31 March 2019 - 4th Sunday in Lent - Cycle C - Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

    We hear a famous Gospel today: the parable of the prodigal son.  When I reflected upon this parable in the midst of the holy season of Lent, I see the theme of repentance and conversion. Indeed, there is great rejoicing in heaven for the sinner who repents, just as there is great joy in the heart of the shepherd when he finds that one lost sheep, just as the father has great joy when his lost son returns. This Gospel reflects the way Christ went out of his way to reach out to the poor and the outcast, how he had dinner with those seen as the greatest of sinners in his society, how he healed the leper, how left his disciples to reach out to those who had never heard his teachings. This message applies to us as a parish, as we are not to just remain closed in and content with our members alone, but are to evangelize and bring the Gospel to others, and in particular to the lost and the forgotten. 

      As we think about our need to forgive and to be forgiven, we still might wonder why the father celebrated his lost son’s return after the son wasted away his fortune.  Why did the father not celebrate the older son who always treated him with dignity and respect? It comes down to forgiveness: Jesus teaches us to forgive - to forgive again and again. Not 7 times.  77 times. This is a lesson in humility, to be sure.  Yes, we are all called to be humble as disciples of Christ. 

F. But beyond humility, this embodies God’s unconditional love.  

       God always welcomes us back. There are many of us who have left our faith for a time, who have left our faith community. There are many of us who feel a big space between us and God, no matter how hard we try. Sometimes we wonder where God is when we call out to him, when we don’t feel him answering us back. But, God welcome us back no matter what.  God is not angry at us for doubting or for straying or for ignoring him. Like the father with the prodigal son, God the Father greets us with joy when we return. It is never too late with God.  It is never too late.  

       We have been reflecting upon the saints during our Lenten journey. In a little more than a week, a group of our youth will be confirmed here at St Jude with Bishop Joseph Kopacz.  This is a major step on their journey.  I have asked a couple of our youth to share with us about the saint they have chosen for their confirmation name.  And how that saint’s life speaks to us our Lenten journey.  

31 de marzo de 2019 – el cuarto domingo de cuaresma - ciclo c – Lucas 15, 1-3, 11-32

       Nosotros católicos tenemos mucho animo para conmemorar la temporada de cuaresma cada año. Cuaresma es un tiempo especial de caminar con Cristo en el desierto durante 40 días, de mirar a nuestros corazones y nuestras vidas. La cuaresma nos da un tiempo de conversión, arrepentimiento y renovación. Nuestra fe católica es rica en tradiciones en la temporada de cuaresma, con el sacramento de reconciliación, con el via cruces, y con la observancia cuaresmal de la oración, el ayuno y las obras de caridad.  

       Hoy, el Evangelio del hijo pródigo se nos presenta el tema del perdón, un tema muy importante en la temporada de cuaresma.  La mayoría de nosotros encuentra el perdón como algo muy difícil para vivir en nuestra camino de fe.  En la misa diaria del martes pasado, escuchamos del evangelio de San Mateo. En este evangelio, Pedro pidió a Jesucristo sobre la frecuencia que debemos perdonar a su hermano que le ofende.  Pedro pregunta – ¿debo perdonar a mi hermano 7 veces? Cristo dice mas de 7 veces - sino más bien setenta veces siete.  Pedro quiere parecer indulgente y misericordioso, le pregunta si él debe perdonar 7 veces, porque los rabinos en la Israel enseñaron que necesita perdonar a sus enemigos no más de 3 veces, citando la sagrada escritura del primer capitulo de Amós con lo que Dios perdonó a los enemigos de Israel 3 veces.  Por lo tanto, que perdona más del doble de los tiempos citado en la sagrada escritura Hebrea, Pedro probablemente pensaba que Cristo iba alabarlo por su misericordia. 

       Por supuesto, Pedro y los otros discípulos deberían tener sorpresa por la respuesta de Jesucristo porque Dios no nos llama a poner límites a nuestra merced y perdón.  Se nos llama a perdonar con tanta gracia y generosidad mil veces como lo hacemos la primera vez que perdonamos.  Somos capaces de practicar este tipo de perdón por la presencia del Espíritu del Señor que llena nuestro corazón.  Es solamente a través de Dios que podemos verdaderamente perdonar.  Es más fácil para desear la venganza o la retribución o recuperación en lugar de perdonar.  Normalmente, es mucho trabajo para perdonar. 

