Homilies of Deacon John F Boyle Jr.

The Homilies of Deacon John F Boyle Jr.

The writings of Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, deal extensively with the topics of fear and love. According to Bill, the being of alcoholics was "shot through with self centered fear". They lived in desperate fear of not getting what they wanted or in fear of losing what little they had, usually a fear of both. The antidote, according to Bill, was love and that is why an alcoholic in order to recover was instructed to reach out to other alcoholics. Bill was very familiar with today's first reading from the first letter of John.

John teaches that perfect love, the love that is of God and not self-centered, drives out fear. Fear and perfect love can not co-exist. But in order for the transformation to take place requires an infusion of grace, a miracle. How else can mere mortals share in the love and life of God? The entire twelve step program of AA is designed to bring about this miracle. The first step requires an admission of defeat, an admission of powerlessness leading to a belief that a greater power, God, alone can restore sanity. The third step is a decision to turn one's will and life over to that power, the God of the individual's understanding. The remaining steps involve clearing away the wreckage of the past, making amends for past wrongs and reaching out to God in prayer and meditation and to others in love and service. It is a spiritual program of recovery based on the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius as incorporated into the Oxford movement of the early 20th century. It has saved the lives of millions including mine.

In my thirty-three years in AA I have witnessed many miracles. A friend of mine used to say when speaking at an AA meeting that he was a miracle looking at a room full of miracles. I have never personally witnessed a miracle outside of AA but neither have I seen another group of people who work so hard at inducing them. Richard Pryor, the comedian who set himself on fire free basing dope, said that you derive a great sense of urgency to action from the fact that your pants are on fire.

Just think what miracles we could accomplish if we could be on fire with the love of God of which Saint John writes. That perfect love through which we experience God in this life and which we are called to have for one another could induce the miracles of grace which our society so craves. What if we all reached out to one another in love and thereby created a world free from fear? What a wonderful world it could be! What a wonderful world it would be!

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The first reading today is one of the most powerful in The New Testament in two ways

First, it reminds us of something we don't often consider. When we think of Christ we usually think of the risen, glorified Christ. We don't usually dwell on Jesus in his humanity. This reading reminds us that Jesus was like us in every respect. With the exception of sin, all that it means to be human also applied to him. He was, like most men all through the ages, a working man and so he confronted all the difficulties that go with that lot in life: difficult supervisors and dead beat customers; risk of physical injury; unrealistic dead lines and the like. Jesus had taxes and bills to pay. He probably was out of work from time to time. He also had joy in his life. He had the most loving of mothers and a solid stepfather. He no doubt enjoyed religious festivals and family celebrations. It is safe to say that, given the different time and culture, his life up until age thirty was pretty much like anyone's. When we approach him with the difficulties we encounter in ordinary life he knows what we are going through and understands. The incarnation was a miraculous marriage of human and divine nature in one person but it was also 2 o'clock feedings, dirty diapers, colic, skinned knees, loose teeth, bullies, acne, lost jobs, bill collectors, taxes, annoying neighbors, death of loved ones, birthday parties, graduations and weddings. Oh Oh, weddings, that's another story.

Secondly, it also tells us why Jesus had to know what it is to be tempted; what it is to experience fear, even terror; what it is to suffer. It was not to satisfy any blood lust of his Heavenly Father. It was so that he might help us when we are tempted, afraid or suffering. No matter how bad things get we can always turn to Jesus and know that he understands, know that he went through worse, know that, if we can turn it all over to him, we will make it through even the worst of times.

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Today Saint Paul reminds us that Jesus did not come to save angels, he came to save men and women, the sons and daughters of Abraham, human beings. We are told that because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those, that's all of us, who are being tested. Because of his suffering and cruel death Jesus comes to us as one who not only preached a message of self sacrifice in reparation for sin but himself made the ultimate sacrifice in expiation of the sins of all people. In the vernacular, he not only talked the talk but he also walked the walk.

It is no accident that self help groups are effective in helping those who seek them out. One who has suffered as you are suffering speaks with much more authority than one who has not. The fact that someone has suffered as you are suffering and has come through it in one piece gives hope to the hopeless. To be credible one needs credentials. If you want to be an effective helper you need to have at one time needed to be helped. If Jesus was to be the hope of the hopeless it was necessary that he, himself, over come suffering and death. It is in Jesus' victory over suffering and even death that gives us hope of eternal life. No matter what we suffer we can never say that Jesus doesn't understand. Jesus knows, Jesus has been there and therein lies our hope that in Jesus we too will overcome, someday.

"Overcome someday" those words have a ring to them. Especially today, the 74th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King. Reverend King was a true disciple. He too did not just preach, he acted. He advocated civil disobedience but he also went to jail with those who heeded his words. Just has Jesus stood up to an authority that imposed unjust burdens on his people, Martin Luther King stood up to authorities so steeped in prejudice and evil that those who did not live in those times can not fully appreciate just how evil they were. Black and white television pictures of fire hoses, police dogs and night sticks being used against unarmed civilians incensed all fair minded people and eventually forced the Federal Government to step in and halt the brutality. Can any of us who saw it ever forget the pictures of a little girl in pig tails wearing her best dress and carrying her books being escorted through a spitting howling mob just so she could go to school? I attended a memorial service for Reverend King at the Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton. It was the place of worship of the black community in Newton, a community that dated from before the civil war. The church was full, standing room only. The Pastor's name was O'Neill and he was a big man with a powerful voice. He could hardly speak that day. The grief in that church was so heavy it could hardly be borne. I really don't remember what was said but I'll never forget the profound sadness I felt to see the looks of desolation on the faces of those around me. Jesus was present in that church and I know his heart was broken anew at the suffering he saw and only he, as the one who had suffered, could fully understand and appreciate.On April 4th our Episcopal brothers and sisters observe that day, the day Reverend King died, as a memorial to a martyr. I think that this time they got it right.

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When I passed the bar my mother was very proud. She used to send me birthday cards addresses to Attorney Boyle. But when it came to taking legal advice from me she would look at me strangely and say "Are you sure". On some level I was never a real lawyer to my mother. She knew me too well. She remembered when I didn't have enough brains to come in from the rain and had to be watched every minute lest I do something stupid and hurt myself. She could not disassociate the me whom she had raised from the me I had become. I have a friend who's daughter has become a physician. He says he has a hard time following her medical advice because it is coming from someone he used to feed baby cereal.

This is what happened to Jesus when he went home. His neighbor's could not forget that they knew him as a child, a carpenter, and Mary's son, who grew up under their noses. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. After all he had just come from raising the daughter of a temple official from the dead. The hemorraghing woman was cured by merely touching his cloak because she had faith in his power to cure her. At home he could work no mighty deeds because their was no faith in his ability to do so. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. Jesus relates their failure to recognize him for who he is to the historical failure of the people of Israel to recognize the prophets sent to them by God over the years. He can see his own future, rejection and a painful death, in the actions of his neighbors and it must have been devastating.

We must ask ourselves if we have become like Jesus neighbors. Is this why the age of miracles has passed? Have we become too familiar with Jesus and lost the appreciation of just who and what he is? Have the miracles ceased to occur because we don't expect them to occur? By our lack of faith have we tied our savior's hands? We need miracles today more than ever but not necessarily physical healings. Medical science has advanced to the point where it can work what would be miracles in Jesus time. My friend's daughter could probably have handled the woman's hemorrhage. She could not have brought the little girl back from the dead but probably could have kept her from dyeing in the first place. The miracles we need are for human life to be recognized for what it is, a precious gift from God to be protected and respected from conception to natural death. That pornography to be recognized as a perversion of human love and not protected speech. That violence be rejected as an accepted means of gaining one's political agenda.

These and more can be accomplished by him who defeated sin by his death and resurrection but only if we have faith that he can and will do so.

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In today's Gospel Jesus affirms the law of the Torah, the Jewish Scriptures, as described in the first reading. In light of the subsequent mission of Saint Paul to non-jews and the decision of the first church council, the Council of Jerusalem, not to require Gentile converts to become Jews, this is a difficult passage. Are we subject to the Law of Moses or are we not? Entire books have been written in an attempt to resolve this apparent contradiction. I will not attempt to do so even if I could. Obviously we do not obey the over 600 requirements of the Law of Moses as contained in the Jewish scriptures, so what meaning can this Gospel have for us in the year 2001?

I believe that for our purposes we can substitute the concept of Natural Law for the Law of the Torah. The Torah codified the natural law in the ten commandments. Saint Thomas Aquinas defined the natural law as "the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided". In his Encyclical, The Splendor of Truth, Pope John Paul says the natural law "is the human expression of God's eternal law". It is an objective standard built into our human nature by which we determine what is right and what is wrong.

The existence of a natural law was once universally accepted but in our society its existence is denied. The standard now is a subjective standard and varies according to the judgement and sensations of the individual. If it feels good it must be right. If it is inconvenient it must be wrong. For example, natural law dictates that all life is sacred from conception to natural death. Situational ethics, as taught by the head of the Ethics department of Princeton University, holds that human life has value only to the extent that contributes to the society of which it is a member. Infants and elderly or infirm do not contribute and therefore their lives have no value.

This man actually teaches that parents have the right to terminate their child's life up to the age of eighteen months. He is the head of the ethics department at Princeton University!!!

We must listen to what Jesus tells us in this Gospel. We must not only obey God's law but we must teach these commandments, we must be outspoken advocates for the natural law; for the existence of an objective standard, of right and wrong. If we aren't, we who are privileged to receive his body and blood in the sacrament of his love, who will be?

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It's funny. When we want to believe something almost anything will do to convince us. If you can find out what a person really wants, you can make them believe almost anything. Many people who are overweight are desperate to believe that the latest fad diet or medication or surgical procedure will give them the body beautiful. I personally have lost the same 50 pounds at least five different ways. The trouble is that it is never really lost. It just sort of floats around over my head and when I'm not looking it drops back on and brings along a few more. I know how hard it is to take off weight and keep it off. Yet, when I get a piece of junk mail telling me I can eat all I want and lose 10 pounds a week I want to believe it. There is a set of before and after pictures to prove it's true. I have given up and don't reply to such ads anymore but I'm sure many people do or they wouldn't keep sending them out. Mass marketers know that if you can promise people their heart's desire and provide any evidence at all that their product works you can sell a lot of stuff.

The opposite is also true. If someone refuses to believe, no sign will be enough to convince them. Jesus knows this and he knows that no matter what he does he will never be able to convince the Jewish elite, who have a vested interest in the status quo. So he tells them he will give them the sign of Jonah. Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish. Jesus will spend three days in the tomb and then like Jonah will reappear alive and changed. He warns them that history will condemn them for their failure to believe and their failure to repent will be their ruin.

It is the same today. Those who don't want to believe will persist in their disbelief no matter what happens and those who want to believe will do so no matter what happens. So the real question is why do we want to believe? For many it is because they have always believed. Raised in believing households they can't imagine a life which is not centered in their Christian faith. For others faith comes as the result of a personal epiphany. Some personal tragedy has occurred which has caused them to turn to God for consolation, for survival. For some it is the logic of Pasqual's wager. If the unbelievers are right and this is all there is we will never know it because death extinguishes consciousness. But, if the believers are right, the unbelievers will be in big trouble. Whatever the cause, when the predisposition to believe is present, God pours forth the gift of faith and we come to know Jesus as our redeemer, our savior, our lord.

So let us rejoice in the gift of faith in the risen Christ who feeds believers with his body and blood in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Let us pray for those, like those to whom Jesus spoke in today's gospel, who have missed the sign of Jonah, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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You can't really blame Jeremiah. He meant only good and is to be repaid by evil. He is, to put it mildly, very upset. If the first reading continued further, you would have heard him ask God to deliver the children of his enemies to famine, to put them to the sword, their wives to be childless and widows, the men die of pestilence, and the young men to be put to the sword.

How does this reading relate to the gospel? I don't know. I couldn't figure it out. I love this gospel. First of all because of the mother of James and John. She is pushing for preferment for her boys. My kind of mother. If she doesn't push them who will. She is the prototype of the Jewish mother. I had an Irish Jewish mother. I think I've told you that she used to send me birthday cards addressed to Attorney John Boyle. I can't help but think of what the mother would have done if she knew the nature of the cup Jesus and her boys would share. You can bet your bottom dollar that if she did those boys would have been out of there and fast.

I also like to speculate who the seat at Christ's right hand is reserved for. My pick is Mahatma Ghandi who lived a most Christian life but was a Hindu. Like Jesus, he was loving, gentle, and killed because of it. Ghandi said he loved Christianity, it was Christians he couldn't understand.

This gospel also makes it clear that this life is meant to be a life lived for others and not for self. Last night we had a session on vocations for the Confirmation class. A seminarian from Saint John's spoke to the kids as did a Paulist Sister. As these young people spoke I was reminded of the Brothers who taught me in high school, the Sisters whom I have known, the Priests I have been privileged to know and work with, my brother Deacons and their wives and you, the people of God of Saint Joseph's who come to mass every day. The common denominator is that all are people who love, people who love Jesus and who love other people. Nothing else is required.

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For those who pay attention, today’s Gospel makes things perfectly clear. Jesus is either the Son of God or he is a liar. Those to whom he spoke clearly understood that Jesus was claiming divinity.

In calling God his own father he is making himself equal to God. He claims the ability to raise the dead and to give life as does the Father. He claims that he has been delegated to judge on behalf of the Father. He tells us we can not honor the Father unless we honor t him, the Son, and promises eternal life to those who hear his word and believe in the one who sent him.

Those who claim that Jesus was only a teacher or just a good man deny that words have meaning. Would a good man claim to be what he is not? Would a good teacher teach that which he knows to be false? If he did so, he would be neither. No, Jesus is either what he claims to be: the Son of the One who gives life, rewards the faithful and condemns those who do wicked deeds or he is a fake and a fraud.

We must then ask our selves if it is likely that a fake and a fraud, who lived as a simple tradesman in a backwater of civilization, who died the cruel death of a criminal, would still be worshiped 2000 years later by more than a sixth of the population of the world and in all corners of the world. Not likely.

In his book <The Case for Christ= Lee Strobel, an investigative reporter, examines the evidence and concludes that Jesus is who he says he is. Strobel’s search is thorough and his arguments are compelling.

Prudence dictates that we listen closely to the words of Jesus for the failure to do so leads to condemnation. He really doesn’t ask much, only that we hear his words and believe in the One who sent him.

And that One, the psalm tells us, is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and just in all his ways. Would such a one promise so much and not give it? Not likely.

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"I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you."

During the next two weeks we will have many readings where Jesus rebukes a group identified as "the Jews". Most of these come from the Gospel of John which can be very hard on the Jews. We must remember that Saint John was a Jew who was greatly disappointed in the failure of most Jews to embrace Christ. I am afraid that this disappointment is reflected in some of his writings. In the past, terrible persecutions arose when these passages were read at this time of the year. When Jesus addresses "the Jews" it is not the entire Jewish people, even of his time never mind of all the centuries since his death. His comments are addressed to leaders of the Jewish aristocracy of his day, whom Saint John refers to as "the Jews". It is they who have a vested interest in the preservation of the status quo and therefore reject Jesus' message and plot his ruin.

We must remember that Jesus was a Jew as was his mother and disciples. It was the Jewish people to whom God revealed himself and with whom he first entered into covenant. In our first reading today it is three Jews who choose a fiery death rather worship a golden idol. It is three Jews who state that even if God will not deliver them they will still not serve the King's false god. The first martyrs were not Christians, they were Jews.

The Second Vatican Council in its Declaration "Nostrae Aetate" declares "Sounding the depths of the mystery which is the church, this sacred council remembers the spiritual ties which link the people of the new covenant to the stock of Abraham. Saint Paul reminds us in his Epistle to the Romans (9:4-5) that, "the Jews are the Israelites, and it is for them to be sons and daughters, to them belong the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race according to the flesh, is the Christ."

We must remember especially during this time of grace that, in the words of the Council, the Church "deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-semitism levelled at any time or from any source against the Jews."

So as we enter this time of the Passion of the Lord let us remember that is was a corrupt human nature, terribly damaged by the sin of Adam, and present in us all that resulted in the death of Jesus. It certainly was not particularly the fault of the entire Jewish people of his day or of any day.

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You’re really in trouble when you’re in trouble and you don’t know you’re in trouble. If you’re in trouble and know you’re in trouble, you’re not in as much trouble. Jesus is trying to impress upon those among the Jews who had been his followers and were wavering that in discipleship they will find the truth and the truth will set them free. They complain that they are already free. In their eagerness to defend themselves they miss the point and that is the trouble.

Jesus is not debating them, he is telling them. He is telling them that he has been in the presence of the Father and is doing what he has been told by the Father. In rejecting him they are rejecting the Father. They can not accept this fact. This dialog eventually ends up in Jesus affirming his divinity and they pick up stones to kill him.

I often wonder what I would have done in their place. I am afraid I probably would have acted as did these former disciples. Assume you have found someone whose message strikes a cord in you. He talks sense and you believe he is something special, maybe even the Messiah for whom you have been waiting. Then he starts to talk crazy talk. He says you must eat his flesh and drink his blood. He talks about talking to God and being in God’s presence. Anyone could have second thoughts under those circumstances. The sensible thing to do is to walk away and look for a new Messiah. In this case doing the sensible thing is exactly the wrong thing to do. They are in a lot of trouble but they don’t know it.

Yet we, two thousand years later, with no direct evidence and relying on what is mere hearsay have no trouble accepting the truth of these claims. What is the difference? We’re not any smarter than those first century Jews. They were probably far better educated in their faith than most of us are in ours today. First century Jews took religion very seriously. The difference is grace, unmerited, unearned and freely given. We also have the advantage of seeing the entire picture. We know the whole story. We know about the resurrection. We know about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. We know about the Eucharist. We can only hope that those who walked away from Jesus before the drama of the Incarnation played out to its conclusion returned to discipleship. Imagine the horror of finding out you had the pearl of great price, had it in your hands, and threw it away. That’s real trouble.

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Lord, teach us to pray. The Lord responds with the perfect prayer in less than forty words.

Entire books have been written about this brief prayer without exhausting the topic. This brief prayer revolutionized God's relationship to humanity by raising us to the status of children of the most high God.

Great Saints have produced famous lines regarding prayer. Saint John Damascene gave us the classic definition, "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God". Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, wrote, "For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." Saint Paul taught that only when we come to understand that "we do not know how to pray as we ought" are we ready to receive the gift of prayer. Echoing this thought Saint Augustine said, "Man is a beggar before God". David cries in the psalm we just heard, "Lord hear my prayer, listen to my cry for help." The psalms are the prayer of the children of Israel. Jesus prayed the psalms.

The poet, John Donne, wrote for all of us who are distracted at prayer, "I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in, and invite God, and his angels thither, and when they are there, I neglect God and his angels, for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door."

But then I remember, he is my Father and loves me and wants to hear from me even if imperfectly.

I remember that Jesus gave us the simple prayer, the Lord's prayer, and even I should be able to get through that so I try again and again and again. I hope that the Father counts the effort and not the results.

If all that Jesus gave us was this simple prayer which, in the words of the Catechism, expresses, "filial trust, joyous assurance, humble boldness and the certainty of being loved" his place in history would be merited. But he gave us so much more, redemption through his death, hope for eternal life through his resurrection and the Eucharist which gives us heaven on earth.

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Clearly she was pointing the Irish people to the Eucharist as the source of their recovery and restoration. The devotion of the Irish to the Eucharist became legendary and Ireland today is, at long last, a prosperous nation.

And so it is that Mary, who knew anguish as a broken hearted Jewish mother, points us to the Eucharist, the sacrament of the body and blood of her Divine Son as the New Testament source of God's blessing; of God's grace; and God's peace .

2001

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"Woe also to you lawyers." This phrase is the most often quoted to us Lawyers. The second most quoted phrase comes from Shakespear's Henry VI, "First we will kill all the Lawyers. I suppose woe is better than kill but neither is something to look forward to with pleasure. I believe that woe to Lawmakers would be more accurate. Both Congress and the Legislature routinely enact laws and then exempt themselves from the operation of those laws. It is this conduct which causes Jesus to call down woe upon the lawyers of his time. In any event it seems that distaste for lawyers goes back a long way. One fringe benefit of ordination for me is that now when people ask me what I do, I tell them I am a deacon and do not have to confess my lawyerness.

Aside from that, the passage from today's gospel is the reason that Jesus, my redeemer, is also my hero. This exchange comes during a meal in the house of a Pharisee. First Jesus accepts the invitation from one he knows is out to get him. He walks into the Lion's den. Next he fails to perform the ritual cleansing that Jews perform before dining. He knows that this will not go unnoticed and will cause comment. When it does, Jesus goes on the offensive. Gentile Jesus becomes a tiger. He lays them out, comparing them to unseen graves, a horror to the Pharisees, who regard the grave as unclean. It is the same as calling them pigs as far as they are concerned. When one of the lawyers speaks up, he levels them too. From this time on the Scribes and Pharisees are determined to finish him off. As far as they are concerned he is asking for it and he will get it. No one gets away with attacking them, they can not allow it because it is the truth and deep down they know it. If it were not the truth, he could be passed off as a nut and be ridiculed into obscurity. But the truth is a powerful weapon. As Harry Truman said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth, and they think it is hell." So not only was Jesus, our Savior, gentile, he was also tough, tougher than nails.

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Today's gospel is about stewardship. It is about our response to God's goodness to us.

Only if we fail to respond to God's goodness is it about his wrath. More is expected of those who are aware of God's love and will for us than those who are not. Thus it is that not as much is expected of the godless who have been given great wealth than is expected of us who may have been given less materially but more spiritually.

Stewardship is not primarily about treasure. It is about sharing all of God's gifts. If we have been given faith we must share it. If we have been given talent we must strive to develop it for the good of all. If we have been given love we must pass it on.

In order to do this we must take an inventory of the gifts we have received. This can be difficult especially if, like me, you are Irish. The Irish tend to devalue themselves and their gifts. This may shock you non Irish who dread Saint Patrick's Day and the explosion of blarney that occurs on that day. Believe me when I tell you that this display is the result of repressed egotism that can only be released at certain times and in certain places and often only with the help of strong drink. If you are Irish the warnings: "Who do you think you are?; Don't be getting too big for your britches; Now aren't you the smart one?" and the like are too familiar.

When you are raised in such a culture you tend to be one of two types: an over-achiever or under evaluator. The over-achievers never achieve enough and so strive for more while at the same time feeling guilty for having so much. They tend to endow chairs of theology at catholic colleges in their parent's names and give large sums of money to charity often anonymously. The under evaluators tend to think they really have nothing worthwhile to give and so do not appreciate the often heroic sacrifices they make because large sums of money are not involved. Their gifts are usually accompanied by statements such as: "I'm sorry it isn't more"; or "It's really nothing at all." They are the kind of people who built magnificent churches while making minimum wage or less and felt guilty because they didn't earn more so they could give more.

It is hard for we Irish to understand that stewardship is not about guilt and money but is about love of God and the sharing of ourselves in response to that love. It is least of all about money.

Let us therefore ask Jesus as we receive him in the Holy Eucharist to help us to evaluate our gifts fairly and honestly so that we may share in gratitude and love the gifts that God has given us and not feel guilt for failure to give what we never had to begin with.

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It was noon of a fine soft day in Ballybunion, County Galway when Pat Doherty pounded on Father Kelly's door. The good Father said, "What is all the noise about?" and Pat said "It's the second coming, I just saw the Good Lord walking up the road from Galway city. Father looked down the road and sure enough the Lord was trudging up from Galway City. He ran to the phone and called the Pope and asked what he should do. The Pope said "Look busy man, look busy."

Is this what the Lord means in today's gospel? Is it enough to look busy when he comes? Sometimes it appears so. Don't we imagine ourselves to be productive when we are merely busy? Nowhere in Gospel can we find the words "Blessed are the busy".

By virtue of our Baptism we share in life of Christ. Like Christ we are priests prophets and kings. We are the people from whom much will be required because we have been entrusted with much. We should never be content with mere busyness.

I believe that the people who come early to daily mass and pray the rosary, people like you, are the people who have gotten the message. The prudent and faithful stewards who wait patiently for his coming and attempt to do his will whether he comes today or not. My son in law's mother has been failing and is now confined to a nursing home in a wheel chair. She has had a series of strokes and finds it difficult to communicate. She is decidedly "not busy". Yet she continues to pray the rosary endlessly. I believe that Josie Ryan is doing more good for the world while confined to her chair than most of the multi-tasking, 24/7, busy people who expend a lot of effort doing things that they think are important but which often amount to little more than polishing the brass on the Titanic.

In today's Gospel Jesus tells us what is important. That the food allowance be distributed and on time. That is that people should not go hungry. In a world where billions do not get enough to eat while millions have too much and spend their time trying to get more, something is terribly wrong.

Thank God that Jesus did not come today because I don't think he would be too happy with too many; but, then they would probably be too busy to notice.

As we approach the Eucharist let us pray that our world becomes less busy with acquiring more and more interested in seeing that all of God's people at least have enough to eat.

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Jesus never answered the question. Will only a few be saved? One thing we know about God is that he likes large numbers. Billions of galaxies each contain billions of stars. And that is only in the observable universe. We don't know how many there are in the universe we will never see, at least in this world. There are six billion people on this planet today. Probably at least another six billion people have already lived on this planet.

Even a small percentage of twelve billion is a lot of people. How do they all get through the narrow door? The only possible way is one at a time. Each of us at the time of our death will, in turn, approach the door and knock upon it. Will it open? Or will we hear, "I don't know you"? I have thought of that moment many times and at length. I know my only hope is in Christ. On my own I'm a goner. It is then that I will rejoice in my membership in the Body of Christ that is the Church. I know that my soul will bear the mark of my baptism. I know that I will be fortified by the sacramental graces that I have received through the practice of the faith. The Church teaches that God wills all to be saved and gives to each sufficient grace for salvation. But the Church also teaches that Sacraments, outward signs instituted by Christ, confer graces upon us that are not otherwise available. This is why I cling to the Church. This is why I stay in the boat with Peter. It is the best place from which to knock on the door. It is my best hope of being recognized as one of Father's children and a brother of Christ. There may be other ways to get through the door but not for me. If I am saved, it will be through the grace of Christ dispensed by his Church through its sacraments.

As a lawyer I know that it always helps if you know the judge. Through his Church I have come to know Christ and have reason to believe that he has come to know me. It is therefor my hope that when he looks at me he will see himself because if he sees only me, I'm in trouble.

What a grace to be a Catholic. To have access to the sacraments and through them to life in Christ. This is why it is not true that one religion is as good as another. This is why we are obliged to evangelize, to know our faith and to share it. Remember, the door is narrow and it may also be closed. What a grace to have the key and be one the family.

Let us give thanks as we turn to the most blessed of all sacraments, the Eucharist, for our membership in the Mystical Body of Christ, in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

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This gospel reading is one of a series in Luke where Jesus teaches the disciples the relationship that exists between the Kingdom of God and material things. A first impression is one of unexpected harshness from the gentle Jesus.

To one would be disciple Jesus points out that he, the son of man, has no place to call his own and is in fact homeless. If that is the condition of the master what will be the condition of the disciple? To another, whom he calls to discipleship and who asks for time to bury his father, he points out that the spiritually dead can bury the physically dead while a true disciple proclaims the kingdom of God so that others may become spiritually alive. Another, called to discipleship, asks for time to say goodbye to his family, a reasonable request on the face of it. Jesus points out to him that it is impossible to plow a straight furrow while looking over your shoulder.

What Jesus is demonstrating in these examples is that there will always be reasons to delay a commitment to Jesus and his message. The call to discipleship does not come when there is nothing else going on and it is convenient to respond. Discipleship is always inconvenient and comes in the middle of things while we are busy living our life. Jesus tells us what we must do if we are to be his disciples. We can't look over our shoulder; we must detach from worldly things if we are to follow him. It is a matter of priorities; a matter of putting first things first.

Discipleship, even if inconvenient, comes first. It if does all other things fall into place.

The old testament reading provides an example. Nehemiah had a cushy job as cup bearer to the King but he asked leave from the King to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. Nehemiah is allowed to go and, in spite of great difficulties, rebuilds and fortifies the city. Once he takes hold of the plow, he does not look back.

How do we relate to all this. Our call to discipleship does not involve any great sacrifices on our part. We are not called to become homeless or quit our jobs and rebuild a city. But do we waste time and energy pining over the past, the so called good old days? Do we let resentments over yesterday's misfortunes or entanglements spoil our enjoyment of the beauty of today? Or do we recognize the fact that today is indeed the first day of the rest of our lives and is to be celebrated as an opportunity to proclaim the kingdom by manifesting our joy at living in the light of Christ. It is hard to do so while carrying a heavy bag of past resentments, disappointments, conflicts and failures so we are to let them go and look forward so that furrow we plow will be straight and lead to us to Jesus and his love.

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This is hard language. Jesus is talking here to disciples who will in fact have to make these choices. Many of those, if not most, to whom he is speaking will in fact give up their lives for their faith in Christ.

How does this relate to us in our own times? Are we expected to walk away from away from those we love and from what we have if we are to follow Jesus?

In a sense we are. Life in Christ is not for the faint hearted. More and more we find ourselves in opposition to the culture in which we live. As Saint Paul says in the first reading "we work out our salvation in fear and trembling". It is important that we keep our priorities in order. Our life in Christ must come first if we are to do so. By choosing Christ we take a leap of faith that all the other things will fall into their proper place. It is by choosing Christ first that we regain our perspective and are able to order our priorities.

Let us ask ourselves what we would do if we were asked to choose as the disciples were told they must choose. What would we choose? If we could not choose Christ, why couldn't we? What are our priorities? What is it that we cling to and why do we do so. What and why? The resolution of these questions can lead not only to eternal life in Christ but also to peace, love and joy in this life. What and why? What and why?

Let us now turn to Jesus in the sacrament of love and pray that through the graces received by the reception of his body and blood we need neither fear nor tremble but may find peace in choosing Christ first, before all other things.

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Faith and gratitude. Can you have one without the other? We know from scripture that even Jesus could perform no miracles where there was no faith. In today's gospel he tells the Samaritan who returned to give thanks that it was his faith which saved him. Therefore, it appears that without faith there is no cure and so without faith there would have been nothing to be grateful for. If we want to acquire the attitude of gratitude we must have something to be grateful for and if we want something to be grateful for we must have faith. Thus faith is required if we are to be grateful. A Jesuit education is a wonderful thing. As a lawyer the ability to complicate the simple has come in handy.

The simple fact is that one can not feel grateful and sorry for oneself at the same time.

Gratitude comes in handy if you want to be happy. It does help if you have something to be grateful for even if its only that nothing bad is happening; or if something bad is happening, that something worse is not happening. There I go again.

The first reading gives us something to be grateful for. We can be grateful that we are ordinary people because , "judgement is stern for the exalted". Wisdom tells us that, "the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test". We can rejoice in the fact that we never made it big.

Faith causes good things to happen. A Jesuit who taught me at Boston College said that the Lord wanted good things for those who love him. In spite of a few down times, over the long run, I have found that to be true. If like, the grateful leper, we love God and do our best to do his will, as he makes it known to us, he will heal us and give us joy. Simply put, if we have faith that the Lord can heal us, he will heal us and for that we can be grateful.

Let us now, in gratitude, turn to the Eucharist for healing through the love of Christ which comes to us in abundance in this most blessed sacrament.

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Does this story sound familiar? It should for we heard Matthew's version last sunday.

These stories are not about money. We know that Jesus cared little about money. They are about fear and playing it safe, as opposed to taking risks in the expectation of a greater return. The fearful servant played it safe and tied his coin in a handkerchief and hid it away. The other servants took prudent risks and were able to turn a profit for which they were greatly rewarded.

These stories are about discipleship and the risks which it entails. Jesus is not interested in timid souls who hide his grace and refuse to risk rejection for sharing it. Jesus wants disciples who are fearless risk takers for the sake of advancing his kingdom. The rewards are great for those with the courage to do his will regardless of the consequences and the penalty for failure to do so is the loss of what we have been given.

In my lifetime I seen this parable played out in the Catholic Church in America and Europe. In my youth Catholic Churches were crowded at every Mass and all Masses were on Sunday morning. Catholic Schools were full of Catholic kids taught by Catholic religious. We used to say, only half joking, that since Catholics were having all the babies that America would soon be a Catholic country. Apologetics meant defending the faith not apologizing for it. Movies of the day portrayed priests as strong figures who merited and received respect. Parish missions were full: one week with men and boys and full another week with women and girls. It was not easy to be a Catholic but we were proud to openly proclaim our faith and we loved the Church. We were the Church militant, the Body of Christ in this world, we were disciples.

What happened to all that? Too many people blame Vatican II. It wasn't Vatican II. If you have read the documents of Vatican II you know that. It was many things but I believe that the biggest thing was that our leaders lost their nerve. In trying to hang onto what they had they played it safe, just like the hapless servant in the gospel. Looking back, the beginning of where we are today was the refusal of American and European churches to heed the call of Paul VI to "expound the Church's teaching on marriage without ambiguity". Pope Paul called upon the bishops to "work ardently and incessantly for the safeguarding and holiness of marriage". They were to consider that mission as "one of their most urgent responsibilities". The bishops failed to accept the Pope's challenge and "don't ask, don't tell" became the accepted norm. This was 1968. We now know that this was also the time of the beginning of the scandal in which we caught up in today. There too the bishops played it safe and failed to take the risk of doing what was right.

So what did playing it safe get us? The church has lost its effectiveness as a moral force in this country for at least a generation. Young people by and large see its teachings as irrelevant in making decisions as to how they will live their lives. Those of us who still cling to the faith do so in spite of the leadership and not because of it. Could things have turned out worse if the bishops had taken the risk of following the direction of Pope Paul? I don't think so.

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The Feast of the Presentation of Mary comes to us from the eastern Church where it is one the twelve great feasts. There are several theories as to how it came to adopted since it celebrates an event, the presentation of Mary in the temple at Jerusalem, which is not described in the New Testament. It was placed on the calendar of the universal church in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V.

The old testament reading tells us of a mother who lost her seven sons as a result of their remaining faithful to God. The relationship of this story to Mary who gave her divine son as a sacrifice for all humankind is obvious.

The gospel tells us that it is not enough to preserve the Kingdom of God for ourself. We are to make it grow if we are to be considered profitable servants. Mary is the most profitable of servants. Without Mary there would be no incarnation. For God to become human it required a human mother. God could be the father but even God can not be a mother of a human being.

Since Mary was conceived without original sin she already possessed the Kingdom of God. It was in unselfishly giving human form to Jesus that she enabled the rest of us to possess the kingdom and she is, thus, the mother of us all.

I am reading a little book entitled "Five Loaves and Two Fish" by Archbishop Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan. The Archbishop, then coadjutor archbishop of Saigon, was placed under arrest on August 15, 1975, on the Feast of The Assumption of Mary, and released from prison on November 21, 1988, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, a period of over thirteen years. The book consists of seven chapters, one for each loaf and fish. The title recalls the boy who gave all he had, five loaves and two fish, to Jesus that he might feed the multitude. The First Fish Chapter is entitled "Immaculate Mary, My First Love". It contains a reflection on the Archbishop's relationship to Mary and how she helped him to survive his ordeal. The Archbishop points out that Mary's life can be summed up in three words: Ecce, Fiat, and Magnificat. Ecce: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Fiat, May it be done unto me according to your word; and Magnificat, My soul magnifies the Lord. A prayer at the end of the Chapter, written in solitary confinement on the Solemnity of Mary in 1986, ends with the promise: "I love you, O our Mother, and I will share your effort, your preoccupation and your combat for the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus." The Archbishop now does so as the President of the Pontifical Counsel Justice and Peace which has as its task the promotion of the social doctrine of the Church.

The Archbishop was able to celebrate Mass in prison by using smuggled wine and prison bread. His chalice was his palm, three drops of wine and one drop of water. He was able to effect perpetual adoration under the noses of his jailers. In prison he wrote "Entrust yourself to one power, the Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the Lord which was given that you may live". Let us now do so.

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In today's gospel Jesus warns his disciples that they will face persecution. But he tells them not to be concerned about what they shall say in their defense. He promises that he, himself, will give them a wisdom in speaking that will be impossible to refute. We see this borne out in Acts when the deacon Stephen gives an eloquent defense of faith in Christ which his oppressors are indeed unable to refute. Unfortunately this fact so unhinges them that they stone Stephen to death. So it seems that Jesus keeps his promise but the unintended consequences are fatal.

So can we really trust Jesus? The answer is that we have no other choice if we hope to enter into his kingdom. At times however it is difficult to reconcile his will with what appears, at the time, to be a personal disaster.

The first reading from the Book of Revelation gives us hope in the song of Moses and the Lamb. The song assures us that all nations will come to worship the lamb at the end of time when the righteousness of the wonderful acts of the Lord is at last revealed. So it is for us. The time will come when we will see that what the Lord has worked in our lives was indeed all for the best.

I have had some inkling of this fact by just staying alive long enough to be able to put my life into context. I can see now that things that I thought were disasters at the time were in fact for the best. I am a deacon today directly because of a series of events, beyond my control, that at the time nearly drove me crazy. At the time I was sure that Jesus had let me down badly. But instead of giving up on him I received the grace to take it on faith that he knew what was best and sure enough he did. I believe that, in spite of evidence to the contrary, if we have given the care of our lives over to Jesus we need not be anxious nor fear the future. I believe that, in the fullness of time, we will come to see that grace did in fact control our destiny and it was all for the best. If we can accept this as fact, we are freed from the care and concern for the future that leads to fear and anxiety. We can live comfortably in the present trusting that great and wonderful are the acts of the Lord and just and true are his ways.

I believe that we can always safely say "YES" to the Lord even when we don't understand the question and even before we know what the question is. The words, "Jesus I trust in you" appear under the image of Christ in the Divine Mercy picture. If we can live that way, with trust in Jesus, we can begin to experience eternal life in this world because we can begin to experience the meaning of life in Christ, of life in the love of God, life free from fear and anxiety for the future since the future no longer exists for those who live in eternal present that is life in Christ.

As we now share in the gift that is the Eucharist let us reaffirm our trust in Christ that he will see us through all difficulties and cares and lead us to the joy that is ours through our faith in the wonder of his ways.

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The church year is coming to an end and the readings are about ends. The end of the second temple, the sack of Jerusalem, and the end of time. Jesus is coming to the end of his ministry. When Luke wrote his gospel the Romans had already destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Early Christians expected the second coming at any time. Saint Paul thought it might occur within the lifetime of some of his contemporaries. Some Fundamentalists believe that these are the end times because of the existence of the state of Israel. There is a certain fascination with the end of time. I personally don't want to around for it. It sounds kind of messy. Later on in Luke Jesus says that, "people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming". I don't need to see that.

The old testament reading is where we get the expression, "the hand writing is on the wall". Is the hand writing on the wall? In a sense it is. The horrors of the 20th century were not the indication of the end and what is going on now seems mild in comparison. While there are pockets of anti-christian activity, we are not faced with a general persecution. It seems that the history of the human race is far from over. I don't believe that the end of time is near.

The times are changing and in that sense the handwriting is indeed on the wall.

I saw a television commercial for home delivery of the sunday New York Times. It seems that sunday is not sunday if you haven't read the New York Times. The commercial ends with an attractive young woman saying with a straight face "Sunday was created for the New York Times." Wouldn't Moses be surprised.

It is no longer sufficient to hope that the Holy Spirit will give us the answers when we need them. The issues are too complex and too important for that. For this reason the Church is turning to adult catechesis in the program Our Hearts Were Burning. Hal, our seminarian, is running a program on alternate sundays to introduce this program to our parish. If you can, please try to support him in this endeavor. I believe that you daily mass people are the church's secret weapon. Anything you get behind will prosper.

As we proceed with the Eucharist we know that Christ is still with us and that he will triumph in the end and that will be the end and not before.

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In today's Gospel Jesus prophecies that his followers will undergo persecution. He tells them that he will give them the wisdom they need to defeat their adversaries. He tells them that they will be hated because of his name but assures them that all will be well with them in the end.

How does this apply to us? We do not face persecution. Our lives are not threatened. The practice of our faith involves no personal risk. I sometimes wonder how I would react to persecution. I am afraid I would need a lot of help. I am not afraid of dying for my faith but I do fear being embarrassed by it. Many times I have kept my mouth shut when I probably should have spoken up. Like Charlie Brown, I have been, in the words of Lucy, "wishy washy".

I don't think I'm the only one. How many times have we heard Catholics say that while personally opposed to abortion they would not force their opinion on others who have a right to choose for themselves. In that sense they claim to be "pro choice". Nearly all of our representatives in congress and both of our Senators who profess to be Catholic take that position. Our Church, in the name of Christ, teaches that there is no right to a choice which is intrinsically evil, Never was and never will be. I wonder if any of these people have ever even read Evangelum Vitae, The Gospel of Life.

In our formation for diaconate, moral theology was the last course taken. Father O'Leary, who taught us, said the reason for this is we couldn't handle it until the end. We needed the foundation of all the other courses if we were to accept the Church's moral teachings. He is right.

We can not build our ethical system on thin air. It needs a strong foundation in scripture, theology and church history. Only then are we able to present the church's teaching rationally and confidently without embarrassing ourselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a wonderful place to start. If you don't have one, please get one and read it.

Just as he did for the early Christians who faced death, Jesus will give us, who only face possible rejection and consequent embarrassment, the wisdom to be his advocate in our society. But we have to do our part. We have to do our homework. We have to know what the church teaches and why. Most of all we can not be afraid to speak up in defense of our faith. We must do so in truth and with love and without fear if we are to secure our lives.

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The Lord called to Samuel three times before Samuel realized that it was the Lord who was calling him and not Eli. It was a time when a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and so Samuel found it hard to believe that the Lord was speaking to him. You might say that it is rare in our time for the Lord to speak directly to a person. It is not however so rare for the Lord to speak indirectly if we but listen carefully and quietly.

Mattie Stepanek is eleven years old- but I'll let Mattie tell you about himself.

Mattie has had a near death experience during which he says he went to heaven but was sent back. His older siblings: Jamie; Katie and Stevie are already in heaven having died from the same genetic defect which causes Mattie's illness. Mattie says, "It is very upsetting to get kicked out of heaven".

Mattie believes that God speaks to each of us through our Heartsongs. Mattie explains through a poem.

God has a plan for us like he did for Samuel, through whom he spoke to the people of Israel; and for Mattie, whom he kicked out of heaven, so that he could he write his book of poems. If we are to find God's plan for us we must, in Mattie's words, "take time and listen very hard and believe in magical, musical hearts and believe we can be happy". If we do this, Mattie promises that we too will hear our songs. It must be true, a kid who was kicked out of heaven wouldn't lie.

As we approach Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the altar, let us thank him for his prophets whom he sends to tell us of his love for us, one of whom is an eleven year old boy in a wheel chair on a ventilator who rejoices in being himself.

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The words of Saint Paul to his beloved Philippians 2000 years ago are as relevant to us today as they were then. Saint Paul calls upon us to be "blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation".

As I wrote this homily our state and our nation was voting. Since I live in Randolph I was able to vote for the nearest thing we have in Massachusetts to a pro life candidate, Congressman Stephen Lynch, the successor to Joe Mokley. Other than Mr. Lynch our senatorial and congressional delegation is pro-abortion to the point of supporting even partial birth abortion.

Yet most of these same elected officials profess to be Catholic. It is not my position to judge them but I wonder how they reconcile these opposites to themselves.

In today's gospel Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

Discipleship is not easy. It has a cost and we must determine that cost and decide whether or not we are willing to pay it. Discipleship involves carrying a cross. We must decide whether we will bear that cross or put it aside in the hope of preferment by the perverse generation among which we live. If we are no different than the crowd, can we be called disciples at all? If we are no different than the crowd, how can Jesus identify us as his own?

In 1968 Pope Paul VI predicted that artificial birth control would result in marital infidelity and a general lowering of morality, a loss of respect for women, who would become a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, put a dangerous weapon in the hands of governments who take no heed of the moral issues in the resolution of problems, and, finally, the treatment of human beings as objects and unborn children as a disease to be prevented.

The real surprise that even this prophetic Pope did not anticipate is that these results would be looked upon as good and be regarded as progress in human development.

Promiscuity and marital infidelity are now rights to sexual freedom. Abortion is a merely a choice and a right to reproductive health care. Pornography is free speech. Co-habitation is merely a preferred life style. Marriage is sexual slavery, unless it is a homosexual union, in which case it is to be honored. Today it is the defense of marriage and life that is looked upon as mean spirited, vicious and evil. Words have lost their meaning and their meaning is beyond words.

Western civilizations are committing suicide. This is not a threat it is a fact. Species which do replace themselves become extinct.

As we approach the Eucharist let us pray that we, in the words of Saint Paul to the Philippians, shall be "lights in the world as we hold onto the word of life".

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This gospel reading was the reading for the 23rd Sunday in ordinary time. I gave a homily on that Sunday in which I talked about the excessive attachment to material wealth in our society; about our attachment to stuff. I said,

"This is what Jesus was talking about two thousand years ago and which we read in today's gospel. He is asking us to reflect on how we live our lives, how we set our goals, and how we order our priorities. Do we reflect upon our goals and the means available to achieve them like the tower builders? Do we evaluate our chances for success and govern ourselves accordingly as the King planning for war does? Or do we start off with no clear idea where we are going, just following the crowd, grabbing for all we can get? Do we chase after whatever rainbow popular culture is telling us we must chase? Do we strive to acquire things because we need them or because every one else has them?

Jesus does not mean that we hate father, mother, wife, and children. The word hate is too strong a translation for the Aramaic word Jesus used. He is telling us what we must do if we are to be his disciples. What Jesus means is that we must detach from worldly things if we are to follow him. It is a matter of priorities. A matter of putting first things first. Discipleship must come first and if it does all other things fall into place."

The 23rd Sunday in ordinary time was September 9th. We all know what happened on September 11th.

My wife and I spent the last two days in Freeport Maine- the home of LL Bean. This trip had been planned back in last July. The stores in Freeport were very nearly empty. The people working in them told us they had never seen business so slow. Their big season is coming up and their nervousness is readily apparent. Apparently material things are not as important as they were two months ago. Is this true because we have come to realize the truths contained in this gospel or because we are afraid, afraid to be in crowds or economically insecure? I don't know, but I know one thing September 11th has changed us all. Whether for good or ill remains to be seen.

Let us pray that we shall heed the words of Saint Paul in today's first reading and "love one another" even as we love our selves; that living in love we may be free from fear; and that September 11th may, in the long run, have a positive effect so that those who perished on that day shall not have died for no purpose.

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My granddaughter is now of an age where she can legally imbibe of alcoholic beverages. She is also on Facebook and I am one of her many Facebook friends. Apparently she has come to appreciate wine and posted that Jesus liked wine and even turned water into wine. I commented that he only did so because of his mother. That is why all ages since have asked Mary to intercede on their behalf. Jesus' first miracle was the result of her intercession. It is significant that Mary did not tell Jesus what to do. She merely pointed out the fact that there was no wine and told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. She called Jesus attention to the situation and then left it up to him.

This is the approach of experts. Ralph Martin, in his book THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE, writes, " To be holy is not primarily a matter of how many prayers we say or how much Christian activity we're engaged in; it's a matter of having our heart transformed into a heart of love." He refers us to Saint Teresa of Avila who taught that holiness is a matter of bringing our wills into union with God's will and to Saint Therese, the Little Flower, who wrote "Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be ...".

The prayer experts do not give detailed instructions as to what should happen. They are content to let God work it out. They ask only for a knowledge of God's will for them and th power to carry it out. They trust that God knows what is best for them and are content to submit to his will. If we presume to give God detailed instructions in our prayer request it is always wise to add, "If it be your will." Otherwise we might get just what we ask for and that might not be what is for the best

The fact of the matter is that, if in living our ordinary lives we are doing the will of God for us, we are in fact living the ordinary in an extraordinary way. The greatest thing that we can do is the will of God as it is made known to us through his grace. If you have that you need nothing else. God's will for us can never be evil. It may differ from what we think it should be but God knows best. It is in living his will that we find peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the next. We may be happy in the short term doing our will but sooner or later we will be miserable if we are not also doing God's will. That is why so many people who set their heart on obtaining wealth and power end up rich and powerful but unfulfilled.

Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, an eighteenth century Jesuit, wrote a series of letters to a group of Nuns for whom he was Spiritual Advisor. These letters have been published under the

Title "The Sacrament of the Moment". He taught that God could only be found in the present moment. He advised," abandon yourself to the will of God, do not hang on to anything and accept everything." This is impossible to do without God's grace but with God's grace it is the only way to live in perfect peace and joy. It is to this that God calls us all.

In any event, we should keep in touch with Mary. Let her know what is happening in our lives. She is our mother too and will watch out for us if we ask her and will remind her son of our needs. That is why we address her as 'most gracious advocate". She is on our side.

We will now turn to the Eucharist where the one who turned water into wine turns wine into his most precious blood and bread into his body that we may have his life in us.

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Jesus calls the 12 Apostles- What are Apostles? Those who are sent.

Names: Peter; Andrew; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew; another James; Simon and Judas Iscariot.

What are they to do? Gather the lost sheep of Israel.

Proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead etc.

Freely give.

Can you be Apostles? If yes how. If no, why.

You can be Jesus Apostles to your family. Proclaim Jesus; do good deeds; freely.

Parents; Welcome the new Apostles into your home. Help them in their mission. Profit from their example. In turn be Apostles to your world. Apostles needed today more than ever. Church is more than Bishops, it is a community of believers, it is the faithful gathered together in faith. The whole world is watching. We will know they are Christians by their love. We are all called to be Apostles more than ever. At particular judgement what can we tell Jesus that we did for him in our time on earth. It would be good to be able to say, "I was an Apostle".

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In order to fully understand the First Reading we need to elaborate. Nathan has asked King David’s judgment upon a rich man who took a poor man’s only possession, a ewe lamb, and killed it and fed it to his friends. King David’s judgment is harsh, <As the Lord lives, the man who has done this merits death= to which Nathan replies, <You are the man!= The story continues as we heard it read today. David repents of his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah, and Nathan tells him, <The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die.= So, David is repentant and is forgiven but the consequences of his sin remain. The child which resulted from the adulterous affair dies. The curse upon his house, <the sword shall never depart from your house= remains in effect. David’s beloved son Absalom, rebels against him and is killed. David’s family is, to say the least, dysfunctional. The deeds of his children include rape, incest, and fratricide. David’s sin was forgiven but the consequences endured.

Jesus forgives the sinful woman her many sins in today’s gospel because she has shown great love. Her personal guilt has been expunged as was David’s. But what about the consequences of her sins? They remain. We hear a lot about forgiveness but not much about atonement. Does forgiveness mean we are relieved of our obligation, to the extent possible, make things right? I don’t think so. God is forgiving but he is also just. My Spiritual Path, the twelve steps of recovery, includes steps eight and nine. Step eight, <Made a list of all people we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all= means just that. It requires us to examine our past life and identify and list those persons injured by our actions. It is not a pleasant exercise because it requires us to honestly evaluate actions we would rather forget and identify those affected by them. We do not sin in a vacuum. We have hurt others, sometimes grievously. The ninth step, <Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.= indicates our readiness to take heed of consequences of our past and to take responsibility for the well-being of others whom we had harmed. To the extent possible we must make things right.

The biblical injunction, <The sins of the parents are visited upon their children= is all too true. What is even worse is the ending: <even to the thousandth generation=. A sin once committed takes on a life of its own and grows exponentially. The only way to prevent this is to not sin. Hard to do. But we have seen the antidote to sin in the sinful woman. It is love. To grow in the love of Christ is to begin to become sin proof. And how do we grow in love? We have the answer. It is the frequent reception of the Eucharist. We are what we eat and if we eat of the body of Christ we become more Christlike.

Jesus told Saint Faustina, <Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls and they are indifferent to me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust me I want to lavish my graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy.= In the Archdiocese of Boston less than 20% of those who call themselves Catholic attend Mass on any given week. So sad.

