Saint Joseph R. C. Church

2012-01-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #76
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
February 12, 2012

Reading 1
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch
which appears to be the sore of leprosy,
he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,
or to one of the priests among his descendants.
If the man is leprous and unclean,
the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head.

"The one who bears the sore of leprosy
shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,
and shall muffle his beard;
he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'
As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean,
since he is in fact unclean.
He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp."

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Leprosy is a terrible disease that separated the sufferer from society. If the priests declared someone to be a leper, they had to “dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp (see first reading).” This means that they had to fend for themselves, finding their own food, clothing, and shelter, which would have been near impossible because they had to stay away from everyone. When someone neared, they had to shout, “Unclean, unclean.” Being a leper was known as a “living death.”

The term ‘leprosy’ included many forms of skin disease. As we see in the first reading from Leviticus, it could include “a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy”, or it could be leprosy itself. To protect and preserve the health and well being of the community, lepers needed to be removed from society. It was harsh, but the only way to stem the spread of the disease to others.

Falling on his knees was an act of worship by the leper, and his begging can seem to be like a prayer. He is giving divine status to Jesus. He prays, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Curing a leper was like considered as marvelous as raising the dead (Numbers 12:10-12, 2 Kings 5:7). This is an important Christological revelation: only God can raise the dead, therefore Jesus is God.

Jesus is “moved with pity,” not the usual reaction to a leper. A meeting with a leper could turn violent; at the least, people would be repulsed and stay at a safe distance. Look how desperate the leper was: normally, he would never come close to a person. Jesus was his last hope. He is not only our last hope, but our only hope.

By touching the leper, Jesus becomes unclean. It shows the depth of his compassion for the suffering. We will see throughout the Gospels his compassion for the poor, marginalized, suffering, sinners, and outcasts of society. The least of society has become the most favored by God.

The actual healing comes about by Jesus’ word and command: "I do will it. Be made clean." The leper was healed immediately and totally, as normally happens with Jesus’ cures in the Gospels. Jesus desires all of us to be healed. It probably won’t happen immediately and totally as it did with the leper, but his healing power is available to us, as it was to the leper. While we may not be healed physically, Jesus healing power is there for us spiritually, which is the more important kind of healing.

Jesus dismisses the healed man with the warning, "See that you tell no one anything.” This is another appearance of the Messianic Secret, in which we need to take these healings in context with the whole life of Jesus, including his death and resurrection.

He also tells him, “go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." This suggests his acceptance of the Law, and it certainly seems necessary for this man to rejoin society and his family. In Leviticus, the man would have been required to undergo an elaborate ritual. Since priests were available throughout the country, he wouldn’t need to go to Jerusalem. The priest would examine him and see that he was healed. There would be a sacrifice that the healed man would make as a public sign of his healing.

Jesus knew that the healed man would let the religious authorities know how he was healed and by whom. This would show these leaders that Jesus participates in God’s power to heal and to save, and that he has authority over the Law. People would have seen leprosy as God’s punishment for sin. Healing the leprosy is tantamount to forgiving the sin. This healing also shows Jesus power to forgive sins, which only God can do.

The second reading is about respecting the consciences of other people. Some thought it was sinful to eat food that was offered to idols since it made one complicit in idolatry, while others didn’t, on the basis that since these idols didn’t exist, it was a non-issue. Paul said we should respect each others consciences. It wasn’t important whether someone ate this food or not; what’s important is that we “do everything for the glory of God.” Bickering and arguing is fruitless and can be sinful. We let respect others and let them be, and live good lives as witnesses to God’s love.

Fr. Phil

2012-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #75
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
February 5, 2012

READING 1
JOB 7:1-4, 6-7

Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-19, 22-23

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MARK 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The healing of Simon’s mother in law begins today’s readings. We are still in chapter one of Mark’s Gospel, so Simon hasn’t as yet been transformed into Peter, which will take until Pentecost to accomplish.

This is the first of eight separate healing episodes, four of them being the healing of women (can you find them all?). The appearance of this healing miracle right after the exorcism reflects the close connection between illness and evil spirits; people thought evil spirits caused illness. It was thought that in the messianic age, that disease and death would be eliminated. By healing, exorcising, and rising from the dead, Jesus is showing us by his actions that he is the messiah, because he is doing what the messiah was supposed to do. Throughout this Gospel, the demons continually call Jesus by name and call him the Holy One of God. Jesus continually battles evil and defeats evil on the cross.

Over 200 verses of this gospel are taken up with healings, which is longer than the Passion Narrative. There are few healings (or works of power, as Mark calls them) in the second half of the Gospel, and these miracles are usually followed by an injunction not to tell anyone. Why? You’d think Jesus would want everyone to know. The reason is called the Messianic Secret. We need to look at the entirety of Jesus’ life to understand him. His teachings, miracles, and everything else he does must be understood in relation to his passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus is more than a dynamic, authoritative teacher; he is more than a healer; he is more than one who has power over life; he is the messiah, the savior, the Christ, who establishes the kingdom through his conquering of sin and death through his passion, death and resurrection. Everything he says and does is geared toward this saving event.

According to John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel Harrington, S.J. in The Gospel of Mark, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2002, the “healing narratives exhibit a similar pattern that is found in 1:29-31 in concise form: (1) the arrival of the miracle worker at the locale of the sick person (1:29); (2) a description of the illness or problem (1:30); (3) a request for healing, implicit or explicit (1:30b); (4) the healing action either by gesture or word (1:31); (5) the effecting of the mighty deed; and (6) acclamation by the crowd or some external demonstration of the healing (1:31c).”

By curing “many who were sick with various diseases, and (driving) out many demons” Jesus shows his power and authority over evil and the many benefits that come from God’s saving power in the world. Jesus doesn’t allow the demons to speak about him because of the Messianic Secret, and he doesn’t want the demons to influence people in deciding who Jesus is (just a prophet, just a healer, etc.) so as to turn them away from belief in Jesus as the messiah and savior.

There is an aspect of discipleship in this passage. By healing Simon’s mother in law, Jesus shows that those he touches and heals are called to be his disciples. Her waiting on them signifies the offering of her time, talent, and treasure for Jesus (or for the building up of the kingdom). The response to being healed is to serve others. When any of us are touched by the Holy Spirit and are healed either spiritually or physically, we are called to a deeper relationship with the lord, but we are also called to serve other people just as Jesus did.

Jesus has balance in his life. He works hard but he also takes time for himself. He knows that to keep feeding the people, he needs to feed himself. He takes time to pray and be filled with God’s grace. After all, we can’t give away what we ourselves don’t have. Jesus prays before every important event in his life, which keeps him on track in doing his Father’s will.

It’s not a question of prayer or action, but prayer and action, which can make for a very busy life. We always find time for the important things in life. Sometimes Jesus is so busy during the day that he needs to pray at night, sometimes all night. He shows a commitment to God and he won’t be deflected in any way by anyone or anything. How committed are we to God? Do we make time for prayer? Do we make time to serve others?

Anyone who has suffered or is currently suffering should read the book of Job (1st reading). Job has everything his world offered, and he loses it all. He loses his family, his friends, his farm, his money, his influence, and he ends up sitting on an ash heap, covered with boils. He could get any lower and his life couldn’t get any worse.

Three friends come by to console him and try to explain things to him. God punishes sinners, they say, you’re being punished, so therefore you must be a sinner. But we know that’s not true, because Job is earlier described as “blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil (1:8).”

The end result is that we can’t understand suffering, which is so much more complicated and mysterious and resists easy explanations. Job realizes this, and submits himself to God, who is with us to console and strengthen us in our suffering. We can join in the redemptive suffering and mystery of Christ to receive meaning and purpose and hope. Like Job, we know the power of God and know that he is the one to turn to in times of trouble.

In the second reading from the 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, Paul has had a personal experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and feels compelled to preach the Gospel because he received it directly from Jesus which he offers free of charge. He is very committed and he makes himself a slave to all to preach salvation to as many as he can. He says something interesting, “What then is my recompense?”

At funerals, my main concern in my homily is to give people hope that their loved one is in heaven. But what if that person lived a marginal life? A life directed more at earthly than heavenly things? Some day, someone is going to figure that out and say to me, “If it’s that easy to be saved, why be a Christian?” It’s St Paul saying, “What then is my recompense?”

My answer would be that virtue is its own reward. When we live as God commands and are virtuous, we are living the best possible life, which should fill us with meaning, peace and joy. It’s impossible to live well with the hope of a future salvation but nothing in the here and now; and God is not that stingy or demanding, anyway. God will not be outdone in generosity and will repay us 30 or 60 or a 100 fold for whatever we do. That is our recompense: an enviable life filled with God’s grace.

Fr. Phil

2012-01-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #74
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
January 29, 2012

READING 1
DEUTERONOMY 18:15-20

Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'
And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 CORINTHIANS 7:32-35

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MARK 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are?the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Capernaum is a village on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. It was fertile and prosperous and known for its fishing industry. It is the center of Jesus mission in Galilee and his home. Recent excavations have unearthed 2nd and 3rd century synagogues and a fifth century church built on the ruins of an earlier house church which is thought to be St. Peter’s house from the first century.

Jesus went to synagogue on a sabbath, showing his faithfulness to his religion and the importance of joining in communal prayer. He teaches in the synagogue and they were all amazed at his teaching. While this passage doesn’t tell us what he taught, it says, “he taught them as one having authority.” The scribes would teach by quoting the Rabbis or some point of law, but Jesus taught because of his authority based on his relationship with God as his Son.

While the term ‘exorcism’ isn’t used, that’s what Jesus does. There are 3 other exorcisms in this gospel: 1) 5:1-20 (the Gerasene demoniac); 2) 7:24-30 (the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter); and 9:14-29 (the boy with an unclean spirit). Jesus is also described as “preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee” in 1:39. According to John R. Donahue, S.J., and Daniel Harrington, S.J. in The Gospel of Mark, the Liturgical press, Collegevile MN, 2002. these exorcisms have a similar pattern: “1) the meeting of the exorcist and the demon; 2) the attempt of the demon to resist divine power; 3) the powerful response of the exorcist, usually commanding silence; 4) a command to leave; 5) the departure of the demon; and 6) various reactions of amazement and wonder, often with the story being broadcast far and wide.”

As Jesus begins his public ministry, this exorcism shows us Jesus plan to take on and overcome the forces of evil. The unclean spirit is called unclean because of its resistance to the holiness of God. The spirit (a demon) knows that Jesus can destroy it. The admission by the unclean spirit that Jesus is the Holy One of God is an admittance of Jesus identity and also an attempt to ward off the power of Jesus by using his name, which was to take mastery over him. Jesus identity was announced earlier at his baptism in 1:11: “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” is now shouted out and reaffirmed by the unclean spirit, who knows who Jesus really is. As human as Jesus can appear, he is also a person of mystery and power.

Jesus rebukes the demon and it leaves the man because Jesus is stronger than the forces of evil. Since we are powerless over evil, Jesus conquers the power of evil so we can be reborn in love and freedom. His fame spreads far and wide because of the authority of his teaching and his power over evil forces.

Many people who saw Jesus perform miracles did not believe in him or recognize him for who he was. The demons certainly did, however. The Apostles didn’t really understand until Pentecost. God respects our free will and allows us to say yes or to say no to him. Do we accept Jesus in our hearts and let him overpower evil in our lives? Do we live prophetic lives that reflect the power of Jesus in our lives?

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses promises that God will send prophets from among them, and that they should listen. Moses was initially an unwilling prophet, but was the first mediator between God and the people, and turned out to be the prototype of a prophet whom all future prophets would follow. The prophets found out that it was not an easy job. Prophecy includes predicting the future, but the major job of a prophet is to point out the weaknesses, failings, and sins of other people. We always need someone to tell us the truth, whether we like it of not. We need prophets, but we don’t like them. Nor do we like being a prophet, but God calls some to that role. Is he calling you to be a prophet in some way?

The second reading from the 1st letter of Paul to the Corinthians is a continuation of last week’s second reading. They thought that Jesus return was imminent, so it wasn’t necessary to be concerned with worldly things, such as marriage. He didn’t tell people not to get married, but that marriage could come into conflict with their faith. It can be easy to put someone or something else first in our lives, and our faith suffers. Remaining celibate removes the anxieties of marriage from our lives so we can focus on faith.

Fr. Phil

2012-01-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #73
THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
January 22, 2012

Reading 1
Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
1 Corinthians 7:29-31

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mk 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Mark’s Gospel starts with the preaching of John the Baptist; there is no “Christmas story,” which is found only in Matthew and Luke. Subsequently, there is the Baptism of Jesus and his temptation in the desert.

Today’s gospel is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which is clearly delineated from John’s ministry (John had been arrested, is in jail, and is soon to be beheaded – his ministry is complete). Jesus now takes over for John.

Most scholars agree that the first paragraph in today’s gospel accurately summarizes the main points of Jesus’ ministry: the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Good News.

The Kingdom of God is hard to define. For the Jews, the Kingdom of God is in the future, and that when it does come, all creation will praise God, there will be a resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, rewards for the righteous, punishment for the wicked, and a new heaven and a new earth (sounds like the Christian view of the second coming, doesn’t it?).

Jesus believed that the fullness of the Kingdom is in the future, but that his presence and ministry begins (or inaugurates) the Kingdom now (called the time of fulfillment). That’s why I think it’s so hard to explain the Kingdom because we only experience it partially – we won’t know what it really is until it comes in fullness at the second coming. It’s what the scholars refer to as “the already but not yet.” We feel the effects of the kingdom (peace, harmony, love etc.) but we live in the earthly kingdom and feel its effects, too.

Jesus begins his ministry with the word “Repent.” This idea of repentance (and forgiveness) is so important that it appears more than 100 times in the Old Testament and 100 times in the New Testament. We hear this concept many times during the year, especially in the season of Lent.

To repent means more than to be forgiven. It means more than doing what we want and asking for forgiveness when we feel guilty. Repenting means a change of heart, called metanoia in Greek. It means that we need to try our best not to commit sin, but also to totally reorient our lives to Christ, to believe in the Good News, the second statement Jesus makes in the beginning of his ministry.

The Good News is that Jesus, through his suffering, dying, and rising, has taken on our sins and conquered sin and death. He has done for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He calls us to live in obedience to God’s word. Not only do we stop our sins, we live by doing good to others. This means that we are kind when others are unkind; we are forgiving when others don’t forgive; we sacrifice when others are self indulgent; we care when others don’t care; we are generous when others are greedy, and we love when others hate. It doesn’t matter what others do, we have the Good News to tell us how to live. Repenting and believing in the Good News is a way of life, it is God’s way of life for our peace and happiness. It is not easy to do, but is possible with God’s grace.

The call narrative is a paradigm of subsequent call narratives. In “The Gospel of Mark” by John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel Harrington, S.J., (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville Minnesota, 2002) there are 6 elements to the call: “(1) the initiative is from Jesus; (2) those called are engaged in ordinary work; (3) the call is in a clear summons to “follow me;” (4) the call is to share in the mission or activity of the one calling; (5) the response to the call is immediate and unreflective, with a “leaving” of former occupations; and (6) responding to the call is not a private choice, but means joining others who have responded as well.”

Jesus says to Simon and Andrew to “"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." The mission is to be fishers of men; in other words, to tell others to repent and believe in the Good News. They are to preach both by word and example. They must repent and believe in the Good News first before they can be effective evangelists. They need to go to all people, no matter where they are or who they are, and spread the net of salvation, bringing in as many as they can. They have to be persistent, because many won’t believe right away, or maybe not at all. They will end up sacrificing for the good of the kingdom: they will give up their families and their occupations to dedicate themselves to the spreading of the good news of the kingdom.

You may be one of those who have followed God’s call and dedicated your life to God, or you maybe familiar with someone else’s call. Those calls would have followed this same format. Sometimes we need to be like Jesus and propose to others that they may want to consider a vocation. I encourage all of you to ask others you think might have a vocation to listen to God and see if the call is there. Sometimes all that is needed is a little encouragement.

In the first reading, we have the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet. He is sent by God to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, to preach repentance, because ”their wickedness has come before me (1:2)”. Jonah flees God by boarding a ship headed to Tar shish, but God sends a great wind and storm against the boat. When the sailors found out from Jonah that he was fleeing God, which caused the storm, they threw Jonah overboard and he was swallowed by a large fish and remained there for 3 days. We generally say whale, but the bible says fish. Jonah prayed, was released from the fish, and proceeded to Nineveh. Jonah walked for 3 days preaching, “"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed." Jonah wasn’t charismatic in his preaching, nor was he overly enthusiastic, but the people heard his message. Even though they were Gentiles, they repented, signified by sackcloth and ashes. The phrase “They believed in God” uses the same words used to describe the belief of Abraham in Genesis 15; therefore, they came to be people of faith in God. This says to me that anyone can be an instrument used by God to spread faith. Intelligence, ability, charisma, education, enthusiasm, and knowledge are not required for God to work through a person. When we offer ourselves to God, he will take our gifts and multiply them many times over.

In the second reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul believes that the second coming of Jesus is imminent: “time is running out.” He is trying to prepare people by focusing them on the things of heaven, and not of earth, because earth is about to pass away. While we still believe in the second coming, there are 2 more ways Jesus comes to us: 1) at our death. Since we don’t know when that will be, we should be prepared for that eventuality by preparing ourselves every day; 2) Jesus is trying to reach us everyday in many ways: sacraments, prayer, and good works, to name just a few. If we open our hearts to the Lord, he will fill us with grace and peace, and the second coming and our death will be irrelevant, because we will be prepared.

Fr. Phil

2012-01-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #72
SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
January 15, 2012

Reading 1
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19

Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."

At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20

Brothers and sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
John 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" - which translated means Teacher -,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" - which is translated Christ -.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" - which is translated Peter.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We are now in Ordinary Time, a season of either 33 or 34 weeks, that does not celebrate a specific mystery of Christ (i.e. Christmas celebrates Christ’s birth, Easter his resurrection), but is devoted to the mystery of Christ in its fullness. Ordinary Time begins on January 10, 2012, and goes through March 21, 2012 (the day before Ash Wednesday). It resumes on May 28, 2012 (the day after Pentecost), and ends on December 1, 2012, the day before Advent begins.

A liturgical anomaly is that there is no First Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Sunday that precedes the first week in ordinary time is usually the Baptism of the Lord. Due to the shortness of the Christmas season this year (2 weeks), the Epiphany of the Lord is the Sunday prior to the first week in ordinary time, with the Baptism of the Lord being the next day, a Monday. There are Mass parts for the First Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it’s only used during the week when there are no feasts or memorial masses.

Today’s Gospel makes an important statement by John the Baptist about Jesus, whom he calls “the Lamb of God.” The Apostolic Church would have been familiar with this term, which would have evoked two separate images.

The first one would be the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 52:13-53:12, in which the Suffering Servant is led to slaughter like a lamb, and who bears our sins. This would have reminded them of Jesus, would was the innocent lamb slaughtered for our sins, whose death conquered sin and death once and for all.

Secondly, it would remind them of God freeing them from bondage in Egypt. God sends Moses as his agent, but Pharaoh refuses to ‘Let my people go.” God sends plagues, to no avail. The tenth plague is the death of all the first born of the land. The Israelites escaped this punishment by putting the blood of an innocent lamb on the wood of the doorpost, and the angel of death passes over their houses, hence the Jewish feast of Passover. They were freed by this blood from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. Jesus is the innocent Lamb of God whose blood was shed on the wood of the cross, which freed us from the slavery of sin and death to the freedom of new and eternal life. In both instances, John is telling his disciples that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah and that they are to follow him. John would want all his disciples to follow Jesus.

Jesus then asks them, "What are you looking for?" This is a more complicated question than it sounds. Sometimes we don’t know what we’re looking for; other times we look for too little. This question is really a call to discipleship, to something far greater than they would ever imagine.

The disciples question to Jesus, "where are you staying?" is more than asking for Jesus’ address. This question is explained later in the gospel when we are told that the Son dwells (stays) in the Father, the Father in the Son, and the Spirit dwelling in us (see John 14:10-11, 16-17). We participate in the very life of Jesus.

When Jesus says, "Come, and you will see" it is an individual call to follow Jesus, which is initiated by Jesus, as in John 15:16, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” Taking up Jesus command to follow him means a total dedication and commitment to faith and discipleship. They may not understand much initially, but as they dwell, or abide, or stay with Jesus, they “will see”, that is, they will grow in knowledge and grace of the Lord as time goes by.

We are now told that Andrew is one of these two unnamed disciples (traditionally, the second was John, son of Zebedee), and that he is the brother of Simon Peter. It seems that Andrew was probably not nearly as well known as Simon Peter, since he is referred to as Simon Peter’s brother so people know who he is. Andrew stayed with him the whole day, and became convinced of Jesus’ identity; then at 4 pm, at the end of the day, he goes for his brother, Simon. He says to him, "We have found the Messiah." I can hear Andrew’s excitement at his new found messiah, and his desire to share Jesus with his brother.

Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus; Simon’s name is changed to Cephas (meaning rock in Aramaic), or Peter (meaning rock in Greek). It’s interesting to note that in the beginning, Peter is known as Simon originally, and mutates into Peter with the advent and the burgeoning of his faith. Look through the New Testament – he starts out as Simon, goes to Simon Peter, then eventually, as his faith grows, the Simon name is dropped, and he becomes Peter. Peter becomes the rock the church is founded on which will last until the end of time.

In the first reading from the First Book of Samuel, we have the call of the prophet Samuel. He is the son of Hanna and Elkanah. Hanna was unable to conceive a child. She went to the Temple to pray to the Lord for a child and began weeping bitterly promising the Lord that if she conceived a son she “will give him to the Lord all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:11).” Her prayer was answered, and she bore a son and named him Samuel, and after was weaned, “she brought him up with her, along with a three year old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the house of the Lord at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:24).” The child was brought to Eli (a Judge of Israel as well as high priest), and Samuel was dedicated to the Lord for as long as he lives.

Samuel was in God’s service when he heard God’s call. Since he was asleep in the temple, some scholars think that Samuel was tending the sacred flame representing God’s presence which was never to be extinguished. Other scholars think that he was in a type of “sacred sleep” hoping for a revelation from God.

Samuel was sleeping, and God’s call woke him. He thought it was Eli – he didn’t understand it was God, because God “had not revealed anything to him as yet.” Samuel goes to Eli, who tells him, "Go back to sleep." Eli didn’t understand either. It wasn’t until the third time that Samuel came to him did Eli understand that it was God calling Samuel, and he responded, “"Speak, for your servant is listening."

This call story is very similar to the call story of other prophets. For a call from God to be effective, it must be recognized as an authentic call from God, and one must be ready to respond to that call in whatever is asked.

Eli was the mentor that set Samuel on his course in following God. It was only through Eli’s direction that Samuel was able to discern his course in life. He was the last of the Judges (King Saul came after him), a priest, and the first of the prophets. He anointed Saul as king at God’s request. He was the one who anointed David as king.

The lesson here is that we all need someone to help direct and guide us, to help us discern our spiritual way, commonly known as a mentor or spiritual director. A good friend in whom we can confide in trust can also be invaluable in our lives. Regular sacraments and daily prayer is very useful in guiding us.

The second reading from 1 Corinthians talks about how we are to act once we have received and begin to follow the call of God. The people of Corinth separated body from spirit, looking on the body as worthless and of no account, and thought they could believe and still do anything they wanted. St. Paul denies this and says that we are one, and our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so we are to avoid immorality and sin. If we have chosen Christ, we must put off the ways and sins of the world, and put on the grace and holiness of Christ.

Fr. Phil

2012-01-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #71
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
January 8, 2012

READING 1
IS 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MT 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The word “Epiphany” is a Greek word meaning “manifestation.” Originally, it was a feast to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord (which it still does in Eastern Orthodoxy) but since the 4th century, it has been linked with Jesus’ manifestation of himself to the Magi.

There is a lot of manifestation in the first 2 chapters of Matthew, who tells us the essence of the Good News of Jesus, Son of God, Messiah and Savior. Matthew tells us: 1) salvation is open to all people; 2) the divine origin of Jesus and his identity as the Messiah (the Christ) and, 3) the world wide mission of the church. This alone would earn Matthew the title of evangelist.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, the city of birth of the Messiah, hence his title as Son of David, and was born during the reign of King Herod the Great who ruled from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D. Herod was a master politician who played off the Jewish and Roman authorities against each other to keep his power. He was also a master builder who built many edifices and fortresses, the most famous being Masada.

The term Magi originally referred to a priestly caste from Persia who had special powers to interpret dreams. In our text, they are astrologers/astronomers who look to the stars to interpret major events. If you look in the texts, they are not named, nor are they numbered. It is our tradition that says there are three (because there are 3 gifts) and gives them names.

There is an interesting tradition arising from the Magi: take a piece of chalk and write the following right above the outside of your front door: 20+C+M+B+12. The 2012 is obviously for the year, and the letters are the three traditional names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. You are proclaiming to all who come to your door that you pay homage to the new born king of the Jews and follow his light.

In ancient times, it was believed that a new star heralded the birth of a new king. The Magi recognized a new star, and came looking for the newborn king of the Jews. They sought help from Herod, whom would have seen this newborn king as a rival. Herod was already suspect in the eyes of the Jews since he hailed from Idumea, and the Idumeans were forcibly converted to Judaism under John Hyrcanus (134 B.C. to 104 B.C.). The very title the Magi used for Jesus was the inscription on his cross.

What actually was this star? The 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler thought it was a super nova or a new star; some thought it was a comet; and some thought it was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. We’ll never know what it really was, but that doesn’t matter. It is the theological meaning of the star that is important.

The Magi wouldn’t have been familiar with the prophecies of the Messiah, so they went to King Herod for his help. They want to “do homage” to this new king, proclaiming Jesus divinity, since we only give homage to God. We see here that salvation is open to all.

Herod summons the chief priests and scribes of the people (this seems to indicate that he called present and former priests and members of the priestly family); they would have knowledge of the scriptures and would be able to tall the Magi where the Messiah is to be born (notice that now they are referring to him as the messiah, not only a king. This must have really tweaked Herod’s paranoia). This indicates the mission of the church to the Gentiles, and the irony that many Jews, like Herod, would reject their own messiah.