       Tal vez la humildad es la clave para vivir el perdón en nuestra vida.  En su humildad, el hijo pródigo es capaz de decir en el Evangelio de hoy: “Me levantaré, volveré a mi padre y le diré: ‘Padre, he pecado contra el cielo y contra ti; ya no merezco llamarme hijo tuyo. Recíbeme como a uno de tus trabajadores.’”  Si quedamos en nuestro orgullo y arrogancia y vanidad, el perdón quedará un ideal inalcanzable.  Necesitamos reconocer nuestras debilidades y nuestras heridas.  Necesitamos reconocer nuestra dependencia de Dios.  El fundamento del perdón es el amor que Dios nos da.  El fundamento del perdón es el amor ágape que debemos vivir en nuestro camino de fe.

     Una de las obras espirituales de misericordia es perdonar las injurias.  Pero, ¿cómo podemos realmente perdonar a aquellas injurias que cortan nuestros corazones, que atacan a nuestras vidas y las vidas de nuestros queridos?  A veces no nos damos cuenta de las formas en que nuestros hermanos tenía que perdonar en la realidad de sus vidas. Perdonar no es algo fácil en nuestras vidas, pero es importante para hacerlo como discípulos de Cristo. 

28 March 2019 – Thursday of 3rd week in Lent – Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Jeremiah 7:23-28

      “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.”  As believers of Christ, we certainly do not want hard hearts, but in the busy world we live in, in all the different messages and cynicism that bombard us each day, in the frustrations and anger that may arise within us, we may easily develop hearts that are hard and jaded.  The grace of God calls out to us today during our Lenten journey: it calls us to renew our hearts and to return to him.  Jeremiah spoke out to a people that had definitely hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks.  God reminded them through Jeremiah that he had sent them prophets and servants, but that often they had been rejected.  Echoing the reality that Jeremiah spoke about, we can reflect upon how we often reject God in a lot of different ways in our lives, in our thoughts and in our actions, in the thoughtlessness and hardness in which we treat our brothers and sisters, in the way we do not make our faith a priority in our lives.  What can we do about that?  Thomas Merton had this to say: We can often hide the precepts of God’s wisdom in our hearts – the precepts of humility, meekness, charity, renunciation, faith, and prayer.  The values that the precepts and prayers communicate, the life that they are trying to give us, can remain completely hidden from our human eyes.   Let us open our hearts up to the Lord, to the values he is trying to teach us.   Let us not turn our hearts away from him, no matter how much of a temptation that may be.  Let our hearts not become hardened. 

29 March 2019 - Friday of the third week of Lent – Psalm 51

     “I am the Lord your God – hear my voice.”  We hear this message in the psalm today.  We hear this message echoed in the answer Jesus gives the scribes, when they ask him to name the greatest of all of God's commandments.  How do we hear God’s voice?  How do we respond?  There is not just one answer to that, just as there is not just one way we seek God in the reality in our lives, just as there is not just one way to look for God and to convert our hearts during this holy season of Lent.

      We have heard a lot about Sister Thea Bowman in our Diocese recently.  She was a very influential individual in our Diocese.  Back in November, by unanimous vote, the US Bishops voted to support the advancement of the cause of Thea Bowman for canonization on the Diocesan level. I thought about Sister Thea when I was looking at the readings for today's mass because tomorrow, we mark the anniversary of her death; she died on March 30, 1990 at the age of 52.  When I taught school in the Delta before I became a priest, as I learned about Sister Thea and the contributions she made to our Church in the way she proclaimed God's kingdom, I always thought that one day she would be on track to be canonized. However, in many ways, she is already recognized as a saint and as a great example of faith by many believers, not only in our own Diocese, but throughout the world.  Thea Bowman was born in Yazoo City and grew up in Canton. Although Thea was not born into a Catholic family, her mother sent her to Catholic schools, knowing that this was the best education her daughter could receive.  Thea became Catholic when she was 9 years old, inspired by her Catholic education and the sister who taught her.  She became the first African American woman to join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Wisconsin.   Thea helped the Church celebrate the voice of African American Catholics, the contributions and spirituality that they brought to the faith.  Her joyful spirit, her love of music and literature, inspired countless students and those who heard her presentations.  As I think of the psalm today, we can definitely say that Sister Thea heard God’s voice and tried to bring that voice in her own way to the world. 

24 March 2019 - 3rd Sunday in Lent - Luke 13:1-13

    We often hear a comforting, uplifting message in the Gospel, giving us encouragement on our journey of faith.  However, at other times, the Gospel is there to confront us and challenge us.  Today, Jesus hears some disturbing news, as some members of the crowd tell him that some Galileans were killed by Pilate; their blood was mingled with the blood of sacrifice.  Jesus replies in a very disconcerting way as well, telling them that if they do not repent, they will also perish. 

