SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

10 DECEMBER 2017

          The words of the Prophet Isaiah are addressed to a people who are suffering greatly.  Those few remaining children of Abraham had witnessed the execution of their leaders, the complete destruction of Jerusalem, and the dismantling of their Temple.  Now they are languishing in exile in Babylon.  Isaiah is honest with them.  They have brought this destruction upon themselves.  But he also tells them that God has not abandoned them.  With tenderness, he tells them that their time of suffering is about to end.  He promises that God will lead them through the wilderness back to their own land.  Just as God had filled in the valleys and leveled the hills for their ancestors in the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land, God would now accompany them in their return to Jerusalem.  In the desert, God is giving them a new beginning.

            Saint Mark remembers those words as he sits down to write his Gospel, which literally means “the proclamation of joyful tidings.”  Mark echoes the words of the Book of Genesis:  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  In the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God is beginning something new.  John the Baptist is not proclaiming these joyful tidings in the sacred Temple, where his father serves as a priest.  He proclaims them in the desert, in that barren wilderness where God walks with his people and calls them to pursue new beginnings.  He is not wearing the sacred vestments that were his as a member of the tribe of Levi.  He is wearing the rough garments of Elijah the prophet, who called his people to repent of walking away from God.  He is not eating the rich foods in Jerusalem.  He is eating the locusts and honey consumed by his ancestors in their 40 day journey through the desert to the Promised Land.

            John the Baptist speaks to us in the darkness of our world.  We live at a time where there are so many deep divisions between groups of people.  Not only are there dangerous tensions between nations, but there are steep mountains of arrogance and deep valleys of distrust dividing so many in our country.  If we are to embrace his glad tidings of a new beginning, we must enter the desert.  We must repent.  The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which implies a complete change of mind and heart.  In other words, we need to take a good look at the ways in which we have dug valleys that separate us from people we don’t like or don’t agree with.  We need to admit that we have built up mountains of pride that focus our attention on ourselves and our own needs, forgetting the needs of those around us.  It is the Holy Spirit who can help us to fill in these valleys and level these mountains – the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead an in whom we have been baptized.  Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed!

            This Second Sunday of Advent is surrounded by two feasts honoring Mary, the Mother of God.  On Friday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  We recalled that the Virgin Mary became the new Eve by recognizing that she was truly free when she trusted the Word of the angel and agreed to do God’s will.  On Tuesday, we will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a feast central to the experience of so many of our brothers and sisters in our sister parish of Saint Adalbert.  Our Lady had entered into the culture of Saint Juan Diego, and she remains in the mess of our culture as the Patroness of the Americas, pointing to her Son.

            These main figures of the Advent Season speak to us.  The Prophets Isaiah and John the Baptist call us to look for a new beginning, as Mary had the courage to do.  Take some time to listen to these figures.  Retreat for a few moments from the noise and sounds of the “Holiday Season and spend some time alone in the desert which is known as Advent.  Make a really good Confession sometime before Christmas.  The Lord invites us to travel through repentance to meet him, not only as a child born in a stable, but as the Lord who returns to set us free.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

3 DECEMBER 2017

          In this new Liturgical Year, we hear from the Gospel according to Saint Mark.  His audience would have been very interested in the subject of the Second Coming of the Lord.  Even more, they wanted to know when he would come again.  In response, Mark records this parable of the gatekeeper.  The master who has traveled abroad is Jesus himself.  The servants whom he left in charge are his disciples.  No one knows the time when the Lord will come again.  Instead of knowing the time of the Second Coming, the disciples need to be alert and watchful.

            Jesus tells this parable just before the Passover which will begin his passion.  The master who left on the journey gives each of the servants a task to be accomplished, according to each one’s abilities.  The gatekeeper is to be watchful for his return, alert that he may return during the non-working hours:  dinner, midnight, pre-dawn, and early morning.  Ironically, these are the precise hours when the important events of Jesus’ passion would take place.  Just a few days later, he would share a final meal with his disciples and give himself to them in the form of bread and wine.  At midnight, he would ask Peter, James, and John to watch and pray during his agony.  Instead of being alert, they will fall asleep.  When Jesus would be betrayed by one of his closest friends in the garden, most of them would run away in fear.  At cockcrow, Peter would abandon any idea of being alert to Jesus and deny knowing him three times.  In the morning, Jesus would be handed over to Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death.  Instead of being alert to these crucial moments in their master’s passion, they would be hiding.

