Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 15, 2014

Wednesday of the 28^th Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila

October 15, 2014          6:30am

Here at Mass, the priest or deacon introduces the gospel by saying: “A reading from the holy Gospel according to _____.

As I say this, I and all of us make the Sign of the Cross on our forehead, lips, and heart. 

The triple signing of ourselves is meant to express our desire that the gospel will affect our entire being:

that it will enlighten our minds,

that it will affect what we say and how we say it,

and that it will so touch our hearts that it be seen in what we do.

In other words, this signing with the cross expresses our desire that the gospel and our practice of faith will not be just a superficial thing, but that it will affect our entire person.

It expresses our desire for a spiritual integrity and wholeness.

In that way, this practice is a good response to what Jesus is so worked up about in today’s gospel. 

He is citing some of the people of his day for what he calls their hypocrisy: saying one thing, but not really meaning it and probably doing something else.

Jesus is calling them and us to a spiritual integrity and wholeness.

Our triple signing of ourselves before the gospel expresses our desire for this in our own lives.

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 13, 2014

Monday of the 28^th Week in Ordinary Time

October 13, 2014          8:30am

In today’s first reading, Saint Paul says that we are “free.”

On the one hand, we know that we have freedom and rights that are based on freedom at least in our country.

We also know that we do have free will – the ability to choose what to do or not to do in particular situations.

But we may also not feel so free in some ways.

We may feel that we have so many responsibilities to our family or employer or whomever that we don’t feel very free at all.

So what freedom is Paul talking about here?

Fundamentally, he is saying that we have the freedom of possibility or lots of possibilities because of our life in Christ.

We are free to respond to others with compassion instead of feeling inhibited from showing our care and concern.

We are free to act justly instead of being restrained by the ways or attitudes of others.

We are free to do what Christ would want us to do instead of giving in to peer pressure.

We are free to be positive about the good that is in our world and in others instead of being cynical and negative.    

We are free to be ourselves instead of worrying about what others will think of us.

We are free to hope for tomorrow and the future instead of giving in to discouragement.

I think you get the point.

Paul sees freedom not as a superficial reality.

He sees it as quite profound, as an empowerment that comes from the Christ living in us and our living in him.

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - September 28, 2014

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

October 4-5, 2014        All 8 Masses

Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air

Pope Francis

Last December, Time magazine named Pope Francis the Person of the Year.

Time’s decision to do that reflected how Pope Francis has connected with so many people throughout the world.  And this is true regardless of religious background.

Well, soon before Time’s decision, last November, Pope Francis issued a beautiful statement called The Joy of the Gospel.  This morning I want to quote just a few sentences from this.

Pope Francis says: “The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors wide open…Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason…

“These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness.”  They are just a few of the many direct, heartfelt thoughts of the Pope.

I do not know where this will be taking the Church.  We will see, but for now we, locally, need to try to take account of Pope Francis’ words and spirit.         

Parish Plan

Beginning this past May, a special parish committee has been at work.

Three men and three women are working with me as a Planning Committee to develop a new plan for the parish.  We have had a plan, but it is now time to renew that and chart our direction for the next three years.

The Committee’s discussions have been focused almost exclusively on the gospel and faith – on having this enriched in ourselves and on bringing this to those we are not reaching very well.  The Committee is trying to heed Pope Francis’ call to proceed “with prudence and boldness.”

 

Priorities

The plan is not finished, but I want to give you a sense of the priorities that are emerging.

1) Effective ministry to our youth.  2)         Effective ministry to our young adults.  3) Faith enrichment for the parents of all children.  4) Engaging those who are not actively participating in the parish.  And 5) Using today’s social communications in ways that are appropriate.

No question, we will continue to do all the other things that are essential and valuable.  I am simply saying that, at this moment, we probably need to focus especially on the areas that I mentioned. 

To use Pope Francis’ words, we will have to be “prudent and bold” in those ministries.

   

Offertory Giving

Now, I don’t want to disappoint you, so I will say it: your financial commitment is needed.

