Weekly HOMILY for March 11, 2012: 3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B -- Minimalism: More Than a School of Art

3^rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

St. Clement, St. Michael, and Church of the Annunciation

March 11, 2011

Minimalism: More Than a School of Art

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Minimalism

The term minimalism – minimalism – describes a certain kind of art.

Minimalism existed as an artistic movement in the 1960s.  Minimalist painters depict an object – let’s say an apple – they would depict this in the starkest possible way.

Minimalists would paint the color red, rounded lines and the overall shape of an apple.  But they would not represent the apple itself.

They depict only the bare essentials of the object.  Their intent is to convey no feeling, no spirit, and no personal dimension in the painting. 

Any meaning comes from us as we view the work.  This style of painting is very abstract and reduces art to a minimum, and that is why it is called minimalism.

Religious Minimalism

Today’s Scripture passages address the issue of religious minimalism.

The Old Testament passage gives us something very familiar – the Ten Commandments.  These commandments have formed the foundation of Judeo-Christian morality for the past 3,000 years.

They are important and we need to respect them.  At the same time, these commandments are minimalist.

Notice in today’s gospel that Jesus is dealing with some people who are religious minimalists.  No question, they are obeying the basic law of keeping the Sabbath holy.

These vendors are in the temple and are also helping others to keep the Sabbath.  But they are doing this for exorbitant, unjust prices.

Jesus gets angry and drives them out of the temple.  Why? Because they are religious minimalists.  They are obeying the commandment as it is written, but they have not understood or embraced what the law is really all about.

    

Like minimalist painters, they are keeping the law at its bare-bones, starkest form, but they have not put their spirit or heart into it.  Jesus deplores these religious minimalists and calls us to much more.

Religious Maximalism

In fact, Jesus calls us to a religious maximalism.

For example, he wants us to look at the Ten Commandments and put our heart into them.  He wants us to embrace the spirit of what God is telling us to do here.

Jesus wants us to do as much good as possible and to avoid as much evil as possible. Jesus calls us to a religious or spiritual maximalism.

Let’s look at just three of the commandments and see how this plays out.

Three Commandments

The 4^th Commandment says: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” 

The minimalist approach says: “I come to Mass every Sunday. Check!”

The maximalist approach says: I come to Mass and truly make an effort to put myself into it – joining in the prayers, seeing the hymns as prayers and trying to sing them as a prayer, and listening to each reading waiting for some phrase to shimmer for me.  I also allot time each day to pray in some way and in order to make every day holy.

Then the 7^th Commandment says: “You shall not commit adultery.” 

The minimalist approach says: I have not been unfaithful to my spouse.

The maximalist approach says: I am committed not to place before my eyes anything that would compromise even my inner faithfulness to my wife or husband.  And: I will make time for communication, sharing what’s going on with me and listening to what’s going on with my spouse as a way to deepen our intimacy.

And then the 10^th Commandment says: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor anything else that belongs to him.” 

The minimalist approach says: I have not stolen anything and I keep in check any feelings of envy.

The maximalist approach says: I try to be mindful of the three billion people on this earth living on $2 a day or less and lacking the basics of human life.  I try not to waste and use more food, water, electricity, oil and natural gas than I need to be in solidarity with them.  

Conclusion

So, religious or spiritual minimalism and maximalism – the Scriptures give us quite a Lenten challenge today!

It’s to go deeper, to see into the very heart of things that give our lives meaning and satisfaction.

Weekly HOMILY for March 5, 2012: 2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B -- The "Look of Love"

2^nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

Retreat for Married Couples

Priest Field, West Virginia

March 5, 2012

The “Look of Love”

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

SEAN AND REBECCA

I’m seeing Sean and Rebecca as they prepare for their marriage in May. They both live in London so we’ve been using Skype for our meetings. The interesting thing with using Skype is that I can see both their faces on my computer screen in a single 8x10 view.

I am always struck by the way each looks at the other when he or she is speaking. It’s as if there is no one else in the world, but the two of them.

The way they gaze at each other, speak, smile, sit close – the look of Love seems to dominate them.

You can say that Love has transfigured them. They have been overwhelmed – even “ambushed” – by Intimate Love.

When someone loves you, it always changes you. In the gaze of a trusted Beloved, we are fulfilled, empowered, energized, transfigured, affirmed, and excited .

JESUS AND THE FATHER

Today, all this happens to Jesus. After months of frustrating ministry, rejected by most religious leaders, Jesus turns to his Father.

