Confirmation

This evening, 23 candidates will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Macaluso.  We are trying something new this year, combining the ceremony with the candidates from Mary Our Queen parish in Plantsville.  While some people have expressed displeasure at the not being able to have Confirmation "in our church", nonetheless, it DOES make sense on alot of levels.  With their 30+ candidates, the church will be full, providing a greater sense of celebration.  Most of these candidates go to school with each other, play sports together, attend social functions together, and even made their retreats together.  It seems almost natural that they would be receiving this special sacrament together as well.

I participated in the Confirmation Interview process some time ago.  Some of these candidates are more than ready to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that will enable them to take an even greater role in the life of the Church.  Others desperately need the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to assist them in finding themselves and their true identity as a Child of God.  I ask you to join me in praying for each of them, for we need the gifts and talents each has to offer.  Each is required to 'do service hours' as part of their preparation.  For some it is a boring chore.  For others it is a way for them to be of assistance to the larger community, and shows them the unique gifts they have to offer.  May our Lord bless them all in a special way this evening!

Amanda

On Good Friday, 32 year old Amanda was driving to the store to buy butter to make cookies to bring to her husband at the firehouse in Alaska where they live.  Amanda is the daughter-in-law of my neighbors in New Hampshire. 
As she traveled along the Seward Highway, a 30 foot section of ice gave way from the cliff along side the road and landed on top of her pickup truck crushing the roof down to the level of the windows, and pushing her upper torso down to her thighs.

A tow truck and a nurse were among those immediately behind her.  The nurse looked in and saw Amanda turning blue.  She reached in to reposition her neck, opening an airway, probably saving her life.  The tow truck operator decided to try to use his forklift to raise the roof as much as he could.  This also probably saved her life.  The nurse manually stabilized her neck while the tow truck operator and several others took pressure off the roof.  Once the paramedics came, the nurse vanished from the scene and has not been heard from since.  Truly a Guardian Angel!

Amanda was in ICU for over nine days.  They surgically removed the right side of her skull which they are preserving it in a freezer while they cauterized the bleeds and allow her brain to heal.  Once the healing is done, they will detach the skin again and reattach the skull.  Amazingly, this procedure was developed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for our service people with traumatic brain injuries, with the difference being the removed portion of the skull is embedded in the person's stomach in the war zone because there is no refrigeration available, until they are flown to the hospital!

Each day has shown considerable progress in her healing.  In addition to the brain injury, she has fractured vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, and a fractured jaw.  In recent days she has shown cognitive ability returning.  The other day she was able to pick up the telephone, dial her husband's number, adjust the volume, and hang up afterward - a relatively complex procedure.

She had been moved on Monday to the Neuro-Rehab unit, but yesterday was readmitted to the ICU because she awoke in a sluggish state and there was fluid leaking from her incisions.  This is a temporary set-back; apparently spinal fluid is naturally released in cases like these to relieve pressure.  A drain was inserted to assist in this process.  Her alertness returned following the procedure, but they will keep her in ICU awhile longer so as to more closely monitor her signs.

I am constantly amazed at the miracle that unfolds on a daily basis with Amanda.  And the parallels with Good Friday and Easter send shivers down my spine.  It reminds me of how precious life really is, and how fleeting is everything we tend to busy ourselves with each day.  Please join me in praying for Amanda, for all those who are caring for her, and for her immediate family and friends.

Round is a shape

With the beautiful weather we had yesterday - and today may actually be too hot - I decided it would a great day to begin the long process of training for my hike of the Crawford Path to Mt. Washington in July.  So I headed to Sessions Woods in Burlington, a gem of a three-mile path through woods, past a bog with peepers and a pond with a beaver dam, some good up-hills and down-hills. 

The wood peckers were out in force, hammering away at trees all along the route.  The 'no- see-ums' we pesty as well.  The trail was nice and dry.  The sun was bright.  Met a number of people who had the same idea, people I hadn't seen in awhile.  In fact, I felt soooo good that when I finished, I decided to do it in reverse.  After all, while round IS a shape, it is not the ideal shape for hiking the White Mountains!  And what better day to start!

Today - well, that's a different story.  I've started with two Advil already!  Hmmm....and July isn't too far off!

