Weekly HOMILY for February 17, 2012: The Grace of Loving Presence

7^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Remarried Couples Retreat

Holy Trinity Retreat Center

February 17, 2012

 

The Grace of Loving Presence

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

 

JERRY AND ANNA

It was Jerry who first noticed the difficulties Anna was having. Fifty-three years of marriage gave him that ability.

He detected in her a loss in memory and concentration, or problems coming up with the right word or the correct name. She began misplacing valuable objects.

He wanted her so much to be healed of this distraction.

Months passed and Anna was now having difficulty in planning dinner for guests, paying bills, or managing the household finances.

So Jerry started to pick up the slack by helping her plan the meals and he willingly took over the checkbook and finances.

Soon it became apparent that Anna was having trouble remembering his name and she needed help dressing so she wouldn’t make a mistake by putting her nightgown over day clothes.

Jerry was there doing whatever it took to support her, which now included the details of toileting.

In the final months, Anna lost her ability to smile or sit up. Her muscles had become rigid and all she could do was simply lay in bed.

At her feet Jerry sat, day in and day out, praying for her, telling her stories of past good times together, and asking God to hold her in his arms.

QUALITIES OF LOVING PRESENCE

Today’s gospel account is a similar story of love and devotion for someone who is very sick. In the actions of the friends of the sick man, we see four traits or characteristics of loving presence.

First, the friends want to get the paralyzed man to Jesus in order to be healed.  So they devise a creative plan and use their muscle to make their plan work.

Like Jerry, who wanted Anna to be healed, good friends or good spouses are not self-centered, not stuck in their own self-interest.  Instead, their desire is for the health and well-being of the other.

Second, the friends actually pick up the man’s mat and carry him. 

Jerry, again like the friends of the paralyzed man, was very quick to pick up the checkbook and oversee the finances, since Anna was no longer able to do them herself.

He did not have to be asked to do this and he didn’t make a big deal of it or call attention to himself in doing it.  Out of love he just did what had to be done.

Third, the friends in the gospel readily offer everything they have.  They’ve got the idea of lowering their friend through the roof. They’ve got the know-how to remove part of the roof, and the muscle to get their friend up there and lower him carefully to be near Jesus.

Jerry, like the good friends, gives every ounce he’s got to help Anna and she in turn, accepts his caring for her.

Finally, Jerry places Anna totally in God’s hands in much the same way the friends present the paralyzed man to Jesus. 

There’s nothing more for him to do with his hands but to pray, to whisper to her how much he loves her, to be present.

CONCLUSION

These four unnamed persons do not even say one word in the Gospel, nor do Jerry or Anna. Yet they give us a profound lesson of the power of love to heal and deliver.

Such love of a spouse is: (1) Not self-centered, but goes out of its way to help the other, (2) Picks up and carries a spouse when he/she is down and out, (3) Gives up whatever is needed to help, and (4) Leads a spouse closer to God.

The gospel continues to be lived out today in the example of Jerry and Anna and they empower us to live it out in our own marriages.

Weekly HOMILY for February 12, 2012: “With Malice Toward None; with Charity for All”

6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

St. John’s Frederick All Masses

February 12, 2012

 

“With Malice Toward None; with Charity for All”

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Today is the 203^rd birthday of Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth and perhaps our greatest president.

Lincoln is revered for his steady commitment to the anti-slavery cause.  And, of course, he is revered for bringing together factions during the Civil war.

Lincoln had an extraordinary ability to bridge political chasms.  He appointed to his cabinet three of his opponents for the Republican nomination.

The most notable of these was Edwin Stanton who was a fierce opponent of Lincoln and whom Lincoln appointed as Secretary of War.  Lincoln explained to a reporter that that he needed the strongest and best people in his cabinet and could not deprive the country of their service.

And then, as the Civil War drew to an end, Lincoln outlined a plan for Reconstruction.  His plan was built on reconciliation and restoration. It was not built on retribution and reparation that many people in the North wanted.

Lincoln clearly did not want to destroy or alienate the rebel states any further, and he did want to reunite them to the Union.

He spoke of this reconciliation in the famous words of his second inaugural address and he spoke more like a prophet than a politician.

Those words are very familiar to us today: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace…”

 

 

LINCOLN MAKING CLEAN

Abraham Lincoln continues to live on as a great example for us as Americans and he is also a good example of living out today’s Gospel.

In this passage, a leper comes up to Jesus and says, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  In Jesus’ time people were called lepers if they had any kind of skin condition, even if it was not contagious.

The hardest part of being labeled a leper was that these people had to live in isolation, apart from the community.  Jesus heals this man of whatever the skin condition is and even more importantly, by telling him to show himself to the priests, he restores him to the community.

This is what it means for the leper to be made clean – to be restored to the community.  Abraham Lincoln did this very same thing.

He made clean, he restored to community his political opponents.  And he made clean, he restored to community those who had been his Confederate enemies, against whom he has waged war.

Lincoln wished to make clean.  He brought healing and reconciliation and in doing so made a great contribution to our country.

OUR MAKING CLEAN

The question for us here and now is: “Who are today’s lepers and do we wish to make them clean?”

On a personal level, is there a family member or a friend whom we have not talked to for months or years?  Has this happened because of some disagreement or hurtful exchange?

Can we reach out and try to make the relationship clean?  Can we do what we can to restore this person to family or friendship?

On a Church level, are there persons or groups who feel distanced or alienated from this parish community or the Catholic Church?  Has this happened because we cannot approve of their moral position or their lifestyle?

Again, can we as a Church make this relationship clean by inviting them back and restoring them to community?  Can’t we remain “right” with our faith, righteous in the gospel sense, and not be self-righteous and in this way allow Jesus to touch them with his love as he does with the leper in the Gospel?

Or on a national level, are there individuals or groups that we treat as lepers?  Perhaps this has come about because of significant policy or political disagreements.

Again, can we will to make this situation clean by refraining from degrading and demonizing words?  Can’t we hold fast to our convictions and at the same time be respectful and in that way produce the best environment for healing and growth in insight?

CONCLUSION

So, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus makes the leper clean by healing him and restoring him to the community.

Where are we being called right now to do the same?

Weekly HOMILY for February 5, 2012: God and the Mystery of Suffering

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
St. Mark Church, Fallston
February 5, 2012

God and the Mystery of Suffering
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


"I CAN HAVE COMPLAINTS"

There is a story that goes back to the 1970’s, when Communism still had its grip on Eastern Europe.

One day a man in Budapest went to the police station. He was seeking permission to emigrate to Western Europe.

The officer asked, “Aren’t you happy here, Comrade?” The Hungarian replied, “I have no complaints.”

Again the officer asked, “Perhaps you are dissatisfied with your work?” And again the man replied, “I have no complaints.”

The officer was insistent, so he asked once more, “Perhaps you are dissatisfied with your living conditions?” And once more the Hungarian quickly replied, “I have no complaints.”

Finally, the officer asked, “Comrade, if you have no complaints, then why do you want to go to the West?” to which the man replied, “Because there, I can have complaints.”


JOB'S AND OUR SUFFERINGS

That story is a helpful introduction to our first reading today.

This is a passage from the Book of Job – one of the best-known books of the Old Testament. The entire book is about a man named Job who is probably a lot like many of us.

Job has a pretty good job and is living comfortably. He and his wife are happily married and are blessed with many children.

But then Job’s life, as he knows it, falls apart. He loses his job and goes into bankruptcy. All his children are killed in an accident and his wife dies. Job himself contracts a chronic, painful disease.

