An end to my blog posts - at least for now

I started this blog some years ago when I was serving as a priest in the Mississippi and have continued during the 22 months I have been serving in Tupelo.  I have enjoyed this process of sharing my homilies and thoughts with parishioners and others through this blog.  However, as I have found out all too well in recent months, the internet can be a very mean place.  I have been bullied on social media and my blog has also been the subject of attacks.  My intent was always to be positive and to share my preaching and my ministry with others.   I became a missionary and a priest to serve the Lord and to serve my brothers and sisters. In have had my challenges and my ups and downs, that is for sure, and I thank the Lord for the grace he given me to persevere.   At this time, I am very disheartened by some of the things I have experienced.  Maybe after a break, I will feel the call to start the blog posts again, but at this time, I feel God calling me to put it on hold.  Blessings to all of you and thank you for reading my blog.

Father Lincoln

One Church - One Faith - In Unity and Solidarity -

These words are inscribed on the walls of the St John Lateran Basilica in Rome in Rome:  "No barrier can divide where life unites - one faith, one fount, one spirit - makes one people."  Important words for us to live out in our Catholic faith.  May we remember these words, especially in times of struggle and strife in our lives.  

Garden - St Mary Yazoo City, MIssissippi

This is the beautiful garden located in back of the church in Yazoo City, Mississippi.  I lived here for two and a half years.  I was back there for a funeral this week.  What a beautiful, tranquil place.  A hidden treasure many don't know about.  

Frosty morning on my drive on the Natchez Trace on my way to Yazoo City on Wednesday morning.

Our cat Mary enjoying the warm sun on a chilly morning in Tupelo.

Farewell to Sister Paulinus Oakes - the end of an era in the Diocese of Jackson

Sister Paulinus Oakes is a Sister of Mercy from Vicksburg, Mississippi.  She has worked in our diocese for many years and touched many, many lives.  She is beloved by many.  A Civil War Historian, grief counselor, behavioral health specialist, teacher, principal, theologian, spiritual director, football coach - all these are titles that belong to Sister Paulinus.  Most of all, the thing that I treasure, is that I am able to call her friend.  Farewell, Sister Paulinus.  you will be missed by many.  We said goodbye to you from St Richard Catholic Church in Jackson last Friday.  You will forever be in our hearts.  

11/23/2014 – Homilía - Solemnidad de Jesucristo, Rey del Universo – Ciclo A – Mateo 25, 31 - 46

       Estamos en el último Domingo del año litúrgico en nuestra Iglesia Católica.  Hoy – celebramos la solemnidad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Rey del Universo.  Es una celebración muy importante en nuestras vidas como católicos.  En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús nos explica la conexión que existe entre nuestra fe, nuestro mundo, nuestra conducta, y el juicio último que tendremos con Jesús, nuestro rey, llegará otra vez a nuestro mundo. Es seguro que todos de nosotros vamos a salir este mundo terrestre cuando entramos nuestra vida eterna con Cristo.  En siete días, yo celebré cuatro funerales como sacerdote – esta realidad yo entiendo muy bien.  

      Es verdad, para ser discípulo de Jesucristo, no es una teoría o algo que solo podemos aprender en la Biblia o en las doctrinas de la Iglesia.  Al contrario, seguir Jesucristo es algo muy práctico en nuestra vida de fe, en nuestra vida diaria.  Es algo que necesitamos practicar y vivir en cada momento de cada día. En el juicio último, Jesús nos habla sobre los grandes sacrificios y las grandes renuncias que necesitamos hacer en nuestra vida.  Jesús habla sobre las obras pequeñas que podemos hacer – las obras de caridad y de amabilidad que podemos hacer día tras día, en los momentos ordinarios que tenemos cada día. No importa para Jesús si tenemos mucho poder o mucho dinero o mucha influencia en el mundo.  En nuestra vida aquí en la tierra, necesitamos dar comida al hambriento, algo de beber al sediento, la ropa a la persona que no la tiene.  Necesitamos visitar al enfermo en el hospital y al prisionero en la cárcel. Estas acciones de caridad son muy importante según Jesús, pero, en muchos sentidos, no son muy importantes en los valores de nuestro mundo secular.