Within the past week, each of us received a letter from me about this.  As you know, our giving to the offertory collection makes our ministry possible.

We as a parish do great things already.  We have even greater potential.

So, I ask for your financial support.  In my letter, I asked each of us for a specific amount of increase in offertory giving.

Some of us will be able to do that.  Some of us will be able to maintain what we are now giving and some of us may need to cut back.

What I believe is that if each of us just does what we can, we as a parish will be fine.  We will have the finances to do our spiritual mission and we will even be able to focus more on the areas of priority that I mentioned.

Commitment Card

Some of you have already completed and returned your Commitment Card.

I thank you and am very grateful for that.  Some of you have probably brought your card with you today – wonderful!

If you have not yet had a chance to complete a Commitment Card, I ask that you do that right now.  I would ask those at the end of the rows to pass the cards and pencils down to one another.

These Cards are important because they are a visible, tangible expression of what we intend to contribute this year to the offertory.  They also help us to be assured that the parish budget is realistic.

So, please complete the Cards and then place them in the collection basket when it comes around in a few minutes.  Finally, I thank you.

I am very grateful for your steady, generous support of Saint Margaret’s.  With that, together we are doing the Lord’s work. 

Again, I thank you.  And may the Lord enlighten and guide us in all that we do!

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 3, 2014

Friday of the 26^th Week in Ordinary Time

October 3, 2014   11am Seniors

Today’s first reading is very touching.

It is toward the end of the famous story of Job in the Old Testament.

Just to review the story a bit, Job was a very upright man, a person who believed and lived his faith very well.

But, little by little, Job lost everything he had.

His children were all killed.

He lost his flocks of sheep and his servants and therefore his livelihood.

He himself developed painful health problems.

Job, very humanly, complained to God.

“Why?

Why is all this happening to me, a good man?”

He cries out to God and for a long while he gets no answer.

Then, finally, in today’s passage, God speaks.

God’s answer consists of questions.

“Have you ever commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place?

Have you entered into the sources of the sea?

Have you seen the gates of darkness?

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Which is the way to the dwelling place of light?”

And that is all God says in answer to Job’s complaint about his suffering.

And what does Job say in response? 

He simply responds: “I am of little account.

Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again.”

The point:

Job simply realizes the greatness, the power and the transcendence of God.

In response to that, he now knows how much of a creature he is and how small he is in relation to God and the whole of creation.

He accepts that and accepts his hardship and suffering in that context – without understanding why.

What a poignant story this is!

How easily each one of us, at some point in our lives, can relate to Job!

What a lesson for us today!

Feasts of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels, Cycle A - September 29, 2014

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

September 29, 2014      6:30am

 

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels.

An Archangel is apparently the highest of the angels.

Michael’s role was as a protector against evil.

The Old Testament tells us that Michael expels Satan from heaven and enables the reign of God to begin there.

That reign has not yet fully arrived here on earth, but even today’s gospel assures us of the presence of God’s angels to enable the light and life of God to be present.

Maybe we experience Archangels like Michael in the assistance of spiritual advisors or good friends who strengthen us to do good and avoid evil.

Gabriel was God’s messenger.

He announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and the birth of Jesus to Mary.

Gabriel reminds us that there are still messengers from God in our lives.

Today our Gabriels may look like a parent, a teacher, a spouse, a counselor, or a priest.

Finally, Raphael turns up in the Old Testament Book of Tobit.

Raphael takes care of Tobit’s son Tobias.

He guides Tobias on a journey.

He expels some demons and even leads Tobias into a lovely marriage.

Raphael is most often seen today in all that parents do to raise their children and bring them to adulthood and happiness.

Raphael, in the Book of Tobit, gives some parting words to Tobias and his wife that tell us the real function and identity of angels and archangels.

I conclude with these and they make a good reflection for us today.

Raphael says: “When I was with you, I was not acting on my own, but by the will of God. 

“Bless him each and every day.”