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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time- October 17, 2011 Rev. Michael Hall

  Never Lose Hope

17, 52, 33, 2041, 23.  Seemingly random numbers that have new meaning after the events of the past week in Chile, that I’m sure many of us watched on television.  I know that at times I was riveted simply by the sight of a pulley and a capsule going up and down a narrow shaft in the ground.  17 is the number of days after the collapse of the San Jose mine before anyone on the surface knew that any miners had survived the collapse.  It was also the number of days that the miners underground had to wait hoping that someone would find them.  52 is the number of days after they were found that the miners still had to wait before the rescue would be completed.  33 is the number of miners trapped in the collapse, all of whom were rescued and at least so far seem to be in good health.  2041 is the number of feet below the ground they were trapped, nearly half a mile.  23 is the number of hours it took from the rescue of the first miner in the wee hours of last Monday morning until the last rescue worker emerged from the mine early on Tuesday morning.

While the emotions and attitudes that were palpable while watching the rescue scene were a combination of apprehension and joy, I couldn’t help but realize two things that must have been in operation in the months following the collapse that made such a glorious moment possible: one a human trait, another that in its purest form comes from God.  What were these two things: persistence and Hope.  In the Gospel reading from Luke today we have the parable that is sometimes called “the parable of the persistent widow.”   One line in this reading stuck out as I was preparing for Mass this week.  “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?”  In the context of the Gospel, justice is the main thing that is being asked for, but the point is persistence.  As a commentator on this passage stated “more than ever the church must be nurtured by the kind of prayer embodied by the woman, persistent and courageous prayer in the face of brutal evil.”  And where is evil found, in injustice, in indifference, in despair, in the loss of hope.  Evil affects us in large and small ways: we recognize in the world the bigger evils, when big injustices are done…destruction of natural resources, killing, the unfair repression of people on political and economic levels, places where basic human rights are ignored…etc. etc.  We pray and work against these things as best as we can in our lives, because they need to be worked against, but also because they are easy to identify, to single out.  What about smaller evils, what about evil within ourselves and around us?   I spoke of persistence earlier, but I also spoke of Hope.  Hope is a virtue that comes from God, it comes from the promises he has made to us, it is based on the knowledge of all that he has done for us.  That he created us, that he loves us, that he guides us, that he sent his only Son as one of us to atone for all the things we could not atone for on our own, that our belief in him, or prayer, our faith will one day be rewarded with eternal life and eternal happiness. 

Unfortunately, in this world, and in our lives, the hope we have been given can become fragile or forgotten.  Anything within us or around us that causes us to lose Hope is the most subtle, but also the most difficult evil we will ever face.  Mario Sepulveda was the second man to emerge from the mine on Monday morning…he has become the jubilant media darling of the rescue, having been dubbed by some as “Super-Mario,” but something he said as he emerged from the mine has stuck with me since I first heard it…roughly translated he said, “I was with God and with the devil -- and God won."   What a statement, but also a reminder to us…God is always with us offering us faith, hope, and love…at the same time there is another force, there is evil whispering in our ear, telling us that our lives our hopeless, that things will never change, that there is nothing that we can do.  Mario obviously experienced and recognized this, and in moments that would have been very easy to accept despair, to succumb to that evil, instead he embraced hope and emerged with such palpable joy in front of the entire world.  We need reminders like that once in awhile, of people who remained hopeful in the midst of great difficulty.  They help us keep our own hope alive, to not succumb to the temptation to give up.

The reading from Exodus today gives us a final little bit of insight to add to this discussion.  I do not want to focus on the battle itself going on between the Israelites and Amaleks, because we have a much different understanding of divine intervention in conflict than the Ancient Israelites did.  Instead, I want to focus for a moment on Moses, the great leader and prophet who spoke directly to God.  The reading speaks of him holding up his arms, but being a human being he falters, he can’t do it alone, but there are others with him, specifically Aaron and Hur and they help him when he falters.  If Moses could not succeed without help, how could we ever expect to…it is not just us as individuals and God, we have others with us, family, friends, this community.  We share our hopes and fears together, we prop each other up when that is what we need, we pray for each other, we may even give each other a kick in the pants when it is required.  I wondered what would have happened if there had been only  one miner stuck in that mine…whether he would have been able to survive without others there to support him.  Jimmy Sanchez, who at 19 years old was the youngest of the trapped miners sent up a letter a few days before the rescue where he said the following: “there are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here.”  God was with each of them individually, but he was also with them in the support they had for each other.  While there are times when those around us try our patience, we need each other to help us do as those miners did: to survive, to remain hopeful, to fight against the influence of evil, to not despair and give up, even when life is pushing us down from every side.  We all witnessed incredible joy on Tuesday as the persistence of the people involved in the rescue and the hope that was never lost was rewarded and fulfilled as all 33 miners were rescued.  Imagine the joy we will experience and witness on the day that all  our hopes are fulfilled and we see God face to face.  To get there we must never forget that any reward worth attaining takes persistence, takes faith, takes prayer, but most of all requires us as God’s family to never lose Hope.

Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time- March 6, 2011 Fr. Kevin Keelen

The Rocky Road Less Traveled

No good builder even begins construction unless there is a firm foundation.  To do otherwise would be foolish, which is the exact scenario Jesus uses to make his point in today’s Gospel.  This seems like common sense even 2000 years ago, but you know what? - People still cut corners and build homes on the edges of cliffs subject to mudslides- multi-million dollar homes to boot!  People all over the world, even right here in LBI build homes on sand to get as close to the beach as possible, knowing the hurricanes are going to come eventually.  And it’s not so different with our lives; quite often people cut corners, make bad choices and build their entire lives on sandy ground, but why?  Sometimes people are overcome by the sand of greed, or overtaken by the sand of addiction, sometimes the sand of selfishness gets in the way, or they get lost in the quicksand of hatred, intolerance, and laziness. 

But many of us have been so privileged, so blessed, to be held upon rock, the rock of good parents, or education, to have homes, friends, family, food and faith –things we all take for granted every day; rocks that not everyone in our world enjoys or shares.

So we all have choices to make, just as a builder can make the foolish choice to build on sand, often we can make foolish choices and the foundation of our lives suffer because of them.  Often it is a more difficult choice to do the right thing, to build on rock, to take the more difficult course and not skimp or cutting corners.  But this kind of building pays off.  It is well worth it to build upon rock because Jesus was right, the storms will come!

If you would all indulge me for just a moment and forgive me, but today is the one year anniversary of my mother’s death.  And in my homily at her funeral I referred to her as a rock, which I believe can serve as an example.  I said that day, “Everything I am today, all the good anyway, I attribute to my mother.  With her own humble wisdom, she taught me more about spirituality and faith than anything I have encountered, learned or read.  She lived it every day.  Facing the sudden, tragic death of her husband over 25 years ago with more sudden and tragic storms- losing her daughter, grand daughter and grandson- not to mention surviving a house fire, running a business, raising five children, caring for both her parents in her own home during their last days, and putting up with, well….us- her kids!  She was always there, a soft and firm rock, quietly listening, and without too many words, cutting through all the BS to get to the core of the truth of things with the wisdom that was needed by us each and every time.   The word ‘wisdom’  or ‘sophia’ in Greek, in Scripture represents the feminine side of God-wisdom that is simply lived not learned, known not taught, shared not possessed- strength that is spiritual not muscle, faith that is of the heart not the head, love that is nurturing and compassionate, not judgmental or conditional.  My mom gave us a glimpse of this part of the face of God.  I, we, her family, are better for ever having had the privilege to have known and loved her.”

Yes, Jesus was right when he said the storms and torrents will come, the winds will buffet and lash against our lives.  So we need to build on rock.  Just these past two weeks in our parish community we celebrated 8 funerals.  Storms struck all these families with terrible grief, not only parents and grandparents, but a baby and a 32 year old newly married athlete whose wife is expecting their child in six months.

Storms strike most often when we least expect them and our Lord wants us to be ready, calls us to be prepared, as we strive to find the firmest foundations to build upon.  What are the rocks of such a foundation for life?  - Love, honesty, compassion, integrity, faith, morals, ethics, are some of the stones we need.   To build upon rock can sometimes be hard work.

We always have a choice.  Choices between good and evil, right and wrong, rock and sand are before us every day.  As our first reading from Deuteronomy reminds us – ‘every day is set before us a blessing and a curse.’  Choices can make us or break us, -a sentiment in one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost-

The Road Less Traveled, as I end today with his last lines: 

“I shall be telling this with a sigh,

somewhere ages and ages hence,

Two roads diverged in a wood,

and I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.” 

THE FEAST OF PENTECOST- 2011Fr. Kevin Keelen

What’s in a Name?

Bernie was invited to his friend’s home for dinner.  They were up in years.  Morris, the host, preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms, calling her Honey, Sweetie, My Love, Darling, Pumpkin, Sweetheart, etc.  Bernie looked at Morris and remarked, “That is really nice, that after all these years you keep calling your wife those pet names.”  Morris hung his head and whispered-“To tell  you the truth, I forgot her name three years ago!”

