2nd Sunday, Cycle A - April 16, 2023

 2^nd Sunday of Easter

Cycle A

April 16, 2023

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

 

Jesus’ Wounds 

 

The wounds of Jesus are at the center of today’s gospel. 

 

Notice that when Jesus first appears to the disciples, he shows them his hands and his side. His wounds.

 

When he was crucified, they hammered nails through his hands to attach him to the cross. Then, at the end, they stuck a spear into his side to make sure he was dead.

 

So, Jesus shows them his wounds and now they recognize and connect with him. They realize that this is the person who had led and lived with them.

 

And now, in seeing the wounds, they also see him as risen. The same thing happens a week later for Thomas who had not been with them on that day of the resurrection. 

 

Jesus even invites Thomas to touch his wounds. The passage doesn’t say whether Thomas actually does this.

 

It does say that through the wounds, Thomas sees him as the human Jesus whom he knew and even as God. He utters that great declaration of faith: “My Lord and my God.”

 

Our Wounds

 

So, Jesus’ wounds are central.

 

He owns and doesn’t try to hide his wounds, and there is a message here for us. Sometimes we dislike admitting our wounds.

 

I am not talking so much of our physical wounds. We do have them, like a wound on our leg that won’t heal or a chronic skin condition.

 

We do have physical wounds, and we bring them to Jesus in prayer or to the Sacrament of the Sick for healing. But here, today, this passage leads me to think more of our spiritual and emotional wounds. 

 

These are the wounds that sometimes we don’t want to look at or show to anyone. But the encounter of the risen Christ with his disciples tells us something valuable about our woundedness. 

 

It reveals that our woundedness is not a detour or a distraction from our communion with Christ. Instead, it is a point of entry into communion with Christ. 

 

Seeing his wounds helps us to see our own wounds, as it helped those first disciples. And it is in this mutual sharing of woundedness that he, the risen Christ, can help us and even heal us.

    

Healing of Wounds

 

For example, maybe our wound is doubting the presence of God in my life, something like Thomas in the gospel. Jesus and his wounds help to heal this skepticism and bring us to a humble acceptance of the mystery of faith.

 

Maybe our wound is being alienated from the Church because of some hurt or disagreement. Jesus and his wounds help to heal this distance and bring us a sense of connection and belonging.

 

Maybe our wound is guilt about something we have done. Jesus and his wounds help to heal this and bring us to an experience of forgiveness by God and even forgiveness of self.

 

And finally, maybe our wound is self-rejection. Jesus and his wounds help to heal this and bring us an awareness of being beloved by God and with that, a sense of self-worth.    

 

Conclusion 

 

So, I have never looked at this gospel in this way.

 

But I now see the wounds of the risen Christ as central. They help the disciples to realize that this is the real Jesus, now risen, in fact, God or the Son of God.

 

And with that, seeing Jesus’ wounds leads them to see their own wounds of fear and confusion and doubt. And that opens the door for Jesus to heal them of their wounds.

 

All of this invites us to identify and bring our wounds to the risen Christ. Maybe it seems contradictory, but we have a communion, a oneness with him through this. 

 

And through this, the risen Christ can help and heal us of our wounds. I find this to be quite a lesson and quite an opportunity for us today.

 

 

 

 

Easter Sunday, Cycle A - April 9, 2023

 Easter Sunday

Cycle A

April 9, 2023   8:30am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Why Are We Here?

 

As I prepared for this Easter Mass, I found myself asking a question. 

 

Why are we here? In other words, what is it that brings us here on Easter Sunday?  

 

I am seeing three possibilities. 

 

For Relationship and More

 

First, on one level, we may be here because of relationships. Coming to Mass is part of what we do with family and friends on Easter.  

 

Maybe it goes along with sharing jellybeans and butter cream eggs and getting together. Maybe coming to Mass is a good part of these good relationships. 

 

I also wonder, on a deeper level, if we may be here because of our need for relationship beyond family and friends. Because of our need for an extended and spiritual community.

  

We may be here because we want the belonging and inclusion that this brings. Because deep down, through and in God, we know that we are part of something bigger. 

 

For Making Sense and More

 

My second idea: on one level we may be here to make some sense of our lives. For some of us, there has been sickness, a death, maybe the loss of a job or a marriage.

 

For others, there is the enjoyment that comes from getting a new SUV or the latest iPhone or whatever. We need to make some sense of our struggles and, oddly enough, even of our satisfactions because they just don’t seem to last.

 

I also wonder, on a deeper level, if we may be here because of what we see in Jesus. Love, faithfulness, caring for the needy, finding yourself by giving of yourself – these messages of Jesus seem to make sense even in 2023.  