Hopefully, we have not experienced all the sufferings that Job does, but the truth is that suffering does touch us all. Addiction, illness, or death; emotional, financial, marital or family problems – none of us is spared at least a couple of these.


JOB'S AND OUR COMPLAINT

In the midst of his suffering, Job is like that man in Budapest who has complaints. What is different, however, is that he can cry out and complain to God.

“Why? Why is this happening to me?” We, of course, may at times have the very same cry.

Being able to complain helps get our problems off our chest by giving what’s bothering us form and shape. Having it heard, we can evaluate for what it is.

In our first lesson we have two responses to the cries of human suffering: one from Job’s friends, a second from Job’s God.

When Job complains to his friends they tell him that his sufferings are in truth a sign that God (1) Is either testing him or (2) That God is punishing him.

Job, we hear, will not accept these traditional, pat explanations. He cannot believe that the good, loving God would will such evil either as a test or as a punishment.

And beyond that, Job knows in his heart that he has tried to be faithful to God and live a good life.

So what happens when he complains to God?

God does speak to Job and asks him two simple questions. (1) “Do you have the power that I have? And (2) Do you have the wisdom that I have?”

Job gets the point. He realizes that God’s power and wisdom far surpass his own.

What Job really “gets” is that God is a mystery, that human life is a mystery, and that suffering is a mystery. And with faith and trust in God’s power and wisdom, Job begins to accept his suffering as the mystery that it is.


A VALUABLE AND ESSENTIAL LESSON

This story of Job and his struggle is as alive for us today as it was when it was happening to him 500 years before the birth of Jesus.

For a long time, Job seeks understanding of his suffering (circle before you with finger) through reason (tap temple). He keeps asking “Why?” and he gets no satisfactory answer from his friends.

The change comes when God guides Job to seek understanding (circle before you with finger) through faith (point to heart) and not through reason (point to temple).

It is only then that Job gains some inner peace (circles with hands) by entrusting himself to the mystery of God’s power and mystery (hands opened and moved forward).


CONCLUSION

Understanding can rest on one of two foundations: the reasoning of others in my life or my faith in God.

The opportunity to complain opens us up to hear how God’s power and wisdom can act in our lives.

Job would encourage us to speak out our pain and heartbreak and then to hear God’s assurance to us.

Weekly HOMILY for January 15, 2012: 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Terrnuova Hermitage
January 15, 2012

What Are You Looking For?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Cashier: “What Are You Looking For?”

Six years ago, right after Thanksgiving, I went to the New Jersey shore for two days.

A priest friend had invited another priest and me to visit at his family home in Brigantine. Jim had given us directions, but, let’s just say, once we got off the New Jersey Turnpike, the roads got confusing.

So, we pulled into an Exxon station and I went into the Tiger Mart. I went to the cashier and said, “Pardon me, but I need some directions.”

The guy looked up and responded, “What are you looking for?” Within 30 seconds, I had the directions and we were on our way.


JESUS: "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?"

The cashier’s question – “What are you looking for?” – is the same question Jesus asks in today’s gospel.

And very significantly, these are the very first words Jesus speaks in John’s gospel. Jesus is posing this question to the two disciples who have started to follow him.

And today, Jesus is asking the same question of each of us: “What are you looking for?” Given its position in the gospel, this must be a very important question.


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

If we think for a minute and look within ourselves and at our own life experience, we probably have responded to this question in various ways.

We might be looking for a feeling of self-esteem and self-worth. Or maybe it is a feeling of acceptance or belonging to some group.

We might be looking for the opportunity to make a difference in the life of at least someone. Or maybe it is financial security or success in school or on a soccer team or at your job,

All of these things that we might be looking for are good and legitimate. At the same time, they are limited and not the full picture.

To the two disciples in today’s gospel, Jesus says: “Come and you will see.” In other words, he invites them to focus on himself because in doing that, they will discover what they are really looking for.

And then, in the dialogue involving the disciples in this passage, we hear three titles given to Jesus. These titles reveal at least something of who Jesus is and in doing that, they respond to what we are really looking for.


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? THE THREE TITLES

First, Jesus is called “the Lamb of God.” This title refers to the image of the Passover lamb that was offered each year as a way to celebrate what God had done for his people and God’s closeness with them.

So, Jesus as “the Lamb of God” satisfies our looking for closeness and intimacy with God. He satisfies our looking for acceptance and belonging on a level that no other person can do.

Then, Jesus is called “’Rabbi’ – which means Teacher.” This title means that Jesus offers wisdom and even the definitive word about God and the human condition.

So, Jesus as “Rabbi” satisfies our looking for insight and truth and the way to become the person God creates us to be. He satisfies our looking for a sense of direction and meaning and purpose for our lives.

And finally, Jesus is called “’Messiah’ – which means Christ.” This title means that Jesus fulfills the hope that has been around for centuries before his coming, the hope for a leader for God’s people.

So, Jesus as “Messiah” satisfies our looking for hope in the midst of physical pain, emotional suffering, or anxiety about the future. And, as these first two disciples would learn, he even satisfies our hope for life in the face of physical death.


CONCLUSION

We end where we began: “What are you looking for?”

At different moments and in different situations, we are all looking for various things in life. And all of these can be good.

But, underneath and beyond all of these, in the big picture and long run of life, we are really looking for closeness and acceptance, meaning and direction, and hope for life. We are looking for Jesus and what only Jesus can give.

Weekly HOMILY for January 8, 2012: Epiphany -- What does it mean to be Catholic?

Solemnity of the Epiphany, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace, Parkton, MD at 5:00pm
St. Mark, Fallston, MD at 7:30 and 9:00am
January 8, 2012

What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


A MAN ASKS A QUESTION

Recently, in a parish where I help out, I had a very thoughtful conversation with a parishioner about Catholicism. The middle-aged man was asking, “Today, what does it mean to be Catholic? It was a good question and we talked about for a good bit of time.

This past week, as I prayed and reflected on the familiar story of the 3 wise men, I recalled that conversation about Catholicism and I did so because I began seeing the story of the wise men in an entirely different way.

In the wise men, I see some of the ingredients of what it means to be Catholic. Let me explain.


PRIMARY INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

First, perhaps most obvious, is that being Catholic means being FOCUSED ON JESUS. These wise men are seeking a Messiah that they have only heard about.

They find him and when they do, they go down on their knees out of respect and reverence.

So for both the parishioner and the wise men, Jesus – and a personal interactive relationship with him – is the center of what it means to be Catholic.

Second, it is from this relationship that CORE BELIEFS essential to our being Catholic flow.

The wise men leave Bethlehem convinced that Jesus is the Promised One of God and this belief leads them to return home without telling Herod where the infant savior is.

In a way similar to the Magi, we as Catholics have developed an understanding of core beliefs – beliefs central to our faith – of who Jesus and God are. And we’ll recite them as central to what it means to be Catholic in the Creed that will follow after this homily.

After Jesus and Beliefs, we notice that we also have DIVERSITY within Catholicism. The wise men symbolize this diversity well.

They are persons of a different culture, faith, and race from Jesus. So also in Catholicism, there are different ways of celebrating Mass in China, India, than there are here in the West.

And beyond this, people of our faith community can have different outlooks on things like the just war principle and still remain fully Catholic.


ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

Being Catholic also means being a SACRAMENTAL PEOPLE. The wise men give gifts that are signs that point to Jesus’ future. The gold points to his spiritual power; the frankincense points to his divinity, that he is the Son of God; and the myrrh points to his death on the cross.

