25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - September 24, 2023

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

September 24, 2023 – 5pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Two Lessons 

 

One thing that probably all of us dislike is a lack of fairness.

 

We want everyone to be treated fairly. We want fair pay, fair games, fair trials, and on it goes.

 

So, we may agree with the guys in the gospel story who have worked all day long. They are upset when the landowner pays a full-day’s pay to those who have worked just one hour or a few hours.  

 

In truth, the landowner is being fair because he gives the full-day workers exactly what they agreed upon and that was the going rate-of-pay. He simply chooses to be generous with those who have worked fewer hours.

 

Now, we have to say that Jesus is not giving a lesson here on good management or compensation practices – that’s definitely not the point!  Instead, he is teaching us lessons first about God and then about ourselves.

 

Lesson 1: About God 

 

We can summarize Jesus’ lesson about God with the word: “generous.”

 

To those who have worked all day and are complaining about what he has paid the others, the landowner says: “Are you envious because I am generous?” Jesus is presenting the landowner as an image of God. 

 

The idea is that God is absolutely generous in his love for us. In another passage of Scripture, Saint John says this so beautifully: “Love consists in this: not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us.”

 

So, God first loves us, each of us, personally. God takes the initiative in loving.

 

God’s love is purely and simply a gift. We don’t merit it or earn it.

 

To us, this is counter cultural. Our experience is that we have to merit or earn practically everything.

 

But this isn’t true when it comes to the love of God. One of our Catholic writers puts it this way.

 

“We don’t change [or try to grow] to earn God’s love; instead, we change because of God’s love.” The idea is that it is God’s love or grace within us that moves us to grow and change.  

 

So maybe we come to God or come back to God later in life. But amazingly, God treats us as the landowner treats the late workers. 

 

It’s hard for me and maybe all of us to understand this. So, we just have to accept this as part of the mystery of God because God is ultimately mystery to us.

 

We just have to remember that God is “generous” – that’s the key word. God gives his love as a gift, and we don’t earn it or merit it.  

 

Lesson 2: About Us 

 

The second lesson really flows from the first.

 

It is also summed up in one word, the word: “envious.” The landowner says to the all-day workers: “Are you envious because I am generous?”

 

I and probably each of you, we human beings can be envious. Envy is the sin of being upset at someone else’s good fortune.

 

Maybe a fellow employee gets a promotion; maybe a family member gets named in an inheritance; maybe someone gets publicly recognized for doing some charitable work – these are the kinds of things that can make us feel envious – resentful, begrudging, even hateful. 

 

Notice in the gospel what leads to envy. The day-long workers compare themselves with the part-day workers and their pay.  

 

It’s the comparing that leads to the envy. So, Jesus wants us to stop comparing ourselves to others in this way.

 

Instead, he wants us to focus on God’s generous love for us. He wants us to be aware of the gifts God has given us – like our school, our job, our family, our friends, our home, our health, our health care, and on it goes.

 

Jesus doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to others who seem to have something we don’t have and then become envious. Instead, he wants us to look at ourselves and what we do have and be thankful to God for that.

 

And that’s the key point. Being thankful is the opposite of being envious.  

 

Conclusion

 

So, two words: “generous” and “envious.”

 

God is amazingly generous to each one of us. If we remember this and are thankful, we will not become envious.   

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - September 17, 2023

 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Cycle A

September 17, 2023 – 8:30 and 11am 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Forgive

 

This morning, it would be difficult to talk about any topic other than forgiveness.

 

This is front and center in both the first reading and the gospel. The first thing I want to say is that forgiveness can be very difficult. 

 

I must admit that I find it hard at times. For me, I have to work at forgiving when someone treats me unfairly or unjustly.

 

Maybe that’s not an issue for you, but it is for me. I think that forgiving can be a challenge at one time or another for many of us.

 

This morning, I am not going to give a pious exhortation about forgiving. Instead, I want to look at this in a grittier, more practical way.

 

First, I want to look at some things that forgiveness is not. And then, I will offer three steps that I think are involved in the process of forgiving.   

