May 23, 2007
Focus: Summer – A Time for Reading
Dear Friend,
I always associate leisurely reading with the coming of beautiful weather and summer. Every book we read has the potential to touch the human soul deeply, arousing patterns of thought that might otherwise have lain dormant. The pleasure we derive from the written word is unique in that we must labor for it. Other forms of art like music, drama, and painting provide us with stimulus and ask nothing more than our emotional response. Reading on the other hand is an active pastime that requires an investment of emotion, as well as our concentration and imagination. The words we read are merely a starting point for a process that takes place largely within our minds and hearts.
There are few activities as comforting, relaxing, and healthy as perusing the pages of a good piece of fiction or nonfiction. Curling up with a book and a glass of iced tea is one of the simplest ways we can remove ourselves from the confines of reality in order to immerse ourselves in the drama and intrigue of the unfamiliar. The pleasure of transcending reality is only one aspect of the reading experience, however. Each time we read for enjoyment, whether we prefer the fantastic nature of fiction, the empathy awakened within us by memoir, or the instructive passion of nonfiction, we create entire landscapes in our mind’s eye. The books we choose provide us with the inspiration we need to accomplish such a feat, but it is our own creative reserves that empower us to use our imaginations for this unique and beautiful purpose.
The tales you lose yourself in can lead you on paths of discovery that take you out of your own life and help you see that existence can unfold in an infinite number of ways. You can learn so much from the characters and mentors who guide you from page to page. Your emotions are awakened each time you read, allowing you to become vessels of the passion that pours forth from line after line of print. Ultimately, the books you absorb – those that touch you deeply – will become a part of who you are, providing you with a rich and thrilling world within that you can revisit anytime you wish by simply closing your eyes. If you haven’t read a book for pleasure lately, try and allow yourself the time. You deserve it.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 27, 2007: Brittany Martin on "My Greatest Challenge"
This and That:
Brittany Martin on “My Greatest Challenge”
During the month of April the Hereford and Jacksonville Optimist Clubs selected sixteen participants from all sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students to participate in each of their local competitions. As a result of their local competitions, three students from Our Lady of Grace School were chosen. Brittany Martin and Scott Novak were to represent Jacksonville and Gillian Vincent was to represent Hereford at the Cockeysville area competition. Scott is in our seventh grade; Brittany and Gillian are in our eighth grade. This weekend and the two following I will be printing their speeches here in the weekly bulletin to share the marvelous skills our boys and girls have developed at Our Lady of Grace School. Congratulations Brittany, Gillian, and Scott, we are very proud of you!
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
My greatest challenge is understanding how I can make a difference towards the goal of world peace. World peace is such an overwhelming goal, how can an ordinary person, like me, matter. First, I have to establish what world peace means to me. Is it a world without war, gangs, or weaponry; is it a world with no boundaries; is it a world with no poverty; is it a world without discrimination of race, religion, or ethnicity? To me, it’s all these things. We can face this challenge by overcoming the obstacles to world peace, recognizing the achievements of people who have influenced world peace, and figuring out how each of us can be a factor to world peace.
Obviously, the most severe obstacle to World Peace is War. From the expansion of the Roman Empire, to the present Iraqi conflict, war has been around for centuries. It seems to me, that both sides believe their cause will create peace. And yet, in each and every instance, peace was never sustained. War achieved very little and therefore, in my opinion, is a misguided means to their end. As I experience the current Iraqi War, it’s sad to watch, and listen, knowing how past wars never really ended. In Ronald Reagan’s Address on United States-Soviet Relations, he said, “To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.”
Race, Religion, ethnicity, more wealth, more land, and more power have all started these wars. But, history provides us with many great people who rose above these barriers to world peace. They are an inspiration to me in their personal acceptance of the responsibility to make a difference. They give me reason to believe that, in being like them, I, too, can make a contribution.
Born to uneducated parents on a farm in Kentucky, lost his mother at age nine, Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union and abolished slavery. Living as a peasant with parents unrightfully sentenced to prison, Mikhail Gorbachev created peace between Russia and Japan and also contributed to the ending of the Cold War. Growing up under American segregation of blacks, Martin Luther King rose above the racial inequalities that got in the way of a peace-loving world. Pope John Paul II became known as the "Pilgrim Pope" for traveling great distances. According to John Paul II, the trips symbolized bridge-building efforts between nations and religions, attempting to remove divisions created throughout history. While history describes those individuals as great, some even to be Nobel Peace prizewinners, they began life as ordinary people, just like me. But they accepted the challenge to be responsible for achieving world peace.
I can contribute towards world peace as well. Any ordinary person can help the world if they recognize that every good deed no matter how small makes a world of difference. This reminds me of a movie I saw called “Pay it Forward,” where an 11-year-old boy comes up with the idea that if one person does a good deed for three people, then each of those does a good deed for another three people, and those nine people do a good deed for three more, and the chain continues, it can have an incredible impact. This requires an extreme act of faith in others. This movie makes the point that it is hard for people, who are so used to the way things are, to change, that they just give up, and everyone loses. The prominent Greek statesmen and orator, Demosthenes, said “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” So seize every opportunity because, I believe it can make a local, national, or even global difference towards the goal of world peace.
Brittany Martin
February 13, 2007
Brittany Martin on “My Greatest Challenge”
During the month of April the Hereford and Jacksonville Optimist Clubs selected sixteen participants from all sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students to participate in each of their local competitions. As a result of their local competitions, three students from Our Lady of Grace School were chosen. Brittany Martin and Scott Novak were to represent Jacksonville and Gillian Vincent was to represent Hereford at the Cockeysville area competition. Scott is in our seventh grade; Brittany and Gillian are in our eighth grade. This weekend and the two following I will be printing their speeches here in the weekly bulletin to share the marvelous skills our boys and girls have developed at Our Lady of Grace School. Congratulations Brittany, Gillian, and Scott, we are very proud of you!
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
My greatest challenge is understanding how I can make a difference towards the goal of world peace. World peace is such an overwhelming goal, how can an ordinary person, like me, matter. First, I have to establish what world peace means to me. Is it a world without war, gangs, or weaponry; is it a world with no boundaries; is it a world with no poverty; is it a world without discrimination of race, religion, or ethnicity? To me, it’s all these things. We can face this challenge by overcoming the obstacles to world peace, recognizing the achievements of people who have influenced world peace, and figuring out how each of us can be a factor to world peace.
Obviously, the most severe obstacle to World Peace is War. From the expansion of the Roman Empire, to the present Iraqi conflict, war has been around for centuries. It seems to me, that both sides believe their cause will create peace. And yet, in each and every instance, peace was never sustained. War achieved very little and therefore, in my opinion, is a misguided means to their end. As I experience the current Iraqi War, it’s sad to watch, and listen, knowing how past wars never really ended. In Ronald Reagan’s Address on United States-Soviet Relations, he said, “To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.”
Race, Religion, ethnicity, more wealth, more land, and more power have all started these wars. But, history provides us with many great people who rose above these barriers to world peace. They are an inspiration to me in their personal acceptance of the responsibility to make a difference. They give me reason to believe that, in being like them, I, too, can make a contribution.
Born to uneducated parents on a farm in Kentucky, lost his mother at age nine, Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union and abolished slavery. Living as a peasant with parents unrightfully sentenced to prison, Mikhail Gorbachev created peace between Russia and Japan and also contributed to the ending of the Cold War. Growing up under American segregation of blacks, Martin Luther King rose above the racial inequalities that got in the way of a peace-loving world. Pope John Paul II became known as the "Pilgrim Pope" for traveling great distances. According to John Paul II, the trips symbolized bridge-building efforts between nations and religions, attempting to remove divisions created throughout history. While history describes those individuals as great, some even to be Nobel Peace prizewinners, they began life as ordinary people, just like me. But they accepted the challenge to be responsible for achieving world peace.
I can contribute towards world peace as well. Any ordinary person can help the world if they recognize that every good deed no matter how small makes a world of difference. This reminds me of a movie I saw called “Pay it Forward,” where an 11-year-old boy comes up with the idea that if one person does a good deed for three people, then each of those does a good deed for another three people, and those nine people do a good deed for three more, and the chain continues, it can have an incredible impact. This requires an extreme act of faith in others. This movie makes the point that it is hard for people, who are so used to the way things are, to change, that they just give up, and everyone loses. The prominent Greek statesmen and orator, Demosthenes, said “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” So seize every opportunity because, I believe it can make a local, national, or even global difference towards the goal of world peace.
Brittany Martin
February 13, 2007
Weekly HOMILY for May 27, 2007: How the Church and We Survive
The Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
May 27, 2007
How the Church and We Survive
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
TV Survivors
It was this month in the year 2000 that a new TV show first aired. Anybody guess what it was? Yes, Survivor! It has been around a while and has become a very popular show.
Each series has a very varied group of individuals who are sent to a remote area of the world where their skills at surviving the elements are tested.
We viewers witness amazing challenges where the individuals must prove their physical, mental, and emotional strengths and endurance.
As each competition progresses, the daily frictions that are an inevitable aspect of day-to-day living arise and are exacerbated by the rigors of living in the wild. The difficulties are compounded by the ambition to triumph over others at all costs.
Gradually, the viewer begins to see certain personality and character traits revealed in the contestants, not all of which are admirable.
Because the prize to be awarded in the end is a considerable sum of money and because there will be only one winner, contestants do whatever is necessary to survive. In the end, the sole survivor is declared the winner.
The Church As Survivor
Today, as the Church, we celebrate not just one of us, but all of us, who have survived together as a community in this world from the time of Jesus himself.
Despite the challenges, the failures and all the tests of endurance that living in this world as Jesus’ disciples may bring into our lives, the Church survives, and at different times even thrives.
But unlike the survivors of TV show, whose desire to outlast, outwit, and outdo one another is their sole motivation, the continued survival of the Church is due to another force, another presence.
The Spirit in the Church
This “Other” assures the Church’s continued presence in the world as a witness to the person and mission of Jesus.
This “Other” does not permit the Church to be relegated to distant memory or closed away in a history book.
This “Other” empowers the Church to be pertinent, relevant, and ever attentive to the changing circumstances that call forth its best efforts at making known the Good News, at service, at speaking truth to governments and the world.
And because of our link, our connection, our presence as part of that Church, this “Other” endows believers with unique gifts and inspires each with real survival skills, survival skills like faith, hope, love, and trust.
For all these reasons, every celebration of the Church is also, in truth, a celebration of the “Other,” without whom the Church would not be the Church; that Other – you may have guessed by now – is of course who?
Yes, the Holy Spirit!
The Spirit in Us
(As the Power to Welcome) What I’d like to suggest is this: if the Spirit could move the earliest believers in Jesus to overcome their reluctance to welcome Gentiles freely and fully into the community, cannot the same Spirit move us also to see beyond our fears and prejudices to welcome all others in Christ?
To welcome the sinner, the outcast, the unpopular, the one whose talked about?
(As the Power to Overcome Controversy) If the Spirit could continue to move and preserve the Church through heresies, controversies, dual papacies, so called “Holy Wars,” and schisms, cannot the same Spirit move us to try to understand and negotiate rather than to alienate and condemn?
To understand the person at work, whom no one seems to understand? Negotiate with the neighbor no one likes?
(As the Power to Center Ourselves) There is a final area of energy that is ours.
If the Spirit could move the Church through the work of more than two dozen councils over 2,000 years toward a renewal and recentering of itself in Christ, cannot the same Spirit move us to remember and regain our rootedness in those virtues by which we, as Church, were first recognized and identified by the world.
Couldn’t people know or recognize us as Catholics:
By the quality of our love?
By the optimism of our hope?
By the assuredness of our believing?
By the generosity of our service?
And by our communion with one another?
Conclusion
I leave you with an image. We may be similar to a group that gathers around an important personage say a club committed to George Washington or an Albert Einstein or Jackie Robinson.
