Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
If you have the chance, take some time to go back and look through the previous Fridays’ readings from this Lenten season. You will discover that this is at least the fourth time this Lent that people have tried to arrest or kill Jesus. Thus far, it seems, Jesus stands as the traditional hero in an action film, just managing to escape from tight spots to the relief of adoring fans. Jesus is working against evil and going around doing good, and all the while managing to stay one step ahead of his enemies. Attentive readers may well wonder, though, how long this fortune can last. If the people really are out to get Jesus, won’t they succeed at some point?
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Four years ago my sister became a fully consecrated Dominican sister, full habit and all. One of the most powerful parts of her final vow ceremony was when she and seven other women laid themselves prostrate on the altar. This act of total surrender sent a very clear message that these women had chosen to give all of themselves to the Lord. They were ready to be changed by the Lord and to live their lives for the Lord.
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults (this is the process whereby adults are either baptized or received into the Catholic Church) name Lent as “The Period of Purification and Enlightenment.” Like for the candidates the whole Lenten season is full of opportunities for all Christians to grow away from sin and become more faithful to the gospel. For any of us who have been trying to stay true to our Lenten sacrifices, we know that when faced with temptation, some days our resistance is better than others. Purification occurs when we stay true to our faith commitments. While this purification is painful at times, its sanctifying work in us makes us healthier and holier. What is not always clear about purification at the beginning of the process is what will be the end results?
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s first reading from Numbers is about the “children of Israel” as they are wandering in the desert. And I don’t think that the word “children” is incidental here: they begin complaining to Moses about the long journey, specifically about the food! They are tired, and they see no end in sight. In punishment for their belly-aching, God sends snakes to bite the people. This, of course, makes them repent of their complaining. The same God who appears to Moses through the burning bush then also provides the means for curing their snake bites: “Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” The story can make God seem rather mean, but we have to understand the story in the context of the Exodus. The Israelites, a newly formed nation, have been delivered from the Egyptians by God, their Savior. They are very quick, however, to forget this liberation and the person through whom God has chosen to effect it, Moses.
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
As Christians we live in a world where we are surrounded by many people who live and talk very differently than us. Unfortunately, I find it very easy to begin to judge and sometimes this leads to thoughts of condemnation for behaviors I believe are sinful. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus reminds me that treating others in this way is wrong, and does not build up the kingdom. I think that Jesus is telling me to “put down my stone” because I too am a sinner. Jesus shows us that the best way- the only way- to bring about redemption for a sinner is love and mercy. If we truly want to bring Christ and his message to the people around us, we must first love them. When they experience the love of Christ through us, then they will be able to recognize their need for forgiveness and mercy, and they will turn to Christ and believe.
Fifth Sunday of Lent
The same night that I had the “Attack of the Kidney Stones,” at about 2:30 in the morning I had an emergency call from South View Hospital. Margaret was actively dying. Sometimes, I receive emergency calls in the middle of the night only for me to get there and realize that the family had panicked. This night, because I had had intense pain, I said to myself, “She better be dying.” When I reached the hospital, the nurses were barely managing to keep Margaret alive. I gave Margaret the last sacraments. There is something strangely blessed and beautiful about moments like these. To consciously and deliberately hand someone we dearly love into the hands of God for eternity is a hauntingly awesome thing. A little after I left, Margaret had died. She was a hundred years old. I came to know later that Margaret had four kids and she had buried three of them and her husband. There were quite a few tragedies in the span of hundred years. Her funeral was held here on Tuesday. None of the family present at the funeral was Catholic. They were clearly grieving deeply as their tears told the story. And yet, not one of them went away from the funeral in despair and hopelessness. Some of them met me outside to let me know how peace-filled they were. More than anything else, though, it is in moments like these that I become most intensely aware of the power of my faith in Jesus Christ. If you have buried someone you love, and you have grieved like Martha and Mary in today’s gospel reading, you too probably are grateful for your faith in Jesus Christ.
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
In his series Catholicism, Fr. Robert Barron tells a story of Bishop Desmond Tutu living in Apartheid South Africa. During the episode he says: “Bishop Desmond Tutu was walking down a narrow sidewalk in South Africa. He came to a portion of the sidewalk that was more like a narrow bridge over a muddy area. Approaching him was a white man, a known racist, who said to Tutu, ‘Step aside, I don’t make way for gorillas’. Bishop Tutu stepped off the sidewalk, gestured broadly, and said, ‘I do’.” Now, I’m not trying to justify insulting one another, but you have to appreciate the poise that Bishop Tutu retained during that interaction. I comment on this, because while overt racism was his specific experience, we all experience being wronged, and those wrongs can often be labeled as sin.
