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

Practice, Practice, Practice

Every good student, every good athlete, every good actor prepares diligently for their upcoming test, game or performance.  Even the highly gifted prepare well in order to polish up their skills.  Every single one of us does the best we can in order to excel in the thing we love.

Granted not all of us loved school, or sports, or even acting, I simply mention these as examples.  No matter what it is that we love we are usually extremely dedicated to it in order to become the best at it.  This doesn’t mean we don’t have our lazy moments, all of us need a “timeout” every so often, but nevertheless we usually plug away hard at what we love.

There are many important things that we hold dear in life, our family, our friends, charitable causes, hobbies, political interests, sports, leisure, etc.  We work so hard at these to achieve perfection.

A young couple will do so much to prepare for a perfect wedding day, parents will do everything they can to see that their children are well educated and brought up right, people will work through and through for that perfect dream house, the perfect vacation, and again the athlete trains day and night to become the best, as well as the actor, and the student.  Basically we give it our all.

It is this time of the Church year that she reminds us to prepare well, not just for a game, a test, or a production, but to prepare well for Christ Himself.

Think of how crazy we go preparing the house when visitors are coming for dinner.  The floors are swept, the windows dusted and cleaned, the best foods prepared, and our best selves are presented, and rightly so, but imagine now that Jesus was coming for dinner?  Think of how much more we would clean the house, serve our best food, wear our best clothes, and absolutely present our best selves.

We usually don’t think this way because Jesus doesn’t literally call or ring the door bell, but He truly does come to us.  And how would we prepare both our houses and ourselves if Jesus was literally coming to dinner?  Would we prepare more so than we do for a game, a show, a test, or if friends were coming for dinner?  All of us would say “yes.” 

Today is the 1^st Sunday of Advent, it is a season in the Church which is used for preparing ourselves for the literal and figurative coming of Christ – we remember when he was born literally in Bethlehem, but we also prepare a place in our hearts for him to be born on the 25^th of December.  So, the Lord has knocked on our door, he is asking to be let in, are our homes swept clean, are we wearing our finest clothes, have we prepared the best food, and have we been diligent in our Christian lives?  This is the time to do so if we have been a little negligent.

Often times people will ask, “how do I remain a good Christian, how do I prepare myself for the Lord?”  The student, the athlete, the actor all know what they must do, be it a method of study, rehearsing lines, or practice drills, the Christian also must follow some formula or method.

The fathers of the Church had a three pronged approach to the penitential season; they often spoke about prayer, fasting and alms-giving.

As Christians we need to pray and our prayer can take many forms, there is meditative prayer, which can be a meditation on a Scripture verse or an entire chapter, one can meditate on some aspect of the faith, on God, it can be many different things.  There is also petitionary prayer, making our requests to God.  There are also set prayers, e.g. Our Father, Hail Mary, the rosary, etc.  St. Paul challenges us to pray always.  He did not mean “to say Our Fathers” all day long that would be impossible, rather we should have a disposition towards prayer all the time, thinking of the Lord and feeling His presence, to say little locutions (e.g. Jesus I love You) throughout the day, etc.

Believe it or not the season of Advent is a season of penitence.  We should be offering spiritual sacrifices to the Lord.  We usually do not associate Advent with Lent, but it is the same type of season we are preparing ourselves for the Lord, in one case preparing for the Triduum, in this case for the birth of the Lord.  What kind of spiritual sacrifices can we make?  There are all kinds; they range from giving things up to taking up new things.  For instance if I love sweets, I would try to give them up.  If I talk too much, to quiet myself and listen or if I lack a virtue such as patience to take up the challenge of being more patient.

Alms-giving, this takes away sin as Scripture often reminds us.  Not simply giving from my abundance but to give from my first fruits – from my very means, hard to do indeed.  It is not just about giving money, but time as well.  There are so many good folks who need help, be those who come to soup kitchens, shelters, people still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and the Church itself, meaning your local parish.

