So soft and cute...

There is this overwhelmingly powerful scene in the Fellowship of the Rings in which Galadriel is tempted.  Galadriel is already a powerful figure with great magic and power.   The ring though would make her even stronger, so powerful in fact she could control the entire realm.  She has this amazing line in which she says "I will be great and terrible as the dawn!"  We have lost the meaning of that word.  We see terrible as something horrendous, horrible, ugly, or bad.  

terrible

[ter-uh-buh l]  exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful

In Abraham's time this was the image of who God was.   He was the all powerful Lord, the creator, the judge and the king.   For Abraham to stand up for those people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would have taken a great deal of courage.   We lose that sometimes when reading the old testament.  Here Abraham is facing God and saying, Hey can I change your mind?  What if only... over and over.  Not only asking God for a boon but also thinking he might be testing God's patience.  How scary should that be?

Christ on the cross stood in the gap for us as well.   Knowing that not a single righteous man could be found, Christ went in our place to suffer the punishment.   All of us deserve what Sodom and Gomorrah got.  "The wages of sin is death."   None of us can say we haven't sinned either.  So here we have Christ, fully God but also fully human... going to the cross in complete trust of God but still aware of His great power and the terrible visage, but also seeing the Father.   That was something most of that age were unable to bear, to think of God as Father, and even today there are religions in the world that will find it blasphemous to do so.  Christ gave us that gift while nailed and tortured in our place.

I think that's part of the message that God has given us in the Scriptures and through the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   To trust in God.  To see Him as Father.   To know He will only give us what is good.   Yet, to remind us that what we do is make a bold claim.  That we are approaching the all powerful, omniscient God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.   That it is an audacious thing to step forward in His presence and say "God give me..."   We should never forget though, that we aren't just praying for 'bread', but also for the will of God.   So we are saying "God give me... but if you know something better... your will be done."   Never forget that last part.  Never forget who it is we approach, and what is at stake.  Abraham knew what was at stake as He prayed for the people, and his prayer was unanswered... Christ knew death was the cost and He suffered it to save us.... Do you realize what is at stake?  Are you ready to pick up your own cross? To stand in the gap for others in prayer?   It's a privilege that we should never take for granted.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

A reflection the readings for Mass on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 24, 2016.  Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; The Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke 11:1-13

Setting the World on Fire

A reflection on the readings for June 16, 2016.

Sirach 48:1-14
Psalm 97
Gospel of Matthew 6:7-15

In this mornings first reading we see a list of all the amazing things that Elijah and Elisha did in their earthly lifetimes.  From raising to dead to controlling the elements, we see these men of God were truly endowed with the Spirit of the Most High.  Elijah was of course taken up in the fiery chariots into Heaven and Elisha even continued to perform miracles after his death.  We as Catholics believe that to be a sign that the person has gone on into Heaven with God.   That's why we name those who have been shown with much evidence to have miracles attributed to their names as Saints.

The thing is Christ said that not only would we do the works that he did, but that if we truly believe we will do even greater things. (John 14:12-14)   That whatever we ask, no matter what the task, it will be done.  Of course we know that it requires us to be asking in the right Spirit, to be asking for something which is God's will.  How though can we expect to be transformed into living Saints?  Men and women capable of things beyond ourselves?  Images of Christ himself walking among the population of the world, changing our own environments.

In the Lord's prayer, which we pray at every Mass, we ask for our daily bread.  This of course has the connotation of being cared for, right?  Just as the scriptures remind us that we are more valuable than a flower or a bird, they also remind us that God will provide us for our needs.   So, yes, we ask for food to get us through the day.   The word there, though, in the original language does not say exactly daily, as much as 'super substantial bread.'   Give us this day the bread that is beyond bread, the bread of which it's substance is more than just bread.  The bread that feeds us, that makes us grow.  The bread that does not get consumed by our body to make it part of us, but rather consumes us and makes us part of it!  That's right, the Eucharist.

Christ calls us to be more.  He himself comes to us in the form of our most basic of needs, food and drink.   He then begins to transform us through Communion, through the Eucharist, into himself.   He gives us the power to become living Saints.  We have to be ready though, we have to accept that grace and allow it to transform us.  What does that look like?   What examples do we have of those who have been transformed?  That's why the Church gives us a Canon of Saints.  These are the men and women who it is clear from examining their lives and the miracles around them, are already in Heaven.  Just like Elijah and Elisha, the Saints are those who have lived lives that shout out to God's Spirit living in them, and even after death have been shown to have miracles associated with them.

One of those men was Saint Padre Pio, who was canonized on this day in the year 2002.  Padre Pio was known to do many miraculous things.  From bi-location (being in two places at once) to seemingly being able to see into another persons heart and soul.  He would often tell people in the confessional that they forget "this" sin and then proceed to tell them what it was.  Can you imagine that?  Being reminded of something that the other person has no earthly way of knowing?   Yeah, that would be a powerful moment.  He also received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his physical body.  From levitation to clairvoyance, Padre Pio shows us what being filled with Christ's Spirit can look like here on earth.

Now, of course each of us is called to a different station in life.  Some of us might not be Capuchin Friar's like Padre Pio, nor able to hear confessions.  The thing is, Jesus also reminds us that miracles were not His primary mission.  Rather He was sent to bring forgiveness.   Padre Pio offered this in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It should not surprise us at all that miracles happen in that sacred, Sacramental encounter with Christ.  What is more miraculous than the Prodigal Son returning or the one lost sheep being found?   The angels rejoice when we enter that Sacrament and confess before God himself and ask for forgiveness.  How often do we fail to see the beauty and need of that?  The most powerful part of it is though, that when we leave there we are challenged to take that into the world.

