March 31, 2008
There were so many amazing things that happened in the days just before and after the first Easter. When I think about Jesus as being God, some of these things make sense to me, but when I think that Jesus was also a man, I find his actions incredible. Imagine Holy Thursday evening. This was the night before he was going to die a horrible and painful death. When he was eating with his apostles, he knew that his torture would begin that same night and would not end until he died the following afternoon. If I knew that I had such a short time left with my closest friends, I’d probably reminisce about happier times. I might try to tell them everything I thought they needed to know, so my teachings would carry on. But what did Jesus do? He shared a meal with them, and in the act of sharing that meal, he instituted the Eucharist – the cornerstone of our lives as Christians. And after this simple meal, wouldn’t you think that there would be a long speech by Jesus explaining what the Eucharist was about and saying goodbye to his friends? Instead, Jesus washed the feet of his apostles. He obviously believed that his actions would speak louder than any words. His actions told us to serve one another with humility. And he felt so strongly about this message of humble service, that it was the last thing he shared with the whole group before he was arrested.
In today’s Gospel we heard the story about Jesus appearing to the apostles on the evening of the resurrection. We know the apostles were afraid. It’s likely the authorities thought the apostles had secretly stolen the body of Jesus, so that people would believe what Jesus had said about rising from the dead. So Jesus appeared in their midst. Again, I asked myself – what would I have done in that situation? Remember, as we say in the creed, when Jesus died, he descended to the dead. He went to free those who had died before him – to allow them to enter heaven. If that was me, I would want to tell my friends all about it: “Hey, do you know who I saw?” But what did Jesus do? He offered his friends peace – he breathed the Holy Spirit on them, and then he gave them the power to forgive sins. Jesus – who had just atoned for the sins of all humanity by his death – passed on this marvelous power. Maybe that’s the common theme in the confusing and amazing things that Jesus did during this very special time – passing it on. You remember on Holy Thursday, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he said “Do this in remembrance of me.” He was saying: “Pass it on.” When he washed the feet of his apostles, he told them to do the same to each other. Again, he was saying: “Pass it on.” And now, after atoning for the sins of all humanity, he was saying once more: “Pass it on.” We heard in the Acts of the Apostles – the first reading – about how some of his disciples actually lived this message during the time after the Resurrection. Luke described an almost perfect world where people prayed together, ate together, and shared their possessions with each other. They were passing on the good news that they had heard – they were living the good news. Luke writes: “…[they] ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people.” Tonight when you sit down to eat, try eating your food with a glad and generous heart! I think it would be a wonderful meal. Imagine: Jesus gave us another lesson without words in today’s gospel. You all know the story about doubting Thomas. I actually think we’re too hard on Thomas. I mean, can you imagine your friends telling you that someone who has just died is alive again? I can understand how Thomas would have trouble believing this if he hadn’t actually seen Jesus. Jesus’ body was different after the resurrection. We heard how Mary Magdalene saw him and thought he was a gardener. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus talked with Jesus for a long time and only recognized him when he broke the bread with them. We heard in the gospel how Jesus was able to simply appear in the middle of a locked room. So how would Jesus let Thomas know who he was? If it was me, I’d probably do what Tom Hanks did in the movie Big. In the movie, a teenage boy is at a carnival (he’s short) and puts a quarter in a machine and makes a wish to become big, and the machine says his wish is granted. So overnight, he grows to about six foot tall and ages about 15 years. When he woke up, he was, of course, confused, and went to see his best friend. When his best friend didn’t recognize him, he started telling his friend things that only the two of them would know. After a long time, his friend was finally convinced that the person in front of him really was his friend. I’m sure Jesus could have done this with Thomas by saying or recalling things that only the two of them would know, but what did Jesus do? He stretched out his hands, and showed Thomas the wound in his side. In fact, this was the way he showed himself to the other apostles the week earlier. What was Jesus telling them?
By extending his wounds to them, he was inviting them not only to touch his physical wounds, but to touch the wounds of the world. Today we see these wounds in the homeless, the victims of war and racial violence, battered women and children, those suffering with debilitating physical and mental illnesses. By extending his wounds to us, he’s inviting us to pass on the special love that he had for the suffering people of his day, to the suffering people of our day.
