July 1st Reflection

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MOVE:

For today's reflection, please link to the first of the links in the right column of the blog page. Prayer on the Hill
Thank you.

June 30, 2008

In the gospel reading for today's liturgy, we read that Jesus wants to cross over a body of water to get away from the crowd.

He gives us two thoughts: no place to rest his head and leave the dead for others to bury. What meaning is there for us in his teaching?

First, let's consider why he wants to leave the crowd. The impact of the crowd deprives him of needed quiet time. What is the crowd in my life? Always being busy? Letting people or things distract me?

Now to the thoughts. Both suggest a freedom from something or someones. But suggest we consider what distractions challenge our spiritual life, some time for prayer. Having no place to rest his head ultimately suggests freedom from material worries that might impact our lives. Not dealing with the dead could easily suggest that we need to be free of what no longer offers us life.

The reading forces us to ask: Do we truly understand the significance of our spiritual journey, a bit of traveling that we should embark on each day? If I cannot be free of things and persons that are not good for me nor that which no longer gives me life, do I really understand the spiritual life that God has called me to follow?

Can I write down in just a simple sentence what I believe God wants me to do? Read that sentence several times and then ask, "Am I willing to live that life?"

NEW ADDRESS

Hello, again. Moving has been less than enjoyable, as you can imagine. However, each day I find items that escaped my memory.

The new name for the blog site is Prayer on the Hill. The address for the blog site is as follows:

http://prayeronthehill.blogspot.com/.

It is my intention to close down the DC OLV HAPPENINGS within a week. So, a word to the wise ....

St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill

313 Second Street, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-547-1223

www.st-josephs.org

Raymond Honda: Change in Funeral Arrangements

Raymond died sometime Friday evening, June 6th. His body was not discovered until Sunday afternoon. During the terrible heat of that weekend, Ray's body lie on the floor. The consequence of this was significant decomposition of his body.

After discussion with the family, it was decided that there will not be a wake on Friday evening, as mentioned at the recent weekend Masses. His body will be transferred to New Jersey for burial with his wife, his parents and two predeceased brothers.

THE FUNERAL MASS WILL BE, AS ANNOUNCED, AT 10:00 AM on Saturday morning at our parish church, Our Lady of Victory Church, 4835 MacArthur Blvd., NW, DC, 20007, which truly was this man's home.

RIP: Raymond Honda

This is a difficult announcement to make to you.

One of the genuine pillars of our Lady of Victory Parish has died.

Ray Honda was found dead in his apartment on Sunday evening. Apparently he had died earlier during his sleep.

More information will be made public as soon as Ray's family has time to absorb the surprise information. He had not shared with him that he had had a recent angioplasty or that the had not felt well for the last two months.

All of us who work at the parish know how many different ways Ray Honda worked for all of us in the parish. The parish and the Knights of Columbus were his life. The parish and the Knights were his love.

Let us remember Ray in our prayers. I know it will seem unusual not seeing him taking care of the ushers, making the weekly Mass count, hearing him say "Places" to get everyone ready for the procession into the church at the beginning of each Mass.

Here is the big surprise: Ray Honda was 79 years old! Who would have guessed that!

Here's a significant reflection: Imagine how many people's lives Ray Honda has touched in his life here at OLV. Can one candle light the world? Well, we know this: one man surely lit up a parish with his love and devotion.

God, we entrust to you our beloved brother, Raymond. He was a man who believed in his baptismal promises to follow your Son, Jesus, as he lived his life --- service to your people. We can only imagine what a wonderful reunion there must have been for Ray and his beloved wife.
He truly was our brother ... he cared for us. We are confident he is with you. Thank you for the gift of his life in the life of our parish. Eternal rest grant unto him, Lord.

Suspending My Campaing!!!

