6/23/2012 – Tuesday of 12th week in ordinary time - Matthew 7:6, 12-14

       Jesus today tells us to enter through the narrow gate, for the wide one is the one that leads us to destruction.  As I thought about this verse, I reflected upon all that has gone on in the Church and in the world since the Fortnight for Freedom was declared by the Catholic Church this decade.  We have seen a lot of attacks on the Church and on our faith since the Fortnight for Freedom was declared.  A few years ago, the Church reframed the Fortnight for Freedom into Religious Freedom Week.  

It feels like sometimes we are always being criticized, right?  I remember being in front of the abortion clinic praying for the unborn with Christians from different denominations when the police threatened us with being arrested and having our cars towed.  As you recall, too, the city of Jackson tried to pass all these rules recently to keep us from protesting in front of the clinic.  Yet, the mayor of Jackson who opposed our right to protest is saying very different things in public today about the right to protest.  Why the disconnect?  Why the attacks on our faith?  

For standing up for the values of our faith, we are not excluding people.  Being God’s love and mercy into the world does not mean that do not proclaim the values of our faith.  Standing up for what we perceive to be the truth is not always easy and comfortable.  While we see so many in our society trying to go through the wide door, what sense does that make of the narrow door that Jesus mentions in today’s Gospel?  It means living out our faith, not just proclaiming it in words.  It has been so hard for us during the pandemic not being able to have public mass in our parishes, but also not being able to engage in a lot of our outreach ministries, which include going out to the prisons and the state mental hospital.  

When I was out in front of the abortion clinic praying, being very visible in my collar, I thought about the fear of being arrested.  I remember in Yazoo City when the chaplain at the prison was opposing me in my Catholic ministry there, I thought they were going to find a way to get me in trouble too.  I remember being so tortured and agonized in those feelings, but ultimately I found the courage to continue in that ministry.  As we celebrate Religious Freedom Week, I it as a way for us to be encouraged and supported as we proclaim and live out our faith. 

29 December 2019 – The Feast of the Holy Family – Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Colossians 3:12-21, Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

      Today is the first Sunday of our Christmas season.  Even though the Christmas season is only 2 ½ weeks long in our Church’s liturgical year, we have a group of special celebrations within this time.  Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. Then, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God on January 1. Then the feast of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord are the next two Sundays. As we celebrate Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as the Holy Family in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we think back to the 4th Sunday of Advent, when we heard about the Angel of the Lord coming to Joseph in a dream, telling him about the upcoming birth of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, the Angel appears to Joseph again in a series of dreams after the birth of Jesus, giving him instructions as to what he needs to do in order to protect and take care of his family.  When we think about the feast of the Holy Family that we celebrate today, we probably think about the harmony and nurturing of the families in which we grew up, and if we are adults, the families that we are developing now ourselves. In the other readings we hear today, we hear of attributes that we should aspire to in our families: honoring and obeying our parents, and showing compassion, kindness, humility, and patience toward one another in our families.

       The one word that struck me when I was thinking about today’s celebration was the word “holy.”  We celebrate the holy family today, but what does it mean to be holy?  We throw the word “holy” around so much when we talk about faith – we even sign the “Holy Holy” every time we celebrate mass together.  But, perhaps we are not quite sure what the word “holy” really means for us as followers of Christ. Many believers may mistakenly believe that to be holy, we need to run away from the world.  Or that to be holy we need to be in church praying on our knees all day long or praying the rosary every hour of the day.  However, being holy doesn’t mean walking around with a halo, not being allowed to have any fun, or despising the things of this world.  Being holy is not about withdrawing from the world or about being stoic all the time.  Rather being holy brings us life and refines who we are as human beings.  Being holy does not put a damper on our emotions, but rather elevates them.  Holy people are probably the most joyful people you can meet.

       On our journey of faith as Catholics, we are called to attend mass, to spend time in prayer and in spiritual formation, to do good works of charity and mercy as fruits of our faith.  However, none of those things are what really define holiness.  Holiness is all about how we respond to God’s call for us in our lives, how we are guided by the Holy Spirit.  Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were led by God in their lives, as they traveled to Egypt and to other places as part of God’s plan for them, as they then returned to Nazareth where Jesus was raised by his parents in the Jewish faith. In the spirit of the way Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived their lives in holiness, we are called to be holy as well, to live each moment of our lives in what God is calling it to be, in living with the goal of being a disciple of Christ in the forefront of our minds. In holiness, we are to surrender to God’s will and we to desire to have our faith in the center of our lives. In our call to holiness, one of the most important things is knowing when to say yes in life and knowing when to say no. In holiness, we engage in life. Like we saw in Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, in the way they lived in holiness, we are called to engage in life in all of its difficulties, its struggles, and its tensions, but we are to do so in a way that reflects the fidelity we have to the will of God. 

