May 16, 1999 |
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Peter tells his readers to rejoice if they suffer for being a Christian (2). When we think of suffering Christians we tend to think in terms of ancient martyrs or modern people who live in countries that do not allow religious liberty. The truth of the matter is that sacrifice is at the heart of our faith. If we live the counsels of the gospel we cannot be self centered. We will see that any possessions we may have are merely given us in trust. We will begin to understand that our talents are not ours for the building up of the self but for the good of our neighbors. The Church is not just an association of individuals who share a particular taste in worship. We are either united in Christ or we are empty shells. When we are united our prayer is strong. When we work for others we are Christ for one another. Jesus is no longer in the world as a flesh and blood person who walks among us. But when we lead Christian lives Christ is everywhere.
Next Sunday the reading's will be: 1)Acts 2, 1-11; 2)1 Corinthians 12, 3-7.12-13; 3)John 20, 19-23.
This past Thursday, we celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord. He returned to the Father after completing His mission. We, however, are not left to ourselves; the Holy Spirit is always with us.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear Together they devoted themselves [the apostles] to constant prayer (Acts 1.14). It says that the Blessed Mother was also with them. It is prayer for the coming of the Spirit, once again, into our lives and community.
We now are in special vigilance for the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Let our prayer be that we may be found ready. More than ever we need to pray that the warmth of the Spirit heal the tension in the war-torn regions of the world, especially Yugoslavia. That the same Spirit awaken on all a new Pentecost to bring the peace of Christ to the confused, despairing and forsaken.
I pray that we all open ourselves to the healing presence of the Spirit.
Fr. Ron
The second year of the preparatory phase will be dedicated in a particular way to the Holy Spirit and to his sanctifying presence within the Community of Christ's disciples. "The great Jubilee at the close of the second Millennium...." I wrote in the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem, "has a pneumatological aspect, since the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished ~by the power of the Holy Spirit".---The Church cannot prepare for the new millennium in any other way than in the Holy Spirit. What was accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit "in the fullness of time can only through the Spirit's power now emerge from the memory of the Church."
Mary who conceived the Incarnate Word by the power of the Holy Spirit and then in the whole of her life allowed herself to be guided by his interior activity, will be contemplated and imitated during this year above all as the woman who was docile to the voice of the Spirit, a woman of silence and attentiveness, a woman of hope who, like Abraham, accepted God's will "hoping against hope."
Pope John Paul II, On the Coming Third Millennium
Once again this year I feel I must write some words concerning attire at the Mass. As I said last year, the Mass is the highlight of our prayer and the most important activity of our entire week. Nothing else comes close, but does our dress show that? Would a visitor be able to tell by our attire that we think the Mass is a big deal, a miracle in progress, a guarantee of the Presence of God? I know that the days of dresses, hats, suits, and ties are gone by. But I still think that we can dress in such a way that our clothes make a statement. And I don't think that the same thing we wear to a backyard bar-b-que makes the proper statement.
Our actions, too, are open to scrutiny. In particular, leaving Mass early (that is, before the priest leaves) does not send the proper message about the importance of the Mass. What's the rush? Where is everybody going in such a hurry? Does the Lord walk out on us or quit listening to us before we're finished praying? Shouldn't we then stay until the finish of Mass?
I hate to sound like a grouch, but the Mass is important to me. It is the greatest moment of grace in my life as a priest and as a Catholic. I pray that it will be for you, too. May all who come to our Church be impressed by the reverence we have in and towards the Mass.
May God bless you.
I am sometimes totally surprised by the situations and circumstances in which the Lord chooses to make Himself known. I am thinking about an event that occured to me during my vacation just completed.
