Reflecting in our Hearts: Mary and the New Year

The Church celebrates two things today, the more important is the Solemnity of Mary as Mother of God, the second, and less important, is the secular New Year.

Two weeks ago I preached about Mary as Theotokos, the God-bearer.  We looked at why she is rightly called the Mother of God as there is a strong Scriptural basis for it as well as very strong historical development of this dogmatic Truth as defined at the Council of Ephesus.  But, more importantly as I mentioned two weeks ago, as good as it is to understand and know the theology of Mary as Mother of God, the more valuable is to live like her.

At our fourth Sunday of Advent we could see Mary’s desire to share the Good News with her cousin Elizabeth.  This week I want to share about her, “Keeping all these things and reflecting on them in her heart.”  We find this passage “of Mary pondering these things in her heart” in a number of places.  In Mary’s meeting with Simeon when he prophesies about Jesus being the cause for the rise and fall of many in Israel and a light to the Gentiles he also warns Mary that a sword would pierce her own her heart.  She then reflects on what Simeon said and kept it in her heart.  She also ponders in her heart when they lost Jesus in Jerusalem and then found Him in the Temple and again today when the shepherds give praise, “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

How often do we like our Mother, the Mother of God, reflect and keep in our hearts the things of God?  How much time do we give to prayer?  Since this is a New Year may be it is time to become more like our Mother Mary and pray not just more, but deeper and more reflectively.

As Catholics we love our rosaries, and rightly so, we love our Novenas, we have many and all good, we have intercessory prayer, always great to pray for someone else, we have set prayers, like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, etc., prayers that are Scriptural and filled with Tradition.  All of these prayers have their rightful place and should be practiced.  But we also have in the Church meditative prayer, reflective prayer, and contemplative prayer, all related with their center being on quiet discernment on Jesus or some other Christian mystery, i.e. God, the Holy Spirit, some Scripture verse, etc.

The quiet is uncomfortable, we are not used to praying that way and through history we have come to associate that type of prayer with monks and nuns.  We all need to reclaim that type of prayer in which like Mary we ponder these things in our hearts.

Conversation and friendship is a two way street, I talk, you talk, we both talk to one another.  When I do all the talking my friend will get bored, frustrated, and eventually want out of the conversation, because he can’t get a word in edgewise.  How can we hear Jesus when all we do is talk-talk or if we never quiet ourselves?

If we want to know God one way is to study theology, but through theology we will only know “about God,” we still won’t really know Him until we enter into conversation with Him.  Mary was chosen by God because she knew Him best, no one I believe reflected on God more and with tremendous quiet than the Blessed Mother.  And just maybe for this New Year she is asking us to do the same.  Be still in the presence of the Lord; find Him in the quiet, in the solace, in your hearts, where like Mary we will always keep Him.  AMEN.

Feast of the Holy Family: Family and Forgiveness

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  I can only wonder at what it was like, their prayer life, their daily work, and the love that they shared.  It must have been pretty amazing, but I would also assume in many ways it was quite regular as well.  I am sure there was something magical about it, but just like everyone else they had to work, do their chores, and simply just work at being a family.  I am sure there were moments of worry, concern, and even frustration.

Today’s Gospel is a prime example of parents worrying for their child.  Jesus decides to stay back while the family leaves.  I am sure not a too unfamiliar story for most parents, a child getting lost.  When Mary and Joseph finally realize that Jesus is missing I can only imagine their concern and their being worried sick.  Jerusalem was a metropolis in those days compared to what Nazareth was like.  For three days Jesus is lost until they finally find Him preaching and teaching in the temple.

It was then that Mary and Joseph reveal their worry and concern, “How could you do this to us, we were worried sick,” and Jesus responds, “I must be about my Father’s business.”  I am sure that must have made them both pause, but I am also sure they felt great relief that he was safe.

We all know that the Holy family was holy, we have depictions, art work, icons, statues, and every other form of art telling us this, and they truly were holy for Jesus was full of grace and Truth, Mary was Immaculate and Joseph a good and righteous man.  Nevertheless they were not without suffering, worry or concern as all of us are from time to time.

What does this model of the Holy Family mean for our families?  Obviously we are to imitate the Holy Family as much as we possibly can.  However, our families also have concerns, worries, and even suffering.  We can go even further; our families have problems, be they small or great.  Many times we will hide our problems from others, we keep our dirty laundry to ourselves, because God forbid someone finds out my teenage daughter is pregnant, or my son is divorced and has remarried outside of the Church with no annulment and continues to receive the sacraments, or my father is an alcoholic, or my sister addicted to drugs.  No family is exempt from problems, some may not be so severe, but problems nevertheless.