As Catholics we believe in the sacraments as sacred signs. They point to and make that reality present. So the consecrated bread and wine point to and actually become Jesus’ Body and Blood.

The Magi and we as Catholics are similarly present to sacred signs that reveal Jesus in our very midst.

The very WORD CATHOLIC – small “c” – means universal, that is, “everybody.” So Catholic – with a big “C” – means “including all in our big embrace.”

Once again, the Wise Men and the shepherds both at the manger speak to this.

The newborn Jesus draws the educated and the uneducated, the wealthy and the poor, the Jew and the Gentile, all.

Finally, being Catholic means that we are not just individuals ON A JOURNEY, but a community traveling together.

The wise men come to Jesus as a group or a community of three. And it is as a group that they complement one another in bringing different gifts that collectively tells us who he is.

We Catholics too are on our spiritual journey together, not just as individuals who happen to be traveling the same road. We’re in a party or group, with guidance from a leader we call a bishop and we do our part for this family of faith with whom we travel.


CONCLUSION

Today I’m grateful for that fellow who first asked me several months ago, “What does it mean to be Catholic?”

And today on this feast of the Epiphany I’m very grateful to the Wise Men who help me answer the question out of my own experience.

Weekly HOMILY for January 1, 2012: Mary the Mother of God Reflection That Makes a Difference

Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Cycle A
January 1, 2002
Holy Trinity Church

Reflection That Makes a Difference
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


ERMA BOMBECK

Our well-known American humorist Erma Bombeck once came up with a list of six New Year’s resolutions.

With Erma’s typical combination of wit and insight, her six resolutions go like this:

1. I’m going to clean this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.

2. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.

3. I’m going to follow my husband’s suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.

4. I’m going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.

5. I will never lend my car to anyone I have given birth to.

6. And, finally, just like last year, I am going to remember that my children need love most when they deserve it least.


MARY

With all of Erma’s wit, she ends with a very insightful resolution.

That resolution – about loving her children when they deserve it least – seems to be the result of some reflection. Erma must have reflected on her role as a mother and on her children’s needs and discerned what she was called to do.

In today’s gospel, Mary is also presented as a person who reflects. Saint Luke says that after she has given birth to Jesus and the shepherds have visited, “Mary treasures all these things and reflects on them in her heart.”

So, Mary is a reflective person. She looks carefully at what is happening and looks at all of this through the eyes of faith.

This reflective spirit enables Mary to see God acting in her life. It leads Mary to go along with what God is asking her to do.

Well, the example of Mary calls us to the same reflective spirit in our own lives. This can be especially appropriate on New Year’s Day.

If we are inclined to make some New Year’s resolutions, I recommend that reflect a bit and focus our reflections on the three dimensions of time – on the past, then the future, and finally the present. I recommend that we focus on these and see what resolution is appropriate for us.


POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS

First, the past. Maybe we need to resolve to stop saying things like “If only I had done this” or “If only I had not said that.”

Usually, our “if onlys” are a waste of time and energy. We cannot bring back or re-do the past.

On the other hand, if our regret is based on an appropriate feeling of guilt, then let’s ask for forgiveness from the person involved or from God. In this way, let’s bring the past to completion and just let the past be past.

Then, the future. Maybe we need to resolve to stop saying things like “What if this happens” or “What if he does that.”

Again, usually our “what ifs” are a waste of time and energy. They are almost always focused on something in the future that we can do nothing about.

In truth, the only thing we can do about the future is live today the best we can with our future goals in mind – both our earthly and our heavenly goals. So, maybe we need to take Mary’s approach and trust more that God will be with us and support us through whatever happens.

And finally, the present. Maybe we need to resolve just to give our attention to the person we are now with or the thing we are now doing.

So often we are thinking about the next person or task or what I will say just as soon as the other person stops talking. So often we are not really “with” or present to the person we are talking with or the thing we are doing.

Maybe we need just to focus on how God may be present to us right now through your husband or wife or friend or in leading a project at work or cleaning the house or whatever. We can usually find God and the richness of life right here – in the present moment, in whatever we are doing.


CONCLUSION

So, Erma Bombeck’s humor and Mary’s reflective spirit might lead us to some thoughtful resolutions at this junction of time that we call New Year’s. Happy New Year!

Weekly HOMILY for Christmas December 25, 2011: What's in a Song?

Christmas, Cycle B
December 25, 2011
Saint Margaret Church, Bel Air, MD
Our Lady of Grace Church, Parkton, MD

What’s in a Song?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

Back in the nineteenth century, in the 1870’s, there was an American preacher named Phillips Brooks.

One December, shortly before Christmas, Phillips Brooks visited the Holy Land. On that Christmas Eve, he made the trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on horseback.

From a distance, Brooks saw the little town of Bethlehem lit up against the darkness of the night. That sight made a great impression on him and a year later it inspired Brooks to write some verses.

His church organist quickly composed a tune to go with them. That hymn has become a standard for our celebration of Christmas. I’d like to speak it to you so you can listen carefully to the words.

“O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie! (gesture)
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by; (gesture)
Yet in thy dark streets shineth (gesture)
The everlasting light; (gesture)
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.” (gesture)


INTERPLAY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT IN SCRIPTURE

“Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light” – those words have really captured my attention this Christmas. They express the contrast between darkness and light that Christmas is all about.

In tonight’s 1st reading, the Prophet Isaiah says: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shone.”

Isaiah is looking ahead to a moment when God will penetrate the darkness that fills so much of our lives with gloom. He foresees a moment when God will break through and be a light penetrating that darkness.

We now see Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. And yet, it is interesting that even the story of Jesus’ birth tells us that the star which guides the Wise Men to Bethlehem does not drive all the darkness away.

Instead, the light of that star shines in the darkness and is a steady sign and guide. I suggest that for us, the light of Bethlehem operates in much the same way.


LIGHT AND DARKNESS TODAY

Each one of us, perhaps each in a different or similar ways experiences some form of darkness. In that very darkness, we are invited and even urged to look to the light of Bethlehem.

Perhaps we find ourselves in the darkness of ANXIETY ABOUT OUR FINANCIAL SECURITY or our job. In this darkness, the light of Bethlehem gives us hope by finding our real security in Jesus and by trusting that God’s providential care will watch over us.

Perhaps we find ourselves in the darkness of FEELING LONELY AND ISOLATED after the death of a spouse or other loved one. In this darkness, the light of Bethlehem assures us of Emmanuel, God-with-us, as we walk through the tunnel until we reemerge into fuller light.

Perhaps we find ourselves in the darkness of DOUBT AND QUESTIONING, of wondering why we are living and what we really believe. In this darkness, the light of Bethlehem gives us a vision for where we are going and how to get there.

Perhaps we find ourselves in the darkness of COLD, OF A MARRIAGE THAT HAS GROWN COLD or of alienation from a child or parent or close friend. In this darkness, the light of Bethlehem offers us the warmth of God’s love and moves us to extend and accept signs and glimmers of that love.

Or finally, perhaps we find ourselves in the darkness of FEELING STUCK, TRAPPED in some habit or addiction or compulsion that is self-defeating and destructive. In this darkness, the light of Bethlehem assures that human growth is always a possibility and invites us to search like the Magi for persons or programs that can help us with that growing.


CONCLUSION

So, “In thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.”

The light shines in the darkness of Bethlehem and it shines today in our own darkness, as well.

Yes, the darkness remains, but – and that a big “but” – there is indeed light with the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Let’s look to that light in whatever darkness we may have. Let us allow the light of Jesus lead us to:
➢ Hope
➢ Comfort
➢ Vision
➢ Warmth and
➢ Growth
All are the gifts that only the light of Bethlehem can give us.