But let us now, the blessed few, celebrate as Jesus comes to be with us, body and blood, soul and divinity, to nourish us, to perfect us in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

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That was then this is now. In the days of John the Baptist, a man living in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey while preaching a message of baptism in repentance for sin caught the attention of the ruling class, the Sadducees, and they sent a delegation to see him and hear who he said he was. Shortly thereafter representatives of the other major party, the Pharisees, also came to check him out. Both groups knew that the people expected a Messiah and they wanted to know if John claimed to be that Messiah. John's answer satisfied them that he was not a danger and they left him alone. But he did catch the attention of the community leaders and people paid attention to him and what he said.

Now a man living in the wilderness eating bugs and wild honey would be taken to a homeless shelter where they would attempt to get him on medication. Any claims to a spiritual mission would be regarded as a symptom of mental illness and a call to repentance for sin a psychosis. Today few really believe there is such a thing as sin. Sin went out with the idea that there is such a thing as an objective moral law, that there is such a thing as right and wrong. Now it is personal values that count. If my values differ from your values who is to say which of us is right? No one. We are both right and if I attempt to impose my values on you, I am insensitive or worse, a radical. If the conditioners of our society, the academicians, the communication media, and sadly some in the government wish to change what is evil into what is good, they simply change the name. Abortion becomes reproductive rights; euthanasia becomes the right to die with dignity; contraception becomes safe sex; conjugal love becomes just one of many alternative life styles; the death of innocent civilians becomes collateral damage. Just change the name and sin goes away. What was evil has become good. It works the other way too. Change the name and what was good becomes evil. Pro life becomes anti choice;

abstinence from pre-marital sex becomes frustration of an individuals need for sexual expression; preservation of the sanctity of marriage becomes homophobia. Tell the lie often enough and long enough and it becomes the truth. In less than two generations I have seen the world turned upside down.

What is really frightening is that even those who have not accepted the lies have accepted the argument that they should not impose their views on others. Many of us, maybe even most of us, have become what is the curse of our society, indifferent. We lack passion. We might say that we need another John the Baptist to turn things around. But we had Mother Theresa who when asked on her visit to the United States, What is your message for America? replied "Stop killing your babies". John Paul II is personally beloved. He draws great crowds wherever he goes and delivers a message of life and hope. People love the Pope and ignore the message.

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Food figures prominently in the Bible. The Israelites were fed with Manna in the desert. Food figured significantly in Jesus ministry. Many of his parables were food related and many miracles occurred when he was at table. Jesus made himself known to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the breaking of the bread. It appears, therefore, that even glorified and resurrected bodies will be capable of taking nourishment even though by definition they will not need it.

Zero calorie food. No wonder they call it heaven.

Isaiah is right. There will be a heavenly banquet on the mountain of the heavenly Jerusalem, a "feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy rich food." Jesus feeding of the multitude with seven loaves and a few fish prefigure his feeding of all of his followers in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist that most blessed sacrament, heaven on earth, is the central act of our faith and the source of unimagined graces. Whenever I am asked why I am a catholic the answer is one word, "Eucharist". What brings you here every day? What is the attraction? Eucharist. Angels can only wonder at what it must be like to be physically one with the almighty and eternal God as we are each time we approach the Eucharist.

How sad it is that the Eucharist, which is our most precious legacy as disciples of Christ, has so often been a source of division. When Jesus first told his disciples that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood if they were to have eternal life, many left him rather than accept what they termed a "hard doctrine". During the Protestant Reformation, the Eucharist was attacked as superstition, idolatry and even cannibalism. It remains today a source of division and hard doctrine to our separated Christian brothers and sisters.

But for us, we fortunate few, whether celebrated here in this chapel or in the splendor of Saint Peter's Basilica, it is the spiritual meal which anticipates the glory of eternal life in the presence of him who feeds us in this life and thereby shows us the way, the truth and the life.

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When the priest or deacon prepares the chalice for the Eucharistic celebration as he pours a little water into the cup of wine he prays, "Through the mystery of this water and wine may we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity". In this brief prayer is a ton of meaning. First of all it expresses our belief in the Incarnation, in the divinity of Christ and the fact of his dual natures, fully divine and fully human. Secondly it prays for a share in the divinity of Christ, that we as humans might become as he is, both human and divine. How dare we pray such a prayer? No other religion prays such a prayer. Is this not the height of presumption? Humans fully sharing in divinity is anathema to the Jews, a scandal to the Muslims, and an absurdity to all others.

It is only in the Eucharist that such a prayer becomes possible. If the Eucharist is not the real presence of the body and blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine, we are fools and blasphemers.

In today's first reading Isaiah promises that in the new Jerusalem the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food. What else is this but the Eucharist? In today's gospel Jesus feeds the multitude with seven loaves and a few fish. What else is this but a preview of the Eucharist? In the chapter in John's gospel where the tale of the loaves and fishes is related Jesus tells his followers that, "unless you eat the flesh of the son of Man and drink his blood , you do not have life in you". This hard saying caused many of his disciples to leave him and return to their former lives.

So it is today. Other hard sayings are causing many to leave the body of Christ. To those of us who stay Jesus asks us, as he asked then, "Do you also want to leave?" and we reply with the words of Peter, "Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Where else can we find the food and drink of eternal life? Where else can we share in the divinity of Christ?

As we proceed with the celebration of the Eucharist let us rejoice in the divine life which we share within it. Let us rejoice that, in spite of the hard sayings abroad today and our disappointment in the actions of some of our leaders, Christ is truly present on our altars and in our hearts and he answers our prayer for a share in his divinity in the affirmative if we but remain faithful to him and his Church.

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Many who believe in God do not believe in a personal God, in a God who cares about the affairs of his creatures. To them God is the great clock maker who made the universe, set in motion and then went about other business. This is not the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The two readings of today are in that tradition and are a source of great consolation to those of us who read and believe them. Isaiah talks of a God who gives strength to the fainting and vigor to the weak, a God who renews the strength of those who hope in him and as a result shall soar as if on eagles wings, run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. In Matthew's gospel Jesus promises rest to those who come to him. To those who take his yoke upon them he promises relief from their labors and burdens. In these readings both the Father and the Son involve themselves in the affairs of human beings.

In both these cases help and guidance are given to those in need of help: to the fainting and weak in the case of Isaiah and to those who labor and are burdened in the case of Jesus.

Scripture makes it plain over and over again that it is the humble and afflicted that are God's special people. It is sad but true that the wealthy and healthy tend to believe that, while God is pleasant concept, He is not especially necessary in the conduct of their affairs.

As a young man I believed that all God had to do was not get in the way and I would do it all. Now I am an old man and realize that it was me that got in the way and God did it all. As I look back I can clearly see the hand of God in my life. I would head down a blind alley and when I came up against a blank wall God would open a door and things would work out. For all of us, the truly blessed, who have need of a God who cares, who picks us up when we have fallen, who gives us rest when we were burdened, In faith and gratitude I ask:

How ever did good Jesus know that we would someday need him so?

How did he guess our loneliness would cause in us such deep distress that we would suffer dark despair and turn to him for our souls' repair.

He knew, and waited on the cross until such time as our pain and loss would force our pride to give away and we would turn to him and say "my God, I can't go on this way". Only then did he take our pain away. How good to have a God who bears our worries, fears and daily cares.

Who loves us so that he will take

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Biblical scholars like to say that the New Testament is hidden in the old. Sometimes we can find an explanation for the new by looking at the old. This is one of those times.

Jesus tells us that in today's Gospel that his yoke and easy and his burden is light. But, today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Lucy, a young girl in Sicily who tradition tells us was martyred in the fourth century for her profession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Lucy, Lucia in Italian, means "light" in the sense of illumination. Lucy's burden in the sense of weight was anything but light. She was killed for her faith after all. But in the sense of illumination it was blinding, leading to her early veneration by the Church and subsequent inclusion in the Roman Canon as expressed in the first Eucharistic Prayer.

We are not asked to die for our faith like Lucy but we are asked each day to pick up our cross, whatever it may be: a dead end job, or no job; sickness our own or a loved one; death of a loved one; children or grand-children who have lost their way. How then can Christ's yoke be light? How can it be easy?

The answer is in the Old Testament reading for today. Isaiah tells us, "The Lord does not faint or grow weary...He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength." It was through the power of God's grace, freely given, that Lucy was able to accept a premature and painful death and it is through this same grace that we are able to bear our burdens. God can do what we can not do and bear what we can not bear. Saint Paul taught that "it is when we are weak that we are strong." It is by coming to Christ, it is by surrendering our wills and our lives to Christ that his yoke becomes easy and our burdens become light; "that we mount up with wings like eagles; that we run and are not weary".

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A loser never wins and a winner never loses. Winners assume they will win and keep going until they do. A loser expects to lose and will keep going until he does and then quits. Some people just can not stand prosperity. Poor Zechariah. He and his wife endure the pains of childlessness. To be childless in their day and age was a major disgrace because it was believed to be a punishment for sin. They continue to pray for a child and to keep the commandments into their old age.

Finally his luck changes. He is chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary to burn incense.

While in there the angel Gabriel appears and gives him wonderful news. He and his wife are to have a child, a son, who is to be filled with the holy spirit. A child in the spirit and power of Elijah the great prophet. What is his response? "How can this be. I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." He knows the story of Abraham and Sarah who had Isaac in their old age. He knows the story of Manoah and his nameless barren wife who gave birth to Samson in her old age. He knows God never seems to do things the easy way. Special acts require special circumstances. Yet he misses the whole point and when given the best news that any human being had received up until that time, he asks a dumb question and is struck dumb as a result.

Poor Zechariah, he can't stand prosperity. As my mother would say, "he looked a gift horse in the mouth."

Sad to say many of us would probably do the same thing. When I pray do I really expect my prayers to be answered? Are there some things I never pray for because I really think they are too much to expect? Do I sell God short? I'm afraid I am guilty. Like Zechariah I am conflicted. I certainly do not pray for a child in my old age. Grandchildren are great because you can give them back when you're through with them but a child of my own- no way. But I do screen my requests and decide which ones I think God is up to before I proceed. I don't really trust God to make that decision. It is like the Irishman who went to Mass every day and prayed to win the lottery. Day after day he prayed and he never won. One day as he was praying a thunderous voice was heard to say. "Pat, help me out. Buy a ticket!

So from now on, thanks to Zechariah, I'll pray without evaluating my prayer's chances for success. I'll ask and God can decide Yes or No. What have I got to lose?

As we turn to the Eucharist, the greatest prayer there is, let us ask God for the good things of life in certain faith that He will decide what is best for us and respond accordingly; and, if our prayers are answered in the affirmative, respond not with "How can this be?" but rather with thanks and praise.

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Imagine that you are a teenager living in a very small town, about 150 people, where everyone knows everything about everybody. Adultery is punished by a painful death. A stranger approaches you and asks you to bear a son out of wedlock. You of course do the sensible thing. You call the police, the stranger is convicted of sexual assault on a minor and sentenced to prison a sexually dangerous person and you appear on the equivalent of Good Morning America and Oprah Winfrey. End of story! End of Grace!

That is what should have happened and yet it didn't. Why not?

First of all, the stranger was an angel, an archangel at that. There certainly must have been something about him that was way out of the ordinary. But even that would not be enough. The difference was something that exists in our lives. The difference was Grace. "Hail full of Grace", said the angel.

The Catechism tells us that "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives to us to respond to his call to become children of God and partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life". "It is participation in the life of God". Mary possessed it through her Immaculate Conception which anticipated the salvation made possible by the life, death and resurrection of her divine son. We possess it by virtue of our Baptism into the life of Christ.

We are here this morning at Mass in this chapel through the Grace of God. The same Grace that enabled Mary to agree to the extraordinary enables us to partake of the extraordinary. By the Holy Spirit Jesus became physically present within the womb of Mary. By the Holy Spirit Jesus will become physically present on this altar in the Eucharist. As Mary was blessed, so are we blessed. As Mary was graced, so are we graced. As Mary was favored, so are we favored.

Soon we, just like Mary, will carry Christ within our bodies by the reception of Communion.

Just think! Gabriel announced the coming of the Son of God. Gabriel stands in the presence of God. Gabriel will signal the end of time. But Gabriel has never received the Eucharist. Blessed are we indeed.

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Saint Stephen, the first martyr, was one of the first seven men ordained as deacons by the Apostles by the laying on of hands and is the patron of all deacons. The first deacons were selected from the greek speaking Jews of Jerusalem and their first duty was to see to the equitable distribution of food. They also preached the word of God and this is what led to Stephen's martyrdom. Deacon is the first of three orders within the hierarchy of the church and deacons are clergy and recipients of the sacrament of Orders. The other two orders are presbyter or priest and bishop. All priests are first ordained deacon and it is at this point that the oath of celibacy is required. Married men over the age of 35 may be ordained permanent deacons but ordination to deacon is an impediment to marriage so once ordained a deacon may not marry without a dispensation which is rarely given and never in the case of an ordained single man.

Deacon's are heralds of the Lord and charged with the reading of the Gospel at any liturgical service. In the absence of a deacon the Gospel is to be read by a priest. If there is more than one priest present, the gospel is to read by the priest who is not the presider at the Eucharist. In the early church deacons were charged with crowd control and with the distribution of the Eucharist. This tradition is preserved by having the deacon announce the sign of peace, distribute the Eucharist and dismiss the congregation at the end of the liturgy. The deacon is the minister of the cup and if it is to offered to the attending ministers of lector and acolyte it is the deacon who does so. In this case the deacon drinks last from the cup. It is the deacon's responsibility to see that the vessels used in the Eucharist are properly purified before being washed. The deacon walks beside the presider at a liturgy not as a place of honor but as a place of service. The deacons primary responsibility is to assist the presider and should therefore stand at the presider's right hand in order to so efficiently.

The deacon is also an ordinary minister of the sacrament of Baptism and Marriage.

Deacon are called to be ministers of acts of charity and to administrative duties. It was due to overzealous administrator deacons that the order was eventually suppressed as a permanent ministry. Both the council of Trent in 1525 and the second vatican council in 1964 called for the restoration of the permanent diaconate and in 1968 Pope Paul vi restored the diaconate as a permanent order in the western church. It had continued to function as a permanent order in the eastern rites.

The first deacons were ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston in 1976 and there are a little over 200 deacons encardinated in the archdiocese today. It takes five years to become a permanent deacon. One year is devoted to the application process. One year as an aspirant and three academic years as a candidate. An internship of at least 100 hours is required be served in the summer before the final year of preparation. There is a class every other year, there are 12 in the class of 2002 who will be ordained next September.

You now know more than you probably wanted to know about deacons.

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Words of Wisdom:

God, I offer myself to Thee-- to build with me and do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy Will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of They Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always !

Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter Five - How it Works

The twelve step program of recovery of Alcoholics Anonymous was derived from the Oxford Groups, a non-sectarian Christian movement which evolved from the teachings of Dr. Frank Buchman, a Danish Lutheran Minister. Dr. Buchman taught that the secret to the resolution of international problems based on personal problems of selfishness and fear is God Control. The only sane people in the world are those controlled by God. It was from an Oxford Group, which met in Akron Ohio, that Alcoholics Anonymous eventually evolved and adopted many of the teachings of the Oxford Groups. Fundamental to recovery from Alcoholism is the decision to turn ones will and life over to the care of the God of ones understanding. This prayer is intended to accomplish that feat and thus enable one to bear witness to God's power to heal those so afflicted. At last count, AA claimed nearly two million active members and over one hundred thousand groups worldwide. The Oxford Groups dissolved in 1961 but its spirit lives on in Alcoholics Anonymous.

For Catholics today is the feast of The Holy Family. For The Episcopal Church it is the Sunday within the octave of Christmas. The underlying reason for this difference may be each's understanding of the Sacrament which dare not say its name, Marriage. The readings in the Catholic Lectionary for today treat of the obligations of children to parents, Sirach, and the obligations of wives to husbands

and husbands to wives and of both to children, Saint Paul in Colossians. Today these are loaded questions and the temptation is to avoid them. Reginald Fuller, an Episcopal priest and author of Preaching the Lectionary had this advice to his readers, "There is, of course, no question that the place of the family in Christian life needs emphasis now more than ever before, since the stability and integrity of family life are threatened on every side. Equally it is true that the life of the Holy Family provides the model for all Christian family life. Yet, a word of warning against sentimentalizing the occasion: it will be best avoided if the homily sticks closely to the Scripture readings of the day."

At the risk of sentimentalizing the occasion I will address a simple fact that is emerging. Marriage is on the way out. In 2002 there were twenty-nine weddings performed in my parish. This was half the average of not too many years in the past. It gets worse. In 2005 we had seventeen weddings and we now average between five and ten. Marriages in the Archdiocese of Boston have decreased by over seventy percent in just the last ten years.

The current decline in the number of marriages is effecting the perception society has of marriage as a whole. Since the advent of no-fault divorce, marriage has come to viewed as a temporary arrangement that can be walked away from by either of the parties for any reason or for no reason at all. I have heard of wedding vows that are binding only "for as long as love shall last".

This is a temporary and arbitrary standard that anticipates the breakup of the marriage in the same instant that it is created. Given this view of marriage is it any surprise that many couples decide to avoid the formality and expense of a ceremony and just "live together". For the first time there are now more households of one person in the United States than there are households consisting of parents and children.

William Eskridge, a Professor at Yale Law School , has written that, "states are slowly moving away from 'marriage' as the only institution for state recognition of adult relationships. Almost all states recognize 'cohabitation' as a relationship having legal consequences..." He goes on, "As a practical matter, marriage's legal monopoly ended decades ago with the cohabitation case law; as a formal matter, legislatures are ending marriages statutory monopoly with new marriage equality laws." His essay is entitled: THE END OF MARRIAGE? A court in Utah has brought into question that state's anti-polygamy law. Sister wives is a popular reality show. Who knows where it will all end.

In my opinion, the issue of same sex marriage has had little direct effect upon the evolution of marriage in America. In fact, it may have had a beneficial effect in that a subset of society still views marriage as a desirable state.

It seems to me that the issue of the revolution in our society's understanding of marriage and the resulting changes that will be experienced merit serious consideration and people should stop yelling at each other confront them. These are revolutionary times and it is always a danger that extremes will prevail in such times.

I am encouraged by Pope Francis's change in focus from moral theology to Evangelization and the Gospel's call to holiness. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, he reminds us:

Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any person who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others. As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good.

The Catholic Catechism teaches that the married state is an intimate community of life and love, established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. As such it is a sacramental covenant between a man and a woman whereby they mutually give and receive one another in a union sealed by God

himself. The family home thus created is the place where children are to be born and nurtured. Then there is civil marriage which is a creation of the state. The one preceded the other and changes in civil law do not alter the nature of sacramental marriage in any way. Marriage is, and always will be, for us the divinely created institution for the sanctification of the husband and wife and the procreation and education of children.

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It is hard to believe. They had witnessed a miracle but all it meant to them was that the laws of the Sabbath had been violated. If the man had been in danger of death it would have been allowed to heal him. Jesus pointed this fact out to them but it did no good. A withered hand could wait. Could there really have been people like that? People who were so caught up in the letter of the law that they did not recognize a miraculous event when it happened under their noses. It is hard to believe.

Yet in our day a memorial to the firefighters who died in the twin towers disaster has been cancelled. The reason? It was to be a statue based upon the photo of three firefighters raising the flag at ground zero. In the photo all three fire fighters were white males. In the statue one firefighter was to be white, one african-american and one Hispanic. The fire department approved the statue but the working firemen and the public rejected the idea. The average person, using old fashioned common sense, recognized that diversity is to be celebrated where it exists but history is not to be rewritten to create diversity where it did not exist. Those in the positions of authority did not understand this simple truth. It is hard to believe.

In both these instances people with an agenda missed the message given because they were fixated on their agenda rather than on what was really happening.

In yesterday's Globe James Carroll, a former Paulist priest, who's agenda is the liberalization of the church, took the occasion of John Geoghan's conviction as an opportunity to write an op-ed piece entitled "People of the Church Must Take It Back". In it he expresses his oft stated views as to a celibate priesthood, women as priests, homosexual unions, artificial contraception and the like. He is entitled to his opinion and there is no doubt that he is a gifted writer, a good human being and a very smart man. But in spite of all that his agenda blinds him. How a former priest can argue that the people must take back that which they never had is beyond me. When Jesus founded his church he gave worldly authority over it not to the people but to the Apostles. Bishops, as their successors, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit are the leaders of the Church with the Pope, the first among equals, the successor of Peter as their leader. If the people take it back, whatever that means, it would not be the Church. It would be just another church.

We can take a lesson from all of this. Seek the truth first because it is the truth which leads to God and salvation. A preconceived agenda not only frustrates our search, it can render it impossible since it leads to a god of our creation not to the God of all creation.

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"... so that they may see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again and be forgiven."

Jesus explains the parable of the sower to his disciples but does not explain this puzzling statement. This must mean that he knows that they know what it means.

He is right. As good Jews they would recognize that it is a quote from the prophet Isaiah. (6:9-10) God speaks even when he knows that many will not listen; He comes even though he knows that many will reject his coming; he offers forgiveness even though he knows that many will not repent. But for those who do hear and accept his word, who do rejoice in his coming, who do repent, Saint Paul tells us, will by the single offering of Christ be perfected and sanctified by that offering and their sins and misdeeds will be remembered no more.

How do we do that? Today's gospel tells us it's all about the soil. If the soil is plowed, weeded and fertile the word will take root and bear much fruit. So if our soul, like the soil, accepts the word and plants it deep, if our soul does not become distracted by the cares and distractions of the world we too will bear much fruit.

The best way to prepare the soil of the soul is through the reception of the Eucharist. We who are blessed by being able to receive the body and blood of the risen savior frequently know how it changes us, how it makes us better than we were, how it heals our souls.

Let us today pray for those who hear but do not understand, who see but do not perceive, that the Holy Spirit may open their eyes, ears, and hearts so that they too may be sanctified and perfected by the single offering of Christ which we celebrate again today and every day in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

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Lord Acton observed over a hundred years ago that "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." His observation was based on facts made evident over three thousand years ago in today's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures. When the people of Israel requested of the Prophet Samuel that they be given a king like other nations, the Lord, through Samuel, warned them that a king would, among other things, "take the best of the fields, vineyards and olive groves and give them to his officials. He will tithe your crops and give the revenue to his eunuchs and slaves. He will take your male and female servants as well as your best oxen and asses and use them to do his work. He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves." In spite of these warnings the people persisted in their request and so the Lord gave them Saul as their first king.

Today King Saul, becoming jealous of David, plots to kill him in spite of the fact that David has done him no harm and is a loyal soldier. Saul continues off and on for the rest of his life to fear David and to plot his death. David when he becomes king is no prize himself. It is David who sends Uriah the Hittite into the front lines to be killed so that he might have Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.

The history of the human race is full of bad kings, dictators, presidents and so on. The abuse of power has caused no end of trouble and misfortune to the vast majority of all the human beings who have ever lived. Lord Acton again accurately observed, "There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."

There is one glorious exception, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. In today's gospel we see Jesus, after facing down the powerful who criticized him for healing on the Sabbath, healing a multitude of common people and driving out demons, whom he forbade from revealing his true identity, the Son of God. He who had all power in heaven and earth acted as if he were powerless. This fact alone marks him as divine and unique among men.

I am grateful that I have had little power in my life. It means I have less to explain when I am judged. However, we must pray for those who are powerful for they are subject to temptations that ordinary people can hardly imagine. If Saul had not been king he would have loved David as a son. Because he was a king all he saw was a rival.

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Saint Paul said, "It is when I am weak that I am strong". I say that it is when I couldn't keep up that I slowed down enough to "get it". And "it" is the fact God so loved me that he sent his only son to become like me, a human being, and in doing so made me and all like me, born and unborn, to be like him. Made in the image and likeness of God, we are sown in fertile soil and need only to stop, listen and understand that through our Faith, we have received the secret of the kingdom of God. We are loved greatly and so are charged to love greatly, first God, then others and finally ourselves because, old or young, we are his children.

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The question we all must eventually ask ourselves is: Why is there something rather than nothing? This question is the subject of many books and much argument. I like to keep things simple. Either God exists or he doesn’t. All agree that the existence of God can neither be proved nor disproved scientifically so ultimately both belief and unbelief are acts of faith. Our answer to this question determines our view of life and the human person. Are we, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, <not some casual and meaningless product of evolution? Is each of us is the result of a thought of God. Is each of us willed, each of us loved, each of us necessary?= Or, are we <merely a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe= as affirmed in the comic strip Dilbert and is <life a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience= as claimed by Woody Allen. Regardless of which is true, the former is certainly more attractive than the latter.

Blaise Pascal in the 18th century put the question in the form of a wager. He

reasoned as follows: <God is, or He is not.= But to which side shall we choose? Reason can decide nothing here. Which will you choose then? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is... If God is, you win and you gain all; if God is not, you lose but you lose nothing. If you wager he is not and win you win nothing but if you lose, you lose all. Wager, then, without hesitation that God is.=

The next question we must answer is whether or not this God has made himself known to us. Again, this is a yes or no proposition. If you answer <No= the Unitarians will welcome you with open arms. If you answer <Yes=, you have some work to do. The three Abrahamic Faiths each claim to possess Divine Revelation. The first in order of time are the Hebrew Scriptures followed by the New Testament and, lastly, the Koran. As it always best to begin at the beginning, a serious inquiry would begin with the Hebrew Scriptures.

Today our first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures is from the Book of Job. Poor Job, once blessed, has lost everything, riches, wife, children, and health. His friends claim such misfortune can only be punishment for sin. Job refuses to accept their accusation, protests his innocence and proclaims his faith crying, <Yea though he slays me, yet will I trust in the Lord=. But, although he trusts, he wants to know why he has been afflicted. Job dares to call upon God for an explanation. God answers Job in today’s reading. God reminds Job that it is God that is all powerful. As proof God reminds Job that it is He, God, who controls the mighty sea and sets its limits. It is God who is in charge and since Job is not God the reasons for Job’s misfortune are none of Job’s business.

Today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus calming of the storm and quieting of the sea. The disciples ask themselves, <Who then is this whom even the wind and sea obey?= The reading from Job answers this question for us. Jesus had the power of God, the power to calm the storm and the sea. Jesus is God.

Saint Paul teaches us the good news of the Gospel: that Jesus, God, died for all so that we might live for him. As such, we are each a new creation in Christ.

Things have come full circle: there is a God; He is all powerful; He so loved us that he sent his Divine Son to suffer and die and rise again that we might recreated into eternal life in his kingdom.

A life bathed in the love and light of Christ as opposed to the grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience described by Woody Allen seems the preferred option and all we have to do is ask for the gift of faith. Yet many, maybe most refuse to do so wagering instead that there is no God.

When I was about five years old I ran away from home. My brother, age 3 was quite upset and went to our mother crying, <Johnny has run away=. He later told me our mother said, <Don’t cry, he’ll be back=.

You see she knew I was not allowed to cross the street. You really cannot run very far if you can’t cross the street. Sure enough, after going around the block I was back where I started... My life in the spirit has been like that. I have tried to run away at times but, through the grace of God, I have not crossed the street into Woody Allen’s grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless waste land of unbelief and so I end up back where I belong in the bosom of Christ where I am loved with an everlasting love.

So take today’s readings to heart: there is an all powerful God; he became human out of love for us in the person of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have been born again into eternal life. We may, at times, try to run away from Faith but don’t ever cross the street to unbelief and you will eventually come back home to the truth of God’s loving grace.

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Today God is telling us through scripture that he knows life can be hard and that we must have faith and persevere, even to the shedding of blood, if his grace is to heal us.

The entrance hymn is Christ's proclamation that the spirit of God is upon him and that his mission is to the poor and broken-hearted. Saint Paul reminds us that the Hebrew scriptures, in the Book of Judith, teach that "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines" and reminds us that in doing so he treats us as sons and daughters, that he cares how we turn out. The psalm reminds us that his kindness is everlasting to those who fear him, who keep his covenant because he knows they are formed from dust and need his love. The Gospel demonstrates that Jesus was powerless before the lack of faith of those who knew him best, his neighbors in his home town. In the preceding verses he healed a woman of her hemorrhage when she touched his cloak in faith and raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead because Jairus was not afraid and had faith.

We see that Jesus can help those who realize that they need help and have faith that he will help them if they but ask.

But what about us? Those who are really in trouble are those who don't know they need help and so do not ask; those upon whom fortune has smiled and who think they did it themselves; those who were born on third base and think they hit a triple. We live in a country that enjoys a general level of prosperity that has never before been known in the history of the world. The richer our society becomes the less it seems to need God and the more material wealth seems to be life's purpose.

If Jesus came for the poor and broken hearted what can he do for the affluent and the self satisfied? Does our prosperity blind us to our need for God? Is our nation in danger of losing its soul because things are too good? What is the relevance of today's scripture to a society that no longer needs or seeks God's discipline, that no longer needs or seeks God's blessing, that sanctifies choice and trivializes life?

Scripture testifies that God is not mocked and those who turn to false gods of material wealth and personal convenience sooner or later come to ruin. We who are blessed to hear his word and partake of his sacrament of love and thanksgiving must pray that our country comes to recognize its serious need of spiritual renewal and healing.

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How often have we heard some well meaning person say to someone who is the middle of a personal tragedy, "It is God's will." Lawyers define the excuse for performance of a contractual obligation due to natural disaster as, "Acts of God". Poor God gets blamed for everything. I wonder just what kind of God do they believe in? What kind of God wills tragedy upon those who love him and try to do his will?

I believe that God can be said to will misfortune only in the sense that he does not interfere in the natural course of events. It is natural for some animals to prey on others. It is natural for hurricanes to form and volcanos to erupt, for earth to quake and floods to happen. All these things happen as a result of forces of nature. God does not cause them to make people suffer. He is not out to get us. By the abuse of free will people do terrible things to each other.

These things are no more God's will than is a natural disaster. Free will, once given, can not be interfered with or it is no longer free. God wanted creatures who were free to love Him or reject Him and so He gave us free will.

The Father did not fashion Jesus's cross, men did. Jesus suffered terribly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a terrible time to be alive. Roman rule was brutal and the Jewish elders would do anything to keep from upsetting them. As a result, Jesus was forced to take up his cross and carry it to his death. Neither does the Father fashion the crosses we bear. Other people, our own bad choices, forces of nature, bad genes, or just plain bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, do. The question of why bad things happen to good people over looks the fact that bad things also happen to bad people. What matters is not what cross we bear but how we bear it. For that Jesus is our model. He carried his cross willingly, without complaint, without self pity, with pardon and love for all, even his tormentors. So also are we to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus.

He promises that if we do, if we lose the bondage of self, we will find that life in Christ to which our Baptism calls us. He promises that we will come to be what we are, by virtue of our Baptism, beloved children of the almighty God and brothers and sisters of Jesus himself.

In return for a small gift, food and shelter, Elisha gave the childless woman a child of her own. For ancient Jews who had no concept of life after death, the gift of a child was the only immortality they could hope for. In return for carrying our crosses in imitation of Christ, we are promised eternal life in the company of Jesus, his blessed mother and the saints. Not bad, not bad at all.

So the next time someone tells you it is God's will when you are hurting, tell them God does not will evil for anyone. Pray that you may recognize misfortune, not as an evil to be borne, but, rather, as an opportunity to follow Jesus who carried his cross for us all.

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My mother grew up in Hooksett New Hampshire. Her father grew up on a farm in Bow New Hampshire. Her mother came from Balle Liam in Galway. My mother, as a result, was steeped in two traditions. She had a headfull of yankee and irish adages. One of her yankee ones was: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". This means, of course, that the children are very apt to be like their parents.

In today's gospel Jesus tells us that no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Since this is true, we can learn about the Father from what we know of the Son. Jesus could have entered into Jerusalem mounted on the finest of horses but instead he chose a colt, the foal of a donkey, a humble ride indeed. Today we would say he chose a "Yugo" over "Rolls". Through Jesus we know the He who possesses all power chooses the powerless. He who could have been rich chooses to be poor. He who deserves to be served chooses to serve. He who is mighty chooses to be meek and humble of heart. He who could associate with the rich and powerful calls to himself those who labor and are burdened that they might find rest in him. God prefers the burdened and afflicted over the rich and powerful because they need him. Jesus's yoke is easy and his burden is light because, if we allow it, the yoke is for two and Jesus helps us carry it.

Jesus truly says these things are hidden from the wise and the learned. Those who are full of their own knowledge and importance believe they have no need of humility or meekness. They have no need of Jesus because they are doing so well on their own. Lately we have seen the rich manipulate the truth so that they might become richer at the expense of the poor. Those who profited from the collapse of Polaroid, Enron, World Com, Global Crossing and Arthur Anderson are the most recent. From Jesus we learn that those who seem to be the world's most fortunate are, in fact, the most pitiful, for they know not Jesus and therefore they know not his Father. All these things are indeed hidden from them. My mother would say: God loved ordinary people more than the rich, that's why he made so many more of us.

It is no surprise, therefore, that Jesus, in deciding to remain with us until the end of time, chose the most basic and ordinary means to do so. He chose food. In bread and wine Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist and in the Eucharist we carry him within us to strengthen us and to help us bear what must be borne if we are to be like him, to be meek and humble of heart

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To paraphrase Bette Davis: "Christianity is not for sissies". When Amos was kicked out of Bethel by the priest for prophesying he protested that he was no prophet but only a shepherd and it was the Lord who took him from following the flock and instructed him to, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel." He was only doing what he had been commanded to do and so he did it.

Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds them that Christians are blessed and chosen to be holy and without blemish. We are not be like everyone else. In the Gospel Jesus send the twelve apostles out in pairs to preach the gospel of repentance. They were to take only a walking stick, the cloths on their backs and the sandals on their feet- no food, no money, no spare tunic. The amazing thing is that they went. Would You? Would I?

Yet we, like Amos, the Ephesians, and the Apostles, by virtue of our Baptism, are called to be imitators of Christ and his messengers to the world. We can't escape by claiming we are just regular people with no special training and no special gifts. One of my favorite books is "the Practice of the Presence of God". First published in 1691, it is a compilation of the actions and sayings of an illiterate Carmelite Friar, Brother Lawrence, by his religious superior. Brother Lawrence worked in the Friary's kitchen. Brother Lawrence taught that the presence of God should be maintained in the heart by love rather than by understanding or by speech, "In the way of God, thoughts count very little" he said. "Love does it all". It is not necessary to have great things to do. Brother Lawrence found God in the Friary kitchen among the pots and pans. Like Jesus, Brother Lawrence wrote not a word. It was by his example that his deeds and words have come down to us.

And so it is for us. People know we are Christians and judge Christianity by how we act and our approach to life. Brother Lawrence prayed, "My God, since you are with me, and since it is your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that you will give me the grace to remain with you and keep company with you." He added, "This sums our entire call and duty: to adore God and love Him, without worrying about the rest."

We have been gifted and graced by our Baptism into life in Christ and it is not enough to be like everyone else. We all, even the humblest, are called to holiness, called to be saints. We may not be called to do great things but we are called to do what is placed before us and to do it well. Brother Lawrence found salvation among the pots and pans and so are we called to find salvation where we are. In the words of Brother Lawrence, "Christ alone is capable of making himself known to us as he is."

We have the sacraments to give us the graces needed to attain sanctity. It is in the Eucharist, which we are about to celebrate, in particular where we find and know Christ who is our life, our sweetness and our hope.

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It is tempting to think today’s gospel as gives us a choice. We can be like Martha and take care of everyday things or we can be like Mary and leave them to others while we devote ourselves to higher things. I tried that on my wife. It didn’t work. The truth is that we are called to be both Martha and Mary. Saint Benedict, when he wrote his rule, taught that <to work is to pray=. Jesus was not giving a pass to those who let others do all the work while they contemplate higher things. In this case Martha and Mary were entertaining the Son of God and Martha, not understanding the wonder of what was happening, became preoccupied with the trivial while Mary savored the moment of the Lord’s presence. Martha’s priorities were out of whack but Mary <got it=. An extreme modern example of this disconnect occurred here at Saint Joseph’s during a First Communion Mass. My wife told me a woman was deleting messages from her cell phone during the Eucharistic prayer. Each deletion caused a beep but she kept on going. Jesus Christ was about to become present on the altar of sacrifice but the cell phone needed tending. Let’s just say her priorities were not in order. Each of us must ask ourselves the question; what comes first?

As I look back on my life I am afraid for a lot of it, like Mary, I put worldly matters first. As a young man I was primarily concerned with having a good time. It was that time in life when I thought beer was food and Saturday night was what life was all about. Then came marriage, starting a family, getting established in a career, busy, busy, busy. God was pretty much relegated to Sunday Mass and put on the shelf until next week. I did, however, have periods when, due to where I worked, noon Mass available and I took advantage of the opportunity. In retrospect those periods were among the most fruitful and formative of my life. Saint Thomas More was a brilliant lawyer and scholar. He rose to be Chancellor of England and was eventually martyred.

He wrote; <If I am distracted, Holy Communion helps me become recollected. If opportunities are offered each day to offend my God, I arm myself anew each day for the combat by reception of the Eucharist.= Like Saint Thomas, we need to strike a balance between worldly challenges and duties and the life of Grace. It is not either or but is both and.

Archbishop Charles Chaput recently said; <Christian faith is restlessness, a consuming fire in the heart to experience the love of Jesus Christ and to share it with others.= First and foremost each of us is called to be holy, to be a Saint. We become Saints through prayer, penance and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. By our sanctification we give honor and glory to God and that is the primary purpose of our existence. Our worldly obligations are secondary but if we put first things first they will fall into line. Chapter Five of The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church deals with The Universal Call to Holiness. It tells us,

<The Lord Jesus Christ, divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of life, which he both initiates and brings to perfection to each and every one of his disciples no matter what their condition in life.= It goes on, <The followers of Christ, called by God not for what they had done but by his design and grace, justified in the Lord Jesus, have been made sons and daughters of God by the Baptism of faith and partakers of the divine nature, and so are truly sanctified.=

So while we must be like Martha when it comes to worldly affairs we are to be first and foremost imitators of Mary in choosing the better part. It is by the frequent reception of the Eucharist that we, like Saint Thomas More, arm ourselves anew for the combat that is daily life.

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The last time I gave a homily on this gospel I started with the words: <Wheat or weed that is the question. If you’re wheat you end up in the barn with all the other wheat; that is in the Heavenly Kingdom with the Saints. If you’re a weed the future is not very promising. No one likes to think about where the weeds are headed.= I neglected to mention another possibility.

According to the Jewish Holiness Code and the Deuteronomic Code of the Torah farmers should leave the corners of their fields unharnessed, and they should not attempt to harvest any left- overs that had been forgotten when they had harvested the majority of a field. According to the Holiness Code, these things should be left for the poor and for strangers, and the Deuteronomic Code commands that it should be left for widows, strangers, and orphans. This is called gleaning and The Biblical Book of Ruth features gleaning by the widow Ruth to provide for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, also a widow. So some of the wheat is not yet in the barn but neither is condemned to the furnace so it must be somewhere else.

This is why the doctrine of purgatory makes such sense. It reconciles the God’s infinite mercy with God’s perfect justice. It is apparent to anyone who really is paying attention that not all people die in what is called the odor of sanctity. Saints are Saints because their sanctity is heroic and heroic by definition is extraordinary. So what about the rest of us who die not completely sanctified even though we are saved by having been baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ and not having rejected life in Christ by unrepentant mortal sin? For us it makes sense that there must be some additional purification between our imperfection on earth and our perfection in heaven and this is called Purgatory.

When I was a kid we heard a lot about purgatory. It was often used by over loaded teachers to keep unruly kids in line. Even as a little kid I couldn’t really believe that God would use fire on a little kid. Unfortunately, because it was over sold, the idea of purgatory disappeared sometime in the 60's. That is too bad because I now I understand that purgatory, unlike heaven or hell, is only temporary. While it is a state of purification it is outside of time and space and therefore not a place or period of time; but it is also a state of great joy. It is heaven’s boot camp. Saint Catherine of Genoa said that <although purgatory is incomparably painful because we see all the horror of our own sins yet it is incomparably joyful because God is there with us and we are learning to endure his truth and his light.= My reaction if I find myself in purgatory will be joyful- <I made it!!!=

The other wonderful thing about purgatory is that those who are there can pray for us and we can pray for them. Since we don’t hear much about purgatory any more I’m fear most of the prayers are going only one way. This is a tragedy because I suspect most of us will experience purgatory and thus will need the help of the prayers of others. We can only hope that those whom we assisted with our prayers will then be in heaven and will remember us. This is why we should attend Mass, pray the rosary, fast and do penance in their behalf...

Purgatory makes sense when you really think about it. Don’t we take a shower before we

go into the pool?

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Attention! Now hear this! Listen Up! Are you listening to me! Pay Attention! We have so many such expressions because it is hard to pay attention, to keep your mind on one thing. I suspect it is harder for us men than for women because we are usually the ones being accused of inattention. When my wife wants to be sure she has my attention she says "Listen to me with your face". My kids and grand kids put their face nose to nose with mine and say my name until I make eye contact. They know me. Multi tasking is the big thing now. If you're only doing one thing at a time you're wasting time. I try to keep my homilies in the five minute range because, when I was sitting where you are, five minutes was about all I could manage before my mind started to wander. With all that goes on in life it is hard to keep the mind from wandering when especially it seems when we pray.

What does all this have to do with today's readings? The readings are all about prayer. In the first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures Abraham is negotiating with God in an attempt to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine, negotiating with God! Yet haven't we all at one time or another bargained with God. "Please God get me out of this and I'll never do it again." In the Gospel Jesus gives a lesson in prayer. He gives us the perfect prayer, the Lord's prayer, wherein the nature of our relationship with God as his beloved children is revealed. He teaches us to seek God's will, to ask for our material needs, to ask for justice and for the provision of our spiritual needs. All this in less than 40 words. He tells a story to impress upon us the importance of persistence in prayer. He tells us in effect that is ok, even advisable, to nag God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains 4 Parts and the entire Fourth Part is devoted to prayer. These two readings contain the essence of much that is written. If you understand these readings you understand much about prayer.

The old Baltimore Catechism defined prayer as a "lifting of the mind and heart to God" and therein lies the problem. I must lift my mind first before I can lift my heart and my mind is a wanderer.

Saint Therese, the Little Flower, said, " For me, prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy". But it is hard for me to keep my mind focused on God while I say the words. I know God hears the words even when my mind is elsewhere but I also know I am not listening to God when my mind and therefore my heart is preoccupied. So prayer is more than just words; it is emotional as well as mental. At its best prayer requires our total involvement; physical, mental and emotional. My wandering mind prevents God from communicating with me and that is a shame.

So for me the best prayer is the Mass. I can pay attention to the Mass and it contains some of the most beautiful prayers we have. In addition to the Lord's prayer it contains the ancient prayer of the angels "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and might, heaven and earth are full of your

glory." This prayer leads into the Eucharistic prayer where through the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ comes to us bodily under the appearance of bread and wine, our faith is professed, and prayers are offered for the whole Church, both the living and the dead. In the reception of Holy Communion I can be physically united to Jesus Christ, something not even the angels can experience. At Mass I can be physically, mentally and spiritually involved and I experience Saint Therese's surge of the heart, I am turned toward heaven.

So, if you are like me and your mind tends to wander and private prayer leads to day dreaming, let me suggest more frequent attendance at and an increased appreciation for the Mass, the most perfect of prayers.

As we turn to the Eucharistic celebration please try to listen to the prayers that Father Lou will offer for us all. Like Saint Therese be turned toward heaven and let your responses be a cry of recognition and love.

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gates of hell would not prevail against it. The boat is leak-proof even if it looks at times like it needs some new rigging and maybe a paint job. It is up to all of us to love the boat which carries

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Well, surprising news this week, something that hasn’t happened in 600 years. The Pope will resign. In the retirement community where I live this is a topic of conversation not only for Catholics. Some ask, <Why so young he’s only 85.= Some, knowing that I am a deacon, they ask me who I think will be the new Pope as if I had some inside scoop. I answer them that while there may some difference in style there will be no difference in substance. Those who would turn the Catholic Church into a copy of the current Episcopal Church will again be disappointed. The Church’s mission is to form the world’s culture not to conform to it. The Church thinks in terms of thousands of years and teaches that eternal truths are just that, timeless. This does not mean that the Church does not evolve because it does, but it evolves in its understanding of truth, not in the essence of truth. This drives some people crazy. The Liberal on-line Journal Tikkun regularly publishes articles by disaffected Catholics to whom John Paul II and Benedict XVI are, in their words, <evil Fascists=. The British Lord Macauley once said, <As a Protestant it distresses me to say that the Catholic Church must be divinely instituted in that it has continued to exist in spite of the rascals and rogues who have led it.= When Napoleon captured the Pope in 1815 he told him, <I will destroy your Church= to which the Pope responded, <If we haven’t

been able to destroy it in 1800 years what makes you think you can?=While it true that there have too many unworthy and worldly men who have served as Pope, not one has been inconsistent in essential doctrine and the Church has survived them with its doctrine intact. It must mean something that the Papacy is by far the oldest and longest lasting institution in the history of the world. Caesar is no more. There is no Tsar. There is no High Priest. There is no Caliph. There are no Emperors. European monarchies are now mere symbols and the Papacy was already ancient when they came into existence. Of all the institutions that exist today the best bet to be existence a thousand years from now is the Catholic Church and its Papacy. No other institution has its track record.

How will it survive? It will survive by following the example of its Founder, Jesus Christ, as found in today’s gospel. Jesus resisted temptation by adhering to the timeless teachings of Holy Scripture. Knowing that Jesus was hungry the devil tempted him with bread. Like Jesus the Church must put spiritual principles ahead of material considerations. The Church truly does not live by bread alone. Many of the magnificent former Cathedrals in Europe are now museums but in Africa and Asia where the Church is growing Mass is said in grass huts and tin roofed sheds. The Church grows best where it is poor. Jesus rejected power and glory and resolved to serve only his Father. The Church, therefore, must always put its spiritual mission first and hold fast to the truth even if the truth is difficult and unpopular. To compromise principles to gain favor only results in the loss of both. The Church has Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will preserve it from error but it cannot be reckless. It must continue to build on timeless truths and avoid giving into the fashion of the day. All this it will do regardless of who is Pope. That is why it will survive.

At times it is not easy to be a Catholic. . To be a faithful Catholic is not for the faint of heart. As John Zmirak has written, <Catholicism is a wondrous religion but really a pathetic hobby=. The rewards are great but you have to work at it not dabble in it. The Church in its

teachings is adhering to universal and eternal truths. It cannot teach error and survive. We, however, as individuals, can and do fail at times to live up to Church teachings but our failure is isolated, individual, easily remedied and does no permanent damage. If the Church falls into error, there is no remedy and the result is permanent damage to the deposit of Faith.

A church that teaches what is, in essence, merely the fashion of the day is no Church at all and eventually becomes just a collection of individuals each of whom is their own church blowing in the winds of the present time.

We will now celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist which is <the sum and summit of our faith.= It is through the Church that we trace the Eucharist back to its institution by Christ at the Last upper on the night before he died. It is through the Church that we trace our bishops and priests back to the apostles. It is because of this continuity that we can be certain Christ is truly present body and blood, soul and divinity in what is shortly before mere bread and wine. This is true now and it will be true a thousand years from now. I’m willing to bet on it.

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<May it be done unto me according to your word.= With these words of Mary Jesus Christ, came into the world and the process of our salvation began. With these words of a young Jewish girl a worldly transformation commenced. With these words, the temple of the Lord, which David envisioned, became a reality in the form of the body of a young woman.

But did Mary know what she was saying <YES= to? Have you ever bought something on the basis of an advertisement and then found out that the ad was misleading and the product wasn't really what the ad promised? I have done it more than once. I am especially vulnerable to weight loss programs that promise you can eat all you want. Then I find out I can eat all I want as long as I don't eat anything I like.

I think that Gabriel may have misled Mary. A mighty angel appears to a young girl and tells her that she will bear the son of the most high, the Son of God, and God will give him "the throne of David. And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever.= Isn't it reasonable to assume that Mary was expecting a little more than giving birth in a stable to a son who grew up to be a carpenter and who, at the age of thirty, was still living at home and three years later died as a criminal? I don't think anyone would blame her if she felt a little deceived. The angel did not lie but there was certainly less than full disclosure. All that would actually happen is not revealed to Mary. She is only told the good parts, which only came much later after she had suffered greatly.

Another person may have pressed for further details but Mary did not. She only stated the fact of her virginity and when assured that the Holy Spirit would resolve that detail she said "yes.= That <yes" was to all that came, the bitter and the sweet, the good as well as the bad. The glory part of the promise did not commence until after Mary had lived through the horror of the Passion. Picture Mary as a middle-aged widow who has worked hard all her life only to see her son die as a criminal hung on a cross. We can only begin to imagine how hard life was for a woman as a member of the working class in Judea two thousand years ago.

We can't even begin to imagine the pain of witnessing the crucifixion of a beloved child. It was a hard life indeed that Mary lived.

The reality is that God became human in the form of a helpless child. He did so that we may become his brothers and sisters and therefore adopted children of God through our Baptism in Christ. The Christian religion is the only one of the world's religions that claims that God became human. Because he has partaken of our humanity, we may one day share in his divinity. Our faith in this reality sets us apart from all other men and women. Like Mary we are promised much. But also like Mary we must live out our lives and cling to the promise even when there are times that it is hard to believe.

We live our life as Mary lived her life: one day at a time, some are good, and some are not. We don't know all that is store for us. We too will have times of severe trial, times when the promises seem forgotten and we seem to have been the victims of false advertising. This time is the lent of our lives. These are the times when we must remind ourselves that God became human in Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our salvation. These are the times to remember we are in the end Easter people. We know that life may be hard and that Good Friday awaits.

But we also know the end of the story of Jesus which culminates in the glory of the resurrection at Easter. We know that Jesus left us the sacrament of his body and blood, the Eucharist and so is still present to us. Like Mary, through the Eucharist, we carry Jesus within us but not as a child but as the risen savior.

So, as we await the coming joy of Christmas, let us remember that it is only possible because a very young woman had the faith and courage to <yes= a long time ago in a place very far away.

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"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel." This verse was in the gospel of the third Sunday of Ordinary Time and I reflected upon just this past January. I talked about the Kingdom as we experience it, the Church here and now. The kingdom is divided in three parts: The Church Militant, here and now; The Church Suffering; and The Church Triumphant. We hear a lot about the Church Triumphant and we all hope to get there. But what's with the Suffering?

Thomas Jefferson was a Deist. He believed in God who created the universe but then left it to tick along on it's own, like a clock. But he also believed that God kept an eye on things and in the long run cared how things turned out. Although he himself kept slaves he was concerned about was what then known as the peculiar institution and it's effect on the nation. He famously wrote, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever." Jefferson's God was short on love but long on justice. This is why the doctrine of purgatory makes such sense. It reconciles the God's infinite mercy with God's perfect justice. It is apparent to anyone who really is paying attention that not all people die in what is called the odor of sanctity. Saints are saints because their sanctity is heroic and heroic by definition is extraordinary. So what about the rest of us who die not completely sanctified even though we are saved having been baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ and not having rejected life in Christ by unrepentant mortal sin? For us it makes sense that there must be some additional purification, an evening out, between death and heaven and this state is called Purgatory, the Church Suffering.

When I was a kid we heard a lot about purgatory. It was often used by exasperated teachers to keep unruly kids in line. Even as a little kid I couldn't really believe that God would use fire on a little kid. It was a hard sell. Unfortunately, because it was over sold, the idea of purgatory disappeared sometime in the 60's. The current Catechism of the Catholic Church is more than 800 pages long but only one page concerns Purgatory That is too bad because I now I understand that purgatory, unlike heaven or hell, is only temporary but required. While it is a state of purification, it exists outside of time and space and therefore is not a physical place or fixed period of time; but while suffering is involved it is also a state of great joy. It is heaven's boot camp. Saint Catherine of Genoa said that "although purgatory is incomparably painful because we see all the horror of our own sins yet it is incomparably joyful because God is there with us and we are learning to endure his truth and his light." My opinion is that it is there that we will experience all the pain we have caused others so be nice. My reaction if I find myself in purgatory will be "I made it!!!"

