Vocations Awareness Weekend

A few weeks ago we had our presbyteral convocation, an annual meeting of all the priests in the diocese.  I always look forward to it since I don’t always get to see my brother priests, so this annual event is beneficial on many levels, brother priests getting together for prayer, mass, social events, talks, training and some nice walks on the beach in Avalon.

At the end of the convocation Bishop gives his annual address to his priests.  Bishop Sullivan is an excellent speaker; he is down to earth, motivating, and inspiring.  You can clearly see he loves his priesthood and his desire to share that love is evident.  In his talk he made a number of points for us to consider as we move forward as a Diocese.  There was one point in particular that really hit home for me and that was that each of us priests is a vocation director and not just the man who holds that particular office, who by the way is Fr. Michael Romano.

I wish to extend that call by Bishop Sullivan and say that each and every single one of us is a Vocation Director.  You as parents are the first teachers, directors if you will of your children, shaping, molding and directing them towards first of all being model Christians, and then teaching them about vocations in life, i.e. marriage, family, priesthood, the single life.  Parents are the first to teach their children, and then it falls to teachers, us priests, religious, deacons, mentors to continue to plant seeds in those searching for their vocation.

There are young men out there who are thinking about priesthood.  It is our duty as a parish to help those seek out a vocation.  We are to encourage and challenge our young to make that call towards God in serving His people at the Altar and beyond.  This is done simply by asking a young man, “Did you ever consider the priesthood,” or by encouraging him, “I think you would make a wonderful priest.”

The response to priesthood is an honorable and blessed life.  Yes we give up some things, such as marriage, children, or the pursuit of advancement and riches, but we receive in marriage the People of God, we receive in children not just physical-blood offspring, but all children, and instead of the riches of the world we receive the riches of the Church.  Though we are not religious as diocesan priests we still take on a spirit of poverty in order to focus on what is true wealth, our relationships with our parishioners.  What a call indeed and what blessings.  When I was fifteen years old I did not see it, the blessings in all of that, but through others continuing to plant seeds in me I eventually understood the call when I was 26 years old and responded to God.  I thank the Lord that I did, I could not picture any other life for myself and my prayer is that if you are thinking about this call to priesthood that you answer it as I did and take up the call of Jesus our Savior to serve His people.  God bless you, Fr. John

Holy Family Forty Years!

We are celebrating so much this weekend. We are honoring all of our canonized Saints on November 1st, we are remembering all of our beloved dead on November 2nd, we will have our 40th Anniversary Mass and Gala on Saturday November 1st. That is quite a bit, but it will be memorable and grace filled.

We are honored to have our Vicar General and former pastor, Fr. Robert Hughes celebrating that mass for us. I thought it would be fitting and proper that the pastor who began the 40th year and planning all its celebrations be the priest to close out our 40th year. We will be blessed with Fr. Hughes’ presence.

Forty years, a generation, a great biblical number used and referred to often. “The Hebrews were in the desert for 40 years seeking the Promised Land. King David ruled Israel for 40 years, so too did his son Solomon, 40 days and 40 nights of rain, Jesus in the desert for 40 days.” A number as you can see used quite often. It is a number that applies to us now, “40 years a parish.” In terms of the age of Church, we are very young as the Church is over 2,000 years old, nice to know that we are young. But even in our youth, if you will, we understand and desire living the Gospel. We have seen the good fruits we have contributed to our parish as well as all of those who came before us.

Everything is about laying down the foundation. We have done that since 1974 and have done it well as the results show, the results of selfless giving, kindness, in our worship, our prayer, and our sacrifices. As your pastor know that I pray for you each day that all of your good works continue to build on the foundation we have already established in Jesus, Joseph and Mary, our patrons. There are many years ahead of us, those who were before have already paved the way and have made straight the way of the Lord. It is our duty and obligation to keep that pathway straight and I know that we will.

I want to thank you all personally for everything, from your sacrificial offerings to your smiles when we see each other. You are the apple of God’s eye. We must continue to keep each and everyone in prayer so that our family will continue to grow, to experience God’s blessings and that when people look at us they will always see a, “Holy Family!” Forty years, may God bless us for the work of our hands and may He continue to help us build on the foundation we have established. Cento anni and Deus vos benedicat!  Fr. John

Good Stewards Remember the Cross

Tonight after our 6pm evening mass we will burn our pledge cards which we took last week, prayed about, and made a commitment to God to take seriously our roles as stewards of our Parish and the Church at large.  Today’s Gospel reminds us of stewardship when Jesus spells out the two foundational commandments, “Love God, Love Neighbor.”