      But, this message is not to take away our hope.  Indeed, this message is tied into our parable in the Gospel today.  The owner of a fig tree wants to uproot it, because for three long years, this fig tree has not bore fruit.  The worker tells the owner to be patient, to give it another year, to allow the worker to tend to it and to nurture it so that it will be able to bear fruit.  That is the way God is with us: he is patient and merciful.  He does not give us just one chance.  He does not just give us a second chance. God gives us more than a second chance.  God is patient and works with us as we struggle with our sins and with temptation.  This is a very good lesson to hear today in the middle of our Lenten journey, as we are called to continue to practice our Lenten disciplines and to try ever harder on our journey during these 40 days.  Yes, we struggle with our sins and with our temptations, but as we struggle, we know that God is there with us.  

        Most of our parishioners know that I am very devoted to the community of saints.  I love learning from what the saints have to teach us.  I love learning about their journey of faith, about the struggles and challenges they endured, about the way they saw God interacting with their lives and how they proclaimed the message of the kingdom.  I love praying with the saints, uniting my prayers with their prayers, praying with them and asking them to pray for me.  Last week at our masses, we heard a reflection about Thomas Merton, a monk for the Trappist monetary of Gethsemane in Kentucky.  Today, we are going to hear about a saint who was just canonized by Pope Francis less than six months ago. Oscar Romero, who is from the Central American country of El Salvador, was born only two years after Thomas Merton, in the early part of the 20th century, so they are of the same era. Romero’s faith really speaks to us on our journey of faith in the modern world.  Like today's Gospel message, Romero brings us a very challenging message to the world, a message of social justice and speaking out for those who do not have a voice in society.  As we end our homily today, parishioner Joel Dillard is going to present us a reflection on St Oscar Romero.  

Reflection on St Oscar Romero on his feast day - 24 March 2019

During this season of Lent, we think about where God is calling us and where God is renewing us, where we need repentance and conversion in our lives.  This weekend, parishioner Joel Dillard is speaking to us about Oscar Romero.  While serving as the Archbishop of San Salvador in the Central American country of El Salvador, he was gunned down by  the military while serving Mass.  This is what Romero has to say about evangelization, about how each one of us is called to bring the Gospel to the world: “Each one of you has to be God’s microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is someone who has been baptized…Where is your baptism? You are baptized in your professions, in the fields of workers, in the market. Wherever there is someone who has been baptized, that is where the church is. There is a prophet there. Let us not hide the talent that God gave us on the day of our baptism and let us truly live the beauty and responsibility of being a prophetic people.”  Being disciples of Christ, each one of us is called to bring the Gospel to our own little corner of the world at our place of work, at the school we attend, in the social events of our lives, in our community of family and friends.  This is not an option.  If we accept this calling to be disciples of Christ, we are called to evangelization.  

26 March 2019 - Tuesday of the third week of Lent - Daniel 3:25, 34-43

      There is an acronym for prayer with the letters A C T S:  acts. 

A - stands for adoration - giving praise to God. 

C - stands for contrition - asking for God’s forgiveness and expressing sorrow for our sins.  

T - stands for thanksgiving - giving thanks to God. 

S - stands for supplication - presenting your prayer petitions to God. 

       In this acronym, it list our pray requests last, only after we praise God and give thanks.  Often, our requisitions and our own petitions are what comes out first, unfortunately.  Sometimes, our prayer requests often come out as demands, don’t they?  And then we get impatient with God when our prayers are not answered quickly and the way we want them answered. 

        So, this is one template of prayer. In the first reading from the book of Daniel, we hear about another prayer.  This prayer comes out of some difficult circumstance.  A group of young men - Azariah, Hannah, and Mishael - were thrown into a fiery furnace for their unwillingness to worship foreign idols. Yet, rather than curse the king, or being mad at the Lord, Azariah sings a song to express his unwavering faith in the Lord.  Azariah praised God for His mercy and admitted the sins of his people that put them in dire straights. In answer to this prayer, God delivers these young men from the fiery furnace unharmed. Like that acronym I present, Azariah praised God first, and then presented his prayer petitions and requests last. No matter where we are in our reality, we should praise God for his love and mercy and admit our sins. Let us not go to God in self-centered and self-absorbed.  Let us go to God in prayer in the midst of our humility.  

22 March 2019 - Friday of the 2nd week of Lent - Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A

      We hear the story of Joseph, the beloved son of his father who was betrayed by his brothers out of jealousy and greed. Yet, in the midst of his harsh reality, God uses Joseph as a key player in the founding of the nation of Israel, his chosen people.  