The wonderful thing about purgatory is that those who are there can pray for us and we can pray for them. Since we don't hear much about purgatory any more I'm afraid most of the prayers are going only one way. We make a lot of All Saints Day but All Souls Day gets little attention. This is a tragedy because I suspect most of us will experience purgatory and thus will need the help of prayers. We can only hope that those whom we assisted with our prayers will then be in heaven and will remember us. This is why we should go to Mass, pray the rosary, fast and do penance on behalf of the Holy Souls who need our help and who we hope will remember us when we need their intercession.

So let us now offer the perfect prayer that is the Eucharist for Holy Souls who await the

ultimate reward which Saint John tells us "is to be like God and to see him as he is."

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What’s the buzz? Why all the fuss? I don’t mean all the partying and shopping that’s been going on since Halloween. We know what that’s about: having fun and propping up the retail economy. I mean why are we here in the middle of all the excitement at Church for Holy Mass? Long before the Birth of Christ there were celebrations at this time of year. It is the time of the winter solstice when the sun reversed its early setting and the days became longer. In the Boyne valley in Ireland you can visit Newgrange, a prehistoric monument. It was built more than 3200 years before the first Christmas and is older than the Egyptian pyramids. It is a large mound with a stone passageway leading to chambers inside. It is so constructed that it is aligned with the rising of the on one day of the year.

That day is the winter solstice when the light from the rising sun floods its interior. It is, therefore, plausible that early Christians, not knowing the exact time of the year when Christ was born, chose to superimpose the celebration of his birth on the existing pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice. This is understandable in that the Winter Solstice is the beginning of the meteorological year and the Christmas is the beginning of the Christian Gospel. The Puritan founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, noting the pagan foundations of many of Christmas celebrations, forbade the celebration of Christmas and made it a crime to do so.

The Merrymount section of Quincy was the hangout of some illegal celebrants, hence its name. This seems a little extreme but, based on some of the excesses of the day, not totally unreasonable. It seems that things have gone full circle and the popular religious celebration is brief, limited to attendance at one Church service, if at all, while the Holidays celebration now begins November first and continues through New Year’s eve.

So, what’s the big deal anyway? Who is Jesus Christ and why did he come? In the Nicean Creed of the Third Century, which is recited at all Feasts and Sunday Masses except during Advent and Lent, we profess:

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

And why did He come? The five hundred year old English Carol puts it well in its first verse:

God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Savior Was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satin’s power When we were gone astray

O Tidings of Comfort and Joy

So there you have it. Our Heavenly Father sent His only Begotten Son for our salvation and deliverance from the power of the Evil One. If you don’t believe in the power of the Evil, just look around you; just watch the news at eleven. So tonight we celebrate the coming of the Messiah. He is the promised one of the Book of Isaiah and the one of whom Paul preached to the people of Antioch. The one of whom the angel of the Lord foretold to Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew.

If you wonder, what’s the big deal, consider that he, who could have been born to wealth and power, chose to be born of humble people in a cave housing animals, to suffer the cruel death of a common criminal, hardly pleasant prospects. Yet here we are, more than two thousand years later, again celebrating His birth.

Billions of people have called him Lord. Who else can that be said of?

Jesus’ passion and death were foretold by the Prophets. The shadow of the cross hung over the stable in Bethlehem. Jesus knew the fate that awaited him and yet he came anyway. It is only by fully understanding the price he willingly paid for our redemption that we can begin to grasp the magnitude of the love he holds for each of us. We are infinitely loved by the infinite. We are precious in his sight and that is true joy of Christmas.

On the night before he died he gave us the gift of himself in the Eucharist. That is why we call this Christmas. It is in the Mass that Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity, come to dwell with and within each of us, to sanctify us, to make us Holy. This is Christ’s birthday gift to each of us as we celebrate the mystery of the bread and wine whereby we share in the divinity of Christ who, on this blessed day, humbled himself to share in our humanity.

O Tidings of Comfort and Joy

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It is the belief in the Trinity that is unique to Christianity. To Jews and Muslims it is blasphemy and to most others just plain silly, yet it is the foundation of our Faith. If Jesus Christ is not God he is a liar. He said, "The Father and I are one." If he is a liar then they are right, we are fools and blasphemers. The earliest clear expression of the truth of the Trinity is in today's second reading. Written around the year 57 AD it contains the blessing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all". Right from the beginning, the rite of Christian initiation consisted in the pouring of water and invocation of the Trinity. Two thousand years later we are baptized, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." The best summary of the truth of the Trinity I have found is, "The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Holy Spirit is not the Son. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. In the one Divine Nature there exist three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Anglican Archbishop, William Temple, pointed out that the conclusion of the Veni, Creator suggests at first sight that the be-all and the end-all of Christian experience is in the apprehension of a dogmatic formula:

Teach us to know the Father, Son And thee of both to be but one. That through the ages all along, This may be our endless song:

Praise to thy eternal merit, Father, Son. And Holy Spirit

And now, if you bear with me, I would like to talk about a devotion that is important in the Roman Church. June is the month of the Sacred Heart and this year Friday, June 27th, is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. A statue of the Sacred Heart is in our Sanctuary. When I was growing up most Catholic homes, especially the Irish homes, had a picture of the Sacred Heart hanging on a wall. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the result of the visions of Saint Mary Margaret Alacoque. Jesus made known to her his desire to be loved and the image manifesting His Heart with all its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation to be honored. The love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the refrain of all her writings. The promises of the Sacred Heart given to her are twelve in number. They are:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life. 2. I will establish peace in their

families. 3. I will comfort them in their trials. 4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death. 5. I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings6. Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy. 7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent. 8. Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection. 9. I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored. 10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts. 11. The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out. 12. I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My

all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

Jesus reaffirmed his mercy for repentant sinners, great and small, to Saint Faustina Kowalska and the image of Divine Mercy where blood and water flow from His heart is also in the sanctuary. Just as Jesus forgave the sins of the penitent thief on the cross, He has promised mercy to all who ask. He has promised more than forgiveness to all who honor His Sacred Heart. I need all the help I can get so I have an image of the Sacred Heart by the door of my apartment. It reminds me to say a prayer to the Sacred Heart every time I go out, especially if I am going to drive. In our sophisticated age such simple devotions as that to the Sacred Heart have fallen into disuse. Too old school, not hip, out of it. Well these devotions have proved to be powerful in the past and are just as powerful today if we swallow our pride and practice them.

The novena prayer to the Sacred Heart is: O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant me, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body; assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Who could ask for more?

We now turn to the Eucharist where we shall receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ whereby we shall be united to the one who's heart burns for the love of us, His brothers and sisters for whom He died most horribly and rose most gloriously.

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Next Friday hundreds of thousand, mostly young people, will March for Life in our Nation's Capital. All this week there will be events and masses celebrated for Life. All this will be largely ignored by the mainstream media. EWTN will have extensive coverage but that will be about it. You seldom hear the word abortion any more. People are either pro life or pro choice.

You gotta accent the positive and eliminate the negative as the old song goes. We're all pros now. The summer of the year 1999 prior to ordination I spent as a Chaplain Intern at Shattuck

Hospital. It is a summer I shall never forget. One of the units I visited was the detox unit. One day a very young woman asked if she could see me privately so we went into an office. She looked so sad. I asked how I could help and she said, "Do I have to go to confession?" I asked what was bothering her and she told me she had four abortions. FOUR! I asked, "Why so many, so young?" She said her father made her have the first one and her boy friends had made her have the other three. I said an Act of Contrition with her and told her I would have priest come to see her. The detox was a short term unit and she was moved before the Priest Chaplin could get to her. Twenty years later I can still see her sad young face. She is forever a part of my life. So when I hear someone say they are PRO CHOICE I wonder who's choice is it, the woman's or the impregnator's.

Let us be honest. This is a woman's issue. If it was up to us men the human race would never have gotten off the ground.

The most important and essential person ever born is a woman. Her image stands in all our churches and she is present in our Church, a gift to our parish by a woman. Without our Mother Mary there would have been no Jesus, no redemption, no salvation no hope of resurrection.

Once, about this time of the year, I was in my car listening to Focus on the Family Network on the radio. They had an hour long presentation featuring women who had abortions lamenting the loss of their children. It was heartbreaking. I had to pull off the road. I could no longer see to drive. This was before my experience with the young woman in the detox and may have been part of why she affected me so. I, for one, cannot nor will not, judge any woman for her choice, even if it is indeed her choice and not an action forced upon her by circumstances beyond her control. She is a victim of a culture gone wrong. She is not to grieve the loss of her child but rather yo celebrate her Choice.

Other than religious based services such as Project Rachel there are few support services

available to women who are suffering as a result of their abortion experience.

Catholic politicians nearly universally use the excuse, "While personally opposed to abortion, I will not impose my religious beliefs on others". This is out and out nonsense. Who would? Would you? This is not about legally enforcing belief in the Trinity or the Divinity of Christ on others. It is about when does the right to life attach to an unborn human being, or more recently, to one born alive but unwanted.

The point where human rights attach to the unborn or newly born continues to slide to a point later and later in time. For centuries it was at the moment of conception. It slid to when the foetus, no longer called a baby, reached viability, that is when it could survive out of the mother's womb. Presently, in many states, even if the child survives the abortion, it is abandoned to die. See your bulletin regarding the attempt to expand abortion in Massachusetts.

Where does it all end? God only knows. Peter Singer, the widely respected Chair of the Ethics Department of Princeton University, argues that human rights attach to the unborn and the new born only when they possess "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness and therefore their killing is allowed up to the point where the child becomes self-aware. Singer wishes to see and I quote, "American jurisprudence and the national abortion debate, take up the question of which capacities a human being needs to have in order for it to be wrong to kill it" as well as "when, in the development of the early human being, these capacities are present". He has been cited as holding this to be at around one and a half years after birth. Even worse, he applies this standard to age related dementia and the mentally disabled and infirm. It is estimated that currently 50% of Down Syndrom babies are aborted and that figure rises to 90% of those diagnosed by genetic testing. I have known many Down Syndrom people and in my opinion they are the angels among us. We are less for their loss.

The unintended consequences of unrestricted, often forced, abortion are disastrous.

China, due to its one child policy now has 40 million single men for whom there are no women because of selective abortion preferring males. China increased the number of children allowed to two in an attempt to remedy the situation but the one child limit is so imbedded in their culture that women are still only having one child and males are still preferred for survival. They are approaching a demographic catastrophe and there is nothing they can about it.

Their population will continue to grow for a while because existing people are living longer.

This means that in a couple of generations they will have more old people than young people and this leads to extinction.

I recommend the book, What to Expect When No One's Expecting, By Jonathan V. Last. Its subtitle is America's Coming Demographic Disaster. P.J. O'Rourke commented that the book is "A powerful argument that the only thing worse than having children is not having them."

I hate having to give this homily and I'm sure you have not enjoyed listening to it but we must be aware of just how far down the slippery slope we have come. The March for Life is an opportunity to examine just how grave the situation is and to make our voices heard.

There is Holy Hour Life this Sunday at 2:00pm at Saint Mary's in Randolph. If you can, please attend or you can come here at 12:30 and welcome three new Christians to our Church.

We will now proceed to the celebrate the Eucharist and join in Communion with the Lord of all, born and unborn, able and disabled.

Deacon John Boyle 2020

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It is February. It gets dark early. It is cold and slippery under foot. It is damp and the sun doesn't shine much. The economy is lousy and unemployment is increasing. Today our Secretary of State will try to convince the United Nations it should support our effort to depose Saddam Hussein who is at least a murderer of his own people. Yesterday our President presided at a memorial for the seven astronauts who died tragically last Saturday. Last Saturday I was present at the funeral of the 26 year old son of one of my deacon classmates. A B.C. High and Bowdoin College graduate he suffered from bi-polar disease which had been tormenting him for some time. His mother, father, brother and sister were devastated. Last night Natale Jacobson showed a special on the torment of four children who's mother had an affair with a priest who was present when she lapsed into a coma and who left her without calling for aid. The Church hierarchy had known of this affair for years and did nothing before or after her death.

In today's readings we are told that Jesus friends and neighbors rejected him as a mere carpenter, the son of a local woman. Who did he think he was, preaching to them? Saint Paul reminds us that the Lord disciplines and scourges every son he acknowledges. We are to be consoled by the fact that we have not yet had to resist sin to the point of shedding blood. Some consolation!

It is not even lent yet and we're dragging. Have I ruined your day or was it ruined before you got here?

At times like this we either throw in the towel, pull the covers over our heads and hide or get a grip on our selves and keep on trucking. The days are getting longer and spring will come. My deacon classmate and his family were a miracle of faith in the way they buried their son and brother. It was the greatest demonstration of grace and faith in the face of tragedy that I have ever witnessed. You had to see it to believe it. Jesus went on to become the most important single figure in human history.

Saint Paul also reminds us that discipline though painful brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. Human beings will continue to push the envelope of space for it is our nature to explore the unknown and to discover the discoverable regardless of risk. One way or another Saddam will pass from the scene but evil is ever with us and we will continue to challenge it. Our Church is being cleansed and new leadership is in place that, we hope and pray, has learned from the mistakes of the past. The economy is always lousy before it improves. It's called the economic cycle.

But most of all, we rejoice in the fact that our Savior is about to become present in our midst in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. How can we be other than joy filled at such a prospect?

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I recently read a book entitled "Genome". It is the story of the Human Genome in layman's terms up to the present time. The history of life on earth, about 4 billion years, is encoded in the Genome. What separates us from chimpanzees, our closest relative, 98% of our genetic code is identical to theirs, is that we have one less chromosome than they do. We have 23 and they have 24. Chromosome 2 in humans, the second biggest of human chromosomes is a mutation, the fusion of 2 medium sized ape chromosomes. The author suggests that the occasion of this mutation may be the moment when, in the words of John Paul II, there was an "ontological discontinuity" between ancestral apes and modern human beings. The point when God infused the human soul into an animal lineage, the moment when, in the language of today's first reading, God blew into clay the breath of life and human kind was born.

From that moment until this, mankind has been looking for an easy way out. Adam was not satisfied with Eden, he wanted more, the knowledge of good and evil. He disobeyed and discovered evil and having discovered it fated all his descendants to struggle with it all of their days. The pharisees tried to overcome evil, to obtain salvation by what they ate and how they ate it. Today many people are turning to Christian Fundamentalism which promises that you need only accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and you have it made. Saved, that's it, no matter what you do from then on. You are still evil and prone to do evil things but you have put on Christ to cover the evil and that's enough.

Catholics know that there is no easy way out. Saint Paul says we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. What we are involved in is a process of conversion. Of changing from the animal to the divine. We do that through the reception of sacraments, outward signs by which we obtain the grace won for us by Jesus' life, death and resurrection. We learned as children that there are seven sacraments. Many modern theologians put the number at nine.

The seven familiar ones and two super sacraments, Jesus Christ himself, and his Church. In any event, seven or nine, it is through them that we Catholics are saved. Being one not to take any chances, I have received seven. I need all the help I can get. It is however by the reception of the sacrament of thanksgiving and love, the Holy Eucharist, that the grace of the others is energized and perfected. Shortly Christ in his resurrected and glorified body will be present among us and invite us to mystical and physical union with him by reception of communion, the most blessed sacrament. How far we have come from those early days when, by disobedience evil came into the world, from those days when men tried to experience God through what they ate and how they ate it.

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When we were taught homiletics in deacon school we were told it was our job as homilists to take the readings of the day and apply them to the lives of the Faithful in the present time and then lead to the Eucharist. This means I do not get to pick the topic of my homily. It is given to me by the readings of the day. Well you just heard them. They are tough. No warm and fuzzy homily today. We started out with poor Jeremiah being thrown into a muddy cistern to die. What was his crime? It was speaking the truth to power. He had been predicting the impending destruction of Jerusalem as a judgment from God for its faithlessness. Those in power did not listen to Jeremiah and the city was destroyed, the people taken into captivity and the rulers killed.

The letter to the Hebrews is the roll call of old testament heroes of the faith encouraging those of the then present day to persevere in running the race while keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus the leader and perfecter of faith who endured death on the cross. They are reminded that they have not shed blood yet.

Finally the in the gospel Jesus warns of the violent divisions to be caused by his coming. All in all they do not paint a pretty picture.

What about today? The founding of our nation on the then unique proposition of separation of church and state was the result of the founding fathers desire to avoid the Old World’s religious wars and the tyranny of established religions. This did not mean however that they did not value religion. On the contrary, in his Farewell Address George Washington said, <Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.= Thomas Jefferson wrote, <I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. James Madison wrote,

<The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man...=

Madison was convinced that religious citizens and their communities are essential parts of a civil society. Religion was recognized as essential but the form was not dictated.

Today freedom of religion has been reduced to mere freedom of worship.

Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2009 as Secretary of State set the tone with her statement that, <to fulfill their potential ... people must be free to worship ... and to love in the way they choose.= George Weigel has pointed out that, <this was a degradation of religious freedom in that it reduced religious freedom to freedom of worship which is to say, religious freedom is a privacy right to certain lifestyle choices.= As Weigel points out, <Reducing religious conviction to another life style choice while ignoring the community-forming aspects of religious conviction and those communities’ impacts on civil society is a piece with broader secularist currents in America.= This thinking is reflected in the reduction of conscience protection only to members of religious organizations that serve and employ only members of that religion. Religion is being forced from the life stream of the Republic and being limited to action in just its sectarian life. Any religious activities or speech that do not conform to the secular norm as dictated by the government are to be repressed. New York’s Cardinal Dolan has said that he will most likely die in his bed but his successor will most likely die in prison and his successor a martyr. The handwriting is on the wall but we choose to ignore it just as the rulers of Jerusalem chose to ignore Jeremiah. The author of the letter to the Hebrews invites us to consider how Christ endured opposition from sinners so that we might not grow weary and lose heart. He reminds us that, unlike Christ, we have not yet resisted sin and sinners to the point of shedding blood. And Christ himself reminds us that he has not come to establish peace on earth but rather division. If we go along to get along it won’t be long before we are long gone.

Now we will turn to the Eucharist whereby we will gain the graces needed to persevere in the battle to come.

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I recently read Bernard Cornwell's novel "Stonehenge". It is a fictional tale of the development and construction of the Neolithic Temple known as Stonehenge on the plains of England's mid-lands. The Temple dates from around 2000 years before Christ and is related to the passage grave at Newgrange in Ireland, which predates it by a thousand years. Both are oriented to the setting sun on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. This fact, and the orientation of the temple as a whole, lead to the conclusion that the sun and the moon formed the basis for the religion of these late stone age people. Cornwell weaves a fascinating tale of the conflict between those who worship the sun and those who worship the moon. The sun worshipers ultimately prevail but also secondarily honor the moon by placing stones in the temple which celebrate the moon's relation to the sun. What struck me was the fact that their worship was based not on love or honor of these two celestial bodies but on fear, fear that failure to placate these powerful beings would result in disaster.

Parents would disfigure their infants so that they would not be chosen to be sacrificed to placate the angry Gods who only accepted the unblemished. Their world was a fearful and dangerous place where natural events or tribal rivalry could, and did, repeatedly result in sudden death or cruel enslavement. Their priests encouraged this fear as it gave them total control over the people.

Today's reading from Isaiah dates from about 1500 years after the construction of Stonehenge and is full of promise to all peoples from a just and loving God. It is a message of salvation, joy, and hope, not of fear. Our psalm is a hymn of love and praise to a saving God. Saint Paul's letter to the Romans calls all peoples to God's love and mercy. The Gospel reading teaches us the rewards of faith in Jesus Christ. We have come a long way from fearful homage paid to created celestial objects to the worship of a just and loving creator.

I have found that meditating on the way things were makes me appreciate all the more the way things have become; but, I am concerned about the way things are

becoming. Is the cruelty and fear of the age of Stonehenge coming back? The pictures coming from northern Iraq are frightful. A small religious minority has been marked for extinction by so-called Muslim extremists. Thankfully, the world, led by the United States, is providing "humanitarian aid" but their ultimate fate is very much in doubt. What is being pretty much ignored is the fate of 100,000 Iraqi Christians who were driven into the desert with only the clothes on their backs by the same "extremists". They, to date, have received little attention and no international "humanitarian aid". To date, violence against Christians in the near east has been viewed as merely a "sectarian dispute" in which involvement is to be avoided.

John L. Allen, Jr. Has written a book, "The Global War on Christians". It is frightening. It is disconcerting that in a violent world it is the followers of the Prince of Peace who seem to be targeted for elimination. The near east, the Holy Land, will soon have little, if any, Christian presence. In Asia Christianity is at best tolerated. Yet Christianity is the world's largest religion as more than 2 billion people profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Saint John Paul has taught us, "The power of Christ's Cross and Resurrection is greater that any evil which man could or should fear." The late Father Richard John Neuhaus taught "The Eucharist is "a supremely political action in which the heavenly kingdom is made present in time. The Eucharistic meal here and now anticipates, makes present, the New Jerusalem's eternal Feast of the Lamb." Thus we know how it will be in the end. Christ shall prevail but there are some difficult times ahead. We must at all cost: Keep the Faith and reverence the Eucharist: it is the last best hope for human kind.

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"Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." What's up with that? The Prince of Peace comes to bring division? That doesn’t't make sense. I believe Jesus is not the cause of this division but that it is the result of his coming. Jesus life, death and resurrection did indeed set the world on fire and it is still burning. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that still illuminates and also divides. It is the fire that caused the rebuilding of a church destroyed by ISIS in Iraq. It is the fire which sustains the Christians in China, the Middle East and India as they face persecution for their Faith. More Christians were martyrs in the twentieth century than all the nineteen that preceded it.

It seems that the fire is abating in Western culture as it begins to burn brightly in the so-called third world. It is extremely likely that the next Pope will come from Africa.

In the west, as the fire wanes, the dissension and division only increase. There recently was a discussion on Catholic radio begun when a Mother called to ask if she should discourage contact between her children and their Paternal Grandparents because of, in her opinion, their extreme political views. So it seems political views are more important than her children's relationship with their grandparents. Politics have surpassed religion as a cause of dissension in the west. I am afraid that is not because there is less religious controversy but it is rather because people have ceased to care much about religion.

Serious moral issues have become political issues and conformity to the Progressive agenda tops individual moral values.

So, what are we to do? Saint Paul tells us, "... let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of Faith." He advises that, "We consider how (Christ) endured opposition from sinners in order that (we) may not grow weary and lose heart."

Regardless of the dissension around us we must remember that salvation is an individual matter. We go into eternal bliss or suffering one by one. Christ suffered, died and rose again in atonement for our sins so that we, you and me, might enjoy eternal life in his heavenly kingdom. He instituted the Sacraments that we might receive the grace we need and in the Eucharist keeps his promise to be with us always until the end of time.

In the midst of the chaos of the day and of that surrounding the coming election of 2020 I am reminded of the story of the man who lived among the Whirling Dervishes when asked how

he stood it replied, "I let them whirl."

I am comforted by the fact that Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. He will now come to us here and now in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Deacon John Boyle 20th Ordinary Time C 8/18/19

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Poor God. He just can't help giving us another chance. In the reading from Genesis, even though he comes to accept that humanity is fatally flawed, he resolves not to ever again destroy every living being. God, being God, understands that this means he will send his son to repair the flaw and he will treated badly. The flaw, which we know as "original sin", while in one sense a tragedy, is also the "happy fault" which, in the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, "gained for us so great a Redeemer". Thus in our imperfection lies the source of our glory, the coming of Jesus the Christ. Saint Paul understood this when he wrote, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more".

This being true, we must be living in a time of grace for there is no denying that sin abounds in our time. I always said I would not be one of those old guys who sit around longing for the good old days. I try not but sometimes I am tempted. On last night's news it was predicted that within a few years there will a human being cloned. In our country alone over a million naturally conceived babies are aborted each year, yet millions of dollars will be spent to produce a clone.

Why?

But then I read today's Gospel where Jesus healed a blind man. It took two tries, the first being only partially effective. Healing was a process and took a little time. Jesus understood this fact and was willing to give it a second try. I was reminded that the salvation of the world is also a process and will take time. I must also remember that God loves all people even though flawed, that "where sin increases grace abounds", that God has promised "while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease", that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

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It takes time. It took It took four tries before Noah could be sure that the waters had receded and it was safe to open up the ark. It took Jesus two tries before the blind beggar could see clearly. It takes time and that can be hard to take.

Why didn't the beggar see clearly after the first treatment? Certainly Jesus could have cured him completely the first time. Why did Mark feel it was necessary to relate that two treatments were involved? It is the kind of detail that lends credibility to the story but it is more than that. As Saint Paul has taught us, we see now as if in a mirror, darkly. We are like the poor beggar who at first saw imperfectly, people looked like walking trees. We have hope however that eventually, like the beggar, we shall, one day, see everything distinctly.

In the meantime we must do the best we can to figure out what is going on. If you can only see imperfectly, you need help. For us that help consists in the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church. But even there, clarity of vision may be limited at any given time. While it is true that dogma never changes, it does develop. Over time the Church's understanding of a truth does mature. Not too long ago the Church regarded freedom of religion as a dangerous concept. Today the Church is the leading proponent of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right to be respected by all governments.

What is really essential is that while we are seeing imperfectly that we love our brothers and sisters who see differently than we do. Christ was especially hard on the arrogant. He could forgive the Pharisees for their errors. It was their imposition of the burdens of those errors on others that angered him.

We live in an age of great challenge and change. It is a time when a great many are having a difficult time seeing the truth. It is a time when the truth seems elusive and it is difficult to know what to do. At such times we must take the time to learn what the Church is in fact teaching. It is a time to avoid extremes. So called liberals and ultra conservatives are alike in one way. They both reject some teachings of the Magisterium. Liberals see the Church's teachings on human sexuality as out of date and in need of change. They see the last two papacies as a betrayal of the teachings of Vatican II. The Conservatives want Vatican II repealed. Both are like the blind beggar. They see imperfectly and are in need of more treatment.

We can all agree on essentials, the incarnation, the efficacy of the sacraments, especially the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the fact of the resurrection and the hope it gives us all. We could love each other as Jesus taught us and wait patiently for the day when we will see everything distinctly. If we did that, the world would not see the people of God as divided and confused. Our disunity is a scandal and an impediment to the spread of the message of the gospel. We can only do the work of Christ when people can again say of Christians, "See how they love each other."

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"For whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus calls us to tolerance of those who perform deeds in his name.

It is in this spirit that on November 21, 1964, the same day as the promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, that the Second Vatican Council proclaimed the Decree on Ecumenism. This was followed on December 7, 1965 by the Declaration on Religious Liberty.

After first referencing Lumen Gentium, the Council set forth "guidelines, helps and methods" by which Catholics can respond to the divine call for the restoration of unity among those "who invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior." We are first to "avoid expressions, judgements and actions which are not truthful and fair in representing the situation of the members of the separated Christian communities". No more name calling. Dialogue between competent experts from different Churches is called for: and, finally "all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will for the Church and, wherever necessary, to undertake with vigor the task of renewal and reform". The Church's primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be renewed and done in the Catholic household itself, in order that its life may bear witness more clearly and more faithfully to the teachings and institutions which have been handed down from Christ through the apostles. As Catholics we are to aim at Christian perfection so that the church may daily be more purified and renewed against the day when Christ will present her to himself.

Ecumenism is therefore first of all a call for reform and perfection. As we have recently been reminded by the publication of Dominus Iiesus, the unity of his disciples for which Christ prayed to the Father subsists in the Catholic Church. Never the less, this in no way detracts from our obligation to personally and collectively strive for that perfection in creed, ritual and practice which is required if our separated Christian brothers and sisters are to recognize that truth.

The document points out in its introduction that "in his Church Christ instituted the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist by which the unity of the church is both signified and brought about". Let us therefore turn to the Eucharist in the hope that all Christians will come to love one another as Christ has commanded.

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It was in September that my boss and I attended an industry convention held at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach Florida. It was off season for the Breakers but it is a beautiful place at any time off the year. We were at a reception in the elegant main dining room, which looks like something from the palace of Peter the Great. The food was elaborate and plentiful. A terrible thunder storm came up, one of that kind that Florida gets all the time but which is rare up here. The sky became black as night and lightening was flashing continuously. My boss turned to me and said, "Just our luck, it's the end of the world and God is going to think we are rich". We were out of place and we knew it.

That is how Jesus must have felt at the home of one of the leading Pharisees among all his influential friends. But unlike my boss and me Jesus was not in awe of his surroundings. Instead he notes how many are elevating their own importance by choosing places of honor. He advises them to take lower places lest they be embarrassed by being moved to a lower position at the table. He does not advise them to fairly evaluate their own importance; but rather appeals to their self interest. Self interest is the only motivation for this kind of person. An appeal to reality would be fruitless. Advice to conduct themselves with humility as encouraged in the first reading would be a waste. Impressed with their own high opinions of themselves, the reality of their situation as sinners in need of redemption, in need of a savior, in need of Jesus the Christ, was beyond their comprehension. We can not even imagine the shock of this leading Pharisee when Jesus advises him that in the future he should not invite his important friends to dine with him but should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. This man would regard such people as unclean, as untouchable, and would no more associate with such unfortunates than he would heal someone on the Sabbath as Jesus had just done.

Jesus and this Pharisee lived in two different worlds and they both knew it. The man had no idea that Jesus was predicting the future. When Jesus assembles his kingdom it will be the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind who will sit in places of honor. The Pharisee and his important friends will be seated near the door if they are to be there at all.

All this leads to the question, Where will we be seated? We know that we are invited because through our Baptism we share in the life of Christ. The first reading gives us good advice.

We are to conduct our affairs with humility so that we will be loved. This does not mean that we are merely to act humble. It means that we are to order our priorities, to put first things first, to see things as they are. It means that, at the depths of our souls we are to recognize the reality of our helplessness, the reality of our powerlessness, the reality of our complete and absolute dependence upon on Christ for our salvation, for our place in his kingdom.

Finally, we are to be generous and give of our time, talent and treasure so that the fires ignited by sin in the world may be quenched.

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"I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which you are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two of three of you are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them".

It seems that for God, the more the merrier. It used to be that families prayed together daily and there was great power in that prayer. With today's hectic schedules it is more and more difficult for families to reserve a time for family prayer. This makes those times when we can pray with others even more precious than ever.

The power of community prayer is in the fact that Jesus has promised to be present when the community prays. We all know people who don't feel the need to attend church because they feel that they can be as close to God anywhere. That may be true for them but it is not true for God. God prefers that we come to him in community for when we do, his divine son joins us in our prayer.

The most perfect prayer is the Mass since Jesus is present not only in spirit but in body and blood as we make our petitions through the Eucharistic prayer in which we join the priest when we proclaim the great Amen at its conclusion.

You parents who have brought your children to pray in the company of their brothers and sisters in Christ know this and are an example to others. Let us pray for those who are not here, for those who are not aware of the power of community prayer, that they too may hear the words we heard today, "where two or more are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them"

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My mother used the expression "lazy man's load". She used it quite often because I usually tried to carry more than I could handle in a vain attempt to avoid a second trip. It was like one of those three stooges skits where Curly would try to open a door while carrying a big load of packages. As he would reach for the door he would drop some of the packages but instead of leaving them on the ground and opening the door, he would pick them up and then try again to open the door repeating the entire process over and over again all the while having a fit.

Eventually Moe would open the door from the other side into Curly, bopping him in the nose and knocking the packages every which way.

It sometimes seems like this is the way we live today. We are trying to carry so much stuff that we keep dropping stuff and losing control over our stuff. George Carlin did a whole routine on stuff. We have more stuff in our homes than we can deal with but it is now necessary that stores be open on Sundays so that we can acquire more stuff to put with the stuff we already have and can't find a place for.

Richard Wright in his biography said of the people with whom he worked, "Their constant outward looking, their mania for radios, cars, and a thousand other trinkets made them dream and fix their eyes on the trash of life, made it impossible for them to learn a language which could have taught them to speak of what was in their or other's hearts."

This is what Jesus was talking about two thousand years ago and which we read in today's gospel. He is asking us to reflect on how we live our lives, how we set our goals, and how we order our priorities. Do we reflect upon our goals and the means available to achieve them like the tower builders? Do we evaluate our chances for success and govern ourselves accordingly as the King planning for war does? Or do we start off with no clear idea where we are going, just following the crowd, grabbing for all we can get?

Do we chase after whatever rainbow popular culture is telling us we must chase? Do we strive to acquire things because we need them or because every one else has them?

Jesus does not mean that we hate father, mother, wife, and children. The word hate is too strong a translation for the Aramaic word Jesus used. He is telling us what we must do if we are to be his disciples. What Jesus means is that we must detach from worldly things if we are to follow him. We can't be like Curly, trying to open the door to Jesus while hanging onto a bunch of stuff. It is a matter of priorities. A matter of putting first things first. Discipleship must come first and if it does all other things fall into place.

To be able to see and accept these truths is the beginning of wisdom, which the first reading says is to know God's counsel and to receive the Holy Spirit. It is in letting go of the things of this world, in seeking God's will for us and attempting, with his grace, to carry it out each day that we become a disciple.

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Not so long ago, at least for me, 1966, there was a popular song; <What9s it all about Alfie=. Dionne Warwick9s rendition became a jazz standard. It asked the timeless question, 8What9s it all about? Is it just for the moment we live? What9s it all about when you sort it out? Are we meant to take more than we give or are we meant to be kind? And if only fools are kind, then I guess it9s wise to be cruel. And life belongs to the only to the strong, what will you lend on an old golden rule?=

How we live our lives is largely based on our answer to these questions. Many today answer this question according to the philosophy of Dogbert. Dogbert is the comic character Dilbert9s dog but he is also his adviser and mentor. Dilbert, before he leaves for his dull and frustrating job, asks Dogbert for some words of wisdom to get him through another dreary and frustrating day. Dogbert replies; <You are a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe.=

Our readings today present us with an alternative. Moses9 people have become depraved and are worshiping a Golden Calf as their God. God tells Moses that he will destroy them, start over and make of Moses a great nation. Moses reminds God of his promises to the Patriarchs and God relents. They are forgiven. They get another chance. Saint Paul admits that he was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and arrogant but he is forgiven because Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. He is forgiven.

In the Gospel, as he so often does, Jesus responds to his critics with a story. Accused of welcoming sinners Jesus compares those lost in sin to lost sheep that are searched for and brought back into the fold, or a lost coin which is rejoiced over when found. The story continues with that of Prodigal Son.

What is the Father9s reaction to the return of the son he believed lost to him? While the son is still far off he runs to him, embraces him and kisses him and declares a feast of thanksgiving. He rejoices because, in his words, <this son of mine was dead and has come to life again, he was lost, and has been found.= He is forgiven. The faithful son is reminded that he is with the father always and all the father has is his but the message of the day is heaven rejoices over the sinner who was dead and has come to life again, was lost and has been found.

So, what is it all about? Take your pick. Is Dogbert right? Are we just temporary arrangements of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe or are we children of a loving father who rejoices and embraces us when we repent our sins and turn to him?

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher, gave us some practical advice in making this choice. He said, <Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, (but) what harm will come (to you) if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that he exists.=

We now turn to the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Faith. For us this is what9s it all about. It is about the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross through which we became reconciled to the Father and the Sacrifice of the Altar through which Jesus remains present among us and in us, body and blood, soul and divinity.

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Jesus taught in parables, stories that demonstrate a teaching in such a way that no further explanation is needed. We just heard several parables with a common theme. Through these stories we experience the emotions shown: the joy of recovering that which had been lost, the love and joy of the father at the return of his son. We then relate these to ourselves we can better appreciate of the love of the Heavenly Father for us, his children and His joy at our salvation. My son told me a parable that I want to share with you. He rides the Red Line from Quincy Center to Harvard Square. He daily experiences the pain and hope of purgatory. Jammed into over crowded cars captive passengers experience the pain, isolation, the anticipation and dread of events beyond their control and yet the hope of eventual release from their torment upon their arrival at their destination. That's Purgatory. One, maybe the only, consolation they receive is the presence of street musicians who provide a temporary distraction from their misery. My son's favorite is Keytar Bear. Keytar Bear plays a keyboard instrument shaped like a guitar, has big bear head and paws and wears a Superman shirt. Many of his songs are original and he never stops playing, even when no one is around. Keytar Bear moves around. He follows the crowd and after Labor Day shows up in Harvard Square when the students are returning. My son arrived in Harvard Square after a difficult commute and expecting a difficult day as classes were starting and that is a time of stress for him. Keytar Bear was playing even though the station had emptied. My son felt a sense of relief and joy at the presence of Keytar Bear and his music and approached him.

He told Keytar Bear how much he enjoyed and appreciated his music and asked if he could take a selfie with him Keytar nodded Yes and the photo was taken and $20 exchanged. Keytar was happy, my son was happy, ready to face the day.

Keytar Bear had once been attacked by three hoodlums. What the hoodlums did not know was that under the fuzzy bear suit was a dancer and personal trainer who, while only five feet tall, was one tough hombre. Keytar Bear defended himself until bystanders intervened and held them off until the police came and arrested them. The story appeared in the Boston Globe and Keytar Bear became a celebrity. The moral of the parable: Good and evil walk the streets but ultimately good prevails but only if prepared to defend itself.

Prior to Vatican II, at the end of every Mass we said the following prayer :

Saint Michael the Archangel Be our protection against the wickedness

and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him We humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the

ruin of souls. Amen

For some reason this prayer was removed in translating the Latin Mass to the vernacular. Whether it was decided that the Devil was no longer a threat or that Saint Michael was no longer needed remains a mystery. Even a casual observer can discern that the Devil is more active than ever and that we need all the help we can get.

So let us take a lesson from Keytar Bear and attempt to spread The Father's love and joy to our fellows but also to realize that evil walks the land and be prepared to deal with it when it arises. I would suggest that Saint Michael is worthy companion as we do so.

Deacon John Boyle 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Prior to Vatican II, at the end of every Mass we said the following prayer :

Saint Michael the Archangel Be our protection against the wickedness

and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him We humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the

ruin of souls. Amen

Deacon John Boyle 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The first reading told us, "As high as the heavens are above the earth are God's ways above your ways." God's ways are not our ways.

The gospel story today is an illustration of the ways of God. More than just; more than fair; generous to all. Yet the first workers hired accuse the King of injustice. Not because he gave them what they bargained for and what was a fair day's pay but because he gave those who worked less than a full day, a full day's pay. Their human minds saw God's generosity as an injustice .to them. That is our way of looking at things. We view everything from its relation to ourselves. Thus generosity to another becomes an injustice to us.

It is easy for us at a distance to see the point of the Gospel and to feel superior to those complainers. But remember it also means that those who have a death bed conversion will have the same reward as those who kept the faith from birth to death; the same reward as you good people who come to mass and pray. Is that fair?

The answer is "fair" has nothing to do with it. None of us, none of us earns our salvation. Salvation, whether of the first or last, is an unmerited gift. The gift is the same for all and comes to the saved through the merit of Jesus Christ which he earned for us through his life, death and resurrection. We can refuse the gift but we certainly can't earn it.

Why then do all the extras? Why come to mass? Why pray mornings and evenings?

Because they bring us closer to God in this life. The future reward may be the same for all but the love of God we experience in this life is proportional to the effort we make to grow closer to him each day. The more we pray the easier it is to pray and the more we want to pray. The closer we come to God, the more we crave his presence in our lives. Those who come near to Christ no longer know fear. To them, like Saint Paul, "Life is Christ and death is gain."

Reception of the Eucharist is the best way to be close to Christ that we have in this world.

The more often we receive the Eucharist the more we come to appreciate the wonder of the graces it contains. In every parish there is a group of people who come to daily mass. Most are retired and so have the time but some just make the time. One of the "daily people" smiles every time she comes to communion. I asked her why she smiles and she said, "Why shouldn't I smile? After all I am receiving my maker not meeting my maker". My daily mass friend sees not just a host but she sees Jesus, her best friend, who has come to be such through their daily meeting.

Don't we all smile when we meet our best friend?

Her smile as I give her communion reminds me that it is in the Eucharist that we can be, as Saint Paul longed to be, with Christ but in this life; that it is in the Eucharist that those who go the extra mile find their reward and the reward is no less than heaven on earth. That is certainly worth smiling about.

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Peter Kreeft teaches Theology and Philosophy at Boston College. At the first meeting of each freshman class he asks the same question. How do you get to heaven? Now, these are smart kids. Boston College is very hard to get into. Many of them have attended Catholic schools. Not one of them ever gives the correct answer. The response he hears almost universally is <by being a good person=. Besides being the wrong answer it is also a dangerous answer as it is totally subjective. Who decides who is a good person? Adolph Hitler believed himself to be a good person. He desired to give the German people what he believed to be their rightful place in the world as rulers of inferior races. Joseph Stalin regarded himself as a good person in that his goal was a classless society. They regarded the extreme measures necessary to obtain these goals as fully justified. The members of ISIS regard themselves to be good people. They regard the brutality they perpetrate as fully justified by their desire to rid their world of infidels and establish a modern day Islamic Caliphate. A heaven composed of such self proclaimed <good persons= would be a strange and fearful place indeed.

The correct answer is: we are saved and therefore get into heaven through the merits of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, who became human, suffered, died and rose again that we might have eternal life. By our Baptism we enter into life in Christ and become children of the Father. In no way do we earn salvation. It is a free and unmerited gift. That is not to say that we cannot lose this gift. Saint Paul has written that, "We work out our salvation in fear and trembling". I think that this is what he is talking about, this possibility of losing the gift we have been given by our baptism in Christ. Once baptized, only we can prevent our entrance into eternal life. Only me, no one else, not even God can keep me out- only me.

In the 14th century Saint Catherine of Sienna had a series of visions wherein God the Father spoke to her and showed her that as each person dies he or she rushes to where they want to be. Each person chooses their own destiny over the course of their lifetime. At the moment of death we embrace what has become our own free choice: God, and heaven, or His absence, which is hell.

In the Gospel of the day Jesus, as he often does, reduces a profound theological insight to a simple story. Regardless of how long each worker has labored in the vineyard, each receives the same pay. Why? Not because they earned it; but because the landowner is generous; and, as Isaiah reminds us in the first reading, so is God: <generous and forgiving=. So it is with heaven.

It is our destiny not our reward. As it is a gift the timing of the gift is up to the giver. Our role in turn is to accept the gift and preserve it.

Try to fully grasp the wonder that the generous and forgiving God, who is all loving, all wise, all powerful is also your generous Father who asks only that we seek and do His will now so that we may have eternal life in His presence in Heaven.

We will now turn to Jesus Christ’s gift of his love and presence, the Eucharist, in

gratitude for the gifts received through his life, death and resurrection.

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The man in the gospel's sons were obviously teenagers. I have been a teenager and my wife and I have raised four children who were once teenagers. I don't want to hurt your feelings if you are a teenager but the truth of the matter is your not finished yet and some components are incomplete. To a teenager it makes perfect sense to say you will do something to get a parent off your back. Just tell them what they want to hear and then do it when you get around to it. The problem is the memory banks are overloaded and the promise is often forgotten. When asked why you didn't do what you promised to do you tell the truth, "I forgot". Parents unreasonably refuse to accept "I forgot" as a valid reason for not doing as you promised and groundings result.

Rarely, but sometimes in the heat of battle, a teenager will flat out refuse to do as asked and retreat into the teenage defense mechanism called "a sulk". In that condition there may be a sudden flash of reality and it dawns on them that what was asked was not so bad as what they are going through in the sulk so they change their mind, do as requested and go on their way. This sudden flash of reality is called a conversion experience. In an instant we clearly see the reality of a situation and dramatically change our behavior.

The tax collectors and prostitutes Jesus refers to in the gospel have had such an experience. They have seen and recognized the reality of their situation through the preaching of John the Baptist and turned to the way of righteousness. The chief priests and the elders are like the second son, like teenagers, who will observe the externals to get along and keep up a front but then do what they please. They are serenely happy with themselves and see no need to change. Their condition is fatal. This self satisfaction leads to pride, arrogance and injustice, the three vices that Jesus most often preaches against.

Jesus, who Saint Paul tells us, was in the form of God himself, coming in human likeness and being found in human appearance humbled himself becoming obedient to the point of death. This is the standard we are called to. We are to be like neither of the two sons in the Gospel. We are called to say yes to the will of God in our lives and to then do our best to carry it out just as Jesus did. We must walk the walk, not just talk the talk with no evasions, no games, no alibis just yes.

We are not called to be a good person, a nice guy or a good girl. We are called to be Christlike to be perfect as he was perfect. To do so we must first realize that we are not such, that is to be humble; to believe that we can be such, that is to have hope; and pray that God will make us such, that is to be people of faith.

To assist us in this most difficult transformation Jesus gave us himself in the sacrament of his body and blood, the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist we are given the grace to see our constant need for conversion, recognize our inability to do so on our own and the faith we need if we are to humble and obedient in imitation of Christ.

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assisted not discouraged and marginalized. We need more homes for children not more childless homes. We need to celebrate life, not encourage death.

Today there is a march for life in Boston. There will marchers in the thousands. See how much attention they receive in the print and TV media. I wager it will get far less coverage than would a march of a hundred abortion activists. If we are to preserve our vineyard we all must become involved. If we do not, we will have no right to complain when it is given to others.

We turn now to the Eucharist whereby we partake of the life of Christ. Let us bring that life of Christ out from our churches into the world which so desperately needs it.

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Gilbert Keith Chesterton, The Apostle of Common Sense, wrote, " Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved". If you don't see the truth of his statement, just look around you, just turn on the news, just pick up a newspaper. The pervasive evidence of the existence of human evil in the world is not new, it is ancient, all the way back to the garden.

In today's reading from the Hebrew Scripture Scriptures the Prophet Isaiah, in the seventh century BC, by his allegory of the vineyard, takes the house of Israel to task for its rejection of God's justice and judgement. His prophecy came to pass in the conquest of Jerusalem by the Assyrians in the same century. Tradition tells us Isaiah was slain by being sawed in half for daring to tell the truth. He was not politically correct.

Jesus uses Isaiah's allegory as the basis of his parable of the vineyard. We all know what happened to Jesus. It was, and is dangerous, to speak the truth to power. To defend what were, until recently, commonly accepted cultural values is now to be bigoted, hateful or worse. It has become more important to be politically correct than to be truthful and objective.

James V. Schall, S.J. recently wrote an article for Crisis magazine entitled, WHY SILENCING CHRISTIANS WILL CONTINUE. Father Schall contends, "The number of subjects we can not talk about in public discourse are rapidly multiplying. The older notion of "free speech" as the search for truth through reasonable argument is being replaced. We would rather "just get along" than to have to decide about the truth of any issue or confront the consequences of its violation. Thus we have become tolerant of anything but truth itself.

Objective standards are subject to the listener's "right" to hear only what he wants to hear." Meanwhile let us pay close attention to what is happening to our vineyard. Look around,

pay attention. Do you like what you see?

So what are we to do? When the liturgists selected the readings of the day they chose to put the good news between the bad news. They bear repeating. Saint Paul teaches us:

Brothers and sisters;

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving make your requests known to God

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding

will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,

whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence

and if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things.

I am reminded of the man who lived next to the whirling dervishes. When asked how he stood it, he replied, "I let em whirl".

We will now turn to the gift of the Eucharist wherein our personal vineyard is lovingly pruned, watered and refreshed by the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Gratitude is usually a good thing. In today's reading from the Old Testament Naaman understands that it was the Lord whom Elisha served who cured him and in gratitude he promises to worship no other god but the God of Elisha. The Samaritan leper returns full of gratitude to thank Jesus for his cure. Their gratitude was pleasing to the Lord and their cures were complete. But gratitude can have down side.

There was a man who when he was first elected Governor had an opening on the District Court in his home town. The Governor's mentor. a well known local lawyer, made it known to one and all that he wanted that appointment. This lawyer had given the Governor his start and was his close friend and advisor. He was qualified and the word on the street was that he was shoe-in for the appointment. The Governor appointed someone else, someone who had never done a thing for him. A local wit, remarked that, "Very few people are perfect but the Governor is a perfect ingrate".

The truth was that while the Governor's friend probably would have been a good judge; the man he appointed became a great one. The Governor did not allow his gratitude to his friend to stand in the way of appointing the best person to the job.

Some time we have to risk being thought an ingrate if we are to do the right thing. Not all of us have the courage to do that, to be an ingrate, to do hard thing. In the past our country has supported repressive regimes in gratitude for their perceived anti-communism. We supported the Taliban when they were fighting the Soviet Union. We supported brutal dictatorships in Central and South America because we were grateful for their anti-communist bias. During this period these so-called allies were responsible for the deaths of four nuns, six Jesuit priests, Arch-Bishop Romero and countless other innocent men, women and children.

When we finally withdrew our support these regimes fell and subsequently so did communism.

We are now engaged in a war against terrorism. In our attempts to forge a coalition against terrorism we might again be tempted to support repressive regimes in gratitude for their assistance. In the pursuit of justice we must beware of getting into bed with the devil.

While there is no question that we must take all reasonable means to protect our people and our nation from terrorism, we must remember that Jesus taught that we must love those who hate us and thus do no more damage than is necessary to insure our safety. It is security and not revenge that we seek. For the first time in history a nation at war is dropping humanitarian aid to those who have been displaced by its offensive. President Bush has made it clear that we are at war with terrorists not innocent civilians. All of the American Cardinals have given measured support for our actions against military targets and suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan. But all have also warned that we must tread softly and carefully.

As we turn to the great sacrament of love and thanksgiving, the Eucharist, let us pray that our nation in seeking to protect its people from terrorism avoids the perils of over reaction, of

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... and he went away sad for he had many possessions..

He had been invited to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple, and maybe eventually an apostle but he went away sad. We might put ourselves in this young man's place and think we would have acted differently. But would we? He had asked a poor itinerant preacher what he must do to have eternal life and was told to make himself poor. He wanted eternal life but he didn't want it that badly. He made a choice. He chose a comfortable "now" over the promise of "future" treasure. A "sure thing" over a "maybe". Wouldn't most of us make the same choice?

How does this relate to us in our own times? Are we expected to give away what we have if we are to follow Jesus? In a sense we are. Jesus is not looking for half baked disciples. He gave all he had for us and isn't it fair for him to expect us to do the same? How do we reconcile this with our need for material things?

The first reading tells us how. If we possess wisdom we possess something greater than all the riches in the world. Wisdom allows us to put things in perspective. Yes, we need material things in order to survive, but are they the reason to survive? A wise man once said, "It is not so good with money as it is bad without it." Grinding poverty saps the spirit and leads ultimately to despair. This is not what Jesus wants for us. But neither are we to let the accumulation of material things be our reason for living. We are to keep things in perspective.

We are to obey the commandments but we are expected to do more than refrain from doing evil. We are expected to, first of all, follow Jesus. To live as he did, for others, to be loving, generous and self sacrificing. No one is more pitiful than the person who lives for himself or herself alone. They usually end up alone, or even worse, surrounded by people like them.

Envy and greed drive them and happiness eludes them because happiness can not be bought.

There was a story in the Globe this week about a researcher who did a study on happiness. He found that happy people are happy even in need and unhappy people are unhappy even in material prosperity. For twenty years I was the lawyer for the State Lottery. I dealt with many winners of big prizes. Those who were happy and fulfilled before they won remained happy and fulfilled after they won, but those who were miserable and self centered seemed even more so after they won.

Jesus wants us to come to him with empty hands. He does not want our love to be conditioned on how much we have. He wants us to say "Yes" before we know the question. Our faith in him is to be unconditional, empty handed. Coming to him any other way is to be like the camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. Impossible.

If we do this, he promises us that we will receive a hundred times more now, in the present age. Not later but now. His disciples gave up home and family, comfort and security, and eventually most of them gave up their lives but they did so joyfully. They spread the truth of Christ throughout the world and, as a result, here we are two thousand years later hearing the

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Repay Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Who was Caesar? What did Jesus mean? Why does he care? How can you be a good citizen? If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem.

Pay taxes; vote; do well in school; don't litter and pick up for those who do; volunteer to help those less fortunate; participate in fund raisers for charity etc. Lessen the burdens of government.