What’s in a name?  Well, names can have significant meaning.  In the Bible, names are often changed to signify that a person has gone through a radical change in life, that they have found God in some new, life-changing way.  Paul, for instance, was Saul before his conversion, when his life was radically transformed and changed by his encounter with the Risen Lord.  St. Barnabas, the patron of our parish, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, was called Joseph before he became a disciple.  His life was so radically changed by his new-found faith that he went and sold all his possessions (apparently he was pretty wealthy) and gave the money to the Apostles to help the poor in the ministry of the early Church.  He recognized that everything he had belonged to God, and wanted to give his whole life to God.  That is when his name was changed to “Barnabas,” which means, “son of encouragement.”  He gave encouragement to those early disciples and to people all over the world of their time to know Christ and the truth of God that comes from our faith.  This is why we take a new name at Confirmation- signifying our accepting the Lord, embracing our faith and a radical change in our life to be a disciple in our time. 

When  you think about all that Paul and Barnabas accomplished in those early years of the Church, it seems almost impossible.  They went out preaching the truth of Christ to people who had been rooted in ancient religions, and they brought many to the new faith.  They risked their lives to proclaim the Good News of Christ to the world around them.  Despite all the possible barriers to their success, the early disciples and apostles were successful, but not on their own, it was because of the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit promised by Jesus and who came upon them at Pentecost, which we celebrate today, over 2000 years later.  To think of all the times in  history that the Church prevailed, times when the Church was suppressed, times of hardship, plagues, political opposition, schism, and scandal.  And it survived!  Only because of the Holy Spirit.  There is no way it could have otherwise. 

At Pentecost, the very name of these early disciples changed.  They were no longer just Apostles or disciples of Jesus, they were now a Church, a religion.  And not just one religion among a host of others in the world, but bearers of the ultimate truth of God; that God became one of us, that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of the world.  What a difficult thing to convince peoples of so many different cultures and ancient religions to believe!  But, by the power of the Holy Spirit they so prevailed that we sit here today and celebrate that same Pentecost.  We, members of the same Church, disciples in the modern world, have the same mission.  We may not have to risk crucifixion or being fed to lions for our faith, as the early disciples did, but we face other, perhaps even more difficult opposition to our faith in our times.  From childhood we are being told that our faith is a bunch of superstition.  The babble on the TV, Internet, in schoolyards and neighborhoods, all challenges us from every side.  They say its all made up, that our priests are all criminals, that we are hypocrites, that we are leftovers of an archaic brain washing scheme.   But we know the truth, we know it in our hearts, by the power of the Holy Spirit who speaks truth to the core of our being. 

And so we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to have the courage and wisdom, the knowledge and understanding to defend our faith in modern times.  We have all received the same Spirit as the Apostles.  We all share in that mission to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to our world that needs it as much, if not more, than ever.  Let us go out, empowered by the Spirit, and continue that mission! 

September 11, 2011- 24th Sunday Ordinary Time- Fr. Kevin Keelen

             Tenth Anniversary of 9-11

“Down at the court house

they’re ringin’ the flag down

Long black line of cars

snakin’ slow through town...

Trees on fire with the

first fall’s frost

Long black line in front

of Holy Cross”

(Bruce Springsteen, The Fuse, The Rising)

These lyrics from The Fuse, a song on Bruce Springsteen’s album, The Rising, an amazing tribute to 9-11 which helped me and many others get through that time of pain, even though the lyrics are a stinging reminder of the events and feelings evoked on this day ten years ago. 

On the morning of September 12, 2001, our staff at Holy Cross Parish in Rumson had an emergency meeting filled with long moments of silent streams of tears.  A lingering and cramping shock filled the room as we tried to figure out just how we were going to respond to this tragedy as a parish community.   For days, many who had survived and had gotten out of the city were coming to the Church for comfort, counseling and some sense of solace amidst the horror.  I will never forget the desperate look in some of the survivors’ eyes, the horror still reflecting from their pupils; as vivid as the TV screens across the world playing the tragedy over and over again. 

It is no wonder so many immediately wanted vengeance, but the words of today’s first reading from Sirach are most appropriate to this day of remembrance:  “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.  The vengeful will suffer… Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”  Although immediate vengeance would be an understandable reaction, it would not be the right response for the followers of Jesus Christ.  We are called to rise above. 

I’m sure, like me, everyone here over the age of 14 remembers exactly where you were ten years ago on this day.  For us, the list of the missing was growing.  We had to act immediately.  During the meeting it was made clear that some of these people needed to talk. They needed to pray. Some needed a priest.  Let me say that on that day I wish I were anything but a priest.  I could only imagine the painful scenes I would be walking into.  I felt the emptiness surging within me. If I was on the verge of tears, if I was angry at what happened, if I was already grieving this horrible loss, how much more will these families be enveloped in pain?  The words of another song from The Rising paint the picture: 

“Blood on the streets

blood flowin down

I hear the blood of my blood

Cryin from the ground

Empty sky, empty sky

I woke up this morning

to an empty sky.” (Bruce Springsteen, Empty Sky, The Rising)

But our second reading reminds us that “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for one’s self,”  we are to live for others and for God.  As I watched the heroes enter the burning building and climb up the stairs into the fire to save lives, losing their own in the process, and heard about other heroes overtaking hijackers, I also felt called to duty.  These are some of the memories I share with you from ten years ago, but each of you have your own. These ten years have gone fast, and yet to some it seems like a lifetime.  Many of the widows I’ve worked with have re-married and new children have arrived since then. Life does go on, but it certainly has changed.  We now know we are much more vulnerable than ever.  We also are more acutely aware of evil in our world.  The interesting thing about the evil we were confronted with on Sept. 11th was that it was cloaked in religion.  Misguided religious leaders and misinterpretation of sacred writings can be a very dangerous thing. 

Now, ten years later, the mastermind, or rather twisted mind of the plot has been killed as we still fight two wars and the number of American dead from that day has doubled with over 3,000 more lives lost, not to mention the tens of thousands of other lives and those permanently injured.  And so the cycle of death and destruction continues, yet, as Christians, we’re supposed to be different, we must be different.  When twisted militant, Islamic radicals preach death and destruction, Christians hear the voice of Jesus calling us to rise above it as in today’s Gospel: “I say to you, forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven times.”  Does this mean Christians are wimps?  Dare I say it may take more courage to forgive even when all evidence points to vengeance.  And forgiveness does not mean that we condone the acts of horror, murder and violence that have occurred.  It means that Christians desire not to perpetuate the violence and death by keeping it alive and thriving – that at some point it must end, -that love is more powerful than hate, that forgiveness is the positive energy that flows from love, and vengeance is the negative energy that flows from hatred.  This does not mean that we do not defend ourselves, but while we defend we make strides for peace, and while we work for justice, we point out the injustice in the deeds that have brought about death, destruction and war. 

If our religion preached vengeance, then we would be equals with the radical tangent militants that masterminded not only September 11th but every other terrorist act as well.  We have been called to rise above the vengeance, to stand secure in the Gospel,- the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, who says when somebody strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer your left, and commands us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors.  This is the higher road, not an easy route, - a huge challenge for us all. 

I don’t think it a mere coincidence that these are our readings for this 10th anniversary; readings chosen by The Holy See almost 50 years ago, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

This is one of the reasons our Church is so intricately connected to what we call our Magisterium (the teaching and doctrinal authority of the Church).  None of us exists on our own to do and say whatever we want.  Our interpretation of Scripture and our living out our doctrine is something we take very seriously.  The Magisterium is made up of the Pope, bishops, and theologians.  The role of any human mediator of God’s Word, whether prophet, apostle, bishop or theologian, is to help others to know what God has said, and what his Word means here and now.  The Magisterium is not above the Word of God but serves it.  When churches or religions lack such a connection, they often espouse false doctrine and can easily become lost.  I often cringe when I hear what many Christian TV evangelists are saying. 

But when it comes to remembering September 11, 2001, the most important thing I can think of is God’s incredible gift of consolation which has come upon so many who I have come to know and love in the journey of healing since that fateful day.  And it has convinced me once again that our God is not a God of death but a God of LIFE.  So many people have come to new life after that death experience, and new life also comes through the power of forgiveness.  This is a gift offered to all of God’s children.  Every one of us is constantly being called from death to life over and over again.  We live in the Pascal Mystery, for it is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that we are given the greatest hope imaginable on the face of the earth. 

Let me conclude with the lyrics of one last song from that album which helped so many of us through the storm:

"My City's In Ruins"

There is a blood red circle

On the cold dark ground

And the rain is falling down

The church door's thrown open

I can hear the organ's song

But the congregation's gone

My city of ruins

Now the sweet bells of mercy

Drift through the evening trees

Young men on the corner

Like scattered leaves,

My city of ruins

Tell me how do I begin again?

-with these hands,

With these hands,

I pray Lord

With these hands,

With these hands,

I pray for the strength, Lord

With these hands,

I pray for the faith, Lord

We pray for your love, Lord

We pray for the lost, Lord

We pray for this world, Lord

We pray for the strength, Lord

Come on rise up!

Come on, rise up!

(Bruce Springsteen, My City of Ruins, The Rising)

Stewardship Outdoor Mass Homily- September 18, 2011Fr. Kevin Keelen

Its Never Too Late!

A guy walks into a pub and says to the bartender, “Give everyone a drink and have one yourself.”  The bartender complies.  A few minutes later he says again, “Give everyone a drink and have one yourself.”  A bit later the bartender hands him the bill for $140, and the guy says, “I don’t have any money,” laughing- with that the bartender jumps over the bar and throws him out of the bar bodily.  An hour later the guy comes back into the bar and yells, “Give everyone a drink but leave yourself out, you get nasty when your drunk!”