Weekly Homily for December 18, 2011: 4th Advent -- The Power of Stillness

4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
Terranuova Hermitage
December 18, 2011

The Power of Stillness
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


STILLNESS

This afternoon, I want to ask you to do something with me.

I am asking that for two minutes, we just sit here and let’s all be silent – completely silent. I recommend that either we keep our eyes closed, or we keep our eyes focused on the image of the resurrected Christ or on the tabernacle.

In these two minutes, don’t recite any prayers and try to let go of any worries or thoughts about what you are going to do the rest of the day. Let’s just try to be – to be with God.

And maybe every 10 to 15 seconds, just silently repeat the words: “Emmanuel – God is with us.” “Emmanuel – God is with us.”

Okay! Let’s begin and try this. [Pause – 2 minutes]


PRAYER OF STILLNESS

Okay. I want to say a few things about what we just did.

We can call this the Prayer of Stillness. It may not be easy for us.

It is almost counter to how we live in our culture. Most of us, most of the time, including me, are always doing something.

It is difficult for us just to be instead of to do. One author says that we have become human doings instead of human beings.

I think this has affected our spiritual lives. We may think that a life of faith, a spiritual life, or prayer is just doing things like the set prayers here at Mass.

It does include that. But it also includes just being – being with God.

And, in fact, maybe this is the most basic and most essential part of spirituality. Maybe the lack of this is why some people today find religion or church or spirituality empty – just not meeting their needs.


MARY'S STILLNESS

I am led to this today because of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

The gospel at one point tells us that Mary treasures and reflects on what is happening in her life. This tells us that there is a stillness in Mary’s life – a Prayer of Stillness.

I believe that this stillness, her being, just being with God, this is what enables Mary to deal with the message of the angel in today’s gospel. She questions how she can conceive this child.

But in the end, Mary says, “Okay!” Her inner stillness, her Prayer of Stillness enables her to do this.


WHAT STILLNESS DOES

I recommend that our making time just to be with God, like we did a few minutes ago, can have positive effects on our lives.

We see this right in the Scriptures today. This Prayer of Stillness can help us to be receptive, as Mary is.

It disposes us to listen – to take in what God or what another person is saying. It opens us to messages that are in words or messages that are not in words but in the very stillness.

The Prayer of Stillness also calms us. It gives us an inner peace.

Again, we see this in Mary today. She is troubled and she questions, but in the end she is at peace with what is happening.

Maybe the first reading about King David gives us the underlying value in the Prayer of Stillness. David wants to build a house for God, a great temple.

But God says, “You’re going to build a house for me? No way!

“I’m going to build a house for you.” God means not a building, but a “house” of successors to lead God’s people.

In effect, God is saying to David, “Don’t worry about what you’re going to do for me. Instead, allow me to do something for you that will be much much more important.”

Well, in the Prayer of Stillness, instead of our speaking words and offering prayers to God, we are allowing God to do something for us. We are allowing God to come to us and speak to us and form us as persons.

Our being with God allows God to affect our very being. And that can have dramatic effects on who we are and what we do and how we relate.


CONCLUSION

So, I recommend: try this Prayer of Stillness on your own.

Don’t bite off too much at least to begin with. Maybe just 2 to 5 minutes.

It can have dramatic effects. After all, it enabled Mary to bring the Son of God into our world.

Weekly HOMILY for December 11, 2011: 3rd Advent -- "O Come, O Come, Emmanual"

3rd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
December 11, 2011
Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, SC

“O Come O Come Emmanual”
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


THE HYMN

I think we would agree that the most familiar of all our Advent hymns is O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

This beautiful, classic hymn dates back to the year 800. It contains words and verses like these:

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.

“To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. O Come, O Rod of Jesse’s stem, From every foe deliver them.

“That trust your mighty power to save, And give them vic’try o’er the grave. Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight.”


A SAVIOR, FROM WHAT?

At its heart, this hymn powerfully and poetically expresses our yearning and desire for a savior and salvation.

It is the Advent hymn because this season is about a savior and salvation. But that immediately raises an important question for us.

Do you and I, as people who tend to be rather independent and self-sufficient, do we honestly believe we need to be saved? Do we really believe we need a savior?

Or, to put it differently, from what precisely do we need to be saved? These are important questions of faith especially during this Advent Season.

Paul Tillich, the great Lutheran theologian, has a great insight into why we need a savior and what we need to be saved from. He says that today we need a savior as much as people did in the time of Isaiah and before the coming of Jesus.

And the need for a savior continues because we continue to labor under three fundamental anxieties: anxiety (1) About death, (2) About meaning, and (3) About guilt.

These three anxieties exist right in the heart and core of our humanity; they seem to be written into our DNA.


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT DEATH

First, let us hear a word about the fundamental anxiety about death.

We know that eventually we will die, and often we shy away from thinking about it. We start showing some gray, and probably aren’t too pleased.

We may find ourselves getting tired and having less energy, and we try to avoid admitting it.

We resist facing up to these things because they remind us if only subconsciously of death.


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT MEANING

Then we have a fundamental anxiety about meaning – about the meaning of life.

This anxiety may show itself in our drive for affirmation or our need to be right. It may show itself in wondering why we even do our routines of personal care, household chores, or work or business. It’s all so much of the same over and over and over.

We may worry that we are missing something in life.

We may have a deep, gnawing feeling that our basic life choices have left us incomplete and that there must be more to life.


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT GUILT

Finally, we have a fundamental anxiety about guilt.

We sense the evil in the world and some darkness within ourselves. We sense that we have something to do with the lack of goodness.

We know also that sometimes we do wrong in spite of our good intentions. We know we try hard and may do better, but we’re never completely good.


SALVATION FROM THESE THREE ANXIETIES

Given this human condition, Advent may be the best time of year.

➢ It invites us to link a physical pain or limitation to our anxiety over death.
➢ It invites us to link a nagging worry or even our desire for more and more of something to our anxiety over meaning.
➢ Advent invites us to link our gut feeling that the world is out of kilter or that there is something in disarray in our own lives to our anxiety over guilt.

So considering our human condition with these fundamental anxieties, Advent may be the best season of all.

When we allow Advent to lead us to these anxieties, it is then we discover our need for a savior.

We need a savior to transform death to resurrection, and so we sing: “Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadow put to flight.”

We need a savior to give fundamental meaning to our lives, and so we sing: “To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.”

And we need a savior to forgive us when we are caught in guilt, and so we sing: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel.”

Advent puts us in touch with our need of a Savior and leads us to find this need fulfilled in Jesus.

Weekly HOMILY for December 4, 2011: 2nd Advent -- Breaking News: Read All about It!

2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
Mepkin (Trappist) Abbey
December 4, 2011

Breaking News; Read All about It!
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


BREAKING NEWS!

Today, when we watch news shows or news channels on TV, we often see the words Breaking News on the screen.

Breaking News appears when a story has just happened or is happening even as it is being reported. So, last spring, we saw Breaking News when President Mubarak of Egypt was forced to resign.

This week, we saw Breaking News when our Federal Reserve and five other central banks intervened to alleviate the debt crisis in Europe.

This evening, if we have not been watching the football game late this afternoon, we hope to see Breaking News telling us about the Raven’s win over the Browns.

Breaking News is meant to grab our attention away from anything else. It means that something important is happening right now and we don’t want to miss it.


MARK'S NEWS

This image helps us to appreciate today’s gospel.

Mark starts off: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ…” The word “gospel” that Mark uses means proclamation.