 

Forgiving Is Not…

 

First, forgiving does not mean that we deny our feelings or pretend that we weren’t offended.

 

In fact, part of healthy forgiving demands that we own or admit our feelings. We do this so that we can eventually work through the hurt.

 

Then, contrary to the popular saying, forgiving does not mean forgetting.

 

It’s almost impossible to forget what has happened, even if we want to. We cannot expect ourselves or others to do this.

 

Next, forgiving is not weakness.

 

In fact, forgiving requires great inner strength. It is a sign of a strong person who can bring themselves to forgive another who has offended them.

 

And finally, this may sound surprising, but forgiving may not mean reconciling.

 

Reconciling may be unwise in some situations, like domestic violence or sexual abuse. We may forgive but not restore the relationship to what it was before.    

 

Forgiving Is

 

Okay, they are some things that forgiveness is not; now I want to look at three steps or actions that are involved in forgiving. 

 

1.    Review 

 

First, we need to review what happened.

 

Review in your mind what the other person did. And as you do this, get in touch with your feelings. 

 

How did you feel as it happened and right after it happened? And how do you feel about him or her right now?

 

And, as part of this review, sometimes we also need to look at ourselves. To paraphrase an old saying, “It often takes two to tango.”

 

So, is there some way, maybe something minor or subtle, but still some way that I contributed to the problem? Could it have been how I said something or when I did something? 

 

2.    Humanize

 

So, 1) review what happened, and then, 2) humanize the offender.

 

Try to separate the hurtful word or action from the person who did it. And then, try to walk in that person’s shoes for a bit.

 

What might she have been experiencing within herself? What kind of day or week might she have had?

 

Or what kind of home life did he have when he was a child? What woundedness might he be carrying around inside?

 

This can be a very challenging part of the process that we may not want to do. But still, step back from the hurt for a moment and look at the offender as another human being. 

 

3.    Choose

 

And then the third step is to choose to forgive.

 

We may feel resentful, angry, or vengeful. But even with that, we can still choose to let go of it – and yes, forgiving is a choice.  

 

Not to let go hurts us as much or even more than the other person. The Buddhists have a saying about this.  

 

They say that holding on to resentment is like picking up a hot coal in our hand with the intention of throwing it at the person who offended us. Just imagine that: the hot coal makes it clear that holding on especially to vengeful feelings is as harmful for us as it is for the other person. 

 

Choosing to let go is important. And then, eventually, if, if this is possible, try to talk with the other person because that makes forgiveness very real.

 

Conclusion

 

So, hurts can happen with anyone – a parent, a spouse, a son or daughter, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor, an employer, a priest, anyone.  

 

I hope that these three steps or actions – 1) Review, 2) Humanize, and 3) Choose – I hope that they will help us respond to Jesu

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - September 3, 2023

 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Cycle A

September 3, 2023 – 5pm, 8:30 and 11am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Becoming More

 

A few years ago, I came across a fable that was written to help us appreciate Jesus’ main point in today’s gospel. The fable goes like this.

 

“Once upon a time, a dandelion whispered to the nutrients in its soil: ‘How would you like to become a dandelion? You need only allow yourself to be dissolved in the earth’s water, and I will draw you up through my roots.

 

‘Afterward you will be able to grow and flower and brighten the world.’ The nutrients said: ‘Okay!’ and they became a dandelion.

 

“The next morning, a rabbit hopped by and, feeling generous, said to the dandelion: ‘How would you like to become a rabbit? You would have to let me chew you up and swallow you, and you would lose your pretty petals. 

 

‘It would hurt at first, but afterward you would be able to hop around and wiggle your ears.’ Not being rooted in just one place sounded good, so the dandelion said ‘Okay!’ and it became a rabbit.

 

“The next day, a hunter spotted the rabbit, and being in a friendly mood, asked: ‘How would you like to become a human? Of course, you must let yourself be shot, skinned, stewed, and eaten.

 

‘That would be rather painful but think of what you’d gain. You’d be able to think, laugh, cry, get 50 credit cards and watch football on a wide flat-screen TV.’ 