      Pero, estas buenas obras son mas de buenas obras – tienen su profundidad en la fundación de nuestra fe, en nuestra relación con Jesucristo, en los valores del Evangelio de nuestro Señor.  Hay seguidores de Cristo que están preocupados en lo que ellos llevarán en sus manos en su encuentro de nuestro Señor al juicio último.  Pero, no es importante lo que llevamos – es importante como nosotros vivimos como servidores en nuestro mundo, servidores a los pobres y los mas necesitados del mundo.  Es nuestra misión.  Es nuestra responsabilidad.  Necesitamos hacerlo si Jesucristo es nuestro rey, si Jesucristo es nuestro Buen Pastor. 

11/23/2014 – Christ the King – Matthew 25:31-46, Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17

        If one thinks about the great emperors or kings who have governed throughout history, perhaps Alexander the Great comes to mind, even though he lived 4 centuries before Christ lived.   Alexander had great ambitions – he wanted to rule the world – and he called himself the “King of Kings”.  In fact, his empire eventually included a great deal of the ancient world – from his native Greece to India, Egypt, and the Holy Land.  Alexander had a great intellect.  The renowned philosopher Aristotle was one of his tutors.  And his military strategy is still studied by military leaders today.  Alexander knew what he needed to do to rally his troops and to gain their loyalty.  There is a story told of Alexander’s travels in the deserts of Persia.  His entire army ran out of water. An intolerable thirst seized them as they traveled under the hot desert sun.  A couple of Alexander’s lieutenants captured some precious water from a caravan passing through the desert.  They brought the water to Alexander in one of the soldier’s helmet.  He asked if there was enough water to give to the troops, but he was told that there was only enough for him alone to have one drink.  Alexander lifted up the helmet as his men watched him intently, but instead of drinking the precious water, he poured the water on the ground.  J. His men let out a great shout, knowing that Alexander would not allow them to suffer anything he was unwilling to accept himself.  Alexander the Great proved many times why he was viewed as such a great and powerful king. 

       In our modern world, we think of a king as someone having great power and strength.  And all the kings and emperors who led the great empires and kingdoms here on earth pale in comparison to Christ, the true King of Kings. Yet, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King today at the end of our Church’s liturgical year, we don’t have readings about Christ’s power and might, but rather we hear about a leader who is a humble shepherd who tends his flock and gathers his scattered sheep.  A lot of the values of our world call out to us to acquire wealth, to seek power, to assert ourselves over others. Yet, there is another way.  We follow a leader who wore a crown of thorns, who sought to love rather than to dominate, who sought out solidarity with the poor rather than alliances with the rich and powerful, who led a group of 12 apostles rather than a powerful army.  And it is by these values that Jesus lived on earth that we will be judged at the end of days: by how we gave Jesus something to eat when he was hungry, how we clothed him in his time of need, how we visited him when he was ill or in prison, how we welcomed him when he was a stranger. 

      There is so much about our faith that perhaps we struggle to understand. Even with some of the dogmas and doctrines and teachings of the Church that we seem to understand on the surface, we sometimes have a hard time applying them to the real life situations that confront us in life. The great 11^th century philosopher, St Anselm of Canterbury, called it faith seeking understanding, meaning that out of the active love we have for God, we seek a deeper understanding of God and we seek to live out our faith in our lives.  Out of our faith, we seek a personal experience of God, a personal encounter in which we can truly say that Christ is our king and our shepherd.  In that way, Jesus to be more than a noun in our lives – Jesus needs to be a verb.  Yes, there is so much we search for in our faith, so much we don’t understand, but Jesus as our shepherd and our king is a verb of action that calls us to a way of life.  Jesus calls us to an active, life-giving relationship with him as our Lord and Savior.  In living out the spirit of Christ’s presence, the spirit of the Eucharist that feeds and nurtures our faith, we are to bring our faith into action, to reach out and serve our brothers and sisters, especially the least in our society.  We are called to be welcoming and hospitable, to be a good listener, to be a witness who is willing to share his own story and who encourages others to tell their stories as well.  We are called to share the concerns of our hearts with others, to follow the ways that the Spirit calls us, to make the connection between Jesus’ life and ministry with our own lives. 

      We may see a child on the streets who is hungry and uncared for, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my child.”  We may be confronted with the widow or the elder who is lonely and crying out in her time of loss, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my mom.”  B. We may see the homeless man who is all dirty and unshaven, standing in line at the soup kitchen to get something to eat, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my dad.”  It is easy in our busy daily lives to not see these things, to not care, to be oblivious to the hurt and pain and misery around us. In the Gospel, both the righteous and the unsaved ask the same question, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, sick, imprisoned, or naked?”  Jesus asks us to see the world through the lens of our faith. Jesus asks us to respond out of our faith.  We can do so through the grace of God.  We can do so only with Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and the King of Kings. 