It is the same word that civil rulers used back then when they had something important to “proclaim” to the people. Mark in effect is saying, “This is the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”

So, right in the first sentence, Mark explains why there is a “proclamation” about this ordinary man from Nazareth – why he is Breaking News. There is a “proclamation” about Jesus because he is the “Son of God.”

This means that God has entered our world in the person of Jesus and shares our humanity. This is the Breaking News of who Jesus of Nazareth really is and it forms the very first sentence of Mark’s gospel.


MORE NEWS: JOHN AND JESUS

Then, right after telling us this, Mark gives us some background – kind of like the next 30 seconds worth about the Breaking News.

Mark tells us that a man named John the Baptist is to introduce this Jesus to the world and he says John tells us something about Jesus even by his lifestyle. So, Mark says that John’s diet consists of locusts and honey – not my idea of a good meal!

Mark recalls these foods because each of them tells us something about Jesus. In the Old Testament, God sends a plague of locusts to punish the evil pharaoh in Egypt – in other words, to uproot or destroy evil.

And so, John’s eating locusts tells us that Jesus comes to destroy evil. In today’s first reading, Isaiah gives us some beautiful images – the images of leveling mountains and filling in valleys and smoothing rough roads.

These images are not to be taken literally. In other words, we are not literally going to do these things to prepare for the Savior’s coming.

Instead, these images point to areas of evil or sin that we need to address. For example, we are to “level the mountains” of busyness and preoccupation with so many things that get in the way of some reflective prayer or prayerful reflection and our entire relationship with God.

We are to “fill in the valleys” of human need wherever we see it, whether in a grieving neighbor who needs companionship or a homeless person who needs a bed. And we are to “smooth out the rough roads” of relationships by patiently and respectfully trying to work through misunderstandings or hurts.

So, the locusts in John’s diet are symbolic – they call us to deal with any area of evil or sin in our lives.

Then, throughout the Bible, honey is a symbol of God’s special care for us.

The honey that John eats looks back to Isaiah’s words today, “Comfort, give comfort to my people.” Jesus, whom John is introducing, gives us the comfort of God’s presence.

Jesus gives us an inner peace and hope. He brings us comfort, but still we have to open our hearts and level those mountains and fill in those valleys and smooth those rough spots that can keep the Lord away from us.


CONCLUSION

So, we have a wonderful proclamation or Breaking News here at the beginning of Mark’s gospel today.

Mark does not want us to miss this – that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is here with us. And he wants us to do all we can – through the images of locusts and honey – to allow Jesus to be with us as fully as he wants to be.

Weekly HOMILY for November 27, 2011: Father Nicholas was at St. John's Hydes and didn't preach this weekend.

Father Nicholas was at St. John's Hydes and didn't preach this weekend.

Weekly HOMILY for Thanksgiving Day November 24, 2011: Thinking, Thanking and Believing

Thanksgiving Day, Cycle A
November 24, 2011
Terranuova Hermitage

Thinking, Thanking and Believing
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


"THANK YOU"

I suppose that every language has a word for expressing gratitude.

These are simple, basic words, like: “Thank you; Merci; Grazie; Gratias; Danke” – on and on we could go. Saying “thank you” is something that our parents taught us from the time we were little children.

If I just think about it, how many hundreds of times my parents told me, “Now remember to say thank you.” And yet, for many of us this does not become a habit.

The famous General George Patton of World War II comments on this in his memoirs. He recalls one time when he sent a soldier to a rest camp after a prolonged period of active service.

When the soldier returned, he wrote a letter to General Patton thanking him for the fine care. Patton wrote back and told the young man that for thirty-five years he had always tried to provide well for his soldiers, but this was the first letter of thanks he had ever received.


THINKING LEADS TO THANKING

So, maybe a good question for today is: how can we become more grateful and more expressive of our gratitude?

There is a popular book entitled Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and the author Richard Carlson proposes a solution. Carlson says: “Spend a moment every day thinking of someone to thank.”

Carlson says this is the key. Thinking people will become thanking people.

Carlson says that this may sound like an awfully simple solution, but it works. He also recommends that it is helpful to make a habit of beginning each day thinking of someone to thank.

It can be your spouse, best friend, mother or father, son or daughter, brother or sister, someone at work, a teacher, a coach, a doctor, whomever. So, begin each day thinking of someone to thank and then thank that person at least in our own mind and heart.

This practice can lift much of the negativity and darkness that can cloud our lives and make us much more positive persons. It will also let others know how much they are valued and appreciated.


THANKING LEADS TO BELIEVING

Then, as a next step, our thanking also leads to believing.

Thanking is not just good manners. It enriches and strengthens our relationships with one another.

And, on a spiritual level, thanking also leads us to God. It awakens and enhances our relationship with God and that of course is the core of faith and believing.

In today’s gospel, the one leper realizes that he has been healed. He then returns to Jesus to give thanks and, as he does that, he comes to faith.

He recognizes the divine power at work in Jesus. Jesus in turn praises him not just for coming back to say “Thank you,” but also for his faith.

Jesus even says, “Your faith has been your salvation.” So, thinking leads to thanking and thanking leads to believing.


EUCHARIST

This morning, as we celebrate the Eucharist, we participate in this movement.

First, we think. In the Word of God that we heard and in the Eucharistic Prayer that we will offer in just a few minutes, we think and remember the great saving deeds that God has done throughout history.

As we recall God’s great deeds, our thinking leads to thanking. In fact, the word Eucharist is the Greek word for thanks.

And then, we receive the Eucharist and this communion unites us with Jesus. It nourishes our relationship with God.

It enlivens our faith. So again, thinking leads to thanking and thanking leads to believing.

This is what lies underneath our Thanksgiving Day. And this is why it is so appropriate for us to be here in worship this morning.

Weekly HOMILY for November 20, 2011: There Will Be an Ultimate Audit

The Feast of Christ the King, Cycle A
St. Margaret Church, Bel Air
November 20, 2011

There Will Be an Ultimate Audit
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


THE ULTIMATE AUDIT

I have never been audited by the IRS. Actually, the very idea strikes fear in me. Why?

Perhaps I wonder if my deductions were correct; if my income amounts were accurate; if I filled out the tax forms properly.

This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next Sunday we begin a new Liturgical year with the 1st Sunday of Advent. The readings give the same feel of being told that you’re going to be audited by the IRS.

Jesus instructs us that upon his return, each of us will be called to “render an accounting of ourselves” as to how well or how poorly we have made use of our gifts.

Yes, we shall all one day be faced with life’s “ultimate audit.”


TRANSITION

I would like to suggest that we face that possibility today with a sense of calm and see how things stack up “for” or “against” us.

Last week’s gospel about the three servants and how each of them used his gifts is helpful as a frame of reference for appreciating this week’s “audit” of our lives, which gets into how, what we have received, is used in the service of others.

Each of the three servants last week received a gift and each was responsible for making the best use of that gift for his master.

I would like to suggest an image to better understand what I mean by making the best use of the gift we’ve been given.


A BAR OF IRON

Take a long 1-inch bar of iron worth about $5. (Demonstrate with hands)

This very same bar of iron, in the hands of one person could be used to make $50 worth of horseshoes. In the hands of another, $500 worth of sewing machine needles, and in the hands of a third person, $5,000 worth of watch springs.

Yes, one bar of iron in the hands of three different people, doing different things to it, could create different products and different profits.

God has blessed each of us with a share of this world’s goods. So also, each of us has been challenged to make the best use of these goods by furthering the interests of our master.