            We are the servants whom the Lord has put in charge.  He has given each of us talents to be invested in his Kingdom.  We do not know the time of his Second Coming, either at the end of time or at the end of our lives.  But he will come again, and he tells us that we must be alert and watchful, especially at those times when we want to run away from the implications of his passion.  We listen to him and feast on his Body and Blood at this Eucharist, the Memorial of the Last Supper.  We are sent from this Eucharist to be watchful, especially in those dark moments when we share in Christ’s agony and passion.  We must remain alert, even when we deny knowing Christ by our sinful actions.  We remain alert when we are handed over to carry some heavy cross that seems to crush us.

            This is why the Church gives us the Season of Advent.  It is easy to fall into a spiritual stupor and become so self-indulgent that we do not consider the Lord’s presence in our daily lives.  Advent reminds us that the Lord will come again, and that we need to be alert and watchful.  Being alert and watchful does not mean that we lock ourselves up and huddle together in fear, worrying that some crazy person will break in and start shooting at us.  Instead, we need to be attentive to one another during those darkest times of our lives.

            This Advent is the shortest possible Season with only 22 days.  The Fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve.  Ironically, we can miss the opportunities to become more alert and watchful with our frantic efforts to prepare to celebrate the Lord’s first coming at Christmas.  Please take advantage of Advent.  Take one of the books we offer for private prayer.  Come to Lessons and Carols on Tuesday night.  Go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation sometime during this Season to confess those times we have fallen into a spiritual stupor and focused only on ourselves.  The Lord is coming again at some time which we do not know.  We need to be alert and watchful, not living in fear and dread, but giving ourselves in prayer and humble service. Even those who hid experienced another morning – the morning of the Lord’s resurrection.

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING

26 NOVEMBER 2017

          During November, as the farmers are harvesting their crops, we have been praying for our loved ones whom the Lord has harvested through death.  But in remembering them, the Lord has also been speaking to us through the Sunday readings.  He has reminded us that sooner or later, that same harvest awaits us.

            Jesus has been using parables to prepare us for that unknown time in the future when he will come for us, not only at the end of our lives, but also at the end of time.  These parables are not intended to frighten us or to fill us with dread.  They express the Lord’s loving concern for us.  He wants us to be like the five wise bridesmaids, making sure that we have enough oil to accomplish the works of righteousness and invited to the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.  Like the first two servants in last Sunday’s parable, we need to take risks and invest the talents entrusted to us to build up the Kingdom of God here, and participate in it fully after he comes.

Today, we hear the parable of the risen Christ separating sheep from goats at the end of time.  The image of the Good Shepherd seated on his throne on our Triumphal Arch helps us understand.  The Good Shepherd is drawing all of his sheep from Bethlehem on the left and Jerusalem on the right, and not a select few.  However, unlike sheep, we can make choice.  We are sheep when we choose to respond to those in need:  when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison.  We are goats when we fail to respond to those in need.

            When George Lucas first produced Star Wars, he gave an interesting interview about a common theme in so many accounts of good defeating evil.  In those classic tales, the hero encounters someone who appears to be the least.  However, the person who appears to be least is the powerful one who helps the hero to succeed.  In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker encounters Yoda.  That small, quirky character helps Luke to become a true hero. In a sense, this is the point of today’s parable.  Jesus wants all of us to be heroes by recognizing in those least ones who come to us in need the Good Shepherd inviting us to be seated on his right side for eternity.

            If we are to be the heroes of this parable, then we need to become more aware of Christ’s presence in those who come to us in need.  To be honest, both the sheep and the goats were unaware that they were serving Christ.  Like the sheep, we may not recognize Christ in those people who need our assistance.  But, if we respond to them, we respond to Christ.

            If we are to be heroes, then we need to be generous.  The parable calls us to stop worrying about ourselves, our own comfort, and our own needs.  Jesus calls us to be generous in sharing those gifts he has generously given us.  He invites us to trust his example to seek out the lost, to bring back the strays, to bind up the injured, and to heal the sick.  He invites us to trust that we can accomplish these tasks in small ways and in daily efforts.

