30th Sunday of Ordinary Time: What God has joined no human being must separate

The Pharisee’s were always trying to trip up Jesus. In the Gospel today, they ask him, “which is the greatest commandment?” Of course at the time of Jesus, there were more than 600 prescriptions of the law including the 10 Commandments. Jesus answered the Pharisees by splicing together two passages from the Torah, the first from Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord you God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” and the second from Leviticus 19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I’m reminded of another time the Pharisees tried to trick him and Jesus did something similar. Once they asked him if it was lawful for a husband to divorce his wife. Jesus answered by quoting from the book of Genesis: from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ But then he added something curious. Jesus said, “What God has joined men must not divide.” Every time I officiate at a wedding, after the couple exchanges vows, I say these very words, “What God has joined men must not divide.”

These words have an immediate context within the debate concerning divorce, but I think they have a deeper, more spiritual meaning. Jesus answered the question about the greatest commandment by joining together two commandments: love God and love your neighbor. What God has joined we must not divide. In other words, you cannot love God if you don’t love your neighbor. St. John says in one of his letters, “the man who says he loves God but despises his neighbor is a liar and does not have the love of God in him.” Likewise, you cannot love your neighbor if you don’t love God.

The problem with the Pharisees was they had separated what God had joined. They tried to love God without loving their neighbor. And because of that, their claim to love God was suspect. By not loving their neighbor, the Pharisees demonstrated that really their observance of the law was not an act of true worship but rather of self-promotion. Instead of leading them to love of neighbor, their observance of the law led them to scorn others who failed to live up to their standards. Because they separated what God had joined, they failed in both.

Now today, there are some people who, like the Pharisees, suffer from self-righteousness and do not love their neighbor as Christ has instructed. But by and large, I don’t think this is the greatest fault. People are generally quite charitable. I see young people involved in many service projects. The Dempsey Challenge raised over 1 million dollars this year. And whether you agree with them or not, the fact that many people are involved in the Occupy Wall Street protest is a sign that people are concerned for justice and equality. It seems to me the problem today isn’t so much love of neighbor as it is love of God. If you separate what God has joined, you fail in both. Even with the best intentions.

Saturday October 22^nd is the memorial feast of Blessed Pope John Paul II. I was privileged to attend the 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto Canada. The Pope made a comment that I have always remembered. To the youth of the world, He said:

“Dear friends, Christ alone is the cornerstone on which it is possible solidly to build one’s existence. … The twentieth century often tried to do without that cornerstone, and attempted to build the city of man without reference to Him. It ended by actually building that city against man! Christians know that it is not possible to reject or ignore God without demeaning man.

The aspiration that humanity nurtures, amid countless injustices and sufferings, is the hope of a new civilization marked by freedom and peace. But for such an undertaking, a new generation of builders is needed. Moved not by fear or violence but by the urgency of genuine love, they must learn to build, brick by brick, the city of God within the city of man.

Allow me, dear young people, to consign this hope of mine to you: you must be those "builders"! You are the men and women of tomorrow. The future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with him in the building of the civilization of love.”

My brothers and sisters, Pope John Paul II reminded us that the “spirit of the world” offers many false illusions and parodies of happiness and that the greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibilities. Let us not separate what God has joined. Let us neither exclude God or our neighbor from our lives. Let us seek the justice and good we long for by loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul and mind and let us love our neighbor as ourselves. Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Give to God what Belongs to God

( Listen to the recorded version. )

 What gives money its value? A $100 bill isn’t printed on a hundred dollars worth of paper. If I went to Home Depot and bought a washer the size of quarter it might cost me more than 25c. So what gives currency it’s value? In the Gospel, Jesus asks “Who’s image is on it?” The value comes from the one who mints it. The value comes from the one who backs it, who guarantees its value. A $100 bill is worth $100 because the State back it, secures it, and guarantees it- not because it is printed on $100 worth of paper.

In the Gospel today, Jesus is approached by the Pharisees and Herodians, the equivalents of the Democratic and Republican parties; Jesus is neither party. Both parties seek to trap him. But Jesus deftly maneuvers the political question of his day: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar?” Jesus’ answer, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar; give to God what belongs to God.” He teaches two things. First, that as Christians we must not avoid civic responsibility. We must be involved in society. Second, more importantly, and this is the major point of the Gospel which is often lost, we need to give to God what belongs to God. We can’t avoid our religious obligations either.

So what does this mean for us today? We must give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar; and to God what belongs to God. I don’t know if you’ve been following a lot of the political goings on recently, if you have been aware of the arguments being heard by the supreme court, or the recent mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services with its extremely narrow religious exemption clause, but let me frame the challenge this way: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, means don’t give Caesar what doesn’t belong to him. Don’t give to Caesar what belongs to God.