       I can imagine that when Joseph, the youngest son, arrived in the family of his father Israel, it was a big change for all his brothers to deal with.  I remember a quote for the pre-Socratic philosopher Greek philosopher Heraclitus from the 5th century BC that was often quoted by my history professor in seminary, Father Vincent McNally: “Change is the only constant in life.” This same philosopher made the same point about change being always present in our lives by another quote: “No man ever steps into the same river twice.”  The river is always there, but the water in it keeps changing so that from one minute to the next it is really a different river.  

      In the mid-16th century, in the era of King Henery VIII, laws were passed the discriminated against Catholics.  This was a king who at one time was very loyal to the Catholic Church, who defended it against the Protestant denomination.  As I said, the only constant in life is change.  In the midst of this, there was a man named Nicholas Owen.  An architect and a builder, for more than 20 years, he was build hiding places for Catholic lay people and priests.  He would construct subterranean passages and small spaces between walls that were so difficult to detect that even official raiding parties from the government could not detect them. There is no telling how many lives he saved. Nicholas became a brother in the Jesuit order, where he continued his work.  He was arrested twice, the second time resulting in his death from torture in 1606.  Through it also he stayed true to his faith, never denying the Catholic Church.  He never would confess to the governmental authorities as to what he did. Nicholas Owen was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, part of a group of 40 martyrs from England and Wales during the era of persecution in those countries.  Across the ages, as we commemorate the holy season of Lent, the faith of Nicholas Owen speaks to us today. 

21 March 2019 - Thursday of 2nd week of Lent - Jeremiah 17:5-10

      The prophet Jeremiah contracts two different kind of men in the first reading today.  The first man trusts in himself, not in God.  He is arid and empty, like a scrub plant growing in the desert.  With the luxuries and pleasures that surround this man, he is not even aware that he is living in the desert.  The second man puts his trust in God and in the way that God suggests.  This man puts down his roots where they are fed by streams of living waters.  He is like a tree that is so healthy and well nourished that it can survive a time of drought. We can compare this to our call to holiness.  In a Vatican audience in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI noted: “Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned.”  The call to holiness does not mean that we are going to be perfect.  The man who strives toward holiness strives toward perfection, although he will achieve that perfection without fault.  Rather, through holiness, we are called to conversion, to repentance, to a new start, to reconciliation and forgiveness.  May our lives of faith be like a tree growing in the fertile land.  May they be lives of holiness.  

20 March 2019 - Wednesday of the 2nd week of Lent - Jeremiah 18:18-20

      Jeremiah was lamenting the way bad was returned for good.  Here Jeremiah was called by God to proclaim repentance, but rather than heed his message, his enemies were plotting against him.  Jeremiah called them to turn back to the Lord, to turn God’s wrath away from them.  Yet, we see this being repeated in Jesus’ journey many centuries after Jeremiah.  Here Jesus was proclaiming God’s kingdom, calling the people back to the Lord, but he told his disciples that he was going to handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, those who opposed him and who wanted to destroy him.  Yet, his disciples did not understand what he was saying.  They thought mostly of their own interests and their own self gain.  Jesus states that his disciples will also have to drink the bitter cup of suffering.  Even though the disciples had not done anything wrong, even though the disciples were striving to do good, they would have to suffer if they were continue on the road of discipleship.  Yet, we are told by Jesus, that we are to follow his example.  We are called to serve, not to be served.  We are called to proclaim his Gospel message to the world. 

24 de marzo de 2019 - el tercer domingo de la cuaresma - lucas 13:1-9

       En el evangelio de hoy, unos miembros de la muchedumbre dieron algo inquietante a Jesucristo, que Pilato mató a unos galileos, y la sangre de ellos estaban mezclada con la sangre de los sacrificios. Cristo respondió con palabras inquietantes también - si ellos no se arrepienten, perecerán de manera semejante.  ¿Por qué incluye estas palabras en el evangelio? Pero, la parábola siguiente de el contexto de las palabras de Cristo. La parábola de la higuera plantada en su viñedo no nos da una conclusión.  No dice que la higuera dio higos.  Si, no hay una conclusión, pero hay un mensaje en la parábola.  El trabajador quien trabajaba en el viñedo quería tener más tiempo para trabajar con la higuera.  Esta parábola habla sobre la misericordia de Dios.  Con Dios, no solo tenemos una oportunidad para arrepentirnos.  No solo tenemos dos oportunidades.  Con Dios, tenemos una serie de oportunidades para arrepentirnos.

