12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B - June 23, 2024

 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B 

June 23, 2024    8:30 and 11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Storms

 

I believe that there are storms in each of our lives.

 

I am not referring to a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico or a summer thunderstorm here in Parkton. Instead, I am thinking of stressful, disappointing, upsetting, severely challenging situations that confront us.

 

For example: 

 

A child feeling insecure and uncared for at home

A young boy being bullied by several classmates in school

A young girl feeling rejected by some mean girls in her class

 

A teen feeling very uncertain about what to do or where to go after high school 

A young adult skilled in plumbing or auto repair and having a tough time in the job market

The loss of a job and the financial insecurity this brings until a new job opportunity comes along 

 

A break-up with a close friend

Even worse, a deteriorating marriage and its likely ending

 

A medical test showing a life-threatening condition 

The death of a husband or wife after sixty years of marriage

A senior beginning to realize that they will soon need some assistance for everyday living

 

Feeling unfairly judged and unjustly treated.

 

I am sure you could think of other examples of storms. Today’s gospel is really about them and what to do when they happen.   

 

What to Do? 

 

We might respond to these storms just like the apostles do.

 

We might cry out to Jesus, “Lord, I’m drowning in all of this. Wake up and help me!”

 

In the gospel, Jesus does wake up, and he calms the water. And that’s great.

 

But we know that it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes it does.

 

Sometimes the storm calms down or passes, the situation gets resolved, and life moves on. Sometimes this happens, but by no means always.

 

So, what is Jesus really teaching us here? Even though the apostles wake up Jesus, I think he’s actually trying to wake up them and us.

 

He says: “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?”

 

And that’s the core of the lesson. He’s awakening their faith – and our faith. 

 

He is trying to awaken our faith in him. And this is crucial for us to get through or cope with the storms of life.      

 

Let Our Faith Be Awakened 

 

So, we need to allow Jesus to awaken:

our trust – that he is with us, abiding within us, and walking alongside us always;

and our wisdom – that we can look at what is happening with a long-range perspective and with an eye on what he wants us to do.

 

We need to allow him to awaken:

our hope – that the paschal mystery is real and any form of dying can lead to new and fuller life;

and our perseverance – that with him we can make it through whatever the storm is.

 

These are the central qualities of faith for these storms – trust, wisdom, hope, and perseverance. These are the qualities that may need to be awakened. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, yes, there will be storms in our lives.

 

Yes, we can call on the Lord for help and awaken him. And yes, we then need to allow him to awaken us and our faith.

 

Some of the storms will pass and some will not. But either way, we can feel some calm from Jesus if we allow him to awaken our faith. 

 

Jesus asks us: “Why are you so afraid? Where is your faith?”  

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B - June 16, 2024

 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B 

June 16, 2024    5:00pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Résumé Virtues and Eulogy Virtues

 

An American journalist named David Brooks has written a column entitled The Moral Bucket List – The Moral Bucket List.

 

Brooks writes that from his experience, he sees two sets of virtues. He calls these: “the résumé virtues” and “the eulogy virtues.”

  

The résumé virtues are the skills we bring to the workplace. The eulogy virtues are the personal traits that are talked about at our funeral.

 

The résumé virtues are things like management skills and jobs we have held. They also include academic degrees and different kinds of training we have received. 

 

All of these definitely have a place in our lives. We need them to make a living, to make a contribution to our world, and for our own fulfillment.

 

But columnist David Brooks says that our culture focuses so much on these résumé virtues that we often forget the eulogy virtues. Our years can pass by and the deepest parts of us can go undeveloped.  

 

To state it in another way, we may be much clearer on how to build an external career than on how to build inner character. And so, Brooks argues that we need to be attentive to these eulogy virtues.  

 

These include patience with others and faithfulness to our life commitments when that is easy and when that is difficult. The eulogy virtues include honesty in our work situations and truthfulness in our relationships.  

 

They include compassion for those in need and an effort to understand the perspective of others who are different. The idea is that we have to be alert and work at these eulogy virtues.  

 

David Brooks adds this important point. He says that good people “are made, not born” – good people “are made, not born.”

 

His idea is that we achieve inner character and virtue by the day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out stuff we do with family, friends, neighbors, employers, employees and everyone. We become persons with character, good persons only over the long haul of everyday living.