And if our personage were Jesus Christ alone, we would be no more powerful, no more able to survive than either of those three groups I’ve just mentioned.
However the group called the Church – because Jesus breathes into it the Holy Spirit and that Holy Spirit continues to live, and breathe and animate the Church – as a group, it takes on the quality of being able to survive.
And so it has for 2,000 years and so it will until the end of time.
And we – as long as we are connected and bound to this community called the Catholic Church – we draw our life from that Spirit-filled connection.
And it is that relationship that empowers us to (1) Welcome, (2) Overcome Controversy, and (3) Center Ourselves. It is that Spirit that assures us our survival.
Our Lady of Grace
May 27, 2007
How the Church and We Survive
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
TV Survivors
It was this month in the year 2000 that a new TV show first aired. Anybody guess what it was? Yes, Survivor! It has been around a while and has become a very popular show.
Each series has a very varied group of individuals who are sent to a remote area of the world where their skills at surviving the elements are tested.
We viewers witness amazing challenges where the individuals must prove their physical, mental, and emotional strengths and endurance.
As each competition progresses, the daily frictions that are an inevitable aspect of day-to-day living arise and are exacerbated by the rigors of living in the wild. The difficulties are compounded by the ambition to triumph over others at all costs.
Gradually, the viewer begins to see certain personality and character traits revealed in the contestants, not all of which are admirable.
Because the prize to be awarded in the end is a considerable sum of money and because there will be only one winner, contestants do whatever is necessary to survive. In the end, the sole survivor is declared the winner.
The Church As Survivor
Today, as the Church, we celebrate not just one of us, but all of us, who have survived together as a community in this world from the time of Jesus himself.
Despite the challenges, the failures and all the tests of endurance that living in this world as Jesus’ disciples may bring into our lives, the Church survives, and at different times even thrives.
But unlike the survivors of TV show, whose desire to outlast, outwit, and outdo one another is their sole motivation, the continued survival of the Church is due to another force, another presence.
The Spirit in the Church
This “Other” assures the Church’s continued presence in the world as a witness to the person and mission of Jesus.
This “Other” does not permit the Church to be relegated to distant memory or closed away in a history book.
This “Other” empowers the Church to be pertinent, relevant, and ever attentive to the changing circumstances that call forth its best efforts at making known the Good News, at service, at speaking truth to governments and the world.
And because of our link, our connection, our presence as part of that Church, this “Other” endows believers with unique gifts and inspires each with real survival skills, survival skills like faith, hope, love, and trust.
For all these reasons, every celebration of the Church is also, in truth, a celebration of the “Other,” without whom the Church would not be the Church; that Other – you may have guessed by now – is of course who?
Yes, the Holy Spirit!
The Spirit in Us
(As the Power to Welcome) What I’d like to suggest is this: if the Spirit could move the earliest believers in Jesus to overcome their reluctance to welcome Gentiles freely and fully into the community, cannot the same Spirit move us also to see beyond our fears and prejudices to welcome all others in Christ?
To welcome the sinner, the outcast, the unpopular, the one whose talked about?
(As the Power to Overcome Controversy) If the Spirit could continue to move and preserve the Church through heresies, controversies, dual papacies, so called “Holy Wars,” and schisms, cannot the same Spirit move us to try to understand and negotiate rather than to alienate and condemn?
To understand the person at work, whom no one seems to understand? Negotiate with the neighbor no one likes?
(As the Power to Center Ourselves) There is a final area of energy that is ours.
If the Spirit could move the Church through the work of more than two dozen councils over 2,000 years toward a renewal and recentering of itself in Christ, cannot the same Spirit move us to remember and regain our rootedness in those virtues by which we, as Church, were first recognized and identified by the world.
Couldn’t people know or recognize us as Catholics:
By the quality of our love?
By the optimism of our hope?
By the assuredness of our believing?
By the generosity of our service?
And by our communion with one another?
Conclusion
I leave you with an image. We may be similar to a group that gathers around an important personage say a club committed to George Washington or an Albert Einstein or Jackie Robinson.
And if our personage were Jesus Christ alone, we would be no more powerful, no more able to survive than either of those three groups I’ve just mentioned.
However the group called the Church – because Jesus breathes into it the Holy Spirit and that Holy Spirit continues to live, and breathe and animate the Church – as a group, it takes on the quality of being able to survive.
And so it has for 2,000 years and so it will until the end of time.
And we – as long as we are connected and bound to this community called the Catholic Church – we draw our life from that Spirit-filled connection.
And it is that relationship that empowers us to (1) Welcome, (2) Overcome Controversy, and (3) Center Ourselves. It is that Spirit that assures us our survival.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for May 20, 2007: The Truth Is One
May 15, 2007
Focus: The Truth Is One
Dear Friend,
A parishioner and dear friend sent me a few more Zen statements. They are very provocative. I thought you would enjoy them.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
➢ The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
➢ It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
➢ Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.
➢ Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else. (There is something truly Christian in this one, the longer I think about it.)
➢ Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
➢ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
➢ If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
➢ Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
➢ If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
➢ Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
➢ A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Focus: The Truth Is One
Dear Friend,
A parishioner and dear friend sent me a few more Zen statements. They are very provocative. I thought you would enjoy them.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
➢ The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
➢ It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
➢ Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.
➢ Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else. (There is something truly Christian in this one, the longer I think about it.)
➢ Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
➢ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
➢ If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
➢ Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
➢ If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
➢ Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
➢ A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 20, 2007: Today's Dedication, the Approaching Summer, and Mass Attendance
This and That:
Today’s Dedication, the Approaching Summer, and Mass Attendance
This weekend we celebrate two events that include our Area Vicar, Bishop Mitch Rozanski. He is with us for the 10:30am Mass today, Sunday, which follows with the dedication of the Sports Pavilion and the blessing of the Athletic Fields. He returns later this evening for the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Sunday 5:00 Alive. It is not coincidental that both events deal with youth.
Our new pavilion and athletic fields have increased our possibilities for serving our youth through athletics. Our Confirmation Class of high school Sophomores is another group of faith-filled youth who, hopefully, will be committed to their faith in Jesus Christ as they continue through their high school years.
In the past two years the number of youth to whom we minister has grown a great deal. Through the Drama Ministry and Athletics Programs we are drawing in young people at an increasing number. Of course drawing them in is only the beginning. It is the role of our parents to develop in them an appreciation for regular Sunday worship, as well as involvement in our parish life and outreach to those in need.
Last weekend and this weekend we have given the Sacrament of First Eucharist to so many wonderful 2nd Graders. Their openness and innocence to receiving Jesus in the Eucharist are a marvel to watch. Yet, if that openness and innocence is not fostered by regular Sunday worship, it will surely dry up and wither on the vine. It does take parents, who themselves have developed a habit of regular and faithful attendance and participation at Mass.
The school year is winding down. Anyone at weekend Masses will quickly note how the numbers have already begun to thin out now that Religious Education is over. Well, they will thin again when we switch to the summer schedule of three Masses on Memorial Day Weekend, and still again when our Catholic School ends the year. At that point, our people will scatter to vacation spots across the State and across the Nation. We have always experienced this lighter attendance as summer approached. However, what is of added concern is that over the past few years the attendance does not rebound to the level at which it was when things began to thin out. I do not really understand why this is so.
A Think Tank that is studying declining Mass attendance recently sent out a survey to all registered parishioners asking them what was keeping them away from regular Mass attendance and what could we do to bring them back to regular to attending regularly? The response was excellent with over 400 surveys received. A second letter and survey will be going out to the same group in a week or two, this time reporting the results of our findings and asking folks what their preference is for Mass time and type of music. Once all this information is in, the Think Tank will formulate recommendations, which will then go to parish leadership for decisions. There is no question that the input will have an impact on what our weekly worship with look like by this coming September.
Of course in the end what gets someone to regular Mass attendance, whether it is summer and they are away from home or it is just a lazy, hazy Sunday morning, is the person’s desire to be there or not. I wonder what makes me a regular attendee? Part of it is learned habit (It would not be Sunday for me if I didn’t go to Mass.) Part of it is to obey the commandment (Keep the Sabbath holy and worship God.) Part of it is my own desire to go and to feel connected to Jesus Christ and others with whom I share my faith.
They say that faith is “caught” not “taught.” That is, that it is “caught” in much the same way we catch a cold. We have to be exposed to someone who has a cold. Faithful Sunday observance, a home where children see parents forgiving and caring for each other, regular prayers at mealtime and before bed are all ways that children “catch” the faith. In addition, a home environment that is rich with symbols helps, e.g. a crucifix in bedrooms, palm over a picture or two, a statue or rosary on a dresser top are all helpful images that our Catholic Faith in present here.
Finally, since I began with youth, I’ll close with them. There are many couples who worship with their teenage children. I know from experience that many of those teens would prefer not to be there, but they come because they have learned that Sunday Mass is “what we do,” in much the same way that we do many other family customs. Once teens are out of the nest and away at college at least they will have the experience of having attended Mass with their family in the “old days.” That will be a tremendous resource to them when they have an opportunity to decide for themselves what to do on a Sunday morning.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Today’s Dedication, the Approaching Summer, and Mass Attendance
This weekend we celebrate two events that include our Area Vicar, Bishop Mitch Rozanski. He is with us for the 10:30am Mass today, Sunday, which follows with the dedication of the Sports Pavilion and the blessing of the Athletic Fields. He returns later this evening for the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Sunday 5:00 Alive. It is not coincidental that both events deal with youth.
Our new pavilion and athletic fields have increased our possibilities for serving our youth through athletics. Our Confirmation Class of high school Sophomores is another group of faith-filled youth who, hopefully, will be committed to their faith in Jesus Christ as they continue through their high school years.
In the past two years the number of youth to whom we minister has grown a great deal. Through the Drama Ministry and Athletics Programs we are drawing in young people at an increasing number. Of course drawing them in is only the beginning. It is the role of our parents to develop in them an appreciation for regular Sunday worship, as well as involvement in our parish life and outreach to those in need.
Last weekend and this weekend we have given the Sacrament of First Eucharist to so many wonderful 2nd Graders. Their openness and innocence to receiving Jesus in the Eucharist are a marvel to watch. Yet, if that openness and innocence is not fostered by regular Sunday worship, it will surely dry up and wither on the vine. It does take parents, who themselves have developed a habit of regular and faithful attendance and participation at Mass.
The school year is winding down. Anyone at weekend Masses will quickly note how the numbers have already begun to thin out now that Religious Education is over. Well, they will thin again when we switch to the summer schedule of three Masses on Memorial Day Weekend, and still again when our Catholic School ends the year. At that point, our people will scatter to vacation spots across the State and across the Nation. We have always experienced this lighter attendance as summer approached. However, what is of added concern is that over the past few years the attendance does not rebound to the level at which it was when things began to thin out. I do not really understand why this is so.
A Think Tank that is studying declining Mass attendance recently sent out a survey to all registered parishioners asking them what was keeping them away from regular Mass attendance and what could we do to bring them back to regular to attending regularly? The response was excellent with over 400 surveys received. A second letter and survey will be going out to the same group in a week or two, this time reporting the results of our findings and asking folks what their preference is for Mass time and type of music. Once all this information is in, the Think Tank will formulate recommendations, which will then go to parish leadership for decisions. There is no question that the input will have an impact on what our weekly worship with look like by this coming September.
Of course in the end what gets someone to regular Mass attendance, whether it is summer and they are away from home or it is just a lazy, hazy Sunday morning, is the person’s desire to be there or not. I wonder what makes me a regular attendee? Part of it is learned habit (It would not be Sunday for me if I didn’t go to Mass.) Part of it is to obey the commandment (Keep the Sabbath holy and worship God.) Part of it is my own desire to go and to feel connected to Jesus Christ and others with whom I share my faith.