      Oscar Romero es el santo que celebramos hoy.  Cuando él comenzaba su servicio como el arzobispo de San Salvador en 1977, los ricos y los el ejército estaban muy contentos, porque él era tradicional y conservador.  Pero, era una época muy difícil en el país de El Salvador - había mucho violencia y el comienzo de la guerra civil. Pero, en tres años, el 24 de marzo de 1980, él fue asesinado por los militares de este país celebrando la misa en el hospital de la Divina Providencia en El Salvador.  Durante su servicio como Arzobispo, el estaba la para los pobres y los oprimidos.  El estaba una voz de la justicia y los valores del evangelio.  Según el Papa Francisco, Oscar Romero es un mártir de la fe.  San Oscar Romero es muy querido por mucha gente en el mundo por su valor en su proclamación del Evangelio. Aquí son las palabras de San Oscar Romero de su homilia de 20 de noviembre de 1977:  “Qué hermoso será el día en que cada bautizado comprenda que su profesión, su trabajo, es un trabajo sacerdotal; que, así como yo voy a celebrar la misa en este altar, cada carpintero celebra su misa en su banco de carpintería; cada hojalatero, cada profesional, cada médico con su bisturí, la señora de mercado en su puesto… están haciendo un oficio sacerdotal.  Cuántos motoristas sé que escuchan esta palabra allá en sus taxis. Pues tú, querido motorista, junto a tu volante, eres un sacerdote si trabajas con honradez, consagrando a Dios tu taxi, llevando un mensaje de paz y de amor a tus clientes que van en tu carro.”  

19 March 2019 - Feast of St Joseph - Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A

      As we celebrate the feast of St Joseph today, I thought about the connection that Pope Francis has to him.  One of the first things that happened after Francis became pope was that Joseph was permanently added to the saints mentioned in Eucharistic prayer at mass.  Francis’ connection starts early in his life, since it was in the church of St Joseph in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when, in 1953, at the age of 17, Pope Francis, who was then known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, discerned his vocation and decided on his intention to become a priest.  It was actually on the feast of St Joseph six years ago in 2013 when Pope Frances was inaugurated as the head of our Church.  

        There is a statue that is popular of St Joseph that Pope Francis has popularized in recent years.  He has had this statue since he was rector of the Jesuit seminary of San Miguel in Argentina.  The statue shows St Joseph sleeping.  We hear today in the Gospel of how Joseph, which he was asleep, received the message from the Angel in a dream to receive Mary into his house as his wife and to raise Jesus as his son.  Later in the Gospels, Joseph receives another message from God while he is asleep, warning him about the danger of King Herod, as he is moved to action protect with loving care Mary and Jesus from this danger.  The pope places under the statue of sleeping Joseph a list of his prayers and petitions.  He invites St Joseph to join him in offering the prayers to God, to help solve these difficult situations of those in need.  He calls upon the love, mercy, and attention of Joseph to help in getting answer from God for these prayers.  This devotion to St Joseph, popular in Latin America, sees St Joseph helping us and protecting us, even while he is asleep. 

      So, as we celebrate the feast of St Joseph today in the midst of our Lenten journey, we ask him to pray for us.  

15 March 2019 - Friday of the first week of Lent - Ezekiel 18:21-28

        Our first readings this week during the first full week of Lent present us messages from different books of the Old Testament.  Today, the message comes from the prophet Ezekiel.  A couple of days ago we heard from the book of Jonah, how Jonah brought a message of renewal and repentance to the Ninevites, the mortal enemy of the nation of Israel.  The Ninevites believed in the love and mercy of God that was offered to them as they changed their ways and repented, much to Jonah’s dismay.  In today’s reading, Ezekiel also speaks of repentance, of how God rejoices when the sinner repents.  God offers us a chance to repent through his freely given gift of salvation.  But, salvation is an on-going process in our lives as we are called to a continuous process of conversion and renewal.  Even though this is a freely given gift, each one of us have the responsibility to act upon this invitation, to repent and turn away from our sins.  We are all ultimately held accountable.  But even if we do something wrong, if we break God’s laws and commandments, if we truly repent and reform our lives, God will forgive us, just as he forgave the Nineties when they repented. 

      But Jesus tells us that we must go one step forward.  Love is not just obeying God’s laws and commandments.   We are to love and we are to forgive out of an inner conviction.  Our actions and all that we are must flow from our heart and our faith.  But, in order to be true to ourselves and true to our faith, we are called to develop our consciences according to the norms of God’s laws and the norms of our Church.  But that is not something we do in an instant or in one day.  It is something that we work on everyday as we continue on our journey of faith.  