In the book of Genesis, it says God created man and woman in his own image and likeness. At the very beginning, mankind was created, minted, stamped with the very image and likeness of God. Like a quarter or $100, God’s image is stamped on us. And it is God who guarantee’s our value. He says “you are my beloved” and in Jesus, God shows us that he would rather die than risk loosing us for eternity. We are worth a lot to God. It is He who sets our value. God is the foundation of our human rights.

Human rights by nature are universal and eternal. They must be, because they come from God. And we expect them to be. We expect rights to be for everybody, and we expect them not to change or be capable of change, else they are not rights. Rights come from God. They come from our common human nature, created in the image of God. Rights are not the property of the State. The State does not have the “right” to issue rights. Only God can do that. The State’s responsibility is to recognize people’s God given dignity and to protect and promote human rights.

The problem is, if you take God out of the equation, human rights lose their foundation, they lose their guarantee. That’s why in the 20^th century we’ve seen some of the greatest abuses occur in secular and atheistic societies. If there is “no God” or people pretend that God doesn’t exist, than its easy for the State to overstep it’s bounds . In Nazi Germany, the State defined an entire class of people “non-human”. It denied the dignity of the Jewish people, failed to recognize the image of God impressed on their souls, and instead stamped their own image on them, tattooed their arms and marched them off to death camps.

The question of give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God is the central issue today. It is what lies behind all the other issues: like health care rights, abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage. For instance, the problem with same-sex marriage isn’t really homosexuality. Our opposition to same-sex marriage has very little to do with homosexuality. It has more to do with marriage and the role of the State. Whereas the Church believes the State has a responsibility to recognize and defend the dignity of all homosexual persons, we do not believe the State has the right to redefine marriage. The right to marriage comes from our human nature, from our being created in the image and likeness of God. Marriage does not belong to the State. And we should not give to Caesar what doesn’t belong to Caesar. Otherwise it is very difficult to get it back. It may seem good now, and some people may benefit from the State’s interference in the short-term, but what’s to stop the State at in the future from asserting the authority we’ve ceded to it to deny people the right to marry because of their race or the color of their skin? What’s to stop the State from dissolving your marriage? Or telling you who you must marry.

Ok. I’m not a politician. I am your pastor. I will not tell you how to vote. But I will tell you what the Gospel says. The Gospel says that you cannot avoid being part of society. That you have a moral obligation to be involved. You must inform your conscience. You must know your faith. And you must participate in our civic society. Not too long ago your parents and grandparents were denied a voice in American society simply because they were Catholic. They worked hard and made many sacrifices to change that. We should not be politically apathetic.

Second, you must give to God what belongs to God. The only reason we are debating things like same-sex marriage and abortion today is because long ago Christians stopped giving to God what belongs to God. And that’s the challenge. The burden is not on others. The burden of responsibility is on us. We have to give to God what belongs to God: Life belongs to God. Marriage belongs to God. The problem is that too many Christians have give life and marriage to other things and embraced a culture of contraception and divorce.

You have a moral obligation to participate in society. For some of you that will mean becoming lawyers and lawmakers. But for most of us, it will mean getting very serious about giving God our life and our marriage. The only way we will be able to defend the right to life and the institution of marriage is if we are living our Catholic faith at work, at home, in the marketplace, in the public square. If you want to make a difference in this world, give God your life, give God your marriage. Give to God what belongs to God.

Pick up your cross and follow me...

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

I was in Wal-mart the other day and I saw a bunch of families buying back to school supplies. I can't believe it's already back to school! Watching the kids pick out notebooks and lunchboxes I thought about choices, the choices we make, the way that life is full of choices: like the choice of a lunchbox, when I was kid, the choice was clear- Star Wars lunch box. Or the choice of notebooks. Or the choice of whether or not to grow a beard.

Life is full of choices. What choices are your confronted with today? Are they choices associated with going back to school? The choices of who your friends are? The choices of what to wear? The choices of where to sit on the bus or in the cafeteria? Maybe you finished school a while ago, maybe you have different choices to make. Maybe they are big important life choices? Choices about work, career, family. Whatever they are, we all have choices to make, life is full of choices. But the most important choice you will ever make is to choose Jesus Christ, and to pick up your cross and follow Him. But what does it mean to choose Jesus and pick up your cross and follow him?

Does God want us to suffer? I don't think so. Suffering was never his plan for us. It is the result of sin. We suffer because we live in a world that is opposed to God’s love, opposed to goodness and life, opposed to the Truth. It wasn’t because God is mean, but because of sin, that Jesus told his disciples he must suffer. Because he was choosing the Truth, Jesus knew he would be attacked, persecuted, afflicted and murdered. The darkness hates the light.  Jesus accepted the Cross. He accepted it at the consequence of his choice to do the will of God.

