FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

22 DECEMBER 2019

          Saint Matthew tells us that Joseph is betrothed to Mary.  Unlike an engagement today, betrothal was the final stage in an arranged marriage between the families of Joseph and Mary.  They are bound for each other, but not living together.  When Joseph finds out that Mary is with child, he must have been absolutely devastated.  Filled with hurt, betrayal, and disappointment, he could have reacted to the news about Mary’s pregnancy by doing what the Law of Moses allowed.  He could have had her stoned for infidelity.  However, he is a righteous man and chooses to show compassion instead of justice.  He will divorce her quietly, step aside, and allow the father of the child to come forward and claim Mary and the child as his own.

            However, an angel tells him the truth in a dream.  Mary has conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary into his home.  As a member of the house of King David, he is to name the child.  Joseph does exactly what the angel told him to do.  In caring for Mary and the child, Joseph will allow Jesus to mature and realize his status as the Son of God and the son of David.  Jesus probably learned from Joseph not be afraid to choose compassion over justice.  Time and time again in his public ministry, Jesus shows compassion to public sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and those caught in adultery.  At the end of his life on the cross, he gives compassion to those who had betrayed and abandoned him.

            Centuries earlier, another descendant of David received a message from the Lord.  Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke to King Ahaz.  The kingdom of Judah was in a tough situation, and Ahab was weighing his options.  Should he go to war against Assyria or join with Assyria in waging war against neighboring countries?  Isaiah told him to trust in God and do nothing.  He even offered to give the king a sign.  But King Ahaz piously rejected the sign, because he had already made up his mind that waging war was his only choice.  Chiding him that he was wearying both God and everyone else, Isaiah gave him the sign anyway.  In his own time, his son Hezekiah would be for his people Emmanuel, or “God is with us.”

            In just a couple of days, we will celebrate the fulfillment of that prophecy in ways that no one could ever have imagined.  A virgin has conceived and born a son.  He is Emmanuel, not just a good man sent to God’s people.  He is God himself, who has taken flesh and dwells among us.  As we prepare to celebrate this remarkable mystery, all of us face our own issues when we gather with our families for Christmas.  There may not be tax collectors at the dinner table.  However, there will be those who have different political views than we do.  Adulterers and prostitutes may not join us.  But some will have made choices and lifestyles that offend us.  Family members may not have nailed us to any cross.  But they may have betrayed us or spread rumors about us.           We have a choice as we gather for Christmas.  We can dig in our heels like King Ahaz and demand justice, causing further alienation and injury.  Or, we can let go of our fears and choose compassion, as Joseph did when he dealt with his wife’s apparent infidelity.  Joseph trusted that his compassion would bear fruit, and that fruit far exceeded anything he could have expected.  The same is true for us, not only when we gather for Christmas, but when we continue to navigate ourselves through life.  Joseph’s compassion allowed the Lord to work an incredible miracle at the Incarnation.  We ask the intercession of Saint Joseph today.  Through his intercession, we can let go of our fears and increase our trust in the Lord’s will for us.  We can recognize our own sins and failings and take the risk of allowing the Lord to be more present as a result of our willingness to be more compassionate.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

15 DECEMBER 2019

          Saint John the Baptist had leapt in his mother’s womb when her cousin Mary entered the house with the Messiah in her womb.  He had pointed to the Messiah at the banks of the Jordan River and baptized him, even though he declared that he was not worthy to carry his sandals.  He heard the voice from heaven declaring that Jesus is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased.

            Given this close relationship, it seems strange that John would send his disciples to ask Jesus the question:  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  Does he ask that question because he is in a very dark space, locked in prison awaiting execution?  Or does he ask that question because Jesus is not living up to his expectations of the job description of the Messiah?  If you recall, last weekend John had contrasted his baptism of water with Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Instead of talking about unquenchable fire and warning people that they would be chaff burned in that fire, Jesus is preaching mercy and forgiveness.  Instead of separating the good from the bad, he is hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors.

            Saint Matthew does not give the reason for John’s question.  Instead, he gives the answer of Jesus.  Jesus instructs John’s disciples to listen and hear what is happening.  In Jesus, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.  He cures the blind.  He enables the lame to walk.  He touches lepers and restores them to their families.  He allows the deaf to hear.  He restores a dead son to the widow of Nain, breathes life into the dead daughter of Jairus, gives life to the centurion’s servant, and brings Lazarus back from the dead.  He assures the poor that they are not forgotten.  Jesus is clearly fulfilling the job description given by the Prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading.  He does not come as a Messiah who will restore Israel to its greatness through military action.  He comes as a humble servant initiating the Kingdom of heaven through dying and rising.