October Baby

I don't go to movies very frequently.  That is an understatement.  I think I have seen four movies in the last ten years.  However, I participated in the on-line petition to bring 'October Baby' to town, so when they did, I had to support it.  And I am glad I did.

Apparently, the movie was released in just three southern states, since it was written as a commentary on a referendum there to determine at what point life begins - conception or actual birth.  The movie was scheduled to be released to a wider audience next month. And the book will be written from the movie this fall - kinda opposite to the 'normal' way thay is done.

Bring your kleenex.  I did hear some open sobbing at one point.  But I was moved more by the portrayal of the power of forgiveness, than the pro-life message.  Without giving away any of the story line, it is truly amazing how much one is freed when we forgive those who have harmed us in any way.  And, conversely, how much we are truly held hostage by our unwillingness to forgive, and all the damage that is done when we refuse to forgive.  To truly forgive someone is cathartic, and that message comes across loud and clear.

I also thought that was an especially pertinent message in this Easter season, as we ponder, and marvel at, the forgiveness given us by Almighty God through the death and Resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and how liberating that forgiveness really is.  May we all be given the grace to follow His example, and in readily forgiving one another, truly help to build the Father's Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Easter Friday

‘It is the Lord.’ (John 21:1-14)

Jesus reveals himself to the disciples for the third time since the Resurrection.  And once again, there are the same three images that occur: Jesus appears to the disciples in times of fear and futility; the disciples do not immediately recognize him; but the disciples do recognize him in the breaking of the bread.’

These experiences offer us hope.  They offer us a model for our own lives.  What happened in the lives of those first disciples has happened in the lives of his followers throughout the centuries, and happens in our own lives today as well. 

We, too, have times of fear, times when nothing seems to be going as it should, or as we would want.  In those times, when we face our own struggles in life, we, too, can be reassured that Jesus will come to us, too.

Second, even in those times when we cannot see the Lord through our pain, he will call to us, and our eyes will be opened, if we allow him to open our eyes.

And third, Jesus is made known to us each and every time we gather around the Table of the Lord and celebrate Eucharist.  That’s the power we Catholics have in this most precious sacrament.  When we are struggling, we need to come to Jesus’ real presence in the Blessed Sacrament and allow him to heal us and guide us.

Jesus, as he did for his first disciples, reveals himself to us again and again.  May we open ourselves to him, and allow him to lead us ever closer to the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Peace of the Risen Lord

‘Peace be with you.’  (LK 24:35-48)

The peace of Christ often eludes us individually and collectively. 

In our struggles and fear, in times of violence and oppression, when the bad things of our world just seem to keep piling up, it is often hard to see Jesus’ presence and peace.

In such moments it may appear that despair has triumphed, and we are left with only questions in our hearts.

The consoling presence of the Risen Christ in today’s Gospel passage should do much to put our anxiety at rest.  When Jesus shows the troubled disciples his hands and his feet and eats with them, he models precisely how we can be that peace in troubled hearts and difficult times.

Jesus calls each and every one of us, his disciples, to use our hands to embrace the suffering and help carry the lonely; to use the bounty of our table and the friendship of our homes to ease the hunger and isolation by providing a meal and conversation for someone in need.

My neighbor in New Hampshire emailed to say that her daughter-in-law was in a serious car accident last Friday (Good Friday) in Alaska where they live.  Her truck was struck by a 30 foot chunk of ice that fell from a cliff overhanging the road.  It flattened the truck to the point where she was bent forward so far that she was suffocating.  A tow-truck happened by and the driver used his equipment to pull the roof up enough to provide some relief until rescue people arrived.  They say that action probably saved her life.  She has a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, fractured vertebrae, fractured jaw, pelvis and arm, and is just now coming out of a coma.

But, my neighbor wrote, the most amazing thing, next to the fact that her daughter-in-law is still alive, is the outpouring of prayers and support from people everywhere.  That, she said, is what is getting them through. 

That is the peace of the Risen Christ.  May we be bearers of that same peace as together we continue to build the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Easter Tuesday

CNN ran a program, apparently on Easter Sunday (of course) regarding discussion in some circles about whether Jesus was an historical person or just a myth - fiction created by 1st century people that was a derivative of pagan gods.  The blogsite is:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/07/the-jesus-debate-man-vs-myth/. 
A friend brought this to my attention and sought my comments.

