Daily Reflection: 31 Mar 07

Apologies for not posting yesterday. Computer challenges! All seems fine this morning.

Today's Readings

The days of Lent are very quickly nearing the moment of truth for Jesus and his disciples. We, too, almost 2000 years later, can use the words of the chief priests and Pharisees: "What are we to do?"

The leaders were threatened by all Jesus was doing. They knew that if his impact upon the people was to continue to grow, they would suffer loss of power and the nation. Caiaphas, the chief priest for that year, knew what to do. The man causing their problems should die. Death was the only solution.

And what are we to do? First and foremost, we should not let the early celebration of Easter "vacations" distract us from serious attention to the sacred days of Holy Week. We should be prepared to spend some time considering what these days mean for us in our personal lives. We need to know what these days mean for us. In the days of Jesus, there was the fear of the loss of power and authority and of a nation to the Roman authorities. In these days of the 21st century, is it not should we not fear the loss of a genuine understanding of all that Jesus did for us and how that should impact our lives. For the Jewish authorities the death of the man causing the problem seemed to be the answer. For us today shouldn't it be our fear of the loss of the values and teachings of the man who died to save a nation, a people, you and me?

We stand at the beginning of the week called Holy. We stand at the threshold of a week that abounds with opportunities for all of us to atone for our sins and to hear the voice of God calling us where he wants each of us to be in our relationship with him and our sisters and brothers.

In the Ezekiel reading today, Yahweh speaks to his people: "I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them ... I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Always the question for us: "Have I allowed this loving and caring God to bring his peace to my heart?"

Daily Reflection: 29 Mar 07

The time anyone spends with Jesus in day-to-day life is the opportunity for allowing God to fulfill the covenant that has been given to us through Abraham in the OT and Jesus in the NT.
Surely the covenant God has made with us offers a challenge. No doubt, like OT people, we in today's culture find sinfulness separates us from God in varying degrees. It is so easy to let the mindfulness, the awareness, of God slip from consciousness. Work, family obligations, the daily running often leave no time for quiet, for peaceful reflection because we seem to have accepted what modern thinking proposes: see how much activity can be packaged in the daily waking hours. To allow any blocks of time in a daily schedule is, seemingly sinful: it is failure, it is not keep up with my colleagues at work or the other families in the neighborhood. Can you find a place in the bible where we are instructed to be busy always?

Daily Reflection 28 Mar 07

When we do not take or make the time to listen to Jesus and his words, we have fallen victim to the control or power of someone or somethings. In today's readings Daniel presents three men who make it crystal clear that in their lives it is only God, the God of their ancestors, that they serve.
It is so easy to build an idol like the molten calf described by Daniel. Looking at the life I live, do I take time to conside if I have created an idol, a molten calf, that, even if it is good in itself, keeps me distant from God? It is so awfully easy to lose sight of the Father in our culture --- we are so often running from one thing to the next. We easily forget God is with us. Oh, we might think of our Creator God, our forgiving God, occasionally but each day is filled with many opportunities to link to God. Does it happen?

Daily Reflection 27 Mar 07

In today's readings we might ask "How am I fed?" Regularly we "belly up" to a table to partake of the food we need to keep the body in good condition. At the same time we look to the love of family and friends, the support of colleagues and the sense of satisfaction that comes from doing what I am called to do and in developing a good relationship with the God who made me in order to gain an inner strengthening.
How does that bond with God develop? The OT reading shows a complaining people who fail to turn to God in their long, tiring, frustrating journey. The gospel is quite the opposite. On hearing the words of Jesus, the people in the crowds came to believe in him. They came to partake not of food but of the eternal life that Jesus had promised in his words.
And me? Where do I find myself in my world as it relates to the Word of God? Do I get sidetracked by "this wretched food" of my daily grind or do I take the time to open my heart to hear his words?