 

And maybe this is especially why we are drawn here to the Eucharist. A thin wafer of bread – nothing compared to the delicious brunch or ham dinner later on, and yet much more than that! 

 

In some way, this is Jesus himself and we need him and this food to hold life together. So, on a deeper level, we are here for what is something like fusion food – it brings about a fusion of us with Jesus and this helps us to make fuller sense of life. 

 

For Life and More 

 

And then my third idea: on one level we may be here because Jesus seems to respond to my intuition. We have this intuition that there is more to life.

 

Maybe we would call it a longing. A longing is something we have experienced and now we want more of, and we have this longing for more of life.

 

I also wonder, on a deeper level, if we may be here because the gospel declares that our longing has been satisfied. The gospel is about the mystery of dying that leads to new life, fuller life, risen life. 

 

Even in everyday living, we can see that if I die to my ego and say “I’m sorry” for something I have done, we so often come to a fuller relationship with another person, to fuller life. Easter declares that the same mystery happens when we die to our physical bodies.

 

Jesus wants us to get into the lifestyle of dying and rising right now because this will prepare us for that final experience of dying and rising. So, on a deeper level, we are here because that longing for more life has found some answer in Christ. 

 

Conclusion

 

They are the reasons I see for our being here this morning.

 

1) For relationships and more, 2) for making sense of things and more, 3) for life itself and more. So, please reflect a bit and see if one or all of these reasons are why you are here this Easter morning. 

Good Friday, Cycle B - April 7, 2023

 Good Friday 

Cycle B

April 7, 2023

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Arms and Legs

 

Some years ago, I read a story about a poor, peasant family in Brazil back in the 1950’s. 

 

After years of work, this family finally succeeded in buying a piece of land. On the day that they took possession of the property, the mother and the six children started to fix up the small, two-bedroom shack.

 

The father walked the perimeter of the land and placed stone markers on the four corners. As he was doing this, he noticed something sticking out from a bush.

 

It was the figure of Jesus’ body, apparently torn off of a large old crucifix. The figure was badly damaged, with its arms and legs missing.

 

The poor peasant man brought this wooden figure home and laid it on the kitchen table. He asked his family: “What should we do with this?”

 

Before long, the youngest child, Maria, spoke up: “Papa, I have an idea. Why don’t we hang it here in the kitchen and put a sign underneath it?”

 

Maria then shared her idea for the sign. It read: “Jesus now has no arms or legs. Will you lend him yours?” 

 

Saint John’s Passion

 

That’s the question that the Passion according to Saint John asks us today.

 

This story of Jesus’ suffering and death shows God’s great love for us. It also calls us to live as Jesus did – to be his arms and legs in our world today. 

 

I will highlight just three of the ways for doing this that I see in this passage.

 

1.Bearing Pain

 

First, we may have to bear pain for the sake of the gospel, but we are not to inflict it.

 

Peter strikes the servant of the high priest and Jesus tells him to put his sword away. We also are to put away the sword of our tongue when we are tempted to strike back at someone who has offended us.

 

Or we are to remain respectful when we talk about those who are different from us. We may have to bear pain for the sake of the gospel, but we are not to inflict it. 

 

2.Using Power

 

The second way of being Jesus’ arms and legs that I see in this passage  is to use power carefully and not misuse it.  

 

When Pilate asserts his power, Jesus responds: “You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above.” We all have different forms of power – like the power of an office or a title, as a priest has; or the power of a relationship, as parents have; or the power of physical size, as some taller or stronger persons have.

 

We sin – whether priest or whoever – we sin when we hurt and abuse those who are vulnerable with the power that we have. We are to use power carefully and not misuse it.    

 

3.God’s Family

 

And the third way of being Jesus’ arms and legs is to see all persons as members of God’s family and not just some persons. 

 

As Jesus hangs on the cross, he says to his mother: “Woman, there is your son,” and to the disciple closest to him he says, “And there is your mother.” With his mother Mary, Jesus fashions a new family.

 

Through the disciple John and again though Mary, Jesus signals that he wants all of us to have him as our brother and Mary as our mother. We are to see all persons as members of God’s family and nor just some. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, if we accept these three possibilities in the account of Jesus’ Passion, as that little girl in Brazil said, we will be his arms and legs in our world today. 

Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle A - April 2, 2023

 Passion (Palm) Sunday 

Cycle A

April 2, 2023    5pm   

            Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

The Passion According to Matthew

 

As you know, there are four gospels.

 

Each of the gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – each of them tells the very important story of the Passion, the account of Jesus’ suffering and death. But each of them tells this in a slightly different way, including different details or highlighting different themes.

 

This afternoon we just heard the account of the Passion according to Matthew. I want to comment on just two details in this passage that have a message for us. 

 

God’s Love

 

First, Matthew is the only gospel writer who informs us about the suicide of Judas.