They say that faith is “caught” not “taught.” That is, that it is “caught” in much the same way we catch a cold. We have to be exposed to someone who has a cold. Faithful Sunday observance, a home where children see parents forgiving and caring for each other, regular prayers at mealtime and before bed are all ways that children “catch” the faith. In addition, a home environment that is rich with symbols helps, e.g. a crucifix in bedrooms, palm over a picture or two, a statue or rosary on a dresser top are all helpful images that our Catholic Faith in present here.
Finally, since I began with youth, I’ll close with them. There are many couples who worship with their teenage children. I know from experience that many of those teens would prefer not to be there, but they come because they have learned that Sunday Mass is “what we do,” in much the same way that we do many other family customs. Once teens are out of the nest and away at college at least they will have the experience of having attended Mass with their family in the “old days.” That will be a tremendous resource to them when they have an opportunity to decide for themselves what to do on a Sunday morning.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly HOMILY for May 20, 2007: Up or Down?
The Ascension of the Lord, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
May 20, 2007
Up or Down?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Painting: Up and Down
In the Vatican Museum in Rome, there is painting entitled The Ascension.
This painting dates back to the fifteenth century and it depicts the apostles gathered on top of a mountain. Half of them are looking up at the sky.
There is an opening in the clouds and they are just staring. Jesus has apparently returned to the Father and is no longer visible.
The other half of the apostles are looking down to the ground. They see footprints, apparently the imprints of Jesus’ feet, but again, he is not visible.
The Scriptures: Up and Down
That Renaissance painting expresses one of the core messages in today’s readings.
In both the first reading and the gospel, Jesus reaffirms what he calls “the promise of the Father.” He is speaking here of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is reassuring the apostles that he will be present to them through the Holy Spirit. And he is reassuring them that they will feel both comforted and empowered by this.
After Jesus says this and is taken up into heaven, the apostles kneel down in prayer and reverence. St. Luke says that “they are gazing up into the heavens.”
On the other hand, in our first reading we hear that two angels appear to these apostles. They ask, “Why do you stand here looking up at the skies?”
In effect, they remind the apostles that they must now get to work. Jesus has made them his witnesses or ministers on this earth.
So, when I think about the Renaissance painting and these Scripture passages, I see a balance between the heavens and the earth, between our looking up and our looking down. I also think that we see this balance I1) In our sacraments and (2) In the way Jesus calls us to live.
The Sacraments: Up and Down
First, our sacraments are a mix, a balance of the heavens and the earth.
For example, in Baptism, we repeat the words of Jesus, the Son of God: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
At the same time, we use ordinary water, the material of this earth.
In the Eucharist, we again repeat the words of Jesus: “This is my body; this is my blood.” And again, Jesus has us use something of the earth: simple, ordinary bread and wine.
So, in our sacraments, there is this mix, this balance of the heavens and the earth. It is as if we are at one and the same time looking up to the heavens and looking down to the earth, much like the apostles in that painting.
Our Lives: Up and Down
I believe we are also called to live this balance in our personal lives.
First, we are to “look up to the heavens.” This means that we need to be grounded and rooted in God who is beyond this earth.
We do this by personal, private prayer, by reading the Scripture in a reflective way, and by coming to Mass and receiving the Eucharist each week. These are ways of “looking up to the heavens” – ways of strengthening our relationship with the Lord.
At the same time, we need to be looking down to the earth. This means that we care for our families, volunteer in our children’s schools, things like that.
And beyond family, it might mean that we assist the local Birthright Center or that we think about our Catholic teaching on just war and how that should guide us as a country. These are ways of looking down to the earth and being Jesus’ witnesses in the world.
Conclusion
So, today’s celebration of Jesus’ being taken up into heaven calls us to a balance.
It is a balance between looking up to the heavens and looking down to the earth. And this balance leads us to a spiritually healthy and holy life.
Our Lady of Grace
May 20, 2007
Up or Down?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Painting: Up and Down
In the Vatican Museum in Rome, there is painting entitled The Ascension.
This painting dates back to the fifteenth century and it depicts the apostles gathered on top of a mountain. Half of them are looking up at the sky.
There is an opening in the clouds and they are just staring. Jesus has apparently returned to the Father and is no longer visible.
The other half of the apostles are looking down to the ground. They see footprints, apparently the imprints of Jesus’ feet, but again, he is not visible.
The Scriptures: Up and Down
That Renaissance painting expresses one of the core messages in today’s readings.
In both the first reading and the gospel, Jesus reaffirms what he calls “the promise of the Father.” He is speaking here of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is reassuring the apostles that he will be present to them through the Holy Spirit. And he is reassuring them that they will feel both comforted and empowered by this.
After Jesus says this and is taken up into heaven, the apostles kneel down in prayer and reverence. St. Luke says that “they are gazing up into the heavens.”
On the other hand, in our first reading we hear that two angels appear to these apostles. They ask, “Why do you stand here looking up at the skies?”
In effect, they remind the apostles that they must now get to work. Jesus has made them his witnesses or ministers on this earth.
So, when I think about the Renaissance painting and these Scripture passages, I see a balance between the heavens and the earth, between our looking up and our looking down. I also think that we see this balance I1) In our sacraments and (2) In the way Jesus calls us to live.
The Sacraments: Up and Down
First, our sacraments are a mix, a balance of the heavens and the earth.
For example, in Baptism, we repeat the words of Jesus, the Son of God: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
At the same time, we use ordinary water, the material of this earth.
In the Eucharist, we again repeat the words of Jesus: “This is my body; this is my blood.” And again, Jesus has us use something of the earth: simple, ordinary bread and wine.
So, in our sacraments, there is this mix, this balance of the heavens and the earth. It is as if we are at one and the same time looking up to the heavens and looking down to the earth, much like the apostles in that painting.
Our Lives: Up and Down
I believe we are also called to live this balance in our personal lives.
First, we are to “look up to the heavens.” This means that we need to be grounded and rooted in God who is beyond this earth.
We do this by personal, private prayer, by reading the Scripture in a reflective way, and by coming to Mass and receiving the Eucharist each week. These are ways of “looking up to the heavens” – ways of strengthening our relationship with the Lord.
At the same time, we need to be looking down to the earth. This means that we care for our families, volunteer in our children’s schools, things like that.
And beyond family, it might mean that we assist the local Birthright Center or that we think about our Catholic teaching on just war and how that should guide us as a country. These are ways of looking down to the earth and being Jesus’ witnesses in the world.
Conclusion
So, today’s celebration of Jesus’ being taken up into heaven calls us to a balance.
It is a balance between looking up to the heavens and looking down to the earth. And this balance leads us to a spiritually healthy and holy life.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for May 13, 2007: A Third of Priest Ordained in 2007 Are Foreign Born
May 10, 2007
Focus: A Third of Priests Ordained in 2007 Are Foreign Born
Dear Friend,
U.S. Bishops’ data on those to be ordained this year shows that their average age is 35 and one in three were born outside the United States. Researchers gathered information from 282 seminarians (including 221 future diocesan priests and 60 religious), approximately 60% of the estimated 475 men who are expected to be ordained.
The following are some interesting statistics:
-- Seven in 10 report their primary race as Caucasian, European American, or white.
-- Of the 33% of individuals to be ordained who were born outside the United States, the largest numbers come from Vietnam, Mexico, Poland and the Philippines. Our Archdiocese has priests from each country serving here.
-- Some 6% are converts to the Catholic faith.
-- More than six in 10 have a college degree from before entering the seminary.
-- Half of those responding attended a Catholic elementary school.
-- About two-thirds of the group had full-time jobs before going to the seminary.
-- The average age at which they began considering a vocation was 17.
The Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate compiled the information. The organization conducts the survey each year for the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation
It seems as if, given the clergy shortage, we are becoming a Mission Land once again.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: A Third of Priests Ordained in 2007 Are Foreign Born
Dear Friend,
U.S. Bishops’ data on those to be ordained this year shows that their average age is 35 and one in three were born outside the United States. Researchers gathered information from 282 seminarians (including 221 future diocesan priests and 60 religious), approximately 60% of the estimated 475 men who are expected to be ordained.
The following are some interesting statistics:
-- Seven in 10 report their primary race as Caucasian, European American, or white.
-- Of the 33% of individuals to be ordained who were born outside the United States, the largest numbers come from Vietnam, Mexico, Poland and the Philippines. Our Archdiocese has priests from each country serving here.
-- Some 6% are converts to the Catholic faith.
-- More than six in 10 have a college degree from before entering the seminary.
-- Half of those responding attended a Catholic elementary school.
-- About two-thirds of the group had full-time jobs before going to the seminary.
-- The average age at which they began considering a vocation was 17.
The Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate compiled the information. The organization conducts the survey each year for the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation
It seems as if, given the clergy shortage, we are becoming a Mission Land once again.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 13, 2007: Feedback on Mothers This Mothers' Day
This and That:
Feedback on Mothers This Mothers’ Day
The following appeared in this column two years ago and is worth repeating. They are answers given by elementary school age children to questions they were asked regarding mothers.
Why did God make mothers?
➢ She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch Tape is
➢ Mostly to clean the house
➢ To help us out of there when we were getting born
How did God make mothers?
➢ He used dirt, just like for the rest of us
➢ Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring
➢ God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts
What ingredients are mothers made of?
➢ God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of meanness
➢ They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
➢ We’re related
➢ God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me
What kind of little girl was your mom?
➢ My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff
➢ I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be, pretty bossy
➢ They say she used to be nice
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
➢ His last name
➢ She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he drink too much?
➢ Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
➢ My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world and my mom eats a lot
➢ She got too old to do anything else with him
➢ My grandma says that mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.
Who’s the boss at your house?
➢ Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad can goof off sometimes
➢ Mom is. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
➢ I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad
What’s the difference between moms and dads?
➢ Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just go to work at work
➢ Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them
➢ Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power because that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend’s
➢ Moms have magic. They make you feel better without medicine
What does your mom do in her spare time?
➢ Mothers don’t do spare time
➢ To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
➢ On the inside she’s already perfect. On the outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery
➢ Diet. You know, her hair. I’d diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
➢ She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that
➢ I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me
➢ I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head
God bless all our moms – those who are with us still and those in heaven – this Mothers day for without them we simply would never have been.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Feedback on Mothers This Mothers’ Day
The following appeared in this column two years ago and is worth repeating. They are answers given by elementary school age children to questions they were asked regarding mothers.
Why did God make mothers?
➢ She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch Tape is
➢ Mostly to clean the house
➢ To help us out of there when we were getting born
How did God make mothers?
➢ He used dirt, just like for the rest of us
➢ Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring
➢ God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts
What ingredients are mothers made of?
➢ God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of meanness
➢ They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
➢ We’re related
➢ God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me
What kind of little girl was your mom?
➢ My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff
➢ I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be, pretty bossy
➢ They say she used to be nice
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
➢ His last name
➢ She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he drink too much?
➢ Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
➢ My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world and my mom eats a lot
➢ She got too old to do anything else with him
➢ My grandma says that mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.
Who’s the boss at your house?
➢ Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad can goof off sometimes
➢ Mom is. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
➢ I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad
What’s the difference between moms and dads?
➢ Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just go to work at work
➢ Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them
➢ Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power because that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend’s
➢ Moms have magic. They make you feel better without medicine
What does your mom do in her spare time?
➢ Mothers don’t do spare time
➢ To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
➢ On the inside she’s already perfect. On the outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery
➢ Diet. You know, her hair. I’d diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
➢ She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that
➢ I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me
➢ I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head
God bless all our moms – those who are with us still and those in heaven – this Mothers day for without them we simply would never have been.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly HOMILY for May 13, 2007: Absent Yet Present
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
May 13, 2007
Absent Yet Present
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Mother and Daughter
A mother named Terry West has written a very warm story about her relationship with her little daughter.
Terry West worked outside the home and her three-year-old daughter Marion stayed at the next-door neighbor’s house. The neighbor did day care for Marion and two other children.
Each day at noontime, Terry would come home from work on her lunch break. She would pick up little Marion at the neighbor’s house and Marion would be jumping for joy.
