Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Cycle A - November 2, 2014

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Cycle A

November 2, 2014        7:30 and 9:00 am

Saint Margaret, Bel Air

Imagine – Around 1875

Try to imagine for just a minute that it is around the year 1875.

It is rural America, out in the farm country of the Midwest.  There are no cars, only horses and horse-drawn wagons.

In that setting, there lives a little boy named Tom – and this is a true story!  Both of Tom’s parents die and he is left an orphan.

His Aunt Katherine takes him in and raises him.  Then, years later, Tom receives a letter from his Aunt Katherine.

She has a terminal illness and, from the tone of the letter, Tom knows that she is afraid of death.  So he writes a letter in response.

Letter from Tom

Dear Aunt Katherine, thirty-five years ago, when I was six-years-old, I was left alone in the world.  You sent me word that you would give me a home and be a mother to me.

“I’ve never forgotten the day when I made the long journey of ten miles to your house.  I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming to me yourself, you sent your hired-hand Joseph to fetch me.

“I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on the horse and clinging tight to Joseph, I rode off to my new home.  Night fell before we finished the journey and, as it grew dark, I became even more afraid.

“‘Do you think she’ll go to bed before I get there?’ I asked Joseph.  ‘Oh, no,’ Joseph answered, ‘she’s sure to stay up.  When we get out of these woods, you’ll see her light shining in the window.’

“We did ride out into the clearing and there was your light.  I remember that you were waiting at the door; that you put your arms tight around me; that you lifted me – a tired, frightened, little boy – down from the horse.

“You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove.  After supper you took me to my new room.

“You heard me say my prayers.  Then you sat with me until I fell asleep.

“You very probably realize why I am now trying to recall this to your memory.  Very soon, God is going to send for you, and take you to a new home.

“I’m trying to tell you that you needn’t be afraid of the summons or of the strange journey.  God can be trusted.

“God can be trusted to do as much for you as you did for me so many years ago.  At the end of the road you’ll find love and a welcome waiting for you.

“And you’ll be safe in God’s care.  I’m going to watch and pray for you until you’re out of sight. 

“And I shall wait for the day when I make the same journey myself and find you waiting at the end of the road to greet me.” 

Our Faith

Tom’s letter to his Aunt Katherine is very touching.

It shows a simple, but clear, strong, and trusting faith.  It reflects so beautifully Jesus’ words in today’s gospel.

Jesus says: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.  This is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me.”

Jesus is so clear in his promise and in the hope he gives us.  He is affirming what one writer calls the circle of God’s love.

God’s love creates us.  God’s love is with us in Jesus.

God’s love sustains us on this earth.  And God’s love re-creates us when we pass on from this earth and go to our heavenly home.

This is the circle of God’s love.  This circle includes all of us and that is why we believe that we remain and will remain in relationship with our loved ones and with all of God’s sons and daughters.

This is how we understand Jesus’ words in today’s gospel.  And this is why we have All Souls Day, a day to remember and pray for all the faithful departed.  

Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 27, 2014

Monday of the 30^th Week of Ordinary Time

October 27, 2014                   8:30am

 

Some years ago there was a film titled A Few Good Men.

In a climactic scene of the movie, a Navy lawyer played by Tom Cruise is interrogating a Marine Colonel played by Jack Nicholson.

The lawyer strongly and loudly demands the truth from the Marine.

And the Marine Colonel thunders back, “You can’t handle the truth.”

That scene reflects the synagogue leader in today’s gospel.

He cannot handle the truth either.

Jesus has miraculously healed a woman.

But the synagogue leader is not in awe of what has happened or grateful that this woman is healed.

Instead, he ignores Jesus and blames the woman for coming to be healed on the Sabbath and tells everyone to come on the other six days of the week for healing.

According to his logic, healing requires work and work is not allowed on the Sabbath.

I suppose today he would want urgent care centers and emergency rooms closed on Sundays!

The real issue here is that he is so consumed with resentment against Jesus that he has blinded himself to the truth of things in life.

It is easy to see such extreme blindness in others.

I am thinking of people like racial supremacists or Islamic terrorists or extremist of any kind.

But it is not so easy to see blindness in ourselves.

It is easy to be blind to our own blindness.

We can let resentment towards another grow to the point that we see no goodness in the person at all.

Or we can become so fixed on a particular issue or truth that we make it the only issue or truth and end up hurting people in the process.