Under our God given form of government the vote of each citizen is not only a right and a privilege it is a duty. On Tuesday, November 5th, it is our obligation to obey Christ's command and render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, in this case our vote. The excuse, I won't vote for any of the candidates, is not valid. If that is true, take a ballot and submit it blank. Blank is a vote for none of the above. Work for good candidates and encourage them to run. Vote in primaries, that is where candidates come from. We've all heard the expression, "Use it or Lose it". What a tragedy it would be for us and the world if by our failure to use it we lost the right to vote and thus our freedom.

As we turn to the Eucharistic celebration let us pray that all citizen's perform their duty on each election day and that thereby God's will be done.

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Christ's statement that we are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's is his only reference to worldly kingdoms. Jesus statement is the first expression of the doctrine of the separation of church and state. Unfortunately this doctrine was overlooked once Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. From that time on all governments were forms of monarchy where the king was considered the anointed of God and ruled in God's place and name. This was known as the divine right of Kings. This was a great form of government but only if you were a king or the friend of a king.

In the first reading we see how God anointed Cyrus, the King of Persia, to lead the Children of Israel out from bondage in Babylon. In this regard Cyrus is like Moses who led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. But Cyrus is an unbeliever, a pagan. This is significant in that it shows that at times God uses civil rulers for his purposes and that these rulers may not even know that they are so being used.

The first successful challenge to the system of government by divine right came on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. In this document the revolutionary idea that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed was adopted. It conferred upon the people the right to alter or abolish governments which are destructive to the rights granted to the people by their creator. Government now obtains its right to govern from God but through the people and not directly from God by divine right. And thus was the world turned upside down. This was an event in the history of human kind exceeded in importance only by the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Today, less than 250 years later, monarchy is dead as a form of government. Even where despots rule today, they do so under the form of a constitutional democracy.

Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration was a deist. He believed in a creator but not in a personal God. John Adams, the co-author, and upon who's theory of government it was based, was a Christian. That God used them as his instruments, just as he used Cyrus, is demonstrated to me by the fact that they both died on the same day, and that day was July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Nearly forty years later, while dedicating the place where a great battle was fought on another July 4th, Abraham Lincoln described our form of government as government of the people, and by the people and for the people.

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Once again Jesus teaches an important truth by telling a story, a parable. The unjust judge neither feared God nor any other human being. He also seemingly had no respect for justice. It was all about him and his comfort so when the widow persisted in order to get rid of her he honored her claim. Jesus does not compare God to the unjust Judge, rather he contrasts God "who secures the rights of His chosen ones who call out to him". You don't have to nag God, you have to persist while trusting that He knows what is best.

There are three types of prayer: Adoration; Petition; and Thanksgiving. It is prayers of petition that cause us the most doubt because they so often seem to go unanswered. Be like the widow in the parable. Don't give up on prayer because it seems no one is listening. All prayers are heard but not all petitions are granted. That is when we must accept that the answer is "No or possibly "Not Yet".

On more than one occasion in my life the answer has been: Yes. This past Thursday was the 50th anniversary of a positive response to a desperate prayer. Fifty years ago my wife had become concerned with my drinking. I was concerned that my wife was concerned and tried to cut down. I could not. My wife was attending Alanon meetings and acquired a list of AA meetings and a pamphlet that she left where I could not fail to find them. The pamphlet had 11 questions which I answered in the affirmative and one I couldn't understand so I didn't count it as a yes. At the end of the questions was the bad news, "If you answered in the affirmative to three or more of these questions you had a drinking problem. Oh Oh. I found an AA meeting in the basement of the local Congregational church and went. It was Friday, October 17, 1969. There I met a man, Jim, who became my AA sponsor. His story was similar to mine. He had not lost his job nor his license to drive, nor his home or family. The story that I identified with was the time his wife told him to be sure to come right home after work because it was his daughter's birthday and she had a cake and presents. He stopped for one drink, only one, but he didn't get home until after midnight and there was his piece of cake sitting alone on the table. He could not guarantee his behavior after one drink. I knew that could well have been me. Jim told me that he asked God every morning to keep him away from a drink or the desire for a drink that day and if successful at night he said, "Thank you". The next morning I did as Jim had told me he did and the desire for a drink was lifted out of me and it has never returned, not once in 50 years. For me that is a miracle.

In AA Step 11of the Twelve Steps of Recovery tells me to pray only for a knowledge of God's will for me and for the power to carry it out. That's good enough for me. I do pray for the needs of others if it is His will for them. So don't give up on prayer. Prayer is never ignored but sometimes petitions may seem to be unanswered and we must accept that and trust that it is for the best for now.

We will now participate in the miracle of the Eucharist. If you have petitions now is the time to make them because the Second Person of the Triune God will be among us.

Deacon John Boyle 29ordc2019

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In today’s gospel the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. If he says it is unlawful to pay the tax he has defied Rome and will be arrested. If he says it is lawful he upsets the locals who hate the tax and thus will lose their support. Jesus, as he often does, ducks the question. He tells them,= Repay unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.= It sounds so simple. But what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God and who decides which is which? This is the conflict between Church and State which goes all the way back to Good Friday and continues until today. On July 4, 1776, a group of men in Philadelphia introduced a novel concept. They declared that all people possessed certain inalienable rights and that to <secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.= Following a brutal war to secure their independence, they adopted a Constitution with the stated purpose of securing these hard won blessings of Liberty for themselves and their posterity. Our founding Fathers were of British ancestry and thus were well aware of the problems which arose out of the union of Church and State so they included the clause in the Constitution which prohibits the government from establishing a state religion and interfering with the free exercise thereof. This does not mean that they failed to recognize the importance of religion in public life. In his Farewell Address George Washington warned, <Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion... reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.=

Over the years, however, what was intended to protect religion from the government has evolved into the exclusion of religion from public life. Very subtly, over the last few years the government has sought to substitute the word

<worship= for the word <religion=.

The effect of this is to confine this constitutional guarantee to within the four walls of a church and remove it from public life. Bishop William E. Lori, the Chairman of the Bishop’s newly formed Committee for Religious Liberty, has warned=;

...religious liberty is increasingly under assault at the state and federal level in the United States, whether through unfriendly legislation or through rules and regulations that impede or tend to impede the work of the Church.= Catholic Charities in Massachusetts, Washington and Chicago are now prohibited from providing any adoption services because of their refusal to arrange for adoptions to same-sex couples. Catholic Charities, the largest provider of services to undocumented immigrants, lost its Federal Grant due to its refusal to refer clients to abortion providers.

I do not fear for the Church. It had been around for nearly 1800 years before our Founding Fathers created the miracle that was the United States as originally constituted. We are promised by the highest authority that the Church will be

around until the end of time. I do, however, fear for our nation and its system of government and for the common welfare. I fear for the more than two million students in Catholic Schools, many of whom are not Catholic, who might eventually see their schools disappear. I fear for the property tax payers who will have to absorb the more than $21 billion dollar annual increase in their property taxes to absorb these students. In Louisiana a voucher system which enabled students to leave under-performing schools and attend private schools, which are largely Catholic, was terminated by the Federal Government on the basis that they were racially unbalanced. The fact that the poor schools from which they fled were also racially unbalanced which was the cause of their problems meant nothing. I fear for the more than 85 million patients of all faiths who are treated in Catholic Hospitals annually. I fear for the more than 8.5 million clients of all faiths who receive services annually from Catholic Social Service agencies. All these benefits to society are at risk if the trend continues.

There is hope, however, that the public is becoming aware of this government intrusion into religious practice. A PEW Research Center survey conducted just this past September found that 72% of those surveyed felt that religion was losing influence in American life and the majority of them believed this was a bad thing. Even if the government does not a significant majority of the people still recognize the truth of George Washington’s warning.

We will now turn to the Holy Eucharist which will continue to nourish and sanctify the Mystical Body of Christ and pray that the miraculous and noble experiment, which Abraham Lincoln described as <government of the people, by the people, for the people,= will not perish from the earth to be replaced by government by executive dictate and bureaucratic mandate.

Oct 2014 Deacon John Boyle

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Where Pat and I live at Linden Ponds there is a group of retired clergy that meets once a month. This week the group met last Tuesday. There was one Rabbi, one priest, and I and the rest were of Protestant denominations. The Director of Pastoral Ministries, Chris, is an Episcopal Deacon. Chris pointed out that in the nine years of Linden Pond’s existence the percentage of people who claim no religious affiliation has continued to grow to the point where it now exceeds fifty per cent. There is a very active Catholic Community which meets once a month has a part time Pastoral Associate, monthly Mass on campus with opportunity for Confession, Eucharistic Ministers for the homebound plus many special events. There is also an active Jewish Community, a Unitarian/Universalist Community, a Congregationalist Community, an Episcopal Community and even a Humanist/Skeptic group. Yet more than half of our residents are unaffiliated. Much of the discussion was how to reach out to the unaffiliated. Due to the nature of our Community, the average age is 84 years, death is a frequent visitor. Many must deal with their loss without the consolation of a faith in God or hope of a life to come or even a community to share their grief... It is hard for them.

This meeting reminded me to be grateful for the support of the Faith Community here at Saint Joseph’s. The appearance of Deacon Bill has caused many of you to ask if I am retiring. I have assured any who asked that I am a lifer and am not going anywhere. I hope my next parish is straight up. But I am grateful for your concern and for the gift of our community.

What does all this have to do with today’s readings? Jesus explained the Gospel story before he told the story: the disciples are told it is <necessary for them to pray always without becoming weary.= Paul told Timothy, <be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching=. The message is, <Hang in there.= Prayers often seem to go unanswered. Jesus did not promise that we would get everything that we asked for. He told us that God would see to it that justice is done, that our rights would be secured. There is a big difference. We used to tell newcomers to AA that they would get what they needed and they should be grateful that they didn’t get what they deserved. That is largely true for all of us.

What do the experts tell us about prayer? Great Saints have produced famous lines regarding prayer. Saint John Damascene gave us the classic definition, "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God". Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, wrote, "For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." Saint Paul taught that only when we come to understand that "we do not know how to pray as we ought" are we ready to receive the gift of prayer. Echoing this thought Saint Augustine said, "Man is a beggar before God". David cries in the psalm, "Lord hears my prayer, listen to my cry for help." The Catholic Mystics are unanimous in their simple prayer for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out. Miracles are rare and often trust and acceptance are our only recourse. We must understand that we pray not because God needs our prayer but because we do. It is our prayer that forms us more to his image. It is our prayer that brings us closer to our heavenly father. It is good for us, not because we get things, but because we become something, holy.

When the priest or deacon puts a drop of water in the chalice he prays, <By the mystery of this water and wine may we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.= In the Mass we celebrate our union with Christ in his mystical body and thereby share in his sacrifice of the altar which we call Eucharist. You can’t get that if you are

<unaffiliated= and that is tragic.

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Everybody wants to a big shot but not everyone is willing to pay the price. James and John do not know the price to be paid to follow Jesus but claim they can pay it. You wonder that if they knew it was persecution and martyrdom they would have been so willing. The reading from Isaiah is not encouraging; He prophesied "The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity". We know the price Jesus paid. How many of us would be willing to pay such a price? James and John made a mistake made by many in believing that Jesus kingdom was an earthly kingdom and its rulers would function as earthly rulers.

Even to this day many continue to look for an earthly kingdom. We look about and ask ourselves why the world is as it is. Why are so many solely preoccupied with getting ahead; making their way; getting their share? Why do we act as if this is all that there is? If you don't make it here you don't make it anywhere is the way it seems.

Jesus teaching that whoever wishes to be great must be a servant; that the last, a slave, shall be first in his kingdom and the first in this world last in his kingdom is ignored by many who spend a lot of time trying to make it here. Apparently there are many who are willing to accept a lesser place in the life to come in exchange for worldly success here and now. Thank God they are few but we have all known arrogant clergymen. You wonder if they have ever read the gospel and if they have how they so missed the point. Why do we call Bishops "Excellency" and Cardinals "Eminence" when the Pope is simply "Holy Father"? These are hardly titles fitting for those who are after all servants.

I am reminded of the movie "Ghandi". Ghandi often said how he loved and respected Christianity. He did, however, admit that it was Christians that he could not stand. It was Christians who persecuted and abused the people of India and imprisoned Ghandi. Ghandi applied Christian principles without reserve. He turned the other cheek; he would not return violence for violence. He was meek in the face of arrogance; he loved those who opposed him. He once stopped a brutal civil war by fasting, almost starving, before Moslems and Hindus, who both loved him, stopped killing each other so he would eat. He was willing to die so that others might live. Does that remind us of anyone? Mahatma means "Great Soul". Mahatma Ghandi lived one of the most Christian lives ever lived even though he was a Hindu. Wouldn't it be something if the one who is to sit at Jesus right hand in his kingdom is a Hindu? Actions do speak louder than words.

We now turn to the Eucharist where Jesus in his glory becomes present here in Saint Joseph's Church but under the appearance of bread and wine.

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Where Pat and I live at Linden Ponds there is a group of retired clergy that meets once a month. This week the group met last Tuesday. The Director of Pastoral Ministries, Chris, is an Episcopal Deacon. Chris pointed out that in the nine years of Linden Pond's existence the percentage of people who claim no religious affiliation has continued to grow to the point where it now exceeds fifty per cent. There is a very active Catholic Community which meets once a month, has a part time Pastoral Associate, monthly Mass on campus with opportunity for Confession, Eucharistic Ministers for the homebound plus many special events. There is also an active Jewish Community, a Unitarian/Universalist Community, a Congregationalist Community, an Episcopal Community and even a Humanist/Sceptic group. Yet more than half of our residents identify as religiously unaffiliated. Much of the discussion was how to reach out to the unaffiliated. Due to the nature of our Community, the average age is over 80 years, death is a frequent visitor. Many must deal with their loss without the consolation of a faith in God or hope of a life to come or even a community to share their grief.. It is hard for them.

This meeting reminded me to be grateful for the support of the Faith Community here at Saint Joseph's. The appearance of Deacon Bill has caused many of you to ask if I am retiring. I have assured any who asked that I am a lifer and am not going anywhere. I hope my next parish is straight up. But I am grateful for your concern and for the gift of our community.

What does all this have to do with today's readings? Jesus explained the Gospel story before he told the story: the disciples are told it is "necessary for them to pray always without becoming weary." Paul told Timothy, "be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching". The message is, "Hang in there." Prayers often seem to go unanswered. Jesus did not promise that we would get everything that we asked for. He told us that God would see to it that justice is done, that our rights would be secured. There is a big difference. We used to tell newcomers to AA that they would get what they needed and they should be grateful that they didn't get what they deserved. That is largely true for all of us.

only when we come to understand that "we do not know how to pray as we ought" are we ready to receive the gift of prayer. Echoing this thought Saint Augustine said, "Man is a beggar before God". David cries in the psalm, "Lord hear my prayer, listen to my cry for help." The Catholic Mystics are unanimous in their simple prayer for a knowledge of God's will and the power to carry it out. Miracles are rare and often trust and acceptance are our only recourse. We must understand that we pray not because God needs our prayer but because we do. It is our prayer that forms us to his image. It is our prayer that brings us closer to our heavenly father. It is good for us, not because we get things, but because we become something, holy.

So what am I talking about? I am talking about the importance of prayer but even more so, prayer in community. I am talking about worship. Jesus promised that wherever two or more are gathered in his name he would also be present. The difference between individual prayer and community prayer is therefore infinite. It is what the so-called unaffiliated are missing. We call community prayer liturgy. The CCC says (Liturgy) "makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the communion in Christ between God and men." When the priest or deacon puts a drop of water in the chalice he prays, "By the mystery of this water and wine may we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." In the Mass we celebrate our union with Christ in his mystical body and thereby share in his sacrifice of the altar which we call Eucharist. You can't get that if you are "unaffiliated" and that is tragic.

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We live in an age of wonders. Thanks to computer animation we can witness just about anything. My grandson's have something called "XBOX" and I am told that it puts you right in the middle of things. There is now such a thing as virtual reality. Given the right equipment you can put just about anything, anywhere, any time. It is no wonder that it is hard to impress anyone any more. We have become jaded, over stimulated, and our perceptions dulled and that is sad.

We miss so much of what is wonderful about our faith because much of what is wonderful is also subtle. The prophet did not find God in the thunder and lightning or in the winds of the gale. God passed by as a whisper in the breeze, heard only if one listened very carefully and with full attention. We're not good at that. We are too distracted and that is too bad. We miss much.

In today's first reading from Genesis, the first book of the bible, Abram was listening and heard the voice of God. It was a good news bad news message. The good news- Abram would be the father of a great nation, he would be blessed. The bad news- he had to leave his homeland and become a wanderer in unknown lands. It seems it is that way with God. Life can be magnificent but life can be hard. Abram got the message. It was simple and direct and he obeyed and so began the three thousand year history of the children of Israel of whom we are spiritual descendants. Much of the rest of the Hebrew scriptures is a story of humanity's quest for God and God's search for humanity. Sometimes we find each other but often we pass in the dark because we fail to hear the whisper in the breeze. The great Rabbi, Abraham Heschel, wrote that the ultimate insight for understanding the realness of God is the outcome "of moments when we are stirred beyond words, of instants of wonder, awe, praise, fear, trembling, and radical amazement" and in these instants and moments we "attain the certainty that life has meaning,

...and that beyond all being there is someone who cares". Instant and moments!

Instants and moments and it is in those instants and moments that we hear the whisper and know that there is a God and he is present in our lives.

The gospel today tells us the wonderful story of the transfiguration when the divinity of Christ is made manifest to Peter and James and John . This seems more than a whisper but they still did not see God. They saw a reflection of God in the form a glorified human being and this is a whisper compared with the real thing. The real thing is called the beatific vision which is promised us by Saint John when he wrote, "we shall be like him and see him as he is." It is the vision seen by the Saints and Angels. It is the vision of which Saint Paul speaks when he says, "Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him".

There is so much to heard in the whisper if we are quiet and listen carefully. There is the possibility of future glory but also the gift of present physical union with Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine will be transformed into the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharistic prayer.

We will have the opportunity of becoming one with Christ in Holy Communion. As you approach the altar, be still and listen carefully for the whisper that is God. When you hear the words, "The body of Christ" respond from the depths of your soul "Amen" for it is in such a moment that God speaks to us as he did to Peter and the others on the mountain. He says again and again, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him."

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Did you hear that? Well, maybe you weren’t't listening but you are being called. Just as Samuel was called while sleeping in the temple, just as Andrew and Simon Peter were called so too are you. If not, then why are you here at mass rather than somewhere else. But how often do we reflect on just what it is that we are called to?

Saint Paul, in today's reading, reminds of what it is and tells us why: He wrote, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at great price." Saint Paul was writing to the Corinthians, who had been acting like everyone else in their community, to remind them of their special relationship with the Father through their membership in the body of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit... They were losing the sense of joy, wonder and glory that accompanies life in Christ. Isn't that true of our culture today? Those who still profess to believe generally do so in a very relaxed way. They believe in a God who created and orders the universe but only casually watches over human life and who requires only that we be good persons according to what we consider a good person to be which is basically someone who is pleasant, responsible and economically successful, who wants us to be happy and feel good about themselves, a God who really doesn’t't need to be involved in our life except occasionally to fix problems, and, because we have been good persons, eventually takes us to heaven, which is a place much like this world but nicer and where everything is free. This all well and good as far as it goes but completely misses the boat when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the words of Archbishop Charles Chaput, "The Christian Faith is not merely a habit. It is not a useful moral code. It is not an exercise in nostalgia.

It is a restlessness, a consuming fire in the heart to experience the love of Jesus Christ and then share it with others - - or it is nothing at all." As I have quoted before, "It is a wondrous religion but a pathetic hobby."

With this in mind let us again reflect upon Saint Paul's words, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at great price." He means that the Holy Trinity - - the living God, the Creator of all things, visible and invisible dwells within us, that we are the Temples in which He resides at the center of our being. It means that God comes to us in Baptism to make us His children and remains in us.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity was born in 1880. At age 21 she entered Carmel where she died four years later. Though her life was short, she became acutely aware that God is really present in the center of the Christian soul, just as surely as Jesus is really present in the tabernacle. Conscious of this magnificent fact she composed the following prayer: "O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely in order to plant myself firmly in you. May I never

leave you alone. May I be wholly present to you, firmly rooted in Faith, adoring you and completely given over to your creative action."

So don't let your faith become a mere hobby that you engage in from time to time but let it become the center of your life each and every day. Remember that God dwells within you and that He is present to you and with you at all times. Take time each day to enjoy His presence and be in communion with Him who loves you with an infinite love. Remember that this magnificent gift was purchased at great price; the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Oh No, here we go again. If you haven’t heard of the sexual abuse scandal involving ex Cardinal Theodore Mc Carrick and the mass resignations of Bishops in Chile as well as problems in Central America you will. Yesterday Cardinal Sean announced an investigation into very disturbing allegations regarding our diocesan Seminary. It is indeed possible, even probable, that these events are just the tip of the ice berg and there is more to come, maybe much more.

In 2002 the Bishops responded quickly and severely to the sexual abuse scandal which involved priests, deacons and religious but they exempted Bishops from these measures arguing that Bishops are responsible only to the Vatican. It now appears that the Vatican has dropped the ball. This was a serious mistake and it looks like we will have to go through another period of pain and disappointment. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, since the year 2000 through 2017 nearly 12 million Catholics in the United States have left the Church. This new round of scandal will no doubt result in additional departures. So, what are we to do?

Do we go or do we stay?

I ask you to visualize a terrific storm with a strong heavy wind and shaking earth, rain, and thunder and lightning. You are in a boat and being tossed about by the waves. You're hanging on for dear life and you wonder if the boat will sink and you'll have to swim for it.

You have a life-preserver on and the Captain of the boat seems to be having a tough time keeping control over the boat. Do you get out of the boat? Or, do you stay in the boat? Do you take off the life preserver?

Why have I created this stormy image? It is as a reminder that we must not get out of the boat, especially in the middle of a storm. For us, the boat is the Catholic Church and its captain is Jesus Christ and the Pilot is the Holy Father, Pope Francis. It is the way we come to Christ, united as a community and not as individuals, alone and unaided, each trying to navigate a stormy sea. It is where we receive the graces earned for us by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and dispensed to us through his Sacraments. We may not like all the people in the boat. We may not like all the rules of the boat. But we don't get out the boat, especially in the middle of a storm.

We must cling to our life preserver. The life preserver is the grace that we put on as a result of our Baptism. It is what keeps us safe in good times and bad. It is the love of Jesus wrapped around each one of us and by which we are made sons and daughters of the Father and brothers and sisters of Christ.

Jesus promised that the boat would be under the protection of the Holy Spirit and that it would last until he comes again. The boat is leak-proof even if it looks at times like it needs some new rigging and maybe a paint job. It is up to all of us to love the boat which carries us and to do our part in making it the best it can be. The storms will pass but new storms will arise. It has been so in the past and it will be so in the future but the boat will always be there for us.

The Church has survived worse in its two thousand year history. In the thirteenth century Jesus appeared to Saint Francis of Assisi and told him to, <rebuild my Church=. Apparently it was in need of repair. In the fourteenth century Saint Catherine of Siena bemoaned what she called, <the stench of sin= coming from the papal court. In 1815 when Pope Pius VI was captured Napoleon told him, <I will destroy your Church.= The Pope replied, <If we haven’t been able to destroy it in 1800 years what makes you think you can?= In spite of these and other scandals the Church has continued to pass down the teachings and Sacraments of Jesus Christ to succeeding generations. When I enter a Church and see the red light burning in the sanctuary I am assured that Jesus is present regardless of the behavior of the certain bishops and priests.

The Gospels of the last two weeks, this week, and the next two weeks are from Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. It is this Chapter in which Jesus explains the Eucharist which is to come. When Jesus told the crowd, < Truly, truly, I say to you , unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood , you have no life in you, he who eats my flesh an drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day= many walked away. Jesus asked the asked the apostles, <Will you also go away?= Peter answered him, <Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.=

So let us now enjoy that meal which is served to those in the boat, the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the sum and substance of our Faith. It is the sacrament of thanksgiving which unites all of us in the boat. It is what makes us one in Christ and gives us the unity required to keep the boat afloat until Jesus brings it to the safe harbor that is eternal life with him and his heavenly Father in the calm after the storm which we call heaven.

Deacon John Boyle

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We live in an age of wonders. Thanks to computer animation we can witness just about anything. There is now such a thing as virtual reality. Given the right equipment you can put just about anything, anywhere, any time. It is no wonder that it is hard to impress anyone any more. It is no wonder that many have become jaded, distracted, over stimulated, and their perceptions dulled and that is sad. We miss a lot of what is wonderful if we are so distracted.

In today's first reading from Genesis, the first book of the bible, Abram was listening so he heard the voice of God. It was a good news bad news message. The good news- Abram would be the father of a great nation, he would be blessed. The bad news- in his seventies he had to leave his homeland and become a wanderer in unknown lands. It seems it is that way with God. Life can be magnificent but life can be hard. Abram got the message. It was simple and direct and he obeyed and so began the history of the children of Israel of whom we are spiritual descendants. Much of the rest of the Hebrew scripture is a story of humanity's quest for God and God's search for humanity. I wonder if God spoke to Abram today would He be heard or would Abram be distracted by his iphone. The great Rabbi, Abraham Heschel, wrote that the ultimate insight for understanding the realness of God is the outcome "of moments when we are stirred beyond words, of instants of wonder, awe, praise, fear, trembling, and radical amazement" and in these instants and moments we "attain the certainty that life has meaning,… and that beyond all being there is someone who cares". <Instants and moments= it is in instants and moments that we hear, if we are listening, the whisper and know that there is a God and he is present in our lives but only if we are listening, only if we are not distracted.

Saint Paul tells us in his letter to Timothy that God calls us to a holy life according to His design, His design not ours we are to seek always God’s will for us and the grace to carry it out. If we are to do this we must work at it, it doesn’t just happen. John Zmirak has said, <Catholicism is a wondrous religion but a really pathetic hobby.=

The gospel today tells us the wonderful story of the transfiguration when the divinity of Christ is made manifest to Peter and James and John. This is a lot more than a whisper, it got their attention. They did not see God but they saw a reflection of God in the form of Jesus as a glorified human being; but this is a whisper, a hint, compared with the real thing. The real thing is called the beatific vision which was described to us by Saint John when he wrote, "we shall be like him and see him as he is." It is the vision seen by the Saints and Angels. It is the vision of which Saint Paul speaks when he says, "Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him".

There is so much to hear, even in a whisper, if we are quiet and listen carefully. There is the possibility of future glory but also the gift of present physical union with Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine will be transformed into the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharistic prayer. We have the opportunity of becoming one with the risen Christ in Holy Communion. As you approach the altar, be still and listen carefully for the whisper of God. When you hear the words, "The body of Christ" respond from the depths of your soul "Amen" for it is in that moment that God speaks to us as he did to Peter and the others on the mountain. He says again and again, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him."

March 16, 2014

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Did you hear that? Well, maybe you weren’t listening but you are being called. Just as Samuel was called while sleeping in the temple, just as Andrew and Simon Peter were called so too are you. If not, then why are you here at mass rather than somewhere else. But how often do we reflect on just what it is that we are called to?

Saint Paul, in today’s reading, reminds of what it is and tells us why: He wrote, <Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at great price.= Saint Paul was writing to the Corinthians, who had been acting like everyone else in their community, to remind them of their special relationship with the Father through their membership in the body of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit... They were losing the sense of joy, wonder and glory that accompanies grace filled life in Christ. Isn’t that true of our culture today? Those who still profess to believe generally do so in a very relaxed way. They believe in a God who created and orders the universe but only casually watches over human life and who requires only that they be good persons according to what they consider a good person to be which is basically someone who is pleasant, responsible and economically successful; a God who wants them to be happy and feel good about themselves; a God who really doesn’t need to be involved in their lives except occasionally to fix problems, and, because they have been good persons, eventually takes them to heaven which is a place much like this world but nicer and where everything is free. This all well and good as far as it goes but completely misses the boat when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the words of Archbishop Charles Chaput, <The Christian Faith is not merely a habit. It is not a useful moral code. It is not an exercise in nostalgia. It is a restlessness, a consuming fire in the heart to experience the love of Jesus Christ and then share it with others - - or it is nothing at all.= As I have quoted before, <It is a wondrous religion but a pathetic hobby.=

With this in mind let us again reflect upon Saint Paul’s words; <Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at great price.= He means that the Holy Trinity - - the living God, the Creator of all things, visible and invisible dwells within us, that we are the Temples in which He resides at the center of our being. It means that God comes to us in Baptism to make us His children and remains in us.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity was born in 1880. At age 21 she entered Carmel where she died four years later. Though her life was short, she became acutely aware that God is really present in the center of the Christian soul, just as surely as Jesus is really present in the tabernacle. Conscious of this magnificent fact she composed the following prayer: <O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely in order to plant myself firmly in you. ...

May I never leave you alone. May I be wholly present to you, firmly rooted in Faith, adoring you

and completely given over to your creative action.=

So don’t let your faith become a mere hobby that you engage in from time to time but let it become the center of your life each and every day. Remember that God dwells within you and that He is present to you and with you at all times. Take time each day to enjoy His presence and be in communion with Him who loves you with an infinite love. Remember that this magnificent gift was purchased at great price; the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Ordinarily the first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel have a connection. The second reading from the New Testament usually has little or no connection to either the first or the second so it doesn’t't get talked about in the homily. That is not the case today. Today the first and second readings teach that Jesus is not just the Savior of the Children of Israel but of the whole world thus Isaiah prophecies "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" and John the Baptist proclaims, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in the Gospel.

The second reading is from the first chapter of Saint Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. While this letter is addressed to the Corinthians and their particular problems, Saint Paul reminds them that they are part of the universal Church since they have been sanctified in Christ Jesus; they are "called to be holy with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ' who is Lord of all". It would seem that I should talk about the universality of the Christian message and Christ as redeemer of the entire world but I can't.

I cannot get the picture of Lexi and Sean Munroe out of my head, her so happy and him so serious. When our first three kids were their age I was working full time and going to law school nights. That was in the day when stores were closed on Sunday so my wife had Saturday to catch up on errands. I was left to watch the kids. I had a lot of studying to do so watching the kids meant I was at the dining room table with my books and they were doing God knows what. They were in the house so what could happen? Fortunately for me nothing serious happened. I think of Lexi and Sean's father who was home with the children when they crawled into a cedar chest which closed and locked on them and they suffocated. We had a cedar chest. How do you survive that? It is just too horrible to contemplate.

It turns out that, after the family car, the family home is the most dangerous place for children. Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in the 1 to 19 age group. In Massachusetts it averages 5 deaths per 100,000 children per year. This is one of the lowest numbers in the nation and yet the numbers mean nothing when it happens close to home.

Tomorrow there will be a memorial mass for Lexi and Sean. There is no doubt that these children are now in the care of Jesus Christ and his Blessed Mother. It is their family that needs our prayers. They must somehow cope with unimaginable pain and loss.

As you receive our Savior in Holy Communion ask him to console the Munroe family and give them the grace to persevere in the hope and consolation of the Gospel message. Life can be

devastating but look to the cross as a symbol of abject tragedy and failure but which led to the resurrection, the symbol of love and everlasting life in Christ. The path to Heaven often passes through the dark valley and we must keep our eyes on the prize and trust that grace, given time, will overcome tragedy. The alternative is unthinkable.

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Jonah is a tongue in cheek satire written about 500 years before the birth of Christ by an unknown author. Jesus refers to it in today's Gospel as a sign that he will give to the people of his time who are having difficulty in believing his message. The sign could be the three days Jonah spent in the belly of the giant fish (there are no whales in the Mediterranean Sea) as a prefiguration of his three days in the tomb prior to his resurrection. Or it could be as a prophet sent from afar to warn of impending disaster, in this case the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

Jonah is a reluctant prophet. God is sending him to warn the Assyrians. The Assyrians are hated by the Jews. The story of Jonah could not have been a popular with the Jews of its time and it is a miracle that it was ever written. It is truly divinely inspired and its message of mercy for all peoples, not just the Jews, is revolutionary.

The real message of Jonah is that reconciliation is of higher value than strict retribution. Reconciliation is of higher value than retribution. It is better to forgive than to get even. The God of Jonah is a God who repents of the evil he had threatened when the people repented of their evil. This message is affirmed for Christianity by the Gospels. The God of the Gospels is a loving Father who waits only for us to repent so that he can forgive us. A God who sent his son to become one of us. God's mercy is never ending and when mercy and justice conflict mercy carries the day.

Let us not be reluctant prophets like Jonah. Rather, let us rejoice in God's mercy and proclaim it to all, especially to those who are most in need of it, the lapsed, the alienated, and the outcast.

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Last night there was a rehearsal for the candidates for confirmation next saturday. Father Joe was preparing them to answer the Bishop should he ask them why they wanted to be confirmed. He was trying to impress upon them that Confirmation was there own personal Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would come upon them in a very real way. Today's gospel reflects the power of the Holy Spirit. Two disciples, James and John, put their mother up to asking Jesus for the two places of honor in his kingdom. On second thought, maybe they didn't put their mother up to it. Mothers look out for their sons whether the sons like it or not. Anyway, the other disciples got angry when they learned of this request and Jesus had to calm them all down and explain once again that the last shall be first and the greatest among them must be a servant of the others, even more than a servant, a slave.

This is the same crowd that was hiding in fear when the Holy Spirit came upon them in tongues of fire. You know the story of Pentecost and how the disciples left that room and went out into the world to spread the Good News. James went on to be the leader of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and was later martyred. John went on to write the fourth Gospel, The Book of Revelation and the beautiful epistle of love. He alone of the apostles died a natural death but he was fearless in his work for the lord and endured many hardships. Both were a far cry from the two selfish seekers of an inside track to places of honor and the difference was the Holy Spirit.

I think that sometimes we forget the power of the Holy Spirit and the miracles that are possible if we ask for his, or maybe its Her, grace and assistance. As we prepare for the Feast of the Resurrection let us pray the ancient prayer asking that we may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that our hearts may be filled with the fire of God's love, that we may become truly wise and rejoice in the divine consolation.

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I can remember my mother saying it to me all the time, "It's as plain as the nose on your face". Or she would grab me by the face and say, "Stop it and listen to me". Come to think of it, my wife still does the same thing. We all have times when we just don't get it. When it is as plain as the nose on your face and you just don't see it. That is what Jesus is up against in today's gospel. He is talking to people who believe in him but will end up trying to kill him. Why?

Because they just don't get it. They resent being told his truth will set them free. As far as they are concerned they don't need to be set free, after all they are the children of Abraham, the chosen people. The fact that they are a conquered people and have been for much of the previous thousand years doesn't enter their heads. That they are laboring under an impossible burden imposed by the Mosaic law doesn't occur to them. They insist that they are all right and there is nothing wrong with them and all they need is someone to kick the Romans out and restore the Kingdom of David and everything will be fine.

Even Jesus can't heal those who will not admit that they are sick. No dispute can be resolved when one party believes it is all the other party's fault. One who believes they have done no wrong can never accept forgiveness because to be forgiven means you did something wrong.

We are no better off today then the Jews of two thousand years ago. We can not accept that by our very human nature we are disposed to sin. It's called concupiscence and it is a result of original sin. It is why we needed a redeemer, it is why Jesus had to come to our rescue.

Practically no one receives the sacrament of Reconciliation any more. Why? Because we just don't get it. We are good persons and their is nothing wrong with us.

The people that Jesus was talking to in today's gospel were not evil people. They were doing the best they could with what they had to work with. Their mistake was in not realizing the reality of their sinfulness and the consequent need for help, for the Christ.

What scares me about me is that I don't see anything wrong with me. I tell myself I am too old and out of shape to do any serious sinning so I must be OK. But deep down I know I have kidded myself before and I wonder if I am kidding myself now. So I try to keep an open mind.

Maybe my wife is right and I'm not perfect. Maybe I am missing the nose on my face.

This is what makes me try to get closer to Jesus, the knowledge that he came for the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of sinners and that the truth might make them free. Jesus seemed to prefer sinners to the righteous and so I'm not afraid of being a sinner. I am afraid of not knowing that I am, I am afraid of being like the people in today's gospel.

Let us now turn to the refuge of sinners, the sacrament of the Eucharist where Jesus comes to us with love, acceptance and forgiveness. For those of who believe it's a truth as plain as the nose on your face.

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Today's Gospel is one of the most studied passages in the gospel of Matthew. In it Jesus appears to endorse the Law of Moses as adopted in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. Yet the first Church Council, the Council of Jerusalem, decided that non-jews did not have to obey the over 600 proscriptions of the Jewish Law. There have been entire books written attempting to resolve this apparent contradiction. Saint Paul teaches that salvation can not be obtained through the Law. What is the meaning for us in the year 2001 of Jesus requirement that we obey and teach these commandments?

I believe if we substitute the term "Natural Law" for "Law of the Prophets" the critical message of this Gospel for our times becomes apparent. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that the "natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided". The Second Vatican Counsel points out that the "supreme rule of life is the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God ... directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human community". This law is codified in the ten commandments and is impressed upon and experienced through our human nature. Pope John Paul writes in "The Splendor of Truth" that the natural law is the "human expression of God's eternal law".

In our society the concept of natural law is being rejected. Instead of an objective, eternal and universal standard there is now a subjective, momentary and individual standard called situational ethics. If it feels good it is good and if it is inconvenient or uncomfortable it is bad.

For example, according to natural law, all life is sacred and to be protected from conception to natural death. Situational ethics, as taught by the head of the Ethics Department of Princeton University, holds that there is a right to life only if the individual is able to contribute to the society in which he or she exists. Therefore, he teaches that parents have a right to terminate the life of their child up to the age of eighteen months. In effect, if Junior seems a little slow or has the wrong color hair, get rid of him and try again. This from the head of the ethics department of Princeton University which was founded as a Christian University !!!

When considered in this light Jesus' message is vital today. We must not only obey but vigorously defend the commandments of the natural law or we shall rightly be called least in the kingdom of heaven. As we turn to the great sacrament of God's love, the Eucharist, let us pray for the courage to be outspoken in defense of God's law as it is made apparent to us by the better angels of our human nature.

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Judas is a puzzle. He sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Then when Jesus is killed, he returns the money saying "I sinned in betraying innocent blood". As my grandchildren say when I do something dumb, "DUH".

In the modern opera "Jesus Christ Super Star", the lyricist, Tim Rice, explores the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Judas is unhappy with the fact that Jesus is passive and forgiving. Judas wants Jesus to be a militant Messiah and take his place as leader of the Jews against the Romans. When Jesus refuses to do so, Judas plots to force Jesus hand. He turns him in, fully expecting Jesus to step into the role Judas has in mind. When Jesus does not and is killed horribly instead, Judas is horrified for he never intended Jesus' death. It is then that he returns the money and hangs himself after reproaching Jesus for not being whom Judas thought he was. Ultimately he is overcome not with guilt but with despair. He believes that Jesus was not the Messiah but a deluded fool and thus there is no hope for Israel against the Romans. The ultimate irony is that Judas accuses Jesus of murdering him, Judas, because Jesus knew what would happen and did not stop him.

There is no doubt that Jesus would have forgiven Judas for his betrayal. He forgave his executioners and Peter, who denied him three times. Jesus forgives all who seek his pardon. But there is nothing even Jesus can do for one who despairs, who has no hope of forgiveness and therefore never seeks it. This is a fatal condition and the worst that can befall a human being. The Book of Proverbs says, "A person's spirit sustains in sickness, but who can endure if the spirit is crushed." Poor Judas, his spirit was crushed, but not because he played his role in the drama of salvation; not because he betrayed innocent blood; not because he was beyond redemption; but simply because he failed to get his own way. The savior he got was not the savior he wanted and so threw his life away.

When all is said and done, God's ways are not our ways. Our prayers are not always answered as we expect them to be. We usually don't get our own way. But rather than despair we must hope that ultimately all will be well. Saint Paul tells us that as a follower of Christ, "We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair." As people of the Eucharist we need never be without hope for we eat of his body and drink of his blood which was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Unlike Judas we are people of hope and of the Eucharist who understand that despair has been vanquished by the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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"I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me." Jesus Christ, who said that he is the way the truth and the life, who we accept as our savior and redeemer, tells us that HE seeks to do not his will but the will of the Father. If that is good enough for Jesus shouldn't it be good enough for us? Jesus taught us and we pray often to the Father that "thy will be done". But how hard it is to give up our will and seek and accept the will of God in our own life.

Somehow we seem to think that only the bad things that happen to us are God's will. God gets blamed for everything. Tornados and hurricanes and similar disasters are referred to as "Acts of God". In the sense that God does not interfere with bad choices and atmospheric conditions I suppose God has something to do with evil when it occurs; but that is a far cry from willing tragedy upon us. Evil is the price we pay for free will and is in no way the will of God.

In the first reading Isaiah asks "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?" He assures us that "even should she forget, God will never forget". Can we really trust God to the point where we stop seeking our own will and seek only to know and do the will of the one who sent Jesus into the world? It is the testimony of millions who have found release from the chains of addiction through 12 Step Programs of recovery that not only can you, but that you must. A decision to turn one's will and life over to the care of God is the third step and the corner stone of recovery. This decision, if it is to be effective, must be unconditional and total. In the experience of those who recover, half measures avail nothing. It is not easy to do and maybe that is why only the desperate, who have no where else to turn, are able to do it in large numbers. Can we answer "Yes" to God before we know just what he has in mind? That is what he wants and if we do indeed trust in him, why would we not? Yet we must be careful. There is so much evil in the world. Farmers all over Europe are being wiped out by foot and mouth disease, people get sick and die, floods happen even in our own area. Is it enough to just pray "thy will be done". Couldn't God use a little direction, a little help in determining what is the right thing for us? Can we really trust him to do the right thing? Or maybe it's just that we're not desperate enough, yet.

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Belief in resurrection after death came late in the history of the Jewish people. The Sadducees in the Gospel story did not believe in resurrection but they understood what it meant to those Jewish people who did. It was a coming to life of the body that had died. That is why Jews did not cremate the dead but buried them. You would come back to life as you were when you died. If you died old you came back old. The Greeks of the time believed in immortality.

You were either born immortal, a god, or the gods conferred it upon you as you were and you lived on as you were, forever. Neither of these prospects is terribly inviting when, like I am, you are in your sixties and nothing works as well as it once did and what does work, hurts when it does. If eternal life were to be just like our present life but without end, what would those people who can't make it through a rainy Sunday afternoon do? It would probably be ok if you were young and healthy but who wants to die when you're young.

Fortunately Jesus taught a different kind of eternal life. Since there is no need to create more people there is no need for marriage and so there is no husband and wive relationship. Jesus tells us that prior to the resurrection we shall be like angels, spiritual beings who live in the presence of God and reflect his love and glory. After the resurrection at the end of time, we shall be reunited with our bodies but our bodies will be different. They will be like the resurrected body of Jesus. A body which is not limited by space or time. Jesus could appear and disappear at will. He would appear in the middle of a room where all the doors were locked. He would appear to people who did not recognize him at first as he did to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. It is Jesus resurrected body that we receive in the Eucharist. That is why it can present in each host.

Saint John in his First Epistle wrote, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Saint Paul wrote in the Letter to the Philippians that, "The Lord Jesus...will transfigure our humble bodies, and give them a form like that of his own glorious body, by that power which enables him to make all things subject to himself."

He also wrote that "Eye has not seen nor has the mind dreamed of what your Heavenly Father has prepared for those who love him." Eternal life is much more than those who sought to trap Jesus with the question of the woman married seven times could ever begin to imagine. It is much more that we can begin to imagine.

Is all this too good to be true? Edward Young wrote, "Seems it strange that thou shouldst live forever? Is it less strange, that thou shouldst live at all? This is a miracle: and that no more." Who has ever held a new born baby and reflected upon the fact that nine months previously it was a two celled organism without feeling awe and wonder? Those of us who have been privileged to hold the child of our child know that we have held our own immortality in our hands. So much more those, who through Baptism live the life of Christ as the adopted children

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33rd Sunday in ordinary time.

Today's readings feature two different kinds of people. In the language of today we would refer to them as: winners and losers.

The reading from the Book of Proverbs tells us the story of the "worthy wife" who's value is "beyond pearls". Clearly this woman is a winner. To her husband she is an "unfailing prize".

She is to be rewarded and praised. Her family and community are fortunate to have her.

The gospel story tells us of two servants who each double the value of the coins left in their care. They too are winners. Because they were faithful in small things they too are rewarded with greater responsibilities and praised.

"Talents" were actually coins with a value of about a thousand dollars each. Jesus used this measure of value as it also means a gift which God has given to enable a person to prosper and contribute to the society in which they live. For example musicians use their talents to earn a living but they also give pleasure to people who enjoy their music.

Then there is the story of the third servant who buried his talent in the ground so he would not to lose it and as a result is described as "useless" and is thrown into the darkness to "wail and grind his teeth". Today he would be labeled a "loser".

Most of us are somewhere in between these two extremes. We get along pretty well but can't quite get it all together all of the time. We're not losers like the useless servant but neither are we five talent "super stars".

Where then is the message for us in this parable?

The one talent servant was not the sharpest of the three and that is why he was given custody a single talent Not too much was expected from him in the first place. But he is not a loser because he had only one talent. He is a loser because he buried it and did not put it to use. The poor servant tells us what caused his ruin. He tells the Master, "out of fear I went off and buried your talent." Fear was his problem and fear ultimately caused the very thing he was afraid of, the loss of his talent and banishment.

I believe the message for us in this story is "don't be afraid" because fear paralyzes and ultimately destroys. You can not be afraid and free at the same time. You can not be afraid and effectively use your God given talent be it one or many.

Now you might be thinking, "I'm not afraid, what has this got to do with me?" But is that really true? Are there times when we don't do what we should do because we're afraid of the what others will think; times when we fear to reach out to a person in need because we're not sure of their reaction: times when we go along with the crowd because we're afraid to be different: times when we can't get to sleep because of some nagging fear that won't go away. At times, considering the world we live in and the demands upon us, not to be afraid is not to understand the situation.

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There is a lot of fear in the Scriptures. The words <fear= or <afraid= appear four hundred and ninety-two times in the bible and one hundred and eight times in the New Testament alone. For me today’s gospel is all about fear. Why did the wicked servant hide the coin entrusted to him in a handkerchief? The reason, in his own words, was <I was afraid=. Fear is a great motivator as well as a great deterrent. It is probably, other than love, the most powerful of human emotions. It may be rational in which case it is the cause of prudent acts to avoid injury. It is irrational fear which causes so many of our troubles.

It starts at a very early age. How many children are afraid of the dark? It takes quite a while before we can really accept being left alone in a dark room as something good. In middle school the fear of being different causes us to go to great lengths to fit in. God forbid we should stick out. Social media has exaggerated teen fear and anxiety to the point where suicide, alarmingly, is becoming a way out for too many. I remember being told <You wouldn’t worry so much about what other people thought of you if you realized how little time they spend thinking of you.= With cyber bullying that may no longer be true. Even as so called grownups, how often have we failed to do the right thing because we are afraid to stick out, to cause controversy, to be different? I am afraid I can identify more with the poor soul who hid the coin than with the wheeler and dealer who made ten for one.

We don’t like to admit it but in many ways fear motivates much of what we do. Have you ever kept silent when you should have spoken up?

Have you ever avoided making a difficult decision? In old age fear of illness, fear of death, fear of outliving your money take center stage. So from the cradle to the grave fear is always there, if only in the background.

For me the only way out has been to take Jesus at his word and trust him. I don’t mean to trust him that I’ll get my way. I mean to trust him that, if I do, I’ll get his way. The Saints have found the secret to a happy and fulfilled life is saying <Yes= to God before knowing what the question is. God has a plan for each of us and he reveals it in His own good time. In the mean time, seek His will in all things for it is doing His will that we attain our destiny, His plan for us and in doing so we banish fear and find peace and contentment in its place.

On the night before he died Jesus suffers such fear that he sweats blood and yet he overcame that fear and did the Father’s will. Jesus does not teach us to avoid fear for that is the coward’s way, the way of the fearful servant. Jesus teaches us to face fear and to pray for the

grace to do his will in spite of fear. If we do that, the world may call us brave but we will know that we are not brave but blessed. If we do that we may experience pain but not remorse. If we do that we may stick out but we will not have to bear the shame of the coward.

We, whom Jesus calls to partake of his body and blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are called to eternal life so what is there to fear? This is the great truth of our faith. It is the coin of great value and shame on us if, like the wicked servant, we hide it in a napkin.

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Eric Metaxis has written a book I found to be invaluable. It is entitled MIRACLES. The miracles I found to be of particular interest were Chapter 4, Is Life A Miracle, and Chapter 5, The Miracle of the Universe. Chapter 4 details the requirements for the existence of life which are so many and so refined as to render its existence miraculous. Chapter 5 details the scientific facts which were required for the universe to form after the Big Bang. The Big Bang occurred more than 14 billion years ago, that's 14 thousand million years ago. Earth was formed about 5 billion years ago, that's 5 thousand million years ago. The human race is between 150 and 200 thousand years old. That means it took over 14 billion years for our species to develop. One thing is for sure, God was not in a hurry.

Our readings today deal with the end times. Based on the scientific facts and the inferences drawn from them it does not appear this will be any time soon for the Universe or the planet Earth but the human species is a different matter. The Universe got along without us for billions and billions of years but human life is fragile. A stray meteorite or gigantic volcano eruption and our goose is cooked. Just ask a dinosaur, if you can find one.

In any event each of us will have our individual end time, some sooner and some later. We are coming to the end of the Liturgical Year, an end time of sorts. Two weeks from today is the First Sunday in Advent, a penitential season. This is a time of preparation for the joyful Christmas Season but it is also a time for repentance and reflection. This morning a Funeral was held in this church for a 20 year old parishioner, Nicole Ricci, who tragically died in an automobile accident last Sunday. Her end time came too early and unexpectedly. What if your end time is tomorrow. Would you run joyfully toward the seat of individual judgement or back away in shame? Christ died that we might have eternal life.

He founded a Church which dispenses Grace through Sacraments, Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Blessing of the Sick sufficient to save us all. He has done his part, Have we done ours?

We now turn to the celebration of the Eucharist whereby we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

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We are approaching the end of the Liturgical year. Next Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King and the First Sunday in Advent follows. As we are in the last days of the Liturgical year, the readings deal with Last Days, the end of our world. The Prophet Malachi paints a picture of a gruesome end for the proud and evil doers. Saint Paul reminds the Thessalonians not to stand around idle waiting for the end. If you don't work, you don't eat. Jesus paints a dismal picture of an uncertain future for his followers. The philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, described the life of average human beings, left to their own resources, as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutal and short." The history of Humankind can best be described as a bloodbath what is to come can hardly be worse than what has been. The 20th century, the bloodiest in human history, produced over 100 million casualties, civilian and military, in Europe alone. The battle of Verdun in 1916 lasted 10 months. That battle alone produced nearly a million military casualties and it was only the beginning. The Japanese military killed nearly 300,000 Chinese civilians in just the Nanking Massacre of 1937 and that was just the beginning. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Left to our own devices we are savages and the future, like the past, is poor, nasty and brutal. Right now the people of the Philippines are suffering from the results of the largest typhoon in recorded history. A woman interviewed by CCN sobbed as she described the deaths of her husband and her six children and cried because she was now alone and had no place to go. Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who spent her life serving the desperately poor, was asked what she was going to say to God when she met him. She replied, "You have a lot of explaining to do." Jesus was telling the truth when he foretold the persecution of his followers. Christians are under open attack in India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, and Syria among others.

There are no Christians in Saudi Arabia. Where once there were 700 bishops there is now one. There have been more Christian martyrs in the last 100 years than all of recorded history and it keeps getting worse.

Does all this mean the end is near? Who knows, only the Father and he isn’t talking. But what difference does it make? If this is all that there is, if there is no God and Dogbert is right and we are only temporary arrangements of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold and uncaring universe, if it is a dog eat dog, survival of the fittest world we're not doing so badly here in Holbrook, no earth quakes, famines or plagues. Yet.

