This and That:
Bible Lovers Are Not Defined by Denomination or Politics
A survey was recently conducted that sought to prepare for the fall Synod of Bishops in Rome on “The Word of God.” It advocated for a way of prayerfully reflecting on Sacred Scripture that was practiced in the monastery I attended called “Lectio Divina.” The process entails (1) Reading, (2) Meditation, (3) Prayer, and ends in (4) Contemplation. I found the study interesting in terms of a contemporary desire on the part of our people for a better understanding of Sacred Scripture.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
There is no longer diversity among various Christian traditions regarding a relationship with Scripture, according to a survey presented in the Vatican. Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, recently presented the results of a study on the reading of Scripture in nine countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Russia. Bishop Paglia, president of the Catholic Biblical Federation, explained that the Catholic Biblical Federation undertook the survey with a view to the upcoming October synod on “The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church.” The survey took into account various Christian traditions and aimed “to acquire concrete information on Christians’ relationship with Scripture.”
The survey, Bishop Paglia explained, “confirmed in full the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral intuition to exhort the faithful to rediscover Scripture as the primary source of spiritual life.” It also reaffirmed, he said, “the bond that exists between the Bible and the Eucharist,” because “the majority of those interviewed indicated the Sunday celebration as the place in which they habitually listen to the Word of God.”
Ecumenical Role
The Italian prelate said the role of the Bible in ecumenical dialogue is key. The survey found that “Scripture remains the most effective ‘place’ Christians have to progress together along the path of unity... The answers also showed that there no longer exists that diversity among the various Christian traditions – a diversity evident in the past – concerning their relationship with Scripture,” Bishop Paglia noted. Another factor to emerge was “the considerable expectations that the men and women of our time have toward Holy Scripture,” which “is considered with great respect by everyone,” he said. Among Christians, the bishop explained, “it is widely held that the Bible contains the Word of God, that it is an inspired work capable of giving meaning to life, and that it has far greater authority than other ecclesial manifestations,” although the values it contains “are difficult to put into practice.” Bishop Paglia thus concluded that one of the great challenges shown forth by the survey is Scripture-based preaching, which should “constitute an authoritative appeal to believers and to all those who seek.”
Avoiding Extremes
The prelate further noted how “listening to Scriptures favors the cohesion of listeners. Indeed, listening to the Word of God truly ‘makes’ the Church,” he explained. Hence “reading Scripture in the company of the Church” makes it possible to avoid “the two most dangerous obstacles: a fundamentalist reading... and an individualist pseudo-psychological reading that leads readers to reflect themselves in the pages.”
The prelate concluded his remarks by highlighting the need “to find space for the ‘schools of the Word,’ the ‘schools of the Gospel,’ and the ‘schools of reading and listening to the Bible.’... It is in this perspective that we must see ‘lectio divina,’ the oldest and riches method of listening to Scripture,” which must be given “new spaces and new forms until it becomes the habitual way of approaching the Word of God in our Christian communities.”
Broad Majorities
Some 13,000 interviews had been completed during the course of the survey, which were described as “the most systematic scientific undertaking yet attempted to compare, on an international scale, levels and forms of familiarity with the Scriptures of Christian tradition among the adult population.” The Bible in the areas that were examined is not the text of a minority, but an important point of reference, present – in different degrees and ways – in the life and culture of broad majorities of the population. It may be affirmed that between a third and a quarter of adults in the countries examined have read a Bible passage at least once in the last 12 months.”
It has been noted that there is a gap dividing the Anglo-Saxon world from Central and Eastern Europe. In the former, the sensation of the closeness of God is anything but extinct and the practice of prayer is anything but marginal. A large majority of people looks to the Bible as a source of truth, as the source of a message that has to do with life.
More than 50% of those interviewed in Russia, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany were in favor of having the Bible studied in schools.
The survey also showed that the practice of reading the Bible depends statistically on participation in events and groups that already adopt this practice, more than on shared religious beliefs. Reading the Bible in no way echoes political polarization between right and left.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for June 1, 2008: On the Building of Sand Castles
9th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
June 1, 2008
On the Building of Sand Castles
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Sand Castle
Few of us are stranger to the book by the title, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”
Its author is a Jewish rabbi named Harold Kushner and he has also written some lesser-known books. One of them is entitled, “When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough.”
In this book, Rabbi Kushner relates the following incident. He says: “I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand.
“They were building an elaborate sand castle near the water’s edge. When they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and leveled it, washing it into the shoreline.
“I expected the children to burst into tears, but they surprised me. Instead of tears, they joined hands and ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and talking.
“Surprised by their reaction to their loss, I fixed my eye on them and saw them finally sit down and begin with renewed to build another sand castle.
“That afternoon two small children taught me an important life lesson.
“Each and every thing in our daily lives, each complicated structure we spend so much time and energy creating, is rally built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure.
“Sooner or later, one day a wave comes along and knocks down what we have worked so hard to build up or create. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.”
Sand versus Rock
That story and the insightful conclusion that Harold Kushner draws from it are precisely Jesus’ message for us today.
Jesus is wrapping up his core teaching – the Sermon on the Mount. He has taught the crowds things like: “Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate, and the peacemakers.”
Jesus has talked about the primacy of love of God and love of one another. And now, at the conclusion of his major teaching, he is clear that he wants us both to both listen to and to live out his Word.
In the Gospel he says: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” – and not on sand. It is important to put this statement into context with all that precedes it.
Putting it into context makes it clear that Jesus is calling us to build our lives around relationships and not the many things we’ve built or accomplished. He is urging us to find ourselves and our purpose for living in relationships.
This is how we build our house or our life “on rock.”
I have thought of three simple questions that can help us to look at ourselves and determine if we are doing this and I would like to share these with you.
Are We Building on Rock?
First, am I building on the “rock” of relationships. That is, do I intentionally make time for those who are important to me?
So for example, do I plan time just to be together and communicate with my husband or wife? Do I make it a point to call a friend on her birthday or to connect with my aging parents once a week?
Second, do I keep “things” in perspective?
Thus, do I live with the awareness that having certain clothes or cars or comforts is really secondary? Am I content with what I have and not allow myself to get trapped into the “more is better” mentality?
Third, do I see myself as one with others, even others whom I do not know?
By that I mean, do I listen to the names of the sick and deceased in the General Intercessions and consciously offer a pray for them? Do I see immigrants as persons with the human needs and aspirations that I also have?
Conclusion
So, Jesus calls us to build our house, our life, on rock and not on sand.
And this means, in the full context of his teaching, that we tend to our relationships well. I propose three questions to help us to see where we are with this.
1. Do I intentionally make time for those who are important to me?
2. Do I keep the “things” in my life in perspective?
3. Do I see myself as one with others, even others whom I do not know?
When our sandcastles are buffeted by ocean waves and all seems lost, it will be nice to have someone’s hand in order to run up the beach and begin to build anew!
Our Lady of Grace
June 1, 2008
On the Building of Sand Castles
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
A Sand Castle
Few of us are stranger to the book by the title, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”
Its author is a Jewish rabbi named Harold Kushner and he has also written some lesser-known books. One of them is entitled, “When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough.”
In this book, Rabbi Kushner relates the following incident. He says: “I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand.
“They were building an elaborate sand castle near the water’s edge. When they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and leveled it, washing it into the shoreline.
“I expected the children to burst into tears, but they surprised me. Instead of tears, they joined hands and ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and talking.
“Surprised by their reaction to their loss, I fixed my eye on them and saw them finally sit down and begin with renewed to build another sand castle.
“That afternoon two small children taught me an important life lesson.
“Each and every thing in our daily lives, each complicated structure we spend so much time and energy creating, is rally built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure.
“Sooner or later, one day a wave comes along and knocks down what we have worked so hard to build up or create. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.”
Sand versus Rock
That story and the insightful conclusion that Harold Kushner draws from it are precisely Jesus’ message for us today.
Jesus is wrapping up his core teaching – the Sermon on the Mount. He has taught the crowds things like: “Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate, and the peacemakers.”
Jesus has talked about the primacy of love of God and love of one another. And now, at the conclusion of his major teaching, he is clear that he wants us both to both listen to and to live out his Word.
In the Gospel he says: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” – and not on sand. It is important to put this statement into context with all that precedes it.
Putting it into context makes it clear that Jesus is calling us to build our lives around relationships and not the many things we’ve built or accomplished. He is urging us to find ourselves and our purpose for living in relationships.
This is how we build our house or our life “on rock.”
I have thought of three simple questions that can help us to look at ourselves and determine if we are doing this and I would like to share these with you.
Are We Building on Rock?
First, am I building on the “rock” of relationships. That is, do I intentionally make time for those who are important to me?
So for example, do I plan time just to be together and communicate with my husband or wife? Do I make it a point to call a friend on her birthday or to connect with my aging parents once a week?
Second, do I keep “things” in perspective?
Thus, do I live with the awareness that having certain clothes or cars or comforts is really secondary? Am I content with what I have and not allow myself to get trapped into the “more is better” mentality?
Third, do I see myself as one with others, even others whom I do not know?
By that I mean, do I listen to the names of the sick and deceased in the General Intercessions and consciously offer a pray for them? Do I see immigrants as persons with the human needs and aspirations that I also have?
Conclusion
So, Jesus calls us to build our house, our life, on rock and not on sand.
And this means, in the full context of his teaching, that we tend to our relationships well. I propose three questions to help us to see where we are with this.
1. Do I intentionally make time for those who are important to me?
2. Do I keep the “things” in my life in perspective?
3. Do I see myself as one with others, even others whom I do not know?
When our sandcastles are buffeted by ocean waves and all seems lost, it will be nice to have someone’s hand in order to run up the beach and begin to build anew!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 25, 2008: Byrdie Ricketts New Principal of Our Lady of Grace School
This and That:
Byrdie Ricketts New Principal of Our Lady of Grace School
If you were at Mass on the weekend of May 18, 2008 you had the good fortune of meeting and hearing from Byrdie Ricketts herself as she addressed our people, and individuals had a chance to shake her hand and wish her well. For those who missed the opportunity I want to share the news with them through this column.
The following is the letter I wrote to all the parents of our school children the week before I presented Byrdie at the Sunday Masses. As a parishioner, should you wish to congratulate Byrdie personally, her email address is byrdiericketts@yahoo.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Dear School Parents,
It is with great joy that I write to you announcing the name of the new principal for Our Lady of Grace School. She is Mrs. Byrdie Ricketts, one of our own parishioners and a seasoned educator. Byrdie has been involved with our school since its inception. She served on the School Implementation Committee and as Chair of the School Council for the first six years and an additional year as a member of it.
Mrs. Ricketts is well known in northern Baltimore County as a teacher and administrator in a number of schools, having spent many of her 39 years at Fifth District Elementary School. She has a rich background in curriculum, technology and faith formation. Is there anyone in our community who has not either had her for their teacher, talked to her as a parent, been prepared by her to receive 1st Communion, or received Communion from her? What is evident to anyone who knows Byrdie is that she has a passion for teaching children, she loves people, she is a team player and most importantly, she is guided by her faith in God.
Hiring Byrdie Ricketts is a wonderful conclusion to the extensive process we used for the principal search. Last fall, in the consultations that we held with the School Council, the faculty and you, our parents, the consistent advice was that we need someone who has the skills of a “Public Relator.” Mrs. Rickett’s natural warmth, love of people, and passion for our school make her the prime candidate to fulfill that role.
As the Search Committee did its work, the members developed interview questions for each of the roles that a Catholic School Principal must demonstrate: Faith Leader, Curriculum Leader, Administrator and Public Relator. The Search Committee interviewed a total of six applicants. They were all strong candidates, but Byrdie was the best fit for Our Lady of Grace School.
Now that Mrs. Ricketts is hired, Sr. Helen will begin to work with her for a smooth transition in leadership. Sr. Helen has already prepared wonderful materials for this process. The beautiful thing is that Sr. Helen has already worked closely with Byrdie, first as chair of the School Implementation Committee the year before the school was opened, and later with her as chair of the School Council. This is a reality that will make the transition a true “passing of the torch” with a rather small learning curve.
If you cannot quite place Byrdie Ricketts, she is the red-haired lady with the big smile who can be seen at Mass every week serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Communion. She is the first grade teacher you wish you had or the one you remember most. Her faith makes her a natural partner in ministry for me, a great leader for a Catholic school faculty, and someone to whom our parents can entrust the education of their children. I would invite you to join me in welcoming Byrdie to her new role as principal of our school by sending her an email at byrdiericketts@yahoo.com.
Byrdie Ricketts New Principal of Our Lady of Grace School
If you were at Mass on the weekend of May 18, 2008 you had the good fortune of meeting and hearing from Byrdie Ricketts herself as she addressed our people, and individuals had a chance to shake her hand and wish her well. For those who missed the opportunity I want to share the news with them through this column.
The following is the letter I wrote to all the parents of our school children the week before I presented Byrdie at the Sunday Masses. As a parishioner, should you wish to congratulate Byrdie personally, her email address is byrdiericketts@yahoo.com.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Dear School Parents,
It is with great joy that I write to you announcing the name of the new principal for Our Lady of Grace School. She is Mrs. Byrdie Ricketts, one of our own parishioners and a seasoned educator. Byrdie has been involved with our school since its inception. She served on the School Implementation Committee and as Chair of the School Council for the first six years and an additional year as a member of it.
Mrs. Ricketts is well known in northern Baltimore County as a teacher and administrator in a number of schools, having spent many of her 39 years at Fifth District Elementary School. She has a rich background in curriculum, technology and faith formation. Is there anyone in our community who has not either had her for their teacher, talked to her as a parent, been prepared by her to receive 1st Communion, or received Communion from her? What is evident to anyone who knows Byrdie is that she has a passion for teaching children, she loves people, she is a team player and most importantly, she is guided by her faith in God.
Hiring Byrdie Ricketts is a wonderful conclusion to the extensive process we used for the principal search. Last fall, in the consultations that we held with the School Council, the faculty and you, our parents, the consistent advice was that we need someone who has the skills of a “Public Relator.” Mrs. Rickett’s natural warmth, love of people, and passion for our school make her the prime candidate to fulfill that role.
