Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:20-33)

Already it is the Fifth Sunday in Lent. Soon the Church will enter its holiest week as She re-enacts the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. We hear Jesus speaking with his disciples in the Gospel: “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father save me from this hour?’ It was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:20-33)

Looming over us will be the trial of the Church played out everyday in the media. While we will hear nothing new, we will hear over and over again painful things, I am sure, that will not be easy. Yet, through this I believe, in the end, we will be a better Archdiocese, a better parish, and a holier people. “For unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains just a grain of wheat.” “But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (John 12:20-33) Here is our hope: that our suffering and death though unpredictable will strengthen our faith to sing with the psalmist: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”

God is with us my friends, so, as an Archdiocese as well as a parish and within our families, we must cling to the gift God has given us, our faith in Jesus who is the source of eternal salvation for all who seek Him. In the Opening Collect today we prayed, by your help may we walk with the same love your Son possesses when he hands himself over to death. We too, have been led through our Lenten observances to this moment. We have not come here by ourselves. God has led us here to listen to His voice and to encounter His presence in this Church.

Jeremiah too says, “The days are coming, when I will make you a new covenant.” It will not be an old covenant where you are comfortable and have become complacent. “I will be your God and You will be my People.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) God assures us that in this new way, “the greatest and the least shall know me.” It will be through this humility Paul says that Jesus learned obedience, and ‘became the source of salvation for all who obey him.’(Hebrews 5:7-9)

The Gospel reveals the plan for our salvation: if you want to see Jesus hear these words, “Whoever serves me must follow me.” “Whoever loves his life in this world loses it for the next and whoever hates his life on this earth will preserve it for eternal life.” (John 12:20-33)

My friends this is the time to surrender your worries, anxieties, fear and weaknesses to the Lord Who is strong and merciful and, claim the faith He gives you! Allow these holy days to lead you where you ought to be, in this holy Church. Pray for God’s mercy and forgiveness in your own life and contribute to the holiness of all our lives. Now is the time! Let God’s humility and the Church’s be our own. “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”  (John 12:20-33)

If you want to see Jesus, look for Him in the Church and you will find Him.

Jn 3:14-21: “Whoever lives the truth comes to the light.”

How can God love so much and yet allow a person to be judged?  Every human person, even if they profess to be atheist or agnostic, searches for Truth and longs to encounter God in a personal and engaging way.

We experience the person of Jesus, in prayer, fasting and in almsgiving. We encounter God in His Son, sacrificed here on our Altar. It is here we find peace in our search for Truth; in this Way we gain eternal Life.

But there are those, even Catholics who reject the possibility of finding God here. They reject the idea of formal religion and cling to personal self-awareness as a means to happiness and fulfillment.

This rejection of God and of His Church is a person’s judgment. It is not God Who judges but rather the person who has condemned himself.  Man cannot love himself alone. He must accept God’s love for him as a vital part of his existence.

A student of Socrates once said to him, “I hate you for every time I meet you, you let me see what I am.” (p 131, Barclay) This physical sanctuary, this physical parish gathered, challenges even the most determined atheist. For some, our very presence is a threat to the persons they pretend to be.

These people have alienated themselves from God and have chosen darkness over light. In their shadows they will become lost, they will not find the truth they seek, or the life that will bring them hope or joy.

But, we can witness to our own encounter with God here in our gathering. In our consumption of the sacrifice we offer, and in our acceptance of the light of Christ that makes us a people of eternal hope. Paul proclaims it: ‘God is rich in mercy. He has great love for us.’

My dear friends, our lives in communion are a light in the world! Do not be afraid to let this light shine for the lost to see. Do not be afraid to be hospitable in welcoming those who have made themselves homeless. Open your hearts and demonstrate that the light you possess is for them a Way to see the Truth and the Life of God.

 

Living With Integrity

One of the virtues that is the most challenging to cultivate and sustain is personal integrity.  It’s that quality in us that knows what is “right” and will not let us compromise our beliefs by doing anything else.

I recently read an article about a high school science teacher in a small Midwest town who assigned her students a project.  It was relatively straight-forward: collect a sample of 20 leaves from area trees and write a report on what can be known by observing the leaves. The teacher gave her students only one instruction: All of their work had to be original and not lifted from published sources.

