September 5, 1999 |
I thought I would like to share with you a few thoughts on the observance of Sundays. Recently our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, issued and apostolic letter entitled: On Observing and Celebrating the Day of the Lord. In this letter he states: The coming of the third millennium, which calls believers to reflect upon the course of history in the light of Christ, invites them to rediscover with new intensity the meaning of Sunday: its 'mystery', its celebration, its significance for Christian and human life. As I reflect upon the observance of Sundays, as a little boy growing up in Memphis, three points come to mind, Sunday is a day for God, a day for the family, and a day for fun and recreation. From my experience this is how my family observed these three areas.
It was a day for God. That meant Saturday evening Mom had to holler at us kids, Be sure to take your bath before going to church. Tomorrow is Sunday. We also had to make sure that we shined our shoes on Saturday night, because tomorrow was Sunday, and we all were going to Church, and we saved the best for God. A clean body, shined shoes, special clothes - all ways to indicate our reverence for God.
It was a day for the family, fun and recreation. On Sunday Mom would always cook something special - foods that we did not eat during the week. On Sunday we usually ate in the dining room, not at the kitchen table. We had a special table cloth with the Sunday dishes and knives and forks. This was another way of reminding us - a special day for God. While Mom was preparing the festive Sunday meal, Dad would often take us kids for a ride in the car - something we just loved to do. Remember this was about 60 years ago, and things have changed since then! The afternoons were frequently spent in visiting friends, or they would come to our house. The Italian men would enjoy card playing or bocce (a kind of outside bowling). In the evening the family would gather around the radio, and listen to various comedians, who kept us laughing. For many years Monsignor Fulton Sheen had a radio program, both spiritual and entertaining. You youngsters, remember in the days of my childhood, we never heard of television! That is how my family kept Sunday.
In our modern world today, families will keep the Sunday differently, but in some ways still making Sundays a day for God, for the family and for fun and relaxation. In that same letter quoted above, Our Holy Father has stated, Sunday is the day of joy in a very special way, indeed the day most suitable for learning how to rejoice and to rediscover the true nature and deep roots of joy. In reference to our attendance at the Sunday Liturgy, he writes, Christian believers should come together in order to commemorate the suffering, resurrection and glory of the Lord Jesus, by hearing God's Word and sharing the Eucharist, and TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD who has given them new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. May your lives be enriched by your Christian observance of every Sunday of the year. God bless you.
Father Sylvano
Each year at this time when school begins again our children experience a kind of New Beginning. As they enter a new grade in school they have a chance to make a new start. Christian life is about new beginnings. Our God gives us many new starts in our life. He forgives our past faults and failings and puts them out of His mind. All we have to do is ask and we are made like new. Life can be different than before. We need not be held down by the past. We can choose what is best and go forward. This experience of God's love should give us strength and courage. With the help of the Holy Spirit we are strong enough to make our world a better place. We are even strong enough to work together to affect the world around us. All we have to do is stay close to Jesus and the sacraments he gives us.
Catholicism does not call us to abandon the world but to help shape it. Catholics are everywhere in this society. We are corporate executives and migrant farm workers, politicians and welfare recipients, educators and day care workers, tradesmen and farmers, office and factory workers, union leaders and small-business owners. Our entire community of faith must help Catholics to be instruments of God's grace and creative power in business and politics, in factories and offices, in homes and schools, and in all the events of daily life. Social justice and the common good are built up or torn down day by day in the countless decisions and choices we make.
This vocation to pursue justice is not simply an individual task; it is a call to work with others to humanize and shape the institutions that touch so many people. The lay vocation for justice in the world cannot be carried forward alone but only as members of a community called to be the "leaven" of the gospel. Our families are the starting point and the center of a vocation for justice. How we treat our parents, spouses, and children is a reflection of our commitment to Christ's love and justice. We demonstrate our commitment to the gospel by how we spend our time and money, and whether our family life includes an ethic of charity, service, and action for justice. The lessons we teach our children through what we do as well as what we say determine whether they care for the "least among us" and are committed to work for justice.
Workers are called to pursue justice. in the Catholic tradition, work is not a burden, not just how we make a living. Work is a way of supporting our family, realizing our dignity, promoting the common good and participating in God's creation. This means often doing the ordinary well, making the most of our talents and opportunities, treating others fairly and with dignity, and working with integrity and creativity. Believers should be encouraged to choose their work based on how they can best use the gifts God has given them. Decisions made at work can make important contributions to an ethic of justice. Catholics have the often difficult responsibility of choosing between competing values in the workplace. This is a measure of holiness. Associations that enable workers, owners, or managers to pursue justice often make the witness of the individual more effective.
Selected Biblical Passages on Justice for Workers:
(National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, Chicago, IL.)