Easter is a time when we remember our baptism in a special way. At the Easter vigil, we saw five adults walk through the baptismal font in a very beautiful and moving ceremony, initiating them into the Catholic faith. On Easter Sunday, six little babies were baptized. Baptism mirrors Christ’s death and resurrection. As we immerse ourselves in the baptismal waters, we die to sin, and we arise from the waters as Christ rose from the tomb on the first Easter.
As we remember our baptisms during this special season, we should remember the important messages that Christ gave us in the difficult – and yet glorious times surrounding his death and resurrection – his clear and unequivocal instruction to share and worship in the Eucharist, to serve one another in humility, and to forgive. This is the call of our baptism. Pass it on.
March 14, 2008
5th Sunday in Lent – Cycle A
Many years ago, I was out for a run in the evening. We were living in a small suburb of Philadelphia. I was running on the sidewalk and hit some broken pavement. I went over on my ankle and crashed pretty hard. By the time I limped home, my ankle was swollen up and it was really sore – so I got a ride to the hospital. The emergency room was busy that night – so busy I never did get anyone to look at my ankle. But I remember seeing one guy who left a lasting impression – it was a guy having a heart attack. He was hooked up to a bunch of machines, and it seemed like everything was under control – but it was his eyes that I’ll never forget. I had never seen such a look of terror in anyone’s eyes. What scares us so much about dying? You might think it’s a silly question, but isn’t it strange that something everyone before us has done – and something all of us will do – fills us with such fear? You might think it’s natural to be afraid of dying because we don’t really know what happens next. There are some people say they’re not afraid of dying; they just don’t want to do it today – or tomorrow – or any time soon. I think I’m in that category. Our faith tells us that if we follow the teachings of Jesus, we’ll be in heaven for eternity. But what’s heaven like? Will we even get to heaven? And what’s the other place like? How good do we have to be to get to heaven – or how bad can we be and still get to heaven? Does God grade on a curve? We get some reassurance in the gospel today. Jesus told Martha that her brother, Lazarus, would rise again. And when Martha said she believed this – that Lazarus would rise again in the resurrection at the end of time – Jesus answered by saying that HE (Jesus) is the resurrection. And to make sure everyone understood and believed, he raised Lazarus from the dead. This wasn’t a resurrection – Lazarus wasn’t raised to eternal life. His body was brought back to life after being truly dead. Lazarus would die again and, we hope, would then be called to eternal life in heaven. But even though Lazarus would die again, Jesus used this miracle to help us believe in the resurrection and to let us know what we have to do. He said: “…everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” You notice, he’s not just saying we have to believe in him – we also have to live in him. The way we live has to mirror our beliefs. Tim McGraw had a song a couple years ago called: “Live like you were dying.” It tells the story about a guy in his early forties who found out he had a short time to live, and what the guy did. He talks about going sky diving, climbing the Rocky Mountains. He even went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu. But he also sang about loving deeper, forgiving people, being a better husband and father – going fishing with his dad. Laura and I went to a movie a couple weeks ago. You know, they say that married couples are still supposed to go out on dates – well, we did. We saw a movie called The Bucket List. It’s a story about a billionaire (played by Jack Nicholson) and a car mechanic (played by Morgan Freeman), and they end up in the same hospital room, and both of them are diagnosed with terminal cancer. So they make up this list called “the bucket list” – things they want to do before they kick the bucket. And just like the Tim McGraw song, they wanted to do some things: sky diving (again), they drove race cars, and kissed a pretty girl. But they also wanted to laugh till they cried – witness something truly majestic – and do an unselfish act for a perfect stranger. Why did I see such a look of terror on the face of that guy in the emergency room who was having a heart attack? Why does death scare us so much? Remember that Jesus said if we believe in him and if we live in him, even if we die, we will live. Maybe the people who are terrified of death are the people who don’t believe in Jesus. If you didn’t believe in Jesus and in the resurrection, how would you approach death? Imagine nearing the end of your life believing that when you close your eyes for the last time – that’s all there is and there ain’t no more. I think I’d be terrified too! But maybe it’s not that we don’t believe in Jesus, but that we don’t live in Jesus. If heaven is a place of peace, and kindness, and love – how would we expect to feel like we belong there if we haven’t lived with peace, kindness, and love? Surely we would feel out of place. We tend not to think about the fact that we will die some day. Jesus is telling us that we will die, but if we believe in him and if we live in him, we will rise with him. But how do we live with him? Now I wouldn’t call Tim McGraw a great prophet, but I think he gave us some very good advice. We need to live like we were dying – not frantically trying to do as much as we can as soon as we can, but focusing on the things that are important. Remember, he didn’t just talk about riding an ornery farm animal, he also talked about loving and forgiving, and being present to the people in his life. I spoke with a friend of mine who’s a hospital chaplain, and he spends a lot of time with people who are dying. I asked him what he’s learned about living, from people who are dying. He told me that none of the people who are dying talk about the office, and no one talks about money. Mostly, they talk about relationships – things they’ve done with other people (good things and bad things). He said that some people have questions about what’s coming after they die. But he also said that people who have faith are usually more at peace. And then he said something that really speaks to the gospel today. He said that people of faith – the people who are more at peace – have lived different lives. That’s what Jesus is calling us to do today, and tomorrow, and the next day – to live different lives. You’ve probably heard it said that none of us is getting out of this world alive. Not all of us are comfortable thinking about death, but death is as much a part of our lives as birth. Jesus tells us today that if we believe in him, he will raise us up, but we also have to live in him. We have to live like we were dying.
March 14, 2008
4th Sunday in Lent – Cycle A
[Deacon Pat is blindfolded and wanders around the church with the help of a walking stick]
God has given us five senses.
When I think of the sense of touch, I think of a mother holding a newborn child. When we greet one another, we kiss or shake hands – touch. Our sense of touch can also protect us. If we put our hand on something hot, or something hot – we immediately draw back.
We don’t spend enough time thanking God for our sense of smell. Think of the smell when you walk into a coffee shop, or a restaurant that specializes in barbeque. And have you ever walked through the perfume department at the Bay? Our sense of smell can also protect us. When we smell smoke in the house we get up immediately to find out what’s wrong.
Our sense of taste is one that I especially appreciate. I can’t tell you how much I miss the taste of bacon – or ribs. And taste also has a protective function. Things that are poisonous to eat often taste terrible.
Our sense of hearing is a great blessing. We can listen to music – hear birds sing. We can have a conversation with a friend. We have just heard the Word of God. If you’ve ever walked on a country road, you know how important it is to be able to hear cars and trucks coming. I’m always amazed at how many people wear earphones in situations where it’s important to be able to hear what’s going on around them.
Now I’ve got to get back to the altar – is there anyone who can help me get there? Just take my arm – and let me know when we’re getting close to the step.
[A parishioner helps Deacon Pat get back to the ambo, where he takes his blindfold off.]
Now there’s obviously one of the five senses that I haven’t talked about – and that’s our sense of sight. I think most of us would say that their sense of sight is their most important sense. You’ve seen me wandering around the church without my sense of sight. I apologize if I banged into someone, but I wanted you to be able to feel – through me – how important our sense of sight is, and how difficult it would be without our sense of sight.
Imagine the man in today’s Gospel. St. John says that he had been blind since birth. Now – when I was wandering around the church, I still had a mental picture of the stained glass windows – the beautiful walls – and all of your smiling faces. Imagine what it would be like to describe a stained glass window to someone who had been blind all his life. How would you describe blue? How would you describe the way light shines through a stained glass window? How could you expect the blind person to understand the beauty of a sunset?
You saw how difficult it was for me to make my way around the church – and I’ve spent a fair bit of time here. If it hadn’t been for the help of a kind parishioner and this wonderful walking stick that was made by Andy Whyte, I would have had a lot of trouble getting back up here (though it might have been more entertaining for you).
Today’s gospel is a marvelous story of the power and kindness of Jesus, but it’s also a metaphor. Jesus not only restored the man’s sight – Jesus showed that he was truly the son of God. Isn’t it ironic that when the formerly-blind man went to show himself to the Pharisees, they refused to see what was in front of their own eyes? They were the blind ones!