Short Absence from the Parish

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 27th) morning I will be flying to Pittsburgh and then join a number of priests and Bishops traveling to Youngstown, Ohio, to be with a very close friend, Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, who will be installed as the 5th Bishop of Youngstown. Bishop Murry often stays at the residence with us when he is in DC on business or just to get away for a few days. Some who studied at Gonzaga may remember the then Mr. Murry, SJ who taught at that noble institution! Others may remember he was the President of John Carroll High School just prior to being called to the Episcopacy as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He served there for some three or four years before being appointed to the Diocese of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Many would say "What an assignment!" The good bishop does not like beaches!!! So the almost eight years on the island were surely a challenge to his likes!!! He will be moving from a diocese with 17 priests and several islands to one with 173 diocesan priests and a number of religious order priests. While he may not like beaches, I surely hope he likes snow which is not an unknown winter gift in that part of Ohio. Let us pray for him as he begins his new assignment. I return to the parish on Thursday morning. Monsignor Duffy will be "in charge" while I am away ... as if he had little else to do now that he is the sole Catholic chaplain at Sibley with the return of Jesuit Fr. Henry Heffernan to NIH as the Catholic chaplain there. You might pray that the Archdiocese finds another priest willing to assist at Sibley, to be a noble colleague with Monsignor who day is filled with many ministries. I think he seems to have forgotten his primary assignment: retirement!!!!

In Our Prayers

While our Lenten prayer often focuses upon ourselves, we need to make a special effort to remember those who are in need of our prayerful support at this time. Many of us have friends who are spent, tired, exhausted because of work, helping others, being the single parent, or being the married parent of several lively young ones. There are the elderly who are finding life an ever increasing taxation upon the body or the mind. We cannot forget the young who are struggling with the inner search for themselves. Then there are those with serious problems with the law. And what about those who are homeless through no fault of their own; what about the hungry in a land of plenty?

As a priest, I have a rare day, truly an empty day, when someone does not say, "Father, would you please pray for a special need."

Today, join me in making a resolve to pray each day until Easter especially for those in great need at this time in their lives by saying the Memorare for the intentions of all who ask for prayers. As well pray for those who are making retreats at this time of the year. I believe that covers most, if not all, of the bases! "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your clemency hear and answer me. Amen."

Daily Reflection: Annunciation

The Annunciation begins the life story of God with us as a human being. We are aware of his bodily presence but we, becasue we know we are redeemed, cannot overlookor gorget that he is sent to us from God, that he, too, is divine. He is God's presence among us. He is the servant who came to be with us and to bring about the most singular event in woulrd history: "you shall bear a child ... he will be called holy, the Son of God." Gabriel did not say "a" son of God buy "the" Son of God.

In our lenten journey this year have there been times when I gave myself to quiet relfection of this extraordinary gift? Here is the man Jesus whose life is the foremost object of our lenten prayer --- his life when he is forced to endure great pain and suffering for me. All of this, all of his for me!

When we are but ten days from the most Sacred Days that distinguish Christianity from all other religions, would we not actually sense a genuine satisfaction with ourselves if we directed some of our precious time to prayer and sacrifice to be a companion with the man who made the perfect offering on our behalf?

Are you, am I too busy, too preoccupied to isolate some time each day to read a psalm that would unite me more with this man, this suffering servant? Let me suggest a few psalms you might read during these days ... or perhaps just one that you might read each day ... in a modified form of Lectio Divina that was mentioned several days ago. Psalms 2, 22 (verses 2-23), 38, 40(verses 2-14, 17-18), 51, 54 (veres 1-6, 8-9), 88, 116, 143 (verses 1-11) and 147 are wonderful reflections for us to consider the marvelous love of God the Father and the extraordinary sacrifice of Jesus for us.

SUNDAY HOMILY 5th Sunday of Lent, 2007

African artist presented the clearest portrayal of the gospel scene.

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 25, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ! We all have heard the gospel story many times. Most scripture scholars believe this was an event that occurred during Holy Week. It is important to remember this fact. Why? Because the bitterness toward Jesus was near a boiling point among those who would try to find any reason to arrest him. At night he would stay with friends outside the city. During the daylight hours he could be more prominent because he would be surrounded by his followers.
The event in the gospel seems contrived by the Scribes and Pharisees. They wanted so badly to trap Jesus in a kind of situation that would turn the people against him and they could arrest him and bring him to his death. So it was that they brought the woman who had been arrested for adultery.
Some history is important. Adultery was no light crime in the Jewish community. Death was the punishment. Why so? Because the sanctity of the family was a sacred belief in the minds and hearts of the Jewish people. It was, as it were, the door that opened to membership in God’s chosen people.
So, in their trickery, the Scribes and Pharisees brought this woman before Jesus to test both his kindness as well as, and more importantly to them, to test his respect for the Law that was so sacred to the people.
So they put the question to Jesus, even calling him "master:" Would you condemn her to death because of her immoral action? Surely a response to either the positive or negative would provide these authorities who bitterly hated Jesus with a way to arrest him.
What Jesus says is remarkable because his words did not condemn her nor did it afford himself or anyone the right to execute her. And so he began writing in the sand. Then he looked directly at her accusers and calmly said: "Let the person who is perfect cast the first stone." Without awaiting any response he continued to write in the sand.
What were the words? Probably words like stealing, defaming, lying, and sins that were even worse — remember there were some 600 sins that the Jewish people had to worry about! What he was writing, most likely the scholars tell us, were sins that the "holier than thou" hypocrites could easily claim as their own if they were honest. Nevertheless, it seems that from the oldest to the youngest the accusers turned away and left Jesus alone with the woman. No words of condemnation were heard; only "I will not condemn you. Go on with your life and do better."
Forever she would carry the scarlet letter around her neck. Perhaps she would find little comfort from a large number of people who considered themselves so much better than they considered her. Probably they did not consider themselves sinners like this woman. Many would think what I hear so often in the sacrament of reconciliation: "Oh, no sins, Father, just the ordinary things." Just the ordinary things: sins are sins and perhaps we have come of an age once again when we sin a more sophisticated manner: tearing our neighbors’ reputations apart with our gossip; perhaps we learn every possible way to "legally cheat" on our income taxes; perhaps we misuse what may have been entrusted to us. Perhaps we do wrongs that we consider "honorable" sins.