Going up the mountain to be alone with him, Jesus hears again the message that anchors him: “You are my beloved Son!”

We are told that the intense Spirit of Love between Father and Son totally transfigures Jesus. “His clothes became dazzlingly white … Elijah appears along with Moses; the two are in conversation with Jesus.”

Empowered by this “look of Love” Jesus is able to return to his ministry and to his destiny as the Gospel says, “setting his have towards Jerusalem.”

WE AND THE FATHER

As we walk through this world, we feel pressured by life’s burdens; we get beaten down by problems; we get shaken up by fear and worry.

It is important

Ø  That we “wounded warriors” pause occasionally to allow that “look of Love” to overshadow us once again

Ø  That we allow God to overwhelm us with Love

Ø  That we “waste time” with the One whose Love and affection for us is intimate and eternal

THE PRESENT MOMENT

The mystics tell us that all we need to – not only get by, but to thrive – can be found in the present moment.

If we can trust that fact and are willing to take a few deep breaths and insert ourselves into that present moment, God’s presence, God’s love and support will be found there. Our hope will be renewed; our courage affirmed.

Abraham could never have gone up the mountain to sacrifice his very son had he not been living in the present and in close communication with his God. What he was asked to do was too horrible to contemplate without that presence.

Yes, being in God’s presence in the moment is what it takes and doing that, Peter’s words in the Gospel become ours: “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” Good, indeed.

The stresses in our daily lives should be triggers to get us into God’s presence in the moment through simple deep breathing. There we can be soaked in God’s look of Love upon us, God’s gaze not with judgment or expectation, but of infinite patience and tender intimacy.

Who cannot thrive in such an atmosphere!

And you don’t have to wait for a crisis or discomfort, a conflict or a displeasure to be in the moment and God’s gaze. Begin each day by centering yourself in your true identity – as a beloved son or daughter of God, a beloved child of a benevolent God.

FEATHERING

Once you’ve been “in the moment” renewed with tender mercies, we reach out and give the “look of Love” to someone else. Divine love, instead, multiplies when it is shared with others.

Begin with your spouse, then others at home, and only then move to the difficult ones at work and elsewhere

Jesus’ words, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” are not so much a command as they are the answer to a secret to having the love you’ve received flourish in giving it away.

In summary: Sit before your God, and bask in the “look of Love.” Then stand before all to return that Love to the world.

Weekly HOMILY for February 27, 2012: Faith, Hope and Love Amidst the Forces of Evil

1^st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

February 27, 2012

St. Jane Frances De Chantal, Riviera Beach

Faith, Hope and Love Amidst the Forces of Evil

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

NORMANDY

Last summer I was on a parish trip to France and we visited the beaches of Normandy where D-Day took place.

To physically stand on the five beaches where 6,000 Allied ships dropped soldiers, to hear the accounts of their valiant efforts at breaking through the Nazi Sea Wall, to imagine the thousands of troops who died – all filled us with the very real force of evil in our world. 

But it was the American Cemetery at Normandy and the 9,500 crosses or Stars of David, in long straight lines facing east to America, over the remains of each dead soldier, that moved me the most.

Standing still in silence amidst the thousands of white marble crosses, I was overwhelmed at the cost and energy of extinguishing the evils of Nazism that these soldiers were caught up in. 

I was aware of the great forces of evil that are much bigger than me and are at work in the world outside ourselves.

LENT AND THESE FORCES

Many of us have had this awareness of evil forces greater than ourselves.

There are these powers in the world that just seem to catch us up and swirl around us.  Often we can live oblivious, unaware of all of this, but then comes the Season of Lent.

Lent makes us aware that much of life is a complicated dance between good and evil, between light and darkness.  Much of life is a conflict between charity, justice, and peace, on the one hand and self-absorption, greed, and hostility on the other. 

JESUS AND THESE FORCES

Jesus makes an intentional choice to confront these very forces.

Today’s gospel says: “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.”  So Jesus is in the desert wrestling with the same forces of darkness that we wrestle with in everyday life.

He confronts the same choices that we must confront.  And the Lenten lesson is that what we choose will shape our soul.

The choices we make – when forces beyond our control are all around us – these choices, shape who we are as persons. 

• So Jesus chooses Faith in the Father instead of faith in the ways of the world.
• Jesus chooses Trust when darkness seems overwhelming. 
• And he chooses sacrificial acts of Love in the face of insult and anger.