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Here we are, four weeks into Lent, four weeks into the liturgical time of desert and we have a reading from Exodus (32: 7-14) about the Israelites in the desert. In this reading, they have grown impatient waiting for Moses who has gone up Mount Sinai awaiting God’s instructions. In their impatience they make a golden calf to worship. They were not pleased with God, the God of Moses, so they created an idol to make their god.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
As a child, my father taught us our prayers and prayed with us on the evenings when he was home. It is strange how time seems to erase our memories. Dad has been dead for twenty years. He never met my wife or family, but in a funny way I know they have met him.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
It’s April Fools’ day! I’ve never been very good at April Fools’ jokes. More often than not, I’m on the receiving end of the antics. Even more often, I do foolish things to myself. For instance, on Saturday I was watching basketball with some friends. Amongst other things, they set out a bowl of chili dip. Forgetting that my family had given up meat for Lent, I plunged a chip full of chili dip into my mouth. I instantly remembered my Lenten vow and made a comment to my friends about how I screwed up.
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Recently I have had several conversations with people about their grown children. Most often they describe their children as well adjusted and successful adults who have families and contribute to the good of society. These parents have also expressed their ongoing concern about their children not practicing their faith. My own children are not practicing the faith they were raised in. For many parents this is not only a concern but a source of deep pain. It can also be a source of conflict and tension when, with good intention, parents try and convince their adult children to return to the practice of faith. Today’s Gospel led me to reflect on this issue and consider what pressuring our grown children may say about our own faith.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
(This homily was written three years back. Due to my ill-health, please understand a repeat homily)
I visited the Montgomery County Jail last week to hear a confession. When somebody makes a life-changing confession, I often remind them that the person who came into the confession is not the person who was going out. In other words, a person comes into the confessional a sinner but leaves a saint. But I could not say that to this man, because he was not going out anywhere. In spite of his confession he would still be in jail. In fact, I would be the one who would be going out. As I left the doors of the jail, I had that weird sense that even though this man was incarcerated, that at this moment he was more liberated than I was. Talk about irony, talk about light and darkness, talk about sin an holiness, talk about blindness and being able to see… it was truly weird.
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
When I was in high school, I was of course concerned with the almighty perception of cool. So, when my mom suggested that I go to a Build a Bear store for my cousin's Christmas present I found the idea... less than desirable. (Unfamiliar with build a bear? This video reasonably captures my expectations.) The only thing was, as a high school boy, I didn't have a better idea, so with all of the awkwardness I could muster, I picked out a bear, stuffed it, gave it a heart, recorded messages on it, and produced its birth certificate. Despite my apparent “uncoolness” I found myself valuing that I was doing these things for my cousin. Admittedly there is something cool about building and shaping something the way you want it, to your desires and wishes. As long as that thing isn't God, but that is what we see happen in today's gospel. This famous parable tells us about the Pharisee and the tax collector who go to pray. There is much to be learned from this passage, but lets just focus on the posture and the prayer of the Pharisee.
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Recently a friend and I were talking about how frustrating the “selective hearing” of our children can be. There are many times when I know my son can hear me but is either too distracted to listen or is simply choosing not to listen to what I am saying. I imagine God has the same frustrations with us. God is speaking to us but we are often too busy to hear Him or choosing not to listen to what He is really saying.
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Recently, a national study of teenager and religion came to a profound conclusion that was counter cultural. The survey found that when it comes to faith most teenagers do not rebel against their parents. The survey showed that teenagers in fact follow the model of their parent’s actions. Thus if parents say we need to go to Church every Sunday but in fact only physically go to Mass once a month, then their children understand going to church regularly means once a month.
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Today’s readings lead up to the Annunciation to Mary that she will conceive and bear Jesus. The first reading from Isaiah foretells that the child will be called Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that salvation comes not from our sacrifices and actions but from the saving love of Christ on the cross. This message seems appropriate as we continue our Lenten journeys; it reminds us that it is not our actions or abstentions themselves but that toward which they are pointed--the Passion of Christ--that matters. Finally, the Gospel reading is familiar, so familiar that we might miss how wonderful it is.
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Most of us have probably experienced a time in our lives when someone said something or did something to us that caused us to feel rejected. The pain is even more intense when the people that we love and care about are the very people that cannot accept us. How do we deal with these challenging circumstances?
Third Sunday of Lent
Last Tuesday, every parish in the archdiocese was open from 7 - 9pm for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was called the “Light is on for You,” program. I began with our First Holy Communion kids at 6:30. By the time the last person made it out of the confessional, it was a little after 10 pm. Let me first talk about the kids. Many of them came a little unsure and apprehensive about what to expect from the Sacrament. But by the time they were finished, most of them were thrilled at having accomplished something wonderful. Most of them left the confessional with the usual childlike dance. As far as the adults were concerned, there were many people who had not been to the Sacrament in years. It seems to me that many people had a genuine encountered the ‘mercy’ of Christ that Pope Francis has been talking about.