But if there is a loving and just God who sent his only begotten son to suffer, die and rise again so that we might have eternal life that is a whole different story. That is the story that we will live again in the New Year. The story of the incarnation, God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ in the Christmas story, the story of Christ's public ministry, miracles, and teachings, the institution of the Eucharist, his passion , death and resurrection. His ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost. It is the story of Faith and of Hope and of Love that makes sense out of the stories of hate, conflict, cruelty. Yes, there is a force of evil in the world but there is a mightier force for good that flows to us through the Sacraments instituted by Christ to give us the grace to withstand evil and the evil one. Come what may, we must rejoice in the fact that we are sons and daughters of the most high God, born again by water and the Holy Spirit in our Baptism, nourished by the body and blood of the risen Savior in the Holy Eucharist and heirs of the heavenly kingdom.

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It is an ancient curse, "May you live in exciting times". This is Gaudete Sunday, the third sunday in advent, when we pause during the penitential season of advent to rejoice and to reflect upon the joy that is to come with the birth of our savior. In the first reading Isaiah rejoices heartily in the Lord God who is the joy of his soul. Today's psalm is not a psalm at all but a reading from the gospel of Luke wherein Mary rejoices in God, her savior, on her selection as mother of the Messiah. Saint Paul, in the second reading, calls on us to rejoice always. Yet today we do not feel like rejoicing. Why is that? Is it that we live in exciting times?

It seems that tragedy has been piled upon tragedy in the Church of Boston in the revelations of the past year. These revelations have now forced the resignation of our Cardinal Archbishop. I can only begin to imagine the pain felt by the Cardinal as he offered; and, the Pope as he accepted, his resignation and as both came to accept the fact that the Cardinal could no longer effectively shepherd the Church in Boston. I believe, as apparently so did they, that the resignation was necessary if we are ever to begin the rebuilding of our Church. The tragedy began long ago with the cover up of the hideous actions of a relatively few depraved priests at the expense of their victims and the good and faithful priests of the archdiocese. It continued as these men were moved about and more innocents were exposed to abuse. It is also a personal tragedy that the good that Cardinal Law has done will forever be obscured by the inexcusable and unaccountable actions the Cardinal took on behalf of the guilty at the expense of the innocent. In the words of Harvard's Reverend Peter Gomes: "he has ordained many good men to the priesthood, he has been a consistent foe of both abortion and capital punishment, he has been a fearless advocate for the poor and the homeless, he has lent the prestige of his office, often denied by his predecessors, to significant ecumenical efforts, particularly between Catholics and Jews, he has worked hard to improve race relations". We must try to remember these actions too and pray for the Cardinal that he survives his ordeal.

When an otherwise good and decent man does such things many questions arise. These questions must be answered and reforms instituted which will prevent this ever happening again. This will not be easy but it can not be avoided. Let us also pray for Bishop Lennon as he begins the process.

Where do we fit in all of this? John the Baptist was asked in the gospel of the day, "Who are you". He first answered who he was not; not the Christ; not Elijah; not a prophet. He finally identified himself as the voice of one crying in the desert, as the precursor of the one whose sandal strap he was not worthy to untie, of the Christ.

It is especially important today that we each ask ourselves, "Who am I?" It is in the answer to that question that the solution to our present difficulties and the future well being of the Church lies. The Church, we are taught, is the bride of Christ. It is made up of all the baptized, living and dead.

It is alive with the life of Christ who is the vine and from which its life comes. We are the branches who share in his life through our baptism. The vine can not flourish if the branches are not alive and vibrant. If we love our Church and love Christ as we are called to do, we will not be ashamed of our faith and its teachings. We will not be content to leave the work of the Church to others. We will no longer tolerate closed doors and hidden agendas. We will insist upon excellence in our leaders and in ourselves. It is a fact that the Church in Boston will be as good or as bad as is each of us. If we all leave it to others, there are no others.

Who are You? You who are in church today are the best the Church has. If you came to Mass today of all days, the Mass is important to you. Today of all days would have been the easiest to take off. But you didn't. You and those like you are the hope of the Church.

If we each resolve today to make Saint Joseph's in Holbrook the very best parish it can be and we act on that resolve and each parish in the Archdiocese makes a similar resolve and acts upon it, this will be the best possible archdiocese.

When all is said and done, it is up to us whether we rejoice or not. It is up to us whether our Church is loving, alive and holy. In varying degrees we are each responsible and ultimately accountable for our stewardship. Under the direction of and through the grace of the Holy Spirit it is up to you and to me and no one else.

In thanksgiving for the gift of our faith, the gift of our Church and the gift of each other let us now turn to the Eucharist. It is the sacrament of thanksgiving, by which Christ becomes present among us and in us. Let us pray that next year on Gaudete Sunday when asked "Who are you?' we can reply "We are the people of God, the Mystical Body of Christ, we are those who rejoice with joy in the coming of our Lord.

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I was sitting staring at the computer screen trying to think of a theme for today’s homily. It is Gaudete Sunday, a day that we rejoice in the midst of the Advent season in anticipation of what is to come. While I was sitting there I heard a frenzy of hysterical screaming coming from the television in the next room. I went to see what was causing the commotion. The studio audience, mostly young women who looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties, were jumping up and down, screaming and hugging each other. It looked like a later day Beatles concert. It turned out to be The Ellen Show’s second day of the <Twelve Days of Giveaways=. I suppose the title is derived from the twelve days of Christmas but as Christmas is no longer politically correct the Ellen Show celebrates Giveaways.

Since the giving is done by commercial enterprises which want to advertize their products, the happiness and joy in the event comes from those who are getting, so a more accurate title would be the <Twelve Days of Getting=. And what were they getting? Each member of the audience got: a $250.00 Gift Certificate to Whole Foods; a Vita Mix Food Processor; a gourmet coffee maker; a set of pots and pans; and a set of portable speakers. The alleged retail value was in the area of

$2,500.00. Not bad, but the reaction still seemed way over the top to me.

This led me to compare the cause of our rejoicing on this Gaudete Sunday and our reaction to it to those of the Ellen Show. In the first reading Isaiah is prophesying wonderful things for the Jewish people upon their release from captivity and the coming of the Messiah. The reading from James encourages us to be patient in waiting for the second coming of Christ. In the Gospel Jesus tells John the Baptist’s disciples to inform John of the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah to reassure John that Jesus is in fact the promised one. We, therefore, rejoice in the promise and fulfillment of the first advent of the Messiah and the anticipation of our salvation.

That is a lot to be excited about but apparently we are not excitable people. We would not make the The Ellen Show. We are not jumpers. We are not screamers. We are not huggers.

What, then, are we? We are part of the Mystical Body of Christ, the People of God, through being born anew by water and the spirit that is by faith in Christ and Baptism. We are a priestly, prophetic and royal people. If we could only begin to understand the wonder and magnificence of our Baptismal union with Christ we would be jumpers, we would be screamers, we would be huggers but it is too much to fully understand and appreciate and so we sit quietly. So what are we to do?

Saint Augustine teaches us, <Understanding is the reward given by Faith. Do not try to understand in order to believe, but believe in order to understand.= We must believe before we understand. As we grow in Faith we will grow in understanding and as we grow in understanding we will grow in gratitude and as we grow in gratitude we will come to understand and appreciate the gift of our salvation and we will rejoice. We may never be jumpers and screamers but we may come to know the peace, love and joy of living in the presence of God as one of His children, brothers and sisters in Christ.

And now we will further rejoice in the gift that is the presence of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist. Pray for the gift of Faith that you may fully understand and experience the wonder of that which John the Baptist could only anticipate.

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Today is Gaudeamus Sunday. Gaudeamus means Let Us Rejoice. This is the Sunday in the middle of the Penitential Season of Advent when we pause to rejoice. But what are we rejoicing for? Is it simply that there is only one more week to go until Christmas? If we go to the readings of the day we get a clue. In the first reading from Isaiah he promises the Hebrew people, who alternately suffer and rejoice depending on the state of their relationship to God, that there are better days to come. He gives them hope that the Lord will ransom His people and that they will meet with joy and gladness, that sorrow and mourning will flee. In the second reading from James, who was writing to the early Christians, tells them that they must be patient because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Sadly, for most of the people who have ever lived on this planet, patience and hope are needed because for most, times were hard. As Thomas Hobbes, a Philosopher in the 17th century, famously said, "the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short".

Yet, Alyssa Ahlgren, an MBA Student, recently wrote an article entitled, "My generation is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us". She quotes Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cotez who recently told Newsweek that, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates, came of age and never saw American prosperity", If that is true it is simply because they aren’t't looking. Alyssa notes that "... our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards." Thomas Hobbes could not even envision the quality of life that we possess and yet it supposedly goes unappreciated by "one of our largest electorates".

You can be grateful for what you have or you can be resentful for what you have not but you can't be both at the same time. Unfortunately many in our day, lacking gratitude, have chosen to be envious and resentful. They fail to rejoice in their prosperity but wallow in their envy and that will ultimately destroy them. So, let us on this day especially, be grateful and rejoice that we were born in this time and place. But our rejoicing is about more than material comfort. What could Jesus have meant when He said:

Amen, I say to you, among those born of woman there has been none greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Well, we all are born of woman so that part is clear. John was the best of the rest of us. But who is the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, who is the one greater than John? We don't know and it doesn’t't matter. Jesus was talking about that moment in time. The greatest in the here and now is always less than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

This gives us some idea of how great is the Kingdom of Heaven compared to the now. Any of us would gladly take the place of whoever is now the least in Heaven. Heaven is our destiny. It is that for which we were born. It is an unimaginable tragedy to fail. Jesus has freely given us the means to get there. By His life, death and resurrection He has atoned for our sins. Through the grace of His sacraments we have all we need to get there. By Baptism we are reborn into the life of Christ and become members of His mystical body. If we fall from His grace Reconciliation provides us a means of reconnecting, Confirmation gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit but most importantly in the Eucharist we share in the Divinity of Christ who became human that we might become divine.

Friday Pete Frates, who died of ALS and founded the Ice Bucket Challenge, was buried following a Funeral Mass at Saint Ignatius Church. His father gave a stunning Eulogy about his beloved son. He was beloved not only by his family but also by the millions who knew his story. Pete was a faithful Catholic, a true follower of Christ who also bore profound suffering and bore it for the good of others. Pete received all the Sacraments of the Church prior to his death so it is possible, even, probable he now enjoys life in the Kingdom of Heaven. He is now better than the rest of us and maybe he always was. So let us rejoice for Pete but it is now his family, especially his wife and child, who need prayers. Let them take comfort from the fact that Pete now awaits them in the place Saint Paul described: "That eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them who love him."

Deacon John Boyle 12/14/2019

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Amen, I say to you, among those born of woman there has been none greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Deacon John Boyle 12/14/2019

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Today's gospel gives us a clue as to what to expect at the time of our own resurrection. Belief in resurrection of the body after death came late in the history of the Jewish people. The Sadducees of Jesus' time did not believe in life after death but they understood what it meant to those Jewish people who did. It was a coming to life of the body that had died. That is why Jews did not cremate the dead but buried them. You would come back to life as you were when you died. If you died old you came back old. The Greeks of the time believed in a limited form of immortality. You were either always immortal, a god, or the gods conferred it upon you as you were and you lived on as you were, forever. Neither of these prospects is terribly inviting when, as I am, you are in your eighties and nothing works as well as it once did and what does work, hurts when it does. If eternal life were to be just like our present life but without end, what would those people who can't make it through a rainy Sunday afternoon do? It would probably be ok if you were young and healthy but who wants to die when you're young.

Fortunately Jesus taught and demonstrated a different kind of eternal life. Jesus tells us that prior to the resurrection we shall be like Angels, spiritual beings who live in the presence of God and reflect his love and glory. After the general resurrection at the end of time, we shall be reunited with our bodies but our bodies will be different. They will be like the resurrected body of Jesus which appears in today's gospel. It is a body which is not limited by space or time. Jesus could appear and disappear at will. He would appear in the middle of a room where all the doors were locked. He would appear to people who did not recognize him at first as he did to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. It is Jesus resurrected body under the appearance of bread and wine that we receive in the Eucharist. That is why He can present in each host and in the cup of his blood.

Saint John, in his First Epistle, wrote: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Saint Paul wrote in the Letter to the Philippians, "The Lord Jesus...will transfigure our humble bodies, and give them a form like that of his own glorious body, by that power which enables him to make all things subject to himself." He also wrote, "Eye has not seen nor has the mind dreamed of what your Heavenly Father has prepared for those who love him." Eternal life in a resurrected body is much more than that envisioned by the ancient Greeks or Hebrews.

It is much more than we can even begin to imagine.

Is all this too good to be true? Edward Young wrote, "Seems it strange that you should live

forever? Is it less strange, that you should live at all? This is a miracle: and that no more." Who has ever held a new born baby and reflected upon the fact that nine months previously it was merely a two celled organism without feeling awe and wonder? Those of us who have been privileged to hold the child of our child know that we have, in a sense, held our own immortality in our hands. So much more can we who, through Baptism, are alive with the life of Christ as adopted children of the Father, sense the glory that is to come when united with him in his heavenly kingdom. We know but a fraction of all there is to know. We can see but a small corner of the universe in which we live. We have no idea if our universe is unique or one of billions. Why should we presume to believe that our heavenly father cannot, or will not, do those things which his divine son has promised?

We will now be united with Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist whereby the resurrected and glorified body and blood of Christ becomes present on the altar of Sacrifice and received in Holy Communion.

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At the movies they used to call them, "Previews of Coming Attractions." Now they call them "Trailers." This is just one of many things today that I don't understand. Why something that comes before is called something that comes after is one of the many mysteries of our day. In any event, today's Gospel tells the story of the Transfiguration. It is a preview of Jesus coming glory. The disciples get a brief look at the real Jesus in all his splendor. They see Him as He is. What a gift it is to experience such a reality and to be able to see things as they truly are. I am sure the memory of the Transfiguration helped the disciples endure their many trials to come.

We are now going through a period of trial and crisis in the life of the Church and a dose of reality, a Transfiguration, is sorely needed. A recent Gallop poll found that 27% of Catholics were considering leaving the Church. This figure included regular Mass attendees. Among those who do not attend regularly the figure was 37%. When questioned about their confidence in American Church leaders, only 30% of those surveyed said that they had "a great deal" or " quite a lot" of confidence, while 26% said they had "very little" or "none." If this doesn’t't qualify as a failure of leadership, I don't know what would. But is it a sufficient reason to deprive yourself of the graces found only in the Sacraments instituted by Christ and dispensed through His one, holy, and apostolic church?

I don't know about you; but, for me, the Church has always been my Parish. Until I was ordained I never met a bishop. They were pretty much irrelevant to my religious life and development. The people that most mattered to me were vowed religious, the Brothers in High School and the Sisters I met in Parish Ministry and the priests who ministered to us. I have had close and personal relationships with the priests of my home Parish of Saint Bernard's and here at Saint Joseph's. They have all been good men doing a difficult and often thankless job. They bring me the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharist as well as reconciliation when I need it. If my soul is saved, it will be through my Parish. Bishops and Cardinals will have little, if anything, to do with it. Just as the hierarchy has little to do with my salvation neither will its scandals drive me from my Church, the Church of Jesus Christ as I find it in the Clergy and people of Saint Joseph's Parish in Holbrook. If you are concerned for the Church, do not despair, it is alive and well. Look all around you here, now at this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass conducted by a priest you know and respect amidst your neighbors and friends and people you may not know but who share your Faith.

This is your Transfiguration, when enabled to see things as they truly are, you can appreciate the gift of your baptism into the mystical body of Christ, your Church. Be active and

support your Parish. It is the place where you can find and experience Jesus in His sacraments and in your Brothers and Sisters in Faith.

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As we lawyers like to say, the Evangelist is drawing inferences in the gospel we just heard. If God sent his only son into the world, knowing the fate that awaited him, we can infer that he must love the world with a love that exceeds our ability to comprehend. If the world rejected the son of God, as it did, then we can infer that the world must prefer darkness to light, that there is a force of evil in the world. If, however, one prefers the light and embraces it regardless of the cost, we can infer that one then lives the truth and has eternal life.

Inferences are drawn from facts. Philosophers like to say that as a being is so it acts. By observing someone in action we can draw valid inferences about what kind of person they are. From the behavior of the Apostles in the passage from Acts we can infer that something significant has happened to change them. This is the same group that was hiding in a locked room not to long ago. Now they are speaking out boldly and publicly regardless of the consequences.

The inferences which we draw from scripture provide a solid basis for our faith and are important sources of grace in our spiritual lives.

The events of the last two days have forced me to draw some very painful inferences. The young man from Newton who alleges he was raped by Paul Shanley when he was a child of six, is the nephew of a friend of mine. My friend is a superior officer on the Newton Police Department and has children of his own. He remains strong in his faith and he and his family are active parishioners of Our Lady's Church. He has sent his sons on extended trips under the auspices of the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry. That these are good and stable people who are loyal to their faith, supports an inference that there is no hidden agenda here and the things they allege did in fact happen. It further supports an inference that people in influential positions in the Archdiocese did, in fact, put the welfare of an individual priest above the safety and welfare of the children with whom he came in contact. As the father of two sons this is beyond my comprehension. I can't even begin to imagine the pain caused to the my friend's nephew and those who love him. As a deacon, and therefore a member of the hierarchy, a very minor member but a member none the less, I am greatly disappointed and saddened by the action, and lack of action, on the part of my superiors.

I had hoped, as I know you had, that we would soon be able to put this all behind us, that the worst was over. I am afraid that our hope was in vain.

The best that we can do is to imitate the apostles in today's reading and continue to rejoice in our salvation and to spread the good news of the gospel; to accept the truth of John's statement that those who do evil prefer the darkness and so do all in our power to ensure that light shines into all areas of the life of our church; and to continue to support the great majority of priests who serve the people of God faithfully and well.

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Today's gospel is the last paragraph in the Second Book of Saint John's Gospel, "The Book of Signs". This is the book wherein Saint John develops the identity of Jesus as the Christ through the miracles he worked culminating in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It is a summary and restates who Jesus was, from whence and why he came. It leads to the Book of Glory, which covers the passion and resurrection.

Jesus tells us that the Father's commandment is "eternal life". Later in this gospel he says that "Eternal life is to know the only true God." To know God! That is the destiny of those who hear his words and believe them. Those who hear his words and do not observe them will be condemned by that failure on the last day. The difference is the difference between eternal joy and eternal loss. The difference is between heaven and hell.

It is not fashionable to talk about hell in our society. According to a song that was popular in my youth the worst that happens is you get a rusty old halo and ragged wings if you're bad. A popular show on television is "The Osbournes". As I was writing this homily last night my younger son called me and told I had to watch it. He thinks my horizons are limited and I need more exposure to what's the happening thing. I turned it on. An aging rock star and his family have a camera following them around as they live their lives. Between the english accents and the bleeps I could understand little of what was said. It appears they are very rich and live in a Hollywood mansion full of strange friends of their kids who apparently just move in and stay and various dogs, none of whom are house broken. Their lives appear to consist of aimless obscene conversation, clutter and dog poop. According to my son this is the hottest thing on TV. God help us all, hell is here and its on MTV. Empty talk, empty lives, self induced disfunction, and escape from the reality of the meanness of that life through drugs and alcohol, that's close enough to hell for me.

Opposed to the emptiness of hell is the fullness of eternal life as promised by Jesus. To know God, to be like him, to see him as he is, this is the promise to those who hear, believe and live the words of Christ. I can not understand the attraction of the Osbournes, I can not understand the attraction of evil. I can not understand why anyone would choose emptiness over the fullness of life in Christ. It can only be that is indeed a force of evil loose in the world and that force has taken over the means whereby contemporary manners and morals are defined.

These are indeed tough times and if I didn't know that it in end Jesus wins, I'd really be worried.

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FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT JOHN F. BOYLE, JR.

Have you ever bought something on the basis of an advertisement and then found out that the ad was misleading and the product wasn't really what the ad promised? I have done it more than once. I am especially vulnerable to weight loss programs that promise you can eat all you want. Then I find out I can eat all I want as long as I don't eat anything I like.

I think that Gabriel may have misled Mary. A mighty angel appears to a young girl and tells her that she shall bear the son of the most high, the Son of God, and God will give him "the throne of David.. and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever". Isn't it reasonable to assume that Mary was expecting a little more than giving birth in a stable to a son who grew up to be a carpenter and who, at the age of thirty, was still living at home. I don't think anyone would blame her if she felt a little deceived. The angel did not lie but there was certainly less than full disclosure. What would actually happen is not revealed to Mary. She is only told of the good parts.

Another person may have pressed for further details but Mary did not. She only stated the fact of her virginity and when assured that the Holy Spirit would resolve that detail she said "yes". That "yes" was to all that came, the bitter and the sweet, the good as well as the bad.

The glory part of the promise did not begin to happen until after Mary had lived through the horror of the Passion. Picture Mary as a middle aged widow who has worked hard all her life only to see her son hung on a cross. We can only imagine how hard a woman had to work as a member of the working class in Judea two thousand years ago. We can't even begin to imagine the pain of witnessing the crucifixion of a beloved child. It was a hard life that Mary lived.

Advent, of which this the fourth Sunday, is the four week period of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the birth of the savior, the incarnation. During this period we are asked to reflect upon the meaning of Christmas. This is not easy to do in the rush of preparation for the holidays. This year seems especially out of control due to the millennium madness that is upon us. But Christmas is too important to be taken lightly.

The reality is that Christmas is the celebration of God becoming human in the form of a helpless child. He does so that we may become his brothers and sisters and therefore adopted children of God through our Baptism in Christ. The Christian religion is the only one of the world's religions that claims that God became human. Because he has partaken of our humanity we may one day share in his divinity. Our faith in this reality sets us apart from all other men and women. Like Mary we are promised much. But also like Mary we must live out our lives and cling to the promise even when there are times that it is hard to believe.

We live our life as Mary lived her life. A day at a time, some good, some bad. We don't know all that is store for us. We too will have times of severe trial, times when the promises seem forgotten and we have been the victims of false advertising. These times are the advents of our lives. These are the times when we must remind ourselves that God became human in Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our salvation. These are the times to remember we are Christmas people. We know that life may be hard and that Good Friday awaits. But we also know the end of the story of Jesus which culminates in the glory of Easter.

We know that Jesus left us the sacrament of his body and blood, the Eucharist and so is still present to us. Like Mary through the Eucharist we carry Jesus within us not as a child but as the risen savior. Christmas is too important to be taken lightly.

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Who knows God's name?

How about Harold? Our Father who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name? No?

Who knows what a Herald is? Forerunner, messenger. One who is sent ahead to announce the coming of an important person or event. You know the story of Christmas in Bethlehem. The angels that announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds are heralds. You know the song "Hark, the herald angels sing glory to the new born king..." Something really important was happening and the angels were the heralds sent to announce it.

John the Baptist has been the subject of Gospels this week and last. He is the baby that kicks his mother when he hears Mary's voice. John the Baptist is the one who was sent before to announce the coming of Jesus as Savior. John the Baptist is a herald. It is his job to introduce Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ to the people. Today, in the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer Father will say, "John the Baptist was his herald and made him known when at last he came..."

Have any of you seen Godspell? The show Godspell starts with John singing "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!"

Being a herald is an important job. If the herald doesn't get people's attention they could miss something really important. Children are good heralds. They don't give up easily. I bet all of you have been scolded for interrupting your mother of father to tell them something very important to you.

Today and everyday at Mass you can be heralds. Just like Jesus came as a baby to Bethlehem on the first Christmas Jesus will come in the Mass under the appearance of bread and wine. The Holy Spirit turns the water and wine on the altar into the body and blood of Jesus when the priest says the words Jesus said just before he died. We come to church because Jesus is truly here in the form of the Sacrament of Eucharist and we can receive him in communion when we are old enough.

This is very important news and it deserves a herald. we have to be sure everyone is paying attention when it happens.

Just before Jesus comes in the Mass Father will say, "And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise."

And then just like heralds we call every one to attention by saying "Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." This is one time when it is OK to be loud in church.

So lets practice being heralds, say after me: Holy etc.

That's good. Now when the time comes Father and I will be listening to be sure you are good heralds and announce the coming of Jesus to be sure no one misses it. OK? Thank you for being so good while I was talking and thank you for being heralds for Jesus.

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Today's second reading is a favorite of mine. It is less a letter and more a theological exhortation. It is attributed to Saint John the Evangelist due to its similarity in style and content to the Gospel according to John. It is directed to a developing community where division is becoming a problem. Some in the community were questioning the divinity of Christ while some were questioning his humanity.

Chapters three and four are a wonderful teaching on love: God's love for us and the consequent duty we have to love one another. We are instructed to " See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God." Yet so we are." WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. The parent child relationship is the closest that there is and that is the relationship we share as a consequence of our Baptism into the life of Christ. John goes on. He tells us we cannot fully grasp the fullness and depth of that relationship in this life but when it is fully revealed to us we shall be like Christ and see him as he is. This is the prophecy and promise of a future understanding of the relationship that now exists so rejoice and be patient. That day will come. It is a truth and a relationship that Saint John says the world does not know or understand because it does not know HIM, the Christ. Just think what miracles we could accomplish if we could be on fire with the love of God of which Saint John writes. That perfect love through which we experience God in this life and which we are called to have for one another could induce the miracles of grace which our society so desperately needs.

It seems that today there is a shortage of love and a plentitude of fear and dissension. Many individuals impute the basest of motives to anyone who disagrees with their particular agenda. The epithets fly back and forth.

Rational discussion of pressing economic and social issues is impossible due to the heat of the discourse.

The present situation as it relates to John's prophecy reminds me of the story of a little league game where a passerby asked the kid playing left field how his team was doing. The kid said. "Fine, we’re losing 18 to nothing". The passerby said, "How can you say 'Fine' when you are losing 18 to nothing?" The kid said, "Because we haven't been to bat yet". Christ has not been to bat yet and all will just fine in the end.

I remember a song by The Carpenters. It went, "What the world needs now is love sweet love, it's the only thing there's just too little of". You don't hear that song anymore but the words are more relevant now than they were in the turbulent time they were written. What if we all

reached out to one another in love and thereby created a world free from fear and hatred? What a wonderful world it could be! What a wonderful world it would be!

And now we will proceed to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of love and Thanksgiving whereby we are bathed in the love of the one who suffered and died that we might have eternal life and who will come again that we may be like him and see him as he is.

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In today's Gospel Matthew relates the virgin birth of Jesus to the prophecy of Isaiah appearing in the first reading, the birth of Emmanuel of a virgin. In a society where adultery was punished by stoning, a virgin becoming pregnant could result in her death and consequently the death of her child. As Mary was betrothed to Joseph, if he accused her of adultery, it would be a death sentence. In those times a man could divorce a woman very easily, just by saying so. For Joseph to divorce Mary would save her and her child from death; but, unless her parents took her back, she would be on her own. Women in this situation quite often ended up prostitutes in an attemp to survive. What Matthew is really saying here is that, in spite of being a righteous man who should have accused her of adultery, Joseph was going to divorce her and let her shift for herself. This helps us to appreciate the faith of Mary in consenting to the angel before she knew what Joseph would do. The son of God could not come into the world without Mary's consent but neither could he survive to be born without Joseph's. Joseph was, therefore, a key participant in our redemption and in that sense is our spiritual father. There would be no Christmas without Joseph.

The Gospels tell us little about Joseph. We are told he was a righteous man but also acted mercifully. He was a man of faith and trust for he took the angel at his word and became Mary's husband and earthly father of her divine son. Although we are told little, upon reflection, we know much about Joseph because he was like us. He was an ordinary person. He lived in a small town. He was a self employed craftsman. He had a wife and child to support. He worried about paying the rent, paying his taxes, or getting sick and unable to support his family. He got up every morning and went to work. When there wasn't work he had to find it. When there was too much work he overworked to keep his customers from going somewhere else.

I am sure he suffered from cruel gossip about the circumstances of Jesus birth, he lived in a small town after all and tongues can be vicious. He lived up to his religious obligations and, at least on one occasion, suffered the worry and anxiety of the parent of a child missing in a large city. We don't know exactly when he died but we do know it was before Jesus entered into his public ministry. It was probably before he reached the age of fifty. This is young in our time; but, up until this century, was the average age of death for a working man. He knew what it was to be scared, he had the king chasing him and the child. He knew what it was to worry and be anxious. More than once he had to take dangerous journeys with very little time for preparation and with meager resources. He owned no property that we know of other than a donkey and the tools of his trade. He was neither rich nor powerful. There were no social support services in first century Palestine. He had no Blue Cross card and most people who went a doctor in those days died from the treatment if not the disease. He had a tremendous obligation to fulfill, the nurturing of the Son of God and his Blessed mother, and very few resources beyond his own two hands with which to do it.

So the next time you feel things are getting ahead of you or you feel at a loss as to how get through the day, turn to Joseph. He has been where we are and more so. He knows what it is to be human, to be married, to be a parent, a worker, a taxpayer, a bread winner, to get up and go to work when you are sick and should stay in bed, to be scared stiff when one of your kids is lost, to wonder how you can make ends meet when work is hard to find or expenses pile up without warning. Of all the Saints of the Church he is the easiest to identify with if you are an ordinary person doing the best you can to make it through the day.

It is true that Joseph had Jesus to help him. But the Jesus he had was a little kid and then an adolescent. The Jesus we have to help us is the resurrected and glorified Jesus that we receive in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. In that we have an advantage even over Saint Joseph.

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We have just heard the Gospel story of the Annunciation. To me, the Annunciation is, in one sense, more important than Christmas because without it there would be no Christmas. The Gospel passage ends with the Mary's words, "May it be done unto me according to your word." With these words of Mary Jesus Christ, came into the world and the process of our salvation began. With these words of a young Jewish girl a worldly transformation commenced. With these words, the temple of the Lord, which David envisioned, became a reality in the form of the body of a young woman.

But did Mary know what she was saying "YES" to? Have you ever bought something on the basis of an advertisement and then found out that the ad was misleading and the product wasn't really what the ad promised? I have done it more than once. I am especially vulnerable to weight loss programs that promise you can eat all you want. Then I find out I can eat all I want as long as I don't eat anything I like.

I think that Gabriel may have misled Mary. A mighty angel appears to a young girl and tells her that she will bear the son of the most high, the Son of God, and God will give him "the throne of David. And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever." Isn't it reasonable to assume that Mary was expecting a little more than giving birth in a stable to a son who grew up to be a carpenter and who, at the age of thirty, was still living at home and three years later died as a criminal? I don't think anyone would blame her if she felt a little deceived. The angel did not lie but there was certainly less than full disclosure. All that would actually happen is not revealed to Mary. She is only told the good parts, which only came much later after she had suffered greatly

Picture Mary as a middle-aged widow who has worked hard all her life only to see her son die as a criminal hung on a cross. We can only begin to imagine how hard life was for a woman as a member of the working class in Judea two thousand years ago. We can't even begin to imagine the pain of witnessing the crucifixion of a beloved child. It was a hard life indeed that Mary lived.

human. Because he has partaken of our humanity, we may one day share in his divinity. Our faith in this reality sets us apart from all other men and women. Like Mary we are promised much. But also like Mary we must live out our lives and cling to the promise even when there are times that it is hard to believe.

We live our life as Mary lived her life: one day at a time, some are good, and some are not.

We don't know all that is store for us. We too will have times of severe trial, times when the promises seem forgotten and we seem to have been the victims of false advertising. This time is the lent of our lives. These are the times when we must remind ourselves that God became human in Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our salvation. These are the times to remember we are in the end Easter people. We know that life may be hard and that Good Friday waits.

So, as we await the coming joy of Christmas, let us remember that it is only possible because a very young woman had the faith and courage to "yes" a long time ago in a place very far away.

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"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Never hunger, never thirst! What can Jesus mean? Obviously he can not be talking about physical hunger and physical thirst. It is a sad fact that many who came to Jesus in the Eucharist have in fact starved. The Irish famines of the nineteenth century caused the death of millions of believers.

The Catechism tells us that "What material food produces in our bodily life. Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life." So Jesus offers himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as spiritual food and drink.

We who are blessed to receive the Eucharist frequently should, therefore, never hunger or thirst spiritually. True, most of us have times when we do hunger and thirst in the Spirit. We have times when the routine, or lack of routine, in daily life weakens our spirit and breaks our connection with the Lord. But these times are over-come if we persevere in our Eucharistic union with the Lord, if we continue to feed our spirit with Jesus, the Bread of Life".

But what about those who are spiritually hungry? We live in a land of physical plenty.

Most of us have never known what it is to be seriously hungry. As a matter of fact too much food is a national problem as over weight, especially in the young, becomes a national health problem. On the other hand we, at the level of the national communication media, are in the midst of a spiritual famine. The sit-com "Friends" which is broadcast during early evening prime-time, when young children can see it, has degenerated into a series of juvenile seductions between the main characters. It is introducing a new character, Kathleen Turner, plays the transgendered father of Matthew Perry, one of the "friends" In other words she plays a woman playing a man playing a woman. This may happen in real life, but, if it does, there is nothing really funny about it, sad yes, but funny no.

There remains no doubt that the media is involved in a race to the bottom of the barrel and is getting there at an increasingly rapid rate. Naked News is now available on the inter-net. It seems the richer our culture becomes materially the poorer it gets spiritually.

We, who have come to know the Lord in the breaking of the bread, know the answer: Jesus, the Bread of Life. Those of you who spend time on Thursday before the Eucharistic Lord know the remedy: Jesus, the Bread of Life. It is up to us to spread the word, by our example, the word that those who see the Son in the Eucharist and believe in him do not know spiritual hunger or thirst in this world. That we are fulfilled, and moreover, expect eternal life and to be raised on the last day. If we truly believe, we will be joy filled people and will draw the spiritually hungry to Jesus and the Bread of Life.

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Christians, we may be a light unto the world rather than a scandal.

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Christians, we may be a light unto the world rather than a scandal.

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Last week I read "City of God" by E.L. Doctorow. He wrote Ragtime and Billy Bathgate and is an author I enjoy. His latest is about an Anglican Priest and a husband and wife who are Reform Rabbis and start a Reformed Reform Synagogue in New York. Without going into details, the novel is an attempt to reduce Scripture to historical fact and remove whatever is deemed surplus by the author. The result of this effort is summarized in a paper presented by the woman Rabbi in which she writes, that in her view " God...is imperceptible, ineffable, except. for our evolved moral sense of ourselves." In other words, God can only be found in

human behavior as it reflects this moral sense. If this is true, then to say the least, God is a very imperfect God indeed. If human behavior is all we can know of God, then God is a monster.

What kind of God can we know from the history of humanity's unspeakable crimes against humanity?

This is the darkness of which Jesus speaks in today's Gospel. It is only in seeing God in the light of Jesus that we come to know God as our loving Father and not as a being who is deemed to exist only because of a sense of self, a being who is as good or as bad as that sense of self.

How blessed we are to be able to see the light, to see God in his divine son who walked among us; who showed his love for us in the sacrifice upon Calvary and continues to show it in the sacrifice of the Mass. Blessed are we who know that God's commandment is not only that we find love, hope and joy in the light of Christ now but also eternal life.

How sad for those who do not see the light, who remain in darkness. The Gospel tells us that Jesus does not condemn them. They condemn themselves. They condemn themselves to a life of futility and hopelessness and to judgement on the last day. Since many are otherwise good people, I believe that judgement will not be a fiery hell but will be that they remain in the darkness, never knowing the light that is Jesus, never knowing the love of God that is in the light, never seeing God. How sad. How very very sad.

As we celebrate the Eucharist let us pray for those good people who are in darkness. Let us pray that we may reflect the love and joy that is found in the light of Christ so that in seeing the light in us they may seek it for themselves.

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I don't know about you but I am depressed. I am sick and tired of seeing pictures of Cardinal Law walking in and out of depositions. I am tired of new revelations that turn out to be a re-hash of old revelations. But most of all, I am tired of those who claim the Church's problem is that some of its teachings are unpopular. Yesterday James Carroll had another op-ed piece in the Globe which in effect said that the Church should become Episcopalian. He claims that all that is required is "full democratic reform" which he claims is the Church's "only hope". I assume by full democratic reform he means that the Church must adopt as truth whatever a majority of those who profess to be Catholic believe at any given time. The truth is therefore relative and depends not on God, not on revelation and tradition, but on us, on what most of us prefer it to be.

In today's Gospel Jesus asks his Father to consecrate his disciples in "truth" which he defines as the "word" of the Father. He does not ask that they be consecrated in the current opinion of the majority. Jesus says that his disciples do not belong to the world just as he, Jesus, does not belong to the world. From that we can infer that Jesus's truth is not worldly truth but other worldly truth. It is not the truth because it is popular, it is the truth simply because it is the word of the Father.

Saint Paul warned the Ephesians that from their own group men will come forward perverting the truth to draw disciples away from the truth. He called them "savage wolves". In the sense that they attack when their prey is wounded, they act like wolves. Sadly, the Church in Boston is wounded. That it has been wounded by its own hand makes it harder to bear the attacks but bear them we must if we are to remain disciples. Jesus never said that it would be easy to be a disciple. In fact he said the opposite. He recognized that we would slip and fall and so he gave his apostles the power to forgive sin. He knew the best of us would sometimes sin.

He knew we would get off the track from time to time so He gave us a marker to follow so that we would know when we were on track. He called that maker Peter, the rock upon which he built his Church. When I am in the boat of Peter I know I am in the right boat. I may not like some of the people in the boat. I may not like some of the rules in the boat. But I do not ever get out of the boat because outside the boat there is only bottomless water.

On one thing James Carroll and I agree. He writes that his "firm connection to the Church is the Eucharist, the sacred meal of the Mass, affirming the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ." He seems not to see that those who have substituted mere preference for the word of God ultimately have lost the Eucharist. When the majority come to see it only as a symbol, that is what it becomes.

It would be nice if the road to salvation was easy; if it required that we do only what we prefer; if truth was only what we wanted it to be. But then we wouldn't need a Redeemer; we wouldn't need revelation, tradition or the Sacraments; we wouldn't need forgiveness; we wouldn't even need a Church. Poor Jesus would have died for nothing. He should have taken a poll.

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If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will you be done for you.

Ask for whatever you want? This sounds like a blank check. Too good to be true. As a practical matter we don't really expect God to deliver whatever we ask for all the time. I remember as a kid being told that when my prayers seemed not to be answered that they really had been and that the answer was "No". That seemed a little cute to me. It still does. So what does this mean?

What we tend to overlook in reading scripture is that we, individually, are not the ones Jesus is talking to. Here Jesus addresses his disciples at the last supper. In addressing them he is addressing the Church not each individual member of the Church. Our prayers as Church are powerful. Just as a choir is more powerful than a soloist, our prayers in common are more powerful than our prayers as individuals.

The power of prayer in common was recognized by the Second Vatican Council in its Document on Sacred Liturgy. Section 53 states "The "common prayer or prayer of the faithful is to be restored...especially on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation". It directs that the people are to take part in this prayer and that intercession will be made for the church, for civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all humankind, and for the salvation of the entire world. There are contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and the Lectionary detailed instructions relative to this common prayer. Briefly, the celebrant is to invite the congregation to pray and say the concluding prayer while the deacon, cantor or other person announces the petitions. The entire congregation expresses its supplication by a response said together or by silent prayer. The instruction says that in this prayer "the people exercise their priestly function and intercede for all humanity". This prayer is rendered even more powerful by its location. It is placed within the greatest of Christian prayers, the Mass, and located just before the most solemn part of the Mass, the Eucharistic prayer and is an integral part of the liturgy.

When we pray as Church, we the living branches of the living vine that is Jesus Christ can be sure that the Father, the vine grower, hears our prayer and that it is music to his ears.

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It's an old question. What to do when people who are not disciples act in Jesus name?

Today it raises the question of other churches who call themselves Christian and their relation to us who say we belong not to a church but to the Church.

We can look to the Epistle of James for help. This is a short epistle, five chapters, and yet a most important one. Martin Luther called it an "epistle of straw" because it called upon Christians to perform good works and this contradicted his doctrine of salvation through faith alone. It is the scriptural basis of the sacrament of anointing of the sick. The passage read today reminds us that, no matter how much we plan, our success depends upon the will of God. If God says "no", no amount of striving or toil will make it happen. James tells us good works proceed from a motive of love and a life of humility, from a life that recognizes our dependence on God and our obligations to others; not from motives of jealousy or selfish ambition.

For an act in Jesus name to be the will of the Father it must unite and not divide. It must bring his disciples together and not drive them apart. The Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II details our relations to those whom it calls: "our separated brothers and sisters" who have "been justified by faith in baptism (and) are incorporated into Christ". The decree encourages those actions that lead to Christian unity and rejects those that are divisive.

Finally we must determine whether the actions are in accord with Scripture and Tradition for if they are not, they can not be the will of the Father.

Therefore, in determining whether an activity is of God, we examine the motive, the effect on Christian unity and whether or not it is in accord with divine revelation. Only then can we make an informed judgement whether the actor is for or against Christ.

Sunday it was my assignment to assist as a deacon at the cathedral. I had mixed feelings in doing this. I have an obligation in obedience to follow the orders of my superiors and yet I was reluctant to do so. I found the experience to be distressing but not in the way I thought I would. I felt profoundly sorry for Cardinal Law. There were only about 200 present in a cathedral that holds 2500. He spoke to all who wanted to speak to him and thanked them for coming. While he attempted to reach out pastorally, he was surrounded by four deacons, his secretary, Father Connelly, and two plain clothes policemen. Outside the demonstrators were chanting through bullhorns behind police barricades. It was very very sad.

Regardless of our feelings toward the Cardinal as a result of the horror of abuse of children, as Christians we must reach out to a brother who must be in great pain. So I ask you to pray for him that he will be able to bear what ever he must and accept the will of God as it is made manifest to him through the application of the truths contained in today's readings.

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Last week I read an article in a News Magazine about a group of physicians who are studying an area of the human brain that they claim is active during prayer and mystical experiences. They have wired the brains of Buddhist Monks and measured their brain activity while they meditate. They claim that the human brain is wired for belief in God. The big question is do we believe in God because of the physiological construction of our evolved brain or did God do the wiring so that we might be aware of his existence; but either way there is evidence we are programmed to believe.

Saint Augustine in the fifth century wrote that "our hearts are restless until they rest in God". He meant that we seek union with God throughout our lives and find contentment only in union with God, that we have an empty spot in our being that can only be satisfied by God.

Saint Paul used this fact in his sermon to the Athenians. He noted that although they honored many gods they felt the need to honor an unknown God. They recognized the existence of that empty spot in us all that seeks satisfaction in the knowledge and love of God. Paul introduces them to this God, the maker of the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth who gives life and breath to everyone and everything. He explains that God made us such that we seek for him and even grope for him and then gives them the good news that this unknown God is not far off.

First Saint Paul, then Saint Augustine and finally scientists in the 21st century all testify to the existence of this craving for God, for the existence of this empty spot in our being that can be satisfied only by union with our creator.

In today's Gospel Jesus promises that Spirit of Truth will guide us to all truth. He promises that Holy Spirit will reveal to us that which we are programmed to seek, the truth that is Jesus Christ, God become human so through him we may be united with the Father for whom we were made.

Our readings begin to prepare us for Pentecost Sunday and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost is the third great feast of the Christian Church after the Incarnation and Resurrection and is really the birthday of the Church. Through the Holy Spirit our hunger for God is satisfied for it is the Spirit that lives within us and through whom grace of Jesus Christ acts upon us.

Without the spirit there remains only the longing, only the emptiness which prompted the Athenians to erect a memorial to the God they craved but did not know.

Blessed are we who through life in the Spirit and the grace found in the Holy Eucharist can rest our hearts in Christ and know peace and joy in this life that those who not Christ can only hope for in the next.

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To be in the world; but, not be of the world; and, to share the joy of Christ completely. This is what Jesus prays for those who love him as he prepares to leave this world and join his and our heavenly Father.

There is no question that as of this moment we are in the world. When I woke up this morning there was no question in my mind that I was in the world. As usual my knees were aching and the alarm was ringing. One look in the mirror and I was certain I was in the world, my face needed shaving and my teeth needed brushing. The usual morning routine needed doing.

World here I am.

But what does it mean to be not of the world? To me it has always meant that if I am to follow Christ I must be somehow different than others. My values must be different than others. I was lucky. At the age of 15 I came under the influence of the de LaSalle Christian Brothers who taught Saint Mary's Boys High School in Waltham, Mass. How I got there and why they let me in is a long story. Briefly, a gentle giant by the name of Brother Dominic accepted me into the sophomore class. There were 70 sophomores and room for only 40 Juniors so it was every man for himself. In the three years I was subject to the benevolent tyranny of the Brothers I learned what it was to be not of this world. These were the most unselfish, charitable and dedicated group of men I have ever met. If they believed you were trying they would do anything to help you succeed. Success in worldly terms meant nothing to them. Success was seeing their boys come out on top of the diocesan exams; seeing as many go on to college as possible, usually Boston College or Northeastern Engineering School. Success was, for them, following the model of their founder Saint John Baptiste de LaSalle and providing a first rate education for their boys with whatever resources were at hand. Success was doing the will of God to the best of your ability always remembering that we are ever in the Holy Presence of God; and, in doing so sharing in the joy of Christ. So it was the Brothers who first taught me what it was to be in the world but not of it. Since then I have met many vowed religious and priests who have confirmed for me the joy to be found by being in the world but not of it. A real loss occasioned by the decrease in vocations to the religious life and priesthood is loss of the great powers of example to be found in these dedicated servants of Christ.

A week from Saturday I will join my remaining classmates in celebrating the 50th anniversary of our graduation. If his health permits Brother Stephen, our 80 years plus class advisor, will be present. We will have a Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by Father Bert Stankard, Father Don Connolly will concelebrate in Heaven and I will be the deacon of the Mass. After Mass we will tour our old High School, remodeled and expanded, it has been newly dedicated by Cardinal Law as affordable housing for 69 elderly or infirm. Not luxury condos but affordable housing.

I look forward to returning to the building where I was taught so long ago what it meant

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It was quite a week. We have a new Pope. He is the first Pope from the New World. He is the first Pope Francis. He is the first Jesuit Pope. He is the first Pope that is

younger than I am. That fact did not make the papers but that’s a lot of firsts. I appreciated that before he blessed the people in Saint Peter’s square he asked them to join him in silent prayer for him. I liked that he wore the ornate papal stole only when he conferred his solemn blessing. I liked that he did not ride in the popemobile but got on the bus with the other Cardinals to go back to the hotel to pick up his luggage. I like that he paid his hotel bill himself. I like that he is known to be a pastor and advocate for the poor. I like that, as far as it possible for a Jesuit, he is not an intellectual, not a theologian, and not a writer of books. Those are all good things to be and do but we have had those in the previous two Popes and it is time for a hands-on Pope.

The readings of the day are appropriate for the occasion of the election of Pope Francis. The first reading from Isaiah deals with the return of the Jewish people from exile in Babylon. Isaiah tells them to forget the events of the past and to consider that the lord is doing something new. This is the period that culminates in the birth of Jesus the Christ. A new day was dawning. Saint Paul writes from prison to the Philippians that he is forgetting what lies behind but is straining forward to what lies ahead. A new day was dawning. Jesus was in the Temple area, the center of the Jewish people when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him and he was asked whether the Law of Moses should be applied. If he said no he broke the Jewish law. If he said yes he broke the Roman law as the Jews were forbidden to impose capital punishment. It was a trap. Jesus avoided the issue by simply passing the decision back to them. <Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.= And they went away. Jesus did not condemn her but cautioned her to sin no more. A new day was dawning.

In his first homily on the day following his election Pope Francis told the Cardinals assembled before him, <When we walk without the cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are, bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes but not disciples of the Lord. I would like that all of us after these days of grace, might have the courage - the courage - to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the cross of the Lord to build the Church on the blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way the Church will go forward.= And he ends with, <My hope for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, that the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother, might grant us this grace: to walk, to build, and to profess Jesus Christ Crucified.=

And so in his first message to his brother bishops he reminds them that we are the Church, not a social service organization, not a political entity, but are the means by which the grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ Crucified earned for us by his Passion and death are to be brought to the entire world which is so in need of His mercy. Let us pray that a new day is dawning.

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When we come to Mass we seldom reflect on the antiquity of the liturgy in which we are participating. It is by the far the oldest continuous worship by human kind. Today9s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles took place shortly after the resurrection and ascension of the Risen Christ. The Twelve, with a capital T, were the Apostles, eleven selected by Jesus and Matthias chosen to replace Judas. These were the first bishops of whom our present day bishops are direct successors. The early Christians lived in community and devoted themselves to prayer and the <breaking of the bread=, the Eucharist. As the community grew the Greek speaking Jews felt that their widows were being neglected so the Apostles directed the community to select seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom that the Apostles would appoint for the administration of the community. The apostles then prayed and laid hands on the seven. These were the first deacons. Nearly two thousand years later I knelt before a bishop, a successor to the Apostles, who placed his hands on my head and who prayed, <Lord, look with favor on this servant of yours, whom we now dedicate to the office of deacon, to minister at your holy altar.=

After I had been vested, I again knelt before the bishop who presented me with the book of the gospels and said, <Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.= The reverence we pay to the book of the Gospels, the word of Christ, is second only to that paid to the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ. That is why the deacon carries the book of the Gospels in the entrance procession. He is bringing the word of Christ to the gathered community. It is the deacon who proclaims the Gospel as he is its herald .The diaconal office is signified by the diagonal stole of the deacon which copies the stole worn by Roman messengers of the time.

Around the year 155 AD Saint Justin Martyr wrote the Roman Empower Antoninus explaining Christians worship. In brief, what he wrote described what we today call the Mass: the reading of the <memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets=, the liturgy of the word. The homily, the prayer of the faithful, the sign of peace, the Eucharist, the great Amen and then <those whom we call deacons give to those present the 8Eucharisted9 bread, wine, and water and take them to those who are absent.= Thus the deacon with the priest is the ordinary minister of the Eucharist and especially of the cup. So when you see me ministering the cup at communion time I am following a nearly two thousand year tradition, I am standing in the shoes of my brother deacons in the long line which reaches back to the apostles.

In today9s gospel it is Philip, one of the original Seven, who asks Jesus to show them the Father and which provokes the response which gives lie to the argument that Jesus was merely a teacher or prophet. Jesus makes it clear that he

and the Father are one. He promises that those who believe in him will work wonders. Next week we will see that Philip goes to the city of Samaria where in fact he does work wonders. Thus it is from ancient times that the deacon is the minister of the word, sacrament and charity.

Famous deacons include: Saint Stephen the first martyr, Saint Lawrence who was martyred in 258 after distributing the property of the Church to the poor rather than surrender it to the Emperor; Pope Saint Gregory the Great who was a deacon when elected Pope; Saint Thomas Becket, slain in his cathedral on the orders of King Henry II for defending the rights of the Church who was a deacon when elevated to Archbishop of Canterbury; and of course, Saint Francis of Assisi. If I can make it to heaven, I9ll be in good company.

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Many of Jesus teachings are called "hard". His teaching to: "turn the other cheek" when struck; to eat of his body and blood which caused many disciples to abandon him; to forgive your enemies and many more. But the hardest of all, which at first seems easy, is in today's gospel reading from the Gospel of John. Jesus says, "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."It sounds easy, it sounds "nice", not hard at all.

But earlier, in Chapter 16 of John's gospel, Jesus had instructed his disciples' "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you". Again, it sounds easy but he follows with the words, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." Oh Oh that doesn’t sound easy. That sounds hard. G.K. Chesterton wrote, " Many say Christianity has never been tried; it has been tried and found hard". Lay down one’s life for ones friends, that's hard, really hard. How many could do it? Saint Catherine of Sienna used the image of Christ's body hanging on the cross as a starting point. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux taught that repentance for sin at the feet of Christ is where the journey must begin. Pastor Dietrich Bonheoffer, a martyr of the German resistance to Hitler, ended his homily reflection on Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians concerning love, "Who is this love that Paul spoke of in these verses if not Jesus Christ himself? Who is meant here if not Jesus? What is the mark of this whole chapter if not the cross?" It is the cross, the crucifix, which is the emblem of the love that Christ requires of us for what is the image of the crucified Christ if not a love story.