            If we are to be heroes, we will also know the joy of serving those in need.  Charles Dickens reminds us that Scrooge was a miserable miser who dwelt in the darkness of tending to his own needs.  It was only in responding to a poor, crippled boy that he found the joy of sharing himself.  There is a definite joy in being good and humble servants.  You know that joy when you take a meal to a sick neighbor or prepare a casserole for the Homeless Shelter.  You know that joy when you deliver gifts from the giving tree or welcome a family to safety when they have escaped persecution in another country.  You know that joy when you made sacrifices to build this new church.  The Lord does not want sour superheroes.  He wants joyful heroes who recognize him in the ordinary situations of life.      

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

19 NOVEMBER 2017

          When we hear this parable, we tend to sympathize with the third servant.  He only received one talent, unlike the seven other talents given to the first two servants.  We become even more sympathetic when the master calls him “useless” and throws him into the darkness outside.  But before we begin to feel too sorry for this guy, we need to take a closer look at the parable.  In the ancient world, a talent weighed between 57-74 pounds in pure silver.  That one talent would have afforded him a comfortable existence for the rest of his life.

            A closer look also reveals that the parable is not about money or material possessions.  The parable is about how to maintain a relationship in faith.  Saint Matthew uses the word kyrios for the master.  In the Liturgy, we use that Greek word at the beginning of Mass during Lent to ask the Lord to have mercy on us.  Our Lord Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and has ascended to the right hand of the Father.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he shares his life with us and invites us to be humble servants in sharing that life with others.  He will come again, both at the end of our lives and at the end of the world.  He wants us to share fully in the richness of his risen life, not only in this world, but in the new and eternal Jerusalem.

            The first two servants understand that the master is the Incarnation of the love of the Trinitarian God – three Divine Persons giving themselves totally out of love to one another.  They also understand that he has given himself totally in love for them when he died on the cross.  To use the words from the Gospel of Saint Matthew that we have been hearing all year, they accept the paradox of the cross.  If we want to truly live with Christ, we must die to ourselves and our own selfish interests.  That is what those two servants do when they take the risk of investing the divine life they have been given.  When their Lord returns, he calls each of them “my good and faithful servant” and doubles the life he shares with them.

            The third servant does not understand the intense love of the master.  He sees his master’s example of giving himself to others as too demanding.  He is afraid of the master.  In fear, he refuses to take any risk and buries the life that has been shared with him.  Upon his return, the master refers to him as “you wicked, lazy servant” and casts him into the darkness outside.  The Lord is not being cruel or unfair.  The servant has refused to enter into a relationship of love.  In being afraid to die to himself, he has enclosed himself in the darkness of living only for himself.

            As we approach the end of this liturgical year, Jesus addresses this parable to us.  When we were baptized, we became servants of the humble Lord who washed the feet of his disciples and died for them.  We already share in the richness of that love.  The parable challenges us to be good, faithful servants and to trust that dying to ourselves will increase the love relationship we have with the Lord and with others.  If anything keeps us from dying to ourselves, it is fear.  Fear can keep a couple from honestly confronting the problems in their marriage.  What if we fail and end up living miserable lives?  Fear causes a parent from spending more time with the family.  What might happen to my career?  Fear keeps us from giving our gifts of time, talent, and treasure to the parish.  What if my investment in the parish depletes what I already have?

            Saint Paul reminds us that we do not know on what day the Lord will come for us, either at the end of our lives or at the end of the world.  So, he reprises the message of the parable.  We do not live in darkness.  We know the Mystery of the Lord’s dying and rising.  We can best prepare for his coming by embracing that Mystery and die to ourselves on a daily basis, without fear and with a great amount of love.

