Taking Sides

Today's gospel reading:

"Go away, and from this moment sin no more."

One day they almost forced Jesus to take sides against someone, the woman caught in adultery. He refused to take sides against anyone.
What he did was express his belief in her inner goodness.
He told her not only to go home, but to change her life.

He did what the prophet Isaiah once foretold God would do: "No need to remember past events, no need to think about what was done before.
Look, I am doing something new, now it emerges; can't you see it?" (Is 43:18-19).

It isn't only the woman who goes home a better person when he tells her: "Neither do I condemn you; go away, and from this moment sin no more."
Her accusers and molesters, who didn't throw their stones, also go home better persons.
Jesus healed all of them by awakening something in them that was greater than they were.

Jesus refuses to discriminate between the "good' and the "bad" in the story.
He refuses to take sides in that way.
The side he chooses is that of unity and cohesion, and of the ultimate goodness hiding in each one's life.
It is a choice that is against anything that tears human life apart, makes it impossible, or kills it. Jesus did what he helped the woman and her accusers to do: "Don't condemn. Go home, and

don't sin."

It is an invitation, a piece of advice, or, better, a command we should apply in our own lives.
It is no good condemning ourselves or others.
It is better to get away from the past and change our lives.

The Donkey

The Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me:

I am dumb,I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

Chesterton captures Palm Sunday from the perspective of the donkey that Jesus rode.

Passion Sunday

This coming Sunday we listen to the story of Christ's passion and death as told by St. Mark.

One unique detail in Mark's Gospel is found at chapter 14, verses 51-52.

At the time of Jesus' arrest, soldiers tried to seize one of his followers—a young man wearing nothing but a linen cloth.

Terrified, the man left the cloth behind and ran away naked.

There is an old tradition that claims the young man might have been Mark himself.

No matter who he was, the story conveys how frightened Jesus' followers were and how desperate and confusing the situation was.

Whether he was telling on himself or someone else, Mark clearly was saying,

"Try to imagine how awful all of this was!"

You'll notice, too, that in Mark's version, the high priest's servant loses his ear, and Jesus does not heal him as he does in the Gospel of Luke.

We are offered no relief from the pain and violence of this awful scene.

We must face what our sins have cost.

Leaving St. Therese

As you heard if you were at this weekend's liturgy, I will be leaving St. Therese this year.For those of you who weren't there, this is the text of my announcement:

Bishop DiLorenzo has asked me to leave our parish. Although I do not agree with his decision, I have agreed to go to another parish. I believe fighting this decision would not only be harmful to me; given the upheaval of the past year, it would also hurt our parish.

I know many of you may also be upset, but I have a proposal to offer:

Rather than give in to anger or bitterness, let us use these next few months to celebrate the 11 years I have been here and end it with a huge party!

For myself, I believe this is the best route to take; I also believe it is best for all of us.

Some thoughts on Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS breaks the chain of causality because the one who "forgives" you —out of love—assumes the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice. The price you must pay for your own liberation through another's sacrifice is that you in turn must be willing to liberate in the same way, irrespective of the consequences to yourself.

Dag Hammerskjöld

WE owe it to each other to recognize that the ability to forgive can't be rushed. We do a great disservice to our families and friends when we rush forgiveness because, in fact, simple time may be all that's needed to foster it.

Doris Donnelly

Why Confess to a Priest?

I found a pretty good explanation that could help anyone who is wondering the same thing or needs help explaining it to non-Catholics or to their children.

This site also has other worthwhile articles on personal faith journeys.

Go to http://www.catholiclubbock.org/confess.htm

How to Forgive the Church

Some more thoughts from "How to Forgive the Church:"




Some hurts stem from misunderstandings.

A comment intended as a joke hurts your feelings. You can't break into a tight-knit parish clique. You feel as if your ideas or efforts are unappreciated. Your pastor doesn't have time to talk. You don't get the kind of help from the Church that you wanted or needed.

Rules can cause pain.

You are unable to get a letter of recommendation to be a godparent because you don't attend Mass regularly. There is a dispute over music at a wedding or a funeral. An annulment was granted ... or refused.



Change creates conflict.


The Diocese closes your parish or school. A new pastor eliminates your favorite Mass. Your idea is rejected. You are opposed to a new fundraising campaign. You are horrified at the plans for remodeling the church. You are disappointed because things didn't turn out the way you expected.


Tiredness, stress, or illness causes impatience, poor judgment, and altered behavior.


A priest who was up all night with a dying parishioner overreacts to something you say. A sister with diabetes suffers from mood swings. A church employee who is struggling with a family crisis doesn't follow through on something he or she promised to do.


