7/7/2013 – Sunday of 14th week of ordinary time – Luke 10:1-9

        In today’s Gospel from St Luke, we hear about Jesus sending out the disciples two by two as they bring his proclamation of God’s kingdom to the world.  Jesus is certainly a minimalist as to what he wants the disciples to bring on their missionary journey.  He tells them to bring no money bag, no sack, and no sandals – I guess he expects them to go in their bare feet! 

         I used to travel a lot as a missionary, as most of you know.  When I was working with the Comboni Missionaries in the rainforest jungles of northern Ecuador in South America, I used to travel to a village every Friday afternoon from our mission site.  I would spend the entire weekend working in one of these small villages.  The journey would be about 4 hours in a canoe in the hot equatorial sun.  I did not think I was taking very much with me by modern American standards for this weekend journey, but in light of Jesus’ commands in today’s Gospel, I was pretty high maintenance in what I brought with me.  Let’s see what I would have here:

1)   A large backpack to carry everything

2)   Bottles of water to drink

3)   A small bottle of iodine or bleach with which I would use for treating water

4)   A swimsuit, a towel, and soap for bathing in the river

5)   A Bible in Spanish that I would use in my Bible study classes. 

6)   A change of clothing.

7)   A sleeping bag, to keep the creatures away from me.

8)   A shortwave radio with which I could listen to the Voice of America or the BBC in English (you can see that this radio is all rusted out from the humid tropical weather).

9)   Normal hygiene items, like a tooth brush and tooth paste

      As I mentioned, I did not think I was taking a lot with me – I thought I was just taking the essentials that I would need for the weekend.  I don’t think Jesus’ idea was for the apostles to be martyrs or to starve to death on their journey or to practice bad hygiene.  Rather, I think Jesus’ instructions dealt with who and what we are to rely upon on our journey of faith.  If we have a lot of stuff with us, we can become slaves to our possessions and rely on them too much.  Jesus wants us completely dependent on God, which is why he instructed the disciples to be such minimalists.  If you notice, I did not take any food with me.  I could have brought cans of food with me each weekend to provide for all my meals.  However, relying on the people for food in the communities where I stayed and sharing a meal around the table with them – that could be very challenging at times, especially eating the jungle creatures that the people usually ate for lunch or supper.  However, it helped me grow closer to them, it pushed my boundaries and my comfort zone, and it made me feel like a true missionary, that’s for sure.

         We live in a modern world where our material possessions control us much more than we think. Going unplugged for a while can be very freeing.  I remember when I was preparing for my pilgrimage to Spain last spring.  My secretary asked me about getting in touch with me by phone, and I told her that I was not even bringing my cell phone with me.  She couldn’t believe that I was going to be that far away from all the forms of technology that I use each day.   I told her – no cell phone and no laptop, that I might have the chance to check my email once or twice a week.  To be honest, I did not miss it at all, and it really helped me focus on my faith during the pilgrimage with fewer distractions. 

Does our faith should mean so much to us that we are willing to make sacrifices and put up with inconveniences.  Maybe we can ask ourselves: What do we need to do to become more dependent upon God, to grow and develop during our journey of faith?

7/4/2013 – Thursday of the 13th week in Ordinary Time – Fourth of July – Psalm 115:1-6, 8-9

        I enjoy reading the psalms and listening to the poetic language contained in them, but it sometimes takes a while for their meaning to come alive.  Today we hear the psalmist declare – “I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.”  The psalmist wishes to walk as if in the presence of God in the midst of his journey here on earth.  There are many here on earth who only regard man’s presence, who only care about man’s law and man’s rule of conduct and give no thought to God whatsoever.  We see this so often in our secular world today.  We want to show tolerance and to do the right thing, but if we have so baseline or set of values on which we are basing our tolerance, then do we say that just about anything is permissible in our society?

         Today, as we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day, we celebrate the end of our Fortnight for Freedom.  As you recall, the USCCB called the Fortnight for Freedom in order to bring attention to our religious freedom and how it is being threatened both here in our own country and in other places throughout the world.  Last year, our Diocese of Jackson even took the unusual step of filing suit against the federal government along with other dioceses and Catholic organizations throughout the country in response to the HHS mandate that violates our Catholic values.  During this Fortnight for Freedom, our Church has tried to draw attention to the growing intrusions on religious liberty like the HHS mandate. That mandate takes effect this coming August 1st, making this year's Fortnight especially important.  As we celebrate our nation’s independence today, we pray for the protection of religious liberty and an increased respect for the role of faith in public life.  We pray that we recognize that we do walk in the presence of the Lord on our journey here on earth, that there is more to life than having a regard to human judgment and opinion.  May the values and wisdom conveyed by our Bishops during this Fortnight for Freedom continue to lead and guide our prayers and our actions. 

7/5/2013 – Friday of the 13th week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 9:9-13 –

        Tax collectors were despised in Ancient Israel.  Jewish tax collectors worked for the occupying Roman government by collecting taxes from the Jews for the Romans.  The tax collectors made a great deal of profit by collecting these taxes, often through dishonest practices.  Tax collectors were often the richest people in town.   Tax collectors were not allowed to pray in the synagogues and were considered unclean under Jewish law.  Jesus often selected the most unlikely individuals to be his disciples.  He could have chosen a student of the Hebrew Scriptures or someone who did a lot of good works and charity to be his follower.  However, instead, Jesus chose people like Matthew to be his follower.  We often can feel unworthy and ill equipped to be a follower of Jesus.  Yet, Jesus calls us in the midst of our reality and in the mist of or weaknesses and flaws in order to serve him and proclaim God’s kingdom.

