The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Today we observe the Feast of All Souls, commemorating all the faithful departed. Our society has a tendency to deny the reality and inevitability of death. Most advertising we see focuses on the vitality of youth, trying to sell us anything that will make us look, feel and stay young and alive. Like Juan Ponce de Leon, we seem to be on a never-ending quest for the Fountain of Youth. This feast brings us back to earth as it reminds us of our mortality. Our physical bodies will die eventually no matter how hard we try to stay young. However, as Christians we believe that death is not “The End.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “the souls of all who die in Christ's grace . . . are the People of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be definitively conquered, when these souls will be reunited with their bodies"(CCC 1052).

In today’s gospel, John 6:37-4040, Jesus tells us that “this is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” Yet, God gives all of us free will. We make our own choices even as we die. We can choose to “die in Christ’s grace,” or we can choose to reject God and, like many of the subjects in St. Matthew’s parables, be cast into the darkness “where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” If you are reading this Pastor’s Desk, I think it is safe to assume that you want to die in Christ’s grace. The great monk and mystic Thomas á Kempis said, “Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience … then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren’t fit to face death today, it is very unlikely you will be tomorrow” (The Imitation of Christ, 1, 23, 1).

Each time we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass we pray for those who have died and gone before us marked with the sign of faith. And when we pray the Rosary, we ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Praying for those who are dying or have died is a great act of love. We all need prayer. So today as we remember our departed family members and friends, let us pray for them.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed,

Through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Merciful Father,

Hear our prayers and console us.

As we renew our faith in your son,

Whom you raised from the dead,

Strengthen our hope

That all our departed brothers and sisters

Will share in his resurrection,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever.

AMEN

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today's gospel, Luke 18: 9-14, we hear another parable about prayer.  Last Sunday we reflected on the importance of persistence in prayer.  Today in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus directs our thoughts towards our attitude about prayer.  Prayer is our primary means of communicating with God and how we pray reflects our relationship with God.  When we pray, most of us thank God for all the graces and gifts we receive and we ask for healing, understanding, patience or for whatever we believe we lack or need.  Sometimes we try to tell God what to do.  But I believe the majority of us recognize that God is bigger than we are, that God already knows all our needs and that we depend on God for everything.  Prayer is our way of placing our needs before God and trusting that God in his goodness will meet them. 

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector presents two people with very different relationships with God.  In the “normal” world, the Pharisee should be our model of devotion and the tax collector should be the “villain.”  However, we are not in the “normal” world.  We are in the Kingdom of God. And in this kingdom, everything is different.  Although the Pharisee is devout, practicing his faith to the letter of the law, he also is arrogant and proud.  He knows that he is “not like the rest of humanity” (Luke 18:11).  He is BETTER than the rest of humanity.  Not only is he better than the rest of us, he does not need God.  With his inflated sense of self-worth, he has no room for a relationship with God, he prays to himself and so he is not “justified” in the Kingdom.

In the Israel of the New Testament era, few people were more despised than tax collectors.  They were Roman collaborators and often they were corrupt.  When the tax collector in the parable approaches the Temple to pray, he stands at a distance, with downcast eyes and prays, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).  That is the extent of his prayer and that is the prayer God heard.  The tax collector knew where he stood with God.  He recognized and acknowledged his own sinfulness. He is “justified” in the kingdom.   Therefore, Jesus presents the tax collector to us as our role model for faithful prayer. 

During your prayer time this week, remember the humble tax collector whose prayer was heard.  And remember what Sirach teaches us, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay” (Sirach 35:17-18).

Merciful God,
you assure us that the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds.
Look upon us who come before you,
humble and repentant like the tax collector,
and grant that, as we open our hearts
we may trust in your steadfast love and mercy.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

 

Precious Trials

Then Why Don't We Pray

The highest privilege ever afforded to humans is the power of prayer.

... then why don't we pray?

The right to talk to the highest power in all the universe...
... then why don't we pray?

The most powerful force accessible to people is the potential of prayer...
... then why don't we pray?

The greatest longing in the heart of God is to talk to His children...
... then why don't we pray?

Nothing is impossible to those who pray...
... then why don't we pray?

No one ever failed or faltered who gave himself to prayer...
... then why don't we pray?

Every sin is forgiven, every stain is washed clean, all guilt diminished to the one who prays...
... then why don't we pray?

Hell moves farther away, Satan flees from the one who prays...
... then why don't we pray?

Anointing will come, mountains will be moved, valleys made smooth, rivers made crossable, the inaccessible made accessible, the impossible made possible, dreams come true to the one who prays...
... then why don't we pray?

Jesus said that men ought always to pray...
... then why don't we pray?

Paul encouraged prayer without ceasing...
... then why don't we pray?