When we think about the Pharisees, we get very angry. Imagine – Jesus, the son of God walked among them – spoke to them – preached to them – and they didn’t listen! How stupid could they be! If Jesus were here, talking to us – telling us about his Father, preaching to us – we would never reject him. We would hang on every word. We would leave the church inspired to tell everyone we knew that we had heard the son of God speaking to us.
Well, what do you think you heard today? Do you think Father Paul made up this story of the man born blind just for your benefit? No – you heard Jesus talking to you today just as if he were standing in front of you wearing his robe and sandals.
So why aren’t you all anxious to get home and phone your friends and tell them that Jesus spoke to you today? Why don’t you feel TRANSFORMED – TRANSFIGURED by the words you heard here today? Why do you think that for most of us, tomorrow will be pretty much the same as today? Because we’re blind! No less than the Pharisees in the gospel – we will not allow ourselves to see Jesus. But no less than the man born blind – Jesus is reaching out to us – offering to take the mud from our eyes so that we can see. Why don’t we get it?
There’s a TV commercial on for Claritin. Claritin is an antihistamine that helps people who have allergies – you know, runny nose, watery eyes. The commercial usually plays in the spring when the pollen comes out. It starts with kids and dogs outside playing – and there’s usually a lawn mower, but the picture is a little fuzzy. Then a hand comes across the screen and pulls away what looks like a plastic sheet. The picture becomes clear, the allergy symptoms go away, and everyone lives happily ever after.
When we have the chance to SEE Jesus, what makes us blind – what is the film in front of the TV screen for us? Do something with me. I’m going to mention some things that make us blind – and every time I mention one of these things, use your hand and pretend that you are pulling a plastic sheet across your eyes. When you think you have enough plastic sheets across your eyes that you are blind to Jesus – close your eyes.
Selfishness…
Hatred…
Gossip…
Concern about material possessions…
Impure thoughts and actions…
Lying…
Stealing…
Wanting what other people have…
Can any of you see any more??? I’m guessing that all of you have your eyes closed – there are simply too many things that I mentioned that would keep you from seeing Jesus.
Now, keep your eyes closed, and I’ll say some things that should remove our blindness. When I say them, pretend you’re peeling away one of the plastic sheets. And when you’ve peeled away enough of them, you can open your eyes.
Generosity…
Daily prayer…
Purity of mind and body…
Honesty…
Integrity…
Kindness…
Love…
I’m guessing that all of you can see again.
We’re all on a journey to God. Because we’re human, you and I spend much of our lives putting plastic sheets over our eyes and then taking them off — and then on — and then off.
There are people who have never heard of God, or Jesus Christ. Some of them can still get through life being good people. Even when I was blind, I was able to get around with the help of my walking stick and one of the parishioners. But we don’t need those things – we have Jesus himself who came to earth to cure our blindness.
This week, when you catch yourself doing something that blinds you to Jesus – take a moment and consciously pull that plastic sheet off your eyes. Recognize what blinds you and clear your eyes as soon as you can. It will be much easier to get where you’re going if you can see.
March 14, 2008
2nd Sunday of Lent – The Transfiguration
There was a program on TV a couple of years ago called Extreme Makeover. They would take people who had some sort of physical problem – usually a number of physical problems. They might have really crooked teeth, bad skin – maybe they were too big in some places – too small in other places – droopy, saggy, you name it. And they would take them to Hollywood (where else) and have a whole team of people work on them. There were plastic surgeons, special dentists, physical trainers, dieticians – people to help them buy clothes and show them how to put on make-up, how to fix their hair and so on. The people would be away from home for about six weeks. When they came back, there would be a big party with all their family and friends, and when everyone was there, this person who had been “transformed” by the team of people would walk into the party with new clothes, new hair, new teeth, a new body.
And there would be interviews with all the people and they would say things like: “now she’s as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.” And the person who had all the work done would say: “I feel like I’ve been give a new life – like that old person doesn’t exist any more!” And you could tell by the way they walked, and the way they carried themselves that something had happened – they were different.