Mother and daughter would go home, have lunch and play together for a few minutes. Then, Marion would feel sad when her mother had to go back to work.
One day, Terry West stopped coming home for lunch. Even though her mother had explained this, Marion just could not understand.
But years later, Marion learned that her mother still did come each day. But she would sit at her kitchen window, eating her lunch by herself and watching Marion play in the neighbor’s yard.
Terry West did this because she wanted her daughter to become a little less reliant on her and to learn how to play well with the other children.
Marion now understands well that it was for her own growth and development that her mother stopped taking her home for lunch.
Jesus and Us
This true story can help us better understand today’s Gospel passage.
In it, Jesus is saying to the disciples: “I know you are anxious because I am going to leave you, but it is important for you that I go. For my Father will send the Holy Spirit to be with you and to help you grow in a new way.”
In other words, Jesus’ absence, like Terry West’s absence from Marion, is a time for the disciples to begin a new phase in their development.
And in a similar way, now is also a time of growth for us and this morning I want to focus on two aspects of our own growing, two aspect where we may be feeling Jesus’ absence and yet be assured of how he is present, lest we lose heart.
Our Growth by Relating to Others
First, we need to be attentive to our relationships, attentive to the persons we touch, see and speak with day in and day out.
Remember that Terry West in her seeming absence wanted her daughter to develop good ways of relating to her little friends.
Most of Jesus’ life was devoted to teaching us how to relate to one another. For example, we need to be respectful of one another even when differences and disagreements are present.
In today’s first reading, we hear of a significant conflict in the early Church, but notice how they maintain respect for one another and arrive at a resolution. I think we can largely conceive of our task on earth as developing God’s kingdom by being respectful and caring of all of God’s children.
Our Growth Living by Our Values and Beliefs
And second, we need to live by our values, beliefs, convictions, no matter what. Little Marion West was being challenged to relate well with her peers even when she thought her mother was not watching.
Jesus consistently teaches us to be authentic and not to do things because of what others will think of us or because of what we will get out of it.
It’s something like me, when I am back in the chapel, genuflecting before the tabernacle even when no one else is there looking at what I do.
Someone once said that the test of real character is what we do when we think no one else is watching.
In the same way, the test of our relationship with the Lord is what we do when we think no one else is watching.
Jesus Remains with Us
In this earthly journey, throughout this entire stage of growth we find ourselves in, Jesus remains with us.
Little Marion did not see her mother at lunchtime, but mom was right next door, looking at her through the window. Jesus in today’s Gospel says that he and the Father will actually dwell with us.
They will do this through the Holy Spirit. So, we too may not see Jesus physically with us, but he is here.
And the most important way that Jesus is with us is through the Eucharist, where he’s present as flesh and blood under the forms of bread and wine.
Conclusion
So when we are feeling his “absence,” we can be assured of his presence to sustain and nourish, to comfort and strengthen, to give meaning and hope through all the growing that we must do.
That is the wonderful gift, the sacrament that we have the opportunity to celebrate and receive every Sunday.
Our Lady of Grace
May 13, 2007
Absent Yet Present
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Mother and Daughter
A mother named Terry West has written a very warm story about her relationship with her little daughter.
Terry West worked outside the home and her three-year-old daughter Marion stayed at the next-door neighbor’s house. The neighbor did day care for Marion and two other children.
Each day at noontime, Terry would come home from work on her lunch break. She would pick up little Marion at the neighbor’s house and Marion would be jumping for joy.
Mother and daughter would go home, have lunch and play together for a few minutes. Then, Marion would feel sad when her mother had to go back to work.
One day, Terry West stopped coming home for lunch. Even though her mother had explained this, Marion just could not understand.
But years later, Marion learned that her mother still did come each day. But she would sit at her kitchen window, eating her lunch by herself and watching Marion play in the neighbor’s yard.
Terry West did this because she wanted her daughter to become a little less reliant on her and to learn how to play well with the other children.
Marion now understands well that it was for her own growth and development that her mother stopped taking her home for lunch.
Jesus and Us
This true story can help us better understand today’s Gospel passage.
In it, Jesus is saying to the disciples: “I know you are anxious because I am going to leave you, but it is important for you that I go. For my Father will send the Holy Spirit to be with you and to help you grow in a new way.”
In other words, Jesus’ absence, like Terry West’s absence from Marion, is a time for the disciples to begin a new phase in their development.
And in a similar way, now is also a time of growth for us and this morning I want to focus on two aspects of our own growing, two aspect where we may be feeling Jesus’ absence and yet be assured of how he is present, lest we lose heart.
Our Growth by Relating to Others
First, we need to be attentive to our relationships, attentive to the persons we touch, see and speak with day in and day out.
Remember that Terry West in her seeming absence wanted her daughter to develop good ways of relating to her little friends.
Most of Jesus’ life was devoted to teaching us how to relate to one another. For example, we need to be respectful of one another even when differences and disagreements are present.
In today’s first reading, we hear of a significant conflict in the early Church, but notice how they maintain respect for one another and arrive at a resolution. I think we can largely conceive of our task on earth as developing God’s kingdom by being respectful and caring of all of God’s children.
Our Growth Living by Our Values and Beliefs
And second, we need to live by our values, beliefs, convictions, no matter what. Little Marion West was being challenged to relate well with her peers even when she thought her mother was not watching.
Jesus consistently teaches us to be authentic and not to do things because of what others will think of us or because of what we will get out of it.
It’s something like me, when I am back in the chapel, genuflecting before the tabernacle even when no one else is there looking at what I do.
Someone once said that the test of real character is what we do when we think no one else is watching.
In the same way, the test of our relationship with the Lord is what we do when we think no one else is watching.
Jesus Remains with Us
In this earthly journey, throughout this entire stage of growth we find ourselves in, Jesus remains with us.
Little Marion did not see her mother at lunchtime, but mom was right next door, looking at her through the window. Jesus in today’s Gospel says that he and the Father will actually dwell with us.
They will do this through the Holy Spirit. So, we too may not see Jesus physically with us, but he is here.
And the most important way that Jesus is with us is through the Eucharist, where he’s present as flesh and blood under the forms of bread and wine.
Conclusion
So when we are feeling his “absence,” we can be assured of his presence to sustain and nourish, to comfort and strengthen, to give meaning and hope through all the growing that we must do.
That is the wonderful gift, the sacrament that we have the opportunity to celebrate and receive every Sunday.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for May 6, 2007: Zen Thoughts
May 3, 2007
Focus: Zen Thoughts
Dear Friend,
The following are a few Zen thoughts for your week I received from a friend earlier in the week. I liked every one of them.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like, night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
7. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
8. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
9. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
10. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
12. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
13. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
14. Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
15. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
16. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand...
17. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
18. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
19. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Hope this gave you the same chuckle it gave me.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Zen Thoughts
Dear Friend,
The following are a few Zen thoughts for your week I received from a friend earlier in the week. I liked every one of them.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like, night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
7. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
8. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
9. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
10. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
12. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
13. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
14. Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
15. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
16. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand...
17. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
18. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
19. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Hope this gave you the same chuckle it gave me.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 6, 2007: How Do You Know You're Italian?
This and That:
How do you know you’re Italian?
Very often when my brother or sister and I talk long distance we remember the old days of growing up in Brooklyn, New York. Many times we will laugh over things Italian that we recall, being first generation children. The following are items over which we have had more than a few laughs.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
➢ You have at least one relative who wore a black dress every day for an entire year after a funeral.
➢ You spent your entire childhood thinking what you ate for lunch was pronounced “sangwich.”
➢ Your family dog understood Italian.
➢ Every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting your grandparents and extended family.
➢ You’ve experienced the phenomena of 150 people fitting into 50 square feet of yard during a family cookout.
➢ You were surprised to discover the FDA recommends you eat three meals a day, not seven.
➢ You thought killing the pig each year and having salami, capacollo, pancetta and prosciutto hanging out to dry from your shed ceiling was absolutely normal. (That’s really Italian!)
➢ You ate pasta for dinner at least three times a week, and every Sunday, and laughed at the commercial for Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day.
➢ You grew up thinking no fruit or vegetable had a fixed price and that the price of everything was negotiable through haggling.
➢ You were as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven.
➢ You thought everyone’s last name ended in a vowel.
➢ You thought nylons were supposed to be worn rolled to the ankles.
➢ Your mom’s main hobby is cleaning.
➢ You were surprised to find out that wine was actually sold in stores.
➢ You thought that everyone made their own tomato sauce.
➢ You never ate meat on Christmas Eve or any Friday for that matter.
➢ You ate your salad after the main course.\
➢ You thought Catholic was the only religion in the world.
➢ You were beaten at least once with a wooden spoon or broom.
➢ You thought every meal had to be eaten with a hunk of bread in your hand.
➢ You can understand Italian but you can’t speak it.
➢ You have at least one relative who came over on the boat.
➢ All of your uncles fought in a World War.
➢ You have at least six male relatives named Tony, Frank, Joe or Louie.
➢ You have relatives who aren’t really your relatives.
➢ You have relatives you don’t speak to.
➢ You drank wine before you were a teenager.
➢ You grew up in a house with a yard that didn’t have one patch of dirt that didn’t have a flower or a vegetable growing out of it.
➢ Your grandparent’s furniture was as comfortable as sitting on plastic. Wait a minute! You were sitting on plastic.
➢ You thought that talking loud was normal.
➢ You thought sugared almonds and the Tarantella were common at all weddings.
➢ You thought everyone got pinched on the cheeks and money stuffed in their pockets by their relatives.
➢ Your mother is overly protective of the males in the family no matter what their age.
➢ There was a crucifix in every room of the house.
➢ Wakes would be held in someone’s living room.
➢ You couldn’t date a boy without getting approval from your father and he had to be Italian.
➢ You called pasta “macaroni.”
➢ You dreaded taking out your lunch at school.
➢ Going out for a cup of coffee usually meant going out for a cup of coffee over Zia’s house.
➢ Every condition, ailment, misfortune, memory loss and accident was attributed to the fact that you didn’t eat something.
How do you know you’re Italian?
Very often when my brother or sister and I talk long distance we remember the old days of growing up in Brooklyn, New York. Many times we will laugh over things Italian that we recall, being first generation children. The following are items over which we have had more than a few laughs.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
➢ You have at least one relative who wore a black dress every day for an entire year after a funeral.
➢ You spent your entire childhood thinking what you ate for lunch was pronounced “sangwich.”
➢ Your family dog understood Italian.
➢ Every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting your grandparents and extended family.
➢ You’ve experienced the phenomena of 150 people fitting into 50 square feet of yard during a family cookout.
➢ You were surprised to discover the FDA recommends you eat three meals a day, not seven.
➢ You thought killing the pig each year and having salami, capacollo, pancetta and prosciutto hanging out to dry from your shed ceiling was absolutely normal. (That’s really Italian!)
➢ You ate pasta for dinner at least three times a week, and every Sunday, and laughed at the commercial for Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day.
➢ You grew up thinking no fruit or vegetable had a fixed price and that the price of everything was negotiable through haggling.
➢ You were as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven.
➢ You thought everyone’s last name ended in a vowel.
➢ You thought nylons were supposed to be worn rolled to the ankles.
➢ Your mom’s main hobby is cleaning.
➢ You were surprised to find out that wine was actually sold in stores.
➢ You thought that everyone made their own tomato sauce.
➢ You never ate meat on Christmas Eve or any Friday for that matter.
➢ You ate your salad after the main course.\
➢ You thought Catholic was the only religion in the world.
➢ You were beaten at least once with a wooden spoon or broom.
➢ You thought every meal had to be eaten with a hunk of bread in your hand.
➢ You can understand Italian but you can’t speak it.
➢ You have at least one relative who came over on the boat.
➢ All of your uncles fought in a World War.
➢ You have at least six male relatives named Tony, Frank, Joe or Louie.
➢ You have relatives who aren’t really your relatives.
➢ You have relatives you don’t speak to.
➢ You drank wine before you were a teenager.