11/20/2014 – Thursday of 33rd week in Ordinary Time – Luke 19:41-44 - Revelation 5:1-10

       Yesterday and today, we heard a description from the book of Revelation of the heavenly liturgy that gives praise and thanksgiving to God.  God is so revered and so great that no one on earth or under the earth or in heaven is worthy enough to break open the scroll that is in the hands of the one who is seated on the heavenly throne.  

        Contrast that to what we hear in today’s Gospel, to the way Jesus pauses at the entrance to Jerusalem, pausing and weeping at the way the people have rejected him.  They have heard his teachings.  They have seen his miracles.  Yet, somehow, it is not enough.  They still cannot see that he is the Messiah. Jesus weeps because he still loves his people.  There is a lot to weep about today. Yet, we can bring healing one step at a time into our wounded, broken world.  We can still weep.  Tears can bring about transformation and healing.  But we need to do more.  We need to be moved to action.  Here is a prayer written by St. Anselm, the Benedictine monk and philosopher who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 11^th century.  I think that this prayer is in the spirit of today’s Gospel in how it lifts up the brokenness of our world to the Lord:
        We bring before you, O Lord, the troubles and perils of peoples and nations.  We bring before you the sighing of prisoners, the sorrows of the bereaved, the necessities of strangers, the helplessness of the weak, the despondency of the weary, and the failing powers of the elderly. Lord, we pray that you draw near to each of them for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen.

11/19/2014 – Wednesday of 33rd week in Ordinary Time – Luke 19:11 -28

      Last Sunday, we heard the parable of the talents from the Gospel of Matthew.  Today we hear a similar message in a parable from the Gospel of Luke.  Each of the 10 servants receives a coin – the equivalent of about 3 months of wages according to Scripture Scholars.  Those who invest their coin and use what the king gives to them are rewarded, but the servant who keeps the coin hidden is punished.  The end of the parable says that Jesus continued on his journey to Jerusalem.   Jerusalem is where Jesus met his death on the cross, but it is also the place of resurrection and salvation as well. 

       Our parable is about a king – and this Sunday we will celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King at the end of our Liturgical Year.  And we get ready for the start of Advent as we prepare for the coming Christmas season.  These past seven days, I have presided over four different funerals as a priest.  Some of those parishioners who passed away I knew very well, while two of them I did not know very well at all.   But we are all children of God and part of the community of faith.   We live out of faith in different ways.  We strive toward perfection, but due to our human failings, we never reach that perfection, so we ask pardon and forgiveness of God and of our brothers and sisters.  Sometimes life can be very sad.  When we lose a loved one, it is a sad occasion indeed.  But we do our best.  And we continue on our journey.  How are we using the gifts God gives use – today and everyday.  Because we just don’t know when our journey on earth will come to an end. 

11/21/2014 – Friday of 33rd week in ordinary time – Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary– Revelation 10:8-11

      Several times in Sacred Scripture, prophets are told to eat pages of God’s Holy Word.  This happens to the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah in the Old Testament.  But, today, we hear it happen to John in the book of Revelation.  Asking these men to actually eat the pages of God’s word is symbolic of how the word is supposed to become a part of their entire being.  God wants us to digest his Word, for it to become a part of us, and for us to assimilate his Word into our lives entirely.  By eating God’s Word, John acquired a greater understand of it.

      And that is the thing about the Word of God.   If we believe in the truth contained in it, it is more than mere information.   Instead, it is a transformative experience in our lives.  Right now, we are being pressured by our society to accept its version of what is truth, often based upon what is politically correct.  Sometimes God’s Word can be difficult and challenging.  It can make us uncomfortable.  God’s Word sometimes requires us to make sacrifices.   But, if we truly apply God’s Word into our lives, it will transform us and change us.  Then, there will be no turning back.

        Today, we celebrate the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple in our Church’s liturgical calendar.  This event does not have a direct reference in the Gospels, but it can be traced to other first century writings & to tradition in the early Church.  Tradition teaches us that Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was a young girl.  She must have spent a great deal of time in the Temple preparing for her eventual role as the mother of our Lord and the mother of Church.  We can use our imagination and our understanding of Mary from Scripture and from tradition to reflect upon what her childhood and her journey of faith might have been like before the annunciation with the Angel Gabriel.  Although Mary probably spent much time in the Temple and in the study of God’s Word and tradition, she also probably spent a lot of time with St. Anne and St. Joachim, her mother & father, growing up in a loving family who exposed her to the reality of life around her, including the sufferings of the poor.  Like Mary and the prophets, may we allow God’s Word and the calling he gives us to transform our lives and make us truly his disciples. 

