16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Terrnauova Hermitage
July 17, 2011
Lessons from Weeds and Wheat Growing Together
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SUNFLOWERS AND WEEDS
I have always enjoyed some gardening – at least when I have time to do it.
I remember once planting sunflowers. I really like them and was looking forward to them forming the background to the other plants and flowers.
Well, as the sunflower seeds sprouted and merged above the soil, there were also some weeds. It was very difficult to tell the difference between the leaves of these weeds and the leaves of the sunflowers.
I realized this too late and pulled up some of the sunflower plants with the weeds. And then I decided to stop weeding in that area.
I figured that soon the sunflowers would grow so tall and start to bloom that it would be easy to tell the difference between them and the weeds. That is exactly what happened and I ended up with some beautiful sunflowers and was easily able to weed around them.
WHEAT AND WEEDS
This experience is almost exactly what Jesus is talking about in today’s parable.
The farmer tells his workers not to pull up the weeds that are in with the wheat. This seems counter-intuitive, against what seems to make sense.
But the farmer’s direction is correct. The type of weed here looks like wheat in its early stages and you might pull up both weeds and wheat.
And beyond that, the kind of weed being referred to had roots that intertwined with the roots of the wheat. So, even if you could identify and pull out the weeds, you would probably injure the wheat in the process.
Well, as with any parable, Jesus is really teaching us something about life and how we are to follow him. There are some excellent lessons here.
NOT SAYING: DON'T GUIDE
First, what is Jesus not saying here?
Jesus is not saying that we should not guide our children and youth. We do need to guide them in what is right and wrong and in choosing good friends.
Also, Jesus is not saying that we should condone or be passive about certain evils – things like foul language, racist remarks, abortion, and on it goes. We need to be a light for our world when it comes to these things.
SAYING 1: DON'T WEED OUT
What then is Jesus saying with this teaching about the wheat and the weeds?
First, he’s saying: “Don’t weed out one another.” He wants us to resist the human tendency to separate, divide, exclude, and shun in all its forms.
Sometimes religion and those of us who are religious can get into this sort of behavior. In recent years, even in our Church, some have wanted to identify those who are weeds and pull them out and exclude them from Communion for reasons well beyond sound Catholic tradition.
This kind of action just does not seem consistent with today’s Gospel. Jesus calls us here to be patient and even give what we might call weeds the chance to grow to become wheat.
SAYING 2: DON'T LABEL
That moves right into the second thing Jesus is saying here. Do not even label others as weeds.
Again, there is a human tendency to do this. The problem is that it is a dualistic approach – we versus them, the good versus the bad.
The best of our Catholic tradition has warned against and even condemned dualism. Jesus calls us to a more unitive approach.
This means that we see both others and ourselves as one because, in fact, there is a mix of wheat and weeds right within me and within you. Jesus is patient with us in letting us grow and wants us to be patient with others in letting them grow.
SAYING 3: NOURISH THE WHEAT
And that moves right into the third point Jesus is making. He wants us to concentrate more on the wheat.
Nourish the wheat, just like the sunflowers in my garden, and it will grow well and be easily distinguishable from the weeds. There will be a good harvest and God in his own way will take care of any weeds.
In other words, act positively in promoting what is good.
CONCLUSION
A Franciscan theologian, Father Richard Rohr, offers some wonderful advice on this topic and I will conclude with his advice.
He says: “If you want others to be more loving, choose to love first. If you want a reconciled outer world, reconcile your own inner world.
“If you notice other peoples’ irritability, let go of your own. If the world seems desperate, let go of your despair.
“If you want a just world, start being just in small ways yourself. If you want to find God, then honor God within you, and you will always see God beyond you.
“For it is only God in you who knows where and how to look for God.” In short, pay more attention to the wheat than to the weeds.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for July 10, 2011: Faith, Humility and Openness: Keys to Listening to God and Others
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Mark Church, Fallston
July 10, 2011
Faith, Humility and Openness: Keys to Listening to God and Others
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A PROBLEM: LISTENING
Every day we interact with one another, it becomes clearer that our culture has a real problem with listening. There’s a reason for this.
When my father and mother were teaching my brother, sister, and me good manners, they taught us never to interrupt others when they are speaking. They taught us to listen and wait to speak until the other person was finished.
From that lesson learned, my experience is that folks are constantly interrupting each other when someone is speaking. You can also see this on news shows and talk shows that are modeling this as normative behavior to the general public.
We interrupt and do not listen, of if we listen we’re thinking about our response before the person has completed their thought. So often, our response is here (hand high) and what the person said is here. (Hand low; and two missing each other)
Still another lesson preached and learned at home was, “God gave you two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you speak”
Some of us are two mouths and half an ear. It is no wonder that we’re not communicating!
SOIL TYPES AND LISTENING
Today’s Gospel parable raises this issue of listening beautifully.
The metaphor is clear: the sower or farmer is God or Jesus. The seed is the Word of God.
The soil represents you and me and the different ways we receive or listen to the Word of God. The question is: How do we listen? Which of the four soils are we?
Each tells us how well we listen. I want to propose three requirements that are needed for effective listening, whether it is listening to the Word of God or listening to one another.
LISTENING TO THE WORD
For listening to the Word of God, FIRST WE NEED FAITH. Faith means that we believe that this is really the Word of God himself as it’s entering our very ears.
We believe that the Word who is God really speaks to us in and through the Scripture. We believe that the Word or Son of God is really present in the inspired Word as it is proclaimed here at Mass or as we read it privately.
SECOND, WE NEED HUMILITY. Humility means that we are aware that we are incomplete, that we are imperfect, that we don’t have it all.
We are aware that we desire and yearn, at least deep down, for completeness, for something beyond ourselves. We yearn for God, for a divine communication, for transcendence.
And THIRD, WE NEED OPENNESS. Openness means that we are awake and alert to the present moment.
It means that we want to take in what is said, that we are willing to have our attitudes, outlooks, feelings, behavior, and relationships changed, changed because of the Word we are listening to.
Imagine the kind of transformation that sort of listening can bring you!
LISTENING TO ONE ANOTHER
Now these same three traits are also essential for listening to one another.
FIRST, WE AGAIN NEED FAITH. Here faith means seeing the other person as made in the image and likeness of God and worthy to be listened to.
It means seeing others as in their own unique way revealing God to us, seeing others as valuable, worthwhile, with something to share with us.
SECOND, WE AGAIN NEED HUMILITY. Here humility means that we see ourselves as one with, as bonded with, others on the same human journey. We’re in this together and can’t make it alone!
It means that we do not see ourselves as above or better than others, that we see ourselves and others as having similar wants and needs, similar challenges and hopes.
AND THIRD, WE AGAIN NEED OPENNESS. Openness means that we are willing to take in the experience of others and not just hold on to my own experience as normative.
We are willing to ask and try to enter into the life of others and not just talk about ourselves all the time.
We’re even willing to have our attitudes, outlooks, feelings, behavior, and relationships changed, changed because of our listening to others.
CONCLUSION
So, these three traits – faith, humility, and openness – help us to be good listeners – listeners to the Word of God and to one another.
These traits, with the listening that results, might just help to ease and even resolve some of the problems in our communications with each other.
St. Mark Church, Fallston
July 10, 2011
Faith, Humility and Openness: Keys to Listening to God and Others
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A PROBLEM: LISTENING
Every day we interact with one another, it becomes clearer that our culture has a real problem with listening. There’s a reason for this.
When my father and mother were teaching my brother, sister, and me good manners, they taught us never to interrupt others when they are speaking. They taught us to listen and wait to speak until the other person was finished.
From that lesson learned, my experience is that folks are constantly interrupting each other when someone is speaking. You can also see this on news shows and talk shows that are modeling this as normative behavior to the general public.
We interrupt and do not listen, of if we listen we’re thinking about our response before the person has completed their thought. So often, our response is here (hand high) and what the person said is here. (Hand low; and two missing each other)
Still another lesson preached and learned at home was, “God gave you two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you speak”
Some of us are two mouths and half an ear. It is no wonder that we’re not communicating!
SOIL TYPES AND LISTENING
Today’s Gospel parable raises this issue of listening beautifully.
The metaphor is clear: the sower or farmer is God or Jesus. The seed is the Word of God.
The soil represents you and me and the different ways we receive or listen to the Word of God. The question is: How do we listen? Which of the four soils are we?
Each tells us how well we listen. I want to propose three requirements that are needed for effective listening, whether it is listening to the Word of God or listening to one another.
LISTENING TO THE WORD
For listening to the Word of God, FIRST WE NEED FAITH. Faith means that we believe that this is really the Word of God himself as it’s entering our very ears.
We believe that the Word who is God really speaks to us in and through the Scripture. We believe that the Word or Son of God is really present in the inspired Word as it is proclaimed here at Mass or as we read it privately.
SECOND, WE NEED HUMILITY. Humility means that we are aware that we are incomplete, that we are imperfect, that we don’t have it all.
We are aware that we desire and yearn, at least deep down, for completeness, for something beyond ourselves. We yearn for God, for a divine communication, for transcendence.
And THIRD, WE NEED OPENNESS. Openness means that we are awake and alert to the present moment.
It means that we want to take in what is said, that we are willing to have our attitudes, outlooks, feelings, behavior, and relationships changed, changed because of the Word we are listening to.
Imagine the kind of transformation that sort of listening can bring you!
LISTENING TO ONE ANOTHER
Now these same three traits are also essential for listening to one another.
FIRST, WE AGAIN NEED FAITH. Here faith means seeing the other person as made in the image and likeness of God and worthy to be listened to.
It means seeing others as in their own unique way revealing God to us, seeing others as valuable, worthwhile, with something to share with us.
SECOND, WE AGAIN NEED HUMILITY. Here humility means that we see ourselves as one with, as bonded with, others on the same human journey. We’re in this together and can’t make it alone!
It means that we do not see ourselves as above or better than others, that we see ourselves and others as having similar wants and needs, similar challenges and hopes.
AND THIRD, WE AGAIN NEED OPENNESS. Openness means that we are willing to take in the experience of others and not just hold on to my own experience as normative.
We are willing to ask and try to enter into the life of others and not just talk about ourselves all the time.
We’re even willing to have our attitudes, outlooks, feelings, behavior, and relationships changed, changed because of our listening to others.
CONCLUSION
So, these three traits – faith, humility, and openness – help us to be good listeners – listeners to the Word of God and to one another.
These traits, with the listening that results, might just help to ease and even resolve some of the problems in our communications with each other.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for July 3, 2011: What’s Stronger, Wind or Sun? And Why?
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Margaret, St. Mark
July 3, 2011
What’s Stronger, Wind or Sun? And Why?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
AESOP'S FABLE
Seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth, there lived a Greek slave named Aesop.
This man compiled a collection of stories known as Aesop’s Fables. The stories have become a classic and they contain wonderful lessons for living.
One of Aesop’s Fables is tells of a dispute between the sun and the wind about which of them was stronger. The story goes that one day, a man dressed in an overcoat was walking down a country road.
The sun said to the wind, “Whoever gets the coat off that man first will be the stronger.” The wind agreed to the contest and agreed to go first.
And so, the wind blew and blew, but the more the wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his coat. Finally, the wind gave up.
Then it was the sun’s turn and she began to shine. Within a few minutes, the man removed his coat.
The sun won the contest and was declared stronger than the wind. The moral of Aesop’s tale is: you can achieve more by gentleness than by force.
JESUS' HUMBLENESS
Aesop’s moral is the lesson Jesus is teaching us today.
He says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” I would suggest that gentleness requires one first to be humble.
Look at Jesus. Though God, he humbles himself to become one of us. He lives our life fully, embracing our humanity with all of its limitations and weaknesses and he loves what he sees in us.
In becoming just like us – yet without our sinfulness – Jesus gives our human nature dignity. Now that’s being humble!
JESUS' GENTLENESS
It is in his humbleness – God meeting us where we are and as we are that makes it possible for Jesus to be so gentle with us. He knows us from the inside.
His gentleness and understanding flow from that very intimate knowledge of us.
Unlike the forceful wind, Jesus is gentle like the warm sun and it’s a gentleness that gets played out in many ways throughout the Gospels.
For example, when Jesus forms a group of followers, he respects these ragtag individuals and their life situations and their freedom, so he simply invites them to follow him, never force or coercing them.
In another situation, Jesus refuses to get caught up in putting down or condemning a woman caught in adultery. He respects her as the person she is sins and all and simply exhorts her to avoid that behavior.
Or again, Jesus likens himself to a shepherd who searches and finds one lost sheep. He doesn’t beat or scold the sheep, but rejoices in finding it and carries it home in his arms.
In so many ways, Jesus shows himself exactly as he describes himself today. “I am gentle and humble of heart.”
"LEARN FROM ME“
Let’s not forget the three words that precede “I am gentle and humble of heart,” namely, “Learn from me.”
The invitation to learn is that we cultivate the traits of humbleness and gentleness in ourselves.
To be humble means we stay in touch with our humanity, that is, we remain aware of our own limitations, weaknesses, struggles, and infirmities.
When looking at someone whom we consider less than us, we understand the old adage: “There but for the grace of God go I” or the Native American saying, “We have to walk a mile in another person’s moccasins to understand them.”
And from this humbleness, will flow a new found gentleness.
(1) Gentleness toward those who do not seem to belong be it the country club, the Catholic Church, the white race, the political party, the ethnic group. Only kindness will reduce those divisions.
(2) Gentleness toward those living with addictions to sex or drugs, those living a lifestyle very different from our own. Only love will have them consider alternatives.
(3) Gentleness toward those who have left the Catholic Church and seem to be floundering not knowing what they believe. Only respect will help them consider their options for living with faith.
CONCLUSION
Aesop’s fable of the wind and the sun helps us to recall Jesus’ words today.
“Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Jesus’ humbleness and gentleness will be our real strength in loving others as they are.
St. Margaret, St. Mark
July 3, 2011
What’s Stronger, Wind or Sun? And Why?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
AESOP'S FABLE
Seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth, there lived a Greek slave named Aesop.
This man compiled a collection of stories known as Aesop’s Fables. The stories have become a classic and they contain wonderful lessons for living.
One of Aesop’s Fables is tells of a dispute between the sun and the wind about which of them was stronger. The story goes that one day, a man dressed in an overcoat was walking down a country road.
The sun said to the wind, “Whoever gets the coat off that man first will be the stronger.” The wind agreed to the contest and agreed to go first.
And so, the wind blew and blew, but the more the wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his coat. Finally, the wind gave up.
Then it was the sun’s turn and she began to shine. Within a few minutes, the man removed his coat.
The sun won the contest and was declared stronger than the wind. The moral of Aesop’s tale is: you can achieve more by gentleness than by force.
JESUS' HUMBLENESS
Aesop’s moral is the lesson Jesus is teaching us today.
He says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” I would suggest that gentleness requires one first to be humble.
Look at Jesus. Though God, he humbles himself to become one of us. He lives our life fully, embracing our humanity with all of its limitations and weaknesses and he loves what he sees in us.
In becoming just like us – yet without our sinfulness – Jesus gives our human nature dignity. Now that’s being humble!
JESUS' GENTLENESS
It is in his humbleness – God meeting us where we are and as we are that makes it possible for Jesus to be so gentle with us. He knows us from the inside.
His gentleness and understanding flow from that very intimate knowledge of us.
Unlike the forceful wind, Jesus is gentle like the warm sun and it’s a gentleness that gets played out in many ways throughout the Gospels.
For example, when Jesus forms a group of followers, he respects these ragtag individuals and their life situations and their freedom, so he simply invites them to follow him, never force or coercing them.
In another situation, Jesus refuses to get caught up in putting down or condemning a woman caught in adultery. He respects her as the person she is sins and all and simply exhorts her to avoid that behavior.
Or again, Jesus likens himself to a shepherd who searches and finds one lost sheep. He doesn’t beat or scold the sheep, but rejoices in finding it and carries it home in his arms.
In so many ways, Jesus shows himself exactly as he describes himself today. “I am gentle and humble of heart.”
"LEARN FROM ME“
Let’s not forget the three words that precede “I am gentle and humble of heart,” namely, “Learn from me.”
The invitation to learn is that we cultivate the traits of humbleness and gentleness in ourselves.
To be humble means we stay in touch with our humanity, that is, we remain aware of our own limitations, weaknesses, struggles, and infirmities.
When looking at someone whom we consider less than us, we understand the old adage: “There but for the grace of God go I” or the Native American saying, “We have to walk a mile in another person’s moccasins to understand them.”
And from this humbleness, will flow a new found gentleness.
(1) Gentleness toward those who do not seem to belong be it the country club, the Catholic Church, the white race, the political party, the ethnic group. Only kindness will reduce those divisions.
(2) Gentleness toward those living with addictions to sex or drugs, those living a lifestyle very different from our own. Only love will have them consider alternatives.
