Thursday, February 28, 2013

Second week of Lent, Transfiguration of the Lord: Prayer and Listen


Fr. Anto’s homily for the second week of Lent focused on prayer, one of the three Lenten disciplines (Fasting and Almsgiving are the other disciplines that help open us to recognize God’s grace). The Gospel reading was the Transfiguration of the Lord.  The beginning the Gospel, Luke 9:28-29 is as follows:

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.

Jesus leads his disciples to get away from the cares of the disciples’ world and to take some time for prayer.  As Jesus was praying he was changed, transfigured into his glorified body.  We can also be changed through prayer.    Prayer helps us in transforming our hearts to be more Christ like.  

What is prayer?   It is a relationship with God.   Many times are prayers are asking God for something we need help with.   That is one of the most common types of prayer we think of. We often ask in pray petitioning the Lord to give us something or come to our aid.  Other prayers we should also do are prayers of thanks and praise.   An often-overlooked part of prayer is listening to God. In order to be in a relationship with God we need to have two-way communication.   The Old Testament gives us some good examples of prayer and Father Anto spoke about God calling Samuel and also Daniel's prayer and reliance of God.   Take some time to read this stories and reflect on how to listen to God in your prayer life.    Also consider just praying by quietly listening to the Lord. 

A good place to do this is in Eucharistic Adoration.  Every Wednesday there is Eucharistic Adoration form 7 am to 5:30 pm, first Fridays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and the first Sunday of the month from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.  May your ears be open to listen to the Lord.  God bless.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Love's Sacred Embrace - Blog & Ministry in support of Marriage

I was speaking to a friend at a recent Catholic Business Exchange meeting from Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish.   He told me about a ministry at their parish, Love's Sacred Embrace, and pointed me to their blog site.   The ministry and the blog are dedicated to supporting the vocation of marriage.   I've read a few of the articles and they are practical, relevant, and true to the faith.   They also have an annual marriage retreat and a monthly event, Marriage on Tap, which provides monthly an evening of food, refreshment and fun with couples interested in building a community that celebrates marriage in the Church.  You can also follow them on Twitter. Take a look and read a few articles.  I think you will find them interesting. If you'd be interesting in something like this at Saints Francis and Clare leave a comment or contact me at the parish. 

The United Stated Conference of Catholic Bishops also has a website dedicated solely to supporting the vocation of marriage.  If you have not seen that check out For You Marriage.  



May God bless you in your vocation of marriage.

What’s the remedy for a cold? Chicken Soup. The remedy for sin? Jesus!


On the first Sunday of Lent the Gospel is about Jesus spending forty days in the desert and being tempted by the devil. 

 

Father Vince started off the homily asking what are remedies for some common maladies we all suffer.  A few examples:

Cold & chicken soup

Headache & aspirin

Body ache & hot bath

Sore throat & gargling with salt water

Then Father Vince asked what’s the remedy for sin:  A personal relationship with Jesus.

Jesus encountered temptation to sin through the devil’s temptation in the desert – the deadly sins of gluttony, greed, and pride.  Jesus resisted the devil’s temptation and the devil left, for a time.

We are all tempted by the devil and are threatened by these deadly sins, as well as the sins of envy, wrath, sloth, and lust.  What is a remedy to resist the temptation of these sins: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, were tempted by the devil in the story from Genesis by these same sins: gluttony, greed, and pride.  They gave in to sin by eating the fruit of the tree that God had forbidden.  Jesus reverses the effect of their sin by overcoming death through another tree, the tree in the shape of a cross.



This past week many of us were surprised by the resignation of Pope Benedict.  Pope Benedict worked over the last eight years to battle the problem in the world of people who no longer have faith in God by teaching the basics of our faith through encyclicals on Faith Hope, Love & also writing three books to help us know the person of Jesus.  Pope Benedict had laid the groundwork, but he must have discerned in prayer that it was time for another pope to carry the Church forward to bring the remedy for sin, Jesus Christ, to the world.

In response to Father Vince’s homily it may be a good to follow the Lenten discipline of prayer and to reflect on some of Pope Benedict’s encyclicals on faith, hope, love, and books on the person of Jesus.   The Knights of Columbus have published a prayer, written by their chaplain, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, for Pope Benedict XVI and the future Pope of our Church.  This would be a great addition to a Lenten prayer routine.   You can find the prayer and make a pledge to pray this at www.prayerforthechurch.com. It’s also possible to send Pope Benedict a message on Twitter that you are praying for him and Church.  Pope Benedict’s encyclicals on faith, hope, and love are accessible on the Vatican web site.  Finally if you are interested in reading Pope Benedict’s books on Jesus of Nazareth you can find them at Ignatius press.   These books would be a great addition to your personal library.   I just received the book "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week" this past Christmas, and will be reading it over Lent.