Some hurts are caused by hypocrisy. You may be disturbed and disillusioned by things that someone in the Church says. You may feel as if some people in the Church are not living the Gospel message.

Some situations move beyond human weakness into the realm of sin. Whenever someone in the Church puts power, pride, or selfish interests ahead of the needs or welfare of others, people suffer. Cases of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse in the Church are the most insidious examples.

"I am not made or unmade by the things which happen to me but by my reaction to them."
- St. John of the Cross

Hard to Forgive

I’ve just been reading a pamphlet from Our Sunday Visitor titled: How to Forgive the Church. It resonates a lot with me these days. In my years as a priest, I have heard many horror stories from people who have suffered unjustly at the hands of the church. As many of you know, I can relate to this myself.

But this pamphlet is helping me reflect on my experience and on how hard it really is to forgive. When we are hurt by someone or the church, our first inclination is not to forgive. Usually, anger, resentment or betrayal is what we feel.

If we believe the church is the culprit, many often take refuge in spreading our anger around to anyone who will listen to us – or moving to another church. But these actions don’t lead to closure and are just a way to blow off steam. I know from past experience that the only solution to my health is to forgive. That’s the only way for me to find peace.
The pamphlet looks at the reasons we need to become forgivers. Just as being angry doesn’t affect the person I am angry as much as it does me, forgiveness affects me more than the one (or the church) I forgive. If I am unable to forgive, the anger or resentment continues to grow in me. I can become bitter. It’s like a disease growing inside of me. It affects all aspects of my life, my prayer, my relationships, the way I think. Experts agree that forgiveness can be beneficial to our health.

I will continue to reflect on this. Please feel free to share with me and others your experience of forgiveness.

Lazarus, Come Out!

In his book Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom describes the experience of a former professor who is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease.
As his condition worsens, Morrie Schwartz finds himself weeping while watching or reading the news.
Now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before," he says. "I feel their anguish as if it were my own."

In his Apostolic Letter Salvific Suffering (http://www.vatican.va/holy father/john_paul_ii/ apost_letters/documents/hf jp-ii_apl_11021984_ salvffici-doloris en.html), John Paul II observes that Jesus stayed close to human suffering, feeling it keenly, healing and comforting, and finally taking it on himself in order to redeem us.

At the death of Lazarus, Jesus weeps.
We too can weep for the suffering of others, pray for them, and be the compassionate presence of Christ in their anguish.

Feast of the Annunciation

The Annunciation ----by Collier

The Annunciation is in part about the way that God gives humanity a compassionate embrace. God took us to himself in order to restore our human nature. God took us to himself.

The annunciation is the first step in the drama of God taking us to himself. The annunciation speaks of a God who, like a mother stirred by her child's pain, scoops her up and holds her to God's ample, loving, nurturing bosom, where pain will be eased, loneliness assuaged, and hunger satiated.

The annunciation reminds us that God's feminine nature is equally as important as those images of God which speak in more masculine terms. As truly as God speaks to us as the Lord of History, the one who emerges victorious over death, the one who will rule and reign in glory at the end of time, God also speaks to us as the one who takes us tenderly into God's arms, nurtures us as a mother nurses her children, and takes us to God's own self when we are in the pain of loss, guilt, sin, and death.

Feast of the Annunciation

The Annunciation by Collier

The annunciation is in part about the way that God gives humanity a compassionate embrace. God took us to himself in order to restore our human nature. God took us to himself.

The annunciation is the first step in the drama of God taking us to himself. The annunciation speaks of a God who, like a mother stirred by her child's pain, scoops her up and holds her to God's ample, loving, nurturing bosom, where pain will be eased, loneliness assuaged, and hunger satiated.

The annunciation reminds us that God's feminine nature is equally as important as those images of God which speak in more masculine terms. As truly as God speaks to us as the Lord of History, the one who emerges victorious over death, the one who will rule and reign in glory at the end of time, God also speaks to us as the one who takes us tenderly into God's arms, nurtures us as a mother nurses her children, and takes us to God's own self when we are in the pain of loss, guilt, sin, and death.

Reconciliation: When and How Often?

I haven't committed any mortal or venial sins that I can think of. Should I still go to Reconciliation?

Papers for your canonization are in the mail. Seriously, it's quite possible not to have "broken any rules" you learned in childhood. But is it possible that any of us live for a month—or even a day—without doing some sort of damage to ourselves, other people, or God's world? Approaching the sacrament and asking for help in discovering how to be a greater influence for good in your family, at work, in your parish or in your community might be just the thing to do.