(3) Gentleness toward those who have left the Catholic Church and seem to be floundering not knowing what they believe. Only respect will help them consider their options for living with faith.
CONCLUSION
Aesop’s fable of the wind and the sun helps us to recall Jesus’ words today.
“Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Jesus’ humbleness and gentleness will be our real strength in loving others as they are.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for June 26, 2011: Eucharist: The Eye of the Hurricane
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
June 26, 2011
Eucharist: The Eye of the Hurricane
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
HURRICANES
June 1st began the hurricane season and from June 1 until November 30 the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida will monitor and track all hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricanes are actually defined as tropical cyclones originating in the Caribbean. As cyclones they are swirling masses of turbulent, violent air. To be a hurricane and receive an official name like Katrina, Andrew, Rita, Wilma, or Ike, they must equal or exceed winds of 74 mph. Interestingly the Spanish word huracán is derived from the Bahamian word hurakán, which means ‘god of the storm.’
Perhaps the best way to understand this is to imagine a Frisbee with a hole cut out of its center. Imagine that you expand the Frisbee so that it measures 100 miles across and the small hole measures 10 miles across.
Then, spin the Frisbee at the rate of 100 miles an hour. That’s what a hurricane is like.
The interesting thing is that inside the 10-mile wide eye, (demonstrate) there is no wind, no rain at all – just blue skies and sunshine. The eye of a hurricane is peaceful and calm.
THE MASS AS THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE
That image of the eye of a hurricane is a helpful way to understand the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.
And on this Feast of Corpus Christi I’d like to share some thoughts on what this eye of the hurricane could be for us.
The very way that the Mass is structured, planned, and celebrated affords us some remarkable possibilities for peace and calm in our lives.
THINK ABOUT IT
1) We enter a space that is accepting, hospitable, and kind; a place we are more inclined to be ourselves; a space we are more inclined to put away our anger, resentment, or frustrations and be at peace with ourselves.
We encounter a group of people who, while they know that they are human and less than perfect, want to live life with a sense of hope …
Want to live their lives for something beyond themselves…
Want some help in dealing with the stresses they are encountering.
2) We hear Old and New Testament Scriptures that support that vision of “trying to do better” and we hear a homily that opens us up to new perspectives, new possibilities, new areas of growth.
We hear words that encourage us and give us hope.
3) At the General Intercessions we pray for our needs and the needs of all in the world.
4) The Sign of Peace opens us up to our neighbors immediately around us and a hundred clusters of such sharing of peace bind us together as a larger assembly.
5) The momentum builds, as in a great symphony, to a climax, where the Lord Jesus himself comes among us and makes his presence felt. It is a presence that each of us is intimately drawn into, as we become what we eat.
And the mood is festive by our singing; the mood is supportive as we stand while others eat; the mood is reflective as we all sit for a time of silence to relish the feast we have consumed.
CONCLUSION
It is said that the eye of the hurricane, as it passes over a place or a group of individuals, lasts only about an hour. Interesting enough, so too does the Eucharistic celebration we call the Mass.
Jesus never intended that we stay in the “eye” of the Eucharist, though it is the essence of peace and calm.
To the contrary, he intended that we go back into the storms of our life: the storms of frustrating work situation, the storms of broken promises, and the storms of difficult relationships.
On this Feast of Corpus Christi we consider what we go back into our storms with, after this hour together.
We are at peace with ourselves; we are at peace with one another; we are at peace with God.
And with the words, “Go the Mass is ended,” we are sent back into our storms renewed, refreshed, and filled with a new sense of hope, as we become the eye of the storm for others.
St. Mark, Fallston
June 26, 2011
Eucharist: The Eye of the Hurricane
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
HURRICANES
June 1st began the hurricane season and from June 1 until November 30 the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida will monitor and track all hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricanes are actually defined as tropical cyclones originating in the Caribbean. As cyclones they are swirling masses of turbulent, violent air. To be a hurricane and receive an official name like Katrina, Andrew, Rita, Wilma, or Ike, they must equal or exceed winds of 74 mph. Interestingly the Spanish word huracán is derived from the Bahamian word hurakán, which means ‘god of the storm.’
Perhaps the best way to understand this is to imagine a Frisbee with a hole cut out of its center. Imagine that you expand the Frisbee so that it measures 100 miles across and the small hole measures 10 miles across.
Then, spin the Frisbee at the rate of 100 miles an hour. That’s what a hurricane is like.
The interesting thing is that inside the 10-mile wide eye, (demonstrate) there is no wind, no rain at all – just blue skies and sunshine. The eye of a hurricane is peaceful and calm.
THE MASS AS THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE
That image of the eye of a hurricane is a helpful way to understand the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.
And on this Feast of Corpus Christi I’d like to share some thoughts on what this eye of the hurricane could be for us.
The very way that the Mass is structured, planned, and celebrated affords us some remarkable possibilities for peace and calm in our lives.
THINK ABOUT IT
1) We enter a space that is accepting, hospitable, and kind; a place we are more inclined to be ourselves; a space we are more inclined to put away our anger, resentment, or frustrations and be at peace with ourselves.
We encounter a group of people who, while they know that they are human and less than perfect, want to live life with a sense of hope …
Want to live their lives for something beyond themselves…
Want some help in dealing with the stresses they are encountering.
2) We hear Old and New Testament Scriptures that support that vision of “trying to do better” and we hear a homily that opens us up to new perspectives, new possibilities, new areas of growth.
We hear words that encourage us and give us hope.
3) At the General Intercessions we pray for our needs and the needs of all in the world.
4) The Sign of Peace opens us up to our neighbors immediately around us and a hundred clusters of such sharing of peace bind us together as a larger assembly.
5) The momentum builds, as in a great symphony, to a climax, where the Lord Jesus himself comes among us and makes his presence felt. It is a presence that each of us is intimately drawn into, as we become what we eat.
And the mood is festive by our singing; the mood is supportive as we stand while others eat; the mood is reflective as we all sit for a time of silence to relish the feast we have consumed.
CONCLUSION
It is said that the eye of the hurricane, as it passes over a place or a group of individuals, lasts only about an hour. Interesting enough, so too does the Eucharistic celebration we call the Mass.
Jesus never intended that we stay in the “eye” of the Eucharist, though it is the essence of peace and calm.
To the contrary, he intended that we go back into the storms of our life: the storms of frustrating work situation, the storms of broken promises, and the storms of difficult relationships.
On this Feast of Corpus Christi we consider what we go back into our storms with, after this hour together.
We are at peace with ourselves; we are at peace with one another; we are at peace with God.
And with the words, “Go the Mass is ended,” we are sent back into our storms renewed, refreshed, and filled with a new sense of hope, as we become the eye of the storm for others.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for June 12, 2011: Communion Through the Spirit Within
Feast of Pentecost, Cycle A
St. Mark, St. Margaret Parishes
June 12, 2011
Communion Through the Spirit Within
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
There is a fifteenth century Russian icon entitled “The Descent of the Holy Spirit.”
This icon – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – depicts Pentecost with complete quiet and calm. It is, in sharp contrast to the strong wind, the fiery tongues, and the fearful disciples, that we see in today’s readings.
The icon portrays the Apostles sitting in a semi-circle in complete serenity and peace. It conveys the coming of the Holy Spirit as an inner event.
The idea is that through the birth of Jesus, God becomes God-with-us. Now, through the sending of the Spirit, God becomes God-with-in-us.
Surprisingly, the figures in the icon are not looking at or talking to or working with one another. Instead, they are all listening intently to the God-within-them.
Each of the persons is portrayed as very differently. Each has different color hair, different way of sitting and even clothes that are different in style and color.
And yet, despite all of these differences, the icon portrays complete harmony. The message is that the God-within-us – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – makes many individuals into a single community.
The icon confronts us with the truth that we are not complete, in and by ourselves, but it also consoles us with the revelation that it is the very God-within-us that brings about our completeness through our communion with others.
THE LESSON OF THE ICON
This fifteenth century Russian icon makes an extraordinary point for our living: The presence of God-within-us can be seen as the common ground between each of us and God. It’s what makes us one.
And so, what we need to do is awaken our awareness to the Spirit’s presence as what grounds us, much as we see the Apostles doing in the icon. This awareness moves us to realize God’s presence and our common grounding with all people.
In this way, our awareness of God-within-us is our union with him but also it speaks of the communion we have with each other. It is the most solid and most lasting basis of community that we could ever hope for.
THOMAS MERTON'S INSIGHT
The well-known Trappist monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton has a profound insight on this.
I want to read a few sentences of Merton that relate directly to this point. As I read them slowly, please simply take them and relish any insights that surface.
Merton says: “The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless.
“It is beyond words, it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity – we discover an older unity.
“My dear Brothers and Sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not.
“And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”
CONCLUSION
Merton’s thoughts are simple and yet quite profound.
We sometimes make the differences between us, like the differences in the figures in the icon, we sometimes make these obstacles to communion or community or unity.
➢ Black versus White, Brown versus Yellow – an obstacle to communion!
➢ People in Harford County versus people in Baltimore City – obstacle!
➢ Christians versus Jews – yes, obstacle!
➢ You’re getting the point. Christians versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Jews versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Catholics versus those who are not – obstacle!
➢ American citizens versus illegal immigrants – obstacle!
➢ Politically liberal versus conservative – obstacle!
➢ Catholic progressive versus traditionalist – obstacle!
Have I left anyone out?
Yes, so often, myself included, allow differences to obscure the communion and community and unity that is there.
As Merton writes, “We are already one.
“What we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”
This is the Holy Spirit, God-within-us. This is what Pentecost is about.
St. Mark, St. Margaret Parishes
June 12, 2011
Communion Through the Spirit Within
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
There is a fifteenth century Russian icon entitled “The Descent of the Holy Spirit.”
This icon – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – depicts Pentecost with complete quiet and calm. It is, in sharp contrast to the strong wind, the fiery tongues, and the fearful disciples, that we see in today’s readings.
The icon portrays the Apostles sitting in a semi-circle in complete serenity and peace. It conveys the coming of the Holy Spirit as an inner event.
The idea is that through the birth of Jesus, God becomes God-with-us. Now, through the sending of the Spirit, God becomes God-with-in-us.
Surprisingly, the figures in the icon are not looking at or talking to or working with one another. Instead, they are all listening intently to the God-within-them.
Each of the persons is portrayed as very differently. Each has different color hair, different way of sitting and even clothes that are different in style and color.
And yet, despite all of these differences, the icon portrays complete harmony. The message is that the God-within-us – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – makes many individuals into a single community.
The icon confronts us with the truth that we are not complete, in and by ourselves, but it also consoles us with the revelation that it is the very God-within-us that brings about our completeness through our communion with others.
THE LESSON OF THE ICON
This fifteenth century Russian icon makes an extraordinary point for our living: The presence of God-within-us can be seen as the common ground between each of us and God. It’s what makes us one.
And so, what we need to do is awaken our awareness to the Spirit’s presence as what grounds us, much as we see the Apostles doing in the icon. This awareness moves us to realize God’s presence and our common grounding with all people.
In this way, our awareness of God-within-us is our union with him but also it speaks of the communion we have with each other. It is the most solid and most lasting basis of community that we could ever hope for.
THOMAS MERTON'S INSIGHT
The well-known Trappist monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton has a profound insight on this.
I want to read a few sentences of Merton that relate directly to this point. As I read them slowly, please simply take them and relish any insights that surface.
Merton says: “The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless.
“It is beyond words, it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity – we discover an older unity.
“My dear Brothers and Sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not.
“And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”
CONCLUSION
Merton’s thoughts are simple and yet quite profound.
We sometimes make the differences between us, like the differences in the figures in the icon, we sometimes make these obstacles to communion or community or unity.
➢ Black versus White, Brown versus Yellow – an obstacle to communion!
➢ People in Harford County versus people in Baltimore City – obstacle!
➢ Christians versus Jews – yes, obstacle!
➢ You’re getting the point. Christians versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Jews versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Catholics versus those who are not – obstacle!
➢ American citizens versus illegal immigrants – obstacle!
➢ Politically liberal versus conservative – obstacle!
➢ Catholic progressive versus traditionalist – obstacle!
Have I left anyone out?
Yes, so often, myself included, allow differences to obscure the communion and community and unity that is there.
As Merton writes, “We are already one.
“What we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”
This is the Holy Spirit, God-within-us. This is what Pentecost is about.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for June 5, 2011: Baking Cookies: The Kingdom in Our Midst
Ascension of the Lord, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
St. Margaret, Bel Air
June 5, 2011
Baking Cookies: The Kingdom in Our Midst
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
DOUGHJANGLES
Aaron and Eric Ware were not only twin brothers, but also best friends. They did everything together.
Four years ago, Eric died from brain cancer. Eleven-year-old Aaron was at a loss. Unable to accept his twin’s death, Aaron sunk into depression. His worried parents made an appointment with his pediatrician.
During the exam, the doctor noticed something. When she asked Aaron what he liked to do, Aaron smiled for the first time.
“Bake,” he said. “Well, then, that’s what we’re going to do,” the doctor told Aaron. Her prescription: “Start a baking company. Come up with a name for the company.”
She then handed her young patient a $20-dollar bill. “I’m going to be your first investor. You report back to me and we’ll see how it goes.”
Aaron threw himself into the challenge. With the help of his mom and his older brother, Aaron started “Doughjangles. “
He bakes hundreds of cookies each week and sells them to family and friends. Half the proceeds go to the charities that helped Eric. Doughjangles is still going strong.
Says Aaron, “Instead of just watching TV trying to forget, Eric would want me to do something I love doing.” In baking cookies, young Aaron found a way to continue the “work” of goodness and happiness he knew with his brother.
SCRIPTURE
Today is the Ascension of the Lord. It is about the followers of Jesus having a new kind of relationship with him, one beyond the merely physical one of two bodies in the same space together. It’s a new kind of presence to one another.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all place the Ascension as an event on Easter Sunday. For John and his gospel, the Ascension is not an event, but a new existence, a new relationship with God that is built on the former physical one.
So it is not so much Jesus having ascended “up there,” but of God’s greater more intense involvement in human life. It is God’s overcoming all that hinders his involvement with us.
There they are on the mountaintop and as Jesus takes leave of them his final words are, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all, baptizing them and teaching them all that I have told you.”
It is about their confidence and their willingness to act in the name of Jesus and that new life which God is bringing into existence through the death and resurrection of his son.
Aaron was an 11-year old with no hope, his dreams dashed by the death of Eric. But he was open to the words of his pediatrician who spoke to him of (1) His love of Eric and (2) His love of baking.
She, like Jesus, motivated him to act out of that two-fold love (Eric and baking) and he was transformed. In using a talent – baking cookies – and – motivated by his love of his brother – young Aaron found a way to continue the “work” of goodness and happiness he knew with his brother.
APPLICATION
The two men dressed in white who stood atop the mountain, while Jesus was taken from their sight, speak to us as well when they ask, “Men, women, and children of St. Mark’s (St. Margaret’s) why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
What they will learn, as will we, is that Jesus will return through (1) Our love of him and (2) The use of our talents and gifts for the good of others.
Thus for example the gift of listening, grounded in love of Jesus, can give someone who’s lost his job hope or a teen a sense of direction for her life.
Or a monetary gift, again, grounded in the love of Jesus, can put a smile on a single parent struggling to put food on the table.
Or the gift of time, grounded in the love of Jesus, can assist our parish as a volunteer or sitting with the elderly person can bring a smile to one who has been forgotten by family and friends.
Or the gift of a car ride, grounded in the love of Jesus, can get a very appreciative senior to a doctor.
CONCLUSION
In baptism, the Gospel preached by Jesus is passed on to us – we become witnesses of the great Easter event and accept responsibility for the “work” of telling the people in our lives the good news of the empty tomb and that Jesus is alive and alive in us.
The question that is left for us is, “Where is my relationship with Jesus in the midst of my own loss, pain, longing, unsettlement and to what is that relationship calling me?”
St. Mark, Fallston
St. Margaret, Bel Air
June 5, 2011
Baking Cookies: The Kingdom in Our Midst
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
DOUGHJANGLES
Aaron and Eric Ware were not only twin brothers, but also best friends. They did everything together.
Four years ago, Eric died from brain cancer. Eleven-year-old Aaron was at a loss. Unable to accept his twin’s death, Aaron sunk into depression. His worried parents made an appointment with his pediatrician.
During the exam, the doctor noticed something. When she asked Aaron what he liked to do, Aaron smiled for the first time.
“Bake,” he said. “Well, then, that’s what we’re going to do,” the doctor told Aaron. Her prescription: “Start a baking company. Come up with a name for the company.”
She then handed her young patient a $20-dollar bill. “I’m going to be your first investor. You report back to me and we’ll see how it goes.”
