Saturday, November 27, 2010

1st Sunday of Advents–Year 2010

advent-wreath1

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts.

Today once more, we begin the season of Advent.
The first candle is lit on the Advent Wreath

There are 4 weeks until Christmas.

With Black Friday
The secular preparations have begun in earnest and yes there is lots to get done.


On the first Sunday of Advent
It is fitting that all of us ask ourselves…

Are we ready?
Are we ready to be the people God wants us to be
Are we ready to make room for the Lord Jesus in our lives and in our hearts.
Are we more ready today than we were last year on the first Sunday of Advent?


You know when I was a kid on St. Paul Court… in Cheektowaga NY
when we were playing hide and seek… we used to yell

Ready of not here I come.
Today the Church says ready or not here He comes…

Have we made a place for God in our lives?
Have we let go of the vices that hold us back from giving our lives to Christ and sharing our lives with each other?
Are we ready to love like God loves?

For the little ones here in this Church this may be their 5th or 6th or 18th Advent.
For me its number 55
Some of you even have more Advents under your belt.
As we look back over the years and all the opportunities we’ve had to prepare a place in our heart for Christ…

How much progress have we made?
Or
Has our resolution to become a better person,
a holy person
been as flimsy as our resolution to try and lose weight.


Today’s readings.. give us a lot of options to help us prepare a better place in our lives and in our heart for God.

The first readings speaks of turning from violence

Have we turned our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hook ?

I don’t think many people here in this church are physically violent
at least I hope not….
However,
this is still an area where we may need to improve.
Even angry thoughts, and bitter words cannot be a part of a Christians’ life.


In the second reading
St. Paul gives us a veritable list of things which we may have to change
drunkenness,
lust,
rivalry
jealousy
just to name a few..


All of these things get in the way of allowing Christ into our hearts.

When our heart is filled with lust or jealousy there is simply no room for others and no room for Christ.

All of these things hold us back and make it harder for us to love our neighbor.

When the people during Noah’s time saw him build the ark and thought he was crazy. They simply dismissed him.
As he and his sons labored on the ark they did not see a clear sign for them to change their hearts.

They lulled themselves into a kind of spiritual haze or complacency as they lived their lives “business as usual”
By the time Noah got into the ark it was too late for them to build an ark of their own or make the necessary changes in their lives.

Advent is here…

Let’s us not take this wonderful opportunity for conversion for granted

Ready or not here he comes…

Amen

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Feast of Christ the King (Revised) 2010

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

Today the last Sunday of the year the Church celebrates we celebrate the feast of Christ the King…

Christ the King who laid down his life for each one of us.

Christ the King whose simplicity of life teaches us what’s really important.

Christ the King who generously and wantonly gives mercy to anyone who asks it.

I never find it easy preaching on this feast day..

We have a hard time understanding Kings in the United States..

A King was the protector of his people.

A good King would even lay down his life for his People

A King ruled over his Kingdom his word was law and if he was a good king a fair king, a holy king, then everyone flourished in his kingdom.

A King was also the ultimate Judge the provider of Justice…

It was he who punished and he who granted mercy.

A King protects

A King rules

A King judges

It is indeed appropriate that we celebrate the feast of Christ our King.

If we read the Gospel carefully there were two types of people in the crowd at the crucifixion.

Those who attacked Jesus were mostly the religious leaders of his time

They taunted and ridiculed the Jesus mercilessly.

They looked on his crucifixion as a complete victory and they looked on Jesus as a fraud and a failure.

For a while it seemed like he would be a threat to them.
For a while they were concerned about the number of people following him.

Now as he hung on the cross their position of power and prestige were secure.

There were others in the crowd

They had the courage not to go along with the majority.

They stood at the foot of the cross in silence and in prayer.

What does the passage say to us?
What are we supposed to learn from it?

I propose to you three thoughts.

I believe the first lesson is this….

We should never try and fit the message of Christ into our culture or world view.

That was the tragedy of the religious leaders of his time.

Jesus didn’t fit their mold or expectations so they dismissed him.

As followers of Christ it is our job, rather our sacred mission, to bring our world to Christ

NOT water down or change the Gospel so that it is more acceptable to the world.

This is a mistake that many people make.

So often people say to me “come on father get with the times… nobody believes that anymore”

The times may change but the teaching of Christ doesn’t.

People who think this way seem to think that the truths of the Gospel are dependent on cultures and times and fads and even majority rule.

It’s as if they feel that we should vote on what we believe or not.

In season and out of season at any cost we must remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ the King.

Nations come and go, cultures change,
what people think changes like the wind,

but the Truths of the Gospel remain the same.

The second point which we need to consider is this.

This Gospel should cause us all to ask ourselves if Jesus were crucified today where would be in the crowd which side would we be on ?

Would we join with the vocal abusive majority or would we have the courage to stand in reverent silence.

Do we have the courage to stand up for the truth of the Gospel or do we follow the crowd?