            As we light this third candle on the Advent Wreath, we open our ears to hear these words of Jesus.  Like the Baptist, we might be in some dark place.  We might be mourning the loss of a loved one or struggling with a breakup in the family or walking away from a close relationship.  We might wonder why the Messiah had been able to heal so many people, but does not heal the person closest to me suffering from terminal cancer.  On this Gaudete Sunday, the Lord invites us to peer beyond whatever darkness might be enveloping us to see evidence that his Kingdom is in our midst.  The Lord is near.  We can catch glimpses of that presence in the cards we open at this time of the year from people who are distant.  We can be surprised by the kindness shown by others in unexpected ways.  We might be struck by the beauty of the rising sun on a clear day.

            Saint James tells us to be patient as we wait for the Lord’s coming.  He gives the example of the farmer, who does all the preparatory work of tilling the field, planting the seed, and weeding the crops.  That work will produce fruit once it receives the rains sent by God.  In a similar way, we need to do the preparatory work of giving ourselves in humble service and opening ourselves to loving and trusting relationships.  In these ways, we express a loving faith that is content to discover God’s gift in the manner and in the moment God reveals them. 

            There is a wonderful way to hear and see what the Lord is doing in our lives at this time.  Come to the Penance Service on Tuesday evening.  Together, we hear the Word of God.  Together, we examine our consciences.  Individually, we confess our sins to one of the 18 priests.  Through that Sacrament, the Lord opens the eyes of blind sinners.  He allows those who are estranged to walk toward one another.  He gives the alienated back to the community.  He opens the ears of those who have failed to hear.  He restores those who have been dead in sin.  And he proclaims to each of us the Good News of mercy and reconciliation.

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

8 DECEMBER 2019

          In writing to the Christians in Rome, Saint Paul knew that he was writing to a divided community.  Some members had grown up as fellow Jews like Paul himself.  But unlike Paul, they had trouble letting go of their customs.  As the first people to receive the promises made to the Patriarchs, they regarded themselves as better than the rest.  They regarded eating with Gentiles as defilement, making communal meals impossible.  The other members had grown up as pagans, knowing nothing of Jewish laws and customs.  They had no use for any dietary laws.  They made no effort to be sensitive to their dietary restrictions.  There was a great divide, and it weakened the witness of the community in the hostile environment of the city of Rome.

            Saint Paul directly addresses this lack of harmony.  He confirms that the Jewish Christians have received the promises made to the ancient patriarchs.  But he also insists that these promises have been fulfilled so that the Gentiles might glorify God.  He urges both Jewish and Gentile Christians to welcome one another, precisely in the way that Christ had welcomed them.  Christ had welcomed them when they entered into the waters of baptism and emerged completely united with him and with each other.

In this new liturgical year, we will hear from the Gospel of Saint Matthew on most Sundays.  He will recount the message of Jesus, the Messiah.  Jesus offers the gift of salvation first to his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters.  Then he offers that gift to the Gentiles, the rest of humanity.  When we celebrate the Epiphany during the Christmas Season, Matthew will remind us that the first visitors to the newly born child are not fellow Jews.  They are the Magi, pagan visitors from the east who bring gifts that identify the child:  gold for the king, frankincense for the Son of God, and myrrh for the Suffering Servant.  At the end of the Gospel, which we will hear during the Easter Season, the risen Christ commissions the Apostles to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the ends of the earth, to the entire human family.  Jesus had called these Apostles from a group of people who had little in common with one another.  Matthew was a tax collector, and Simon was a Zealot.  They should have been enemies.  But they decided to lay aside their past and their politics to work together for the common good.

            Through the living Word of God, Saint Paul speaks to us.  We live in a deeply polarized world of sharp divisions.  We tend to identify those who disagree with us as enemies.  We have familiar labels for the “other” side, and we hold them at arm’s length.  This is true both in our society and in our Church.  Saint Paul challenges us to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us.  Like Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, we need to reach out, say a kind word, and sit down and talk with one another.  When challenged about our beliefs, need to spend time to study and pray about our beliefs.  We need to speak the truth with love and respect.