To follow Jesus and take up the Cross means to do the same: to put God first, to live for him alone, to not let anything or anyone come between us, to not be conformed to this age but to be transformed. Each day we are given an opportunity to become more and more the person God is calling us to be. And when Jesus says to us that we must daily follow him and take up our Cross he doesn’t mean that we need to go looking for ways to suffer or ways to make our lives more difficult. What he means is that daily we have the choice to be faithful; daily we have the choice to live in the Truth, and to offer our lives as a living sacrifice of praise and worship.

The Cross is the result of doing the will of God in a sinful world. It is the consequence of the choice you make to live the kind of life that God wants you to live, in the Truth, in Love, unreservedly, unconditionally, regardless of the consequences. To accept the Cross means to do what is right, even when it isn’t easy; it is the choice to do what you know in your heart you must, even if it is unpopular, or if it means that others will reject you or even hurt you.

My brothers and sisters, life is full of choices. And the most important choice we will ever make is to choose Jesus Christ and pick up our crosses and follow him. This is not a one-time choice, something we do once, it is the daily choices we make to do what is right, to live in the Truth, to be faithful, regardless of the consequences. Life is full of choices. Will you choose Christ?

New Photos

From WYD Aug 18

WYD Update

Today was a good day. After Catechesis and Mass with Arch. Bishop Timothy Dolan of NY a bunch of us spent the afternoon squating a spot near the stations. Catechesis begin with Jackie Francois and Stephen Curtis. They got the stadium rocking. Jackie is such an impressive woman. Shes talented, energetic, goofy, and absolutely beautiful with a modest yet totally feminine way about herself. Shes such a great role model for women. I wish more young girls had the opportunity to meet her. I think shed inspire them. Arch Bishop Dolan gave an extraordinary catechesis on being a witness for Christ who is Lord "forever and ever". He has such an amazing gift for engaging the audience and making you feel comfortable, like hes family. Yet he doesnt hold back on the content and hes able to challenge you. Im always impressed with A. Bishop Dolan. Hes a priests bishop. Before Mass he personally greeted each and every one of the 350 priests that had gathered for the english catechesis at Palacio de Desportes. Who does that? As we were heading into Mass in procession he stood at the door and slapped each of us on the back, "glad you are here", "thanks for being here" just amazing. And he was equally hospitable with the youth. Some clergy seem to be afraid of young people, but not Dolan. After catechesis we staked our claim near one of the stations and began our 5 hour wait forB16 to arrive. Some passed the time by sleeping in the shade, others by scavenging for food and water, others used the opportunity to meet people from other countries. By the time 7pm rolled around the place was jammed packed. It was hard to move. It was good preparation for tomorrows vigil. The stations were beautiful. This year they used traditional stations from many of the churches across the country. They were amazing. The text for the stations had some really profound reflections. And there was some moving musical movements during the event. But after waiting all day in the sun, wearing clerical attire and pretty much standing I was glad to get back to the hotel, take a shower, and climb in bed. I updated the photos. I added more than 100 new ones. As I write this it is 12:40am and there is a parade outside my hotel window. Bands are playing. They are processing the stations up Calle Alcara to Puerta Del Sol (i think). Some of these station floats require 50-100 men to carry. ... its almost 1am and they are no where near done... tomorrow we have mass with Card. Sean OMalley from Boston and then we hike 5+ miles to the vigil site and try to get some land parcelled out before its too late. Then we bake in the sun and try and stay hydrated until the overnight vigil and Sunday morning Mass. Wish us luck.

B16 Opening Message WYD

Build Your Lives Upon the Firm Foundation of Christ"

ADDRESS OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
OPENING MESSAGE OF THE 26TH WORLD YOUTH DAY
PLAZA DE CIBELES
MADRID
18 AUGUST 2011
Dear Friends,

Thank you for the kind words addressed to me by the young people representing the five continents. And I salute with affection all of you gathered here, young people from Oceania, Africa, America, Asia and Europe; and also those unable to be here. I always keep you very much in my heart and pray for you. God has given me the grace to see and hear you for myself and, as we gather together, to listen to his word.

In the reading which has just been proclaimed, we heard a passage from the Gospel which talks of welcoming the words of Jesus and putting them into practice. There are words which serve only to amuse, as fleeting as an empty breeze; others, to an extent, inform us; those of Jesus, on the other hand, must reach our hearts, take root and bloom there all our lives. If not, they remain empty and become ephemeral. They do not bring us to him and, as a result, Christ stays remote, just one voice among the many others around us which are so familiar. Furthermore, the Master who speaks teaches, not something learned from others, but that which he himself is, the only one who truly knows the path of man towards God, because he is the one who opened it up for us, he made it so that we might have authentic lives, lives which are always worth living, in every circumstance, and which not even death can destroy. The Gospel continues, explaining these things with the evocative image of someone who builds on solid rock, resistant to the onslaught of adversity, and in contrast to someone who builds on sand – we would say today in what appears a paradise – but which collapses with the first gust of wind and falls into ruins.