The Magi are told that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, the commonly accepted place of the messiah’s birth (see John 7:42), and is also the city where David was anointed king. The chief priests and scribes quote the ‘prophet’: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel." This quotation is a combination of Micah 5:1 and 2 Samuel 5:2, and is portraying Jesus as the messiah in the line of David.

Herod was ruthless in eliminating his enemies; he finds out the time of the star’s appearance, and sends the Magi to Bethlehem. He asks them to return to him so he can go and do homage. Herod does not want to do homage, but to eliminate a potential rival.

After leaving Herod, they followed the star: “And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.” It seems that the movement of the star was more precise at this point, since they needed Herod’s help previously.

The word “overjoyed” is used to give a heightened sense of the great amount of joy they had upon seeing Jesus. They ‘prostrated’ themselves in homage. Prostrate means, “Lying face down, as in submission or adoration.” They did more than kneel; they laid face down on the ground in adoration.

Gifts were always brought to the birth of a new king; the Magi prostrating themselves and bringing extravagant gifts indicates the importance of Jesus and attests to his divinity.

What’s interesting here is that Matthew seems to indicate that Jesus was born in a house, not a stable. This house was probably had a room in it used by animals and also used by guests in an emergency. Luke’s Gospel talks about Jesus being born and lying in a manger; he never said that the manger was in a cave or a stable. The manger could also have been in a house.

Ancient people believed in dreams; scripture is full of examples, a few we have seen in recent Gospels. They believed in divine communication through dreams, so dreams were taken very seriously. The Magi believed in their dreams, and so avoided Herod on their way home.

In today’s first reading from Isaiah, we are in the post-exilic period (after 538 B.C. when they were freed from slavery in Babylon). The exiles returned to their land and found it quite desolate. As they were facing the reconstruction of their land, Isaiah offers a vision of what Jerusalem could again become: the glory of the Lord will shine upon them; nations will walk by their light; they will rise up in splendor; and the wealth of the nations will be brought to them: a very bright future, indeed.

Early Christians began to see this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. The light has come in Jesus, he is the Lord who shines upon believers, many come to him, and he is God’s glory revealed to us. Our mission as church is to share that light with others.

I would like to point out that it probably wasn’t Isaiah who wrote these words, but someone in the tradition of Isaiah. This book of Isaiah can be spilt into three sections: chapters 1-39, 40-55, and 56-66. The first section is actually Isaiah, who lived in the period right before the exile to Babylon; the second section is during the exile and is called Deutero (or second) Isaiah, and the third section is after the exile and is called Trito (or third) Isaiah. The whole book spans about 150 years, so there had to be more than one author. Scholars say that someone writing in the style of Isaiah wrote Deutero-Isaiah, and a third person, writing in the style of Isaiah, wrote Trito-Isaiah.

In the second reading from Ephesians, Paul speaks against the age old division between Gentiles and Jews. He calls gentiles “coheirs, members of the same body, and co partners in the promise in Christ Jesus.” There is no distinction among people: all are welcome in God’s kingdom and in his church.

Fr. Phil

2011-12-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY # 70
The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

READING 1
NUMBERS 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
GALATIANS 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
LUKE 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is the continuation of the Gospel for the Mass at Midnight and also its finale. This whole section concerning Jesus birth is broken into three parts: Luke 2:1-7, the setting and birth of Jesus; Luke 2:8-14, the angels giving us the meaning of Jesus; and today’s gospel, Luke 2:16-21, responses to the angelic announcement.

The gospel passage starts with the same shepherds we saw in last week’s gospel, those shepherds who are marginalized in society and are ritually unclean and therefore prohibited from the synagogue and temple. They are the lowly of the lowly, but still heed the call of the angels and find Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, just as the angels said.

After they saw Jesus they, “they made known the message that had been told them about this child.” They are the first evangelizers, spreading the good news that, “today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” It reminds me of the empty tomb in John 20:6-8: “When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went unto the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.” The shepherds spread the good news that Jesus is born, while the disciples spread the good news that Jesus s risen; but they both spread the news that Jesus is Savior, Christ and Lord. The shadow of the cross descends on the crib and it will follow him all the way to Calvary.

Here is an aside I thought you might like:

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the emails so; if it touches you, you may want to forward it.

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this....

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes..

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.....

The folded napkin meant -
''I'm coming back!''

He is Coming Back!

It also seems to me that the shepherds had some success in their evangelizing: “All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.” Amazed and maybe gratified: those who live in darkness now have the light of the world, accepting them in their lowliness and raising them up. Good news to the underprivileged, the marginalized, and the outcasts. Good news to all those looking for meaning and peace. Good news to all who accept Jesus.

In pondering all these things, it seems to me that Mary didn’t understand what was happening to her. I think that’s why she went to see Elizabeth when both were pregnant. Elizabeth was an older women, full of grace and wisdom, and Mary went to her to talk about was happening to her. She won’t really understand until after the fact, but isn’t that the way with all of us in our own spiritual journeys? We follow God as best we can, and our path becomes clearer and clearer as we go along.

The shepherds returned from spreading the Good News, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” This indicates to me how much the shepherds were on fire with the love that God shows in sending his Son as our Savior, Christ, and Lord (see last week’s bible study for the definition of these 3 terms). I hope this Christmas makes the love of God real in our lives and we become on fire with faith with a desire to spread the Good News ourselves.

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to be circumcised (as John was in 1:57-66) indicating that he was now a member of the Jewish people. Just as Gabriel told them in 1:31, they gave the baby the name Jesus, a name that means “God saves,” indicating Jesus mission in the world (see John 3:16).

The first reading comes from the Book of Numbers, a book that’s one of the first five books in the bible, collectively called the Torah (Pentateuch in Greek), the most solemn and important part of the bible for Jews. We as Christians would look on the 4 Gospels in the same way.

Today’s first reading in called “The Priestly Blessing” and is a blessing for those maintaining the purity of the community and for Nazirites, who are people set apart as sacred, dedicated, and vowed. This vow could be for a limited time period or for life. They abstained from products of the grapevine, cutting or shaving their hair, and fro contact with a corpse.

This blessing is reserved for Moses and the sons of Aaron (the priests of ancient Israel). In those days, when someone received a blessing, it was more than wishing them well; they believed the blessing would be realized and that blessing became a possession that could not be taken away. A blessing was something very tangible and important.

When God ‘shines his face’ or ‘looks upon you’ points to the intimate relationship between God and the people. When God’s face is hidden, it is a sign of misfortune, he has forgotten, he doesn’t see you: out of sight, out of mind. When 2 humans love each other, they look longingly upon each other. When they are displeased, they often say, “I can’t stand the sight of you.” Same idea here between God and the people.

The kind of peace offered here is more than well-being or wholeness; it is much broader and richer and can only be given by God.

In the second reading, Paul is arguing against certain people who insisted that non-Jews who convert to Christianity must be circumcised, observe Jewish feasts, dietary laws and purity rituals. Paul insists that “in the fullness of time,” that is when God decreed it to happen, God sent his Son to ransom us from the Law so we can be adopted sons and daughters of god (be a part of God’s community, the church). God sent us his spirit, so that we are no longer slaves to the Law, but sons and daughters of the Father (see the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-35). We are heirs to eternal life.

Fr. Phil

2011-12-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #69
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Mass at Midnight

READING 1
Isaiah 9:1-6

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David's throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
Titus 2:11-14

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
Luke 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

There are 4 different Masses for Christmas, each with its’ own set of readings: the Vigil Mass, the Mass at Midnight, the Mass at Dawn, and the Mass during the day. I am using the Mass at Midnight, whose Gospel is the birth of Jesus according to Luke, the one we are all familiar with and want to hear at a Christmas Mass.

Today’s gospel is broken into two sections: 2:1-7, the setting and birth of Jesus, and 2:8-14, the angels giving us the meaning of Jesus.

Caesar Augustus reigned over the Roman Empire from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. He is regarded in his time as a savior and a god. He established peace in the Empire, a Pax Augustus. It is no accident the Like has Jesus born in this time period. Ironically, it is Jesus who really is God and Savior. Augustus brought peace through conquering people. Jesus brings peace by conquering sin and death. Augustus brings peace by killing other people. Jesus brings peace by offering his life on the cross. Augustus is God’s agent in his plan of salvation (see Isaiah 44:28-45:1 and the story of King Cyrus).

There are some historical problems. Quirinius was Governor of Syria from 6-7 AD which puts him beyond the reign of King Herod (37 B.C. to 4 A.D.) and therefore beyond the story of the Nativity. There is no other evidence that Caesar Augustus ordered a world wide census or that people had to go to their ancestral towns to register. These things are not meant to be historical, but belong to the order of promise and fulfillment. The census gives Mary and Joseph a reason to be in Bethlehem for Jesus birth. The Messiah is to come from Bethlehem, the city of David, who is his long awaited heir and Messiah. Joseph is “of the house and family of David” highlighting Jesus connection to David (one of Jesus titles is Son of David – see Mark 10:46).

Mary is described as “betrothed to Joseph.” You have probably heard many a Christmas homily in which the preacher described Mary as an unwed, teenager giving birth to a Son, or something to that effect. This is not true. Mary is not single, she is married. When we think of a betrothal, we think of a modern engagement, when two people publicly state their intention to get married, solemnized by the man giving the woman a ring, at which time they are engaged to be married, but are not married until they exchange vows with each other. This was not true in Jesus day. According to the footnote to Matthew 1:18 in the Revised New American Bible, “betrothal was the first part of the marriage, constituting a man and a woman as husband and wife. Subsequent infidelity was considered adultery. The betrothal was followed some months later by the husband’s taking his wife into his home, at which time married life began.” Joseph wanted to divorce Mary quietly after he found out she was pregnant. You have to be married first before you can be divorced. Therefore, Mary was a married woman when she gave birth to Jesus.

The birth of Jesus seems almost anticlimactic, doesn’t it? After this big buildup, the birth is plainly stated: “the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.” No embellishments, no descriptions, no fanfare, just the simple facts (sounds like Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet: “Just the facts, Ma’am”).

Jesus is described as the first born son. This does not mean that there were others and he was the first. It is a legal description saying that Jesus has all the rights and privileges of the first born son.

Mary dressed Jesus in “swaddling clothes.” In Wisdom 7:4, the great King Solomon was dressed in the swaddling clothes, just like any other infant. Jesus is like us in all things but sin. From his humble beginnings, he will go on to do great things, much greater than the great King Solomon.

A manger was a feeding trough for animals. One of the great themes in Luke’s gospel is food and feeding. For example, in the temptation of Jesus in chapter 4:3, Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread; the question of fasting in 5:33; the Sermon on the Plain in 8:1 (Blessed are you who are hungry, you will be satisfied); and the feeding of the 5,000 in 9:10. The manger makes us think of Jesus as sustenance for the world, the Bread of Life. The last night of his life, Jesus hosts a meal at an inn (now there is room at the inn) in which he institutes the Eucharist.

Shepherds are a reminder of the humble origin of King David as a shepherd. Shepherds are keeping in line with Luke’s theme of poverty: they are the lowliest of the lowly and ritually unclean. They are the first to hear of Jesus’ birth, a sign of the inclusiveness of salvation.

The shepherds hear the message of Jesus birth from an angel. The job of angels is to be messengers from God. They have a message of great joy: a savior has been born who is Christ and Lord. Joy is also a recurrent theme in Luke’s Gospel, here it is joy in the Son of God’s salvific inbreaking into the human race. God became human so we can become divine.

Luke’s Gospel is the only one that describes Jesus as Savior. As Savior, Jesus is the one who offers his life for our sins, conquers death, and delivers humanity from alienation with God. The term “Christ” is a Greek word that means Messiah or Anointed One. This title was applied to the person, a royal leader, who would restore Israel to its greatness. The political overtones are toned down in Like’s Gospel, and instead the term “Messiah” is the one who brings salvation to all, Jew and Gentile alike. Lord is a title used very frequently in Luke and Acts for Jesus. In both the old and New Testament it refers to Yahweh. When applied to Jesus, it refers to his divinity and authority over humanity. Here, then, is the meaning of this passage.

Peace – we hear a lot about that this time of year. Our gospel states, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." This says that when God’s favor rests on us, we will feel his peace. How do we receive God’s favor? By doing the will of the Son. That’s what much of the rest of the Gospel is about. Saying yes to God like Mary and letting the Lord be our guide and inspiration. He will then bless us abundantly, and we, in turn, can share God’s love with others so they can also feel His peace.

As we approach the great celebration of the birth of our Savior, we remember all the ways that God has blessed us. For some, 2011 may have been a good year; for many here in Lincoln Park, there have been many struggles and problems but also happiness and good times mixed in all together. In any event, we are always people of hope and gratitude because of what God has done for us by sending his Son as our Savior. Christmas is always a sign of hope because this holiday shows us the impossible becoming possible. As the angel Gabriel said to Mary in the Annunciation: “Nothing is impossible for God.” We know that no matter how many struggles we have, God’s grace and strength will see us through. We can be peaceful at all times because of God’s presence in our lives. I invite everybody to take a minute and invite the Lord into your heart. Let his presence surround you, inspire you, and guide you to a joyful life. May you always feel his peace and love. May you and all your family have a blessed and joyful Christmas.

Fr. Phil

2011-12-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #68
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 18, 2011

READING 1
2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
"Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!"
Nathan answered the king,
"Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you."
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?'

"'It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever."

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
ROM 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Our Gospel today is the Annunciation, the announcement of the birth of Jesus given to Mary by the angel Gabriel, an angel who appears four times in Scripture and each time brings a momentous message from God, which is the mission of angels: 1) he interpreted to Daniel the vision of the ram and the goat (Daniel 8:16-17); 2) he explained the vision of the 70 weeks in Daniel 9:21-22; 3) he announced to Zechariah the birth of John, forerunner of the Messiah, and 4) he announced the birth of Jesus to Mary.

Mary is a “virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.” This is important, because the Messiah is to come from the house of David. We see in the first reading that God says to David, “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” This is thought to be a prophecy concerning that the messiah is to come from David’s lineage and is referring to Jesus.

Gabriel addresses Mary with the words: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." Mary is troubled by these words out of her sense of humility, not thinking that this description is appropriate for her.

Gabriel then tells Mary that she will bear a son, name him Jesus, “he will be called Son of the Most High, he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." In other words, she will be the mother of the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God.

That’s kind of a lot to take in all at once. I think most of us would be a bit overwhelmed by this kind of message. Would we believe the angel’s message? Would we even believe in the angel at all? Mary questions the angel for clarification: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" Notice that she doesn’t question that it is really Gabriel, nor does she question if it is possible at all. She just wants clarification of how it will happen.

Gabriel explains and even tells her about Elizabeth, her cousin beyond childbearing years, who will give birth to John the Baptist, almost as if he is trying to convince her to say yes, since nothing is impossible for God. Implicit in the dialogue is that Mary can say yes to God, or can turn him down. God respects our free will and would never force us to do anything against our will.

More importantly, I think, is that when one says yes to something or someone, they are more committed. When one makes a conscious decision to follow a certain path no matter what, they will be much more likely to follow through to the end. A good example is marriage. When 2 people fall in love and marry, I would hope that they would be committed enough to do what is necessary to make that marriage work. I certainly see plenty of that around here.

When Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word," it didn’t guarantee her an easy life without any pain or hardship, nor did it guarantee that she would understand everything, nor did it guarantee that she would always get her way. Following God’s call brought her faith and a closeness to God that can’t be broken by anyone or anything. It brought a peace and a happiness that can only come from God. Sounds a lot like a good marriage, doesn’t it?

In the first reading, God has given David victory over his enemies and now gives David time to rest. David wants to build a temple for God because "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" He also wanted to build a temple so it would be a unifying factor for the country (David had recently brought Judah and Israel together to form the country of Israel), and to have a permanent and central place of worship. Nathan the Prophet tells him to go ahead, but God has other ideas. God doesn’t want to be limited to a temple or to be confined in any one spot. The temple was not to be in David’s time. God then builds a house for David; not of brick or stone, but of people. The house of David will last forever bring about a Messiah.

God is different than the pagan gods of shrines and high places. God was intimately involved in David’s life: all of David’s fame and success is due to God’s presence in his life. God wants to guide and inspire us also. Do we let that happen, or are we too self sufficient?

Mary did not clearly understand what she was undertaking but she trusted God and said yes anyway. God guided and directed her in her life. When we give ourselves to God, we don’t know where that will lead. We may not understand until after the fact, if at all, but we follow anyway because God works in mysterious and even sacramental ways through us. We all have a place in God’s plan of salvation. Like Mary, let’s say yes and help bring about the kingdom.

The second reading from Romans is Paul’s farewell address to the church in Rome. Even though he didn’t write a gospel per se, he considers his preaching good news, hence the term gospel in today’s reading. He preaches that justification and salvation are God’s gracious gifts given to us through Jesus Christ. These gifts are not limited to any one group of people, but are available to all people.

Fr. Phil

2011-12-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY # 67
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
December 11, 2011

READING 1
ISAIAH 61:1-2A, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, "Who are you?"
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, "I am not the Christ."
So they asked him,
"What are you then? Are you Elijah?"
And he said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him,
"Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?"
He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'make straight the way of the Lord,'"
as Isaiah the prophet said."
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
"Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
John answered them,
"I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We have John the Baptist again this week, from John’s Gospel, specifically from the prologue to John’s Gospel (1: 6-8), and the beginning 9 verses from the Book of Signs (1:19-28) about John’s testimony to himself.

The first thing we learn about John is that he was sent by God (verse 6). This is a divine mission. John was chosen by God for a specific vocation, just as Jesus was also sent to fulfill his own vocation. God chooses all of us; we all have a divine vocation. We are all sent to bring the light of Christ to the world. One thing to ponder this Advent: am I light or am I darkness?

John came to “testify to the light so that all might believe through him (vs. 7).” Testimony (to testify) is what we would say in a court of law. In US courts we would be sworn in with our hand on a bible while promising “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Everybody in the gospel testifies to the truth about Jesus: John the Baptist the Samaritan woman, scripture, his works, the crowd the Spirit, and his disciples. How often have we testified to the truth of Jesus?

“He was not the light, but came to testify to the light” Like last week, John the Baptist denies being the light and gives precedence to Jesus. John came to testify that Jesus is the light, he is just a witness.

Many people were expecting the Messiah to come soon, and many thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah. John the Baptist deliberately and specifically said, "I am not the Christ” (the messiah, the anointed one of Yahweh) in response to inquiries from “the Jews” in verse 19. The term “the Jews” does not refer to the Jews as a whole, but to the leadership, such as the Sadducees and Pharisees, who do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. We have to be careful not to be anti-Semitic and condemn all the Jews for not believing in Jesus; first of all, Jesus is a Jew and many of his early followers were also Jews; and secondly, there are many so called Christians who profess that they believe in Jesus, but don’t act like it.

We have a difference in John’s Gospel as compared to Matthew and Mark’s Gospels. In Johns’ Gospel, John the Baptist claims that he isn’t Elijah, but it seems to be important to Matthew and Mark to have John the Baptist fulfilling prophecy and have John the Baptist represent the return of Elijah. I would think that this would be especially true to the Jews in Mark’ and Matthews communities, especially to Matthew’s community, which was made up mainly of Jews.

John the Baptist says he is not the Messiah, not Elijah, and not a prophet. Who is he? One with a specific and unique mission form God: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord'" (vs. 23) which is reminiscent of Isaiah 40:3: “A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God.”

Isaiah 40:3 was written at a time when the Israelites were held in bondage in Babylon. When they are freed, God will lead them directly to the Promised Land, and any obstacle in their way will be smoothed; for example, “every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain will be made low” (vs. 4).

John the Baptist is proclaiming that when Jesus the Messiah arrives, he will lead us directly to the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven, and all obstacles will be removed from our path. That is, Jesus will die and rise for our sins so we can live in his grace and peace. He will smooth the way for us because he has taken on our sins so we can be saved.

In John’s Gospel, John the Baptist baptized with water for purification and preparation for a better baptism from Jesus. Last week we heard in Mark’s Gospel that the baptism of John the Baptists was for repentance and forgiveness of sins, while Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke’s Gospel states that while John the Baptist baptizes with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, a reference to Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4).

John the Baptists’ has a final claim of subservience to Jesus: “but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie (vs. 27)." In fact, John puts himself in the position of a slave, whose job it was to untie the sandals from the dirty and grimy feet of a master.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day in which we are to rejoice and to be joyful. In the first reading, Isaiah rejoices because “God is the joy of my soul;” he is “clothed with a robe of salvation” and wrapped in “a mantle of justice.” Isaiah is also a good steward. God has anointed hum (sent on a mission) to “bring glad tidings to the poor” of healing, liberty, and freedom. God is the joy of his soul, and he is sharing his joy with others.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us to “Rejoice always.” If anyone had a reason not to be joyful, it was St. Paul. He had a difficult life after his conversion. He suffered tremendously, was rejected and misunderstood. But there is reason to rejoice because Christ has paid the price for our sins and opened up the way to eternal life for us. St. Paul took his guidance and strength from the grace and power of Christ. He was always grateful and glad of what the Lord was doing in his life.

We should be people of joy. Many of you might think there is not much to be joyful about in your lives. But joy is not having things go perfectly or go our way every time; joy is not a happiness that comes from possessions, nor is it comedy; it is not feeling good about yourself nor being on top of the world. Joy comes from deep within ourselves; it is a byproduct of accepting Christ as Lord and Savior; it comes from knowing that God is there to protect, guide and inspire us; it comes from knowing that God is in charge and can do a better job then we can; it comes from knowing that sin and death no longer have control of our lives because Jesus paid the price for our sins; it comes from knowing that God loves us, blesses us, and grants us peace and joy.

I heard a story of a woman who was in hospice. She was dying but her mind was alert: she knew she was dying, and didn’t have long to live. Her family asked her if she had any last requests. She asked to be buried with a fork in her right hand. They all thought that was strange until she said, “At the nursing home, when dinner was over, and they told us to keep our forks, we knew that something better was coming.”

For people of faith, there is something better coming. Not just after our life is over, but during our life here on earth. We are joyful, not because of anything we have done, or anything we deserve, but because of what God has done for us. That should be cause for great rejoicing.

Fr. Phil

2011-11-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #66
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 4, 2011

READING 1
IS 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
2 PT 3:8-14

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay,"
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MARK 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths."
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel's hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
"One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Our Gospel today is the beginning of Mark’s Gospel that proclaims the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ, the one crucified and risen, acknowledged by the community as Messiah (8:29) and Son of God (1:11, 9:7, 15:39).

The prologue of today’s gospel (1:1-13) has three events necessary before Jesus begins his public ministry: 1) John the Baptist appears as the precursor of Jesus who preaches repentance; 2) the baptism of Jesus at which the Spirit descends on him and he is called the Son of God, and 3) the temptation of Jesus by Satan. Our gospel reading today encompasses the first of these 3 events.

Mark attributes the prophecy in today’s gospel to Isaiah, but it is really a combination taken from Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 40:3, and Exodus 23:20. John’s ministry is seen as a prelude to Jesus. "Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his path" is a reference to the end of the Babylonian exile and is applied to the future arrival of Jesus.

John being clothed in camel’s hair and a leather belt is reminiscent of the prophet Elijah. Jesus refers to John as Elijah who was to appear prior to the arrival of the Messiah (Mark 9:11-13, Matthew 17:10-12).

John’s food was locusts and honey. The locusts represent bitter punishment and destruction for the unbelievers, and honey represents the peace and plenty with which God blesses the faithful. These foods attest to the dual nature of the good news: the gospel brings judgment (locusts) or peace and comfort (honey) depending on how we receive the good news.

John preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Many people were going to him to be baptized while they confessed their sins. They were preparing for the Messiah, who was expected to come at any time. He knows that to be ready for the Messiah, to be able to open our hearts to his work and word, we need to recognize our sinfulness and ask God for forgiveness. Nothing is more powerful in blocking the avenues of God’s grace than unforgiven sin. Jesus begins his public ministry by saying, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel (1:14-15).” Jesus picks up on John’s theme of forgiveness, and dies and rises to pay the price for our sins so we can inherit eternal life. Through Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit a new people of God is formed

John recognizes that he is the precursor of Jesus. He never makes the claim of messiahship, but says that "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” He recognizes that his baptism isn’t as powerful as Jesus’ : “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Jesus puts us in touch with God to bring us to holiness. The renewal that Jesus brings is more profound that John’s baptism.

The first reading from the book of Isaiah is from a time in Israelite history when they are displaced from their homeland in Babylon and are deprived of their right to worship God as freely as they did in their homeland. Today’s reading is taken from a section of the book of Isaiah called the Book of Comfort (chapters 40-55). They are told that God is with them, is present to them, even in the midst of their suffering and struggles. Isaiah was giving them hope that God would not abandon them, but eventually they would be freed and allowed to go home. Isaiah says that the Lord will lead them and the way will be easy: “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.” God will lead them like a shepherd leads his flock, caring and guiding for those in his care.

The second reading is from 2 Peter, which is probably the last New Testament book written (probably in the early second century). The purpose of this book is to strengthen the faith of the believers while they wait for the second coming of Christ. Many false teachers point to the fact that Jesus hasn’t returned yet as proof that he never will. The book argues that human calendars are irrelevant when it comes to God: “One day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.” The world will be dissolved by fire (the only instance in the New Testament of the end times described in this way) which is also part of Greco Roman literature and Jewish apocalyptic literature. The author is trying to tell us that the Lord will appear in glory at the end of time and all of creation will be transformed. We are to prepare for this transformation by committing ourselves to living Gospel values in our lives.

Fr. Phil

2011-11-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #65
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
November 27, 2011

READING 1
IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 COR 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL MK 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We begin the season of Advent this weekend and I would like to share the following with you.

ADVENT

Human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the animals, we are blessed - or cursed - with the ability to think about the future and to fear our actions to shaping it. So essential is this to human life that human beings cannot live without hope, without something to live for, without something to look forward to. To be without hope, to have nothing to live for, is to surrender to death in despair. But we can find all sorts of things to live for and we can hope for almost anything: for some measure of success or security or for the realization of some more or less modest ambition; for our children, that they might be saved from our mistakes and sufferings and find a better life than we have known; for a better world, throwing ourselves into politics or medicine or technology so that future generations might be better off. Not all these forms of hope are selfish; indeed, they have given dignity and purpose to the lives of countless generations.