What is the answer to these problems?  The answer is perseverance and prayer.  St. Paul calls us fighters fighting the good fight, he knew life was not easy, sometimes far from it, and fighters get knocked down but a good fighter will try to get up each and every time.  Families will try to stay together, for the most part, even with severe problems, they try to stick it out, but sometimes a family falls apart because it is dealing with a hurt that they think cannot be healed, and it usually centers on forgiveness.

St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians writes, “. . . bear(ing) with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.”

How many times do we hear of family squabbles that get out of control and before you know it brother stops talking to brother, daughter stops talking to mother, father abandons family, and all the rest?  Most of the times not being able to forgive deals with betrayal.  Someone has betrayed me, broke trust, or given up on me and the hurt that – that brings is sometimes too much and causes a break between blood, marriage or friendships.  We just find it impossible to forgive.

The question that remains is why do we find it impossible to forgive?  If we call ourselves Christians and good Christians at that then we must forgive as St. Paul writes and as Jesus Himself taught us, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Still we find it hard and the excuses and logic we use are, he or she cheated on me, they lied about the money, someone broke my trust, someone lied (slander) about me and caused me great harm, someone in the family maneuvered themselves into a greater portion of the will of the parents, etc., etc.

We trick ourselves by thinking if we hold back forgiveness we somehow have power over the other, that we are causing them some pain, which we justify as justice in our own perverse way.  The reality is that we have no power over the other, nor are we causing them any pain, actually the reverse is happening, we are the ones in pain and justice is being done to us because we can’t let go.

Not being able to forgive is a sickness that festers right in the heart of the person and weakens the soul.  Forgiveness is everything.  If we can’t forgive we will walk in shackles and chains with heavy stones on our shoulders carrying evil around day and night.  I hate to be melodramatic, but it is true, withholding forgiveness does damage to us and keeps our family not holy but unholy.

If you have anger, hate, vengeance, or a strong desire not to forgive I ask you to remember Christ who forgave you for everything, even when you mocked him, spit on him, beat him, whipped him, put nails through his hands and feet, and he still looked down on you with forgiveness.  We all betrayed him, hurt him, and still he calls us friends.  What has your brother or sister done to you that could have been worse than what you did (we did) to Christ? Anger, hate, and vengeance will keep us prisoners in this life and the next, forgiveness will set us free now and also forever.  Amen.

Christmas: A Sharing of Quiet, Prayer, and the Contents of a Brown Paper Bag

           

           Christmas, what do I remember and hold cherish about this great holiday when Christ our Lord was born for us?  Last year right after Thanksgiving my dad passed away and last year’s Christmas seemed empty and my concern was for my mother.  This year seems a little easier, as time and our Good Lord begins to heal all loss and hurt.  But, what I recall and cherish the most is the greatest lesson I could have learned about Christmas and it was from my father.

          When I was a little boy my dad would leave me a special gift on my night stand so that when I woke up it would be the first gift I would see and the first gift I would open.  My father was born on a small island off the coast of Croatia; a little place called Susak or as it is called in Italian, Sansego.  My dad grew up poor, his dad was a farmer and wine maker so when Christmas came along my grandfather would fill paper bags with fruits, all kinds of nuts, and small chocolates for his children and leave those by their bed so when they woke Christmas morning they would have gifts.

          My dad did the same for me and my brothers.  And I could not wait to get into that bag when I woke up.  My dad already awake would be waiting for me in the kitchen.  I would rush in there and we would exchange a Christmas greeting and kiss and then I would sit at the table and share with him whatever was in the bag.  My dad use to be able to open the walnuts with his bare hands, crush them with his palm like they were paper and that would always make me wonder and look at him as being strong and manly.  We would not talk much just simply enjoy the quiet, the good fresh fruits, nuts, and chocolates.  Once we were done my dad would start to pray from his little prayer book and he would say the prayers out loud, he always prayed that way, and I loved to listen to him pray.  He would start off praying in Croatian, then a little Italian, and he would also sing Christmas carols.

          I loved those moments and cherished them as the greatest Christmas gift that I could have received from my dad.  Don’t get me wrong I loved to open my toys and games, but none of them every truly felt as good as when I sat with my dad eating the fruits, nuts, and chocolates out of a paper bag and then praying.

          I ask you, what is your Christmas like, what are your stories?  I imagine it is not as much to do with the presents as it is with spending time with your family and friends.  This is what Christ gives us this Christmas, two things, He gives Himself to us and then He gives us each other.  Remember Jesus when you go home, when you look at your spouse, your children, and children remember your parents, your siblings, and everyone in your family, they are the precious gift that God has given you, greater than anything you can wrap in a box or put in a card.  I will give you a little homework even though school is out.  When you return home either tonight or tomorrow, when you open your gifts, whatever is your custom take two to three minutes of quiet and prayer and reflect on Christ in the manger, with Mary and Joseph – the Holy Family.  Thank Jesus for His gift of grace to you and thank Him for your family, before you open any gift, because without Christ first, the other gifts have no meaning.