Loving God is a vertical movement, a relationship that moves upward and downward.  God Himself being the Master Steward, taking care of all of creation especially his sons and daughters.  The other relational movement is horizontal; its direction is sideways (left to right, right to left).  The two greatest commandments make a cross + leave it to God to show His subtle genius.

We understand our relationship to the Lord: He provides His grace and we are to respond as His children, living lives of active faith.  That gift that He gives us, His undeserved grace we are to share freely with others, which is the second commandment, the horizontal bar of the cross. 

I believe there are two ways we can demonstrate this love, two ways that stand out to me, obviously there are more than two ways in which we can express our love for neighbor, but again, these two are pivotal.

The first is forgiveness.  The great prayer Jesus taught us reminds us that we ask God to forgive us our trespasses\debts, as we forgive those who trespass against us\or are debited to us.  Sins are debits against our account and acts of righteousness are credited into our account that is why the debit language is used.  Everyone’s actions will be made manifest, every word we utter we are responsible for.  Jesus has set the bar very high and rightly so.  Anyway, forgiveness it is a part of being a steward.  When I withhold forgiveness especially when a person asks for it and I refuse to forgive or still want to get in the last word I am exercising power over another human being, which has not been given to me.  What has been given to me is responsibility for self and others.  In that responsibility I am to extend my hand in love, when someone wrongs me, no matter how bad or what it maybe, if they ask me for forgiveness as a steward entrusted with God’s mercies I am to immediately extend it to them just as Jesus immediately extended it to me after I wronged someone and asked Him to forgive me.  I would go even as far as saying that if a person never asks for forgiveness after wronging me I am still to forgive them in my heart in the presence of Jesus.  Not easy, but as a trust worthy steward whom God has placed His trust in I must act as He did. 

The second aspect of being stewards of love is to take care of the poor.  Pope Francis has been very outspoken on this.  He took the name of Francis because of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave everything in order to follow God and lived in earthly poverty, but there may have never been a richer man in the history of the world when it came to his treasure in heaven.  Pope Francis is motivated by this ideal, to live simply, and to also be generous to those in need.  Many good Christian-Catholics have also taken up this call to serve the poor.

I know, for example, that Bono from U2 has taken up this call with the many charities and causes he is involved in.  (He came to mind because I had U2 on in the background as I was writing this, “Every Breaking Wave…”) We may look at someone like Bono and fret because he has the money to give and that it’s a tax write off or publicity stunt, and not just Bono but anyone of greater means.  That is unfair and it’s not the way Jesus measures.  Everyone is measure-judged by what flows from the heart.  Look at the rich Zacchaeus who when moved by grace paid back fourfold and gave away half of what was his.  Jesus was impressed and assured him in his faith and love.  What we also do sometimes is that we blame the poor for their predicament, we hear things like, “they should go to work, they are milking the system, or why should I pay for them.”  I will not belabor the issue, I will leave you with this, if you can face Jesus and tell Him to His face that you did not give to the poor because they were milking the system or that they should go to work then you’re a braver soul than me.

There you have it, forgive as the Lord has forgiven you, because as Jesus says, “By the measure with which you measure will be measured unto you,” and give to the poor because, “The least you have done unto your brothers and sisters you have done unto me.”  

The symbol of the Cross + is everything to us, it shows us love but it also shows us that all relationships are connected, with God to us and then we with each other, the cross.  A Good Steward keeps that Cross in their heart always, loving God with all their heart, mind, and soul, and loving neighbor as oneself by being merciful and giving without cost.  All good Stewards remember the Cross!

Stewardship Sunday

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

          I am so thrilled and excited that our Stewardship Ministry this weekend is presenting “Stewardship of Treasure.”  I first want to thank them for putting together the great video we will see in Church this weekend and all the time and energy they have put into this project.