As the Search Committee did its work, the members developed interview questions for each of the roles that a Catholic School Principal must demonstrate: Faith Leader, Curriculum Leader, Administrator and Public Relator. The Search Committee interviewed a total of six applicants. They were all strong candidates, but Byrdie was the best fit for Our Lady of Grace School.
Now that Mrs. Ricketts is hired, Sr. Helen will begin to work with her for a smooth transition in leadership. Sr. Helen has already prepared wonderful materials for this process. The beautiful thing is that Sr. Helen has already worked closely with Byrdie, first as chair of the School Implementation Committee the year before the school was opened, and later with her as chair of the School Council. This is a reality that will make the transition a true “passing of the torch” with a rather small learning curve.
If you cannot quite place Byrdie Ricketts, she is the red-haired lady with the big smile who can be seen at Mass every week serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Communion. She is the first grade teacher you wish you had or the one you remember most. Her faith makes her a natural partner in ministry for me, a great leader for a Catholic school faculty, and someone to whom our parents can entrust the education of their children. I would invite you to join me in welcoming Byrdie to her new role as principal of our school by sending her an email at byrdiericketts@yahoo.com.
Weekly HOMILY for May 25, 2008: Deacon Preaching Sunday
Deacons preached this Sunday. Father Nicholas will return next weekend.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 18, 2008: Some Fascinating Things on Old Tombstones!
This and That:
Some Fascinating Things on Old Tombstones!
Often when time permits, I take a few moments walking from the gravesite to my car to pause and read grave markers and say a prayer for the person who lies there. The following are some actual and rather humorous examples given to me by a friend.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903 – Died 1942
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.
In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.
East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102.
Only the Good Die Young.
In a London, England cemetery:
Dec. 8,1767
Here lies Ann Mann,
Who lived an old maid, but died an old Mann.
In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread,
And the Lord sent them manna.
Clark Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.
In a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies Johnny Yeast… Pardon me for not rising.
In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania, cemetery:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
Here lays the Kid.
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger
But slow on the draw.
A lawyer’s epitaph in England:
Sir John Strange.
Here lies an honest lawyer,
and that is Strange.
John Penny’s epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
Reader, if cash thou art in want of any,
Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.
In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
On the 22nd of June, Jonathan Fiddle went out of tune.
Anna Hopewells’s grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont:
Here lies the body of our Anna,
Done to death by a banana.
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low,
But the skin of the thing that made her go.
On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
Under the sod and under the trees,
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there’s only the pod.
Pease shelled out and went to God.
In a cemetery in England:
Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so shall you be.
Remember this and follow me.
To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone:
To follow you I’ll not consent.
Until I know which way you went.
And finally, on a grave in tombstone, Arizona:
Here lies Lester Moore
Shot to death by a .44
No Les, No more
Some Fascinating Things on Old Tombstones!
Often when time permits, I take a few moments walking from the gravesite to my car to pause and read grave markers and say a prayer for the person who lies there. The following are some actual and rather humorous examples given to me by a friend.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903 – Died 1942
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.
In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.
East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102.
Only the Good Die Young.
In a London, England cemetery:
Dec. 8,1767
Here lies Ann Mann,
Who lived an old maid, but died an old Mann.
In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread,
And the Lord sent them manna.
Clark Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.
In a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies Johnny Yeast… Pardon me for not rising.
In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania, cemetery:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
Here lays the Kid.
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger
But slow on the draw.
A lawyer’s epitaph in England:
Sir John Strange.
Here lies an honest lawyer,
and that is Strange.
John Penny’s epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
Reader, if cash thou art in want of any,
Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.
In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
On the 22nd of June, Jonathan Fiddle went out of tune.
Anna Hopewells’s grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont:
Here lies the body of our Anna,
Done to death by a banana.
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low,
But the skin of the thing that made her go.
On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
Under the sod and under the trees,
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there’s only the pod.
Pease shelled out and went to God.
In a cemetery in England:
Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so shall you be.
Remember this and follow me.
To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone:
To follow you I’ll not consent.
Until I know which way you went.
And finally, on a grave in tombstone, Arizona:
Here lies Lester Moore
Shot to death by a .44
No Les, No more
Weekly HOMILY for May 18, 2008: Our Genetic Code
Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
May 18, 2008
Our Genetic Code
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
DNA
Does anyone know the other name for Deoxyribonucleic Acid? It is simply the technical term for DNA.
DNA is our genetic code – something that has been popularized on CSI and other crime solving TV shows.
It is important to note that there are certain elements in our genetic code that are common to all of us. Those commonly shared codes are what make us human beings.
But there are other elements in our genetic code that are absolutely unique for each person and no two people have the exact same combination and that’s what makes each of us different. That’s right; no two people are exactly alike.
I began thinking about this when I was reflecting earlier this week on today’s celebration of the Holy Trinity.
My idea is that there are certain specifications that are built right into us as human beings, into our spiritual genetic code, that lead us or draw us to God specifically as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Here is what I have in mind.
God the Father
First, doesn’t it seem to be a fact of human nature that we always – and I do mean always – want something other than what we have at the present moment? Don’t we often want something different or something more?
For example, if we drive a Chevey Malibu, don’t we start noticing the Buick Lucerne or the Toyota Camry?
If we are here at home in Parkton or Whitehall or Hereford, don’t we wish we could be in Florida or wherever? And if we are in Florida, don’t we eventually say that it will be good to get back home?
Yes, we are always looking for something other than what we have. We want something more or different.
I would like to suggest that this hunger for the other is built right into us. It is part of our spiritual genetic code.
It is a piece of evidence of the Divine Other within us, a piece of the Divine who has made us and who alone will satisfy this hunger.
We call this Divine Other “God the Father.”
God the Son
And then, isn’t it true that as part of our common genetic code we all want to be loved and to love?
Don’t we look for affirmation from a parent, a teacher, a scout leader, a boss, whomever? Doesn’t our sense of self-esteem to some extent come from being loved by at least somebody?
And, in turn, don’t we feel very good when we are loving others? Don’t we feel fulfilled when we have done something to help someone or when we have expressed our love with a gift to that special person?
My point is that deep down within us there is this hunger to love and to be loved and it is part of our spiritual genetic code.
This is why Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are so magnetic: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” In another passage, the Scripture goes so far as to say: “God is love.”
So, God is love itself and gives himself fully to us in the person of Jesus. We call this experience of God’s love “God the Son.”
God the Holy Spirit
Finally, isn’t it true that we want the other or the others whom we love to be with us?
If a husband and wife are apart because one of them is on a business trip, don’t they try to remain present to each other through an e-mail or phone call? When we go to movies, don’t we want a friend or family member to go with us?
And don’t we keep photos of our children who live far away or of our parents who have died on our bedroom dressers? Don’t we want to share Thanksgiving dinner with another or others who are close to us?
Yes, deep down within us is this hunger to be with others or with the other. This is also part of our spiritual genetic code.
I believe that this points to the presence of the Divine Other within us. In fact, our hunger to be with others will in the long run only be satisfied by the Divine Other.
And this Divine Other chooses to remain with us even now, here on earth, through his Spirit. We call this the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
This may be a new way of approaching the Trinity we celebrate today.
In our spiritual genetic code, we have this deep down hunger for something or someone other. We have this deep down hunger to love and to be loved.
And we have this deep down hunger for the presence of others in our lives.
Theses elements of our genetic code are evidences of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Our Lady of Grace
May 18, 2008
Our Genetic Code
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
DNA
Does anyone know the other name for Deoxyribonucleic Acid? It is simply the technical term for DNA.
DNA is our genetic code – something that has been popularized on CSI and other crime solving TV shows.
It is important to note that there are certain elements in our genetic code that are common to all of us. Those commonly shared codes are what make us human beings.
But there are other elements in our genetic code that are absolutely unique for each person and no two people have the exact same combination and that’s what makes each of us different. That’s right; no two people are exactly alike.
I began thinking about this when I was reflecting earlier this week on today’s celebration of the Holy Trinity.
My idea is that there are certain specifications that are built right into us as human beings, into our spiritual genetic code, that lead us or draw us to God specifically as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Here is what I have in mind.
God the Father
First, doesn’t it seem to be a fact of human nature that we always – and I do mean always – want something other than what we have at the present moment? Don’t we often want something different or something more?
For example, if we drive a Chevey Malibu, don’t we start noticing the Buick Lucerne or the Toyota Camry?
If we are here at home in Parkton or Whitehall or Hereford, don’t we wish we could be in Florida or wherever? And if we are in Florida, don’t we eventually say that it will be good to get back home?
Yes, we are always looking for something other than what we have. We want something more or different.
I would like to suggest that this hunger for the other is built right into us. It is part of our spiritual genetic code.
It is a piece of evidence of the Divine Other within us, a piece of the Divine who has made us and who alone will satisfy this hunger.
We call this Divine Other “God the Father.”
God the Son
And then, isn’t it true that as part of our common genetic code we all want to be loved and to love?
Don’t we look for affirmation from a parent, a teacher, a scout leader, a boss, whomever? Doesn’t our sense of self-esteem to some extent come from being loved by at least somebody?
And, in turn, don’t we feel very good when we are loving others? Don’t we feel fulfilled when we have done something to help someone or when we have expressed our love with a gift to that special person?
My point is that deep down within us there is this hunger to love and to be loved and it is part of our spiritual genetic code.
This is why Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are so magnetic: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” In another passage, the Scripture goes so far as to say: “God is love.”
So, God is love itself and gives himself fully to us in the person of Jesus. We call this experience of God’s love “God the Son.”
God the Holy Spirit
Finally, isn’t it true that we want the other or the others whom we love to be with us?
If a husband and wife are apart because one of them is on a business trip, don’t they try to remain present to each other through an e-mail or phone call? When we go to movies, don’t we want a friend or family member to go with us?
And don’t we keep photos of our children who live far away or of our parents who have died on our bedroom dressers? Don’t we want to share Thanksgiving dinner with another or others who are close to us?
Yes, deep down within us is this hunger to be with others or with the other. This is also part of our spiritual genetic code.
I believe that this points to the presence of the Divine Other within us. In fact, our hunger to be with others will in the long run only be satisfied by the Divine Other.
And this Divine Other chooses to remain with us even now, here on earth, through his Spirit. We call this the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
This may be a new way of approaching the Trinity we celebrate today.
In our spiritual genetic code, we have this deep down hunger for something or someone other. We have this deep down hunger to love and to be loved.
And we have this deep down hunger for the presence of others in our lives.
Theses elements of our genetic code are evidences of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 11, 2008: The Shadow of St. Peter Falls on America
This and That:
The Shadow of St. Peter Falls on America
Three weeks ago Benedict XVI made his first visit as Pope to the United States of America, and many were concerned about the impact the German Pontiff would have on our somewhat beleaguered Catholic Church. Many asked if Benedict XVI would be able to “connect” with people as his predecessor Pope John Paul II had done. After all, Benedict XVI arrived in America at age 80, while John Paul II was only 59 when he visited for the first time in 1979. The following observations are by Father Thomas Rosica on Pope Benedict’s recent visit to the USA.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Up until last week many people both within and outside the Church in North America simply didn’t know Joseph Ratzinger, and some didn’t want to know him. They knew only half-truths about a former Vatican watchdog who was often portrayed as a strict, scholarly bookworm who lacked the charisma and flair of his predecessor on the throne of Peter. Last week something changed significantly in peoples’ perception of Benedict XVI.
The carefully orchestrated American pilgrimage was replete with a White House royal welcome for his 81st birthday on Wednesday, a major lecture to Catholic university presidents and educators, a private and very moving meeting with victims of clergy sex abuse at the Vatican embassy in Washington, an address to leaders of many faith traditions, and a mega Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium.
Moving over to the Big Apple for the final leg of the journey, the Pontiff gave a major address to the U.N. General Assembly only to be followed by another major address to the people behind the scenes at the United Nations: secretaries, janitors, interns and the support staff. (Not many political leaders acknowledge the little people who make the big organizations work!)
The German Pope also visited a Manhattan synagogue on the eve of the first day of Passover. He celebrated mass marking the third anniversary of his election as Pope on April 19th in what many consider the symbolic seat of Catholicism in the United States – New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“New Spring”
During that Mass he issued a rallying cry for the “new spring” in a Church that he said was so divided and wounded in many ways, especially by the clergy sex-abuse scandal. As our cameras covered the event, we saw many priests and religious men and women in tears during that Mass.
At the end of Mass celebrated on the Pope’s third anniversary of election, he spoke personal and unscripted words: “At this moment I can only thank you for your love of the Church and Our Lord, and for the love which you show to the poor Successor of St. Peter. I will try to do all that is possible to be a worthy successor of the great Apostle, who also was a man with faults and sins, but remained in the end the rock for the Church. And so I too, with all my spiritual poverty, can be for this time, in virtue of the Lord’s grace, the Successor of Peter.”
On Saturday evening the grandfatherly Benedict XVI stunned the world, and even himself, with a grand performance of humanity, compassion, conviction, sheer joy and very stirring words at the youth events at New York’s seminary in Yonkers. Prior to entering the World Youth Day atmosphere outside, the Pope met with dozens of disabled children in the seminary chapel – most of them in wheelchairs. The Pope walked slowly down the aisle, along which the children were lined up. He took each by the hands, or kissed a child on the head. Parents and caregivers nearby wept openly.
At the outdoor rally for nearly 30,000 young people, Benedict XVI made a rare reference to his upbringing in Nazi Germany. “My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers; its influence grew -- infiltrating schools and civic bodies, as well as politics and even religion – before it was fully recognized for the monster it was,” said the Pope, who deserted the German Army near the end of World War II.
Throughout the week, the Vatican took great care in articulating the Pope’s immigration position, stating the need to protect family unity and the human rights of immigrants, but pointedly avoiding any specifics of the American immigration debate, such as the issue of whether to grant legal status to illegal immigrants. For sure, Benedict XVI’s words last week stirred the crosscurrents of the debate at the heart of a presidential election in the United States.