➢ You grew up in a house with a yard that didn’t have one patch of dirt that didn’t have a flower or a vegetable growing out of it.
➢ Your grandparent’s furniture was as comfortable as sitting on plastic. Wait a minute! You were sitting on plastic.
➢ You thought that talking loud was normal.
➢ You thought sugared almonds and the Tarantella were common at all weddings.
➢ You thought everyone got pinched on the cheeks and money stuffed in their pockets by their relatives.
➢ Your mother is overly protective of the males in the family no matter what their age.
➢ There was a crucifix in every room of the house.
➢ Wakes would be held in someone’s living room.
➢ You couldn’t date a boy without getting approval from your father and he had to be Italian.
➢ You called pasta “macaroni.”
➢ You dreaded taking out your lunch at school.
➢ Going out for a cup of coffee usually meant going out for a cup of coffee over Zia’s house.
➢ Every condition, ailment, misfortune, memory loss and accident was attributed to the fact that you didn’t eat something.
Weekly HOMILY for May 6,2007: The Lesson of the $100
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
May 6, 2007
The Lesson of the $100
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The $100
Last year I was on vacation for a week with four priest friends.
We rented two adjoining apartments in a resort right on the ocean. The complex was large, with four hotel towers and three restaurants.
The resort was also a cashless society. You just needed to show your hotel ID in the restaurants and they would charge your account.
You know the routine: a painless way to wrack up a big bill!
Given my affinity for cooking, we ate in for many meals. Every other day, I’d go to the local market that was only five minutes away to stock up on supplies.
This one day I got everything I needed, was checking out and the bill came to about $85.
And then I realized the problem. I didn’t have my wallet and the store was not part of the resort where we were staying.
What was I going to do? I began asking the clerk if she could hold my order right there while I ran back to the hotel and got my wallet.
As I was saying this, a couple who had just checked out in the next line came over and asked what I needed. And before I could answer, he handed me five $20 bills and said that he and his wife would be on the beach at the volleyball court that afternoon and I could pay them back there.
I was speechless. I had never seen either of them and they didn’t know me.
There I was in sandals, shorts, and a tee shirt; not a black suit and Roman collar. And here this couple comes to my assistance by handing me $100!
Love Without Saying It
Isn’t that an amazing experience?
I was overwhelmed by what this guy and his wife – Tom and Jean – did for me. And I think it illustrates perfectly what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.
He says: “Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for one another.”
The fellow at the beach never used the word “love” and, as a matter of fact, I would have wondered about him if he had. The truth of the matter was he was living out in a very demonstrative way Jesus’ command to love.
What Love Isn’t and What Love Is
Notice, he did not base his helping me on any merit of mine – on whether I deserved it or not. In fact, my problem was my own fault, my own forgetfulness.
He did not make his assistance a quid-pro-quo. In other words, he did not loan me the $100 on the condition that I would do something for him in return.
And, what he did was not primarily a feeling he had for me.
It was for none of those reasons that he helped me. It was instead a decision to help, an action, an act of love, if you will.
Jesus’ Love
This, I suggest, is what Jesus does and what his love for us is like.
Jesus shows his love for us throughout his life by all that he says in scripture and all the things that he does. And those words and actions get summed up in one powerful image: this cross.
It is why we must have a crucifix – a cross with a body on it – in our churches, because it captures like nothing else Jesus’ love for you and me.
And like the couple in the market, Jesus’ love is not based on any merit of ours. In fact, we humans have had a pretty checkered history in the way we have lived.
Jesus’ love is not a quid-pro-quo. Even though he calls us to live a certain way, he does not do this on the condition that we will actually do what he asks us to do.
And Jesus’ love involves a decision and an action. It is not just or not primarily a feeling.
Jesus gives himself to us freely and fully. He gives himself to us for our wellbeing. He gives himself to us that we may be saved and have life with him now and for eternity.
And this is what the Eucharist or Holy Communion is all about.
It’s about Jesus giving himself to us right here and now. He gives us his Body and Blood, under the forms of bread and wine.
Imagine the gift. And in our eating and drinking we become one with him and acquire strength, comfort, and the relationship with will get us anything and everything we experience.
Conclusion
By the way, I did go to the volleyball area of the beach that afternoon.
And I did find Tom and Jean. And I did pay back the $100.
As I walked away I remember saying to myself, “This would make a great homily someday” and that day has come.
God bless the Toms and Jeans everywhere. May we be more like them, more like Jesus.
Our Lady of Grace
May 6, 2007
The Lesson of the $100
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The $100
Last year I was on vacation for a week with four priest friends.
We rented two adjoining apartments in a resort right on the ocean. The complex was large, with four hotel towers and three restaurants.
The resort was also a cashless society. You just needed to show your hotel ID in the restaurants and they would charge your account.
You know the routine: a painless way to wrack up a big bill!
Given my affinity for cooking, we ate in for many meals. Every other day, I’d go to the local market that was only five minutes away to stock up on supplies.
This one day I got everything I needed, was checking out and the bill came to about $85.
And then I realized the problem. I didn’t have my wallet and the store was not part of the resort where we were staying.
What was I going to do? I began asking the clerk if she could hold my order right there while I ran back to the hotel and got my wallet.
As I was saying this, a couple who had just checked out in the next line came over and asked what I needed. And before I could answer, he handed me five $20 bills and said that he and his wife would be on the beach at the volleyball court that afternoon and I could pay them back there.
I was speechless. I had never seen either of them and they didn’t know me.
There I was in sandals, shorts, and a tee shirt; not a black suit and Roman collar. And here this couple comes to my assistance by handing me $100!
Love Without Saying It
Isn’t that an amazing experience?
I was overwhelmed by what this guy and his wife – Tom and Jean – did for me. And I think it illustrates perfectly what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.
He says: “Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for one another.”
The fellow at the beach never used the word “love” and, as a matter of fact, I would have wondered about him if he had. The truth of the matter was he was living out in a very demonstrative way Jesus’ command to love.
What Love Isn’t and What Love Is
Notice, he did not base his helping me on any merit of mine – on whether I deserved it or not. In fact, my problem was my own fault, my own forgetfulness.
He did not make his assistance a quid-pro-quo. In other words, he did not loan me the $100 on the condition that I would do something for him in return.
And, what he did was not primarily a feeling he had for me.
It was for none of those reasons that he helped me. It was instead a decision to help, an action, an act of love, if you will.
Jesus’ Love
This, I suggest, is what Jesus does and what his love for us is like.
Jesus shows his love for us throughout his life by all that he says in scripture and all the things that he does. And those words and actions get summed up in one powerful image: this cross.
It is why we must have a crucifix – a cross with a body on it – in our churches, because it captures like nothing else Jesus’ love for you and me.
And like the couple in the market, Jesus’ love is not based on any merit of ours. In fact, we humans have had a pretty checkered history in the way we have lived.
Jesus’ love is not a quid-pro-quo. Even though he calls us to live a certain way, he does not do this on the condition that we will actually do what he asks us to do.
And Jesus’ love involves a decision and an action. It is not just or not primarily a feeling.
Jesus gives himself to us freely and fully. He gives himself to us for our wellbeing. He gives himself to us that we may be saved and have life with him now and for eternity.
And this is what the Eucharist or Holy Communion is all about.
It’s about Jesus giving himself to us right here and now. He gives us his Body and Blood, under the forms of bread and wine.
Imagine the gift. And in our eating and drinking we become one with him and acquire strength, comfort, and the relationship with will get us anything and everything we experience.
Conclusion
By the way, I did go to the volleyball area of the beach that afternoon.
And I did find Tom and Jean. And I did pay back the $100.
As I walked away I remember saying to myself, “This would make a great homily someday” and that day has come.
God bless the Toms and Jeans everywhere. May we be more like them, more like Jesus.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for April 29, 2007: Time for Reflection
April 26, 2007
Focus: Time for Reflection
Dear Friend,
I have just returned from Easter Break and a wonderful time to be with friends, reading, reflecting, praying, and enjoying each other’s company. What a joy it was to “have it all!” Perhaps one of the most enriching of the experiences was the daily mediation I did each morning and evening for a half hour. Meditation, reflection, Centering Prayer, contemplation – call it what you will – has a way of doing that. The wonderful thing about this activity is that you don’t have to even leave home or have a day off to accomplish it.
The following are some words a friend recently shared with me about the joy of her reflection.
After a full day out in the world, stories, words, images, and songs from any number of sources continue to play in our heads hours after we encounter them. Even as we lie in bed, in the quiet dark, our minds continue noisily processing all the input from our day. This can leave us feeling unsettled and harassed. It also makes it difficult to take in any new information or inspiration. Like a cluttered house that needs to be cleared if it is to have room for movement and new life, our minds need clearing if they are to be open to new information, ideas, and inspiration.
Too often, the activities we choose to help us relax only add to the clutter. Watching television, seeing a movie, reading a book, or talking to a friend all involve taking in more information. In order to really clear our minds, we need a break from mental stimulation. Activities like yoga, dancing, or taking a long walk help to draw our attention to our bodies, slowing our mental activity enough that our minds begin to settle. Deep breathing is an even simpler way to draw attention away from our mental activities. Once we are mentally relaxed, we can begin the process of clearing our minds. Most of us instinctively know what allows our minds to relax and release any unnecessary clutter. It may be meditation or time spent staring at the stars. Whatever it is, these exercises feel like a cool, cleansing bath for the brain and leave our minds feeling clear and open.
Setting aside time to clear our minds once a day creates a ritual that becomes second nature over time. Our minds will begin to settle with less effort the more we practice. Ultimately, the practice of clearing our minds allows us to be increasingly more open so that we can perceive the world as the fresh offering it is, free of yesterday's mental clutter.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Time for Reflection
Dear Friend,
I have just returned from Easter Break and a wonderful time to be with friends, reading, reflecting, praying, and enjoying each other’s company. What a joy it was to “have it all!” Perhaps one of the most enriching of the experiences was the daily mediation I did each morning and evening for a half hour. Meditation, reflection, Centering Prayer, contemplation – call it what you will – has a way of doing that. The wonderful thing about this activity is that you don’t have to even leave home or have a day off to accomplish it.
The following are some words a friend recently shared with me about the joy of her reflection.
After a full day out in the world, stories, words, images, and songs from any number of sources continue to play in our heads hours after we encounter them. Even as we lie in bed, in the quiet dark, our minds continue noisily processing all the input from our day. This can leave us feeling unsettled and harassed. It also makes it difficult to take in any new information or inspiration. Like a cluttered house that needs to be cleared if it is to have room for movement and new life, our minds need clearing if they are to be open to new information, ideas, and inspiration.
Too often, the activities we choose to help us relax only add to the clutter. Watching television, seeing a movie, reading a book, or talking to a friend all involve taking in more information. In order to really clear our minds, we need a break from mental stimulation. Activities like yoga, dancing, or taking a long walk help to draw our attention to our bodies, slowing our mental activity enough that our minds begin to settle. Deep breathing is an even simpler way to draw attention away from our mental activities. Once we are mentally relaxed, we can begin the process of clearing our minds. Most of us instinctively know what allows our minds to relax and release any unnecessary clutter. It may be meditation or time spent staring at the stars. Whatever it is, these exercises feel like a cool, cleansing bath for the brain and leave our minds feeling clear and open.
Setting aside time to clear our minds once a day creates a ritual that becomes second nature over time. Our minds will begin to settle with less effort the more we practice. Ultimately, the practice of clearing our minds allows us to be increasingly more open so that we can perceive the world as the fresh offering it is, free of yesterday's mental clutter.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 29, 2007: More Elderly, Fewer Babies
This and That:
More Elderly, Fewer Babies
The latest population projections point to a big increase in the number of elderly people in the coming decades. Last month the United Nations Population Division published the “World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision.” It forecasts a world population of 9.2 billion by 2050, up from the current 6.7 billion. The increase will come from the less developed countries, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050.