Jesus calls us to take seriously His breaking into the world, because it was not simply a onetime event, Jesus continues to break into our hearts all the time looking for a home and place to rest.  Have I prepared that place for Him deep within me?  If God is the most important thing in my life then I will make the most time for Him, more so than the dedicated athlete, actor and student.  They get ready for shows, tests, and games.  My friends we are getting ready for the birth of Christ, Our Lord and God!

King of kings and Lord of lords

Today we celebrate The Solemnity of Christ the King, a feast in the Church that affirms that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16).  We will also begin the season of Advent next week which will then lead us into Christmas, when Christ our Lord was born.  Today’s feast is much different than Jesus’ first coming into this world.   When Jesus (the eternal Word) was born it was in Bethlehem in a manger it was by simple and humble means, not many people around except for a few shepherds and farm hands, along with some animals, it was humble indeed.  However, as the today’s reading points out the next time Jesus returns it will be magnificent, powerful, and awesome, a King on His coronation day. 

I want to look at two things, one) that Jesus is truly a King, but secondly that we too are royalty – we share in His Kingship.

During Jesus’ public ministry He was careful not so much to proclaim that He was King and this I think He did this for two reasons. One) The Jewish people were oppressed by the Romans, they were seeking a new King, someone like David and Solomon of old who would rise up, defeat the Romans, and return Israel to its former glory and freedom.  Two) the point of Jesus’ ministry was salvation, a repentance of sins.  I am sure Jesus could have freed Israel from under Roman oppression quite easily if He wanted to, but it wasn’t the time for it, as the message of “Repent and believe in the Good News for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15) was much more pressing for “We were all dead in our sins” (Rom 5:8, Eph 2:1).

The other thing about Jesus as King is that it reminds us that Jesus will not come humbly the next time, but to judge the nations. (C.f. Mt. 25)  This type of Jesus is a little tougher to accept, we like the nice Jesus, the one who tells us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28, NIV).  All of us like the nice – cute little baby Jesus, who is tender, meek, and mild.  And it is true, Jesus is all of those things, for there is no one who has more compassion than Christ Himself, but Jesus is also the King of kings, and as a King He must rule and render judgment, He must be both just and administer judgment otherwise He would be no King at all.

We, are however, not to fear this Jesus as in fear meaning scared out of our wits, but rather to fear him meaning respect, wonder, and awe.  We must also invite the King of kings to look into our hearts and convict us if we have sinned in order to repent as Jesus reminds us to do so often through the Gospels.  It is the repentant heart that receives the Good News and not only receives it but it becomes engrained in us so deeply that we too share in the royalty of Christ. 

Jesus’ promises are true and we partake in them.  All who are baptized, by sharing in Jesus’ death and resurrection are made priests, prophets, and kings.  When St. Paul says we share in Christ’s death and resurrection he was not talking symbolically or using pious platitudes, he was being literal, everything that is Jesus’ is ours and we are so intimately united that we were on the cross with Him when He was crucified, we were also buried with Him in the tomb, but we also resurrected with Him on the third day, resurrected to new life. 

In that new life we share in Jesus’ ministry and role as priest, prophet, and king.  There is not enough time to discuss each of these, but since we are celebrating Jesus as King of kings I want to say this, “you and I are royalty!”  We don’t belong to just a group, a committee, or fellowship gathering; we belong to the Kingdom of God, royal, majestic, and eternal.

Isn’t it amazing that this God who is so different than us, so much more powerful than us, would give us everything?  It is hard to imagine, but it is answered by one word, “Love!”  We are loved beyond logic, beyond explanation, beyond what we could ever imagine.  Even with all of our flaws and sins, God breaks through our darkness, our sadness, and even our despair sometimes, and places a crown on our heads, reminding us, you are not only my friends, but I give you my kingdom, our Kingdom.