But one of the reasons why we read the Old Testament during Advent is to learn what to hope for. The people of the Old Testament had the courage to hope for big things: that the desert would be turned into fertile land; that their scattered and divided people would eventually be gathered again; that the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, that not only their own people, but all the peoples of the earth, would be united in the blessings of everlasting peace. Clearly, their hopes were no different from ours or from any human being’s lasting peace, tranquil lives, sufficiency of food, and an end to suffering, pain and misery.

Thus we hope for the same things as the Old Testament people, for their hopes are not yet realized. But we differ from them in two ways. First, the coming of Jesus in history, as a partial fulfillment of God’s promises, immeasurably confirms and strengthens our hope. Secondly, we differ from the Old Testament people because Jesus has revealed to us that God is not afar off, but is already in our midst. Hence the importance in the Advent liturgy of John the Baptist and of Mary: because they recognized the new situation, they serve as models for the Church in discerning the presence of our Savior in the world.

(Taken from “The Spirit of Advent,” Mark Searle, in Assembly, Volume 7:1, Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, Notre Dame Indiana, as reprinted in The Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and Celebration of the Eucharist 2012 for the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Paterson, and Trenton).

We also begin a new gospel this week. We will be using the Gospel of Mark for the coming liturgical year, with the Gospel of John used occasionally, such as the Passion on Good Friday.

Today’s gospel comes from a longer section (Mark 13:1-37) called the “Little Apocalypse.” The “Great Apocalypse” is the Book of Revelation. It is also called the “Synoptic Apocalypse” because versions of this gospel appear in Matthew 24-25 and Luke 21.

These 37 verses talk about apocalyptic events, which are mysteries of the future and of the heavenly realm. Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, and the disciples ask Jesus when this will happen and what signs will there be when these things happen. Jesus takes the discourse to an eschatological level; he begins talking about the end times. He warns them not to believe the false prophets who come in his name (we’ve seen many of those, and some recently).

He talks about the persecution of the faithful, that the faithful will be hated by all because of Jesus. Then there will be a desolating abomination (a dramatic sacrilege) of some kind of religious site. Then there will be such tribulation as never seen before, and before all is lost, the son of Man will appear again.

Jesus exhorts them (and us) to be faithful through all kinds of trial and trouble; if we do, we will gain the crown of eternal life. We are to keep watch because only the Father knows when all this will happen.

We can look at the coming of the Son of Man in 3 different ways. The first, and most obvious, is the Second Coming, otherwise known as the parousia or the eschaton (from which the word eschatology is derived). Shortly after Jesus death and resurrection (the time of the Apostles) most people thought that Jesus would return shortly, at least in their lifetimes. Encouraging people to be aware for this event would make a large impact and be influential in their lives. It’s been 2,000 years since that time. And it is the eschaton is not much of a motivating factor nowadays.

The second way we can look at it is meeting Jesus at our death. That’s not much of a motivating factor unless you have a serous illness or are elderly. It will happen to all of us, but we tend not to think about our death or dwell on its’ consequences.

The third way we can look at it is that Jesus wants to be a part of our lives; he wants to come into our heart everyday. He wants us to be prepared to receive him in the myriad of ways he comes to us: through prayer, sacraments, scripture, good works, to name a few. If we prepare ourselves in this way, then the first two don’t matter.

Fr. Phil

2011-11-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #64
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King
November 20, 2011

READING 1
EZ 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 COR 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MT 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We have one of the most famous judgment scenes in scripture this week. This passage comes after three parables telling us that we need to prepare ourselves
for the coming of the Son of Man. The first parable is called the “Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant” in which a servant is admonished to be about his masters business while the master is away or pay the consequences.

The second parable, which we heard two weeks ago, is called the “Parable of the Ten Virgins” in which 5 were prepared for the masters’ return and 5 were not. The ones prepared enter the wedding feast (eternal life) while the others are left outside.

The third parable, which we heard last week, is called the “Parable of the Talents”, a more specific parable telling us to use our God given abilities for the building up of the kingdom, or be thrown “into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

This weeks gospel, while not strictly a parable, is called ‘The Judgment of the Nations” and is more specific than the previous 3 parables concerning our actions while we await the second coming of Christ.

No matter what else we do in our attempt to follow Jesus, we are required to help those in need. While not an exhaustive list, we are required to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothe the naked, care for those who are ill, and visit those in prison. In other words, we are to offer to our help to anyone who is in need.

In the face of the overwhelming needs in our society and our world, it is easy to throw up our hands and give up, wondering what difference our little contribution can make.

We are not called to solve the world’s ills; that is Jesus’ job at the Second Coming. We are required to do what we can in the concrete, every day world to help those in need. Some examples: monetary donations to a charity, giving clothes to a shelter; giving food to a food bank; visiting those ill in the hospital or at home; listening to those who need to talk about their problems, struggles, dreams, or aspirations.

When we do this, we are acknowledging peoples needs, which gives them the dignity and respect they deserve. Using our time, talent and treasure to assist those in need won’t solve all their problems, but it says to them that they are important and deserving of our help. I think that giving someone dignity and respect is one of the best things we can do for them.

Jesus gives us a dire warning in this gospel. While helping those in need is a requirement for eternal life, it is not the only requirement for eternal life: prayer and sacraments, for example, would be 2 others. But, as Jesus says, not helping those in need can certainly eliminate us from eternal life.

In the first reading from Ezekiel, we are at a time when Israel is in the Babylonian captivity, some time after 587 B.C. Some of Israel’s kings have been good kings, but many have not. Most people have lost faith in the monarchy; most of the kings did not serve the people, but themselves. The kings did not “strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind the injured” (Ez 34:4). Much of Israel’s problems can be attributed to poor leadership: “So they were scattered for lack of a shepherd” (Ez 34:5). But our loving God will not abandon his people but “I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep” (Ez 34:11). This is a great message of hope in time of great difficulty.

In the second reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul is addressing the issue of resurrection and eternal life. In 15:12, some say that there is no afterlife. Paul says that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain (15:14). Paul is very adamant that Jesus was raised from the dead, and that there is life after death.

On this Solemnity of Christ the King, we are called to become good shepherds in imitation of the Good Shepherd by being a king like Jesus: one who serves others. We are called to witness to what we believe by what we say and do. We are called to be people of prayer and sacraments so that we build up our relationship to the Lord and have the strength and grace to live like disciples. We are called to serve the needs of others humbly and without any fanfare. If we try our best to be the best disciples we can every day, then when it is our time to leave this life and enter the next, we will hear Jesus say to us, “'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. “

Fr. Phil

2011-11-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #63
THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
November 13, 2011

Reading 1
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

When one finds a worthy wife,
her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
She obtains wool and flax
and works with loving hands.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security, "
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.

After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

This is the third week in a row that we have heard a parable about the proper attitude and behavior we need to have while awaiting the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are told that we need to act responsibly; the emphasis is on positive action as opposed to being fearful, lazy, and inactive.

A man is leaving on a journey and he gives away ‘talents’; this was a very large sum of money. The first man got 5 talents, the second 2, and the third received one talent. It is hard to calculate the exact amount of a talent, but one commentator said it was equivalent to 15 years of wages. The point is not to have an exact sum, but to know that it was a very large sum. Each got according to his own ability, which is where talents became known as the gifts and abilities given to each one of us.

One thing to note is that our abilities and talents are gifts from God, something for which we should give thanks to God. We didn’t acquire these gifts ourselves; they were given to us when God created us.

Two of the men used their talents responsibly - the one with 5 talents invested it and earned 5 more talents, and the second man took his 2 talents and made 2 more. The third man, however, just buried his talent in the ground.

The master goes on a journey and has great trust in these three men. He is not there to supervise, correct, or lead. He leaves them on their own to use their talents as they see fit.

When the master returns, the first 2 men are rewarded: they are called good and faithful servants for using their talents to the best of their abilities. There are 2 things to note here: 1) the more talent you have, the more is expected of you. Therefore, do not be jealous of talented people – the bar is set higher for them; 2) the Lord doesn’t expect you to return more than you are capable of; he didn’t expect the man with 2 talents to return an additional 5, but he did expect him to return 2 talents. Conversely, the man with 5 talents was expected to return 5 – 2 would not be good enough.

The third man is called ‘wicked and lazy’ because he buried his talent. He didn’t use his talent according to the masters’ wishes. He was fearful of not being successful, which the master considers wicked and lazy. This man reminds me of the person who is a taker and not a giver. He is the one who doesn’t contribute to the build up of the community but desires all the benefits of the community. He is the one who doesn’t do anything bad, but he doesn’t do much good either.

The first 2 share their master’s joy. Using your talents for the betterment of the community is joyful. The master blesses us with his grace and peace. This is the basis for the statement “Virtue is its’ own reward.” The more we use our talents the more we are blessed by God. These people never have to wonder where God is, because they always feel his presence. Those who bury their talents are the ones (at least in my experience) who usually complain about the lack of God’s presence in their lives.

There is also an eschatological (end time) dimension in this passage. The return of the man on the journey reminds of Jesus return at the end of time. We will be judged on how we used the gifts and talents given to us by God, and will be rewarded or punished accordingly. We will see this theme next week when the gospel is Matthew 25:31-46.

The first reading from Proverbs is an example of someone using her gifts and talents. By her very nature she blesses those around her and reaches out to the poor and needy because she is a faithful person who has God in her life. Her value is far beyond pearls and those who know her fall in love with her. Have you known anyone like that? Don’t you like to be with them? Don’t they inspire you?

The second reading has a similar theme to the gospel: be prepared for the coming of the Lord, which will come like a thief in the night. We don’t know when, but we need to be prepared by living the Christian life, using our gifts and talents for the building up of the kingdom.

The following story is from one of my homily sources and is called “Fulfilling Your Calling”

An anonymous writer has said, "My small son and I were taking a walk. In the far corner of the field we found a small patch of beautiful and fragrant flowers. They were in the middle of weeds, almost completely hidden and unnoticed, yet these flowers were blooming in full beauty and we sensed their fresh fragrance. All of us have met persons unnoticed by many, but who in the middle of struggle and unlikely surroundings far from the center of attention live lives of beauty and fragrance. And living lives which seemed obscure they faithfully fulfilled God's calling for them. God's question on the last day will not be, 'How much were you noticed?' or even 'How much did you do?' Rather, his question will be, 'Were you faithful in fulfilling your calling where I placed you?' "

Peter J. Blackburn, Using What We Have

Here is another story from another homily source called ‘Connections’ that I like and want to share with you:

“Life in the garden

They had a lived a good life together, these 39 years. But it would soon send. The doctors said his esophageal cancer was inoperable - nine months, maybe a year. So what would he like to do with the time that's left?

"I'd like to have a garden."

"That would be nice," she said vaguely, surprised, since he had never shown the slightest interest in growing anything. Maybe a few tomato plants in a bucket on the deck, she assumed.

But she came home a few days later to find their yard filled with workers, boards, dirt and a Bobcat - and a 20-by-30-foot raised garden. He was sitting in a chair, watching, talking, laughing. He had told some friends what he wanted to do and they happily signed on to make it happen. He tried paying for the materials, but the guys wouldn't hear of it. She kept thanking them and telling them they were amazing. When they left, she turned to him and said, "Have we met? You don't garden. I don't garden. This thing is gigantic - what are we going to do with it?"

"I think it will bring people together," he said.

Soon he was too weak to sit by his garden - nine months was now optimistic, doctors said. Their friends, who didn't want to tire him or ask how he was doing, came and worked in the garden instead. They planted and hoed and watered and weeded.

He died a few weeks later, but his garden had already yielded strawberries and lettuce. The first fruits of his garden were shared at the luncheon after his funeral.

All summer the garden became the focus of everyone who knew and loved him. It produced more vegetables than anyone knew what to do with. People came to remember him, share stories and memories, cry together - and weed. The garden couldn't cure anything or heal the loss or loneliness, but it gave everyone something to do. His wish for his garden was realized: it brought people together.

He had said to his wife just before she died, "I don't want this to become a memorial garden after I'm gone. Just enjoy it. Have an eggplant on me."

[Adapted from "Life in the garden" by Joan Wickersham, The Boston Globe, September 23, 2011.]

In his ability to marshal friends and loved ones to plant a garden, a dying man creates a place of consolation and peace for those he will leave behind. A talent for bringing folks together enables another talent for planting to be realized; a desire to bring comfort to the dying results in a harvest that gives hope to the soul and sustenance to the body. In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges us to commit whatever talents, strengths and resources we have, to use whatever wealth we possess, to bring the hope and peace of the kingdom of God into our hurting and desperate world. Jesus teaches that our place in the reign of God will depend on our stewardship of those talents God has given us: whether we "bury" them in fear or selfishness or use them readily to reveal God in our midst.”

I know that many of you live these gospel values in your life already; I’ve seen countless examples in the time since the hurricane and flooding occurred. Keep up the good work, all you good and faithful servants.

Fr. Phil

2011-10-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #61
THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 30, 2011

READING 1
MAL 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10

A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,
and my name will be feared among the nations.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.
You have turned aside from the way,
and have caused many to falter by your instruction;
you have made void the covenant of Levi,
says the LORD of hosts.
I, therefore, have made you contemptible
and base before all the people,
since you do not keep my ways,
but show partiality in your decisions.
Have we not all the one father?
Has not the one God created us?
Why then do we break faith with one another,
violating the covenant of our fathers?

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 THES 2:7B-9, 13

Brothers and sisters:
We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MT 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Jesus is again embroiled in controversy with his religious opponents, namely the scribes and Pharisees, who are involved in the day to day governance of the Jewish community. In the passion narratives, Jesus religious opposition are the chief priests and elders. Authority in the community was passed from this second group to the first after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, another reason why this gospel was written after this date.

The chair of Moses refers to the teaching and ruling authority of the scribes and Pharisees. Every bishop in our church has his own chair (called a cathedra, located in the diocesan cathedral) that functions the same way: it is a symbol of his authority to teach, govern, and sanctify. The Pope has his own chair, and when he issues a statement ‘ex cathedra’ (from the chair), it has binding power – it is something we must believe.

Jesus then recognizes the authority of the scribes and Pharisees. He is not trying to usurp their power but to influence their thoughts and actions. Their teachings are to be followed, but not their example. The people would be illiterate and unable to read, and therefore dependent on the scribes and Pharisees for the reading and interpretation of scripture.

Jesus’ main criticism and the main theme of today’s gospel is “For they preach but they do not practice.” In other words, Jesus is accusing the scribes and Pharisees of being hypocrites.

Some examples of this hypocrisy are:

1. “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.” There were 613 laws to memorize and follow, quite a burden for illiterate people who were just trying to survive. People were living in the edge, they were mostly poor, and worked long hours. Following these laws could be quite a burden, especially the purity laws, tithing, and sabbath observance.
2. “All their works are performed to be seen.” Instead of doing things because they needed to be done, they want others to see them and be given credit for their good works. This is common in all ages. People will donate money to help the church, but they want to be acknowledged so everyone knows about their generosity.
3. Phylacteries and tassels are identifying symbols scribes and Pharisees use to impress other people with their piety.
4. “Places of honor at banquets” – expecting this type of treatment is an excessive interest in status and show. Invited by your host to sit in a place of honor is one thing; it is another to expect or demand a place of honor.
5. When we have a title, like Rabbi (teacher), Father (used for elders), Masters (guide and teacher) can be a source of “I” strain. Having a title that is earned is one thing; using your title to impress other pe0ople and build your ego is another.

The problem here is not only hypocrisy, but attitude. Why do we do the things we do? For example, many people nowadays wear symbols identifying them as catholics, but it doesn’t mean that they are hypocrites, just that they are witnessing to their faith; although it is possible that some are trying to impress others with their piety. What is your reason for wearing christian symbols?

The church is apostolic times was coming from a Jewish background of heirarchically structured roles and the new christian community was trying something new. Everything was shared in common, there was no hierarchy, no titles, with all members participating fully and equally in the new community with one master, that is, Christ.

It didn’t take too long, however, for hierarchy, structure, and titles to emerge in the church, as early as apostolic times. For example, the qualifications for bishops and deacons are listed in 1 Timothy 3: 1-13.

I don’t have any problem with hierarchy, structure and titles. These things are necessary for the orderly operation of any organization, including the church. I don’t relish the idea of making decisions by consensus because then we end up with the something everyone agrees on, usually the lowest common denominator but not always the correct decision. I think someone needs to be in charge. Structure is formed by leadership and we believe that Christ guides the Church. Titles are used to identify roles and responsibilities.

The problem is not hierarchy, structure, or titles. The problem is lack of humility and an attitude of privilege. The gospel says, “The greatest among you must be your servant.” Jesus was a servant who did not look, and actually shunned, power and privilege. While there are leaders who fit this ideal, we all know there are those who don’t.

Jesus warns us, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." This is a warning all those in authority (and everyone, for that matter) should paste on their bathroom mirror so they can see it everyday. When we look for earthly rewards, we shouldn’t expect heavenly ones.

The first reading from Malachi is one that all in authority should read. Malachi places the blame for the collapse of the community on the shoulders of the priests and God is not happy: “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse.” The priests are supposed to set an example for the faithful by their lives and teachings. If they fail in this way, they will suffer the consequences.

In the second reading, Paul is distinguishing himself from other prophets and false teachers who wanted payment for their work because he supported himself. He also stresses the importance of preaching the gospel with our actions as well as our words. His preaching rang true to his mode of living. Paul was well aware that it was by God’s grace that the Good News was spread, not by his own actions. We should all be so humble.

Fr. Phil

2011-10-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #60
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 23, 2011

READING 1: EX 22:20-26

Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.

"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."

The Word of the Lord

READING 2: 1 THES 1:5C-10

Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.

The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL: MT 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is known as “The Great Commandment”. The first part about loving God comes from Deuteronomy 6:5 (Jews would say this as part of their great prayer known as the Shema) and the second part about loving others is from Leviticus 19:18. So we see that these are not new commandments. Jesus puts them together and puts loving others on the same level as loving God. And we will see in the parable of the Good Samaritan that the definition of neighbor is expanded from fellow Israelites to everybody.

Having the great commandment does not negate any other laws, but puts them into perspective. Laws are something that define us, give us direction, and help us to gain an end. Law is not an end in itself. Law should direct us and support us in our quest to imitate God by loving God and each other. In other words, it’s not enough to follow the Law: we must be loving people. To paraphrase St. Paul in 1Corinthians, regardless of what we do, if we don’t love, then we are missing the point.

It is also a good way to remember what we are about – God is love, as it says in 1 John, and we should be about love also. If anyone asks what our faith is all about, tell them it is to love God and each other. It’s hard to remember all the different laws, anyway. At one point, some rabbis counted 613 commandments in the Torah (the first 5 books of the bible) – 248 positive (“you shall”) and 365 negative (“you shall not”). To put that into perspective, the Code of Canon Law in the Catholic Church has 1,752 canons (laws) and many of them are broken down into 2 or more sections. The Catechism of the Catholic Church published in 1994 has 2,865 paragraphs in 688 pages trying to define who we are as Catholics (that’s not even counting the 115 pages of appendices). How are we supposed to remember all that?

It seems to me that the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism are both specific descriptions of how we are to love. If we concentrate on building our relationship with God through prayer and sacraments, and serving each other like Jesus did, we will be following God as best we can. We can always refer to the Code and to the Catechism when we have specific questions on how we are to love.

To me, loving God means to spend time with God in prayer and sacraments. How else are we to build a relationship with God? When we want to develop a relationship with another human being, we spend time together, talk, and do things together. After awhile we have a bond with that other person that no one or nothing can break. That’s exactly how we build our relationship with God. We will develop that bond with God that will never be broken.

I think it is interesting that this commandment says not just to love others, but to love them as you love yourself. We all want to be forgiven, we all want others to treat us with love, respect and dignity, and we all want to be helped in time of need. If we want these things for ourselves, we must offer them to others; that is how this commandment defines loving each other.

Both the first and second reading tell us a little about loving each other. The first reading is picked to have a similar theme to the Gospel, but it is only a coincidence when the second readings’ theme matches the Gospel. Normally, a New Testament book is selected and we hear passages from that book for some weeks. We started with 1 Thessalonians on the 29th Sunday in Ordinary time and will continue this book until the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Aliens, widows, and orphans coming to a foreign land were very susceptible to mistreatment. Many people came to escape war and famine, or some other hardship, and many times had no one to protect them. The book of Exodus tells the people that if they wrong one of these vulnerable people, they will be in trouble with God and will be punished. They are reminded of God’s love, compassion, and mercy to them when he freed them from the land of Egypt, and were required to treat others the same way.

It was against the law to exact interest from a fellow Israelite, so lenders expected to receive a pledge from the borrower; if it was a cloak, they had to return it before sunset because the borrower would need it. We are told to be compassionate as God is compassionate.

In the second reading, we see that the people of Thessalonika had taken to heart the message of the gospel as preached by Paul and his companions, and they began to enthusiastically spread the Good News to surrounding towns with some success. They were great examples in word and deed to others. Are we great examples? Do we do anything to spread our faith?

Fr. Phil

2011-10-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #59
TWENTYNINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 16, 2011

READING 1: IS 45:1, 4-6

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2: 1 THES 1:1-5B

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL MT 22:15-21

The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. Why? Is it because he is getting more popular than them? Do people believe more in what Jesus teaches than what they teach? Are afraid that the Romans would back Jesus and they would lose their power, never mind their job? In any case, I’d bet that they think that Jesus is pulling the people away from God.

Their intention is to discredit Jesus. They are not seeking guidance in a difficult moral situation. If he says to pay taxes, he will lose face with his own people. If he says not to pay taxes, he will be in trouble with the Romans. When they approach Jesus, there are insincere but true: He does teach the ‘way of God in accordance with the truth’ and is not concerned with the opinion of others. As we would say, Jesus is being ‘buttered up’ or schmoozed.

Jesus recognizes that for what it is and calls them hypocrites; people who say one thing but believe another; play actors.

The tax mentioned is a poll tax, imposed in A.D. 6, and levied upon men, women, and slaves from about age 12 to sixty-five. The amount was a denarius, a full day’s pay for a laborer and payable in Roman currency.

Jesus recommends that the tax be paid since the coins are the emperor’s anyway: ‘then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’. He then redirects their thought to something that is more important ‘(repay) to God what belongs to God.’

Not only does Jesus defuse the situation, he uses it to make an invitation to become closer to God. What belongs to God? Everything! He is inviting us to give all of ourselves to God. Jesus advocates a limited position of cooperation with the emperor, but a position of full cooperation with God.

Giving to Caesar can be defined, but how about giving to God? That’s a little harder. God is love. What does it mean to love? Giving to Caesar is something that we do; giving to God is something that we are. It is a philosophy of life that guides and directs every thought and action. Are we good stewards, ready to give back to God for all that God has done for us?

In the first reading from Isaiah, we see King Cyrus described as an instrument of God’s graciousness to his people. While the Israelites were enslaved in the past by other kings and this was seen as God working in their lives, so receiving freedom through Cyrus is seen as God’s initiative. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp” signifies that Cyrus is doing God’s work. Instances like these make the Israelites see that there is only one God; not that God is more powerful than pagan gods, but that pagan gods don’t exist: “I am the LORD, there is no other”.

In the second reading, St. Paul is reminding us that God and Jesus are the primary agents in the Thessalonian church, as well as in our church. While Paul planted the seed of faith, and the people accepted it, it is really God who needs to be thanked for the gift of faith. Just as St. Paul prays for this church, so we must pray for one another.

Fr. Phil

2011-10-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #58
TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 9, 2011

READING1: IS 25:6-10A

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from every face;
the reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2: PHILIPPIANS 4:12-14, 19-20

Brothers and sisters:
I know how to live in humble circumstances;
I know also how to live with abundance.
In every circumstance and in all things
I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL: MT 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people
in parables, saying,
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
"Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

This is the third week in a row we have had a parable (the parable of the 2 sons two weeks ago, the parable of the vineyard last week, and the parable of the wedding feast this week). Each of the parables is aimed at the religious leadership who should have understood God’s message as sent through Jesus and should have responded affirmatively to that message. This parable also offers hope to those who thought that they were not acceptable to God.

The Kingdom of God is often compared to a wedding banquet in both Jewish and Christian writings. Jesus eating meals with outcasts and sinners, and even the Last Supper, signify what God’s kingdom is about. Today’s parable about the wedding feast, therefore, tells us something about the kingdom.

The King (God) prepares a wedding feast and sends his servants (the prophets) to bring the invited guests (God’s Chosen People), but they refuse to attend this feast.

The King again sends out his servants, and again they refuse; they even mistreat and kill some of these messengers. In response, the enraged king sends his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. This probably represents the burning of Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt of 66 A.D. to 70 A.D., which indicates that Matthew’s Gospel was probably written after this revolt. This idea of God’s wrath in burning Jerusalem would not be a problem for those Jewish people who became Christian because their history is replete with God using foreign powers to punish them (i.e., the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians). Therefore, it seems that God is punishing the people who rejected the preaching and purpose of Jesus. Since this parable is directed at the spiritual leaders of Israel, it laying the responsibility for this destruction at their feet.

In line with this, it is interesting to note that in his travels, St. Paul first preaches to the Jews, and then goes to the gentiles later.

God them sends other servants (Christian disciples) out in the highways and byways to invite everyone to the feast. This invitation represents inviting the marginal people of Israel who would have been ritually unacceptable in the Temple to participate in the feast. It also represents an invitation to the gentiles to participate in the feast, and it maybe Matthew’s way of explaining gentiles in the church.

Notice that God tells his servants to invite ‘whomever you find’ and that they ‘gathered all they found, bad and good alike’. All people are invited to participate in the feast, the banquet of life Christ has prepared for us. All are welcome in our church.

We must be careful not to condemn the Jewish race as a whole because of this parable. It is the leadership that is targeted, not the people as a whole. Remember that most of the early disciples of Jesus were Jews (as was Jesus himself). While some rejected Jesus, some followed him. It’s the same with gentiles; some rejected him, some followed him.

All are welcome, but not all remain in the kingdom, as we see in the last part of our gospel. A man not dressed in a wedding garment was ejected from the banquet. It could be that this wedding garment (like the bib at baptism) represents our Christian commitment to following Jesus; it represents our commitment to respond with our whole lives to God’s call of salvation. This scene is a judgment scene, where the King (God) judges some of his banquet guests to be worthy of the kingdom, while others are not. This ties in well with the last sentence, “Many are invited, but few are chosen."

