Priesthood Today?
The vast parking lot of St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park was empty as I drove up for my monthly Clergy Support Group meeting. The seminarians had come in September and had now gone home to their respective dioceses for the summer and with them went our own Deacon Chris Ballard. I began thinking what does an old geezer celebrating his 40th ordination anniversary tell a young man like Chris about being a priest?
As I parked my car in the deserted lot, I quickly jotted down the ideas that were swirling in my head. It was easy writing as I pictured sharing my thoughts with Deacon Chris.
Joy of Being a Priest
I have never regretted not being able to marry or be the father of children. Both marriage and fathering do find an expression in the life of a priest. People will often ask, “Are you going home for Christmas or Thanksgiving?” and my response is always, “I am home.” After God, there is no close second to my parish as my family. As for children, the constant calling “Father Nicholas” and trying to realize what the title really means is very compelling. I am reminded of the teen who asked me what cologne I was wearing. When I asked why, she said she wanted to buy it for her father because we wears “old man’s cologne.” There are a multitude of such connections where our children are my children.
The other joy of being a priest has been to celebrate the Sacraments. It is an extraordinary experience to glimpse from time to time what I am really doing at the Mass and in Jesus’ name to say, “This is my body…this is my blood” and have what I say become the fact! In each of the sacraments there is something: what a joy it is to see the relief in the eyes of the penitent, the peace in the one anointed before surgery, the excitement in the signing of the hymn at Mass, or the thrill of raising that little bambino at baptism and have you all applaud!
Sadness of Being a Priest
Being a priest does have a “heavy” side, particularly in the sexual abuse scandals of last 20 years. What heartbreak to see so many children abused at the hands of a beloved and trusted priest or to see the failure in leadership of bishops not dealing with the issues more responsibly or to know priests themselves who were part of our “Band of Brothers” in such profound trouble.
A second sadness has to do with the legion of cases where, in pastoral care of our people, the law or teaching of the Church is considered more important than the individual in anguish or pain. Among such people are the divorced and remarried, persons with same-sex attraction, and women who have had abortions. I often think that people know what the Church’s teachings are; what they do not often receive is the Church’s compassion.
Challenges of the Priesthood
I have always liked the distinction of the Church as being both human and divine. As divine, it is the Body of Christ in our world. As human, it is the sinful spouse, the weak and unfaithful disciple. Thank God the “greats” like Peter and Paul had their own faults and failings. In their changes of heart there is hope for all of us. I have found that it helps others, as well as myself, for me to recognize my own sins and failings. When we are able to admit that, people see us as real and the mercy of God becomes more tangible.
A second challenge has to do with the things we lament in our lives as a Church. Unfortunately, we all think that the challenges and crises are unique to our own lifetime. History is such an aid in seeing that parents have complained about children from the dawn of creation. We need to honestly admit that perhaps there were never any real “good old days.” Oh, I know we think there were, but we often fail to see the problems experienced then and, as our lives become past memories, we tend to romanticize them. That is all to say that “this too shall pass away” and when the journey gets tough, just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.
Response to One’s Call to Priesthood
As I sat in the car, I searched for the ways I had been able to better experience the joys, carry the sadness, and confront the challenges of the past 40 years. First and foremost has been the acquiring of the habit of prayer as a way to remain regularly in Christ’s presence from one day to the next. It is that presence that gives one the ability to hope, to endure, and to stay motivated.
Finally, as choices and opportunities of all sorts presented themselves, it has helped to simply reiterate the popular saying many teens have on their wristbands, “What would Jesus do?” If you have put on the mind of Jesus Christ through prayer, then the answer and the grace to know and to follow would flow more easily. I suddenly realized I needed to get into the Seminary to my brother priests. And with that thought, my little parked car reflection quickly drew to a close.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
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