One of my local confessors always has the same penance for me.  "Pray for those you have hurt."  That's a powerful moment.  Even though someone else might be completely unaware of the thoughts or anger I've had toward them, Christ asks me in the confessional to pray for them.  Prayer is a moment that doesn't just change or effect things, but also changes and effects me.  It is a moment for me to bring about that other part of the Lord's prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  Yes, prayer is a moment for me to bring God's will into my life and to open myself to the grace that can change me into a Saint.  It's not something we aim for just after this life, but something we should be aiming for right now... Where to start?  By going into the world and offering them forgiveness.  The same forgiveness we receive in the Sacraments.  What miracle could be more powerful than that?   Can you imagine if the entire world were 'infected' with the forgiveness and love of the Father?  What can I do? I'm just one person?  Remember, it only takes a pebble to start an avalanche.   Are you ready to be God's whirlwind of flame to set fire to the world?

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Sail on Silver Girl

Lately, as most of you know, I've been having some kidney issues.  As part of the treatment for this 10mm kidney stone my doctor suggested I invert myself to 45 degrees every night after having consumed sixteen ounces of water.  They already took the step of doing lithotripsy to break the stone up into smaller pieces (hopefully).   Now the goal is to use gravity and fluid to get those pieces up out of the bottom of my kidneys and through the bladder to freedom.  The Exodus of the kidney stones eh? So I've been taking this old box spring and placing it on the couch to create as much of an angle as I can.  Then I drink my water, wait thirty minutes and lay with my face downhill for half an hour.

What I did not expect is that my daughter would love this time.  She can't wait to get on the mattress and lay next to me reading or watching TV.  Daddy are we going to do that tonight?  Then we play around, I poke her and tickle her.. and sometimes I roll over on her and mash her like I forgot she was there.  All the while she's giggling, reading, or often just falling asleep.  It's a comforting time.  It's an amazing moment of bonding that I will cherish for years to come.

Yesterday my buddy Clyde Joshua came over while I was cleaning out the garage and it reminded me of when Moira was very little.  He was walking around asking questions, pointing at this or that, or laughing and running away when he thought I was going to 'get him.'  He would follow right in my footsteps and hand me this or that, and mimic the things I was doing.  Moira used to do that when she was very small.  In fact, she mimicked not just the good, but the bad.  Isn't that how kids learn to do the bad anyway?  Children remind us of that fact when they pull out those special words in front of grandma or at school.  They become their parents.  Sometimes I open my mouth and my dad pops right out...  That's a big responsibility!

Today's Gospel reminds us of that truth, and gives us a better option.  Jesus is always upsetting the cart.  He never walks away with people indifferent.  Either they love him or hate him, but they always make a choice, they are always challenged.  Today they are mad at him, again.   He has just equated himself with God!   Today we would just kind of laugh if someone did that... "they're crazy!"  It was very serious to his contemporaries.   Serious enough they had him killed for it right?  Then he goes on to speak that truth, that children do what their parents did.

Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,

but only what he sees the Father doing;

for what he does, the Son will do also.

There is that pesky Amen, Amen again.  Remember, in the Semitic languages often there are no superlatives. (Good, better, best would be "good" "good good" "good good good", brings a whole new meaning to Holy, Holy, Holy eh?)  Amen means that what he is saying is truth.  It has that connotation of this has been confirmed, it has been supported, it is upheld as the truth.  So to say Amen and Amen.. he's saying this is the truth of the truth!  It's as if Jesus is saying "Pay attention to what I am about to say!"  Then he goes on to affirm that notion that as the Son he mimics his Father.. he follows in his footsteps.  If God raises the dead? So does Christ.  If the Father heals the sick? So does the Son.   If He frees the captor and forgives sin?  Well so will Jesus himself.

That brings an amazing level of depth to that reading from Isaiah in which God lists off a litany of the things he will do to bring his people back to him, back to freedom, back to love.  He declares he will feed them, give them drink, protect them from the elements and never forsake them.  Regardless of what they ever do he will always remember them.  That's a powerful promise to us today as well.  God wants us to be in relationship with Him.  Jesus himself is offering a personal invitation to each and everyone of us to be in this amazing personal covenant, not just a private one with God alone but in communion with his entire Body, the Church.
That begs the question for those of us who claim to be a part of that Body though... If children mimic their parents, then who can we claim as ours?  When I was young my daughter would follow me around, just as Clyde Joshua did yesterday.  The words I used? She used.   The things I did? She did.  The places I went? She went.  I was just telling my friends last night that Saturday of last week I had a bad day.  You know those days when you wake up and the world seems off kilter?  I couldn't get out of this bad funk.  I was snappy.  I was rude.  I was a jerk.   I stormed around like some monster seeking to destroy an enchanted forest.   My wife and kids took the brunt of it.  If anyone had seen me that day, would any of them been convinced I was a Catholic at all? Probably not.   I wasn't acting like my Father at all.

How then do we know how to act?  We emulate the Son.  He healed the sick, he cured the blind, he fed the poor and hungry, he offered forgiveness and compassion to all he met, and above all he proclaimed the Kingdom of God.  Are we doing that?  Do our actions show others that we are Children of the Most High?  Are we reaching out to the poor, the destitute, the widow, and the orphan?  Are we welcoming the strangers who come into our midst?  Are we building walls or bridges?  As we journey through the last remaining days of our desert of Lent, let us take time to examine who we are... to draw closer to God... so that when people look at us, they can say "Now there is a child of God, there is a person who loves others!  There is someone I want to be more like."

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night

The other day I read an article about how that the current generation of children are being raised to believe that not recycling a soda can is just as bad or worse than looking at pornography.  I thought that must be complete bunk.  How could that even be possible?  So I asked a few teens myself.  Guess what?  It's true.  So much so that even in one of our classes we started to see that notion of environmental responsibility being the utmost of responsibility for a holy life.  We were discussing what the world would be like if God's kingdom was a reality here on earth.  What would it be like if people really didn't take more than they needed?  If they shared what they had?  if they loved instead of hated?  What would God's reign look like?

We got some of the answers I expected: peaceful, no war, less worries, etc.   Then came other words I would never have expected.  "We'd all be robots."  "No one would have any fun."  "Life would be boring."  After talking with them a few minutes they began to open up and say things like, "I couldn't use my cell phone because it would create pollution."   That's not what God's reign is about.  It's not about taking away fun, but people are convinced it is.  They are bound by the rules they have in their head, not the rules that we have in our faith.  They associate holiness and piety with dryness and boredom.  How do we get past this?  How do we find our way beyond a superficial understanding of what God has to offer and realize that what he is offering is pure happiness, joy and freedom?