The first reading from Isaiah is one I like to use at funerals because of its’ beautiful promise of salvation. It speaks of a God who loves us and would not abandon us at the time of our greatest need, the time of our death.

The reading begins ‘On this mountain.’ In scripture, God lives on a mountain (Moses meets God on a mountain, he gets the 10 commandments on a mountain, for example). Whenever we see the word mountain, we know God is near.

Isaiah describes eternal life (living on God’s holy mountain) to be similar to a banquet with “rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines,” which would be very attractive to people living on a subsistence level. Having this kind of abundance would be like paradise.

When we get to this mountain, everything that separates us from God, called a web or a veil, will be removed and death will be destroyed. Not only that, suffering will be no more, and we will be saved. No wonder Isaiah praises God for his bountiful love!

In the second reading, we have one of the famous quotes from St Paul: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” St. Paul was not defined by his wealth or even lack of it, he is defined by his faith and trust in Christ. He has experienced both wealth and poverty, and it is all the same to him.

In this part of the letter, the Philippians are supporting him financially, which he normally didn’t accept (he liked to support himself) but the Philippians were special to him, and he accepted the funds not for himself, but to continue his ministry.

Fr. Phil

2011-08-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #57
TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
August 28, 2011

Reading 1
Jer 20:7-9

You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.

I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
Rom 12:1-2

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 16:21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."
He turned and said to Peter,
"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life"
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Last week we heard Peter exclaim that Jesus is the ‘Messiah, the son of the living God.’ This week we learn what type of Messiah Jesus is: not just one of glory, but of suffering; not just one with a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns. This is the first of three passion predictions.

When Jesus references ‘the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes’, he is referring to the Jewish leadership called the Sanhedrin, which is composed of 71 members from all three of these groups.

All of these future events happening in Jerusalem are significant because this is where other prophets were killed. So it is appropriate that Jesus, the greatest prophet, meets his fate in Jerusalem. He is to be killed, that is, martyred like the other prophets. Notice it doesn’t say crucified, because he’ll be facing the Sanhedrin who martyred, but did not crucify the prophets. It’s only when he faces the Romans that he gets sentenced to crucifixion.

Jesus also says that he ‘must’ go to Jerusalem. He is deliberately going there knowing what will happen. He is the obedient Son, perfectly carrying out his Father’s will.

It seems to me that Peter was shocked, if not outright scandalized, by this passion prediction. This is not surprising, though. How was Peter to understand? The Messiah was supposed to be a conqueror, not a victim of death. And how was he supposed to understand about resurrection since it had never happened before? He rebukes Jesus because he thinks that the Father would never permit that to happen.

Jesus rebukes Peter by saying, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Satan, in chapter 4, tempts Jesus 3 times, trying to deflect Jesus from his mission. In 4:10, Jesus says, "Get behind me, Satan!” He sees Peter’s attempt to divert him from his mission in the same light as Satan’s attempt to do the same. He calls Peter an obstacle for the same reason: he is trying to prevent Jesus from his God appointed mission, just as Satan tried.

Peter seems to have his heart set on a worldly mission for Jesus. He does not understand that glory comes from the cross, that to be a messiah Jesus must die. His messiahship is not worldly, but dying for our sins. Peter must ‘get behind’ Jesus, that is, to believe in Jesus and what he says ad does, and follow him to his cross, and eventually his own.

Since we now know that Jesus is the Christ from Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi, he corrects and complements that truth whenever possible. Jesus tells Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Which is not unexpected. Jesus is the one who teaches us what God wants. That’s why we must ‘get behind’ him so we know what God wants for us in our lives.

Jesus tells his disciples that there are three things they must do if they are to be his disciples: deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him. Denying ourselves is more than giving something up, like we do for Lent. It’s not seeking self fulfillment in this world but seeking it through new life in Jesus who knows what’s best for us. If we do this, then there will be consequences, called taking up our own cross. In some areas of the world it could entail martyrdom, but for us it’s mostly being rejected and ridiculed by others for our beliefs. But remember Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden light. To follow him means that we follow him no matter where he leads and regardless of the cost. God’s plan unfolds for us over time and the Lord will give us the courage, grace, and strength to follow him where ever he leads us.

If we try to save our lives, that is, find our own worldly way without Jesus, we lose our lives because we won’t be heading in the right direction. We will make mistakes, make bad judgments, and lose our way. Following Jesus is the way to happiness and fulfillment in this life because who knows better than Jesus what’s good for us?

Why do rich people work? The more you have, the more you want. Worldly things are fleeting in pleasure. Gaining the whole world won’t buy salvation, or even lasting happiness in this world.

Eventually, we will be judged on our actions, how we followed Christ. What do you think will be important to Jesus?

In the first reading, Jeremiah found out how difficult it can be to follow God’s path. Even though he suffered ridicule and violence, Jeremiah stayed the course. God’s grace was enough not only to sustain him, but to motivate him to keep on going. Jeremiah’s experience tells us that there will be times when following the Lord will seem like too much, but God’s grace will be enough to sustain us and keep us going.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us to offer ourselves to God, everything we have and everything we are. By doing this, we are saying that we belong to God. When we do this, we will be transformed by God’s grace to do what is right and pleasing to God.

Fr. Phil

2011-08-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #56
TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
August 21, 2011

Reading 1
Is 22:19-23

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
"I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family."

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
Rom 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 16:13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Caesarea Philippi is located about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee in the territory (northern Transjordan, up in the very northern area) ruled by Philip, a son of Herod the Great. Philip rebuilt the town of Paneas and renamed it Caesarea in honor of the Emperor and Philippi (of Philip) to distinguish it from a city on the coast with the same name. Jesus is now at the northern most part of ancient Israel. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus ministry encompasses the whole of Israel, but he never leaves it.

In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), we learn about Jesus’ identity in the first half of the gospel through stories, miracles, healings, sayings and the like, building up to today’s gospel passage (also, see Mark 8:27-30, and Luke 9:18-20).

Jesus asks the disciples about his identity: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" “Son of Man” is a title referring to: 1) the earthly Jesus, 2) the suffering servant, or 3) the glorious judge. In today’s passage, it refers to the earthly Jesus.

One of the disciples replied “John the Baptist”. Herod, after learning about Jesus, speculated that John had come back to life in the person of Jesus (see Matthew 14:2). It is unknown how widespread this belief was.

Another replied “Elijah”. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah was taken up into heaven, and in Malachi 3:1 and 3:23, Elijah is supposed to precede the Messiah in returning to earth.

Another responds “Jeremiah”, who, for Matthew, is considered a Jesus figure. Jeremiah is named in three passages (Matthew 2:17, 16:14, and 27:9) there are some allusions to the book of Jeremiah (Matthew 7:15-23, 11:28-30, and23:37-39). Matthew also uses some motifs in common with Jeremiah: the sending of prophets, the murder of the prophets, and a judgment against the Temple.

Jesus then asks them, "But who do you say that I am?" He is asking them to take a stand, to express what they really feel about him: not what someone else says, but what do you say? He is asking them to make a commitment.

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

What’s interesting to note is the progression of Peter’s name, which reflects the progression of his faith. At first, he is called just Simon (no faith). After a little while, he becomes Simon Peter (some faith). In today’s passage, he becomes Peter, the Rock (a believer). His name has changed because he has changed. He has been changed from a fisherman to a fisher of men. When someone is given a great task in the bible, it is common to change names (i.e. Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul).

The term “Christ” means anointed in Greek, and “Messiah” in Hebrew. Jesus is the one who was sent by the Father to be the final and definitive revelation of God’s will for us. He is to be the Messiah, the suffering servant, who will pay the price for our sins. In fact, the first prediction oh Jesus’ passion comes immediately after today’s passage.

So now we see why it was necessary for Peter to be inspired. How could anyone know of this beforehand? "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” The term flesh and blood refers to a limited human being, as opposed to the heavenly Father.

The apostles never seem to understand Jesus during his earthly ministry; and in fact, don’t really ‘get it’ until Pentecost with the gift of the Holy Spirit. There’s a passage in John’s Gospel after the resurrection, where some of the apostles are fishing, signifying going back to their old life. The gospel seems to indicate how sheepish and embarrassed they were when they saw Jesus on the shore. Even after the resurrection, they didn’t understand and needed the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. No wonder Peter needed to be inspired by the Father to say what he did.

Peter is blessed by Jesus, which confirms his statement about Jesus. This is the only time Jesus blesses someone in Matthew’s gospel. This blessing is similar to the beatitudes. People are blessed when they live the beatitudes in their lives. Like Peter, we are blessed when we confess Jesus to be the Messiah and Son of God.

Here is where Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter. This is not a real name, but means ‘rock’. Peter is to be the leader, the bedrock, if you will, for all of us to stand on in faith. He is the first leader of the church and a great example for all who follow.

Here in this passage and in Matt 18:17 are the only two places where the word ‘church’ (ecclesia) is used. It’s assumed that this is an intent to separate the fledging church from the synagogue, and the Essenes at Qumran.

Jesus is founding his church on Peter, and nothing and no one will ever destroy the Church. The Church is safe from all outside threats, whether from other people or from Satan and evil, and is also protected from any inside threats. This is quite comforting considering our past history.

Peter is then given the keys to the kingdom and is told that whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. This can refer to forgiveness, excommunications, laying down rules, making exceptions, and all those things it takes to ‘teach, govern, and sanctify’, as is the role of the institutional church as we say today. God will ratify and stand behind all the decisions of Peter (and his successors).

In the first reading from Isaiah, we see the same idea of keys to a kingdom. Shebna was master of the palace and his key (actually a large key he wore on his shoulder) signified his authority: he had the ear of the king. Shebna made the mistake of having a tomb carved for himself on a height. This would have been an ostentatious display, against the usual practice of a simple underground burial as was the custom for the Jews. Shebna was denounced by Isaiah, and was eventually replaced by Eliakim, who now controlled access to the king. We can see the parallel with Peter, who, as keeper of the keys to the kingdom, controls access to the kingdom and the king.

The final sentence of today’s gospel is a command from Jesus. “Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.”

Why would he do this? Wouldn’t he want everyone to know who he is? This idea is prominent in Mark’s Gospel and is called the “Messianic Secret.” We need to look at Jesus whole life in light of his death and resurrection to understand his identity. Otherwise, it’s too easy to misinterpret him.

Jesus is more than a nice man, a good teacher, a holy person, a healer, a miracle worker: he is our Lord and Savior, the Messiah. To say that Jesus is just one of these things places little or no responsibility on us to change our lives. Believing that Jesus identity is limited to only being a holy man , or that he is a only a good teacher, for example, allows me to decide what I will or won’t accept about him. Perhaps that’s why people like to reduce Jesus to one or two of these categories: so there is no obligation on their part to do anything, to believe anything, or to change in any significant way.

It’s much different if I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I am making a commitment to live as Jesus taught as interpreted by the church (remember Peter and the keys to the kingdom?). I am not the master of my own life: I have given it over to Jesus. I let my life be directed by the Lord in all ways.

But in doing this I find my own life. I unlock the strength, power, and grace of Jesus for guidance, strength, and direction. Who else knows what’s best for me?

How do you answer Jesus question: "But who do you say that I am?"

Fr. Phil

2011-08-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #55
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 14, 2011

Reading 1
Is 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.

The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants-
all who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2
Rom 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,
I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous
and thus save some of them.
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus' disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Our gospel begins with Jesus withdrawing to the region of Tyre and Sidon, part of Phoenicia, and nowadays would be near the border of Israel and Lebanon. One can see this area from Israel by ascending Mt. Carmel in Haifa and looking north toward Lebanon.

Scholars will talk about Jesus leaving Israel and going to Tyre and Sidon, which seems to be clearly indicated in today’s passage, but other Matthean scholars say that Matthew never intended to have Jesus leave Israel, but that a “Canaanite woman of that district came and called out” should be translated as, “a Canaanite woman came out from that region. Therefore, the woman crosses over to Jesus who is still in Israel, not vice versa.

This unnamed Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and says, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." The meaning of the word pity as used here is compassion. She wants Jesus to look on her plight and move his heart to heal her daughter.

She also calls Jesus “Lord”, which is the name the Jews used for God, so she is affirming Jesus divinity. She also calls him “Son of David”, affirming Jesus as the Messiah.

Jesus’ response to her petition is to ignore her. The disciples want Jesus to send her away, but she is persistent in her petitioning, she just won’t give up. What parent would, given the opportunity to have her daughter healed?

Another reason I think this woman is so persistent is that she has so much going against her. First, she is a Gentile, specifically a Canaanite, referencing the pagan inhabitants of the area, and Jews weren’t supposed to have anything to do with foreigners. Secondly, Jewish men weren’t to have anything to do with women (other than their family members). Thirdly, her daughter suffered from an illness that the people thought was caused by sin.

Jesus says, in response to all this petitioning, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." While many have come to believe in Jesus, many have not. There is still much work to do among the Jews.

I think that this also reflects the fact that Matthew’s community is made up largely of Jewish converts and he may be addressing the issue of a lack of inclusiveness in his particular church. It wasn’t until the First Council of Jerusalem in the early 60’s that the issue of Gentiles in this new church was resolved – in favor of the Gentiles inclusion.

The woman did him homage, meaning that she worshipped him, again attesting to his divinity – who else do we worship but God?

Jesus seems to be rude and offensive to this woman, but he is testing her faith. The word ‘children’ refers to God’s chosen, the Jews. Calling Gentiles ‘dogs’ was common practice. There is no indication that she was offended, just persistent. Jesus feeds the children with the food of salvation (or the bread of salvation, as we see in the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000) but the Gentiles (dogs) are prohibited from eating this food of salvation.

The woman response is clever. She agrees that the Jews should be fed first and satisfied, but that these should be enough left over for others. It seems to reflect God’s bountiful love for all people. God has plenty of love for everybody. She doesn’t sway him by argument of claims or merit, but he is persuaded by her persistent prayer of faith.

Jesus tests this woman and she passes with flying colors. She believes he is Lord and Messiah, therefore he can do anything he wants, include feeding gentiles with the bread of salvation or healing her daughter.

Jesus calls this great faith. She believes in him under all circumstances, even when people want to send her away, or even when Jesus tests her. It may be that Matthew is trying to build bridges between those Christians who were born Jews and those Christians who were born gentile. By using a woman in this story, it also seems to me that Matthew is trying to be inclusive of women. Matthew is also saying that no one is excluded from God’s table of salvation. In any event, it is a great story of believing and persisting in prayer all of the time.

The first reading from Isaiah is from the third part of this book, dealing with the Israelites after they have come back from exile. In this section, Isaiah says that when the messiah comes, no one is excluded from the messianic banquet table because of origin, religion, or any other criteria.

Here at St. Joseph’s we try to be as inclusive as possible. Our doors are open to every one who wants to enter. We never judge anyone. When someone presents themselves for communion, we always assume that they should be receiving communion. How can we tell if someone is in a state of grace? You can’t, can you? Too bad that a person in the state of grace didn’t have a shiny little halo over their head. It would be easy, then, wouldn’t it? No halo, no communion. But, that’s not practical.

Or, what if we gave out confession cards to every one (we’re supposed to go to confession before communion if we commit a mortal sin, aren’t we?). It would be like those cards we kept by the door for the paper boy when he came to collect on Friday. We would pay him, and he would punch a hole in the appropriate spot. After confession, the priest could punch a hole in our confession card. We would bring that up to communion and show it in order to be eligible to receive communion. This isn’t fool proof, either.

When we try to be exclusive, I can guarantee that we will exclude people who should be included. If someone goes up to receive who shouldn’t, that’s their problem, not mine. They have to answer to God for that, not me. However, if I refuse someone who should receive, I have to answer to God for that. I say let everyone who presents themselves for communion receive, and let God sort it out (after all, God is more qualified than you or I for this job).

Sometimes we want to exclude other people based on our own set of criteria (we never exclude ourselves, regardless). But our faith calls us to do just the opposite. We need to be accepting of all people. I think we’d all be better off if we concentrated more on our holiness than others.

Fr. Phil

2011-08-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #54
NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
August 7, 2011

Reading 1
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II
Rom 9:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are Israelites;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

After feeding the 5,000 men (from last week’s gospel), Jesus sends the disciples away in a boat, and Jesus went up a mountain to pray. Why a mountain? In scripture, that is where God lives. Jesus is going to the top of a mountain to commune with his Father.

One thing to note is that before every important event in his life, Jesus prays. We should follow his example and do likewise.

We now switch to the disciples. This part of Matthew’s gospel is called Book Four, and is a book about the church (remember, the gospels were put in written form several decades after Jesus died and rose). We are getting a teaching on what it means to be church.

There is much symbolism here. A boat is an ancient symbol for the church. Water can be a symbol of life or a symbol of death. The church, as it goes through life, will have calm times and times of much storminess. And remember, we are the church.

They are also at the 4th watch, some time between 3 am and 6 am. The darkness represents evil and the storm represents the waters of death. The boat is being tossed by the sea. The impression I get from reading this passage is that Matthew is trying to depict a very rough storm.

Having been in the US Navy, I can relate to rough seas. I was on a supply ship that was 600 feet long and had millions of tons of supplies. Even then, it could get rough. The worst was when we sailing back to the States, and the ship was almost empty of supplies, so the ship was very light and it was very easy for a storm to rock the ship violently. It would lean to one side so far that we walked with one foot on the deck (floor) and one foot on the bulkhead (wall). The ship would pitch back and forth and your body would learn to automatically adjust to this kind of movement without having to think about it. The first time on land and our bodies would still be automatically trying to adjust to a moving ship. It looked like we were either spastic or drunk.

The first time out to sea is scary and intimidating. The first time in a storm is terrifying. Try to sleep in your bunk when the ship is being tossed about in a storm.

But we always made it through the storm. There was lots of training so we were well prepared for emergencies. We depended on each other to get home safely.

Going through the storms of life can be scary, especially when Jesus is not in the boat. Sometimes we think we can handle the storms without Him, but there are certain storms that will capsize our boat if not for Him.

The symbolism in our gospel passage is that as the church goes through life it will sink unless we depend on Jesus as our rock and our strength, our refuge in times of trouble. Placing our trust in the Lord will help us make it through the storms of our lives. It also tells us that we get in trouble when ministry becomes something other than spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. If we are spreading our own gospel (what we want the gospel to say instead of what it really says) or if we leave faith out of the context of helping people than we have lost our way and are sinking.

The lack of recognition of Jesus by the disciples (It is a ghost!) shows their lack of faith. Even when Peter recognizes Jesus, and steps out of the boat, he begins to sink. It shows that we struggle between faith and doubt. Sometimes we are faithful and sometimes we fail. Peter is a good example: the one given the keys to the kingdom denies Jesus the night before he died. This is a life long struggle for all of us.

When the boat seems ready to capsize, Jesus approaches them by walking on the water, and he calms the sea. When Peter is sinking, Jesus reaches out his hand to save him. Who is this man that he is able to do these things? After the disciples say, “It is a ghost,” Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” The words translated as ‘it is I’ are the same words God uses in Genesis 3:14 when Moses asks God for his name: “This is what you should tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.

Matthew is telling us that Jesus is God, and therefore he is the one who saves, as evidenced by the last sentence of our gospel: “Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’”

In the context of a teaching on the Church, what is Matthew telling us? As we attempt to minister to people, it is Jesus and his saving actions that we profess. The disciples get in trouble when Jesus is not with them; they begin to sink when they are on their own. It is only when he joins them in the boat, it is only when Peter asks for help and Jesus reaches out to him, that they are on the right track.

Ministry is more than helping people, it is spreading the Good News. A good example is Straight and Narrow, the drug and alcohol rehab center in Paterson. They treat the spiritual as well as the physical needs of their clients. The clients were helpless in the face of their addictions, and one of the things the clients do is profess their helplessness and seek the help of a higher power, which in our case would be Jesus. It is the combination of the work of the staff and the grace of the Lord that helps them overcome their addictions.

Personally, I didn’t become a priest to be a social worker. I became a priest to spread the Gospel. In the context of the gospel and at the command of Jesus, we help other people, just as Jesus did, but it’s the gospel that comes first. We must have, so to speak, “Jesus in our boat” or we will also sink.

In the first reading, Elijah is on Mt Horeb (another name for Mt Sinai) and has an encounter with God. It was fitting for Elijah to be on Mt Sinai, since his mission was to reestablish the covenant and to and restore the faith of the people (remember, this is where Moses received the Ten Commandments).

He was told to go there by God and wait for him to pass by. Elijah had preached against King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel who had erected statues of Ba’al in the Temple, and when his preaching went unheeded, there was a drought. On top of that, Elijah defeated the pagan prophets in a contest, and King Ahab wanted him dead.

In the ancient world, wind, earthquake and fire were manifestations of the presence of pagan gods, such as Ba’al. The presence of these elements of nature showed that a divine being was near.

But God does something better; he appears in a tiny whispering sound, like in the quiet stillness of our hearts, and brings peace. He is with Elijah in his troubles, whose hope is in the Lord. What could be better than that?

In the second reading from Romans, we see a striking and bold example of what it means to be church. Paul, born a Jew but converted by Christ himself, is willing to do anything to bring the saving and gracious touch of Christ to his fellow Jews. He knows what Christ has done for him and he wishes to share that with other Jews. According to Paul, the Israelites have everything God can offer, except the best offering, that of Christ himself. In fact, he feels so bad for them, longs to convert them so much, that he is willing to be “accursed and cut off from Christ” for their sake. What a great example of self giving and love.

Fr. Phil

2011-07-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #53
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 31, 2011

Reading 1
Is 55:1-3

Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread;
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II
Rom 8:35, 37-39

Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Jesus public ministry began when John the Baptists’ ministry ended (see Matthew 4: 12-17). Now with John’s death (a prefigurement of Jesus’ own death), Jesus begins a new phase in his ministry. He is more withdrawn from public life because he is withdrawing from danger: the leadership is looking for ways to kill him, but it isn’t his “time” yet. This is reminiscent of the “hour” in John’s Gospel, referring to the hour of his passion and death. When it is time, Jesus will deliberately go to his passion and death in Jerusalem.

After chapter 13 with all the parables that we have been hearing recently, Jesus withdraws from teaching the crowds and begins to focus on the disciples. He is more concerned with the formation of the disciples and therefore the nascent church. He is preparing them for life after He rises and ascends to the Father.

When Jesus hears of John’s death, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place. Why? Was it to grieve over his cousin’s death? Or maybe to get a break from the crowds what always seem to follow him at this point in his ministry. That won’t last, though; at his death, there are only a hand full at the cross – the rest are in hiding or trying not to be noticed.

While Matthew seldom attributes emotions to Jesus, he is described as showing compassion for the crowds after disembarking from the boat. In his compassion, Jesus heals the sick.

These healings remind us of the future kingdom in its fullness: there will be no more pain, sorrow, or suffering. In the kingdom, all is made new, a promise of things to come.

The disciples approach Jesus with the problem of feeding all these people. It is late and they want to send the people away to go and find food. But Jesus in his grief and tiredness still wants to do something. Being a disciple is not always easy, nor does it always fit into our planned schedule. We still need to do what we can, regardless of its inconvenience or difficulty. Like the man walking the beach after a bad storm and throwing starfish that had been washed up ashore back into the ocean before they withered in the hot sun. Another man approached him and said, “Most of these fish will wither before you can throw them back. What difference can you make?” The first man picks up a starfish shows it to the second man, and says, “To this starfish, a lot.” We can’t change the world, but we can always help people.

Jesus knows what he wants to do and tells his disciples to take care of it. “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” It’s at this point that people begin to misinterpret this feeding story. They want to take the miraculous out of it and make it into a nice human interest story of sharing with each other. Some people have suggested that the crowd was so moved by Jesus’ compassion for them that they shared the food they had with each other, which turned out was enough to feed everyone. Another theory states that Jesus’ fed the spiritual hungers of the people instead of the physical.

I’m not sure where people come up with these ideas, because it is not supported by the text. The problem with reading your own ideas into scripture is that we lose the actual meaning of the passage as it was intended by the author. It was Matthew’s intent to have a miracle story where God intervenes for his people. There are plenty of examples in the Old Testament, but I’ll give two: 1) God feeding the people in the desert with manna Exodus 16, and 2) Elisha feeding 100 men with 20 loaves of bread in 2 Kings 4. These passages don’t express the idea of sharing food or of it being only spiritual food, but they do express God’s care for the people in their hour of need. In both instances they were in the desert, it seemed an impossible task to accomplish, and the people picked up the leftovers. Jesus used lesser food to feed a lot more people with a lot more leftovers. Matthew is depicting Jesus as being greater than all the prophets, one of his favorite themes. He is writing for a mainly Jewish-Christian audience, and it was an important theme in his community. Remember, Jesus is the new Moses, so for Matthew, whatever Moses and the prophets can do, Jesus can do better.

This passage is also a reminder to the reader of Jesus messiahship. When the messiah arrives, there will be peace and plenty. Multiplying the loaves shows God’s bountiful love and indicates that Jesus is the one longed for so long by so many people.

There is a very obvious Eucharistic theme here, also. The idea of Jesus looking up to heaven while blessing and breaking the bread has been included in Eucharistic Prayer 1 (Roman Cannon) used at Mass, but the idea of looking up is not in the text of the institution of the Eucharist on the night before Jesus died.

Jesus looking up to heaven, blessing, breaking, and distributing the bread are very liturgical and cultic in nature, and in fact have been preserved in our own Mass format. We don’t normally use the Roman Canon, so there won’t be a looking up to heaven, but see if you can identify the blessing, breaking, and distributing at Mass (in that order also). The bread is blessed during the consecration, it is broken right after the sign of peace, and distributed almost immediately thereafter.

For the earliest believers in Matthews’ community, these loaves of bread did anticipate the greater gift of Jesus body and blood, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist, and which also anticipates the final banquet in the kingdom. Remember, we describe heaven as the ‘banquet of life Christ has prepared for us’. It is not the banquet of life we prepare for ourselves through sharing, but the banquet of life Christ prepares for us. When we look at this passage only as sharing, we leave out Christ – never a good thing to do. Even worse, are we replacing Christ with ourselves?