How often should I go to Reconciliation?

You have to know yourself to answer this question. Certainly if you've been away from the practice of the faith like weekly Mass or have done some sort of great damage ("mortal," or
death-causing, sin), you should go immediately. You need to "clear the decks" before you can begin to return to spiritual growth and health. But for a regular practice I find it a good rule to choose a time period that's not so long that you forget what happened at the beginning of
it, nor so short that you don't get to see a decent slice of your behavior. We can also learn from the liturgical seasons of our Church, which are meant to teach us the path to spiritual health. Times of preparation—Advent and Lent—are excellent times to take stock of one's life. Again, a trustworthy confessor can guide you to a good decision.

More Questions about Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Church seems to put so much emphasis on sexual sins. Are they the most serious?

No. But they do mess up a lot of lives, so serious attention to them is important. I find it interesting that in the gospels Jesus spends almost no time talking about sexual sin, but a
lot of time talking about the damage that's done by pretense, lying and selfishness. These failings may, of course, be part of sexual sins. But Jesus seems eager to forgive the "warm hearted" sins of, for example, the woman caught in adultery. He's much more stern with the "cold hearted" sins of greed and hypocrisy.

I've heard some people talk about scrupulosity regarding sin. What does that mean?

Priests hearing Confession have been aware for centuries that few of us have a balanced attitude toward ourselves, our humanity and our failings. We either err by letting ourselves off the hook too easily—which is technically called "laxity"—or by holding ourselves overly accountable, often for things that may not even be sinful but just parts of our humanity. This is what we call scrupulosity.

For example, an admiring glance at an attractive person might seem to a scrupulous person to be a sin of lust. Or missing Mass because of illness may leave the person feeling guilty. Someone suffering from scrupulosity often feels the need to confess the same thing over and over, fearing that it wasn't confessed properly the last time. Conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can also make us scrupulous. It's easiest to find the balance point between laxity and scrupulosity by finding a competent priest as a confessor and trusting his guidance.

God's Love is Unconditional

The Lord make his face shine upon you.
Numbers 6:25

At one time or another, every woman has experienced an "I'll love you if ..." relationship. In a relationship like that, one lives on tiptoes, forever afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and, in so doing, diminishing or voiding the love.

I'll love you if your GPA stays above 3.9.
I'll love you if you keep the house spotless.
I'll love you if you overlook my alcoholism or workaholism or self-centeredness.
I'll love you if you make my life worthwhile.

More subtle, but perhaps equally nerve-racking are "I love you because ..." relationships.

I love you because you're so beautiful.
I love you because you make me feel good about myself.
I love you because you're such a good cook.
I love you because we have so much fun together.

In relationships like those, we live on pins and needles for fear our GPA will drop or our housekeeping will fail to meet the expectations of the other person. If the conditions creating or maintaining love evaporate, so, we fear, will the love.

All Christians at one time or another find ourselves tempted to believe God's love for us is conditional or that it varies in degree, depending upon how "good" or "bad" we've been in
the days or hours before we come to him in prayer or worship. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Our heavenly Father's face always shines on us. Especially at those times in which we feel guilty, unworthy, unaccepted, and unacceptable—especially then, how important to remind ourselves that our Savior's love is always, always unconditional.

We did not become God's adopted daughters by being good or beautiful or smart or funny or excellent chefs. We will not lose his endless love or our position in his family by being bad or feeling ugly or acting thoughtlessly or burning the pot roast.

God's face toward us is always one of kindness and concern, and it will forever remain just exactly that! All this because of our Brother, Jesus—his cross and open tomb!

Confession, Take Three

This question came up during our reflection this morning:

Why can't I just confess to God directly? Why do I need a priest?

Of course you can confess to God directly, and the Church encourages you to do so regularly. But confessing to a priest is a different human experience. We're made to connect with others. Hearing "God forgives" from another person is simply more powerful than saying it to yourself. In addition, the priest represents the community that has been hurt by your sin. Just as you'd apologize to someone you had hurt rather than just think about it in your mind, confession to another person is the proper human response to doing damage to others.
As Catholics we believe that God works in us through physical, material signs that touch us as embodied beings. The sacramental absolution given by the priest in the name of Christ reflects our belief in how God works most powerfully in us.

God is Blind!