 

“The rabbit was scared, but who could pass this up? So, he also said ‘Okay!’ and became a human.

 

“Years later, God noticed this human going about the everyday human way. Feeling very fatherly, God said: ‘Hey! How would you like to become a super-human?’”

 

Becoming Divine

 

And that, my friends, is the question God asks each human being.

 

And, in case we don’t know what’s involved in this, God’s Son, Jesus, spells it out: “You have to lose your life to find it.” Sports coaches and athletes say: “No pain; no gain.”

 

Psychologists say: “Lose your false self to find your true self.” Spiritual writers say: “The dark night comes before the dawn.”

 

So, what is it that we must lose and what do we gain? Well, the good news is that we don’t lose anything essential to our humanity.

 

And we don’t lose anything that is good. All we really lose is our inhumanity, our false self.

 

What Do We Lose?

 

For example, we would lose our self-absorption, which ends up making us very alone. We would lose our prejudice, which blinds us to the truth.

 

We would lose our lust, which distorts our love. We would lose our insecurity, which blocks our sense of self-worth. 

 

We would lose our obsession with money, which prevents us from being generous. And we would lose our fear, which strangles our hope.  

 

What Do We Gain?

 

To the degree that we do this losing, we gain. Our humanity is enhanced. 

 

Now, we don’t have to get there all at once. We can do it step by step.

 

And we don’t have to advance in every dimension of life. In truth, even most of the saints are imperfect and unfinished in some way.

 

The best part is that by fulfilling our humanity in this way, we become more and more divine. We live more and more in the divine life. 

 

We are in communion with God and start thinking and living in a Godly way. And here is the really best part. 

 

In losing our lives in God, unlike the nutrients in the soil and the dandelion and the rabbit in the fable, unlike them, we don’t really lose at all. Instead, we retain our own self and grow bigger.

 

We feel connected with others. We feel more secure in ourselves.

 

We feel closer to God. And we feel a sense of purpose and hope. 

 

But we have to remember this. Only with Jesus and only in going through this process of losing can we gain and become our fullest self.

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - August 20, 2023

 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

August 20, 2023         

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton – 5pm  

 

“Somos personas” 

 

There is a magazine called Spirituality and Health.

 

In its current issue, the July/August issue, a writer named Paul Sutherland tells an inspiring story. He says that he and his family were on vacation and heading to a beach in Nicaragua. 

 

They were driving in their van and came to a narrow street in the Nicaraguan village of Santa Teresa. And suddenly, THUD!

 

One of the front tires went down into an uncovered drainage hole. Some men from the village saw what happened and came over to help Paul push the van.

 

But it wouldn’t budge. Sutherland was trying to figure out what to do when a farmer drove up on a tractor. 

 

The farmer pulled ahead of the van and stopped in the middle of the narrow street. Then he looked under the van and, without saying a word, walked to a nearby shop and came back with some rope. 

 

The farmer tied one end of the rope around the van’s chassis and then attached the other end to a chain that he had with the tractor. Within a minute, he pulled the van out of the drainage hole. 

 

Paul Sutherland and his wife and children were overcome with gratitude. He said, “Gracias! Thank you! Gracias!”

 

Sutherland tried to hand the farmer some money. But the farmer refused and said, “Somos personas!”

 

Sutherland said, “This is for you and your family.” But again, the farmer refused to take the money and just said, “Somos personas!”

 

When Paul and his family got back in the van, his daughter asked, “Dad, do you know what he was saying?” Paul responded, “No!”

 

“Dad, he was saying, ‘We are people.’ He was saying we are the same, we are all people, persons. 

 

“We are here to help one another. We are people, persons. ‘Somos personas.’”     

        

Are We All People? 

 

In today’s gospel, we see this same vision eventually emerge.

 

A Canaanite woman comes up to Jesus and begs him to heal her daughter. There are big differences between this woman and Jesus and his disciples.

 

First, there is gender. In that time and place, women were treated as second-class at best, and they were not even to be talked to unless they were accompanied by their husband.