         We see many sinners in the Gospels who repent and who change their hearts completely.  And in today’s Gospel, not only does Jesus call Matthew to be his disciple, but later Jesus shares a meal at Matthew’s home and eats with other sinners and tax collectors.  We assume that it was Matthew who invited him to come, as Matthew served as a witness of faith to others.  If this is how Matthew was able to follow his faith, to turn from a life of sin and to believe in the Gospel, what does that mean for us as believers as well?

7/3/2013 – St Thomas the Apostle – John 20:24-29

         “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hand and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  This statement of Thomas in the New Testament is so memorable.  In many ways, Thomas' proclamation is symbolic of how so many people in the modern world view faith today.  We need proof – we need to see – we need tangible evidence.  Many people in our present day see faith as an excuse to say that you believe in something and want it to be true.

         No one today can see and experience Christ in the way Thomas did in that locked room in Jerusalem.  Thomas saw the risen Christ eat and pray and explain the events of the past week to his group of disciples.  We cannot literally put our fingers in the wounds in his hands and in his side like Thomas did.  Christ seemed to know this when he said – “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”  We might not see him in a literal the way Thomas did, but all who believe see Christ somehow in their lives.  They see him for who he is.  We must see him somehow with our own eyes.  Like Thomas and the other disciples, we will only become one of Christ’s followers through our faith.  And through witnessing Christ’s presence in our lives, we in turn are called to be witnesses ourselves, just as Thomas did in his life when he became a missionary to Syria, Persia, and India.  Thomas, in a way, is a patron saint to all of his.  In the midst of our doubts and in our disbelief, we can believe, just like so many other followers of Christ have done before us. 

7/2/2013 – Tuesday of the 13th week in ordinary time – Matthew 8:23-27

       Sometimes there can be a lot of stormy weather in our lives.  We can be dissatisfied with our work or we can lose our job.  A marriage or a friendship or a close relationship can end through death or through an argument or through a divorce.  We can be overwhelmed with our lives or by what is going on in the world around us.  We can be the victim of an act of violence.  We can feel like we are in a boat that is being tossed about in the seas.  We can cry out to the Lord with all our might as the disciples did in our Gospel reading today.  Christ responds to us with a question: “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”  The storms can still go on in the world around us, but Christ will calm the storms that we are feeling on the inside.  Christ will be there to comfort us and to bring us strength.  We can lash out at life no matter what the circumstances are.  We can lose our temper and feel like we have no patience with anything in our lives.  Or we can let Christ calm the seas that are ranging inside of us.  The storms still may be raging on the outside, but no matter what, we can experience the peace of Christ on the inside. 

6/30/2013 - TIEMPO ORDINARIO - DOMINGO 13º - CICLO C – Galatas 5, 1,13-18

      Muchas personas en nuestro mundo hoy quieren vivir sin muchas leyes y reglas en su vida.  Para ellos, una vida sin reglas es una vida con libertad. Pero, San Pablo dice el contrario, que una vida con los mandamientos de Dios y como discípulo de Cristo es una vida liberada.  En verdad, para Pablo, Cristo es nuestro libertador, y para vivir en libertad, necesitamos vivir con el conocimiento de Cristo.  Pablo escribió a la comunidad cristiana en Galacia – sus miembros estaban paganos convertidos en el Camino de Cristo. Pero, algunos judíos vinieron a su comunidad con la idea que ellos estaban obligado a rendirse a la Ley de Moisés.  En su comunicación a los gálatas, Pablo defendió la libertad ante la ley.  Pero, en nuestro libertad, necesitamos vivir en la luz del Espíritu Santo y servir a nuestro prójimo – necesitamos vivir en la ley de Dios que es suprema antes de todas las otras leyes.  Pablo quería mostrar que la ley de Moisés en el Antiguo Testamento es provisional y necesario en esta época.  Pero, en la llegada de Cristo y nuestra salvación en El, tenemos la ley de Dios en El con mas claridad.  Pablo dice que Cristo nos ha liberado para que seamos libres.  Pero, en esta libertad, no tenemos la llamada de ponernos en la esclavitud de nuestro mundo - debemos seguir en el Camino de la fe según nuestra vocación.    

      En estos días, los obispos de los Estados Unidos han declarado una Quincena de la libertad – días para reconocer los derechos que tenemos en nuestro país y días de oración para orar en la luz de nuestra libertad religiosa.  Nuestros obispos llaman la libertad religiosa nuestro primera libertad, un don muy precioso para nosotros.  Esta libertad es en la primera enmienda de nuestra Constitución – la fundación de todas nuestras libertades.  Si no tenemos la libertad de formar nuestra conciencia y nuestra fe religiosa, no tendremos las otras libertades en nuestra vida.

     San Pablo nos explicó que la libertad no es algo que inventamos para nosotros mismos – no es algo que el gobierno nos da según su propia voluntad.  Nuestra libertad es de Dios – es su don para nosotros.  Como católicos y como americanos, debemos insistir en el reconocimiento de nuestra libertad – la libertad de vivir nuestra fe y la libertad de servir nuestros hermanos según la llamada que tenemos en nuestra fe.      

Oremos - Dios Todopoderoso, Padre de todas las naciones, por la libertad Tu nos liberaste en Cristo Jesús (Gal 5:1 ). Te alabamos y te bendecimos por el don de la libertad religiosa, el fundamento de los derechos humanos, la justicia y el bien común. Concede a nuestros lideres la sabiduría para proteger y promover las libertades;  por tu gracia, tenemos el coraje de defenderlas, para nosotros y para todos los que viven en esta tierra bendita. 

Te lo pedimos por intercesión de María Inmaculada, nuestra patrona, y en el nombre de su Hijo, nuestro Señor Jesucristo, en la unidad del Espíritu Santo, con el cual usted vive y reina, un solo Dios, por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.