To adopt a few words from the contemporary scene, I am notifying you, faithful reader, that I will be suspending the posting of reflections until the week of June 23rd! At the present time, wrapping up affairs at Our Lady of Victory parish and moving my belongings to St. Joseph's Parish and a few days away for vacation, I will not be publishing.

Effective the 25th of June, I will be serving the Church in Washington DC just a few blocks from the Capitol building as a Senior Priest at St. Joseph's Parish. I will resume the reflections ... with a new title that is yet to be determined ... but not until you have been notified of the new title. So, the recent birthday picture serves a good purpose with the change of name and assignment.

Enjoy the respite. I look forward to the return with you.

Fr. Milt Jordan

Reflection: June 6, 2008

Testing has always been a part of every person’s life: not only in the qualitative or quantitative aspects of life. Our faith is often tested by our culture ... and, I suspect, that has always been God’s plan for humanity. Today’s gospel event recounts that even Jesus was tested and also tested others. More often than not the test was about the content of his preaching, his teaching his followers about the Father’s will. He was always speaking out, always promoting the kingdom of God which was not the same as the Roman Empire. He was not afraid to teach his faith, as we might say.

In just three short verses, Jesus not only plays the role of the Scribes themselves. He does it with a sense of humor. He seeks to understand how they, the Scribes, interpret how an ancestor of King David could be David’s lord. How could a relative of David, the great king, rule over David?

The crowd was delighted to see the Scribes defeated at their own game. The followers of Jesus had come to see that the kingdom of God was not at all like the kingdom of Caesar. They realized that the rejected stone would become the cornerstone. The one to be crucified as a criminal is to be our salvation.

Our defending our faith, when we are called up to do so, is not different. That is the challenge of our baptism.

Yesterday’s entrance into silence and solitude were presented for prayerful consideration because the usual summer schedule usual lends itself to some relaxed time. As for Jesus and ourselves, the journey into silence can be frightening because we know we have to surrender control for a short time. Prayer in silence is a challenge because we have to acknowledge that God is the initiator in the spiritual life. His is the invitation to sit quietly, waiting and listening.

Isn’t there a genuine fear that we are not suitable, not fit for God that underlies some of the challenge of silently waiting to "hear" God in prayer? Don’t we back away because for whatever reason we are afraid God might not become involved with us? Perhaps, for some, there is a genuine lack of trust in God. What I desire might not become a reality. When we can come before God with trust, we are springing from the diving board. We allow ourselves a true free fall. When we trust, God will be with us in silence and solitude. We will there find the experience of genuine intimacy.

In those moments of intimacy with God, we stand before the true object of all our desires. And, as well, we stand in total vulnerability. We are willing to allow God the right to direct us where he wants to lead us. Here we encounter the greatest challenge of prayer and the spiritual life. It is as if we spring from the diving board and remain in suspended animation, as if we are like a kicked football with an extraordinary amount "hang time." The fears we might have, the demons that surface in our hearts and minds, accomplish a remarkable transformative power. Seeing these fears which can overcome us, also can assure us that we are soon to discover, as never before, something truer or stronger than our fears: the yearning in our hearts for genuine intimacy with God.

Monday Reflection: June 2, 2008

Today's readings are an opportunity to consider the value of virtue that we can add to our faith. The selection from the Second Letter of St. Peter specifically instructs the hearers and readers "to supplement your faith with virtue."

One way we can supplement our faith is to work at seriously become more familiar with silence, especially the silence that comes through prayer and solitude.

When Jesus went off into the wilderness -- those days of prayer -- he found himself confronting the demons that tried to distract him with temptations. For most of us there is something about our world that blocks our efforts to feel comfortable with silence. There is a very human reaction to silence. Perhaps it may be likened to the person on the diving board for the first time --- even if the board is only a few feet above the water's surface. That first dive is long in coming because there is an fear that one spring off the board and control is lost. The moments of the small, preparatory jumps that do not result in the final springing into the air and falling into water are much like the hesitation that challenge one's experiences at the doorway to silence.

