9 April 2017 - Palm Sunday - Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Matthew 26:14—27:66

     Lent is a very profound, serious time in our lives of faith.  Lent is a time that calls out to us, a time that can really affect our lives.  We finish Advent and Christmas, then a month or so of ordinary time, before we start journeying with Jesus in the desert during Lent.  The Church calls us to some serious work during Lent: to repent from our sins and to convert our hearts, to pray and to fast; to perform works of charity.  Lent starts in the midst of February or at the beginning of March, months that are usually cold and dreary in the middle of winter.  At the beginning and ending of our masses here at St James during Lent, we don’t begin with a meaningful hymn or joyful praise song, but rather with silence - the silence of our Lenten journey with the Lord, the silence of the world as Jesus makes his way to his cross. 

      As a child, I always looked forward to Palm Sunday.  I knew that Palm Sunday was very special, with these long palm fronds that we could weave into crosses.  Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, signifies that we are moving away for the silence and the starkness of Lent onto something else. At the beginning of mass today we hear shouts of joy from the crowd: “”Hosanna…;  blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest!”  We can imagine why the crowds are filled with such joy and exuberance. They thought that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would bring their nation back to glory, the one who would bring them salvation.  They had heard his amazing sermons and teachings.  They had seen him feed a huge crowd with only a few stray loaves of bread and a few fish.  They had seen him heal so many of disease and illness and affliction.   They had seen him raise the dead and drive out demons.  They had seen his kindness to the poor and the forgotten, to the leper and the person who was considered unclean.  But, then later in this same mass, the shouts of Hosanna fade away and Jesus is condemned with other kinds of shouts: “Let him be crucified!  Let him be crucified!”

      It is important to note that our liturgical celebration today does not end with Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.  That is not the final word. Today’s liturgy, then, teaches us that Jesus does not save us through his triumphal entry into the city or by his miracles. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that Jesus emptied himself and humbled himself.  In his emptying and in his humility, Jesus demonstrates the boundless love that God has for us, a love that the Son accepted in his destiny to bring us salvation through his passion and death on the cross. Jesus did not seek power and glory as the Son of God.  He had solidarity with the sinner and the oppressed, with the marginalized and the forgotten.  He had solidarity with the sinner, yet he was without sin. Thursday, as a part of our Holy Week celebrations, we will see Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, a task that the lowest servant of the household was assigned.  The abyss of emptiness, the abyss of his humility, would be evident in his last moments on the cross: “From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:45-46). In quoting Psalm 22, Jesus affirms God's presence amid his people. Jesus prays this psalm in awareness of the Father's presence with him.  But, Jesus’ cry is not a cry for help, but rather a prayer for his people and for all peoples in the midst of his emptiness, humility, and struggle. Yes, this is Jesus, who walks with us in our struggles, we unites his sufferings to ours, who understands our pain, our brokenness, our feelings of abandonment and loneliness.  

      We commemorate Palm Sunday - “Passion Sunday” - today.  We are left with the image of Jesus who stretches out his arms of love on the hard wood of the cross so that all may be invited into his loving, saving embrace. Darkness enveloped the land on that afternoon that Jesus died on the cross, but even in the moments of greatest darkness, God is present with us. Jesus invites us to journey with him during these days of Holy Week that begins  today, Palm Sunday.  Let us accept that invitation.  

30 March 2017 - Thursday of the 4th week of Lent - Exodus 32:7-14

I wrote two homilies for Thursday, March 30, 2017, Thursday of the 4th week of Lent.  Here is the second homily:

     This is how the Lord sees the people of Ancient Israel: stiff-neck, depraved, idol-worshippers.  But after Moses pleads with God, he relents and does not send down his wrath upon them.  Moses asks God: How would it look to the Egyptians if you destroy them, those who you had chosen as your special people?  What message would that convey?  

      We may not rebel in the same way that the Israelites did when they turned their backs on God.  As we are past the middle of our Lenten journey, we think about the ways we are trying to turn back to God with our Lenten devotions, with abstaining from meat on Fridays as we remember the day that Jesus died, as we pray the stations of the cross, as we go to the sacrament of reconciliation, as we practice the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  

        I think what a lot of people like about Pope Francis is the common sense advice he gives. His advice is practical and direct.  His advice makes us think about our lives and the way we live out our faith.  I recently saw this quote from him: “What do I do with my life?  Do I create unity around me?  Or do I cause division by gossip, criticism, or envy?”  Do we unite with our words and our actions?  Do we sow seeds of peace?  Or do we sow hatred and jealousy and discord?  

        May the Lord not look at us and wonder about us, like he did did with the people of Israel as they rebelled against him on their journey.  Let him see us as faithful servants who are trying to travel down the road of faith, imperfect though we may be.  

31 March 2017 - Friday of the 4th week of Lent - Wisdom 2: 1A, 12-22, Psalm 34

I wrote two homilies for Friday, March 31 2017, Friday of the 4th week of Lent.  Here is the second homily: 

     “When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.”  We hear these words in Psalm 34 today.  