Dear young people, listen closely to the words of the Lord, that they may be for you "spirit and life" (Jn 6:63), roots which nourish your being, a rule of life which likens us – poor in spirit, thirsting for justice, merciful, pure in heart, lovers of peace – to the person of Christ. Listen regularly every day as if he were the one friend who does not deceive, the one with whom we wish to share the path of life. Of course, you know that when we do not walk beside Christ our guide, we get lost on other paths, like the path of our blind and selfish impulses, or the path of flattering but self-serving suggestions, deceiving and fickle, which leave emptiness and frustration in their wake.

Use these days to know Christ better and to make sure that, rooted in him, your enthusiasm and happiness, your desire to go further, to reach the heights, even God himself, always hold a sure future, because the fullness of life has already been placed within you. Let that life grow with divine grace, generously and without half-measures, as you remain steadfast in your aim for holiness. And, in the face of our weaknesses which sometimes overwhelm us, we can rely on the mercy of the Lord who is always ready to help us again and who offers us pardon in the sacrament of Penance.

If you build on solid rock, not only your life will be solid and stable, but it will also help project the light of Christ shining upon those of your own age and upon the whole of humanity, presenting a valid alternative to all those who have fallen short, because the essentials in their lives were inconsistent; to all those who are content to follow fashionable ideas, they take shelter in the here and now, forgetting true justice, or they take refuge in their own opinions instead of seeking the simple truth.

Indeed, there are many who, creating their own gods, believe they need no roots or foundations other than themselves. They take it upon themselves to decide what is true or not, what is good and evil, what is just and unjust; who should live and who can be sacrificed in the interests of other preferences; leaving each step to chance, with no clear path, letting themselves be led by the whim of each moment. These temptations are always lying in wait. It is important not to give in to them because, in reality, they lead to something so evanescent, like an existence with no horizons, a liberty without God. We, on the other hand, know well that we have been created free, in the image of God, precisely so that we might be in the forefront of the search for truth and goodness, responsible for our actions, not mere blind executives, but creative co-workers in the task of cultivating and beautifying the work of creation. God is looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with him and love him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in him, we give wings to our freedom. Is this not the great reason for our joy? Isn’t this the firm ground upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of us?

Dear friends: be prudent and wise, build your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ. This wisdom and prudence will guide your steps, nothing will make you fear and peace will reign in your hearts. Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness will influence others. They will wonder what the secret of your life is and they will discover that the rock which underpins the entire building and upon which rests your whole existence is the very person of Christ, your friend, brother and Lord, the Son of God incarnate, who gives meaning to all the universe. He died for us all, rising that we might have life, and now, from the throne of the Father, he accompanies all men and women, watching continually over each one of us.

I commend the fruits of this World Youth Day to the most holy Virgin Mary, who said "Yes" to the will of God, and teaches us a unique example of fidelity to her divine son, whom she followed to his death upon the Cross.

Let us meditate upon this more deeply in the Stations of the Cross. And let us pray that, like her, our "Yes" to Christ today may also be an unconditional "Yes" to his friendship, both at the end of this Day and throughout our entire lives.

Thank you very much.

WYD update

The wifi has been spotty making it difficult to keep tge blog and pictures updated. i just posted a bunch of new shots to the web. today the bishop joined us for breakfast and the catechesis session. it was great to have him with the group. he even travelled tge subway with us and joined in a few precatachesis songs!!! he really does love spending time with the youth and im sure for all the bishops present the feeling must be profound to be around 20,000 worshiping young people. ive been impressed with the quality of the liturgy. if anyone thinks the young people will have a hard time with the new translation they would be surprised at the resoonse of the young to various traditional hymns and even lati mass parts. There has been some news about protests. apparently they were right outside the hotel. some of the kids got to witness spanish policia at their finest. as much as the press likes to blow things out of proportion there hasn't been much to worry about. i hope it stays that well. generally the people seem greatful we are here. those that arent appear to be godless europeans. good thing we are here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/106202299991712065761

Photos of Santiago de Campostella

Spent today in Santiago de Campostella. Tradition has it that St. James, the brother if St. John, son of Zebedee, and one of the 12 Apostles preached in Spain. After returning to Jerusalem he was beheaded by Herod. His body was returned to Spain by his disciples and forgotten about for over 800 years. In the middle ages a hermit saw stars in a field (campo = field Stella = star) and rediscovered the tomb of the Apostle St. James. The site became a major pilgrimage destination. Thousands hiked the 500 miles from France to Santiago de Campostella every year during the middle ages. Recently there has be a renewal of interest in the pilgrimage. Today they expect 200,000 or more pilgrims per year.