17 de marzo de 2019 - el segundo domingo de cuaresma - Lucas 9:28-36

     En la conmemoración del segundo domingo de Cuaresma, nuestro Evangelio nos presenta la transfiguración de Jesucristo. Una transfiguración es literalmente un cambio en la forma o apariencia: esa es la definición literal de esa palabra. Podríamos preguntarnos por qué ocurrió la transfiguración de Cristo y a qué propósito sirvió. La transfiguración sirvió para fortalecer la fe de algunos de los discípulos de Jesucristo poco antes de su pasión y su crucifixión. 

     Esperamos con interés las experiencias en la cima de la montaña que tenemos en la vida. Son emocionantes, maravillosos, y transformadores. A menudo, no queremos que terminen nunca estas experiencias sobre la montaña. Tal vez comparado con esas experiencias en la cima de la montaña, algo que forma parte de nuestra vida cotidiana parece como algo común y mundano - no tienen el mismo nivel de emoción. 

        Sin embargo, Jesús y esos apóstoles no estaban destinados a permanecer en la montaña para siempre. Tuvieron que bajar para enfrentar la realidad de sus vidas. Yo también amo las experiencias en la cima de la montaña, como cuando voy de peregrinación. La alegría que me siento en mi corazón cuando voy allí es como nada en mi vida. Sin embargo, es especial porque no es una ocurrencia cotidiana. Es algo por lo que tengo que trabajar y sacrificarme. A veces es difícil atravesar nuestros días. A veces nuestros días parecen aburridos o parecen pesadez. Esas experiencias en la cima de la montaña pueden darnos energía. Pueden renovarnos y ayudarnos a continuar nuestro camino. Pueden darnos inspiración.

    El sacramento de reconciliación es una experiencia importante en nuestro camino cuaresmal.  Esta tarde, después de la misa, y en dos semanas también, tenemos la adoración de la santísima eucaristía y el sacramento de reconciliación.  Es un momento para pasar tiempo con Dios, para encontrar a Dios por su sanación.  Tenemos esta invitación por la parte de la Iglesia hoy.  

17 March 2019 - 2nd Sunday in Lent - Cycle C - The Transfiguration of Jesus - Luke 9:28B - 36

       As we commemorate the 2nd Sunday in Lent today, our Gospel presents us the transfiguration of Jesus.  A transfiguration is literally a change in form or appearance: that’s the literal definition of that word.  We might wonder why Jesus’ transfiguration occurred and what purpose it served.  The transfiguration served to strengthen the faith of some of Jesus’ disciples shortly before his passion and crucifixion. We look forward to the mountaintop experiences we have in life, don’t we.  They exciting, wonderful, and transformative.  Often, we don’t want them to ever end. Perhaps compared to those mountaintop experiences, something that is part of our everyday lives does seems to commonplace and mundane, not having the same level of excitement.  However, Jesus and those apostles were not meant to remain on the mountain forever.  They had to come down to confront the reality of their lives. I too love the mountaintop experiences, such as when I go on pilgrimage.  The joy I feel in my heart when I go there is like nothing else.  However, it is special because it is not an everyday occurrence.  It is something that I have to work for and sacrifice for.  Sometimes it is tough getting through our days.  Sometimes our days seem boring or seem like drudgery.  Those mountaintop experiences can energize us and renew us and help us keep going on our journey.  They can provide inspiration for us.  

        Parishioner Patrick Fields is going to talk to us about Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who lived in a monastery in Kentucky,  Merton certainly had some great mountaintop experiences in his life, but his everyday life as a monk is what sustained him.  Born in 1915, he lived a very worldly life completely apart from a life of faith as a youth and young man.  It was though reading philosophy as a student at Columbia University in New York that first attracted him to Catholicism.  Feeling called to be a priest, Merton was turned down by the Franciscan when he was honest with them about his past.  Merton would go on to become a Trappist monk, becoming famous for many popular books he had written.  He also pursued a dialogue between the religions of Asian and the Catholic faith.  He life came to a premature end when he had a freak accident while attending a conference in Thailand in December 1968.  Merton’s conversion and transformation speak to us on our own Lenten journey.  Here is a great quote from Thomas Merton for us to ponder this Lenten season: 

“The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture.”

13 March 2019 - Wednesday of the first week of Lent - Jonah 3:1-10

    God’s grace is offered to us as a freely given gift  We hear about God’s grace in our story from the book of Jonah today.  As we hear about Jonah being sent to convert the Ninevites, the mortal enemies of Ancient Israel, can we really blame him for wanting to run away?  Although, in a way, I would love to be able to go to North Korea and have Kim Jong Un convert or to Syria or another country in the Middle East and having the leaders of ISIS repent.  Wouldn’t it be great to put those problems behind us?