      No matter who we are, no matter what our career or social status or reality of life, our lives will have trials and tribulation, challenges and hurts.  Some of these may be trivial that we can shake off quickly.  Others can break our hearts.  Sometimes, our lives can seem full of ups and downs, of overwhelming circumstances that never seem to end.  Out of our faith we cry out to the Lord for help.  God hears our prayers.  Sometimes a kind word or an act of generosity helps us to cope.  Sometimes it does seems like our prayers are answered.  

     “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.” Those are the words of reassurance from the famous Christian author C S Lewis.  Our prayers will not solve all of our problems.  Our prayer life and our faith will not cancel out any calamities or infirmities that may befall us.  But God will help us endure.  

Mass commentary - Fifth Sunday of Lent - Cycle A - April 2 2017

Introduction to penitential rite: 

As we journey further in our Lenten journey, Christ calls out to us to leave our old ways behind and to more fully embrace the new life we have in him.  As we do so, let us call to mind our sins: 

1. Lord Jesus, you raised Lazarus from the dead: Lord, have mercy.

2. Christ Jesus, you are the Messiah, the Son of God: Christ, have mercy.

3. Lord Jesus, you are the life and the resurrection, you are the way that leads to everlasting life: Lord, have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, Forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. 

Introduction to the Nicene Creed:  Saint Paul assures us today that “if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in (us),” we too will have new life.  As we hear these sacred words of scripture, let us profess our faith.  

Prayers of the faithful: 

Priest:  Let us now cry out to the Lord out of the depths, trusting in the Lord and in his holy word as we present our prayers to God: 

1. For the holy Church, may always proclaim life to a world that is weighed down by death and despair, let us pray to the Lord.

2. That nations of the world and our world leaders may set aside weapons of destruction and embrace healing and reconciliation, let us pray to the Lord.

3. For those who face discrimination and oppression in their lives, that they may know encouragement and life, let us pray to the Lord.

4. For those preparing for the Easter sacraments, as they die to their old lives and are born anew in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

5. That our community of faith might bring our neighbors to new

life by our actions of justice and mercy.  

6. For all the prayers that we hold in the silence of our hearts; for

all our intentions spoken and unspoken, let us pray to the Lord.

7.  For the sick and shut ins of our community. 

8.  For the repose of the souls of the faithful departed.  

Priest: O God of life, with you is kindness and plentiful redemption. Graciously hear and answer these our prayers, which we make in the name of Jesus, our Lord for ever & ever.

7 April 2017 – Friday of the 5th week of Lent – Jeremiah 20:10-13, John 10:31-42

     In our readings, we see similarities in how the prophet Jeremiah was treated in his day and how Jesus was treated by many during his time here on earth.  Jeremiah had many who criticized him, who denounced him and who persecuted him. Even Jeremiah’s friends abandoned him – he says that they were awaiting his downfall and his destruction.  We know very well that the scribes, the Pharisees, and so many of the Jews had turned against Jesus in many different ways.  They tried to trap him into violating God’s laws. In today’s Gospel, they are even ready to stone him and to put him to death. Today, after our mass is concluded, we commemorate Jesus’ journey to the cross as we pray the ancient prayer devotion of the stations of the cross. A week from today, we will venerate the cross of Jesus at our Good Friday prayer service, commemorating the very day that he died on the cross.  Jeremiah had confidence in God. He knew that his attackers and critics would not prevail in the end.  Jeremiah remained strong; he loyally followed God as his faithful prophet throughout his lifetime. Jesus also remained faithful to his Father and to his mission even to his death on the cross.  I found this meditation on the first station of the cross, of Jesus being condemned to die.  I like its message very much: "Lord, you were condemned to death because fear of what other people may think suppressed the voice of conscience. So too, throughout history, the innocent have always been maltreated, condemned and killed. How many times have we ourselves preferred success to the truth, our reputation to justice? Strengthen the quiet voice of our conscience, your own voice, in our lives. Look at me as you looked at Peter after his denial. Let your gaze penetrate our hearts and indicate the direction our lives must take. On the day of Pentecost you stirred the hearts of those who, on Good Friday, clamored for your death, and you brought them to conversion. In this way you gave hope to all. Grant us, ever anew, the grace of conversion."

6 April 2017 - Thursday of the 5th week of Lent - John 8:51-59

       How do we most identify yourselves?  If someone asked: Who are you?, how would we answer this question.  Would it be male or female?  Our ethnic group?  Our occupation? Or our religion?  The people of Ancient Israel wanted to know who Jesus was, too, how he identified himself. With the answer Jesus gave, the crowd wanted to stone him, to put him to death.  He tells them: “Before Abraham came into being, I AM.”  As Christians, we believe that Jesus is not an ordinary human being, but many of his day could get beyond that. They did not understand that Jesus existed from the beginning of eternity.  In their point of view, how dare Jesus declare that he existed before their patriarch Abraham.  How dare he make such a proclamation.  As God remembers his covenant with his people, as we remember the covenant God made with Abraham and descendants, we realize that no matter how many times we break our promises to God, God word stands forever.  If we renew our faith and turn back to the Lord no matter what our sins, he forgives us and welcomes us back.  Lent may have been a challenging time for us. It may have been really hard for us to keep our Lenten disciplines.  We may have been hoping for a life-giving, renewing Lent for us, but no matter how hard we tried, things did not work out.  However, it is never too late to turn back to the Lord.  It is never too late to repent.  Pope Francis asserts that “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” However, what we have learned from our Lenten journey does not have to end after these 40 days.  May the Lord continue to bless us on our journey, no matter where we are at.  Remember, as our psalmist declares, 