In today’s gospel, Jesus undergoes an extreme makeover – of sorts. He and the apostles had been on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus knew that he would fight with the religious and civil authorities, and that he would die. He also knew that he would rise again. But when he tried to tell the apostles, they got very upset. Think about it – they had left everything to follow Jesus, and now Jesus – their leader – was telling them that he was going to die. So Jesus gave them a sign – he took Peter, James, and John and was transfigured before their eyes. Imagine! Now they had seen many things during the time they spent with Jesus – healing sick people, calming the seas – but to be transfigured – to glow like the sun – to speak with Moses and Elijah (people who had been dead for many years – who were known only as historical figures).
Jesus was telling them – showing them – who he was – showing them his glorified body – perhaps trying to help them understand what was going to happen, but also calling them – and us – to be transformed. He’s calling us to be transfigured – to give our spiritual selves an extreme makeover.
Now I have some bad news – you won’t be flown to Hollywood, and you won’t have a team of spiritual gurus nipping and tucking and poking and prodding. And you won’t go to a mountain, glow like the sun, and talk with Moses and Elijah. And it will probably take more than the six weeks it takes in Extreme Makeover.
How does this happen? There are some people who talk about dramatic and almost instantaneous conversion experiences – but the more usual way for people like you and me is a slow and gradual journey to God. Some of us who are a bit older might think that our relationship with God is as good as it’s going to get, and we get lazy. Well think about Abram in the first reading. At age 75, he was settled on his land (the land of his family) – things were stable and predictable – but God called him to something greater. The reading says he didn’t hesitate – he got up and left the land of his family and went somewhere else to lead – indeed, to create – a new family – the people of God. He was transformed from Abram to Abraham.
So whether we’re young or old, we are called to be transformed – to bring ourselves closer to God. But like I said, for most of us, this doesn’t happen quickly. And maybe that’s why some of us ignore our relationship with God. When we find that we can’t just go to Hollywood, or up a mountain and transform our spiritual selves, we sort of lose interest in the relationship – we give up. We look at people like Mother Theresa, or Pope John Paul – holy people – and say – I can’t be like that – or at least, I can’t be like that tomorrow or the next day. Why should I try?
Well, if you’ve ever been in loving relationship with a husband or wife, girlfriend or boyfriend, you probably remember that something was necessary for the relationship to begin. You needed to say something to the other person, or they had to say something to you. Now, sometimes these relationships take off like a house afire – kind of like an extreme makeover. Fortunate relationships are able to get past that turmoil and chaos, and mature into relationships that grow slowly and steadily day after day, month after month. And every now and then – even in a mature relationship – there will be experiences that transform – that take the relationship to a higher level: maybe a vacation, a marriage encounter weekend, the birth of a child.
Most people who’ve been married a long time will tell you that the most important ingredient in a good marriage is communication. Our relationship with God is no different. God put us here so that we could have a relationship with him – a relationship that transforms and transfigures us. It’s our highest calling. But just as relationships between husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends don’t grow or even last if there is no communication, we can’t expect our relationship with God to grow without the same sort of communication.
When you talk to some people about their relationship with God, they will tell you that it was never really that great, but then they experience an extreme situation: the death of a parent – a serious illness in a child – loss of a job. It’s strange that it is often these sorts of challenges in our lives that transform our relationship with God in a dramatic way?
But why wait!?! What’s keeping us from transforming ourselves today, and tomorrow – and the next day? I think we often get in our own way. We get so absorbed with ourselves that we forget that everything we have is a gift from God. We are so focused on getting enough for ourselves that we can’t open ourselves to God – we are too important to ourselves to think about God. We need to get out of our own way.
I remember so many times in my life that I pretty much ignored my prayer life. I’d come to mass on Sunday, but for the rest of the week you wouldn’t know that I had a relationship with God or that I even wanted a relationship with God. I had to get to work – I had deadlines. The first thought in my mind when I got up in the morning was getting out the door and off to work as quickly as possible. All of these “me” things were more important than my relationship with God. I was in my own way and I didn’t even know it.