The riches of heaven are open to those who pray in His name...
... then why don't we pray?

Everyone can pray, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the child, the aged, the sinner, the prisoner, in any nation, in any language, all people can pray...

... then why don't we pray?

Train of Life

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and believed they would always travel at our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. 

As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. Our siblings, friends, Children, and even the love of our life. 

Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize that they vacated their seats!  This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, good-byes, and farewells.

A Successful journey consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way - love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty - we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

~ Jean d'Ormesson

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When are you most likely to pray?  Is it when life is going well or when the rug has been pulled out from under you?  For many people prayer comes easily when everything in life is going their way but when disaster strikes, they shut down.  For other people when life is running smoothly, they become complacent and forget about their relationship with God.  However, when things go wrong, they are down on their knees in a nanosecond imploring God to make things right again.   Our approach to prayer says a lot about our relationship with God. 

For the next two weeks St. Luke directs our thoughts towards prayer.  Today’s Gospel, the Parable of the Persistent Widow and the Corrupt Judge (Luke 18:1–8), is about perseverance in prayer.  In this humorous story a corrupt judge who has no fear of God or respect for any human being is badgered by a poor widow who finally gets what she wants because the judge is afraid she will give him a black eye.   It would be easy to interpret this parable as encouragement to nag God until we get what we want.  However, the corrupt judge is nothing like God.  Jesus uses the judge as an example of what God isn’t.  God does not respond to us out of fear, frustration or cowardice.  God cannot be manipulated by our wants or our whims.  God responds to us out of love; a love so great we cannot begin to comprehend its vastness.  Imagine, if a self-serving, corrupt and amoral judge can be swayed by a widow’s plea for justice, how much more our loving and generous God responds to us. 

The heroine of this parable is the persistent widow.  As a poor widow, her survival depended on a just decision, which she finally got.  But if we stop at this point in the parable, we totally miss the punch line.  Which is “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  This question brings us back to our approach to prayer.   Prayer requires discipline and perseverance.  It is a habit we must cultivate because the more we pray (in good times and in bad times) the closer we come to God.  More often than not when we pray our situations don’t change but we change.  Through prayer we stand a chance of seeing the hand of God working in our lives and then we can pray that perfect prayer “Thy will be done.” 

Lord God,
tireless guardian of your people,
always ready to hear the cries of your chosen ones,
teach us to rely, day and night, on your care.
Support us in our prayer lest we grow weary.  
Grant that we will always seek your enduring justice
and your ever-present help.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

Be Aware of Giving ....

Be aware of giving from a desire to feel good about ourselves, rather than from a place of connection to all people.

When we see a person in need, we may want to give them something as a way of helping them, but if we give without taking the time to see who they really are, honoring that most of all, our gift is nowhere near as powerful as it could be. We may want to give a homeless person a sandwich, for example, but if we give it without also taking a moment to look the person in the eye, making authentic contact, we rob them of the experience of being human.

Being in a position of need leaves a lot of people feeling vulnerable and full of self-doubt. The greatest gift we can give is to meet people in need without judgment and with the awareness that we are not superior to them simply because we are not currently in their position. If we take the long view, we can see that we all began life in need of a lot of care and attention, and many of us end life in the same way. Giving and receiving are companion energies that take turns throughout our lives, and we all get a chance to be on both sides of the exchange from time to time.

It's important to be aware of our own tendency to give from a desire to feel good about ourselves, rather than from an acknowledgement of our connection to all people. Letting go of our self-importance allows us to see that, regardless of appearances, we are all givers and receivers. When we are in the position of the giver, we honor those we are helping when we remember the many people who have helped us. Then we can look the person we are helping in the eye, aware that we are making contact with a human being who is our equal.

A little girl was sitting on the lap of her grandfather. For the first time, the child was really giving her grandfather the once-over. She examined his wrinkled skin, and his gray hair. "Grandfather," she asked him, "did God make you?" "Sure, sweetheart." Then she looked at herself. Smooth skin. Blonde hair. "Grandfather, did God make me?" "Absolutely!" he answered." There was a moment of silence while she thought about the differences between the two of them. "Grandfather," she asked, "don't you think God's doing a better job than He used to?"

Five Fingers

A mother put her son to bed on the eve of his fifth birthday. She was trying to communicate that birthday idea to him. "Kevin," she said, "this is the last night of your fourth night. Do you understand that?" Kevin was ready to communicate with his hands. For a full year, he had shown people four fingers for his four years, and now he was ready to add a thumb. Seeing his four fingers, his mother nodded, and said: "When you go to sleep tonight, you'll still be 4-years-old. But do you know how old you'll be in the morning, when you wake up?" Kevin nodded enthusiastically, added his thumb to his four little fingers and said, "Tomorrow, I'll be a handful!