5 April 2017 - Wednesday of the 5th week in Lent - John 8:31-42

       In the Gospel today, Jesus’ words demonstrate a deep rift that existed between those Jews who believed in him and who tried to follow his teachings and those Jews who saw him as a heretic and who wanted to destroy him and to put him to death.  Jesus sometimes speaks in language that confounds and confuses the people.  He talks about them being set free, but the people cannot get beyond those words, thinking that God had already set the Jews free when he liberated them from slavery in Egypt.  We listen to words, and try to understand them, but sometimes we see them from our own perspective, not in the context in which they were spoken.  The Crusades are a difficult event to understand in our Church history.  The Crusades and the Muslim invasion of Spain are central events to the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago that I go to in Spain.  It is easy in my modern 21st century American mentality to judge that era or to ignore it.  I struggle to gain greater insight and understanding as to what went on without trying to judge these events from my modern point of view. I bring this up because Richard of Chichester is a saint we celebrate this week.  I learned about him when I was assigned to St Richard.  I grew to love St Richard and appreciate his teachings. Richard was Bishop in Chichester, England in the 13th century.  Richard had a very difficult time as Bishop.  Most of the time, King Henry III denied him access to his cathedral and revenue due to the Diocese due to a dispute that was going on between the King and the Church.  Richard had to roam his Diocese, relying on the generosity of the faithful. Pope Innocent IV called asked Richard to preach in favor of the Crusades throughout England, which Richard obediently did.  However, in the midst of those journeys, he came down with fever and died at the age of 56.  He was buried in Chichester Cathedral, which became a popular place of pilgrimage. However, that site was destroyed under King Henry VIII in 1538 when England broke away from the Catholic faith.  Richard’s remains and any artifacts that remained in Chichester were destroyed as well. It is interesting that the composers of the rock musical Godspell chose St Richard’s prayer as the basis of one of their songs: 

Thanks be to thee, our Lord Jesus Christ,

for all the benefits which thou hast given us,

for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us.

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,

may we know thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow thee more nearly. Amen

St Richard, pray for us.  

4 April 2017 - Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent - John 8:21-30

      In defending himself against the Pharisees, Jesus utters a curious phrase: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.” “Lift up” can signify two different things in the context of Christ’s journey -  Jesus being lifted up on the cross to his death and Jesus being lifted up in the resurrection.  These are not two separate events in John’s Gospel.  For John, the two go hand in hand. We have a lifting up in the first reading from Numbers as well.  According to instructions from God, Moses lifts up a bronze serpent mounted on a pole.  It is lifted up so that those who suffer from snake bites might look at that bronze serpent and be healed.  John refers to the lifting up of the bronze serpent from this passage in Numbers in the third chapter of his Gospel (John 3:13):  “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  We as Christians see the death and resurrection of Christ as a sign of the love of God the Father expressed in the self-sacrifice of the Son. I think of the Triduum of liturgies during Holy Week - in Jesus giving instructions to his disciples on Holy Thursday, in Jesus’ passion and death on Good Friday, in the resurrection in the Easter Vigil mass - there is no closing of the liturgies at their end.  It is one continuous liturgy during those three days. We remember what we proclaim about our faith: Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. 

2 April 2017 - 5th Sunday of Lent - Cycle A - The Raising of Lazarus - John 11:1-45

    We are a week before our entrance to Holy Week. Today, our Lenten journey takes us face to face with Lazarus, a beloved friend of Jesus.  Lazarus had been sealed away in the tomb for 4 days when Jesus arrived in Bethany.  At Jesus’ command, “Come out, Lazarus!”, Lazarus comes out of the tomb, with his hands and feet all tied up with strips of material, with a cloth covering his face.  “Unbind him, let him go free!” Jesus commands.

       We have been journeying with different holy men and women during our Lenten journey.  Sometimes on our journey of faith, we can restricted and bound up just like Lazarus was in the Gospel, waiting for Jesus to bring us new life and set us free. Some of those things that bind us and restrict in life come from external circumstances and the situations that confront us in life, while other times it’s those things that we impose on ourselves.  What is remarkable about the saints and the holy men and women who inspire us on our journey of faith, is that they faced their challenges and difficult circumstances in life with great courage, innovation, and faith.  I am really excited about the holy man who is going to speak to us today on this 5th Sunday of Lent: the Venerable Michael McGivney, a Catholic priest who born to Irish immigrant parents in the state of Connecticut in the years prior to our American Civil War.  