The number of people fed (5,000, not counting women and children) and 12 baskets of bread left over, show us God’s bounty that can never be exhausted. This is reinforced in the first reading. All are welcome, there is no cost, and we shall dine well at God’s table, a table that gives life. Isaiah is inviting all those who find worldly things to be lacking to come and be fed with the food of God’s grace and presence.

It is also important to note that it was the disciples who distributed the bread. Jesus provides us with the bread of life, but it is up to us to bring it to others.

That’s why we push the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in the summer and early fall. This program is for those who want to become full members in the church, so it is for the unbaptized, people of other Christian denominations, and for Catholics who haven’t yet received eucharist and/or confirmation. We are like Isaiah, and inviting people to God’s banquet. We are inviting people to “Come to me (God) heedfully, listen, that you may have life”. We are inviting people to share in God’s ‘rich fare’. Obviously, most people in these categories won’t be in church on Sundays, so it is up to all of us to invite them to the banquet. If you know of anyone, please make the invitation.

If some people hesitate at your invitation because they are not sure of they believe in God, tell them that God believes in them. St. Paul tells us that in the second reading. There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us; in fact there is nothing we can do to lessen God’s love for us one iota. I think that people doubt God’s love because they have been hurt by others who withdraw their love. If you have never felt (or seldom feel) unqualified love, it’s hard to believe that it exists, but it does!

God has shown that it does exist time and time again. Scripture is full of examples of God’s love, culminating in the sacrifice of his Son, who left us the Eucharist to guide us, refresh us, and nourish us on our way back home.

I think attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist is paramount in growing in the Christian life. It is central to who we are as disciples. God gave us this great gift. Let us recommit ourselves to regularly (and I would hope weekly) attending Mass and receiving communion.

Fr. Phil

2011-07-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #52
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 24, 2011

Reading 1
1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12

The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.
God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
Solomon answered:
“O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king
to succeed my father David;
but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”

The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.
So God said to him:
“Because you have asked for this—
not for a long life for yourself,
nor for riches,
nor for the life of your enemies,
but for understanding so that you may know what is right—
I do as you requested.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
that there has never been anyone like you up to now,
and after you there will come no one to equal you.”

The Word of the Lord

Reading II
Rom 8:28-30

Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers and sisters.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel
Mt 13:44-52

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We are continuing in chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus is using parables to describe the kingdom of heaven. The first 2 parables are found only in Matthew and have the same theme. The Kingdom of God is like a buried treasure or a pearl of great price. When found, a person should sell all they have to obtain it.

In ancient days, there were no banks, no safety deposit boxes, nor any type of security systems. To protect their property in times of war or civil strife, a person would bury their valuables somewhere on their property. If he was killed, or taken captive, or if he fled and never returned, then the treasure belonged to the new owner of the field. In this case, if someone were plowing a field and came across a great treasure, he would sell all he had to buy that field. The Kingdom of God is like that. We should not hesitate to pay any price, undergo any sacrifice, or give up anything necessary, to obtain the kingdom. This should be the wholehearted response of someone who has found Jesus – following him is worth the price. There is a cost to discipleship, but the benefits far outweigh the cost.

In the ancient world, pearls were the single most valuable item. Finding a pearl of great price, one should sell all and buy it. The Kingdom is the single most valuable item and we should do whatever necessary to belong to the kingdom

In both instances, selling everything for the kingdom shows that the person’s commitment is total. The ones who give all are holding nothing back for themselves. I tell this to engaged couples: marriage is not a 50%-50% proposition, but a 100%-100% relationship. In the 50%-50% marriage, it is easy to become concerned if your spouse is holding up their end of the bargain. Of course, we always think we’re holding up our end, but your spouse may be thinking the same thing! Thinking like this can drive a wedge into a relationship. ‘I’m not getting my fair share out of this marriage’ can become a common complaint. If all you think about is what you can get out of a marriage, all you will do in the long run is to get out of the marriage.

On the other hand, giving 100% puts the onus on the individual to perform. In this instance, a spouse is concerned about the health, well being, and happiness of the other over themselves, and will do whatever it takes to insure that end. This is a very Christian attitude because thinking and acting like this will bring us into the realm of virtues: we will be kind, forgiving, sacrificing, and loving as Jesus taught us. If two spouses thing this way, then it has to be a very successful, loving marriage, one we could point to as an example of what marriage could be and should be. There is no reason why all marriages can’t be like this. Marriages fail because people fail. There is nothing wrong with marriage, but there can be a lot wrong with spouses.

Faith is like that, too. Many people expect to get something out of their faith, but are unwilling to commit totally to that faith. They expect God to ‘hold up their end of the bargain’, just as a couple in a 50%-50% marriage would. When God doesn’t do what we want (i.e., when we can’t manipulate and control God to our desires) then we give up on faith. “Father, I prayed so hard for my husband to live but he died anyway. Why didn’t God hear my prayers.” My response (in a little more pastoral, gentle way) is: “God did hear your prayers. He always hears our prayers. In this case His answer is no.”

John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” A perfect motto for those who give 100% to their faith. We don’t have to ask what God can do for us. We know what he has done and what he can do. The real question is: what can we do for God? That’s the way a totally committed faith person would think. This is also a good motto for stewardship. God has blessed us so much, what can we do for him? In the face of the death of a spouse, this type of person doesn’t question God, but is comforted with the knowledge that now their loved one is with God in heaven. God will never be outdone in generosity and will bless us many times over if we give all to our faith. Isn’t this a lot better way to live?

This third parable today is a parable about fishing. A large net would be used by either 2 boats or a boat and people onshore and they would drag it through the lake and catch fish. They would throw out the bad fish but save the good ones. It reminds us of last week’s parable about the wheat and weeds: the good and bad are together, there is a final separation, and then a fitting reward or punishment. Is this where the 100% people are separated from the others? Do you think 98% is good enough? Or 80%, or even 75% Why would you take that chance?

This last paragraph seems to refer to the Old and the New Testaments. Both are necessary and shed light on each other; but the definitive norm is the New Testament.

In the first reading, Solomon is young and has consolidated his power after the long reign of his father David. This is before the Temple in Jerusalem was built and Solomon goes to God’s sanctuary in Gibeon because it was the most renowned place to pray. God speaks to him in a dream. Dreams are very profound and life changing, as we see in Jacob’s dream at Bethel in Genesis 28:11-19 and Samuel’s dream at Shiloh (1Samuel 3:2-18).

In this dream, God said to Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” He could have asked for long life, to defeat all enemies, for more riches, but instead he asked for wisdom. But this is more than knowing things; it’s about knowing God. He wants to rule like God. He wants to be sensitive to the needs of the people and govern with justice tempered with mercy. In other words, he wants to conform himself to God’s will. He wants to give 100% He has found the pearl of great price, the treasure buried in a field, and it is God’s love.

Fr. Phil

2011-07-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #51
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 17, 2011

Reading 1 Wis 12:13, 16-19

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II Rom 8:26-27

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Mt 13:24-43

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

He spoke to them another parable.
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Last week we heard the parable of the sower. We have three parables this week, the first being the parable of the weeds and the wheat which follows immediately after last weeks parable.

A farmer sows wheat, but an enemy comes in and sows weeds, specifically darnel, a poisonous weed that initially looks like wheat. As the weeds and wheat grow, they do begin to look different, but they are so intertwined by now that by pulling up weeds, wheat will come with it. Both are allowed to grow until harvest, when the weeds and the wheat will be separated. The wheat will be put in the barns, but the weeds will be burned.

This is an amazing story because our first thought on seeing the weeds, like the slaves in the parable, is to uproot it, get it out, banish it. It’s not possible to uproot the weeds without hurting the wheat, so the householder tells his slaves to let them grow together.

There will always be wheat and weeds in our society, our church, our families, and ourselves. Every institution, organization, society, and person is a mixture of weeds and wheat. Letting the weeds and wheat grow together is a more thoughtful, patient approach. When we apply this idea to our institutions, organizations, and ourselves, what can we learn?

1. Don’t be judgmental – sometimes we can’t tell the difference between the weeds and wheat. While we look on certain people as weeds, who knows who looks at us the same way?
2. Sometimes there are things we just can’t change – we have to accept that.
3. There are times when we don’t even know how we can change things or even if we should. We need God’s inspiration to decide.
4. Anyone or anything can change – uprooting, banishing, and destroying denies that possibility.
5. All of us are a mixture of weeds and wheat. We would be much better off if we looked at the weeds in our life in order to change and the wheat in others lives as an inspiration.
6. As we heard last week and hear this week, our job (both as a church and individually) is to sow the seeds of faith and to nurture that faith in ourselves and others; let God take care of the rest.
7. Be patient – it takes time to grow from a seed to a plant and it takes time to grow from a person to a saint.

The next two parables contain the same message. The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, and like most seeds, looks innocuous. Yet it contains the possibility of life and, when planted and nurtured, can grow very large. Yeast was a symbol of corruption, so it may be referring to the sinners Jesus associates with; the kingdom is despised and rejected, but like yeast mixed with wheat, can grow very large. Both parables tell us that the kingdom starts out small and shaky, without much promise, but under God’s direction, will continue to grow. So it is with our faith. It starts small and grows. Someone planted the seed of faith in us and nourished our faith, and now we take over and try to grow in our faith. The more we nourish our faith, the more it grows.

The conclusion of today’s Gospel comes next. We have heard much about patience and tolerance, now we hear about future judgment. The Son of Man is the risen Jesus. He assumed the role of ruler and sower of seed at his Ascension. His territory is the world, not just the Church. The good seed are children of the kingdom, those who are faithful followers of Jesus (not necessarily all the members of the church). The children of the evil one are the ones who do evil and lead others to do evil. These people are both inside and outside the church. This is a reminder to us in the church that we can’t be totally assured of our salvation. While salvation is a free gift, we can misuse this gift and therefore forfeit the eternal life.

The harvest is a symbol of the last judgment, the end of the age, as Matthew calls it. Other terms for this time are the second coming of Jesus, the Eschaton, and the Parousia, all terms for the end of the world. When this time comes, the age of the Son of Man will end, and the age of the Father will begin. At that time, the Father will send out his angels (not Jesus) to separate the weeds from the wheat, the faithful ones from the evil-doers. These evil-doers will be thrown into the furnace, “where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” The faithful ones, the righteous, will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father”, that is they will inherit eternal life.

As we live in the age of the Son of Man, we know that we are both weeds and wheat. Our goal is to nurture the seed of faith in ourselves and in others; in other words, we are called to repentance, to forgive and be forgiven. We are called to be Christ for each other and to see Christ in each other. A time will come, however, when God will judge us for what we have done in life. The time of repentance will conclude, and the time of judgment will begin.

We see a similar theme in the first reading from Wisdom. The author of this book is trying to encourage his fellow Jews to remain faithful to God while in the Diaspora (those Jews living outside Israel). He tells them how faithful God has been even when they turn away. God always offered forgiveness and a new beginning. The hope we have is because of God’s love for us and in never turning away from us.

Fr. Phil

2011-07-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #50
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 10, 2011

Reading 1 Is 55:10-11

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II Rom 8:18-23

Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Mt 13:1-23

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s Gospel reading is the third great discourse in Matthew and is about belief and unbelief as told in several parables. We have the first parable of the sower.

A parable is a literary form that includes axioms, proverbs, and allegories, that compares Christian truths and everyday life as a way of teaching about Christian life.

Jesus leaves the house he was in and goes out to teach. The crowds are so large that he gets into a boat and sits down (the preferred posture of teachers). He teaches using the parable of the sower, the first notably long parable in this Gospel. Jesus uses something from every day life to make his point. A farmer goes out to sow his seed, which usually preceded planting. Since he doesn’t know what kind of soil is underneath the seeds, he plants everywhere to be sure. A lot of seed maybe wasted due to the scorching sun, landing in thorns, and lack of roots, but the abundance of the harvest is assured. There is more and more opposition to Jesus, but we are reassured of the abundance of the harvest, expressed as a return of a hundred fold, sixty fold, and thirty fold. Later in this passage, we will get an explanation of the parable.

Now Matthew turns to the purpose of parables. At this point, the disciples don’t understand anymore than anyone else, hence his later explanation, but he makes a distinction between those who have chosen Jesus as Lord and those who haven’t. God’s grace has worked through the disciples and they have chosen to believe so they will receive further grace and understanding, while the others are left out of belief and understanding because of their refusal to believe in the clear message Jesus has been giving since chapter 4. The prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus quotes has come true. The opposition to Jesus has closed their eyes and ears so they don’t see or hear him because of the grossness of their hearts. If they would open their hearts, eyes and ears to Jesus, they would be healed and become believers. Those who do believe are blessed.

Jesus then explains the parable. The first type of person (the seed sown on the path) hears but doesn’t understand so therefore he doesn’t become a disciple. It is easy for the devil to take the word away from him. Is it because he doesn’t want to understand because of an anti-religious stance? Some times people reject faith because they want to make their own decisions and “don’t want to be told what to do”. This always makes me laugh. The first thing I ask them is if they are married. The second thing I ask is if they work. If you said yes to one or both these, someone is telling you what to do. Our system of laws tells us what to do. Some people make the silly statement that ‘you can’t regulate morality’. Of course we can, and we do! What do you think law is about? It’s about regulating what we can do or can’t do, should or shouldn’t do, which is morality. Some people fall prey to peer and societal pressure and reject religion because they want to fit in and be accepted. They don’t want to be pigeon holed as ‘a religious nut’. Whenever we choose not to understand and believe, we fall into this category.

The second type of person (the seed sown on rocky ground) is the one who initially has great joy in the Christian life, but falls away when faith proves to be difficult. These are the types who only practice their faith when it is convenient. If they feel like going to mass they go, but when it is inconvenient (like on vacation) they find any excuse not too go to mass. These are the types who never speak up for their faith in the public forum, at work, with friends, or even within family because it is easier to stay silent and be one of the crowd. In fact, faith becomes such a ‘private matter’ that hardly anyone knows they go to church. For them, faith is something they fit into their schedule, but has it has no priority in their lives; if something else comes along, church gets dropped (like going to kids sporting events instead of church - if no one went to these games, they’d change the time of the game).

The third type of person (the seed sown among thorns) is the one who is more concerned with the accumulation and retention of wealth and is more concerned with other worldly matters. These kinds of things become obsessive and controlling, almost to the exclusion of everything else. Faith has no bearing because it is not worldly.

The fourth type of person (the seed sown on good soil) is the one who both understands and does the will of God. The soil of our soul is prepared through our love. Someone in our past planted the seed of faith (parents, teachers, family, for example) and we encourage this seed to grow through prayer, sacraments, and good works. Our faith is fed these three ways, and continues to grow and we will bear good fruit. When we love God through prayer and sacraments and love each other through our works, then we become God’s great bearers of grace, healing, and salvation.

We see a similar theme in the first reading from Isaiah. Just as the rain comes down and makes the earth fertile so the seeds can grow, so God’s grace comes down from heaven to sow love in our hearts and enable us to be true and faithful disciples.

In the second reading, Paul talks about the redemptive nature of suffering. There is a lot of hard work to planting a seed, watering, feeding, weeding, and doing all those things necessary so the plant can grow. Growing in faith is like that. The seed of faith is planted, and it’s a lot of hard work to grow in our faith. But the end result is all worth it. The suffering of growing in the Christian life and faith in Jesus is redemptive for us.

Prior to entering the seminary, I was a volunteer at a nearby parish. I used to watch the priests and see how dedicated they were, and how much they seemed to enjoy what they were doing; I was greatly impressed. One day the thought hit me: I can do that! It was a thought that kept coming back; I couldn’t get rid of it. I tentatively pursued the idea of a vocation until I entered the seminary, and, as they say, the rest is history. I saw the former pastor of that church recently at a diocesan function, and I said to him, “Part of the reason I’m here today is you.” He nodded to acknowledge and thank me. We never know what will happen when we are true to the calling of discipleship. We need to plant seeds. We are not responsible for the outcome; it is God’s grace that takes over and makes faith grow. But we are God’s agent in sowing the seed.

Fr. Phil

2011-06-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #49
JULY 3, 2011
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Reading 1 Zec 9:9-10

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II Rom 8:9, 11-13

Brothers and sisters:
You are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Mt 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Throughout the centuries, God revealed more and more about himself. As we read the Old Testament, we learn more and more about God; in other words, the theology and knowledge of God grows and grows over time.

In the New Testament, part of Jesus mission is to be the revealer of God’s will. We believe that Jesus is the final and definitive revelation of God’s will for us in our lives. Jesus is that bridge that spans the distance between God and us. It is through Jesus that we feel the power and presence of God.

Jesus praises God because God has chosen to reveal “these things’ (i.e. His saving revelation) to the little ones (or childlike, or babes in other translations), but not to the wise and the learned (or the wise and understanding in another translation).

The wise and the learned refer to the religious experts, such as scribes and Pharisees who generally reject Jesus and his teachings.

Why don’t these people believe? They are experts in scripture and the law, why wouldn’t they believe?

Have you ever met someone who thinks they know everything? Like the woman who married ‘Mr. Right’. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize his first name was ‘Always.’ Ever try to convince them of something? It’s impossible, because they think that they are right, and are not open to any other suggestions, opinions, or even facts. They rationalize everything and have a reason why they’re right– a sign of a closed mind.

The religious authorities in Jesus day thought like this – they knew, they were the educated ones, they were the scholars, and no other revelation from God would change their minds

The religious authorities in Jesus day believed in an earthly, Davidic kind of Messiah – a political, religious, economic, earthly style of Messiah. Jesus, however, came as a humble servant who would suffer for our sins, die, and then rise, offering us eternal life. If someone has their mind set on the first type of Messiah, how do you convince him that the second kind is true?

Our first reading from Zechariah is from a section of chapter 9 called ‘Restoration under the Messiah.’ The Messiah will come not as a conquering hero, but as a humble and meek savior (a warrior would ride on a horse, someone meek and humble would ride on an ass), which reminds us of Jesus, meek and lowly, riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on an ass. Zechariah tells us that in the time of the Messiah, the chariot, the bow, and the horse will be banished, he will proclaim peace, and rule over all the land, which is much more in line with the Prince of Peace than a warrior king. Another scripture reference to Jesus as the Messiah is the Suffering Servant Songs of Isaiah, which point to suffering as the way to salvation, hardly the glorious victory of a warrior.

The learned and the clever block the avenues of God’s grace by their stubbornness. They refuse God’s revelation through Jesus for a messiah that is a Prince of Peace. It’s not that God does not choose to offer them faith, they turn it down.

On the other hand, the little ones (the childlike), the sinners, the tax collectors, the poor, cannot possible keep, let alone know, all 613 laws and the rabbinical teachings on these laws. They were looked down upon by the learned and the clever. The Law became a heavy burden to them, one almost impossible to keep. They were struggling to survive, and didn’t have the time or the education to study the Law, and were condemned by the religious elite.

We see Jesus trying to make a difference in the lives of these people. We see a high Christology here like in John’s Gospel (high Christology referring to Jesus divinity). We see the direct and unique relationship with the Father and the Son “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son´ (reminds us of last week, Trinity Sunday). There is a mutual knowledge here which puts them on an even level with each other. Jesus is the one who knows the Father and is the revealer of the Father to us.

One translation of the Bible refers to ‘the little’ ones as ‘childlike’. I like this word because it tells us a lot about how we should be before the Father: like a child who has implicit and total trust in their parents, who want everything that is good for their children. God is like that and we need to trust in Him.

Jesus tells us to come to him for rest, that is, to share in his unique and personal relationship with the Father. Receiving God’s grace has a way of changing our lives. It opens our eyes and hearts to the teachings of Jesus, the ultimate revealer of God’s desires for us in our lives. We start to become more like Jesus and are kind, forgiving, sacrificing, virtuous, and al those other things that Jesus taught and practiced in his own life. I find this to be very freeing and restful.

For example, when I am angry with someone, I find it very tiring. This supposed hurt dominates my life and distracts me from my mission. I can’t stop thinking about it and I tire mentally, and even physically. Letting it go, forgiving, resting and trusting in the lord, I find very refreshing and restful.

Coming to the Lord and resting in Him also changes our attitudes and worries in life. I’ve found that most burdens in life are self made, like worrying about a career, how my investments are doing, what other people think about me, how I make this person love me, and the like. Notice that these burdens and worries are very self centered. It’s about me. I tell engaged couples that marriage is not about me – it’s not 50%- 50%, but it’s 100%,-100%. When we think like the former, we worry about what we get out of a marriage, and when we do that, all we do is get out of a marriage. When we think about the latter, we give everything we have to make our marriage work, and more than that – to be a very loving relationship. If both marriage partners lived like this, it would be a beautiful marriage. And they find that even though their marriage may be a struggle, it is not a burden, and all the sacrifice is worthwhile.

Resting in the Lord changes us like that, because in imitating Jesus we become less and less self centered, and become more and more self giving. And we find that’s where true peace and happiness come from. Living like Jesus, regardless of the cost, isn’t a burden, but a blessing.

That’s why Jesus yoke is light – because the proper, holy way to live is not burdensome, but freeing, refreshing, and restful. Jesus carries our burdens with us and gives us the grace and strength in the midst of life’s troubles. Notice that faith doesn’t take away our burdens, but gives us the means to carry them easily. A yoke is a devise attached to oxen that allows them to pull great weights with ease. Jesus yoke allows us to carry our burdens in the same way.

Footprints
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
________________________________________
Carolyn Carty, 1963

In the 2nd reading, St Paul tells us that we are not to live by the flesh but to live by the Spirit. For St. Paul, living in the flesh means being closed and hostile to God, while living in the Spirit means to welcome God into our lives and to strive to be the best disciples we can be. He tells us that those who live in the flesh will die, but those who live in the Spirit will have life. The Spirit allows us to live like Christ and to be like Christ.

Let us rest in the Lord and let his Spirit guide us and direct us in our lives. This is the way to true fulfillment and happiness.

Fr. Phil

2011-06-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #48
THE MOST HOLY BODY
AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
June 26, 2011

Reading 1 Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a

Moses said to the people:
"Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

"Do not forget the LORD, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
that place of slavery;
who guided you through the vast and terrible desert
with its saraph serpents and scorpions,
its parched and waterless ground;
who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock
and fed you in the desert with manna,
a food unknown to your fathers."

The Word of the Lord

Reading II 1 Cor 10:16-17

Brothers and sisters:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Jn 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s feast day, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, dates from the 13th century. It’s had many names over the course of time, but you probably remember it as Corpus Christi. It was celebrated on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (Trinity Sunday). It has since been moved to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday.

This feast is largely due to Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon, who was born near Liege, Belgium in 1192. She was an orphan at an early age and was educated by Augustinian nuns. She later joined this order and became prioress. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament from an early age and always wanted a feast in its honor. She had a recurring vision since age 16: the appearance of a bright moon streaked by a dark band. In a dream, our Lord told her the black band denoted the absence of a feast for the Blessed Sacrament.

After she became prioress in 1225, she began to speak to John of Lausanne, a learned canon, and asked him to consult theologians about the feasibility of this feast. One of the men he consulted with was James Panteleon who later became Pope Urban IV who promulgated the Bull Transiturus on September 8, 1264 ordering this feast to be celebrated. Pope Clement V confirmed the Bull in 1312, and since then this has been a feast throughout the Roman Church. Blessed Juliana did not see this feast come into existence since she died in 1258. (Thanks to Butlers Lives of the Saints for this information).

Today’s feast celebrates the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist contains the “body and blood, soul and divinity” of Jesus, that Jesus is truly present in the substance of bread and wine.

The opening prayer and the alternative opening prayer give us three themes for today’s mass: 1) Christ gave us “the eucharist as the memorial of (his) suffering and death”. It’s a reminder of God’s great love, that he will never abandon us, but will always be with us to guide, direct, and inspire us along our way through life; 2) the eucharist will “help us to experience the salvation you won for us”; that by being faithful followers we will inherit eternal life; and 3) we are to evangelize: “may we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service.”

The first reading from Deuteronomy reminds us how God led Israel through the desert for forty years and fed them along the way. As important as the food was for them to survive physically, more important is the Word of God that sustained them spiritually. They began taking the manna for granted and complained about it’s ordinariness. Does that sound familiar? How many people go to Mass on Sunday and ‘sleep walk’ through the service, not paying attention to or hearing what is going on? How many people complain that they get nothing out of it? How can you if you don’t pay attention or participate? How can you if you’re texting (you should sit in my chair – you’d be astonished what I see every week).We are not here to entertain you. If you want to be entertained, go to the movies. We are here to help you worship God, learn more about God, and receive His presence to guide us along our journey.

God comes to us in the proclaimed Word – we believe that God is present in the proclamation and the hearing of the Word. We hope that God comes to people through a well written and pertinent homily. Our full, active, and conscious participation in singing, listening to the prayers, and praying together should be a way God comes to us. And the reception of Holy Communion is the nourishment we need to be the best disciples we can be.

Today’s Gospel is the heart of the bread of life discourse in John’s Gospel and is about faith and eucharist. Flesh and blood is a Hebrew idiom for the whole person. When we receive the eucharist, we receive the whole person of Jesus Christ: his body and blood, soul and divinity. Receiving the eucharist is a personal encounter with Jesus. Jesus is the bridge, the connection between us and the Father., through which we gain life.

As St. Paul says in the second reading, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” The eucharist brings us a share in the life of Jesus who communicates what he received from the Father, namely mission and grace,

Jesus, who gave his life for the world, ascended to the Father but left us his body and blood, soul and divinity in the sacrament of the eucharist to strengthen, nourish and guide us on our way.

However, this sacramental food that Jesus gives us does not give instant and automatic immortality, but only to those who have faith. Faith and eucharist cannot be separated. The gift of faith is given freely by God to whomever he chooses, and it is the eucharist that brings us God’s grace to grow in faith. The two can’t be separated.

The eucharist is a great gift from God and if we really appreciated its significance, wouldn’t we take every chance to encounter Jesus in the eucharist? I think if we had a better understanding of the eucharist, we would go out of our way, do whatever is necessary, to attend mass at least weekly, if not more.

The Second Vatican Council called for full, active and conscious participation in the eucharist. If we did this, we would never have to say that we can’t find God because we would be overwhelmed with all the ways God comes to us at Mass.