            During this Advent Season, we prepare to celebrate the first coming of the Lord at Christmas.  He came as a tiny child and was crucified as an adult.  We also prepare for his second coming in glory and majesty.  Between those two comings, we are called to recognize the hidden ways in which he comes to us now.  Hidden in the forms of bread and wine, he feeds us.  Hidden in the words of Absolution, he frees us from our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  John the Baptist speaks directly to us and demands that we repent from our sinful ways and turn more completely toward the Lord.  If we take time to examine our consciences and acknowledge the hardness of our hearts, perhaps we can more readily find Christ, hidden in those we consider enemies or polar opposites.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

1 DECEMBER 2019

          The Season of Advent prepares us to celebrate the first coming of the Lord at Christmas.  Advent invites us to prepare for his second coming at the end of time or at the end of our lives.  But Advent also makes us more aware of the ways in which the Lord comes to us now.  He comes to us in the Sacramental life of the Church, most especially in this Eucharist.  Sending us forth from this Mass, he remains with us in his risen presence throughout our daily lives, if only we open ourselves to that presence.

            The prophet Isaiah says that the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.  We see that prophecy fulfilled in the Mystery of the first coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas and culminating in the Mystery of his death and resurrection at Easter.  He wants to establish his house as the highest mountain of our hearts.  Advent invites us to take a closer look at all the mountains of our hearts, all of those realities that are important to us.  Those mountains include our desire to ensure that we have adequate possessions, good jobs, good reputations, and that we provide for our families, among many other goods.  However, if we want the swords of our lives (cutting things apart) turned into plowshares and the spears (poking us at every side) turned into pruning hooks, then the highest mountain must be the presence of the risen Christ in our daily lives.  In preparing for him to come again, his presence cannot be one of many mountains that we acknowledge only on Sunday.  His presence must ultimately be the highest and most important in our lives.

            That is why the persistent pattern of prayer is so important.  People sometimes think that stewardship is about raising funds.  Because stewardship involves living as committed disciples, spending time in prayer is the first of the other two legs of stewardship:  service and sacrificial giving.  Please read the materials on the stewardship of prayer which we sent home (or pick up your packet in the Parish Life Center).  Be sure to join us on the next three Tuesday evenings for our communal Advent prayers.  Take one of the booklets at all of the doors to help with personal prayer.  Allow Advent to assist in renewing a persistent pattern of prayer.  If you don’t believe me, please listen to Stephanie Rucano as she explains how this has happened in her life.

                                                       The Stewardship of My Prayer

Thank you, Father Bill, for inviting me to share a little bit of my prayer journey.

I am happily married to wonderful man named Tony and have an amazing daughter named Camille.

Today, my relationship with our Heavenly Father is very intimate, but it was not always that way.

Prior to now, I was that lost sheep. I was a struggling mom trying to juggle life and do everything. So, it was rare that I’d attend mass or the sacraments. I was just too busy to go! My prayer life consisted of saying a prayer now and then if I needed answers immediately or before meals when I didn’t forget.

Shame and guilt were both weighing me down. I felt a nudge to go to confession, so I did. Then, I looked at the priest as I confessed my sins and saw the most amazing thing. It was Jesus Christ sitting before me. He said, “Your sins are forgiven, and you will be fine in your life-now go in Peace.” The moment I walked out I felt the weights lifted and my relationship with the Lord has been growing ever since.

I start and end my days with our Lord. Whether I’m driving somewhere, going to the gym, or attending daily mass I need to hear the Living Words. There seems to ALWAYS be a message for me that I need to hear to help balance my day.

As a Eucharistic minister during communion, I see Jesus in each one of your faces. After I’m done, I go back to my seat, kneel and pray for each one of you as my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Recently, I was showing a non-Catholic visitor around and we walked before the chapel and saw Jesus was displayed in adoration. I told her, “that is my Best Friend and he knows everything about me. It’s where I go and have a conversation with Him, and we are All invited.” I turned to look at her at that moment and she had tears rolling down her face. She said she could feel Him in her heart.

With a parish this size I have responded to his call to be with families as they grieve the loss of a loved one. The connection with these individual’s is truly a path I was intended to take guided by the Holy Spirit.

With the opportunities here at St Pius I ask you to accept the invitation, to help your prayer life grow and draw you closer to our Heavenly Father.

Looking up at the Good Shepherd, know that you will never be lost.

Take the path that was created for you, accepting all the Graces and Blessings along the way.

Thank you and God Bless.

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

17 NOVEMBER 2019

          When Saint Paul writes to Thessalonians, he knows that they are concerned about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Believing that the Lord would come again very soon, many of them had quit their work and were sitting around doing nothing, waiting for the Lord to come for them.  Paul responds that no one knows when the Lord will come again.  In fact, Paul has come to realize that the Lord’s second coming has been delayed.  So, he gives them some good advice.  Reminding them of the hard work which Silvanus and Timothy and he had done in bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them, he tells them that the best way to wait for the coming of the Lord is to continue their daily lives and remain involved in their work, even when it is boring or tedious.  As he reminds them, they should keep busy instead of minding the business of others.