Our pilgrims arrived in the drizzling rain. I hadn't packed a pancho or raincoat. Poor George. I made him a poncho out of a ziplock bag. We got a tour of the city, the cathedral, and saw the tomb of St. James. The cathedral is known for a ginormous incenser that stands about 6 feet tall, take 6-8 grown men to operate, and swings from ceiling to ceiling at speeds of 50 miles per hour. I so totally wanted to see it in action. I even more want to take it home with me but I'm sure I'd over the 50lbs baggage limit for the flight home.

We went to Mass. It was in Spanish. I'm still disappointed I didn't get to see the incenser in action. It's such a different experience to be the "outsider" at Mass to not be able to understand the language, homily, or the readings. We've been to several international masses now. I'm consistently struck by how beautiful the singing at mass is in different cultures. I'm not an ultra trad. but America your music is atrocious.

After mass we had time to wander the city. We had lunch. I ate octopus. We had fun trying to order in Spanish. Some of the young people used the free time to pick up gifts for people back home. The rainy weather made sampling European coffee a more than pleasant experience. In the court yard behind the cathedral a large group of brasilians broke into song and dance. I was hoping more of our youth would jump in. But I think they are shy. I myself must refrain because I killed a 300 person dance/drum circle in Sydney when I jumped in. It was really beginning to feel like world youth day. Hopefully by the time we get to the vigil our youth won't be so shy.

Sent from my iPhone

WYD Santiago

well we have arrived in Santiago Spain. Fatima was amazing. Words really can't describe the experience. Seeing the devotion of the more than 100,000 pilgrims really just can't help but be moving. It was beatutiful. Amazing. So awesome to be part of it. The youth were greatly affected. Tonight we shared some of our experiences. They spoke of for the first time experiencing the caholicity and the universality of the church, they spoke of witnessing the care and love of christians for each other and the poor, the spoke of the beauty of the Mass and how even though very little of it was in english how powerful it was. Some one even remarked how after the lenghy homily in portuguese that it gave them new appeciation for Fr. Nathan's homiles. As far as I am concerned that alone makes the trip a success.

We didnt have wifi in Fatima so I am way behind in updating the blog. Ive tried to keep the twitter wall up to date. It will probably cost me a small fortune in international charges. Now that we are in Santiago i have uploaded some photos. it will take me a while to catch up.

Photos : Traveling to Spain/Portugal
Photos : Santarem, Eucharisic Miracle
Photos : Fatima

We are now at our terminal in the Boston airport. It took a little while to clear security. Lately my rosary seems to be giving TSA some issues. I got a full pat down. I know I think the rosary is a weapon (against evil) but seriously TSA?!?

We left Portland in the drizzling rain. We boarded two buses. 68 pilgrims. It was great to see so many parents there to see the youth off. Michael Lavigne from the Office of Life Long Faith Foration greeted us in the name of the bishop. And then we were off. On the bus Sarah went over the itinerary. I'm excited to be in Fatima tomorrow. We played and "On the Bus Scavenger Hunt" to learn more about eachother. A few of the youth speak Spanish. at least two have never flown before. i found out that some snore- ill have to keep that in mind when planning my locaion for the evening vigil.

Right now we are waiting to board the flight to Madrid which departs in less than an hour. Some of the youth have ransacked Starbucks. Some of the adults are exchanging money. I went looking for a Sd card to ipad adapter because i forgot mine at home (may take me a while to get some photos up on the blog). some of the kids are reading. Tara and Lizzy are havinga conversation, several conversations, with me and i have been blogging and oblivious- how rude!!

ill check when we arrive in spain.

It ain't homophobia

"As analysts running the gamut from Hannah Arendt to Leszek Kolakowski understood, modern totalitarian systems were, at bottom, attempts to remake reality by redefining reality and remaking human beings in the process. Coercive state power was essential to this process, because reality doesn’t yield easily to remaking, and neither do people. In the lands Communism tried to remake, the human instinct for justice—justice that is rooted in reality rather than ephemeral opinion—was too strong to change the way tastemakers change fashions in the arts. Men and women had to be coerced into accepting, however sullenly, the Communist New Order, which was a new metaphysical, epistemological, and moral order—a New Order of reality, a new set of “truths,” and a new way of living “in harmony with society,” as late-bureaucratic Communist claptrap had it.

The twenty-first-century state’s attempt to redefine marriage is just such an attempt to redefine reality—in this case, a reality that existed before the state, for marriage as the union of a man and a woman ordered to mutual love and procreation is a human reality that existed before the state. And a just state is obliged to recognize, not redefine, it.