I’ll pray for all of us that we deepen our relationship with Christ over Lent as a remedy to combat sin.  May you have a blessed Lenten season preparing for the resurrection of Christ at Easter.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Be Joyful to “catch” others for Christ

       The Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time is the original fish story.  Jesus tells Simon, who has been fishing all night and has not caught a thing, to throw out his net.  Simon is obedient to Jesus’ request and catches so many fish his nets are about to break and fills his boat as well as his companions' boat to the point of almost sinking.  That’s a lot of fish or at least a great story to get our attention (as most fish stories are!)   Simon, James, and John are so amazed they leave everything to follow Jesus to become “fishers of men”. 

       Since we all heard a fish story Father Vince asked everyone what they needed to catch fish.  The answers were: line, hooks, bait, fishing license, boat, lake, patience, net, water, and even a cooler to name a few.  Father shared this was one of his favorite pastimes, but he liked to refer to it as “catching” rather than fishing.   He plans on being productive and bringing home a catch.

       How can we become fishers of men and “catch” others for Christ?  By being filled with joy for our faith and sharing it with others.  When we are filled with joy, people will be drawn to us, and will be attracted to a Christian way of life, because they will want some of that joy as well. 

       Why are we joyful?  Because of our faith, the love of Christ for what he gave us, and the hope it gives us.  This got me thinking about last weeks reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, and Faith, Hope, and Love.   First of all we are joyful for our faith in Christ.   In order to share the joy we need to know and understand out faith so we can explain it to others. This Lent we can focus on the Holy Father's call to us to better know our faith during this Year of Faith.   Reading the books handed out at Christmas, "Rediscovering Catholicism" and the "Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic", can be a great way to deepen our Faith over Lent.  Follow this up by attending the Matthew Kelly Passion and Purpose event on April 13 (see link on top right hand of my page to register). By knowing our faith it gives us hope in world that is very challenging, because we have hope for eternal life with our Savior in the next.  This can help us get through some of the very difficult times we will experience in this life and give us hope in the things to come. This can really help those affected by trials and tragedy in this life by sharing our hope in Christ when others are despairing.  Finally we are joyful at the great love Christ shows us by his sacrifice for us.  In turn we are to share Christ’s love by showing love for our neighbor in our actions and in our sharing of the Good News. 

      May you be successful in catching others for Christ!  Have good Lent and may God bless you. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Deacon Steve's homily - God is love



God is love

Good morning!

One of the ministries of charity that many deacons have is a jail ministry.

Deacons Ron Reimer, Ron Pirau, and myself have visited lot’s of men and women in the Johnson County jail in Franklin.

During our visits we read and reflect on scripture and we pray together.

Many of the men and women who come are Catholic while many are not.

There always seem to be questions from the non-Catholics about the Catholic Church.

I find myself at times being a Catholic apologist, explaining our faith, and why we believe and act the way we do.

Some of them even question the existence of God and the meaning of life.

They ask me, “What is life all about?  We are born, we live and we die and that’s the end, isn’t it?”

Some say, “there’s no God, no afterlife, therefore why should I care about how I live?”

I tell them that is not what God has revealed over the years.

God revealed himself throughout the ages and shared his plan for all of us.

I tell them that we Catholics believe that there is everlasting life and that God’s plan is for all of us to live forever in His kingdom.

How we live here will determine whether or not we have a place in God’s heavenly kingdom.

That’s our goal, I say; to live forever in the presence of God the almighty.

Then I ask them, “What can be better than that?”    <pause>

I have also noticed that many of the men and women who are behind bars experience isolation. 

They are desperate for affection, desperate for love.

As I reflected on today’s readings I thought about the men and women at the jail and what many of them long for.

I also thought about all of us, and how each of us longs for the same thing - LOVE.

I ask “why is it that we need to love and to be loved?”

The answer, my friends, lies in our basic Catholic beliefs.

It’s because of the way are made, the way we are wired so to speak.

We know from the book of Genesis that God created us in His own image and likeness.

He breathed His spirit into the human body to give it life.