      McGivney was the oldest of 13 children, six of whom died in either infancy or childhood.  He had to leave school at the age of 13 in order to work in a brass factory to help provide for his poor family.  He left the factory at the age of 16 in order to enter seminary.  His father’s death interrupted his studies for a while, but eventually he was able to get through seminary and was ordained a priest.  

      As a young priest, McGiveny noticed several things about the reality of his parishioners.  In those days, many of the men in his parish were veterans of the Civil War.  These men missed the camaraderie that they had as soldiers.  Many secret fraternal societies were forming to meet this social need that the men had, societies that were not in line with the principles and values of the Catholic faith.  In addition, without any social safety net such as social security or health insurance or welfare, many of these families struggled when a crisis hit, or when the patriarch of the family died, leaving behind a widow and children.  McGivney and some of the men of his parish started the Knights of Columbus in response to this need. The guiding principles of unity and charity were stated in the Knights’ charter approved by the Connecticut state legislature in 1882; the principles of patriotism and fraternity were added later.  It was not easy going in the beginning.  The men had a hard time agreeing on a course of action that first year, and it almost dissolved.  But with perseverance and patience, the Knights progressed and developed.  But the time Father McGivney died of pneumonia and tuberculosis at the young age of 38 in 1890, there were 57 councils of the Knights of Columbus in existence.  Today, there are more than 11,000 councils in 13 different countries.  From its very beginnings and from the dream that Father McGivney and the founding members had, the Knight of Columbus have strengthened the faith of its members, provided them means of fortifying their financial security in an often hostile world, and helped them grow in their confidence and self-esteem.  
       How does Father McGivney’s witness speak to us during Lent.  There is a story told of him of how he ministered to a 21-year-old Irish immigrant who had shot and killed a police officer while he was drunk.  The young man was sentenced to death for his crimes.  McGivney was very loyal in ministering to this young man until the day he was put to death. McGivney helped this man repent from his crime and brought him  peace and reconciliation with God.   McGivney cited this experience as being fundamental in shaping his compassion and his outreach to his parishioners in the early years of his priesthood.  McGiveny saw the Church as more than just a place where people came to mass and for the Sacraments.  McGivney saw the Church as being the Church of the people, in helping them in all aspects of their lives.  To me, that is McGivney’s greatest witness, something that speaks to us in the midst of our Lenten journey.  The Church is there for us, and we are to be there for the Church.  We should ask ourselves how we are called to serve, not just how we are called to receive.  The Venerable Michael McGivney and the other holy men and women that we talked about during Lent challenge us to live out our faith in boldness and generosity, in service to God and in service to our brothers and sisters.  As we come near the end of our Lenten journey, may this message enter our hearts.  

31 March 2017 - Friday of the 4th week of Lent – Psalm 34, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

       Our reading from the Gospel of John this afternoon expresses the tension that was building up between Jesus and the hierarchy of the Temple in Jerusalem.  This tension would eventually lead to his arrest and to his death on the cross. Such readings about the cross that Jesus bears on his journey are critical to help us prepare for our own journey during Lent and for the crosses and sufferings that we all bear in our lives. 

        However, in addition to the crosses and the sufferings that bear, we should also remember the outreach of God’s love that is eloquently expressed in today’s psalm.  The psalm declares, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.” Yes, Christ has his heart broken every day in our modern world.  Christ desires to be with us, he reaches out to us, yet many of us turn away.  Christ has sacrificed so much out of his love for us, out of his love for all humanity.  But, how often do we turn our hearts away from Jesus?  Christ is not just close to the brokenhearted: Christ is the brokenhearted.  That is exactly how the response in today’s psalm calls out to us.  God is more than just near us in our broken-heartedness, God is continually going through that pain with us. 
        In the stations of the cross we pray on the Fridays during Lent Simon from Cyrene is pressed into service to help Jesus carry his cross.  Simon was on his way into Jerusalem from the country.  it’s certainly an unexpected detour from his plan for the day. Scripture doesn't tell us why he is appointed for the task or how he reacts. Simon serves Jesus in the hour of his greatest need. We are called to remember that, as with Simon, our acts of service—expected or not, appointed or not, eagerly shared or not—carry great weight in the kingdom of God.  Through those acts of service, in the way that Simon helped carry Christ’s cross, we can help our Lord be near to the broken-hearted, we can unite our crosses with his.  

30 March 2017 - Thursday of the 4th week of Lent - Exodus 32:7-14

       Patience seems to one of the most common virtues that is lacking in our world today.  Just go driving down the road here in Tupelo and you will see how impatient people can be. The lack is patience is one of the most common sins that is brought to the confessional.  God is upset over the impatience of the Israelites.  They get so impatient that they abandon their faith in God, worshipping a golden idol that they themselves create. However, I will say that I have a lot of compassion for the Israelites right now.  I have been on crutches now only for a matter of days, but my patience is wearing very thin.  The Israelites were traveling through the desert with no end in sight.  Their leader Moses went up a mountain and they had no idea when he would be coming down.  Aren’t they justified in their impatience?  Like the Israelites, many people in our modern world turn to gods of their own making as well.  God wants to rain down his wrath on the Israelites, but Moses reminds God of the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of the future he promised to their descendants. God is portrayed here in this passage from Exodus in very human terms.  God finally relents without seeking revenge against the people. Based on what we hear in today's reading from Exodus, let us pray: 

Lord, we put before you our tiredness and our fatigue, please grant us new energy. 