There is the Church
An ancient Latin expression, first used by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, came to my mind last week during several moments of the historic papal visit to the United States: “Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia,” which is translated, “Wherever Peter is, there is the Church.”
Peter was in America last month, on the South Lawn of the White House, and at the Catholic University of America. Peter’s great smile and obvious serenity ignited a Nation, a Church and a Continent with hope in the midst of cynicism and despair, and while many would like to hasten death for a Church that is alive and young. Peter’s words addressed to representatives of more than 190 member nations of the United Nations spoke of human rights, dignity, dialogue and peace to a world at war in so many places. Peter’s eloquent silence, prayer and gestures at ground zero brought healing and peace to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on a nation.
The New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles tells us “that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”
Pope Benedict XVI came to America last week to bring healing and hope. His words and simple gestures were desperately needed in a nation torn apart by terrorism and wars, and in a Church split by many divisions. Only time, reflection and prayer will reveal if the healing of U.S. Catholics, begun last month, will bear fruit for the Church in America.
One thing is certain, however: Last week the shadow of Peter fell on millions of people in America and far beyond. And many received hope and experienced healing from our many diseases. And one more thing happened last week: Joseph Ratzinger came into his own.
Though elected and installed as Pope three years ago, his Papacy really began in the minds and hearts of North Americans last week when “Peter was among us.”
The Shadow of St. Peter Falls on America
Three weeks ago Benedict XVI made his first visit as Pope to the United States of America, and many were concerned about the impact the German Pontiff would have on our somewhat beleaguered Catholic Church. Many asked if Benedict XVI would be able to “connect” with people as his predecessor Pope John Paul II had done. After all, Benedict XVI arrived in America at age 80, while John Paul II was only 59 when he visited for the first time in 1979. The following observations are by Father Thomas Rosica on Pope Benedict’s recent visit to the USA.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Up until last week many people both within and outside the Church in North America simply didn’t know Joseph Ratzinger, and some didn’t want to know him. They knew only half-truths about a former Vatican watchdog who was often portrayed as a strict, scholarly bookworm who lacked the charisma and flair of his predecessor on the throne of Peter. Last week something changed significantly in peoples’ perception of Benedict XVI.
The carefully orchestrated American pilgrimage was replete with a White House royal welcome for his 81st birthday on Wednesday, a major lecture to Catholic university presidents and educators, a private and very moving meeting with victims of clergy sex abuse at the Vatican embassy in Washington, an address to leaders of many faith traditions, and a mega Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium.
Moving over to the Big Apple for the final leg of the journey, the Pontiff gave a major address to the U.N. General Assembly only to be followed by another major address to the people behind the scenes at the United Nations: secretaries, janitors, interns and the support staff. (Not many political leaders acknowledge the little people who make the big organizations work!)
The German Pope also visited a Manhattan synagogue on the eve of the first day of Passover. He celebrated mass marking the third anniversary of his election as Pope on April 19th in what many consider the symbolic seat of Catholicism in the United States – New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“New Spring”
During that Mass he issued a rallying cry for the “new spring” in a Church that he said was so divided and wounded in many ways, especially by the clergy sex-abuse scandal. As our cameras covered the event, we saw many priests and religious men and women in tears during that Mass.
At the end of Mass celebrated on the Pope’s third anniversary of election, he spoke personal and unscripted words: “At this moment I can only thank you for your love of the Church and Our Lord, and for the love which you show to the poor Successor of St. Peter. I will try to do all that is possible to be a worthy successor of the great Apostle, who also was a man with faults and sins, but remained in the end the rock for the Church. And so I too, with all my spiritual poverty, can be for this time, in virtue of the Lord’s grace, the Successor of Peter.”
On Saturday evening the grandfatherly Benedict XVI stunned the world, and even himself, with a grand performance of humanity, compassion, conviction, sheer joy and very stirring words at the youth events at New York’s seminary in Yonkers. Prior to entering the World Youth Day atmosphere outside, the Pope met with dozens of disabled children in the seminary chapel – most of them in wheelchairs. The Pope walked slowly down the aisle, along which the children were lined up. He took each by the hands, or kissed a child on the head. Parents and caregivers nearby wept openly.
At the outdoor rally for nearly 30,000 young people, Benedict XVI made a rare reference to his upbringing in Nazi Germany. “My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers; its influence grew -- infiltrating schools and civic bodies, as well as politics and even religion – before it was fully recognized for the monster it was,” said the Pope, who deserted the German Army near the end of World War II.
Throughout the week, the Vatican took great care in articulating the Pope’s immigration position, stating the need to protect family unity and the human rights of immigrants, but pointedly avoiding any specifics of the American immigration debate, such as the issue of whether to grant legal status to illegal immigrants. For sure, Benedict XVI’s words last week stirred the crosscurrents of the debate at the heart of a presidential election in the United States.
There is the Church
An ancient Latin expression, first used by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, came to my mind last week during several moments of the historic papal visit to the United States: “Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia,” which is translated, “Wherever Peter is, there is the Church.”
Peter was in America last month, on the South Lawn of the White House, and at the Catholic University of America. Peter’s great smile and obvious serenity ignited a Nation, a Church and a Continent with hope in the midst of cynicism and despair, and while many would like to hasten death for a Church that is alive and young. Peter’s words addressed to representatives of more than 190 member nations of the United Nations spoke of human rights, dignity, dialogue and peace to a world at war in so many places. Peter’s eloquent silence, prayer and gestures at ground zero brought healing and peace to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on a nation.
The New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles tells us “that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”
Pope Benedict XVI came to America last week to bring healing and hope. His words and simple gestures were desperately needed in a nation torn apart by terrorism and wars, and in a Church split by many divisions. Only time, reflection and prayer will reveal if the healing of U.S. Catholics, begun last month, will bear fruit for the Church in America.
One thing is certain, however: Last week the shadow of Peter fell on millions of people in America and far beyond. And many received hope and experienced healing from our many diseases. And one more thing happened last week: Joseph Ratzinger came into his own.
Though elected and installed as Pope three years ago, his Papacy really began in the minds and hearts of North Americans last week when “Peter was among us.”
Weekly HOMILY for May 11, 2008: Puzzles and People
Feast of Pentecost, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
May 11, 2008
Focus: How a puzzle helps us understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Function: To have children and adults understand their relationship to Christ and to one another in concrete situations
Format: Analogy
Puzzles and People
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Image of a Puzzle
What would you say this is? (Show one piece of a puzzle.) And this is another piece. (Show second piece.)
What do we know about two pieces of a puzzle? (Show how one interlocks)
If I turn them over and show you the picture, what does that tell us? (That the two pieces are part of a larger picture.)
So if each of us is a piece of the puzzle, then two things become evident: (1) Each piece – each person – contributes to the total picture. This piece/person may be the nose; this piece/person may be the ear.
(2) Each piece connects with four other pieces.
Puzzles and Pentecost
I would like to use this puzzle say that puzzles can help us appreciate something about today’s Feast of Pentecost.
Pentecost celebrates God’s presence within us and this presence is God the Holy Spirit. Pentecost opens up for two truths that are revealed in the puzzle analogy.
First, the Holy Spirit within us makes us realize that each of us – you, you, you, and I – are part of the living Body of Christ on this earth.
Saint Paul, in our second reading today, says: “As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one, so also Christ.”
What he is saying is that each of us, even though we are different and there are many of us, that each of us contributes in an important way to making up the living Body of Christ on this earth.
Yes, it is something like the pieces of our puzzle making up the whole picture of Jesus.
And second, like the pieces of a puzzle, each of us is connected with one another.
Saint Paul, in the second reading, says: “For in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit.”
So, we can say that each of us is different; each of us is unique with our own piece of the puzzle.
But like those pieces, we are all inter-connected with each other by the one Spirit of God that lives and breathes within us.
Application
What I’d like to ask now is, “How does the power of God’s presence within each of us make a difference for us at our ‘sides,’ that is, at the places where we connect with other pieces of the puzzle?”
For starters the Holy Spirit, who makes Jesus Christ present, can help us to RECONCILE ourselves with other pieces of the puzzle and draw us into communion both with God and with his Church. (Demonstrate the connectedness of the two pieces.)
That same Holy Spirit that is poured out upon us will show us God’s BLESSINGS and challenge us to share our bounty with all those in need. (Demonstrate the connectedness of the two pieces.)
Finally, that same Holy Spirit will quicken those of us who have grown lukewarm in our faith or it will drive out the sluggishness or REKINDLE the desire we used to have for heaven by our mixing with other pieces at Sunday Mass each week (Shake the piece as a way of energizing it.)
Conclusion
We have all spent time with puzzles and there is fun in seeing the wonderful scene or picture emerge before our eyes.
The puzzle we are working on today is the body of Jesus Christ becoming a reality by our own participation at the corners of our lives. (Show one piece, pointing to its four corners.)
(Saturday 2:00pm and Sunday 11:30am) As a remembrance of this special day, boys and girls, we are going to give each of you a piece of a puzzle that you can place on your dresser.
May it be a daily reminder of the important part you play in being part of the Body of Christ and what being a part of that Body calls you to do.
Our Lady of Grace
May 11, 2008
Focus: How a puzzle helps us understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Function: To have children and adults understand their relationship to Christ and to one another in concrete situations
Format: Analogy
Puzzles and People
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Image of a Puzzle
What would you say this is? (Show one piece of a puzzle.) And this is another piece. (Show second piece.)
What do we know about two pieces of a puzzle? (Show how one interlocks)
If I turn them over and show you the picture, what does that tell us? (That the two pieces are part of a larger picture.)
So if each of us is a piece of the puzzle, then two things become evident: (1) Each piece – each person – contributes to the total picture. This piece/person may be the nose; this piece/person may be the ear.
(2) Each piece connects with four other pieces.
Puzzles and Pentecost
I would like to use this puzzle say that puzzles can help us appreciate something about today’s Feast of Pentecost.
Pentecost celebrates God’s presence within us and this presence is God the Holy Spirit. Pentecost opens up for two truths that are revealed in the puzzle analogy.
First, the Holy Spirit within us makes us realize that each of us – you, you, you, and I – are part of the living Body of Christ on this earth.
Saint Paul, in our second reading today, says: “As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one, so also Christ.”
What he is saying is that each of us, even though we are different and there are many of us, that each of us contributes in an important way to making up the living Body of Christ on this earth.
Yes, it is something like the pieces of our puzzle making up the whole picture of Jesus.
And second, like the pieces of a puzzle, each of us is connected with one another.
Saint Paul, in the second reading, says: “For in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit.”
So, we can say that each of us is different; each of us is unique with our own piece of the puzzle.
But like those pieces, we are all inter-connected with each other by the one Spirit of God that lives and breathes within us.
Application
What I’d like to ask now is, “How does the power of God’s presence within each of us make a difference for us at our ‘sides,’ that is, at the places where we connect with other pieces of the puzzle?”
For starters the Holy Spirit, who makes Jesus Christ present, can help us to RECONCILE ourselves with other pieces of the puzzle and draw us into communion both with God and with his Church. (Demonstrate the connectedness of the two pieces.)
That same Holy Spirit that is poured out upon us will show us God’s BLESSINGS and challenge us to share our bounty with all those in need. (Demonstrate the connectedness of the two pieces.)
Finally, that same Holy Spirit will quicken those of us who have grown lukewarm in our faith or it will drive out the sluggishness or REKINDLE the desire we used to have for heaven by our mixing with other pieces at Sunday Mass each week (Shake the piece as a way of energizing it.)
Conclusion
We have all spent time with puzzles and there is fun in seeing the wonderful scene or picture emerge before our eyes.
The puzzle we are working on today is the body of Jesus Christ becoming a reality by our own participation at the corners of our lives. (Show one piece, pointing to its four corners.)
(Saturday 2:00pm and Sunday 11:30am) As a remembrance of this special day, boys and girls, we are going to give each of you a piece of a puzzle that you can place on your dresser.
May it be a daily reminder of the important part you play in being part of the Body of Christ and what being a part of that Body calls you to do.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for May 4, 2008: Ride On!
Ascension of the Lord, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
May 4, 2008
Focus: Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler
Function: How riding a two-wheeler helps us understand Jesus’ Ascension into heaven and the Sending of the Holy Spirit
Form: Analogy
Ride on!
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Riding a Two-Wheeler
Remember the first time you rode a two-wheeler?
Chances are you fell more than once and scraped your knees and elbows more than a few times.
It was hard trying to learn how to (1) Balance your weight, (2) Peddle fast enough to move forward, and (3) Look where you were going all at the same time.
You thought you’d never be able to quite get it together. It was just too much to deal with!
But also remember that when you were (1) Losing your balance or (2) Not peddling fast enough or (3) Going into an intersection, out would come the strong hand and arm of your dad or mom behind you, holding the bike by the seat while running along side of you.
Then, when your dad or mom felt you were steady enough and sure of yourself, they would … let go – and there you would be, riding out into the world on your very own.
What a sense of accomplishment! Remember the sense of joy and exhilaration? You were riding a two-wheeler all by yourself! Just like a big kid!
It was wonderful to be able to identify with kids bigger than yourself; you, at last were like them!
The Feast of the Ascension
Today – on this the Feast of the Ascension – the Church thinks about its long “bicycle ride” through time.
The fear, the uncertainty, the anxiety that the first Apostles experienced over Jesus’ death, Resurrection and departure are today replaced by a sense of joy, hope and exhilaration.
The task for them is to teach others to be followers of Jesus down through the ages and that continues today.
And while we seem to be on our own to (1) Balance, (2) Peddle and (3) Look where we’re going, it is important to know that Christ is still very much present, as if he were running alongside my bicycle, holding me steady, guiding me on our journey of faith, grabbing me by the bicycle seat, when I am going to tip to one side.
This Feast of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven is not the celebration of Christ’s physical departure from the earth. On the contrary, it’s the celebration of his eternal presence running alongside of us in our bicycle ride of life, if you will.