 

 Only With God’s Power 

 

Well, Jesus’ parables in today’s gospel offer two insights on these eulogy virtues.

 

In the first parable, Jesus is talking about the growth of seed that has been planted in the soil. He says that the farmer just goes about his life and work and in some way, “he knows not how,” the seed sprouts and grows.

 

Jesus’ lesson is that it is God’s power at work that fosters our personal and spiritual growth. It is God’s steady, maybe unnoticed power that helps us to grow in what we call the eulogy virtues.

 

This is one reason why we are to come to Mass on Sunday. Here at Mass, the Word of God reminds us to live out these eulogy virtues.

 

It deepens us in what they are to mean for our life situation. And then the Eucharist nourishes the growth of these virtues by God’s actual presence within us. 

 

So, God’s grace is at work in us through our participation in Mass. God leads us to grow, much as the seed in the soil is led to grow.  

 

Only Over Time

 

The second lesson from today’s gospel is that all of this doesn’t happen overnight.  

 

Jesus uses the example of the mustard seed, which he says is the smallest of all seeds. But it ends up becoming the largest of plants.

 

The lesson is that it takes time for us to emerge as a person of character, of inner depth, the kind of person Jesus calls us to be. So, maybe a lot of things we do seem small and insignificant.  

 

Maybe we don’t think about their value and how they are affecting us right now. But, over the long haul of life, they mount up.  

 

From all the things that we say and do, by working at these eulogy virtues, we emerge as persons of character and inner depth. Little by little, we become the whole or holy persons that Jesus calls us to be.    

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B - June 9, 2024

 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

June 9, 2024     8:30 and 11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

The Last Supper by da Vinci 

 

There are several stories told about the painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

 

This has got to be one of the most famous paintings in the world. Probably some of us have a print of it in our homes.

 

We are rather certain that da Vinci began painting The Last Supper in the year 1495. One of the stories about this teaches an excellent point that relates to today’s gospel.

 

The story goes that it took Leonardo da Vinci many years to finish The Last Supper. It explains that he carefully looked for thirteen different men to serve as models for Jesus and the twelve apostles.

 

Da Vinci selected a man named Pietro Bandinelli for Jesus because he had a face that spoke of compassion and kindness. Then, the last of the apostles to be painted was Judas. 

 

The story says that da Vinci was having a hard time finding the right face for Judas. He wanted a man whose face had a cold and heartless appearance. 

 

After some years, da Vinci spotted such a man in one of the rough areas of Milan. And this man agreed to sit for the painting as Judas. 

 

At the final sitting, da Vinci noticed that this man was growing tense as he looked at his likeness in the painting. After a while, the man broke down in tears and da Vinci asked him, “What is troubling you?” 

 

The man looked up and said, “Don’t you remember me? Some years ago, I was your model for Jesus.”    

 

What Causes Us to Drift Away?

 

This story illustrates the possibility of our drifting away from God.

 

At one point, Bandinelli’s face spoke of kindness and compassion. But within a few years, it seemed cold and heartless.

 

What had happened to change him from a face of Jesus to a face of Judas? The story doesn’t give us the answer, but today’s gospel shows a type of behavior that can cause a similar change in us, a behavior that can disfigure us and distort our relationships with God and others. 

 

Not Seeing the Good 

 

The gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ opponents are hardened. 

 

They refuse to see the good that he does. They even say that he casts out demons through the prince of demons. 

 

In effect, they are saying that the good he does is evil. Well, is it possible that we can do a similar thing?

 

Might we do this when we demonize others? It could be a boss who is difficult to work for or a family member who talks all the time.

 

Or it could be an entire group or nationality of people. Can we get into demonizing and fail to see any good in others?

 

When we do this, we probably won’t know it at first, but we slowly disfigure ourselves and distort our relationships with God and with others. To go back to the story about the painting of The Last Supper,  we can change from a Jesus face to a Judas face.

 

How to Prevent This

 

How can we prevent this?

 

I suggest that as soon as we become aware that we are demonizing others, we need to Stop, Look, and Listen. First, maybe the X sign at railroad crossings will be a good visual for us to remember and for  getting us to Stop our demonizing thoughts or words.