We put before you our frustrations, please grant us patience. 

We put before you our resentments and our pain, please grant us peace of mind and serenity. 

We put before you our judgement and our criticism, please grant us greater understanding. 

We put before you our anger, please grant us the grace to forgive. 

Lord, be with us in our reality, please grant us wisdom and love.  

26 March 2017 - Jean Vanier - 4th Sunday of Lent - John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38,

     From the very beginning of today’s Gospel, this story of healing strikes us as being different than other such stories in the Gospels. Usually, we have someone rush up to Jesus with great faith and enthusiasm, pleading to be healed themselves or trying to convince Jesus to help a family member or a friend. However, in today’s Gospel, as Jesus and his disciples pass a blind man on their journey, the disciples ask a question that reflects a widely held belief in the Ancient World: that certainly this man is blind on account of sin – either his sin or the sins of his parents.  Without the blind man even says a word to Jesus, before he knows what is happening, Jesus is spitting on some clay, spreading that mixture on the man’s eyes, and telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam in order to be healed.  We don’t know how much the blind man knew about Jesus before this encounter, but I ‘m sure this encounter fueled his curiosity.  Jesus uses this healing as an opportunity for God to manifest his saving power to challenge the faith not only of the blind man, but also the faith everyone who witnessed this healing.

     We encounter God in many different ways in our lives.  Jesus reached out to the blind man out of his compassion and mercy.  The holy person we’re talking about today reached out to a group of people who were largely forgotten about and abandoned.  His name is Jean Vanier.  He’s not a canonized saint in our Catholic faith.  He’s still alive, so he cannot be canonized yet.  However, Vanier’s witness of faith speaks out to us today.  He was born into wealth and privilege.  His dad was Georges Vanier, who served as a Canadian diplomat and as the Governor General of Canada, which is the Queen of England’s representative in the Canadian government, a very prestigious post.  Born in 1928, Vanier served in the Royal Air Force as a teenager, later earning a doctorate degree in theology and philosophy in France.  During this time, he visited some psychiatric hospitals and asylums in France, concluding that the patients in these institutions were among the most oppressed and forgotten people in the world. After briefly teaching as a college professor in Canada, he could not forget those images of those special needs adults who were institutionalized in such deplorable living conditions.  Vanier started a group home where he lived with two special needs adults in the small village of Trosly-Breuil, France in 1964, which he named L’Arche, a French word that has two meanings: (1) the Ark, as in Noah’s Ark, a place of refuge; and (2) the arch of a bridge, implying a bridging role for L'Arche to bring people together, connecting both heaven and earth.  When I think about how L’Arche is more than 50 years old today, I cannot imagine how forward thinking and revolutionary this idea was when Vanier started this community in 1964.  In additional, Vanier was instrumental in establishing the organization Faith and Light, a support community for special needs adults, their families and their friends. Today, there are 147 L’Arche communities operating in 35 different countries.  

      Jesus reached out to people who were condemned and ostracized in society, such as the Samaritan woman at the well we heard about last week, or the blind man in today’s Gospel.  These individuals were the weak and the poor, not the rich and the powerful. Yet, just as Jesus saw value and dignity in those who were oppressed by others, Jean Vanier saw great dignity in those special needs adults that he invited to live in the L’Arche communities.  Vanier said: “It is my believe that in our mad world, where there is so much pain, rivalry, hatred, violence, inequality, and oppression, it is people who are weak, rejected, marginalized, counted as useless, who can become a source of life and of salvation for us as individuals as well as for our world.”  That is so different from the way the world looks at things, isn't it?  Vanier sees the weak and the rejected calling us to love, to communion, to compassion, and to community.  Community is an important concept for us in the Catholic Church.  But it is not an ideal place or a perfect place.  According to Vanier, community is a life-giving place, but it is also a place of pain, because it is a place of truth and growth because it is a place where we realize our pride, our fears, and our brokenness. Vanier admits that communion and community did not come easy for him.  He had to change radically to be a part of the L’Arche community he founded.  He says that community helped him see the hardness in his heart, that community taught him and healed him.  Vanier asserts that there is value in being vulnerable, that sharing our weaknesses and our difficulties is more nourishing than sharing our qualities and successes.  