In a reverse sort of way, the synagogue leader today calls us to search ourselves for blind spots

His unfortunate example calls us to open our inner selves and our spiritual eyes to the full reality of life and of God’s work.

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 26, 2014

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

October 26, 2014                  9:30 and 11:00 am        

Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air

Learning to Love

A man named Daniel Allender writes about a conversation he had on an airplane.

Dan Allender is a psychologist and a Christian therapist and he was seated next to man named Tom.  Doctor Allender shares with Tom that he is on his way to give a presentation about love and forgiveness.

Tom admits that we all need to be reminded of that, but then he starts focusing on his career.  At one point Tom says that what pleases him most about his children is their intense focus on education, career and success.

Tom eventually mentions that his three children have been through a total of five divorces.  And he has not seen some of his grandchildren for over five years.

Doctor Allender asks him if it might be important to teach his children how to love and maintain commitment.  Tom responds that he never taught his children this and just figured that they would learn it naturally.

Dan Allender concludes that often we do not naturally know how to be loving persons.  We need to be taught.

How to Love

I think Dan Allender makes an excellent point.

Jesus in today’s gospel teaches the two great commandments of love.  The question is: how do love God?

And how do we love one another?  This morning I want to give a few responses to these how-to questions.

 

How to Love God

I decided to try to express the core things involved in loving God with three R words: Receive, Resolve, and Reconcile.

First, we need to receive what God has to say in the Scripture, especially the Gospels.

We need to receive the example and life of Jesus as the way for us to live.  We need to receive the strength that God offers through prayer and the Eucharist.

And then we resolve each morning to make God the center and foundation of our day.

We resolve not to close down, but to be open to more insight about life and our relationship with God.  We resolve to allow all of this to influence us and keep us growing in the way of Jesus.

And then we reconcile on both the little and the big issues.

We reconcile by wanting more of a sense of peace within ourselves and with God.  We reconcile by seeking God’s forgiveness, maybe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and in receiving forgiveness we find the resolve and strength to do better.   

How to Love Others

Now I am also trying to express the core things involved in loving others with the same three words: Receive, Resolve, and Reconcile.

So, we need to receive from others by really listening.

We need to receive their perspective and their life-story.  We need to receive the person of the other, their strengths and struggles and how they are really very much like us.

And then we resolve to communicate in a way that is constructive, even if we first have to work through negative feelings. 

We resolve to be faithful to our commitments – to your spouse or close friend or to a group or community.  We resolve to be there and assist even when we don’t feel like doing it.

And then we reconcile by admitting our insensitive action or comment.

We reconcile by saying “I am sorry” or “Of course, I forgive you and let’s try to work it through together.”  We reconcile by being vulnerable and not having to appear right all the time.   

Conclusion

So, I hope these three R words – Receive, Resolve, and Reconcile – I hope they help us remember the core things involved in how to love God and others.

I want to close with this.  It strikes me that these lessons are the foundation for dealing with the bigger issues in our lives and in our society.

If we learn how to love on a relationship level, then we are much better equipped for approaching issues like capital punishment, abortion, domestic violence, assisted suicide, just warfare, and on it goes.  Our personal and spiritual self will equip us with a wisdom to guide us in the complex issues that we all face together.

Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - October 21, 2014

Tuesday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time

October 21, 2014          8:30am

 

Often enough I have heard people say: “I don’t know what I would do without my faith.”

I have heard people say this when they are grieving the death of a loved one, or when they are suffering through a sickness, or when they are dealing with family or marriage troubles or the loss of a job.

And I think it is a real and good statement.

In a way, I am thinking we can all say it: “I don’t know what I would do without my faith.”

That really is what Saint Paul is saying in today’s first reading.

Paul says to the people of Ephesus that at one time you were without Christ, without hope, without God.

But now you have Christ and that makes all the difference in the world.

Paul says to them and says to us:

Now we can have inner peace.

Now we have a oneness and a sense of oneness with God.

Now we have a oneness with each other through Jesus, a sense of community, a relationship of brother and sister with all other human beings.

Now we have, to use Paul’s word, a foundation for our lives.

Now we have meaning and purpose, a way to live.

Now we have hope, a hope that is based not on a wish but based on our relationship with Jesus.

Christ has done this for us, transformed our lives and our earthly experience.

All we have to do is be receptive to what he offers.

And that is Jesus’ point in the gospel.

Be receptive to the Lord and alert to the Lord each day.

If we do that, if we respond in this way and do our part, then there will be a world of difference in our lives.

And we too will say: “I don’t know what I would do without my faith.”