Now it is unlikely that any of us will be required to lay down our life for a friend but that doesn’t't mean that we are dispensed from preparing ourselves to do so should the need arise. If we are not striving to become Christ like, we are failing as Christians. Chesterton is right, Christianity is hard.

Jesus did not think it would be easy. That is why he left us the Eucharist. It is the graces received in the reception of his body and blood that aid and enable us to love as Jesus loved. The Catechism describes the Eucharist as "The sum and substance of our Faith". Without the Eucharist we have no Faith, we have no Church. The Eucharist is not a mere reenactment of Christ's sacrifice, it is Christ's sacrifice. When saying the words of consecration the priest is no longer himself. He acts in the person of Christ. It is Christ who says the words of consecration; it is Christ who offers the sacrifice. Through frequent reception of the Eucharist we become more Christ like and maybe we too could one day achieve the Christ like love we see on the Cross. Trying is not optional, it is required if we are to call ourselves Christian.

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Sadducees were the secular Jews of their day. They were ethnic Jews who regarded their Jewishness much like we would regard our affiliation to a political party. They did not believe in any life after death. Accordingly they, like many today, regarded worldly success as the end and purpose of life. Their ultimate goal was political power and they had it. They controlled the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish nation. It was from among their number that the High Priest was selected. Jesus was rocking their boat and they were after him.

The question about the woman who married seven brothers was a put up job. They were trying to put Jesus on the spot. Without knowing it, they did all of us, who accept Jesus as the Messiah, as the Son Of God, a great favor. Jesus answer gives us hope of a magnificent future. Jesus makes it very clear that eternal life is not just more of the same. It is not merely a continuation of our worldly life. It is a life that we can not even begin to imagine. Jesus tells us it is "the life of the angels in heaven". We know that angels see God face to face. We know that angels are not limited by space and time as are we in this life. To be like an angel is beyond our ability to even begin to understand. We can't even faintly to imagine what it will be like. Of one thing we can be sure. It will be a big step up from where we are now.

Today's Gospel is from Mark but the same occurrence appears in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, almost word for word. These three Evangelists considered this event of sufficient importance and veracity to include it in their Gospels. We can count on it.

To help us reach this goal Jesus gave us the Church and the Sacraments. Baptism makes us God's own children. Confirmation fills us with the Holy Spirit. Reconciliation repairs the damage caused by sin. Anointing of the sick prepares us for immediate entrance into the presence of God.

And the Eucharist is as close as we get to heaven in this life. The most blessed sacrament by which Jesus, body and blood, soul and divinity, comes to dwell within us. Something that not even the angels can experience.

What a wonderful God is our God who loves us so! He is crazy about us!

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I remember a Johnny Carson Late Night Show which had a Black Belt in Karate who was to demonstrate how he could split several boards with one blow. He hit the boards with the knuckle of his right hand. The boards did not split but his knuckle did leaving blood upon the boards. At first everyone laughed including, Johnny Carson. He hit the boards again, harder, with the same result. No one laughed this time. As he squared away again Johnny Carson ran from behind his desk and grabbed the man so he could not try again. By now his hand was bleeding badly and no one was laughing. Failure can be funny but only up to a point. At that point it ceases to be funny and becomes tragic if allowed to go further. In the Old Testament reading Elijah is having a wonderful time at the expense of the priests of Baal. The picture of them calling upon Baal from morning until noon with Elijah cheering them on is funny. Elijah then puts on a demonstration of the power of Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. It is not enough to just light a fire under the sacrifice, he must drown it in water first. The Lord's fire consumes the sacrifice, calf, wood and water and all in an instant.

At this, all of the people fall prostrate and once again reject idolatry and give glory to the God of their fathers, the true God, the only God.

Our reading today stops just short of the passage where Elijah has the priests of Baal seized and he cuts their throats. What was solemn and serious became funny, then glorious but ended in tragedy. Tragedy also for Elijah who must now flee for his life as a result.

Today the American Bishops meet in Dallas to begin the resolution of the current scandal of abuse of children by clergy and the failure of the hierarchy to take effective action to terminate that abuse. The whole world is watching them. I believe they have the good will of most people who hope and pray that they can act boldly and effectively. If they fail, if their efforts are seen as patently ineffective, as defensive, and therefore ridiculous and laughable, a great tragedy will result that may in fact require, like the idolatry of the Israelites, a Godly holocaust to cleanse.

We must pray for the Bishops that they may be wise, fearless and effective in their deliberations. If they are not, if they lose the good will of the people of God and the people of the world our Church will be in for a period of great difficulty. In an age of moral relativism, the Church alone stands for objective truth and the reality of a force for evil in the world. If by failing to deal forcefully with the problems which created the present scandal the Church becomes ridiculous in the eyes of the world, its moral force, its ability to speak with authority will be gravely, maybe fatally, compromised. Who then will speak for the unborn, the terminally ill, the marginalized, the forgotten?

Jesus has promised that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against his Church but that does not mean that there may be no times of great trial. Let us turn to the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar and pray that we are not at the beginning of such a time.

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"I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place" So says Jesus in Matthew's Gospel. This is the same law that Saint Paul calls "the ministry of death" in his second letter to the Corinthians. Saint Paul teaches that the letter of the law brings death while the Spirit, the new Covenant, brings life.

Biblical commentary explains this apparent contradiction by teaching that the "heaven and earth" of which Jesus spoke passed away upon his death and resurrection. Those to whom the Gospel is addressed are those who live in the new and final age prophesied by Isaiah as the time of "new heaven and a new earth". That's us.

Saint Paul argues that if the ministry of death, carved in letters upon stone was so glorious that the Israelites could not look upon the face of Moses because of its glory, then how much more glorious will the new ministry of the Spirit be? Saint Paul does not detract from the wonder of the law of Moses however. It is still glorious. It is just that the new covenant is more glorious.

It is unfortunate that passages such as this have led to a detraction from the importance of the Hebrew Scriptures and to a denial of the continuing covenant between God and the Children of Israel. If you attend a Jewish service you can not help but be impressed by the reverence and love shown to the scroll of the Torah, the Law, as it is paraded throughout the assembly. It is their Eucharist, the center of their devotion and their relationship with God.

Saint Paul in writing to the Corinthians is writing to a rowdy bunch. Corinth, having been destroyed by the Romans, was rebuilt by an assortment of retired veterans, soldiers of fortune, people on the run, and adventurers. Saint Paul had on other occasions chided them for over indulging in food and drink prior to partaking in the Lord's Supper. They also had to be restrained from some strange forms of liturgy. His instruction to them on the nature of Christian love was in response to some strange ideas they had. This is not a group that can be lightly advised to minimize the ethical requirements of the law and this is not Saint Paul's intent.

It is however a group, just like us, a group which needs to reminded of the glory of the new age which commenced with the resurrection of Christ and which will be completed upon his second coming; which needs to be reminded of the power of the Spirit which Christ sent into the world to continue work he began; and of the glory of that new covenant of the spirit which will endure even after all other things have taken place. Let us rejoice in that spirit so that our joy may draw others into the covenant by which, in the words of Saint Paul, "we become the righteousness of God in Christ".

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My high school principal, Brother Dominic, used to say, "It's nice to be nice." He meant, I guess, that virtue is its own reward. In today's Gospel people are dong nice things, giving alms, praying and fasting, but in such a way that they are being rewarded by looking good to others. In that case their reward was the attention of others and it was not nice to be nice but was nice to noticed.

Today, if you stood on the corner praying and looking like you were hungry you would probably end up, sooner or later, in a mental hospital under forced medication. Most private prayer and fasting, if any one still fasts, are done in seclusion. Being identified as a prayerful person who practices voluntary self denial is at least counter cultural if not weird in the minds of many.

But the giving of alms is still a nice thing to most people. But giving has been institutionalized and given tax advantages. Fund raisers all have some element of publicity. Television award shows all feature celebrities who uniformly wear the ribbon of the day indicating their support for the current mandatory good cause. There are races and walks for various good causes and most involve at least a free T shirt. Now, I'm not saying that this is bad, but is the motive to give or be noticed? It is probably a little of each; but, even a little notice reduces the value in God's eyes. It is for secret gifts that we are fully rewarded.

An additional consideration relative to gifts to the Church has arisen. Many feel that the only way they can express their disapproval of Cardinal Law's actions in the clergy abuse scandal is to withhold their donations from the Annual Archdiocesan Fund raiser, which is unfortunately entitled "The Cardinal's Appeal". Since only about 85,000 people contribute, less than 1 in 5 of Catholics, each donation is very important. My wife and I have discussed whether or not we should contribute this year. There have been emails flying back and forth on the issue between deacons.

The Office of the Permanent Diaconate is funded by the Cardinal's Appeal and the Director has asked deacons to present a case for donations. Some deacon's are incensed and refuse to donate or encourage anyone else to donate. Some recognize the problem but feel it is wrong to penalize the needy for the failures of Church leaders. I am not going to ask you to do anything. I'm not even going to tell you what my wife and I decided to do. All I am going to ask of you is that your decision not be hasty, that it be a prayerful one, made only after careful consideration of all the arguments, pro and con. What you decide is between you and Jesus and he recommends that you keep it that way.

We now turn to the Sacrament of Thanksgiving, the Eucharist. Let us pray that we always do the will of Jesus as it is made known to us by the Holy Spirit and that we will ever seek only the approval of God and not that of the world.

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The message from today's readings is the same for us today as it was for those for whom it was written. "God loves a cheerful giver and doesn't like show offs." Simple and straight forward. I have also noticed that the reading from second Corinthians is a favorite of televangelists who equate God's love with material wealth, which you will get if you just send them a big donation.

I believe there is another lesson to be learned, a secondary meaning. When I was a young lawyer I had a job as counsel to the Senate Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Banks and Banking. A savings bank had gone insolvent, a rare event in those days, and the Committee was having public hearings as to what went wrong. The head of the State Division of Banks was the star witness. She stood for at least an hour and half in the lights from the TV cameras and answered every question honestly and intelligently. She was an impressive witness. During a recess she did not take a seat but continued to stand at the witness lectern. She did however remove a small tissue from her sleeve and wipe the perspiration from her forehead, the only time she did so. That night I watched the TV news and there was a segment on the hearings. My boss was shown asking a particularly difficult question and the next scene was the witness wiping her forehead. The tape was edited to make her look bad. I learned then and there to never believe everything I see, especially on television. Things are not always as they seem.

Jesus is also telling us not to believe all we see. Peoples motives often are not what they appear to be. Those who look good may be only that, looking good. My mother used to use the expression "street angel, house devil" to describe the two-faced people she came across. We all know people like that. God forbid any of them belong to Saint Joseph's but we know them.

The other side of the coin is that we can't always tell the interior motivation of those who look bad. I have found a surprising amount of goodness in people who look bad.

As for us, we must remember that God sees us just as we are. We can fool ourselves and maybe our neighbors but there is no fooling God. So as we approach the Eucharist, let us ask God for the grace to see ourselves as God sees us, not as we see ourselves or as others see us but as our heavenly Father who loves us beyond all understanding sees us.

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Josiah was King of Judah from 640 to 609 B.C. He was eight when he became King and died at the age of forty in an ill-advised campaign against Egypt. He is regarded as Judah's best King for his elimination of all traces of pagan worship and for his piety and love of the Lord. The promises made in the reading we heard today came true. He did not live to see the fall of Judah, the enslavement of its people, and the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

The lesson from the Jewish Scriptures is clear. God is not mocked. When his laws are obeyed, his people prosper and when they are not, disaster follows. It is also clear that humanity thinks and acts in the short term but God takes the long view. Over and over mankind chooses short term advantage over eternal principles. In the long run however we pay the price for our folly.

The false prophets of today are very cunning. For example, there is, under UN auspices, a treaty entitled the "Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women" CEDAW for short. This sounds like a worthwhile endeavor, doesn't it? But by its fruits the truth becomes apparent. Cedaw monitors the behavior of the 167 nations that have signed the treaty, thank God the US is not one of them, and seeks sanctions against those seen to be in violation. They are seeking to make one of the sanctions ineligibility for World Bank loans which would be devastating for third world nations.

What do they advocate, what are the fruits? A woman's right to free choice of profession or employment means that prostitution must be decriminalized. CEDAWS' ban on "sexual orientation bias" will make pedophile sex legal. Mother's day is to banned as "a sex role stereotype". Moslem women could not be assured that "sexual slavery" would not be later defined to include marriage. Recognition of homosexual marriage would be mandatory as to fail to do so would be to impose a restriction based on sex. It is predicted that CEDAW plans to bring an ICC case against Catholic Hospitals to force them to perform abortions and that it will use the new International Criminal Court as an enforcement tool for its agenda.

John Leo, of US News & World Report says, "The lesson here is that small groups of dedicated bureaucrats, out of the public eye, can make rules affecting the domestic affairs of countries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve democratically".

God is not mocked, so if this is the short term future, we must be prepared for long term difficulties, Babylon revisited. Therefore, let us pray that Jesus in the Holy Eucharist will be the remedy to these evil fruits so that they may not ripen and bring disaster upon humankind.

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In case you haven't noticed the times, they are a changing. If you don't believe me, ask a teenager to describe a rotary phone. But some things never change. Jeremiah, six hundred years before the birth of Christ, got in big trouble for criticizing the worldliness of his times. He didn’t mince words, "Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in the flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord" and "Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord." Six hundred years later Jesus taught, "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude and insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold. Your reward will be great in heaven."

In just the past month I have noticed events which are omens of difficult times to come. On the day of the March for Life a tweet was posted of a picture showing a young man, really a boy, in an MAGA hat apparently blocking a Native American who was attempting to get by him while beating a drum and chanting. The boy's smile was designated "a smirk." This photo went viral and appeared on major news outlets the following day. It was noted that the boy was a student at Covington Kentucky's Catholic High School who was in town on a "class outing," the main stream media's designation of the unmentionable, "The March for Life." Even the boy's Bishop and Metropolitan Archbishop, who have since recanted and apologized, deplored his conduct and threatened expulsion.

It turned out that the photo was cut from a two-hour video showing that the Covington boys were subject to continued taunts and abuse from an extremist group, that the Native American walked into the group of boys while beating his drum. The Native American was later found to have a history of causing confrontations to gain attention and, in fact, on the very next day while beating his drum and chanting, pounded on the door of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception during mass. In order to avoid a confrontation the Security of the Basilica would not allow anyone to leave until the local police had removed the Native American, his drum and 50 or so companions from the premises. This, of course, was ignored by the main stream media. The lesson for Catholics: avoid confrontations. You cannot be win.

Senators Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono recently criticized a judicial nominee's membership in the Knights of Columbus. Senator Hirono characterized certain positions of the Knights as "extreme." So now, in her view, we are extremists since the Knights views are Catholic views.

So, what is ahead and what are we to do? Back in 1969 Pope Benedict, then Father Joseph

Ratzinger predicted, "From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge-a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning

. . . But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church.

Men (and women) in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. Then, they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret." In his document, Rejoice and Exult, Pope Francis highlights some virtues that are especially required for today's Christian: they are perseverance, patience, meekness, joy, humor, boldness and passion, community life and constant prayer. We must remember that ours is not a religion of confrontation but is a religion of attraction. The dictum, "They will know we are Christians by our love," is as necessary today as it was in the early days of the Church.

So, in these difficult times let us recall and pray the ancient prayer before the Crucifix": Look down upon me good and gentle Jesus as I humbly come before your face with great love and tender pity, please fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith hope and love, true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment, while I contemplate with great love and tender pity thy five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me, having in mind the words which David your prophet said of you my Jesus: They pierced my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones."

This prayer reminds us of the suffering that Jesus willingly endured without complaint for the salvation of humankind. Can we bear less for the preservation of His holy Church? I hope so.

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Richard Pryor set himself on fire while cooking cocaine. Of the experience he said,<FIRE! Fire is inspirational. They should use it in the Olympics, because I ran the 100 in 4.3.= Being on fire got his attention even as he was stoned out of his mind. Unusual events can grab our attention change our focus. Last Sunday I brought the Eucharist to my friend Joe. Last Tuesday evening Joe died. Joe and I went to Law School together and became close friends. Sharing misery will do that. Joe was 2 months older than I am. Joe was a bull of a man, six foot three, 250 pounds and strong as an ox. The only time I knew him to be laid up was when he fell off his roof while cleaning his gutters. I never believed I would outlive Joe and, yet, I have. Death has again caught my attention. I find myself again humming,

<What9s it all about Alfie=, Dionne Warwick9s rendition of a jazz standard which asks the timeless question, 8What9s it all about? Is it just for the moment we live? What9s it all about when you sort it out?= At 80 the answer to this question becomes more and more important.

I am reminded of the old Baltimore Catechism question that kids of my generation were required to memorize. It asked,<Why did God make me= and we answered<God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next.= It is short but sweet. At the moment of my conception, when my physical being came into existence, God made me, my immortal soul in his image and likeness. At my Baptism I was born again into life in Jesus Christ and my soul imprinted with an indelible character that marks me as an adopted son of the Father. It is so simple but it is not easy. We also have free will which is the equivalent of a loaded gun in the hands of a child. The Sage, Sirach, tells us,<If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God you too shall live;=Sad to say, it is not always an easy choice and we do not always choose well. The Gospel of today highlights the difficulty of this fact in frightening detail.

The knowing, loving and serving part of our life9s mission is not helped by the secular environment in which we live. It takes effort, more effort, than many of us have to spend. The simple truth is: we cannot do it on our own. We need grace.

Our Faith informs us that grace is supplied by the Sacraments: rebirth into life in Christ by the waters of Baptism; forgiveness and perseverance by Reconciliation; the gifts of the Holy Spirit by Confirmation; fidelity and the patience and strength to produce and nurture children in harmony in Matrimony, forgiveness of sin and healing in sickness by the sacrament of the sick and, most of all, unity with Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist. We have the tools if we choose to use them.

And what is the goal? Saint Paul tells us,<What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.= That place of unimaginable wonder awaits and that is what it is all about.

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The readings of today are not for the faint of heart. Sirach, "Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him". Saint Paul, "We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away". Jesus, " I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" and "Let your 'yes' mean 'yes' and your 'no' mean 'no'"

The eleventh commandment might well be, "Thou shalt not be wishy washy".

I am reading a book, "The coddling of the American Mind" it's sub-title is "How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure." The authors point out that "Something is going wrong on many college campuses, rates of anxiety, depression and suicide are rising, speakers are shouted down, and safe spaces and trigger warnings are required to protect the students from the "trauma" of being exposed to views and opinions contrary to their own. Trauma of opposing and views and opinions! Let them go to a veteran's hospital and spend time with soldiers who have lost one, two, three, or four limbs so they can see what trauma really is. Let them look upon a crucifix and see what trauma really is. They are told by so-called progressives that they have never experienced prosperity while they have thousand dollar cell phones on their person. It is not all their fault. They don't have life experience and mostly only know what they are told.

They are being short changed. They think the road of life will be changed to accommodate them but don't realize that they must be prepared to deal with the real road of life which has few safe spaces and no trigger warnings.

Loretta Lynn's song, A Coal Miners Daughter" should be required listening so they learn what poverty was and where we have come from in three generations. (Read lyrics)

We were once a proud, hard working people who, with faith in God and our own

resources, made our way in spite of depressions, and world wars, hot and cold.

Are we to become a fragile people traumatized by the mere exposure to opposing views and opinions? Pope Benedict XVI when he was Father Joseph Ratzinger saw the future and said in a 1969 homily:

"The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing moment or from those who merely criticize others and assume that they themselves are infallible measuring rods; nor will it issue from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic, all that makes demands upon them, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves. To put this more positively: The future of the Church, once again as always, will be shaped by saints, by those, that is, whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality."

Father Ratzinger was speaking of and to the Church but his words apply to society in general. He says that we see "only to the extent that we have lived and suffered. If today we are scarcely able any longer to be aware of God that is because we find it so easy to evade ourselves, to flee from the depths of our being by means of the narcotic of some pleasure or other. Thus our own interior depths remain closed to us. If it is true that we can see only with our hearts, then how blind we are."

So pray for the young people of today. They are being led down the garden path to a road which does not exist by teachers who do not teach but merely propagandize. That this is the norm in the most prestigious universities where tomorrow's leaders are formed is particularly distressing.

If this life consisted only of safe places and trigger warnings we would not have needed a savior who suffered and died for us that we might someday enter into eternal life, the ultimate safe place.

We now turn to the Eucharist, the mystery of water and wine we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.

Deacon John Boyle 6th ordinary time A 2020

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The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies in CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. In part:

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Encyclical Letter of John Paul II: On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, May 1, 1991, in Part:.

"Among the most important of (human) rights, mention must be made of the right to life, an integral part of which is the right of the child to develop in the mother's womb from the moment of conception; the right to live in a united family and in a moral environment conducive to the growth of the child's personality; the right to develop one's intelligence and freedom in seeking and knowing the truth; the right to share in the work which makes wise use of the earth's material resources, and to derive from that work the means to support oneself and one's dependents; and the right freely to establish a family, to have and to rear children through the responsible exercise of one's sexuality. In a certain sense, the source and synthesis of these rights is religious freedom, understood as the right to live in the truth of one's faith and in conformity with ones's transcendent dignity as a person".

Dignitatus Humanae Dec. 7, 1965, in part:

"The Vatican council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. Freedom of this kind means everyone should be immune from coercion by individuals, social groups and every human power so that, within due limits, no men or women are forced to act against their convictions nor are any persons to be restrained from acting in accordance with their convictions in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others. The council further declares that the right to religious freedom is based on the very dignity of the human person as known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself".

Words to cherish; words to defend; words to celebrate. Happy Independence Day!

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He gave them authority over unclean spirits; they were to drive out demons. Last Sunday in the reading from Luke we heard that they indeed were able to cast out demons in Jesus name. Of course we don't have demons today, or do we? While my wife was recuperating from her surgery she became hooked on COURT TV. If you spend much time watching Court TV you learn that demons are alive and well. They just don't foam at the mouth and roll people in the dust anymore. They have become too smart for that. For two weeks the trial of a Wellesley physician who brutally murdered his wife of 32 years with a knife and hammer was aired on COURT TV. This man took the stand and in front of his three grown children, who were supporting him, and told an unbelievable story of a phantom killer. This was a highly successful physician who was not mentally ill and did not claim to be. If he was not possessed by a demon, he was in fact a demon himself. All this week COURT TV is doing a series on prisons. The worst of inmates, who are a danger to officers or other inmates, are locked in what is called Super Max. Super maximum security, a cement room with a solid steel door, a cement bed, a stainless steel sink and toilet is their home 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. It must be a demon that drives people to behavior so extreme that such treatment is warranted. If it is not a demon it is surely demonic. A church worker, a youth minister, just pleaded guilty in Essex Superior Court to more that 70 acts of indecent assault to young boys in his care. A Jewish youth worker is under indictment for a similar number of similar crimes. This demonic behavior to say the least. I have heard it said that the devil has not given up he has just gone underground.

In this archdiocese, and nationally, ministry to those in correctional institutions has in many instances been given to my brother deacons. The head of prison ministry in this archdiocese is a deacon and many of the prison chaplains are deacons. One of my class mates prepared six women at MCI Framingham for the sacrament of Confirmation and they were recently confirmed at that institution. Another of my class mates volunteers at MCI Shirley, a maximum security institution. Deacon John Manning is the Chaplain at MCI Cedar Junction. It was his task to inform John Salvi's parents of their son's suicide while in isolation in that institution. Shortly after that he suffered a heart attack. Coincidence? Our own Gary Machaby has ministered to inmates in Plymouth House of Correction for many years.

I believe it is safe to say that demons still exist and they do an awful lot of damage. It is also safe to say that Our Lord still sends disciples to minister to those afflicted. They do so for they believe that is Jesus to whom they minister for Jesus says to the saints, "You visited me when I was in prison". They fight an uphill battle and they certainly deserve our prayers and support.

As we join with Jesus in this sacrament of love and thanksgiving let us pray that he will send latter day apostles through whom he will cure the sick, raise the spiritually dead to new life, cleanse the unclean and drive out the demons who so freely do their evil work in our age.

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A priest friend in AA once told me a story of a woman who had called him and asked him to find someone to take her husband to a meeting. She proposed that it would be probably best if that someone could be " a professional". The priest told me he had asked her if she had ever seen "a professional" throw up. Professionals, of course, possess no superior method than lesser mortals to perform that particular feat. She, however, had no idea what he was talking about. It went right over her head. The poor woman had made a mistake often made by those who see everything in relation to their presumed status. They confuse the message with the messenger.

They will accept the wrong message if it comes from a messenger who meets their approval and dismiss the true message because the messenger is perceived as their inferior.

In today's reading from Matthew Jesus points out that the professionals, the scribes and pharisees, have rejected his message and the significance of his many miraculous acts while the childlike have accepted them. The elite judge Jesus, and therefore his message, upon his status as a tradesman from a rural area. They expected a messiah from their own ranks not from the working class. The same is true today. Many highly educated people ignore the truths of faith claiming that they are accepted by only the naive and gullible. The godly are portrayed as simple souls who are somehow defective or weak. For example: Carl Marx, "the opiate of the people", Ted Turner and Jesse Ventura, "the refuge of the weak".

But we who believe should not feel superior. It is not enough to be child like. There is the element of grace. Jesus says that "no one knows the Father except the son and anyone to whom the son wishes to reveal him". This also means that unless Jesus so wishes, so graces, an individual they shall not know the Father. Grace is that unmerited gift without which no one has faith; and which the Catechism tells us is "a participation in the life of God" and "surpasses the power of the human intellect and will".

And so we see that no one can be smart enough to gain Faith through their intellect and will but they may be too smart to accept the message as a child. Too dumb to figure it out for themselves and too smart to take it on faith. Too smart and too dumb at the same time, what a fix to be in.

It is a paradox that those who's souls are in the most peril are those who seem to be the most fortunate in earthly terms; the celebrity, the social elite, the intellectual, the materially rich.

So as we pray for those who's lack of the necessities of life deprive them of the opportunity for a spiritual life let us also pray for those who's over abundance of the good things in life blind them to the truths that lead to eternal life.

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I remember the first time I felt like a stranger. I was in kindergarten. Up until that day I really had no concept of self as different from or separate from the world in which I moved. I remember all the kids were waiting in one big group to play a game. I must have had a premonition that something unusual was about to happen because I vividly remember the feeling of being just one of that group; waiting for the game to start. We were told to form a circle and then we all started to sing "The Farmer in the dell..." The teacher had placed one kid in the circle and he was the "Farmer". In due course the "Farmer" took the "Wife", who in turn took the "Child" and so on down the hierarchy of Farmdom until eventually the "Cat" took the "Rat". I remember feeling a flood of gratitude wash over me for not being selected as the "Rat"; but, I was not off the hook. The "Rat" took the "Cheese" and that dirty little rat took me. What was worse, I didn't get to take anybody. I had to stand alone in middle of all the other kids as they sang, "the CHEESE STAND ALONE". That is when it dawned on me I was not part of the group anymore but was an individual and at that moment a very lonely individual, a stranger to the group.

I believe most people, at one time or another, have felt different or separate from the crowd; have felt the pain of loneliness or the loneliness of pain. For many this is a passing feeling that leaves when circumstances change. But for many others this feeling becomes a way of life. The pain of this sense of isolation compels them to adopt extreme measures in order to obtain relief. Some compulsively seek to acquire material wealth in the belief that if they can acquire enough things they'll be accepted; they'll be liked and respected. Others turn to an ego driven obsession with the acquisition of power, feeling that if they can gain enough power they can demand the respect and acceptance they crave. Often this power is exercised over a battered and terrorized family. Many others medicate the pain with alcohol and other drugs;

accepting the isolation if the pain will go away, even if only temporarily. These compulsions left untreated cause untold misery to their sufferers and those around them.

In today's reading from Saint Paul he is writing to Gentile converts. He hails them as "fellow citizens with the holy ones" and "members of the household of God". He opens a door to those who, until recently, had been an abomination to the chosen people of God. Many of these people were extreme outsiders, slaves, tax collectors and the like. Saint Paul welcomes them into the family of God and into the temple sacred to the Lord, the capstone of which is Jesus Christ. It is a call of welcome, love and acceptance. It echoes the call of Christ to all who are weary and burdened.

Today we are also called and invited to present our wounds, our loneliness, our isolation, our fear, to Jesus, who was wounded for love of us. Jesus will take all of our pain upon himself if we turn to him in times of difficulty. Jesus understands what it is to be alone for what could be more lonely than the cross.

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I remember a 1965 Hal David/Bert Bacharach song recorded by The Carpenters. It went,

<What the world needs now is love sweet love, it’s the only thing there’s just too little of=. Little did we know in 1965 what was to come and just how prophetic were those words. The war in Viet Nam was just ramping up and protests were yet to come. You don’t hear that song anymore but the words are more relevant now than they were in the time they were written. The Middle East is in chaos. Unspeakable cruelty is the order of the day and Christians are particularly at risk. Our own society is divided over many issues and intelligent discussion of the issues is precluded by accusations of hate, bigotry and ill will. What is the antidote? As it was then and is now: Love, sweet love.

Between last Sunday and today the word <love= appears at least twenty-five times in the readings. The Letter of Saint John parts of which we heard last week and this week is a magnificent treatise on love. Last week we heard, <Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.= This week we heard,

<Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.= This is not a suggestion, it is a command. It is not just a good idea, it is an imperative. We are tempted to take the easy way out and reserve our love for certain groups... If we do this we miss the point.

Peter Kreeft, whom I have quoted to you on many occasions, has written, <The object of love is a person and every person is an individual. No person is a class, a species, or a collection. There is no such thing as love of humanity. If your preachers or teachers have told you that the Bible teaches you to love humanity, they have told you a lie. Not once does the Bible say that; not once does it even mention the word humanity. Jesus always commands us to love God and our neighbor instead.=

It is easy to love an abstraction. It involves no personal commitment, no giving of oneself, no inconvenience, no emotional investment. This is why human beings are able to do terrible things to other human beings in the name of humanity. The perceived greater good of an abstract <humanity= trumps the concrete rights of the individual and thereby injustice is unleashed upon us, one by one. Love can only truly be expressed one to one in a personal relationship. As we see in the Saint John’s letter and the gospel, this is how God has designed things.

Now comes the hard part. We are not to love only those who return our love. Anyone can do that. If we are to be a light unto the world , as Jesus calls us to be, we have to do much better than that. Jesus prays to his Father for his disciples in today’s Gospel and that prayer explains our destiny and condition: <Holy Father keep them ( he means us) in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. I gave them your word, and the world hated them because they do not belong to the world anymore than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth.=

Are we up to it? Can we love each other as Jesus loves us? Can we love in spite of the world’s hatred and rejection? What if we each could reach out in love and thereby, just maybe, create a world free from oppression and fear? You may think, only a saint can do this, but to be a saint is exactly what Jesus calls us to be. If we were to become saints what a wonderful world it could be! What a wonderful world it would be!

And now we will proceed to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of love and Thanksgiving whereby we are bathed in the love of the one who suffered and died that we might have eternal life and we receive the grace we must possess if we are to love others as he loves us.

Dcn John Boyle 7th Sunday of Easter Year B

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I remember a 1965 Hal David/Bert Bacharach song recorded by The Carpenters. It went,

Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth.=

And now we will proceed to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of love and Thanksgiving whereby we are bathed in the love of the one who suffered and died that we might have eternal life and we receive the grace we must possess if we are to love others as he loves us.

Dcn John Boyle 7th Sunday of Easter Year B

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In Chapter six of the Book of Acts we heard the story of the selection of Stephen and six other men to supervise the administration of goods held in common. Tradition tells us that this was the institution of the diaconate and was conferred by the laying on of hands. Chapter Seven tells of Stephen9s trial wherein he delivers a homily tracing the history of the Jewish people and its mistreatment of the Prophets leading to the murder of the <righteous one=, Jesus Christ. He ends with the accusation, <You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.= This led to his execution as we heard in today9s first reading. It is because of Stephen9s preaching that we deacons are allowed to preach.

I am ashamed to say that the other lesson we deacons have learned from Stephen is; be careful what you say. Thankfully no one brings stones to Mass but they have email and letters to the Pastor. I have given over two hundred homilies in my time here at Saint Joseph9s and have only received two written complaints that I know of. Both were the result of homilies on the decline in marriage and the family. One was given on the Feast of the Holy Family and one on Father9s Day. As John Steinbeck famously said, <No one wants advice- only corroboration=.

One of my favorite authors is Peter Kreeft of Boston College who recently published an essay entitled, <The Winning Strategy=. He wrote: <To win any war, the three most necessary things to know are: (1) that you are at war, (2) who your enemy is, and (3) what weapons or strategies c and defeat him.= He goes on to say, <You cannot win a war (1) if you simply sew peace banners on a battlefield, (2) if you fight civil wars against your allies, or (3 you use the wrong weapons.= If you don9t believe we are at war just look around you. Do you like what you see? Do you trust your children to play alone in a public playground? Do you let them watch TV unsupervised after 7 pm? Do you dare give them free access to the internet unsupervised?

Are you comfortable with the fact that suicide is now the leading cause of death of teenagers having surpassed auto accidents and is the third leading cause of death among so-called baby boomers=? I could go on but I hope you get the picture. Who is the enemy? It is not Protestants. It is not Jews. It is not Moslems. All of these are, by and large, decent people who want what we want: peace, an opportunity to earn a living and raise our children. It is not the atheists, agnostics or progressives. We may disagree with their goals but by and large they are trying to bring into existence their vision of a better world. Peter Kreeft claims there are two answers to the question, He also notes that he has never heard a homily addressing ths question. The Saint Stephen syndrome strikes again. <Who is our enemy?= The first is found in Holy Scripture: <Do not fear those who can kill the body and then has no power over you. I tell you whom to fear. Fear him who has power to destroy both body and soul in Hell.= Jesus Christ. <The Devil, like a roaring lion, is going through the world seeking the ruin of souls.= Saint Peter. <We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of wickedness in high places.= Saint Paul. The devil has us right where he wants us because we don9t believe he exists. So we fight one another while he has his way.

The second reason hits close to home. In the words of Pogo, We have met the enemy and it is us.= Doctor Kreeft is blunt, <The Church is weak and the world is dying because we are not saints.= He asks <What holds us back? He answers his own question, <Fear of paying the price.

What is the price? The answer is simple. The price is everything: 100% A worse martyrdom than the quick noose or stake; the martyrdom of dying daily, dying to all your desires and plans, including your plans about how to become a saint. A blank check to God. Complete submission, 8Fiat9 – Mary9s thing. Look what that simple Mary-thing did 2000 years ago: It brought God down and saved the world.=

This is a tall order and beyond us except for words of Jesus in today9s Gospel:= Righteous Father, the world also does not know you but I know you and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved may be in them and I in them= Our cure is in the Eucharist which we are now blessed to celebrate.

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My father used to say he would rather be lucky than smart. He was lucky. He was no fun to play cards with because he would usually win. In the gospel reading today we have two men who sell all they own to acquire something precious. One was lucky. The man who found the treasure apparently stumbled upon it on someone else's property. He doesn't tell the owner of the property but instead buys the property from the unsuspecting owner so that he may acquire the treasure.

The other man is a seeker. He knows what he is looking for and pursues it to the exclusion of everything else. When he finds it he sells all that he has to acquire it. As he makes no comment on this distinction it appears it is irrelevant to Jesus whether we find his kingdom as the result of personal effort or by blind luck. What matters is that once we have found it that we treasure it.

Life is like that too. We all know people who work hard but never seem to get a break. And there are others who always come up smelling of roses no matter what they fall into. John Kennedy noting the obvious said "Life is not fair" when he was accused of getting ahead on the strength of his father's wealth and position. Apparently salvation is not fair either.

Most of us were born into our faith. Baptized as infants we were raised as Catholics and never had to seek the pearl of great price as it was our birth right. We have not had to give anything up to acquire our faith and our place in the kingdom. We are like the man who found the treasure and bought a sure thing. Those who have had to struggle to acquire the faith, who have to make sacrifices, maybe lose friends and family, to enter the kingdom seem to appreciate it more. One thinks of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, John Henry Cardinal Newman who gave up a promising career in the Church of England to become a Catholic, the Great Saint Augustine who lived a life of pleasure before his conversion, and Saint Gertrude Stein who left family and friends and a brilliant academic career to become a Carmelite Nun.

The sad fact too is that many who stumble across the treasure do not recognize it for what it is and make no effort to secure it for themselves. How sad to have passed by so great a treasure as the Kingdom of God and not to have reached out for it. My father may be right that it is better to be lucky than smart but you also have to smart enough to recognize when you are lucky.

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When my older kids were turning into teenagers my wife and I had the good fortune to have a friend who taught psychology at Boston College. Joe explained to us that teenagers were psychotic. He said a teenager would turn his or her mother into a raving idiot and his or her father into a complete nut and consider it worthwhile if they got out of emptying the garbage. He explained that the average parent encourages this behavior by rewarding bad behavior with attention and ignoring good behavior. We tried not reacting to bad behavior and rewarding good behavior and things got better.

The readings this morning show God punishing the lack of faith of the Children of Israel by making an entire generation pass away in the desert before allowing them to enter onto the promised land. God rewarded bad behavior with attention. My friend Joe would not approve. The gospel shows Jesus rewarding an act of faith with a healing. Jesus was reinforcing good behavior. This is more like it.

While Jesus made it clear that his first duty was to the children of Israel, he always responded to acts of faith: The Canaanite woman in today's story; the Centurion with the sick servant; the woman with the hemorrhage who touched his cloak. Every act of faith is a result of grace and so in a real sense is an act of God. Jesus recognized this fact. He told the woman, "Great is your faith". That faith could only come as a gift from his Father so Jesus could not but respond to it.

What was different in the new covenant of Christ and the old covenant of Abraham? Why so much punishment in the old and so much mercy in the new? Only one thing is different: Jesus. Once God, in the form of the second person of the Trinity, became human, became like us, the entire human race was elevated to the status of the children of God. The incarnation created an entirely new relationship between God and humanity. Things would never be the same again.

Even before Christ's passion and resurrection, grace abounded and faith was found in many places where it had not been found before.

The lesson is clear. Because of our status of children of God, since we are brothers and sisters of Christ, we need only ask for faith, and if our faith becomes great enough, like the Canaanite woman, it too will be done for us as we wish. Sound too good to be true? If it does, pray for an increase in faith because Jesus has promised and he keeps his promises. It is we who hold back; who doubt; who don't take him at his word.

When Jesus comes to us today in the Eucharist let him find us as he found the Canaanite woman: people of great faith.

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God's ways are not our ways. Our ways are the ways of the first reading. The Leaders of Judah were supposed to reflect the generosity of God. They were to be shepherds and protect the flock. Instead they thought only of themselves. They fed off the milk of the sheep, they wore their wool and slaughtered their lambs. This is the way of mankind: selfish; self centered; full of greed with no attention to what is just or who is in need.

The gospel is the way of God. More than just; more than fair; generous to all. Yet the first workers hired accuse the King of injustice. Not because he gave them what they bargained for and what was a fair day's pay but because he gave those who worked less that a full day a full day's pay. Somehow to their minds generosity equalled injustice.

It is easy for us to see the point and to feel superior to those who worked a full day. But that also means that those who have a death bed conversion will have the same reward as those who kept the faith from birth to death; the same reward as you good people who come to daily mass and pray the rosary as Our Lady has asked. Is that fair?

The answer is "fair" has nothing to do with it. None of us, none of us earns our salvation. Salvation, whether of the first or last, is an unmerited gift. The gift is the same for all and comes to the saved through the merit of Jesus Christ earned through his life, death and resurrection. We have very little to do with it. We certainly don't earn it.

My mother would have said, "In for a penny, in for a pound". If a little is good, a lot is better. Thus, the more often we receive the Eucharist the more we come to appreciate the wonder of the graces it contains.

Pope Saint Pius the Tenth was in many ways a reactionary. He fought modernism in the Church tooth and nail. One thing he did, however, for which we must be eternally grateful, was to foster frequent reception of the Eucharist by the laity. For that, we who cherish the Eucharist, are in his debt. It is in the Eucharist that we find our heaven on earth. It is in the Eucharist that those who go the extra mile find their reward and it is heaven on earth.

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When I was a kid I always identified with the first workers hired. I was a Catholic and I was paying my dues. No meat on Friday. How many cream cheese and olive sandwiches for lunch did it take to get to heaven? Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. It was always cold and damp and the lower church was full of soggy kids in wet wool. To this day when I smell wet wool I think of the Stations and how, when you're nine years old, cold and damp, you can experience what eternity must be like. We also had to go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Days and it was in Latin and the priest had his back to us and talked to the wall. Yes, we Catholics were the first ones hired alright. We were paying our dues.

While it didn't seem fair, there was some satisfaction in being first, even though God just didn't seem to appreciate all that extra effort. My grandfather was a seventh day adventist and was baptized a Catholic shortly before he died. I took some consolation in that fact. Even if it wasn't fair it helped my grandfather and that was good.

I now look at this story through different eyes. I realize that none of us, first or last, earn salvation. Once baptized, life is all about not losing salvation; not losing the gift of grace that the sacrament brings us. Baptism in Christ, whether as an infant or as a grandfather, means we put on Christ and it is because the Father sees Christ in us that he adopts us as his own. It is nothing that we did and it matters not when we entered the vineyard.

So, what we do can not merit our salvation; but, what we do can cause us to lose it. Those things that I did as a kid formed me as person to whom God is important; as a person to whom worship means something. The habit of prayer and the experience of God in my life pulled me back when I got too far out of line more than once. So all that effort was not wasted. It may not have gained my salvation, which came as a gift from Christ at my baptism, but it has helped me to hang on to the gift when I might very well have lost it.

Saint Paul has written that, "we work out our salvation in fear and trembling". I think that this is what he is talking about, this possibility of losing what we have been given by our baptism in Christ. This is why it is important that we avail ourselves of the graces available to us through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

Oh, another good thing about my early Catholic life. If I have to go to purgatory it won't be a total shock when I find myself cold and damp and smelling of wet wool. I've been there before and it was good for me and it only seemed like forever.

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The Gospels of the last two days and today are the "woe to..." Gospels. They begin with the words, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted". What follows are indictments of the scribes and pharisees who obviously fall in the category of those who exalt themselves. So Jesus promptly humbles them.

We must resist the temptation to feel superior to the scribes and pharisees.

In berating them, Jesus is berating all like them, past, present and future. If we congratulate our selves on our humility are we not exalting ourselves? You can not be proud of your humility. True humility is the ability to see things as they are. It is the knowledge that all of us, high and low, are sinners and in need of the grace of Jesus Christ if we are to be saved. It was for the sins of each of us that Jesus died. Individual guilt varies only in degree but not in kind.

From his reaction to them, it is fair to say that arrogance and hypocrisy will be met with wrath. In all the gospels, only the abuse of one of his little ones is met with greater anger. It is well for us therefore to work at staying right sized; to keep things in perspective; not to pretend to be what we are not; and pray for those do not.

Those who are most pleased with themselves in this life will be the most surprised in the next. It seems that the most fortunate among us develop a feeling of entitlement to the good fortune they enjoy. There is something about wealth that engenders greed rather than gratitude. The CEO's that looted their companies to the detriment of their employees and stockholders are but the latest examples of pharisees and scribes. It seems that times change but people do not.

Let us pray as we approach the sacrament of Jesus love that we will not be numbered among the arrogant and proud; that we will see things and ourselves as they are; and that the high and the mighty may see and flee the peril they face.

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There is an old Irish saying: "No good deed goes unpunished". John the Baptist was a victim of this truth. He told the truth about Herod's adulterous relationship with his brother's wife and paid for it with his life. The truth is dangerous stuff. It can get you into all kinds of trouble. If you accept certain facts as true you may have to stand for something. If you stand for something some people may not agree with you. Worse than that they may not like you and in our society it is very important to be liked. But even worse, you may be deemed "insensitive".

Once you grant that any truth is relative, that is, what is true for you need not be true for me, you are in deep trouble. In asserting your truth you are denying the validity of my truth.

Under this reasoning, the mere assertion of your truth is "insensitive" and, since it causes me discomfort, it is labeled "hate speech". So, for example, if you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman as a unique institution, based upon human nature, for the purpose of the procreation and education of children; and, therefore, for the continuation of the human race, you offend those who would extend the definition of marriage to include same sex unions. Having offended them you are guilty of being "insensitive", and in this case homophobic.

Curiously, those who label you homophobic for defending the sanctity of marriage, are not insensitive but are politically correct. This being true, they are within their rights if, as they have done on college campuses, they confiscate and destroy material expressing views contrary to theirs.

John Paul stresses the importance, for not only individuals but for the whole of society, of the reaffirmation of the fact that some acts are always and everywhere evil. Needless to say this letter is politically incorrect and hate speech in the eyes of many

This letter was issued following the publication of Catechism of the Catholic Church and is to be read in light of the Catechism. It incorporates and enlarges upon truths to be found there and is the latest and most complete authoritative discussion of Catholic moral theology. It is recommended reading for anyone who seeks to understand the Church's position on the important moral issues of our time.

Fortunately John Paul has not been beheaded for preaching unpopular truths but unfortunately, and this may be worse, he has been ignored. While he personally is very popular his teachings have been largely ignored by the communications media and, sad to say, by many Catholics. As we turn to the celebration of the Eucharist let us ask our Eucharistic Lord for the strength, as John the Baptist did, to always and everywhere to seek and to profess the truth regardless of the personal consequences.

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My mother would have said that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". By that she would have meant that if you are persistent and vocal in your request you are very apt to get what you want. The Canaanite woman was a classic "squeaky wheel". She was a mother with a sick child, a formidable force. She understood that a Jew would regard her as unclean and an object of contempt. The first reading from Jeremiah tells of the special relationship which exists between God and his chosen people, especially those who had returned from exile. These were the Jews of the second temple, the tradition from which Jesus came. She knew how they regarded her people. She knew that her request was a long shot and she would probably be rejected but she was prepared to put up a fight and was not about to take no for an answer.

How she acquired her faith in Jesus's ability to heal her daughter we do not know. She somehow came to believe that Jesus could do as she asked if he wanted to. Her faith supplied the ingredient that seems to have been required if Jesus was to work a wonder, a confidence that he could if he but would.

This story tells us how a prayer of supplication works. First and foremost we must believe that God has the power to answer our prayer if he chooses to do so. Secondly we must be persistent. It is OK, even advisable, to nag God.

It takes a lot of courage to persist in a request after it has been denied, especially when it has been denied by God. It takes the courage of a mother with a sick child. That's a heap of courage. It is a courage born of necessity from deep within where our greatest loves and fears reside. It is born of desperation and contains a refusal to even consider failure. It is not easy and that's why so many prayers go unanswered. Heavy duty prayer is not for the faint hearted. Heavy duty prayer is white knuckle prayer. It is the prayer of a desperate Canaanite mother fighting for her child.It is the kind of prayer that is needed if the animosity between the Jewish people and the Canaanite people which persists until our day is ever to be resolved. It is the kind of prayer that can not be ignored and demands to be answered. It is life and death prayer.

Our best hope of achieving this kind of prayer comes in and through the Eucharist. Both in the public prayer of the Eucharistic prayer of the priest on our behalf and in our participation in that prayer by our responses and then in the private prayer we offer after communion when the living God is present within us. Let us therefore turn to the Eucharist and pray like our lives depend on it, like a mother with a sick child and no where else to turn, like the Canaanite woman.

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How do you go about getting attention? Celebrates go to award shows where they take turns giving each other awards and standing ovations. The more outrageous their clothing, or lack thereof, the more attention they get. Exposure means exposure. Or you build a web site, buy commercial time on the Super-Bowl and sit back and wait for the hits to come.

In Jesus time there was no TV. He had no web site and there was no Super-Bowl so he had to improvise. Signs and wonders catch the eye. Healing people always got attention and so he healed. Some were people he knew like Peter's mother-in-law, and Lazarus whom he raised from the dead; but most of the people he healed were strangers. Most really needed healing and were in desperate condition. Even today miraculous healings draw attention and often Canonization as well. Too much attention could be bad however, so Jesus would often told those he healed to keep it quiet. It seems the more he told them to be quiet, the louder they became. He eventually accepted the fact that his mission must end in personal disaster and he predicted the miracle to end all miracles, his death and resurrection.

To this add in the Holy Spirit, a burly headstrong fisherman and eleven other Apostles, a young Pharisee workaholic, a miraculous sacrificial common meal, some more healings, the blood of many martyrs and Jesus indeed became a celebrity. In the words and music of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber, a Super Star. It has added up to a sell out run of 2000 years on the Great White Way that is the history of the human race. Not bad for a poor Jewish boy from the sticks.

This entire scenario is so unlikely that its occurrence is a proof of its divine origin. If it had not happened, no one would believe that it could happen.

And it all began with a wedding in a small town, a friend's sick mother in law and some healings of poor unfortunates in a small town on the edge of a lake in the middle of no where.

There was one other thing however. Jesus could work no miracles where there was no faith. No faith no miracles. Maybe that's why there are fewer miracles today because there is less faith that miracles can and do occur. Jesus has told us to expect miracles but we are reluctant to take him at his word. I have had miracles in my life. Not big ones but miracles non the less. I am sure you have had miracles in your lives because you are believers, you have faith. If we expect miracles they will happen and if they happen they will help spread the word, to draw attention to Jesus and his message of love and salvation.

Oh, it’s a good thing Jesus didn't have the web site thing to rely on. It didn't work.

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There was a song popular during world war II sung by a young woman bemoaning the fact that all the eligible men were in the army. Those still available were "either too young or too old". In today's gospel Jesus points out that the power elite of his day, like the young women of world war II, could not be satisfied. John was too much an aesthetic who preached repentance and penance. Jesus taught that there would be plenty of time for penance after his death and so enjoyed the pleasures of the table with both foes and followers.

Today it seems that the Church can please no one. There are many liberal forces who claim the Church is behind the times. To them it is out of date and as evidence of this fact they take issue with its teachings on what they call reproductive rights, priestly celibacy and ordination of women. To others the Church has become too liberal and they call for the return of the Latin mass, turning the altar back around to face the wall and an unwavering and unquestioning obedience to the Magisterium and the hierarchy. Both groups tend heap scorn upon those who do not accept their views.

Neither recognizes the fact that the Holy Spirit, wisdom, calls all men and women to herself. They are so sure they are right and the others wrong that they forget the warning we heard in today's first reading: that even if they are right but do not have love, they are wrong. We must each look fearlessly in the mirror of our soul and realize that if we are not patient, kind, and free of jealousy we have not love and gain nothing. Arrogance, pomposity, rudeness, self interest, brooding and quick temper are incompatible with love and therefore with life in Christ.

If we are truly concerned with the future of the Church we would start today, right now, to begin to love each other. We would accept that unless we do so we are not children of wisdom but merely children, spoiled, self centered and pouting.

If we are truly concerned with the future of the Church we must focus not upon the negative but on the positive. We must recognize that the future of the church is the poor, most of whom are found south of the equator, who look to Christ and his Church for escape from the degradation and hopelessness that poverty create. We would recognize that the greatest force for love and good and liberty for all men and women is Jesus Christ and his Church and it must be strong, effective and loving if there is to be any hope for the afflicted of the world.

We must find common ground in a mutual love for the Eucharist which is the Church's greatest strength. As the disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized Jesus we must come to love each other in the breaking of the bread.

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The obvious often escapes us. We have all heard the adage that an optimist sees the glass as half full and the pessimist sees the glass as half empty. What is obvious, but not seen, is that the glass is bigger than it needs to be.

So it was for the people that Jesus was talking to in today's Gospel. They had rejected John the Baptist, who fasted and preached a message of repentance as too stern. In turn they rejected Jesus for being too lax, for associating with sinners and enjoying good food and good company. They neither danced nor wept. They missed the obvious, that something very marvelous was happening before their eyes. John said repent for the kingdom of God is near. Jesus said rejoice for the kingdom of God is here. And they missed it all. They neither repented nor rejoiced but instead quibbled about unimportant details while trying their very best to preserve the status quo under which they prospered.