In tomorrow's Gospel we see Matthew's version of the Our Father, this is the one we as Catholics use in our liturgies.   In that prayer I believe lies the truth of the happiness that God has to offer.  The first line itself speaks volumes, but we more often than not take it for granted.   Our Father.  God is not a distant deity that transcends everything and never interacts with us.  Rather, we are in a personal and intimate relationship with the trinity.  We have been given the honor and blessing of calling God Father, Abba, Papa, Daddy.  That's closeness... that's tenderness... that's family.   God is offering us a family of peace.  A family of love.  A family of understanding.

He's not asking us to give up pleasure, no, pleasure can be good.  Rather he is asking us to use those good things, those good feelings, those enjoyable devices and technologies responsibly and reasonably.  We don't have to give up our cell phones, our gaming devices, our televisions, or our hobbies to be Catholic.  What we do have to do though is to do those things with not just ourselves in mind, but with the entire world.  Yes, technology can create pollution.  More over, it can create a moment in which our lives are consumed with our self, with our ego.  Those are bad things.  The cardinal virtues though remind us to be detached from that.  That doesn't mean destroying these things and living a bland, meager existence.  It rather means that we take steps to make them enjoyable and responsible.  Solar chargers, limiting our time, sharing our experience, making sure to watch things that bring joy but also avoid temptations, etc. 

We pray in that same prayer "thy kingdom come, thy will be done."  That isn't just speaking of Jesus return at the end of time, but also of the present moment.  God's kingdom is going to be fulfilled in a completeness at the end of time that may not be possible in the here and now, but it is also present and tangible imminently.   You and I as members of the body of Christ have a responsibility to bring about the Kingdom.  Through temperance, through fortitude, through prudence, and justice.  It does not mean that we cannot enjoy ourselves.  It does not mean that life should become dry and void of entertainment.  It does mean that we should consider God and our fellow man in everything we do.  If we are enjoying an expensive meal while our brother starves?  There is something wrong with that. If rather, we are enjoying a similar meal for less money and inviting our brother to dine with us?  That's justice.  That's peace. That's the Kingdom.

Here it is Lent and many of us are trying to grow closer to Christ.  We are giving up things.  We are trying to participate in the three methods the church encourages us to use: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Let's not forget those people who are still struggling in a land of limbo... the persecuted Christians being chased and murdered by ISIS.   The refugees fleeing their countries trying to find a life for their family and children.   The men, women, and children being murdered by the drug cartels just across our border.   The homeless, underemployed, sick and homebound in our very own neighborhoods.   That's what Lent is about.  We aren't supposed to fast alone, but to give as well.  So take the extra money you might save by eating smaller meals and buy something for someone who is struggling.  Shovel a driveway.  Take up someone's garbage cans at the end of the day when you bring up your own.  Smile. Hug.  Remember, one of the most important things to do at this time and throughout the whole year, is to work on those corporeal works of mercy:

Feed the Hungry

Give Drink to the Thirsty

Shelter the Homeless

Visit the Sick

Visit the Prisoners

Bury the Dead

Give alms to the Poor

I think that's our lesson today as we examine the words of Christ when he teaches us to pray "give us this day our daily bread."   This speaks of a super substantial bread, a bread that is Eucharistic in nature.  It's our duty as Catholics to take that bread into the world both physically and spiritually to provide the needs of others.  Us.  Not give me.  We are praying for us.  You are receiving something powerful in the Eucharist, something that should be given to others.. in your thoughts, in your words, and in your deeds...

His servant and yours,

Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

10 minutes.

A Reflection on the Readings for the

Feast of the Holy Family

12/27/2015

The other day I went to the school to pick up my daughter.  I stood outside waiting for her for a while.  Parent after parent left with their kids.  The parking lot was now empty.  I began to walk towards the door.  The teacher opened the door and peered out as if she didn't trust me.  I'm 6'5", 300 lbs, and keep my head shaved.  I am sure that's not the average person.  I informed her my daughter had not come out to the car like she was supposed to.  She let me in and they began to call around the school.  She wasn't there.   Must be on the bus they informed me. 

I left hurried.  Have you ever felt that panic begin to creep at the edge of your perception, like some long lost evil trying to barge it's way into your field of vision?   Yeah, there he was.  I tamped him down.  She's on the bus.   I knew it.   Why?  I don't know.  She wasn't supposed to be.  So I raced as fast as traffic would let me to the bus stop.  I called my wife. I told her what was going on.  She panicked.    She began to demand answers over the phone, answers I could not give.   I will call you back after I find out something.   So there I sat.  And sat.   And sat.   And sat.

The bus was very late.  Someone had fallen and gotten hurt, the son of a friend of ours.  An ambulance had come.  I heard it in the distance.  That didn't help.  10 minutes passed.  Finally the bus came down the street.  It still had to make it's rounds through the other sub division before coming back to us to drop off the kids.  I guess it being late does not change the route any, or even get the driver to explain to the parents why they are late.  So she ran to the car and got in like nothing had happened. She began asking where the baby was.  The baby only stays with us on Wednesdays.   She rides the bus on Wednesday.  That explains everything.

That didn't dismiss the feelings right?  The panic.  The fear.  The what ifs.  The first thing I did when she got in the car of course was demand to know why she rode the bus.   I think one of our first reactions to panic is anger, once we know they are safe.  It's hard to deal with.  Maybe half an hour had passed total.  10 of it waiting in a car unable to do anything.  It's almost like grief isn't it?  Like you've lost someone?    Once before years ago she had gone under a display in Kohl's and we couldn't find her.  It doesn't get easier.  It gets harder.  Both times it was like losing her for ever.  Tears wanted to break in.  All of the emotions of grief.  Denial.  Anger.   Yes, just like losing someone forever.