From our Master we learn that what we do with our bar of iron isn’t to be based on making the most money from it but on what is needed.

We need to acknowledge 1st that we each have our bar of iron and 2nd that our life has called us into relationships with others in our family, workplace, school, and church where there are real needs to be satisfied.

Those needs must be served best with a bar of iron God has given me.

And, yes, those relationships might include, as Jesus says in today’s gospel, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless.

The two factors – namely, my bar of iron and the needs in my relationships – are the criteria that will determine how well I will fare at my ultimate audit before God.


REACHING OUT

I downloaded last week’s bulletin just to see how my bar of iron might get shaped to serve my relationship to this parish where I help out from time-to-time.

So what did I find? For starters, Pat Stasiak who heads up “Thoughtful Wishes” our
Card Ministry that sends monthly cards to folks in area nursing homes is in need of volunteers to help write 25 cards a month to the shut-in and homebound.

What might I do with my gift as I become aware of this need? Make horseshoes, needles, or watch springs? It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the sick are getting cared for!

Then I read that Janet Gentry needs volunteers tomorrow to deliver Thanksgiving basket to needy families.

What might I do with my gift as I become aware of this need? Make horseshoes, needles, or watch springs? It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that a hungry family is fed!

Finally I read that St. Margaret’s Ministry of Consolation held its last drop-in Bereavement Group session this past week until January. Are there people in my life who have suffered the loss of a loved one and who are not being compassionately supported in their need to mourn?

What might I do with my gift as I become aware of this need? Make horseshoes, needles, or watch springs? Yes, by now you know, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that those who mourn are being consoled!


CONCLUSION

In the new Roman Missal that we will begin using next Sunday, there are new words for the consecration of the wine. They speak of Jesus’ blood being shed “for many” instead of “for all” as the present translation says.

This does not mean that Jesus did not die for everyone. The new translation points to the reality that we need to welcome and accept the gifts God has given us and to use them as God has asked us to, for the needs of all.

On that – accepting the gifts given and how the gifts were used – will rest our final audit. Are you ready?

Weekly HOMILY for November 13, 2011: Knowing and Using Our Gifts

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
November 13, 2011
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air & St. Mark Parish, Fallston

Knowing and Using Our Gifts
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


THE GIFTEDNESS OF CHILDREN

There is a young adult named Brian who provides a good lesson for us. Brian has always loved to tinker with mechanical devices.

As a 6-year old, he took apart an alarm clock. At age 9, Brian helped his dad fix the lawn mower. In high school, he spent hours tearing apart and rebuilding computer equipment.

And now, as a young adult, Brian is a sound technician for a theatre company. His parents have steadily encouraged him from a very young age.

But, Brian was never labeled as “gifted.” The definition of the “gifted child” has traditionally been limited to the top 5 to 10% of children who achieve high test scores and who excel in school.

No question, these children are gifted, but, there may be hundreds of other ways for children to be gifted. Today, educators and psychologists tell us that nearly all children have special gifts.

Children may display their giftedness through body movement, music, athletics, technical skills, social interaction, intuitive insight, perseverance, creativity, a quick wit and on it goes.

Many professionals now say that all children are gifted and they just show it in different ways.


OUR GIFTS AND THE GOSPEL

I first came across these insights in an article that is entitled Fifty Ways to Bring Out Your Child’s Best by Thomas Armstrong.

Today’s gospel parable about the servants and their talents is really being about what we can do and how we can assist one another in using our gifts.

After all, isn’t that the key to responding to Jesus’ lesson to us? We can indeed assist one another in identifying and using our gifts.

As the title says, the article that I read gives 50 ways to bring out the best, to bring out the gifts in our children. This morning I want to share just 5 of these ways with you.


FIVE WAYS TO BRING OUT THE GIFTS

FIRST, PAY ATTENTION to what really interests and captivates your child. Be attentive to what your children really feel drawn to do and what they spend their time doing.

Theses interests and activities will say a great deal about where their gifts are. By doing this, you are in effect letting your child discover his or her own giftedness.

In the gospel parable, with the number of talents given as 5, 2 or 1 does not so much mean having more or less talent than others. Instead, they simply represent different gifts and our task is to help our children – and even other adults – identify their own unique gifts.

SECOND, ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD, but do not push or pressure him too much. If we do that, he may become too stressed to learn anything or develop his gifts.

Notice that the master in today’s parable does not pressure. He simply gives his servants the gifts and the opportunities to use them.

THIRD, GIVE YOUR CHILDREN PERMISSION TO MAKE MISTAKES. If they have to do things perfectly, they may never take the risks necessary to discover and develop their gifts.

It is good to assist a child in realizing they’ve made a mistake and in learning from it. But, allow some safe freedom to make mistakes and grow from them.

AND THE FOURTH RULE IS connected with this: DON’T CRITICIZE OR JUDGE YOUR CHILDREN. They may just give up, if they feel evaluated all the time.

These two rules – allowing your children to make mistakes and not criticizing or judging them – are borne out in the third servant in the parable. The servant feels afraid and intimidated and the result is that he does not use and develop his gifts.

AND THE FIFTH RULE: ACCEPT YOUR CHILD AS HE OR SHE IS.

Maybe your son is musically inclined and does not have the athletic ability you want him to have. Or maybe your daughter is more into computers than dance.

The important thing is to take our children as they are, because that will be the best environment for using the gifts they have been given and for them to become the persons God intended them to be.


CONCLUSION

So, these simple, but important rules, will help us to assist one another, especially children but maybe even other adults, in identifying and using their gifts.

Weekly HOMILY for November 6, 2011: Carpem Diem

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
November 6, 2011

Carpe Diem
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


SAND IN AN HOURGLASS

There is a story about a little girl who lived near the beach. This little girl had a grandfather whom she loved very much.

Her grandfather had a collection of hourglasses and she liked to turn them upside down and watch the sand steadily sift through to the bottom.

Her grandfather once told her that the hourglasses reminded him that time was so very precious. Well, this particular year, Christmas was coming.

With difficulty, this little girl’s mother told her that her Grandpa was in the hospital and was very sick. He might even die.

The little girl asked what that meant. And her mother explained that life was like one of Grandpa’s hourglasses and that Grandpa had very little time left.

Her mother suggested that she make a special Christmas gift that they could take to Grandpa. So the little girl excitedly went to work on her gift.

When they got to the hospital, the little girl gave her Grandpa a beautifully wrapped box. He slowly unwrapped it and looked inside and when he saw its contents he just smiled, with a face full of love.

He immediately understood. His granddaughter had filled the box with sand.

The Story of the Bridesmaids

Well, if it were only that easy!

If only we could extend our days by adding more sand to our hourglasses or more pages to our calendars! But, of course, we cannot!

Today’s parable of the bridesmaids addresses this very issue. There are three important reminders or lessons that I see here.


1. PREPARE

First, each of us must prepare and be ready for the moment when we will meet God face to face.

We must do this for ourselves. No one can do it for us.

We see this in the parable in the refusal of the five wise bridesmaids to share their oil with the others. This is not an issue of sharing.

Instead, it is about being prepared. These bridesmaids did not share their oil because they could not share this kind of oil.

This is the oil of personal preparation, the oil of who we have become as persons in the course of our lives. We can motivate and encourage one another, but ultimately each one of us must do this kind of preparation for ourselves.


2. WATCH THE TIME

The second lesson is that our time is limited.

There are a limited number of grains of sand in the hourglass. We see this in the parable in the inability of the five foolish bridesmaids to go and buy oil for themselves.