Saint Paul writes to Timothy because some false and useless teachings are beginning to appear in some of the Churches. At the very beginning of the Church's history quibbling as to details is causing many to lose sight of basic truths.

The same thing can happen to us. Like the Pharisees of Jesus time we can miss the obvious if we become too preoccupied with nonessentials, with details, with preserving the comfortable status quo. We must not forget that the Holy Spirit has guided the Church for two thousand years; that the Church has survived bad popes, bad politics, and many many quibbles. We must remember that the future of the Church is secure. We know this because Jesus has said it is so and the Holy Spirit is alive and well. We can not allow the problems of the age to distract us from rejoicing in the ageless truths: that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again; that the Church is built upon the rock that is Peter and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it; and that Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Sacrament of the Eucharist which we are now graced to receive.

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"Lord, give me neither poverty nor riches." For most of us this prayer is answered without ever being said. Most of us are neither rich nor poor by community standards. If any of us are rich, I must say we hide it well. That is not to say that we are not rich by choice. For most of us that is just the way it worked out. Who hasn't bought a lottery ticket when the jackpot is way up there? Yet, compared to two thirds of the world's population, we are as rich kings. They live in poverty, some in destitution, but we don't see them and so we judge our relative wealth by taking a ride through Dover or Weston or parts of Dedham and Westwood.

Sam Levinson, if you can remember who he is you're as old as I am , said his father used to say "It isn't so good with money as it is bad without it." Money will not solve all our problems, ill health for example, but poverty magnifies all problems and creates new ones. The Irish used to say, "Enough is a banquet". In that persecuted isle few could ever say they had enough. For seven hundred years it was a ocean of need. Jesus did not value material possessions but recognized that basic needs had to be met. In today's gospel he sends his disciples out with no food nor money nor extra clothing. Since he knew they could not survive without them, we must assume that he knew their needs would somehow be provided for. He instructed us to consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field who neither sewed nor weaved and yet were provided for. We all know the story of Lazarus, the beggar, and the rich man. A proper attitude toward riches is essential if we are to be called Christian. Jesus truly says we "can not serve two Masters." He has strong words for the rich and their salvation, if at all, will be difficult.

We can see why because we live in a society gone crazy with the pursuit of conspicuous wealth. The robber barons of today criminally inflated their corporate earnings so they could sell their stock many times its true value thereby ruining their stockholders and employees. They did this not out any need but only out of greed. Many times enough was still not enough for them. In the next town to mine there are houses with four garages. I don't know what is in them because the Lincoln Navigator and Jag are parked in the driveway. I thought this was outrageous until I drove through a newer subdivision and it had five car garages and still there are luxury cars in the driveway.

Friday is the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, the patron of our Daughters of Charity. Their love of and service to the poor are a model for the rest of us. They voluntarily seek poverty to better help the poor. Most of us have avoided riches in spite of ourselves. Maybe it is because in praying as Jesus taught us, we ask only for our daily bread and freedom from temptation, the temptation that wealth seems to cause, the temptation to greedily accumulate things we do not need to add to all the things we already have and do not need.

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TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY!!!

IN THE TIME OF JESUS THE LAWS OF HOSPITALITY WERE VERY DIFFERENT THAN TODAY. TODAY YOU WOULD NOT GET VERY FAR IF YOU SET OUT ON FOOT WITHOUT AT LEAST AN OVERNIGHT CASE. BUT DOES THAT MEAN THAT THIS INSTRUCTION IS NOT RELEVANT FOR US TODAY?

I DON'T THINK SO. PERHAPS IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER. WE CARRY A LOT OF BAGGAGE. IN OUR WORLD. THERE ARE MORE AND MORE DEMANDS ON OUR TIME AND RESOURCES. WOMEN ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE A HOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES AND HOLD DOWN A JOB AT THE SAME TIME. THE TELEVISION IS TELLING US AND OUR KIDS ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE JUST HAVE TO HAVE. PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO SUPERVISE THE PLAY OF THEIR CHILDREN HENCE THE TERM "SOCCER MOM".

KIDS HAVE TO PLAY POP WARNER, LITTLE LEAGUE, SOCCER, TAKE MUSIC LESSONS AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR SCHOOL, HOMEWORK, AND RELIGIOUS ED. I THINK THAT TODAY JESUS IS TELLING US TO DROP THE EXCESS BAGGAGE: THE GUILT WE BEAR FOR PAST SHOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE, SHOULDN'T HAVE; THE

CONCERN WE HAVE OVER OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS; THE FEAR AND WORRY WE HAVE ABOUT THE FUTURE; THE ACQUISITIVENESS THAT MAKES US CHASE AFTER THINGS WE REALLY DON'T NEED BUT ARE TOLD WE MUST HAVE; THE LOAD OF GUILT WE CARRY BECAUSE WE JUST CAN'T DO IT ALL; FEAR OF AGING BECAUSE YOU'RE OLD AT THIRTY AS FAR AS MANY EMPLOYERS ARE CONCERNED. THE LIST IS NEARLY ENDLESS.HOW MUCH BETTER IS THE MIDDLE WAY EXPRESSED IN PROVERBS: "GIVE ME NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES". BY TAKING NOTHING ON THE JOURNEY; TRUSTING IN THE GOD WHO SAVES AND LOVES US; LIVING IN THE PRESENT; SAYING YES TO GOD BEFORE WE KNOW THE QUESTION; WE KNOW PEACE.

SO, AS WE APPROACH THE LORD IN THE SACRAMENT OF LOVE AND THANKSGIVING, THE EUCHARIST, LET US LEAVE OUR EXCESS BAGGAGE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS.

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Jesus sent his handpicked twelve out to spread the good word. He sent them with no money, no food, no spare cloths or shoes. They were to enter a house in a town and stay there. If not welcomed, they were to shake it off and move along. Couldn't be simpler than that.

What does this mean for us today? How is it relevant to us in September of 2001 in Holbrook Massachusetts? I sat at my word processor and asked myself these questions so that I could enlighten you with my thoughts. No inspiration was forthcoming. Only the obvious.

Jesus did not want them to fail. He knew they would not fail. Putting them into action handicapped was so that they would learn that if God was with them they could not fail. God's grace was enough if they had enough faith to take him at his word. They did so and they drove out demons and healed the sick. They returned elated. Nothing very profound in that.

I guess its that simple. God wants us to succeed. He is all we need to succeed. So go into the world and spread the good news and, if rebuffed, shake it off and keep on going.

I know that as a result of my legal training I should be able to complicate the simple and obscure the obvious but even a lawyer can not complicate what the Lord makes plain.

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What is there about us that makes us want to take sides. The first thing we learn as little kids on the playground is to pick up sides. Why did some want to be of Paul and some of Appolos? Here, very early in the history of the Christian Church, we see factions developing.

Because of this Paul must remind them that, regardless of who plants and who waters, it is God, and only God, who causes the growth.

One of the effects of that blessing and curse that is free will is to see some people as not us, different, as "others". I watched a Frontline program on channel 2 last night which dealt with matters of faith and doubt arising from last September 11th. It struck me as how this shared disaster drew all of the victims's families together, unified by their suffering and grief, regardless of their many differences. The rest of us came together in their support, united by our compassion for them and our outrage at those who caused such grief and a new sense of vulnerability to terrorism.

A common theme were the questions, How could this happen to us? Where was God?

Why didn't he stop this? The question in my mind was, why were we so surprised that people can and do horrible things to other people. The history of the human race is awash in the blood of those who were deemed by some powerful group to be somehow "others". In each of our churches hangs a reminder that even the son of God was deemed in his own time to be "other" and cruelly executed. It is in this fact, however, that we can, if ever, find our unity as human beings and children of God. Christ did not die for some of us. For him there were no "others". He died for each of us and for all of us. Until humankind understands this truth, we will continue to choose up sides. Until we can become as upset and grief stricken because one human being dies cruelly, alone and needlessly as we did at the death of the our brothers and sisters of September 11th, we will continue to choose up sides and savage one another.

Our hope for this unity is found in the resurrection of Christ and in the sacrament of the Eucharist whereby we take his body and blood as our food unto eternal life. We who are privileged to receive this sacrament must become people of reconciliation and peace. If we who are so blessed do not do so, then who will?

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evaluate what is important in our lives. They have reminded us just how suddenly life can end. The heroes of September 11th were heroes in waiting They were men and women who had developed a habit of selflessness and when the occasion arose they automatically acted according to their nature, selflessly. So it is with sanctity. If we were to be called suddenly into the presence of God would we have retained and developed the sanctity conferred on us by our baptism or would we instinctively turn away from God because turning away had become our habit? Will we still be saints and therefor at home in heaven or will we no longer be saints and be terribly out of place.

The best way to keep our sainthood is frequent reception of the Eucharist. It has been my experience that people who have a devotion to our Lord in the sacrament of his love and thanksgiving grow closer to God day by day. They are saints now and will be saints in heaven when the time comes. So let us turn to the Eucharist and pray that some day we will join our brothers and sisters in Christ who see God as he is, who rejoice in his presence, and who have survived the time of great distress.

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I remember that when I was a kid in Sunday School, just when you thought you had Sister's back to the wall, she would escape by invoking that all purpose way out of a theological trap, "It's a mystery". You had to give up when something was a mystery. I mean there was no further appeal. If it's a mystery that's the end of it. Or is it?

When priests and deacons discus mysteries, one that always comes up is why people who generally have little to do with religion all year long feel compelled to come to church on Ash Wednesday for ashes. Not at Saint Joseph's of course, but at the downtown shrines there are long lines for ashes but by the time communion comes around the lines are much shorter as many leave after getting ashes. Getting a smudge of ashes on the forehead is important but receiving the body of our risen savior is not. Waiting another ten minutes is too great an inconvenience. To me that's a mystery. I don't understand it.

Jesus was very tough on hypocrites. Those who only gave alms or prayed when there was an audience were told they would get no reward in heaven as they had their reward on earth. So it is with ashes. If we receive ashes as an external expression of our internal resolve to seek forgiveness for our sins and to prepare ourselves for the glory of Easter, of the Resurrection of Our Lord, that is one thing. But if we receive ashes so that people will know we went to church and got our ticket punched that is a different matter entirely.

To those people, Jesus would say that they have wasted their time because it doesn't really signify anything important. To Jesus, it's what is inside of us that counts, not what's on the outside. He knows if we love him and want to be like him and with him. He knows whether or not the ashes mean that we recognize we are not perfect and need his grace if we are to be saved. He also knows if we are just going through the motions.

You made the effort today to come to church for ashes. Let that be a good start on your Lenten devotions. During Lent there will be masses at 6:45 and 9:00 a.m. here at Saint Joseph's. Saint Mary's in Randolph has mass at 12:10 p.m. Monday through Friday. We have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament here on Thursdays following the 9 a.m. mass with Benediction at 5:00

p.m. There will be a mission during the month of March. Holy week and the tridium will provide many opportunities to grow closer to Jesus. If your resolve is take advantage of these opportunities then wear your ashes proudly. If you feel that by coming for ashes today you have earned a bye until Easter Sunday, reflect upon what that means. Does it mean that you do only what makes you look good to others? If so, ask yourself what Jesus would have to say about that.

Following the distribution of ashes we will celebrate the Holy Eucharist whereby Jesus comes again, under the appearance of bread and wine, to be with us and in us for our salvation. That is something to get excited about. That is worth coming back for, again and again and again and again.

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...you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

In the first reading God, speaking through his prophet Ezekiel, makes a covenant with the Hebrew people. If they will observe his decrees , he will be their God. This one of many covenants that God made with his chosen people. They would drift away eventually and disaster would befall them and they would turn back to God and he would make a new Covenant with them and then the same thing would happen all over again. But just like a loving parent God would always forgive them, take them back and restore the covenant.

Saint Peter writes of the new covenant, the Christian Covenant. We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people he claims for his own to proclaim the glorious works" of the Lord. By the first anointing which we just performed on your children they became part of this chosen race and royal priesthood. Kings and priests are anointed and by virtue of our baptism we all share in the kingdom and priesthood of Christ. Our Christian Covenant just like the Hebrew Covenant is a two way street. We have to hold up our end. You are doing that by presenting your children to the Church for Baptism. This, however, is just the beginning. The first step in his or her relationship with God. How this relationship grows and developed will depend on your relationship with God and with your child.

You can learn much from your baby because he or she has an advantage. He or she is a child and Jesus tells us in Mark's gospel that it is to children that the kingdom of God belongs. He also tells us that we, if we are to enter it, must accept it as a little child. A child is totally dependant on his or her parents. All they have going for them is their parent's love and without that love and care they will not survive. We must be constantly aware of where they are and what they are doing because in a second they can get into serious trouble. So too are we dependant on God for our very existence. If we can recognize this and accept it, we will remain in the Kingdom and grow closer to God but if we insist on our own way and forget God's ways we will eventually, just like a child, end up in big trouble. So take a lesson from your child. He or she already possesses the Kingdom. See how your child loves and trusts you. Turn to God and do likewise. God is present in the love of a parent for a child for love is how we experience God in

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What are we celebrating today? What is a saint? Do you know any saints? Do you think is a saint? Do you think you are a saint? You are, you know.

As a matter of fact we don't have to wait for sainthood. Because we are baptized in Christ we are saints already. On the day of our baptism we were washed clean by the blood of the lamb and given a white robe to signify that fact. So for most of us it is not a case of becoming saints, it is a case of staying saints.

How can we lose our sainthood?

By doing something bad. How bad? In the beginning telling a lie is hard but the more we do it the easier it becomes. It can even get to a habit. The more we do something the easier it becomes. If we turn away from God in little things eventually we will turn away from him in big things. We either get better or worse, we don't stay the same. You have started out as saints because you are baptized but it is a long life and you can lose your sainthood if you are not careful. Jesus tells us in today's Gospel how to stay saints. Do not be greedy; comfort those who are hurt; don't push other people around; play fair; show mercy to those who are in need; see the good in other people and the world and don't be a crab; be a peacemaker and not a trouble maker; and if others tease you because you are good, know that you are still a saint and loved by God.

Saints are the kind of people who work at making the world a better place, they build things up, they do the right thing without even thinking about it- not so they will look good but because it is the right thing. God has loved you enough to make you a saint, love God enough to keep yourself one. Not only will you see God in heaven but you will have a happy life in this world. The world needs more saints, the world needs you if it is to become a better place.

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First, I want congratulate you on the birth of your children and to thank you for bringing your little children to Jesus, just like the parents in the gospel reading.

These people brought their children for Jesus blessing. Can you imagine the thrill of seeing Jesus bless your child? Well, when see through the eyes of faith what Jesus is doing for your children today is much more wonderful than what he did for those children in the gospel syory.

By presenting them for Baptism you enable them to become children of God by birth in the Holy Spirit, members of the Body of Christ one of the People of God and sharers in kingship and priesthood of Christ. You have given them the best possible start in their journey through life. As members of the Christian Community they are entitled to the love and protection of that community, as are you, their parents and God-Parents.

This Christian Community of Saint Mary's is delighted to welcome our newest members and pledges to them all its resources in the hope that these children will advance in wisdom and grace and in their turn welcome new members into the Community when we are gone.

I am a Permanent Deacon and as such may be married. I have been married a lot longer than I have been a Deacon. My wife and I raised four children. From experience I can tell you that it is a struggle to compete with the temptations that exist today for kids and to keep them safe from the dangers present in today's society. It is difficult but it is not impossible. I thank God that our four children have grown to be responsible adults. Two of them have become parents and it is very rewarding to see your children become good parents. Just ask your parents if they are here with you today. See how they are smiling. They are proud of you and trusting you with the great responsibility of raising their grandchildren. Believe me when I tell you that the only people in the world who know without any doubt that your children are perfect and the best looking kids on the continent are the grandparents. It is an act of supreme faith for them to let you take them home alone without grandparental supervision. They can recall when you couldn't even feed yourself and now your in charge of their beautiful grandchildren.

I am going to tell you something that your parents may have already told you but it bears repeating. When you were growing up you heard very little you were told but noticed and

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Jennifer Wilson and Louis Barba

The readings that Jennifer and Louis have chosen for their marriage ceremony are a good indication of their love for each other and their appreciation of the Sacramental Nature of Christian marriage. The first reading that was read by Phyllis from the Hebrew Scriptures is a story of romantic love. It is rich in symbolism and so graphic that at one time it was forbidden to those under fourteen. The young stag leaping across the hills and mountains had guess what on his mind. The bride is a dove hiding among the rocks. Guess why she is hiding. Romantic love is wonderful and exciting and is the basis for all love stories, even this one from Holy Scripture. But it is just the start of the love required for a successful marriage. Romantic love alone is not enough if a marriage is to last.

Jennifer and Louis have chosen to be married not only in the eyes of the State but also to be married in the eyes of God. A civil marriage lasts only for so long as the parties intent lasts; and, as a creature of the state, it can be dissolved by the state if the parties choose to do so. Christian marriage, however, is for life. It is serious business and involves a permanent change in the parties to it and their relation to each other. Once you bring God into the contract, it takes on an entirely new meaning. Since this is true, the church blesses marriage with the dignity of a Sacrament which confers upon the bride and groom the graces they will need if they are to be faithful to their vows. Jennifer and Louis will confer this sacrament on each other. They are the ministers and I am just the official Church witness.

The love that is required to live out a Christian marriage is more than romantic love. It is the kind of love of which Saint Paul writes in the second reading. It is love which fosters heartfelt mercy, kindness, humility, meekness and patience between the partes to it. It is not self seeking. It is selfless love. It is a love that places the welfare of the other party first. It is the kind of love that never responds to anger with anger but always seeks reconciliation and forgiveness. Jennifer and Louis know this and that is why they chose this reading.

It is vital to the success of their marriage is that they remember always why they chose these readings and in remembering that they strive to live out their message each day of their life together.

The gospel which Jennifer and Louis chose, and I just read, is Jesus's response to the question asked him by the Pharisees relative to divorce. Jewish law, at the time, allowed a man to divorce his wife by simply writing out a certificate of divorce. Women had no rights and if their husband divorced them they were turned out penniless. Many, if their family would not take them back, had to resort to prostitution to survive. Jesus, by his stand on divorce, struck the first blow for women's rights. Jesus teaches that where there were two, there are now only one, united by God and indivisible by man.

Jennifer and Louis will visually demonstrate this fact when, as the first act of their married life, they will light one candle from the two lit by their mothers. The lighting of the one candle is significant but

what is more significant is that having done so they will extinguish their individual candles. This signifies that from this day on, apart from each other, they are incomplete. They are henceforth a new creation, a new entity where, for each of them, the welfare of the other is now their purpose and goal.

This is true love; this is selfless love; this is married love.

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Homily: Funeral Mass for William P. Matthews

I never expected to be giving this homily because I never expected to outlive Bill. He had so much energy and I have so little. I guess he used his up while I was in idle. Being around Bill was like being in the eye of a hurricane. There was a lot whirling around but it seemed calm in the middle.

I met Bill in the first week of September 1948, because my mother and the Newton Public Schools disagreed concerning my educational potential I ended up in the 10th grade at Saint Mary9s in Waltham, I didn9t know anyone but one kid knew me. He said <Mr. Boyle how9s everything in West Newton?= Bill, it seems, even at the age of 14 knew everyone in West Newton. We were on the football team and rode the same bus to and from school- most of the time. One day the bus didn9t stop on River Street where Bill usually got on. A little way further on a City trash truck went by going the other way. Bill was on the back on top of the rubbish waving to us. I guess he got an offer he couldn9t refuse for that day. Bill did not take school too seriously and it cost him an extra year.

Bill was the only student in the history of Saint Mary9s who was held back. Anyone who didn9t measure up was always kicked out. He didn9t mind. It gave him an opportunity to meet new people. One day at football practice Bill decided I should come in first after running laps. I was usually at the end. I liked it there. Bill got behind me and pushed me. He wouldn9t let anyone pass us. He almost killed me but he had decided I should come in first and that was that. I called it Willpower.

In one of our last email chats Bill and I agreed that we had been lucky enough to be born at the best time, in the best place possible. We were too young for WWII. We were depression babies and there were not too many of us. We could make mistakes and recover. We had intact families, good parents, a school we loved, Brothers to teach and form us, Priests who took the time to know us. God was good; our Church was Holy, our nation the hope of the world. West Newton was a wonderful place. Movies were local and cost a quarter. Izzy Moran sold cheesecake by the quarter pound and fresh baked bread was available cheap on the corner of Elm and River Streets. There were five drug stores, four markets, two hardware stores, and a gift shop. You could walk to meet any need and if you had to leave West Newton for any reason there was Middlesex and Boston bus for a quarter.

Life revolved around St Mary9s, St Bernard9s and our families who became very close. My mother and Mrs. Matthews were very much alike. Neither was ever seen without full makeup, styled hair and a dress. Bill was Billy, Leonard whose real name was Thomas was Lenny, Jack was Jackie but was a kid brother and knew his place and bided his time. Margaret Ann was Margaret Ann and was a girl struggling to survive in a ocean of testosterone. I was Johnny and my brother was Rick. Our fathers were both named Mister and they were good friends.

The priests were Monsignor O8Kane who was a caring and energetic Pastor and loved by everyone. We had curates in those days. Father John Saunders was a BC graduate who told us we had to go to BC if we were to save our souls. We all went to BC except my brother for whom will still pray. Father Quinn started Chi Rho which Phil Reilly called the Catholic Mating society. I met my wife, Pat, at Chi Rho. Phil was right. Bill and Lenny escaped Chi Rho and Mrs. Matthews once asked me how she would ever get them out of the house. By this time Jackie was grown too. Margaret Ann had sanely married Jimmy Murphy and thus escaped the testosterone swamp. I told Mrs. Matthews that she was feeding them too well. I suspect she really enjoyed having them around. Bill eventually found Lucy who apparently can survive living in the eye of the hurricane.

Lenny found Rose and Jack remains an unclaimed treasure. Other great priests at St. Bernard9s in later years were Father Gerry Barry who was Pastor for many years and who was a font of humor and common sense, Father Anthony Moore claimed to be British but when he died we found out he was really Russian and his real name was Archdeacon. He had been a spy in WWII and apparently never fully got over it. I must in include our celebrant, Father Frank Conroy, who as far as I know has never been officially assigned here but keeps showing up year after year. Father Frank is very modest but to know him is to love him. He is all a priest should be.

This is the world we came from, the world by which we were formed. We were of course all different and Bill was maybe a little more different but in a good way. We learned to appreciate family and Faith both of which nourished and educated us. And then we went our separate ways.

Bill found his niche. He loved helping people, all kinds of people, the good the bad the indifferent. I don9t believe he ever met anyone he didn9t like and he was liked, even loved, in return.

But now, he who was so full of life is dead. We don9t like the word <dead= so we say <passed= <entered eternal life= or something like that but the fact is that we all must someday die; the day will come when we are no more in this world, when we too will be dead. It seems only a short time ago I was with Bill, Jack and their Father at my Father9s wake in the same room where Bill was yesterday. Mr. Matthews had tears in his eyes and Jack commented that he had lost his best friend. I believe now that Mr. Matthews was grieving for my father but also that he had reached the age where his friends were beginning to die. Well Jack, we have reached that age now. It came so quickly. So listen young people, time flies.

Death holds no terror for the Faithful. We recognize it for what it is: part of life. Heaven is not a reward for a life well lived. Heaven, union with God, Salvation, is our destiny, it is that for which we were created. On the day of our Baptism, when we were reborn into life in Jesus Christ by the pouring of the water and the invocation of the Trinity, that destiny became ours. As a sign of that rebirth we were clothed in a white garment and presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, which signifies that life

of grace. Today Bill9s earthly remains lie before the Easter candle, clothed in a white garment. Bill9s earthly life is over. The circle of that life has closed but his immortal soul lives on for that is his destiny. He has the promise of eventual union with God given at Baptism and renewed in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Sick and now the Eucharist will be celebrated for the repose of his soul. As the readings his family selected state, it is only in the eyes of the foolish that he appears to be dead, he has run the race, and a place has been prepared for him in the heavenly kingdom. There may be a little buffing and polishing to be done so continue to pray for him but Bill and I have been lucky in Faith, family, time and location so we should be just fine.

Deacon John Boyle December 31, 2011

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What are we to believe, even when we see something with our own eyes?

As Poynter senior faculty member Al Tompkins says, "The difference between accuracy and truth is context.''

That's the lesson when it comes to looking at the video of the standoff between Catholic high school students and the Native American drummer in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. We all saw what we saw. A young man wearing a Make America Great Again hat standing in front of a Native American banging a drum and chanting.

But did we really see what we think we saw?

Some of us saw a long video of the event. Some of us saw an abbreviated version. Some of us saw just a photo.

Whatever we saw, it likely came with commentary. If so, we were seeing it through the lens of the person who posted the video or photo.

The underlying assumption of our public discourse today is that facts and values are radically distinct. "The plane crashed" is a statement of fact, and therefore "real." Crash evidence is tangible. Nobody can argue with debris. On the other hand, "Don't kill the disabled" is a statement of value. It's an expression of opinion and sentiment-so the logic goes-and therefore not "real" or "true" in the same solid sense. For example, the importance of protecting disabled persons is an admirable and widely shared view; surely that's obvious. But some people might disagree. Some people might argue quite sincerely that disabled persons are a waste of precious resources, and we'd be better off without them. Some people did argue that way in Germany in the last century, with great effect.Of course, for most of us, murdering the disabled, starving the poor, or deliberately targeting innocent civilians in war is an appalling idea; a crime against humanity. But apparently sucking the brains out of unborn children, or trading in their body parts, is not so appalling. It may even be "good," because we already do it. We not only do it, but we also build a fortress of pious-sounding chatter about reproductive rights to surround and bless it.

This is the kind of obscenity that comes from reducing a nation's politics to a clash of allegedly equal values. What it masks is a transfer of power from proven traditions of moral wisdom to whoever can best lobby the media, the courts, Congress, and the White House. It's the reason MacIntyre warned that today's barbarians "are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for quite some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament."

Charles Chaput

We should not have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely, and we take full responsibility for it," Bishop Roger Foys of Covington said as he retracted a previous statement about diocesan high school students at the March for Life.

For our rush to judgment and initial statement based on incomplete and misleading information, we apologize. The facts that have since come to light reveal that the boys from Covington Catholic experienced some real and inexcusable intimidation, insults, and harassment. We have tremendous respect for the schools, families and young people who travel long distances and make sacrifices to attend the March each year. In the future, when it comes to the accuracy of breaking news reports or social media coverage of the March, we will not trust, we will verify.

The March for Life

Liberals are not our friends and never will be, and they will use every weapon at their

disposal-even hapless teenage boys-to try to destroy what Catholicism stands for. Remember that the Covington students were in Washington for the March for Life-and think about the actual target of that video clip.

Charlotte Allen is a writer living in Washington, D.C.

Saturday morning, less than twelve hours after a 60-second video of the event was posted anonymously on Twitter, the Diocese of Covington and the administration of Covington Catholic High School released a joint statement condemning their own children, their parishioners, their flock. The statement barely offered justification for the censure, pointing vaguely toward untold violations of the "dignity and respect of the human person." Later that morning the Archdiocese of Cincinnati lamented the boys' "unfortunate & regrettable" behavior while anticipating "an important teachable moment" for them. Saturday afternoon Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville personally piled on, citing the Covington boys' "shameful act of disrespect" and expressing total confidence in the Bishop of Covington to do the right thing. As late as Sunday morning, the Archdiocese of Baltimore felt the need to join the fray against Covington Catholic High School by condemning "disrespect" and insisting on "dignity."

What in the world is wrong with our leaders?

This is a question twenty-first-century Americans must continually ask themselves. Since the officially hidden abuses of Cardinal Theodore "Uncle Ted" McCarrick were made manifest last summer, it has become an especially acute question for American Catholics. Their-and as a confirmed Catholic layman, I can also say "our"-leaders have once again covered themselves in disgrace.

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Somewhere about 80 years ago Kitty Harrington left Ireland for the United States where she shortly became Catherine Muller. I have known her for more than 55 years as Mrs. Muller. It never occurred to me to call her anything else. To some of you she was Aunt Kitty, to many of you she was Nanny but to me she was and is Mrs. Muller. I am sure she never thought of herself as a role model if, indeed, she ever thought of herself at all. She was who she was and that was that.

Frank told me that once Michael looked into her bedroom and noticing all the religious items in it remarked that her room looked more like a church than a bedroom. Well, it was a Church because it was a place where God was welcomed, loved and worshiped and therefore abided.

I don’t know if she was consciously a disciple of Saint Therese, the Little Flower, but she lived as if she were. Saint Therese lived what she called her Little Way. As most of us are not called to do great things, we are to do little things greatly. For most people keeping house is a chore. For Mrs. Muller it was a vocation. A fleck of dust had little, if any, chance of survival in her home. Growing up in difficult times, she cherished stability and did not welcome change. Although she accepted change when it was inevitable, she never welcomed it. While this could make things difficult for her at times, it provided a mooring for those who loved her. They always knew who she was, what she valued, and where she could be found.

You, her grandchildren and great grandchildren, may not fully realize how fortunate you were to have Nanny in your lives. Most of my generation did not know their grandparents. People died younger in those days. I know you loved her. I have seen that love expressed on many occasions but today as we say farewell to her I want to be sure you fully appreciate her as well. She was reserved but open, accepting but strong, and above all faithful and faith filled.

You know what she valued. It was not so much things, though she knew the value of a dollar, as relationships. She understood that you cannot be true to anything unless you are true to yourself, to who you are and how you were formed. She knew that if you cut corners you ended up a zero. She knew that if you talk too much you end up saying nothing. It is how you act and what you do that counts.

Please try to pass on what you have learned from your Nanny because the world sorely needs more like her.

But now, Catherine, Mrs. Muller, Nanny who lived so long and full life is dead. We don’t like the word <dead= so we say <passed= <entered eternal life= or something like that but the fact is that we all must someday die; the day will come when we are no more in this world, when we too will be dead... For those who believe that this life is all there is, death is the end and to be feared. But death holds no terror for the Faithful. We recognize it for what it is: part of life. Heaven is not a reward for a life well lived.

Heaven, union with God, is our destiny, it is that for which we were created. On the day of our Baptism, when we were reborn into life in Jesus Christ by the pouring of the water and the invocation of the Trinity, that destiny became ours. As a sign of that rebirth we were clothed in a white garment and presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, which signified that new life of grace. Today Catherine’s earthly remains lie before the Easter candle, clothed in a white garment. Her earthly life is at long last over. The circle of that life has closed but her immortal soul lives on for that is her destiny. She has the promise of eventual union with God given at Baptism and renewed in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Sick.

In the gospel reading Jesus tells us that in the Father’s house there are many dwelling places and that he is going to prepare a place for his disciples. Jesus tells us the way.

He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to Father except through him. So there it is. Jesus is the only way to the Father so all who are saved are saved through the grace merited by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us, Catholics, that grace comes to us through the Sacraments, particularly Baptism and the Eucharist and now the Eucharist will be celebrated for the repose of her soul.

In closing, on behalf of Catherine Muller, I offer for you who love her the consolation of the prayer of Saint Therese which she so closely modeled:

May today there be peace within

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

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In August of 1973 I was interviewed by Bob Crane for a position of Asst.

Counsel at the Lottery. Bob told me I was OK with him but the decision was not up to him and I had be interviewed by Charlie Hamilton and Dr. Perrault. I met with Charlie and Joe Gillis. Charlie had a big box of Cheesits which he devoured during our interview. I remember thinking; This guy has a real Cheesit problem. Charlie told me I was OK with him but it really wasn't up to him. I then met with Bill Perrault whom we all called Doctor in those days. We had a nice talk and he told me I was OK with him but it wasn't really up to him. I went home and told my wife I think I've been hired but no one wants to take responsibility.

I nominally reported to Russ Shannon but Russ was Harvard and Harvard Law and I was BC and Suffolk Law. Charlie was Stalley College and Suffolk MPA and we spoke the same language. Charley and Peter got the Lottery its own bargaining unit and I was its President. You have to judge the quality of our efforts by what did not happen. It was our job to anticipate problems before they happened and make those that arose go away. We were good at what we did. When Russ Shannon left Charlie put the word in for me and I was moved up. Charlie was my mentor. Charlie retired in 1978 but we remained friends up until he left us. I learned so much from Charlie.

We never talked about religion so all I know about Charlie and religion is from observing him in action. Charlie was the founder and and sole parishioner of the Church of the Good Fella. Charlie divided people into Good Fellas and Not Good Fellas. If you were a good fella you were OK but if you were not a good fella, watch out. Good Fellas took care of people, they helped people out, you could take their word to the bank. They saw things for what they were and were on the level.

Charlie Hamilton's greeting was the local favorite "How are ya" but the difference was that Charlie wanted to know how you were, he meant it. If you were a good fella that is. I assume that I am in the company of all Good Fellas so you know what I am talking about.

Since Charlie created his own Church it is fair to assume he has created his own heaven Only good fellas allowed. Since Charlie is there we know that it is a place where stories are told, and songs are sung.

Peter asked me and I was honored to do the committal service at Charlie's grave side. Since the Church of the Good Fella has no liturgy I used the Catholic one and he didn't complain. And so we pray:

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Well, it’s over. The shopping frenzy started on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, to be followed by Cyber Monday and ended up with Super Saturday and last chance Sunday. If you haven’t completed your Holiday Shopping by now you are out of luck. Tomorrow, all these gifts will be given and received and of course Santa will have visited all the <nice= children.

Let’s hope that it was all worth it. Scroogenomics author, Joel Walfogel, doubts it. He calls Holiday gift giving an <orgy of wealth destruction= in that one third of holiday spending is not paid off two months after the Holidays and 18% of Holiday gifts, $12 billion, are never used. I believe the most forlorn of objects to be a discarded Holiday tree, stripped of its decorations and abandoned by the side of the road, awaiting the arrival of the trash truck.

But for us the Holiday Season has just begun. Tonight we celebrate the Christmas vigil. There is also a liturgy for mid-night and for Christmas day. The Christmas season, which begins tonight, lasts until January 11th, the Feast of the Baptism of Christ? Within this period we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family on, December 28th, The Solemnity of Mary, and The Holy Mother of God on New Year’s Day, and The Epiphany of the Lord un January 4th.

How do we celebrate? Not as the world does but as Jesus has taught us. At the supper on the night before he died Jesus instituted the Eucharist and commanded his disciples to <do this in memory of me=. So, in obedience to his command, we celebrate his life, death and resurrection by means of the Sacrifice of the Mass. We have heard the story of his coming in the proclamation of the Gospel: last Sunday the Annunciation wherein Mary consented to the Mother of the Messiah; tonight in the story of Joseph’s consent to be the step-father of Mary’s child; at midnight the story of Jesus’ birth and the angelic announcement to the nearby shepherds; and tomorrow the story of the shepherds’ adoration of the new born King; and, finally Saint John’s proclamation of the Divinity of Christ.

We will recite the Creed which is the ancient expression of the truths of our Faith and of which our parents, on our behalf, were instructed at our Baptism, <This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus our Lord.=

We will then celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Thanksgiving whereby Jesus Christ becomes physically present on our altar under the appearance of bread and wine, as truly as the new born Jesus was physically present in the manger in Bethlehem. At the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer we will proclaim, as did the angels, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he

who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. We will pray as Jesus taught us, the Lord’s Prayer. It is through this prayer that we acknowledge God as our Father and express his essence which is holiness; we pray that we be given a knowledge of his will for us and ask for the grace to carry it out; we request that our daily needs be met and we ask forgiveness to the extent that we ourselves are able to forgive; and finally that we be protected from all evil and the evil one. We will exchange the sign of Christ’s peace and then receive the gift of communion.

It is thus in the Mass that we are instructed in and proclaim our faith. It is through the mass that we participate in the act of our redemption and become one with Jesus Christ through the reception of his body and blood, soul and divinity, as he comes to dwell within each of us, to Sanctify us, to make us Holy. This is Christ’s birthday gift to each of us as we celebrate the mystery whereby we share in the divinity of Christ who, on this blessed day, humbled himself to share in our humanity.

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I have been a Deacon for nineteen years now and have given too many homilies for deceased relatives and friends. It never gets easier. Aging is risky business and forces us to reflect on what comes next, if anything. What can you say to those who have lost a loved one, especially a spouse or a parent or a grandparent, that will ease their pain? The answer is that there is nothing you can say that will do that. The reading from Isaiah tells us that even before Christ the Hebrew people believed that death is ultimately destroyed. The letter of Saint Paul assures those who are alive at the time of the Lord's coming will share equally with those who have died. So we have hope that those who have left this world still live. We have hope but the death of a spouse is the downside of a loving and happy marriage and the word "grieve" is a gross understatement for "heartbreak". Time is the only thing that eases but doesn't heal such a pain and even that often takes a lot of time. This will be a time of trial for Jeannette but she has many who love her around her. This will help but will not make it easy. Yet hope can help and it is our hope and expectation that there is more to life than this earthly existence and that there will be again be a time of reunion in the Heavenly Kingdom.

So let us reflect in love and hope on the life of Donald Vaillancourt. I met Donald

shortly after Ellen and Joe became engaged. Christmas was approaching and Ellen told me how beautifully her future father-in-law wrapped his Christmas gifts. I thought to myself, "He must be a beaut". Low and behold, when I finally met him, he was a beaut. Donald was unique. When he greeted you, he gave the impression that he was so happy to see you- a big grin and hearty hand shake. But I learned not to let it go to my head because that's how he greeted everyone. Donald got me back into golf and we played many rounds at Commonwealth Country Club. Donald, of course, had to drive the cart. You had to get in quickly because, ready or not, he would jump in foot first on the accelerator and off we went. He would invariably feed me a straight line that I could not resist and then say, "don't you start." But I could never help myself and he would laugh at my retort. I had many good times with Donald and we never had a cross word between us.

He was one of my best friends and I miss him.

But now we are called to accept the fact that Donald, who lived a fruitful and full life is dead. We don't like the word "dead" so we say "passed" "entered eternal life" or something like that but the fact is that we all must someday die; the day will come when we are no more in this world, when we too will be dead. For those who believe that this life is all there is, death is the end and to be dreaded but death holds no terror for the Faithful. We recognize it for what it is: part of life. Heaven is not a reward for a life well lived. Heaven, union with God, is our destiny, it is that for which we were created. On the day of our Baptism, when we were reborn into life in Jesus Christ by the pouring of the water and the invocation of the Trinity, that destiny became ours. As a sign of that rebirth we were clothed in a white garment and presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, which signified that new life of grace. Today Donald's earthly remains lie before the Easter candle. His earthly life is over. The circle of that life has closed but his immortal soul lives on for that is his destiny. He has the promise of eventual union with God given at Baptism and renewed in the Eucharist.

In the gospel reading Jesus tells us that in the Father's house there are many dwelling

places and that he is going to prepare a place for his disciples. Jesus tells us the way. He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to Father except through him. So there it is. Jesus is the only way to the Father so all who are saved are saved through the grace merited by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For us, Catholics, that grace comes to us through the Sacraments, particularly Baptism and the Eucharist and now the Eucharist will be celebrated for

the repose of Donald's soul.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Eucharist to our Faith. The Catechism teaches that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Faith. The scandals that have inflicted incalculable harm to the Church and its effectiveness in this century have caused many to leave the Church and many others to wonder why to stay.

Bishop Robert Barron has written a" Letter to a Suffering Church." In it he writes, "Through the Eucharist we are Christified, externalized, deified, made ready for life on high with God. Therefore, let me state it bluntly: the Eucharist is the single most important reason for staying faithful to the Church. You can't find it anywhere else; and no wickedness on the part of priests or bishops can affect it"

The Eucharist is the perfect reflection of love as characterized in Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians. It is the means through which Christ's perfect love is poured out for each and every one of us by Christ since the night before he suffered and died so that we might have eternal life. To deny ones self access to that gift of love is a big mistake with eternal consequences. So we hang in there knowing that in its two thousand years of existence the Church has seen worse and yet still survives.

In closing, on behalf of Donald Vaillancourt, I offer for you who love him the consolation of the prayer of Saint Therese, the Little Flower:

May today there be peace within May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Deacon John Boyle Sept. 13,2019

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Every Good Friday the question arises: why did Jesus have to die in such a cruel way? The simple answer is: Because that is the Scriptures, God9s word, said the Messiah would die and the Scriptures must be fulfilled. And why did God decree it must be so? We can only echo Saint Theresa of Calcutta who, when asked what she would say to God when she met him, said she would say, <You9ve got a lot of explaining to do=.

There is no question that Jesus knew his fate. Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures and they foretold of the manner in which the Messiah would die. Three centuries earlier the Prophet, Zechariah, had written, <And I will pour out upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son=. 400 hundred years before Zechariah, Isaiah, in the reading we just heard, wrote of the Suffering Servant who was to come, Isaiah prophesied <Yet it was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.= Jesus died with the opening verse of the 22nd psalm on his lips, <My God, My God why have you abandoned me=. This psalm goes on to prophesy:

<But I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me, they make mouths at me, and they wag their heads; 8he committed his cause to the Lord; let him deliver him, let him rescue him9...= It goes on, <I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it is melted in my breast, my strength is dried up like a pot shard and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; thou does lay me in the dust of death. Yea dogs are around me; they have pierced my hands and feet- I can count all my bones- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them and for my raiment they cast lots=.

Yes, his end was made very clear. Jesus knew what would happen but he came anyway. Why? Jesus told Pilate, <I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.= Pilate, on behalf of the intelligencia of all ages asks cynically, <What is truth=? Saint Augustine, never one to waste words, wrote, <That is true which is.= Saint Thomas Aquinas taught,

<Truth is equation of thought and thing.= It is therefore, objective and real and not, as Pilate would have it: subjective and relative. It is not as Bill Clinton alibied dependant of the individual9s definition of <is=. Is is and the refusal to recognize that simple fact is ruining our society.

Jesus proclaimed himself to be, <The way, the truth and the life.= and his way is not the way of the rich and powerful. It is the gentle and humble way of the Beatitudes. Jesus is the truth and for this he had to die. On the face of it Pilate was

right. Jesus died. There is no truth. Might makes right. The strong survive and the weak are disposable if they get in the way. If the story ended on Good Friday there would indeed be no hope. But it did not end there. Jesus rose as he predicted. The Holy Spirit came as promised; and, in the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, <Every truth without exception - and whoever may utter it - is from the Holy Spirit.= So we gaze at the Crucifix, not in despair, but in hope; hope in the power of the Holy Spirit; hope in the promises of Christ; and, most powerfully, hope in the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus who is the Christ and died that we might have eternal life.

The story of Good Friday is a horror story but at the same time it is a love story. It is the evil that mankind does that put Jesus on the cross. It is Jesus9 love for us, for you and for me that kept him there until the end. So the next time you feel unloved, look at the crucifix and know that you are loved, loved to death.

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Today’s readings anticipate the dramatic upcoming events which begin on Palm Sunday and end on Easter. The theme is death and resurrection. We are reminded that there can be no resurrection unless there is death. There is no Easter without Good Friday. The drama begins next Sunday with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Holy Thursday we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist. On Good Friday we observe the tragedy that was the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. This was humankind’s low point, the torture and execution of the Son of God, the Savior of the World. And finally, we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of the Savior and our consequent redemption into eternal life. These are the three days that changed everything: death to life; despair to hope; hatred to perfect love; eternal death to eternal life.

Other than Christmas, this is a time when our church attendance swells. This year there is increased hope that many who do not often attend Mass will be present. As you are aware, this year the Church in Boston has reached out to absentees in the <Catholics Come Home= campaign. You have probably seen the ads on TV and may have visited the website catholicscomehomeboston.org. Two questions arise. First, who are the Catholics likely to accept the invitation home and, second, what we mean by home. Those most likely to respond are people who still identify themselves as Catholic but no longer actively practice their Faith. Some of these people have legitimate grievances. We must acknowledge that some people have been badly served and even damaged by clergy and religious. But most are people who simply drifted away. We live in the most secular state in the Union. We once were the home the Blue Law, the residue of our Pilgrim past. In an attempt to liberalize our Puritan past we threw the baby out with the wash water. The Lord’s Day is now just another day. Stores are open, youth sports teams compete and all kinds of activities are scheduled.

These people are often not alienated; they are just busy and distracted

What do we mean by <home=? One definition of home is: the place they have to let you in when you go there. This is not the one we want to adopt. A much better one is: An environment offering affection and security where people are cared for. I believe Saint Joseph’s has a positive and healthy physical environment. The Church is clean and well maintained. When I do Baptisms many of the people attending are from outside the Parish and they compliment me on our church. We see it all the time and become familiar with our surroundings but others find them very attractive. The key is: are we truly affectionate? Do we love each other? Do we love the stranger? Do we take time to care for one another? In doing so, do we offer security from the difficulties of life in a faithless and secular society? Are people and souls valued and cared for in our Parish Community? If we can answer these questions in the affirmative then those who come home the Catholic Church at Saint Joseph’s in Holbrook, even if just for a visit, will feel valued, welcome and loved and maybe will come back to stay. We often hear said, <I find God in the beauty of nature, I find God there and not in a Church=. I ask them, does nature love you back?

We are social animals. We need each other. We come together as a community of the Baptized to celebrate the magnificent gift Jesus Christ gave us on the night before he died, the Eucharist, his body, blood, soul and divinity truly and miraculously present under the appearance of bread and wine. Through the love of Jesus Christ for each of us we are joined in love for each other and we are at home, safe secure, cared for. We are as close to heaven as you can be in this life. In Christ’s presence, enfolded in his love for us and our brothers and sisters, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we become truly the Body of Christ, that is his Church.

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I met Harry Kearins when I went to work at the Lottery in September of 1973. His office was next door to mine. He was in Public Relations and I was in Legal so we didn’t interface in Lottery business. He hung around with Tom Russell and Dave Ellis and they did mysterious things that didn’t seem to involve anyone else except the advertizing manager whose life they made pretty much miserable.

They were the <Merry Pranksters= of the lottery. Nothing was sacred and God help the poor soul who became their prey. I was four years into recovery in AA and was looking for a kindred soul. I didn’t think of Harry because it was common knowledge that Tom and Dave liked a drink and Harry seemed, to me, to be hung over in the morning. It turned out he was not hung over, he just was Harry, laid back and easy does it. I finally met someone in the program who tipped me off that Harry was also a Friend of Bill. That was the beginning of a friendship that I came to treasure. You meet many people as you journey through life but very few become friends and fewer still become lifelong friends.

Harry, Charlie Kelly, Charlie Tyler and I usually went to lunch together.

Charlie Tyler was a former vice-cop in the city of Lynn, Charlie Kelly was a natural born standup comedian and Harry was, well, Harry. Those lunches were hilarious affairs, a laugh a minute- no four letter words- no off-color remarks, just razor sharp wit, irony and withering sarcasm. I wish now that I had recorded them.

When we retired in 1992 we didn’t see much of each other but kept in touch. Last Fall Mark called me and told me Harry was not doing well and would like to see me. I visited him and he told me he would like me to do his funeral in the funeral home. I said I would and we talked about the details. I told him that what he wanted seemed more like an AA meeting than a funeral. I knew that Harry was baptized a Catholic but like many in AA it had become his religion. I asked him if I could call the local Parish and have a priest come to visit him and give him the sacrament of the sick.

He said I could and Father Kevin from Saint Jude’s came to see him and gave him the sacrament. Harry said he had, in his words, a nice chat with Father Kevin. I asked him if he would like me to bring him communion on my next visit and he said he would like that. On my next visit I brought him communion and we spent the afternoon together talking about old times and reflecting on life. He told me that his funeral would be in Church and Father Charlie and I could work it out.

When I was getting my coat to leave he said <Thank you for being my friend= and I replied, <Thank you for being my friend=. Those were our last words. I am blessed that Harry Kearins is my friend.

Harry and I were depression babies. The depression was hard on our families but we didn’t know it. Our age group fell in the crack between wars and we never missed a meal or got shot at. We worked for a wonderful boss, Bob Crane, at a world class organization. We had wonderful wives and smart, healthy kids and grand-kids. Early on when things started to fall apart AA was there for us with a God-given program of recovery and good friends to support us. Some might call us lucky, I call us graced. A Power Greater than our selves saved us.

The world today is even more difficult and dangerous than the world Harry and I were born into. I would like to share some thoughts with Harry and Nancy’s grandchildren, some of the things your grandfather and I talked about on that last visit. You know how much he loved you and you know how much you love him. This is your first loss of a loved one. It is sad but your grandfather has given you an opportunity to grow. A very wise man once said, <There are things that can be seen only with eyes that have cried=. You can now appreciate what it is to grieve because you have experienced grief. In the first reading we are told that there is a time to die. As your grandfather contemplated death he had some very important decisions to make and difficult questions to answer.

You are young and those decisions may seem far in the future but the <you= that makes them then is the <you= that you will have become. The decisions made and the habits formed in youth largely determine who we are and what we value. So, what’s it all about, is this all there is?

Here are some options:

You are a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe. Dogbert to Dilbert. The atheistic manifesto and not much to look forward to.

Luke warm Christianity. Those who still profess to believe but generally do so in a very relaxed way. They believe in a God who created and orders the universe but only casually watches over human life and who requires only that they be good persons according to what they consider a good person to be which is basically someone who is pleasant, responsible and economically successful; a God who wants them to be happy and feel good about themselves; a God who really doesn’t need to be involved in their lives except occasionally to fix problems, and, because they have been good persons, eventually takes them to heaven which is a place much like this world but nicer and where everything is

free- the new and improved status quo described by Pastor Richard Niebuhr as, "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross."

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote an essay entitled Death as a Homecoming in which he wrote:

Over and above the preciousness of particular existence stands the marvel of its being related to the infinite mystery of being or creation. Death then, is not simply man’s coming to an end. It is also entering a beginning=. Rabbi Heschel teaches that our <central concern is not ... how to escape death but rather, how to sanctify life.=

In the second reading Saint John promises those who are followers of Christ,= ... may be called the children of God and shall be like him and see him as he is.=In the gospel Jesus tells us that he is the way the truth and the life and that he has prepared a place for us. Saint Paul, has written, <What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.= So there is the answer. It is magnificent and glorious and, it’s all about love. I believe we can best experience God in this life through love because God is love and no other attribute of God is as open to us here and now. Start with those who are easy to love and work your way up. We grandparents know children and grandchildren are a good place to begin. That feeling of emotion, the warmth and glow we experience in their presence is just the beginning, a billionth, of the love that God has for us, for each of his earthly children. As we begin to understand and experience just how much we are loved we can begin to love others, even the unlikeable, because the God who so loves us loves them equally. Love feeds on love. The more we love the more we experience the wonder of being loved. If we live in love in this life, death is merely a transition from imperfect to perfect love and heaven is not a place to go but is the completion of a transition already begun.

Ste. Therese, the Little Flower, a Carmelite nun, who died at the age of 24,

composed the following prayer: I offer it for you on Harry’s behalf:

May today there be peace within

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

We will now celebrate the Eucharist for Harry as he begins this loving transition that awaits us all.

Deacon John Boyle January 30, 2015

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Discipleship, even if inconvenient, comes first, if it does all other things fall into place.

The Old Testament reading provides an example. Nehemiah had a cushy job as cup bearer to the King but he asked leave from the King to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. Nehemiah is allowed to go and, in spite of great difficulties, rebuilds and fortifies the city. Once he takes hold of the plow, he does not look back.

How do we relate to all this? Our call to discipleship does not involve any great sacrifices on our part. We are not called to become homeless or quit our jobs and rebuild a city. But do we waste time and energy pining over the past, the so called good old days? Do we let resentments over yesterday's misfortunes or entanglements spoil our enjoyment of the beauty of today? Or do we recognize the fact that today is indeed the first day of the rest of our lives and is to be celebrated as an opportunity to proclaim the kingdom by manifesting our joy at living in the light of Christ. It is hard to do so while carrying a heavy bag of past resentments, disappointments, conflicts and failures so we are to let them go and look forward so that furrow we plow will be straight and lead to us to Jesus and his love.