The eucharist is not just a symbol, it is not just a representation, but it is actually the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. I invite everyone to make a conscious decision to attend mass at least on Sundays (if not at least once during the wee). Let the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ change you, let it nurture you, let it inspire you to be saints and to share your faith with others.

Fr. Phil

2011-06-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #47
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
June 19, 2011

Reading 1 Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9

Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own."

The Word of the Lord

Reading II 2 Cor 13:11-13

Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Jn 3:16-18

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

This Sunday we celebrate the central mystery of our faith and of our Christian life: The mystery of the Trinity. While it is impossible to understand this mystery, the very essence of God, we do know what God has revealed to us about this mystery.

Every Sunday after the homily we recite the Nicene Creed, a basic statement about our faith which tells us about the Trinity.

Nicene Creed (from the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in
Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

New Nicene Creed from Revised Roman Missal (effective Nov. 2011)

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and became man,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

I’ve reproduced the Nicene Creed, including the new one effective later this year, for your reflection. We recite it often enough, but do we really listen to what we’re saying? Below is a short reflection on the Trinity so we know some of the basics. I refer you to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 232 to 267 for a more in depth treatment of this sacred mystery. Paragraph numbers below refer to paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

We believe that there is only one God, not three, but that there are three persons in the Blessed Trinity; namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They do not ‘share’ divinity, but are whole and complete God’s in themselves. This is called being consubstantial, so the trinity can also be referred to as the consubstantial trinity (paragraph 253).

The divine persons are really distinct from each other. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not just different modes of being divine; each is separate from each other. (paragraph 254). But in the unity of the Trinity, the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and in the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son (paragraph 255).

We believe that Jesus was ‘begotten’ by God; God did not create Jesus, he always was, he is true God, and is also a creator since he was present at, and participated in, the creation of the universe.

The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and is also a giver of life (see Creed above) and is also worshipped as God. It was also this same Spirit that inspired the prophets.

I would like you to notice that God lives in community, that the very essence of God incorporates community. That tells us that, since we are made in the image and likeness of God, we too must be a part of a community. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Even Christian hermits are still part of a larger community. A solitary Christian is an oxymoron. Christianity by its very nature is communal. Those who say that they don’t need to go church because they can go in the woods and pray don’t understand what Christianity is about: and I find it is an excuse not to pray at all (who goes regularly into the woods to pray? I’ve never met anyone).

Whenever you are confronted with a group that claims to be Christian and you’ve never heard of them, the first test is whether they believe in the Trinity. Every Christian believes in this dogma. If they don’t, they’re not Christian.

There was a time in the not to distant past where some people wanted to change the sign of the cross to be “In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier” instead of “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” What we have to remember is that creator, redeemer, and sanctifier are not meant to limit each person of the Trinity’s power or role, but a way to understand something about each person of the Trinity. For example, the Son is much more than a redeemer; he is also a creator, since he was present at the creation of the world. In our feeble attempts to understand what God is trying to reveal to us, we should never put a limit on God. The Trinity is much greater than the sum of it’s’ parts.

God reveals a little about himself so that we may become more like him. The very essence of God is love, as we hear in 1John 4:8, “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” When we are baptized “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” we are brought into God’s love, we share in the divine life of love.

This is the most important part of understanding the Trinity: that God is love and we need to be loving people, also. The Father, Son and Spirit have an eternal exchange of love of boundless measure, and we participate in, as well as share, that love with each other as Christians. It’s nice to be able to understand and speak about all the various theologies about the Trinity, but if we don’t love, we’ve missed the point. The great commandment is to love God and each other, not to be able to plumb the depths of Trinitarian theology.

Loving is harder than reading theology, though, isn’t it. Love makes demands, sometimes great ones, on our time, talent, and even our resources. Theology describes; love acts, because love in its most basic and truest sense is an action, something that we do. If someone said they loved you, but never did loving things for you, would you believe they loved you? I doubt it.

God shows his love by what he does for us. Today’s first reading is from that great Old Testament book called Exodus. After God creates humans in Exodus, then forms his people and calls them to be his own, he never abandons them. When in slavery in Egypt, God sends Moses to free them. When Pharaoh refuses, God sends 10 plagues. The Israelites were spared the final plague of the death of the first born because they placed the blood of an innocent lamb of the wood of the doorpost and the angel of death passed over their houses, and they were subsequently freed by Pharaoh.

God then leads them through the desert, feeds them, gives them water, gives them the Law, and brings them to the promised land, a land of milk and honey. When they stray, God sends prophets to tell them where they went wrong. God is very intimately involved in the lives of his people and cares for them very much.

God loves us so much that in the fullness of time He sends His Son as the final and definitive revelation of His will. It’s as if He’s saying, “This is what I really mean, listen to him!” Faith is founded on the person of Jesus because he is the one who brings God’s will. He is the one who reveals God’s desires for us

Jesus shows us God’s love because it shows us how far God goes to offer us salvation. In theory, God could have chosen any number of ways to offer us salvation, but he chose to send his Son to suffer terribly, die, and rise to offer us eternal life. Isn’t the depth of God’s love incredible? It shows what great lengths God has gone to bring us to eternal life.

We know from our lives that anything worthwhile has a cost. We don’t value something that comes easy. The more valuable, the more it costs. What could be more valuable than eternal life? Has anything ever cost more than that?

The Gospel says that Jesus came to save, not to condemn. Salvation comes through believing in the Son, and that those who don’t believe aren’t saved because they refuse to believe. What does it mean to believe?

Believing is more than professing a creed; it is more than ritual actions; it is more than fulfilling obligations; it is more than knowing things about Jesus; it is knowing Jesus and having him in our hearts. It is turning ourselves over to Jesus as our lord and master and letting him direct and control our lives. It is letting ourselves have a personal experience of the risen Lord. If we do that, he will change our lives forever.

Believing is on ongoing relationship with Jesus that is life transforming. However, believing doesn’t mean we become perfect. It means that we are trying our best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We will make mistakes; when we do, we ask forgiveness. I believe that all God can ask us to do is to do our best every day, given our limitations and our circumstances. i don’t think we risk eternal life by failing in our discipleship, but I do think we risk it by not trying.

God loves us unconditionally and immensely. He gives our lives meaning and purpose. We feel blessed with the peace and love that come from living in the Kingdom. Thank you Lord! I know I don’t deserve it, but I certainly appreciate it. May we all have the strength and grace to share God’s love with others.

Fr. Phil

2011-06-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #46
PENTECOST SUNDAY
June 12, 2011

Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”

The Word of the Lord

Reading II 1Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter season. Ordinary time begins on Monday, June 13th. The liturgical color switches from white to green and we will be in the 11th week in ordinary time. For weekday masses, we are in cycle 1. Ordinary time continues until the evening of November 26, 2011, the evening before the First Sunday of Advent.

The color for Pentecost, however, is red. We will have red on the altar, as part of our decorations, and I will be wearing red vestments. As a sign of our acceptance of the gift of the Holy Spirit and as a rededication to ministry, I ask everyone to wear red on Sunday. Please spread the word so everyone knows.

There is a different set of readings for the vigil mass of Pentecost, but I have chosen to reflect on the readings for the mass of Pentecost during the day.

In John’s Gospel, there is no 40 days to the Ascension, there is no 10 days from the Ascension to Pentecost; in fact, there is no Ascension or Pentecost as we celebrate it today. Our Gospel passage today begins, “On the evening of that first day of the week” referring to the day Jesus rose from the dead, or Easter Sunday. The disciples (only 10 because Judas hung himself and Thomas was absent) were behind locked doors because they were afraid that what happened to Jesus would happen to them.

As they were hiding in the upper room (same room as the Last Supper?), Jesus appears to them. Imagine how scary that must have been. No wonder they didn’t say anything! Probably afraid that he would ask them where they were last Friday. They see the risen Jesus with a resurrected body that is not bound by space and time, but still is flesh and blood. They are fearful, but when Jesus shows him his hands and his side, they recognize him and are overjoyed.

But instead of admonishing them, he says, “Peace be with you,” both before and after they recognize him. This peace is a divine gift promised by God when the Messiah arrives; this peace is an awareness of the presence of Jesus who has overcome sin and death. It is also an experience of the risen Lord who forgives our sins and offers us eternal life that brings us peace, or joy, which is a similar term.

After offering them peace, he sends them out on a mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Our mission as a church and as individual members of the church is to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus. We are commissioned for this task because of the conferral of the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them. In Genesis 2:7 God created man by breathing life into him: “the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” Just as the breath of the Father gave life to humans, the breath of the Son gives us the Spirit of redemption and forgiveness.

I think it is interesting that God does not create man out of nothing, but out of earthly matter, which gives great dignity to material things. I can’t recall Jesus ever saying that material things are bad, but he does say that people can be good or bad. In fact, our whole sacramental system is based on God’s presence being mediated to us through material things such as bread, wine, water, and oil. It is when material things come to so dominate our lives that our spiritual life gets ignored that we have a problem.

The disciples become apostles after they are sent, which is the meaning of the name apostle, one that is sent. It is a general sending (“As the Father has sent me, so I send you”) except for one specific task, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

I find it fascinating that of all the specific things that Jesus could have said as part of the apostles commissioning, he only specifies forgiveness, the one sacrament that, of all the others, has fallen into great non-use.

Look at it this way: if we don’t need forgiveness, we don’t need Jesus or the Church. What is the one thing that keeps us from eternal life? Unforgiven sin. Our whole system of faith revolves around forgiveness, and it collapses without it. It is so important that it is mentioned over 100 times in the Old Testament and over 100 times in the New Testament.

We can’t atone for our sins, but Jesus has done that for us. He has paid the price and he offers it to us freely, without any charge. It is there for the asking. If God feels distant, seek forgiveness. If you want to grow spiritually, seek forgiveness. If you feel like you are regressing spiritually, seek forgiveness.

Do you know the phrase, “get it off your chest?” I’m sure you do. When something is burdening us, weighing us down, we feel much better when we can tell someone. Forgiveness is like that. It weighs us down and puts a great burden on us. Confessing our sins can be like getting a great weight off our shoulders. I have felt it many times, as I’m sure many of you have, too.

Sin and evil have a way of worming themselves into our lives until they become a habit that’s very difficult to break. The good news is that Jesus has broken the hold of sin and evil. They don’t have to dominate our lives anymore. We will give in to sin and temptation, but there is an out: forgiveness.

Some people think talking about sin and forgiveness is a negative thing, but I don’t. I think it is a great gift from God that we undervalue and under appreciate. In fact, it is one of the greatest gifts we have from God. It is only when I feel God’s forgiveness that I can feel his peace.

In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, there is a very dramatic coming of the Spirit. “And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” The wind reminds us of Jesus’ breath on the Apostles and the breath of life from God in Genesis. This wind is the Holy Spirit, enabling the Apostles for ministry. Notice that they went from scared people hiding in an upper room to fearless proclaimers of God’s saving actions in Jesus because of this gift of the Spirit. The fire reminds us of being on fire with God’s love and having a desire to share that love, which the Apostles certainly did.

Notice that everyone heard the proclamation by the Apostles about Jesus in their own tongue. This was a gift of the Spirit allowing them to minister to the people at hand. We should never think that we are unqualified to share our faith. God will equip us with what we need. Sometimes talent can get in the way because we rely more on perspiration than on inspiration. Reliance on self in ministry can block the movement of the Spirit.

After everyone heard the proclamation concerning Jesus by the Apostles, their question in Acts 2:37 is “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter’s response in Acts 2:38 is “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”(italics added). What is the first public statement of Jesus as he begins his public ministry in Mark’s Gospel? “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel (Mk1:15).” Since the word repent comes before believe, I take that to me that we can’t believe in the gospel unless we repent. Do you see the importance of forgiveness?

After we are forgiven and receive the gift of the Spirit, what does that mean to us? Not every one can do everything, nor should they desire to. We all receive the same Spirit, but this Spirit brings out different gifts in each of us. We continue Jesus mission and ministry when we bring our gifts and talents to the altar and let Jesus transform them and us into Church. Sometimes we try a ministry, and we might not like it, or we might not feel we have a talent for it. Every year a small percentage of men leave the seminary, either because they were dropped by the seminary or the diocese, or because it isn’t for them. When we are really Church, every one is welcome to pray and participate as much (or as little) as they want. The Church is not only the hierarchy, but also all the things that all the people in all the parishes, schools, catholic agencies and families do for the love of God. It is all of us together that make up the Body of Christ.

One thing I’d like to emphasize: having a bigger role doesn’t make one a better or a holier person. Holiness is accomplished by God’s grace, not our actions. Holiness, like salvation, is a free gift of God, given to whom He desires.

Being Church means that all people are accepted, no restrictions or limitations. All are called to feast at God’s table of grace. We can’t tell sinners to stay out because then our churches would be empty of people and clergy (talk about a priest shortage!) I hope, though, that while every one is welcomed, every one is also transformed into holiness.

Let us all work together to build up the Body of Christ in Lincoln Park.

Fr. Phil

2011-06-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #45
SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
June 5, 2011

Reading 1 Acts 1:12-14

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven the apostles
returned to Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a sabbath day’s journey away.

When they entered the city
they went to the upper room where they were staying,
Peter and John and James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

The Word of the Lord

Reading II 1 Pt 4:13-16

Beloved:
Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may also rejoice exultantly.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
But let no one among you be made to suffer
as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.
But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed
but glorify God because of the name.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Jn 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today we have part of the Prayer of Jesus, also called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. This prayer takes place immediately prior to Jesus’ arrest. He is about to die, and he prays to the Father for himself and for us. The end of this prayer, not included today, Jesus prays for all those who follow him because of the efforts of his followers.

He begins by stating that his ‘hour’ has come. What is this hour? It’s not a particular time, but an event – the saving event of his passion, death, and resurrection. In John’s gospel, this hour is glory, it is source and summit of his life, the purpose and the end result of the incarnation, the reason why his Father sent him.

The Father glorifies the Son through the Sons’ passion, death and resurrection, and the Son glorifies the Father through his obedience and being that connection to God that reveals the will of the Father. Jesus doesn’t let anyone or anything deflect him from his mission.

The purpose of this glory, this hour, is so “that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Eternal life is described as knowing God, which means that we have a relationship with the Father and the Son; we share in the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son. It is more than knowing things about the Father and the Son, it is about having an experience of the risen Christ who brings the Father to us. Jesus saving actions forgives our sins, conquers death, and brings the indwelling of the trinity to those with faith.

Notice that Jesus’ glory is about suffering, not glory as the world sees it. Jesus glory is not about praise, or honor, or riches or adulation; it is about being faithful to God’s will, no matter the suffering. It is about being a witness to God’s love regardless of how it is received by others.

Why does Jesus pray for us? For 3 reasons: 1) we are precious to Jesus because the Father has given us to him; 2) because we acknowledge Jesus for who he is; and 3) he is concerned about our welfare after he ascends to his Father.

Jesus knows that living a life dedicated to God’s will is not easy. We are pulled in many directions and we often fail. It is not easy to sacrifice in a world that is self indulgent; or to be forgiving in a world that demands vengeance; or to love in a world that can be hateful.

We don’t talk much nowadays about living a virtuous life. According to paragraph 1833 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.” It is both reason and faith that help us be virtuous. God gave us all a conscience, and we know when we have done wrong. We feel guilty, for example, when we have hurt someone: no one needs to tell us that it is wrong to do this. Our faith teaches us such virtues such as morals, faith, hope and love.

When we look at what it takes to be a disciple, no wonder Jesus prays for us! How are we supposed to do all these things on our own? The answer is: we can’t. We need prayer to not only persevere, but to grow in faith.

In Acts of the Apostles, right before Jesus ascends to heaven, he tells his disciples that he will send the Holy Spirit and they will be his witnesses. Until that time, our first reading has the disciples return to Jerusalem and gather in prayer. It is the beginning of a good habit: they will need prayer many times during their ministry. They will gather weekly for the breaking of the bread and will depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to guide, lead, inspire and direct them.

If we are to be true disciples, we need to be people of prayer and sacraments. We need to devote ourselves to a minimum of weekly mass, daily prayer and occasional confession (the quickest way to lapse in our faith is to assure ourselves that we don’t sin or need God’s forgiveness). If we think that we can get away with anything less then we are fooling ourselves. If we try to do less there will come a time when our spiritual lives will founder, God will seem far away and we will be tempted to give up the Christian life.

But be warned: following Jesus may lead to suffering. Peter warns us in the second reading, “Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ.” Christ has given us the job of continuing his mission and ministry. If he suffered and was persecuted, can we expect less?

In this country, we don’t expect to suffer physically for our faith, but there are plenty of other types of suffering that can sometimes be worse. Do we stand up for our catholic values when questioned? Do people even know that we are catholic and affiliated with a church? Do we go out of our way to attend mass and pray? Or are these things dropped when it is inconvenient? On vacation do we look for a church on Sunday or make excuses? Are we Catholics when it is convenient or do we continually practice our faith?

Personally, when our Church is ridiculed in the media, I take it as a badge of honor. It is said that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice. We must be doing something right! I would worry more if we went unnoticed in secular society. I hope we can continue to be the conscience of our culture, regardless of the cost.

Jesus prayed for you to remain faithful, and I do the same. I pray that you may open your hearts to the forgiving, life giving, healing, and saving presence of the Lord and to let the Holy Spirit guide, nurture, inspire, and direct you to be virtuous people. Whatever it costs, the Lord is worth it. God will not be outdone in generosity. Please pray for me, too.

Fr. Phil

2011-05-24T12:23:00.001-07:00

BIBLE STUDY # 44
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 29, 2011

Gospel Jn 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We are still in the Book of Glory (see last week) and our Gospel passage today comes immediately after last week’s Gospel passage and is also a part of the Last Supper Discourses.

Jesus is about to leave them. This is the night before he dies, and he tells them, “In a little while the world will no longer see me.” He promises to send them “another advocate.” Jesus is the first advocate (see 1John 2:1). They have been following him, and he has been their guide, teacher, inspiration, and leader. But in a short while, he will undergo his passion, death, resurrection, and in 40 days, his ascension.

But Jesus assures them that even though he will be gone he will be with them because “I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Our God is one who will never abandon us. He says, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

It must have been scary for the apostles when Jesus predicted his passion and death. What would the future hold? Who could replace him? What would they do? No wonder they didn’t want to believe it. Jesus tries to reassure them and give them something to hold onto. He wants to give them reason to hope. He knows life will be difficult for them as they try to spread the Gospel (see Acts of the Apostles for many examples of the hardships of the early Church).

How will Jesus remain with us? God “will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.” This is the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son to take the place of the Son as our Advocate. This spirit will be our guide, teacher, inspiration, and leader.

The world does not understand the Spirit because the world doesn’t believe in Jesus. We have accepted Christ into our lives, and we come closer to the Lord by the working of the Holy Spirit.

What does the Spirit do for us? The Spirit helps us to love. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” What commandments? What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to live? What are we to believe? Aren’t these the types of questions we want answered when we come to church, pray, or do spiritual reading?

I think that an easy way to remember what God wants us to do is wrapped up in the word ‘virtue’. Virtues are those many positive qualities that make up a holy life; things like love, sacrifice, forgiveness, generosity, humility, serving the poor and needy, and the like. Those who try to be virtuous know that this is a very difficult task, so to be virtuous, to be holy, we need to add prayer and sacraments to this list.

Jesus wants us to keep his commandments, to be holy. He wants us to show us our love for him by the way we live our lives. Saying we love God isn’t good enough. Our actions have to show that we love God. After all, if someone you knew told you that they loved you, but didn’t do anything to show or to express that love, would you believe them? Probably not, at least not after awhile. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.” Observing commandments is more than an assent, it’s more than a belief, it’s more than a creed, it must play itself out in concrete actions in how we serve and assist one another.

What are the benefits of keeping these commandments? First of all, Jesus promises us that “whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” This is more than knowing things about Jesus, it’s about having a personal experience of the risen Lord, and therefore a personal relationship with him. Many people who’ve been touched by Jesus in this way can give you specific details of the when and where and how they felt, but it’s impossible to explain in depth the way God touched their hearts. It is a great motivator to be virtuous.

I think God gives us these moments of grace along the way to give us hope, just as the resurrection appearances gave the disciples hope. When we begin to get down, to waver, to let doubt creep in, we have these moments of grace to reassure us of God’s love and of God’s commitment to us.

I also think that these moments of grace give us direction, focus, and the ability to see what’s important in life.

One of my homily resources called Connections tells a story of a remarkable young boy named Andrew. Here is his story.

God is simply . . . there

Six-year-old Andrew Bateson came down with bacterial meningitis, an aggressive disease that almost cost the little boy his life. In order to save Andrew, doctors had to amputate his legs where the disease had destroyed his circulatory system. Andrew was devastated when he discovered what had happened to him; Andrew couldn't understand why he couldn't have his "old legs back."

His mother, Rebecca, wasn't doing much better. She tried to keep up a positive disposition for her son - but she wondered how Andrew would handle the next chapter.

And she felt betrayed - betrayed by God.

After months of agonizing rehabilitation with his new prosthetic legs, Andrew finally went home.

Then one night at supper, out of nowhere, Andrew said, "I saw God, Mommy. I was sleeping at the hospital. He put his arms out, and I thought he was going to give me a hug. But instead he just touched me on the shoulder."

His mother steeled herself. "Did God say anything?"

"No, he was just . . . there."

A chill ran down his mother's spine. Rebecca writes:

"[God] was just there. What did that mean? I looked at Andrew, wolfing down his dinner. For months I had seen a handicapped child, a damaged child, fighting as hard as he could, failing more often than succeeding in his rehab. Falling down, unable to master his new legs. Yet, unlike me, never turning bitter, never giving up. 'I'm going to walk, I'm going to ride my bike,' he'd insist, 'You just watch.'"

And Rebecca realized: "Andrew came through this better than I have. He was moving on. I was stuck in my bitterness and sense of betrayal . . . Had God been there all along for me, too, and I was just too angry to see? Was he there for me now? Lord, thank you for being with Andrew. Be with me now, too."

[From "The Visitor" by Rebecca Bateson, Guideposts, November 2006.]

I would answer Andrew’s mother by telling her that God is always there for us, not to take away our pain and suffering, but to be our guide and inspiration along the way. Did Andrew understand this theologically? Probably not. But I’d bet that his positive attitude and courage during his rehab came because God ‘was just there.’

I think a second advantage of the Spirit is that after we know what we must do, the Spirit gives us the courage to do it. As St Paul says in Philippians chapter 4 : “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

My homily source called Connections has a good story about living out our faith. It is called:

“The holy work of being Mom and Dad

Scrubbing the pan in which Sunday's pot roast was roasted . . . getting your children to and from school, doctor's appointments, rehearsals and practices . . . paying the bills and balancing the checkbook are hardly inspiring, exhilarating experiences.

But they are holy acts.

The details of being a parent - cleaning, teaching, driving to and picking up, paying tuition, guiding, counseling, feeding, clothing - take on a spiritual character when they are part of the work of transforming a child into a sacred and thoughtful and engaged adult.

For parents, the spiritual is not ethereal or remote; the holy is not abstract and confined to words and images. For Moms and Dads, the spiritual is painfully real; the holy is directly connected to the most ordinary and mundane of human activities. The spiritual transcends the present to envision the future - and who contributes more to the future than a parent raising a child into a responsible, centered, loving adult?

As a parent, you are a minister, you are a prophet, you are a priest. You are unfolding the holy work of creation when you gave life to this person with a soul and spirit. You are continuing the work begun by and now entrusted to you by God.

And that is the holiest of vocations.”

Sometimes we think that being holy means being well educated, well known and popular. We attribute holiness to those who found religious orders, write books, those who are great preachers, who begin large programs to help the poor. Or sometimes we think that holiness is reserved for the clergy and religious who have the time, who don’t have the ‘mundane’ work of the secular world.

Look at our own patron, St. Joseph. He didn’t do anything normally associated with great saints, yet he is the patron of the universal church. All he did was the best he could in any given situation, given his own limitations and circumstances.

When Jesus tells us to keep his commandments, he is not asking all of us to do great things; he is asking all of us to be Christ to those we meet in our own world. That is where we find the Lord and the Spirit finds us.

Let’s be Christ for each other and see Christ in each other.

Fr. Phil

2011-05-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #43
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 22, 2011

Gospel John 14:1-12

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The two main sections of Jesus Gospel are the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. The Book of Signs begins with chapter 1, verse 19, and ends with chapter 12, verse 50. The Gospel immediately starts the other main section, the Book of Glory, which begins in chapter 13, verse 1 and ends with chapter 20, verse 31.

The Book of Signs contains 7 great signs, which really are the wondrous deeds of Jesus. Many of these are familiar: the wedding feast at Cana; the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The Book of Glory begins in the upper room the night before Jesus dies and ends with the story of Doubting Thomas and a short conclusion before the Epilogue. In this book, the “hour” of Jesus arrives. Jesus has come down from heaven to do the Father’s will, and before he returns, he must undergo his passion, death, and resurrection. Our gospel passage this week is in the early part of this Book of Glory. In chapter 13, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples (remember, there is no Last Supper in John’s Gospel; John talks about the Eucharist in chapter 6), announces Judas’ betrayal, he gives a new commandment to love one another, and predicts Peters’ betrayal, all familiar aspects of the gospel.

Chapter 14 begins with the Last Supper Discourses, where Jesus gives words of consolation because of his words about going away (going back to the Father) from chapter 13. He has told the apostles that he is going home to the Father; they can’t come now, but they will come later.

They become troubled because they do not understand what Jesus is telling them. They think he is going away and they won’t see him again. He is going away to ‘prepare a place for’, that is, his suffering, death and resurrection will open the gates of paradise for those who believe in him

Jesus will not abandon us. He will be with us in this life, guiding, directing, and inspiring us to follow him. When it is our time, he will guide us over the waters of death to the eternal banquet table. In fact, it is more beneficial for him to go than to stay. He will bring us to his Father’s house where there are many mansions; in other words, his Father’s love is so large and so great that there is more than enough for everybody.

Jesus tells us that we know how to get there. I, like Thomas, would have been confused and I would have asked the same question. “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus responds by saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The term ‘the way’ in the Old Testament means conformity to the Law which reveals truth and life. In Isaiah, God promises to bring the exiles home through the desert. Jesus is the way because he brings us home through the desert of life to eternal life at the banquet table of heaven.