Imagine Mary and Joseph... they were three entire days without Jesus.  Some theologians think that this was to prepare her for the tomb at Easter.   Three days she sought him, three days she could not find him.  Travelling backwards along their route looking for family and friends.  "Have you seen him?"  "Do you know where he is?"  Demanding answers that none of them could give.  They didn't have a phone to call back later to explain.  It simply meant continuing to look.  Not giving up.  Not letting fear and panic set in and take over.  The relief they must have felt finding him in the temple, yet the same kind of angry reaction: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”  "Moira why were you on the bus?  You know I was supposed to pick you up! Your mother and I were worried sick!" 

Mo's answer was much like Jesus answer, "I thought it was Wednesday, you should have known I was on the bus."  "Why were you looking for me?  You should have known where I was."   It's incredulous to them that we would worry, that we wouldn't know exactly where they were supposed to be.   Jesus was the Son of God, but it did not occur to them immediately that he would be at the temple.  Like Mary though, we have to take these things into our hearts.  What can we learn from this? 

Mary was prepared by the different events in her life for things to come.  Three days without Jesus as a child.   Three days without Jesus at his death.   The first time she went running, panicked, in fear, retracing her steps trying to find him.   Notice at his death she waited behind.  She didn't need to go find him.. though he had died... she knew exactly where he would be.  She didn't lose him.  She still had him in her heart.  Some say he even visited her first before the rest of the Apostles.  Maybe.  Either way.. she had faith.  She knew she would find him again.. in his Father's house.

Sometimes the events in our lives make us scared.  They panic us.  They make us lose sight of Jesus.  We see someone pass away and we wonder why.   We see someone in pain, and we ask why good people suffer.   Some cross comes into our own world.. and we have no idea why we were chosen to carry it.   He never moves away from us.. it's always us that move away from him.   Like Mary, we must learn where Jesus is... that he is always there.  He is in our family.  He is in our friends.  He is in our church.  Most importantly, he is in the Eucharist... turn to him.. find him in his father's house... anytime you lose him, he is sacramentally present and desires your return.   Let him speak directly to your heart as he says to each of us: "Why were you looking for me?  You should have known where I was."
  
His servant and yours,
Brian

Come on In Boys, the Waters Fine

Tomorrow's Gospel is a beautiful repeat of the reading for Sunday.  Though one could go on into a great deal of depth into this reading, I find myself being drawn instead to the first reading, from the beautiful and poetic Song of Songs.  One would be making a grave mistake indeed to treat this as some sort of history book or eye witness account.   Instead, we look at it for what it is.  Poetry.  Grand and genius poetry at that.

As Christians we look at all of Scripture to learn what we can learn about our relationship with Christ, with God.  So when we read this poem we should imagine ourselves, the Church, as the bride.  Then the lover, the King, we look at as an image or type of Christ.   So what does this interesting selection, one that is available for use at weddings, seem to say to us about our relationship with Christ?  About his relationship with us?

Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.

Oh the beauty of this image.  I think it may be lost to us living in the cities and suburbs.  The image is that of young love.  Wild, free.  The energy of youth, the fleet foot of someone who is sure of their actions.  A gazelle or stag move with grace, precision.  They are filled with confidence.  Here this young lover peers through the lattice, into our world.. into our lives.. just hoping to get a glimpse of the one he loves.  Seeking us out wherever we might be... wherever we might hide.  That is our first lesson.  God is pursuing us.  He wants to show us how much he loves us.  He wants to see us, even if we aren't particularly trying to see him.  He goes over any terrain, any obstacle, to try and be a part of our lives. 

Then the poet writes: Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!  Not once, but twice.  God is enamored with us.   Unlike society with it's airbrushed pictures and plastic personalities, God loves us for who we are.  So much so he calls us beautiful and bids us to be a part of his world.  He wants us to be in communion with him.  Not just a superficial love, but a love that allows us to receive eternal life.  A love pure and strong, like the love of our youth.  Do you remember when you fell in love for the first time?  How strong it was?  How nothing else seemed to matter?  Oh but God loves us that much for eternity...  He still woos us like a young lover, still loves us so much so that he is willing to do anything... whatever it takes.. even give up his life, just to be loved in return.

“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”

My dove.  Rock pigeon is likely what it refers to here.  Either way, mourning doves and rock pigeons have something in common.. they both mate for life.  They are monogamous.. they never choose another mate while their mate is alive.  God here is calling out to the church as one he trusts.. one who is his and his alone.  Fidelity.  Then he says that our voice, our prayers, are sweet to him.  We are lovely to him.    Isn't that beautiful?  Doesn't that poetry just tell you how much God loves us?  I imagine that is why they tied this again to the story of Mary's visitation in the Gospel.  Mary is also an image of the perfect disciple, an image of what it means to be Church.  One could even imagine God saying this words to her directly.  The one who said yes to him, with complete abandon.

We are almost to Christmas.  For weeks now we have been looking to see how we can prepare our hearts for God to come live in them, for Christ to be born into our world, into our hearts gain, from day to day, second to second, breath to breath.  Today we are reminded how much God wants that.  How much God wants to be a part of our life... that he is seeking to be one with us, looking into our world... longing to spread his mercy and love into our lives.  Even when we hide.  Even when we go through a dry spell, or when things seem to go wrong.. when things seem so horrible that we think it's even too late to pray about it.. God says "Speak to me my love.  Your voice is sweet, and you are lovely.  Let me see you."  Don't try to hide in the recesses of the cliff... he wants to see us...  As St. Paul said, "Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. "  Yes, the one who will deliver us from our habits, our fears, our sinfulness... that is the one who woos us.. the one who begs you to spend time with Him. 

Are you doing that?  A good way to do so is through Confession.  Now is the right time of year for that.  Monday night at our Parish they are having a communal penance service for Advent to help people prepare for Christmas.  At 7:00 P.M. we will gather together to call out to God in repentance and hope.. and he will say "Your voice is sweet and you are lovely."  As Delmar said in my favorite movie, "Come on in boys, the waters fine." 

His servant and yours,
Brian

Wishy Washy.