29 de diciembre de 2019 – La Sagrada Familia – Sirácide 3,2-6, 12-14, Colosenses 3,12-21, Mateo 2,13-15, 19-23

     En nuestro mundo, muchas personas piensan que la celebración  de navidad termina con la misa en el 25 de diciembre.  Pero, en realidad, la navidad es un tiempo litúrgico en la Iglesia muy rico con muchas celebraciones – este temporada empieza con las misas de la Noche Buena y del día de Navidad.  En este tiempo de navidad, celebramos la Sagrada Familia, María – la Madre de Nuestro Señor, la Epifanía – que es la celebración de los tres reyes magos, y el bautismo de Nuestro Señor.  Hoy, en nuestra celebración de la Sagrada Familia – María, José, y Jesús – escuchamos el Evangelio de San Mateo, y podemos recordar el cuarto domingo del Adviento, cuando escuchamos sobre la visita del Ángel de Dios a San José sobre la nacimiento de su hijo que viene. Hoy, escuchamos sobre la visita del Ángel a San José en un sueno otra vez, con instrucciones que él necesita hacer para proteger a su familia.  Cuando reflexionamos en la fiesta de la Sagrada Familia, probablemente pensamos en la harmonía de nuestras familias que es un valor muy importante.  En las otras lecturas de hoy, escuchamos sobre las características que debemos tener en nuestra familia.  Sirácide dice que debemos tener el respeto y la reverencia con nuestras familias, que necesitamos obedecer a nuestros padres.  También, San Pablo nos explica que como miembros de una familia de fe, debemos mostrar la compasión, la humildad, y la paciencia a nuestro prójimo.

      Hay dos palabras que podemos mirar en esta celebración hoy día – son las palabras “santo” y “sagrado.” Celebramos la Sagrada Familia hoy – pero que significa para ser “santo” o ser “sagrado?”  Usamos la palabra “santo” en nuestras vidas – cantamos el “Santo Santo” en la misa cada domingo – pero tal vez no estamos seguro en el significado de la palabra “santo”  y la palabra “sagrada” para nosotros como seguidores de Cristo.  Muchos creyentes podemos creer que “santo” significa “ser aparte del mundo.”  O pensamos que para ser santos, necesitamos orar de rodilla todo el día.  Para ser “santo” no significa que caminamos todo el día con un aura, que no podemos tener diversión en nuestra vida.  Para vivir una vida santa, no necesitamos estar estoicos, pero para ser santos, esta característica de santidad puede refinar y definir nuestra identidad como seres humanos.  Para ser santos, no necesitamos negar nu estras emociones.  Al contrario - ser santos eleva nuestras emociones.  En muchos sentidos, una persona santa es la persona mas gozosa del mundo.

      En nuestro camino de fe como católicos, tenemos la llamada de asistir a la misa cada domingo, de orar y formarnos en nuestra espiritualidad, y de hacer obras de caridad y misericordia como frutos de nuestra fe.  Pero, nada de eso es la definición de santidad.   La santidad es la manera que podemos responder a la llamada de Dios, la manera que el Espíritu Santo nos guía en nuestro camino.  Dios guiaba a María, José, y Jesús en su llamada para ellos, en su viaje a Egipto y a otros lugares como parte del plan que Dios tiene para ellos, en su regreso a Nazaret donde Jesús creció con sus padres en la fe judía.  En el espíritu de María, José, y Jesús, en el espíritu que ellos vivían en santidad, tenemos esta llamada de santidad también, para vivir cada momento en nuestra vida en esta llamada, para vivir en la meta de ser discípulo de Cristo en el frente de nuestra mente.  En santidad, rendimos a la voluntad de Dios en nuestro deseo de recibir esta santidad como don de Dios.  En nuestra llamada de santidad, uno de las cosas mas importante es para conocer cuando necesitamos decir “si” y cuando necesitamos decir “no” en nuestra vida. Como María, José, y Jesús, en la manera que ellos vivieron en santidad, seguimos nuestro camino en todas sus dificultades, en todas sus luchas, y en todas sus tensiones, pero como reflexión de la fidelidad que tenemos en la voluntad de Dios.

13 August 2019 - Tuesday of the 19th week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

      Who is the greatest?  Who is the best?  Who is the richest?  Who is the fastest?  We seem obsessed with those things in the modern world.   Although, I must say, as a diehard Chicago Cubs fan, I grew up knowing that winning isn’t everything – hahaha.  (Having been a Cubs fan all my life, and having seen the Cubs with a losing season again and again, it was quite a wonderful surprise when I saw the Cubs win the World Season several years ago.)  Yet, taking pride in being the best and being the greatest is not anything new, as evidenced by the disciples asking Jesus in today’s Gospel as to who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  His answer – we need to humble ourselves in order to be the greatest.  We need to approach God with the heart of a child.

       Tomorrow evening, we will be celebrating the vigil mass for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  But tomorrow is also the feast day of a saint who speaks to us today in light of the Gospel message we just heard.  Maximilian Kolbe, was a Franciscan priest who was also a renowned scholar and theologian, the publisher of a popular Catholic magazine that had more than one million subscribers. He is remembered for is the way he lived our the values of the Gospel in his life each day.  Saint Kolbe believed that indifference was the deadliest poison we have in society, which he witnessed as Fascism spread throughout Europe.  Kolbe died in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland during the Second World War, having been arrested for the way his monastery helped out and sheltered the refugees who were being persecuted by the Nazis.  St Kolbe died when he voluntarily took the place of a married man with many children who was going to be put to death.  

         I found this prayer asking for the intercessions of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in A Book on the Saints by Anne Gordon.  I think it really captures the essence of this remarkable saint:  “Through your life and work you proved that nothing is more precious than our essential humanity.  I pray that you will stand by me and give me the courage to act everyday with the sense of fairness, compassion and respect for all living things that your exemplified.  You have shown that great faith may call for noble and heroic action.  If I am to be true to myself, Saint Kolbe, I pray that you will stand with me also in my most difficult hours.  Be a reminder to me that I must have the courage of my convictions.  Help me to imbue my every action with meaning and to have the courage to find the greater meaning and purpose to which I seek to dedicate my life.”