A number of thoughts came to mind: 

First of all, faith is just that - things that often cannot be proven, but which we believe because of what we have found evidence that, to us, says what we believe is true.  If everything we believed could be proven, only idiots wouldn't believe.  But, for whatever reason, God didn't set it up that way.  So, we believe because what we have experienced in life, upon reflection, seems to support those beliefs.  If others do not choose to see things in this way, that is their prerogative.

Second, many of the things in our religion WERE based on the pagan and Jewish customs that people in that day were familiar with. 
Was Jesus born on December 25th?  Probably not.  In fact, most likely he was not.  But Christians later set that as the date to coincide with the pagan rituals for the shortest day of the year, the days starting to get longer, and thus the Light of the World coming to dispel darkness. 
Easter is a movable feast that is based on the full moon - the 1st Sunday after the spring full moon!  Again, it was set there to coincide with pagan rituals, as well as the Passover of the Jewish faith, but it's meaning - new life - still holds true, and is very similar to the rituals of other religions. 

But, because they were not actual dates does not erode what we believe about Jesus and our God.  The foundations of our faith remain true even if the 'externals' are not historically accurate.  Jesus, whenever he was born, and whenever he died and rose from the dead, did actually come into our world to open for us the gates to eternal life.  And when we get right down to it, isn't that all that really matters?

Third, as we increasingly become a pagan society that excludes any form of public worship, and the only mix of church and state is the Christmas season we find in stores from September through December 26th, then we can only expect more and more of this kind of blabber to be spread everywhere. 
All we have to do is look to countries like Russia, where the communists effectively banned practice of religion for so long - for generations (if you wanted a good paying job, you had to be a communist, which meant you could not go to church) - that now, when churches are opened again, no one knows anythng about religion or even sees any reason to go to church. 
That's where we are headed in this country, too.

So, when we see these things like this program/blog, it is good that it causes us to ask 'why' we believe what we do, because then our faith gets stronger, and our beliefs are fortified, and that is a good thing.  Continue to steep yourself in our traditions, take frequent advantage of the sacraments God has given us to support us on this journey, and leave the rest to Him!

Easter Monday

‘God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.’  (Acts2)

So, we have survived the crowds here in church this weekend, and all the festivities and foods and parties – all meant to assist us in celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection, and the new life he has brought into our world. 

So, it would be fair to ask you, do you feel any different this morning – other than tired?  In a world that is still broken in so many ways, where are the effects of Jesus’ Resurrection?  Where do we find our hope?

I remember reading an article by the Rev. William Sloane Coffin who suggested that hope is a state of mind.  And because it is a state of mind, it really is independent of the world in which we live.

He said that if our heart is full of hope, we can be persistent even when we cannot be optimistic.  We can keep the faith despite whatever is swirling all around us in our lives.  On top of that, he also said that it is only in having hope that we can have any chance of changing the things in the world around us.  He concluded, “So, while I am not optimistic, I am always very hopeful.”

The disciples knew they had no choice but to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection everywhere they went.  They knew that if they refused to do that, there was no hope that the world around them would ever change.  The same is true for us.  The only hope we have of seeing improvements is if we remain hope-filled people, and if we go forth to give witness to the power of Jesus’ Resurrection everywhere we go.  For then will we assist in the building of the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Happy Easter!

As I was preparing this homily I got to thinking about . . . .

Empty hearts.  Empty words.  Empty relationships.  Empty shelves.

I hear what you are thinking: “Father, you’re bringing us down on a day we should be happy.”

Empty gas tanks.  Empty hands.  Empty wallets.  Empty promises.

You know, every time we think of something as being empty it seems to be a negative thing, a bad thing, an undesirable thing, doesn’t it? 

Most of us don’t want anything that’s empty. 

But today is different.  Today we gather as a people of faith to rejoice over an empty tomb, THE empty tomb - the greatest sign of God’s power over every evil - every sorrow, every failure to love, every disappointment, every heartache, every tragedy, every sin, and even over death itself.  The tomb may have been empty, but the world would be forever filled with the power that the empty tomb represents - the power of the resurrection.