God is blind.....
To outward appearance
To what seems to be
To labels
To judgement by prejudices
God looks on the heart.
There, God has eyes wide open.
Are our eyes wide shut?
When I look at God’s creation every day,
The stars, the hills, a blue sky, fresh rain
Do I see?
When I look at another
Do I take the time
to see?
to listen?
to appreciate?
to marvel?
When I look at the people of other countries
When I look at an immigrant, a refugee
Do I see God’s child?
When I look at the cross
Do I see the courage, the power
In the face of God
When I look at the cross
Do I see the message
"For You."
Rejoice!
God sees beyond all fault, all mistakes, all past, all facades.
He sees the child He made.
And God says
For you are beautiful, Son of Adam
For you are beautiful, daughter of Eve.
May we be blind as God is blind
May we be sighted as God is sighted.

from seedspot.blogspot.com

Confession: Part 2

It used to be that certain things—like skipping Mass—were mortal sins. Now it seems as if they're not. What happened? How can I trust what the Church says is sinful if it keeps changing its mind?

You probably taught your young children rules like, "Don't ever try to cross the street without holding Daddy's or Mommy's hand." That's the way children learn things.

But what you meant was, "Cross safely," and you do that as a grownup. Most of us learned moral rules as children, but we didn't always grow up to understand their points A habit of skipping Mass does spiritual damage to the person who skips and thus fails to deepen their friendship with God. It also affects the community, which misses out on that person's participation and gifts. Missing very occasionally with a good reason is a whole different thing and is harmless or
perhaps even necessary.

Think of the Mass as an important family dinner You can miss, say, one Thanksgiving with the family if you have a good reason. But just to blow Thanksgiving dinner off again and again and then come back without offering any apology or explanation—well, that's something else.

Mrs. Henry's 1st Grade class last year

I was going through last years photos and videos and saw this. It reminded me of how much fun I always have with her class. Thanks, Mrs. Henry, and all you kids, for the stone soup last week. It was delicious!

Feast of St.Joseph

It is the feast of St. Joseph.
The gospel tells us that Joseph was an "upright" or "just" man, depending on the translation.
He discovers his promised wife is pregnant before they have lived together and he does not want to expose her to the law, which required stoning for such an offense.
It is his awareness of her goodness and his own sense of justice that leads him to the decision to divorce her quietly.
But it is something far greater than justice that prompts him to listen to the angel.

It is faith.

In the face of everything his own reason and his own senses tell him, Joseph trusts in a vision that comes to him in a dream.
This is the justice that comes from faith. Paul's letter to the Romans tells us that it is greater than the law and it does not depend on the law.

It is grace, pure gift.

Have there been times in your life when justice required that you trust your own gut instincts the way Joseph originally trusted his?
Have there been times in your life when God has asked you to believe in something that seemed completely unbelievable?
Those are the moments in life when we need to turn to St. Joseph for support.

"We are as sick as our sins."

After 22 years as a parish priest, I'm convinced that the twelve-step groups got it right.
To become spiritually healthy we need truth-telling in our lives.
The Sacrament of Penance is a way to tell the truth to ourselves God doesn't need it to forgive us.

But I think I'm like most people in that, unless I tell the truth about myself to someone else, I can't be confident that I'm really telling it to myself.
Confession isn't magic; it's hard work, made even harder when we don't have the information we need—or have bad information.

I've been asked a lot of questions about this sacrament. Many of you may have some of your own. If so, either e-mail me at rcummins@sttheresechesva.org or right a comment on this blog.
Here’s one question I hear frequently:

What's the right name for this? I used to go (or not go) to "confession." Then it was "penance;" and now I hear "reconciliation."

We call things by names that make sense to us.
The sacrament always involves three elements: the confession of one's sin, reconciliation with God and the Church community through absolution, and the doing of some action (prayer or deed) to repair the damage sin causes.
Since naming one's sin out loud is the most emotionally charged part, "confession" was the name most people used in the past, and many still do.
When the ritual was reformed forty years ago at Vatican Council II, Church leaders tried to get people to use what was always its formal name: "penance."
And more recently, in order to stress its effects, sometimes people now say "reconciliation" ("with God and one another" understood).
It doesn't matter what you call it; all the names are correct.

St. Patrick's Day

Today is the feast of St. Patrick.