That’s what “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age,” means. He will be with us on our bicycle ride of life exerting a gentle influence and on-going presence.
Prayer, Word, Eucharist, and Reconciliation
So just precisely how is he there for us? Well let’s go back to the challenges of riding a two-wheeler.
There will be times in my life when (1) I may lose my balance… I’ll make a bad choice, say something out of anger, be dishonest and whoa, whoa, there goes my balance as a child of God.
When this happens I have the ability to pray, to turn to God to fill me with his grace and get me back and in balance.
There will be times when I grow weak or weary and (2) I may want to stop peddling, as in the homework is too difficult or I’m not feeling well and I can’t lift a finger or I don’t have the strength to love that person in my family or classroom.
When this happens I have Jesus present as the Holy Eucharist to give me strength to love and to accept others as they are. He wants to be my nourishment.
And yes, there will be times when (3) I’ll take my eye off my goal on occasion and ride into an area that is dangerous or not life giving and I don’t even know it, as in becoming friends with individuals who tease or bully others, or associating with folks who gossip and hurt others.
But, once again, the Lord is there for me in Sacred Scripture to encourage me with new insights or alternative ways of doing things.
Notice that at each moment of my bike ride of life I can count on a “gottcha”! Jesus’ presence to me in Prayer, Eucharist, and Word will always be there.
Conclusion
Today we are experiencing the joy and exhilaration, the sense of accomplishment and victory that we experienced so long ago when we first learned to ride a two-wheel bicycle.
And yet, it’s even more exciting because in knowing that it’s Jesus who rides along with us through our lives, we never have to fear balancing, peddling, and looking out for danger.
To have these assurances it will take our going to Mass every Sunday where we find him present to us in all those important ways.
Our Lady of Grace
May 4, 2008
Focus: Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler
Function: How riding a two-wheeler helps us understand Jesus’ Ascension into heaven and the Sending of the Holy Spirit
Form: Analogy
Ride on!
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Riding a Two-Wheeler
Remember the first time you rode a two-wheeler?
Chances are you fell more than once and scraped your knees and elbows more than a few times.
It was hard trying to learn how to (1) Balance your weight, (2) Peddle fast enough to move forward, and (3) Look where you were going all at the same time.
You thought you’d never be able to quite get it together. It was just too much to deal with!
But also remember that when you were (1) Losing your balance or (2) Not peddling fast enough or (3) Going into an intersection, out would come the strong hand and arm of your dad or mom behind you, holding the bike by the seat while running along side of you.
Then, when your dad or mom felt you were steady enough and sure of yourself, they would … let go – and there you would be, riding out into the world on your very own.
What a sense of accomplishment! Remember the sense of joy and exhilaration? You were riding a two-wheeler all by yourself! Just like a big kid!
It was wonderful to be able to identify with kids bigger than yourself; you, at last were like them!
The Feast of the Ascension
Today – on this the Feast of the Ascension – the Church thinks about its long “bicycle ride” through time.
The fear, the uncertainty, the anxiety that the first Apostles experienced over Jesus’ death, Resurrection and departure are today replaced by a sense of joy, hope and exhilaration.
The task for them is to teach others to be followers of Jesus down through the ages and that continues today.
And while we seem to be on our own to (1) Balance, (2) Peddle and (3) Look where we’re going, it is important to know that Christ is still very much present, as if he were running alongside my bicycle, holding me steady, guiding me on our journey of faith, grabbing me by the bicycle seat, when I am going to tip to one side.
This Feast of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven is not the celebration of Christ’s physical departure from the earth. On the contrary, it’s the celebration of his eternal presence running alongside of us in our bicycle ride of life, if you will.
That’s what “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age,” means. He will be with us on our bicycle ride of life exerting a gentle influence and on-going presence.
Prayer, Word, Eucharist, and Reconciliation
So just precisely how is he there for us? Well let’s go back to the challenges of riding a two-wheeler.
There will be times in my life when (1) I may lose my balance… I’ll make a bad choice, say something out of anger, be dishonest and whoa, whoa, there goes my balance as a child of God.
When this happens I have the ability to pray, to turn to God to fill me with his grace and get me back and in balance.
There will be times when I grow weak or weary and (2) I may want to stop peddling, as in the homework is too difficult or I’m not feeling well and I can’t lift a finger or I don’t have the strength to love that person in my family or classroom.
When this happens I have Jesus present as the Holy Eucharist to give me strength to love and to accept others as they are. He wants to be my nourishment.
And yes, there will be times when (3) I’ll take my eye off my goal on occasion and ride into an area that is dangerous or not life giving and I don’t even know it, as in becoming friends with individuals who tease or bully others, or associating with folks who gossip and hurt others.
But, once again, the Lord is there for me in Sacred Scripture to encourage me with new insights or alternative ways of doing things.
Notice that at each moment of my bike ride of life I can count on a “gottcha”! Jesus’ presence to me in Prayer, Eucharist, and Word will always be there.
Conclusion
Today we are experiencing the joy and exhilaration, the sense of accomplishment and victory that we experienced so long ago when we first learned to ride a two-wheel bicycle.
And yet, it’s even more exciting because in knowing that it’s Jesus who rides along with us through our lives, we never have to fear balancing, peddling, and looking out for danger.
To have these assurances it will take our going to Mass every Sunday where we find him present to us in all those important ways.
Weekly HOMILY for April 27, 2008: Deacon Preaching Sunday
Father Nicholas did not preach this Sunday. The deacons did.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 27, 2008: A Message to Americans from Our Holy Father
This and That:
A Message to Americans from Our Holy Father
Much of the following material was contributed by Ian Fisher and Katie Zezima of the New York Times.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
On the occasion of his 81st birthday, Pope Benedict XVI visited the White House on Wednesday and praised America as a nation where strong religious belief can coexist with secular society. In a speech to American bishops later on in the day he warned of the “subtle influence of secularism” that can co-opt religious people and lead even Catholics to accept abortion, divorce and co-habitation outside of marriage.
“Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs?” he asked in his address to the bishops. “Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?”
“Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted,” he said.
From the very beginning of his visit and again in his homily at the Mass at the Nationals Park, the pope acknowledged the “deep shame” caused by the sexual abuse scandal that has divided and weakened the American Church. He agreed that the scandal as it unfolded was “sometimes very badly handled.”
He said the church must “address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores.
“What does it mean to speak of child protection,” the pope asked, “when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?”
He deplored the “crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today,” saying that not only the church, but also families, teachers and the news media and entertainment industries have to take responsibility for “moral renewal.”
His comments to the bishops, on topics like immigration, medical ethics and attrition in the church’s ranks, seemed in contrast to the festive greeting he had received at the White House.
The general tone on a day when he was feted by thousands of flag-waving supporters on the streets of the capital appeared aimed at celebrating and challenging more than scolding.
The White House hosted a crowd of 13,500 on the South Lawn in the morning on the first day of the visit, welcoming the pope with a 21-gun salute; a fife-and-drum band; the soprano Kathleen Battle, who sang the Lord’s Prayer; and two rounds of “Happy Birthday.”
The crowd burst into applause when Mr. Bush told the pope that Americans “need your message that all life is sacred,” a reference to the two men’s shared opposition to abortion rights.
The president also adopted a trademark Benedict phrase when he said the nation needed the pontiff’s “message to reject this dictatorship of relativism.”
The term is considered the defining phrase of the papal election in 2005, in which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on the day his fellow cardinals went into the conclave that elected him Pope Benedict XVI, deplored the idea that all belief is equally true.
“Here in America,” Mr. Bush said, “you’ll find a nation that welcomes the role of faith in the public square. When our founders declared our nation’s independence, they rested their case on an appeal to the ‘laws of nature and of nature’s God.’ ”
The pontiff, dressed in his traditional white cassock and skullcap, said, “I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society.”
He said, “Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth.”
It is only the second time that the leader of Roman Catholics has visited the White House. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter hosted Pope John Paul II.
A Message to Americans from Our Holy Father
Much of the following material was contributed by Ian Fisher and Katie Zezima of the New York Times.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
On the occasion of his 81st birthday, Pope Benedict XVI visited the White House on Wednesday and praised America as a nation where strong religious belief can coexist with secular society. In a speech to American bishops later on in the day he warned of the “subtle influence of secularism” that can co-opt religious people and lead even Catholics to accept abortion, divorce and co-habitation outside of marriage.
“Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs?” he asked in his address to the bishops. “Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?”
“Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted,” he said.
From the very beginning of his visit and again in his homily at the Mass at the Nationals Park, the pope acknowledged the “deep shame” caused by the sexual abuse scandal that has divided and weakened the American Church. He agreed that the scandal as it unfolded was “sometimes very badly handled.”
He said the church must “address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores.
“What does it mean to speak of child protection,” the pope asked, “when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?”
He deplored the “crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today,” saying that not only the church, but also families, teachers and the news media and entertainment industries have to take responsibility for “moral renewal.”
His comments to the bishops, on topics like immigration, medical ethics and attrition in the church’s ranks, seemed in contrast to the festive greeting he had received at the White House.
The general tone on a day when he was feted by thousands of flag-waving supporters on the streets of the capital appeared aimed at celebrating and challenging more than scolding.
The White House hosted a crowd of 13,500 on the South Lawn in the morning on the first day of the visit, welcoming the pope with a 21-gun salute; a fife-and-drum band; the soprano Kathleen Battle, who sang the Lord’s Prayer; and two rounds of “Happy Birthday.”
The crowd burst into applause when Mr. Bush told the pope that Americans “need your message that all life is sacred,” a reference to the two men’s shared opposition to abortion rights.
The president also adopted a trademark Benedict phrase when he said the nation needed the pontiff’s “message to reject this dictatorship of relativism.”
The term is considered the defining phrase of the papal election in 2005, in which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on the day his fellow cardinals went into the conclave that elected him Pope Benedict XVI, deplored the idea that all belief is equally true.
“Here in America,” Mr. Bush said, “you’ll find a nation that welcomes the role of faith in the public square. When our founders declared our nation’s independence, they rested their case on an appeal to the ‘laws of nature and of nature’s God.’ ”
The pontiff, dressed in his traditional white cassock and skullcap, said, “I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society.”
He said, “Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth.”
It is only the second time that the leader of Roman Catholics has visited the White House. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter hosted Pope John Paul II.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 20, 2008: The Pope As a Force for Religious Unity
This and That:
The Pope As a Force for Religious Unity
At this writing, Pope Benedict XVI had not yet arrived in the U.S., so I thought I would share some thoughts of interest to us as Catholics and as members of Our Lady of Grace regarding religious unity.
The Holy Father is convinced that there will be no peace in the world until there is peace among the religions. That is why he came to the table of dialogue here and in Rome with hope and abiding conviction. The Pontiff’s schedule during his five-day trip included four stops dedicated to building these relationships. On April 17th, the Pope met with 200 interfaith leaders at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. At the conclusion of that meeting, he met with religious representatives of the Jewish community and presented to them his greetings for the feast of Passover, which begins on April 19th. The next day, in New York, Benedict XVI led an ecumenical prayer service at St. Joseph’s Church in the Yorkville area of Manhattan. On his way to that service, he made a brief and informal visit to the Park East Synagogue – a visit that was not part of his official program, but which again gave him a chance to express his Passover best wishes. The meeting at St. Joseph’s Church was for the sake of encouraging the work of promoting Christian Unity. On the evening before, April 17th, the Holy Father met with 150 inter-religious representatives from the Jewish, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, and the Jainist communities.
Whereas on Friday evening the theme was “Christ, Our Hope of Unity,” on Thursday evening it was “Peace Our Hope.” With our dear friends from the other religions, the Holy Father spoke about how the great religions must offer a common witness to peace at a time when religiously motivated violence has claimed, as on 9/11, too many lives around the world.
Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue seem to be a priority for Benedict XVI, not just since being elected Pope, but ever since his days as an advisor at the Second Vatican Council. At the time of Vatican II, he was a theological advisor to the German bishops who were proposing new doctrinal formulations that took account of developments in Orthodox and Protestant theology. Later on, he was a contributor to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. As Cardinal Prefect in Rome, he nearly single-handedly saved the historic Joint Declaration on Justification in 1999, between the Lutheran World Federation and the Holy See, through a last minute intervention in a meeting at his brother's house in Germany.
Citing a February study from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Father James Massa, Executive Director of the U.S Episcopal Conference’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, noted that the Holy Father came to America as a nation being reshaped in the realm of religion. He noted that, “The configuration of American Christianity has been changing quite dramatically over the past four decades. The so-called mainline Protestant churches have been shrinking while the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities have seen remarkable growth. Catholics cannot but wonder, and admire, all that explains the vitality of the ‘new churches.’ That must certainly have be on the mind of the Holy Father and other Catholic leaders both in this country and around the world.”
Father Massa contends that the concept of the papacy has changed as well: “Only among a few Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. is the Pope viewed any longer as the ‘anti-Christ.’ Many see him as a defender of conscience, as well as a guardian of historic Christianity, in a morally relativistic age.”
We began last week before “Shepherd One” touched down at Andrews Air Force Base with high hopes for what Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States, and the priority he’s giving to ecumenism and inter-religious relations, may bring about. Hopefully, our Holy Father re-energized ecumenical commitments at a time when so many churches seem to be experiencing new fractures in membership and deepening polarization over moral issues.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
The Pope As a Force for Religious Unity
At this writing, Pope Benedict XVI had not yet arrived in the U.S., so I thought I would share some thoughts of interest to us as Catholics and as members of Our Lady of Grace regarding religious unity.
The Holy Father is convinced that there will be no peace in the world until there is peace among the religions. That is why he came to the table of dialogue here and in Rome with hope and abiding conviction. The Pontiff’s schedule during his five-day trip included four stops dedicated to building these relationships. On April 17th, the Pope met with 200 interfaith leaders at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. At the conclusion of that meeting, he met with religious representatives of the Jewish community and presented to them his greetings for the feast of Passover, which begins on April 19th. The next day, in New York, Benedict XVI led an ecumenical prayer service at St. Joseph’s Church in the Yorkville area of Manhattan. On his way to that service, he made a brief and informal visit to the Park East Synagogue – a visit that was not part of his official program, but which again gave him a chance to express his Passover best wishes. The meeting at St. Joseph’s Church was for the sake of encouraging the work of promoting Christian Unity. On the evening before, April 17th, the Holy Father met with 150 inter-religious representatives from the Jewish, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, and the Jainist communities.