Sometimes I think that we have the tendency to think of this day in only one way - that Easter simply means that we can now hope for eternal life with God when our earthly lives have ended.  And that is absolutely true.  Easter is certainly about that, and we should never underestimate what that means for each and every of us, and for humanity as a whole.  Jesus has reconciled us to the Father, and because of that, we have an opportunity to dwell with God forever.

But, Easter is so much more.  The power of the resurrection is not something that only impacts our lives at the end, it is also a power that is at work right now, in this time and place, in every situation and in every human heart.  And this power, this great triumph over sin and death represented by the empty tomb, has the ability to fill all the emptiness inside of us - the wounds, the brokenness, the sorrow, and even the sin. 

Through the Holy Spirit, the power of the resurrection has been unleashed on the world, ready to transform every darkness into light, every bit of despair into hope, every disappointment into a new possibility, and every daily “death” we endure into something filled with life - new life - a whole new way of being, of seeing, of acting, of experiencing whatever comes our way as we make our journey through this life.

The power of the resurrection, the power revealed by the empty tomb, can make an unbelievable difference - a life-changing difference for each of us - IF . . . and this is a big if . . .  IF we are willing to change. 

And not just if we are willing to change, but if we actually want to change, if we long for it, if we are sincerely open to it.

God wants to transform our lives into lives of even greater beauty, even greater meaning, even greater purpose.  He wants to transform us into men and women who see more like He sees, who care more like He cares, who love more like He loves.  And if we are open to this transformation, if we invite the power of God’s saving act to penetrate our hearts and minds, everything will be different.

And make no mistake about what I’m saying.  Even if we allow ourselves to be transformed into the people God created us to be (and died for us to be) we will not be free of the struggles of this life.  Every one of us will still experience obstacles, and failures, and disappointments.  We will still encounter sorrow and heartache.  And yes, each of us will someday die. 

But none of those things - not even death itself - can win.  None of them can get the best of us.  The victory has been won.  And because of that victory, every difficulty we face in this life can be resurrected and created anew as well - transformed from something of great darkness, into something so much more meaningful.

That’s what Easter is all about, each of us allowing God’s saving power to turn every difficulty and every cross we have to carry in this life into an Easter moment, an experience in which God’s love, and mercy, and compassion triumph over whatever it is we’re going through.

Therefore, heaven is not just something we long for in the future.  Heaven, in a certain sense, is something we can begin to experience right now, in this time and place, whenever we allow the power of the Resurrection to help us experience life in a whole new way: seeing, and acting, and loving as God does.

Empty tomb?   That doesn’t sound too bad.  May the emptiness in each of us be filled with every good thing God offers, not just this Easter day, but each and every day – each and every time we need the power of the Resurrection to make a real and lasting difference in our lives, knowing that we are indeed on the road that leads to the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Easter Vigil

I love the Easter Vigil celebration.  It is such a moving experience.  Unfortunately so many people do not attend because it is much longer than a 'normal' Sunday Mass, and for some reason, I think Catholics believe they will turn into 'Protestants' (the religious version of pumpkins) if they are not out of church in 45 minutes or less!

The symbolism of the rituals within the Vigil are exquisite.  Each of our senses is employed.
From the complete darkness of the church that literally feels like our being buried in the tomb with Jesus, to the new Easter fire and the Light of Christ slowly enveloping the entire congregation in candle light, our eyes witness the Resurrection.
The bells and the organ introduce the Gloria, and our ears hear the melodic strains of hymns of praise to our God for the new life Jesus has brought.
The new Easter water is blessed and drops land upon us in the Espurgus Rite and we feel the power of our baptismal day when these same waters made us a child of God, just as those to be baptized this night will be brought into our faith.
The sweet smell of incense tells us our prayers are billowing to the heavens in a similar fashion.
The taste of the bread and wine transfromed into the Body and Blood of our Lord make it clear that Jesus, our Risen Savior, now physically enters us to walk with us and guide us each step we take, each and every day.

