The Feast of Pentecost, Cycle B - May 23, 2021

 Feast of Pentecost

Cycle C

May 23, 2021       

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville   8 and 9:30am 

 

Good or Bad News

 

When I was a child, my parents would sometimes take us to downtown Baltimore, and I remember seeing some street preachers.

 

These preachers were trying to win people over to Jesus. They would shout out and threaten damnation if people didn’t convert.

 

This is my earliest recollection of what is called evangelization. We hear this word used a lot in recent years by Pope Francis.  

 

The word comes directly from the Latin word that means gospel or good news. So, evangelization means that we bring the gospel or the good news of Jesus to others.

 

As I look back, I wasn’t hearing much good news from those street preachers. Frankly, it was scary and felt like bad news.

 

Good News: Naming Grace 

 

Recently I came across an insightful approach for bringing the good news to people here in the twenty-first century.

 

One of our Catholic theologians says that evangelization is first about naming grace – naming grace. It is not really about bringing God to people, as though God were not already there.

 

Instead, when we evangelize, we name or point out how God is already present. Saint Paul and our Catholic Catechism speak of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

 

Here the word Fruits means signs or effects of the Spirit’s presence. The idea is that our bringing the good news to others is first about naming the Fruits of the Holy Spirit where we see them.

 

I want just to read, with no explanation, these twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit. They are: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-control, and Chastity. 

 

So, when we see these Fruits of the Holy Spirit, we need to name them and point them out. That is the first step in evangelization, in bringing the good news to others. 

 

The Spirit in Us 

 

I see two important conclusions to this.

 

First, all or most of us here have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. We have received the Holy Spirit. 

 

Because of that, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit may be evident in our lives. Qualities like Peace and Patience may be visible. 

 

But it is also possible that the Fruits of the Spirit are not evident. Maybe things like Charity and Generosity are not visible in our lifestyle.

 

In this case, the Spirit is still within us but is not fully alive. So, evangelization or bringing the good news to us needs to stir into fuller life the presence of the Spirit. 

 

The Spirit in Others

 

The second conclusion to all of this relates to those who are not baptized. 

 

The truth is that we may and do see the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in these persons too. In persons of other faith traditions or of no faith tradition, the Fruits of the Spirit may be evident.

 

For example, qualities like Kindness and Goodness, or Faithfulness and Chastity may be visible in their lives. And when we see these Fruits in them, then we know that the Spirit is in these persons also.

 

Without the sacraments and without consciously accepting Christ, they have been touched by the Spirit. Psychologically or intellectually, some may not know of or accept the wonder of Jesus Christ.

 

But deep down, in their inner selves, they must have an openness to the love of God and the way of Christ. God has transformed them not through their mind, but through their heart.

 

They have the Spirit of God within them. This was the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

 

Let me be clear: we still want to respectfully invite these persons to a oneness in God and a fullness of life in Christ. But, we definitely are not to take the condemning, bad news approach of the street preachers whom I saw as a kid.

 

Instead, we name the Fruits of the Spirit already with them. And only then do we graciously invite them to be part of our faith community. 

 

Conclusion

 

That is the good news and how we are to bring the good news to others.

 

 

The Ascension of the Lord, Cycle B - May 16, 2021

 The Ascension of the Lord – Cycle B

May 16, 2021

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 8am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 5pm and 11am

 

Our Good-Byes

 

This past Friday, a religious Sister, Sister Pat, told me about her own blood sister.

 

Her sister is dying of cancer and probably has only a few weeks to live. Pat told me that members of the family have been visiting her sister, really to say good-bye. 

 

As you would imagine, these good-byes have been quite difficult. We all know that there are other good-byes that are also difficult. 

 

Parents have to say good-bye when their children go off to college for the first time. I imagine that they feel some loss and emptiness at that moment.

 

We watch friends or family members in the military leaving for their deployment. We worry about their safety, and our good-bye may be filled with anxiety. 

 

The Disciples’ Good-Bye

 

I have to think that the disciples in today’s first reading are experiencing something similar to our good-byes.

 

Jesus has left and returned to the Father, and he will no longer be with them. It is time for a final good-bye. 