 

Then we need to Look. Look more closely at the person or group and try to see them as human beings much like ourselves.

 

And finally, Listen. Listen not just to the words, but also to the feelings under the words that the other persons are expressing.   

 

So, Stop, Look, and Listen. This will help us to stop demonizing and see the good that is there. 

 

And, for motivation in doing this, remember what Jesus says today: that the failure to see good, the unwillingness to see at least something of God at work is a sin against the Holy Spirit. Jesus even says that those who do this will not experience the love or peace or forgiveness of God. 

 

But the good news is that we can experience the love and peace and forgiveness of God if we Stop, Look, and Listen.  

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle B - June 2, 2024

 Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ – B 

June 2, 2024             5pm    

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

My Chalice 

 

This afternoon, I want to talk about the sacrament that we honor in a special way this weekend – the Body and Blood of Christ.

 

And I want to do this by focusing on my chalice. This is my ordination chalice and paten. 

 

I am proud to say that I designed it! I got this idea back in 1971, and my parents and I went to a silversmith in downtown Baltimore.

 

He took my idea and fashioned this chalice and paten. I used this at my first Mass in 1972. 

 

Well, there are some features of this chalice that I want to share with you. And they convey some valuable points about the Eucharist. 

 

Shape 

 

First, the shape.

 

This is the traditional shape of a chalice for Mass. It is different from virtually any other drinking glass or cup that we would use.

 

It is not the only possible shape, but it is the traditional shape for a chalice in our Church. That was important for me in this design.

 

I wanted the chalice in some way to reflect tradition. I wanted it to connect us with Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “Do this in memory of me.”

 

We have been following Jesus’ words and continuing this tradition for two thousand years. That is what I see in the shape of this chalice.    

 

Walnut 

 

The next feature I want to note is the walnut.

 

Walnut has long been a favorite wood of mine. Besides that, it is directly from the natural world and nature speaks to me of God.

 

It is creation – coming from our creator and bringing the creator present to us. So, the walnut in a sense prepares us for the extraordinary presence of God in the Eucharist, a presence that this chalice will hold. 

 

That is why I selected this rather unusual exterior for the cup and base of the chalice. I like it as much today as I did fifty-two years ago.

 

Gold 

 

And then there is gold.

 

The inside of the cup is lined with gold – I think you would call it gold plating over another metal. Gold is, of course, a very precious metal.

 

Many chalices have this gold lining in the cup out of reverence for the precious blood of Christ which it will hold. This expresses our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

 

It is not just ordinary wine and is not just a symbol. We believe that this is Jesus, Christ present here.

 

This is also why the paten is gold-plated. It holds the consecrated bread, the body of Christ, and the gold is again an expression of our faith in the real presence. 

 

Cross

 

Then, on the base of the chalice is a gold cross.

 

It is very visible as it stands out against the walnut background. The cross expresses what the Eucharist is all about – remembering Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on the cross and remembering also his resurrection.

 

This is why, after the words of consecration, the priest says: “The mystery of faith.” And then we sing one of the acclamations, like: “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.”

 

The cross and the mystery of death and resurrection is the heart of this sacrament. That’s why the cross is on my chalice.

 

Band

 

Finally, encircling the cross on the base of the chalice is a wedding band.

 

My father had given my mother a new set of rings for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. This band is my mother’s original.

 

It has two meanings for me. It reminds me that both my mother and my father gave us our faith. 

 

It is with that faith that I began to think of becoming a priest. The other significance of the band is universality.

 

The circle speaks of the universe – that Jesus’ death and resurrection is for the salvation of all humanity. Jesus’ words that we repeat for the consecration of the wine speak of his blood as “poured out for you and for many.”

 

The word “many” is a very literal translation of the Latin. In context, the word really means “lots of people – too many to count – all – everyone.”

 

The band encircling the cross conveys this idea. Jesus’ death and resurrection are for all. 

 

Conclusion

 

Well, I hope these features of my chalice help us to appreciate a bit more the gift of the Eucharist. 

 

Maybe, when we come to Communion and the priest or other minister says, “the Body of Christ,” or “The Blood of Christ,” our response – “Amen,” “Yes, I believe” – maybe this will now have an even richer meaning.