My dear family in Christ,
As we pause for this Labor Day weekend let us remember that it's not only to take advantage of the last long weekend that ends the summer but a time to consider the dignity of work.
We are in the information age, nevertheless, that which we do is an extension and expression of ourselves. The church has emphasized the importance of work in the documents of the Pope's over the last 100 years.
May this time help us to appreciate those who are farmers, farm workers,
artisans , laborers, craftsmen.
What we do is not only to earn a living but to give glory to God for the invitation He has given us to cooperate in the work of creation.
May this time refresh and renew us.
Fr. Ron
The two largest schools sponsored by our Parish, the Parish School of Religion (PSR) and Elementary Day School began their fall term this past week along with meetings scheduled for parents. The readings for this Sunday provide important scriptural background for parents and others responsible for children's care and faith formation. Our attention is called this Sunday to the responsibility we have to guide others and particularly for dealing with the reality of the human tendency to miss the mark (Old Testament metaphor for sin) or stray from the path of Jesus as the way, Truth and life (Jn 14:16). The message is clear in Ezekiel and Matthew that we are obliged to speak up whenever we see something or someone headed in the wrong direction. Recently while driving I was struck with the message on a billboard-Pass It On An Organ Donor Saved My Life. Maybe we should create a billboard with the message Pass It On- The Gift of Faith Saves Your Life.
Parents assume a major responsibility when they bring infants and children to be baptized. In the baptismal rite of our Church they are reminded at least twice of this responsibility. You have asked to have your children baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training them in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving god and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking Parishes also have major responsibilities in helping parents to be responsible. So again this year we sent out to parents the Christian Witness Covenant, asking that parents read and reflect and commit again to attempt with God's grace to live this covenant, which reads as follows. 1. We as a family will participate in the Sunday Eucharist. 2. We/I will speak to my children about God and make prayer an integral and important part of the environment of our home. 3. We/I will teach accept my responsibility to support the teachings of the Catholic Faith. 4.We/I will teach my children by word and example to have a love and concern for the needs of others. 5. We/I will participate in the religious education and especially the sacramental preparation of my children.
The gift of faith is likened to a seed planted at Baptism. This seed of faith is to be watered and cultivated carefully in many ways so our faith and God's word is put into practice. Parents and other adult teachers, mentors, role models, etc. help nourish the seeds of faith especially when we help our children connect faith practice with everyday life's events and issues, by demonstrating that faith practices hold the highest priorities in our lives and by striving toward communicating positive attitudes regarding being a member of the Church and our faith practices (e.g. Sunday Eucharist, daily prayer, love in practice toward our neighbor, etc.). Being faithful to our responsibility to pass on the faith is always a work in progress for which we depend on the inspiration and gifts of the Holy Spirit to renew minds and convert our hearts, e.g. last Sunday's second reading about being transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2).
Labor Day marks the time when working people around the country come to the end of the summer vacation season and students return to school. We set aside this day to reflect on the work we do. Over the course of our lives, we spend more time working than we do at any other activity.
Until the last century or so, most people worked on farms. They worked long days, and the pace of life was slower. The Industrial Revolution changed that. New farm machines meant that fewer farming jobs were available. Farm workers moved to the cities, where they took low-paying jobs in the factories. They worked as long as 16 hours a day. Their jobs were dangerous because the machinery had few safeguards against accidents. Even children were forced to work because wages were so low and families needed many incomes to survive.
The labor movement was born in response to these conditions. Unions gave workers a way to stand together and fight for safe machinery, better salaries and fair treatment from management. Eventually this day became a national holiday.
Several popes of the last hundred years have written encyclicals that speak specifically about the dignity and rights of workers. The American bishops have also issued various major statements about work. Catholics should familiarize themselves with these documents. Catholic Social Teaching promotes the rights of those who labor under another's authority.
Paige Byrne Shortal
In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus sacramentalizes a process of confronting someone who offends us. Nowhere in the Gospel or New Testament letters is there a suggestion that we will get along without disagreements. Jesus tells us what to do when there is a serious conflict. The process remarkably resembles what the folks in Alcoholics Anonymous call an Intervention.
"If one sins against you, go and tell that person their fault between you and that person alone."
Scary, huh? Who wants to confront someone in person, directly and alone? But it's a first and necessary step. There are two tried and true methods of such an individual confrontation. The first is the "I Statement." It is not accusatory, but simply descriptive of how we feel when a person behaves in a certain way.
Examples: "When you drink, I feel afraid, insecure and embarrassed." Or "When you come home late without calling, I worry that something has happened to you or I feel disregarded or forgotten." Or "When you don't do your homework, I feel afraid for your future or concerned that you don't like school or that we are wasting your time and our money sending you to this school." The trick to these statements is not to say the other is wrong, just how you feel when they behave in a certain way. Then you wait . . . and wait . . . and wait, and in the ensuing conversation, continue not to accuse.