Aaron threw himself into the challenge. With the help of his mom and his older brother, Aaron started “Doughjangles. “
He bakes hundreds of cookies each week and sells them to family and friends. Half the proceeds go to the charities that helped Eric. Doughjangles is still going strong.
Says Aaron, “Instead of just watching TV trying to forget, Eric would want me to do something I love doing.” In baking cookies, young Aaron found a way to continue the “work” of goodness and happiness he knew with his brother.
SCRIPTURE
Today is the Ascension of the Lord. It is about the followers of Jesus having a new kind of relationship with him, one beyond the merely physical one of two bodies in the same space together. It’s a new kind of presence to one another.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all place the Ascension as an event on Easter Sunday. For John and his gospel, the Ascension is not an event, but a new existence, a new relationship with God that is built on the former physical one.
So it is not so much Jesus having ascended “up there,” but of God’s greater more intense involvement in human life. It is God’s overcoming all that hinders his involvement with us.
There they are on the mountaintop and as Jesus takes leave of them his final words are, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all, baptizing them and teaching them all that I have told you.”
It is about their confidence and their willingness to act in the name of Jesus and that new life which God is bringing into existence through the death and resurrection of his son.
Aaron was an 11-year old with no hope, his dreams dashed by the death of Eric. But he was open to the words of his pediatrician who spoke to him of (1) His love of Eric and (2) His love of baking.
She, like Jesus, motivated him to act out of that two-fold love (Eric and baking) and he was transformed. In using a talent – baking cookies – and – motivated by his love of his brother – young Aaron found a way to continue the “work” of goodness and happiness he knew with his brother.
APPLICATION
The two men dressed in white who stood atop the mountain, while Jesus was taken from their sight, speak to us as well when they ask, “Men, women, and children of St. Mark’s (St. Margaret’s) why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
What they will learn, as will we, is that Jesus will return through (1) Our love of him and (2) The use of our talents and gifts for the good of others.
Thus for example the gift of listening, grounded in love of Jesus, can give someone who’s lost his job hope or a teen a sense of direction for her life.
Or a monetary gift, again, grounded in the love of Jesus, can put a smile on a single parent struggling to put food on the table.
Or the gift of time, grounded in the love of Jesus, can assist our parish as a volunteer or sitting with the elderly person can bring a smile to one who has been forgotten by family and friends.
Or the gift of a car ride, grounded in the love of Jesus, can get a very appreciative senior to a doctor.
CONCLUSION
In baptism, the Gospel preached by Jesus is passed on to us – we become witnesses of the great Easter event and accept responsibility for the “work” of telling the people in our lives the good news of the empty tomb and that Jesus is alive and alive in us.
The question that is left for us is, “Where is my relationship with Jesus in the midst of my own loss, pain, longing, unsettlement and to what is that relationship calling me?”
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for May 29, 2011: Jesus and the Overcoming of Loneliness:
6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
May 29, 2011
Jesus and the Overcoming of Loneliness
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
LONELINESS STUDY
Two years ago, the University of Chicago released the results of a study on loneliness, which found that about 25% of the American population frequently feels lonely. It also found that loneliness is increasing.
Among the factors causing the increase are our longer life spans, more years spent in widowhood, and the rising number of single-person households.
One particular finding is that we Americans tend to feel lonely on special occasions, occasions when being together is the social norm, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc. Feelings of loneliness are more frequent at these times.
The study says that loneliness has more to do with the quality rather than the quantity of relationships.
Studies of college students show that incoming freshmen are particularly lonely during the first quarter of school. Interestingly, this is true even though they have roommates and are surrounded by other people.
Again, the finding is that it is not the number but the quality of relationships that determines whether we feel isolated or lonely.
“I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS”
In today’s gospel, Jesus addresses this human reality of our loneliness.
He knows that he is about to suffer and die and leave the Apostles. He senses their anxiety about being left alone, without him. And so, Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans. You will realize that I am in my Father (demonstrate) and you are in me (demonstrate) and I in you (demonstrate).”
Jesus promises to be with us through his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. In this way, he addresses very directly our feelings of isolation, abandonment and loneliness.
Furthermore, Jesus makes his presence through the Spirit concrete in two ways for us. They are: (1) Sacraments, and (2) Community.
1. THROUGH SACRAMENTS
First of all, our sacraments are visible, earthly, even physical ways for Jesus to be in direct contact with us through his Spirit and while the Spirit is unseen, its effects, its impact is very visible.
For example, we have the physical experience of Jesus’ presence through the water of Baptism that we feel as we are sprinkled. We also have a physical experience of the Holy Spirit through the imposition of hands pressed on the crowns of our heads and the anointing with oil at Confirmation.
And then, here at Mass, the Eucharist is the supreme tangible, physical experience of God’s presence. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest places his hands over the bread and wine.
And in the name of all of us he invokes the words: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts so that they may become for us the body and blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” The unseen Spirit enlivens and effects – through our experience of faith – the physical presence of Jesus in the now sacred bread and wine.
The result is that when we eat the consecrated bread and drink the consecrated wine, that same life-giving Spirit enters us and becomes one with us and we physically experience Jesus becoming one with us.
Thus we are drawn up into the life of God and God within us – all through the Eucharist. As Jesus says today, “you live in me and I live in you.”
2. THROUGH COMMUNITY
The second way that Jesus remains with us is through community. He says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”
Oftentimes we are tempted to go it alone or “slug it out” in life, to think that we do not or should not need others.
It is very important not to fall into this temptation. This path easily leads to isolation and loneliness.
Perhaps this is why God’s entire action throughout the Bible is always directed to us as a people, a community.
Jesus draws the first disciples together as a community and makes this his primary way to be with us. Remember he doesn’t appear after the Resurrection to individuals!
When we join with other persons of faith, either here at Mass or in the service of others, we are energized. And this happens because we are drawn out of ourselves – out of our aloneness or loneliness – and into relationship.
A key part of being in community is to reach out to those who may be alone or lonely – a struggling single parent, a grieving widowed neighbor, an elderly parishioner in a nursing home.
The idea is that we are empowered by Jesus’ presence here in the community and then we reach out to draw others into that same abiding presence.
CONCLUSION
So, Jesus touches a troublesome, maybe even a threatening human feeling today – loneliness.
He assures us: “I am in my Father (demonstrate) and you are in me (demonstrate) and I in you (demonstrate).”
And then he does this for us through sacrament and community – a great message!
St. Mark, Fallston
May 29, 2011
Jesus and the Overcoming of Loneliness
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
LONELINESS STUDY
Two years ago, the University of Chicago released the results of a study on loneliness, which found that about 25% of the American population frequently feels lonely. It also found that loneliness is increasing.
Among the factors causing the increase are our longer life spans, more years spent in widowhood, and the rising number of single-person households.
One particular finding is that we Americans tend to feel lonely on special occasions, occasions when being together is the social norm, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc. Feelings of loneliness are more frequent at these times.
The study says that loneliness has more to do with the quality rather than the quantity of relationships.
Studies of college students show that incoming freshmen are particularly lonely during the first quarter of school. Interestingly, this is true even though they have roommates and are surrounded by other people.
Again, the finding is that it is not the number but the quality of relationships that determines whether we feel isolated or lonely.
“I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS”
In today’s gospel, Jesus addresses this human reality of our loneliness.
He knows that he is about to suffer and die and leave the Apostles. He senses their anxiety about being left alone, without him. And so, Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans. You will realize that I am in my Father (demonstrate) and you are in me (demonstrate) and I in you (demonstrate).”
Jesus promises to be with us through his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. In this way, he addresses very directly our feelings of isolation, abandonment and loneliness.
Furthermore, Jesus makes his presence through the Spirit concrete in two ways for us. They are: (1) Sacraments, and (2) Community.
1. THROUGH SACRAMENTS
First of all, our sacraments are visible, earthly, even physical ways for Jesus to be in direct contact with us through his Spirit and while the Spirit is unseen, its effects, its impact is very visible.
For example, we have the physical experience of Jesus’ presence through the water of Baptism that we feel as we are sprinkled. We also have a physical experience of the Holy Spirit through the imposition of hands pressed on the crowns of our heads and the anointing with oil at Confirmation.
And then, here at Mass, the Eucharist is the supreme tangible, physical experience of God’s presence. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest places his hands over the bread and wine.
And in the name of all of us he invokes the words: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts so that they may become for us the body and blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” The unseen Spirit enlivens and effects – through our experience of faith – the physical presence of Jesus in the now sacred bread and wine.
The result is that when we eat the consecrated bread and drink the consecrated wine, that same life-giving Spirit enters us and becomes one with us and we physically experience Jesus becoming one with us.
Thus we are drawn up into the life of God and God within us – all through the Eucharist. As Jesus says today, “you live in me and I live in you.”
2. THROUGH COMMUNITY
The second way that Jesus remains with us is through community. He says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”
Oftentimes we are tempted to go it alone or “slug it out” in life, to think that we do not or should not need others.
It is very important not to fall into this temptation. This path easily leads to isolation and loneliness.
Perhaps this is why God’s entire action throughout the Bible is always directed to us as a people, a community.
Jesus draws the first disciples together as a community and makes this his primary way to be with us. Remember he doesn’t appear after the Resurrection to individuals!
When we join with other persons of faith, either here at Mass or in the service of others, we are energized. And this happens because we are drawn out of ourselves – out of our aloneness or loneliness – and into relationship.
A key part of being in community is to reach out to those who may be alone or lonely – a struggling single parent, a grieving widowed neighbor, an elderly parishioner in a nursing home.
The idea is that we are empowered by Jesus’ presence here in the community and then we reach out to draw others into that same abiding presence.
CONCLUSION
So, Jesus touches a troublesome, maybe even a threatening human feeling today – loneliness.
He assures us: “I am in my Father (demonstrate) and you are in me (demonstrate) and I in you (demonstrate).”
And then he does this for us through sacrament and community – a great message!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for May 22, 2011: We Know Whose Baby This Is!
5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
(Sister Mary Therese’s Farewell Mass)
May 21, 2011
We Know Whose Baby This Is!
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
NEW BABY
When a new baby is born and family members gather to celebrate the event, it is amusing to watch how everyone tries to analyze the infant’s genealogy from its physical characteristics.
“He has Grandpa Carl’s jaw.” “She has Aunt Mae’s eyes.” “He has his father’s ears.” “She has her mother’s nose.” “He’s the spitting image of Carl when he was a child.”
We like to see characteristics that identify someone as a member of the family. It’s a way of claiming someone new as one of our own. Or to put it another way, we like to see family members in the physical features of a newborn.
WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE?
As Christians, we accept the fact of God’s existence, but as human beings we are very curious about God’s identity and characteristics. What is God really like, we wonder.
Images of God are as numerous as our human imagination allows. Artists throughout history have depicted God in a multitude of forms – anything from a concrete image of a grandfatherly old man to the more abstract concept of “the Force.”
These and all images of God are important because they have consequences. For example, an image of God as vindictive can lead us to be vindictive or harsh or even warlike.
An image of God as judgmental can lead us to feel distant from God or afraid of God or inappropriately guilty. So, how we image God and see God’s traits and characteristics is very important.
GOD LOOKS LIKE JESUS
In today’s gospel, we see the very human and curious Philip.
Philip asks Jesus, “Show us the Father” – “Show us God.” Jesus responds by presenting himself as a mirror of God.
He says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” And again, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.”
To put it simply, Jesus is the self-revelation of God. We believe that if we look at him, we see God’s self-manifestation – who God is, what God looks like.
Saint John in his gospel calls Jesus the Word of God – God’s self-expression. We accept Jesus as the Son of God.
In his very being, his concerns, his thoughts, and his actions, Jesus reflects the mind and heart of God. And so, similar to our looking at a baby and seeing the parents or grandparents in the baby’s features, we can look at Jesus and see his Father, God himself.
MYSTERY AND KNOWLEDGE
No question, we believe that God is mystery, that God is beyond our human ability to know and understand completely.
But by looking at Jesus, we believe that we can learn and know a great deal about God. The characteristics w see in him, we can attribute to God.
When we hear Jesus saying, “Let those among you who are without sin cast the first stone,” we know that God is patient and forgiving. When we see Jesus mingling with tax collectors and other so-called sinners, we know that God is absolutely inclusive and outreaching.
When we hear Jesus talking about the shepherd seeking out the one lost sheep, we know that God values each one of us personally. And when we hear Jesus saying “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, that you do for me,” we know that God is especially compassionate and empathetic for anyone in any kind of need.
CONCLUSION
Read the gospels with an eye on Jesus and you can see God in action.
In the words of Jesus, hear God speaking
In the concerns of Jesus, see God’s concerns
In the gestures of Jesus, see the gestures of God.
Your curiosity – and fears – about God can be laid to rest – like Phillip’s in today’s gospel – the more you look at and come to understand Jesus.
Our Lady of Grace
(Sister Mary Therese’s Farewell Mass)
May 21, 2011
We Know Whose Baby This Is!
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
NEW BABY
When a new baby is born and family members gather to celebrate the event, it is amusing to watch how everyone tries to analyze the infant’s genealogy from its physical characteristics.
“He has Grandpa Carl’s jaw.” “She has Aunt Mae’s eyes.” “He has his father’s ears.” “She has her mother’s nose.” “He’s the spitting image of Carl when he was a child.”
We like to see characteristics that identify someone as a member of the family. It’s a way of claiming someone new as one of our own. Or to put it another way, we like to see family members in the physical features of a newborn.
WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE?
As Christians, we accept the fact of God’s existence, but as human beings we are very curious about God’s identity and characteristics. What is God really like, we wonder.
Images of God are as numerous as our human imagination allows. Artists throughout history have depicted God in a multitude of forms – anything from a concrete image of a grandfatherly old man to the more abstract concept of “the Force.”
These and all images of God are important because they have consequences. For example, an image of God as vindictive can lead us to be vindictive or harsh or even warlike.
An image of God as judgmental can lead us to feel distant from God or afraid of God or inappropriately guilty. So, how we image God and see God’s traits and characteristics is very important.
GOD LOOKS LIKE JESUS
In today’s gospel, we see the very human and curious Philip.
Philip asks Jesus, “Show us the Father” – “Show us God.” Jesus responds by presenting himself as a mirror of God.
He says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” And again, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.”
To put it simply, Jesus is the self-revelation of God. We believe that if we look at him, we see God’s self-manifestation – who God is, what God looks like.
Saint John in his gospel calls Jesus the Word of God – God’s self-expression. We accept Jesus as the Son of God.
In his very being, his concerns, his thoughts, and his actions, Jesus reflects the mind and heart of God. And so, similar to our looking at a baby and seeing the parents or grandparents in the baby’s features, we can look at Jesus and see his Father, God himself.
MYSTERY AND KNOWLEDGE
No question, we believe that God is mystery, that God is beyond our human ability to know and understand completely.
But by looking at Jesus, we believe that we can learn and know a great deal about God. The characteristics w see in him, we can attribute to God.
When we hear Jesus saying, “Let those among you who are without sin cast the first stone,” we know that God is patient and forgiving. When we see Jesus mingling with tax collectors and other so-called sinners, we know that God is absolutely inclusive and outreaching.
When we hear Jesus talking about the shepherd seeking out the one lost sheep, we know that God values each one of us personally. And when we hear Jesus saying “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, that you do for me,” we know that God is especially compassionate and empathetic for anyone in any kind of need.
CONCLUSION
Read the gospels with an eye on Jesus and you can see God in action.
In the words of Jesus, hear God speaking
In the concerns of Jesus, see God’s concerns
In the gestures of Jesus, see the gestures of God.
Your curiosity – and fears – about God can be laid to rest – like Phillip’s in today’s gospel – the more you look at and come to understand Jesus.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for May 15, 2011: Scripture and Tradition: Two Trustworthy Guides
4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
May 15, 2011
Terranuova Hermitage
Scripture and Tradition: Two Trustworthy Guides
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
One of the well-known names in our American history is the famous Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Holmes was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932. He is rated as an excellent justice, but on a personal level, he had a reputation for being absent-minded.
For example, one day Holmes was on a train out of Washington. He was completely engrossed in studying a case that the Court was hearing.
The conductor came down the aisle and asked for his ticket. Holmes searched the pockets of coat and trousers, but could not find it.
The conductor said, “Don’t be concerned, Mr. Justice Holmes. When you return to Washington, you can send us the ticket at your convenience.”
Holmes shook his head and said, “Thank you, my good man, but the problem is not whether I’ll pay the fare. The problem is: where am I going?”
DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE
That anecdote helps us to appreciate the question implied in today’s gospel.
The question is: where are we going? Jesus uses the image of a shepherd and sheep.
The idea is that Jesus wants us to see him as our shepherd and to follow the direction and guidance he offers us. Where do we find this direction and guidance?
We Catholic Christians believe that there are two sources for this. And these are: the Bible and Tradition.
SOURCE 1: THE BIBLE
First, the Bible is the primary place for finding our direction.