While there is certainly a tremendous amount of preparation needed to make this liturgy unfold smoothly, and this year this is even more so because of the changes in the new Roman Missal translations, nonetheless, it is a liturgy that I look forward to, and revel in.    It is a privilege and a joy to preside, and to be able to baptize and confirm two catechumens and welcome two candidates into the fullness of our faith through the sacrament of confirmation.  My only regret is that so many people deprive themselves of witnessing and participating in this greatest of all liturgies!

Good Friday

A lazy co-worker finally gets let go, and we think . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

A woman who has been fudging her company’s books for years finally gets audited, and we think . . . . . . . . .  . . .

“You deserved it.”

A man who constantly mistreats his girlfriend eventually gets dumped by her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

A criminal gets caught and gets a stiff sentence . . . . 

“You deserved it.”

You scrape your knee chasing your sibling around the house, and what does your mom say?  You guessed it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

Often in life it seems as though people get exactly what they deserve.

Well, not today.

Jesus certainly didn’t - the sinless one, the one who did nothing but do right by every person he encountered, the one who only spoke the truth, the one who reached out to the lowly and those on the fringes - he certainly didn’t get what he deserved. 

And when we hear the story of Jesus’ passion and death it fills our hearts with an even greater amount of sorrow knowing precisely who had to undergo such an ordeal. 

It wasn’t right then.  And it sure doesn’t seem right now.  No, Jesus did not get what he deserved.

He deserved their respect.  He deserved their admiration.  He deserved their friendship.  He deserved their full and undivided attention.  He deserved their compassion and understanding.  And he deserved their love. 

Instead, he got little of those things. 

Instead, he was led where none of us would ever want to go.  And he did it simply because he refused to stop loving, even in the face of ridicule, even in the face of judgment, even in the face of suffering, and yes, even in the face of death.

Jesus certainly did not get what he deserved - that goes without saying - but he’s not alone.  He didn’t get what he deserved . . . . . and neither did we.

“Lord I am not worthy . . .” That’s right . . . neither did we. 

You see, we don’t really deserve what Jesus did for us and continues to do for us.  And that’s not to put ourselves down, or beat ourselves up, or be overly harsh.  It’s simply the reality of the situation.  We know that at times we have messed up.  At times we have made choices that undermine that which God desires for the world.  At times we have wandered far off the path, strayed, disobeyed - use any word you want - we simply have not always lived up to our calling as sons and daughters of God, and as people created in His image and likeness. 

And whatever is wrong with the world, whatever needs to be healed or mended, it’s not because God didn’t do His part - it’s because men and women - you and me - have failed to do ours.

But instead of saying, “You made your bed, now lie in it,” God chose to take all of the brokenness and all the sin upon Himself.  Instead of doing nothing, God didn’t just do something - He did everything - pouring out His very self, His very life for us.  We did not deserve it.  But that didn’t matter to God.  He simply showed us just how much He loves us.

And so as we reflect on Jesus hanging on the Cross, our hearts are not just filled with sadness.  They’re also filled with a tremendous amount of gratitude, a profound appreciation for all that God has done for us. 

A truly Christian heart is a grateful heart. 

May we never stop thanking God from the depths of our very being, not just today, but always, for opening for us the way to the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace. 

Holy Thursday

Unlike most other days throughout the year, the readings Holy Mother Church gives us for Holy Thursday are always the same.  And so, I suppose if you were asked to choose the Gospel reading for today - a day on which we remember the Last Supper - many of us would probably choose one of the passages that depicts Jesus “instituting the Eucharist” - sitting at table, blessing bread and wine, breaking the bread, and sharing this sacred meal with his disciples.  Yet, what we hear every year is St. John’s account of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.  Why doesn’t the Church simply include a more expanded passage from John, one including Jesus blessing bread and wine and sharing them with his friends?

Well, the answer is simple - there is no such passage.   

You see, St. John’s Gospel doesn’t mention the Last Supper as the other three evangelists do. 

And, Matthew, Mark, and Luke say nothing about the foot washing. 

And so, since the Church wants to include both, it chooses a passage from St. Paul in which he mentions the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper, and follows it with the passage from St. John recounting the foot-washing ritual.