Moreover, marriage and the families that are built around marriage constitute one of the basic elements of civil society, that free space of free associations whose boundaries the just state must respect. If the twenty-first-century democratic state attempts to redefine something it has neither the capacity nor the authority to refine, it can only do so coercively. That redefinition, and its legal enforcement, is a grave encroachment into civil society."

If the state can redefine marriage and enforce that redefinition, it can do so with the doctor-patient relationship, the lawyer-client relationship, the parent-child relationship, the confessor-penitent relationship, and virtually every other relationship that is woven into the texture of civil society. In doing so, the state does serious damage to the democratic project. Concurrently, it reduces what it tries to substitute for reality to farce."

article by George Weigel

It Ain’t Homophobia

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings: 1st Kings 19:9, 11-13; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33

Listen to the homily.

I don't know if you have ever been in a really scary situation and how you dealt with it. Me, I'm afraid of heights. I remember one summer my family went to the water park. At the top of the waterslide I looked down and became paralyzed. After several agonizing minutes, and annoying the people behind me in line, I finally climbed down. I couldn't do it. I don't know if you are scared of heights; if you've ever had to climb down a waterslide? Even if you haven't, we all have to deal with scary situations from time to time. We all have to cope with our fears.

It seems to me many people would rather live with the burdens and dangers they know, than risk stepping out into an unknown situation where things could get worse- or better. I see it all the time: the couple who suffers a lackluster marriage rather than working on their marriage and risk "rocking the boat"; or the person who works for many years in a job that affects their physical, psychological or emotional health rather than takes the risk of putting together a resume, looking for a new job, moving or starting their own business; I see it in the teenagers who will suffer abuse and mistreatment from so-called friends, or give up on chastity, because they are afraid to risk being alone or disliked.

We all have to deal with scary situations from time to time. We all have to learn to cope with our fears. The question is: how are we as Christians to deal with them? In the Gospel today, during a terrible storm at sea, the Lord came to his disciples walking on the water. He told them, "Take courage and be not afraid!" So, how are we to deal with our fears? Jesus says courage.

Now courage is not the opposite of cowardice. The opposite of cowardice is recklessness. In the Gospel we have an example of both. The disciples in the boat were fearful to the point of inaction. They were paralyzed. If they could have turned around and climbed down the proverbial waterslide, they would have. Then there is Peter. Peter's action was the extreme opposite. He recklessly jumped out of the boat. But that doesn't make him courageous. I made him reckless. He had no fear. As soon as he became aware of his situation, he panicked and began to drown. Neither the disciples cowering in the boat, nor Peter recklessly jumping out of the boat are good examples for us of how to deal with our fears.

If courage isn't recklessness, then what is it? What does it look like? Aristotle defines courage as a virtue. It is an act of understanding our fears and the ability to overcome those fears. As Catholics we speak of "fortitude" -one of the 4 cardinal virtues. The catechism says "Fortitude assures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good." Basically, courage is the power by which we overcome our fears. So isn't a feeling or an emotion. Courage isn't fearlessness. In fact, fear is sort of a prerequisite, because it is the overcoming of fear for the sake of the good that makes an action courageous.

In the Gospel, after initially being reckless, Peter found himself drowning. Aware of his danger, he was finally afraid, and in that fear, he demonstrated real courage. He turned to the Lord and exclaimed, "Lord, save me!" That's courage. It is courage rooted in knowledge and humility. That's what courage looks like. That's what it means to "Take courage and be not afraid!"

My brothers and sisters, being a Christian doesn't mean “no fear.” We all have our waterslides moments. We have them so we might tap into the source of courage and become stronger. When the storms of life come, the challenge is to "Take courage and be not afraid." We need not cower, nor be paralyzed. Neither should we be reckless and jump right in. When the moment comes, we should reach out to Jesus, just as Peter did, and say "Lord, save me!"

In the arms of Christ, Peter overcame his fear. In the Eucharist, Jesus is as present to us today as He was to Peter on the sea. And just as Jesus stretched out his arms to Peter- just as He stretched out his arms on the Cross- in the Eucharist, Jesus continues to stretch out his arms to us today. The Eucharist is the key to fortitude. It is the source of Christian courage. When we receive Holy Communion, when we kneel before the Tabernacle or fix our gaze on the Blessed Sacrament in adoration, we have the opportunity, like Peter, to be courageous. We have all we need to face our fears. "Take courage, be not afraid!"