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

12 NOVEMBER 2017

          When Saint Paul brought the Gospel to the Thessalonians, they responded well.  Many were baptized and trusted Paul’s words that the Lord had died, that he had been raised from the dead, and that he would come again.  They had expected the Lord’s Second Coming to occur in their lifetimes.  Many had quit their day jobs.  But, because the Lord had not come back again, they worried about their loved ones had died.  They wanted to know what would happen to them.  What we heard in the second reading is Paul’s response.  He tells them to trust in the Mystery of the Lord’s death and resurrection.  Because of that Mystery, they could illumine the darkness of their lives and world with the bright light they received at their Baptism, especially if they got back to work and stopped gossiping.  That same Mystery applied to those who had died in Christ.  Using standard apocalyptic terms involving angels and clouds, Saint Paul assures them that they can grieve with hope, because their loved ones are in the presence of that light.

            Thirty years later, Saint Matthew recorded this parable of Jesus to his community of believers.  By this time, it had become clear that the Second Coming of the Lord would be delayed.  So, this parable helps them to understand how they are to wait for the coming of the Lord, while allowing his light to shine through them at the present moment.

            In his parable, Jesus borrows details from the wedding customs of his time.  When the time of being espoused was ended, the groom would go to the home of the family of the bride.  After negotiating the final details, the bridesmaids would lead the procession through dark streets with bright torches to the home of his parents, where the wedding would be held.  Jesus’ point is clear.  He is the faithful bridegroom.  We, the Church, are his bride.  Even though he has delayed his coming, he will come at some time to invite us to the eternal wedding banquet.  He expects us to use our oil to allow the light of our baptism to shine in our darkened lives and worlds now.

            When we received the Sacrament of Confirmation, we were anointed with Chrism, the sacred oil blessed by the Bishop, to give us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us to keep the flame of faith alive in our lives.  Our acts of righteousness are primary ingredients of the oil as we wait for the Lord’s coming.  Our light shines brightly when we participate in the spiritual and corporal acts of mercy.  We have plenty of oil when we participate in the Sacramental life of the Church, especially when we refuel ourselves at Sunday Mass.  When the oil supply runs low, we can refill it in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We keep our oil ready when we spend time in personal and family prayer, when we involve ourselves in study, and when we actively pursue anything that will help us grow in faith.  With the oil of these spiritual activities, we allow the light of Christ’s presence to shine through us.  Whenever he comes, we will be ready.

            In the parable, the wise virgins seem to be selfish when they refuse to share their oil with the foolish virgins.  In truth, developing those spiritual habits is a deeply personal activity that cannot be shared.  That is why we need to do everything in our power to continue these habits, so that those who do not regard these activities as important might take a step in faith.  I am convinced that the Lord is calling us to be evangelists, especially now that we are becoming more accustomed to our new church and improved facilities.  We do not always live that light.  Even the wise virgins fell asleep.  We sometimes put off the Lord’s invitation to take a step in faith.  “I can go on Christ Renews His Parish” next year.  Or I can get involved when I have more time.  And the list goes on.  The Lord calls us to keep our oil strong, so that his light can shine through us.  There is still time for conversion, for real change for us and for those we love now.  The parable is pretty clear.  When the Lord comes, it will be too late.

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

5 NOVEMBER 2017

          Jesus tells those of us who are religious leaders that we cannot bring attention to ourselves.  Our efforts have to focus on God our heavenly Father.  During my recent trip to Poland and Italy with Fathers Dan Scheidt and Andy Budzinski, we visited many beautiful churches and shrines built for the glory of God.  As we marveled at their beauty, we also called to mind the many sacrifices made by countless people to build them. 

            On Sunday morning, we went to a beautiful church in Venice for Sunday Mass.  Unlike so many other beautiful churches, this church is an active parish run by the Franciscans.  We concelebrated with the pastor and marveled at the active participation of the congregation.  There were at least ten boys and girls serving.  One little boy sitting next to Father Andy kept admiring his stole.  When he caught Father Andy’s attention, he gave him “thumbs up”.  Then he noticed two boys in the first pew messing around.  So, he snapped his fingers at them to stop them.

            Concelebrating in that church in Venice reminded me of Saint Pius.  Thanks to the incredible sacrifice of so many, we now celebrate Mass in a beautiful church.  All your sacrifices have been made for the benefit of our parish community.  We have come a long way, and now we are in the home stretch of our campaign, Behold I Make All Things New.  All that needs to be done is to expand our Parish Education Center on the south side of our campus.  We need six new classrooms, two new sets of bathrooms, a multi-purpose room, and permanent space for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  This added space will complete our project and allow so many to continue their work in ministries, faith formation, and service to those in need.