Whereas on Friday evening the theme was “Christ, Our Hope of Unity,” on Thursday evening it was “Peace Our Hope.” With our dear friends from the other religions, the Holy Father spoke about how the great religions must offer a common witness to peace at a time when religiously motivated violence has claimed, as on 9/11, too many lives around the world.
Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue seem to be a priority for Benedict XVI, not just since being elected Pope, but ever since his days as an advisor at the Second Vatican Council. At the time of Vatican II, he was a theological advisor to the German bishops who were proposing new doctrinal formulations that took account of developments in Orthodox and Protestant theology. Later on, he was a contributor to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. As Cardinal Prefect in Rome, he nearly single-handedly saved the historic Joint Declaration on Justification in 1999, between the Lutheran World Federation and the Holy See, through a last minute intervention in a meeting at his brother's house in Germany.
Citing a February study from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Father James Massa, Executive Director of the U.S Episcopal Conference’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, noted that the Holy Father came to America as a nation being reshaped in the realm of religion. He noted that, “The configuration of American Christianity has been changing quite dramatically over the past four decades. The so-called mainline Protestant churches have been shrinking while the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities have seen remarkable growth. Catholics cannot but wonder, and admire, all that explains the vitality of the ‘new churches.’ That must certainly have be on the mind of the Holy Father and other Catholic leaders both in this country and around the world.”
Father Massa contends that the concept of the papacy has changed as well: “Only among a few Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. is the Pope viewed any longer as the ‘anti-Christ.’ Many see him as a defender of conscience, as well as a guardian of historic Christianity, in a morally relativistic age.”
We began last week before “Shepherd One” touched down at Andrews Air Force Base with high hopes for what Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States, and the priority he’s giving to ecumenism and inter-religious relations, may bring about. Hopefully, our Holy Father re-energized ecumenical commitments at a time when so many churches seem to be experiencing new fractures in membership and deepening polarization over moral issues.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Weekly HOMILY for April 20, 2008: Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 20, 2008
Focus: Gathering: The Gatherer and the Gathered
Function: To show how the Church is more than a building and as “Living Stones” is to be found in service to those in any need
Form: Now / Then
Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
Pope in America
Beginning this past Tuesday, Pope Benedict has been visiting our Country.
We have seen the pageantry in Washington, especially the official welcome at the White House. We have seen the poignant speech at the United Nations.
Pope Benedict called all nations to follow the ways of peace and of respect for the dignity of all humanity, which is the real basis of peace.
However, what caught my attention more than anything else was the Mass at Nationals Park in D.C.
Forty-six thousand Catholics gathered around the Holy Father to celebrate the Eucharist. And there is a similar Mass today at Yankee Stadium.
While no church building could accommodate such crowds, no church building was needed for us to be “The Church.”
What I see in both of these Masses is that we, as a Church, are first and foremost a people and not a building.
This is the very point being made in today’s Scripture passages.
Church as Living Stones
In the second reading, St. Peter beautifully expresses who we are as a Church.
He says: “Come to him [Jesus], a living stone, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” What a wonderful image!
The Church is not just a building of granite or limestone or brick. We are persons, a people, or in St. Peter’s word, “living stones…a spiritual house.”
We are a people who have been given God’s very life through Baptism.
We are a people bonded by our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are a people nourished each week by the Eucharist and thus we are “living stones being built into a spiritual house” with Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
The celebration of the Eucharist on the grass fields at Nationals Park and at Yankee Stadium makes this reality very clear.
It lifts up our core identity as Church, as community, for the world to see.
The Church in Service
And yet, we must go one step further in our reflection and today’s first reading does this. In this passage from Acts, we see the early Church responding very creatively to a need by caring for others.
The Church was growing and with the cultural diversity and the addition of thousands of believers every week, some people – especially widows – are being neglected.
What happens? The Church calls forth deacons to make sure that these women are cared for properly.
The important lesson here is that we need to be “Living Stones” who are precisely that, “living” and attentive, “living” and responding to the needs of others. When we see a need, we have to do what we can to assist.
So, for example, here at Our Lady of Grace we try to attend carefully to those who are grieving, those in physical need, those who are hungry for food or spiritual nourishment. We support pregnant mothers, homeless families, and the needy in Baltimore City.
There are needs we are not fulfilling and there will be more needs arising. However, the point is that we are “living” stones and through our caring for other we are “being built into a spiritual house.”
Conclusion
In today’s gospel, Philip asks Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father.”
And Jesus says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. It is the Father who lives in me doing his works.” So, the works of Jesus are the works of the Father and show us the Father.
And then Jesus says: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater ones than these.”
So, our works, our attention and caring and serving one another, these works express who we are as “living stones,” bonded together by Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
And these works, like Jesus’ works, reveal the Father and draw others to the Father.
How appropriate that this profound reality of who we are as a parish and as the Universal Church can be seen from the visit of Pope Benedict to our country.
Our Lady of Grace
April 20, 2008
Focus: Gathering: The Gatherer and the Gathered
Function: To show how the Church is more than a building and as “Living Stones” is to be found in service to those in any need
Form: Now / Then
Our Catholic Church As Living Stones
Pope in America
Beginning this past Tuesday, Pope Benedict has been visiting our Country.
We have seen the pageantry in Washington, especially the official welcome at the White House. We have seen the poignant speech at the United Nations.
Pope Benedict called all nations to follow the ways of peace and of respect for the dignity of all humanity, which is the real basis of peace.
However, what caught my attention more than anything else was the Mass at Nationals Park in D.C.
Forty-six thousand Catholics gathered around the Holy Father to celebrate the Eucharist. And there is a similar Mass today at Yankee Stadium.
While no church building could accommodate such crowds, no church building was needed for us to be “The Church.”
What I see in both of these Masses is that we, as a Church, are first and foremost a people and not a building.
This is the very point being made in today’s Scripture passages.
Church as Living Stones
In the second reading, St. Peter beautifully expresses who we are as a Church.
He says: “Come to him [Jesus], a living stone, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” What a wonderful image!
The Church is not just a building of granite or limestone or brick. We are persons, a people, or in St. Peter’s word, “living stones…a spiritual house.”
We are a people who have been given God’s very life through Baptism.
We are a people bonded by our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are a people nourished each week by the Eucharist and thus we are “living stones being built into a spiritual house” with Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
The celebration of the Eucharist on the grass fields at Nationals Park and at Yankee Stadium makes this reality very clear.
It lifts up our core identity as Church, as community, for the world to see.
The Church in Service
And yet, we must go one step further in our reflection and today’s first reading does this. In this passage from Acts, we see the early Church responding very creatively to a need by caring for others.
The Church was growing and with the cultural diversity and the addition of thousands of believers every week, some people – especially widows – are being neglected.
What happens? The Church calls forth deacons to make sure that these women are cared for properly.
The important lesson here is that we need to be “Living Stones” who are precisely that, “living” and attentive, “living” and responding to the needs of others. When we see a need, we have to do what we can to assist.
So, for example, here at Our Lady of Grace we try to attend carefully to those who are grieving, those in physical need, those who are hungry for food or spiritual nourishment. We support pregnant mothers, homeless families, and the needy in Baltimore City.
There are needs we are not fulfilling and there will be more needs arising. However, the point is that we are “living” stones and through our caring for other we are “being built into a spiritual house.”
Conclusion
In today’s gospel, Philip asks Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father.”
And Jesus says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. It is the Father who lives in me doing his works.” So, the works of Jesus are the works of the Father and show us the Father.
And then Jesus says: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater ones than these.”
So, our works, our attention and caring and serving one another, these works express who we are as “living stones,” bonded together by Jesus as our “cornerstone.”
And these works, like Jesus’ works, reveal the Father and draw others to the Father.
How appropriate that this profound reality of who we are as a parish and as the Universal Church can be seen from the visit of Pope Benedict to our country.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Weekly THIS AND THAT for April 13, 2008: Back from the Monastery
This and That:
Back from the Monastery
If I had to summarize what my stay at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina these past 3-months has been it would be: “A journey into self.” After all, an environment consisting solely of a 90-day daily routine of no talking, light eating, no meat, prayer, spiritual reading, and manual labor will create the conditions for such a journey; what else is there to do?
So what did I find along the way of this “journey”? Let me begin by saying it wasn’t an easy journey like getting into a car and driving to grandma’s house a half-hour away. Nor was it a journey to a more distant city like New York or Montreal. I really didn’t know where I was going nor did I have any sort of a roadmap. All I knew was that I was going to a Cistercian monastery (the monks prefer “Cistercian” to their popular name “Trappist”) as a way of satisfying a desire I have to be closer to God through prayer. I know this because prayer, for many years now, has been the most exciting, life-giving thing of all my activities. (By way of information, preaching is second, and giving talks is third, cooking is fourth, exercising is fifth … but I’m digressing.)
I also went with three areas I wanted to address over the course of the three months: (1) In January “A Review of My Life,” (2) In February decide “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” beginning June 2010, and (3) In March “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life”. Each Friday evening for the hour between Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer) I met with my Spiritual Director, Father Guerric, and the agenda was basically the same: What was your high point this week? What was your low point? Do you have any questions arising about life here in the monastery? and my week’s prayer and reflection on the “question of the month.” I might add that I kept a journal the entire time – a sort of “Mepkin Chronicle” – that is 215 typewritten pages long so I would say my journey is well documented.
To put some flesh on the bones, I wanted to share at least one of the many insights regarding each of the questions. From “A Review of My Life” I came to realize that from my earliest days as a child I have enjoyed solitude. At the time I didn’t know it was prayer that I was really desiring, since we were not a family that attended church or religious education. I know if I had had some content and worship my journey may have gotten me to my destination quicker. (A note to parents with young children.) A love for solitude perhaps sounds strange, given my nature, but it was a fact that I unearthed through some wonderful techniques I learned about journaling to get to deeper levels within myself.
From “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” I learned that in order to discern God’s will more clearly, what I eventually will do needs to grow out of my talents and gifts and where they can best be utilized. It is looking like the journey is leading toward parish weekend work, giving retreats and days of recollection, and possibly spiritual direction.
Finally, “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life” helped me realize my own level of readiness when I might hear the dreaded words about my own death. The example I used was, “Father Nicholas, I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you have advanced stages of inoperable prostate cancer.” (This was more an exercise and not a fact, for I am in excellent health at the moment.) I reflected on the stages we will all go through in such cases, the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the end, from my pages and pages of reflection and processing them all with my spiritual director, I believe I was ready to be with the Lord.
Overall, the journey was filled with some marvelous moments of union with God in prayer as well as many lackluster hours where the experience was simply sitting patiently and being present as best I could. There were lots of new insights into who I am and what makes me tick. (Some I liked; some I didn’t, but the truth is the truth.) I learned the Cistercian way to “quiet the mind” so the Lord can speak and I came to understand their “Ladder to Humility,” and the “Three Denunciations” necessary for anyone to have prayer be more fruitful. These are all topics I am exploring as future talks for Our Lady of Grace.
My seminary years and priestly life have exposed me to wonderful schools of spirituality such as Carmelite (St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross), Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare), and Jesuit (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Anthony DeMello), but I had never known much about Cistercian Spirituality. This school is derived from the Desert Fathers of Egypt from the 3rd century, through St. John Cassian and St. Benedict. (Cistercians began in the 12th century and trace their roots to St. Benedict.) Cistercian Spirituality has a more monastic, contemplative flavor, where solitude and a common ascetical lifestyle are stressed.
As I mentioned at the Masses last weekend, the most difficult thing during the three months was not being silent. (I know that’s hard to imagine!) Nor was it the fasting and abstinence from meat that the monks practice every day. And it wasn’t getting up at 2:45am and going to bed at 8:00pm or praying a total of 7 hours a day. The most difficult thing, honestly, was the manual labor which included: clearing fields of debris that had been dumped in a section of the 3,000 acres before the monastery received the property as a gift from Henry and Clare Booth Luce, working in the hen houses picking eggs from 25,000 chickens, working in the grading house, where the eggs were washed and packaged for market.
The thing I missed most – and this may bear repeating as well – was gathering you together as your pastor to worship. Remember, a monastic community is a group of 30 men coming together to worship; 15 men facing 15 men in church, choir style. It’s very different from gathering families and children and all the rough edges that make your lives as families so real. And while Our Lady of Grace on a Sunday morning may feel more like real life, my experience at the monastery did something to my prayer life that I want to keep and share and live out of each day. The key for me will be to take that prayer life and fit it into the life of our faith family.
I thank you for all your prayers and kind words upon my return. I remain grateful to Sr. Mary Therese who served as our Interim Pastor and to Elaine Hagner, who remained at the helm in terms of Parish Administration. Without their gift of themselves I could never have done this. God bless us all. It’s good to be home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
PS. I am preparing a presentation to share in church after Masses on the weekend of April 19-20th. It will include photos and video clips of the “journey” with time for Q/A. It should last a half-hour and I will pitch it to youth as well, so you can come as a family.
Back from the Monastery
If I had to summarize what my stay at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina these past 3-months has been it would be: “A journey into self.” After all, an environment consisting solely of a 90-day daily routine of no talking, light eating, no meat, prayer, spiritual reading, and manual labor will create the conditions for such a journey; what else is there to do?
So what did I find along the way of this “journey”? Let me begin by saying it wasn’t an easy journey like getting into a car and driving to grandma’s house a half-hour away. Nor was it a journey to a more distant city like New York or Montreal. I really didn’t know where I was going nor did I have any sort of a roadmap. All I knew was that I was going to a Cistercian monastery (the monks prefer “Cistercian” to their popular name “Trappist”) as a way of satisfying a desire I have to be closer to God through prayer. I know this because prayer, for many years now, has been the most exciting, life-giving thing of all my activities. (By way of information, preaching is second, and giving talks is third, cooking is fourth, exercising is fifth … but I’m digressing.)