WYD 2011 Madrid - Official Site - Message for WYD 2011 - Madrid

WYD 2011 Madrid - Official Site - Message for WYD 2011 - Madrid

WYD 2011 Madrid - Official Site - 11 Messages from Benedict XVI to young people

WYD 2011 Madrid - Official Site - 11 Messages from Benedict XVI to young people

RE: World Youth Day Theme

The theme for World Youth Day 2011, taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians (2:7), is rather striking. If you take a moment to read the passages of scripture that come just before and after this verse, you can see that St. Paul is warning his readers and encouraging them to be determined believers in Jesus Christ. As one who believes in Jesus Christ, you will experience persons who will want to “deceive you by specious arguments (2:4), or to “captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ (2:8).” Using the gifts of Faith, Hope and Love that you received in Baptism are powers of the soul that can be excercised against deception. Faith is a light that shines in our minds to see the truth; hope is striving for the good we do not yet possess and enduring hardship to reach that good, and love – of God and for God – is the reason why we believe and hope in Jesus Christ.

The powers identified by Paul will tempt us to believe something less than what is true, or to love what is not trully good for us. Making a spiritual pilgrimage to Madrid, Spain will strengthen each of us to recognize and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ, who is the Way, Truth and Life, in our lives. May your pilgrimage make you firm in faith!

from foryourvocation.org

RE: And lead us not into temper tantrums

Interesting article about young children at Mass.

And lead us not into temper tantrums

Meet our WYD Pilgrims

Meet our Prince of Peace Parish World Youth Day Pilgrims

The following youth will be traveling to Madrid, Spain to join more than 1 million other young people from all over the world to meet Pope Benedict XVI. Please pray for them.

Hi! My name is Nicole Drake. I graduated from St. Dominic's RHS in 2010. Come this fall, I will be shipping out into the Navy. However, right now, I am most excited to be leaving for World Youth Day this week. I am looking forward to it because I know it will be a unique experience that I can learn from. There will be about two million people there from around the world, which means to me many different cultures I can interact with plus the culture of Spain the host country. I am excited for the spiritual side of the pilgrimage as well. I am looking for the experience to strengthen who I am today. When I come back, I hope to have many stories to tell and also share the light of God that I will experience with those I interact with.

My name is Brittany Bazinet. I want to go to World Youth Day in Spain because it will be an entirely new experience for me. I have never left the continent before, I have never been in the same city as the Pope before, I've never hiked six miles before, and I've never taken a plane anywhere. I like singing and baking and I have a penchant for odd hats and funky earrings which I crochet. I'm excited to see what happens in Spain, especially since all I can say in Spanish is Good Morning, Good Night, I Love You, and Library. I had never heard of World Youth Day before November of last year. It still really hasn't sunken in that I'm going to another country. It probably won't become real to me until I'm in the airport . . . in England.

My name is Lauren Cronin and I have been a part of Prince of Peace Parish for three years. I am so ecstatic to have the opportunity to go to Spain for WYD. I think it will strengthen my faith even more, and provide me a better understanding of the world around me. This is the experience of a lifetime, and I am very blessed to be going with my youth group, who is like a second family! I hope to be introduced to a new face of God during this trip so I can get to know Him more deeply.

My name is Stephanie Gagne and I am a junior at Rivier College. I have been involved in youth ministry since 8th grade, and I was a member of the Maine Diocesan Counsel for Catholic Youth (MDCCY) from 2006-2009. I heard about World Youth Day from some friends of mine who had traveled to Australia and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to stand among 2 million Catholics, not to mention the Pope! When the opportunity arose to journey to Spain this year, my whole family jumped on the chance of a lifetime. I am excited about so many things: exploring a new country, the pilgrimage, learning more about my faith, gaining a deeper relationship with God, spending time with my family, and meeting complete strangers who share my values. I hope to bring back a stronger faith enriched by the understanding of how large and strong my Catholic family is.

My name is Scott Gagne and I will be a freshman at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. I’ve been involved in the church for my whole life and I’m so happy to be going to Spain with my family. I’m looking forward to gaining experience and knowledge in my Catholic faith. Meeting people and enjoying the time we have with fellow Catholics is going to be a very memorable experience and I hope to get out of this trip a stronger faith and an amazing memory of an awesome time!

Other youth joining us are Rich Lamarre, who will be a sophomore this fall at Ave Maria University in Southwest Florida, and Christian Labonte, who will be a Senior this fall at Lewiston High School.

Getting Ready for World Youth Day Madrid

So I'm starting to get excited for WYD Madrid! Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to pack and procrastinate until the very last minute. I put the NATE in procrastiNATE. Getting ready for WYD means, not packing, but looking at photos from previous world youth days, watching videos online, figuring out my new iPad, and thinking about buying a new digital camera. Notice I didn't anywhere mention doing laundry, packing clothes, or purchasing suntan lotion. So now would be a good time to start placing bets on what critical item I will leave out and desperately need in Madrid. I secretly justify my behavior by suggesting it may fascilitate cultural immersion. Anyway, since it is my intention to blog my WYD experience I thought I should share with you some of the objects of my procrastination.