Are we leaders or followers at work or in our communities.

Finally the Gospel today challenges us to hope

To hope in all circumstance

That is what the good thief did

There is no question that the men who hung on either side of Jesus were guilty as charged.

They were only facing justice.

They deserved what they got.

Yet one was saved and one was not.

Despite a life of horrendously wrong choices

Despite a life of hurting others

Despite a life of selfish self-seeking and arrogantly putting his wants and needs before others

The repentant thief had the courage to say I’m sorry

He admitted he was  guilty

then he said  I’m sorry…

And that’s exactly how we are supposed to ask for forgiveness.

Admit that we are wrong and say I’m sorry

If we do that God’s mercy can always be ours.

There is no limit to God’s Mercy

And because he dared to hope and ask forgiveness

The repentant their heard these words

“Today you will be with me in paradise”

Holy ones

Let us be faithful to the Gospel in season and out of season

Let us be willing to stand up for the truth as leaders not followers

Let us be men and women who seek God’s forgiveness and show mercy to others.

Amen

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Feast of Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

Today the last Sunday of the year the Church celebrates we celebrate the feast of Christ the King…

Christ the King who laid down his life for each one of us.

Christ the King whose simplicity of life teaches us what’s really important.

Christ the King who generously and wantonly gives mercy to anyone who asks it.

If we read the Gospel carefully there were two types of people in the crowd at the crucifixion.
 
There are those who are silent and those who were virulent in their attacks on Jesus.

The second group was mostly the religious leaders of his time  and they taunted and ridiculed the Jesus mercilessly.

They looked on his crucifixion as a complete victory and they looked on Jesus as a fraud and a failure.

For a while it seemed like he would be a threat to them.

For a while they were concerned about the number of people following him.

Now as he hung on the cross their position of power and prestige were secure.

There were others in the crowd

They had the courage not to go along with the majority
They stood at the foot of the cross in silence and in prayer.

What does the passage say to us?
What are we supposed to learn from it?
I propose to you three thoughts.

The first is this

We should never try and fit the message of Christ into our culture or world view.

That was the tragedy of the religious leaders of his time.

Jesus didn’t fit their mold or expectations so they dismissed him.

As followers of Christ it is our job, rather our sacred mission, to bring our world to Christ not water down or change the Gospel so that it is more acceptable to the world.

This is a mistake that many people make.

So often people say to me “come on father get with the times… nobody believes that anymore”

People who think this way seem to think that the truths of the Gospel are dependent on cultures and times and fads and even majority rule.

It’s as if they feel that we should vote on what we believe or not.

In season and out of season at any cost we must remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ the King.

Nations come and go, cultures change, what people think changes like the wind, but the Truths of the Gospel remain the same.

The second point which we need to consider is this.

This Gospel should cause us all to ask ourselves if Jesus were crucified today where would be in the crowd which side would we be on ?

Would we join with the vocal abusive majority or would we have the courage to stand in reverent silence.

Do we have the courage to stand up for the truth or do we follow the crowd?

Finally the Gospel today challenges us to hope
To hope in all circumstance
To hope without ever giving into despair

There could not be a more drastic circumstance than dying on a cross

There is no question that the both of the thieves were guilty as charged.
They were only facing justice.
They deserved what they got.

Yet one was saved and one was not.
 
One gave up on himself and the other took one last chance

Despite a life of horrendously wrong choices
Despite a life of hurting others
Despite a life of selfish self-seeking and arrogantly putting his wants and needs before others

The repentant thief found allowed himself to hope in God’s mercy
He allowed himself to be loved by God.

And because he dared to hope and ask forgiveness
The repentant their heard these words

“Today you will be with me in paradise”

Holy ones

Let us follow the example of Christ the King
Let us be faithful to the Gospel in season and out of season
Let us be willing to stand up for the truth
Let us be men and women who proclaim God’s loving mercy
And
Let us be merciful to each other….


Amen

Sunday, November 07, 2010

From the Bulletin This Week

A Few Simple Words.....
Here at St. Paul we’ve been thinking a lot about numbers this week. Last week was the end of the October Count, which is taken up all over the country. The results have already been sent to the Archdiocese. This year our average church attendance reached
2,098. That is a 6% increase over last year, and last year there was a 10% increase. The fact that our parish is still growing is also reflected in the number of students participating in our Religious Education Program. Our final number this year is 960. Our religious education students are taught by 82 volunteer religious education
teachers and staffed by 3 part-time staff members. This year each of our students will receive 26 hours of religious instruction. That means our religious education program is providing 24,960 hours of instruction to the young people of our parish. That’s a number to
be proud of for sure.

I was also impressed by how seriously the parents of our religious education students take their responsibilities. This week we held a workshop for the parents of our students who will be receiving First Reconciliation and Communion this year. Out of 93 families, all but
17 attended one of the sessions. We will be sending the 17 families, who were unable to attend, a link so that they can watch the presentation on-line. Numbers, numbers, numbers… The Kingdom of God is not about numbers, but it is important for every  pastor to understand them and understand what they mean for the
pastoral life of the Parish.