The Bible or the Scripture is God speaking directly to us. It is something like God writing a letter to us.
God is telling us about who he is and who we are. For example, we are told that in some way God is Creator and Savior and Holy Spirit living within us.
And besides telling us who God is, the Bible also tells us what God intends us to be like. For example, we are told that to be like God, we need to become persons of compassion and justice.
Now because of all that the Scripture tells us, it is to be the foundation of our faith and life. This is why whenever we celebrate a sacrament, like the Eucharist, we always begin with Scripture.
It is also why reading some verses from the Scripture, especially from one of the gospels, is a good part of personal, private prayer at home or wherever. In all of us, the Bible forms our faith and forms us as persons.
It gives us direction. It tells us where we should be going.
SOURCE 2: TRADITION
That takes us to the second source for getting direction from the Good Shepherd, and this is Tradition.
Here Tradition is with a capital T and not a small t. Tradition with a small t means customs, maybe like having a family barbecue on Memorial Day.
But Tradition with a capital T refers to our Catholic Christian Tradition. This refers to what we can learn about God and about living life from the experience of Christians and from the teaching of the Church down through the centuries.
The idea is that the Bible does not provide all the answers. It is our primary source of direction, but often it is fairly general and does not give specifics.
We also need the Tradition of the Church to give these specifics. For example, the Bible clearly forbids killing, the taking of the life of a person.
Our Church Tradition or teaching tells us that ending the life of a fetus is forbidden by this commandment. In a similar way, that same Tradition spells out principles for a just war that tell us when war may or may not be just and moral.
So, the Bible gives the general commandment or direction. The Tradition of the Church in a sense supplements the Bible and makes it specific to certain issues.
CONCLUSION
So, (1) Scripture or the Bible and (2) Tradition with a capital T – these are the two sources for allowing Jesus, the Good Shepherd to give us direction and tell us where we should be going.
May 15, 2011
Terranuova Hermitage
Scripture and Tradition: Two Trustworthy Guides
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
One of the well-known names in our American history is the famous Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Holmes was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932. He is rated as an excellent justice, but on a personal level, he had a reputation for being absent-minded.
For example, one day Holmes was on a train out of Washington. He was completely engrossed in studying a case that the Court was hearing.
The conductor came down the aisle and asked for his ticket. Holmes searched the pockets of coat and trousers, but could not find it.
The conductor said, “Don’t be concerned, Mr. Justice Holmes. When you return to Washington, you can send us the ticket at your convenience.”
Holmes shook his head and said, “Thank you, my good man, but the problem is not whether I’ll pay the fare. The problem is: where am I going?”
DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE
That anecdote helps us to appreciate the question implied in today’s gospel.
The question is: where are we going? Jesus uses the image of a shepherd and sheep.
The idea is that Jesus wants us to see him as our shepherd and to follow the direction and guidance he offers us. Where do we find this direction and guidance?
We Catholic Christians believe that there are two sources for this. And these are: the Bible and Tradition.
SOURCE 1: THE BIBLE
First, the Bible is the primary place for finding our direction.
The Bible or the Scripture is God speaking directly to us. It is something like God writing a letter to us.
God is telling us about who he is and who we are. For example, we are told that in some way God is Creator and Savior and Holy Spirit living within us.
And besides telling us who God is, the Bible also tells us what God intends us to be like. For example, we are told that to be like God, we need to become persons of compassion and justice.
Now because of all that the Scripture tells us, it is to be the foundation of our faith and life. This is why whenever we celebrate a sacrament, like the Eucharist, we always begin with Scripture.
It is also why reading some verses from the Scripture, especially from one of the gospels, is a good part of personal, private prayer at home or wherever. In all of us, the Bible forms our faith and forms us as persons.
It gives us direction. It tells us where we should be going.
SOURCE 2: TRADITION
That takes us to the second source for getting direction from the Good Shepherd, and this is Tradition.
Here Tradition is with a capital T and not a small t. Tradition with a small t means customs, maybe like having a family barbecue on Memorial Day.
But Tradition with a capital T refers to our Catholic Christian Tradition. This refers to what we can learn about God and about living life from the experience of Christians and from the teaching of the Church down through the centuries.
The idea is that the Bible does not provide all the answers. It is our primary source of direction, but often it is fairly general and does not give specifics.
We also need the Tradition of the Church to give these specifics. For example, the Bible clearly forbids killing, the taking of the life of a person.
Our Church Tradition or teaching tells us that ending the life of a fetus is forbidden by this commandment. In a similar way, that same Tradition spells out principles for a just war that tell us when war may or may not be just and moral.
So, the Bible gives the general commandment or direction. The Tradition of the Church in a sense supplements the Bible and makes it specific to certain issues.
CONCLUSION
So, (1) Scripture or the Bible and (2) Tradition with a capital T – these are the two sources for allowing Jesus, the Good Shepherd to give us direction and tell us where we should be going.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for May 8, 2011: Respect and Reverence in Ritual Make a Difference
3rd Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Terranuova Hermitage
May 8, 2011
Respect and Reverence in Ritual Make a Difference
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
RESPECT
If we go to an Ironbirds game at Ripken Stadium or to an O’s game at Camden Yards, the game always begins with the Star Spangled Banner.
We stand for this, our National Anthem, and gaze at our flag. We are silent while this is sung or maybe we sing along.
During this, those in the military may salute the flag and others may place their hand over their heart. These actions express our respect for our country and for the principles upon which it was founded.
In a similar way, if we go to a restaurant, we abide by the rules of decorum.
In most restaurants here in Harford County, we are expected to dress casually, but neatly. In some restaurants, we men are expected to wear a jacket.
When we are at the beach, like Ocean City, the restaurants may even say that shoes and shirts are required. These rules and behaviors help us to respect one another and the decorum of the restaurant as a place to eat and even dine together.
REVERENCE
Today’s readings call us to something similar when we are here at Mass.
In our second reading, Saint Peter talks about reverence. He is saying that if we believe and pray, we should conduct ourselves with reverence.
So, when we are here in church to pray, to participate in Mass and receive the Eucharist, we are to conduct ourselves with reverence. Today’s gospel tells the story about the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joining them, even though they do not at first recognize him.
In the story, we see the three core dimensions of the Mass. First, there are these two disciples with Jesus, much like us gathered together here with Jesus as the center of attention.
Then, Jesus breaks open or explains the Scriptures to these two disciples. Here at Mass, the same thing happens as the Scriptures are proclaimed to us.
And finally, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. We gather here at the altar with the priest taking the place of Jesus and doing the same thing.
The idea is that we need reverence for each dimension of our worship. We need to show reverence for: 1) the people gathered here, 2) for the Word of God, and 3) and for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
FOR PEOPLE, WORD, AND SACRAMENT
So, reverence for those gathered here calls for a spirit of welcoming and hospitality.
It calls for appropriate dress, I suggest what we usually describe today as at least dress casual and maybe more if we are serving in a ministry here at Mass. It calls for sharing and talking at appropriate times, and being quiet or silent at other times so as to allow others to pray.
Reverence for the Word of God calls the lectors and deacon or priest to prepare and proclaim the Word just as best as we can.
It calls us to treat the Lectionary and the Book of the Gospels carefully as sacred books. And it calls all of us to listen attentively to the readings and try to discern how they apply to me right now in my life situation.
And then reverence for the Eucharist calls us to genuflect or at least to bow to the Lord’s presence in the tabernacle when we enter and then when we leave the church.
It calls us to respond consciously “Amen” – in other words, “Yes, I believe” – to the words “The Body of Christ” and “The Blood of Christ” as we receive Communion. It requires that we handle the consecrated bread and wine with special care and not just as ordinary food and drink.
CONCLUSION
So, I am saying that the celebration of Mass calls us to a certain attitude and behavior.
We are called to have reverence, to be aware of the presence of the sacred and to express this by our actions. This will open us to the risen Christ who is here and who comes to us in the liturgy.
Terranuova Hermitage
May 8, 2011
Respect and Reverence in Ritual Make a Difference
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
RESPECT
If we go to an Ironbirds game at Ripken Stadium or to an O’s game at Camden Yards, the game always begins with the Star Spangled Banner.
We stand for this, our National Anthem, and gaze at our flag. We are silent while this is sung or maybe we sing along.
During this, those in the military may salute the flag and others may place their hand over their heart. These actions express our respect for our country and for the principles upon which it was founded.
In a similar way, if we go to a restaurant, we abide by the rules of decorum.
In most restaurants here in Harford County, we are expected to dress casually, but neatly. In some restaurants, we men are expected to wear a jacket.
When we are at the beach, like Ocean City, the restaurants may even say that shoes and shirts are required. These rules and behaviors help us to respect one another and the decorum of the restaurant as a place to eat and even dine together.
REVERENCE
Today’s readings call us to something similar when we are here at Mass.
In our second reading, Saint Peter talks about reverence. He is saying that if we believe and pray, we should conduct ourselves with reverence.
So, when we are here in church to pray, to participate in Mass and receive the Eucharist, we are to conduct ourselves with reverence. Today’s gospel tells the story about the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joining them, even though they do not at first recognize him.
In the story, we see the three core dimensions of the Mass. First, there are these two disciples with Jesus, much like us gathered together here with Jesus as the center of attention.
Then, Jesus breaks open or explains the Scriptures to these two disciples. Here at Mass, the same thing happens as the Scriptures are proclaimed to us.
And finally, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. We gather here at the altar with the priest taking the place of Jesus and doing the same thing.
The idea is that we need reverence for each dimension of our worship. We need to show reverence for: 1) the people gathered here, 2) for the Word of God, and 3) and for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
FOR PEOPLE, WORD, AND SACRAMENT
So, reverence for those gathered here calls for a spirit of welcoming and hospitality.
It calls for appropriate dress, I suggest what we usually describe today as at least dress casual and maybe more if we are serving in a ministry here at Mass. It calls for sharing and talking at appropriate times, and being quiet or silent at other times so as to allow others to pray.
Reverence for the Word of God calls the lectors and deacon or priest to prepare and proclaim the Word just as best as we can.
It calls us to treat the Lectionary and the Book of the Gospels carefully as sacred books. And it calls all of us to listen attentively to the readings and try to discern how they apply to me right now in my life situation.
And then reverence for the Eucharist calls us to genuflect or at least to bow to the Lord’s presence in the tabernacle when we enter and then when we leave the church.
It calls us to respond consciously “Amen” – in other words, “Yes, I believe” – to the words “The Body of Christ” and “The Blood of Christ” as we receive Communion. It requires that we handle the consecrated bread and wine with special care and not just as ordinary food and drink.
CONCLUSION
So, I am saying that the celebration of Mass calls us to a certain attitude and behavior.
We are called to have reverence, to be aware of the presence of the sacred and to express this by our actions. This will open us to the risen Christ who is here and who comes to us in the liturgy.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for May 1, 2011: Three Stages to a Mature Faith
Second Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Married Couples Retreat
Priestfield Pastoral Center
Kearneysville, WV
May 1, 2011
Three Stages to a Mature Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SANTA AND OUR FAITH
Understanding our faith in Santa Claus may be a good place to begin our journey of Easter faith in God.
Someone has wisely observed that there are three stages in our belief in Santa Claus. In the first stage, we believe in Santa Claus. In the second stage, we don’t believe in Santa Claus. In the third stage, we are Santa Claus.
In a sense, we make a similar journey in our spiritual life. In the first stage of religious formation we believe in God. At another stage, we may struggle in our belief in God. But if we mature spiritually to a third stage, we realize that we are God.
We realize the truth of St. Augustine, who stated, “God became man so that man might become God.” Let’s look at these three stages of the spiritual journey because today’s gospel of Doubting Thomas shows us how he’s passing from one stage of faith to another.
From that we might see where we are and what we need to do to become more faith filled.
STAGE ONE
Most of us were fortunate enough to begin our first stage of the journey with a belief in God. We probably learned our prayers at our mother’s knee.
We learned our catechism, or some other form of religious education. While we probably didn’t understand the complexities of the Trinity, we did have some basic understanding that God was our father who created us, and that Jesus was our brother who redeemed us.
I pretty much struggled with the Holy Spirit. I knew I received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation, but sometimes had a difficult time identifying with this bird, this dove. Had the Holy Spirit been pictured as an Oriole, my theological education would have soared!
However we may have understood God at this first stage, it is clearly an understanding of a God “out there,” a God separate from us.
STAGE TWO
The second stage of religious development is a stage that not everyone goes through, but most do. It’s the stage of doubt, perhaps a stage of disillusionment.
This is the stage where I hold, “I can’t say there isn’t a God, but a can’t be sure there is one.” It often comes at late adolescence or early adulthood, but it is not restricted to that period.
Most of us live our lives at the first stage, with a trusting, childlike understanding of God. God is good. Life is good. Be good and things go well.
Then suddenly, a tragedy strikes – a child dies, a spouse leaves through death or divorce, a job is lost or a career is ruined, financial devastation strikes. Whatever the issue, the person is terribly disillusioned: “How could a good God allow this to happen to me?” or “How can there be a God who lets drug dealers live and children die?”
Spiritual writers call this stage the Dark Night of the Soul. In contrast to how we might see it, John of the Cross describes the darkness not as a scary time, but more as a quiet darkness as in the soil just beneath our lawn where growth, expansion, and life are teeming, but in fecund darkness.
This second stage of religious development can be devastating while it is occurring, but, if it is survived – without slipping into agnosticism, atheism or despair – it can be a moment of great spiritual growth.
Yes, once we discover that God has not abandoned us, once our faith has matured to know Jesus has conquered death and is very much with us, we then have the possibility of entering stage three.
STAGE THREE
And that brings us to today’s gospel. In John’s gospel we see Thomas go from stage 2 – disillusionment and disbelief – to stage 3, faith and oneness with God.
We might ask: “What does it take to move him to this incredible unity? What’s the grace available that makes it possible for him to declare before Jesus: ‘My Lord and my God!’”
CONCLUSION
It takes:
(1) A testifying community of believers around me
(2) It takes a personal presence to Jesus Christ
(3) It takes experiencing that unity and then speaking out of it to all the circumstances in my life
(4) And it takes a routine, a habit of presence and community
Perhaps this weekend has found us poised ready to move in our faith growth from stage 2 – doubt and disillusionment – to a living faithful presence in God.
Invite members of the assembly to sharing their thoughts and insights.
Married Couples Retreat
Priestfield Pastoral Center
Kearneysville, WV
May 1, 2011
Three Stages to a Mature Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SANTA AND OUR FAITH
Understanding our faith in Santa Claus may be a good place to begin our journey of Easter faith in God.
Someone has wisely observed that there are three stages in our belief in Santa Claus. In the first stage, we believe in Santa Claus. In the second stage, we don’t believe in Santa Claus. In the third stage, we are Santa Claus.
In a sense, we make a similar journey in our spiritual life. In the first stage of religious formation we believe in God. At another stage, we may struggle in our belief in God. But if we mature spiritually to a third stage, we realize that we are God.
We realize the truth of St. Augustine, who stated, “God became man so that man might become God.” Let’s look at these three stages of the spiritual journey because today’s gospel of Doubting Thomas shows us how he’s passing from one stage of faith to another.
From that we might see where we are and what we need to do to become more faith filled.
STAGE ONE
Most of us were fortunate enough to begin our first stage of the journey with a belief in God. We probably learned our prayers at our mother’s knee.
We learned our catechism, or some other form of religious education. While we probably didn’t understand the complexities of the Trinity, we did have some basic understanding that God was our father who created us, and that Jesus was our brother who redeemed us.
I pretty much struggled with the Holy Spirit. I knew I received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation, but sometimes had a difficult time identifying with this bird, this dove. Had the Holy Spirit been pictured as an Oriole, my theological education would have soared!
However we may have understood God at this first stage, it is clearly an understanding of a God “out there,” a God separate from us.
STAGE TWO
The second stage of religious development is a stage that not everyone goes through, but most do. It’s the stage of doubt, perhaps a stage of disillusionment.
This is the stage where I hold, “I can’t say there isn’t a God, but a can’t be sure there is one.” It often comes at late adolescence or early adulthood, but it is not restricted to that period.
Most of us live our lives at the first stage, with a trusting, childlike understanding of God. God is good. Life is good. Be good and things go well.
Then suddenly, a tragedy strikes – a child dies, a spouse leaves through death or divorce, a job is lost or a career is ruined, financial devastation strikes. Whatever the issue, the person is terribly disillusioned: “How could a good God allow this to happen to me?” or “How can there be a God who lets drug dealers live and children die?”
Spiritual writers call this stage the Dark Night of the Soul. In contrast to how we might see it, John of the Cross describes the darkness not as a scary time, but more as a quiet darkness as in the soil just beneath our lawn where growth, expansion, and life are teeming, but in fecund darkness.