Tomorrow's readings for daily mass contain a hard message, a challenging message. During Advent it is important that we get those challenges to the way we are walking our faith.  All to often, when we are honest with ourselves, we are failing to walk the walk and talk the talk.  We get tied up with the minutia of life.  Christmas shopping needs to be finished. Gifts need to be wrapped.  Company Christmas parties to attend.  Last minute cooking and cleaning before guests and family arrive.  Travel plans to be made.  So many things going on.   It's easy to get tied up in all that.  To not be able to see the forest for the trees.  Advent reminds us to slow down.  That all of these things can be good, but they aren't the focus, they aren't the reason for the season. 

Jesus calls out the head honchos in the Gospel passage.  He gives them a parable with two sons in it.  One son says he'll do it and doesn't.  Another says he won't, but later does.    He wants to know which one of those sons did what the father wanted him to do.  The one who did what he asked of him, even though he said he wouldn't.    John the Baptist had come to them preaching repentance, a way of life.  They didn't listen to him.  Even when the people that most Jews of the time thought were least likely to hear the voice of God began changing their lives, began following Jesus, the chief priests and elders kept on in their obstinacy.  They who had given an oath to God, they who had studied the law to see what God asked of them, they who knew the Scripture in and out... had said "Yes we will do" and then did not.   Those who had sinned, had fallen away from God... had initially said No to religious life... turned their hearts to God and were being saved.

How many times have you and I turned our back on our promise to God?  We have given an oath, a promise to God.  Some of us have done so at Baptism.  Others at confirmation.  Some have received an Altar call in some church or another.. some of you might have simply prayed a sinner's prayer.. all of these are a promise.. to try and live the Gospel.  To us Catholics, it's a promise to live the Gospel of the Apostles.. as handed on through their disciples to the Church.    That's a serious oath.  A serious promise.  How many times have we failed to live it?  How many times have we said "yes" only to then not do. It's not too late... to be the one who initially said no, the one who wasn't doing.. and then turned and did it anyway.

The first reading and the Psalm remind me of Saint Francis and his way.  My wife and kids kind of roll their eyes at me when I begin talking about Saint Francis.  I'm passionate for his message, for the way he lived the Gospel.  I get excited when I speak of him.  I feel the urge every day to be more like him, because I feel that Saint Francis truly lived the Gospel the way Jesus challenges us to do so.  In being more like him, I feel I will be more like Christ.  That's a lofty goal.  One I am likely not worthy of.

In the reading from Zephaniah we see the prophecy of the day when Jesus was to be born, and an image of the day when Jesus will come again.  God tells his people that on that day they will not need to be ashamed of their sins, their failures... their initial no... He says:

For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue


He says that the people of God will be humble and lowly.  That's a hard calling.  Society tells us to be the opposite.  To be proud.  To build ourselves up.  Rich. Wealthy. Powerful.   They shall be humble.  Lowly.  Honest.   That is our goal.   That was how Saint Francis lived his life.  More over, that is how Jesus Christ lived his earthly ministry as well.   Then the Church in her wisdom ties this message to the responsorial Psalm,

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

During this time of Advent it is time to look back on our lives.  When we are going out to have lavish dinners, filled with presents and gifts, drinking and reveling... remember all of this can be good and lovely.   We cannot forget though the poor, the downtrodden, the lonely.  That brings me to a story I read last night about Saint Francis.  (Rolling your eyes and huffing yet?)    His monks had set up a feast for them around a holiday.  They had obtained (borrowed?) fine dishes, a table cloth, lots of food.   They had spent time organizing this meal.  It was full of small excesses, things you and I wouldn't even thing were fancy.  To those who lived the lives of Saint Francis friar's minor... they were extravagant.   Saint Francis came into the room where they had set a place for him at the head of the table, and he walked to the fire place.   He took out a spoon that had been dropped in the ashes, a beaten and poor spoon... he took the hat of a beggar and placed it on his head and sat down in the dirt and grime of the floor.  He ate his dinner as the poor.. as the ones who were being forgotten.. as the poor Christ might have done. 

It's so easy to forget them isn't it?  Even those monks who lived a life of the poor forgot the poor for a moment.  They were ready to sit and eat at their fancy table.  Francis did not want to forget, so he made a tangible reminder.  He embraced poverty in a radical way that challenged us.  As you prepare for your own celebrations, don't forget them.  We still have people starving in our own streets.  We have men and women in nursing homes that have been forgotten.  That have no visitors.   We have poor families that will have no gifts for their kids.. fighting to keep their homes, fighting to keep their lives.   We have refugees from other countries.  How many of those are forgotten already?  How many have dismissed them completely?  They have been made out as terrorists.. as them... they.. the enemy.  Sure some of them might be bad people.. some of them are widows.. orphans. 

We've made a promise.  We have an option this Christmas.  We can say yes, and mean it.  We can say no.. and change our mind and do it.  Or we can say yes, and do it.  I vote yes.. do it.  As Shia Labeouf would say, "Go ahead. Just do it!"  Consider ways that you can keep Christ in Christmas.  Not just the word.  Not just the tree and gifts.  Not just the nativity scene, though all of these are good things.  Keep the entire Christ in Christmas.. in each of the people out there in need.  Remember, whatever you do for the least of these.. you do for Him.  Find a way that you can give a gift to someone in need.   Invite someone to Church that hasn't gone in a long time.  Tell someone you are on the way to a communal penance service, and if they want to go they can ride with you.  Find someone you haven't checked on... reach out to them.  Look in on the elderly, the home bound, the bid ridden.  Invite someone to Christmas dinner that doesn't have a family anymore.  Give a hug.  Feed someone. 

Remember this list? 

The Corporal Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry;

To give drink to the thirsty;

To clothe the naked;

To harbour the harbourless;

To visit the sick;

To ransom the captive;

To bury the dead.

That's a real good place to start.    It's the year of Mercy.  It's Advent.  Let's get started! The Blessed Virgin Mary gave an unconditional yes to God.. no buts.. not ifs... Is your Yes unconditional?  If not, like the Son in the story.. we've said No... but it's not too late to change our mind, and go do what the Father has asked of us.