Have you ever known anyone who is generous to a fault?  In a sense this gospel parable portrays God as being so generous, it can be disturbing.  It reminds me of another parable, the Prodigal Son; when the good son, who worked on the father’s farm his whole life, does not get the party and the attention that his brother gets after he returns home from drinking, partying and spending all his father’s money.  In our parable today, people who show up for work at the end of the day get the same wage as those who worked all day.  ‘Not fair,’ most would say…  But quite often, when it comes to mercy, when it comes to generosity, when it comes to love, Jesus reveals God as generous to a fault.  In other words, it’s never too late!

Jesus tells this parable right after Peter asks him, (to paraphrase) “What do we get out of it?”  If the disciples were giving up everything, their careers, families, and homes for Jesus, they were wondering what the payoff was.  Jesus answer is this parable.  They will receive God’s generosity, they will receive eternal life, but so will those for whom it seems too late.  So, don’t be surprised, it’s never too late! 

God never tires of giving.  God desires to give us everything.  - Think about it- the entire planet and everything on it, our lives, families, all that we have comes from God. (As our stewardship prayer reminds us each week).  God is pure love and pure generosity flows from that love to us.  On a day like today, it feels easy to be grateful, look around and see the beauty of creation, the beauty of this community displayed in abundance once again this entire weekend. 

All of Jesus’ parables had a connection to his time.  Day laborers in Palestine often lined up for jobs and if they did not get one it meant that their families did not eat that night.  Jesus is showing himself to be the generous land owner who desires to take care of each and every child of God as generously as possible, that it’s never too late!

Does any of us really deserve God’s abundant generosity? – Not only planet earth and all that is on it, which humanity continues to ravage and spoil, not to mention, God’s mercy, even salvation itself?-  Jesus was teaching his disciples to emulate his generosity- to be bearers of God’s mercy and love to the world, especially to those who some deem as underserving.  As followers of this generous savior, you and I are called to stewardship- a generosity beyond the norm- that is not concerned with what we get out of it, but is sacrificial as Christ sacrificed himself for us.  We are to make sacrifices for one another and for the building up of the Kingdom.  At times, some of us can be like those early disciples, or the Prodigal’s brother, easily falling into the trap of becoming jealous of other’s success or wealth or cling to our own.  But Jesus wants us to have interior peace, and there is no peace when we are imprisoned by envy or greed.  Imagine the peace we can have if we rejoiced in all God’s gifts, not only our own, and share them with abundance, with gratitude, with generosity.  It’s never too late! 

It’s never too late to have this kind of conversion experience in our lives.  Many people come to mind as I reflect on this kind of stewardship:

- Little Matty Stephanic, who died a few years ago of MD at the age of 10. He had a huge impact on the entire world through his poetry and books, his interviews on TV- he was so proud to be Catholic and had a deep, mature spirituality by age 7 that most don’t achieve at 70.  Matty teaches us that it’s never too soon and it’s never too late!

-Then there is my departed friend, Joe Grossman, Joe lived his whole life as a Jew, but at age 80 he decided to join the RCIA process and convert to Catholicism.  When I asked him why, he told me he secretly loved Jesus most of his life.  He died two years after his baptism and his son converted the following year.  Joe had a huge impact on me personally and the whole parish I was in at the time.  At age 80 Joe reminded us that it’s never too late! 

-Then there is John Taylor, who Dan mentioned before Mass.  John was in his forties when he decided to become a Catholic and here at St. Barnabas found a community that he said was like finally finding his way home.  He didn’t know he would die by the age of 48, but he found a home before he left and left a huge impact on us.  John was a true steward- he was generous to a fault, gave everything he had away, joined every ministry he could and always wanted to do more.  If John were here today (and he is) he’d agree, it’s never too late!

-There are also many friends who come to mind who spent a chunk of their lives drinking or drugging it away, and it was not until they become sober and found God again or for the first time that their whole lives changed.  Some of these people are among the finest I know, who can’t do enough for God or others.  They agree with Jesus, it’s never too late!

My friends, God wants his generosity to reach out to every one of His children and it’s our job to help make that happen.  The staggering reality that 70% of Catholics do not practice their faith is a challenge to us all.   As a diocese and a as a parish staff and on many committees here as well, we talk about this all the time.  How do we try to reach out and touch these lives with God’s generosity?  How can we be better stewards?  We’ve been working toward that these past years, with even greater emphasis this past year as we move more deeply into becoming a stewardship community.  This has happened with a renewal and greater emphasis on hospitality and welcoming, on community gatherings such as this and yesterday’s festival, on building up our ministries and involvement, and on the follow-up that often does not take place.  Why?  Because of the old saying- “If you build it, they will come.”  We are here to build community- but not just any community, as our Mission Statement says:  “We are a diverse, active community, rooted in the love of Christ.  We recognize who we are and all that we have comes from God.  In gratitude we respond in prayer, service, and sharing of our time, talent, and treasure.  Through the sacraments, we are committed to evangelization, learning, teaching and proclaiming God’s Word to His people.”  That is precisely why.

And we’re doing great, but of course this is much more to be done.  It is a mission that never ends.  There is work to do and it’s never too late!  If we build it, they will come. 

Will you continue to build it with me?  …It’s never too late! 

God bless this generous parish of St. Barnabas!

October 16, 2011- 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time-Fr. Michael Hall

   Render Unto Caesar

Tax-time in October huh?  This reading may seem out of place since it’s not April 15th, but actually its very appropriate for me, since April was so busy with Easter and everything else going on, I filed for an income tax extension (mostly because I waited too long to get my tax stuff together) so actually my taxes were due yesterday…Don’t call the IRS on me, I sent them in already.  Some of you won’t have to worry about those things for a few years.

I’ve heard many people talk about this Gospel, and there is always a desire to read between the lines, to look for some deep meaning, beyond the issue it talks about.  And while, what Jesus has to say here can be a metaphor for many other things, make no mistake…He was talking about taxes.  You see at the beginning of the reading that the Pharisees and Herodians are plotting against Jesus: and what is their big weapon... a tax discussion.  Sounds like every political election debate I’ve ever heard, what do we hear about every day in the news, but why do they choose taxes.  Authority, because back then just as it is today, if you can charge, and more importantly, collect taxes, then you really are the ones in charge.  We look at the Pharisees as some sort of Jewish leaders, but really they were a pretty radical group, they hated the fact that the Romans were in charge, they hated the fact that the Temple priests made deals with Rome, they looked back at the history of Israel, of the chosen people, where they were a sovereign nation, with God in charge and wanted those days back. They openly rebelled against any other authority.  Taxes were the ultimate symbol of the fact that, in their eyes, they were being oppressed by an illegitimate foreign and human power, and did everything they could to undermine it. 

But to be honest, in this case, its mostly because they just don’t like Jesus: because of what he said, who he ate and spoke with, and what he did.  They want a messiah who is strong and fought for purity, for righteousness, not someone who commiserates with sinners, lives a humble existence, and eats with prostitutes and (gasp) tax collectors.  So they test him, using the one issue that will always gets people riled up: taxes.  If Jesus says it’s unlawful to pay the tax, then the Romans are going to come and shut him up and get rid of him.  If he says the taxes are lawful then the Pharisees can point to him in front of the people and say “See, he’s not one of us, if he were then he would know that the only legitimate authority is God,  he doesn’t believe in our destiny as God’s chosen, don’t believe in him.”   Seemed to them like a win-win situation.

But Jesus, as he always seems to when backed into a corner, turns the tables…in the Temple area, God’s holy place, he takes the coin used for the taxes, a denarius, Roman currency, which on it would have had a picture of the emperor Tiberius Caesar, and an inscription proclaiming Caesar as divine High Priest.  A pagan image, on a Roman coin, in God’s holy place.  To the Romans, this coin meant something, but to the son of God in this holy place it really didn’t.   This didn’t make it illegitimate or unlawful…just not his concern.  And, for the Pharisees, if the authority of the Roman’s is unimportant, then why were they causing such a fuss over something that is only worth something if the Romans say so.

Some, both in some Churches and more often involved in politics use this reading, of Jesus saying, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” as a way of interpreting the separation of Church and State in radical terms.  That the two should have nothing to do with each other: that the secular and the spiritual should have no overlap whatsoever.  That what Jesus is saying is: completely divorce those things.  But, as Fr. Kevin rightly pointed out in his letter in the bulletin this week:  Jesus doesn’t mean that.  Because as human beings we can’t live two separate lives, we are people of faith I hope, and whether we are here at Church, at school, at work, on vacation…no matter where we are, we are still a people of faith.  Yes there is a place in this world for human secular authority, and yes we submit ourselves to it.  Yes we participate in it, to keep order, peace, to provide services to our community.  We ask that  it enact laws and exact justice.  Yes, it is even part of God’s will that we have authority over ourselves; that is a freedom God has given us.  But, where do the principles that guide us come from?  Where does our understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, justice, and the notion of human rights and dignity come from?  How do we know that it is wrong to kill, to steal, to cheat, to lie?  From where do we learn what is good for us, that we should take care of each other, that justice requires things like civil rights?  How do we know about the three truths that we hold to be self-evident: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  These have all been revealed to us, implanted in us by God, by the natural law that he has written into us and all of creation.  Without God, we wouldn’t exist, be free, or know any of these things.  Nor would we have the motivation to do anything about them.