When life is busy, most often the encounter with silence "involves slamming to a screeching halt" (Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation to Solitude and Silence). So many concerns of daily work and living weigh down on us. This burden of what you cannot touch becomes so real as we think about entering into prayerful quiet. Modern humanity it seems is so afraid of solitude. We know that we are going to encounter our own demons from the past there. So often fears spring up trying to keep us from crossing the silence threshold.

More is to come about the fears or challenges of entering solitude. Enough for today. Suffice it to give thought to this: adding virtue to our faith needs an openness to God and his voice that will become audible to us in the quiet when we surrender control of our lives.

Sunday Reflection: June 1, 2008

Words from Deuteronomy used in today's first reading:

"... take these words of mine into your heart and soul.... I sent before you here,m this day, a blessing and a curse: a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God .... a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God."

We read so much. We hear so much. Today our minds often are set upon multi-tasking that consideration of how we live our lives is often impossible. How often do you feel drawn to prayer only to realize that even getting a dinner is only a sandwich experience.

Last weekend we initiated the beginning of "summer". Memorial Day, remembering great personal sacrifices of dedicated armed forces, was always the first bookend of a collection of picnics, vacations and more relaxed times.

Perhaps these upcoming days are much more than a vacation time. Perhaps these next three months are a God-given experience for us to reflect on our own faith journeys. Summer freedom is often a time to become a wiser person who builds a house on solid rock.

During his recent visit to the USA, Pope Benedict called upon the American Bishops to make certain that prayer is a mainstay of their usually busy life. He reminded them how much their lives had to be built upon the solid rock of prayer. Our lives, also, need the reinforcement of prayer in our daily life.

As a priest, my life is challenges every day. I cannot image how challenged the life of married couples, especially with children is. And this is not to say that the single life is a bowl of cherries or a roof top place of easy living. We are, all of us forced to encounter rains, floods and winds that seem to overwhelm us.

So, sometime in spiritual reading and prayer -- even a daily Mass when possible -- all make for the building and strengthening of our faith, our relationship with God. Have you thought about how you can use the upcoming summer months to become a person of prayer?

Friday Reflection: Sacred Heart of Jesus 5 30 08

Today in our Church we celebrate the gift of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a solemn feast for us. Whence did this feast become a facet of our devotions? Surely most know about Sr. Margaret Mary Alacoque and relate her to this feast. However, this seventeenth century mystic is a second comer to the devotion. Four centuries earlier Saint Gertrude also brought the devotion to the public. The characteristic of St. Gertrude's piety is her devotion to the Sacred Heart, the symbol of that immense charity which urged the Word to take flesh, to institute the Holy Eucharist, to take on Himself our sins, and, dying on the Cross, to offer Himself as a victim and a sacrifice to the Eternal Father (Congregation of Rites, 3 April, 1825).

The devotion to the Sacred Heart seems to make some Catholics uncomfortable. Pictures of a heart, often surrounded by a corona of thorns bring about reactions. And here is an interesting thought for you today: as a priest, this blogger wonders why such symbolic pictures and devotions create upsetness. During the last year I was asked to officiate at several weddings. I was genuinely surprised that there were no reactions to "sights" that I encountered as many bride's maids or matrons came down the aisle almost flaunting their breasts. It was almost a show of mammary nudity. I recall one young "usher" about twelve years old, standing there, open-mouthed staring at one particular woman whose dress -- or the lack of it -- was showing entirely too much of "God's leather to the weather," as a Jesuit friend used to say in such circumstances. Yet, yet. No one said a word of uncomfortableness. Even when I ask older women at the reception if they had seen the "sights" and, if they did, what there reaction was. In every response, "Oh, that's the way they dress now." Sorry, hardly a suitable answer.

The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotional practice -- probably for very few -- that

can bring us closer to an understanding of the incredible love Jesus has given us in his own suffering. The following are two parts of a lengthier prayer to the Sacred Heart.