     But while God was offering his love and mercy to the people of Nineveh, Jonah did not want any part of it.  It revolted him.  He just wanted to run away.  We’re not really sure why Jonah was recalcitrant to God’s call.  But, he reluctantly preached this message of repentance.  Much to his dismay, the Nineties heard this message and took it to heart, repenting from their evil ways. 

       We want mercy for ourselves, right?  We want God to forgive the sins we’ve done.  But, often, we begrudge that mercy for others.  We would more often want to see them punished for what they have done.  I remember when I was in Ecuador, a lady came to the nuns of the parish to pay a mass intention. The mass intention was for the anger and power of God to come down on her husband, to punish him and make him suffer.  You see, he had left her for another woman.  We may not think someone is worthy of God’s mercy and graciousness.  We may not think that they are capable of repentance.  But who is worthy?  God’s mercy and grace are freely given gifts that are offered to all.  It is nothing we can earn by our own merits.  

       In the end, the Ninevites repented, they did penance, they reconciled with God.  The story of Jonah and the Ninevites is a good story for us to hear during this holy season of Lent.  

10 de marzo de 2019 - 1er domingo de Cuaresma - Ciclo C - Lucas 4: 1-13

      Aquí estamos al comienzo de nuestro camino de Cuaresma en este primer domingo de Cuaresma.  Comenzamos la temporada de Cuaresma la semana pasada en el Miércoles de Ceniza.  Las misas siempre están llenas ese día - los fieles quieren declarar públicamente su deseo de alejarse del pecado y seguir el Evangelio de Jesucristo.  Creo que muchos de ustedes se sientan igual que yo con la Cuaresma. Yo tengo mucha esperanza en esta temporada cada año para tener la oportunidad de profundizar la comprensión de nuestra fe católica, de participar en una temporada litúrgica que nos dé tiempo para la renovación, la reflexión y los nuevos comienzos.

     En el primer domingo de Cuaresma, la lectura del Evangelio siempre trata sobre la tentación de Jesús en el desierto. De hecho, los 40 días de Cuaresma corresponden a los cuarenta días de Jesús en el desierto. Para Jesús, fue un camino de preparación para su misión y su ministerio. Al final de los 40 días, Jesús está tentado por el diablo.

       Todos nosotros enfrentamos nuestras propias tentaciones y nuestros propios obstáculos en nuestro camino de fe.  Al escuchar a Jesús con su lucha con el diablo y con sus tentaciones, podríamos pensar en las maneras en que nuestro camino de Cuaresma y nuestras disciplinas de Cuaresma pueden ayudarnos con nuestros pecados y nuestras tentaciones.  Como católicos, tenemos tres disciplinas en nuestro camino de Cuaresma: el ayuno, la oración y las acciones de caridad y misericordia.  Con el ayuno, podemos hacer sacrificios para caminar con Jesús en su camino en el desierto. Con la oración, podemos ir a las misas diarias durante las semanas.  Podemos orar el via cruces cada semana.  En nuestra parroquia, tenemos el via cruces cada domingo después de la misa dominical en español. 

     Con las obras de caridad, tocamos la vida de nuestro prójimo con ayuda y apoyo de la profundidad de nuestra fe.  Desde el Evangelio de hoy de Jesús y sus tentaciones en el desierto, podemos aprender esta enseñanza: la Cuaresma es un tiempo de transformación y renovación para nosotros, un don de Dios en este sentido. En el Evangelio de San Lucas, se dice que Jesús está conducido al desierto después de su bautismo en el río Jordán.  Jesús necesitaba este tiempo de prueba, de tribulación, y de transformación antes de comenzar su ministerio con el pueblo de Israel.  Nosotros necesitamos en un tiempo de conversión y transformación y renovación también durante cuaresma en nuestra vida de fe. Todas las instituciones humanas están en necesidad de transformación y renovación, ya que por su propia definición, nada humano es perfecto.  La iglesia, nuestra sociedad, nuestra vida - todas ellas están en necesidad de cambio y renovación. 

      La Iglesia nos invita esta semana para empezar esta temporada de cuaresma, para acompañar Cristo en su camino y su pasión.  Podemos aprovechar de estos días con nuestro Señor.  