          Whenever we come together as a family, as a parish, we realize and become aware of all that is needed to make our family a truly Holy one as our name sake, “Holy Family” indicates.  There are ministries, committees, sacramental preparation such as RCIA and Rel. Ed., liturgical events, socials, staff, grounds, maintenance, etc., etc., that keep our family vibrant.  These ministries and every aspect of our parish life depends on our generosity.

          I just want to share with you briefly here our income and expenses for last year. (Later in November a more detailed presentation will be given on our budget and future capital expenditures)  For the budget year of 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) we had a total income of $1,480,958.33 and total expenses of $1,422,519.75 giving us a $58,438.68 revenue.  Our parish is healthy financially and that is because of your kindness, generosity, and love.  With some of the recent capital expenditures and those that are on the near horizon will demand that we go into our savings to pay for costs.  Last year’s projected revenue was to be over $100,000 dollars but almost half went for capital expenditures and other unforeseen expenses.  The next two years will bring further needed (and much needed) renovation and repairs throughout our facilities causing both revenue and savings to decrease.

          I ask that as you make this prayer pledge to God that you keep in mind the needs of our family.  The needs also go beyond just monetary pledges, but also time, work, and prayer.  All are needed for us to continue and to excel as a vibrant community.  I will not ask or tell you how much more you should give; I leave that up to you and our Lord.  Please take home the cards as Fr. Sanjai, Dc. Jerry, Dc. Joe and I also will do and offer your prayer and treasure to God, for as we give to the Church we give to God.  I also know that some maybe struggling, again, if you cannot give financially please continue to pray for us and help in our ministries, from which there are many to choose from.

          I am humbled by your love, prayer, and service to our family.  Please know you are in my prayers each and every day.  May God continue to bless you and your families and friends with much grace, joy, and peace.  In Christ Jesus our Lord, Fr. John

Likened to a Wedding Feast

What are weddings like?  They are events that are filled with great joy, excitement, a little nervousness I would imagine, and a lot of good food.  Officiating weddings is also a lot of fun for us priests and deacons, these are some of the happiest moments in peoples’ lives that we get to share in.  There is also something that makes us feel good when we receive a wedding invitation be it from a family member or friend.  The invitation tells us that we are important to the future bride and groom, they want us there to share with them in their happiness.  There is also the ritual involved of sending back the invitation, of actually preparing to go the wedding the day of.  We get dressed up in our best suit or dress, the makeup, the clean shaves, the doing of the hair, the whole nine yards so-to-speak.  We do all of this because it is an important day and we realize the day’s significance. 

Think for a moment how special a wedding day is.  Now think for a moment how special it would be to attend the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God.  In today’s Gospel Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a wedding feast and wedding language is often used when Jesus refers to our relationship with Him.  When we think of the wedding feast of the Lamb we usually think of the wedding feast we will have with Jesus in heaven and that is true there will be that great heavenly feast we will all celebrate with Jesus.

And yet, Jesus already gives us a taste of this wedding feast here on earth, it is what we celebrate each and every Sunday, the mass or the liturgy.  Often we think of mass as obligation and it is that, it is obligatory, but it is also “inviting” in its nature.  Jesus sends us an invitation each week and His desire is that we attend in order that He can share His joy with us.  Listen again, in brief to the words of the Gospel,

"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.  He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.  A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."’  Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.  The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.  The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.  Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests."

We are obligated to go to the wedding of a family member, be it our brother, sister, cousin, good friend, but if you told them you only went because they were your brother, sister, or friend they would feel hurt, because you only came out of obligation and not from love also.  The obligatory nature of attending a family member’s wedding is a given, just like mass, but it also has to go beyond that, it must be moved in love, a response to an invitation is what Jesus is looking for, just as the bride and groom to be are looking for.

In the Gospel some went away to their farm or business, today others turn away because little Susie has soccer practice, others turn away because they are on vacation, others turn away because they are working, others because the wedding is boring, others because they are their own spiritual masters, and a slew of other reasons, all turning down the invitation from our Lord to His wedding.

There is a flip side, however, those who do attend the wedding must not become self-righteous as it is clear in the Gospel that Jesus throws out some of the invited guests whom were not chosen, they were the self-righteous, where as the sinner who repents and answers the invitation is most welcome, i.e. prostitutes, thieves, and murders will enter the kingdom of God before you (Jesus’ response to the self-righteous).