Divine Jesus, You have said, "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you." Behold me kneeling at Your feet, filled with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by Your Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary. I come to ask this favor: Mention your request).....Sacred Heart, whatever may be Your decision with regard to my request, I will never stop adoring, loving, praising, and serving You. My Jesus, be pleased to accept this my act of perfect resignation to the decrees of Your adorable Heart, which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all Your creatures forever.

Wednesday Reflection: May 28, 2008

We are back in Ordinary Time -- no great feast, no special Masses, etc. We have returned to the numbered Sundays and weeks of the Church's sometimes confusing calendar to the "ordinary" Catholic. With our focus turned from the great season of Easter and the several major feasts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we can take time to look at our lives and our faith.

Last Wednesday during his "ordinary" scheduled audience, Pope Benedict XVI used the occasion to offer us the opportunity to look at one aspect music in our Church. He brought forward the name of an "ancient" that surely 99% of the Roman Catholic world would hear and say "Who's that?"

Romanus was a man known as the "Melodist." Not Methodist, mind you! He was a 5th century Syrian. After studies and ordination to the Diaconate, he moved to Constantinople. There he began to produce his "kontakia." These were metrical hymns that were to be chanted. There are 89 such hymns that have survived the ages until now. These words and musical arrangements give us the opportunity to experience "the rich theological, liturgical and devotional content of the hymnography of that time" (Pope Benedict XVI).

Romanus was an accomplished catechist, the role of most (permanent) Deacons of that time. His major theme in his teaching was "the unity of God's saving plan revealed in Christ.... His hymns, steeped in Scripture, develop the teaching of the early Councils on the divinity of the Son, the mystery of the Incarnation, the person and role of the Holy Spirit, and the dignity of the Virgin Mary."

So, what should we understand about this man and his message to us in our "ordinary" time? Pope Benedict concluded his presentation about Romanus with an answer to our question. "Romanus shows us the power of symbolic communication which, in the liturgy, joins earth to heaven and uses imagery, poetry and song to lift our minds to God’s truth."

These words might help to understand why hymns are so important to our liturgies, so important to our personal devotional life. Each hymn is not simply a way to praise God and honor the saints. Each hymn is a story. Singing the verses, all of them, tells the "whole story."

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

The students at Maryland University seemed to have learned something not taught!!!!

THE SNEEZE
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears. This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families. One final speech received a standing ovation. ; A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!! The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, 'GOD BLESS YOU'. And he walked off stage. The audience exploded into applause. T his graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
GOD BLESS YOU!!!
This is a true story. It happened at the University of Maryland

Tuesday Reflection: May 27, 2008

Once again the call to be holy is put to us: "Be holy because I am holy." What could these words mean to us today, in our times, in our personal lives?

Just a few days ago, a young fellow spoke to me and in an off-handed way he remarked, "You know, padre, even thinking about being holy is not easy." And after a pause, he said, "As a matter of fact, it is downright frightening."

What a wonderful sense of awareness. I don't recall any line in the gospels or the writings of the prophets where we are told being holy is easy, growing into holiness is a a snap. Let's face it again, it is not easy to be a holy person today. HOWEVER, it is not impossible. Dr. Wayne Dyer's calendar reflection for today is very, very short but powerful: "Let go of your ego's need to be right."

To be holy means that I am willing to let go of the negative power in me. To be holy means that I am willing to take the time to listen to what God is calling me to do. It becomes real, holiness does, when I accept Jesus as the guide that I follow. When I turn my heart over to his call, this is when I begin to be what God wants of me.

So, how open am I to that exhortation to let go of my ego, my desire to define God as I want him to be? If I am continuing to call the shots, there is no way way holiness is going to become rooted in my life. Where do you stand?

