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

1^st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

February 27, 2012

St. Jane Frances De Chantal, Riviera Beach

Faith, Hope and Love Amidst the Forces of Evil

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

NORMANDY

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

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

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

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

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

LENT AND THESE FORCES

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

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

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

JESUS AND THESE FORCES

Jesus makes an intentional choice to confront these very forces.

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

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

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

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

WE AND THESE FORCES 

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

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

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

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

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

And Jesus calls us to choose Hope. 

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

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

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

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

And finally Jesus calls us to choose Love. 

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

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

And those choices will have eternal consequences.

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

Ash Wednesday, Cycle B

Attended Saint Mary’s, Pylesville, MD

February 22, 2012

What’s Up With the Ashes?

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

A CONTRADICTION?

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

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

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

COMMUNITY CONVERSION

I think not and here is why I say that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAYS TO GROW DURING LENT

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

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

7^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Remarried Couples Retreat

Holy Trinity Retreat Center

February 17, 2012

 

The Grace of Loving Presence

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

 

JERRY AND ANNA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

QUALITIES OF LOVING PRESENCE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

St. John’s Frederick All Masses

February 12, 2012

 

“With Malice Toward None; with Charity for All”

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

LINCOLN MAKING CLEAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

OUR MAKING CLEAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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

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


"I CAN HAVE COMPLAINTS"

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

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

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

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

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

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


JOB'S AND OUR SUFFERINGS

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

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

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

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

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


JOB'S AND OUR COMPLAINT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So what happens when he complains to God?

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

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

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


A VALUABLE AND ESSENTIAL LESSON

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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


Cashier: “What Are You Looking For?”

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

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

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

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


JESUS: "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?"

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

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

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


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

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

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

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

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

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

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


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? THE THREE TITLES

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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

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


A MAN ASKS A QUESTION

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

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

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


PRIMARY INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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


ERMA BOMBECK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


MARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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


O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

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

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

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

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

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


INTERPLAY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT IN SCRIPTURE

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

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

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

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

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


LIGHT AND DARKNESS TODAY

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


STILLNESS

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

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

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

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

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


PRAYER OF STILLNESS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


MARY'S STILLNESS

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

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

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

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


WHAT STILLNESS DOES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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

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

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

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

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


THE HYMN

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

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

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

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

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


A SAVIOR, FROM WHAT?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT DEATH

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

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

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

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


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT MEANING

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

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

We may worry that we are missing something in life.

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


FROM ANXIETY ABOUT GUILT

Finally, we have a fundamental anxiety about guilt.

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

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


SALVATION FROM THESE THREE ANXIETIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


BREAKING NEWS!

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

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

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

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

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


MARK'S NEWS

This image helps us to appreciate today’s gospel.

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

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

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

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


MORE NEWS: JOHN AND JESUS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONCLUSION

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

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