He is the truth because he tells us what God wants for us; Jesus is the final and definitive revelation of God’s will for us in our lives. God had been reaching out to his people all through salvation history through people like Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, but we just didn’t understand. God sent his Son to be human and he taught us how to be divine,

Jesus is the life because when we follow his way and live his truth we will have life in abundance.

So, Jesus is right – we do know how to get to where he is going (to be with the Father in heaven).

What can God ask us to do, anyway? He can’t ask us to be perfect, because he made us to be imperfect. I think all God can do is to ask us to be the best disciples we can everyday, given our limitations and our circumstances. When we fail, which we will, we seek forgiveness and keep on going, knowing that if we keep the faith as best as we can, we will gain the prize of eternal life.

An elderly lady was in hospice; she was dying and she knew she was dying. Her family asked her if she had any last requests, and she said, “Yes, I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” They were a little surprised at this statement, and they asked her to explain. She said, “At the nursing home, when dinner was finished, and they told us to keep our forks, we knew that something better was coming.” Someday I’m going to have little forks made up to hand out at wakes and funerals as a reminder that there is something better coming.

After Jesus tells us that he is the way to the Father, he explains about his own relationship with the Father. He is in communion with the Father; he is the obedient Son who perfectly carries out his Father’s will. When we see Jesus, we see the Father because they are part of each other: they are intimately bound together in love.

How does Jesus reveal the Father? By his words and his works. Jesus does the work of the Father and therefore reveals his Father’s will. The word of abundant life he shares comes from his Father. He shares his communion with the Father with us through our eyes of faith. He is also the conduit of grace, strength, and peace between God and us.

And to top it off, he tells us that “whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”

As a church, we are called to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus. When we give ourselves over to Jesus, he will provide all we need to live out our vocation in life to spread the Good News. I can think of many great saints who did wonderful things and knew that it was God working through them.

But I think that all great saints are somehow inspired by the unknown saints in their lives. You know what I mean: those people who won’t be written about, or canonized, who didn’t do great things (like found a community or become a well known preacher), but did what they were called to do with great faith, love and dedication.

These are the people who inspire the great saints, and I think all great saints had more than one of these unknown saints in their lives. They are the foundation and basis for spreading our faith. I can’t think of a greater ‘work’ than being the conduit by which God blesses someone with a faith that saves them.

Someone had to plant and then nurture the seed of faith in such great saints as Blessed John Paul II or Mother Theresa. Great saints aren’t born in a vacuum, but come from an environment that teaches and nurtures them with the love of God.

Few of us are called to be great saints, but we are all called to be unknown saints. We never know who we will inspire with our faith filled words and actions. And we may never know, but that’s not important. God knows, that’s what is important.

God bless all those inspirational, faith filled, and holy unknown saints in our lives. Thank you for opening your hearts to the Lord and letting him inspire you so you can inspire us. May God bless all of you with peace and happiness in this life, and eternal life in the next.

Fr. Phil

2011-05-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #42
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 15, 2011

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

A sheepfold is a low stone wall open to the sky. This sheepfold helps protect the sheep from predators that would kill the sheep. There is a gate in this sheepfold that provides easy access in and out for the sheep. At the end of the day, the shepherd would bring all his sheep through the gate, close the gate, and lie down next to the gate. Any intruder would need to get by the shepherd first before any harm could be done to the sheep.

This image of a shepherd is an ancient one in Israel and would be very familiar to the people. In the book of Exodus, for example, Moses would be seen as one who shepherded Israel from the slavery of sin and death to the promise of the new life in the Promised Land. King David would also be seen as a shepherd since he did what a shepherd does: he guided, protected and fed the people. This image of shepherd was also applied to the kings of Israel whose job it was to shepherd the people.

We call Jesus the Good Shepherd because he shepherded the people from the slavery of sin and death and brought them to new and eternal life. This kind of shepherding shows the love and care that God has for his people in general, and each of us in particular. God not only loves humanity in general, but each individual person in particular.

The image of shepherd appears in all the gospels. The difference in John’s gospel is the importance of a mutual relationship between Jesus and the individual disciple. He calls each by name. As the sheep will follow a shepherd, so we follow Jesus. Only those who hear Jesus’ voice are part of the sheepfold; others are not. We are not forced to follow the call of the shepherd; the voices of false shepherds are strong and may entice us with false promises. The more we grow in our faith, the stronger our bond with the shepherd and the better we resist the call of false shepherds, such as the shepherds of materialism, greed, and self indulgence.

The more we follow the shepherd, the more we hear his voice, the more we are taking on the responsibility of living like the shepherd; the duties of shepherd also fall on us. We are called to shepherd other people, another way of saying we are evangelizers and motivators of other people so they can responds to God’s call.

Jesus, as shepherd, is the leader of the people; he is the ‘gate’ by which one enters the sheepfold. When we hear “whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber” may refer to those false shepherds described in Ezekiel 34:1-16; that is, those who did not serve the needs of the people but were using their position for themselves. Ezekiel does hold out hope for the future when a shepherd will come that will be a true shepherd of the people. We believe that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. It also refers to those people in Jesus’ day who are the messianic, political revolutionaries rather than religious leaders.

Jesus is that gate that leads to salvation. He gives us a share in the divine life of God; through Jesus we participate in the special relationship that Jesus has with the Father. We do this when we are in communion with Jesus. The goal of salvation is attained through faith in Jesus.

Jesus also says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” As a shepherd, Jesus does what any good shepherd would do. First, he feeds us though word and sacrament. In reading God’s Word, we find out something about God, something about ourselves, and something about our relationship with others. God’s word helps to grow into maturity as a person, and as a person of faith. The more we are fed by God’s word, the more we grow in these three ways.

We are also fed by sacrament. Being a good disciple can be very trying and it would be easy to give up if left on our own. Jesus gives us the sacrament of his body and blood to strengthen us on our journey of faith.

Secondly, Jesus protects us. Growing in grace protects us from the false shepherds of society, the ones that try to convince us that they have a better way. Having been touched by the Spirit, we should know better.

Thirdly, faith in Jesus offers salvation. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus conquers sin and death. He is the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus sacrifices his life so we may live. His resurrection to new life offers us a resurrection to new and abundant life now, and eternal life I the future

As we follow the shepherd we are blessed with peace, meaning, and happiness in this life, and, eventually with eternal life.

The mission of the church is to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus. How can we be good shepherds?

Fr. Phil

2011-05-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY # 41
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 8, 2011

Gospel Luke 24:13-35

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

This second resurrection narrative in Luke’s gospel takes place on the same day Peter and the women visited the empty tomb, that is Easter Sunday. Two disciples, one named Cleopas and the other disciple without a name, are leaving Jerusalem and are on their way home to a village name Emmaus. A bit of trivia: there are 4 villages in modern day Israel that claim to be the real Emmaus.

They were disciples, but have turned their back on Jesus and are heading home, presumably to their former way of life. This passage reminds us of the resurrection appearance in John 21 when 7 of the apostles went fishing, symbolizing their return to their former way of life.

As they are heading home they are talking about all that happened the past 3 days. I’d bet they were gravely disappointed that Jesus didn’t live up to their expectations and wondering where their lives were headed now that Jesus was dead.

As they were walking along the road, Jesus drew near and began walking beside them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Not recognizing Jesus is a common thread running through the resurrection narratives. In this case I would ask if God prevents them from recognizing Jesus, or is it their lack of faith? Isn’t that true for us, too? Do we only see what we want to see, or expect to see? Or are we open to the workings of God in our life, to see the unexpected and to see with the eyes of faith? Like the early Christians in Luke’s community, do we fail to see the risen Lord in the midst of our own trial and tribulations? Are we the kind of people who only pray when we need something?

When Jesus asks them what they are discussing, they are astonished that he doesn’t know what happened over the weekend. They refer to Jesus as only a prophet mighty in word and deed, as contrasted with last week’s Gospel where Thomas calls Jesus “my Lord and my God”. Calling Jesus a prophet symbolizes a lack of understanding concerning Jesus identity and therefore a lack of faith.

They were hoping that Jesus was the messiah, but one of their own making. Most people believed that the messiah would be similar to King David, who was a political, military, and economic leader. No one suspected that the messiah would be like Jesus. There’s an old adage that goes like this: God made us in his image and likeness, and we have since returned the favor. We want to remake God into one that is easy for us to follow, instead of letting God remake us into a saint.

You can see here that these 2 disciples are just reporting the facts about the resurrection, but they really don’t believe it. They obviously didn’t believe the women, but they went to see for themselves. There was no statement of faith or disbelief, just a reporting the facts. There is no hint of any hope on the part of these 2 disciples. What a sad state of affairs and how bleak and dreary life is without Jesus.

Jesus then explains the scriptures to them and shows them and shows them how all these events are scripturally based. All that happened was according to God’s will. The disciples (conveniently?) forgot those passages in the Old Testament referring to the suffering Messiah. Isn’t it typical for people to pick and choose the parts of their faith that appeal most to them and conveniently forget the challenging parts?

When they get to Emmaus it is getting dark and Jesus indicates that he is going on farther, but he accepts their invitation to stay with them. The timing here is important. It was at sundown that the Christians met for the breaking of the bread.

Jesus assumes the role of host, takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, evoking memories of the Last Supper. It is in this act where they recognize the risen Jesus, who then disappears from their midst.

It is then that they realized their hearts were burning within them when he opened the scriptures to them. They immediately left for Jerusalem, symbolizing their return to faith and their commitment to discipleship.

Why did Luke include this story in his gospel? Remember, the gospels were written some decades after Jesus died, rose, and ascended. Each gospel was written to a particular community living in a specific time and place. Each gospel addresses issues in each respective community.

By the time of the writing of the gospel, about 50 years after Jesus, it seems that the church was struggling with faith in the absence of the second coming of Jesus, which many thought would happen in their lifetimes. It is a story about conversion and of hope.

We too sometimes struggle with our faith as we wait for Jesus to return. This story tells us how to keep going in life during good and bad times, during adversity and elation.

I don’t think we should look to God for answers, but for inspiration; God is not the answer – man, but the grace – man. He is the one who gives us courage in difficult times, and who rejoices with us is happy times. He is the one who dispels fear and meaninglessness, and gives us peace and hope.

I’ve often said that the bible is God’s owners manual. If you want to know how to operate a car at peak efficiency, read the owners manual. If you want to live at peak efficiency, read God’s owners manual. Let it inspire you, direct you, and set your hearts on fire with love.

Jesus also left us the sacrament of his body and blood in the Eucharist. I’m often confused when people say they can’t find God. What they mean, I think, is they can’t find God on their own terms; they can’t find the kind of God they want (a comfortable, easy God, usually). God should be relatively easy to find through the myriad ways we can connect to him.

When we actively, consciously and weekly participate at mass, we open ourselves up to be the receptacles of God’s grace that will change us and mold us. We will recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and that will make all the difference in the world.

Fr. Phil

2011-04-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #40
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 1, 2011

Gospel John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Imagine what the disciples must been undergoing. Jesus had died and they probably felt like they must have been mistaken to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. I’d bet they felt like their following of Jesus was in vain. And if Jesus was killed, would they be next? They still didn’t understand the resurrection and lack the courage to believe in the risen Jesus.

Jesus appears in the midst of the disciples and says, “Peace be with you”. There is only 10 disciples because Judas hung himself and Thomas is not present. This is the resurrected Jesus with a resurrected body. He is not bound by space and time, and can appear to people through walls and locked doors; but he still has human characteristics: he still has a human body, and he can eat.

This peace that Jesus gives the disciples is the peace promised in several parts of the Old Testament when the days of deliverance arrive; that is when the Messiah arrives. This peace now comes from the risen Jesus who has overcome death and delivered us from the bonds of sin and death.

It is interesting to note that it is only when Jesus showed them his hands and his side with the nail marks did they believe it was Jesus. Did they not recognize him otherwise? Was he changed so much as to be unrecognizable? It seems to me that this is what all disciples of Jesus aspire to: to be totally changed into the image and likeness of God.

Jesus then sends them on a mission, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” They are sent to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus, which still is the mission of the church in general and all of us in particular. It is our job to proclaim the good news that Jesus is risen from the dead.

This sending on a mission should remind us of the end of Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus gives the Apostles a mission right before he ascends into heaven: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.” Continuing the mission of Jesus is to teach, to baptize, and to evangelize.

This sending should also remind us of our own baptism when we were sent on a mission to be priests, prophets, and kings. Priests in the sense of being a people of prayer, prophets in the sense of taking the opportunity to speak about our faith, and kings in the sense that Jesus was a king: he was a servant to all.

In today’s gospel, we are also called to preach God’s forgiveness and to offer that forgiveness to all people. We are to preach that God has paid the penalty for our sins and forgiveness is for the asking.

There is a resurrection story that didn’t make it into the gospels. Mary of Magdala sees the resurrected Jesus and runs to the upper room to share this news with the apostles. She arrives out of breath. Peter is concerned and asks her, “Mary, what’s the matter?” In between gasping for breath, she responds, “I have some good news, and I have some bad news. What do you want first?” Peter responds, “How about the good news?” Mary says, “Jesus is risen! I have seen him! Alleluia!” “Wow,” Peter says, “that’s great news! What could possible be bad after that?” Mary responds, “Well, he wants to talk to you guys about last Friday.”

If this story were true, what would Jesus say to the Apostles? I forgive you. That’s the whole point: through Jesus our sins are forgiven and we can become the saintly and holy people God intends for us. This is news worth spreading.

This is quite a mission we have and one that might seem overwhelming except for the fact that we are bolstered in our mission by the Holy Spirit, without whom we are helpless. Jesus breathes on the apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit. In John’s gospel, there is no Pentecost as there is in the Acts of the Apostles; this act of breathing on them is John’s Pentecost.

This breathing should remind us of Genesis 2:7 where God breathed into the first man to give him life. Just as Adam’s life came from God, now the spiritual life of the apostles comes from Jesus.

When the bishop consecrates the sacred chrism at the Chrism Mass (which can be held on Holy Thursday morning, or at some other time. In the Paterson diocese this mass is held on the Monday evening of Holy Week) he breathes into the chrism, giving the chrism the power of the Holy Spirit. This chrism is used to confer new spiritual life at baptism, confirmation, and holy orders.

Thomas, called Didymus (meaning twin), was not present at this resurrection appearance and doesn’t believe that Jesus is risen. Who can blame him? No one had ever risen from the dead before, so why should he believe it? Resurrection was not part of what the people believed concerning the Messiah (neither was dying on a cross). I think most people wouldn’t believe unless they see for themselves, either.

Why did Thomas believe? Because he had a personal experience of the risen Christ. That’s why it is pointless to argue religion with other people who don’t believe. True faith is more than mass attendance, or knowledge, or professing a creed; we believe because, in some way, we have been touched by Christ and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Thomas’s conversion came because he was able to touch the wounds of Jesus. Many times, our conversion comes because Christ touches and heals our wounds. That’s why seeking forgiveness for our sins is so important: it heals the wounds of sin and division.

In our mission to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus, the first person we need to convert is ourselves. We need that personal experience of the risen Lord in our own lives to change and transform us, to resurrect us from our sins, faults and failings before we can ever share God’s love with others. We can’t share with others what we don’t have ourselves.

That’s why I think the early disciples were so successful in their evangelizing. It wasn’t that they had the ‘magic’ words that would convert people, nor were they any smarter than anyone else, nor were they necessarily charismatic; but they had an experience of the risen Christ and it showed in their lives. Their faith made a huge difference in who they were, what they believed, and how they acted. It changed and transformed them to a point where I think people looked at someone like Peter and thought to themselves “I don’t know or understand what happened to him, but it has made such a great difference in his life, and I want that in my life.”

We call Thomas “Doubting Thomas’, when we should really call him ‘Believing Thomas’. In the end, he professed Jesus as “My Lord and my God.” If you have doubts, or maybe are a bit unsure about matters of faith, I ask you to open your heart and invite Jesus in; pray for an experience of the risen Lord to help you overcome your doubts and unbelief.

May we all profess Jesus as our Lord and God, and may our light shine for all to see.

Fr. Phil

2011-04-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #39
TRIDUUM AND EASTER
April 21- April 24, 2011

Gospel readings:

• Holy Thursday: John 13:1-15
• Good Friday: John18:1 – 19:42
• Holy Saturday: Matthew 28:1-10
• Easter Sunday: John 20: 1-9

Reflection

Reproducing all of the gospel readings would be too cumbersome, so I have listed the gospel references for each day. You can look it up.

We hear the word ‘Triduum’ a lot this time of year. What does it mean? It is a fancy word that means 3 days and it begins on Holy Thursday and ends on Easter Sunday. But, isn’t this 4 days? Yes, but it depends on when you begin and end. The Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening on Holy Thursday and concludes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday, which is actually only 3 days. The high point is the celebration of the Easter Vigil.

If you are fasting during Lent and wondering when Lent ends, it ends on Holy Thursday evening. However, there are some who continue their fast until the Easter Vigil.

We tend to split up all the events of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, into individual ‘events’, as if they were no connection between them. We also tend to think in the sense of history, that we are re-enacting these events. For example, we do this with the Living Stations of the Cross. Another example is having a Seder.

Sometimes we try to identify ourselves with a certain character. Am I like Judas? Do I betray friendships and those I love? Am I like Peter? Can I be trusted? Am I like the women and the Beloved Disciple who follow Jesus all the way to the cross? What would I do if I were in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus when the Romans arrived? Would I flee?

Instead of looking at the Holy Week events as history, or even placing ourselves in this history, I ask you to look at them as mystery. In my mind, it’s not enough to know what Jesus did; more importantly, what is he doing for me now and what will he do in the future? How is God’s mysterious love changing and affecting my life?

Instead of reflecting on the scriptures, I am going to give you some ideas for meditation and prayer during this holiest of weeks.

HOLY THURSDAY

There are 3 principal mysteries contained in this celebration that should be included in the homily: the eucharist, the priesthood, and love.

Eucharist

Jesus gave us this great gift of Eucharist the night before he died to strengthen us on our own pilgrim journey through life. He left us his body and blood, his soul and divinity in the form of bread and wine. We receive this special gift at communion. The Lord is also present in other ways at Mass: 1) we believe that God is present in the proclamation and hearing of God’s holy and living word in scripture; 2) we also pray that God touch the heart of the preacher so that he brings God’s presence to others;.3) we believe that God is present in the community. Jesus says that where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name, he is present.

We need to accept and believe as a matter of faith that the bread and wine we receive at Mass is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. When we do this, I think we realize what a great gift we have in the eucharist, and we come to a better understanding of God’s great live for us. Personally, I feel closer to God and strengthened in my faith and Christian commitment when I receive communion. While personal prayer is important, I think sacraments are the essence of our ongoing relationship with Christ. I have been to services in other Christian churches. They can be lively and faith filled, but when they are over, I feel like I missed something if there is no eucharist.

One of the reasons I like doing this internet bible study is that it puts me much more in contact with the meaning and the blessing of scripture. The more I study it, the more I see God in the words of scripture, and feel God in my heart. Scripture is a living word, and sometimes I am blessed to see passages in a different light. I hope this bible study opens you up to God’s presence in scripture, if only in a little way.

Questions to ponder: What do you believe about the eucharist? When have I felt God’s love through the eucharist? Am I fully committed to weekly Mass attendance? When at Mass do I fully participate? Do I pray with Scripture?

Priesthood

The night Jesus instituted the eucharist, he also instituted the priesthood. He told his apostles to ‘do this in memory of me’. We priests stand in the place of Jesus to mediate God’s presence in word and sacrament. We not only bring God to people, I hope we also bring people to God. It is both a tremendous responsibility and a tremendous joy to be able to serve people in this way.

God will not be outdone in generosity. He promised to repay us 30, 60, and 100 fold for whatever we do. I certainly have felt God’s many blessings in this way, as priests usually do. I feel that I get back much more than ii give. That’s why I’m astounded that there are more vocations. I think if young men realized what a powerful and grace filled life comes with a vocation, there would be more vocations than we need.

We priests need all of you to pray for us so we can carry out our mission to spread the good news.

Questions to ponder: How has a priest touched my life in the past? Do I pray for priests? Have I ever encouraged someone to consider a vocation?

Love

This theme of love is dramatized in the washing of the feet. Imagine the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, getting down on his hands and knees and washing feet, which was the job of a slave. Jesus shows us that, in its basic and truest form, love is an action. What a great example to us: loving each other through humbly serving each other.

Questions to ponder: Do we let our inflated ego get in the way of loving each other? What are other ways I can ‘wash the feet’ of others? Am I a good steward of my time, talent, and treasure?

GOOD FRIDAY

Suffering is a part of everyone’s life; it just can’t be avoided. It’s not a matter of if, but of when, how much, and how long. Jesus certainly had his own share of suffering, his passion being the biggest of his sufferings. It also must have hurt when those closest to him didn’t understand him; when those who opposed to him tried to get him; and when people came for physical healing but ignored the spiritual healing.

But think about these things: Jesus had his own share of illnesses; it must have pained him to live in an occupied country; he must have suffered when work was scarce; and he must have suffered when those he loved became sick and/or died, like his foster father (and our patron) Joseph.

Even in the midst of life’s troubles, Jesus remained true to his vocation. He only asked for relief from suffering if it was his Father’s will. Even knowing the terrible death he was to endure, he kept going out of love for his Father and love for us.

One of the reasons Jesus is believable to me is because he understands. He has been through the same things as we have and then some. Faith tells us that all is not lost, that we can find hope in the midst of even great suffering.

When I was the catholic chaplain at Chilton Hospital, I had been visiting this one man whenever he came in for chemo and radiation. He would be in the hospital for a few days at a time to receive his treatment. I made it a habit to stop and talk for a few minutes.

As we became friendlier, he opened up to me about his illness. He told me one day that he was prepared for whatever lay in store for him, we prayed together for god’s will.

One day I went to visit him and his wife and adult daughter were in the room. His wife looked at me, smiled, and said, “We get to take him home today.” He looked at me, rolled his eyes, and said in a loud voice, “I’m going home to die.” It turns out that there was nothing further the doctors could do.

His wife and daughter were speechless. They looked to me for a reply. I said, “Well, when you get to heaven, would you pray for that priest who visited you all those times?”
He looked at me, smiled, and said, “OK.”

This man was facing the biggest crisis of his life in a calm and faith filled way. He looked to God in his trouble and was rewarded with God’s grace and peace. I have no doubt that this man is in eternal life. Not because of anything he did, but of what Jesus did for us.

Whenever things get tough, I think of this man and his memory is greatly inspiring.

Questions to ponder: When things get tough, do I turn to God? Can I join my sufferings to those of Christ for the salvation of the world? Am I a faithful follower of Jesus regardless of the cost?

HOLY SATURDAY/EASTER SUNDAY

Jesus is risen! Alleluia! The tomb is empty. The price of our sins is paid. Death is conquered. In John’s Gospel, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb. She didn’t recognize him in his resurrected body. He still had a physical body, he could eat (but didn’t have to), he had flesh and bones, but he was different: he wasn’t bound any longer by space and time.

The power of the resurrection transformed Jesus and he appeared in all his glory. He is alive and never to die again. He suffered died, and rose from the dead, for each one of us individually. He wants to resurrect us from our faults, failings and sins. He wants to change us bit by bit into a holy person.

I saw a very moving skit at a youth retreat about Calvary. The soldiers marched Jesus up to Calvary, and couldn’t find the nails. Jesus joins in the search for the missing nails. He is the first to find them. What does he do? Throw them away or hide them? No, he gives them to the soldiers.

That’s how much God loves us and wants to be a part of our lives. He is patiently waiting for us to turn to him so he can transform our lives.

Did you ever hear the legend of the folded napkin? Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.....

The folded napkin meant -
''I'm coming back!''

He is Coming Back!

In fact, he is already here. He comes to us whenever we open our hearts to his transforming love.

On this Easter Sunday, this great day of salvation, I ask you to simply turn your life over to the Lord. It doesn’t matter how long you have been away, it doesn’t matter if you are lukewarm in your faith, it doesn’t how much or how often you have sinned, it only matters if you accept Jesus into your heart.

No fancy prayer is needed. No theology is required. You can do this on your own. He is waiting. Just pray something simple: “Jesus, I’m sorry for all the things I have done wrong and ask you forgiveness. I pray that the saving, transforming, and healing power of your love can be a part of my life to transform me to be the disciple you want me to be. Amen. “

No matter who you are, we invite you to be a part of our faith community. God accepts us for who we are, and it is only his love that can transform us into saints. We accept you too and want you to worship with us and be a part of church. Come, join us, and let God transform your life into something you just can’t imagine.

Only one question left to ponder: Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Fr. Phil

2011-04-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

LITURGICAL RENEWAL I

We have been talking for several months about the renewal of the Liturgy, specifically the changes brought about by the new translation of the new Roman Missal. We have decided to expand this renewal to include not just new words, but new thoughts and actions. We would like to have a renewal that brings more understanding, respect, and reverence towards the Eucharist. I will be using the parish newsletter as a forum to address these topics in the future, which will include such topics as talking in the church, children and the Eucharist, a theology of the Eucharist, and any other topics I think needs to be addressed.

Today, I would like to talk about two topics: cell phones in church, and bathroom usage during Mass.

Cell Phones

Please make sure you either turn your cell phones (and other electronic devices) off or turn them to vibrate prior to entering the Church. If you don’t really need the phone (which most people don’t), then maybe you should just leave them at home. If you are on call, such as someone in the medical field, then you do need to have a cell phone, then it should be on vibrate. One Saturday evening Mass, I heard 4 cells phone ringing at different times at Mass. This is very distracting to other people, and it is disruptive of prayer. Why do we need to be in constant contact? The answer is, we don’t. Please be courteous to other people and turn off your phones.

Bathroom Usage

In recent months, we have begun to see a parade of people, mostly children, but also a few adults, going to the bathroom during Mass. Unfortunately, the bathroom is in an awkward spot. If it were in the rear of the Church, it wouldn’t be as much of a problem. I have looked into moving the bathroom, and it is in excess of $10,000.00. This is not the answer.

I can’t tell you how many people have complained to me about the number of people who walk by the sanctuary area to get to the bathroom whenever they feel like it, whether it is during the gospel, the homily or even during the consecration (don’t people know what is going on?).