When my priest friends were leaving to come home, they were to take me to the Greyhound station in Panama City on their way out of town. We were delayed four hours in doing this due to flash flooding that blocked the road out of our condo area. Consequently I missed my morning bus, and had to wait at the station for four hours until the next one was due. What do you do with four hours at a small Greyhound bus terminal? Are you aware of just how different this place and this method of transportation is from airports and air travel? It is the other side of life...completely. Airports are clean, modern, spacious, offering every service that you could need and even some that you may not. The people who work there are usually clean-cut, well dressed, friendly in a business fashion, but sometimes curt with you when they are most busy. Travelers at airports readily talk with one another, if not out of shear friendliness, at least out of nervousness. But a bus station! Don't look for any of the above in most situations. The place is rather stark except for a few vacation promo's telling you to "leave the driving to us". No cafes, no gift shops, no racks of magazines in modern bookshops, no fast foods, or even a watering hole. Just a few chairs, a couple of soda machines that warn you "no refunds on lost coins", and one employee who answers the calls for information, sells tickets to walk-ins, handles a second counter for parcels shipped by bus, and takes care of whatever else comes along.
In Panama City while I was there, I saw a desperate young lady who kept making phone calls to family/friends to pick her up or help in some way. She had been there since the building opened at 6:30 AM. She had no more money since by the end she was receiving calls on the station's private line. Then a rumpled, tired looking man who found out what his ticket would cost, and then went down the street to Western Union to get money wired from family. They come with the clothes on their backs, or with a few things in a plastic bag. One young man was wearing the most filthy blue (not very) jeans with holes in them. All along I tried to observe without being obvious.
Sounds bad, doesn't it! But right here in this grubby scene I met Jesus in the person of the ticket agent. It happened as I was reading a reflection which said, "Theology, prayer, metaphysics, ethics are all worthwhile, but the bottom line is always the same: love one another. Love the family members who can be irritating, the neighbors who are too loud, the public you serve in your job, the boss, the members of your church committee, the stranger standing in front of you." Every call on the phone, every individual in this very busy station...she greeted all with a friendly, warm smile patiently offering help and assistance. No question was silly or bothersome. She was actually loving the stranger in front of her. There are no first class seats on a bus...just a place for the poor to sit when moving from one place to another. And here was Jesus the ticket taker. What a lasting impression of goodness can be left with us when we are looking for Him to be present.
Father Bob
Kids Say the Darndest Things
1. A three year-old went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother there were two boy kittens and two girl kittens. "How did you know?" his mother asked. "Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it's written on the bottom."
2. Another 3 year old put his shoes on by himself. His mother noticed the left was on the right foot. She said, "Son, your shoes are on the wrong feet." He looked up at her with a raised brow and said, "Don't kid me, Mom. I KNOW they're my feet."
3. A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"
This week I thought I would reflect some of the Epistle (Second Reading from I Peter), as a change from the series on the Gospels. The first letter of Peter is thought to have been written about 65 A.D., and is a pastoral document.... emphasizing the dignity of the Christian vocation, which provides a God given home, and the positive value of sharing the passion of Christ through persecution...encouraging his readers to remain faithful. (Fr. William Dalton S.J., in the Jerome Biblical Commentary). From another point of view, Dr. William Barclay says that Peter was writing to Christians who were Gentiles and he had to try to help them by showing persecution in its true terms. It is never easy to be a Christian. The Christian life brings its own loneliness, its own popularity, its own problems, its own sacrifices and its own persecutions.
Perhaps in our own country today we do not have the terrible persecutions of the likes of Nero, Nerva, and Diocletion, but there is an opposition to the faith which is much more subtle, and therefore much more of a problem, and to which, the principles of I Peter still apply. It is far easier to go with the crowd than to stand up for what is right, and voice an unpopular opinion, to be told that one is old fashioned or to be put down as out of touch with the prevailing cultural winds of the 1990's. Yet, to be true to the fullness of the Faith of Jesus Christ, that is what we must do. Certainly, we risk being criticized and being seen as out of touch, especially when we witness these days to our Church's teachings on euthanasia, abortion, and other moral issues. Yet, Christianity was never seen as easy, popular, or only for warm feelings or consulting the latest opinion poll. It is about redemption, salvation, suffering at times, but also about peace of mind and one's right relationship with the Lord, and His body, the Church. It is about being a prophet to a world which has lost its moorings with its Creator.