     When I think of the community of saints, I always try to think about how their particular spirituality and their spiritual journey can be applied directly to our own lives.  Vanier, in his spirit of reaching out to others, has always reached out to those of other Christian denominations and other religions.  Often, he has used the foot washing ritual that we use on Holy Thursday as a sign of interdenominational solidarity amongst all Christians.  We invite you all to the remain Lenten Luncheons we have in the ministerial association here in Tupelo at St Luke Methodist and First Presbyterian, and to pray for unity amongst all Christian denominations and greater dialogue, understanding, and cooperation amongst all the religions of the world. As Vanier reached out to those in the margins in his own way, how are we reaching out to those on the margins in society and in our own community?  That is a tough question to answer.  And it is not just donating money to groups that help such individuals.  It is getting involved, forming friendships, and changing perceptions.  Through it all, Vanier looked inside, at his own pain, his own brokenness, at the ways he needed to heal in his life.  Sometimes we are afraid to look at what is going on inside, to be introspective.  Is that something we need to work on in our lives? 
       Remember that the season of Lent is what we make of it.  Our journey of faith is what we make of it.  May Jean Vanier, Mother Teresa, Therese of Lisieux, Frederic Ozanam and the rest of the community of saints help us and guide us and encourage us on our journey.  

Mass introductions - fourth Sunday of Lent - cycle A

Introduction to the penitential rite: 

Today, as we hear of Christ bringing healing into someone’s life, may we ourselves seek the light of the Lord in own lives and in our own. As we reflect upon the darkness that we are confronted with in our lives here on earth, let us call to mind our sins: 

Penitential Act - form C

Lord Jesus, you healed the man who had been born blind: 

Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you call all sinners to repentance:

Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you call us out of darkness into your light: 

Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Nicene creed:  As Christ the Light continuously calls us to renew our life of faith, let us profess that faith in him: 

Prayers of the faithful:

Celebrant: As our Lord leads us and guides us in the right path, let us now offer these prayers to him today.

1. For our Church. may she always help us seek to light the world with Christ’s love, let us pray to the Lord.

2. For all those who live in the darkness of war, oppression, terrorism or persecution, may the Lord lead them to healing, safety, and wholeness, let us pray to the Lord. 

3. For enlightenment for those discerning their vocations and for those preparing for the Easter sacraments, that they might live by the light of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

4. For our community of faith as we strive to lighten the burdens

of those in need around us, let us pray to the Lord.

5. For all the prayers that we hold in the silence of our hearts that are difficult to put into words.  May the Lord bring light to all in need and all 

who are searching, let us pray to the Lord. 

6. For the sick and shut-ins of our parish community

7. For the repose of the souls of the faithful departed.  

Celebrant:  O God of light and darkness, your goodness and kindness follow us all the days of our lives. Hear and graciously answer these our prayers according to your will, through Christ our Lord. AMEN.  

29 March 2017 - Wednesday of the 4th week of Lent - Isaiah 49:8-15

      Isaiah proclaims God’s message to a people in exile, to a people who wanted to return to their holy city.  They were bitter, angry, and distraught.  Yet, Isaiah gives God’s people a message of hope.  He assures them that better times are ahead.  Though the nation of Israel feels forgotten and abandoned, God assures them that they are not.  We live in the midst of our reality.  And our reality in 2017 in America is a bit different than what was facing the people of Israel who had hopes of returning from exile.  Before the monasteries were founded, men and women whon we know today as the Desert Fathers and Mothers went to the desert starting in the early third century to live as hermits and to withdraw from society.  The Desert Fathers and Mothers had a great deal of influence on the development of the Early Church and later were the inspiration for the founding of monastic communities.  St John of Egypt is a saint whom we celebrate this week during Lent.  After starting his life as a carpenter, he apprenticed under a hermit, and after that hermit died, he set off for the desert wilderness in the middle of the fourth century where he lived in a cell that he carved out of a rocky cliff.  He walled himself into those cells until he died. He left a small window in the cell where he could receive visitors and where people could bring him water and food. Those cells were rediscovered in the early 1900s.  Many people looked to John of Egypt and the other Desert Fathers and Mothers for wisdom, including the emperor.  His life of prayer and self-denial inspired saints in the Early Church such as Jerome and Augustine.  Not all of us are called to be hermits or monks like John of Egypt.  But we are called to hear God’s voice in our lives, to spend time in reflection and discernment to hear God speaking to us in the silence.  

28 March 2017 - Tuesday of the 4th week of Lent - Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

     Water is essential to life here on earth.  We need water to survive. And yet we see the devastation that water can bring, from the droughts that many places in the world suffer when there is not enough water, to the devastation of floods which we have seen in places like Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta in recent years.  Water is also an important symbol of our Christian faith, with the waters of baptism that bring us initiation into our faith and with the life giving waters that Jesus announces to the woman at the well that we hear in one of our Sunday liturgies during Lent. In Ezekiel’s message today, water becomes an important symbol for the Jewish people who had experienced a terrible exile from their beloved holy city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel, in his vision, describes a life-giving stream that nourishes trees that bear an abundance of fruit and that gives life to many creatures.  In many ways, that waterway is a sanctuary.  When I was living in both Africa and in South America, clean drinking water was something that was not common.  Many people suffered from illness or hardship for the lack of access to clean drinking water.  We turn on the tap and get all the clean water we need here in Mississippi; perhaps it is something we take for granted. When I think of the life giving water of our faith, I think of the many people who have passed down that faith for us.  For centuries, nuns and religious sisters have been instrumental in teaching that faith to the people.  I remember as a small child seeing the movie The Sound of Music.  In the devotional I read each day, Give Us This Day, Maria Von Trapp, the nun whose story is the basis of that movie, is featured as the blessed person of the day.  Even though she left religious life to marry, her story has inspired many.  After the death of her husband, Maria and three of her children became missionaries to Papua New Guinea.  She died on this day in the state of Vermont in 1987.  Thank you for the living water you give us, heavenly Father.  That you for the examples of faith you have given to us so that this life giving water can be passed on.  May we never thirst for that life giving water.  