 

So, no wonder that the disciples are just standing there, looking up at the sky. They are feeling loss and emptiness, and they need some time to adjust. 

 

A Balance

 

Interestingly, the passage then states: “Suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. They said, ‘Why are you standing there looking at the sky?’”

 

So, on the one hand, these two men dressed in white – probably angels – seem to be telling the disciples to get moving. They seem to be saying: it’s time to do what he told you to do. 

 

But on the other hand, we can’t discount the stillness of the disciples at this time. Their stillness is natural, normal, human. 

 

Spiritual writers say that being still especially at times like this is important. It is kind of a balancing moment before we move forward. 

 

We often need some stillness in our lives, especially after our good-byes. In this, we can find our bearings and sort things out.

 

In this stillness, we can get in touch with our true inner self. And above all, we can open ourselves to the presence and grace of God.

 

So, we need in our own way to “look up to the sky.” And then, after that, as the angels are prompting the disciples to do, we can get busy.   

 

What Are We to Do

 

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us what we are to be busy about.

 

And some of Jesus’ words here are very tricky. They have to be understood carefully.

 

Jesus starts by saying that we will be able to “drive out demons.” This does not usually mean formal exorcisms or anything like that. 

 

But it does mean, especially in our day, driving out the deadly demons of hatred in all of its forms. And we will do this by respecting others as Jesus does, regardless of who they are or how different they are. 

 

Then Jesus says that his “disciples will be able pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.” This is one of the passages of Scripture that is not to be taken literally – definitely not!

 

Scripture commentators say that here, in dramatic, metaphorical words, Jesus is promising that he will be with us and strengthen us always. He will do this as we carry out his mission of compassion and respect, even in the face of opposition and ridicule 

 

And, finally, Jesus says that his disciples “will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” We know that sometimes physical healing happens, and sometimes it doesn’t.

 

But what can happen is that we are healed within. We are healed of our distance from God, healed of our feelings of guilt and being down on ourselves, and healed of our hateful feelings toward another person.

 

Maybe this work of healing comes last in Jesus’ list because it is the most important. It is to be his central work that he wants his disciples to continue, that he wants us to continue, no matter what.

 

 

        

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B - May 9, 2021

 6th Sunday of Easter – Cycle B

May 9, 2021

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 5pm, 8:30 and 11am

 

Songs of Comfort

 

Many of us have heard of the famed cellist Yo Yo Ma.

 

Yo Yo Ma is an American, born of Chinese parents. A year ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, he began posting videos of music that he recorded at his home during the lockdown. 

 

His first posting was Antonin Dvorak’s Going Home. That video went viral with over 400,000 views.

 

Yo Yo Ma called this project Songs of Comfort. He has motivated musicians from around the world to post their own contributions on Songs of Comfort.

 

As a result, musicians from just about every genre of music have done this. For example, there are contributions from the American singers and songwriters James Taylor and Carole King.

 

There is the singer and songwriter Amy Ray from the contemporary folk duo Amy Ray and the Indigo Girls. And there is Hamed Sinno, the leader of a current rock band.

 

All of these musicians are responding to Yo Yo Ma’s invitation. They are posting songs and instrumentals to comfort a world suffering with Covid.

       

Yo Yo Ma’s Invitation

 

Yo Yo Ma has written a dedication for some of his postings.

 

One is for health care workers. He writes: “Your ability to balance human connection and scientific truth in service of us all gives me hope.”

 

Another dedication is for those who have lost a loved one. He simply writes: “For those grieving.”

 

Yo Yo Ma has invited every musician and artist who owns a phone to be part of this. He says: “Practice the one-on-one principle because as a musician, your job – our job – is to actually move one person at a time.

 

“So pick a person that you know, or maybe you don’t know…. Maybe it’s someone who is healthy, maybe someone who’s ill, maybe it’s a child who’s been stuck at home.

 

“Pick what you think is the right thing to play for them. Make it personal, because music is always personal, and record it with a little message and send it to them.”       

 

Ma concludes: “That’s how we re-build our humanity. So create the value of that one-on-one idea: for each musician, for each actor, for each poet, for each artist to say…

 

“Pick a person. Pick a person a day.”

 

Our Response

 

I find all of this very inspiring.