The second method of personal confrontation is "The Question." Examples: "When you said that, did you intend to sound so mean? It felt mean to me." Or "Do you think living together before marriage is a good model for younger people who are watching you?" Or "Do you think it's okay to break the law and serve beer to teenagers?"
"If they do not listen to you, take one or two others along with you so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses."
This is the classic intervention. This encounter is carefully prepared by those who do the confronting. If the matter is serious, a professional counselor or minister can be brought in to help plan what will be said and even to facilitate the meeting. The encounter must be loving and the concern for the other person must be obvious at all times. Each confronter makes a series of "I statements" and each makes it clear that the behavior can no longer be supported or tolerated. A plan should also be in place for how the person can be helped.
If the issue is a failing student, the intervention might include the
parents, a teacher, and a guidance counselor. Have a tutor in mind or a study plan or some testing. If drinking or other destructive behavior is the problem, the encounter might include family members, a good friend, a respected teacher or minister, and a professional who makes sure each person is heard and understood. Have the phone number of a treatment program with you.
"If they still refuse to listen, tell the Church."
In our day, this might be the church, or the Principal, or the law. But notice, this is the third step, not the first! We bring in the authorities only when the first two steps have failed.
"And if they refuse to listen even to the Church, treat them as you would a Gentile or tax collector."
Jesus is referring here to outcasts or those who do not belong. It's his version of Tough Love. Letting our loved one bear the consequences of their behavior is the hardest thing in the world. But sometimes the student needs to fail; the drinker needs to spend a few nights in jail; the mean person needs to be excluded.
With each step we take to help another, we must pray. "If two or three of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted. Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
We celebrate a holiday called "Labor Day." Work can be work. It can be a labor of love. It can be anything between the two extremes. One's attitude in working makes all the difference.
The traditions of our Faith affirm God's plan that we work in his garden of creation, that we follow Adam's call to till and cultivate the world we experience, that we work with God to bring creation to completion. Whether our work is close to the soil or in conditioned office air, Jesus extends the message of Genesis to our day. Jesus affirms service as he invites us to be good and just servants. The presumptions of our culture and society may dictate otherwise, but the good news of God's Word remains constant. God loves us enough to give us life and grace. What we have received, we return to the Lord by service with a humble and contrite heart. What we have received, we share with others by attitude showing God's goodness in the work of our hands. We are reminded to live the larger view that our privilege is to praise the Lord by the work of our hands. We raise our hands to God in prayer. We must focus appreciation too that the daily task-work of our hands is a further opportunity to pray in praise. Even when joy is not the immediate blessing from the process of acquiring the means to provide daily bread.
Often, because we set aside Sunday as the Lord's Day, we overlook a truth that leads to a more integrated view of our world and our place in it. Each day can be a day of the Lord when we choose to be mindful that whatever we do be done in service of God and neighbor. Some tasks are inter-personal: childcare, food preparation, teaching and the like. Some tasks have some personal interaction: Plumbing, electrical work, bookkeeping and the like. Some tasks take place in the towers of the corporate world and can seem far removed from any impact on persons.
There is much to be said about judging the worth of work. When all is said and done though, in keeping with the Good News Message, the worth of a work is determined by the worth of the person who performs the work. Since all are loved by God and blessed by his love and care, there is no work which is demeaning or unworthy when performed in service of God and neighbor. This calls for radical adjustment in thinking as consequent questions arise about just wage, due compensation, appropriate working conditions. Guidelines of Church teaching on social justice issues are standards which challenge the status quo and call for change. We can never be content that efforts to stress respect for persons in all matters of justice will be easily or quickly met. Pope Paul VI challenged that those who truly want peace must work for justice. The price, paid with the help of God's grace, brings a fuller appreciation of work and appropriate respect for the worker doing the task.
Father Hauck
THE JOURNEY: GUIDED BY VATICAN II AND THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: As Catholics, we are compelled to examine our conscience according to the challenges of renewal of the Second Vatican Council, the "Advent Liturgy" for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the sacred Scriptures. The best preparation for the jubilee year will be a 'renewed commitment to apply, as faithfully as possible, the teachings of Vatican II to the life of every individual and of the whole Church" (TMA, no. 20). We are challenged to strengthen our commitment to deeper pursuit of holiness, wider community participation, and a stronger witness of faith. Aided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) (TMA, no. 42), we are invited to grow in our Catholic identity and knowledge of and enthusiasm for the faith. Through prayer and dialogue, we are to seek deeper unity within the Catholic Family and to continue our ecumenical pursuit of full communion with fellow Christians.