Obviously, it was midnight and the stores were closed. And that is exactly the point: it was too late!

The moment had come, the groom and bride were arriving and there was no more time to prepare. This will be true for each one of us at some moment.

So, we need to prepare today and be ready today. We need to live as if this were our day to meet the Lord face to face.


3. KEEP OUR LAMPS LIGHTED

And then the third lesson is that we must be about light.

Psalm 36 in the Old Testament praises God by saying: “In your light we see light.” The idea is that we need to be drawn into and enlightened by the light of God.

And then, with this light, we can see light in the world and bring light to one another. “In your light, we see light.”

We see this in the parable in the oil lamps that the bridesmaids are to keep burning brightly. We are to be and to bring light in darkness.

I think this is a helpful way for understanding our role in promoting respect for human life. We can lift up the wonder of an infant, or tend the man or woman who is homeless, or provide all possible comfort to a person who is dying.

Theses are actions of light – of keeping our lamps burning brightly. They will accomplish much more for respect for human life than just cursing the darkness in a certain person or action.


CONCLUSION

So, the sands in the hourglass are a good reminder for us.

(1) We are to be prepared and ready today.
(2) Our time is limited.
(3) And we are to be a light for the world around us.

That is the way to prepare and to use our limited time.

Weekly HOMILY for October 30, 2011: Humble Service Calls for the Death of the Ego

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Michael’s Church, Poplar Springs
October 30, 2011

Humble Service Calls for the Death of the Ego
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


RICHARD RICH

In the opening scene of the movie A Man for All Seasons, Richard Rich, a bright but desperately ambition young man, petitions Thomas More, the king’s humble and saintly chancellor, for a position among the glitterati at the court of Henry VIII.

More tells Rich that he can offer him a position, not as a courtier at court, but as a simple teacher.

The young man is crestfallen, and More tries to cheer him up, “You’d be a fine teacher, Richard; perhaps a great one.” Rich fires back. “And if I was, who would know it?”

The ever patient More responds: “You would, your pupils, your friends, and God. Not a bad public, that.”

Rich wanted glitz and notoriety at court, not the humility of being a classroom teacher.


THE GOSPEL

In today’s gospel, Jesus is talking about folks who’ve made the choice for a career in high places, but have lost the sense of humility that is needed for real service.

He says: “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders.” “All their works are performed to be seen.” “They love places of honor at banquets.”

His reaction leads us to ask what’s the secret to remaining humble even as you climb the corporate ladder or become the head of the family or the president of an organization.

Humility isn’t something you cultivate like building a muscle (flex biceps): “I’ll be more humble. I’ll be more humble. I’ll be more humble.” It just doesn’t work that way. We may admire humility. We may espouse humility. We may want to acquire humility, but it’s not something we do by way of will power.


THE DEATH OF THE EGO

True humility is borne of grace and the realization of who I truly am. Let me explain.

The ego – that is, who I think I am – is a concept here in my heard that I’ve shaped over the years.

The EGO OF SOME FOLKS is what they possess. In their “stuff” they find their identities. It’s expressed in the phrase: “I am my…” as in, “I am the one with the Lexus, or the I-Pad, the newest Droid, a wine cellar.”

If you don’t think you are your “stuff,” just recall all that you have in your closets, basement, attic, garage that you find difficult to part with and ask yourself, “How much of your ‘stuff’ you really are?”

Some folks are able to let go of that ego.

The NEXT LEVEL of ego is “I am me…” I am such and such a title, a member of this family, country club, graduate of this university, live in this neighborhood, etc.”

An interesting way of seeing where you are in terms of your ego is how you introduce yourself. “I’m a department head at Care First” or “I’m this Abercrombie & Fitch shirt or Calvin Klein pants.” “I’m my Laura Ashley bag, my Louis Vuitton dress, Prada shoes or Brooks Brothers suit.” I wear my labels proudly so folks know who I am.

And some of us are able to let go of this ego as well.

There is a THIRD LEVEL of who you are. It is the level of self-understanding that is borne of a relationship with Jesus Christ. It comes from a relinquishing of “I am my stuff” and “I am me” to “I am in God.”

What happens at this third level of self-understanding is that “in God” I come to see that, “I am really we.”

It works like this: The closer I come to being in God’s presence through prayer, the more I am humbled by God’s presence: humbled that God would call me into union with him; humbled that I am worthy of that call; humbled that I can live at that level of identity; humbled that I am empowered to live for others as Jesus lived for me!

That is the grace, the capacity I receive from union with God. It isn’t the muscle of humility that I developed.


CONCLUSION

In a nutshell it is being disposed to God’s grace and the disposition comes through the dying to finding my identity in stuff, in titles and honors, to finding myself in God.

Weekly HOMILY for October 23, 2011: The Cross As a Vertical and Horizontal Reality

30th Sunday of the Year, Cycle A
St. Margaret Church and St. Mark Church
October 23, 2011

The Cross As a Vertical and Horizontal Reality
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


EINSTEIN

On one occasion, Albert Einstein was asked to explain his theory of relativity. The great physicist replied that the simplest explanation of relativity he could think of was this.

When a boy spends an hour with the girls he loves, if feels like a minute. But when that same boy is compelled to sit on a hot stove for a minute, if feels like an hour.

And so, to explain a complicate theory, Einstein went back to something very basic. Now, what Einstein did there helps us to appreciate today’s gospel.

Some of the religious leaders ask Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment of the Law?” It isn’t an easy question, because in the Judaism of Jesus’ time, there were 613 commandments.

Well, like Albert Einstein, Jesus cuts through to the most basic of all those commandments.

He takes 613 and answers with two commandments: “To love God” and “To love our neighbor.” And Jesus says that these two are the most basic and the most important because they both (1) Summarize every other law of the religion and (2) All the others can be found within these two.

It seems that the laws and teachings of the synagogue of Jesus’ time and of our church today have become as complicated as Einstein’s theory of relativity.

To help us understand the meaning of both these commandments and their connection, I suggest that we simply look at another basic: and that is the shape of a cross.


THE VERTICAL BEAM

The construction of a cross has something interesting to say. I would suggest that the first commandment represents the vertical beam of the cross. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Now, if we are to love God sincerely, we need to realize that (1) God has first loved us and that he has loved us unconditionally.

The scripture says that, (2) “God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son.” And in another place, (3) “The love of God consists in this: not that we have loved God, but that God has first loved us.”

God loves us by giving us life, and family, and friends as well as the necessities and comforts of life. And beyond that, God loves us by forgiving us and offering us salvation, even when we sin.

With that gratitude as a base, we in turn love God with humble hearts and prayers.

So, God’s love for us, or our realization of that love, empowers us to love God in return. It constitutes the supportive vertical beam of the cross.


THE HORIZONTAL BEAM

Secondly, I suggest that this love of God for us and we for God is the basis, the foundation, for the horizontal beam of the cross, which is our ability to then love our neighbor.

Let’s look at it this way. We cannot write paragraphs and essays in school until we are first able to write the alphabet and know the rules of grammar. If you are to have any skill at writing, you simply have to learn the basics first.

In the same way, we cannot truly love our neighbor (arms horizontally), until we have learned the basics of love from God (arms vertically.)

That love, God’s love for us and our love for God in return, empowers us to love others even when they do not seem to deserve it – even when they have hurt or wronged us in some profound way.

So the vertical beam of the cross makes the horizontal beam possible; it holds the horizontal beam in place; it sustains it.


CONCLUSION

When the Lord tells us to love our enemies, he gives us, along with the command, the love itself.