Our immortal soul, God’s spirit breathed into each of us, longs to be loved because God is love.

Pope Benedict XVI felt that our world was in desperate need of this message when he began his very first encyclical with these words from John’s First letter; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16)

In today’s second reading from Corinthians, which is also a favorite scripture passage for weddings, Paul describes love in a beautiful, poetic way.

He says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous. Love never fails.”

Since we believe that God is love, let’s change these to, “God is patient, God is kind. God is not jealous. God is not pompous. God never fails.”     <pause>

My friends, God loves each of us and wants us to feel his love every day.

God never gave up on humanity, and because He loves all people He revealed himself throughout the ages.

We read in John 3: 16, “For 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.”

Because God loved us so much, He himself came among us, fully human, fully divine to show us the way toward eternal life.

Jesus Christ walked among us to tell us of God’s love for us.

In today’s Gospel, we read about Jesus’ rejection by the people of Nazareth. 

I am sure that must have been difficult for Jesus to be rejected by his own, but he didn’t give up.

He pressed on and proclaimed the Kingdom of God wherever he went.

He used parables to explain to the people who God is and what God’s plan is for all of us.

God’s plan is for all of us to experience His love both on earth and in the heavenly kingdom.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that when asked what is the greatest of the commandments Jesus responded:

“LOVE God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul.  And, LOVE your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus founded his Church and instituted the sacraments to lead all people towards the kingdom of God’s love.  

The Catechism says this: the Church "is the visible plan of God's love for humanity."

By being part of the Church and living out Jesus’ commandments to love God and neighbor we can live in right relationship with God.

We can then feel the joy and peace that can only come from God.

Saint Augustine wrote in his famous work Confessions, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." 

In other words, Augustine could not experience inner peace and joy by ignoring God and following the ways of the world.  Believe me, he tried to do so. 

If you know anything about Augustine, you know that he was a lost soul for many years.

He searched for love, peace, and joy in the ways of the world and by living an immoral life.

Augustine was truly conflicted.

He finally discovered that love, peace, and joy were not to be found in that lifestyle.



With the intercession of his mother, St. Monica, he repented, was baptized and began to follow the teachings of Jesus and his Church.

Augustine finally found what he had been searching for:  true love, true peace, true joy, and true rest. 

No longer was he conflicted.   <pause>

This week, let’s reflect on these readings and remember that God is pure love.

Let’s remember that God loves each of us more than we can imagine.

Regardless of our situation, we can feel that love each and every day as we journey toward God’s heavenly kingdom.

All we have to say is ‘Yes’ to God by following Jesus and the Church - the visible plan of God's love for humanity.

It is there, my friends, where we will find the joy, peace, and love that each and every one of us desires.

God bless you all!



Sunday, February 3, 2013

Jesus came to save all & dealing with difficult people who don't want to hear this