 

Why does he mention this? Judas comes to realize that he has betrayed a good and holy man.

 

But tragically, Judas does not realize that Jesus is so good that he still loves him and will forgive him and accept him. Judas is unable to see this.

 

So implicitly, by recalling this, Matthew wants us to be clear that nothing we do is too bad to be forgiven by God. God’s love is unconditional, and there is nothing about us as persons or about our behavior that is beyond God’s love and forgiveness.

 

It’s important for us to remember this for our own sake. It’s important for us to share this with anyone who thinks that they are so sinful that they cannot be forgiven. 

 

And it’s important for us as a Church to live out this love of God in our ministry. This means that everyone needs to be welcome here – regardless – regardless of anything.  

  

God’s Presence 

 

Then, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in their accounts of Jesus’ Passion, three of the four gospel writers tell us about the tearing of the curtain in the temple.

 

So, this must be an important detail. Today’s passage says that at the moment Jesus dies, “the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.”

 

This veil or curtain separated what was called the Holies of Holies – the area of the temple where God is seen as dwelling – it separated this from the rest of the temple. So, the tearing of the curtain is a sign that this separation from God no longer exists. 

 

It means that Jesus’ death and eventual resurrection proclaims that God is with and within us. An Augustinian priest named Martin Laird at Villanova University writes this in one of his books.

 

He says: “Because God is the ground of our being, the relationship between creature and Creator is such that…separation is not possible…we are and always have been one with God and we are all one in God.” So, in the tearing of that sanctuary veil, Matthew wants us to be clear that we are not separate from God.

 

God is with us. God is within us. 

 

So, may we live with that assurance and comfort and trust. This, along with God’s love for us no matter what, are important messages in Matthew’s account of the Passion of Jesus. 

 

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - March 19, 2023

 4th Sunday of Lent

Cycle A

March 19, 2023          5pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

A Blind Spot

 

There is a story about a man named Joe who had just sat down at his desk to begin his workday.

 

One of his associates, a guy named Greg, came running in, breathless and with the color drained from his face. Greg said, “I was almost killed.

 

“I had stopped at the deli where I buy an egg salad sandwich every morning. Then I got onto the interstate and within two miles it happened.

 

“This red sports car came speeding up on my right side and cut over right in front of me. I mean, he had to be going eighty and he came within inches of hitting me. 

 

“And then he drifted into the lane to my left and sideswiped the car there. I mean, it was terrifying.

 

“That car sideswiped the jersey barrier and in an instant, two other cars were hit, and all the traffic came to a screeching stop. I mean, I came so close to getting killed,” Greg added breathlessly.

 

“I could have died there and then. It could have been all over.”

 

There was a moment of silence, and then Joe spoke.  “So, do you eat an egg salad sandwich every morning?”  

   

Blind Spots 

 

Well, Joe got so focused on the egg salad sandwich that he was blind to the terror and upset his associate had just experienced.

 

In today’s gospel, Jesus gives sight to a man who was born blind. But he is also speaking to the rest of us – telling us to be aware of our blindness or blind spots.

 

Sometimes we can be just like Joe in that office. Probably we all have some spiritual blindness or blind spots that keep us from seeing things as they are.  

 

In this gospel, we see three of the causes of our spiritual blind spots.

 

Cause 1: Preconceptions

 

First, preconceptions or preconceived ideas cause blind spots. Jesus’ apostles believe that physical disabilities like blindness are caused by sin.  

 

Jesus straightens out their thinking and tells them that no one’s sin caused this. But it is pretty clear that this preconception causes a blind spot in the apostles, and they look down on this man and his parents.

 

Preconceptions can also cause spiritual blindness in us. For example, I saw a media report that promotes a preconception about the poor and especially about anyone who uses food stamps or other forms of government assistance.

 

No question, there can be abuses, but sometimes our preconceptions lead us to blame the poor for their situation and look down on them. So, preconceptions like this create blind spots and keep us from seeing people as persons like us.     

 

Cause 2: Fear

 

Then fear can also cause blind spots. The parents of the man born blind are afraid to understand how their son has gained his sight.  

 

They are afraid that they will be alienated from the synagogue and their friends. Their fear causes a blind spot and keeps them from seeing the truth about Jesus.

 

Fear can also cause spiritual blindness in us. Maybe we refuse to talk with a friend about some tensions in our relationship because we are afraid of what they might say about us.

 

We are afraid that we will have to admit to some thoughtlessness on our part also. So, our fear can cause a blind spot and keep us from seeing the truth about ourselves.

 

Cause 3: Self-Interest

 

And finally, self-interest can cause blind spots. The religious leaders in this gospel story feel very threatened by Jesus.  