Measuring Generosity

 

Choose Your Outlook

Unlike some things in life, we can choose our outlook. Sometimes we just need a reminder that happiness can often simply be a result of choosing attitudes:

"I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

"Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

"Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

"Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

"Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

"Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

"Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

"Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

"Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

"Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because God has provided shelter for my mind, body, and soul.

"Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me.

"I get to choose what kind of day I will have!"

The End is Near

A priest and a deacon are standing by the side of a road holding up a sign that reads “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

A passing driver yells, “You guys are nuts!” and speeds past them. From around the curve, they hear screeching tires—then a big splash.

The priest turns to the deacon and says, “Do you think we should just put up a sign that says ‘Bridge Out’ instead?​

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings present two powerful stories about faith, healing, gratitude and salvation.  In the first story from the Book of 2 Kings, Naaman, an Aramean army commander, travels to Israel seeking Elisha because he believes that the prophet can cure his leprosy.  And in the second story from Luke 17:11-19, ten lepers cry out to Jesus asking for healing. 

Elisha didn't even bother to come out of his house or see Naaman.  He merely sent Naaman a message, "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean" (2 Kings 5:10).  Naaman, insulted and angry but obedient, followed Elisha's instructions and "his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean" (2 Kings 5:14).  Healed and humbled, Naaman and his whole retinue returned to Elisha in gratitude offering the prophet a great treasure of gold and silver.  But Elisha refused the gift.  Although Naaman was a rich and powerful man, neither his wealth nor his power could influence Elisha or purchase his health.  His humble, obedient faith saved him and Naaman went home a firm believer in the God of Israel.

The ten lepers who approached Jesus had an experience similar to Naaman's.  They asked Jesus to heal them and he did without any fanfare or dramatic effects.  They didn't even have to wash in the Jordan River.  With the simple words, "Go show yourselves to the priests" Jesus healed all of them.  However, in this story only one of the lepers recognized the magnitude of what happened.  This leper, a Samaritan, did not have any gold or silver to offer Jesus, he was poor and vulnerable.  All he had was his faith in Jesus and overwhelming gratitude.  He returned to Jesus " glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him" (Luke 17:15-16).  For his faith, the Samaritan leper received the gift of healing.  For his gratitude, he received a gift greater than physical healing; he received salvation.

During this next week, let’s show our gratitude to God by remembering to thank Him each day for the gift of life, for the gift of our families, for the gift of our friends, for the gift of our health and mostly for the gift of His love and for the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ won for us. 

O God, our life, our health, our salvation,
look with mercy on your people.
Stir up within us a saving faith,
that believing, we may be healed,
and being healed, we may worthily give you thanks.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

AMEN

Reflection: Luke 17:6

Luke 17:6 - The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked.

The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.

We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith?

Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way.​

St. Francis of Assisi

"And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God. In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living."

For in this way our Lord is ever present among those who believe in him, according to what He said: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." (Mt. 28, 20)

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Respect Life Sunday

Today, the first Sunday of October, we celebrate Respect Life Sunday and the beginning of Respect Life Month. During the month of October, Catholics in 196 dioceses across the United States will gather in prayer and thanksgiving to give public witness to the unique and priceless value of every human life. This year's Respect Life theme is, “Life: Our Sign of Hope.” This theme reflects the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope. Through the gift of our Baptism, Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be a member of his body thereby, demonstrating the invaluable dignity of the human person. This mystery invites us to be witnesses to the hope of the resurrection by promoting and defending the precious gift of life

The world we live in is a violent place. Our modern society seems to revel in violence and the culture of death. We can't escape it. Like the prophet Habakkuk in today’s first reading, we could cry out, “’Violence!’ but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery”? Although we may not personally experience violence, we are confronted with it in films, on television and radio, in our newspapers and in the music, we listen to every day. If we were to believe what we see and hear, we could conclude that Life, which the gospels teach us to cherish, is cheap and readily disposable to the rest of the world.

As Catholics, we believe that all human life is sacred. We believe in the dignity of each and every human being without exception. Every day each of us has to decide if we will live the Gospel message of love. And then we have to put that love into practice in our homes, schools, workplaces, and in public.

I invite all of you to pray every day that God will transform our culture from a culture of violence and death to a culture that cherishes life.

 

A Prayer for Hope

Heavenly Father, in the sacrament of Baptism,

you have given us the gift of new life.

Through your son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit,

you have made us your own.

Help us to recognize the gift of human life as a sign of hope in our world.

Reveal to us the places where your precious gift of life

is most in need of protection

and strengthen us to defend life in all stages and circumstances,

from the child in the womb to the elderly and dying.

Guided by your Holy Spirit,

guard us from discouragement

and give us the grace to be messengers of hope,

filled with confidence that nothing can separate us from your love.

Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

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