20 March 2017 - Solemnity of St Joseph - Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Matthew 1:16; 18-21; 24A

We celebrated St Patrick’s Day on Friday, a feast day near and dear to the Irish American community.  Corned beef and cabbage is associated with that feast.  Since St Paddy’s Day was on a Friday in Lent this year, our Bishop Joseph Kopacz and many other bishops throughout the US gave a dispensation so we could eat meat on that day as a part of that celebration.  Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Joseph, a beloved feast day of many Italian Americans, whose tradition they brought from their homeland.  Many Italian Americans have a feast of traditional Italian food on that day, which they share with the needy and the poor.  We hear the response of Joseph at the news of his son’s impending birth of Jesus in the Matthew’s Gospel today, a response that exemplifies faith, compassion, and courage. Mary and Joseph are such great examples of faith for us.  Often, when we are discouraged on our own journeys, we can turn to the examples of Mary and Joseph to enlighten us and to give us hope.  St Joseph, pray for us as we celebrate your feast day today.    

24 March 2017 - Blessed Oscar Romero - Mark 12:28 - 34

      We have been highlighting different holy men and women in our Sunday liturgies on our Lenten journey here at St James.  Many older parishioners here at our parish have told me that even though they grew up in a devout Catholic family and attended Catholic schools, they really did not learn a lot about the saints growing up.  One only needs to go to the Amazon website to see how many thousands of books there are on the saints to recognize the renewed interest there is in the saints in the modern world.  Devotion to the saints was mocked and rejected in the Protestant Reformation, but now the Protestants are some of the ones most interested in the saints today; I can say that having grown up Protestant myself. Blessed Oscar Romero is the saint we honor today.  Being seen as a traditional, conservative priest, the aristocracy and military leaders of his native country of El Salvador applauded his appointment as Archbishop of San Salvador in the midst of that country’s civil war in the 1970s. They thought he would support those in power in the country and unite against the poor and the working classes struggling against oppression.  Yet, just three short years later, Oscar Romero would be martyred by members of that country’s military while celebrating the mass in a parish in his archdiocese.  He would be seen a voice of the voiceless, an advocate for social justice and the values of the Gospel, for standing up for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed in the world.  Pope Francis declared that Romero was indeed a martyr for the faith, and not just involved in the messy politics of his country as many of his critics charged.  He is beloved by many in the world today, including Pope Francis, for his courage in proclaiming the Gospel and his selflessness in giving up his life for that Gospel.  When we hear the scribes and Pharisees trying to trap with trick questions, as we do in today’s Gospel, let us remember how we can in many ways be obstacles to the Gospel message taking root in our world. Not all of us are called to be martyrs in the way that Blessed Oscar Romero was.  But all of us are charged with being messengers of the Gospel message in the reality of our world. 

23 March 2017 - Thursday of the 3rd week of Lent - Luke 11:14-23

     “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  We want to be with Jesus, don’t we?  We want to live his values.  We want to make the right decisions.  But sometimes, we think we are doing the right thing when we are really way off track. 

     In this week of March in 1976, a military coup took over the country of Argentina.  Argentina was one of the 10 wealthiest counties in the world in the 1950s following the wake of WWII.  It was a well-educated country with a richness of resources and strong ties to Europe.  However, after a lack of confidence in Argentina’s economy and political environment, the military took over in a coup, which was supported by most of the population, including the wealthy, the elite, the Middle Class, and the Catholic Church.  They thought that the military government would bring stability and order to a country that was spiraling out of control.  However, then people started disappearing from society after being picked up by government officials, never to be heard from again. Those who disappeared who those who the government identified as the enemy - the radical university students who spoke out, those who had ties to Marxism or socialism, those who dared to speak out against the government.  The country did not want to face the reality of what was happening, so most people kept quiet in silent denial.  A group of mothers and grandmothers, many of whom were related to those who were disappeared, decided to take action.  They began gathering on the Plaza de Mayo, the main public square in the capital city of Buenos Aires. They did not say much, but they held up signs of their disappeared loved ones, asking what happened to them, asking for their return.  These mothers and grandmothers were subject to harassment, resentment and even arrest, but they carried on.  Their witness brought publicity to what was going on.  The military dictatorship in Argentina collapsed in 1983.  The courage and dignity of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo shook up the conscience of that country.  It is estimated that more than 20,000 Argentine citizens disappeared, never to be heard from again.  Most were tortured and killed.  Would we have the courage to speak up in such circumstances?  Do we gather with Jesus or do we scatter?  Are we with Jesus or are we against him?  