...from Fr. Charles
As we welcome Father Mike Caroline of the Glenmary Co-Missioner Association this weekend, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on the missionary "mandate" and the missionary work of the church. Here are some quotes from the, Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding missionary work in the Church.
849 The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the unversal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all people." "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 Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age."
850 The origin and purpose of mission. The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most High Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her very nature missionary, since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make people share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love.
851 Missionary motivation. It is from God's love for all people that the Church in every age received both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on." Indeed, God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth," that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the spirit of truth are already on the way to salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.
852 Missionary paths. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission." It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacriÞce, even unto death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection."
The Glenmary Co-Missioners are people of various cultures and faith traditions who work together to promote social justice and community development in rural areas of the southeast United States. The mission group is made up of lay people who serve among communities which are African American, Appalachian, Native American, and Latino. They put their Christian faith into action by addressing such things as education, health care, and other needs of the rural communities.
Scripture teaches us, as believers, to turn always to our Lord Jesus Christ, as the One capable of putting an end to injustice, killing, atrocities, and persecution. He is the One to restore Peace to all peoples, and to bring healing to all who suffer indignities and pain.
As Christians, we can be reassured by this knowledge. Let us join in one voice to ask our Lord God to resolve the crisis in war-torn Yugoslavia and Balkan states, as only He can.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your
precious gift of Peace.We acknowledge your sovereignty in all of Life,
from beginning to end.In the name of your Son Jesus Christ, we ask you
to resolve the situation in
Yugoslavia and the Balkan states.In confidence, we entrust the outcome to you in
complete trust.We praise and thank you for giving us Life,
Almighty Father.(Excerpts from a Prayer by David Wissler)
Preparing for 2000: That All May Be One!
UT UNUM SINT! The call for Christian unity made by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council with such impassioned commitment is finding an ever greater echo in the hearts of believers, especially as the Year 2000 approaches, a year which Christians will celebrate as a sacred Jubilee, the commemoration of the Incarnation of the Son of God, who became man in order to save humanity.
The unity of all divided humanity is the will of God. For this reason he sent his Son, so that by dying and rising for us he might bestow on us the Spirit of love. On the eve of his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus himself prayed to the Father for his disciples and for all those who believe in him, that they might be one, a living communion. This is the basis not only of the duty, but also of the responsibility before God and his plan, which falls to those who through Baptism become members of the Body of Christ, a Body in which the fullness of reconciliation and communion must be made present. How is it possible to remain divided, if we have been buried through Baptism in the Lord's death, in the very act by which God, through the death of his Son, has broken down the walls of division? Division openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News to every creature.
Pope John Paul II
One of the key pastoral problems facing us is the widespread misunderstanding of the role of conscience, whereby individual conscience and experience are exalted above or against Church teaching. The young men and women of America, and indeed the of the whole world, who are often victims of educational theories which propose that they create their own values and that feeling good about themselves is a primary guiding moral principle are asking to be led out of this moral confusion.
All those who teach in the name of the Church should fearlessly honor the dignity of the moral conscience as the sanctuary in which the voice of God is heard. But with equal care they should proclaim, in opposition to all subjectivism, that conscience is not a tribunal which creates the good, but must be formed in the light of universal and objective norms of morality.Clear teaching on these matters is also an essential part of the necessary return to the practice of the Sacrament of Penance...
Clear teaching on all such matters is liberating because it presents the true meaning of discipleship: Christ calls His followers to friendship with Him (see John 15:15). In fact, the personal following of Christ is the essential foundation of Christian morality. The obedience of faith (Rom 16:26; ) is both an intellectual assent to doctrine as well as life commitment which draws us into evermore perfect union with Christ Himself. The Church must always be careful not to reduce the word of truth (see Colossians 1:5; ) to an abstract code of ethics and morality, or a treatise of rules for good behavior. The preaching of Christian morality so closely linked to the new evangelization, must not empty the Cross of Christ of its power (see 1 Corinthians 1:17; ). [TPS 39/2, 1994, 117]