“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”  Human authority has a job to do, to provide the order, peace, and justice in this world that we talked about, but it is, in the end, a human enterprise, and at times it will be corrupted, flawed, and sinful, as we’ve all learned over the years.  We submit ourselves to and have a responsibility to the authorities of this world, because we need them to live in community and work together, but we have a higher responsibility as well: as individuals, to use our freedom to love the God who creates us and gives us being, and as a people of faith, to make sure that human authority doesn’t throw away what is right and good in favor of what is easy, or use its authority to promote injustice and not work towards the good of all people.  It’s not often that I plagiarize in a homily, but Fr. Kevin’s letter put it so well that I don’t think he’ll mind if I steal my closing from him.

We can give God what is due God by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in our work: toward a government that respects life, is concerned for the earth, takes care of the poor, strives to make  peace, welcomes the stranger, and builds bridges of hope across the global community. Give Caesar what is Caesar’s, but Let us influence ‘Caesar’ as we give back to God.

November 6, 2011-  32nd Sunday in O.T. -Fr. Kevin Keelen

  The Wisdom to Know the Difference 

One of my favorite prayers is The Serenity Prayer:  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Many people think this is simply a prayer for those who are in recovery- an AA prayer, but it’s not.  This is a prayer for everyone, and it bears reflection and repetition.  Today’s first reading comes from the book of Wisdom.  The book of Wisdom makes a bold claim: namely, that Wisdom is perceived by those who love her and found by those who search for her, and while people search for Wisdom, Wisdom is also in search of them.  The words for ‘Wisdom’ in both Hebrew and Greek are in the feminine, thus “she.”  It is one of the only references to God in the feminine- Sophia- She- Wisdom- God.  What I love about Wisdom is that it involves both God and God’s self gift to us.  God is Wisdom and God gives us wisdom.  This is different from simply being wise- it is a connectedness to God which gives us serenity or peace- true peace.  This kind of wisdom allows us to discern the difference between what we can change in our lives and what we can’t- what we have absolute no control over.  And that’s almost everything! 

One thing we can be wise enough to do is live our lives striving to be prepared- as our Gospel parable compels us to be ready.  This parable needs a little explaining because it involves a custom that we no longer follow.  On the day of a wedding, in the time of Jesus, the groom would go to the bride’s house and confer with her father.  He would sign the marriage covenant and then escort his bride back to his house, or his father’s house.  All of the bride’s family would follow in procession.  When they finally got to the house, the wedding reception would begin.  The ten virgins were part of the ceremony, lighting the way for the newlyweds. -One semblance of the wedding that still remains in our custom is the father walking the bride down the aisle. - The point of the parable is not about weddings though, it’s about being ready.  Some of the girls forgot to fill their lamps with oil and neglected this very important job, while the wise virgins had their lamps ready- --they stopped at Wawa and filled their tanks before the wedding! 

Have you ever run out of gas?  I did once and felt really stupid and learned never to do it again.  Jesus does not want us to be caught off guard either by life or death.  We need to have the gift of Wisdom- to be wise enough to not spend our time and energy trying to change things that we have no power over- things or people we simply cannot change.  But also wise enough to know what is changeable- usually this means ourselves.  We can change ourselves, -our responses, our reactions, our prejudices, our mediocrity, our attitudes, opinions, judgments, habits and our behaviors.  All of that is changeable for ourselves, but we really don’t have the power or ability to change others.- If we keep trying that approach, we will run out of gas for sure!  Those we may seek to change need to find the wisdom and serenity to change themselves.  We can lead them to water, but we can’t make them drink!  

I remember as a young boy I used to work at my father’s business- it was a bus company so obviously I was always surrounded by burly bus drivers and mechanics- and there was always joking going on- sometimes the jokes got racist and I had a real problem with it.  I talked to my father and he said, ‘you can tell them not to talk like that around you and who knows, just maybe they will think a little more about it and change.’  I had to accept that I couldn’t change the way they thought, but muster up the courage to tell them how I felt and perhaps plant seeds for them to change themselves.  Of course having the boss for my dad helped because nobody gave me a hard time.  Well, I don’t know how they talked when I wasn’t around, but the racist jokes stopped and I was happy. 

Quite often, however, it takes more courage to change the things about ourselves that are fixable and changeable then to challenge others. We all have something that needs to change- it’s constant and ongoing.  Thus, we need to pray for the courage to really look at our self in the mirror.  --Courage to ask ourselves, ‘what am I doing?  -Courage to consider where our life is going and who it is affecting.  We may find that we may lack this kind of courage- sometimes it’s easier to fight in the arena then to look at oneself in the truth of the mirror.  But as our parish prepares to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation this week, we are reminded of the gifts of the Holy Spirit- one of them being Courage and another Wisdom.  This kind courage and wisdom are gifts from God and these gifts lead us to the peace we all seek in our lives- the kind of peace we call ‘serenity.’   Yes peace does come from having the courage to change the things we really can change and the wisdom not to try to change the things we can’t and simply accepting them as part of life- even if they are difficult at times.

As we hear the Scripture proclaimed this week, we are given the opportunity to ask ourselves ‘what needs to change about me in order for me to be ready – ready for whatever life may throw at me and ultimately ready when God calls me home?’  And as we search for this insight I invite you to learn the prayer and repeat it often:  “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

November 20, 2011- The Feast of Christ the KingFr. Kevin Keelen

Good Friday vs. Black Friday

 

Today, the last Sunday before Advent is always the Feast of Christ the King.   Pope Pius XI  instituted it in 1925 when he felt the feast was most needed, connecting the denial of Christ he found in the world around him to the rise of secularism, when many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting Christ's and the Church's authority, and even doubting Christ's existence. It was a time characterized by the rise of dictatorships in Europe. Perhaps this feast is needed even more in our  modern day, as the problem of secularism have not vanished but have strengthened in powerful yet subtle ways in the popular denial of absolute truth.  To some, being Christian, and particularly Catholic, has become a joke, we are not only not taken seriously, but Christ is seen as a myth, some kind of made up figure from a storybook past.  This does not so much anger me, but makes me sad, sad for those who are missing out on so much, missing the whole point of life itself really. 

Pope Benedict has warned the world about the problem of secularism.  The fundamental principle of secularism is that humanity should be guided exclusively by considerations derived from the present life itself. Anything that is above or beyond the seeable, scientifically provable, should be entirely overlooked. Whether God exists or not, whether the soul is immortal or not, are questions which at best cannot be answered, and on which consequently no motives of action can be based. What I find interesting about people who espouse this mindset don’t seem to realize that most of science is based on theory- which is a kind of faith of sorts in and of itself.  And yet it seems in our time believers in anything moral or good or universally loving are often ridiculed in the public media as being idiots at best. 

On this Feast we who believe pray for those who do not, who will, we believe, one day, either here or in the next life, come to understand that everything is truly in God’s hands and that Christ is the all in all, is in fact King of the cosmos. 

Next week we will all once again experience the phenomenon known as Black Friday; a day characterized by a frenzy of early-bird shoppers willing to crush and kill in order to find a bargain!  Here in Church today, in a sense, and particularly during the celebration of the Eucharist, we are transported back to Good Friday; when Christ was recognized as King as he was being put to death.   What an extreme polar opposite is represented in these two Fridays: one is called ‘black’ and has no spiritual value, the other is called ‘good,’ and yet is brought on by the world’s inability to accept the Good News, -the spiritual reality Christ our King has to offer.  On Black Friday, people are pursuing gifts, on Good Friday; our God is the gift, giving himself away, completely to us. 

Today we honor a King that truly does own everything, he’s got the whole wide world in his hands, and yet he gives it all away, gives it all to us; entrusted into our hands.  Yes, as our Stewardship Prayer reminds us each week, everything we have comes from God, in fact belongs to God. 

And what has humanity done with the gift of Creation?  What we have done to his kingdom is evident in starving children from Africa to Haiti, pollution spread from Japan to the Gulf of Mexico, the gradual collapse of our eco system, the demise of our resources, the rape of the planet for the pursuit of wealth, because as our late Pope John Paul II used to say, things have become more important than people.  In the pursuit of getting rich we have enslaved, murdered, impoverished, starved and oppressed one another for centuries.

Our true King knew our human inability to save ourselves, and yet he comes to save us still.  We will celebrate his coming as we begin Advent next week.  But will our Advent only be filled with the pursuit of things that have no spiritual significance? 

Our King wants to save us from what Black Friday represents; he wants to save us from what we sometimes confuse for the pursuit of happiness.  He knew that even the kings of this world would not be satisfied with only what this world has to offer, and he offers us something that no amount of money can buy; it involves our hearts and souls, our time and talent, our generosity and love. 

Our King knows how inhumane man treats man, as we did to him on the cross.  And even though we don’t seem to deserve it, our King gives himself and his whole kingdom to us, and with that awesome gift of everything, we are given great power.  We’ve all heard that with great power comes great responsibility.  I hear a lot of people speaking about rights these days, but not very many speak about responsibility.  Another word for the responsibility we all have to God, to one another and to our planet is ‘stewardship.’  It is through our baptism that we are given this kingdom and this power- we have been anointed into it and we now share in all that responsibility. 