11/16/2014 – Sunday of 33rd week in Ordinary Time – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, Matthew 25:14-30

      For you know that the Day of the Lord will certainly come like a thief in the night.  People will say “peace and security,” but suddenly, disaster will come.  And the people will not escape. Paul wrote these words to the Christian community he founded at the bustling Greek seaport of Thessalonica.  The members of that community had converted to the Way of Jesus from pagan religions.  They put aside all the other messages that were calling out to them in the world, choosing to follow the Way of faith.  Paul had to leave that community abruptly, but he remained concerned for their welfare.  He wrote them a letter of encouragement and advice in the midst of the trials and persecutions that they were experiencing.  Paul told them that the Second Coming of the Lord would come at an unexpected and unannounced time, so they needed to be ready.

       Even though Paul wrote those words in the middle of the first century, they still speak to us in our present day.  Today – November 16, 2014 – is the 25th anniversary of the martyrs of El Salvador, of 8 Catholics who were killed for their faith in that small country in Central America.  Since the early days of the Church, martyrs have had a special place in the community of saints. As we honor and remember these martyrs from El Salvador, we might wonder: How do their lives and their stories affect us in our lives here in Mississippi? These killings took place in November 1989 at the height of the Salvadoran civil war.  The military forces in that country were ordered to kill Jesuit Father Ignacio Ellacuría, the rector of the University of Central America, and to leave no witnesses.   So they killed him with the 5 other priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter who were all present at the residence on that day.

       Why would military forces want to kill a Catholic priest?  It was out of fear of the message that he proclaimed.   That message reached out to the pain of the people that he saw around him in a country torn apart by Civil War.  That message cut to the heart of the poverty and the oppression that afflicted so much of the population in El Salvador.  Why was there so much injustice?  Why is the oppression in our society overlooked?  These Jesuit priests asked those questions and those in power felt threatened, taking action to destroy these priests and the message they brought to the world, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why it is important for us to remember these 6 Jesuits priests and their companions who were murdered.

          It is without a doubt an inspiring story, but what is the connection to us?  We think of all the justice issues we are grappling with as a society.  Last summer, we heard about the many accompanied minors were coming to our country to start a new life from places like El Salvador.  What the home countries doing to remedy the harsh situation so many of its citizens facing, forcing them to flee for their lives?  And how is the Gospel challenging us here in the United States to respond?  Immigration reform is a topic that divides our country and that sparks a lot of arguments and debates.  How are our Gospel values asking us to respond to the immigrants who are looking for answers, for hope,  and for a safe place to live?  Do we respond in fear and anger?  Or do we respond as children of the light, as Paul calls the Thessalonians.   We all know that we have a lot of complicated issues that face our country and our world, and burying our heads in the sand and not taking action is not what our faith calls us to do. 

      The Jesuits have said that the lives and the loss of these martyrs in El Salvador have influenced the Jesuit community in the United States and throughout the world, calling them to think about what it means to be a parish community or a Catholic school.  It harkens us to think about what it means to address issues of social justice in our Church.  

        We shouldn’t be afraid to bring up the Gospel of Justice in our world.  In fact, with the topic of so-called “mercy killing” or euthanasia making news, Pope Francis this weekend called it is a false sense of compassion to say that euthanasia brings dignity when it is in fact an act against God and against creation.   Some may criticize our Pope, our Bishops, and our Priests when we bring up topics that may be controversial in society.   However,  what so many admire about Pope Francis is that he is real.  He is not afraid to have a conversation, to listen, to challenge, to look at the reality around us right in the face.  And he wants us to infuse the world with the values of our faith in the same way.

       I recently read a staggering statistic: 50 years ago, about 75% Catholics went to mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation.  Today, of those who identify themselves as Catholic, only about 25% regularly attend Sunday mass.  And if we feel like we aren’t getting out of mass what we need to, what are we doing to change that?  Going to mass is not like going to a movie or to a football game.  It is not entertainment.  It is a holy encounter with God. 

       God gives us gifts and talents – we are not to conserve them or hide them like the one servant in the Gospel today.  Let us not be afraid to dream, to take risks, to challenge others in the faith.   As Paul says, let us be children of the light.