6 March 2019 - Ash Wednesday - Joel 2:12-18

       Ash Wednesday is an important day for us in the Catholic Church. Even though Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the holy season of Lent, is not a holy day of obligation. But it is a day when Catholics want to come to Mass, to show their desire to change, to repent, and to renew their lives.  For us priests, it is one of the busiest days of the year for us.  In fact, I have six Masses today, with Masses at St Joseph High School, the state prison in Pearl, and Millsaps College, in addition to the three Masses I have at my parish of St Jude. 

        In the book of Joel in our first reading today, the prophet speaks out in a time of great tragedy and danger.  Their land has been ravaged by a plague of locusts that has destroyed their crops.  There is a severe drought in the land. The people wonder how they can survive. Joel tells the people that they have brought this disaster upon themselves due to their lack of faith in God. He tells them that they must repent their ways. But he does not tell them that they need to make a public display of remorse that was common in the Jewish tradition, of tearing apart their garments.   Rather Joel tells them that they need to repent in their hearts. This holy season of Lent calls us to look into our hearts and to see the way we need to change our lives.  Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing. It is about opening up ourselves to a newness of life. To renewal.  To transformation.

      Our holy season of Lent in the Church calls us to three disciplines. The first is prayer.  We are to look at our prayer life in a special way during Lent.  One of my favorite Lenten prayers is the Stations of the Cross.  I want to encourage all of you to pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during the Lenten season, marking the day of the week that Jesus died on the cross. Many parishes have stations on Fridays during Lent. By praying the Stations of the Cross, we reflect upon Jesus’ passion and journey.  We look at the ways Jesus is calling us to change and convert as we look into our own hearts. We are also called to make sacrifices and to give things up.  Perhaps it is a special food, or Facebook, or playing video games, something you like doing that is definitely a sacrifice to give up. A third thing we can do is to reach out to others in a special way or to take on special works of charity.  At St Jude, we are trying to collect clothing or other items for prisoners that they will need when they are released from prison.  Some people put coins in a rice bowl collection box that will help fund projects at Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services.  What you choose to do during Lent is up to you.  The point is, to make this season a meaningful time in your life of faith, a time when you look at your life and enact ways to renew and transform.  To make changes not that will take affect during these 40 days in preparation for the commemoration of Holy Week and Easter, but changes that will have long lasting affects on our journey of faith. My prayer for all of you during this Lenten season is that you truly feel yourself accompanying Jesus on his journey of his passion, the cross and the resurrection.  

8 March 2019 - Friday After Ash Wednesday - Isaiah 58:1-9A

     We hear a very interesting reading from the prophet Isaiah today during these first days of Lent. This was most likely written after the people had returned to Jerusalem after their exile in Babylon. Their temple had been destroyed.  Their beautiful city was in ruins.  They had no king. It is said that Israel fasted twice a year for many years after they returned to Jerusalem. The people of Israel ask God:  We are fasting.  We are making sacrifices.  Why are you depriving us of justice? God responds that Israel needs to stop depriving those around them of justice and righteousness. Israel believes that they have been following the ritual ordinances of God’s law.  However, they have neglected the ethical demands of the law. The people believe that they are victims, that God is treating them unjustly.  But, in fact, they are victimizing others. 

       As we begin the holy season of Lent, we are called to the disciplines of this holy season. We are called to prayer - to grow in our faith and our relationship with God. We are called to sacrifice, to give things up. We are called to works of charity - to reach out to others out of our faith. Lent is a season when we look inward.  When we look for the ways we need to change, reform, and renew.  But Lent is also a season when we look outward, to the ways we reach out to others and interact with the community.  Our Catholic faith is about both/and, not either/or.  

12 March 2019 - Tuesday of the first week of Lent - Matthew 6:7-15

       As I hear Jesus teach us to pray today in the Gospel of Matthew, I think of the different prayers I love to pray in the Catholic faith: the Our Father, the rosary, the stations of the cross, the prayer of St Michael the Archangel, the prayers of St Teresa of Avila, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  When we pray them, the meaning of these prayers should penetrate our hearts.  In the our Father, we don’t merely address God as the creator, but rather call him our Father, our parent.  Through this prayer, we honor and praise his name and his being.  In praying to God, we pray for the coming of his kingdom, for the fulfillment of his kingdom, for the values, harmony, goodness, and peace that come with his kingdom.  In this prayer, we pray for our needs, we pray for the needs of others, we pray for forgiveness.  When we pray the words of the Lord’s prayer, we are to pray for a transformation that the words symbolize and stand for.  We pray for a  transformation for us and a transformation for the world.  When we pray this word today, when we pray it every day, may we really hear the words and realize what we are saying.