This is why we should not fear the end of the world as they say, but rather we should long for it, because it won’t be revealed to only a few in a manger in Bethlehem, no indeed, it will be revealed to everyone, and the glory of God will shine as we see our King coming to us, making all things new and giving us our final reward, life forever with our family – with our friends, and most of all with our God and Savior, Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Amen. FJ

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am Thankful for:

            For being fearfully and wonderfully made. (Ps 139:14)

   For being known since before I was fashioned in my mother’s womb. (Jer 1:5)

            For every good gift the Father of Lights has given me. (Jam 1:17)

            For the peace in my heart. (Col 3:15)

            For being fully alive shinning the glory of God. (St. Irenaeus)

            For my family and remembering my dad. (Fr. John J)

            For all my parishioners, former students, and brother priests.

            For all my friends, especially my North Jersey Boys!

            For all the good food and desserts, we get a pass on Thanksgiving!

            For being called to the Priesthood, awesome – great joy – and tremendous responsibility.

            For being a Notre Dame FAN!

And most of all for all of those who founded this great nation, who came here on a wild hope and prayer, for making this nation free – built not just on bricks and mortar, but on their very blood, thank you and may you forever rest in peace for your sacrifices and labors, God speed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! FJ

On Both Sides of the Blackboard

When I used to teach, no matter what class it was I would always incorporate a lesson I called, “What Makes You Happy?”  It was a neat little lesson and it wasn’t only for the students, in some ways it was directed back towards me and I imagine also towards all of you.  I want to give this lesson to you, but I promise I won’t put you on the spot like I did my students.

The class would begin by me asking, “Who or what is omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, prefect in every respect, etc. etc.?  All their hands would shoot up, since the answer was easy.  One wise guy, answered, “Me.”  All kidding aside, the answer is obviously, “God.”  I would then write God in small letters on the left side of the board and then put a line down the middle of the board leaving God all by Himself on the left side of it.  Here is where I tricked the kids, I would apologize to them and tell them I forgot roll call and would then take attendance.  Once done with that I would continue the lesson.

I then asked, “I want to know what makes you happy?  It can be anything, people, places, things, anything.”  The hands would begin to go up.  Some answers were obvious, some were interesting, and I’ll give you a sample.

1)    Vacation – Don’t we all love that

2)    Girl friend, boy friend

3)    Parents

4)    Siblings

5)    School – would get some chuckles here

6)    Chess

7)    My I pad

8)    My phone

9)    My car – or more accurately put – their parent’s car

10  My friends

11  Sleeping

12  Money – again mostly from their parents, a handful worked

13  Reading

14  Swimming

15  Sports

16  TV

And the list as you can imagine went on and on.  You may be asking, “What was the point of the lesson?”  I would then ask the students take a good close look at that blackboard, I mean really take a good look at it and then tell me what you see.  No hands would go up for a while until some brave soul would say, “Father John, God is small and all by Himself on the left side of the board.”  EXCELLENT observation.

God was small compared to things that made us happy.  No one would ever include God on the right side of the board, the lesson was full proof as they say and you may be thinking, well they were just teenagers, us adults would not answer that way.  Well, I did not do the lesson on you to avoid adult embarrassment.  We too would have left God on the left side of the board.  And thank the Good Lord that He is patient and understanding.  He knows our attachment to things and He sends us reminders, sometimes gentle, other times profoundly, “I am the Lord Your God!”

In today’s Gospel from Mark Jesus reminds us, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12)

Everything is about happiness, all of us want it, we seek it, and we crave it.  We go to look for it in people, places, and things when Jesus gives us the answer.  If God is perfect, eternal, all knowing, ever present, then isn’t logical if I want to be happy He would be the first person on my list, since everything on the right side is not perfect.  My friends it is the simple order of importance, God first, everything else second.

Where are you in your life?  Is God small and on the left side of the board or is He big and on both sides of the board?  Happiness in things is fleeting, iphones go bad, vacations end, you can’t sleep forever, and we can’t play sports forever either, but God does not rust, nor end, nor remain asleep, no, God is always there and He wants to be on both sides of the board of our hearts.  Will we make it so?