I also went with three areas I wanted to address over the course of the three months: (1) In January “A Review of My Life,” (2) In February decide “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” beginning June 2010, and (3) In March “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life”. Each Friday evening for the hour between Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer) I met with my Spiritual Director, Father Guerric, and the agenda was basically the same: What was your high point this week? What was your low point? Do you have any questions arising about life here in the monastery? and my week’s prayer and reflection on the “question of the month.” I might add that I kept a journal the entire time – a sort of “Mepkin Chronicle” – that is 215 typewritten pages long so I would say my journey is well documented.
To put some flesh on the bones, I wanted to share at least one of the many insights regarding each of the questions. From “A Review of My Life” I came to realize that from my earliest days as a child I have enjoyed solitude. At the time I didn’t know it was prayer that I was really desiring, since we were not a family that attended church or religious education. I know if I had had some content and worship my journey may have gotten me to my destination quicker. (A note to parents with young children.) A love for solitude perhaps sounds strange, given my nature, but it was a fact that I unearthed through some wonderful techniques I learned about journaling to get to deeper levels within myself.
From “What I Would Like to Do Next in Ministry” I learned that in order to discern God’s will more clearly, what I eventually will do needs to grow out of my talents and gifts and where they can best be utilized. It is looking like the journey is leading toward parish weekend work, giving retreats and days of recollection, and possibly spiritual direction.
Finally, “Prepare to Pass over to the Other Side of Life” helped me realize my own level of readiness when I might hear the dreaded words about my own death. The example I used was, “Father Nicholas, I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you have advanced stages of inoperable prostate cancer.” (This was more an exercise and not a fact, for I am in excellent health at the moment.) I reflected on the stages we will all go through in such cases, the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the end, from my pages and pages of reflection and processing them all with my spiritual director, I believe I was ready to be with the Lord.
Overall, the journey was filled with some marvelous moments of union with God in prayer as well as many lackluster hours where the experience was simply sitting patiently and being present as best I could. There were lots of new insights into who I am and what makes me tick. (Some I liked; some I didn’t, but the truth is the truth.) I learned the Cistercian way to “quiet the mind” so the Lord can speak and I came to understand their “Ladder to Humility,” and the “Three Denunciations” necessary for anyone to have prayer be more fruitful. These are all topics I am exploring as future talks for Our Lady of Grace.
My seminary years and priestly life have exposed me to wonderful schools of spirituality such as Carmelite (St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross), Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare), and Jesuit (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Anthony DeMello), but I had never known much about Cistercian Spirituality. This school is derived from the Desert Fathers of Egypt from the 3rd century, through St. John Cassian and St. Benedict. (Cistercians began in the 12th century and trace their roots to St. Benedict.) Cistercian Spirituality has a more monastic, contemplative flavor, where solitude and a common ascetical lifestyle are stressed.
As I mentioned at the Masses last weekend, the most difficult thing during the three months was not being silent. (I know that’s hard to imagine!) Nor was it the fasting and abstinence from meat that the monks practice every day. And it wasn’t getting up at 2:45am and going to bed at 8:00pm or praying a total of 7 hours a day. The most difficult thing, honestly, was the manual labor which included: clearing fields of debris that had been dumped in a section of the 3,000 acres before the monastery received the property as a gift from Henry and Clare Booth Luce, working in the hen houses picking eggs from 25,000 chickens, working in the grading house, where the eggs were washed and packaged for market.
The thing I missed most – and this may bear repeating as well – was gathering you together as your pastor to worship. Remember, a monastic community is a group of 30 men coming together to worship; 15 men facing 15 men in church, choir style. It’s very different from gathering families and children and all the rough edges that make your lives as families so real. And while Our Lady of Grace on a Sunday morning may feel more like real life, my experience at the monastery did something to my prayer life that I want to keep and share and live out of each day. The key for me will be to take that prayer life and fit it into the life of our faith family.
I thank you for all your prayers and kind words upon my return. I remain grateful to Sr. Mary Therese who served as our Interim Pastor and to Elaine Hagner, who remained at the helm in terms of Parish Administration. Without their gift of themselves I could never have done this. God bless us all. It’s good to be home.
Love,
Father Nicholas
PS. I am preparing a presentation to share in church after Masses on the weekend of April 19-20th. It will include photos and video clips of the “journey” with time for Q/A. It should last a half-hour and I will pitch it to youth as well, so you can come as a family.
Weekly HOMILY for April 13, 2008: Herding Sheep
4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 13, 2008
Herding Sheep
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Sheep Pens
In Jesus’ day, shepherds used two different kinds of pens for their sheep at nighttime.
If they were near a village, they would herd their sheep into a common village pen. If they were outside of a village, they would use a field pen.
Actually, Jesus alludes to both kinds of sheep pens in today’s Gospel.
Each kind of pen reveals something different to us about Jesus and each one calls us to do something different.
The Common Village Pen
As I said, the first type is the common village pen.
Imagine that sheep from five or six flocks belonging to different shepherds spend the night in this one pen. In the early morning, the shepherds come to this pen to get their flocks and lead them out to pasture.
Now the sheep know their own shepherd so well that they respond only to his voice in much the same way your dog’s tail begins to way when he hears your voice.
This is the background when Jesus says today, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
Jesus is saying that he wants to be our shepherd. He wants to lead us in ways that are spiritually good and life giving.
But before this can happen, we, like the sheep, need to be listening for his voice. The challenge, I’m sad to say, is that there are so many shepherds and so many voices in our individual worlds.
And, I might add, they are all clamoring for our attention and allegiance. These other shepherds promise us a better or fuller life, if only we have this additional line of credit or if only we own a BMW or wear Ralph Lauren clothing, things like that.
Sometimes our personal lives may be in turmoil or our family may be in conflict because we are listening so closely to these voices. Sometimes an entire society can be led away by misplaced values.
Sometimes it takes a real upset to wake us up – an economic downturn, the price of gas, a family break-up, an emotional depression or physical sickness. It may take something like this to make us realize how shallow these voices are.
The truth of the matter is that whatever the times – in easy times or in challenging times – we are led to true fulfillment, happiness, and peace, if we listen to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
For true, inner peace and long-term happiness, it doesn’t mean that we don’t hear all those false voices, but that we can distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and the hirelings who are out to use us for their own profit.
That is the message from the image of the shepherd calling his sheep from the common village pen.
The Field Pen
And then, there is the field pen.
This sort of pen is outside of a village and consists of a circular stone wall with a narrow opening for the sheep to enter and exit. A shepherd herds his sheep into this pen and then he himself lies down across the narrow opening.
So in the field pen the shepherd himself becomes the gate, if you will. No sheep can stray and no wild animal can enter without touching his body and waking him.
With this as background, Jesus says today, “I am the gate for the sheep.” This image of the shepherd laying his body down across the opening of the field pen is supposed to remind us of Jesus laying down his life for us.
Jesus does that on the cross and continues to give himself for us and to us in the Eucharist. And we, for our part, must allow him to do this.
This means that we need to make weekly Eucharist a priority and be aware that Jesus is here giving himself – body and soul – to us. In fact, he does this in each of the Sacraments.
To make that Body and Blood of Jesus have an impact on the quality of our lives, we need to cultivate an inner life where it can be received.
We need to be persons who prepare their interior by prayer and personal reflection. This preparation of the place that is to receive the Flesh and Blood of the Lord is absolutely crucial.
And this is the massage from the image of the shepherd laying his body down across the gate of the field pen.
Conclusion
So, two very powerful images: Jesus as the shepherd and Jesus as the gate – the common village pen and the field pen with sheep being able to listen for and hear his voice above other voices and sheep allowing him to give himself to us in the Eucharist.
Our Lady of Grace
April 13, 2008
Herding Sheep
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Sheep Pens
In Jesus’ day, shepherds used two different kinds of pens for their sheep at nighttime.
If they were near a village, they would herd their sheep into a common village pen. If they were outside of a village, they would use a field pen.
Actually, Jesus alludes to both kinds of sheep pens in today’s Gospel.
Each kind of pen reveals something different to us about Jesus and each one calls us to do something different.
The Common Village Pen
As I said, the first type is the common village pen.
Imagine that sheep from five or six flocks belonging to different shepherds spend the night in this one pen. In the early morning, the shepherds come to this pen to get their flocks and lead them out to pasture.
Now the sheep know their own shepherd so well that they respond only to his voice in much the same way your dog’s tail begins to way when he hears your voice.
This is the background when Jesus says today, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
Jesus is saying that he wants to be our shepherd. He wants to lead us in ways that are spiritually good and life giving.
But before this can happen, we, like the sheep, need to be listening for his voice. The challenge, I’m sad to say, is that there are so many shepherds and so many voices in our individual worlds.
And, I might add, they are all clamoring for our attention and allegiance. These other shepherds promise us a better or fuller life, if only we have this additional line of credit or if only we own a BMW or wear Ralph Lauren clothing, things like that.
Sometimes our personal lives may be in turmoil or our family may be in conflict because we are listening so closely to these voices. Sometimes an entire society can be led away by misplaced values.
Sometimes it takes a real upset to wake us up – an economic downturn, the price of gas, a family break-up, an emotional depression or physical sickness. It may take something like this to make us realize how shallow these voices are.
The truth of the matter is that whatever the times – in easy times or in challenging times – we are led to true fulfillment, happiness, and peace, if we listen to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
For true, inner peace and long-term happiness, it doesn’t mean that we don’t hear all those false voices, but that we can distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and the hirelings who are out to use us for their own profit.
That is the message from the image of the shepherd calling his sheep from the common village pen.
The Field Pen
And then, there is the field pen.
This sort of pen is outside of a village and consists of a circular stone wall with a narrow opening for the sheep to enter and exit. A shepherd herds his sheep into this pen and then he himself lies down across the narrow opening.
So in the field pen the shepherd himself becomes the gate, if you will. No sheep can stray and no wild animal can enter without touching his body and waking him.
With this as background, Jesus says today, “I am the gate for the sheep.” This image of the shepherd laying his body down across the opening of the field pen is supposed to remind us of Jesus laying down his life for us.
Jesus does that on the cross and continues to give himself for us and to us in the Eucharist. And we, for our part, must allow him to do this.
This means that we need to make weekly Eucharist a priority and be aware that Jesus is here giving himself – body and soul – to us. In fact, he does this in each of the Sacraments.
To make that Body and Blood of Jesus have an impact on the quality of our lives, we need to cultivate an inner life where it can be received.
We need to be persons who prepare their interior by prayer and personal reflection. This preparation of the place that is to receive the Flesh and Blood of the Lord is absolutely crucial.
And this is the massage from the image of the shepherd laying his body down across the gate of the field pen.
Conclusion
So, two very powerful images: Jesus as the shepherd and Jesus as the gate – the common village pen and the field pen with sheep being able to listen for and hear his voice above other voices and sheep allowing him to give himself to us in the Eucharist.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Weekly HOMILY for April 6, 2008: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
3rd Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
April 6, 2008
Focus: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
Function: To have the assembly understand the difference and be able to so something about it
Form: Then / Now
Heartburn and Burning Hearts
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Heartburn
Heartburn is a common ailment in our day. Pyrosis, commonly called, acid reflux, is a momentary burning pain that rises and falls within the chest cavity.
It was another kind of heartburn – a sudden burning awareness as if from within the heart – that the pair from Emmaus attributes as the sign that the stranger they met on the road was in fact Jesus.
Has your heart ever burned for a closeness with the Lord, Jesus? Have you ever longed for the peace that only Christ can give? Or the secure feeling of knowing the Lord will see you through a tragic loss or painful situation?
If so, then today’s Gospel gives us a way of understanding both how to stir up those desires for Christ in your life or if you already experience them how to have them met more effectively.
From Closed to Open
You will notice in the Gospel that the two companions on their walk to Emmaus at first consider the stranger in ignoramus. After all, who doesn’t know about the events of the week in Jerusalem, as they ask him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Consequently, they completely tune him out as he explains the scriptures to them. Yet, something in his manner and in his words unnerve them. He has an unsettled challenging quality to his words that draw them into serious consideration, much as my talking to you is drawing you in a deeper consideration of the Gospel.
It is when they begin to listen, really listen and see with their hearts, that they begin to connect with him personally. By “really listening” I mean that they are letting the Sacred Scripture touch their deepest longings, satisfy their deepest desires for hope and for their future.
From Political to Spiritual
And for his part the “stranger” leads them from a political discussion into a deeper spiritual one.
Remember the tide turns when the disciples say, “But we had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel.” In the next few moments they are lead into new specifically spiritual territory – real spiritual needs being met by real concrete answers.
No wonder they’ve got heartburn – no, excuse me – burning hearts!
And Then the Evening
But note that it isn’t until the evening that the discomfort leads to deeper awareness of Christ’s presence.
I would like to suggest that it is truly a sacramental encounter with Jesus around the supper table and how does it come about?
Basically, it comes about from (1) The quickening of their hearts in Scripture as their discuss and journey together on the road, and (2) Now in the very simple but profound gestures of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.
Application
My sisters and brothers, think of the implications of this profound reality.
Whenever my conscience is troubled over what is the right thing to do, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus
Whenever my mind is burdened with what’s important or what could be placed second or third on my priority list, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Whenever my spirit is downtrodden and I’m feeling bad about myself, or not feeling loved or accepted as I am, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Conclusion
What we are preparing for in this Eucharist is a burning heart, a burning heart that will generate a presence of Christ that will be warmth and nourishment, support and affirmation.
So, please put away the Rolaids, the Tums, the Mylanta and Pepsid AC. The heartburn from this sacred time together will be welcomed relief and will come through the presence of Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Grace
April 6, 2008
Focus: Heartburn and Burning Hearts
Function: To have the assembly understand the difference and be able to so something about it
Form: Then / Now
Heartburn and Burning Hearts
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Heartburn
Heartburn is a common ailment in our day. Pyrosis, commonly called, acid reflux, is a momentary burning pain that rises and falls within the chest cavity.