          Remember that this day unto you a Savior is born, Christ the Lord, our brother, our friend, our Lord and God right in our very homes, right in our very hearts, God bless you and Merry Christmas.  FJ

4th Sunday of Advent: Sharing the Good News

Whenever the 4^th Sunday comes this close to Christmas it is always difficult to give a homily without mentioning Christmas, hence blending this 4^th Sunday of Advent with Christmas, which I shouldn’t do since I will be repeating myself tomorrow and the day after boring you even further.  So, much to your delight I will keep this week’s homily brief.  As I was once told, “Be brief, be quick, and be gone.”

There are two themes from today’s Gospel that really stand out, that is “The Good News” and “traveling in haste to share it.”  Once Mary learns that she will be the Mother of the Savior, the Mother of God in fact, she quickly feels that she must share this Good News with someone.  She must have also been scared, since she would have to eventually explain to Joseph and to her parents the conditions of her pregnancy.

Nevertheless she also felt great joy, that God had blessed her beyond measure.  Off she goes to her cousin Elizabeth, to share with her the Good News but to also hear Elizabeth’s Good News, for Elizabeth is also pregnant with John the Baptist, the last of the Prophets.

The questions that remain for us are: Do I believe I have been given Good News and if so what do I do with it?  We have most definitely been the recipients of Good News, and that Good News is that we are loved beyond measure by an infinite loving God. 

Sometimes the Holy-days are tough and hard on people because they may be suffering loss or just simply suffering and the Good News seems far away, but it is not, Jesus is always in our midst.  Since we have been given this Good News, this message of salvation, like Mary and Elizabeth we must share it with others.

  

A Christian can never do anything else by his or her very nature; the Good News of God wants to pour out of us, for God’s Glory but also for us to share joy with others.  The Prophet Jeremiah understood this when he said, “. . . It (The Good News) is as if fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding back, I cannot!” Jer. 20:9, (NABRE) If the Christmas spirit is really in us then God’s Word will also be burning our hearts and we can do nothing less than to share that which is in the very core of our being, Christ the Lord Himself.  Amen

FJ

We are the Glory of God

             

          

             The first reading today from the Prophet Baruch clearly tells us that we are God’s crowning achievement.  “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name.  For God will show all the earth your splendor:  you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship.” (Bar 1:5…)

            Many times in our faith we are challenged to do the good and to avoid evil, and homilies will take on that challenge, but every so often we need to be reminded of our goodness.  Any good coach, teacher, or mentor will challenge those he or she has been given charge of, they will also set the bar high – if they desire to achieve excellence, but every so often they will affirm their students, their players, and their protégés.  This is done so that those committed to the class, the team, the club, the cause, will not lose heart, that they will be made to feel a sense of worth and a sense of goodness.  This is no different than with God.  He challenges us for the most part but also reaffirms us and that is what is being done today in our readings.

            God did take on human flesh in Jesus Christ to come and save us, yes we are wounded and only Jesus can heal that wound, but we are also good, not just good, “but very good” c.f. Gen. 1:31, we are also fearfully and wonderfully made, (c.f. Ps. 139:14) and we are also as St. Irenaeus so beautifully puts, “Man fully alive is the glory of God.”

            What is good about us one may ask, since it seems that wars never end, sin goes from bad to worse, and every day the attendance at Church diminishes?  There is a lot of good; for starters, it is good that you are here.  But I also see goodness all around me.  Many of you give so much of yourselves, to your families, to your friends, your community – especially the family you have here at our Parish.  So many of you give of not just your money but your time as well and that has been humbling to me and also has served as a motivation for me to give back more, so I thank you.

            We also see a lot of good in this world.  Think of all the people who work and operate St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Catholic Charities, Red Cross, Peace Corps, Volunteer Fire Fighters, Soup Kitchen Volunteers, CCD teachers, volunteer coaches, mentors, First Aid Respond Volunteers, UNICEF, and the list can go on and on.  So many give of themselves in concern for others and even people they do not know.  Think of the countless parents who take care of a gravely ill child, sometimes for years or decades – giving up everything for just moments of relief for their child!  We see the best of humanity in these trials.  Think of hurricane Sandy how many folks came together to help those in need, people from California spearheading projects that would send resources across the coast to aid us here.

            There is a goodness to humanity and it is clearly from the Divine spark that is found in the very core of our being, “made in the image and likeness of God.”  God says he will show the earth our glory and splendor, for we are truly good, of great value, and endless, fearless, and persevering in our love for each other.  Our worth is beyond measure, it is of such great value that God Himself became a man and showed us love personified and perfected in the greatest sacrifice of all, His Passion.  AMEN

FJ