Even those who know very few saints, know about St. Patrick.
This patron saint of Ireland is credited with the conversion of the Irish from the pagan Celtic religions practiced until he came to the Emerald Isle.
Celtic religion, like many indigenous religions, was one that embodied a great reverence for nature and for the land.
What many fail to realize is how much the writings of Patrick borrowed from all that was good and holy in the natural religion of the people.
In the famous Breastplate of St. Patrick, the saint begins prayer with a chant that could have been Celtic or Buddhist. (to read the prayer, go to: prayerfoundation.org/st_patricks_breastplate_prayer.htm

Just as Buddhists begin prayer by gathering "chi" or energy from the earth, the sky, the water, the surroundings, many Celtic prayers begin with reverencing all of nature.
Patrick gathers his strength from the heavens: the light of the sun, the radiance of the moon, the speed of lightning, and the swiftness of wind.
Then he turns to the earth to ask for the stability of earth, the firmness of rock, the depth of the sea.
His prayer then becomes "theist" as he turns to God's strength to pilot him, God's might to uphold him, God's host to protect him.
St. Patrick teaches us both to reverence the earth and to learn from the other religions that surround us. In a mult-icultural, multi-religious society, his message could not be more timely.

A Shocking Revelation

"Greetings in the name of Christ! I am here this morning from a village in Samaria to give you my testimony. Yes, I greet you in the name of Christ, because I now count myself as a follower of this Jesus of Nazareth, who I have come to believe is the Christ sent from God to save us. But how I came to believe, well, that's the surprising part--shocking, really. For this Jesus chose the most startling way to bring us God's message of love, and he chose the most unexpected source. Perhaps that's why so many of us came to believe in my village. Everything this Jesus did was so new and singular that he must be from God."Thus begins a first hand account of a man in the village of Sychar in Samaria. He describes what he witnessed when Jesus visited his village and talked to the woman at the well and. later, other villages. It's a story worth reading. Go to http://girardianlectionary.net/year_a/lent3a_1996_ser.htm for the full story.

Chew Our Cuds?

In down-to-earth Hebrew, to meditate is to chew one's cud.

The familiar cattle of Hebrew existence proved a helpful image for the devout believer "whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders God's law day and night" (Psalm 1).

The browsing come nibbles constantly at the lush pasture and when it has filled its stomach lies down, regurgitates what it has gathered and chews "meditatively" on its cud until the cud is fully assimilated.

William G. Storey

The Gift of God

Today's Gospel could easily deceive you.
You see, it has all the makings of a TV docudrama: two attractive characters, a life-and-death confrontation, a happy resolution.
As always, the neon lights spell Jesus. But the actor who steals the show is a woman—a leading lady with five husbands and no name.
She comes out of nowhere, and in two days she disappears. But without her—as without Mary of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala—without this nameless woman of Samaria the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be much the poorer.
But how might this Gospel deceive you? If you were to bury the lady in history, see in her a two-day phenomenon in a small Middle East village. No. A perceptive female theologian has put it well: "We all love a good story because . in a sense any story is about ourselves, and a good story is good precisely because somehow it rings true to human life.. .. We recognize our pilgrimage from here to there in a good story.' The Samaritan woman is . . you. Each one of you. (Sallie M. TeSelle)
Today I am thinking especially Rochele Mickey": our elect who is begging the Lord for his baptism, and those who are craving the completeness of his Christian community.
Each of you has a story like hers. Oh, not five husbands; that is a small detail, intriguing perhaps but insignificant. Her story is your story because her story is the drama of faith in a capsule: how you came to believe, what it all means to you, and where it is taking you.
I realize, only you can tell the full story, recount chapter and verse. But this I do know: what your movement to Christian faith means in terms of the Catholic idea, the Catholic vision. Here three paramount principles leap forth from the story of the Samaritan woman. (1) The gift you have received is "the gift of God" (Jn 4:10). (2) The gift you have received is "living water." (3) The gift is given to be shared.

Gift of God

None of us came to belief through our own intelligence. Each of us has our own story. Be however diverse the details, one truth stands out: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him/her." (Jn 6:44) Of course, we have to respond – and freely. Like the lady at the well, we had to ask for a drink of water. But even this, the ability to ask, to ask in freedom, this too is gift. Only through God’s giving are we able to respond: "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst." (JN 4:15).

Living Water

"Living water" is not our baptism. In John’s theology two ideas are brought together in this single metaphor: Living water is at once revelation and, at the same time, the Spirit – and both we owe to the Word made flesh, Jesus. Living water is the revelation Jesus gave us.
Think about this! Wonder at it! What happens to you when you believe? God’s own Spirit dwells in you. You are as truly a sacred shrine as is the tabernacle in our chapel. You are the new creature God made you to be: a temple of God, a shrine of the Spirit. And, truly, living water wells up in you to eternal life.

Share the Gift!