The light of Christ our King pierces the darkness and turns every black Friday into Good Friday, turns death into life, mourning into dancing, sin into forgiveness, brokenness into opportunity, weakness into strength, and our greed into overflowing generosity.  Today, right this moment, He gives himself to us once again on the cross and in the Eucharist.  Today is a good day to contemplate what Christ our King has done for us, and how He calls each of us to serve in the sharing of the responsibility of the Kingdom.   “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Second Sunday of Advent – B- Dec. 4, 2011- Fr Kevin Keelen

Necessary Waiting

Our lives begin by waiting, when we have to wait approximately nine months before we are even born.   If we don’t spend that absolutely necessary time in the womb we will not exist.  One only comes about by virtue of the other.  There is no fast lane, no formula for insta-birth, no short cut – every minute is precious and necessary.  There is a lot of necessary waiting in life- waiting for water to boil- there’s no rushing that, waiting for the surgeon to take his time, we wouldn’t want any mistakes, waiting for our food to cook thoroughly so we don’t get sick, waiting for a wound to heal, paint to dry, etc. … and if we aren’t willing to wait, we will see poor, if not catastrophic results.  

Advent is very much about the time the world was in waiting, waiting for the coming of the one who would save us from ourselves, the one who would change everything with his good news, the one we call Messiah, Christ, Savior.  And it would happen not in our understanding of time but in God’s, as our second reading from Peter says, “with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”  He reminds us that God has been patient with humankind since we first arrived on the planet and thus we need to be patient with God. 

Hundreds of years before John the Baptist was born, Isaiah spoke of his coming- “A voice of one crying out in the desert...”  This would be the most vivid sign that the world’s waiting would be over, and thus after thousands of years of waiting, Jesus appears in time and history. 

God knew when the world would be ready, like a baby forming in its mother’s womb, it would happen at precisely the right time and moment and in the right place.  And many missed the signs, many were expecting something quite different from a humble child being born in a stable. 

Of course Advent is not just about the first coming of Christ at Christmas but the fact that we still are in waiting, waiting for him to come again at the end of time.  Many have been impatient, misinterpreting signs, predicting this second coming to be in their time, not God’s, trying to rush it, to take a short cut to something that only God knows and knows what is best.

To rush that ending of all things would remove our need to take responsibility for the present- to continue to do what we are supposed to do while we are in waiting.  And what is it that we need to be doing?  Perhaps in our time of preparation for Christ to come again we need to learn how to take better care of one another, as he commanded us to love our neighbor, to take care of those most in need, and to welcome the stranger.  Perhaps we need to learn how to take better care of the world He gave us, sharing our resources instead of greedily stockpiling them and wasting them, cleaning up after ourselves from the mess we’ve made, insuring clean drinking water for all peoples of the earth, insuring that there is enough food as well.  Perhaps we need to learn how to live in peace, despite our differences and disagreements.  Perhaps, like the messiah himself, we need to learn how to serve and not be served.  I believe that humanity is still very much in our infancy.  Like parents waiting patiently for their child to learn how to walk and talk, perhaps God is waiting for us to learn how to really live together in harmony.  We do seem like spoiled children when we really take a good look at ourselves- even in the way we prepare for celebration for the birth of the messiah, we have clouded it and polluted it with greed and materialism, with rude and nasty waiting lines in stores and malls, with arguments about what to even call the ‘holiday’ we have always known as Christmas.  In many ways, just as Jesus found the Temple in Jerusalem, we have turned a holy and sacred thing into a den of thieves.

Yes, we have a long way to go.  There’s a lot to learn and do while we are in waiting.  John the Baptist is still crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,” but are we really listening?

In our own baptism we are permanently linked us to the Messiah, the Christ, not only as his followers and disciples, but as members of his body, as bearers of his good news, as his spokespeople who should, by our very lives, in everything we say and do, be shouting out in the desert of a spiritually vacuous world, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!”

Third Sunday of Advent- B-  Dec. 11, 2011Fr. Kevin Keelen

Luminous Darkness

Today we light the third, pink candle of our Advent wreath symbolizing Joy- as Christmas draws closer we Catholics are called to be in a state of rejoicing as a Church throughout the world.  Yet I know for many, too many, it is difficult to rejoice as the economy gets worse, as people and families face all sorts of hardships- kids stuck in the trap of drug addiction, sick elderly with no health insurance, finding out one has cancer, people who need to have surgery, those suffering from grief after the loss of a loved one, and even joblessness and homelessness.  Right now there are over 16 million children who live in poverty in the US alone, the most since 1962. 

I was watching 60 Minutes the other night and a homeless family was interviewed.  They – the parents and two children were living in their car.  The 12 year old girl really impressed me in the interview; she left an impact on my heart.  When she was asked how she dealt with being homeless as she went to school and other things she replied, “It’s not that much of an embarrassment, it’s only life.”  She told about how bad she felt for other homeless families that she met since becoming homeless herself.  She was more concerned about others than herself.  When asked what she wanted to be when she grows up she replied: “a child defense lawyer.”  She and her little brother expressed joy that their family was still able to be together, even if living in a car. 

Joy.  What an interesting emotion.  It cannot be bought or sold.  It can exist even in what seems to be the hardest and darkest of times.  Children can teach us more about joy than anything else.  As we become adults, we often lose a sense of true, unabashed joy.  Our natural tendency towards cynicism and sarcasm often takes us to darker places. 

St John of the Cross talked about Luminous Darkness.  He described it as the simultaneous existence of deep suffering and intense joy.  I talked a bit about this at our Advent healing Mass.  As we light the candles of our Advent wreath, we are reminded that the light of Christ has pierced the darkness of a waiting world.  Because Jesus was born, because he lived, died and rose again, we believe that no matter how much darkness we confront in life, his light shines brighter, deeper, forever.  This is why the prophet Isaiah said, “God has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted.”  And why he says, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul, for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation.” 

I am reminded of a friend of mine who died many years ago of cancer.  He prayed for a healing for a long time, but none came.  Before he died he said that he learned that he received much more than a physical healing; that he had a spiritual awakening which he would have never had if he were not sick, that he was not being healed but more importantly he was being saved, and that meant way more to him than anything else he had ever experienced in life.  The darkness of his illness brought him closer to his savior than any other experience in life, and he lived his final days in God’s light- a luminous darkness, in joy.

A few weeks ago I bumped into another friend from my last parish, he has been living with terminal brain cancer for over a year and now walks with a walker, weakened from the illness and the chemo, skin and bones, he embraced me and told me he is happier than he has ever been in his life, he is ready for whatever comes, he is not afraid of death but embraces what is to come because he complete trusts in God.  He said he is ready for the next adventure, the next leg of the journey.  He brought tears to my eyes as I stood in amazement.  I only prayed that I would have such a positive outlook when and if that time comes in my life.  Yes, he too lives in luminous darkness.

Another even more wonderful example of this is our Blessed Mother.  When told the jolting news that she was unexpectedly and unexplainably pregnant, her response was, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My soul rejoices in God my savior!”  She knew her whole life that being the mother of the Messiah would not be easy, and it was not.  Even at the feet of the cross, embracing the lifeless body of her only son, her soul proclaimed the greatness of the Lord and rejoiced in God her savior. 

And I’m sure John the Baptist knew that if he kept preaching the arrival of the Messiah, his life would be in danger, but he didn’t stop.  Instead, filled with joy at the coming of Christ, he kept preaching in the desert until they came and arrested him. 

Sometimes what we consider as hardships are almost trivial compared to the witness of countless martyrs and saints, even strangers who were willing to let everything go, even their lives, for the joy that only God could give, for they knew that what God has given us and done for us in Jesus was much more precious than anything this life has to offer.

So, my friends, Christmas is fast approaching.  People will be getting antsier, grouchier, stressed, and rude.  The roads will be dangerous, the stores will be frenetic.  But the children will be excited, their eyes will be open wide to the wonders of the season and their joy reminds every one of us what it’s all about.  They pull us out of our cynicism and skepticism, out of our black holes of anger and frustration, out of our stress and self-absorption.  And one child in particular, one whose birth we are about to celebrate can change all this and more forever.  His birth assures that all darkness is luminous darkness, his coming assures us that God is with us, God comes to save us, God will never abandon us, God’s love endures forever.

“Haul out the holly; Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.Fill up the stocking, I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.  For we need a little Christmas Right this very minute, Candles in the window, Carols at the spinet... For I've grown a little leaner, Grown a little colder, Grown a little sadder, Grown a little older, And I need a little angel Sitting on my shoulder..... For we need a little music, Need a little laughter, Need a little singing Ringing through the rafter, And we need a little snappy "Happy ever after," Need a little Christmas now.” 

Lyrics from “We Need A Little Christmas,” from the Musical, "Mame".

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary- Dec. 8, 2011- Fr. Michael Hall

   No Other Way

I think it’s interesting that on this great solemnity of the Immaculate Conception where we celebrate Mary and the doctrine proclaiming her conception without the stain of original sin, that the first reading from Genesis, illustrates the exact sin that we believe did not affect her.  It’s as if we are being told that to understand the importance of what it meant for Mary to have been conceived without sin, we must first understand the opposite.  Throughout the creation stories and all of Church teaching, the overriding theme of salvation history is the Love of God.  Genesis tells us that human beings are the pinnacle of that creation…its stewards, made in God’s image and likeness.  More importantly God so loves us, that he gave us freedom.  He wanted us to experience his love and be capable of loving as he does.  There was another side to that freedom though, we could choose to reject God, to disobey his commands, to not live in accord with his will.  God loves us so much that he gave us the capability not to Love him back.  This may seem like a flaw of creation, but think about it, would we really be capable of Love if we were incapable of doing anything else, or would we instead be mindless, robotic slaves of divine will.