This second stage of religious development can be devastating while it is occurring, but, if it is survived – without slipping into agnosticism, atheism or despair – it can be a moment of great spiritual growth.
Yes, once we discover that God has not abandoned us, once our faith has matured to know Jesus has conquered death and is very much with us, we then have the possibility of entering stage three.
STAGE THREE
And that brings us to today’s gospel. In John’s gospel we see Thomas go from stage 2 – disillusionment and disbelief – to stage 3, faith and oneness with God.
We might ask: “What does it take to move him to this incredible unity? What’s the grace available that makes it possible for him to declare before Jesus: ‘My Lord and my God!’”
CONCLUSION
It takes:
(1) A testifying community of believers around me
(2) It takes a personal presence to Jesus Christ
(3) It takes experiencing that unity and then speaking out of it to all the circumstances in my life
(4) And it takes a routine, a habit of presence and community
Perhaps this weekend has found us poised ready to move in our faith growth from stage 2 – doubt and disillusionment – to a living faithful presence in God.
Invite members of the assembly to sharing their thoughts and insights.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for April 24, 2011: What will it take for us to have Easter change our lives?
Easter Sunday, Cycle A
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia
April 24, 2011
What will it take for us to have Easter change our lives?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CHRISTMAS VERSUS EASTER
Easter is different from Christmas. Christmas is an event that took place once and for all.
Easter ends with two men and a woman standing before an empty tomb.
In a nutshell, Easter stands in stark witness to the meaning of what it is to go on despite death, to go on in the face of death, to go on because of death.
I am suggesting that for us to celebrate Easter means to stand in the light of the empty tomb and decide what to do next with our lives.
There are two men and a woman who were touched deeply, people whose lives were transformed by standing before the empty tomb and who they were before the tomb is different from who they are after it.
Their transformation can show us the effect the empty tomb of Easter can have on us, as we stand there as well.
MARY MAGDALENE: FROM CLINGING BELIEVER TO PROCLAIMING WOMAN
The first person to look at is Mary of Magdala. Mary is the one who has followed Jesus all her life; she’s never doubted him; she’s with him all the way to the cross.
She is a woman with great insight and a great commitment, but she is more of a believer than a proclaimer.
Mary sees the tomb open, but she doesn’t go in. she is afraid or perhaps she knows that whatever is going on in that tomb is going to demand even more than she’s already given. Perhaps the idea of doing more or doing it differently is what stops her where she stands.
Mary comes to the place where it was clear that failure lays; Jesus evidently failed in his mission and his life has ended in disgrace. She comes in the faith, of course, that what had come to life in her because of Jesus would not die. Not in her. Faith would be enough for her.
She is the part of us that takes pride in our “Catholicity.” We’re faithful to our religious order, to our parish; we join committees; we support our church by giving regularly. Like Mary Magdalene we cling to Jesus and his church.
But clinging to him is precisely what Jesus doesn’t want of us. He wants us to speak out about him, to witness to his presence among the ill and the needy, the frail elderly, and the physically and mentally challenged.
He wants us to speak out against sexism wherever we find it. To give voice to those who have little of no voice.
He wants more than passive belief. He wants her and us to be his living voice, risen from the grave.
PETER: FROM REALIST TO RISK-TAKER
Peter is also at the empty tomb. Remember, he is one who makes great promises and then breaks them. His words to Jesus are, “I will never betray you” and then proceeds to do so three times.
He is the great with statements and actions that save his own status, like slipping away when others begin associating him with Jesus.
Peter is the part of us that know how to be a Catholic without a cross. He loves everything Jesus stands for as lon as the crowds love what Jesus stands for.
However, when the crowd’s mood changes, so too does Peter. Clearly Peter values what people think of him more than he values his integrity, more than he values his own truth.
The Peter in us is such a realist. We don’t want to rock the boat.
No need to speak out against abuses where we find them. No reason to mix work and religion. No gain to be had by upsetting the chapter meeting or the wine and cheese party or the family reunion with delicate subjects.
At the empty tomb, Peter learns that he is going to have to stand publicly with those who believe what Jesus believed and risk our own reputation to bring it about.
JOHN FROM CONTEMPLATION TO ACTION
Finally, John, “the one whom Jesus loved,” also stands before the empty tomb.
Scripture tells us he outruns the other two disciples, but stops at the entrance. We’re told he did it out of deference to Peter so he could go in first. Of course, he may have stopped for reasons of his own.
Why would John, who has been there every step of the with Jesus right to the cross, stoop down, peer in and not go all the way in?
Perhaps it was for the same reason you and I don’t go all the way in to anything that has to do with our faith life or religious practice.
Maybe he knew it was one thing to reflect on the scene and another thing to act. To go into the tomb, John must have known would be to challenge his stance of being a safe observer.
It there is a temptation in the spiritual life it is to use prayer as an excuse for not doing anything. It helps us float above the fray of life. That is not prayer.
Real prayer breaks open the heart of the world in the very center of our own lives. To really pray is to hear the cry of the poor, respond to the call of the oppressed, do the will of God in my world.
If Jesus is risen from the tomb, we have to keep looking for him in the faces of those who oppose us, in our enemies, in our neighbor, in those in need.
CONCLUSION
Today we all come to the empty tomb and must leave to return to our living life in community, at work, and at play.
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb as a clinging believer; she leaves a woman ready to proclaim good news to anyone who will listen to her.
Peter came as a realist; he leaves as a risk-taker and in the end he is martyred for his faith.
John came as a contemplative; he leaves knowing it could all end right here but he chooses to act our of his prayer to bring others to faith.
And you? How have you come and facing a seeming tragedy, how do you leave? Easter demands as much of us today as it did of the disciples then.
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia
April 24, 2011
What will it take for us to have Easter change our lives?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CHRISTMAS VERSUS EASTER
Easter is different from Christmas. Christmas is an event that took place once and for all.
Easter ends with two men and a woman standing before an empty tomb.
In a nutshell, Easter stands in stark witness to the meaning of what it is to go on despite death, to go on in the face of death, to go on because of death.
I am suggesting that for us to celebrate Easter means to stand in the light of the empty tomb and decide what to do next with our lives.
There are two men and a woman who were touched deeply, people whose lives were transformed by standing before the empty tomb and who they were before the tomb is different from who they are after it.
Their transformation can show us the effect the empty tomb of Easter can have on us, as we stand there as well.
MARY MAGDALENE: FROM CLINGING BELIEVER TO PROCLAIMING WOMAN
The first person to look at is Mary of Magdala. Mary is the one who has followed Jesus all her life; she’s never doubted him; she’s with him all the way to the cross.
She is a woman with great insight and a great commitment, but she is more of a believer than a proclaimer.
Mary sees the tomb open, but she doesn’t go in. she is afraid or perhaps she knows that whatever is going on in that tomb is going to demand even more than she’s already given. Perhaps the idea of doing more or doing it differently is what stops her where she stands.
Mary comes to the place where it was clear that failure lays; Jesus evidently failed in his mission and his life has ended in disgrace. She comes in the faith, of course, that what had come to life in her because of Jesus would not die. Not in her. Faith would be enough for her.
She is the part of us that takes pride in our “Catholicity.” We’re faithful to our religious order, to our parish; we join committees; we support our church by giving regularly. Like Mary Magdalene we cling to Jesus and his church.
But clinging to him is precisely what Jesus doesn’t want of us. He wants us to speak out about him, to witness to his presence among the ill and the needy, the frail elderly, and the physically and mentally challenged.
He wants us to speak out against sexism wherever we find it. To give voice to those who have little of no voice.
He wants more than passive belief. He wants her and us to be his living voice, risen from the grave.
PETER: FROM REALIST TO RISK-TAKER
Peter is also at the empty tomb. Remember, he is one who makes great promises and then breaks them. His words to Jesus are, “I will never betray you” and then proceeds to do so three times.
He is the great with statements and actions that save his own status, like slipping away when others begin associating him with Jesus.
Peter is the part of us that know how to be a Catholic without a cross. He loves everything Jesus stands for as lon as the crowds love what Jesus stands for.
However, when the crowd’s mood changes, so too does Peter. Clearly Peter values what people think of him more than he values his integrity, more than he values his own truth.
The Peter in us is such a realist. We don’t want to rock the boat.
No need to speak out against abuses where we find them. No reason to mix work and religion. No gain to be had by upsetting the chapter meeting or the wine and cheese party or the family reunion with delicate subjects.
At the empty tomb, Peter learns that he is going to have to stand publicly with those who believe what Jesus believed and risk our own reputation to bring it about.
JOHN FROM CONTEMPLATION TO ACTION
Finally, John, “the one whom Jesus loved,” also stands before the empty tomb.
Scripture tells us he outruns the other two disciples, but stops at the entrance. We’re told he did it out of deference to Peter so he could go in first. Of course, he may have stopped for reasons of his own.
Why would John, who has been there every step of the with Jesus right to the cross, stoop down, peer in and not go all the way in?
Perhaps it was for the same reason you and I don’t go all the way in to anything that has to do with our faith life or religious practice.
Maybe he knew it was one thing to reflect on the scene and another thing to act. To go into the tomb, John must have known would be to challenge his stance of being a safe observer.
It there is a temptation in the spiritual life it is to use prayer as an excuse for not doing anything. It helps us float above the fray of life. That is not prayer.
Real prayer breaks open the heart of the world in the very center of our own lives. To really pray is to hear the cry of the poor, respond to the call of the oppressed, do the will of God in my world.
If Jesus is risen from the tomb, we have to keep looking for him in the faces of those who oppose us, in our enemies, in our neighbor, in those in need.
CONCLUSION
Today we all come to the empty tomb and must leave to return to our living life in community, at work, and at play.
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb as a clinging believer; she leaves a woman ready to proclaim good news to anyone who will listen to her.
Peter came as a realist; he leaves as a risk-taker and in the end he is martyred for his faith.
John came as a contemplative; he leaves knowing it could all end right here but he chooses to act our of his prayer to bring others to faith.
And you? How have you come and facing a seeming tragedy, how do you leave? Easter demands as much of us today as it did of the disciples then.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for April 22, 2011: Good Friday -- Doubt, an Essential for Mature Faith
Good Friday, Cycle A
Chestnut Hill College
April 22, 2011
Doubt: An Essential for Mature Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SR. MARIANNA
A sister friend of mine, Sr. Marianna, once shared with me her story of an intense struggle of faith. She had studied the religious life rigorously and had always sought ways to make it more intense and keep it up-to-date.
Four years ago, Sr. Marianna discovered that she had a rare, painful, and fatal disease. For several years she suffered intense physical pain and discomfort. Eventually everything she believed in collapsed into a deep, dark hole and she lost her faith.
In all her studies and training in spirituality, she never believed she could have such a crisis.
In the days that followed, Marianna was led to a place devoid of spirit, emptied of all spiritual ambition and all satisfaction in what she had accomplished in her life. In this space she found no guides, no hints at where to go next.
But it was precisely in these depths she eventually discovered a new kind of faith, a faith that rose directly out of her depressive thoughts and emotions.
Marianna was shocked to feel faith stir in that deep, empty pit within her. With that stirring she uncovered a new and profound sense of peace: she no longer craved comfort from the hospital chaplain, from me, or anyone else.
This new faith was so deep and different from the faith she had been cultivating in her previous spiritual practices. There was more individuality in this faith; it was tied close to her own identity and to her illness.
Not long after she told me the story of her loss and rediscovery of faith, Sr. Marianna died peacefully in the Lord.
TWO KINDS OF FAITH
From her I learned that there are two kinds of faith: one is faith up here in my head as the holding of certain beliefs. It’s the faith we profess each Sunday in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty …” Let’s call it head faith.
In many ways head faith is an easy faith; it centers in my rational and mental abilities and gets expressed on my lips.
But I would propose that there is a second kind of faith, a more mature, heartfelt faith. This faith is borne in utter darkness, of the soil of inner struggle and personal suffering, of going one-on-one against the very power of evil. We might call it soul faith.
The transition from head faith to soul faith is the journey that Marianna made in her final months of life. It is the journey of faith Jesus makes, in working through his own passion and dying.
It is the journey that each of us will make one day; a journey some of us are already in. it is the journey that is lived “de profundis,” “from the depths,” as we used to say in Latin.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
What is different between the two is that in the second we admit to the shadow side of our faith.
In it can be found the believer and the disbeliever. What appear as weakness: questioning thoughts, drifting from my commitments, and change in understanding what my faith is actually strengthen faith.
Both the Angel of Belief and the Devil of Doubt in us play constructive roles in soul faith.
Notice that in both Jesus and in Sr. Marianna, their experience of soul faith – complete with the doubts, shadows, and dark side of the human condition – was present. In Jesus it gets expressed with his use of the words of the 22nd Psalm: “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
CONCLUSION
What Jesus and Sr. Marianna teach us is that the mystery of human suffering and death cannot be comprehended with reason.
It is only understood and embraced in the confronting of that inner darkness and living out of that, with a confidant trust that God will see you through.
Suffering then, forces our attention to the very depths of our souls where we normally don’t want to go.
On this day, of all the days of the liturgical year, Jesus teaches us that we have to arrive at that difficult point where we don’t know what is going on or what we can do. But it is precisely that point that becomes for us the sprouting shoot of a true faith.
Chestnut Hill College
April 22, 2011
Doubt: An Essential for Mature Faith
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
SR. MARIANNA
A sister friend of mine, Sr. Marianna, once shared with me her story of an intense struggle of faith. She had studied the religious life rigorously and had always sought ways to make it more intense and keep it up-to-date.
Four years ago, Sr. Marianna discovered that she had a rare, painful, and fatal disease. For several years she suffered intense physical pain and discomfort. Eventually everything she believed in collapsed into a deep, dark hole and she lost her faith.
In all her studies and training in spirituality, she never believed she could have such a crisis.
In the days that followed, Marianna was led to a place devoid of spirit, emptied of all spiritual ambition and all satisfaction in what she had accomplished in her life. In this space she found no guides, no hints at where to go next.
But it was precisely in these depths she eventually discovered a new kind of faith, a faith that rose directly out of her depressive thoughts and emotions.
Marianna was shocked to feel faith stir in that deep, empty pit within her. With that stirring she uncovered a new and profound sense of peace: she no longer craved comfort from the hospital chaplain, from me, or anyone else.
This new faith was so deep and different from the faith she had been cultivating in her previous spiritual practices. There was more individuality in this faith; it was tied close to her own identity and to her illness.
Not long after she told me the story of her loss and rediscovery of faith, Sr. Marianna died peacefully in the Lord.
TWO KINDS OF FAITH
From her I learned that there are two kinds of faith: one is faith up here in my head as the holding of certain beliefs. It’s the faith we profess each Sunday in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty …” Let’s call it head faith.
In many ways head faith is an easy faith; it centers in my rational and mental abilities and gets expressed on my lips.
But I would propose that there is a second kind of faith, a more mature, heartfelt faith. This faith is borne in utter darkness, of the soil of inner struggle and personal suffering, of going one-on-one against the very power of evil. We might call it soul faith.
The transition from head faith to soul faith is the journey that Marianna made in her final months of life. It is the journey of faith Jesus makes, in working through his own passion and dying.
It is the journey that each of us will make one day; a journey some of us are already in. it is the journey that is lived “de profundis,” “from the depths,” as we used to say in Latin.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
What is different between the two is that in the second we admit to the shadow side of our faith.
In it can be found the believer and the disbeliever. What appear as weakness: questioning thoughts, drifting from my commitments, and change in understanding what my faith is actually strengthen faith.
Both the Angel of Belief and the Devil of Doubt in us play constructive roles in soul faith.
Notice that in both Jesus and in Sr. Marianna, their experience of soul faith – complete with the doubts, shadows, and dark side of the human condition – was present. In Jesus it gets expressed with his use of the words of the 22nd Psalm: “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
CONCLUSION
What Jesus and Sr. Marianna teach us is that the mystery of human suffering and death cannot be comprehended with reason.
It is only understood and embraced in the confronting of that inner darkness and living out of that, with a confidant trust that God will see you through.
Suffering then, forces our attention to the very depths of our souls where we normally don’t want to go.
On this day, of all the days of the liturgical year, Jesus teaches us that we have to arrive at that difficult point where we don’t know what is going on or what we can do. But it is precisely that point that becomes for us the sprouting shoot of a true faith.
Weekly HOMILY for April 21, 2011: Holy Thursday -- Empowerment to Serve Others
Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Holy Thursday / Chestnut Hill College
April 21, 2011
Empowerment to Serve Others
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
ALICE'S SHAME AND EMBARRASSMENT
A Catholic writer named Alice Camille has written a very personal reflection about what Holy Thursday means to her.
Alice and her sister Ida were on good terms, but they were also living very different lives. Ida was a stay-at-home mom with three daughters and Alice, at that time, was unmarried and all wrapped up in her career.