If we believe that we are truly in the midst of and celebrating the wedding feast of the Lamb, right now, right here, then what does that mean for us?  We are in the presence of God and each and every one of us, I foremost am a sinner, and yet God in His mercy extended an invitation to me. I have answered it, so have you since you are standing here with me, but the invitation goes even deeper than just arriving here, it goes right to the core of our being.  Jesus’ invitation is one of holiness and becoming more like Him.  The invitation is that we grow from what we receive and that growth is that we become saints so that the wedding feast of the Lamb is not just celebrated for one hour on Sunday, but that the wedding feast of the Lamb is celebrated in my heart and soul each and every moment, there is the invitation – how will you respond, how will you respond!!!

We Should Long to be with Christ

Is anyone ever truly ready to let go of this life?  Even St. Paul shares with us from his letter to the Philippians, “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.   If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.  And I do not know which I shall choose.  I am caught between the two.”  God has given us the instinct to live and rightly so, but He has also given us another desire, to be where He is, in His full presence, Heaven.

Yet, death is very difficult, for a number of reasons.  There is the unknown, for example, a child may have fear of riding a bike without training wheels for the first time and it may take some time before the child actually rides just a two wheeled bicycle.  There is a fear of the unknown, what does it feel like to ride the bike without training wheels, will I fall, will I crash, will I get hurt?  All are good questions.  Eventually the child musters the courage and takes a leap of faith and rides that bike for the first time without the training wheels.  And then what happens?  Now the child never wants to get off the bike, the experience has reinforced in the child’s mind that it can be done and there is knowledge of what it feels like.  The problem with death is that we cannot practice.  I can’t take the training wheels off and try it a couple of times, death is a onetime experience for just about all of us (exceptions, i.e. Lazarus).

Another difficulty is that we put so much stock in this life, again rightly so since God has given us a deep desire to live and survive less we all give up to easily in this life, but at the same time our vision needs to be on the prize.  God is described as a jealous God, not in the sense of weakness, but as a reminder that nothing in this world makes sense, has value, or is good without God and Him first, in all things.  We can love more fully, more purely, more divinely (so-to-speak) when our relationship with God always comes first.

Listen to how the 2^nd reading from St. Paul closes today, “I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.”  Do we have the same longing, “to be with Christ,” before all things?  There is a saying for priests, “Celebrate this mass as it would be your first mass, your last mass, your only mass.”  This saying can be modified for all of us, “Live today as it would be your first day, your last day, your only day.”  What would your priorities be if that was the case?  As Christians we would answer, “Christ would be our priority.”  If so then, remember to long for Him each and everyday because it may be the last day, it may be our only day.  Amen, FJ

Our Crosses: They Change the World

We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.  These are the words we pray when we do the Stations of the Cross.  They are simple, yet profound.  Simple in that they can be easily remembered, profound because we are calling an object used for execution – for death, holy.

In our lives we undergo many sufferings.  I do not say this to make life sound gloomy or unhappy.  It is a truth and sufferings come from many places, some suffering comes simply because of our humanity, our own weakness both in the spiritual life and even the physical.  Some sufferings we receive come from others in and how they have treated us.  Dare I say some sufferings even come from God, not because God is evil or that He enjoys suffering, but He allows it for some greater good, which is sometimes understood immediately and at other times understood much later.

No matter what we suffer they are our crosses.  They are not to be shunned, but picked up in dignity and strength.  Crosses may be heavy burdens sometimes and we feel like we can’t take one more step and yet, somehow, someway, we do take one more step and another and another.  That is God’s grace and love which is so deep within us, even though at times not recognized that helps us to move forward.

Think of our Savior, He too found it excruciating to take that next step forward; His cross was unbelievably heavy, for He was carrying the whole world on His shoulders.  What gave Him strength to go forward; it was love, His love for us.

It is always just a simple thing to say, “pick up your cross and follow me,” often times relegated to simple piety, but to actually carry the thing is never easy, but profound beyond measure, because when I do carry it, love is poured out in eternity, changing all of those around us and even ourselves.  We run from suffering and that’s good, only a madman would run towards it, even Jesus looked to avoid it, but in the end we accept the cross because we realize that through acts of love, we too like Jesus, will change the world.  Amen!

FJ