We do not know the origins of evil, but we know that humanity succumbed to the temptation to disobey, to the desire to overstep our bounds, to forget our need for God’s will to guide us.  Throughout history, this evil has been named Satan, the devil, and is illustrated in Genesis by the Serpent in the Garden.   The consequences of human sin have acted upon us and upon all of God’s creation.  The imperfections of the world are of our own making and unfortunately, they have affected us all, we are born into it.  Our wills are weak, our intellects are misled, and we constantly lose the personal battle against the temptation.  This may seem unfair, we may ask why God would allow this to occur, but this really isn’t the right question.  In reality, what has happened is that we have allowed to live with the consequences of our own actions: again can we say that we are free if what we do or have done has no lasting effect.  Luckily for us, we have a God who does loves us and can’t stand for us to remain lost in slavery to our sin.  In God’s eyes, we are still his beloved children, capable of, and destined for eternal life, but we need his grace to quote the army “be all that we can be.” 

What does God do? He sends us his Son as one like us.  Jesus is the Son of God, but to be one like us, he needs both divine and human origins.  Throughout the Old Testament and through the history of Israel, it was believed that God’s dwelling place was with his people, first in the meeting Tent, and then in the Temple.  There was an understanding though, that when the sinful disobedience of the people was too great, that God in his holiness could not continue to dwell there.  This plays out in the books of the prophets where it is said that God has literally fled his people: for the Temple could not have been destroyed and his people exiled if he remained there.  While our understanding of sin’s effects has changed, the principle remains the same: God is Holy, his dwellings are sacred.  While the Israelites believed that it was the presence of Sin that drove God away, we know now that Sin, at its root, is a choice against God, a rejection of God’s will, even when we don’t realize that that is what we are doing.  How could God dwell where he has been rejected, especially if he will not force his way into our lives?  Yet, God wishes to be with us more than anything, and he needed a way to overcome this difficulty.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, needs a mother, a human mother.  For this, Mary is born, a human being, full of the grace of God and not touched by the stain of Original Sin, not having the weakened will and intellect that leads us to succumb to temptation.  At the same time, she is still a fully human person.  She has anxieties, she lives and grows in the same world as those around her, she retains her freedom, in fact, because she is not touched by Original Sin she is the most fully free human person ever born.  Her freedom is not conditioned by the temptations or weaknesses that ours is.  The Immaculate grace in which she is conceived allows her to do what no one else born before her could.  She could fully recognize God’s love and accept his will, without reservation.  It allows her to accept God’s message to her from the Angel Gabriel in the Annunciation, it gives her the strength to listen to the words of Simeon who cautions her that a sword will pierce her heart because of her Son.  It gives her the wisdom to ponder the words of her Son when he explains his running away to teach in the Temple. (even though Jesus probably got an earful when they got home) It gives her the foresight to recognize Jesus mission, and His need to begin his ministry at the wedding feast in Cana.  It gives her the faith to be able to stand at the foot of the cross, and while sorrowful, realize the magnitude of the suffering and death her Son was enduring for the world.

Mary is, as all instances of the grace of God are, both an inspiration and a mystery.  We do not understand her unbound faith, because we are still slaves to the sin that she is not.  At the same time, she is the example of what all of humanity is capable of if we were able to fully live out the image and likeness of God we were created in.  Her greatness is not exemplified by any momentous deed she does, any great healing she effects, any great teaching that she utters, it is instead her humility and faith that exemplify her as the Great Mother of God.  This her example to us; that we are most fully human, we are at our best when we empty ourselves completely and submit to the will of God in our lives.  It is only in that humility, and with that faith, that God’s grace can fill us and we can, in our own freedom from sin, live out the commandment of God, to Love as he Loves, and fulfill that twofold greatest commandment…Love of God and love of those around us.  We believe that Mary’s Assumption into heaven is the foretaste of what all those who have faith have to look forward too at the resurrection.  We believe that in her place there with her Son, she is also now the one who intercedes for us.  Her great prayer, the Magnificat begins with the words “My Soul magnifies the Lord,” and that is her greatest lesson to us.  All that Mary is, all that she does is not about her, but instead points to her Son and to her God.   The purpose of celebrating this feast, goal of any devotion to Mary is that our prayers through her will ultimately lead us to her Son…. And if you asked her, She would have it no other way.

Forth Sunday of Advent – Dec. 18. 2011Fr. Kevin Keelen

Dramtic Reality

In the last few years a most disturbing phenomenon has manifested itself in the arena of public entertainment, that being what we all have come to know as Reality Shows.  Many of these shows are about people moving in with each other and the drama plays itself out as people struggle to live together and see how the dynamic and the chemistry works between them.  Maybe some find it entertaining, but I really don’t watch them; most of the time I think it is somewhat false, made-up and disillusioning at best.  But in real reality- when people move in together they really do get to know one another, bumps and all.  It’s not always easy, but it sure does change the dynamic. 

This is exactly what God did with us at Christmas– He moved into our reality, our world, our time and history.  He came in camouflage, he came unexpectedly, and he did it in exactly the way all of us do, as in infant in a family.  This is the drama being played out in our Gospel today- as it is just beginning to unfold- we even are introduced to the main characters, first hearing their names:  “In the 6th month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, and the virgin’s name was Mary.”  Like most great dramas it begins with a shock, a surprise- “she was greatly troubled” at the news…  “How can this be?”  In the end, Mary submits to God’s will, opens her heart to God’s love, and her very womb is filled with Divine Grace.  We’ve heard this story so many times, we may have grown so accustomed, so familiar, that like watching any movie or show over and over it may lose its original impact upon us.  But think about it for a moment, as if you were hearing it for the first time.  God so loved the world…  God became one of us, God moved in with us!  How wonderful, how awesome, how profound!

This is what this last Sunday of Advent is all about- preparing us for the coming celebration of the incarnation, to re-focus ourselves in a spiritual direction, to ponder what Mary experienced,- the gift that was given to the world, to all of us on that first Christmas.

“God so loved the world that He sent His only Son…”  (Jn. 3:15) This is such a beautiful realization – in fact this realization has brought tears to my eyes at different times in my life.  A parishioner asked me last year what this meant – “Aren’t we all God’s children?”  “How is Jesus God’s only son?”  I explained that yes we are all indeed God’s beloved children, but Jesus was the only human that was fully God – God Himself with us.  This is why we use this reference for Him.

Do you remember the old song by Joan Osborne, “What if God Was One of Us?”  Well, He was.  God moved into our reality, - our world on Christmas.

And so as Christmas draws ever so close, we are reminded of his presence once again through a child in His mother’s arms.  It gives us the opportunity to reflect on our own reality and our own relationship with Christ.  We know the rest of the story for sure.  Like so many reality shows, the son of God is voted out, ultimately he is rejected and put to death.  We vote Jesus out of our own lives sometimes when we allow ourselves to get distracted by so many other things going on.  How is Christ present and alive in our marriages, our families, our personal prayer and spirituality?  Is waiting until Christmas to show love or give of ourselves really enough? 

God so loved the world that He sent His only Son.  God seeks deep, intimate communion with us.  God wants us to share in the fullness of unity with Him in Christ.  Do we seek communion, unity and real communication with those with whom we live, in our reality?  Or do we avoid unpleasant topics and let resentment and frustration fester in the silence?  Do we honor our faith and Christ by seeking to reconcile differences and misunderstandings?  Do we keep his commandments, especially to love God and our neighbor?  How do we show and express that love?  Is it only once or twice a year when it is convenient?  God came into the world to give us the fullness of joy in unity with Him – but on our part we must make the effort to keep that unity alive in our reality or we will not experience true joy. 

We all want true and lasting joy don't we?  -Not a sense of joy that is cheap or temporary... If we can make Christ a part of our everyday reality, making Jesus real in our lives and families, we will be blessed with tidings of true comfort and joy.  This is a real deal, made long ago on a cold winter’s night, ratified in flesh and blood.  A deal that has no expiration date, one that lasts forever. 

My friends, Christmas is a reality every day because Christ is with us every day.  Invite Him into your reality- your world, your family. Don’t vote Him off the show. As we approach the altar to receive him in the Eucharist, may our hearts be filled with true comfort and joy. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son.  O Come Let Us Adore Him. 

CHRISTMAS 2011- Fr. Kevin Keelen

The Ultimate Connection

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...

How to live in a world that's politically correct?

His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",

"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,

Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;

The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion

That making a choice could cause so much commotion.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might

Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,

Each group of people, every religion;

Every ethnicity, every hue,

Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

I’ve decided to try to be politically correct this year, you know with the ‘happy holiday’ thing.  I guess we have to compromise a little.  So I decided to combine Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday; I’m now saying “Happy Christmas!”

Christmas- yes, no ordinary holiday, a holy day for sure, - something which is so simple and yet so very profound.  In contemplating what I wanted to share this year I reached back into my oldest childhood memories, not an easy feat as my memory is quickly fading these days.  What I remember most from childhood is my father taking all of us 5 kids to a manger in Keyport that had live animals.  It was one of my favorite things about Christmas, when I saw that particular manger, I really knew it was Christmas; it brought me joy and excitement.  I was surprised that it was not the memory of any particular toy or gift, but that manger. 

Perhaps even as a child I was impacted that this was an odd place for a baby to be born, especially the Messiah.  This was the place that God chose to be born, above and beyond all the other possible places?  - In a humble, simple stable full of animals, and the stuff that comes out of animals!  The live animals were a fragrant reminder of the realness of that first Christmas, and it was not so cushy nor story-book clean as one might think.  Jesus could have been born in a palace, but why here?