            Unlike the Thessalonians, we do not expect the Second Coming of the Lord any time in the near future.  Over the last two thousand years, we have seen lots of people trying to predict the end of the world.  But the Lord has delayed his Second Coming in the midst of persecutions, wars, and natural disasters.  However, we need to be reminded that he will come for us, not only at the end of time, but also when he comes to call each of us home at the end of our lives. 

            The Lord speaks this same word to us every year at this time, whether we want to hear it or not.  Today is the second to the last Sunday in this current Liturgical Year.  The signs of the death of Nature are all around us.  The ground no longer produces life.  The length of light each day gets shorter.  We have been praying during this month in a special way for our deceased loved ones.  Life in this world is transitory.  We cannot expect that those structures which sustain us will last forever.  That is what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel.  By the time Saint Luke had recorded his words, the Romans had destroyed the magnificent Temple and all of Jerusalem.  The disciples of Jesus were dispersed throughout the Empire.  As they formed themselves into a new family built on the foundation of the risen Temple of Jesus Christ, they were beginning to understand that they were living stones being formed into a new and more beautiful structure.  But, they were also being persecuted, harassed, and even executed.  It is no wonder that they were hoping that the Lord would come again very soon in their lifetimes.

            The Lord does not speak these words to frighten us.  Instead, he wants us to be aware of the truth of our existence.  We do that best by following Saint Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians.  We need to continue the work of our daily lives, as boring and tedious as that work may be.  We need to recognize the Lord’s presence in our daily activities and trust that our work contributes to the Lord’s ongoing work in our world today. 

            The prophet Malachi provides a wonderful image for our efforts to recognize the Lord’s presence in our daily lives.  He speaks of the fire of God’s love.  At every Mass, we light these candles, because the Lord is truly present here in Word and Sacrament.  As baptized disciples, we carry the light of that presence into our daily lives.  The fire of that light can shine through us when we live our baptismal promises.  It can also purify us when we fail.  During November, we are more conscious of the fire of God’s love shining through the entire Church.  That fire shines through the saints in heaven.  That is why the saints are given haloes in iconography.  We pray for those who are being purified by the fire of God’s love, which is the essence of Purgatory.  We are even reminded of those who have completely turned their backs on the fire of God’s love and are being burned by it, which is the essence of hell.  As we continue to be guided by the fire of God’s love on our pilgrimage to the New and Eternal Jerusalem, it is by our perseverance that we will secure our lives.

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

10 NOVEMBER 2019

          Throughout this Liturgical Year, Saint Luke has told us about Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem.  On the way, he has been teaching what discipleship means.  He has emphasized that he would suffer, die, and be raised from the dead in Jerusalem.  Today, he has arrived.  He is in Jerusalem, teaching in the Temple just a few days before he will be crucified.

            While the crowds may have welcomed him on Palm Sunday, the Sadducees have not.  They are part of the wealthy aristocracy who cooperate with the occupying Romans.  They are the fundamentalists of their day who insist that the only authentic word of God comes from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  They are also the priests of the Temple, and they are clearly threatened by this itinerant preacher from Galilee who does not belong on their turf.

            So they try to trap him in his teaching about resurrection.  Knowing that there is no mention of resurrection in the Torah, they quote the Levirate Law in the Book of Deuteronomy.  That law requires that the brother of a deceased man should take his wife and raise descendants for his name.  They propose the ridiculous situation of a woman who married all seven of the men in the same family and dies childless.  Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?

            Instead of dismissing the Law of Moses, as they had expected, Jesus responds that they do not understand what resurrection means.  They are focusing on the reality of a political earthly kingdom.  He is referring to the reign of God which will be ushered in by his death and resurrection.  Resurrection is life transformed by the God of the living.  As his closest followers will discover, they will not recognize him transformed from the dead on Easter Sunday. 

            At the heart of our Christian faith is the Paschal Mystery:  the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As we walk together to the New and Eternal Jerusalem, we are convinced that death is not the end.  We do our best to trust in the promise of Jesus that if we die with him, we will rise with him.  But as much as we may believe the Paschal Mystery, we sometimes have a difficult time explaining our faith in a clear and understandable way. 