It was another kind of heartburn – a sudden burning awareness as if from within the heart – that the pair from Emmaus attributes as the sign that the stranger they met on the road was in fact Jesus.
Has your heart ever burned for a closeness with the Lord, Jesus? Have you ever longed for the peace that only Christ can give? Or the secure feeling of knowing the Lord will see you through a tragic loss or painful situation?
If so, then today’s Gospel gives us a way of understanding both how to stir up those desires for Christ in your life or if you already experience them how to have them met more effectively.
From Closed to Open
You will notice in the Gospel that the two companions on their walk to Emmaus at first consider the stranger in ignoramus. After all, who doesn’t know about the events of the week in Jerusalem, as they ask him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Consequently, they completely tune him out as he explains the scriptures to them. Yet, something in his manner and in his words unnerve them. He has an unsettled challenging quality to his words that draw them into serious consideration, much as my talking to you is drawing you in a deeper consideration of the Gospel.
It is when they begin to listen, really listen and see with their hearts, that they begin to connect with him personally. By “really listening” I mean that they are letting the Sacred Scripture touch their deepest longings, satisfy their deepest desires for hope and for their future.
From Political to Spiritual
And for his part the “stranger” leads them from a political discussion into a deeper spiritual one.
Remember the tide turns when the disciples say, “But we had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel.” In the next few moments they are lead into new specifically spiritual territory – real spiritual needs being met by real concrete answers.
No wonder they’ve got heartburn – no, excuse me – burning hearts!
And Then the Evening
But note that it isn’t until the evening that the discomfort leads to deeper awareness of Christ’s presence.
I would like to suggest that it is truly a sacramental encounter with Jesus around the supper table and how does it come about?
Basically, it comes about from (1) The quickening of their hearts in Scripture as their discuss and journey together on the road, and (2) Now in the very simple but profound gestures of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.
Application
My sisters and brothers, think of the implications of this profound reality.
Whenever my conscience is troubled over what is the right thing to do, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus
Whenever my mind is burdened with what’s important or what could be placed second or third on my priority list, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Whenever my spirit is downtrodden and I’m feeling bad about myself, or not feeling loved or accepted as I am, scripture and ritual actions provide the actual living presence of Jesus.
Conclusion
What we are preparing for in this Eucharist is a burning heart, a burning heart that will generate a presence of Christ that will be warmth and nourishment, support and affirmation.
So, please put away the Rolaids, the Tums, the Mylanta and Pepsid AC. The heartburn from this sacred time together will be welcomed relief and will come through the presence of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Weekly HOMILY for January 1, 2008: To Appreciate the Past, to Value the Present, and to Greet the Future
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle A
New Year’s Day
Our Lady of Grace
January 1, 2008
To Appreciate the Past, to Value the Present, and to Greet the Future
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“We Don’t Have Time…”
One of our classic American plays is Our Town by Thornton Wilder.
In this play, a young woman dies and is then allowed by God to return to earth to re-live just one day of her life. The day she chooses is her twelfth birthday.
A few hours into the day she cries out: “I can’t. I can’t go on. It goes so fast.
“We don’t have time to look at one another. Oh earth, you’re too beautiful for anyone to realize.”
Then, with tears in her eyes, she asks, “Do human beings ever realize life as they live it?” And a voice answers her, “No. The saints and poets maybe – they do sometimes.”
New Year’s: A Moment in Time
That excerpt from Our Town is very appropriate as we celebrate New Year’s Eve.
The woman says, “We don’t have time” – time to realize the gift of life while we have it.” New Year’s is a special moment and day because it marks the beginning of another major segment of time – a new year – in our lives.
The words of the woman in Our Town are intended to awaken us a bit to the preciousness of the time we have. In a similar way, the woman in this evening’s Gospel – Mary – helps us in knowing what to do with our time and how to live it.
Saint Luke depicts Mary at the manger in Bethlehem and simply says that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Mary’s reflective, prayerful approach is very appropriate as we begin a New Year and it leads us in some helpful directions.
Mary: Past, Present and Future
First, Mary leads us to appreciate our past.
For most of us, our past has probably been a mix of some joy and some sorrow, some satisfaction and some disappointment, some good health and some illness.
Mary calls us to see how God has been with us even in troubled moments and confusing times, just as she herself experienced.
Her reflective spirit moves us tonight to affirm God presence at least bringing us this far, to this moment of time.
Then, Mary also leads us to value the present.
She calls us to value the gift of life, whether it is the life of an unborn child that she herself valued or simply this very day of life.
Mary calls us to discern God’s will for us in the guidance of a parent or a teacher or right in the inspired Word of God, as she herself discerned in the words of the angel to her.
Her reflective spirit moves us live the present with an awareness of God’s active presence.
And finally, Mary leads us to greet the future.
Because Mary discerned and trusted God’s call, she moved forward in becoming the mother of Jesus, the mother of God’s Son, the mother of God.
Mary’s call moves us to chart a direction for our parish or make a decision on a new job or select a college to attend – all with trust in God.
Her reflective spirit moves us to greet the future, to greet 2008 with trust in God’s presence, strength, and guidance.
Conclusion
So, as the woman in Our Town asks, “Do human beings ever realize life while they live it?”
And the woman who brings God’s Son into the world, Mary, shows us how to realize life while we live it.
Her reflective spirit led her and now leads us to appreciate the past, to value the present and to greet future – all with a realization and awareness of God’s loving presence and care.
New Year’s Day
Our Lady of Grace
January 1, 2008
To Appreciate the Past, to Value the Present, and to Greet the Future
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“We Don’t Have Time…”
One of our classic American plays is Our Town by Thornton Wilder.
In this play, a young woman dies and is then allowed by God to return to earth to re-live just one day of her life. The day she chooses is her twelfth birthday.
A few hours into the day she cries out: “I can’t. I can’t go on. It goes so fast.
“We don’t have time to look at one another. Oh earth, you’re too beautiful for anyone to realize.”
Then, with tears in her eyes, she asks, “Do human beings ever realize life as they live it?” And a voice answers her, “No. The saints and poets maybe – they do sometimes.”
New Year’s: A Moment in Time
That excerpt from Our Town is very appropriate as we celebrate New Year’s Eve.
The woman says, “We don’t have time” – time to realize the gift of life while we have it.” New Year’s is a special moment and day because it marks the beginning of another major segment of time – a new year – in our lives.
The words of the woman in Our Town are intended to awaken us a bit to the preciousness of the time we have. In a similar way, the woman in this evening’s Gospel – Mary – helps us in knowing what to do with our time and how to live it.
Saint Luke depicts Mary at the manger in Bethlehem and simply says that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Mary’s reflective, prayerful approach is very appropriate as we begin a New Year and it leads us in some helpful directions.
Mary: Past, Present and Future
First, Mary leads us to appreciate our past.
For most of us, our past has probably been a mix of some joy and some sorrow, some satisfaction and some disappointment, some good health and some illness.
Mary calls us to see how God has been with us even in troubled moments and confusing times, just as she herself experienced.
Her reflective spirit moves us tonight to affirm God presence at least bringing us this far, to this moment of time.
Then, Mary also leads us to value the present.
She calls us to value the gift of life, whether it is the life of an unborn child that she herself valued or simply this very day of life.
Mary calls us to discern God’s will for us in the guidance of a parent or a teacher or right in the inspired Word of God, as she herself discerned in the words of the angel to her.
Her reflective spirit moves us live the present with an awareness of God’s active presence.
And finally, Mary leads us to greet the future.
Because Mary discerned and trusted God’s call, she moved forward in becoming the mother of Jesus, the mother of God’s Son, the mother of God.
Mary’s call moves us to chart a direction for our parish or make a decision on a new job or select a college to attend – all with trust in God.
Her reflective spirit moves us to greet the future, to greet 2008 with trust in God’s presence, strength, and guidance.
Conclusion
So, as the woman in Our Town asks, “Do human beings ever realize life while they live it?”
And the woman who brings God’s Son into the world, Mary, shows us how to realize life while we live it.
Her reflective spirit led her and now leads us to appreciate the past, to value the present and to greet future – all with a realization and awareness of God’s loving presence and care.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Weekly HOMILY for December 30, 2007: A S-P-A-C-E for Families
Feast of the Holy Family, Cycle A
Our Lady of Grace
December 30, 2007
Form: A S-P-A-C-E for families
Function: To offer listeners concrete ways to improve the quality of their family life
A S-P-A-C-E for Families
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Families: Yesterday and Today
In recent decades, family life has changed a great deal in the United States.
In the past, we pictured the “typical” family as a mother and father living together with two or three children. The father would go out to work and the mother would stay home to care for the children and be the homemaker.
Today, things are very different. Today, in the majority of families where both parents are present, both are also going out to work and probably have to do that for financial reasons.
Today, there are many single parent families. And today, there are many blended families.
Blended families consist of a husband and wife who have had children from a previous marriage and now bring them together and form one new family. This can happen because of the death of a prior spouse or because of divorce.
Well, with these and other developments, on this day in honor of the Holy Family, I want to recommend five specific actions for our families – traditional, single parent, blended, whatever the case may be for you.
I am grouping these recommendations by the letters: S—P—A—C—E.
An easy way to remember them is the acronym SPACE, and perhaps we could entitle this homily as “SPACE for Families.” So, here goes.
S=Structure
S stands for Structure. Structure the life of your family in ways that are sensible and that work for you.
Structure a time for the children for getting up and going to bed, a time for working and a time for playing. Structure some responsibility for everyone for the good of the household, whether for grocery shopping or emptying the trash.
Structure some regular time for the entire family to be together. And structure certain family rituals, like birthday celebrations, Christmas Dinner, or visits to grandparents and other relatives.
P=Pray
P stands for Pray. Pray in various ways as a part of family life.
For example, pray by inviting each person to thank God for something at the beginning of a meal together. Pray a simple bedtime prayer with your children.
Pray by coming to Mass together. This can be challenging when there are different religious traditions, but look at this and try to pray by coming to church together whenever possible.
A=Affirm
A stands for Affirm. It is important, first of all, for a husband and wife to affirm each other for something accomplished at work, for looking attractive, or getting a job done around the house that is taken for granted.
It is important for parents to affirm children for their strengths and gifts. And it is just as important not to harp on failures, mistakes, or deficiencies.
It is also important to affirm by showing affection. Even if you’re not an emotive sort of fellow, exchanging a hug or a kiss is critical to all members of a family.
C=Communicate
C stands for Communicate. Communicate to one another your feelings of stress, hurt, pride, or sadness.
To communicate means that I risk opening up myself to my spouse, my parent or child, my sibling. It also means that I listen.
To communicate means that I really try to take in the feelings or ideas of the other person. It means that I don’t interrupt or simply gear up to say what I want to say while the other person is speaking.
E=Eat
And E stands for Eat. It is important for families to eat dinner together.
There is research showing that eating dinner together creates strong family relationships. The effect of eating dinner together at least three times a week is remarkable especially on teens.
Believe it or not, the incidence of teens resorting to smoking, drinking and drugs is far less when families eat dinner together.
As challenging as this can be with today’s lifestyle and schedules, make every effort at eating dinner together at least three times a week. You will see a difference.
Conclusion
That’s it!
S-P-A-C-E. Structure – Pray – Affirm – Communicate – Eat.
These five actions will indeed create SPACE for Families. They will help in the challenging world of today to have healthy, happy and holy families.
Our Lady of Grace
December 30, 2007
Form: A S-P-A-C-E for families
Function: To offer listeners concrete ways to improve the quality of their family life
A S-P-A-C-E for Families
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Families: Yesterday and Today
In recent decades, family life has changed a great deal in the United States.
In the past, we pictured the “typical” family as a mother and father living together with two or three children. The father would go out to work and the mother would stay home to care for the children and be the homemaker.
Today, things are very different. Today, in the majority of families where both parents are present, both are also going out to work and probably have to do that for financial reasons.
Today, there are many single parent families. And today, there are many blended families.
Blended families consist of a husband and wife who have had children from a previous marriage and now bring them together and form one new family. This can happen because of the death of a prior spouse or because of divorce.
Well, with these and other developments, on this day in honor of the Holy Family, I want to recommend five specific actions for our families – traditional, single parent, blended, whatever the case may be for you.
I am grouping these recommendations by the letters: S—P—A—C—E.
An easy way to remember them is the acronym SPACE, and perhaps we could entitle this homily as “SPACE for Families.” So, here goes.
S=Structure
S stands for Structure. Structure the life of your family in ways that are sensible and that work for you.
Structure a time for the children for getting up and going to bed, a time for working and a time for playing. Structure some responsibility for everyone for the good of the household, whether for grocery shopping or emptying the trash.
Structure some regular time for the entire family to be together. And structure certain family rituals, like birthday celebrations, Christmas Dinner, or visits to grandparents and other relatives.
P=Pray
P stands for Pray. Pray in various ways as a part of family life.
For example, pray by inviting each person to thank God for something at the beginning of a meal together. Pray a simple bedtime prayer with your children.
Pray by coming to Mass together. This can be challenging when there are different religious traditions, but look at this and try to pray by coming to church together whenever possible.
A=Affirm
A stands for Affirm. It is important, first of all, for a husband and wife to affirm each other for something accomplished at work, for looking attractive, or getting a job done around the house that is taken for granted.
It is important for parents to affirm children for their strengths and gifts. And it is just as important not to harp on failures, mistakes, or deficiencies.
It is also important to affirm by showing affection. Even if you’re not an emotive sort of fellow, exchanging a hug or a kiss is critical to all members of a family.
C=Communicate
C stands for Communicate. Communicate to one another your feelings of stress, hurt, pride, or sadness.
To communicate means that I risk opening up myself to my spouse, my parent or child, my sibling. It also means that I listen.
To communicate means that I really try to take in the feelings or ideas of the other person. It means that I don’t interrupt or simply gear up to say what I want to say while the other person is speaking.