You don’t have to be a contractor or even a carpenter to know you can’t construct a cross without first having the vertical support.

What makes you think you can forgive someone who’s wronged you, or someone who has proclaimed themselves your enemy without first knowing the love of Jesus?

Perhaps that’s why forgiving is so difficult, we haven’t experienced the love and forgiveness of Jesus of us.

That’s the place to start, not just in building a cross, but in understanding the cross of Jesus in our lives.

Weekly HOMILY for October 16, 2011: To Change the World

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
October 16, 2011

To Change the World
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


BOOK CLUB

I am part of a small group of priests that meets with a theologian friend of ours from time-to-time to discuss various books on theology. It’s a great way to stay updated.

A recent book we shared was entitled To Change the World by James Hunter.

The author begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models for world changing among Christians today and highlights how each is flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which it aspires.

THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT: Characterized by a sense of injury, entitlement, anger, partisanship, identifying the enemy, the language of war and winning. They are theologically conservative. Their solution is to make America holy in the manner that they see it.

THE CHRISTIAN LEFT: Many of the same characteristics as the Right, except the Christian Right has a different agenda. It is much more oriented to the poor and the common good. These folks are theologically progressive. They see the main problem as inequality and the faults of capitalism. Their solution is a redistribution of wealth through legal means.

NEO-ANABAPTISTS: Keep a distance from it all. They see the world as basically evil. They are gospel-based. Neo-Anabaptists see the main problem with society today as violence and coercion. Their response is peace, and living in community even apart from the culture. These would be folks like the Amish and Mennonites.

Hunter argues that often these political theologies actually worsen the very problems they are designed to solve.


THE SOLUTION

In today’s gospel Jesus offers us a different alternative, one not based on political power.

He first distinguishes the two spheres of political and personal activity, saying that we live in both and we should render to each what is its due. He sums that up in the phrase, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Rather than responding with power or force or living apart from society, Jesus is telling his hearers to put their faith in God and then live that faith concretely in all their choices and actions. In short, they are to live within society a faithful presence of the God they serve.

If Caesar or the government or state over-steps the mark, a Christian is absolved from obedience to the law, for we must obey God rather than man.


FAITHFUL PRESENCE

What precisely does “faithful presence” entail? That is, how can I, as a follower of Jesus, be faithfully present, respecting the distinction between church and state, between what I believe and the laws that govern me?

A theology of faithful presence is a theology of engagement in and with the world around us. While it is simple in concept, it is also challenging in its implications.

FIRST, faithful presence means that we are to be fully present TO EACH OTHER within the community of faith and fully present to those who are not.

We are not only to do no wrong to those outside of our community, but are actively to love the stranger as we love ourselves

NEXT, faithful presence requires that believers be fully present and committed TO THEIR TASKS. When our tasks are done before God, they have their own integrity apart from anything else they might accomplish, for the labor itself brings honor to God.

If we perform our tasks as working for the Lord, we will want to pursue them with all the skill, care, and quality we can bring to them. Working for the Lord, there is a built-in safeguard against work, whatever it is, becoming a source of idolatry.

FINALLY, faithful presence in the world means that believers are fully present and committed IN THEIR SPHERES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE, whatever they may be: their families, neighborhoods, parish, voluntary activities, and places of work.

The question we face in this regard is how will we use whatever power we have? Where power is exercised, it must conform to the way of Jesus, that is, it must be rooted in intimacy with the Father, rejecting the privileges of status, oriented by a self-giving compassion for the needs of others, and not only non-coercive toward those outside of the community of faith, but committed indiscriminately for the good of all.


CONCLUSION

There is an alternative way of thinking about the world we live in, and engaging it in a way that is constructive and draws upon the teachings of Jesus.

And it is practicing a faithful presence as a follower of the Lord toward ourselves, toward our tasks, and toward the spheres in which we exercise influence.

In the end, this strategy becomes not first and foremost about changing the world, but living for the flourishing of others.

It can’t get more Christ-centered than that!

Weekly HOMILY for October 9, 2011: Have You Seen the Rabbit?

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Alphonsus Church, Woodstock
October 9, 2011

Have You Seen the Rabbit?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


GUEST AT THE SON'S WEDDING BANQUET

Everybody wonders why that man in the gospel came to a party improperly dressed

I know why. He actually thought he was correctly attired.

He even looked like everyone else: tux, pleated shirt, shinny shoes. But the host spotted an outsider right away. He told the intruder, “You may look like one of us, but I can tell you have never seen the rabbit.” “Seen the rabbit?”

Many of us look and talk like we belong in God’s inner circle, that we are close enough to God to actually be invited to this memorial feast of his Son’s death and resurrection.

We try to belong. Sometimes we even spruce up our souls and start out on a spiritual program in search of God, but most of us get tired quickly.

We lose interest and eventually give up the chase. Do you know why? It’s because we have never seen the rabbit. There’s that phrase again, “Never seen the rabbit.”


CHASING RABBITS AT MRS. VINCI’S

When I was a little boy, we used to visit an aunt on a farm in the country. While there, we loved to go rabbit hunting with my cousins and their hounds.

I always rooted for the rabbit and the rabbit almost always won because it was fast, on its own turf, and knew the hiding places.

When the first dog caught sight of the rabbit it would let out a howl and hurtled off barking. The other dogs got excited by the noise and commotion and joined in the chase.

There are few sights as exciting as a hound on the scent, flinging its body about with wild abandon. Leaping in the air, burrowing through briars, wiggling under barbed wire, scurrying through drainpipes.

But most of the dogs would eventually tire of the chase and turn back after a while. Do you know why they turned back? It’s because they never actually saw the rabbit.

They just got excited by the barking and enthusiasm of the first dog and then they acted as if they had seen the rabbit and hoped their enthusiasm would make up for their lack of sight. But it cannot.

Either they see the rabbit or they don’t. And no amount of enthusiasm and effort can substitute for actually seeing.


SAINTS CHASING RABBITS

It’s the same with us in our chase of God. We have to actually see the rabbit, actually see and experience God to stay active in the pursuit.

Instead, we see the saints in search of God and think we can imitate them. But even if we become as faithful as Moses or as poor as St. Francis or as compassionate as St. Vincent de Paul, we finally quit trying, knowing we will never succeed.

Because Moses saw God in the bush, Francis saw God in the leper, Vincent saw God in the poor.

But all we see is other people seeing God. Second-hand sight will not cure this blindness. We have to see and experience God with our own eyes.


OUR CHASING RABBITS

Now we know that God is always there, but it takes some personal attention to discern, to feel, to experience God’s presence in the tangle of our lives.

Remember those puzzles that contain objects hidden in the jumble of lines? We have to sense their presence before we can actually see them.

People say they will believe when they see it, but we actually see it, when we believe it’s really there.

We try to create and image of God in prayer. So we meditate like St. Ignatius, have conversation like the Little Flower, St. Therese, or we contemplate like St. John of the Cross.

But God remains silent. God remains silent because St. Ignatius and St. Therese and St. John learned their personal language by first seeing and experiencing God.


THE JOY OF THE CHASE

I would like to tell you an easy, secret way to catch God, but there is none.

You and I are programmed to pursue God as surely as a beagle is programmed in our DNA to pursue rabbits. That’s the way it is.

Of course, a dog can laze in the sun instead, and likewise we too can find other pleasant pursuits. It can be a nice life, but it will not be the best life.

A hound is never happier than when chasing a rabbit; a man or woman is never happier than when panting after God.

And God, God is happiest of all when he stays one jump ahead of us. It makes the pursuit all worth while with God remaining God.