His servant and yours,

Brian

The Rest is just Icing on the Cake

Back when my daughter was much younger she stayed at home with me during the day.  We would work on learning the things she needed to know for school.  My mother had bought us these wonderful little math and reading flash cards and we would use those.  We would also go over very simple things about God and the bible.   I was trying to prepare her for her life of learning, both in the secular world of public education and in the religious world of C.C.D.  There were times she'd get what I would say, and other times I wasn't sure she was learning, especially when it came to things like who God was, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the trinity.  How do you explain such difficult concepts to someone who is 4 years old?

I still did my best and we would talk plainly and simply about God.  As her math skills improved, her letter recognition and even simple reading began to flourish as well.  One day she was laying on the floor looking up through the skylight at the sky.  She sat scrunching up her face like she was trying to figure something out. 

"What are you thinking about?", I asked.

"Thinking about the Holy Ghost."

"ah, what about him?"

"That cloud looks like him."

"How so?"

"Well, it looks like Jesus, but he has on a costume like the Holy Spirit."

It's a simple analogy, and imperfect in many ways.  But she was getting it!  She knew that they were both God.. but they were different people, different looking, but the same substance.   I was so excited!  She was learning!  How beautiful that is for a parent to watch their child begin to wrestle with difficult, and even abstract concepts, and start to grasp them for the first time.

In the Gospel for tomorrow I feel that is why Jesus is rejoicing.  Seventy of his missionaries have just returned filled with excitement at the success of their mission.  "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!"   How amazing that must be?  How powerful and exciting to see the Lord move through miracles that make his presence evident in the world.  Yet, Jesus reminds them that it isn't these loud showy things that they should be excited about, but their salvation.  How often is it that we want that though?  We want the flash.  We want the bang.   We want to see the mountains move.  We want the fourth of July.  Jesus wants to give us Easter though.  As Elijah found on the top of the mountain, God wasn't in the lightning.  He wasn't in the earth quake.  Not in the thunder or the flame.  He was in the stillness, in the quite whispering wind of the Spirit.

Notice that phrase at the start of the Gospel?  Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. That's what we should be asking to do as well.  That's the beauty of having the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We don't need the flashy.  We don't need the speaking in tongues, or the shouting Amen, though these things can be beautiful if done correctly.   We don't need the falling out in the spirit, or the miraculous healings, though those too are beautiful and wonderful.  Rather we rejoice in just being filled with God.  Just his presence in our hearts gives us joy.  All the rest is just icing on the cake. 

The disciples got to see something that the Prophets and Kings of old desired to see.  They got to see the Kingdom of God before them, the Messiah standing in their presence.  For centuries the people of God had been longing for this moment, to come face to face with God made man.  Many didn't see him.  Many ignored him, or thought him to not be doing the right things.  The simple, trusting disciples were the ones who saw all of this come to pass.  They got to see Christ.  They got to see God and live. 

What about you?  Jesus says to us today as well, "do not rejoice in these miracles; but rather rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."  Again, he says "I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it."  Do you realize how blessed you are?  You get to see the risen Lord in the Eucharist every day you choose to do so.  Do you rejoice?  Or do you desire rather the flashy, explosive things.   Pray to the Holy Spirit that you too will rejoice in Christ's presence in your life.  That you will be filled with joy, not seeking the explosive manifestations of the spirit that sparkle and shine in the sky like the fourth of July.. but rather Easter.  That transformation that brings you from death to life.  If the explosions come?  Then rejoice.  If not?  Rejoice. 

Everlasting life is a more astounding miracle than anything we might see here in this world.   Rejoice!

His servant and yours,
Brian

Oh Happy Day?

This morning was absolutely horrible. Do you know the kind of day I'm talking about? Where everything seems like it's out to get you and even the furniture is on the attack? It all began with a nice alarm blaring in my ear... apparently for over 30 minutes. As I groggily hit the snooze button I happened to glance up and see that it was closer to 7 than it was to 6. Oh no, the kids aren't up! So I quickly rush down the hallway knocking on doors as I go, and move in to wake up Moira who still needs help getting ready. No one seems to be moving. Another round of knocking 3 minutes later as I look for breakfast, snacks, getting together my clothes, planning my shower etc.

Finally after 3 tries I hear movement in the rooms and Moira is stirring enough to start getting dressed. I run downstairs to find the clean clothes I had washed the night before, pull out my outfit and a shirt for Mo and back up the stairs I go. (by run I mean a fast hectic walk that reminds the stair well that if it moves up an inch, it can stub my toe with the best of them.) So here I am stumbling with a toe that's sure to be broken, trying not to drop the clothes, when a magical lego appears out of no where and embeds itself into my flesh. Score 2 for the inanimate invaders and nothing for the dad who is running late.

My head begins to overwhelm me as I remember all things I'm supposed to do today. I need to get Moira ready, I need to get her to the bus stop, I need a shower, the dog needs to be walked before I leave, the clothes need to be put into the washer, the dishes need to be started, I need to help Butch at the church rewire some lights, it's almost time for Mass, then the prayer group, then I need to work on some homework for class, a meeting tonight for the building and grounds... we gotta get moving I remind them in a voice that's entirely too loud, entirely too angry.

Sarah and Hannah run out the door, their bus is running in less than a minute. Moira points to the basket and says "uh oh, Sarah forgot her project." Another thing in my head, a new object crams it's way into things to do... How am I going to get that to her at school? Someone is blowing their horn in the driveway, and I call back (by call I mean yell irritatingly that someone has invaded my introverted space again) 'Your ride is here!' This is followed by a slowly shuffling teenager who takes her time and calls out as if they can hear through the closed door 'I'm coming.' I begin to get irritated and mention that she should hurry, which is followed by a 'I am' as the shuffling sloth like creature begins to put on her shoes.

It all begins to bubble over as she has left and I look to see where Moira is.. and she's in the bathroom. So I knock and remind, we gotta go your bus is going to run. Followed by another 3 knocks in what seems like 10 minutes of time.. when actually it was probably about 10 seconds apart. Finally she opens the door and I notice in horror she doesn't even have her shoes on, her hairs not brushed, and I have less than a minute for the bus to run. I tell her "MOVE!" and she does, she runs into the living room, dancing around in all four cardinal directions as if she was a compass out of control, trying to find her shoes. Dear God help me, she doesn't even know where they are! So we frantically look, and my phone rings. My wife is on the other end reminding me that 'Sarah needs her project for school she left it.' I snap at her, she doesn't deserve that. I hear the air break release on the bus.. we missed it.