Now, it may seem that the easiest solution would be to do the re-enactment of the foot-washing on a different Sunday during the year, and simply focus on Eucharist today.  Yet, we don’t do that.  Why?  There is a very good reason why.  It seems pretty clear that Jesus didn’t just happen to do these two things at the same meal.  He chose to do them together; he chose to forever link one with the other. 

And that should tell us something.

I think there is a tendency for us as Catholics to see this sacred meal as simply a holy, private moment between each of us and our God.  Sure, we do it each Sunday all together as a faith community - that is of course, true - but for many of us that’s secondary. 

For most of us, unfortunately, Eucharist is a time when I come to experience true “communion” with my God, a time for me to experience God’s love, God’s mercy, and God’s comfort.  Receiving the Lord’s Body and Blood is a time for me to spiritually draw closer to my God and to know a peace that only He can give.

And those are all good things, don’t get me wrong – as are all the things that I experience when I share in this sacred meal.  And I thank God for the opportunity to be touched by Him in this way, to be nourished by His Body and Blood, to be fed a food unlike any other. 

However, that is just one aspect of what this holy meal is all about.  You see, Eucharist is not just a precious gift for you and for me as individuals.  It’s a gift for the whole world - the gift of Jesus’ very self poured out for a world in desperate need of healing, and mercy, and love.

As Catholics we believe some pretty incredible things about what happens within the walls of our church, on the altar, at the sacred meal.  Believing that our God comes to us in this way is both powerful and profound.  And it should be comforting to know that our God wants us to be close to Him - for us to dwell in Him, and He in us.  However, this sacred meal, this holy food, is also meant to transform us.

That’s right, transform us – transform us into more than we were yesterday.  That’s the power of this sacrament.  It can change us for the better, help us to be more and more like the people God created us to be.   But make no mistake about it - this transformation is meant to not just change who we are, but how we live.  In other words, what we believe happens at the altar will hopefully bear fruit in all that we do, in the way we treat others, in the choices we make each and every day.

This sacred meal, this food for the journey, is meant to empower us and inspire us to live more as Jesus lived - to be better foot-washers, more faithful foot-washers, more loving foot-washers.  Our belief in the Eucharist is not something we simply contemplate.  It’s something we allow to change us - so that we may more perfectly conform our lives to the life of the One we follow, the One in whom we put our trust, the One we call Lord.

Believing in Jesus means something.  Following Jesus means something.  Believing in what takes place on the altar means something. 

They mean that the Eucharist we receive, and serving the needs of others are inextricably linked together.  We really can’t claim belief in one and fail to do the other.  That’s probably why Jesus chose to do them at the same time.  They’re not disconnected.  They’re intimately linked, an expression of what faith is really all about.

At our Holy Thursday Mass, our choir shared the song 'Remembrance' by Matt Maher.  Its words speak to us about what it is we celebrate at every Mass:

"Oh, how could it be,
That my God would welcome me into this mystery,
Say take this bread, take this wine,
Now the simple made divine, for any to receive.

By Your mercy, we come to Your table;

By Your grace, You are making us faithful.

Lord, we remember You:
And remembrance leads us to worship,
And as we worship You,
Our worship leads to communion.
We respond to Your invitation, we remember You."

I think that is such a beautiful description of what happens every time we gather for Mass. 

We gather because the Lord invites us to come and remember him (Do this in remembrance of me.). 

And as we remember him, we are led to worship him (My Lord and my God.). 

And in worshiping him, we are led to communion – communion with God and communion with one another. 

And in remembering those in the world around us, we cannot help but respond to God’s invitation to assist those most in need, for in so doing we become the very Body of Christ that we receive.

And thus we do not only remember Jesus washing the feet of his disciples on this day, as if we’re just recalling something from the past.  Rather, we strive to remember what we do this night every time we come forward to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood.  May this holy meal continually challenge us and inspire us to go forth and do the work of Jesus - as servants of all. 

Jesus laid down his life for others.  May we have the courage and the faith to do the same, helping to build the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.   

Give it up

‘Will you lay down your life for me?’  (John 13)

Peter pledged to lay down his life for Jesus.  And while he eventually did exactly that, initially he balked at what that actually entailed.