11/18/2014 - Tuesday of 33rd week in ordinary time- Luke 19:1-10

      How often do we make an extraordinary effort to search for God in our lives and to find the ways he is present to us?  Today, we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus.  We know a lot about him from the Gospel – he is short in stature, a wealthy man, and one of the despised chief tax collectors. Zacchaeus literally climbs a tree and goes out on a limb in order to find God in his life.  In meeting Jesus, in having Jesus call after him, Zacchaeus responds with his conversion and repentance.  He offers to give half of his possessions to the poor, showing he is willing to make amends to those whom he extorted money from during his work as a chief tax collector. 

      God calls us in the reality and the circumstances of our lives, just as he called out to Zacchaeus while he was up in that tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus in the midst of the dense crowd. In our Church, we commemorate the martyrs who have given their lives for the faith.   A couple of weeks ago, we commemorated those who were martyred for the faith in the Spanish Civil War.  Just this past Sunday, November 16^th, was the anniversary of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter, who were all martyred in the country of El Salvador in Central America in 1989 at their residence at the university.  I mentioned them in the homily we had this past weekend.   They gave up their lives for the faith in the midst of a revolution and great political turmoil in this poor Latin American Country.  They were there as witnesses of our faith in the harsh reality that existed in that country.   In March of 1980, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, was also gunned down by the military while he was celebrating mass, and his cause is moving forward toward beatification. In our own way, in the reality of our own lives, we are also called to go out on a limb in order to find Jesus in our own lives and to be witnesses for the faith.  “The struggle against injustice and the pursuit of truth cannot be separated nor can one work for one independent of the other.”  These are words spoken by Father Ignatio Ellacuria, the superior of that Jesuit community that was martyred.   His profound words challenge us to live out the justice that God’s truth calls us to, a justice that cannot be separated from our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.   So, as we reflect upon today’s Gospel story of Zacchaeus, might ask ourselves this question: How is God challenging us today to go out on a limb and to live out and proclaim his justice in our lives?

11/14/2014 – Friday of 32nd week in Ordinary Time – Luke 17:26-37

       In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus recounts the disobedience that has a part of the history of the people of Israel.  He recalls not only the story of Noah and the ark, but also the dramatic story from Genesis about the Lord’s destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which took place because the people willfully sinned against God and his law, as they were unwilling to repent and to change their hearts.  Lot and his family were spared destruction because their faith was a glimmer of hope in the midst of so much darkness. In all of the chaos of fleeing to the safety that God promised to them, Lot’s wife still disobeys the Lord and his orders, suffering the consequences by being turned into a pillar of salt.  Jesus reminds us of these story to illustrate the importance of being obedient to God, of following his will in our lives, of the consequences we will endure for our sinful actions.  In the United States, rugged individualism and self-expression is held in so high esteem.  Some think that our freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever is on our minds and to lash out at others in anger and hatred.  Sometimes we write a text or an email in that anger, not realizing the damage we can do, not realizing that our words are not proclaiming God’s kingdom or building it up here on earth.  So often we want to follow our own will or the ways of the world that call out to us so strongly.  However, Jesus tells us that those who are disobedient will pay the price.  J. May we heed this warning.

11/09/2014 - La Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán - Ezequiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12; Juan 2: 13-22

       Las celebraciones en el calendario litúrgico nos dicen mucho acerca de nuestra Iglesia y de nuestra historia.  Durante la liturgia del domingo pasado, celebramos el Día de los Fieles Difuntos con nuestras oraciones por las almas en la vida eterna, especialmente en el proceso de purificación en el purgatorio. Hoy día, el 9 de noviembre, celebramos la Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan Letrán en Roma, una de las cuatro grandes basílicas ubicadas en la ciudad santa de Roma.  La Basílica de San Juan de Letrán es la catedral de Roma y la catedral del Papa,  y la iglesia de bautismo de la antigua Roma.  También se conoce como la Iglesia del Santísimo Salvador y la Iglesia de San Juan Bautista y San Juan Evangelista.  Fue construido como palacio de la familia Laterani, pasó a manos del emperador Constantino por la parte de su esposa, y luego se consagró como catedral por el Papa Silvestre en 324. Esta fiesta se convirtió en una celebración universal en la Iglesia en honor de la basílica llamada "la madre y maestra de todas las iglesias de Roma y del mundo", como un signo de amor y unión con la Santa sede de Pedro, el Obispo de Roma.