Ah, how wonderful a day eh? You may think I'm complaining, and maybe in a way I am. Actually, this morning was beautiful. I didn't realize that when I woke up. When my toe was throbbing I was angry. When my kids weren't moving fast enough, I was irritated to no end.   When my phone rang and sang 'Oh Happy Day' to me, I was angry that it interrupted my space. When the horn beeped in the driveway I was irritated for the occupants in the vehicle who kept beeping every few seconds to remind someone they were here. How do we miss all the things in there that are from God? As I was 'stomping' my way on foot to take Moira to school, a small wind blew through my mind and God reminded me in that still small voice "It's not about YOU."

Dumbfounded. That's the word I would describe me as I stopped mid track.   As I stood there on the sidewalk and Moira caught up to me and I realized I had made my day all about me. I apologized to her for being frazzled and we walked together and she began to talk to me. She began to point out this house or that, this flower or that, this bus and where it was going, etc. I realized she hadn't been talking.. how could she? We were walking at the fastest pace my broken body can handle, and I wasn't really giving her a chance to see anything.

I took her to school, and we got there before the bell rang and I began to walk on towards the other school to drop off the project. At this point I'm not in a hurry anymore. A friend stops and asks if I need a ride, my mind for a second says 'you can still make it to mass, you can make it to work on the lights, forget the project, get in and go!'  I realize quickly that in doing that my friend who is lector for daily mass today would miss it if she gave me a ride. Thanks, but I'm gonna be a while I say, and tell her to go on. It's not about me.  It's now about God.  I need to spend more time listening. So I walk on.

So I open my eyes around me. The barking dogs yapping at me, the squirrels and their nuts, the trees and their blossoms and fading flowers, the elderly gentleman walking his pup, the birds in the trees, and the wind in the leaves. I walk on and back home, all the while thinking what a blessing I had this morning. The bible warns us in sacred scripture that our tongue has the power to curse and bless, and it should only be blessing. Jesus also reminds us that what comes out of our heart is what makes a man unclean. With that in mind, our thoughts can be a blessing and a curse too, they can take a moment in which we can see the finger prints of God... and instead we see only the dust. (Think of a CSI show, how they dust the surfaces to find finger prints.. our lives are dust... but if we look at where the ashes fall, we can find the finger prints of God on the surface.)

Curse: I woke up this morning to a blaring alarm clock.
Blessing: I woke up.

Curse: No one is up yet.
Blessing: Everyone was soundly asleep and resting.

Curse: having to get clean clothes from downstairs
Blessing: we have clothes.

Curse: Moira doesn't have her shoes on.
Blessing: We get to walk together and chat this morning.

Curse: Sarah forgot her project.
Blessing: I get to serve my family by living my vocation, I can take it to her.

Curse: the phone rings interrupting me
Blessing: the phone serenades me with 'Oh Happy Day' followed by the melodic beauty of my wife's voice.


We forget that everyday life sanctifies us. Living our vocation, our calling, can be the most holy thing we can do.. if we allow it to be such. We parents are called to serve. We often think of service as only when we go to church to wire a light, clean a floor, or lector at the Ambo. But service includes those at home as well. We often treat them worse than we would a complete stranger. We are hypocrites. Everyone of us. But we can do better. We can do it one day at a time. One blessing at a time. One walk at a time.

In Christ,
Brian

A personal relationship

I hear this phrase being thrown around a lot. It's very interesting to see how that people use it to mean something a bit different than what it really says. A personal relationship simply means a relationship between two people.  All relationships are personal relationships, no matter how many people are involved. But that isn't how it is being used. I find it is being used to say "My relationship is with God, not with you." I find it is being used to say I don't need to agree with you, or with the Bible, or with anything that anyone else believes; only with God.

There is a problem with that logic though, because God is not just a personal God, but a communal God. Let me try to give an example from my own life that will show what I mean. Back before my wife and I ever started dating we had a circle of friends, and then we had our 'own' friends. Our personal friends. Now one of those friends, a female friend of mine, decided that she did not like my wife to be. As far as I know my wife never did anything to her, but regardless of the story in the background, suffice it to say that this lady didn't like the woman I was marrying.

Now that's fine. She doesn't have to like her, but this is my wife we are talking about. As a Christian I am to love my wife as Christ loves the church. This 'friend' of mine decided to inform me that I could still hang out with her, but I couldn't bring my wife. That I could come visit her alone, but never with my family. There is a problem with that. I am part of that family. That is my wife. Those are my children. They come with me. They are a part of me. You don't want my wife around? Then I won't be around either.

Maybe that seems cold. Maybe. I am human after all. How can I say though that I love my wife, if I am willing to go hang out with someone who can't stand her, who bad mouths her, and simply choose that friendship over defending my wife. We cannot. Anytime we allow someone to demean someone in our presence that we love, and do not stand up for them, then we cannot say we truly love them. And oh how many times in our lives we have done just that?

So back to the topic at hand, a personal relationship. How can one claim to love Jesus, but not His body, the church? It's the exact same thing as saying to a husband, you can come but don't bring your wife... they are one person after all. (Ephesians 5:31) The same with Jesus.  You cannot divorce his body, and then claim to love him. You cannot take part of him, you must take all of him, body and soul, blood and divinity. Christianity is not a singular relationship between only you and God, but it's a family. That's what a covenant bond is.

You are part of the Family. That means you spend time with them, even if you don't like them. Our society is slowly eroding the family unit, the family structure in general. In the case of our spiritual family, we cannot simply walk away and pretend they are no longer one of us. God is who determines who is in our family and who isn't. It's not our job to do that. It's our job to live up to that family obligation. To love one another. To serve one another. To have a personal relationship not just with God, but with each other!

His servant and yours;
Brian

The Bars of Life

I thought he was gone,

This prisoner of war. 