 

Yo Yo Ma’s invitation really extends to all of us. “Pick a person. Pick a person a day.”

 

What a wonderful way to respond to Jesus’ commission in today’s gospel. “Love one another as I love you.”

 

So today, Mother’s Day, the obvious person to pick is our mother. Connect with her, thank her for something specific, maybe for one of her endearing traits.

 

And if your mother has passed on, as mine has, then remember her and be thankful for her in prayer. And maybe beyond that, today pick a mother who has lost a child, or a single-parent mother, or a mother whose husband has recently died, or your grandmother, or godmother.

 

So, pick a mother today. Offer some personal prayer for her and reach out to her today. 

 

And on other days, pick another person: someone who is sick, someone who is lonely, someone who is depressed, an essential worker who stayed on the job at some risk to provide for others, a teacher who encouraged you, a boss who believed in you, a coach who guided you. 

 

Our imagination will come up with a person each day. Express some appreciation in your own way.

 

As Yo Yo Ma says, this will help to re-build humanity. It will be our way of living out Jesus’ call to love as he has loved.

 

“Pick a person. Pick a person a day.”

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B - May 2, 2021

 5th Sunday of Easter – Cycle B

May 2, 2021

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 8:30am

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 11:30am

 

Air Puppets

 

The other day, I was driving on York Road in the Timonium area.

 

I couldn’t help but notice the NTB store – National Tire and Battery. They had one of these tall air puppets out front drawing everybody’s attention to a sale that they had on.

 

I’m sure you know what I mean. These air puppets are made out of a nylon-type of material and usually have really bright colors – yellows, reds, greens, purples, and on it goes. 

 

Often, they often have a face and arms, like a person. And, of course, the crucial thing is that are inflated by air. 

 

These air puppets are connected to an electric blower that pumps air into them, and the result is that they wiggle around and are in constant motion. They do all kinds of funny movements and gyrations. 

 

The result, of course, is that these air puppets really get your attention. I’ve seen them at car dealerships, pizza shops, and lots of other places.  

 

As long as these air puppets are connected to the electric blower, they stay inflated and keep moving.  But the minute they are disconnected, they deflate and collapse.

 

Vine and Branches

 

These air puppets help us to appreciate the image in today’s gospel.

 

Did you notice how often the word “remain” was used in the second reading and in the gospel? Two times in the second reading and eight times in the gospel – a total of ten times – so it’s today’s key word – like the password to the readings.

 

Now, let’s go back to the air puppets. Here is what I am thinking.

 

Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” This image speaks of a connection between Jesus and us.  

 

The idea is that we are connected with Jesus, like the branches with the vine or like air puppets with the electric blower. We need to be connected with Jesus or “remain” in Jesus to be really alive. 

 

This is why the passage keeps using the word “remain.” It is why Jesus himself says: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.”

 

How to “Remain”

 

So, what do we have to do to “remain” in Jesus?

 

I think the most basic way of doing this is by prayer. We can pray or be prayerful persons in a whole variety of ways. 

 

For example, we may speak to God in our own words – just expressing to God what we are grateful for or what we need help in or what we are sorry for. Having a conversation with God or talking with God in our own words is a great way of praying. 

 

Then, we may use prayers that we have learned, like the Lord’s Prayer or the rosary or a novena. These prayers are often a helpful way for us to connect with God.  

 

Or, we can pray by reading and reflecting on a few verses of the gospel. Here God is speaking with us, and we respond with our own thoughts and resolves that come from the passage.  

 

Or we may just be silent. Just sit, walk, or even drive in silence and be with the Lord and let the Lord be with you in that.

 

And of course, we have the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This is a very special way of prayer, a visible, physical experience of Jesus remaining in us and our remaining in him. 

 

Results of Remaining

 

Each of these ways of being prayerful helps us to “remain” in Jesus.

 

And the result is that we will be spiritually alive and do good. It will be like the air puppet that keeps up all its funny motions as long as its plugged into the electric blower. 

 

As long as we “remain” in Jesus, we will keep living in him and probably do a lot of good. That’s what Jesus means today when he says: “Whoever remains in me and I in them will bear much fruit.”

 

So, let’s stay plugged into Jesus and “remain” in him through prayer. As Jesus says: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.”