I think it might be easier to have a relationship with God if you could just call God on the phone and have a chat, but you can’t. Still, we can talk to God. I hope that’s why all of you are here today. But if weekend Mass is the only time we talk to God, how can we hope have a relationship that will transform us? Think about how often you call your best friend on the phone (or send text messages). I think some of you remember Father Larry Richards who was here a while ago. Father Larry says that we should pray at least one hour a day. The most important thing we can do in this life is to form ourselves to God – to transform ourselves by forming ourselves to God. I will quote Father Larry: “Prayer is about you submitting your will and your life to the will of your master, who is God.”
It is no accident that we hear about the Transfiguration during Lent. Through almsgiving, fasting, and prayer – we are called to transform our lives.
I know you are all busy, but I would ask all of you to take some time each morning this week and each evening this week to communicate with God in prayer. You may be able to pray for five minutes – maybe even a half hour. A half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening would get you to the one hour that Father Larry said we should do (at a minimum). You can pray the Rosary, you can read prayers from a prayer book, or you can sit quietly and talk to God.
If you are able to do this for one week, you should be able to see a change in your relationship with God – the beginnings of a transformation – perhaps the beginning of an extreme makeover.
March 14, 2008
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A
It’s interesting to watch parents when kids act up in public places – in a restaurant – in church. The reactions of parents generally fall into two categories. There are those who say: “Now stop doing that! Just sit still! Be quiet!” And there are others who pull out a colouring book – or play a game with the child. In the time of Christ, people looked to the Ten Commandments for guidance on how to live. With few exceptions, the Ten Commandments are written in the negative: “Don’t kill, don’t steal, and don’t use the Lord’s name in vain. It’s like the parents saying: “Stop doing that! Be quiet! Just sit still!” The Beatitudes that Jesus gave us in today’s Gospel are different. Instead of saying: “Don’t do this, don’t do that,” Jesus says: “Blessed are you if you are merciful – if you seek peace – and so on.” It’s like the parent who pulls out the coloring book when their child is misbehaving. It’s a very different focus.The obsession with “don’ts” in the Old Testament got people so worried about what they were NOT supposed to do, that they forgot what they WERE supposed to do. How often did Jesus criticize the Pharisees for this? Let’s look briefly at each of the beatitudes. When Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he is not talking about financial poverty, but spiritual poverty. But think about financial poverty. People who are financially poor are more likely to have to depend on others. Wealthy people are more likely to feel that they don’t need anyone – they can do it themselves. If we are spiritually poor, we understand our dependence on God. During my trip to South Africa I met an 80 year old nun who was working in one of the rural areas. She overheard that I had recently been ordained, and thought I was a priest. Before I left, she asked if I would hear her confession. I explained that I was a deacon and couldn’t hear her confession. But I marveled that this woman who was living a life entirely dedicated to prayer and the service of God would have such a strong desire for confession. Surely, she was poor in spirit – she recognized her total and utter dependence on God. Surely the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like her. Jesus said those who mourn are blessed, and they will be comforted. Those who work with the families of people who have died talk about the importance of mourning. They tell us that unless we mourn our losses, we never find peace. Some people refuse to mourn. Some who have lost a loved one say: “I try not to think about it – I’m just going on with my life as if nothing happened.” These people will not be comforted. Jesus is also talking about people who mourn for their sins and the sins of society. We can ignore our sins – and they will fester – but if we mourn for our sins – then we can be forgiven. We can also mourn the sins of our society – abortion, discrimination, crime, corruption – or we can ignore them. Jesus tells us that if we mourn – we will be comforted. When Jesus says: “Blessed are the meek,” it sounds like he’s saying: “Blessed are the wimps.” Meekness is not very popular these days. And it was not very popular in the time of Christ. Their Messiah was not supposed to be meek. But the word translated as “meek” can more appropriately be translated as “patient, gentle, charitable, humble. Will these kinds of people inherit the earth? Are these the sorts of people we elect to public office? Do they run our institutions or corporations? For the most part, NO. But when Jesus says that the meek will inherit the earth – he’s telling us that these people will find contentment and peace in their lives on earth – a peace that the arrogant and the selfish will never know. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Righteousness refers to our response to God’s gifts. We could say: “Blessed are those who try to be good and holy people.” But it’s more that just trying – Jesus says that we must hunger and thirst to be good and holy. If our desire to be good and holy takes on the urgency of hunger and thirst – then we will be filled. When we hear: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy,” we think of the words of the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” There was a grandmother celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. Someone asked her the secret of her long and happy marriage. She said: “On my wedding day, I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook.” A guest asked her what these faults were. She replied: “To tell you the truth, my dear, I never did get around to listing them. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself – lucky for him that’s one of the ten.” It’s sometimes hard for us to be merciful – to forgive others and to love others. When Jesus tells us the merciful will receive mercy, he’s talking about the great peace that we can all have if we unload hatred, anger and resentment – and offer love and forgiveness. The statement: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God,” reminded me of something Fr. Paul said a couple of weeks ago when he was talking about pornography. He said: “How can we expect our eyes to see God at the end of our lives when we use those same eyes to see evil things on earth.” Purity of heart is not a popular concept. We’re not expected to be “really good.” We’re expected to have vices. Imagine meeting someone who doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t gamble, has a healthy diet, exercises regularly, is not overweight, attends church, does charitable work (I’m sure I’m missing something). What would we say about that person? Who does she think she is? Does she think she’s better than us? Or, what does he do for fun? Yet Jesus is encouraging us to seek total purity of heart. Jesus then said: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” You’ll notice, he didn’t say: “Blessed are the peace lovers.” We all want peace – but Jesus said that the peacemakers would be called children of God. We sometimes think peacemakers are those who just can’t stand conflict, and will try to “calm things down” at all costs. This is not what Jesus is talking about. When I was in South Africa, I visited the Apartheid Museum. Apartheid was a government system that severely discriminated on the basis of race. The vast majority of South Africans who were black had no vote, and their rights were limited by a series of immoral laws. To keep this system in place, the police were given wide-ranging powers, and many atrocities occurred. With the fall of Apartheid, blacks were given full rights under the law. As you can imagine, many whites were afraid that decades of pent-up anger would spill over in violence and retribution. The leaders of the “new South Africa” had a different vision. They created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was a court-like body, and anyone who felt he or she had been a victim of violence could come forward and be heard. The perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty. While the process and the outcomes were not perfect, it shows some important aspects of peacemaking. Things were not swept under the rug – they were brought into the open. The emphasis was not on vengeance, but on reconciliation. It is an important example for us as we deal with the many conflicts in our lives. Working toward peace does not mean ignoring or glossing-over hurt and injustice. It requires openness, honesty, and a sincere dedication to healing broken relationships. The last beatitude speaks about those persecuted for righteousness; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was telling us that as we try to become good and holy people – we will be criticized. Think about it this way. If we are trying to be good and holy people, we are trying to conform ourselves to the kingdom of heaven – yet we live in the world. It’s understandable that there will be conflict. For example, if we stop our car a little longer at a stop sign so someone will have more time to cross the road, the person behind us may get angry and start honking the horn. If we choose not to go with our friends to a movie that promotes values that are inconsistent with our faith, we may be ridiculed. Jesus was warning the disciples of his day and us that if we follow his teachings, we will have difficulties. The beatitudes focus on the positive things that we can do in our lives to bring us closer to God. We can think again about the misbehaving child whose parents encourage them to do positive things. When the child is focused on positive things, the bad behaviour goes away – there is just no room for it. In the same way, if we follow the beatitudes – if we fill up our lives with the good things, there will simply be no room anything else. I would like to conclude by asking all of you to stand (if you are able), and hold hands with the people next to you. Now, let us ask God, as a family of believers, for the grace of the beatitudes. Please repeat after me.God, make me poor in spirit.God let me mourn and be comfortedGod, help me to be meekGod, may I hunger and thirst for righteousnessGod, let me be mercifulGod, may I be pure in heartGod, help me to bring peaceGod, bless me when I am persecuted for your sake. And now, while you are still holding each other’s hands, feel the grace of God coming to you through is Word and from this family of believers. Please be seated. This week, as you go about your day-to-day activities, recall this special grace-filled moment. Let it follow you around like a beam of sunshine that warms you in the cold, and transforms a harsh world into a loving, holy space. Live this.