With that background, Alice writes this brief reflection: “Several years ago, a night of terrible need brought my sister Ida and me together.
“I had just had minor surgery and was in more pain than I can ever remember bearing. Ida was vacationing with her family, but she left them in a motel to come and spend the night with me.
“I was so disabled by the surgery and the pain that I could not even take care of my most basic human needs without help. Bound by bandages and unable to sit down, I just stood in the bathroom in fouled clothes and wept with humiliation.
“Ida knelt on the floor and started to take the soiled clothes that stuck to me, talking in soothing tones as she might to one of her children. She undid the bandages, washed my body and then redressed my wounds, all the while reassuring me with her levelheaded calm.
“In her capable hands, my embarrassment turned to gratitude, and my comfort and dignity were restored.
Now, when I watch the foot washing on Holy Thursday, I think of how tender, sweet and infinitely practical it is to wash away each other’s shame.”
That very personal story helps us understand the focus of this first day of the Sacred Triduum.
BEIGN AN ALICE-IN-NEED
Let’s return to the Upper Room in the Gospel for a moment.
What would be going through your mind, having come to know who Jesus really is, having him invite you to a special meal, and then having him offer to wash your feet?
Would you feel embarrassed? Ashamed? Unworthy? Upset? How would you express yourself? (Express disapproval by a nod of the head and shaking of the hands.)
Have you ever been an “Alice-in-need” and had an Ida in your life? If you have, then you know the power of a loving presence when you’re feeling shame, guilt, or embarrassment.
SPECIFIC ALICE OCCURRENCES
There are times when we suffer embarrassment or shame. Our embarrassment may not be the physical dependency that Alice Camille experienced.
Instead, it may be an awful mistake – like something we wish we had never said in public.
It may be a failure – like being passed over for a particular job or responsibility in the religious family we belong to or at work.
It may be position we took with a family member on moral or ethical grounds and caused a serious rift in relationships.
It may be sin – like having to own up to being unfaithful to God, to a spouse, or to a friend.
We all have embarrassment or shame to deal with, and perhaps we’re dealing with it at the present moment. And when we do, we need an Ida to be there for us.
THE CALL OF HOLY THURSDAY: TO BECOME AN ALICE TO OTHERS
Holy Thursday calls us to wash away each other’s embarrassment and shame. It calls us to wash away each other’s pain and suffering.
And the Mandatum Ritual will do that, if we allow the modeling of Jesus to become part of ourselves through prayerful presence.
Yes, if in prayer and presence to Jesus himself, I can experience that same washing he does for his disciples, the power to cleanse and heal others will be mine.
Imagine removing the soiled bandage of a brother/sister’s error?
Imagine washing away the effects of another’s sin?
Imagine dressing the wounds of an argument or misunderstanding so relationships can heal?
We can make each other whole because Sacred Scripture and Sacred Ritual have made us whole tonight.
CONCLUSION
The Gospel tells us that after washing their feet, Jesus returns to the Passover Meal as we do now, and like the Apostles, we will feed on the Flesh and Blood of the one who makes these “washings” possible.
Let us become then what we now eat – the Lord Jesus washing the feet of one another.
Because kneeling can be difficult for many, we will be washing the hands of each other so all can participate.
Holy Thursday / Chestnut Hill College
April 21, 2011
Empowerment to Serve Others
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
ALICE'S SHAME AND EMBARRASSMENT
A Catholic writer named Alice Camille has written a very personal reflection about what Holy Thursday means to her.
Alice and her sister Ida were on good terms, but they were also living very different lives. Ida was a stay-at-home mom with three daughters and Alice, at that time, was unmarried and all wrapped up in her career.
With that background, Alice writes this brief reflection: “Several years ago, a night of terrible need brought my sister Ida and me together.
“I had just had minor surgery and was in more pain than I can ever remember bearing. Ida was vacationing with her family, but she left them in a motel to come and spend the night with me.
“I was so disabled by the surgery and the pain that I could not even take care of my most basic human needs without help. Bound by bandages and unable to sit down, I just stood in the bathroom in fouled clothes and wept with humiliation.
“Ida knelt on the floor and started to take the soiled clothes that stuck to me, talking in soothing tones as she might to one of her children. She undid the bandages, washed my body and then redressed my wounds, all the while reassuring me with her levelheaded calm.
“In her capable hands, my embarrassment turned to gratitude, and my comfort and dignity were restored.
Now, when I watch the foot washing on Holy Thursday, I think of how tender, sweet and infinitely practical it is to wash away each other’s shame.”
That very personal story helps us understand the focus of this first day of the Sacred Triduum.
BEIGN AN ALICE-IN-NEED
Let’s return to the Upper Room in the Gospel for a moment.
What would be going through your mind, having come to know who Jesus really is, having him invite you to a special meal, and then having him offer to wash your feet?
Would you feel embarrassed? Ashamed? Unworthy? Upset? How would you express yourself? (Express disapproval by a nod of the head and shaking of the hands.)
Have you ever been an “Alice-in-need” and had an Ida in your life? If you have, then you know the power of a loving presence when you’re feeling shame, guilt, or embarrassment.
SPECIFIC ALICE OCCURRENCES
There are times when we suffer embarrassment or shame. Our embarrassment may not be the physical dependency that Alice Camille experienced.
Instead, it may be an awful mistake – like something we wish we had never said in public.
It may be a failure – like being passed over for a particular job or responsibility in the religious family we belong to or at work.
It may be position we took with a family member on moral or ethical grounds and caused a serious rift in relationships.
It may be sin – like having to own up to being unfaithful to God, to a spouse, or to a friend.
We all have embarrassment or shame to deal with, and perhaps we’re dealing with it at the present moment. And when we do, we need an Ida to be there for us.
THE CALL OF HOLY THURSDAY: TO BECOME AN ALICE TO OTHERS
Holy Thursday calls us to wash away each other’s embarrassment and shame. It calls us to wash away each other’s pain and suffering.
And the Mandatum Ritual will do that, if we allow the modeling of Jesus to become part of ourselves through prayerful presence.
Yes, if in prayer and presence to Jesus himself, I can experience that same washing he does for his disciples, the power to cleanse and heal others will be mine.
Imagine removing the soiled bandage of a brother/sister’s error?
Imagine washing away the effects of another’s sin?
Imagine dressing the wounds of an argument or misunderstanding so relationships can heal?
We can make each other whole because Sacred Scripture and Sacred Ritual have made us whole tonight.
CONCLUSION
The Gospel tells us that after washing their feet, Jesus returns to the Passover Meal as we do now, and like the Apostles, we will feed on the Flesh and Blood of the one who makes these “washings” possible.
Let us become then what we now eat – the Lord Jesus washing the feet of one another.
Because kneeling can be difficult for many, we will be washing the hands of each other so all can participate.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for April 17, 2011: Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle A
Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle A
April 17, 2011
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
The Third Cross
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THREE CROSSES
Several years ago, a Muslim man was visiting a small Trappist monastery in the Northern African country of Algeria.
This Muslim and the prior of the monastery were old friends. The prior took his guest on a tour of the building, and eventually they came to the chapel.
The Muslim stopped and just starred at the crucifix. Eventually, the prior asked his friend what he saw in the cross.
The Muslim man said: “I see maybe three crosses here, certainly two crosses. There is definitely the cross in front and the cross in the back.
“The one in the front is formed by the extended arms of Jesus. It was created by God and is the cross of God’s embracing love.
“The second cross is the one behind Jesus. It was made by humanity and is the cross of hatred.
“But it was love and not really nails that attached Jesus to this second cross. And it is this love which keeps drawing us to him.”
The prior could see all of this, but he asked his Muslim friend: “What is the third cross that you see?” The visitor responded: “The third cross, it seems to me, is between the other two crosses.
“Isn’t it perhaps you and I struggling to loosen ourselves from the cross of evil and sin behind, so that we can bind ourselves to the cross of love in front?
Isn’t the struggle of moving from violence to peacemaking, from hatred to love, isn’t that the struggle a third cross?”
THE MESSAGE OF HOLY WEEK
That Muslim man is quite insightful.
We can discern three crosses on every crucifix. And by the way, maybe this is one reason why in our Catholic tradition we have a crucifix in our churches – a cross with the figure of Jesus on it – and not just a plain cross.
We are moved by the first cross. This cross is Jesus himself reaching out to us in our humanity with the love of God.
Then we are confronted by the second cross. This cross is the one that we construct out of our self-centeredness, vindictiveness and prejudice, the cross on which we crucify both Jesus and one another.
Holy Week calls us to take up the third cross. It calls us to take up the spirit of the humble and compassionate Christ of the first cross.
It calls us to loosen ourselves from the crosses we have made – the second cross. And it calls us to attach ourselves to the self-giving, sacrificial love of God – and that is the third cross.
CONCLUSION
I hope that this will be a helpful way for us to look at the crucifix from now on. I hope it is a helpful way to recall the message that Holy Week has for us.
April 17, 2011
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
The Third Cross
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THREE CROSSES
Several years ago, a Muslim man was visiting a small Trappist monastery in the Northern African country of Algeria.
This Muslim and the prior of the monastery were old friends. The prior took his guest on a tour of the building, and eventually they came to the chapel.
The Muslim stopped and just starred at the crucifix. Eventually, the prior asked his friend what he saw in the cross.
The Muslim man said: “I see maybe three crosses here, certainly two crosses. There is definitely the cross in front and the cross in the back.
“The one in the front is formed by the extended arms of Jesus. It was created by God and is the cross of God’s embracing love.
“The second cross is the one behind Jesus. It was made by humanity and is the cross of hatred.
“But it was love and not really nails that attached Jesus to this second cross. And it is this love which keeps drawing us to him.”
The prior could see all of this, but he asked his Muslim friend: “What is the third cross that you see?” The visitor responded: “The third cross, it seems to me, is between the other two crosses.
“Isn’t it perhaps you and I struggling to loosen ourselves from the cross of evil and sin behind, so that we can bind ourselves to the cross of love in front?
Isn’t the struggle of moving from violence to peacemaking, from hatred to love, isn’t that the struggle a third cross?”
THE MESSAGE OF HOLY WEEK
That Muslim man is quite insightful.
We can discern three crosses on every crucifix. And by the way, maybe this is one reason why in our Catholic tradition we have a crucifix in our churches – a cross with the figure of Jesus on it – and not just a plain cross.
We are moved by the first cross. This cross is Jesus himself reaching out to us in our humanity with the love of God.
Then we are confronted by the second cross. This cross is the one that we construct out of our self-centeredness, vindictiveness and prejudice, the cross on which we crucify both Jesus and one another.
Holy Week calls us to take up the third cross. It calls us to take up the spirit of the humble and compassionate Christ of the first cross.
It calls us to loosen ourselves from the crosses we have made – the second cross. And it calls us to attach ourselves to the self-giving, sacrificial love of God – and that is the third cross.
CONCLUSION
I hope that this will be a helpful way for us to look at the crucifix from now on. I hope it is a helpful way to recall the message that Holy Week has for us.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for April 10, 2011: To Be Set Free from Bondage and from Death
5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
St. Mark Church, Fallston
April 10, 2011
To Be Set Free from Bondage and from Death
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE TWO-FOLD BURDEN OF BEING HUMAN
While death is something we will all experience, it is also something we cannot avoid. One day each of us will die and tomorrow morning all we can be sure of is that that day is one day closer.
We all – with God the only exception – stand helpless before this reality. The good news of today’s gospel is that Jesus alone can conquer it.
So as we age, as we see loved ones die, as we move up in becoming the next generation to pass from this life to the next, and as the passing of each day gets us closer, there is good news to be heard.
And the news is this: just as Jesus has the power both (1) To release Lazarus from the ties that bind him and (2) To release him from death itself, that same possibility is ours!
TWO ORDERS AT THE TOMB
What’s going on in the gospel scene is familiar to us: Jesus has three very close friends he stays with each year he visits the temple in Jerusalem, two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus.
Lazarus gets sick and dies unexpectedly and his sisters are grieving the loss terribly.
The passage has an unusual expression to describe Jesus. It says that he is “perturbed and deeply troubled.” Scripture scholars tell us that these words mean that Jesus is angry that death has gotten its grip on Lazarus and he is profoundly sad over the loss of his friend.
What happens at the tomb? Jesus calls out with a loud cry, “Lazarus, come out!” And the passage says that, “Lazarus comes out, bound hand and foot with burial bands.”
There is a second order given by Jesus as he faces the tomb: “Unbind him and let him go free.”
Thus Jesus has done two things: (1) He’s brought Lazarus back from death and (2) He’s freed him to live without being bound.
This gospel, in its being told to us and in our hearing it, is as much about Jesus and us as it is about Jesus and Lazarus.
For it holds out to us a similar coming back to life, a similar unbinding of all that holds us back.
THE RELEASE FROM BONDAGE
I would ask each of us: (1) What entombs you? (2) What holds you bound in your life? (3) What keeps you from a brighter day no matter what the weather? (4) What keeps you from fuller engagement no matter what your physical condition? (5) What keeps you from a greater love of others?
The bonds that bind may be:
1. LOATHING OF MYSELF: A low self-image, the inability to love myself as God loves me warts and all.
2. EXCESSIVE BUSYNESS: With my ear glued to a cell phone; my eyes stuck to the computer screen, or my hand stiff from taking notes – all being done with little or no time simply to think, to listen, to be still, to pray.
3. FEAR: A fear that traps so many to risk sharing their true selves or in trying something new or moving beyond their comfort level.
4. Or I may be strapped with the bands of NEEDLESS WORRY and unable to entrust myself to the Lord’s care of me, knowing I’ve done my best and he will see me through.
Jesus’ words to Lazarus as he calls him to new life are: “Unbind him and let him go.” Those are his words to you today.
THE RELEASE FROM DEATH
The more we are released from the bands that bind us to Loathing, Busyness, Fear, and Worry, the more we are able to live a new life even now.
We are able to hear in a new and fresh way Jesus’ reassuring words to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life, and whoever believes in me, even if they die, will live.”
And if you’re in a good place with yourself and with others, you have the ears to hear Jesus’ question to Martha: “Do you believe this?”
And, of course, you hear and see Martha’s beautiful, hope-filled response: “Jesus, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
CONCLUSION
The reality of Lazarus’ unbinding and coming to life are taking place again this morning right here in your hearing and in your feeding on his flesh and blood.
It is in the presence of Jesus in our lives that we can experience a new freedom today and a new hope to be with him one day forever.
St. Mark Church, Fallston
April 10, 2011
To Be Set Free from Bondage and from Death
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
THE TWO-FOLD BURDEN OF BEING HUMAN
While death is something we will all experience, it is also something we cannot avoid. One day each of us will die and tomorrow morning all we can be sure of is that that day is one day closer.
We all – with God the only exception – stand helpless before this reality. The good news of today’s gospel is that Jesus alone can conquer it.
So as we age, as we see loved ones die, as we move up in becoming the next generation to pass from this life to the next, and as the passing of each day gets us closer, there is good news to be heard.
And the news is this: just as Jesus has the power both (1) To release Lazarus from the ties that bind him and (2) To release him from death itself, that same possibility is ours!
TWO ORDERS AT THE TOMB
What’s going on in the gospel scene is familiar to us: Jesus has three very close friends he stays with each year he visits the temple in Jerusalem, two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus.
Lazarus gets sick and dies unexpectedly and his sisters are grieving the loss terribly.
The passage has an unusual expression to describe Jesus. It says that he is “perturbed and deeply troubled.” Scripture scholars tell us that these words mean that Jesus is angry that death has gotten its grip on Lazarus and he is profoundly sad over the loss of his friend.
What happens at the tomb? Jesus calls out with a loud cry, “Lazarus, come out!” And the passage says that, “Lazarus comes out, bound hand and foot with burial bands.”
There is a second order given by Jesus as he faces the tomb: “Unbind him and let him go free.”
Thus Jesus has done two things: (1) He’s brought Lazarus back from death and (2) He’s freed him to live without being bound.
This gospel, in its being told to us and in our hearing it, is as much about Jesus and us as it is about Jesus and Lazarus.
For it holds out to us a similar coming back to life, a similar unbinding of all that holds us back.
THE RELEASE FROM BONDAGE
I would ask each of us: (1) What entombs you? (2) What holds you bound in your life? (3) What keeps you from a brighter day no matter what the weather? (4) What keeps you from fuller engagement no matter what your physical condition? (5) What keeps you from a greater love of others?
The bonds that bind may be:
1. LOATHING OF MYSELF: A low self-image, the inability to love myself as God loves me warts and all.
2. EXCESSIVE BUSYNESS: With my ear glued to a cell phone; my eyes stuck to the computer screen, or my hand stiff from taking notes – all being done with little or no time simply to think, to listen, to be still, to pray.
3. FEAR: A fear that traps so many to risk sharing their true selves or in trying something new or moving beyond their comfort level.