 

Then, there is religion. This woman is not a Jew, and that’s why she is called a “dog” – the very demeaning expression of that day for all non-Jews.

 

Next, there is culture. This woman is of a different culture and probably dresses differently and has different social customs. 

 

And finally, there is nationality. This woman is a Canaanite, and they are viewed as enemies.

 

Jesus’ Ultimate Response: Yes 

 

So, Jesus’ first two responses to the woman are very off-putting, to say the least. 

 

He begins by saying that his mission is only to the house of Israel – to the Jews. And then he says that it is not right to give the food of the children – meaning the Jews – to the dogs – there’s that awful expression again.

 

There could be two reasons for these responses from Jesus. One, even though he is God or the Son of God on this earth, he is human. 

 

And, as human, maybe even Jesus had to work through the prejudices and human barriers that existed. The other possibility is that Jesus was just setting up the disciples for what he was going to do.

 

He was voicing the prejudices and barriers that he knew they had. He was setting them up as a contrast with how he would end up respecting and caring for this woman and her daughter. 

 

“Somos Personas” 

 

So, in Spanish, “Somos personas.”

 

“We are people. We are persons.” 

 

Jesus, today, something like that Central American farmer, opens our minds and hearts to see one another as God sees us – regardless of differences. Being a follower of Jesus demands that we look beyond labels and stereotypes and prejudices and barriers. 

 

It demands that we see everyone as a child of God, as brother and sister. “Somos personas.”  

 

 

 

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - August 13, 2023

 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

August 13, 2023         

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton – 5pm  

 

Physical Balance

 

Five years ago, I participated in a strength and balance class at a fitness center.

 

One of the balance exercises was to stand on one foot. We were to concentrate on placing all of our weight on one foot – let’s say my left foot.

 

Then we were slowly to raise the right foot about six inches off of the floor, and touch the side of our left leg with the right foot. We were to try to stand that way, with all weight on one foot for about ten seconds.  

 

But, to succeed in doing this, the trainer advised us not to look at ourselves or others in the mirror or at anything in motion. Instead, we were to keep our eyes focused on a fixed, still point on the floor.

 

The reason is that if we were looking at something or someone that was moving, we would move too and would not keep our balance. So, keeping my eyes focused on that fixed, still point helped me to maintain my balance standing on one foot.  

 

Peter’s Balance in the Storm 

 

Well, I am not here today to lead us in exercises for physical balance – unless you would all like to stand and give this a try!

 

I am suggesting that the trainer’s guidance is also excellent spiritual guidance. Look what happens to Peter in today’s gospel.

 

Peter steps out of the boat to walk on the water. At first, his eyes are on Jesus, and he is okay.

 

But then, Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and gets focused on the wind and the waves. He gets focused on the storm and quickly starts to sink. 

 

The point is that when Peter keeps his eyes focused on Jesus – the fixed or still point – when Peter keeps his eyes there, he keeps his balance and is dealing fine with the storm. But when he takes his eyes off of Jesus, he’s in trouble.  

 

Our Storms 

 

I believe that there are storms in all our lives – no exceptions!

 

For me, one that I remember very well is when I was thirty years old.  I had been a priest for four years and seemed to be doing well.

 

But all of a sudden, I began seriously questioning my vocation. Eventually things got sorted out and resolved, but wow, that was quite a storm for me for the better part of a year.

 

There are lots of other possible storms. Waiting for a doctor’s report about a possible cancer, a heart attack, the death of your husband, wife, child, or parent, an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or gambling, the loss of a job, the break-up of a marriage, and on it goes.

 

Our Balance in Storms 

 

I believe that keeping our eyes focused on Jesus in these storms is crucial.

 

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus as our fixed or still point. He will help us to keep our spiritual balance and get through the storms.

 

Practically speaking, I offer two recommendations to help with this. First, at the beginning of each day, pray. 

 

It can be your own prayer, right from your heart. It can be a prayer you have learned or a prayer in a prayerbook.