E=Eat
And E stands for Eat. It is important for families to eat dinner together.
There is research showing that eating dinner together creates strong family relationships. The effect of eating dinner together at least three times a week is remarkable especially on teens.
Believe it or not, the incidence of teens resorting to smoking, drinking and drugs is far less when families eat dinner together.
As challenging as this can be with today’s lifestyle and schedules, make every effort at eating dinner together at least three times a week. You will see a difference.
Conclusion
That’s it!
S-P-A-C-E. Structure – Pray – Affirm – Communicate – Eat.
These five actions will indeed create SPACE for Families. They will help in the challenging world of today to have healthy, happy and holy families.
Weekly THIS AND THAT for December 30, 2007: Why Dads Matter
This and That:
Why Dads Matter
I found the following comments of Father John Flynn on a new book entitled “Why Fathers Count” very informative on this Feast of the Holy Family.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Children more than ever need the presence and guidance of a father in family life. According to a recent collection of essays, a significant body of scientific research clearly documents the vital role a father plays in the formative years of a child’s life.
The book is titled Why Fathers Count: The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement with Children” (Men’s Studies Press). Sean E. Brotherson and Joseph M. White, the editors and authors of the first chapter, set the tone for the book with an overview of arguments regarding the importance of fathers for children. The presence of a father has a positive impact in many ways, they note, as children with fathers have fewer behavioral problems, obtain better academic results, and are economically better off.
Brotherson and White also clarify that they do not in any way wish to minimize the contribution made by mothers to family life. In fact, they state, both parents count: fathers and mothers. Nevertheless, as statistics amply confirm, there has been a marked increase in fatherless families in recent decades, hence the book’s concentration on fathers.
Rob Palkovitz, a professor at the University of Delaware, dedicates a chapter on the theme of men’s transition to fatherhood. Men can become fathers in a biological sense, he noted, and yet not always make the psychological and behavioral adjustments needed to embrace the role of fathering.
Being a father, Palkovitz explains, carries a different type of responsibility to that of a husband and requires an additional commitment. This change will affect a man’s choices, behavior, and priorities in everyday life. This takes time, and fathering is a role that men gradually grow into.
The transition to fatherhood, he continues, is a monumental turning point in a man’s life. If men are willing to undertake this relationship with their children, it is among the greatest changes in a man’s life and development as a person, Palkovitz concludes.
The Marriage Factor
The relationship between spouses and its impact on fathers is examined in a chapter authored by University of Arkansas professor, H. Wallace Goddard. When couples have a strong relationship they can use their differences to complement each other, and draw on each other’s strengths, and there is a much greater likelihood that both mother and father will be good parents, he argued.
Goddard also noted that in many ways the contemporary dating culture does little to prepare future couples for the commitment needed to nurture and protect a marriage. A culture that overemphasizes romance and quick fixes, he points out, does little to prepare couples for the inevitable difficult periods that every marriage goes through.
Brotherson, from North Dakota State University, examined what he termed “connectedness” in the relationship between fathers and children. This connecting involves the building of a bond over time that is more than just the love a parent has for a child, but also the degree to which a child perceives this love and acceptance. The connectedness, Brotherson adds, is developed in the details of loving another person and the trust and closeness that develops in that relationship.
Citing various research sources on family life, Brotherson goes on to explain that the more connection a child feels with his parents, the more likely he or she is to trust others and enjoy stable relationships with peers and adults outside the home. A close-knit family relationship is also more effective in protecting children from problems such as depression, suicide, precocious sexual activity or drug use.
The final part of the chapter offers suggestions for fathers on how they can connect with their children. Brotherson recommends playing together with them, and also helping them in their education. Being available to comfort them in times of need, expressing affection, and a shared spiritual activity such as praying together were among other points mentioned.
Paternal love
Academics Shawn Christianson and Jeffrey Stueve wrote about the importance of a father’s love for his children. The majority of social science research, they maintained, does not recognize sufficiently the bond that parents form with children in their loving and caring of them. Not only is there little mention of love in family theory, but many contemporary theories focus on self-interest.
A father’s love for his children is often expressed in the sacrifices he makes, whether in times of crisis or just in the everyday choices of family life. Obviously some fathers fail to take responsibility for their children, Christianson and Stueve acknowledge. At the same time, however, many do cooperate with their wives in raising their child.
Most research in this area has been done on fathers of younger children. It has shown that fathers are indeed capable of being sensitive to a child’s needs and can show affection.
Defining fatherly love is not easy, Christianson and Stueve note. One way to do so is to demonstrate the ways in which a father is present in a child’s life, helping out with physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The sharing of time, activities, conversation and self, means a constant support that children perceive as being enduring in their lives.
Vicky Phares and David Clay, respectively a professor and doctoral student at the University of South Florida, delved into the influence of fathers on the psychological wellbeing of children. They point to three main styles of parenting: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive.
Guidance
Phares and Clay explained that fathers whose parenting style is authoritative – combining control with warmth and regard – are more likely to have children who feel secure and demonstrate good mental health.
Another influential factor is the emotional availability of fathers. Being engaged in a child’s life, and responsive to emotional needs, is important in the healthy development of children and adolescents.
The role of fathers in the moral development of their children is pondered by Terrance Olson and James Marshall, respectively from Brigham Young University and the University of Kansas.
Having a moral influence is manifested in varying ways, they point out. It can be something as simple as keeping promises made to a child, or placing certain boundaries by making clear which behaviors are acceptable and which are not.
In this sense, while it is true that the quantity of time fathers devote to their children is important, it is also vital how a father reacts to a child’s needs and behavior. The personal example a father gives, and how they teach their children to treat others in the community, are additional opportunities for teaching. In this way fathers have many possibilities to transmit attitudes and values to their children and teach them the implications of moral responsibility.
Benedict XVI continued his frequent commentaries on the importance of families in a recent address: “The family is the nucleus in which a person first learns human love and cultivates the virtues of responsibility, generosity and fraternal concern,” the Pontiff commented. “Strong families are built on the foundation of strong marriages. Strong societies are built on the foundation of strong families,” the Pope continued. He then urged that governments acknowledge, respect and support marriage, in which a man and a woman join together in a lifelong commitment. It is an undertaking that is vital for the flourishing of future generations.
Why Dads Matter
I found the following comments of Father John Flynn on a new book entitled “Why Fathers Count” very informative on this Feast of the Holy Family.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Children more than ever need the presence and guidance of a father in family life. According to a recent collection of essays, a significant body of scientific research clearly documents the vital role a father plays in the formative years of a child’s life.
The book is titled Why Fathers Count: The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement with Children” (Men’s Studies Press). Sean E. Brotherson and Joseph M. White, the editors and authors of the first chapter, set the tone for the book with an overview of arguments regarding the importance of fathers for children. The presence of a father has a positive impact in many ways, they note, as children with fathers have fewer behavioral problems, obtain better academic results, and are economically better off.
Brotherson and White also clarify that they do not in any way wish to minimize the contribution made by mothers to family life. In fact, they state, both parents count: fathers and mothers. Nevertheless, as statistics amply confirm, there has been a marked increase in fatherless families in recent decades, hence the book’s concentration on fathers.
Rob Palkovitz, a professor at the University of Delaware, dedicates a chapter on the theme of men’s transition to fatherhood. Men can become fathers in a biological sense, he noted, and yet not always make the psychological and behavioral adjustments needed to embrace the role of fathering.
Being a father, Palkovitz explains, carries a different type of responsibility to that of a husband and requires an additional commitment. This change will affect a man’s choices, behavior, and priorities in everyday life. This takes time, and fathering is a role that men gradually grow into.
The transition to fatherhood, he continues, is a monumental turning point in a man’s life. If men are willing to undertake this relationship with their children, it is among the greatest changes in a man’s life and development as a person, Palkovitz concludes.
The Marriage Factor
The relationship between spouses and its impact on fathers is examined in a chapter authored by University of Arkansas professor, H. Wallace Goddard. When couples have a strong relationship they can use their differences to complement each other, and draw on each other’s strengths, and there is a much greater likelihood that both mother and father will be good parents, he argued.
Goddard also noted that in many ways the contemporary dating culture does little to prepare future couples for the commitment needed to nurture and protect a marriage. A culture that overemphasizes romance and quick fixes, he points out, does little to prepare couples for the inevitable difficult periods that every marriage goes through.
Brotherson, from North Dakota State University, examined what he termed “connectedness” in the relationship between fathers and children. This connecting involves the building of a bond over time that is more than just the love a parent has for a child, but also the degree to which a child perceives this love and acceptance. The connectedness, Brotherson adds, is developed in the details of loving another person and the trust and closeness that develops in that relationship.
Citing various research sources on family life, Brotherson goes on to explain that the more connection a child feels with his parents, the more likely he or she is to trust others and enjoy stable relationships with peers and adults outside the home. A close-knit family relationship is also more effective in protecting children from problems such as depression, suicide, precocious sexual activity or drug use.
The final part of the chapter offers suggestions for fathers on how they can connect with their children. Brotherson recommends playing together with them, and also helping them in their education. Being available to comfort them in times of need, expressing affection, and a shared spiritual activity such as praying together were among other points mentioned.
Paternal love
Academics Shawn Christianson and Jeffrey Stueve wrote about the importance of a father’s love for his children. The majority of social science research, they maintained, does not recognize sufficiently the bond that parents form with children in their loving and caring of them. Not only is there little mention of love in family theory, but many contemporary theories focus on self-interest.
A father’s love for his children is often expressed in the sacrifices he makes, whether in times of crisis or just in the everyday choices of family life. Obviously some fathers fail to take responsibility for their children, Christianson and Stueve acknowledge. At the same time, however, many do cooperate with their wives in raising their child.
Most research in this area has been done on fathers of younger children. It has shown that fathers are indeed capable of being sensitive to a child’s needs and can show affection.
Defining fatherly love is not easy, Christianson and Stueve note. One way to do so is to demonstrate the ways in which a father is present in a child’s life, helping out with physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The sharing of time, activities, conversation and self, means a constant support that children perceive as being enduring in their lives.
Vicky Phares and David Clay, respectively a professor and doctoral student at the University of South Florida, delved into the influence of fathers on the psychological wellbeing of children. They point to three main styles of parenting: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive.
Guidance
Phares and Clay explained that fathers whose parenting style is authoritative – combining control with warmth and regard – are more likely to have children who feel secure and demonstrate good mental health.
Another influential factor is the emotional availability of fathers. Being engaged in a child’s life, and responsive to emotional needs, is important in the healthy development of children and adolescents.
The role of fathers in the moral development of their children is pondered by Terrance Olson and James Marshall, respectively from Brigham Young University and the University of Kansas.
Having a moral influence is manifested in varying ways, they point out. It can be something as simple as keeping promises made to a child, or placing certain boundaries by making clear which behaviors are acceptable and which are not.
In this sense, while it is true that the quantity of time fathers devote to their children is important, it is also vital how a father reacts to a child’s needs and behavior. The personal example a father gives, and how they teach their children to treat others in the community, are additional opportunities for teaching. In this way fathers have many possibilities to transmit attitudes and values to their children and teach them the implications of moral responsibility.
Benedict XVI continued his frequent commentaries on the importance of families in a recent address: “The family is the nucleus in which a person first learns human love and cultivates the virtues of responsibility, generosity and fraternal concern,” the Pontiff commented. “Strong families are built on the foundation of strong marriages. Strong societies are built on the foundation of strong families,” the Pope continued. He then urged that governments acknowledge, respect and support marriage, in which a man and a woman join together in a lifelong commitment. It is an undertaking that is vital for the flourishing of future generations.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Weekly MESSAGE for December 30, 2007: Blessings of Pope Benedict
December 26, 2007
Focus: Blessings of Pope Benedict
Dear Friend,
New Year’s Day, the day of departure for Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina quickly approaches. All is ready for the adventure to begin.
With this, my last correspondence to you, I leave you with the Christmas Blessings Pope Benedict imparted to us all: “We ask God that violence be defeated by the power of love, that opposition be replaced by reconciliation, that the desire to dominate be transformed into desires for forgiveness, justice and peace.
“May the wishes of kindness and love that we exchange in these days reach all sectors of our daily lives. May peace be in our hearts, so that we can be open to the action of God's mercy. May peace live in all families and may they spend Christmas united before the crib and the tree decorated with lights.
“May the Christmas message of solidarity and welcome contribute to create a deeper sensibility toward old and new types of poverty, and toward the common good that we are all called to share.”
“May all family members,” he added, "especially the children and the elderly – the weakest ones – feel the warmth of this feast, and may that warmth spread out through every day of the year. May Christmas be a celebration of peace and joy: joy for the birth of the Savior, Prince of peace.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
PS. The week after I return on April 4th, I will use this distribution list one last time to direct you to my personal blog and the parish homepage for weekly homilies and bulletin notes. The weekly emailing of these ends with this week’s materials.
Focus: Blessings of Pope Benedict
Dear Friend,
New Year’s Day, the day of departure for Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina quickly approaches. All is ready for the adventure to begin.
With this, my last correspondence to you, I leave you with the Christmas Blessings Pope Benedict imparted to us all: “We ask God that violence be defeated by the power of love, that opposition be replaced by reconciliation, that the desire to dominate be transformed into desires for forgiveness, justice and peace.
“May the wishes of kindness and love that we exchange in these days reach all sectors of our daily lives. May peace be in our hearts, so that we can be open to the action of God's mercy. May peace live in all families and may they spend Christmas united before the crib and the tree decorated with lights.
“May the Christmas message of solidarity and welcome contribute to create a deeper sensibility toward old and new types of poverty, and toward the common good that we are all called to share.”
“May all family members,” he added, "especially the children and the elderly – the weakest ones – feel the warmth of this feast, and may that warmth spread out through every day of the year. May Christmas be a celebration of peace and joy: joy for the birth of the Savior, Prince of peace.”
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
PS. The week after I return on April 4th, I will use this distribution list one last time to direct you to my personal blog and the parish homepage for weekly homilies and bulletin notes. The weekly emailing of these ends with this week’s materials.
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