In the dark night of the soul

A personal Darfur

An angry, dark man

Seeking for that happy day

Tripping down the ladder

Falling along the way

Thought to be in control

Truly tis but a myth

With St. Paul I cry out

My soul a vile pith

That I know to do

That I do not

A darkness creeps in

My essence of rot

There he is again

The man I thought I lost

A super hero, invisible

A heart of frost

Seeking freedom from this prison of sin

Found only in the word of the Lord

But truly as our Master has said

Tis a painful two edged sword. 

Are you ready? Are you sure?

A documentary I just watched talked about the beatitudes. How that each one called us to a further detachment from the world, and a radical attachment to God. Then it spoke about how happiness, true happiness, was doing God's will... All of that I believe and have thought of on some level...  In fact, detachment is such an appropriate word for how we as exiled children of God should see this world.

I believe sincerely that God created each man with a spiritual void in his heart, one that can only be filled when we are in communion with our God. Just like those little blocks we had as kids, with the ball or cube that had a hole for each one. The star went in the star shaped hole, the block went in the block shaped hole, the triangle in the triangle shaped, etc. We as humans often try to fill that hole with something other than God.. and just like when we were kids sometimes we could shove the triangle into the square shaped hole.. but it had to be beaten in.. and it never stayed comfortably. Sometimes we even had to dig and pry to get them back out.

Thomas Aquinas said there were four attachments in this world that we usually try to fill the void of God in our hearts with. Wealth, pleasure, power and honor. Four of the beatitudes (the negative ones) deal directly with those four things.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3) (wealth)

This one reminds us to not be attached to material things. It is not necessarily a call to radical poverty, nor a demonization of wealth. It is though a reminder that love for money is an evil, and that we must have the right attitude with money. We must be detached from it so that if we are blessed with it, we can reach out and bless others with it. We must have a radical gratitude that makes us want to share that blessing with others. Not so very common in our society.

“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4) (pleasure)

Here again we see a powerful call to detachment! A detachment from pleasure. So often we think that we have to be comfortable, we have to be happy all the time. We then go out and try to take things in this world and make them make us happy. This doesn't mean that we have to be dour and taciturn, on the contrary, it means that when we are detached from personal pleasure we can begin to see pleasure in our lives by doing things for others, and by serving God. That we can be happy, comforted even, when we are suffering! That we can follow the will of God, even when it means suffering, without fear but with joy!

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land” (Matthew 5:5) (power)

Ah, in this video by Fr. Barron he described this in such a powerful way. That only when we are weak do we truly have power! Only when we are detached from wordly power, when we are meek indeed, can we get out of the way of God and let him work through us. As he phrased it, free from the addiction to ordinary power — you can become a conduit of true divine power to the world.  Think about that for a moment... we, mere humans, can become a conduit of grace into the world. When we are no longer seeking power... we then can be channels for divine power... wow!

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10) (honor)

The most difficult at all, at least from my perspective. It seems like society calls out to us to have 'honor'. They tell us to strive our best, to always come in first! Our society is so consumed with the concept of honor, that we even give trophies to the ones who come in last or ribbons to those who don't even try. How wonderful a person we must be when we can forget honor, forget reocgnition, forget our own personal comforts and desires.. and put God first? When we can go do whatever God asks, even when that path involves being ignored, dishonored, and, at the limit, persecuted


All of that above is powerful! It's amazing in it's simplicity! It points to Christ as our ultimate example. It's all something that I have pondered in my own words already in my life, though not as vividly or as beautifully as he phrased it. It was the next part of the video that blew me away. The next part that challenged me to be a better Catholic.. to be a better human being. I know we must be detached. I know we must put things in their right context and put God first... but look at this image:

Fr. Barron then contended that the man on the cross, is the ultimate example of the beatitudes. I have  for the last few years of study always concluded that Jesus was indeed the way to live the beatitudes.. his life, what he stood for, his words.. his actions.. But the image in my mind was always the 'happy' Jesus. The laughing man surrounded by children, the loving man breaking bread for 5000+, the praying man with his head covered in linen... all of these was the Jesus who was living the beatitudes to me...

But there he is.. the man.. the God... completely detached from all things. Wealth? He doesn't even have clothing! Power? He's nailed to a cross, he can't even move to defend himself... Pleasure? If you've seen the Passion of the Christ you and both know there can be no pleasure on the cross.. his broken body bleeding out, his torn flesh pressed against the splintering wood! His lungs gasping for breath, forcing him to pull himself upwards to breath.. all the while pulling his nerves against the nails of his hands... His worn and aching body hanging in the sun.. with nothing to drink, no comfort to be had.. no pleasure.. Honor? The soldiers were mocking him, he had been spit on, beaten and bloodied. He was suffering the death reserved for the most heinous of criminals.. for the murderers, rapists, and scoundrels. There was no honor in the cross.. at least on the surface...

So this man here had nothing left. He had none of the four shapes to drive into the God shaped hole in his heart, in his flesh.. but he didn't need it.. because there he hung on the cross.. doing the will of God.. He didn't need any of that, because the flesh that was human just like yours and mine, the human heart that needed something in it to be complete, that part of all of our human flesh that calls out to God for completion... was already complete... he already had God in his heart.. not just because he was God.. but because this man, this messiah... gave his flesh over completely to God's will.

There he hangs.. on the cross. A happy man... Are we strong enough to be happy? Are we strong enough to go through whatever it takes? Will we hang on the cross and stretch our arms out for love of God and one another? Will we respond to God's call until we have nothing left but love in our hearts?

The next time you go to the Eucharist, picture for a moment that what you are about to hold in your hands is that man, that God, who died such a horrible death.. with happiness in his heart.. not because of his contentment.. not because of his wealth, his power, or his honor.. all of which he could have had... all of which he had been offered!!! No the happiness in his heart was for YOU!   He is there with open arms, offering himself for all eternity for you and me. Will you accept that call? Will you in turn walk forward and give yourself completely to him? Will you once again take that oath as you place God in your body? That is what we are called to do... Are you ready for that? I pray I am ready. I pray not only that I am ready for it each time I step forward.. but that God will make me ready for it, and that he will help me to strive to live the life that he calls me to live!

His servant, and yours.

Brian