Slide Show of WYD 2002 and 2008

Check out this cool video for WYD Madrid 2011 w/ Matt Maher:

fun times with youth ministry

Looking at photos today I am remninded of how much fun it can be to be a priest thanks to the youth of the parish.

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Is 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21

When I was a kid I spent the summer at Boy Scout Camp. One of the most anticipated events of the week was the meal when we got Tater-Tots. If you have never had Tater-Tots, they are like little barreled hash-browns; they’re like bite-sized, greasy, fried, potatoey goodness. At camp, meals were served family style. We had like 10-12 boys per table. The waiter would bring a bowl of Tater-Tots and we'd have to share. In theory it works. I’m sure it looks good on paper. But 12-15 year old boys aren’t good at sharing. As the bowl went around the table everyone would take a big heaping portion because we never knew if we’d have enough or if there’d be seconds. By the time the last person at the table got the bowl there were usually only 1 or 2 tater tots left.
 
I don't know if you have ever had Tater-Tots? If you’ve never had them, they’re pretty good. But even if you’ve never had tater-tot’s maybe you’ve had the experience of having to share something like a cake or a pie, and you’ve wondered if there’d be enough left for you? Maybe you’ve even been the last person who got like 1-2 tater-tots, or a little piece of frosting. Whatever it is, it’s a pretty common experience: this fear of sharing; the fear that there isn’t enough to go around, the fear that there won’t be enough for me. And often when we feel that way, we react by clinging, or hoarding or taking more than we need. The fear that we won’t have enough left over for ourselves can keep us from being generous with what we have.
 
In the Gospel today the Twelve Apostles had only five loaves of bread and two fish. It wasn’t enough even for themselves, let alone the crowd who had come to hear Jesus. But they trusted their inadequate supply of food to Jesus and they generously shared what they had with others. Because fear didn’t stop them from being generous, the Lord performed a miracle. No one went hungry. No one was left with 1-2 Tater-Tots. Everyone had enough.

Now some commentators will suggest that in the presence of Jesus there was a heightened sense of peace and brotherhood and so when the basket of food came around everyone took just a little bit, and they were content with just a little. But I went to Boy Scout camp. I know better. I don’t think it went down that way. I like to think everyone took a big heaping portion. And that the miracle was not that everyone learned to share, but that God took the generosity of man and multiplied it. God will never be outdone in generosity.
 
As Christians our mission in the world is to show forth the love of God. The only way some people will ever know the love and generosity of God is if they experience it through us. And so we shouldn’t be stingy with the gifts God has given us. God doesn’t cling or hoard. Christ shows us that God gives everything and holds nothing back. And as Christians we need to love like that! In fact, this is the new commandment Jesus gave us. He said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” And He said, “This is how the world will know you are my disciples: by your love for one another.”

The good news we heard in the Gospel today is that we don’t need to be afraid. We don’t have to fear giving 100% or going all in. We don’t have to be afraid that there won’t be enough left over for ourselves. Because God will not be outdone in generosity. Every time we come to the Eucharist, Christ obliterates this fear in us. What would the world look like if we were more truly an Eucharistic people? If we lived without fear. If we gave and shared our gifts. If we went “all in”? My brothers and sisters, what holds you back? What do you fear? Be not afraid: God will not be outdone in generosity.

Listen to the homily.

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Wis 12:13, 16-19; Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-43

    I don't know if you have ever done any gardening? Maybe you've planted some flowers around the house? Maybe you have a small patch of herbs? My mother has a bunch of flower beds and she's always outside doing something with them: watering them, pruning them, pulling out weeds. If you have ever worked in a garden you know that it isn't always easy to tell if something is a flower or a weed. Sometimes the only way you find out is when it flowers.
    In the Gospel today, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a field growing weeds among the wheat. I don't know how you feel about that? It's one thing to say the Church is made up of saints and sinners. It's another to admit there are hypocrites, dissenters, people who do evil things and even some evil people in the institutional Church. It's an uncomfortable reality. Some can't handle it. Some use it as an excuse to leave the Church. Some even claim it discredits the existence of God. Jesus is telling us not to be dismayed. If God permits evil it is because he intends an even greater good. If anything, the presence of "weeds" in the Church is a sign of God's mercy.
    The presence of weeds is not an excuse to give up. It means we have to work harder. God is the sower but we are his field hands. We have to commit to the garden. It isn't our place to judge others. We can't even judge ourselves. It isn't always easy to tell the weeds from the flowers. We don't want to make the mistake of pulling up good plants. We have to trust that one day it will all be made clear and we will know weed from wheat by their fruits. Until that day, let us be merciful as God is merciful, and let us strive to be faithful and ourselves to bear much fruit.