WE AND THESE FORCES 

The Lenten season brings everything home by reminding us that we must make the same choices in the face of the conflicting forces surrounding us.

And in such moments, Jesus calls us to choose Faith. 

No question, life can be difficult, stressful, and trying, but Jesus invites us to believe in a Higher Power that he calls the Father’s love and to be anchored and empowered there.  

He wants us to make contact with God through the Eucharist and to make this a priority over shopping, sports, and even studies. 

Jesus invites us to make time for private prayer and reflection to deepen our intimacy with him.  He calls us to show and give this faith to someone we meet each day.

And Jesus calls us to choose Hope. 

There are so many problems in our world today. There is:

• Great tension between different cultures, religions, and races
• Poverty for 3 of the 7 billion inhabitants of this earth
• Economic problems that are challenging our greatest minds

But with all of this, the power of hope lies not in what is around us, but in what is within us.

The power of Hope lies in God’s presence and God’s assurance of his presence with us and with all people today and always.  Jesus calls us to give this Hope to at least one person today.

And finally Jesus calls us to choose Love. 

There is so much demonization today of those who are different from us or who disagree with us.

And there is so much insensitivity for the life of the unborn or the life of those dying from starvation on the other side of the planet.  But with all of this, the power of Love flows from the presence of the One who is Love itself. 

This power of Love leads us to seek understanding, to build bridges, to find common ground and seek the common good – of our country and of our world.  Jesus calls us to extend this Love to at least one person today.  

CONCLUSION

So, there are indeed forces bigger than us and we have choices to make. We feel them globally and we need to act on them locally – in our home, neighborhood, and place of work.

Lent makes us aware of these choices and reminds us that our choices will shape who we become as persons. 

And those choices will have eternal consequences.

Weekly HOMILY for February 22, 2012: Ash Wednesday -- What's Up With the Ashes?

Ash Wednesday, Cycle B

Attended Saint Mary’s, Pylesville, MD

February 22, 2012

What’s Up With the Ashes?

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

A CONTRADICTION?

Jesus says in today’s gospel: “When you fast, wash your face so that you may not appear to others to be fasting.”

We hear this, and then we proceed to place ashes on our foreheads.  Then we walk out of church to our jobs or schools or stores with these ashes.

So why do we do this?  Is all of this just one big contradiction?

COMMUNITY CONVERSION

I think not and here is why I say that.

So often, we tend to think of Lent as a time of individual conversion.  But, in truth, Lent is also a time for social or community conversion. 

The idea is that we are all being called to conversion and renewal.  We are to do this together, as a community or as God’s People on this earth.

And beyond that, the repentance that we are called to do has a community dimension to it.  We are all called to personal growth and to deeper conversion in our one-on-one relationship with the Lord.

But Lent also calls us to grow in our relationships with others and our sense of responsibility for the well-being of all God’s people on this earth.  So, Lenten repentance is to have both personal and social or community dimensions to it. 

This is why the ashes are placed on our foreheads – much as we were anointed with chrism at baptism and again at confirmation.  Those annointings make us one with Christ and also one with the living body of Christ, God’s people on this earth. 

In the same way, the ashes remind us that we need to repent of things in our relationship with the Lord and in our other relationships also.  This is why having the ashes on our foreheads is not contradicting the gospel. 

WAYS TO GROW DURING LENT

Now, with this understanding, we can better appreciate the three Lenten practices that Jesus mentions today: 1) prayer, 2) fasting, and 3) charitable giving. 

So, for prayer: We might participate in Mass one weekday morning in addition to Sunday, or we might pray the Stations of the Cross or come to the Friday night Lenten Supper. 

We can do this as a way to have a closer personal relationship with God.  And we can also do this to pray for those who are struggling with faith or with the Church, or for a greater respect for human life at all stages.

 

For fasting: We can follow the directives of the Church and abstain from eating meat today and on the Fridays of Lent and we might also adopt some other form of fasting that is more personal to us, like giving up chocolate or beer or our favorite chips or whatever.

We can do this fasting as a way for some personal self-discipline, as a help to lead us to “fast” from behavior that is harmful.  And we can also do this socially as a way to feel moiré sensitivity to those who are really hungry and in need.

For charitable giving: I have spoken so much on this in recent months that I simply say that our giving is an expression of our own personal faith and it also helps God’s people and God’s work on this earth.

CONCLUSION

With this understanding of the ashes and the richness they give to our Lenten practices, we now bless the ashes and have them placed on our foreheads.

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.