When the projects were turned in the teacher discovered that 28 of her 116 students “cut and pasted” into their reports material obtained from Wikipedia.  She gave each of those students an “F” which meant some of them would fail the course.

Well, this riled the parents of the offending students. A group of parents complained to the school board and threatened a lawsuit. Bowing to their pressure, the school board ordered the teacher to ignore the use of outside sources, re-grade the projects and change the grades given to those students.  To her credit, the teacher refused to do so and resigned. Continue reading “Living With Integrity”

Tear off the barnacles that cling to you

Today we welcome those who desire to enter into full communion with the Christ at Easter and encourage you in your searching and in your repentance of sin. The Scrutinies are meant to deliver you, the Elect from the power of Satan and sin, to protect you from temptation, and to give you strength in Christ. We hope that these Rites will help you complete your conversion and deepen your resolve to hold fast to Christ above everything else.

As we continue our meditation on the Lord’s Passion and Death, we find ourselves in the desert with our ancestors in faith. We find ourselves at the foot of the mountain of Sinai, here at the foot of the Altar. We listen as they once did to Word of God, spoken to us from human lips. We open our ears so these words can enter our heart.

However, we listen with hearts that are Christian. Our hearts have turned to Jesus and so we hear these words as a foundation of our faith in the Church. Paul says, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

In the Gospel, we confront the reality of our own spiritual lives when we acknowledge all the barnacles in life that stick to us; envy, greed, lies, selfishness, anger, busyness and perhaps disrespect of self and other.

Jesus tears them down like the tables in the Temple. He beckons us to listen for the authentic words of God and challenges us to cling to them! Be filled with the same zeal which David said consumed him. Grab a hold of the Word of God and believe in the power of His Name and in the Wisdom of His Life.

My friends, our God is good. He heals the wounds our sins and selfishness bring upon us. Let us acknowledge that our sinfulness hurts us and hurts the Body of Christ.

May our fasting, acts of charity and prayer fill us with hope and lead us to the Easter joy God desires to share with us.

Amen.

 

Conscience is never formed well outside of Christ

I was listening a broadcaster on the television last week who is Catholic, but he announced quite clearly that he believed in contraception and that it was stupid to think otherwise.

It made me think sadly about him who really believes I am sure that he is still a faithful Catholic and in communion with Christ.

He believes I am sure that his conscience is telling him, this is right, even though Christ says it is wrong. And then I began think of what is a good conscience and how do we form our conscience to be in communion with Christ.

Our conscience is not an isolated or wholly individual thing. Consciences are formed by experience, by authority, by what is human, and by what is divine. Consciences involve the soul, our most human element that seeks after the truth in all things.

The Truth is Jesus Christ. His teaching is infallible in faith and morals. It is not stupid or medieval or ignorant or unenlightened. And so when I come to ask myself what is right and wrong and have to search out what Jesus teaches?

I cannot come to understand His teaching alone: I can only discover truth through the Scripture and equally the Tradition of the Church that is a two thousand year old reflection on the Word of God. Listen prayerfully  for the Holy Spirit and to people we trust to be in communion with Christ.

Obedience is not an easy thing to practice. Look at Abraham and his son Isaac. Psalm 116 says is well, “I believed, even when I said, “I am sorely afflicted.” Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.” Obeying the law of the Lord is not easy because it is not our interpretation of what is right or what the state says is a ‘right’ because all human rights come from God alone. What is important is admitting to yourself that God alone is the master of our lives; that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Without him we are not enlightened.

For pilgrims of faith, Christ becomes the door, opening wide the mystery of divine providence which calls to obey the commandments and the will of Christ.

As we begin this Second Week of the Lent, our response to the call of the Transfiguration must be an authentic one as it embraces the response of Jesus, who suffered on Calvary and rose to the heavens in resurrection.

Our response must be one of selfless love, rooted in Christ, that is strong enough to withstand the pressures and the stress of a world captured in a life of sin.

Each of us who bear the Cross of Jesus becomes today-a beloved son or daughter on Whom God’s favor rests. Study the Sacred Scriptures; study the mind of Christ in the writings of the Bishops throughout the centuries.