March 10, 2008
[Note from Mike: I was talking with Deacon Pat the other day about how some youth were having a hard time wondering how to pray five minutes a day- he e-mailed me this. Print it off and pray with it...]
How do I pray when the words run out?
We are told that it is good to pray each day for at least five minutes in the morning and at least five minutes at night. We need to pray every day because our relationship with God is a “work in progress” that can always get better. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what to say to God when we pray. We can say prayers like the Hail Mary and the Our Father. There are prayer books that give us different prayers for each day. We can read the Bible. There are really lots of possibilities.
Prayer should bring us closer to God. Prayer should help us to be better people. Sometimes reading or reciting prayers brings us closer to God and helps us to be better people, but sometimes we need something less structured – more free-flowing – to connect our lives with God.
When the words run out, you may want to think about (pray about, meditate on) some of the questions listed below. The questions are not meant to make you feel good or bad, proud or inadequate – they are meant to help you become a better person and connect you more strongly with God (remember, it’s a work in progress).
It will be helpful to think about each of these things once a week. As humans, we need constant reminders – we never seem to get it right “once and for all.” And thinking about these things once a week will give you an idea of whether you’re making progress.
This is not a magical list. You may want to add some things that are more important to you and your life. Some of these things may change over time.
It’s important that you spend some time in prayer each day (even just five minutes). When the words run out, look within yourself and look to God.
Sunday – Love
God loves me
What does that mean?
Have I act differently this week because I know God loves me?
Do I love myself? Why? Why not?
Do I love God?
How did I show it this week?
Have I loved others this week?
Think about the times I succeeded
Think about the times I came up short
Can I do a better job of loving God, others, and myself next week?
Monday – Honesty
Have I told the truth when it was difficult?
How did it feel? (Good and bad)
What happened as a result?
Have I been dishonest (even “little white lies”)?
Have I been honest with myself?
Is there something I’m refusing to admit to myself?
How can I do better?
Tuesday – Respect
God made me – “…and it was good.”
Have I shown respect for my body?
Adequate sleep
Alcohol, drugs
Exercise
Appropriate amounts of good food
Respect for my sexual self
Have I shown respect for my family?
Parents
Do I disagree for the sake of disagreeing
Do I respect their knowledge/experience,
or do I know more than they do
Are my wishes/desires more important than
what they want me to do
Have I done my share of the work around the house?
Brothers and sisters (teasing, put-downs, competition…)
Grandparents (visits, phone calls…)
Have I shown respect for others?
Teachers
Do I realize that they are there for me?
Have I tried to give them a “hard time?”
Have I thought about how it affects them?
Peers
Do I “allow” friends to have views/opinions different from mine?
Have I gossiped?
Have I criticized people who:
Don’t dress like me or look like me?
Hang out with a different crowd?
Are poor?
How can I do better?
Wednesday – Kindness
Have I thought this week about how kind God has been to me?
Created me from nothing
Provided food, shelter, clothing
Died for my sins
How often this week have I shown kindness for someone?
Did it involve a sacrifice on my part?
How did it make me feel?
Were there opportunities to show kindness that I missed/ignored?
What stopped me from showing kindness?
Did someone show me kindness this week?
How can I do better?
Thursday – Satisfaction and gratitude
Am I thankful to God for the blessings I received this week?
Have I told God that I am thankful?
Is my glass half full (I realize that I have much),
or is it half empty (I never think I have enough)?
This week, did I find that I was constantly wanting what other people had?
What things do I think I’m missing?
Did I resent other people who have more than I do?
How can I do better?
Friday – Happiness
Do I believe that God wants me to be happy?
Have I been happy this week?
What things have made me happy?
What things have made me unhappy?
Have I made other people happy this week?
Have I made other people unhappy this week?
How can I do better?
Saturday – Goals
God made me unique – what are my unique qualities/abilities?
Am I trying to develop the qualities and abilities that God gave me?
Is it more important for me to be:
A good person?
A wealthy person?
A popular person?
A holy person?
A peaceful person?
Is it my goal to become closer to God?
What have I done this week to move myself toward my goals?