In the economically developed nations, the report expects the population to remain largely unchanged at 1.2 billion. In fact, it would decline if it were not for immigration. The United Nations calculates that there will be a net migration from developing to developed countries of around 2.3 million people annually. In all countries, however, by 2050 the average age will be significantly higher. No less than half of the increase between 2005 and 2050 is expected to come from a rise in the population 60 and over. By contrast, the number of those under 15 will decline slightly. Aging will be particularly marked in the developed regions, where the population 60 and over is expected to nearly increase from 245 million to 406 million. That’s a 66% increase! The 2006 Revision also forecasts that fertility will continue to decline in developing countries. The study projects a drop from 2.75 children per woman in 2005-2010 to 2.05 in 2045-2050. The projected population level for 2050 could, however, prove to be too high.
Only a few years ago, population concerns were centered on what was supposed to be the threat due to a boom in births. The exaggerated fears of a population boom led to many abuses, such as forced sterilizations and abortions. Now, however, the 2006 Revision states that the world population is in the midst of an “unprecedented transformation” due to a change from a situation of high mortality and high fertility to one of low mortality and low fertility. By 2045, the number of persons in the world aged 60 and over is set to surpass, for the first time in history, the number of those under 15.
By 2050 the continued aging of the population means that all developed countries are expected to have median ages higher than 40 years. Meanwhile, the populations in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean will be undergoing a more rapid aging than the developed regions, due to the fertility reductions imposed as a result of family planning programs.
This will bring with it a big reduction in the working population and paying taxes to support those who are retired. The support ratio – the ratio of persons aged 15 to 64 over the sum of the number of children and of persons aged 65 or over – is expected to begin declining after 2010 in Europe, Northern America and Oceania, after 2015 in Asia and after 2025 in Latin America and the Caribbean. By 2050, Europe is expected to have the lowest support ratio, at 1.4 persons of working age for every dependant. Other regions are expected to have support ratios ranging from 1.6 in Northern America to 1.9 in Africa.
The financial challenges caused by an aging population are receiving growing attention. On March 13, 2007 the London Financial Times published an article on the problems faced by Singapore. Singapore, with its successful economy, should be well placed to handle a growing number of elderly. It has also avoided setting up a costly welfare system. Nevertheless, by 2030 Singapore is expected to have a quarter of its population comprised of persons above 65 years of age. With many of the older workers in low-paying jobs, and the prospect of only 2.2 workers to support each elderly person, compared with 10 workers in 2000, a growing income gap between rich and poor is forecast.
On April 5, 2006, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed a session of the U.N.’s Commission on Population and Development of the Economic and Social Council. Radical population policies in past years have caused serious problems due to falling birthrates. “If the development of the world’s peoples is to be both sustainable and sane, such flawed policies will have to be replaced by truly people-centered ones,” he argued. This is a challenge, indeed, for a rapidly aging world.
More Elderly, Fewer Babies
The latest population projections point to a big increase in the number of elderly people in the coming decades. Last month the United Nations Population Division published the “World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision.” It forecasts a world population of 9.2 billion by 2050, up from the current 6.7 billion. The increase will come from the less developed countries, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050.
In the economically developed nations, the report expects the population to remain largely unchanged at 1.2 billion. In fact, it would decline if it were not for immigration. The United Nations calculates that there will be a net migration from developing to developed countries of around 2.3 million people annually. In all countries, however, by 2050 the average age will be significantly higher. No less than half of the increase between 2005 and 2050 is expected to come from a rise in the population 60 and over. By contrast, the number of those under 15 will decline slightly. Aging will be particularly marked in the developed regions, where the population 60 and over is expected to nearly increase from 245 million to 406 million. That’s a 66% increase! The 2006 Revision also forecasts that fertility will continue to decline in developing countries. The study projects a drop from 2.75 children per woman in 2005-2010 to 2.05 in 2045-2050. The projected population level for 2050 could, however, prove to be too high.
Only a few years ago, population concerns were centered on what was supposed to be the threat due to a boom in births. The exaggerated fears of a population boom led to many abuses, such as forced sterilizations and abortions. Now, however, the 2006 Revision states that the world population is in the midst of an “unprecedented transformation” due to a change from a situation of high mortality and high fertility to one of low mortality and low fertility. By 2045, the number of persons in the world aged 60 and over is set to surpass, for the first time in history, the number of those under 15.
By 2050 the continued aging of the population means that all developed countries are expected to have median ages higher than 40 years. Meanwhile, the populations in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean will be undergoing a more rapid aging than the developed regions, due to the fertility reductions imposed as a result of family planning programs.
This will bring with it a big reduction in the working population and paying taxes to support those who are retired. The support ratio – the ratio of persons aged 15 to 64 over the sum of the number of children and of persons aged 65 or over – is expected to begin declining after 2010 in Europe, Northern America and Oceania, after 2015 in Asia and after 2025 in Latin America and the Caribbean. By 2050, Europe is expected to have the lowest support ratio, at 1.4 persons of working age for every dependant. Other regions are expected to have support ratios ranging from 1.6 in Northern America to 1.9 in Africa.
The financial challenges caused by an aging population are receiving growing attention. On March 13, 2007 the London Financial Times published an article on the problems faced by Singapore. Singapore, with its successful economy, should be well placed to handle a growing number of elderly. It has also avoided setting up a costly welfare system. Nevertheless, by 2030 Singapore is expected to have a quarter of its population comprised of persons above 65 years of age. With many of the older workers in low-paying jobs, and the prospect of only 2.2 workers to support each elderly person, compared with 10 workers in 2000, a growing income gap between rich and poor is forecast.
On April 5, 2006, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed a session of the U.N.’s Commission on Population and Development of the Economic and Social Council. Radical population policies in past years have caused serious problems due to falling birthrates. “If the development of the world’s peoples is to be both sustainable and sane, such flawed policies will have to be replaced by truly people-centered ones,” he argued. This is a challenge, indeed, for a rapidly aging world.
Weekly HOMILY for April 29, 2007: Marriage: Created and Creating As God
Marriage of Greg and Emily Herwig
College of Notre Dame
(B-1, D-4, and F-5)
April 28, 2007
Marriage: Created and Creating As God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Note: Since this was Deacon Preaching Sunday, Father Nick did not preach at his Masses. The following is a wedding homily he gave on Saturday at the wedding of Greg and Emily Herwig at the chapel of the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore City.
The Gilgamesh Epic
Biblical scholars tell us that at a certain time in history the Jewish People began to ask themselves, “How did we come to be? How were we created?”
In trying to find an answer to that question, two things were foremost in their minds: (1) How good God had been to them in creating them and (2) How God had chosen them from among all other people to be his very own.
God’s goodness and God’s choosing them – those two ideas filled their minds and hearts.
In trying to answer how it was that God created them, they looked around at the pagan religions of their neighbors and found an old Sumerian story called the Gilgamesh Epic.
The Gilgamesh Epic spoke of a cool and luxurious garden in which God had created a man and a woman from the earth.
Using this story as a base, they embellished it and it became the wonderful story of the creation of Adam and Eve that we find in the Book of Genesis.
God’s Creating
This scriptural background helps us understand better the first reading from Genesis that Greg and Emily have chosen for their marriage.
How beautifully it expresses God’s goodness – their sense of being blessed.
The passage tells us that God was primarily interested in creating something like himself and then empowering that creation with similar attributes.
We read that after God accomplishes this act of creation, he sits back and the writer of Genesis says, “God saw all he had made and indeed it was very good.”
Good, indeed! What a wonderful place to come from as you begin your lives together – the place of knowing that in creating each of you, God was very pleased with what he had done.
Created in God’s Image
The author of Genesis isn’t content simply to have God express his satisfaction over creating us. The writer goes into how God actually accomplished it.
There are three things that this “accomplishment” teaches us about marriage.
The FIRST is that we’re created in God’s image. Just as a hand in the mirror is an image of the real hand, so you both are God’s image.
And just how do husband and wife image God? As Christians, we believe, in God’s unity and diversity. We profess one God, yet three divine persons.
In the marriage bond, two separate individuals – complete with their very different personalities – can achieve a unity and oneness that is unparalleled in nature, a unity found only in the Godhead.
Husband and wife become one entity, a oneness that is expressed in a unity of shared feelings, a unity of life’s fulfillments, a unity of life’s disappointments.
Given Dominion
A SECOND thing that God’s creating man and woman teaches us about marriage has to do with being given dominion over all creation.
In being given dominion, God has not called you to dominate or violate nature, but to live in harmony with it.
Greg and Emily, you have the power to create jointly and to name the works of your hands, whether that creation is a home, a holiday dinner, love letters, relationships with friends, a child.
Know that you have been created partners and helpmates to one another and a woman is not a man’s shadow, nor his servant, but his other self.
In fact, the word “helpmate,” translated from the Hebrew, actually means “one who stands at the side of the other.”
God then, has created each of you as a partner and helpmate for the other, to lovingly rule over the works of your hands.
Remain at each other’s side; remain true companions and like any good companion, bring to your creating your very own unique gifts and talents.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
FINALLY, you’ve been called to be fruitful and multiply.
The children to be borne of your union will be proof itself that the Lord knows that it is not good for either man or woman to be alone.
Your very union then as husband and wife is of divine origin. It is a holy state in which you both can live a completeness not otherwise attainable alone.
That is important to remember Greg and Emily, when friends, possessions, careers, even your families or your children, seek to be first in our lives.
God saying, “Be fruitful and multiply” is divine testimony that no one or no thing, must ever come between your love for each other.
Conclusion
Greg and Emily, what we wish for you today on your wedding day is this sense of God’s goodness that has been bestowed upon you and has brought you to his altar today.
Let the reading from the Book of Genesis that you have chosen guide you on your common journey.
It is good that you have found each other.
Always remember that you have been (1) Created in God’s image, that you have been (2) Given dominion over creation and that your call is to (3) Be fruitful and multiply.
College of Notre Dame
(B-1, D-4, and F-5)
April 28, 2007
Marriage: Created and Creating As God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Note: Since this was Deacon Preaching Sunday, Father Nick did not preach at his Masses. The following is a wedding homily he gave on Saturday at the wedding of Greg and Emily Herwig at the chapel of the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore City.
The Gilgamesh Epic
Biblical scholars tell us that at a certain time in history the Jewish People began to ask themselves, “How did we come to be? How were we created?”
In trying to find an answer to that question, two things were foremost in their minds: (1) How good God had been to them in creating them and (2) How God had chosen them from among all other people to be his very own.
God’s goodness and God’s choosing them – those two ideas filled their minds and hearts.
In trying to answer how it was that God created them, they looked around at the pagan religions of their neighbors and found an old Sumerian story called the Gilgamesh Epic.
The Gilgamesh Epic spoke of a cool and luxurious garden in which God had created a man and a woman from the earth.
Using this story as a base, they embellished it and it became the wonderful story of the creation of Adam and Eve that we find in the Book of Genesis.
God’s Creating
This scriptural background helps us understand better the first reading from Genesis that Greg and Emily have chosen for their marriage.
How beautifully it expresses God’s goodness – their sense of being blessed.
The passage tells us that God was primarily interested in creating something like himself and then empowering that creation with similar attributes.
We read that after God accomplishes this act of creation, he sits back and the writer of Genesis says, “God saw all he had made and indeed it was very good.”
Good, indeed! What a wonderful place to come from as you begin your lives together – the place of knowing that in creating each of you, God was very pleased with what he had done.
Created in God’s Image
The author of Genesis isn’t content simply to have God express his satisfaction over creating us. The writer goes into how God actually accomplished it.
There are three things that this “accomplishment” teaches us about marriage.
The FIRST is that we’re created in God’s image. Just as a hand in the mirror is an image of the real hand, so you both are God’s image.
And just how do husband and wife image God? As Christians, we believe, in God’s unity and diversity. We profess one God, yet three divine persons.