Homily: Fourth Sunday of Ordinary time, Cycle C

Some friends of mine from South Carolina gave me a book that I thought that was appropriate for today’s Gospel.   It’s called “Elf-help for Dealing with Difficult People”.  Has anyone heard of the Elf-help series? It published by Abbey Press in St. Meinrad, IN.  It’s short book with short reflections and an elf that offers insights on life’s struggles. Let me share a short passage from this:
Some people are just plain difficult – or, at least, we have difficulty dealing with them.  They get on our nerves and bring out our worst.  We spend inordinate amounts of time and energy wrestling with anger they arouse in us. Enter the little elves in this book. Follow their footsteps to learn what works and what doesn’t work in dealing with the villains in your life.   I’ll return to the elves a little later.
In Today’s Gospel we hear the continuation of the story from last week. Let me refresh your memory.   Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth and attends services in the synagogue. He is asked to read and interpret from the scripture of the prophet Isaiah. The passage is prophetic; proclaiming liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and glad tidings to the poor.  Upon finishing the people looked intently at Jesus and he proclaims, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”.   Some of the people were probably thinking upon hearing this: is Jesus the Messiah who the Israel people were anticipating to free them from oppression of Roman rule? They were probably ecstatic and overjoyed at this proclamation, but there’s more to this story. 
The Gospel says, “All spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth”.   But things turned rather quickly against Jesus.  It says that the people were so upset at him that they took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built to cast him over.  They wanted to kill him! Why would people of Jesus own, both family and friends do this?   
First of all it was Jesus’ claim that he was a prophet by stating, ”A prophet is not accepted in his native place” and also citing the stories about the prophets Elisha & Elijah. This was contrary to ways of the Mediterranean culture at the time to improve upon your social status. If your father was a carpenter, as Joseph was, you were also a carpenter.  The people of Nazareth thought it absurd for Jesus to claim he was a prophet. Secondly, in this culture you were expected to take care of your friends and family, quite often at the expense of others. Rumors of Jesus’ healings in Capernaum, rather than taking care of his own people at home, got the people angry.   To add more fuel to the fire, Jesus references the prophets Elisha and Elijah, performing great deeds for the widow in Zarephath of Sidon and the leper Naman the Syrian, both of whom were Gentiles.  The prophet Isaiah was proclaiming restoration to the people of Israel, with the return to their own land, resuming their own rule, and being freed of oppressors.  If Jesus was fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy it was upsetting to the people of Nazareth that he inferred that Gentiles were also to be taken care of.   The people of Israel were God’s chosen people and only they would be taken care of.   At the very start of Jesus’ public ministry people were already rejecting and wanting to kill him, a foreshadow of what would eventually happen to him on Calvary.
Today when the Gospel message and teachings of the Church are proclaimed in our world it is met with similar rejection.    This past week over 500,000 people gathered in Washington, DC for the March for Life to witness to the importance of all life from conception to natural death, yet it went virtually unnoticed in the secular media.  I heard only 17 seconds of news coverage was given to the March for Life by the major secular media, yet the Manti Te’o Internet hoax was given over 500 minutes. Sadly over 51 millions lives have been lost due to legalized abortion in the past 40 years, but a tabloid hoax gets much more attention. This is a rejection to the value of life. Just last month there was also a petition launched on the White House web site, “We the People”, trying the get the Catholic Church designated as a “hate group”.  The was due to the Church’s teachings on marriage as solely between a man and woman and that the true structure of the family is made up of father, mother, and children.  This petition was eventually removed because the government does not designate hate groups, it prosecutes the, but this is another example of rejection of the truths of Church’s teaching.
The good news we hear in the Gospel is that Jesus came to save all people, both Gentiles and Jews, but the Israelites of Nazareth weren’t quite ready to hear it yet. Their reaction of hostility to Jesus was quite typical for people of the time.  Jesus could have responded in a like manner, but he chose a “more excellent way” as St. Paul put it in his letter to the Corinthians.  Jesus response was to pass through the midst of them and walk away.  He didn’t choose to confront them in conflict.  He chose another path, the path of love.  He had more work to do in showing love through his ministry of healing and teaching to live by loving God and neighbor, and he patiently walked away from a tense situation.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we read about what love is and what it’s not in the 2nd reading, which was written in response to his painful experiences with believers in Corinth, similar to Jesus’ experience in Nazareth.  In my preparation of the homily it was suggested to replace the word “love” in St. Paul’s letter with the name of Jesus.  I’ve paraphrased a portion of this passage as an example:
Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind.  Jesus is not jealous, nor is he pompous, inflated, or rude.  Jesus does not seek his own interests, he is not quick-tempered, nor broods over injury. Jesus does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Jesus never fails.
Since Jesus is God, and God is Love, this is a good example to remember in helping us act as Jesus did, with love.
 In this year of faith we are called to grow in our understanding of Catholic Faith.  This gives us a good foundation to be able to share our faith with others so we can help Christ proclaim the good news to all nations to bring liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, and glad tidings to the poor.  When we share our faith, we need to do so with love, and also prepare to be rejected.  We need to be patient and realize that sometimes others won’t be ready to receive our message.  We may need to walk away, but we can come back again, especially when people need healing, as Jesus did.  Sometimes the healing can be as simple as a loving listening ear or just the presence of being there. In my ministry as a Deacon I have an opportunity to do this in ministering to those in jails.  Maybe you have an opportunity to do so by visiting some who is sick or shut in.  Or it could be by befriending or just saying a kind word to someone who’s been distant or unfriendly at work or school.   
Referring back to “Elf-help”, some words of advice:
“Difficult” people may be God’s way of teaching us patience, tolerance, and loving assertiveness.  Stretch your heart and grow.
And also:
God knows it’s hard to deal with some people. Yet God is with us in our struggles, giving us the courage to work toward change and the serenity to accept the outcome.
By keeping in mind the actions of Jesus, and the words of Saint Paul, in being patient, kind, & loving to those we share our faith with we can help bring Christ’s salvation to all nations one person at a time.   May God bless you.