We’ve sort of anesthetized Christmas with plastic or porcelain sculptures, tinsel and bright lights…  We may be so removed that we forget those humble, vulnerable, even dangerous beginnings for the birth of our Savior.  In one of Fr. John Shea’s books he proclaims, “Behold our vulnerable God.”  He not only points to the manner in which Christ was born, but also the manner in which he died.  The wood of the manger and the wood of the cross.  These humble origins for the birth and death of Christ have great significance that often get glossed over by tinsel and gold.  When our God decided to become one of us, he didn’t cheat, he experienced it all, and then some.  There is nothing so vulnerable as a baby- needing to be fed and held in love and warmth.  And thus, like all of us, our God was vulnerable from the beginning until the end of life.

As we peer lovingly at the manger scene we find that some things have changed very little over time, even centuries.  Despite our high-tech times and today’s dizzying electronic communication devices, parents and kids still gravitate to the tranquil display of baby Jesus and sheep, kneeling figures, all served on a very low-tech bed of straw, just as my family did many years ago.  True, some things about Christmas do change- once grandmom is gone the recipes may differ or the number of relatives around our tables, - still, the cumulative Christmases of my life build on the remembrances of the past, and I feel connected and comforted.  Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?  God wanted to so connect with us and comfort us that he became one with us.

And that connection is what connects us to one another, which brings us around our own tables at home with faithful friends who are dear to us, gathering near to us once more-  and brings us together here at God’s table on this wonderful holy day- no ordinary holiday, to connect over and over again through the miracle of the Eucharist, which is again something so simple and yet so profound- bread and wine, the simplest of food, transformed into the savior of the world.  This is how He chooses to continue to come to us and be among us, with us, within us.  And yet like plastic and porcelain mangers, we can miss the real meaning behind our walking toward the altar to receive what God has given to us in this Most Blessed Sacrament, in each and every Mass, every Sunday, every day, just as we might miss out on what God did for us on that Holy Night, that Silent Night, that night Divine.

         The simplicity of our Lord’s humble origins can have tremendous significance for us in every stage of our lives and in our current times.  As more and more people and families find themselves struggling in so many ways, losing their relatives, their jobs, their homes, and their American dreams, the first words of the Christmas story are full of comfort and hope.  They were spoken to the outcasts who lived way below the middle class of our time.  The shepherds are told, “Be not afraid.”  I read somewhere that the words “fear not” appear in the Bible 366 times, once for each day of the year including leap year.  If that’s true, then those of us who believe in a world beyond this one might occasionally take that message to heart, especially when things in this world may be looking pretty glum.  God wants us to know that we are loved, that we are cared for, that we are not alone in the universe or in this life or even in death.  God went through great means to deliver that message, being born in a stable as a homeless child and dying on the cross as a convicted criminal,- yes, it was for that message of absolute, unconditional, all-encompassing love that Jesus was born and for which he died, and why he gave us the Eucharist to stay constantly connected to us in a way like no other way, in a fashion as miraculous as that first Christmas, here for us constantly, right before our eyes.

         Yes, when you think about it, Christmas is very simple and quite profound.  In it we are given a gift like which the world has never known; the gift of God himself with us, for us, as one of us.  The gift of divine love which brings us comfort and joy like nothing this world can give, a free gift that perhaps we do not deserve, but given nonetheless, and one which we are required and commanded to share and give away as much as humanly possible.  

One of my closest friends, an Augustinian Brother sent a beautifully written card to me in which he said that with all the difficulties and challenges life throws at us, with regard to the beauty and comfort and joy of Christmas, ‘we deserve this.’  We do need comfort and joy, all of us, and we would miss the beauty of it all, the entire gift, if we don’t step back and allow it to touch our souls with Christmas peace- peace, comfort and joy- aren’t they things the world and you and I need more than ever?   In his book, “God Wants You Happy,” Fr Morris says, “God is on our side, and his invitations, his commands, and even the bumps and bruises he permits along the way must be signposts pointing toward personal fulfillment- life to the full- waiting to be claimed by every one of God’s children.” 

         We have all received and receive once again the ultimate Christmas gift, and now we must give it away in all that we do and are and will be.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

The Feast of Epiphany 2012 Fr. Kevin Keelen

Imagine That!

One of the many things that mark this beautiful feast is the fact that Jesus came for all people of all races and cultures.  The Magi were outsiders of Israel, from the "East," we hear.  I’ve grown to have a much deeper appreciation for the spirituality of Latin American cultures in the past few years as I’ve learned more about their customs.  There is a lot more connection to their Catholicity in their everyday lives, for instance: Christmas is much more about the nativity and the birth of Jesus then gifts or Santa, they wait until this feast, Epiphany to exchange gifts, -the day gifts were brought to the baby Jesus by the three kings.  For nine days before Christmas they have prayer in their homes called 'posadas.'  They also have a tradition where they bake a special pastry with a small statue of the baby Jesus in it and whoever gets that piece must keep it a secret until the feast of the Presentation in February when they host a very special dinner for their family.  Their whole lives are very much infused around the liturgical calendar and the spirituality of these beautiful events and celebrations.  I think we’ve gotten away from a lot of that in our own culture. 

Our faith is full of images- some visible and some invisible, that truly show us what we are all ultimately looking for.  One of the invisible images for instance is the indelible mark we all receive at baptism.  No one can really tell if we are baptized, there is not a big cross on our foreheads.  But people should be able to tell we are baptized by the way we live and love. 

The magi followed the visible signs that brought them to something so very spiritual, it was life-changing- in fact, world-changing.  Some visible images of this season and this day are among the most comforting and beautiful anyone could ever behold, they have been images that have given meaning and hope to Christians for two thousand years- and yet we often pass them by without really reflecting on the spiritual meaning. 

-A tree with lights on it is not just a tree anymore, but has been transformed into a symbol of hope and joy.

-A house with lights on it is not just a building, but a home welcoming the birth of Christ into a family as yet another year in their life comes to pass.

-A wreath made out of holly or evergreen is not just a bush, but a symbol of everlasting life; how God, in the incarnation, has infused all of life with the awesome gift of his presence and salvation.

- Christmas cards often have images of the Holy Family or the Blessed Mother holding her child, the baby Jesus, in her lap.  This image can be seen in countless works of art stemming back to the first century.  Almost every Christian artist in the world has painted it in some fashion.

But as we all know, this child was something to truly behold- here was the way our infinite and eternal God chose to communicate with all of his beloved children.  This is how God entered the world.  This is the way God chose to make Himself known and manifest to us.  Imagine that! 

For thousands of years human beings asked God to make himself known, which is what Epiphany means; ountless people throughout history prayed to God to say something, to show Himself in some way.  The human race wanted a glimpse of God coming out of the clouds, with trumpet blast and flashes of lightning.  But he surprised us all. 

He entered in just the same way we all do.  He was born into human time and history, as we all are.  He kind of snuck in on us when we least expected.  Thus without trumpets or lightning, it still required faith to believe what was taking place.  God wanted those who believed in Him to make a choice.  And He did not want to make it so explicit that our decision making and our faith would not be involved.  And so, what happened when God entered the world? 

-Nomadic, poor shepherds in their fields believed. 

-Pagan magi, wisemen, perhaps foreign kings believed

-Unimpressive fishermen in their boats believed. 

-Prostitutes on the streets believed. 

-Even some former rip-off artists called tax collectors believed.  And here we are tonight/day because we believe.

How blessed we are that we have come to believe in what God has done for us in Emmanuel, though Christ our Savior.

But of course all of this calls us to respond in some way.  The response requires faith, it also demands love.  At Christmas, and always, Christians are called to make a response regarding the invisible mark given to us at baptism- to somehow show the world that we do in fact believe, that we are a follower of Jesus, that we are Christian. 

But this is not something just for Christmas- we need to take every opportunity we get.  For we have been baptized, which means we are his followers.  We are a people of Christmas because we are a people of Christ, -Christian disciples. 

I wish we had more customs and traditions that connected us spiritually to our faith above and beyond just going to Church.  I hope families can begin to start and encourage such traditions to help us all connect more on a daily basis to what we believe.

Epiphany means manifestation- God has revealed himself to us- made himself known- may we live each day making God and our faith known to others in all that we say and do. 

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time- Jan. 15, 2012Fr. Kevin Keelen

Our Sailing Orders

C.S. Lewis said:  “Humanity is like a fleet of ships, and morality is like their sailing orders. It tells them 3 things:  1. How the ships should cooperate with each other and not impede each other, 2. How each ship should stay shipshape and afloat, 3.  And most important of all, the fleet’s mission, why they are at sea in the first place.” 

I think it’s important to offer more catechesis about our faith in our homilies, as St. Augustine said, our faith is always seeking deeper understanding.  Last week I gave 3 lectures on morality and as I read our 2nd reading for today I couldn’t help but seize the opportunity to speak about Catholic Morality.  St. Paul addressed this letter to the people of Corinth, the virtual Vegas of the time.  Apparently what happened in Corinth didn’t stay in Corinth though, as Paul exposed it to the world. 

Everything the Church teaches concerning morality is about relationship:- our relationship with God, with one another and even with our self.  In the midst of these ongoing, constant relationships that we are in is the fact that we are always encompassed by God’s amazing grace.  St Paul said, “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”  We need to remember this in a world and society that often seems consumed by immorality that no matter how far down the dark path we may find ourselves or the world going, there is always incredible HOPE, there is always GRACE. 