It seems to me that there could be a lack of understanding or even a lack of respect for what we are doing at Mass. I have seen the same kids walk to the bathroom 2 or 3 times during one mass. They are not going to the bathroom, but going for a walk. At one Saturday evening mass, I came in the side door by the pulpit for the announcements, and a couple of kids were sitting in the chairs in that little hallway, and they were talking. I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were going to the bathroom. At that moment, another kid came in and went by us and into the bathroom. I told them to go back to their pews.

These types of actions are very disruptive to me when I am celebrating Mass. It is hard to focus on what I am doing or saying when I am distracted by a parade of bathroom goers. It is easy to lose my train of thought during a homily or my place in the Eucharistic prayer when people are walking around the church. These things are not acceptable. It is disrespectful to the Lord when we can’t sit there for 45 minutes and pray with the priest and the others at Mass. I have received many complaints from people who feel the same way. As part of our liturgical renewal, we need to change these practices.

Last weekend, when the bathroom door was locked by accident, we didn’t have a problem; there were no catastrophes. I thought the Masses were much more dignified and respectful when people stayed in their pews. It was a much improved worship experience.

From now on, the bathroom door will be locked during Mass. Please make sure you take care of your needs before you come to church. I don’t think this is too much to ask. We will leave Halloran Hall open for those who absolutely must use a bathroom. Please exit out the front doors.

CONCLUSION

After our cell phones are quieted, and after we get used to the bathroom doors being locked and bathroom parade no longer happens, I think you will agree with me that we will experience a much more dignified and respectful Mass, a much better opportunity to grow in the love and peace of the Lord.

I will be writing to you in the future concerning other topics that will enhance our prayer experience at Mass.

God bless you and thank you for all you do to make our parish the best!

Fr Phil

2011-04-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #36
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
April 3, 2011

Gospel John 9:1-41

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a Sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

As I was reading this gospel, I wondered what it would be like to be blind. While people with all sorts of disabilities have been able to integrate into society, being blind would mean not being able to drive, so I would need transportation to get anywhere; not being able to read, so I am limited to Braille and audio books, tapes, etc (how many of them are there?); not being able to see the beauty of nature, but only to experience it through my other senses; and being limited in the possibilities of marriage and family. These are only a few of the difficulties; I imagine there are many more.

Imagine what it would be like to be blind 2,000 years ago. Most people were poor and lived from day to day. There were no type of social services for the poor; the rich always have the advantages of money to help their family members in need. There was little, if any, opportunity for education or to learn a skill so as to help support the family. If you couldn’t work, the possibility of marriage was probably zero. The only thing you could do was beg for money, and there was plenty of competition for that.

On top of all that, because he was blind, he was considered a sinner. Jesus disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Being a sinner, he would have been excluded from public worship in the synagogue and Temple. John is trying to describe a person who is as down and out as one can be. He is so lowly he doesn’t even have a name. Things couldn’t be worse for this blind man.

Jesus tells us that illnesses and disabilities are not caused by sin, contrary to popular belief. He is using the blindness of this man to show us about faith and about himself.

In the Old Testament, “opening the eyes of the blind’ also refers to faith in God (see Isaiah 42:7). Jesus tells us he is the light of the world, and we’ll see how this plays out with the blind man and with his opponents.

Without even asking him (why would he object), Jesus cures this man of his blindness. What does this really mean? Jesus cures him in all possible ways. Being sighted, he could learn a trade other than begging; he then has the possibility of supporting a family, which means he could get married and have children; he can be restored to public worship in the Synagogue and Temple; and, most importantly, it tells us something about Jesus. John is trying to tell us that if Jesus healed the body, he is also healing the soul through forgiveness of sin, and who can do that but God? John is alluding to Jesus divinity. The cured man ‘sees’ he becomes a man of faith in Jesus: he has the eyes of faith.

Look at the progression of this man’s attitude toward Jesus. First, he is ‘the man called Jesus’; then he calls Jesus ‘a prophet’; then he is a ‘man from God’; finally, he calls him ‘Lord’ and worships Jesus, a recognition of Jesus divinity.

Through his healing by Jesus, through the healed man’s interactions with his neighbors, and then his 2 confrontations with the Pharisees this formerly blind man travels the road of faith to acknowledging Jesus as Lord.

The washing in the waters of Siloam reminds us of the waters of baptism. We are washed clean in these waters, and as life goes on, our eyes become more and more opened to the reality of Jesus; as life progresses, Jesus hopefully becomes more and more important to us; and it is finally that experience of the risen Jesus healing us that brings us to our knees, worshipping Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

This healed man is also willing to witness to others about Jesus. His first witness is to his neighbors, who just want to know how he was healed. “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’. So I went there and washed and was able to see.” At this point, Jesus is just a man.

His second witness is to the Pharisees. The Pharisees said that Jesus is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath (Jesus cured this man on the Sabbath). When asked how this can happen, the cured man said that Jesus is a prophet. His understanding of Jesus has grown, and he is willing to testify to what he believes.

His third witness is when the Pharisees call him in a second time, and he is much bolder. Upon being questioned about the circumstances of his healing, he responds “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” The more he witnesses about Jesus, the stronger his faith becomes.

Isn’t that interesting? The more he witnesses, the stronger his faith becomes. It seems to me that one good way to grow in our faith is to tell others about Jesus. Didn’t Jesus say that he would be with us to guide us in our evangelization? Religious education teachers, confirmation teachers, and those who work in RCIA know this: they benefit as much as the people they are teaching. This is a good reason to be a teacher, I think.

In opposition to Jesus, we have the Pharisees. They have eyesight, but they are really blind. They refuse to even consider Jesus in any role other than sinner. The first time the Pharisees question cured man, he refers to Jesus as a prophet. Then they question the parents, who confirm that their son was born blind, but were afraid of the Pharisees, so they said, “Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” Then, they call the cured man back a second time, and he refuses to back down: “If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.” He says that since he healed him, the man must be from God, since God doesn’t listen to sinners. The Pharisees refuse to give in to the cured man’s logic or his faith.

Confronted with the reality of this healing, the Pharisees refuse to believe. They think that they ‘see’, but not really, they are really blind. Whenever we refuse to be open to the power of the Spirit in our lives, we are like the Pharisees and we miss Jesus right in our midst. We are blind to what God wants us to do and be.

The Lord wants to keep healing us of our sins, but won’t force himself on us. We need to be humble enough to know that we need Jesus’ help. Jesus says, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”

Recognizing our own blindness, we turn to Jesus and begin to see. Insisting that we see, we become blind. Which one are you?

Fr. Phil

2011-03-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

BIBLE STUDY #35
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
March 27, 2011

Gospel John 4:5-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her,
“Go call your husband and come back.”
The woman answered and said to him,
“I do not have a husband.”
Jesus answered her,
“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.”

At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”
or “Why are you talking with her?”
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
“Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?”
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
So the disciples said to one another,
“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

John’s Gospel is a gospel of personal relationships. He speaks about his relationship with the Father, with the disciples, the relationship of the disciples with each other, and he reveals himself in his relationships. Jesus discloses himself to these people and they discover who he is and what he means to them.

In this gospel story of the Samaritan women, Jesus reveals himself little by little and invites her to faith. Eventually, she comes to faith and invites other Samaritans to do the same, who respond by coming to faith. These Samaritans are schismatic Jews and not part of official Judaism. But they come to a much greater acceptance of Jesus than official Judaism or most of the Jewish people.

John’s Gospel emphasizes that Jesus is the transcendent Son of God, but it is in this same Gospel that we also feel the touch of Jesus’ humanity, such as in today’s passage where Jesus is tired from his journey when he reaches the well. Other translations will use the word exhausted or wearied in place of tired. In any event, we can relate to that kind of feeling.

A meeting at Jacob’s well is a favorite setting for meetings between men and women that influence the course of salvation history, such as Abraham and Rebecca in Genesis 24:11-27, or Jacob and Rachel in Genesis 29-1-21.

Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well and asks her for a drink. She would have been surprised, not only because a man was talking to her (the apostles were amazed at this upon their return), but it was a Jewish man, and she being a Samaritan, would have nothing to do with Jews. Samaritans refused to worship in Jerusalem and even helped foreign powers fight against Israel. Communication between the two was forbidden by law, and there was a ritual taboo on eating and drinking from the same vessels.

It is interesting to me that Jesus meets this woman at the well at noon. Water was procured in the morning, normally. Why was she there at noon? Was she being ostracized from the community for some reason, like her many marriages? It is another instance where Jesus associates with the most downtrodden and oppressed people. This is a good example of how we should act.

Jesus reveals himself little by little. He refers to himself as a ‘gift from God’. Jesus is the connection we have to the Father. There is a painting in the Sistine chapel of God reaching down with his right hand, and Adam reaching up with his right hand, but they don’t meet; there is a gap. Jesus closes that gap by making it possible for those hands to meet.

Jesus gives us the gift of living water, which is the gift of himself, which is for all and confers eternal life. This living water is also seen as the Holy Spirit, insofar as one interiorizes the self revelation of Jesus.

The woman doesn’t understand and questions Jesus. He says that everyone who ‘drinks of this well’, that is, believes in him, ‘will never thirst’, that is, have eternal life. She doesn’t really understand, but wants this gift of living water so she doesn’t have to keep coming to the well. She knows Jesus has something special and is someone special, but she doesn’t yet understand who he is or what he is offering. At this point, he is only a Jewish man with a special gift.

Jesus then draws her closer to faith in a surprising way. He asks her to go and get her husband. She replies that she has no husband, and Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Now Jesus becomes a prophet, because he knows her background without being told. By telling her of her own life, she is brought to a greater understanding of Jesus.

We learn a lot more about Jesus because we learn that he supersedes and is replacing worship both at Mt. Geratzim (that is the Samaritans, who do not possess true knowledge of God, since their religion grew out of national and political ambitions) and in Jerusalem (the Jews who have legitimate worship of God, and salvation, since the Messiah and Savior comes from them). Jesus brings Christian worship, which is the worship of the Father in a communion of faith with the Son (who is and brings the truth), through the interior action of the Holy Spirit. Worship is not limited to a place, but happens anywhere and everywhere. We get to know God by accepting Jesus, and the Spirit helps us grow in our faith. Jesus is the new Temple by which we worship the Father in spirit and truth.

The woman believes that when the Messiah comes he will tell them everything (explain to them, maybe?). Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah, the divine, transcendent revealer of God. When he says “I am”, he is referring to the Old Testament notion of the divine power of God.

The disciples return and are amazed that he is talking to a woman. Remember, woman had no standing whatsoever in those days, and were considered like property; and it wasn’t seemly for a man like Jesus to be talking with a woman anyway. They want Jesus to eat, but he responds, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” His ‘food’ is doing the will of the Father and completing his mission as the Savior of the world. He sees the Samaritans are ripe for harvesting, just as there will be a great harvest of souls in the future. The harvest time has arrived with Jesus, and the disciples will be doing much harvesting in the future.

The woman brings the gift of Jesus, the living water, to the other Samaritans by testifying to them what Jesus did. Jesus stayed 2 days, and his word convinces them that he is the savior of the world.

We see the growth in faith in this passage. Jesus starts out as a Jew, then becomes a prophet, then the Messiah, then finally and most importantly, the savior. Through the conversation of one outcast woman with Jesus, and her willingness to bring others to Jesus, and whole nation is ‘harvested’ and believe in Jesus, the giver of eternal life.

When I read this passage, I am always reminded of our own journey in faith. We were baptized with the living water, brought into the church with the Trinitarian formula of Father, Son, and Spirit. Initially, we know nothing and are brought to faith by people who are like the Samaritan woman and share the living water of Christ so we can appreciate this great gift of God, and so we can to grow in our understanding of faith. As children, we have a limited understanding of Jesus. As our minds and bodies grow and mature, we hopefully leave behind these simple childlike ways of understanding Jesus and come to a mature faith. Jesus is more than just a good man, more than a prophet, more than a healer, more than a Messiah, that he is the savior of the world.

When we understand and interiorize Jesus as the savior, the one who conquers sin and death, the one who offers eternal life, we come to understand that Jesus is the one who gives us life; that is, he is the one who gives us peace, happiness, and meaning in this life as well as eternal life. Just as we need water to survive, we need this living water to survive eternally. He is the one who gives us hope in a world torn by strife, discord, and sin. In this day and age, we need the hope that all is not lost, that there is more than what we see, and in the end, if we persevere, we will inherit eternal life. Now, that is something worth sharing. Can we be like the Samaritan and share this living water with others?

Fr. Phil

2011-03-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

ST. JOSEPH CHURCH
EMAIL NEWSLETTER #15
MARCH 2011

Lent is already here, and it is a good time to become closer to the Lord. We are offering several ways to do this. As usual, we will have Stations of the Cross every Friday evening at 7:30 pm. Meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s death is a good way to increase our spirituality, and it takes less than a half hour. We will have confessions every Monday evening from 6 pm to 6:45 pm, and after the 7 pm mass, if necessary. If you feel that God is far away and you are afraid of losing your faith, my first question to you would be to ask, “When was the last time you went to confession?” The accumulation of sin blocks the avenues if God’s grace, which is when we feel a lack of faith. Being forgiven will open up those avenues and refresh and grow our faith. I would also encourage you to make a firm commitment to mass at least once a week. Here is where we learn about God’s will for us in the readings and the homily, and we get the grace from communion to live out our faith everyday. This is also something we can take with us during the rest of the year. And, if possible, try to go to a second mass during the week. Mornings may not be possible, but we do have mass every Monday evening at 7 pm. WhyCatholic? is a program held in people’s homes to help us learn more about our faith through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This lent the groups will be discussing such things as the Ten Commandments, making moral decisions, virtues, conscience, and the like. How much do you know about these things? On April 2, we are having a day of reflection with Fr John Catoir, a retired priest of our diocese, the former head of The Christopher’s, and a columnist for the Beacon. Holy Week activities, such as the Chrism Mass at St Philip’s in Clifton on 4/18, Mass on Holy Thursday at 7:30 pm, the Cross Walk on Good Friday, the Good Friday 3 pm Service, and the Living Stations with our Youth Group on Good Friday evening are all wonderful prayer experiences that will draw us closer to God. There are also several ways to live out our faith in practical terms this Lent, such as Operation Rice Bowl, the Homeless Shelter, and the St. Joseph’s Table. I think we have plenty of opportunities to prepare for Easter, and I encourage you to participate in these things as much as you can. Fr. Phil

LENTEN SEASON INFORMATION

With the beginning of Lent, the Church proclaims anew Christ’s call to penance and conversion to life. “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mt. 16:24

REGULATIONS
The entire season, from Ash Wednesday to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is a penitential season; a time of self-denial, prayer and Christian charity. The specific discipline of the Church in the U.S. is as follows: Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. Days of fasting and abstinence are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Those between the ages of 18 and 59 are obligated to fast. By this obligation, the individual is permitted only one full meal in the day. The obligation to abstain begins at age 14. The law of abstinence forbids the eating of meat. The obligation to observe the laws of fast and abstinence “substantially” or as a whole is a serious obligation. Failure to observe any one penitential day in itself is not considered serious; however, it is the failure to observe any penitential days at all, or a substantial number of such days, which must be considered serious.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The ancient custom of the church to remember Jesus’ passion and death by making the Way of the Cross will be celebrated every Friday of Lent at 7:30 pm.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - DAY OF REFLECTION

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, we are having a Lenten Day of Reflection led by Rev. John T. Catoir, J.C.D., a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese and former head of The Christophers. The first talk at 10:30 am will be the Theology of Joy, with confessions immediately following. Lunch will be at 12 noon (please bring your own lunch; coffee and... will be provided). The second talk at 1:15 pm will be on the psychology of achieving joy. Fr. Catoir will be offering his publications for sale on that day. Please call us (973.696.4411, x10) and let us know if you will be attending this day.

INTERFAITH HOMELESS SHELTER

The Interfaith Homeless Shelter will be arriving at the Jacksonville Annex on Sunday, March 13. We will provide food that day as well as food and fellowship on Saturday, March 19. Sign up sheets are on the tables in the rear of church. Anyone who would like more information regarding our parish’s involvement in the homeless shelter should call Lois Moeller at 973. 696.4049 or Mary Bono at 973.696.9713.

These are difficult times for so many. Please consider spending time in fellowship or supplying food. Anything you can do to help these local families who are truly in need of our assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Friends:

For the past several years we have been distributing bread to you at all the masses for St. Joseph's Day. This year we would like to do something different: we would like to have a St. Joseph's Table.

The idea of a St. Joseph's Table began centuries ago. Many poor people ran out of food after a long, cold, winter, and needed help. There were no supermarkets or other similar places to obtain food, and they were at the mercy of the generosity of other people. It became the custom at many churches to ask their parishioners for food donations so they could help those in need. They did this in conjunction with St Joseph's Day (March 19th).

This tradition survives to this day, although it works a little different. People donate food to the church, the church sells it, and the money goes to the poor. This is what we want to do.

Our St. Joseph's Table will be on Sunday, March 20, 2011, after the 10 am and 12 noon masses in Halloran Hall. We are asking for food donations to be brought in Sunday morning before the 10 am mass. The food will be available for sale after those masses. The proceeds will be donated to the Morris County Interfaith Homeless Shelter and the Lincoln Park Food Pantry.

We are looking for the following or similar items: Pizza-gain, otherwise known as Pizza Rustica, breads (like sausage bread, or any other type of bread), pies, cakes or other desserts, or any other similar type of food that you would like to donate.

Please let us know if you can help. The Hall will be open prior to the 8 am Mass for donations.

Thanks you for helping those in need, in the spirit of St. Joseph. Please let me know if you have any questions. Fr. Phil

WELCOME HOME TO HEALING

"Welcome Home" is a diocesan initiative to invite all Catholics to experience the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession is a wonderful opportunity to set aside our sinful ways and to draw closer to our Lord. Confessions will be held every Monday during Lent, from March 14 to April 11, 2011, in every Catholic Church in the Diocese of Paterson. Since we have Mass at 7 pm on Mondays, we will hear confessions prior to Mass, beginning at 6 pm and ending at 6:45 pm, and after mass, if necessary. Don't be afraid! Information will be provided. Ask the priest to help you. Experience the gracious mercy of God!
www.WelcomeHomeToHealing.org."

The following is from CONNECTIONS (a homily service) for March 2011.

The dignity of generosity

This happened in a small Virginia church years ago:

A widow with six small children was a long-time member of the congregation. Each month she gave the church $4 - a tithe of her income. Members of the church council were moved by her generosity but concerned that her gift added more to her hardship. They urged the pastor to talk to the poor woman and let her know that, given the weight of her responsibilities to her family, she should not feel obligated to give to the church.

The pastor tells the rest of the story:

"I am not wise now; I was less wise then. I went and told her of the concerns of the [parish]. I told her as graciously and supportively as I knew how that she was relieved of the responsibility of giving. As I talked with her the tears came into her eyes. 'I want to tell you,' she said, 'that you are taking away the last thing that gives my life dignity and meaning.'"

[Gordon Cosby, cited in Context, January 15, 1980.]

Though poor and struggling herself, this woman's life is centered on the "rock" of humility and gratitude that is of God. She understands that the meaning of her life is found in the dignity of Gospel mercy, reconciliation and justice. She realizes that the values of selflessness and compassion that she instills in her children as a parent are as important as the food and clothing she struggles to provide them. Authentic faith is centered in the values of the heart, with an understanding of God's love for us and the irrepressible longing to respond to that love. The faithful disciple builds his/her "house" on the foundation of God's love and seeks to bring that love, with conviction, integrity and perseverance, into the lives of all who call that house their home and all who come to that house's table.

FOOD PANTRY
The item requested for the month of March is coffee, either regular or decaf. Donations may be left in the back of church. Thank you.

Good Perspective on things!

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up; she was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

This story was sent to me in an email not too long ago, and I include it here because Lent is about change and growth. The strength to be like coffee comes from grace. We can’t do it alone, but God promises to be with us, especially in the difficult times. Let us all grow closer to God this Lent so we can be the best disciples possible.

May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!

Fr. Phil

2011-03-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

BIBLE STUDY #32
NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
March 6, 2011

Gospel Mt 7:21-27

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The first sentence of today’s Gospel is one that we should all tape to the mirrors in our bathrooms so we can see it every day. It is an admonishment to all those who think that they have it made, that there is no need for improvement, for those who are self righteous, and for those who are judgmental of others. It also seems to me that prophecy, driving our demons, and doing mighty deeds, by themselves, aren’t good enough for us to be saved.

Jesus attacks certain people who think that they are true disciples, but actually are false prophets. They are ones who profess belief, but do not practice the things they believe in. They are lax about the Church’s moral teachings: they don’t deny these teachings, but they ignore them. Included in this group are people who are antinomians: they believe that the moral law isn’t necessary because faith alone is necessary for salvation.

There are many groups of people like this today. I will comment on a few groups, but it is not an exhaustive list.

There are those who think that their religion is right and others are wrong, and that salvation comes only if you believe exactly like them. Jesus tells us that only those who do the will of the Father are saved. Does the will of the Father include being judgmental, exclusive, and prejudice? I don’t think so. What’s ironic is that more than one group thinks like that. Some (or all of them) are obviously wrong. There was a group like this who snuck into my seminary one day and left books in the chapel with the title, “Are Catholics really Christian?” We weren’t offended, but had a good laugh. Did they really think that they were going to convert catholic seminarians to their idea of faith? The Church teaches us to respect other people’s beliefs, and that no one can be forced to be catholic. To paraphrase Pope Benedict on his trip to the U.S. “We respect all people’s beliefs, but we propose Jesus Christ.”

There are those who want to be spiritual, but not religious. What a lot of nonsense. Can’t be done. Spirituality is the theoretical (or theological) aspect of our relationship to God and others. Being religious is the practical aspect. Religion helps us to live our faith in practice everyday in the real world. Spirituality tells us to love God and others; religion tells us how to do that. Those who try to separate these two things don’t want to pay the cost of discipleship. They want to decide about faith on their own without the help of anyone else (this is the easy way, but to no avail). Do you see role reversal here? Is doing the will of the Father telling God what faith is about, or is it letting God guide and direct us in the ways of faith? The latter, I believe.

There are those who we call ‘cafeteria’ Catholics, which means that they pick and choose what to believe. It is like going through a line at a cafeteria: you don’t take everything offered, just what looks good to you and you ignore the rest. There are those who will pray and go to church, but that’s it: they like that, so they ignore the rest (for the most part, anyway). There are others who like to help out their neighbors, but barely darken the door of the church (except occasionally, like major holidays). Being a person of faith means accepting the whole package. Our personality, gifts, and talents will lead us in a certain direction in serving God. We can emphasize our strengths while working on our faults. Following the will of the Father requires us to accept what our faith teaches us, whether we like it or not.

I could come up with more examples of the type of people Jesus is admonishing in the gospel, but I think you get what I mean.

What, then, does it mean to follow Jesus? I will give you a few ideas, especially since Lent is coming soon, but it is not an exhaustive list. I’m sure you could think of things to add to my list.

I think we all need to learn more about our faith. How can we follow Jesus if we don’t know what he taught? How can we be good Catholics if we don’t know what the church teaches? Can anyone name and explain one gospel parable? How many of you have ever read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or even have one? That is why programs such as WhyCatholic? are so important. They help to nurture and guide us as we try to grow in faith. I hope my internet bible study does the same. It has helped me tremendously in not only preparing for my homilies, but also to learn more about scripture and to grow in my own faith.

The gospel for Ash Wednesday lists the three traditional religious practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This is a good shortcut to use to examine ourselves to see where we need improvement.

PRAYER. We are all called to be people of prayer and sacraments. We are called to weekly mass and daily prayer. This is how we build our relationship with God. We would never build a relationship with another human being without spending time with them, talking to them, and doing things with them. It works the same with God. A weekly commitment to Mass is essential to our spiritual growth. Mass is the source and foundation of all we are as Catholics. We just can’t do without it; the same with daily prayer. We don’t need to spend a lot of time in prayer, no do we necessarily need formal prayers (although this is an option). We can take a few minutes several times a day in prayer: while driving, in the shower, doing household chores, and all those times during the day when we are doing mindless things.

FASTING. This is much broader than just abstaining from food. By fasting we mean giving something up, so we need to get rid anything that keeps us from God, such as greed, envy, prejudice, laziness, or any other sin you can think of. This category is not only giving up our sins, but increasing our virtue by doing better at loving, caring, being kind, forgiving more, and the like. Is there any area of your life that needs improvement.

ALMSGIVING. It is important to support the church and other charities financially, as well. This also signifies reaching out to others in need. Are we generous with our time, talent, and treasure? Can we improve any in this area?

Another way to examine ourselves and our spiritual life is to look at the commission we were given in our baptism to be priests, prophets, and kings and see how we measure up.

I’ve already mentioned prayer. Being a prophet is witnessing to our faith in word and deed. How often do we stand up for our faith when others are ridiculing it? How often do we take the opportunity to explain our faith to others? When co-workers are talking about moral issues at work, such as abortion or the death penalty, do we stand up for what our church teaches? We are all called to be kings like Jesus was a king, not to lord it over others or to tell them what to do, but to serve one another in humility and kindness without prejudice or exclusion.

I think it’s obvious now that the thread that runs through my comments is that faith is both prayer and action. It’s not an either/or, but a both/and. God has given us gifts and talents to use for the building up of the kingdom. Faith is not just my relationship with God, nor is it just my relationship with others, but it is both.

Jesus tells us to build our house on rock. Is it a coincidence that the name Peter means ‘rock’? Doesn’t Jesus tell Simon that “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18)?” When we build our lives on the teachings of Jesus and the church built on the rock called Peter, there is nothing or no one that will prevail against us. We won’t be shaken in difficult times. Our faith and our salvation will be strong and sure. If we choose to build our house on the sand of our own opinions, desires, and wants, we may be in for a big surprise.

One of the difficulties of our faith is that we call it a religion, which, too many people, means rules and regulations. We fall into the trap of wanting to know the rules and regulations we need to follow, so once we complete them, we can get on with our lives. A better way is to think of our faith is as a philosophy of life, which is something ingrained in us and affects every decision we make and everything we do. A good philosophy of life is a set of guiding principles that should lead us to a better life. We are more inclined to learn about our philosophy than our religion. And it will keep us from being one of those people Jesus condemns.

Fr. Phil