In the marriage bond, two separate individuals – complete with their very different personalities – can achieve a unity and oneness that is unparalleled in nature, a unity found only in the Godhead.
Husband and wife become one entity, a oneness that is expressed in a unity of shared feelings, a unity of life’s fulfillments, a unity of life’s disappointments.
Given Dominion
A SECOND thing that God’s creating man and woman teaches us about marriage has to do with being given dominion over all creation.
In being given dominion, God has not called you to dominate or violate nature, but to live in harmony with it.
Greg and Emily, you have the power to create jointly and to name the works of your hands, whether that creation is a home, a holiday dinner, love letters, relationships with friends, a child.
Know that you have been created partners and helpmates to one another and a woman is not a man’s shadow, nor his servant, but his other self.
In fact, the word “helpmate,” translated from the Hebrew, actually means “one who stands at the side of the other.”
God then, has created each of you as a partner and helpmate for the other, to lovingly rule over the works of your hands.
Remain at each other’s side; remain true companions and like any good companion, bring to your creating your very own unique gifts and talents.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
FINALLY, you’ve been called to be fruitful and multiply.
The children to be borne of your union will be proof itself that the Lord knows that it is not good for either man or woman to be alone.
Your very union then as husband and wife is of divine origin. It is a holy state in which you both can live a completeness not otherwise attainable alone.
That is important to remember Greg and Emily, when friends, possessions, careers, even your families or your children, seek to be first in our lives.
God saying, “Be fruitful and multiply” is divine testimony that no one or no thing, must ever come between your love for each other.
Conclusion
Greg and Emily, what we wish for you today on your wedding day is this sense of God’s goodness that has been bestowed upon you and has brought you to his altar today.
Let the reading from the Book of Genesis that you have chosen guide you on your common journey.
It is good that you have found each other.
Always remember that you have been (1) Created in God’s image, that you have been (2) Given dominion over creation and that your call is to (3) Be fruitful and multiply.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for April 15: Time Spent Waiting
April 15, 2007
Focus: Time Spent Waiting
Dear Friend,
It could be argued that life is more about the time we spend waiting for something to happen than it is about something happening. What that boils down to is that the big events in our lives are preceded by many days and nights of dreaming, planning, organizing, and waiting. Yet it is the times of waiting in between the big events that actually constitute the majority of our lives. These “in-between times” are anything, but uneventful. In fact, they are rich with possibility and filled with opportunities for reflection and preparation, especially during these glorious seven weeks of Easter. Like a pregnant couple awaiting the birth of her child, we have a finite period of time in which to prepare internally and externally for the upcoming event that will define a new chapter in our lives.
When we find ourselves in an “in-between time,” we often can't help but feel impatient for the impending event. We just want to get to the future and have the new baby, the new job, the vacation, or a renewed, refreshed, or deepened connection with God. And yet, there is a reason a pregnancy takes nine months to fulfill itself. Nature provides the expectant parents with this time so that they can prepare the nest. This preparation plays out on many levels. Spatially, a space must be created in the home and resources must be set aside for the baby's future. Psychologically, a shift must occur in which the psyches of both parents agree to be responsible for a new life in the world. Emotionally, the heart must open wider to embrace and fulfill a new love.
Whenever you find yourself in such a time of waiting, you might want to spend time exploring your emotional, spiritual, psychological, and material readiness for the upcoming event or you may simply bask in the joy that is the waiting.
I’ll be on Easter Break next week enjoying time with friends and doing lots of reading. My next letter will be on Thursday, April 26, 2007.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Time Spent Waiting
Dear Friend,
It could be argued that life is more about the time we spend waiting for something to happen than it is about something happening. What that boils down to is that the big events in our lives are preceded by many days and nights of dreaming, planning, organizing, and waiting. Yet it is the times of waiting in between the big events that actually constitute the majority of our lives. These “in-between times” are anything, but uneventful. In fact, they are rich with possibility and filled with opportunities for reflection and preparation, especially during these glorious seven weeks of Easter. Like a pregnant couple awaiting the birth of her child, we have a finite period of time in which to prepare internally and externally for the upcoming event that will define a new chapter in our lives.
When we find ourselves in an “in-between time,” we often can't help but feel impatient for the impending event. We just want to get to the future and have the new baby, the new job, the vacation, or a renewed, refreshed, or deepened connection with God. And yet, there is a reason a pregnancy takes nine months to fulfill itself. Nature provides the expectant parents with this time so that they can prepare the nest. This preparation plays out on many levels. Spatially, a space must be created in the home and resources must be set aside for the baby's future. Psychologically, a shift must occur in which the psyches of both parents agree to be responsible for a new life in the world. Emotionally, the heart must open wider to embrace and fulfill a new love.
Whenever you find yourself in such a time of waiting, you might want to spend time exploring your emotional, spiritual, psychological, and material readiness for the upcoming event or you may simply bask in the joy that is the waiting.
I’ll be on Easter Break next week enjoying time with friends and doing lots of reading. My next letter will be on Thursday, April 26, 2007.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Weekly HOMILY for April 15, 2007: From Suffering to Empowerment
Second Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
April 15, 2007
From Suffering to Empowerment
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Bill W: Suffering to Power
One day, back in the early 1900’s, a longtime alcoholic named Bill W. visited a home for recovering alcoholics in New York City.
On the orders of his doctor, he went into the room of a young man to show him the effects of drinking, but surprisingly, Bill W. found himself speaking to the young man with great passion.
He spoke of the dangers of drinking and of the human need for a Greater Power in your life.
As a result of this passionate sharing Bill W. found himself changed. He went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous which is based on this very same kind of sharing.
Something else Bill W. learned is that personal peace and empowerment are always connected to adversity and that his adversity is the very breeding ground for transformation.
What is takes to be transformed is: (1) First, to admit and own up to the suffering, struggle, and weakness in our lives. As we do that, (2) We are given the opportunity to reach out to a Greater Power – the Power of God. (3) Only then, do we experience the gifts that come from that God.
And those gifts are an inner peace or calm, and a personal power or empowerment for living our lives in a fulfilling and happy way.
Thomas: From Suffering to Empowerment
I suggest that we see this same experience or dynamic at work in today’s Gospel.
Thomas is feeling lost, disappointed and afraid. He is confused and doubting and searching.
What does Thomas want, when the other apostles say that they have seen the risen Jesus? He wants to see evidence of the suffering.
Thomas wants to see the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. If he sees these, then he will know that it is Jesus and he will be able to believe.
The idea is that Jesus had submitted himself on the cross to the Father and Thomas will also be able to do the same thing. And this is exactly what happens.
Thomas sees Jesus’ wounds and this moves him to bring his sufferings and struggles, his doubts and questions to that Greater Power. We see this so clearly when he calls Jesus “My Lord and my God.”
And then, we have to imagine that the results for Thomas are the same as they are for others Apostles. He, like the others, must have experienced the peace that flows from Jesus and that Jesus even verbally imparts here.
And then Thomas must also have experienced the power or empowerment within himself. With the other apostles, he received the power of forgiveness and set out to bring God’s love and reconciliation to others.
You and I: From Suffering to Empowerment
So I would first ask you, where is your pain? Is it loneliness or worry? Is it uncertainty or doubt? Is it betrayal or another’s hostility?
Is it a struggle with sickness or some kind of compulsive behavior? Where are you in pain? Where do you struggle or suffering?
(1) We too need to own or admit this. And then (2) We need to reach out and submit ourselves to that Greater Power, as Bill W. says, in other words, to God. I recommend that we join Thomas in submitting to Jesus and saying, “My Lord and my God.”
If we do that, then (3) We will receive the gifts that flow from God. We will experience an inner peace right in the midst of our distress or struggle or pain.
And we will experience a power or empowerment for living: for reaching out to others even in loneliness, for persevering in pain, for managing our compulsive behavior – whatever the suffering or struggle may be.
Conclusion
Yes, what happened for Bill W. and for Thomas can happen for us.
It depends on only one thing – on our willingness – willingness to admit our need and to submit ourselves and our sufferings to God.
If we do that, then we allow God’s peace and power to flow into us and to change our lives.
Our Lady of Grace
April 15, 2007
From Suffering to Empowerment
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Bill W: Suffering to Power
One day, back in the early 1900’s, a longtime alcoholic named Bill W. visited a home for recovering alcoholics in New York City.
On the orders of his doctor, he went into the room of a young man to show him the effects of drinking, but surprisingly, Bill W. found himself speaking to the young man with great passion.
He spoke of the dangers of drinking and of the human need for a Greater Power in your life.
As a result of this passionate sharing Bill W. found himself changed. He went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous which is based on this very same kind of sharing.
Something else Bill W. learned is that personal peace and empowerment are always connected to adversity and that his adversity is the very breeding ground for transformation.
What is takes to be transformed is: (1) First, to admit and own up to the suffering, struggle, and weakness in our lives. As we do that, (2) We are given the opportunity to reach out to a Greater Power – the Power of God. (3) Only then, do we experience the gifts that come from that God.
And those gifts are an inner peace or calm, and a personal power or empowerment for living our lives in a fulfilling and happy way.
Thomas: From Suffering to Empowerment
I suggest that we see this same experience or dynamic at work in today’s Gospel.
Thomas is feeling lost, disappointed and afraid. He is confused and doubting and searching.
What does Thomas want, when the other apostles say that they have seen the risen Jesus? He wants to see evidence of the suffering.
Thomas wants to see the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. If he sees these, then he will know that it is Jesus and he will be able to believe.
The idea is that Jesus had submitted himself on the cross to the Father and Thomas will also be able to do the same thing. And this is exactly what happens.
Thomas sees Jesus’ wounds and this moves him to bring his sufferings and struggles, his doubts and questions to that Greater Power. We see this so clearly when he calls Jesus “My Lord and my God.”
And then, we have to imagine that the results for Thomas are the same as they are for others Apostles. He, like the others, must have experienced the peace that flows from Jesus and that Jesus even verbally imparts here.
And then Thomas must also have experienced the power or empowerment within himself. With the other apostles, he received the power of forgiveness and set out to bring God’s love and reconciliation to others.
You and I: From Suffering to Empowerment
So I would first ask you, where is your pain? Is it loneliness or worry? Is it uncertainty or doubt? Is it betrayal or another’s hostility?
Is it a struggle with sickness or some kind of compulsive behavior? Where are you in pain? Where do you struggle or suffering?
(1) We too need to own or admit this. And then (2) We need to reach out and submit ourselves to that Greater Power, as Bill W. says, in other words, to God. I recommend that we join Thomas in submitting to Jesus and saying, “My Lord and my God.”
If we do that, then (3) We will receive the gifts that flow from God. We will experience an inner peace right in the midst of our distress or struggle or pain.
And we will experience a power or empowerment for living: for reaching out to others even in loneliness, for persevering in pain, for managing our compulsive behavior – whatever the suffering or struggle may be.
Conclusion
Yes, what happened for Bill W. and for Thomas can happen for us.
It depends on only one thing – on our willingness – willingness to admit our need and to submit ourselves and our sufferings to God.
If we do that, then we allow God’s peace and power to flow into us and to change our lives.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for April 8, 2007: Dying and Rising in Christ
April 5, 2007
Focus: Dying and Rising in Christ
Dear Friend
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
It is difficult to believe that Christ is risen if we haven’t experienced small dyings and risings in our own daily living. They may be simple ones like the joy of being forgiven by God for a past offense, the insight that the choices someone close to me makes need not put me in a frantic or anxious state because I come from a different “center,” or the daffodils, tulips and crocuses pressing up through the earth after a long cold winter of “death.”
Easter is a time for renewal and for replenishing our energy through our faith in life being stronger than death. Here’s a reflection for this marvelous feast.
Within each of us there is a well of energy that must be regularly replenished. When we act as if this well is bottomless, scheduling a long list of activities that fit like puzzle pieces into every minute of every day, it becomes depleted and we feel exhausted, disconnected, and weak.