Speaking of numbers, this year, to date, we have had 62 funerals. On All Soul’s Day we invited all of the families of our beloved deceased (those buried from our Church) for a memorial Mass. The Bereavement Committee and Sr. Ellen did a great job of organizing the Mass and refreshments that followed. Many of the
people who attended commented on how much they appreciated the Mass and the effort our parish made in reaching out to them. I  was surprised by the number that attended. We almost ran out of the Eucharist. I was also moved by how many from each family
attended. This is a wonderful tradition at St. Paul and a beautiful way for us to support the members of our parish who have preceded us home to God. It gave me a chance to catch up with  and check up on some of the families I met when I presided at the funerals of their loved ones.

One area where our numbers are slightly down is in our
Thanksgiving food collection. Because of your generosity we are usually able to provide 30 needy families from the area with a whole week’s worth of groceries and a gift certificate to buy anything they are missing for their Thanksgiving meal. The Social Action Committee wants to make sure that everyone knows that you can still bring donations of food until November 12th. If you are able, please drop off your food donation in the downstairs hallway of the Church. That will save our maintenance staff from having to
move it every day. If you are unable to make it down the stairs, please leave it in the vestibule next to the wall so that no one trips on it.

Here are some numbers for you. Me, Four Teachers –Three Teacher’s aids, one Principal, a School Counselor, a few parents, and 112 beautiful little children from Pre-K to – Third Grade. All of
us were at Mass. When I walked out of the sacristy I wasn’t sure the Pre-K kids were standing until I saw that they were indeed standing - they just couldn’t see over the pews. I was pretty nervous about the Mass. Could they handle sitting still so long? Did they know they could take over whenever they wanted? The
Mass was beautiful, just beautiful. They were very well behaved and all 112 came up for a blessing because none of them have received communion yet. Would that we could all be so innocent and sincere. As I write this, Matthew 18:2-3 comes to mind. “He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, Amen, I say to
you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Something to think about for sure.

Finally, the gospel this week also speaks about numbers. The poor woman in the Gospel had seven husbands and they all died. The Sadducees probably made up the story to illustrate their difficulty in believing in eternal life. No one could have been that bad a cook. We who have been blessed with the gift of faith know that this life is not all there is. We know that by his death and resurrection Jesus conquered death and, therefore, our life on earth is just a prelude to life everlasting with God. I knew a very old Italian priest who
used to say whenever he was faced by a problem or a difficulty… “It’s no big deal when I think of everlasting life.” It sounds better in Italian. This week when life throws us a curve ball, let’s try and fix our eyes on the prize (the prize of eternal life, that is); and when we
do so, our everyday problems and difficulties will not seem so daunting.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this…
Fr. Robert

32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - 2010

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

This week two simple, or two important thoughts come to mind.

In the First reading,
The young men and their mother were not willing to compromise or renounce their faith and they suffered greatly for it.

I found myself asking..

How strong is my faith?
Is it strong enough to die for ?
I hope so…

Look at all those Catholics who died in the Cathedral of Bagdad recently.

They knew the dangers and yet they went to Church…
If it was dangerous for me to come to this Church would I come ?

You know the history of the Church is filled with people who died rather than renounce their faith.

And the history of the church is filled with people who just loved even the unlovable.

How strong is our faith?
How strong is our love for God?

Jesus said,
Greater love than this no one has than to give their life for a friend.

Sometimes we are called to give our lives in one blaze of glory like a martyr.

Other times God asks us to be martyrs but in a different way.

Sometimes God asks us to lay down our lives over and over and over again day in and day out.

Caring for a loved one who is ill…
Putting up with a long term illness
or maybe forgiving someone over and over and over again.

No matter how we lay our lives down
In a moment or day in and day out

That’s how Jesus loved and that’s how we are called to love.

The second thought comes from the Gospel.
The Sadducees were not bad people.

They were the priests of the temple, the religious leaders of their time

They lived thoughtful and sacrificial lives…and yet they failed to recognized the Messiah for whom they had waited for with great expectation.

How is that possible?
What a tragedy.

The Sadducees missed the Messiah because they had closed their hearts to anything new.

They had fixed in their minds how the Messiah would come and how he would act.

And when Jesus didn’t fit the mold they refused to even consider him.

In their pride fullness they felt that they had all of the answers.

Are we set in our ways?
Do we think we have all the answers?
Are we open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

It  is a great temptation for those who have a lot of life experience,to close their hearts to anything new…

Are we willing to reconsider..and open our hearts more and more to God’s love and God’s prompting?

If we remain open to God’s spirit
if we are willing to listen anew to God’s prompting He will take us on the great adventure of faith.

Are we willing to accept the surprises that God is willing to send our way day in and day out ?

Sadly, tragically the Sadducees were not …

May our love and our faith be strong
And may we always keep an open heart

Lots to think about.