4. Or I may be strapped with the bands of NEEDLESS WORRY and unable to entrust myself to the Lord’s care of me, knowing I’ve done my best and he will see me through.
Jesus’ words to Lazarus as he calls him to new life are: “Unbind him and let him go.” Those are his words to you today.
THE RELEASE FROM DEATH
The more we are released from the bands that bind us to Loathing, Busyness, Fear, and Worry, the more we are able to live a new life even now.
We are able to hear in a new and fresh way Jesus’ reassuring words to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life, and whoever believes in me, even if they die, will live.”
And if you’re in a good place with yourself and with others, you have the ears to hear Jesus’ question to Martha: “Do you believe this?”
And, of course, you hear and see Martha’s beautiful, hope-filled response: “Jesus, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
CONCLUSION
The reality of Lazarus’ unbinding and coming to life are taking place again this morning right here in your hearing and in your feeding on his flesh and blood.
It is in the presence of Jesus in our lives that we can experience a new freedom today and a new hope to be with him one day forever.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR: SPIRITUAL DEEPENING PROGRAM
INTENT OF PROGRAM
To be present to God and the world in love and trust, surrendered to ever-deepening spiritual awareness and joining God’s presence/action in the world according to our gifts and calling.
WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM?
This program is for anyone who feels drawn to contemplative spirituality and who:
+ Desires a deepened relationship with God and to live out of that relationship;
+ Wishes to develop or deepen a consistent spiritual practice;
+ Wants the regular guidance of a spiritual companion for daily contemplative living;
+ Seeks authentic spiritual community and support;
+ Is eager to learn within a broad ecumenical Christian framework, enhanced by the wisdom of other traditions;
+Longs to be a transforming presence in the world.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The Personal Spiritual Deepening Program (PSDP): Living in God is comprised of experiential learning, contemplative prayer practices, assigned readings, spiritual community, and opening and closing retreats.
Seminar Topics and Readings will be focused on the following themes:
LISTENING AND TRANSFORMATION
“How do we cultivate that attention, that listening to the Beloved, the God who seeks us? …Transformation happens when we experience God in our hearts; God invites and we respond.” (Patience Robbins, Shalem PSDP Leadership Conference 2010)
SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
“Spiritual community [is described] as the person or group of people with whom my desire for God comes alive and through whom I am supported in honoring that desire.” (Rose Mary Dougherty, Spiritual Community as Intercessory Prayer)
DISCERNMENT
“Desiring spiritual discernment in all things… we seek to be intentionally open to God in each moment as the Spirit guides and co-creates through us.” (Shalem Institute Core Values)
EARTH AWARENESS
“The Earth is suffering and exhausted. We need to deepen our Earth awareness, the awareness that we are utterly connected to all of life, in order to create a new consciousness and to heal our relationship with all living beings. We are given the vision and power to co-participate with God in healing the brokenness of our world.” (Ann Dean, Shalem PSDP Leadership Conference 2010)
SACRED ACTIVISM
“…a contemplative orientation not only draws us to our deepest, truest self in God but also shapes both an individual’s and a community’s way of being in, listening to, and caring for the world.” (Shalem Institute Core Values)
We expect participants, through prayer and dialogue with their spiritual directors and the program leaders, to integrate the program components in a way that will best serve their spiritual deepening. In addition, participants are expected to:
+ Commit to a regular spiritual practice that will honor and nourish their relationship with God.
+ Attend the Opening Retreat, Closing Retreat, and all Saturday Seminars.
+ Meet monthly with their small group.
+ Meet regularly with a Spiritual Director.
+ Pray for the group as a spiritual community.
DATES AND LOCATION
Opening All-Day Retreat: April 16, 2011 / Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Marriottsville, MD 21104.
Saturday Morning Sessions: May 7, June 4, July 9, August 6, September 10, October 15 / 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, at Bon Secours Spiritual Center and includes lunch.
Monthly Listening Circles: May through October / at the home of a participant in your geographical area.
Closing Overnight Retreat: November 5-6, 2011 / Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Marriottsville, MD 21104.
PROGRAM LEADERS
Nicholas Amato: has served over 20 years as a pastor in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a graduate of the Shalem Institute of Spirituality in Washington, DC. His full-time ministry includes offering contemplative retreats, parish missions, and days of recollection. He has Master’s degrees in Counseling and Theology, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and is an associate faculty member of the Shalem Institute.
Stephanie Burgevin: has been a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for the past 15 years. She is an associate faculty member of the Shalem Institute of Spirituality and a graduate of their Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats program. She is a certified parent educator, has been clerk of Ministry and Counsel at Alexandria Monthly Meeting, and has led numerous groups, both spiritual and secular in nature.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Tuition: $650
Deposit: $100 with Application
Registration Deadline: APRIL 15, 2011
To Register or for questions call or write:
Email FatherNicholasAmato@gmail.com
Or call: (443) 850-0794
WHAT DOES SHALEM MEAN?
Pronounced Sha-LAME, Shalem is a Hebrew word related to Shalom, the familiar greeting of peace. Shalem speaks of wholeness: to be complete.
About Shalem
The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation provides in-depth support for contemplative living and leadership—a way of being in the world that is prayerfully attentive and responsive to God's presence and guidance.
For more than 30 years, we have offered a wide variety of programs and resources for individuals who want to open themselves more fully to God in their daily lives and work.
Shalem programs are uniquely experiential in approach and are grounded in our understanding of classic contemplative wisdom. All offer a rich variety of practices, teachings and leadership styles. Program leaders and program design seek to create a sense of sacred space that fosters authentic spiritual community and spiritual growth.
At Shalem, we honor each individual spiritual path and welcome anyone who would seek to learn from the contemplative way.
Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation
www.shalem.org
PERSONAL SPIRITUAL
DEEPENING PROGRAM:
Living in God
Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Maryland
To be present to God and the world in love and trust, surrendered to ever-deepening spiritual awareness and joining God’s presence/action in the world according to our gifts and calling.
WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM?
This program is for anyone who feels drawn to contemplative spirituality and who:
+ Desires a deepened relationship with God and to live out of that relationship;
+ Wishes to develop or deepen a consistent spiritual practice;
+ Wants the regular guidance of a spiritual companion for daily contemplative living;
+ Seeks authentic spiritual community and support;
+ Is eager to learn within a broad ecumenical Christian framework, enhanced by the wisdom of other traditions;
+Longs to be a transforming presence in the world.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The Personal Spiritual Deepening Program (PSDP): Living in God is comprised of experiential learning, contemplative prayer practices, assigned readings, spiritual community, and opening and closing retreats.
Seminar Topics and Readings will be focused on the following themes:
LISTENING AND TRANSFORMATION
“How do we cultivate that attention, that listening to the Beloved, the God who seeks us? …Transformation happens when we experience God in our hearts; God invites and we respond.” (Patience Robbins, Shalem PSDP Leadership Conference 2010)
SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
“Spiritual community [is described] as the person or group of people with whom my desire for God comes alive and through whom I am supported in honoring that desire.” (Rose Mary Dougherty, Spiritual Community as Intercessory Prayer)
DISCERNMENT
“Desiring spiritual discernment in all things… we seek to be intentionally open to God in each moment as the Spirit guides and co-creates through us.” (Shalem Institute Core Values)
EARTH AWARENESS
“The Earth is suffering and exhausted. We need to deepen our Earth awareness, the awareness that we are utterly connected to all of life, in order to create a new consciousness and to heal our relationship with all living beings. We are given the vision and power to co-participate with God in healing the brokenness of our world.” (Ann Dean, Shalem PSDP Leadership Conference 2010)
SACRED ACTIVISM
“…a contemplative orientation not only draws us to our deepest, truest self in God but also shapes both an individual’s and a community’s way of being in, listening to, and caring for the world.” (Shalem Institute Core Values)
We expect participants, through prayer and dialogue with their spiritual directors and the program leaders, to integrate the program components in a way that will best serve their spiritual deepening. In addition, participants are expected to:
+ Commit to a regular spiritual practice that will honor and nourish their relationship with God.
+ Attend the Opening Retreat, Closing Retreat, and all Saturday Seminars.
+ Meet monthly with their small group.
+ Meet regularly with a Spiritual Director.
+ Pray for the group as a spiritual community.
DATES AND LOCATION
Opening All-Day Retreat: April 16, 2011 / Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Marriottsville, MD 21104.
Saturday Morning Sessions: May 7, June 4, July 9, August 6, September 10, October 15 / 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, at Bon Secours Spiritual Center and includes lunch.
Monthly Listening Circles: May through October / at the home of a participant in your geographical area.
Closing Overnight Retreat: November 5-6, 2011 / Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Marriottsville, MD 21104.
PROGRAM LEADERS
Nicholas Amato: has served over 20 years as a pastor in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a graduate of the Shalem Institute of Spirituality in Washington, DC. His full-time ministry includes offering contemplative retreats, parish missions, and days of recollection. He has Master’s degrees in Counseling and Theology, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and is an associate faculty member of the Shalem Institute.
Stephanie Burgevin: has been a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for the past 15 years. She is an associate faculty member of the Shalem Institute of Spirituality and a graduate of their Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats program. She is a certified parent educator, has been clerk of Ministry and Counsel at Alexandria Monthly Meeting, and has led numerous groups, both spiritual and secular in nature.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Tuition: $650
Deposit: $100 with Application
Registration Deadline: APRIL 15, 2011
To Register or for questions call or write:
Email FatherNicholasAmato@gmail.com
Or call: (443) 850-0794
WHAT DOES SHALEM MEAN?
Pronounced Sha-LAME, Shalem is a Hebrew word related to Shalom, the familiar greeting of peace. Shalem speaks of wholeness: to be complete.
About Shalem
The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation provides in-depth support for contemplative living and leadership—a way of being in the world that is prayerfully attentive and responsive to God's presence and guidance.
For more than 30 years, we have offered a wide variety of programs and resources for individuals who want to open themselves more fully to God in their daily lives and work.
Shalem programs are uniquely experiential in approach and are grounded in our understanding of classic contemplative wisdom. All offer a rich variety of practices, teachings and leadership styles. Program leaders and program design seek to create a sense of sacred space that fosters authentic spiritual community and spiritual growth.
At Shalem, we honor each individual spiritual path and welcome anyone who would seek to learn from the contemplative way.
Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation
www.shalem.org
PERSONAL SPIRITUAL
DEEPENING PROGRAM:
Living in God
Bon Secours Spiritual Center, Maryland
Monday, March 28, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for April 2, 2011: The Nameless Man Born Blind
4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Archdiocesan Deacon Retreat
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
April 3, 2011
The Nameless Man Born Blind
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
I AM NAMELESS
Did you notice that the gospel writer, Saint John, never tells you my name?
In the entire story that you just heard, John only refers to me as “the man born blind.” He never uses my name.
I want to tell you why he doesn’t but first, I want to make two observations about what happens here. After all, I’m the one at the center of the story.
OBSERVATION 1: SEEING SPIRITUALLY
First, did you notice that Jesus says that my blindness is not due to any sin, either my parents’ sin or my sin?
It just happened. Period.
So, you are probably not responsible for physical blindness whether it is in yourself or in someone else. But you may be, in fact you and all of us are probably responsible for spiritual blindness in ourselves.
When I look in this story at my religious leaders and my neighbors and even my parents, I think they are afraid: afraid that they will have to change the way they think about Jesus, or afraid that their status will be threatened, or afraid of what others will think about them. That’s why they are unable to see and to say that Jesus healed me.
They remain spiritually blind and they are responsible for that. So, please don’t let that happen to you.
Maybe you are afraid that if you really listen to Jesus, you will have to face up to some habit in your life, like talking negatively about people or a substance abuse problem.
Or maybe you are afraid that you will have to deal with your part of the marriage problem.
You know, this sort of spiritual blindness diminishes who you are and doesn’t make you feel any better about yourself. Jesus is so insightful when he says: “I came to make the sightless see and the seeing blind.”
What Jesus means is: don’t be so certain that you are really seeing, because then you may end up spiritually blind.
Instead, admit that you are blind to some extent, and then allow Jesus to help you to see – spiritually.
OBSERVATION 2: SEEING MORE
And then, did you notice that I did not see fully, all at once?
Oh yes, I instantly got my eyesight, my physical sight. But my spiritual sight – that was another thing.
At first, I saw Jesus (1) As just another person; (2) Then as a prophet; (3) Then as one sent from God; (4) Then as the Son of Man or Messiah; and finally, (5) As Lord or God himself.
It took me a while to see him for all that he is and it’s a process. Do you have a similar sense of being in a process of coming to see?
There’s a good lesson here for you. I suspect that you too need to grow in your faith – to keep seeing more and more. In fact, you never stop growing or seeing more.
So, don’t get stuck into thinking that your understanding of God or of the Mass or of Catholic traditions has to be the way it was when you were a kid. Keep your mind and your eyes open and trying to see more.
I’m telling you: it’s a lot more exciting to keep growing and to keep seeing more and more. And it will lead you, as it led me, to a much fuller relationship with Jesus – and that means with God.
WHY I AM NAMELESS
Okay! I just had to make these observations about (1) Seeing spiritually and (2) Seeing more and more.
Now, I want to tell you why John never tells you my name. He does not do this because he wants each of you – you, you, you and you – to realize that you are me.
So, you – Michael, Marie, Pam, Patrick, Roger – you are “the man/woman born blind.”
And Jesus also wants to give you sight, and he will do this (1) If you are willing to admit that you may be spiritually blind and that you want spiritual vision and (2) If you are willing to keep trying to see more and more for as long as you live.
Archdiocesan Deacon Retreat
Bon Secours Spiritual Center
April 3, 2011
The Nameless Man Born Blind
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
I AM NAMELESS
Did you notice that the gospel writer, Saint John, never tells you my name?
In the entire story that you just heard, John only refers to me as “the man born blind.” He never uses my name.
I want to tell you why he doesn’t but first, I want to make two observations about what happens here. After all, I’m the one at the center of the story.
OBSERVATION 1: SEEING SPIRITUALLY
First, did you notice that Jesus says that my blindness is not due to any sin, either my parents’ sin or my sin?
It just happened. Period.
So, you are probably not responsible for physical blindness whether it is in yourself or in someone else. But you may be, in fact you and all of us are probably responsible for spiritual blindness in ourselves.
When I look in this story at my religious leaders and my neighbors and even my parents, I think they are afraid: afraid that they will have to change the way they think about Jesus, or afraid that their status will be threatened, or afraid of what others will think about them. That’s why they are unable to see and to say that Jesus healed me.
They remain spiritually blind and they are responsible for that. So, please don’t let that happen to you.
Maybe you are afraid that if you really listen to Jesus, you will have to face up to some habit in your life, like talking negatively about people or a substance abuse problem.
Or maybe you are afraid that you will have to deal with your part of the marriage problem.
You know, this sort of spiritual blindness diminishes who you are and doesn’t make you feel any better about yourself. Jesus is so insightful when he says: “I came to make the sightless see and the seeing blind.”
What Jesus means is: don’t be so certain that you are really seeing, because then you may end up spiritually blind.
Instead, admit that you are blind to some extent, and then allow Jesus to help you to see – spiritually.
OBSERVATION 2: SEEING MORE
And then, did you notice that I did not see fully, all at once?
Oh yes, I instantly got my eyesight, my physical sight. But my spiritual sight – that was another thing.
At first, I saw Jesus (1) As just another person; (2) Then as a prophet; (3) Then as one sent from God; (4) Then as the Son of Man or Messiah; and finally, (5) As Lord or God himself.
It took me a while to see him for all that he is and it’s a process. Do you have a similar sense of being in a process of coming to see?
There’s a good lesson here for you. I suspect that you too need to grow in your faith – to keep seeing more and more. In fact, you never stop growing or seeing more.
So, don’t get stuck into thinking that your understanding of God or of the Mass or of Catholic traditions has to be the way it was when you were a kid. Keep your mind and your eyes open and trying to see more.
I’m telling you: it’s a lot more exciting to keep growing and to keep seeing more and more. And it will lead you, as it led me, to a much fuller relationship with Jesus – and that means with God.
WHY I AM NAMELESS
Okay! I just had to make these observations about (1) Seeing spiritually and (2) Seeing more and more.
Now, I want to tell you why John never tells you my name. He does not do this because he wants each of you – you, you, you and you – to realize that you are me.
So, you – Michael, Marie, Pam, Patrick, Roger – you are “the man/woman born blind.”
And Jesus also wants to give you sight, and he will do this (1) If you are willing to admit that you may be spiritually blind and that you want spiritual vision and (2) If you are willing to keep trying to see more and more for as long as you live.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Weekly HOMILY for February 27, 2011
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
St. Michael the Archangel Church, Overlea
February 29, 2011
First Things First
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
WORRY
Worry ranks as one of our most uncomfortable emotions, and, with all the things we have to worry about, it is also one of our most constant companions.