Self-denial is the name of the game during Lent and Holy Week, yet do we really know what that entails?  Don’t we find it so much easier to deny ourselves certain kinds of food, or limit our online activity, than to check our own attitudes and beliefs?

What would it be like if we gave up belittling words and harsh attitudes?

What if we abstained from the guilty pleasure of a clever joke that is disparaging toward others?  Are we really willing to lay down our life for Jesus?

You see, taking up our Cross doesn’t mean waving the flag of religion for all to see.  Rather, it means taking a long, hard look at ourselves, and allowing the Holy Spirit to root out even the smallest seeds of discord, which can become full-blown weeds of things like bullying and judgmentalism and other forms of violence if we are not careful.

As we continue on this journey through Holy Week, let us pray that we might indeed take the time to examine our conscience, and gather all those things we want Jesus to take to the Cross for us, so that come Easter, we might be Resurrection people, and go forth as Jesus’ disciples to assist in building the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Betrayal

"One of you will betray me."  (Mt. 26)

The Church enters the 'difficult days' of Holy Week now, when it bearts painful witness to the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus.

These days invite each of us to take an honest look at ourselves, and at our own faith.
In what ways have we, like Judas, 'betrayed' our best self by acting selfishly or thoughtlessly?
Have we been dishonest in our dealings with our loved ones, friends, or business associates?  Have we been careless with our words, to the pain of another?
Have we neglected our spirit, and failed to make time for prayer and worship?

There is still time to repent past wrongs, and commit to a new life in the Spirit.  But, the appointed hour draws near.  May we heed the challenge, and seek to unite ourselves more closely to the suffering and Passion of Jesus, so that come Easter, we might indeed find oursleves drawing ever closer to the Resurrection in the Father's Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Judas

‘Judas said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.’

Evil is real.  Sometimes we recognize it.  But sometimes we recognize it too late, because so often evil comes disguised as good.

That is true of the infamous dictators who sold themselves with promises of a better life. 

It is true of less obvious personalities in the media or the military or the corporation. 

It is also true within the church, within communities, and within families, simply because it is true in each and every one of us to some degree.  Each one of us is capable of hypocrisy. 

Each one of us is tempted to present ourselves as better than we really are.

As we journey through this Holy Week, today is a good day for self-examination, for as we get to know our personal Judas, we might more easily recognize Judas in the messages of the world as well.  And, if we haven’t already celebrated the Sacrament of Penance in preparation for Easter, we should seek the opportunity to do so, to ask the Lord to forgive us our lies, our deceptions, our pretenses, and to fill us with the grace of self-knowledge so that we might better love Him and all those in the world around us. 

For it will be in this way that we will then draw ever closer to the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.

Passion Sunday

As we read the Passion of Jesus at Mass, it is always interesting to look around the congregation and see the reaction of people.  Some are very much into the reading and proclaiming the part of the Crowd.  Some are reading along, but do not actually say the words assigned them out loud, or in an audible tone of voice.  And some don't even bother to pick up a hymnal and follow along, choosing to distance themselves completely from the entire process.

I have actually asked some people why they do not participate fully in this reading.  And almost always the response is that they don't want to be associated with the suffering and pain inflicted upon Jesus.  And yet, do we all not add to his Passion each and every day of our life?  So we all not turn away from him over and over again?  Could each and every one of us easily walk in the shoes of any of those characters in this Story?  Isn't that the point, after all, of celebrating this year in and year out?

And while it might be hard to see much joy in the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, what we are used to hearing with sadness may actually have some surprising notes of hope in them. Saint Peter’s betrayal of Jesus is an example. Not only does he fall asleep at Jesus’ hour of need and abandon Jesus at the cross, but his denials of Jesus to save his own skin rank very near Judas’ betrayal. 

Peter, however, feels immediate remorse for his sins. Repentance is always possible with Christ—something Peter did and that you and I can do today as the church enters the last days of its journey with Jesus to his cross and beyond.

But we need to remember that we will only arrive at Easter as a changed person to the degree to which we enter into this Holy Week and journey through the Passion and Crucifixion with Jesus.  Let us make some time to make this week different than our normal weeks, and put time aside to truly make it 'holy'. 

For it will be in this way that we will draw ever closer to the Resurrection in the Father's Kingdom of true and lasting peace.