The woman in the story probably carried her sin with her throughout her life. No doubt she was mentally tortured by her failure, her sin. But she did own up to it. She did not try to cover it in sheep skins to hide it. She was not afraid to own up to her sins. As painful and tortuous as her sinful past might have been for her, there was one memory that would always bring a picture of peace to her expression. What was that? Simply that Jesus Christ, Son of God, whom she would learn very shortly had risen from the grave, had given her a second chance at earning her place in the kingdom of heaven. She knew that he was waiting there for her! She did not have to be duplicitous like the Scribes and Pharisees.
And so, this story poses a very difficult question for all of us: are we honest when we examine our consciences? Do we face the truth of our lives, accepting honestly what we have done without trying to hide it within some lame, human excuse?

Just a few moment ago, 7:45 am, Saturday, March 25, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI held a public audience in St. Peter's Square with more than one hundred thousand faithful of the Communion and Liberation Movement. After riding through the square and part way down the Via Della Conciliazzione, His Holiness returned to his chair in the "sanctuary," as it was called, of the square where he welcomed words of greetings from the current director of the movement.

The Holy Father then delivered his remarks welcoming the members of the movement and recalling the wonder of the founder, Don Giussani. The Pope noted that the movement teaches that it is a joy to be a Christian. The founder worked hard to reawaken in young people that Christ is the way toward all of the desires in the human heart. He recalled how Don Giussani was captured,

"no," he said, he was "wounded" by the desire to have within his own being all of the beauty that he found in Christ. He recalled Don Giussani's many meetings with Pope John Paul II, again noting that the C&L movement is a communitarian experience of faith, not a mandate from the hierarchy of the Church. It is from the Holy Spirit. It is an opportunity, he said, to have a deep and full experience of Christian faith.

The Pope recalled a recent meeting with the clergy of Rome when he reminded them of the words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians: we should not snuff out new charism even if they might be, at first, uncomfortable. If they are truly of the Spirit they will constitute upbuilding elements of the Church today and tomorrow.

Thanks to my digital camera and cable station EWTN, these pictures and some of these thoughts from Pope Benedict are so quickly available. The full text of Benedict's words will be posted at the Vatican link on this blog. After clicking on to the Vatican link, highlight and click on BENEDICT XVI just beneath the Holy Father's picture. It will open up many of the places where his words appear. For this speech, click on to Audiences.

DAILY REFLECTION: 24 Mar 07

One experience almost every Catholic adult has to encounter in life is the reaction of others who actually believe that we have been deceived in our religious beliefs and practices. Our faith is considered by some as superstition or wacky control of our emotions by some organized religion.

We are believers in the man who preached the word of God. We and join those who believe and practice what John, the evangelist, wrote: This is the Christ.

Lent is a season that affords each of us the opportunity to take our spiritual lives to the gym for stretching (getting out of our comfort zones), weight lifting (coming to know and accept the teachings of the Church) and sweating (working to help those in need).

When we gather in what might be likened to a spiritual gym, our churches, we are joining with our sisters and brothers to strengthen our faith and sense of community, a very important part of any religious practice. In our communal prayer such as Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic Adoration and the Mass, we are proclaiming once again what it is that we believe.

Stay away from exercise or the gym and one principal consequence impacts each person: the muscles lose much of their strength. Stay away from the spiritual gym and we diminish the strength of our faith.