So, where does this realization take us? It should take us to where the dialogue with Jesus took the Samaritan woman. She "left her water jar," rushed off excitedly back to the village and said, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (Jn 4:28-29)
It should be the same for us. This gift is not something for us to hold on to as our own little private pitcher of living water. The gift was given to be given, to be shared.
Rochele was drawn to this community because she has experienced its power, sensed its strength, found its saving grace in others. She, through us, has touched Catholic faith, Catholic hope.
It should be the same for all of us. Share the gift! Let the living water spill over!

Is God Here or Not?

Following is an excerpt from a sermon by Rev. Alex Joiner (United Methodist Church) addressing today's first reading from Exodus. To read the entire sermond (it's good!) go to http://day1.org/880-is_god_here_or_not

So in a relationship with God's people that was often frustrating, trying and even threatening, Moses tried to give the people a sense that they lived in more than a material world. It wasn't that they were wrong to be thirsty or hungry or scared or frustrated -- God dealt directly with their physical needs. What they failed to see was a God-filled world wrought with wonder and wild holiness. They saw only emptiness and Moses saw what desert hermits and monks have always seen -- a God who often comes to us in our most troubled moments, a God who comes to provide, not only water, but living water.
We're still in the wilderness, you and I. We wander through landscapes blasted by pain and addiction, abuse and neglect. The many sounds and noises of our multimedia age ring hollow in the emptiness of our lives. Through grief and loss and failure we come to know the desolation of the heart. Oh, we know the wilderness, you and I, because that is where we live. And we thirst for water, for hope, for healing. What Moses reminds us is that what we seek is God. Is God here or not? The wilderness is a terrible place to lose your way, but it's a wonderful place to find it. Thanks be to God.

Living Water

Observers think:

“This man not only Eats with sinners and outcasts

He’s also too friendly with women

Even foreign women.

How can he be a prophet?”

But the woman thinks:

“He’s different .

His closeness is not a man’s invitation.

His nearness is God’s invitation.

God’s invitation to change.

God’s invitation to discipleship.

God’s invitation to live-giving water.

My invitation to closeness with God."

Fr. Jim Hasse, SJ

Prayer

We often take those who serve us for granted. So I submit the following prayer:

Lord, thank you for all who serve others.

Thank you for military personnel.

Thank you for police officers, firefighters and emergency responders.

Thank you for custodians and wait staff and clerks.And thank you for teachers and priests and parents -- and everyone else.

Amen!

Power

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit,one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Mt 20:17-28

The desire for power isn't new.

(Neither is relying on Mom to help you get what you want.)

Jesus' response is one we know by heart --"Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave."

Perhaps there is a double meaning.

If our desire is power, then we do indeed become slaves to that desire and those who can grant it to us.

Witness the politician who started out with the desire to serve the common good only to become taken up with ambition.

Witness the priest who entered the seminary with service in mind, but gets distracted by the possibilities of position.

Fasting during Lent?

What a poor, benighted age we live in!

How we deny ourselves all sauces but the best.

How little of what surrounds us is ever offered either by use or abstinence.

And there is the secret.

Fasting is an offering, too.

The dieter says: Sweets are bad; I cannot have them ever.

The faster says: Sweets are good; I will not take them now.

The dieter is condemned to bitter bondage, to a life which dares not let food in.

But the faster is a person preparing for a feast.

Lent leads to Easter, and to mirth and weight of glory.

Robert Farrar Capon

Vocations

When Bishop Kenneth Untener, now deceased, was first introduced to his diocese of Saginaw,
he stood up at his first Mass as bishop and said, "My name is Ken, and I will be your server."
There were many other things he said in that first address, but all those have been forgotten.

His greatest impact lay in his claim to serve.

She had to work at a restaurant to help her family survive where she discovered that she was a gifted waitress.
She explained to me once that the careers were not all that different.
She did not want to be an actress to entertain or to garner fame for herself; she simply wanted to make people happy.
That was not all that different from what she did in the restaurant.
And serving others made her happy.

Every vocation, if it is real, is a call to serve as Jesus did.
And real service has the rebound effect of making us happy.
Our job or career may not be our primary vocation;
we might live out our vocation in our families or in our volunteering in community.
When a vocation does not allow us to serve, it is no longer a vocation, and it is time for us to find a different source of fulfillment.

Scary Priests

"The Pharisees lay heavy burdens on the shoulders of others, but they are unwilling to help with the load. They love the places of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. As for you, call no one on earth 'Father,' for you have only one Father" Matthew 23:1-12

This is a scary gospel for priests. At least it ought to be. Here Jesus is saying that people need to watch out for the guys who like to wear marks of respect in public claim titles, sit at head tables, and enjoy the chief seats in places of worship—and we put them in charge! Don't call them "Father," he says. And have you ever noticed that the "burdens" of Catholicism—marriage, divorce, sex, birth control, abortion, being single, being a woman—are all things other people carry while priests rarely help with those loads? If you're a priest, this should scare you. I'm a priest and it scares me.