 

It can be one of the psalms or a short passage from one of the gospels. It doesn’t have to be long – maybe five minutes or even less.

 

But every day – no exceptions – pray in the morning. And then, second, think of one word or a phrase that you can repeat throughout the day – maybe from your prayer or maybe from the Scripture.

 

For example: “Jesus, be with me.” Or “I am with you always.” Or “Do not be afraid” – as Jesus says to the disciples in todays’ gospel.

 

They are just examples. The idea is to pick a word or phrase, and then, repeat it throughout the day – wherever you are, whatever you are doing.

 

It is a good way to keep our eyes on Jesus as the fixed or still point of our lives. It is a good way to keep our balance and get through the storms of life. 

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A - July 16, 2023

 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

July 16, 2023 – 5pm and 8:30am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

“The Mother of all Parables” 

 

Pope Francis has made an insightful comment about the parable in today’s gospel.

 

He calls this Parable of the Sower “the Mother of all parables.” – “the Mother of all parables.”Why does he say this? Because it is about listening to the entire word of God.  

 

It is about our listening to all other parables and, for that matter, our listening to everything in the gospels. Pope Francis states that each of us is the ground on which the Word falls.

 

So, the point, to use the image of this parable, is that we are called to be good soil for the seed, the Word of God. I decided this weekend to talk about a way for our doing this.

 

It is called Lectio Divina – the Latin words for Sacred Reading. It is a way for reading or praying the Word of God that helps us to be good soil and allow the Word to take root and grow in us. 

 

Lectio Divina has its origins fifteen hundred years ago in the days of Saint Benedict. The form of Lectio Divina – Sacred Reading – that I offer today has four steps and they are rather simple.

 

Step 1: Reading 

 

Step 1 is obvious: Reading.

 

The question here is: What does the passage say? So, read a passage of Scripture – maybe today’s’ gospel.  

 

By the way, I especially recommend the gospels. So, read the passage, and then make sure you understand what it is saying.

 

Maybe look at a footnote in your Bible or a commentary on the passage. For example, the footnote in my Bible on today’s gospel explains that in Palestine of Jesus’ day, they would first toss seed everywhere and only then plow the field. 

 

So, read the passage and try to understand anything that is unclear. What does the passage say?

 

Step 2: Meditation

 

Then, Step 2 of Lectio Divina is Meditation.

 

Here the question is: What does this passage say to me personally? Begin this step by re-reading the passage. 

 

Is there a word, or phrase, or sentence that really grabs my attention? It could be positive or negative.

 

By that I mean that it could be something that consoles or comforts me.  Like last Sunday where Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

Or it could be something that bothers us. Like Jesus saying, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” and we may not feel welcoming of migrants or refugees.

 

So, what in the passage grabs my attention and makes me stop and think? What does the passage say to me personally? 

 

Step 3: Pray

 

Next, Step 3 is Prayer.

 

Here the question is: What do I want to say to God about this passage? Maybe I want to thank God for his support and presence.

 

Maybe I want to ask God to help me with something. Maybe I want to express to God my struggle with what the passage is saying to me.

 

This is not formal, memorized prayer here, but simply my own thoughts and feelings and words. What do I want to say to God about this passage?  

 

Step 4: Action

 

Finally, Step 4 is Action.

 

Here the question is: What difference can this passage make in how I live? What possibilities does this open up?

 

What challenges does this pose for me? So, for example, today’s parable may call me to pay better attention to the Word of God here at Mass or to make reading the gospels part of my personal prayer at home.    

 

Or maybe last week’s passage calls me to trust more in God and let go of my worrying about so many things. What difference can this passage make in how I live?

 

Conclusion

 

So, I am recommending a way of reading and praying on the Word of God that may help us to be the good soil that Jesus talks about in today’s Parable.

 

Lectio Divina – Sacred Reading.

 

Four Steps. 

1.    Reading. What is the passage saying?

2.    Meditation. What is the passage saying to me personally?

3.    Prayer. What do I want to say to God about this?

4.    Action. What am I going to do about this?