Make sure your conscience is well formed in truth not ill formed in the lies and shadows of a society that continues to alienate itself from its human dignity and from God.

Pray for those Catholics who believe their enlightenment comes from self-awareness alone and not from Christ, our only true Light.  Pray that our parish will always be faithful to the Church’s teaching thus being in communion with Christ.

Let this be our hope and our real joy in life-that the sacrifices we make for the love of Jesus do indeed make a difference in the eternal plan of the Father. Not our will, O Lord, but Your will be done in all things!

Do I want my life to be fulfilled?

Today’s Gospel according to Mark is a wonderful inspiration for the beginning of our Lenten Journey. “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” (Mk. 1:12) You get this sense of a gale wind, picking Jesus up and almost carrying Him into solitude and silence.

And what happens to Jesus when He is alone and becomes quiet? Jesus is “tempted by Satan.” (Mk. 1:13)  Jesus was “among wild beasts.” (Mk. 1:13) We know what that feels like, don’t we, when temptations bother us and our conscience is reminding us of the right thing to do. What we can forget in those times is the finish of that sentence – “and the angels ministered to Him.” (Mk.1:13)

When we get temptations in our mind, we have our conscience to remind us what is right and we have the Angels, lifting our hearts to God to set our whole person in righteousness.

So, in the desert, that great metaphor of our life with God, we have a choice: God or Satan; good or evil; light or darkness.

And then Mark reminds us that Jesus comes here to King of Prussia to proclaim the “gospel of God:” “This is the time of fulfillment…repent and believe!” (Mk. 1:15)

I am looking for fulfillment in my life, aren’t you? What is going to make my life complete? What is the ultimate purpose of my life?

My friends, Jesus proclaims to us now, this very minute that if we want to find fulfillment, real and true, we have to “repent and believe.”

It is good to be driven out into solitude and silence by the Spirit where we will be tempted but where the angels will help us find our way: to fulfillment, to peace and the prosperity of holiness which are the only riches in this life that truly matter.

Together, let this be our parish’s prayer, “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.” (Psalm 25)

The Miracle of Forgiveness

“They were astounded and glorified God saying: We have never seen anything like this.” 

I hope you paid close attention to Sunday’s readings because this is one of those weeks when each reading clearly reveals the depth of God’s love for us. In the gospel we just heard, Jesus uses a miracle at Capernaum to show us his unconditional love and the promise of new possibilities.  Jesus’ healing of the paralytic gave the man a fresh start and a chance to experience again the goodness of life.  

Of course I’m not speaking about the physical healing that came through the word of Jesus.  I’m talking about the miracle of the spiritual and emotional healing of the paralyzed man as Jesus forgave his sins and, in doing so, revealed the mercy and love that is God.   Continue reading “The Miracle of Forgiveness”

The Sacraments of Initiations – Quiz Answers

How did you do in answering last week’s questions on the sacraments of initiation?    Here are the answers:

1. What are the sacrament(s) of initiation?

a. Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.

The sacraments of Christian initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist—lay the foundations of every Christian life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life.

2. True or false: After Baptism takes away original sin, our will is no longer inclined toward evil. Continue reading “The Sacraments of Initiations – Quiz Answers”

"Moved with pity, Jesus stretches out His hand"

Today’s Gospel reveals something significant about Jesus. He is presented a man with leprosy perhaps the most feared disease of the time. This disease alienated and repulsed everyone and drove people to reject and disgust these poor human beings even in their agony.

Even though this leper who had no right to speak to Jesus without a certificate of cleanness, broke the law; Jesus does not drive him away.  Jesus welcomes him by confronting his desperation with understanding and compassion. He stretches out his hand and touches him. Jesus breaks through the fear filled conventions of the time and touches the humanness of this individual to declare a universal truth about the dignity of the human person. Jesus did not see a man who was unclean, but rather a simple human soul in desperate need.

Jesus sets in motion the long-awaited Kingdom of God where love replaces hatred, compassion replaces apathy, and light replaces darkness. If a leper of our time were to approach us, would we reach out to them? Would we touch them?  Would we bring them light or allow them to stay in the dark, do you think?

“Moved with pity, Jesus stretches out his hand and touches us and says: BE MADE CLEAN!”