Refilling this well is a matter of finding time to focus on, nurture, and care for ourselves, or simply to take some “you time.” Most of us are, at different times throughout the day, a spouse, a friend, a relative, an employee, a parent, or a volunteer, a parishioner which means that down time is not necessarily “you time.” Though some people will inevitably look upon “you time"” as being selfish, it is actually the polar opposite of selfishness. We can only excel when our own spiritual, physical, and intellectual needs are fulfilled.
Recognizing the importance of “you time” is far easier than finding a place for it in an active, multifaceted lifestyle, however. Even if you find a spot for it in your agenda, you may be dismayed to discover that your thoughts continuously stray into worldly territory. To make the most of “you time,” give yourself enough time on either side of the block of time you plan to spend on yourself to ensure that you do not feel rushed. Consider how you would like to pass the time, forgetting for the moment your obligations and embracing the notion of renewal. You may discover that you are energized by creative pursuits, meditation, praying the rosary, doing relaxing activities during which your mind can wander, modes of expression such as writing, or the slow reading of Sacred Scripture.
Even if you have achieved a functioning work-life balance, you may still be neglecting the most important part of that equation – namely, you. “You time” prepares you for the next round of daily life, whether you are poised to immerse yourself in a professional project or chores around the home. It also affords you a unique opportunity to learn about yourself, your needs, and your tolerances in a concrete way. As unimportant as “you time” can sometimes seem, it truly is crucial to your wellbeing because it ensures that you are never left without the energy to give of yourself.
This state of being is truly the hope and promise of Easter.
Happy Easter to you and your loved ones! Christ is risen and we are rising each day in him.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Focus: Dying and Rising in Christ
Dear Friend
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
It is difficult to believe that Christ is risen if we haven’t experienced small dyings and risings in our own daily living. They may be simple ones like the joy of being forgiven by God for a past offense, the insight that the choices someone close to me makes need not put me in a frantic or anxious state because I come from a different “center,” or the daffodils, tulips and crocuses pressing up through the earth after a long cold winter of “death.”
Easter is a time for renewal and for replenishing our energy through our faith in life being stronger than death. Here’s a reflection for this marvelous feast.
Within each of us there is a well of energy that must be regularly replenished. When we act as if this well is bottomless, scheduling a long list of activities that fit like puzzle pieces into every minute of every day, it becomes depleted and we feel exhausted, disconnected, and weak.
Refilling this well is a matter of finding time to focus on, nurture, and care for ourselves, or simply to take some “you time.” Most of us are, at different times throughout the day, a spouse, a friend, a relative, an employee, a parent, or a volunteer, a parishioner which means that down time is not necessarily “you time.” Though some people will inevitably look upon “you time"” as being selfish, it is actually the polar opposite of selfishness. We can only excel when our own spiritual, physical, and intellectual needs are fulfilled.
Recognizing the importance of “you time” is far easier than finding a place for it in an active, multifaceted lifestyle, however. Even if you find a spot for it in your agenda, you may be dismayed to discover that your thoughts continuously stray into worldly territory. To make the most of “you time,” give yourself enough time on either side of the block of time you plan to spend on yourself to ensure that you do not feel rushed. Consider how you would like to pass the time, forgetting for the moment your obligations and embracing the notion of renewal. You may discover that you are energized by creative pursuits, meditation, praying the rosary, doing relaxing activities during which your mind can wander, modes of expression such as writing, or the slow reading of Sacred Scripture.
Even if you have achieved a functioning work-life balance, you may still be neglecting the most important part of that equation – namely, you. “You time” prepares you for the next round of daily life, whether you are poised to immerse yourself in a professional project or chores around the home. It also affords you a unique opportunity to learn about yourself, your needs, and your tolerances in a concrete way. As unimportant as “you time” can sometimes seem, it truly is crucial to your wellbeing because it ensures that you are never left without the energy to give of yourself.
This state of being is truly the hope and promise of Easter.
Happy Easter to you and your loved ones! Christ is risen and we are rising each day in him.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
weekly MESSAGE for April 8, 2007: Dying and Rising from Material Possessions
This and That:
Easter Life: Dying and Rising from Material Possessions
For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called “Monday Night At Morton’s.” (Morton’s is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben was terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. For me, it modeled a kind of “dying and rising” that Easter empowers us to do.
A blessed Easter to you and your loved ones.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
As I begin to write this, I “slug” it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is “eonlineFINAL,” and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.
It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world’s change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton’s, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton’s is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.
How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today’s world, if by a “star” we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.
They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.
A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.
The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.
We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin, Martin Mull or Fred Willard – or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
Easter Life: Dying and Rising from Material Possessions
For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called “Monday Night At Morton’s.” (Morton’s is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben was terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. For me, it modeled a kind of “dying and rising” that Easter empowers us to do.
A blessed Easter to you and your loved ones.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
As I begin to write this, I “slug” it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is “eonlineFINAL,” and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.
It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world’s change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton’s, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton’s is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.
How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today’s world, if by a “star” we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.
They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.
A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.
The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.
We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin, Martin Mull or Fred Willard – or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
Weekly HOMILY for April 8, 2007: Why do you search for the Living One among the dead?
Easter Sunday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
April 8, 2007
Why do you search for the living One among the dead?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Two Angels at the Tomb of Jesus
“Why do you search for the living One among the dead?”
This morning, I think it is good for us to allow this question in today’s Gospel to be asked directly to ourselves. “Why do you or I search for the living One among the dead?”
Today is a day of great celebration for us Catholics and all Christians. We sing: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
But the truth of the matter is that many of us struggle with our faith in that very fact: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Will we really rise from the dead? Is there a resurrection, a life after death?
Messengers of Life and Messengers of God
I would submit that one reason for this struggle with faith is that we, in fact, “Looking for the living One among the dead” – to use the words of our Gospel passage.
Yes, we are quote, “among the dead” when cynicism holds us back from loving or when fear paralyzes us from really living. I believe we are “among the dead” when loneliness overcomes us or when prejudice blinds us to truth or goodness.
In being part of these experiences, we have, in effect, one foot in the grave. And it can be very difficult from that place we stand, to trust in a loving God or even believe in a risen Savior.
In the face of this, today’s Gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ friends find his tomb empty and they are bewildered and confused. And then the Gospel says, “While they were at a loss what to think of this, two men in dazzling garments appeared beside them.”
The two individuals are not identified, but our tradition sees them as messengers of God, as divine spokespersons, as angels. And these two messengers speak the key words: “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead?”
I would like to suggest that you and I, right from within our everyday lives, have similar messengers of God, similar divine spokespersons, similar angels.
Yes, we might very well have individuals who steer us away from “looking for the living One among the dead” and actually take us to the places and experiences where we can find “the living One.”
Angel of Trust
I would like to suggest that most of us have an angel of trust in our lives.
For example, a mother instinctively reassures her frightened little boy when he wakes up in the middle of the night. She says, “Everything’s going to be all right” as she holds him close.
Is she lying? Or naïve? Or is she expressing a profound truth about the ultimate goodness of life?
Is she not instinctively saying what Jesus himself believed as he commended his life to the Father on the cross? Today is the day to remember your angel of trust.
See if that divine messenger doesn’t also reassure you that everything’s going to be all right. And see if that assurance doesn’t lead you to say today with trust: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Hope
I think that most of us also have an angel of hope in our lives.
We see this angel in someone refuses to get down in the dumps, no matter what. As a priest, I have seen this with people who are sick and even actively dying.
Yes, there are people who refuse to give in to their sadness and are able to see even their illness as leading to something greater, in some way to greater life.
Today try name the angel of hope in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not call forth the very best in you. And see if that leads you to say today with hope: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Humor
Finally, I think most of us have an angel of humor in our lives.
I remember years ago leading the graveside prayers for my father’s funeral. My brother and I were grieving, but then I came to the words in the ritual about coming to the heavenly banquet.
Well, my father really, really enjoyed food, and I instinctively looked up from the funeral book and said something like “Dad must really be enjoying this whole thing now.” We all had a good laugh and even though I did not understand it then, I do now.
Our humor and laughter is a sign, a signal that death is not the last word and that life ultimately wins out. Today is the time to identify the angel of humor in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not draw you more fully into life. And see if that doesn’t help you to say with joy: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Conclusion
So, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” A good question for us today as we answer it with, “Seek the living One among the living!”
Seek the living One in our experiences, in our divine messengers, in our angels of trust and hope and humor.
Only then will we be better able to take the risk of faith and to believe in the risen Christ and in our own future life with him.
Our Lady of Grace
April 8, 2007
Why do you search for the living One among the dead?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Two Angels at the Tomb of Jesus
“Why do you search for the living One among the dead?”
This morning, I think it is good for us to allow this question in today’s Gospel to be asked directly to ourselves. “Why do you or I search for the living One among the dead?”
Today is a day of great celebration for us Catholics and all Christians. We sing: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
But the truth of the matter is that many of us struggle with our faith in that very fact: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Will we really rise from the dead? Is there a resurrection, a life after death?
Messengers of Life and Messengers of God
I would submit that one reason for this struggle with faith is that we, in fact, “Looking for the living One among the dead” – to use the words of our Gospel passage.
Yes, we are quote, “among the dead” when cynicism holds us back from loving or when fear paralyzes us from really living. I believe we are “among the dead” when loneliness overcomes us or when prejudice blinds us to truth or goodness.
In being part of these experiences, we have, in effect, one foot in the grave. And it can be very difficult from that place we stand, to trust in a loving God or even believe in a risen Savior.
In the face of this, today’s Gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ friends find his tomb empty and they are bewildered and confused. And then the Gospel says, “While they were at a loss what to think of this, two men in dazzling garments appeared beside them.”
The two individuals are not identified, but our tradition sees them as messengers of God, as divine spokespersons, as angels. And these two messengers speak the key words: “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead?”
I would like to suggest that you and I, right from within our everyday lives, have similar messengers of God, similar divine spokespersons, similar angels.
Yes, we might very well have individuals who steer us away from “looking for the living One among the dead” and actually take us to the places and experiences where we can find “the living One.”
Angel of Trust
I would like to suggest that most of us have an angel of trust in our lives.
For example, a mother instinctively reassures her frightened little boy when he wakes up in the middle of the night. She says, “Everything’s going to be all right” as she holds him close.
Is she lying? Or naïve? Or is she expressing a profound truth about the ultimate goodness of life?
Is she not instinctively saying what Jesus himself believed as he commended his life to the Father on the cross? Today is the day to remember your angel of trust.
See if that divine messenger doesn’t also reassure you that everything’s going to be all right. And see if that assurance doesn’t lead you to say today with trust: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Hope
I think that most of us also have an angel of hope in our lives.
We see this angel in someone refuses to get down in the dumps, no matter what. As a priest, I have seen this with people who are sick and even actively dying.
Yes, there are people who refuse to give in to their sadness and are able to see even their illness as leading to something greater, in some way to greater life.
Today try name the angel of hope in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not call forth the very best in you. And see if that leads you to say today with hope: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Angel of Humor
Finally, I think most of us have an angel of humor in our lives.
I remember years ago leading the graveside prayers for my father’s funeral. My brother and I were grieving, but then I came to the words in the ritual about coming to the heavenly banquet.
Well, my father really, really enjoyed food, and I instinctively looked up from the funeral book and said something like “Dad must really be enjoying this whole thing now.” We all had a good laugh and even though I did not understand it then, I do now.
Our humor and laughter is a sign, a signal that death is not the last word and that life ultimately wins out. Today is the time to identify the angel of humor in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not draw you more fully into life. And see if that doesn’t help you to say with joy: “Christ is risen! Alleluia!”
Conclusion
So, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” A good question for us today as we answer it with, “Seek the living One among the living!”
Seek the living One in our experiences, in our divine messengers, in our angels of trust and hope and humor.
Only then will we be better able to take the risk of faith and to believe in the risen Christ and in our own future life with him.
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