Corpus Christi - Memorial Day Weekend Sunday

One of the most valued gifts God gave humankind when he created Adam and Eve was the part of us we call memory, that ability to bring back to mind, even in vivid colors, the past. With memory we can flavor our lives, just as salt or spices give that special taste to the meals we prepare. Memorial Day weekend reminds us of this gift as we recall the great sacrifices men and women of every nation have made to protect safeguard their lands and other allies from an enemy’s invasions.
In our country we should recall early wars that were fought in our own land to guarantee our first taste of freedom. As well we recall the loss of many valuable treasures in the lives of men and women who traveled to distant lands to guarantee that our freedom stood tall and strong. We remember the valiant who continued freedoms march at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Belleau Woods, Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue, Kandakar and many cities in Iraq. These are our heroes who we memorialize this 2008 Memorial Day weekend.
We have to recall these painful moments, these conquests, some losses, where freedom was challenged. If we do not remember these historical moments and the lives sacrificed, we will easily forget what has made us who and what we are as a nation. If we do not recall the sacrifices of our American troops and the parents and siblings who gave their sons, brothers and sisters on so many battlefield altars, we would need more than a Tomb for the Unknown. We would need monuments to Forgotten Treasures who we Americans are.
On the Memorial Day weekend, we Roman Catholics, located around the world, we remember the special gift of one man whose sacrifice on the altar of Mt. Calvary will always be remembered because he gave us himself, his Body and Blood not to be a one time conquest of evil but as a continued Presence for us in the Eucharist, his Body and Blood.
His offering for us and to us is not simply a memory. His sacrifice is presence for us in the bread and wine, through the mystery of sacramental grace, consecrated as his Body and Blood, as sustentation to travel through our bodies, our blood.
Today we remember and live in the mystery that sets us apart from every other religion. We are reminded in this feast day of Corpus Christ as it was named at it beginning that Jesus not only died for us but gave to us the gift of his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. It is his Real Presence not only in critical moments of need, in times of battle, but forever present to us in the consecrated bread and wine. What was and is should always be remembered and allowed to grow in our hearts and minds: The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ makes sacred mine and yours.

Saturday Reflection: May 24, 2008

The final verse in the first reading of today's liturgy from St. James' letter is a genuine gift for those who believe. Let me include that verse here.

My sisters and brothers,

if anyone among you

should stray from the truth

and someone bring him back,

he should know

that whoever brings back a sinner

from the error of his way

will save his soul from death

and will cover a multitude of sins.

What does it mean to bring back a sinner? Have you ever taken time to consider what that means for people who have been baptized, confirmed and taken the Body and Blood of Christ?

As a priest, my life at times has been an encounter with those who have strayed from the truth. And you who are part of the laity, you most like know well before a priest when a person has strayed. What can or should you do?

More recently the practice would be to pray for that person. Most of us would avoid making a positive effort to bring that person back to God. Most of us would fail in genuine fraternal charity!

James reminds us that "whoever brings back a sinner ... will save his should from death and will cover a multitude of sins." This is genuine charity. This is caring for another person's soul.

Why are we so frightened by the possibility of saving another's soul? Why are we afraid of being able to bring about such a blessing in another person's life?

Friday Reflection: May 23, 2008

James continues his moral teaching about ethical behavior. What he says is truly matter for an examination of one's conscience. Three points (a la Fr. Walter Burghardt!!!): we must not level judgements against others, secondly, when the going gets rough, persevere; and, lastly, "above all, do not swear."

Has anyone experienced a period in time when judgements are as abundant as they are in our times? Perhaps "talk radio" has to look at this ethical behavior. Listen each day for a week to many of the talk radio messages and the no so "hidden agendas" of the hosts! You will either become more judgemental than ever before or, on the more positive side, you will be happy that a week of torture is ended.

Perseverance is a difficult challenge today. We have become a softened people. We have become so accustomed to pushing a button to change a TV station or erase something on the computer screen. Setting up a program for personal betterment is so difficult because "stick-to-it-ness" is so challenging. We need to examine our strength again, our personal discipline. There is where perseverance becomes a reality!