            Today we share three stories with you.  These are just three families, representing hundreds of stories of faith and dedication to our parish.  These stories will show how our community and the work of this parish directly impacted their lives.

            Video:  https://notredame.box.com/s/tp2ss83gasannennd8vu4r61auxsgep7

            As Jack Rodriquez pointed out, you represent the beauty and love of this parish.  We agree with Theresa Vasquez that children are so important in our faith.  They are our future.  This final stretch of the campaign will allow us to serve them better with programs like Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a flourishing Catholic School and Religious Education Programs for children attending public schools, and the Saint Angela Merici Religious Education Program for families like the Mannors.  So, please take time to reacquaint yourself with the details of our plan.  You can find them in today’s bulletin and on our project website.  Please join us in the Parish Life Center after Mass for a reception, where we can answer your questions.

            This is the concluding stretch of our campaign.  Please prayerfully consider giving a gift.  You can extend your pledge for one more year (or longer).  Or you can make a new pledge.  This invitation is for all members of the parish, both new and old, both with and without children at this time.  With this project completed, I am convinced that Saint Pius X will more adequately provide outreach opportunities through our faith formation programs.  Your gift to the campaign is a tangible expression of what our patron saint dedicated himself to do at the beginning of the 20^th century:  to renew all things in Christ in the 21^st century.

            Thank you for considering this special request and all your sacrifices for the good of our parish community.  I am grateful for you, our parish formed out of living stones.

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

29 OCTOBER 2017

          The commandments given by the Lord in the first reading from the Book of Genesis reflect the experience of God’s chosen people.  They had been aliens in the land of Egypt.  Like widows and orphans, they had no one to protect them, and the Egyptians enslaved them and took advantage of their helplessness.  As they traveled through the desert in their forty day trek to the Promised Land, they were completely stripped of everything.  Unlike extortionists who took advantage of desperately poor people, God had embraced them and clothed them with his Covenant at Mount Sinai as his own chosen people.

            Because God had compassion on their ancestors in their distress, the Lord tells his people that they must do the same.  They must treat the aliens in their midst with compassion and care.  They must be attentive to the most vulnerable people of their society – widows and orphans who had not social nets to protect them.  They must not take advantage of desperately poor people who need their help.  If they take their cloaks as a pledge of repayment, they must take care to return those cloaks at night, so that the poor will not freeze at night without protection. 

            When the Pharisees test Jesus in today’s Gospel, they know that they had developed 613 commandments of the Law.  If he really is an authentic teacher, which commandment would be the greatest?  In response, Jesus quotes Scripture:  Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  He quoted the “Shema,” which our Jewish brothers and sisters recited every day.  But then he immediately quotes Leviticus 19:18:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Like the commandments in the first reading, neither of these commandments is new.  However, Jesus joins them so radically that they can never be separated. 

            That is the real challenge for us, as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Like the Israelites in their exodus in the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land, we sometimes experience the love of God when we are at the lowest point in our lives.  We have just lost a loved one, or we have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease, or we have made some catastrophic choices.  In those moments, God searches us out, not as a warm feeling, but as presence that accompanies us in the darkness.  It is in those moments that we realize that we are created in the image of God.  Thomas Merton once wrote:  “To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love.  Love is my true identity.  Selflessness is my true self.  Love is my true character.  Love is my name.”

            That is why Jesus links love of God so intimately with love of neighbor.  Once I am convinced that God loves me, I can reach out to love my neighbor.  Loving a neighbor does not necessary mean that I have warm feelings about my neighbor.  Love means that I want the best for that person, no matter how I feel about that person.

            During this month of October, we have been focusing the ways in which these commandments affect the most vulnerable of our society.  The most vulnerable include babies within their mothers’ wombs, the poor who depend on our generosity, the disabled and the elderly, and the aliens in our midst.  During this month, we have explored specific ways in which we can love those most vulnerable in our society.  We have also been praying for refugees and immigrants.  In our politically divided culture, there is much controversy on this issue.  It is complicated with no easy solution.  But, it is also important that we consider the Word of God, commanding us to love our neighbor as ourselves.