22 March 2017 - Wednesday of the third week in Lent - Matthew 5:17-19

      Matthew’s Gospel was probably written to speak to a Jewish Christian group of believers that was living in the Holy Land.  Matthew shows Jesus as being loyal to the Jewish traditions; it shows Jesus as being the last in the great line of Jewish prophets.  He is not a heretic or blasphemer, as he is often accused of being by the Pharisees.  He is loyal to his Jewish faith to his very core. Jesus emphasizes today that he did not come to contradict the Jewish law, but rather he came to develop it and complete it.  Jesus does not degrade or demean the law of God.  Rather, he elevates it and brings it to a greater meaning. We can become so obsessed with external observances of Church laws and regulations.  We can become scrupulous or fearful with regards to the Lenten promises we undertake. Recently, in a Catholic forum on the internet, I saw where someone  asked if it is permissible to switch one’s penitential promises that were made at the beginning of Lent.  In other words, can we promise to do one thing, but then change in the middle of Lent when it is not having its desired spiritual effect?  This person mentioned that he realizes that there is value in persevering, but that he is just not making it with his Lenten promises. He mentioned that he had some very meaningful Lenten practices in previous years in prayers, reading, and sacrifices, but that this year it just feels like going through the motions.  Instead, he has started working in his yard, finding fulfillment in that, lifting up that work in honor of Jesus and Mary.  One person replied to this post that he did not think it was not sinful in changing his penitential acts, that creating a beautiful yard in honor of Jesus and Mary was a very wonderful Lenten action.  I would agree, finding the response and the actions of the man asking the question very much in the spirit of Lent and the spirit of Jesus.  Sometimes we are called to be creative and pragmatic on the road of faith.  Again, we can focus too much on our exterior actions.  But what is the interior change that is taking place?  

21 March 2017 - Tuesday of the 3rd week of Lent - Daniel 3:25, 34-43

     In the Book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar sets up an idol in Babylon -  an enormous golden statue.  The king summons all of the officials together for its dedication. At the great sound of many musical instruments, the king orders all of these officials to prostrate themselves in worship of this idol.  He threatens anyone who refused to do so to be thrown into a fiery furnace. Three young Jewish men refuse to do so.  They refuse to abandon their Jewish faith for King Nebuchadnezzar. The king has them bound up and thrown into that fiery furnace.  However, God sends an angel to save them. They walk through the furnace unharmed. That is the background for today’s first reading from the book of Daniel, in which one of these young men prays from within the furnace, asking God to look kindly upon them and upon his people, to forgive them their sins that have brought them such torment and suffering.   

      Today’s prayer asks God to not forget his covenant, to not abandon his people.  In the exile in Babylon, the people were far away from their Temple.  They feel abandoned, despised, and without a leader.  The Temple in Jerusalem was the place where they performed their religious rituals and offered sacrifices.  They were cut off from that.  Yet, without all of that, they still wanted to commit themselves completely to God.  We can feel cut off or abandoned on our own journeys of faith.  We can sometimes feel like we cannot commit ourselves to our faith with all the rest that is going on in our lives.  Let us use this holy time of Lent to examine our lives and to see how we need to commit ourselves more completely to God. 

Mass patterns - 3/19/2017 - Cycle A - Third Sunday of Lent

Introduction to penitential rite: 

As we hear about Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well today, we the baptized are called to look at our lives, as we allow our Lord to uncover and heal all that is weak and sinful in our lives: 

Penitential Rite - form C

1. Lord Jesus, you are the living water, a fountain of God’s grace and mercy:  Lord, have mercy.

2. Christ Jesus, you are the living water, our peace and reconciliation:  Christ, have mercy.

3. Lord Jesus, you are the living water, you are the way that leads us to everlasting life: Lord, have mercy

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sin, and bring us to eternal life.  

Introduction to Nicene creed.  

As the life-giving water of Christ calls us to a life of discipleship in him, let us call to mind our sins:  

Prayers of the faithful:

PRIEST:  We pray that all of us may drink deeply from the well of God’s mercy.  Thus, we offer our prayers this morning for the needs of the world around us.

1. For God’s holy Church as we follow the example of the Samaritan woman at the well in bringing the Good News of Christ to our neighbors, we pray to the Lord.

2. For international cooperation in sharing the precious resource of water, for sufficient drinking water for everyone in the world, we pray to the Lord.

3. For those whose lives are parched and dry, that they might

be refreshed by the water of life in Christ, we pray to the Lord.

4. For those preparing for the Easter sacraments of first communion & confirmation, for those in the RCIA program, we pray that they may never thirst for the living waters of Christ again, we pray to the Lord.

5. For all who thirst for justice & an end to violence, hatred & prejudice in our cities, our neighborhoods, and our country, let us pray to the Lord.

6. For the sick and shut-ins of our parish community, 

7. For the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. 

8. For those coming back home at the end of their spring break, for a good return to school and work, we pray to the Lord.  

PRIEST:  We are the people you shepherd, O God, the flock you guide. Hear these our prayers and graciously grant them through Christ, our Lord for ever and ever.