         En cada una de las lecturas de hoy, se menciona algún aspecto de nuestro lugar de culto.  El profeta Ezequiel tiene una visión de un nuevo templo con agua que da la vida que fluye de ella en nuestra primera lectura. Israel tenía muchos conflictos en su historia. Se convirtió en un reino dividido y abandonó su relación con Dios muchas veces.  Mientras que él estaba en el exilio, Ezequiel respondió a la llamada del Señor a ser su santo profeta. En sus visiones y en sus profecías, Ezequiel se convirtió en un instrumento del Señor, llamando a su pueblo de regresar a su fe. Ezequiel hizo muchos sacrificios para seguir esta llamada.  En un momento dado, el Señor le pidió que se acostó sobre su lado un día por cada año en que los israelitas fueron desobedientes a Dios.  Pero, en la lectura de hoy, Ezequiel hablaba de la gloria del templo reconstruido cuando los Judios estará de regreso en Jerusalén después de regresar de su exilio.

      Al escuchar esta lectura de Ezequiel, también tenemos la llamada por nuestra Diócesis y por nuestra Conferencia Estadounidense de los Obispos Católicos para celebrar la Semana de Concientización de Vocaciones también. Como Dios llamó a Ezequiel para traer a la gente de vuelta a su fe, nuestro proceso de la nueva evangelización en la Iglesia Católica trata de llevar nuestra fe a la gente y los lugares afuera de la Iglesia.  Los jóvenes quienes pueden mirar los señales de nuestro mundo moderno y que tienen una vocación en la Iglesia necesitan servir en este trabajo. Recientemente he leído, que en comparación del año 1960, nuestra Iglesia en los Estados Unidos tiene 20.000 menos sacerdotes y 129.000 menos religiosas, pero, también, tenemos mas católicos y mas necesidades en nuestra Iglesia hoy. Muchas personas están llamadas a la vocación de la vida matrimonial y están llamados a diversas vocaciones profesionales en el mundo.  Sin embargo, necesitamos sacerdotes, diáconos, miembros consagrados de las congregaciones religiosas, catequistas y ministros laicos para llevar a cabo la misión de Cristo en el mundo y en la Iglesia.  El Francisco ha explicó: "Detrás y delante de toda vocación al sacerdocio o a la vida consagrada es siempre la oración fuerte e intensa de alguien: una abuela, un abuelo, una madre, un padre, una comunidad ... Las vocaciones nacen en la oración y de la oración: y sólo a través de la oración pueden preservar y dar sus frutos ".

        Nuestra Iglesia es universal y local. Hoy, celebramos la Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán, pero la celebración de hoy también nos llama de nuevo a la importancia de nuestro propio lugar de culto, de la construcción y el fortalecimiento de nuestra comunidad parroquial aquí en Tupelo. La Semana de Concientización de Vocaciones llama la atención para la necesidad de vocaciones en nuestra Iglesia y la necesidad de cada persona a discernir dónde Dios lo llama en su vocación. Nos oramos en solidaridad con la Iglesia universal, que todos los jóvenes en la sociedad de hoy pueden escuchar la llamada de Dios para ellos en sus vidas y ser capaces de responder a ella con valentía y fe.

11/13/2014 – Thursday of 32nd week in Ordinary Time - Philemon 7-20

      During the past few weeks, our first readings have been from the letters of Paul rather than readings from the Old Testament.   Today our reading is from his letter to Philemon.  Many Christians probably could not even name this book as a part of the New Testament.  It is by far the shortest of Paul’s letters, not even being organized in chapters, and containing only 355 words in the original Greek.  That’s very short, isn’t it? What strikes me about this letter is that Paul wrote it while he was in prison himself, probably in Rome.  But Paul is not interested in his own safety and well-being, but rather in the welfare of the runaway slave Onesimus, who was returning to his owner, Philemon.  Paul’s journey is so interesting, as he started out being a prosecutor of Christian, wanting them to be arrested or to be killed.   And now he is willing to do anything to spread the Gospel to the world, even to go to prison for the sake of the Gospel.  When I was in Rome a few years ago at the Basilica of St Paul just outside the walls of the ancient city of Rome, I even got to see a piece of the chains that enslaved Paul when he was in prison. Paul wrote to so many different Christian communities as their spiritual father, one who spent so much time nurturing them in the faith.  He even calls Onesimus his spiritual son in the faith, his own very heart.

     For Paul, God was not some ambiguous concept or some far away being in the heavens.  Jesus was his Lord and his Savior.   Jesus led Paul to the faith and to salvation. Do we see ourselves nurturing others like Paul did, reaching out to others in the faith?