Swearing has become so frequent in many conversations. Few people struggle to maintain an honest language. Who would expect a person of the first century to advise his followers "above all, do not swear"? Even our public TV stations invite watchers to remove language barriers from our efforts to live moral lives!

These three facets of a moral behavior stand as topics we might reflect upon in our lives. Most likely, no one of us has escaped from these three challenges.

Thursday Reflection: May 22, 2008

A Place to Reflect

The readings from today's liturgy are strong reprimands to some of the hearers. James' words could easily be shouted at some in our society today. He was rebuking the wealthy who displayed little concern or respect for workers. Likewise he was not overlooking those who earned much but kept it all to themselves

In the gospel Mark recalls for us a moment when Jesus spoke severe and severing words to his disciples: it is better to go trough life without a complete body if a part of the body is a source of sin.

What is its meaning for us? Most of us are not wealthy. Most of us are in tact. So what should we take from these reading?

We should consider again detachment from so much and attachment to Jesus. A call to give up what breaks us away from Jesus. This is a call to attach ourselves to the love of Jesus Christ. It is a choice! It's our choice to be "salted with fire." This phrase's meaning? Recall two Sundays back: Pentecost ... Come, Holy Spirit, come! Come and kindle in our hearts the fire of your divine love .... Kindle in our hearts the fire of your divine life. A petition to be purified, to be attached to Jesus. Salted to be preserved in the fire of God's love!!!

Wednesday Reflection: May 21, 2008

What an interesting combination of readings offered in today's liturgy. Truly a challenge to thinking "outside the box," the content of the two texts opens up a not so quickly grasped understanding of Jesus' teaching.
Catch the scene in the words of the Jewish-Christian leader, James. In the verses immediately preceding today's suggested verses, James warns his followers about the evil of judging others: "Who are you to judge your neighbor?" he asks. He likens judging others to a kind of arrogance, to a shade of boasting. Such arrogance or boasting is evil he says. Don't forget, he says, we are "like a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."
Now consider Mark's words in today's gospel reading (9:38-40). Much is said in those three verses. Isn't there a bit of arrogance, a shade of boasting, in the apostle John's words as he grouses about "a man casting out demons in your name." That man obviously was not one of the in-crowd, not one of the disciples who daily walked and learned from Jesus what the kingdom of God was about. John implies that man did not know or accept all that Jesus had been teaching. You can hear John's mind: we don't do it that way! Does that sound familiar? Obviously that man was not of the full mindset that John would demand of full discipleship, of anyone who would attempt to drive out demons! Only the in-crowd was anointed to do such good! (Yes, John is getting it today!!!)
Here is the out of the box consideration: we cannot judge so quickly and categorically. Can we not ask this: Does each part of any totality equal that totality? Is a person who often speeds in violation of the traffic code but who serves the community as a volunteer firefighter, who delivers meals to a home bound senior citizen, who pays taxes regularly, is that person not a good citizen? I s the person who through laziness skips Mass on Sundays when "tired" not a good Catholic? Does living as a good citizen or Catholic mean that there is no lawbreaking or sin in that person's life?
To hear Jesus say "For he that is not against us is for us" challenges the disciples as well as us today. Hear what Jesus is saying. Hear the mercy, the understanding even the forgiveness woven to the words Jesus speaks. The challenge to us today in a church of commandments and laws is to see beyond the comfort, perhaps the arrogance and boasting, beyond the black and white.
Is not Jesus teaching tolerance, understanding and patience?
Now you see what a little rest can do to this blogger!!! Happy to be back for you.

Daily Reflection

The daily reflections will resume on Wednesday of this week. Sorry for the inconvenience. Have to be honest. The stresses and strains of the end of a year and other parish concerns have come home to roost. I and trying to rebuild my strength.

Fr. Jordan