 

They wonder what will happen to them if people continue to flock to Jesus. This self-interest causes a blind spot and locks them into ways that are harmful.

 

Self-interest can also cause spiritual blindness in us. Self-interest can cause a supervisor to refuse to listen to criticism because it might call into question their competence.

 

The supervisor blocks the ideas and just continues as they have been doing. So, self-interest can create a blind spot, and this can keep us stuck in bad behavior.

 

Conclusion

 

So, Jesus today is calling each of us to take the position of the man born blind and admit our spiritual blindness or blind spots.   

 

And from this passage, we are to see – to see how our preconceptions, our fears, and our self-interest can cause blind spots in us. Jesus wants to heal us of that blindness and open our eyes.    

 

2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C - March 5, 2023

 2^nd Sunday of Lent- C

March 5, 2023    5pm, 8:30 and 11am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton

 

Three Recommendations

 

Today I want to make three recommendations.

 

But before I get into them, I want to explain why I am doing this. And that takes us to today’s gospel.

 

Transfiguration/Transformation

 

We hear that Jesus “is transfigured before” three of his apostles.

 

Instead of the word “transfigured,” we might say transformed. Jesus is seen in a way that he was never seen before. 

 

For the first time, these three apostles see him for who he really is. The passage says that “Moses and Elijah appeared, [talking with Jesus].” 

 

Moses was the great lawgiver. God had given to him the Ten Commandments. 

 

And Elijah was the last of the great prophets. They believed that he would return before the Messiah came. 

 

So, the presence of Moses and Elijah here means that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets – of everything in their Scriptures. That had to be an overwhelming idea for these three apostles.

 

And then, as if that isn’t enough, there is a voice from the heavens: “This is my beloved Son.”The Almighty One, God himself, confirms that Jesus is special, even unique, his Son, the Son of God.  

 

So, these apostles are now seeing Jesus for who he really is – a person like them, but also a person who is God’s Son; human, and yet in some way also divine. That’s what this transformation of Jesus means.

  

Transformation of Us 

 

This gospel also calls us to be transformed. 

 

In fact, this is what Lent is all about. This is the positive way to look at Lent – our allowing ourselves to be transformed by God, by Jesus. 

 

This is why Lent calls us to look closely at ourselves and identify our dark sides, our areas of sinfulness. And this takes me back to where I began.

 

I have three recommendations to assist us in our becoming aware of our imperfections and in asking God’s forgiveness and help. And all of this is for our transformation in Christ.  

 

1^st Recommendation: Daily 

 

My first recommendation is that every day, we pray what we usually call an Act of Contrition.

 

We make this prayer after reflecting on our day or the day before and identifying any time that we did not follow the way of Christ. In this prayer, we ask for forgiveness and for God’s grace to grow and do better.

 

Many of us learned an Act of Contrition a long time ago and we know it by heart.  Some of us prefer to pray this in our own words, and that’s fine too.

 

In today’s bulletin, and on the website, I have placed two other options for this prayer that come from the Church’s official ritual. My recommendation is that we do this daily, every day, as part of our prayer life.

 

2^nd Recommendation: Weekly 

 

My second recommendation is weekly – that every Sunday, right at the beginning of Mass, in the brief penitential prayer, we bring to God just one thing.

 

Bring to God the number one thing for which we need forgiveness. The number one habit or area of our lives where we need to grow. 

 

I often suggest that we bring the same thing week after week, probably for months. We do this because you and I change slowly.

 

Our transformation, unlike Jesus’ on the mountain, is not instant. It takes time.

 

So, we bring this week after week and hear the words of God’s forgiveness through the priest. And in that, we allow the grace of God to work with us and help us to grow.   

 

3^rd Recommendation: Seasonal 

 

My third recommendation is seasonal – that we think about the place of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially during this Season of Lent.

 

I am using the term Sacrament of Reconciliation and not confession. Many of our theologians see this a more appropriate title for this sacrament. 

 

We name it by what it is intended to do, its purpose, and not by one of its parts. It is about reconciliation with God, with myself, and with others, and my confession is just part of that. 

 

The Church teaches that we have to come to this sacrament only if we are guilty of something serious. Traditionally, we have spoken of mortal sin.

 

So, something like being unfaithful to our vocation and basic commitment in life. The Church teaches that we are to bring serious things like this to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

 

The Church also encourages us to use the Sacrament for lesser sins. Reconciliation can help us in our overall personal growth.

 

Now, the choice to do this or the frequency for this is up to us. I am simply encouraging that in this Season of Lent, we put this Sacrament on our radar screen and see if it has a place for us. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, three recommendations: one daily, one weekly, and one seasonal – and all of them to assist in our being transformed, in our growing more and more in the likeness of Jesus.