The Second Book of Maccabees provides an insight.  It tells the story of a very difficult time for the people of Israel two centuries before the birth of Christ.  The Seleucids had taken control of the region and decided to ban all religious practices.  The King’s name was Antiochus IV Epiphanes (in Greek “Zeus Revealed”).  In other words, his name meant “just call me god.”  At his command, the Temple in Jerusalem was turned into a gymnasium, and all places of worship were destroyed.  Those who refused to worship him were subject to the death penalty.

            In today’s first reading, a faithful Jewish mother is arrested, along with her seven sons.  They are given a choice:  worship the king (with the big ego) or be killed.  Each of the brothers refuses to worship the king and chooses to die rather than abandon their trust in the one true God.  Each of the brothers is murdered in a brutal way, along with their mother.  They choose death because of their firm belief that God would raise them up again.  Their heroic actions are more eloquent than any theological or philosophical attempt to explain the mystery of life after death.

            What happened to the mother and her sons is not an isolated event that happened a long time ago.  In 2014, members of ISIS captured 20 Coptic Catholics who had come to Libya seeking work.  They dressed them in orange jump suits and marched them to the shore of the Sea.  They gave them a choice:  give up your faith or die.  Each was beheaded in a brutal manner.  A 21^st member of their group decided to join them, even though he was not Christian, because he was so impressed with their belief in life after death.  It is that firm belief in the resurrection which continues to give us hope as we walk to the New and Eternal Jerusalem.

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

3 NOVEMBER 2019

          The book of Wisdom tells us that God loves all things that are.  Even though the universe appears to God as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew, God’s imperishable spirit is in all things.  Even when his creatures turn away and reject him, God rebukes offenders little by little so that they may return to him.  God never gives up on us.

            We see this truth in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, as he travels from Galilee to Jerusalem.  We have been following him every Sunday in the Gospel of Saint Luke.  At one point in his journey, he meets a rich young man.  He looks with love at this rich young man who has been faithful about keeping the commandments.  When the rich young man asks what he needs to do to have eternal life, Jesus shows his love for him by telling him to give away everything to the poor and follow him.  The rich young man goes away sad, because he cannot imagine living without his wealth.  Jesus turns to his disciples who had already given away everything to follow him and tells them that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.  Convinced that wealth is a sign of God’s favor, the disciples scratch their heads and wonder if anyone can be saved.

            Today, Jesus meets another rich man.  Unlike the rich young man, Zacchaeus is an older scoundrel.  Not only is he in the business of ripping his own people off, giving the proceeds to the hated Romans, and pocketing the inflated balance.  He is the chief tax collector of Jericho.  Isolated by the citizens of Jericho, he must be looking for some kind of acceptance.  He wants to see Jesus of Nazareth, who is passing through the town.  But he is short, both in moral and in physical stature.  So, he makes a fool of himself and climbs a sycamore tree.  We can only imagine the crowd making fun of him.  Jesus looks up, sees him, and invites himself to stay at his house.  Zacchaeus responds in a truly repentant way.  He is willing to make amends for his selfish and greedy behavior.  He will give away half of his possessions to the poor and will repay whatever he has extorted four times over.  Since he had been in the habit of ripping off the entire town, he is in effect giving away his wealth.  He has responded to the Lord’s mercy given to him even before he repented and is filled with joy.  The disciples have their question answered.  Yes, the rich can be saved.  The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what is lost.

            Jesus loves both the rich young man who had been living a virtuous life and Zacchaeus who had been living a life of greed and selfishness.  Neither had earned his love.  The rich young man cannot take a next step in allowing that love to transform him.  Zacchaeus gladly takes that step and accepts the boundless mercy of the one who loved him first.

            This lesson is very important for us as we follow Jesus on our road to the new and eternal Jerusalem.  Jesus loves us first, and we cannot earn that love.  In his relentless pursuit of us, he is always yearning for us to respond positively.  As the Book of Wisdom notes, Jesus rebukes us little by little so they we may return to him.  Perhaps he looks at us with love, as he did with the rich young man, to remind us that we cannot rely on our possessions for our ultimate happiness.  We need to let go of our dependence on material comfort to be more faithful disciples.  Perhaps he looks at us with love, as he did with Zacchaeus, to call us to repent of destructive behavior or selfishness that isolates us.  We don’t need to climb a sycamore tree to see him.  Walking into those Reconciliation Rooms is much safer and less embarrassing!  Reconciled with him, Jesus wants to stay with us in our houses.  In turn, he wants us to do the same for those who are hurting or in trouble.  We can go a long way toward being evangelizers simply by being present to those who need us and extending the Lord’s mercy before anyone asks.