Morality isn’t just doing the right thing because it’s right, it’s living out of love- love of God, love of others and love of our self.  And, it’s about life: faith & baptism give us new life in Christ. That life involves far more than simply following a set of rules. The Catechism starts its section on morality with St. Leo the Great's beautiful words: “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.”

Our Lord Jesus clearly taught us the first principles of morality when he said that the greatest commandment of all was to love God and love our neighbor as our self.  Thus the core of moral teaching and moral living is LOVE.  St. Augustine said that morality is the right ordering of love and immorality is disordered love.

God created us in total freedom; we are free to make choices and thus we have an awesome responsibility to take our freedom seriously.  In giving our lives to God through good deeds and moral behavior, we don’t let go of our freedom, we lose nothing, but embrace a true freedom to live entirely in God’s love and care- a life of trusting in God above all things is a life of true freedom, a life worth living, a life fulfilled.  Yes, God allows us to make free choices- and every choice has a consequence.  Hopefully every choice we make is done with RESPECT- Respect for our self, for others and for God.

God loves us so much there is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us, but we can turn away. We have the freedom to say ‘no’ to God.  Our choices and behaviors sum up who we are.  Quite often people find themselves free to neglect themselves and others, to be irresponsible, which almost always leads to darkness, pain, lost souls and lost lives.  When this happens, as Thomas Merton put it, we are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.  So we need to be responsible and authentic in our beliefs and in the choices we make and the faith we profess.  We also need to be consistent and committed. 

Obviously we are all here because we are Catholic, so it seems important for us to know the basics of our faith, to know and understand the Ten Commandments, the Precepts of the Church and basic doctrine.  This requires us to continue to educate ourselves, to continue to challenge ourselves to learn, to seriously seek ongoing, life-long catechesis, so that we are not like the woman with the bumper stickers on the outside but knowing little about what we say and profess to be. 

Another major characteristic of Catholic morality is our doctrine of Respecting LIFE- we call it a seamless garment ethic, from the womb to the tomb.  We believe in the dignity and sanctity of life from the moment of conception until natural death and at every stage in between; that every person that God loves into being has dignity, integrity and worth.  Of course in our time we see a serious lack of respect for life, for others, for almost anything.  Thus in our beautiful doctrine, we’re being called to respect our selves – our own bodies as temples of God dwelling within us- as beloved children of God,  and to respect every person and every life, from the womb to the tomb.  This is why 2 busloads of parishioners will be traveling to Washington DC on Jan. 23rd to march in solidarity for life- if you’re interested please see the bulletin. 

Even the little things we do or don’t do can have big effects on our self-esteem, on our very souls.  Respect is shown by our behavior toward ourselves and others- this is the way we show others what we really think about and believe in.  The claim, it is a private sin or “it’s my body and nobody else’s business” doesn’t apply really – everything affects us, our self-image- our relationships with everyone.  When I steal, gossip, hurt, bully, lie, etc. it not only hurts the other but myself.  It diminishes our respect and the respect we will receive.  We need to remember The Golden Rule – given to us by Jesus himself- treat others as you would have them treat you.  Using others to fulfill selfish wants is no different than the behavior of animals.  We are far more noble than that.  We have been created for love, love freely given and freely received, love which is based on a commitment for life.  In this light Blessed Pope John Paul speaks about chastity not as a matter of what we can’t do, but as a virtue that frees us to love another person as a person, not an object. 

In the midst of all this we need to remember that we do not judge people, but rather what we judge is behavior- love the person, hate the sin.  God alone knows the recesses of the heart, we cannot judge the person, we CAN, however make judgments about behavior.  There is such a thing as good and bad, right and wrong, vise and virtue. 

A great American whose holiday we celebrate tomorrow once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Being a part of a family, the human family and our Church means we have responsibility  – we can’t just walk away or give up on our self or others, that’s a cop out and not taking our rightful place at the table. 

Jesus died so that we would know how much God loves us- beyond and despite our sin and mistakes and brokenness, God loves us.  Our response to this awesome love should also be love and respect. 

The one thing Jesus made most clear is that no matter what we do, whatever mistakes we make, we can always be forgiven, but for this we need to be sorry- truly sorry about what we did and how it affected our self and others.

So, how should we teach this to our children, adolescents and Teens?  Our emphasis should be on our human dignity as well as the dignity of others.  We need to teach our children to respect their own bodies as well as those of others.  They are God’s most beautiful creations. 

Let’s reflect again on Paul’s message to the Corinthians, and us:

“Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, and that you are not your own?  For you have been purchased at a price, the Body of Christ on the cross.  Therefore, glorify God in your body.”

  This may not be the way of the world, but we do not belong to the world, we belong to Christ and thus we are made holy.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time- Jan. 29, 2012Fr. Michael Hall

Being Prophetic

What does it mean to be prophetic?  Prophets and prophecy are, I think, two very misunderstood words.  For many, the word prophet brings to mind, in the contemporary imagination: people like Nostradamus, or even worse those old commercials with Miss Cleo telling you to call Psychic Hotline 900 number to hear your fortune.  The word prophecy brings up images of crystal balls, palm readers, movies like 2012 and that soon to end, Mayan calendar that Fr. Kevin brought up last week.  But that is not what it means to be a prophet, or to be prophetic. The first reading from Deuteronomy speaks openly about a rising prophet in the mold of Moses speaking the words of God to God’s people.  And after Deuteronomy, the Old Testament is full of prophets speaking to God’s people.  Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Amos…etc.  These were not fortune-tellers, or soothsayers…they didn’t have magic 8-balls.  Their role was simple, and mirrors exactly what is said in that first reading “I will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.”  A prophet is given the commands, the words, and the will of God and brings it to God’s people.

Since the time of Christ, we don’t have prophets that we can name…we don’t have Hosea’s and Nathan’s, and Jonah’s, but this does not mean that the prophetic role is still not needed and is still not being fulfilled.   In fact, I believe that the voice of the prophets is needed now as much or more than it ever has been.  But where does that voice reside now….if there is no one person that we can point to as THE prophet, then where does the responsibility of being a prophet fall.  If you think about it, it is pretty obvious.  Who listens to, interprets, and is responsible for preaching the will and the Word of God.  Anyone to whom the Spirit of God has been given.  In a sense, every single one of us, as you have heard at these masses whenever we baptize and anoint with Chrism,   what was said at your own baptisms...”as Christ was anointed priest, PROPHET, and King, so may you live always as members of his body.”  We are all called to be prophets, but in a particular way, the Church has this  prophetic responsibility: one that it continuously tries to live out through its safeguarding of doctrines, professing of truths, and speaking out against things that we know are contrary to God’s commandments.

If there is one thing that reading the Old Testament prophets does tell us, it is that being a prophet isn’t easy.  It means saying things that are unpopular, it means facing criticism, it means being called a hypocrite, disagreed with…sometimes even being faced with violent opposition.  It is difficult, because prophets are meant to expose the difficult truths, to question unjust actions, and to rock the comfortable out of complacency.  There is the old saying that still holds true….the role of  a prophet is to comfort the afflicted, but also to afflict the comfortable.  Prophets don’t accept what is easy or popular.  They cannot bow to convenience, or acquiesce just because the opposition has greater numbers.  Prophetic voices are also criticized for their own imperfections, their own humanity and sinfulness is used against them to prove that what they have to say can’t be what is good and right.  This was true of the prophets of the Old Testament and is true of the Church today.  It is true that our own sinfulness, and scandals, and sometimes the lack of personal or pastoral charity by  some of our members and even our leaders do significant damage to our message, but the message still must be spoken, the truth of what is right and good and what is God’s will, must be put forth. 

That is why last week, 250,000 people including over 90 from our own parish marched on Washington for the 39th consecutive year to protest attacks on human life, even though their efforts were dismissed by the mainstream media.  That is why today you will hear a letter from our bishop protesting unjust requirements in new health care coverage that if it stands will cause our Church and many of our people to choose between violating their consciences or breaking civil law.  That is why the Church, even though it is unpopular, still defends marriage and its unbreakable nature, protests Euthanasia, speaks out against unjust wars, pleads for justice for the oppressed, and charity for immigrants and the poor.  These are not political arguments, no matter how much others try to spin them as such.  These are about what is right, what is human, what it means to follow God’s commandments.   We live in a complicated world, where black and white has become increasingly gray.  There are many that wish we as a Church would quietly close our doors while we preach, and worship, and talk about God, because our voice is irrelevant to them.  But separation of Church and State does not mean we do not have a voice and to be honest that separation is something that is supposed to go both ways.  The voice of a prophet cannot be silent when the subject is human life, human dignity, and what is truly right and wrong.  If we are a people of faith, then we need to recognize that although our Church does not and should never dictate public policy.  Our faith is not a switch that is shut off when we walk out those doors, it is essential, it is fundamental to who we are and should be part of all that we say and do.  If it is not, then it is meaningless, if it is not, then there truly are no more prophets.  Our Church is holy, but it is full of imperfect people, people who make mistakes, who fall into scandal, who sin, but we are also the baptized, we have been given the gift of the Spirit…In Latin the Anima, the Spirit that animates us…if we and the entire Church are not moved to do and say what is right and true, even when it is difficult, unpopular, and seemingly hopeless, then all that we do and say here every week, is essentially meaningless.  And lets be honest with ourselves and look around at the world we live in, even if we don’t always feel up to the task, couldn’t this world use a few more prophets.