Thomas Merton

Many people consider Lent a time to deny ourselves. Thomas Merton offers us the following quote:

"St. Gregory Nazianzen speaks of the Christian as an "instrument played by the Holy Spirit."
The aim of asceticism is to keep this instrument in tune.
Mortification is not simply the progressive control of instinct by deadening the appetites of the heart.
That is too crude a view.
It is rather like the tightening of a violin string.
We do not just go on twisting and twisting until the string breaks.
That would not be sanctity, but insanity.
No: What we must do is bring the strings of the delicate instrument,
which is our whole being,
to the exact pitch which the Holy Spirit desires of us
in order that the Spirit
may produce in us the exquisite melody of divine love that we
were created to sing before the face of our heavenly Father."

Thomas Merton

Stephen Covey describes two circles, one inside another.
The larger is our Circle of Interest;

the smaller our Circle of Influence.
The effective person operates within the Circle of Influence.
We live in a time when our Circle of Interest may be very large indeed and we're tempted to spend our passion and energy on those events we cannot affect.

Setting things right begins here and now.
First we clean up our own mess and that includes confessing our sins and changing our ways.
Then when our house is in order, we keep our eyes open for opportunities to set things right elsewhere.

Homily -- Monday, Lent 2

Do you remember the days when flour was not pre-sifted? I have vivid memories of learning to cook in our old kitchen.
In order to measure two cups of flour, it was necessary first to sift it. I was always astonished that you could get so much more in the large measuring cup after the flour was sifted.
Then, you took the cup and shook it and banged it gently on the counter, and the flour would settle, creating more space at the top of the cup.
Then and only then could you get a "true measure:'

This is the image in today's gospel.
The Greek word Luke uses for measure refers to a standard for generosity, as opposed to a word for judgment.
The gospel is not about giving the minimum we think we can get away with, and not about making it look like a full cup of flour, even if it isn't.
The invitation is to give a full and generous measure, more than is necessary.
However, we cannot give with the expectation it will be given back "in kind:'
God's promise is that if we give generously, we will be rewarded as generously as we gave.
That reward can take many forms, but most generous people will be quick to tell you that they always "get far more than they give" from any of their charitable activities.

That is the source of the promise of God.

Practice: Does your day involve any kind of measuring? Each time you pick up a ruler or a cup, or measure out space on a document on your computer, ask yourself how you are measuring up in generosity today.

Abraham and Isaac and God

This is one of the most frightening stories in Scripture and, as such, has been the object of
a great deal of study.
In Abraham's day, it was common for the pagan people who surrounded Israel to offer their first born as a sacrifice to the gods.
These babies were often buried in the foundations of the temples.
Some scholars suggest that this story was Israel's struggle against such infant sacrifice.

The story was a teaching tool, meant to show the Israelite people in a very graphic way that the God of Israel would never require human sacrifice.
While we may never know the total meaning of the story, one thing is abundantly clear.
We can believe that God is calling us to follow faithfully.
Only when we do this will we discover what God really has in mind for us.

Sometimes, when we believe we are being called and try our best to respond, we are completely unable to accomplish the task we feel called to do.
This is the time to remember Abraham.
Maybe God has something different in mind all along.
Like Abraham, all that is required of us is faithfulness to the call, and remaining open to the surprises God sends.

Judgment Day

The face of the Son of Man, in which we shall one day read our judgment,
Already mysteriously gazes at us from every human face,
Because all are his brothers and sisters:
The pure face of the child,
the care-worn faces of the poor,
the tear-stained faces of sinners,
even the embittered faces of our so-called opponents and enemies

One day we shall have to “raise our heads”
and look into the face of him who came as the Son of Man,
for he is after all the God of eternity.
And from his countenance all will look at us:
All those around us through whom we were good or guilty.

Karl Rahner

This Lent

This Lent, which we observe amidst blood and sorrow, ought to presage a transfiguration of our people, a resurrection of our nation. The church invites us to a modern form of penance, of fasting and prayer, perennial Christian practices, but adapted to the circumstances of each person.
Lenten fasting is not the same thing in those lands where people eat well as is a Lent among our Third World peoples, undernourished as they are, living in a perpetual Lent, always fasting.
For those who eat well, Lent is a call to austerity, a call to give away in order to share with those in need. But in poor lands, in homes where there is hunger, Lent should be observed in order to give to the sacrifice that is everyday life the meaning of the cross.
But it should not be out of a mistaken sense of resignation. God does not want that. Rather, feeling in one's own flesh the consequences of sin and injustice, one is stimulated to work for social justice and a genuine love for the poor. Our Lent should awaken a sense of social justice.