The more complex our life becomes and the more responsibilities we have, the more we have to worry about.
It’s not that worry helps us to live more effectively. On the contrary, it drains us of the energy we need to take care of ourselves as we should. But how can we avoid worrying?
JESUS AND WORRY
In the gospel reading today, Jesus tells us bluntly, “Do not worry.” What a beautiful suggestion, and what an achievement, if we could only manage it.
Can he be serious, though, about not being anxious about what we eat, or drink, or wear?
It’s very poetic talking about the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, but aren’t our needs more substantial, significant, and sophisticated than those of birds and flowers?
Is not anxiety a given for anyone trying to live a responsible life in a very worrisome world?
Jesus is not trying to engage us in wishful thinking, however. Nor is he trying to make light of the difficult circumstances of life. What he offers us is a specific formula for reducing worry and anxiety.
REDUCING OUR WORRY
As we pursue our needs in life, Jesus tells us: “Strive first for the Kingdom of God…and all these things will be given to you as well.”
What Jesus is promoting is that we consciously establish our top priorities – something we generally don’t do.
The great benefit of doing this is that it puts things into perspective. What might be a significant cause of anxiety fades in the face of something more pressing.
A mother, for example, trying to help her child through a serious illness may for the time be unconcerned about some bills that need to be paid or an important meeting she needs to attend.
Building the Kingdom was the essence of Jesus’ ministry. Developing a Kingdom mentality was the chief goal of all his preaching; every other objective in life was subservient to the values of the Kingdom.
SETTING THE PRIORITIES
Jesus taught that if we work primarily to make the Kingdom a reality in our lives, everything else would fall into place for us; everything else would automatically become less worrisome, like the mother tending the sick child and the bills to be paid.
The answer to worry, therefore, is to remember and live out of Kingdom values as the most important concerns of our lives. Those values will be the ultimate antidote for anxiety.
For example, if MONEY is my most important concern, any movement in the stock market is going to set my nerves on edge. But if I move to the Kingdom value of “I’ve got what I need” and not grasping after, “I don’t have what I’d like” the anxiety about money is lessened.
If JOB SECURITY is my most important concern, I could move to the Kingdom value of “I’m going to continue to do my best work and pray for the Lord’s strength.” Then when I feel threatened with being laid off or with losing my job, the moorings of my faith and the assurance of God’s presence and care will assist me.
How about the CHILDREN – young or grown? My concern may be the mischief they’re getting into or how them may turn out. Again, move to the Kingdom values of giving them quality time, sharing your values of faith or family, remembering you have 2 ears and only ONE mouth will be ways to decrease the worries that are part of childrearing.
In case I haven’t included everyone, let’s take AGEING and worries associated with the decrease in mobility, energy, and memory. Here the Kingdom values would be deepening your relationship with God and configuring our lives to the life of Jesus especially as he prepared to pass from this world to the Father, both creating less worry and meaningful goals as a I age.
CONCLUSION
Today’s gospel challenges us to consider our priorities, then.
Is what I hold first and foremost giving me the kind of anxious-free life I want? Probably not or I wouldn’t be listening so intently to this homily!
The simple lesson of today’s gospel is: First things first!
“Strive first for the Kingdom” and you get what you need without having to worry about it.
Does that sound like a plan? Amen? Amen!
LAST ANNOUNCEMENT
One final word: I am preaching at all the masses this weekend as a way of introducing myself to the people of St. Michael’s Parish.
Beginning on Wednesday, April 13 and continuing on Thursday and Friday evening of that week I will be offering a parish mission here at St. Michael’s.
It will focus on building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, one in which you can, with the proper disposition on your part and the grace of God, physically experience Christ face-to-face.
Out of this extraordinary contact you can be transformed in your outlook regarding prayer, relationships, and job. You can have a life lived more tangibly, walking in God’s presence.
I invite you to keep the lucky number 13, April 13, in your memory and I invite you to bring friends and neighbors to this mission. There will be ample reminders in the weekly bulletin in the weeks preceding April 13th.
St. Michael the Archangel Church, Overlea
February 29, 2011
First Things First
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
WORRY
Worry ranks as one of our most uncomfortable emotions, and, with all the things we have to worry about, it is also one of our most constant companions.
The more complex our life becomes and the more responsibilities we have, the more we have to worry about.
It’s not that worry helps us to live more effectively. On the contrary, it drains us of the energy we need to take care of ourselves as we should. But how can we avoid worrying?
JESUS AND WORRY
In the gospel reading today, Jesus tells us bluntly, “Do not worry.” What a beautiful suggestion, and what an achievement, if we could only manage it.
Can he be serious, though, about not being anxious about what we eat, or drink, or wear?
It’s very poetic talking about the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, but aren’t our needs more substantial, significant, and sophisticated than those of birds and flowers?
Is not anxiety a given for anyone trying to live a responsible life in a very worrisome world?
Jesus is not trying to engage us in wishful thinking, however. Nor is he trying to make light of the difficult circumstances of life. What he offers us is a specific formula for reducing worry and anxiety.
REDUCING OUR WORRY
As we pursue our needs in life, Jesus tells us: “Strive first for the Kingdom of God…and all these things will be given to you as well.”
What Jesus is promoting is that we consciously establish our top priorities – something we generally don’t do.
The great benefit of doing this is that it puts things into perspective. What might be a significant cause of anxiety fades in the face of something more pressing.
A mother, for example, trying to help her child through a serious illness may for the time be unconcerned about some bills that need to be paid or an important meeting she needs to attend.
Building the Kingdom was the essence of Jesus’ ministry. Developing a Kingdom mentality was the chief goal of all his preaching; every other objective in life was subservient to the values of the Kingdom.
SETTING THE PRIORITIES
Jesus taught that if we work primarily to make the Kingdom a reality in our lives, everything else would fall into place for us; everything else would automatically become less worrisome, like the mother tending the sick child and the bills to be paid.
The answer to worry, therefore, is to remember and live out of Kingdom values as the most important concerns of our lives. Those values will be the ultimate antidote for anxiety.
For example, if MONEY is my most important concern, any movement in the stock market is going to set my nerves on edge. But if I move to the Kingdom value of “I’ve got what I need” and not grasping after, “I don’t have what I’d like” the anxiety about money is lessened.
If JOB SECURITY is my most important concern, I could move to the Kingdom value of “I’m going to continue to do my best work and pray for the Lord’s strength.” Then when I feel threatened with being laid off or with losing my job, the moorings of my faith and the assurance of God’s presence and care will assist me.
How about the CHILDREN – young or grown? My concern may be the mischief they’re getting into or how them may turn out. Again, move to the Kingdom values of giving them quality time, sharing your values of faith or family, remembering you have 2 ears and only ONE mouth will be ways to decrease the worries that are part of childrearing.
In case I haven’t included everyone, let’s take AGEING and worries associated with the decrease in mobility, energy, and memory. Here the Kingdom values would be deepening your relationship with God and configuring our lives to the life of Jesus especially as he prepared to pass from this world to the Father, both creating less worry and meaningful goals as a I age.
CONCLUSION
Today’s gospel challenges us to consider our priorities, then.
Is what I hold first and foremost giving me the kind of anxious-free life I want? Probably not or I wouldn’t be listening so intently to this homily!
The simple lesson of today’s gospel is: First things first!
“Strive first for the Kingdom” and you get what you need without having to worry about it.
Does that sound like a plan? Amen? Amen!
LAST ANNOUNCEMENT
One final word: I am preaching at all the masses this weekend as a way of introducing myself to the people of St. Michael’s Parish.
Beginning on Wednesday, April 13 and continuing on Thursday and Friday evening of that week I will be offering a parish mission here at St. Michael’s.
It will focus on building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, one in which you can, with the proper disposition on your part and the grace of God, physically experience Christ face-to-face.
Out of this extraordinary contact you can be transformed in your outlook regarding prayer, relationships, and job. You can have a life lived more tangibly, walking in God’s presence.
I invite you to keep the lucky number 13, April 13, in your memory and I invite you to bring friends and neighbors to this mission. There will be ample reminders in the weekly bulletin in the weeks preceding April 13th.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Funeral Mass for February 22, 2011
Funeral Mass for Larry Preller
(Readings #2, #10, #16)
Shrine of the Sacred Heart
February 22, 2011 / 10:00am
The Seed As Kernel, Starch, and Skin
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES AND THE PEANUT
To Doris, Larry’s wife of 18 years. To his children Debby and Ed, Rita, Lauren, Joe and Leeann, Adam and Dawn, and Patrick and Amanda. To Doris’ children, Rob and Gail, June and Derry, Janelle and Eric, and Donna and Steve. To his 14 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren, we offer you our heartfelt condolences on the death of Larry
Larry was a simple man with big dreams and a will that would never quit. I met him the day I came to the Shrine in early September 1989; he was pouring a cement floor in the basement of this very church.
Days later his beloved wife Marie, of 44 years, died. Marie’s was my first funeral here in and over the years Larry and I became very close as I came to know and love his children. After three years, I witnessed his marriage to his new love, Doris at this very altar.
I begin my remarks with a vivid memory I have from elementary school of my science teacher holding a large plaster classroom model of a peanut for all of us fifth graders to see.
As I recall, there were three main parts to that peanut model: the inner kernel that we were told, held the “mystery of life itself.”
Then there was the large massive area that was called the starch. This starch (demonstrate) was to serve as fuel for the growing kernel. And finally, there was the thin outer skin or membrane that kept it all together.
JESUS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PEANUT
Recall that Jesus says, “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
My description of the peanut can help us unlock the mystery that Jesus is discussing, namely how life comes out of death.
Applied to Larry, his innermost kernel of faith, fed by his love for his family and Church, grew and grew and finally became so expansive that it pressed beyond a thin outer skin and is now transformed into glory.
HIS FAITH = THE KERNEL
His faith was the kernel. It’s no secret that Larry loved God. He had a longing for God and he nurtured that longing in prayer and regular Sunday worship. He had a great devotion to St. Joseph the carpenter.
How confident he was that St. Joseph understood him even as a fellow-carpenter. On Larry’s last day, he clung tightly to a small statue of the saint.
His love of God was seen in his ministry of taking communion to the sick and dying. At these special times I allowed him to wear a clergy shirt. Doris tells of the day she accompanied him and happened to be wearing black herself and they patients thought they were a priest and a religious sister.
Larry was no rainy day friend of God’s. He was right there either being fed by the Lord, ministering in his name to those in need, or sharing his faith with his children.
His kernel of faith in Jesus Christ enlivened, quickened, and animated him to be there for others and to bring the presence of that very same God he enjoyed to others.
HIS FAMILY = THE STARCH
His love for his family was the starch on which his kernel of faith fed. Now remember Larry was a disciple of Jesus, so whether it was family, friends, neighbors or strangers he didn’t know, you’d get a heavy dose of a faith-filled man loving you as Jesus would.
He was a devoted family man and while he built many beautiful dwellings, his greatest “edifice” was his relationship first for Marie and then Doris, and course, his children.
He captured 25 years of family gatherings on film and made copies for all the kids.
He was happiest when he was with them and surrounded by others. He would use any excuse to get together with them.
Larry’s life was one of sacrifice. The children got the best educations, clothing, food, and homes and he worked hard to provide these. He was a bit of a workaholic, and it was work he would gladly do.
The Preller children had more than their share of family challenges and Larry was always there for them. He was there in ways many parents would not or could not have been.
He listened. He was open-minded. He spoke honestly and lovingly. He did not judge. No matter what personal crisis – and there were many – he was always available to help by a prayerful presence.
Once he knew the problem, he’d help financially, spiritually, or emotionally. He had the uncanny ability to put a positive spin on the darkest of situations. He was good at reminding the children that there was a higher power in charge.
Whenever an issue was more than he could handle, Larry would call in a third party to sit down with the entire family to work things out. These became their regular family meetings and drew parents and children together.
BREAKING THROUGH THE KERNEL
Yes, the kernel feeding on the starch was growing beyond what the skin would allow. Larry was becoming physically challenged.
In addition to spending himself, there were medical issues regarding kidney, prostrate, bladder, and knee replacement.
His nurse noted that his desire to live and serve was strong, in her words, “The strongest she’d ever seen” his body couldn’t contain his spirit.
Larry as a man of faith, feeding on the starch of serving others so sacrificially needed to break through the membrane, if it is to be transformed to another level of life.
And so his life add light and understanding to Jesus’ words, “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
That moment of passage came on Monday morning at 8:30 and the fruit of his life is now being one with the Lord he so beautifully served.
(Readings #2, #10, #16)
Shrine of the Sacred Heart
February 22, 2011 / 10:00am
The Seed As Kernel, Starch, and Skin
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
CONDOLENCES AND THE PEANUT
To Doris, Larry’s wife of 18 years. To his children Debby and Ed, Rita, Lauren, Joe and Leeann, Adam and Dawn, and Patrick and Amanda. To Doris’ children, Rob and Gail, June and Derry, Janelle and Eric, and Donna and Steve. To his 14 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren, we offer you our heartfelt condolences on the death of Larry
Larry was a simple man with big dreams and a will that would never quit. I met him the day I came to the Shrine in early September 1989; he was pouring a cement floor in the basement of this very church.
Days later his beloved wife Marie, of 44 years, died. Marie’s was my first funeral here in and over the years Larry and I became very close as I came to know and love his children. After three years, I witnessed his marriage to his new love, Doris at this very altar.
I begin my remarks with a vivid memory I have from elementary school of my science teacher holding a large plaster classroom model of a peanut for all of us fifth graders to see.
As I recall, there were three main parts to that peanut model: the inner kernel that we were told, held the “mystery of life itself.”
Then there was the large massive area that was called the starch. This starch (demonstrate) was to serve as fuel for the growing kernel. And finally, there was the thin outer skin or membrane that kept it all together.
JESUS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PEANUT
Recall that Jesus says, “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
My description of the peanut can help us unlock the mystery that Jesus is discussing, namely how life comes out of death.
Applied to Larry, his innermost kernel of faith, fed by his love for his family and Church, grew and grew and finally became so expansive that it pressed beyond a thin outer skin and is now transformed into glory.
HIS FAITH = THE KERNEL
His faith was the kernel. It’s no secret that Larry loved God. He had a longing for God and he nurtured that longing in prayer and regular Sunday worship. He had a great devotion to St. Joseph the carpenter.
How confident he was that St. Joseph understood him even as a fellow-carpenter. On Larry’s last day, he clung tightly to a small statue of the saint.
His love of God was seen in his ministry of taking communion to the sick and dying. At these special times I allowed him to wear a clergy shirt. Doris tells of the day she accompanied him and happened to be wearing black herself and they patients thought they were a priest and a religious sister.
Larry was no rainy day friend of God’s. He was right there either being fed by the Lord, ministering in his name to those in need, or sharing his faith with his children.
His kernel of faith in Jesus Christ enlivened, quickened, and animated him to be there for others and to bring the presence of that very same God he enjoyed to others.
HIS FAMILY = THE STARCH
His love for his family was the starch on which his kernel of faith fed. Now remember Larry was a disciple of Jesus, so whether it was family, friends, neighbors or strangers he didn’t know, you’d get a heavy dose of a faith-filled man loving you as Jesus would.
He was a devoted family man and while he built many beautiful dwellings, his greatest “edifice” was his relationship first for Marie and then Doris, and course, his children.
He captured 25 years of family gatherings on film and made copies for all the kids.
He was happiest when he was with them and surrounded by others. He would use any excuse to get together with them.
Larry’s life was one of sacrifice. The children got the best educations, clothing, food, and homes and he worked hard to provide these. He was a bit of a workaholic, and it was work he would gladly do.
The Preller children had more than their share of family challenges and Larry was always there for them. He was there in ways many parents would not or could not have been.
He listened. He was open-minded. He spoke honestly and lovingly. He did not judge. No matter what personal crisis – and there were many – he was always available to help by a prayerful presence.
Once he knew the problem, he’d help financially, spiritually, or emotionally. He had the uncanny ability to put a positive spin on the darkest of situations. He was good at reminding the children that there was a higher power in charge.
Whenever an issue was more than he could handle, Larry would call in a third party to sit down with the entire family to work things out. These became their regular family meetings and drew parents and children together.
BREAKING THROUGH THE KERNEL
Yes, the kernel feeding on the starch was growing beyond what the skin would allow. Larry was becoming physically challenged.
In addition to spending himself, there were medical issues regarding kidney, prostrate, bladder, and knee replacement.
His nurse noted that his desire to live and serve was strong, in her words, “The strongest she’d ever seen” his body couldn’t contain his spirit.
Larry as a man of faith, feeding on the starch of serving others so sacrificially needed to break through the membrane, if it is to be transformed to another level of life.
And so his life add light and understanding to Jesus’ words, “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
That moment of passage came on Monday morning at 8:30 and the fruit of his life is now being one with the Lord he so beautifully served.
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