(For a picture montage of Oscar Romero, click on the name below.)

Oscar Arnulfo Romero

Destiny

In the past, every icon painter began his or her career by reproducing the scene of the transfiguration, not to escape into some imaginary paradise, but to die to self by opening the self to Beauty crucified.

The destiny of every Christian is written between two mountains: from Calvary to the mountain of the transfiguration. The face of the living God is to be seen in the faces of those who listen to Christ's word and are transformed by it.

The Saint Andrew Bible Missal

Transfiguration

Then a cloud came down, casting a shadow over them;

from the cloud came a voice,

"This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him."

Once in the Holy Land, while camped out along the Sea of Galilee, I was trying to pray, but nothing was happening. This passage reminded me of that time, because that is how it felt: like a cloud hanging all around me, blocking me from God.

My response at that time was getting up, throwing rocks into the sea as hard as I could, and shouting in anger: "I've come all the way over here and you desert me now?"

For a long time I thought that the clouds that came into my life blocked me from God's presence. It had to be my failures that were keeping me from God. I've since come to believe that nothing could be further from the truth.

Scripture has told me that, when the clouds come, when the shadows fall, it is God who is speaking to me. Just like at the Transfiguration, God is present and in communion with us. God's presence will always remain a mystery: hence the cloud. But Jesus has revealed God as a paradox: the blind see, the lame walk, the virgin conceives, sinners like you and me are forgiven, and the dead rise.

So, when I think that God is not present, God most certainly is very present. When my life feels like it's in deep shadows, God's light is still shining brightly. When problems or sadness come my way, God is nearest to me, trying to help me and show me the way.

God the Good Grandpa

If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him!" MATTHEW 7:11


What a burden of sorrow some grandparents carry for their children and grand-children. They raise their kids to be faithful Catholics. Then, somewhere along the way, the kids lose their faith and stop going to church. Even when the kids get married and start having kids of their own, they don't include religion in family life. The grandchildren don't get baptized and grand- parents are at a loss as to what to do.
The problem is not that we've been bad parents. God knows we've all done our very best. We know how to be good parents. But can we be better parents to our kids than God is to them? There's the catch. We're pretty confident in our own parenting skills, but we don't seem to trust God's.
The fact of the matter is that God is a far better parent than we can ever hope to be. And God has the situation well in hand. God promised to watch over our kids and lead them to salvation. We're called to put our trust in God's faithfulness to fulfill this promise, not necessarily in our kids' ability to fulfill our expectations. That's why we have a heavenly Father, so that when our human weakness kicks in, we have the divine presence to bail us out.

Neneveh

Scripture does not say of the people of Nineveh that God saw their sackcloth and fasting, but "God saw their works"!



The Mishnah

Lessons from Johah

There are several important things to note in today's first reading from the prophet
Jonah.

This is the second time that God gave specific directions to Jonah, the prophet who
tried to sail away from the mission to announce the need for the citizens of
Nineveh to repent.

According to the story, Jonah is an Israelite prophet preaching to a pagan people,
who actually listen to what he has to say after but a single day's walk through
the city.

Everyone, including the king and his nobles and all the animals, fast, put on
sackcloth and repent of their evil ways!

And God shows mercy on a pagan city.

Here are the lessons to be learned:

First, each of us has a call from God who is relentless until we answer.

Second, sometimes we are sent by God to foreigners, those with whom we do not
socialize.

Third, God's word is effective; it changes people's minds.

And fourth, God is interested in all people-no matter what their religion, race or sex

Maybe, during Lent, we learn from Jonah
that when we cooperate with God, the Holy One
makes our work fruitful.

Both Jonah and the people of Nineveh repent or change their minds.

Is this a fast, to keep
The larder leane?
And cleane
From fat of veales and sheep?

Is it to quit the dish
Of flesh, yet still
To fill
The patter high with fish?

Is it to faste and houre,
Or ragg’d to go,
Or show
A downcast look, and sowre?

No: ‘tis a fast, to dole
The sheaf of wheat
And meat
Unto the hungry soule.

It is to fast from strife,
From old debate,
And hate;
To circumcise thy life.

To shrew a heart grief-rent;
To starve thy sin,
Not bin;
And that’s to keep thy Lent.

Robert Herrick, Seventeenth century