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This morning we have heard one of the <Hard= gospels. A Hard gospel is not popular today. We are living in an age which prefers to fixate on the love and mercy of Jesus rather than his justice. It is an age and society where it is enough to be a <good person=. I remember a song that taught that if you were bad you got a rusty old halo and moth eaten wings. That was about as bad as you could get.

Jesus words this morning concern a narrow gate and weeping and grinding of teeth.

There is nothing about rusty halos and moth eaten wings. There is nothing about being a good person. There are too many who are not strong enough to enter. There are those who ate and drank with Jesus, and listened to his teachings, who are driven away with the accusation <evil doers= ringing in their ears. These are not comforting words.

Most startling is the prediction,= ... some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.= From the gospels we have learned that Jesus was hardest on the rich, hypocrites, legalists and the arrogant. He rejoiced in the repentant sinner, children, and the poor and down trodden, the outcasts. His closest associates were working men. He valued the friendship of women who were shunned by the rich and powerful. It is not difficult to determine who Jesus meant as the <first= and the <last=. To be among the first is dangerous it is much safer to be among the last.

Those qualities which drive one to be one of the first: careerism, ambition, self importance, ego, greed and arrogance are just those which Jesus condemns. In the kingdom of heaven the poor may be blessed and the meek may inherit the land but in the world we live in they usually end up last.

This leads to the startling conclusion that those most in need of our prayers are not the poor but the rich, not the powerless but the powerful, not the weak but the strong. It is they who are in mortal peril.

Based upon this gospel the most perilous position in the world is that of a bishop. By virtue of his calling and ordination he is required to lead, to stand out, to be one of the first. But also, by virtue of his position he is most tempted to become arrogant, worldly, egotistic and ambitious. How many bishops decline to leave their small diocese when the chance to move to a larger one arises? I read of a missionary priest who was assigned to a very poor diocese in South America. While driving to the bishop’s palace he was heart sick at the poverty he witnessed all about him. When he was presented to the bishop he was seated upon a throne, elegantly robed and he had on red silk slippers. The priest wrote that he could never reconcile the poverty of the diocese with those red silk slippers. It was an image that he carried with him the rest of his days.

If a deacon becomes arrogant and self important he is not only out of touch with reality, he is a fool. If a priest becomes arrogant, self seeking and ambitions it is because he has forgotten who called him to be like him. If a bishop becomes arrogant it may be just that he is human. He has risen to a position where the realities of life that give the rest of us balance have disappeared from his life.

So let us pray for all bishops that power may not blind them, earthly wealth and position may not ensnare them, that they may strive to be last among the faithful so that when they are required to account for their stewardship they may find mercy rather than justice.

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We’ve all had them. Those days when everything you touch goes hay wire. Yesterday Pat had a root canal. It turned into five hours in the dental chair for her and five hours in the waiting room for me. I drove from Arlington to Randolph just in time to turn around and drive back to Newton for a meeting. I got home and fired up the computer to write this homily and the key board was dead. I got out my flash light to look at the back of the computer and the batteries were dead. I was feeling pretty bad for me until I read the readings for today. After I finished them, I found some new used batteries and fixed the flash light, fiddled around with the keyboard connection and it started working. The readings are powerful.

They renewed my perspective.

Imagine you’re in the crowd Jesus is addressing in the Gospel. You are a first century Jew. You live in a back water of the Roman Empire in a conquered country ruled over by a brutal King and a cruel Roman Procurator. There is no such thing as health insurance, unemployment compensation, social security, hospitals, universities, communications, electricity, running water, job security, readymade clothing, none of that. There are plenty of cruel Syrians in Roman uniforms who beat and crucify. There is lots of capital punishment, very little food, just fish and some grain, meat only on Passover. There was a lot of infant mortality. Most men died in their forties and woman in their thirties if they survived childbirth. A bad day today is like heaven compared to life in those days.

So when Jesus says, <Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened= that meant just about everyone except the elites. In an age where zealots were attempting to inflame the people to cause them to revolt and overthrow the Roman rule, Jesus says, <I am meek and humble of heart=. Jesus tells those who know no rest that he will give them rest. Jesus tells them his yoke is easy and his burden is light. In view of the realities of the situation only truly graced or the truly desperate could believe him and yet many did. Such is the power of grace when we cooperate with it. Yes, compared to the woes of those first century Jews, our day to day troubles are trivial but we too have our calamities. Loss of a spouse or, God forbid, a child is no easier to bear today than it was then. Having no one to love, or to love you, is no easier now than it was then. What is one to do?

Jesus tells us what to do. <Take my yoke upon you...for my yoke is easy and my burden light.= Why? Because it is a yoke for two and Jesus bears the greater weight.

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What does all this have to do with today's readings? The readings are all about prayer. In the first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures Abraham is negotiating with God in an attempt to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine, negotiating with God! Yet haven't we all at one time or another bargained with God. "Please God get me out of this and I'll never do it again." In the Gospel Jesus gives a lesson in prayer. He gives us the perfect prayer, the Lord's Prayer, wherein the nature of our relationship with God as his beloved children is revealed. He teaches us to seek God's will, to ask for our material needs, to ask for justice and for the provision of our spiritual needs. All this consists of less than 40 words. He tells a story to impress upon us the importance of persistence in prayer. He tells us in effect that is ok, even advisable, to nag God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains 4 Parts and the entire Fourth Part is devoted to prayer. These two readings contain the essence of much that is written. If you understand these readings you understand much about prayer.

The old Baltimore Catechism defined prayer as a "lifting of the mind and heart to God" and therein lays the problem. I must lift my mind first before I can lift my heart and my mind is a wanderer.

Saint Therese, the Little Flower, said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy". But it is hard for me to keep my mind focused on God while I say the words. I know God hears the words even when my mind is elsewhere but I also know I am not listening to God when my mind and therefore my heart are preoccupied. So prayer is more than just words; it is emotional as well as mental. At its best prayer requires our total involvement; physical, mental and emotional. My wandering mind prevents God from communicating with me and that is a shame.

So for me the best prayer is the Mass. I can pay attention to the Mass and it contains some of the most beautiful prayers we have. In addition to the Lord's Prayer it contains the ancient prayer of the angels "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of

Power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory." This prayer leads into the Eucharistic prayer where through the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ comes to us bodily under the appearance of bread and wine, our faith is professed, and prayers are offered for the whole Church, both the living and the dead. In the reception of Holy Communion I can be physically united to Jesus Christ, something not even the angels can experience. At Mass I can be physically, mentally and spiritually involved and I experience Saint Therese's surge of the heart, I am turned toward heaven.

As we turn to the Eucharistic celebration please try to listen to the prayers that Father will offer for us all. Be like Saint Therese who turned toward heaven and thus let your response be a cry of recognition and love.

Deacon John Boyle

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Mary was a very young girl in a small town in the middle of nowhere when she was visited by an angel and offered the opportunity to become the Mother of God incarnate. Since then whenever she has appeared it has been to a very humble person in an area off the beaten track. Her first appearance in the Americas followed this pattern. It was to a poor, 57 year old Aztec Indian in the middle of nowhere.

A handful Spaniards had conquered and enslaved the mighty Aztec nation. They had done so through a combination nerve, gun powder, horses and germ warfare. In 1520 the Aztecs had initially fought off the Spanish but by 1531 the Spaniards had completed the conquest of the Aztec empire. Guns, steel and horses began the conquest but a small pox epidemic devastated the Aztecs and killed their Emperor. Only a few Aztecs had converted to Christianity and the vast majority rejected the Christian God of their oppressors in favor of their traditional beliefs.

One of these converts was a poor man who had taken the Christian name of Juan Diego. One day, on his way to the chapel near Tepayac Hill, he encountered a beautiful young native woman surrounded by a halo of light. She appeared to be pregnant and spoke to him in his native tongue. She identified herself as the "Ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God". She told Juan Diego she desired a church to be built in that place so that his people might experience her compassion. She told him to go to the capital and convey this information to the bishop. To his credit, Juan Diego did go but was sent away with a pat on the head.

To make a long story short, Juan Diego finally appeared in the bishop's palace in the dead of winter with his cloak, called a tilma, filled with fresh Castilian roses. What was more astounding, when he emptied the roses from his tilma an image of Mary, as she had appeared to him, was imprinted on the tilma. The tilma, which hangs in the Basilica which was constructed on the spot of the apparition, has been studied and was produced by a method still unknown to science. Close examination has revealed that the image of Juan Diego is reflected in the pupil of Mary's eye.

Within a few years over six million Aztecs were converted to Catholicism. Juan Diego is now Saint Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas and December 12 is a feast for all the countries of the Americas.

Mary's appearance as a native girl in native dress and speaking the native tongue is an expression of the universality of God's love for human beings of all races and nationalities. She carried her son to the aid of the Aztecs just as she carried him to the aid of Elizabeth. She chooses to grace the lowly and helpless with her presence. She appears mostly to children, the blessed children of Fatima and Saint Bernadette for example. She never appears to the powerful. As God chose her, a young girl in the middle of nowhere, to be his son's mother, she chooses the weak and powerless in the middle of nowhere to be her messengers. She fulfills her own prophecy to her cousin, Elizabeth, in what is known as the Magnificat, the Lord "has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty."

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Today is a beautiful day. It may be a little warm for some who mind the heat more than others but a beautiful day never-the-less. However, the old testament reading and the gospel we just heard deal with storms not so nice days.

So on this beautiful August day I ask you to visualize a terrific storm with a strong heavy wind and shaking earth, rain, and thunder and lightning. You are in a boat and being tossed about by the waves. You're hanging on for dear life and wonder if the boat will sink and you'll have to swim for it. You have a life-preserver on and the Captain of the boat seems to be having a tough time keeping control over the boat. Do you get out of the boat like Peter did? Or do you stay in the boat? Do you take off the life preserver?

Why have I created this stormy image on such a lovely day? Because we must not make the mistake Peter made in today's gospel. We must not get out of the boat in the middle of a storm. For us the boat is the Catholic Church and its captain is the Holy Father, Pope John Paul. It is the way we come to Christ, united as a community and not as individuals, alone and unaided, each trying to walk on a stormy sea. We may not like all the people in the boat. We may not like all the rules of the boat. But we don't get out the boat, especially in the middle of a storm. And we cling to our life preserver.

The life preserver is the grace that we put on as a result of our Baptism. It is what keeps us safe in good times and bad. It is the love of Jesus wrapped around each one of us and by which we are made sons and daughters of the Father and brothers and sisters of Christ.

In the midst of the storms we, like Elijah, must search for God who is found in the still small voice that exists in the eye of the storm. To do so we must pay attention, be still, listen carefully while we hang on tight to the boat and our life preserver. Getting out of the boat and trying to walk on water on our own doesn't work. Sooner or later we sink into uncertainty and drown. Especially when we are troubled and afraid, we must sit quietly and listen for the still small voice that tells us God is with us in the boat and we need not be afraid.

Let us now enjoy the meal that is served to those in the boat, the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist, the sacrament of thanksgiving which unites all of us in the boat. It is what makes us one in Christ and gives us the unity required to keep the boat afloat until Jesus brings it to the safe harbor that is eternal life with him and his heavenly Father in the calm after the storm which we call heaven.

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The simple fact is that one can not feel grateful and sorry for oneself at the same time. Gratitude comes in handy if you want to be happy. It does help if you have something to be grateful for even if it’s only that nothing bad is happening; or if something bad is happening that something worse is not happening. There I go again.

The first reading gives us something to be grateful for. We can be grateful that we are ordinary people because, "judgment is stern for the exalted". Wisdom tells us that, "the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test". We can rejoice in the fact that we never made it big.

Let us now, in gratitude, turn to the Eucharist for healing through the love of Christ which comes to us in abundance in this most blessed sacrament.

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filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty."

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Jesus teaches them that: "... everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. But is that all that humility really is about, making your self look bad so that you can look good? It is so much more.

I believe that humility is the ability to see things as they are and then to be able to put them into perspective. Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholic Anonymous, wrote that humility "amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are." Robert Burns, the famed Scot's poet wrote "O would some Power the gift to give us To see ourselves as others see us!" The anonymous author of "The Cloud of Unknowing" wrote seven hundred years ago, (Humility) in itself is nought else but a true knowing and feeling of a man's self as he is."

The first requirement of humility is, therefore, total honesty. We must be able to honestly appraise ourselves and recognize not only our weaknesses but also our strengths. False humility is the other side of the coin of false pride. False pride is apparent in our society in the ascendancy of the so-called meritocracy. These individuals believe they are entitled to positions of wealth and power due to their personal merit. The truth is that they have been gifted with advantages based on personal intellect, superior educational opportunities, and preference. As a friend of mine says, "They were born on third base and think they hit a triple". False humility however can cause some who are gifted to under value their gifts and fail to make good and efficient use of them. The humble person recognizes his or her gifts for what they are: assets they possess that should be used for the good of all and not selfishly solely for personal gain. Never confuse a poor self image with humility.

The second, and equally important requirement of humility is a sense of proportionality, the ability to put things in perspective. What is important and where do we fit in the order of things? We live on a planet in orbit around a relatively insignificant star, one of billions, in one of billions of galaxies. Each of us is one individual among the probably 12 billion of our race that have inhabited our planet. Our civilization, advanced as it is, will not survive for long as time is measured in the universe. All in all we are not cosmically significant. When seen in that perspective we have a lot to be humble about. The authors of the current gaggle of books promoting the "New Atheism" are very pessimistic about the human race, both its past and future. If this is all there is, I don't blame them.

But we look beyond the physical universe. We look to things not seen and truths beyond our understanding. Philosophers can reason to the possibility of God's existence, maybe to a probability of the His existence. But we believe that, starting with our Jewish elder brothers and sisters and continuing with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of His Church. We are taught that God, the creator of all that is, so loved us that He sent His only son to become one of us, to suffer and die and rise again that we, each of us, might have eternal life. In view of God's love for us and the resulting sacrifice of Jesus Christ each of us is of infinite value, a value not based on who we are or what we have; but, based on the love of our creator for us and the price paid for our salvation. It is because of the fact that we are infinitely loved by the infinite that we each have infinite value. If we can come to understand and accept this truth of faith, really really understand it at depth, then we need not seek humility because the reality of the love with which we are loved will evoke such gratitude that all other realities will be eclipsed. Our eyes will be opened and we shall see things as they truly are.

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I have shared with my sons and grandsons the advice I received in senior year theology from Father Callahan. All the Jesuits had a nickname which was conferred on them by the students. Father Callahan’s was= Flunky= so you paid attention. Senior theology was the Sacraments which included Marriage. Father Callahan solemnly advised us, <Before you contemplate marriage, check out the mother because that’s who you are marrying=. Now I knew Hannah but I had not met her Mother so while I knew and loved Hannah I had to wait to check out her mother before I could rest easy. Finally I got the opportunity to sit with Lynne and Tom and get to know them. That day Hannah got the stamp of approval. I liked Tom but he was not subject to Father Callahan’s rule. It was Lynne who passed the Father Callahan test. What impressed me early on was how Hannah handled the <Twin Thing=. It is a real

<thing= and not everyone can handle it. They still enjoy confusing their Grandmother.

You can tell a lot about a couple by the readings they have selected for their wedding. This is the first wedding in my experience that has included the reading from Sirach. Having been married for over 61 years myself, I can testify to its truth and wisdom. Two comments on the first reading: it is indeed the wife who creates the home. The term <Homemaker always applies to the wife for it is indeed she who makes the home and it will reflect her personality; secondly, a silent wife neither exists nor is to be desired. The reading from Saint Paul is a treasure. The Gospel Reading is not only to be listened but is to be lived.

As a Lawyer I understand and accept that a Civil Marriage is whatever the State says it is. In a sense this is also a civil event. I have been empowered by the State of Maine to be its official witness to your Civil marriage. It is a contract which you freely enter into according the Laws of the state of Maine and which confers certain legal rights. It is terminable at will by either party without cause. But more importantly I am the Church’s official witness to the fact that you have conferred the Sacrament of Marriage on one another. It also confers certain rights and duties but unlike its civil counterpart is irrevocable.

Our Faith teaches us that the Sacrament of Matrimony creates an intimate community of life and love established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. It is a sacramental covenant between a man and a woman whereby they mutually give and receive one another in a union sealed by God himself. The family home thus created is the place where children are to be born and nurtured.

This understanding of Matrimony is ancient and goes back to the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Scriptures .The Rabbi, known as Maimonides, wrote in the Mishneh Torah in the eleventh century, <For Judaism, the value of human sexuality comes only when the relationship involves two people who have committed themselves to one another and have made that commitment in a binding covenant recognized by God and society.=

The Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonheoffer, wrote a sermon for the wedding of his niece in which he said: <Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance, through which He wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time...in marriage you are a link in the chain of generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls His Kingdom. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal- it is a status, an office... so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. It is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love=.

So let us pray that fifty or sixty years or more from today it is still Hannah and Jeff still one and still united with God just as they are today. The best way to preserve that relationship is for them to worship together at least once a week. It is vital to the preservation of their holy union to honor the third member of that union and to do it together. For Catholics, the most perfect form of worship consists of the Mass. At Mass we hear God’s Holy Scriptures proclaimed and, through the homily, explained and related to our lives in the present day. We pray together the universal prayer of the entire Church. It is in communion at Mass that we comply with Jesus’ command, <unless you eat of my body and drink of my

blood you shall not have life in you.= It is in the Eucharist that your partnership with God becomes

complete. One hour a week, together, the three of you.

I would like to close with a favorite prayer of mine. It was composed by Ste. Therese, the Little

Flower:

May today there be peace within

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Deacon John Boyle 10/12/2019

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January 15, 2018 Dear Kenny,

I am praying for you as you are on Cursillo that you will grow in your relationship with Jesus, the Christ. Of all my children you are most like me in desiring a close relationship with Our Lord. It is my prayer that you will be an example to your brother and sisters of the graces and benefits of such a relationship.

You were not expected but were greatly welcomed. You were a happy baby and sweet child. You brought us much joy and still do. It was painful to watch you struggle in school but your mother knew from her own experience what you were going through and was your fierce and consistent advocate. You are like your mother in many ways. You don't give up but keep on going. We are proud of your approach to life's challenges. I believe that you appreciate most just what a wonderful person your mother is. She views herself negatively and undervalues her gifts of generosity, compassion and love. You are her most valued source of positive reinforcement and encouragement. I try, but as you have seen, she and I have communication difficulties.

As I look back on my life I am grateful for so many things. I was born into a stable family in a good community. I had the Brothers in high school who taught me well and convinced me that God had a plan for me. I met the love of my life at the time when we were both ready to marry. I had a good and faithful wife and she made a wonderful home. We had wonderful children and later grandchildren and a great granddaughter coming soon. I had work that was interesting, challenging and rewarding. Our children were raised in the same community that we were and grew up to be good people. That does not mean that there were not some difficult times.

Alcoholism, depression and anxiety have been encountered and overcome by the grace of God. I am enclosing a homily I wrote on my experiences and their resolution.

Thank you for being my son. I love you and value your friendship and the talks we share. May God continue to love and bless you,

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The first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes is so true to the life of Foch Landry and of so many of his generation, widely known as the greatest generation. Born shortly after the end of World War I, the Great War, the War to end all wars, they found themselves as young men and women engaged in World War II. It was truly a time to kill, a time to mourn and to weep, a time to rend and tear down, a time to scatter stones, a time to hate, a time of war. When he left for the Navy his father reminded him his name was Arthur for he had always been known as Foch. At war's end Foch returned to civilian life. He used his GI Bill to buy the family home and moved his parents in. He met a young girl from the Parish, Sacred Heart, and they courted by walking the City of Brockton. A routine that continued in their retirement. They married an he and Pauline had six children: Catherine; Thomas, David, Alice, Arthur Jr. (Bud) and John. It was a time to laugh and to dance; a time of peace; and a time to love. Foch was a member of the Teamster's Union and worked for Quinn Freight until his retirement. Pauline and Foch did it the old fashioned way. They centered their life on their family. They both worked hard to provide for their family but work was not their purpose, it was a means to provide a good home and loving environment for their children. Jesus referred to such people as the salt of the earth and that they were.

Recently I saw a death notice to the effect that deceased, age 92, died unexpectedly. It seems that advanced age has become so common that death at any age is deemed unexpected. Yet,death along with taxes, remain unavoidable to us all. To believe that death is ever unexpected is to deny the reality of the situation. Foch lived a long and productive life. He lived to see his child's grandchild. Not many accomplish that feat. His final illness was lengthy and that often happens when we live to an advanced age.

I live in a retirement community with my wife. Many of our neighbors are in their eighties and some in their nineties. We all agree on one thing; old age is not for sissies. We also know that death is always to be expected sooner or later and in our situation possibly sooner rather than later. It seems that Foch knew death was near and had no fear. After Pauline died, it appears he felt his life's work was done and he could pack his bag. Alice, Paul and Eva had moved into the family home and he had loving care and companionship but his health was failing and life became more and more of a burden.

Because of our Faith we believe that Foch is now where bodily aches and pains are no longer to be borne, where death is no longer in the equation. But because of our Faith we hope for more. Our Faith teaches us that this life is but a preparation for what is to come. Eternal life is not our reward, it is our destiny. It is the reason Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of a woman into the human race. It is the reason He suffered died and rose again so that we might fulfill that destiny. By virtue of his Baptism, Foch was born again into life in Jesus Christ and into hope for an eternity of joy His presence. In the second reading Saint John reminds us of what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. He promises that we shall be like the Father and see Him as He is. In the expectation of such a destiny we can say with Saint Paul, "O death, where is thy victory, Where is thy sting.

Much of what Jesus taught was not new. Much of it came from the Hebrew Scriptures. What was new and even revolutionary was the teaching contained in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. Not only are these teachings new, they are counter cultural. They seem to contradict human nature itself. And yet they are a way of living that brings us not only blessedness but ultimately joy. Foch and Pauline lived the Beatitudes. Maybe not consciously, but certainly in practice.

They were poor in spirit in that wealth was not their goal but only a means to an end which was to provide for their family. They mourned for the trials of those they loved and provided for their parents. They were meek in the sense that they were gentle people who cared for others and never took unfair advantage. They were merciful and helped when they could and never took advantage of others. They were clean of heart and lived modestly and chastely. Thus, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven where they shall be comforted and satisfied, shown mercy and see God.

There is so much to be learned by the current generations from the greatest generation, I hope they are paying attention.

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I grew up in a very safe and structured environment with all the advantages one could hope for and still managed to nearly go down the drain more than once. How much more difficult is it for the young people of today? My generation could make mistakes and recover. Today a kid can have condemned himself to the bottom of the economic ladder before finishing middle school. I don’t think I would have made it in today’s environment. I was labeled a <chronic underachiever= by the Warren Junior High school guidance counselor and he recommended I go to the vocational high school. OK by me but not my mother who had been a teacher and expected more from her eldest son. I ended up in the 10th grade at Saint Boy’s High School in Waltham under the care of the de LaSalle Christian Brothers. We got report cards every 2 weeks and my first report card had a 97 average. My mother asked what happened and I answered, <They hit you=, my mother said, <If I had known that I’d have hit you a long time ago.= In my three years at Saint Mary’s I was never hit but the thought of being thrown out was enough. I loved the Brothers and I loved the school. They transformed me by their example.

One day I noticed kids going in and out of the lower church during lunch break. I asked another kid what they were doing. He said, <They are making a visit=. I asked who they were visiting and was told, <The Blessed Sacrament=. I had made my first communion and been confirmed without ever realizing that the Eucharist was really the body and blood of Christ. I went into the lower church to make a visit and for the first time in my life experienced the <real presence=. I had an epiphany that is with me to this day. My life was forever changed. It was one of those transforming moments that determine your future. I have had at least two others. The first time I saw the girl who was to become my wife and my first drink of beer. She was a beautiful blue eyed brunette and it was a quart of Miller High Life.

I did not start drinking until college. I was a sophomore at Boston College when I got a job at Liberty Mutual Home Office claims as a night file clerk. By the time I was a Junior I had been promoted to Supervisor. It was a great job. A dollar an hour for 40 hours and tuition was only $450.00. I worked two jobs in the summer so I had plenty of money and Walsh’s Tavern was just around the corner. Life can be beautiful. In my senior year I gave up drinking for Advent. Life got better and my grades improved. After Advent I kept up not drinking. I went to daily Mass at B.C. and came home after work and studied. On graduation day my degree had <cum laude= on it. BUT I also had a six pack that day. Two days later I left on a train to Clark’s Summit, PA to spend six weeks discerning a vocation to Maryknoll. I came home intending to return but I was drinking every night and working construction during the day. I only went to Sunday Mass. I returned to Maryknoll but didn’t last a week.

I came home but it was too late to go to Law School, my plan B, so I got a job as a claims adjuster and planned to start the following year. But then I met the blue eyed brunette and it was marriage, three kids and two houses before I got around to Law School 8 years later. During those 8 years I worked two jobs so if I drank I started late. Law school, a job and family helped control my drinking but could hold a lot and the quantity gradually increased. After taking the Bar Exam I had a summer off and did a lot of celebrating. My first year as a lawyer was spent making contacts at the Elks, American Legion and city politics. Drinking continued to increase. In September of 1969 one of my drinking buddies’ wives had enough and went to ALANON and my wife went with her. It only took six weeks for them to wise us up and on October 16, 1969 my buddy and I went to our first AA meeting. That night I met the man who became my AA sponsor and lifelong friend. He told me he asked a <Power greater than himself to keep him from a drink or the desire for a drink on a daily basis, and if successful to express his gratitude on a daily basis. I did that the next day and it was the first day in years I did not drink and neither did my buddy and neither of us has since that day. The desire to drink was lifted out of me on that day and has not returned. AA and the Twelve Steps of Recovery became not only a life saver but a source of many close and lasting friendships and spiritual growth. For many years I regularly attended a discussion meeting at Campion Hall in Weston, the Jesuit nursing home and retreat center. The meeting was run by Brother John Sullivan. Brother John was a big man physically and spiritually. He was a font of wisdom and common sense. He had been the wine cellarian and infirmarian at Boston College. He used to say that during his tenure the entire wine cellar went down an inch, he took the top off of everything except the medicinal alcohol, he had some scruples. Over the years I have attended hundreds if not a thousand 12 step meetings going over and over the spiritual principals that lead to contented sobriety and a rich and fulfilled life.

In 1973 I got a job as Assistant Legal Council at the newly formed State Lottery. Three years later I was promoted to General Counsel and retired in 1992 as Director of Finance. It was a wonderful and rewarding career. I worked with a great bunch of people and we created an organization respected world wide as the best of its kind.

Upon retirement I entered private practice but I really never cared for private practice and became anxious and depressed. My mother had suffered from two bouts of severe depression following my father’s death so I knew what to do. I got professional help and medication and snapped out of it in about a month. I moved out of my law office and practiced out of my home part time. I had a lot of time on my hands and didn’t know what to do with it. I had thought about the diaconate but didn’t know any deacons and the one I did know didn’t really do much.

The early deacons had to find their own way and many did wonderful work in social service but there were plenty of priests and they seemed to be a little lost.

I was very active in my parish, Saint Bernard’s in West Newton as vice-chair and counsel to the Finance Committee and an Extraordinary Eucharistic minister of the Eucharist. During my life time I attended daily mass whenever I conveniently could. When I worked in Boston mass was available at several locations. After my bout with depression I found daily mass very beneficial. After some reflection I had decided to not apply for the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. One morning at mass I had one of those AHA moments and I felt an unmistakable call. I went home called for an application, was accepted and in the year 2000 was ordained and assigned to Saint Joseph’s in Holbrook. I had never been in the church in my life but I was welcomed by Father Raek and the people of the parish. I often say I was ordained in one church and have ministered in another. Almost a year to the day later 9/11 happened and we were all traumatized. Father Joe, the pastor, was in Rome at the time and Father Lou, the assistant, and I dealt with it as best we could. Then in the long lent of 2002 when the priestly sexual abuse and cover up crisis blindsided us I asked myself, as did many priests and deacons, <Is this something I want to be involve d with?= The Bishops went from cover up to zero tolerance which meant that any priest or deacon accused was thrown overboard, guilty until proven innocent One accusation and I would be removed from ministry and be on the front page of the Globe. Was this a risk I should expose my family to? Due to my legal training I had always been careful not to expose myself to situations that could be compromising so I finally decided the risk was an acceptable one and remained in ministry but it took some of the joy out of it. Shortly thereafter the reconfiguration happened and nearly seventy parishes were closed in an unnecessarily arbitrary manner and we went through another crisis. Fortunately Saint Joe’s avoided this one just as we had largely avoided the abuse crisis but it was still there. All in all I have had many more ups than downs here at Saint Joe’s. I have felt appreciated by all the priests I have served with and by the people.

In September of 2003 I was diagnosed with a severe form of bladder cancer and my wife had developed optical myasthenia gravis. After my initial surgical procedure I was informed a second was necessary and I would most likely lose my bladder. I routinely conducted Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursdays and after Benediction a parishioner who had a great devotion to then Blessed (now Saint) Andre, the miracle worker of Montreal’s Saint Joseph Oratory, sat Pat and me down and gathered those present around us. They placed their hands on us and we were anointed with the oil of Saint Joseph obtained from Montreal. I had my second procedure and when I awoke the Doctor informed me that there was no cancer present and I still had my bladder. During my ten years of follow up the

Doctor continued to shake his head every time he saw me. After ten years he discharged me as cured. MY wife’s myasthenia went into remission and, to date, has not returned. There have been other occasions in my life that I cannot explain including my relief from alcoholic addiction so I have no doubts relative to the power of prayer.

I remember the very clearly the day I became a father. I was driving home from work one day when it hit me. I was 26 years old and I had a wife, a baby and a mortgage. I was trapped and there was no way out. I grew up that day and accepted the responsibilities I had assumed. Sometimes it has not been easy but I have never regretted that decision. Most of my life has been great, great wife, great kids, great grandchildren, and great career but there have times when all has not gone well. There was my drinking and recovery, two children developed alcohol problems but both are successfully in recovery, one for 25 years and one for 16 years. One of our children had a severe learning disability but neither he nor we gave up and he graduated from college and now works for Harvard University.

My eldest daughter’s husband died in 2011 and left her with a special needs child. My other daughter’s husband walked out on her after 18 years of marriage but she has remarried to a man I call the answer to a father’s prayer. He is a wonderful match for her and a powerful example to her now young adult children.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches that our <central concern is not ... how to escape death but rather, how to sanctify life.= And that <Man is man not because of what he has in common with earth but because of what he has in common with God.= I believe we can best experience God in this life through love because God is love and no other attribute of God is as open to us here and now.

Start with those who are easy to love and work your way up. Babies are a good place to begin especially grandchildren. That feeling of emotion, the warmth and glow we experience in their presence is just the beginning, a billionth, of the love that God has for us, for each of his earthly children. As we begin to understand and experience just how much we are loved we can begin to love others, even the unlikeable, because the God who so loves us loves them equally. Love feeds on love. The more we love the more we experience the wonder of being loved. If we live in love in this life, death is merely a transition from imperfect to perfect love and heaven is not a place to go but is the completion of a transition already begun.

In the words of Forest Gump, <Shit Happens=. No one escapes. Expect it and prepare to deal with it. I would like to share with you some of the Maxims that I found helpful in surviving and thriving in what is often messy in life.

Deacon John Boyle to the Men’s Group of Saint Joseph’s Church, Holbrook, MA

On January 21, 2012

Maxims to Live By:

(Not in order of importance as all are required at one time or another and often all at once.)

Ste. Therese, the Little Flower, a Carmelite nun, who died at the age of 24 on September 30, 1897 composed the following prayer:

God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits.

May today there be peace within

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

The only thing you can control is your own mental attitude.
Keep things and people in perspective.
Develop a method of tension release.
Have a person or group with whom you can blow off steam.

Do not be afraid to seek competent professional help.
At times judicious use of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication is allowed.
Nothing lasts forever.
Avoid negative people and, to the extent possible, associate only with people with a positive orientation toward life and living.
Do not entertain negative thoughts. They tend to spiral you down.
Have an intense spiritual and religious life and develop a close relationship with God.
Accept the fact that you and only you can spoil your day.
Live in the present moment.
Maintain your sense of humor.
Maintain an attitude of gratitude. Do a daily inventory of what is good in your life.
Toughen up.

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Who do you say that I am? That is the most loaded question ever asked. Each of us must answer that question and our answer shapes our lives and how we live them. For some, Jesus is a good man and teacher who may have lived a long time ago and preached a very impractical way of life; nice in theory but unworkable in practice. For some he was a deluded fool who infected humanity with a passive philosophy that enabled the rich and powerful to subjugate and control the masses who were foolishly expecting a better life in the world to come, an excuse to be a weakling. For some he is simply irrelevant to our liberal secular society. In the Creed we profess he is "the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father." We have two thousand years of history, scripture, Tradition and our own personal experience upon which to base our answer. Peter had none of that and yet he hit the nail on the head with his reply, "You are the Christ". Four words that ultimately changed the world.

Our response to this question determines how we live our lives. Do we live in hope or despair. Do we live in love or full of pride and envy. Do we have a relationship with our creator and savior or do we go it alone. Many prophets and philosophers taught that were to treat others as we would be treated; but only Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies. It was then, and is now, a radical proposition. Yet, how different would our world be if it followed Jesus's words.

We have seen this past week the result of the failure to follow his command. A hate filled group produced a hate filled film clip designed to insult Moslems and posted it on the internet. In turn, Moslem extremists used this as an excuse to attack a US Consulate and kill four Americans. The television has shown hours of chanting, gesturing young men burning American Flags and demonstrating violently fires outside US Embassies.

In Cairo, a city of 8 million, a few hundred young hoodlums have gotten way too much exposure. The rioting is now spreading throughout the world and has even reached Australia of all places. This is the fruit of hate and the remedy is love but as Jesus told Peter, "You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do". So long as this human thinking prevails the hope for peace in the world is slim. We must, in answering Jesus question, "Who do you say that I am?", determine if we can accept Jesus command to love our enemies. It has to start with someone, why not you? Why not me?

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As I have told you before, my mother grew up in the southern New Hampshire town of Hooksett, just north of Manchester. Her father, Albert Woodbury grew up on a hill top farm in the next town, Bow. She taught in one room schools in small towns in New Hampshire and roomed with local farmers. My mother had an up-country saying for everything. She was font of Yankee wisdom. She would have said of today's gospel, "Ayah, you sure can't tell a book by its cover" or "their hearts weren’t't in the right place". Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites. The Yankees would have called them for flushers. My Mother's Irish mother would have called them fakers. By any other name they are the same and they still walk among us.

Before I was ordained, I attended daily Mass in the same parish just about every day.

There was a woman who made am extremely reverent display when receiving communion. Now we all should receive reverently but I recall an elderly priest telling us young Maryknoll seminarians not to stand out from others in our devotions lest we call attention to ourselves and distract others from their own devotions. This woman could be accused of that but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I did notice that she would always change into the line where the priest was giving communion. She avoided lay ministers as if the sacrament was somehow better if received from a priest. Again, I gave her the benefit of the doubt but one day she changed lines from the priest to the lay minister. He was an African priest here for advanced studies and he was helping out at the parish. As my Mother would say, "Actions speak louder than words".

This Gospel is a great consolation to us, the little people. In it Jesus defends his working class disciples against their failure to obey the dictates of the elite. Jesus chose to be born of humble people, to work as a craftsman, to associate with working people and to preach to the poor and rebuke the rich and powerful.

Jesus instruction as to riches was simple, get rid of them, give them away to those in need. James, who was a disciple of Jesus tells us in today's reading: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world". Works of Charity are basic to the practice of our Faith. They are essential to what we are. The Catholic Church provides more health, social and educational services worldwide than any other non governmental agency because that is what Jesus commanded us to do.

What comes from within people, from the hearts of those concerned with only the

externals? Jesus tells us in today's Gospel; "evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder. Adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly". You do what you are; or, as Ma would say, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

This is tough stuff. It is not supposed to be easy to be a Christian. We are not to be like everybody else. We are our brother's keeper. We have been saved and sanctified by the life death and resurrection of the crucified Christ. We, the Baptized, are the Mystical Body of Christ, born again into life in Jesus Christ which we share with him and each other. We are not called to wealth and power but we are called to be the children of God. We are called to holiness. Each of us is called to be holy, to be a Saint. Nothing less will do. We become Saints through prayer, penance and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. By our sanctification we give honor and glory to God and that is the primary purpose of our existence. So don't be concerned with what others think. It's what you are that counts. Rejoice if you are just an ordinary person in the world's eyes. That is the kind of person Jesus liked to hang out with. As Ma would say, "You are judged by the company you keep".

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Today's readings deal with material wealth and our relationship to them. The reading from the Book of Wisdom makes clear that in relation to wisdom they are inferior. The author first prayed for prudence and upon its receipt pleaded for the spirit of wisdom which was accordingly granted to him. Wisdom was preferred over his scepter and crown and riches were deemed nothing in comparison with wisdom.

The psalm likewise pleads for wisdom, not material goods.

Saint Paul in the reading from Hebrews reminds us that everything about us is exposed to the Lord and it is to him that we must render an account. God knows us, knows the reflections and thoughts of our hearts, and knows what we our priorities are, what we value and what we disdain.

The gospel of Mark demonstrates this fact clearly. Jesus knows all about the young man before he even approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus first reminds him that only God is the ultimate good; that all else is at best a reflection of that ultimate good. Jesus tells the young man that he, Jesus, knows the young man already knows the answer: he must obey the commandments. The young man claims that he has done so from his youth.

And finally Jesus assures us that we cannot out give God. Whatever is given up for his sake is returned one hundred fold, here and in the life to come.

Some of us have accumulated more than others. Some of us have a surplus and some of us have none. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. But one thing is sure: we cannot give away what we have and hope to survive. But we are not required to. The young man was invited into a discipleship that required him to shed his wealth. We are not.

What we are required to do is examine our relationship to material things and to keep things in proportion. I was educated by the de la Salle Christian Brothers who's founder, Saint John Baptist de la Salle, wrote, "It is not a sin to have riches, but it is a sin to fix our hearts upon them". When wealth becomes more than a means to a legitimate end but becomes an end in itself that is sin.

One hundred million dollars in just one year! Who needs that? Who can spend that? That money came from somewhere. Someone or some group has one hundred million dollars less to spend so that this one individual can accumulate wealth way beyond any possible need that he might have. He did not even create any wealth or make anything, all he did was trade securities and take money off the top. This is wrong by any measure and the system that allows it is badly in need of reform.

So to summarize: For some, and only some, the call to discipleship involves giving away all material possessions but those will be rewarded one hundred times over both in this world and the next; for the rest of us, we are allowed to retain material wealth sufficient for our needs but the accumulation of excess material as an end in itself is sinful. We should seek Wisdom, with a capital W, in which, in the inspired words of the Psalmist, " shall the work of the Lord be seen by his servants and his glory by their children and the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours."

In wisdom there is no fear, only trust in goodness of the Lord who knows our needs and protects those who love Him.

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I was surprised one year when the Boston Globe published an editorial entitled "Whose Holiday?" The Globe editor wrote, "As for the war on Christmas- it's over. Retailers won a long time ago: the signature activity of the season is shopping." That got my attention. When you think about it, the "Season", regardless of whether you call it the Christmas Season or the Holiday Season, is a creation of the Retail Industry. It used to start on Thanksgiving Day with the parades, all of which were sponsored by local merchants. This year it started just as soon as retailers could get the Halloween stuff down and the Holiday stuff up and out on display.

All of this has led to a great deal on contention. An eighth grade Jewish boy wrote Dear Amy, "I feel uncomfortable going to the mall and seeing a humongous Christmas display, complete with Santa Claus, fake snow and a Christmas tree that reaches to the ceiling." He lamented that there was nothing more than a six foot menorah on display for Hanukkah and said, "He was personally offended by this." I could not agree more with this young man because I too am personally offended by this display. Not by the display of the Menorah which is a Jewish religious symbol and appropriate for a display celebrating Hanukkah. What he does not understand that fake snow, Santa Claus, decorated trees in the Mall are worldly symbols of the "Shopping Season" but they are not Christian religious symbols and have little to do with Christmas. Christmas is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Since it was initiated by Saint Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century, the Christian religious symbol for Christmas has been the Crèche, the Nativity Scene. I am sure you will never find a Crèche on display in a mall. The retail Shopping Season is not about Christ, it is about profit. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But let's recognize it for what it is.

The Shopping Season ends around 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve and is wound down by Clearance Sales. The Christian celebration of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord begins at Christ's Mass, hence the designation "Christmas" where English is the language spoken, This is the vigil of the Solemnity which extends for eight days in what is in the Church calendar calls the "Octave of the Nativity of the Lord". The celebration then continues through the Feast of the Epiphany when the Magi arrive to present their gifts to the infant savior of the world. Every kid likes to stretch out their birthday. The longer the better. The Church stretches out Christmas.

One day of celebration is not enough for the wonder we are celebrating which is: the Incarnation of the Son of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, into human form in the person of Jesus Christ, the infant son of Mary, a young Jewish girl of the tribe of Judah and the House of David. The period before Christmas is Advent, a time of penance and reflection in

preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord. Advent, four weeks of prayer penance in preparation for feast of Christmas, has been swallowed up by the Retail Holiday Season and as a result gets little attention. It may be, however, that what people go through to buy all the gifts and put up all the decorations and prepare all the food is in fact a form of penance but there is little time for prayer.

So at the proper time let us enjoy the full eight days of Christmas; but for these remaining weeks of Advent let us take time to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas which is: the hope for Peace on earth and Good Will to all. It is a time to meditate on the fact that God so loved the Human Race that He sent His only son to become one of us and thus one with us. It is a time to ponder our own unique relationship with the Creator. Genetics teaches that each of us has a unique genetic code, different from anyone else that ever has existed or will ever exist. Science tells us that our unique genetic code comes into existence at the moment of conception. Faith informs us that a unique human soul is created by God to animate our human body at that same instant.

Through our individual and unique sharing in the humanity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, we have become children of God. Through our Baptism, we come to share in the divine life of Christ as priest, prophet and Ruler. And so with John the Baptist let us again proclaim the Advent anthem of Isaiah:

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

Every valley shall be filled

and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth,

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God"

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WORDS OF WISDOM:

On Sunday, November 19, 1933 Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached on Repentance in London, England. His text was 2 Cor: 5-10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body."

Pastor Bonhoeffer taught; "Christ is the judge of human kind. His judgment is eternal.

Those who pass him by without having clearly said his 'Yes; or 'No', will have to stand opposite him and look him in the face in the hour of death when their lives are weighed in eternity. And the question will be 'Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?' Here there is no more subterfuge, no excuses, no beating around the bush, here one's whole life lies open before the light of Christ."

He concluded; "Finally what is 'good and evil' about which Christ asks us? The good is nothing other than we ask for his grace and take hold of it. The evil is nothing other than fear and wanting to stand before God on one's own, wanting to be self-righteous. Repentance means turning from one’s own work to the mercy of God."

If I may paraphrase. On our own, we are sunk; but, in Christ, we are saved.

The Lectionary from now until Advent focuses on the end times. Today they deal with life after physical death. Happy Holidays!

The mother and seven sons in today's reading from second Maccabees had no doubts about what was to come. As he was being slain one son proclaims, "... the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying." Another said, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you there will be no resurrection to life." What was their offence for which they died so horribly and yet willingly? They refused to eat pork. It was not because they didn’t't like pork. It was because the consumption of pork was forbidden by Mosaic Law. Their tormentors knew this. It was not about pork.

In today's Gospel a group of Sadducees poses a hypothetical question to Jesus about a woman who had been married to seven brothers. It was not about the woman. It was about what happens after physical death. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death. They would have eaten the pork. They were just being wise guys. You know the type. They are still around. But we must be grateful to them because, in his response, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is to come: " ...

those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise." In Pastor Bonhoeffer's words they are the ones who turned away from self and toward the grace and mercy that Christ, through his life death and resurrection, made available to the world and all its people.

For those of who accepts these truths of faith the issue is resolved; but what about the scoffers, the Sadducees?

I am reading a book that I recommend to them: Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. It is subtitled "What we can learn from the near death experience". I have read several books on near death experiences including that of Raymond Moody, M.D., LIFE AFTER LIFE, the first serious study of the subject. While interesting, they never really impressed me as evidence of anything other than personal experiences, probably resulting from oxygen deprivation. My uncle, Jim Boyle, died suddenly but was given CPR and came out of it a month later. Jim said "Don't be afraid of dying, there's nothing to it, one minute you're here and then you're not". This book, however, includes instances where some NDEers, as they are now known, relate facts that were impossible for them to know and which were independently verified as true e.g. A sneaker on a window ledge of the hospital which was found to be where the NDEer said it would be as well as other similar occurrences. But what have most impressed me are the many detailed descriptions of a full-life review immediately following the death experience. These narratives are strikingly similar and involve, what is described as a Being of Light, who is a loving presence and who assists in the review. Some identify this being as Jesus. The individual's entire life, including every detail however minute, is experienced in a timeless manner in 3D. What is striking is that they experience, as well as their own emotions and reactions, also those with whom they are interacting. For some this is excruciatingly painful. This seems perfect justice because what we have done unto others we will experience as done unto us.

So the next time you'are tempted to be insensitive or cruel to someone, remember you could also be doing it to yourself. Remember Bonhoeffer's question, "Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?" Think about it!

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Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

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Today is called Gaudete Sunday, Rejoice Sunday. Our first reading tells us to Shout for Joy, Sing Joyfully, Be glad and exult with all your heart. Saint Paul tells us, "Rejoice in the Lord always." We are to take a breather from the time of preparation that is advent to rejoice in the coming of the Christ and our consequent salvation.

It is hard to Rejoice this year. In the past week we have witnessed random shootings in an Oregon shopping mall and a Connecticut kindergarten, senseless violence coast to coast. The killing of innocent children is particularly hard to understand. The images of crying children on my TV set as I prepare what was to be a homily on the joy of the Christmas season will haunt my Christmas consciousness as I suspect it will haunt yours. At such times the question, How can a loving God permit this to happen? Is asked. The answer is: it is because human beings are capable of such evil that we have a Christmas. If there were not evil in the world there would be no need of Christmas. If we were not lost to sin we would have no need of a redeemer, no need of a savor, no need of a Christ. If we need a reminder of the evil of which human beings are capable we need only look at the crucifix which has a central place in all Catholic Churches.

Innocence itself was cruelly butchered.

The other question asked is, Why? There is no answer, there is no Why. Insane actions have no rational motive. But there are similarities. Both killers were alienated young men, ages twenty and twenty-four. One of the victims was the killer's mother and the other young man was basically parentless and raised himself. It was a young man who opened fire in a crowded theater in Aurora Colorado. It was a young man who took 32 lives at Virginia Tech. It was a young man who opened fire on Gabby Giffords and her companions. They all had mental health issues. They all had access to guns. They all were once in the second grade. They are all products of the secular culture that has developed in the last two generations. They are members of the so called millennial generation ,ages 18 to 29. Theirs is the least overtly religious generation in modern times with over 60% of them regarding religious life as not at all important. George Washington in his Farewell Address warned us. He said, "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

generation, the heroic teacher who died protecting her children was a millennial, but it is a recognition of a grave situation that is becoming increasingly worse. Typically, the response will be symptomatic such as plans for increased security and gun control. These are worthwhile but the cause will remain unaddressed as religion becomes more and more devalued. Yet, at such times where do people turn for comfort and solace? It is to religion. Who could not be moved by the scenes of the Memorial Service at St. Rose of Lima Church where an overflow crowd gathered to remember 7 young members of their parish who did not live to receive their First Communion.

So, what are we to do? We must grieve for those who have lost their children and for the surviving children who lost their childlike innocence. One can not begin to imagine their pain. We must put our own children first lest they too become alienated from family and faith. We must instill in them a love for God and for their Faith so that will have an anchor to hold them fast in the storms that are to come. We must make our homes Domestic Churches, places of sanctuary and prayer where God is present and welcomed

We can no longer trust society to form our children because society is becoming more and more perverted as religion is forced from public life. We have become a nation which defends pornography and condemns public prayer. It is up to us, each one of us to resist this decline in values. Our country will be as good we are, no better.

But, in spite of it all, we must rejoice. We must rejoice in the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ ,who by his life death and resurrection has conquered evil and given us hope that evil will not prevail and that love shall conquer in the end. We must rejoice in the Eucharist through which Jesus comes to abide in each of us as we experience his presence in the Sacrament of love and thanksgiving.

Deacon John Boyle. Third Sunday in Advent 2012

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Recently I saw a death notice to the effect that deceased, age 92, died unexpectedly. It seems that advanced age has become so common that death at any age is deemed unexpected. Yet death, along with taxes, remains unavoidable to us all. To believe that death is ever unexpected is to deny the reality of the situation. Maggie lived a long and productive life. She lived to see her children's grandchildren. Not many accomplish that feat. Her final illness was lengthy and that often happens when we live to an advanced age. I live in a retirement community with my wife. Many of my neighbors are in their eighties and some in their nineties. I am in my eightieth year. We all agree on one thing; old age is not for sissies. We also know that death is always to be expected sooner or later and in our situation probably sooner rather than later.

Because of our Faith we hope that Maggie is now where bodily aches and pains are no longer to be borne, where death has lost its sting and is no longer in the equation. But because of our Faith we hope for more. Our Faith teaches us that this life is but a preparation for what is to come. Eternal life is not our reward, it is our destiny. It is the reason Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of a woman into the human race. It is the reason He suffered died and rose again so that we might fulfill that destiny. By virtue of her Baptism, Maggie was born again into life in Jesus Christ and into hope for an eternity of joy His presence. The Gospel which we just heard tells us the way. It is through Jesus Christ; the way the truth and the life.

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Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A MT. 6: 24-34

Jesus lived in tough times. His was a conquered country, heavily taxed, brutally repressed. There was a lot to worry about and anxiety was a constant companion to those living under Roman oppression. Compared to those living in Jesus time we have it made and yet worry and anxiety are epidemic in our society. It has reached a point where an estimated 19.1 million people, more than 13 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 54 suffer from anxiety disorders. This does not include those whose lives are impacted by anxiety and resultant depression occasionally but not chronically so. Worry, anxiety and fear of the future were and are part of the human condition.

You could call today's gospel the Valium Gospel. I was, at one time of my life, very familiar with Valium but thanks to this gospel, no longer. Jesus tells us "do not worry" and asks "why are you anxious?". We respond, Yeah sure! If you only knew my problems. Well, guess what, he knows. Those of us who have experienced it know that anxiety is worry on steroids. It could put me in such pain that I would be curled up in a ball afraid I was going to die and even more afraid that I wasn't going to die. Compared to anxiety, mere worry is a day at the beach. We are told by well meaning souls to have faith. (little f)Anxiety is not caused by lack of faith, it is caused by brain chemistry and yet Faith (capital F)is a huge part of recovery. Now, hopefully, most of you have little or no idea of what I am talking about; but more than a few of you know exactly of what I speak. I am not talking about rational concern over existing problems and formulating sensible plans to overcome them. I am talking about a psychological paralysis that precludes action to resolve difficulties. I am talking about being scared. stiff.

The first step is seek competent professional help. Medication is usually required to stop

the downward spiral. Behavioral Therapy is also helpful but, for me, I also needed the Gospel cure.

I read this Gospel often, very often and, as instructed, resolved to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" by turning my will and my life over to His care and seeking His will for me on a daily basis. I try to live in the present moment because God's presence can be experienced only in the moment. It is impossible to experience anything other than in the present because we are always there. Anxiety arises when we try to resolve future difficulties in the present. That creates tension and that tension produces anxiety.

Jesus does not lie. He has promised, "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous and all these things", all the necessities of life, "will be given you besides." Isaiah has promised that the Lord can no more forget you than a mother can forget her child, that he will never forget you. Our job is to trust in their words.

I have come to believe that my anxiety attacks were a gift. They made me dig in. They made me practice the directives of the Gospel. As a result I have come to a place I would not otherwise have reached. Living in the moment, living in the presence of God, I have come to know a peace, love and joy that I would have never achieved otherwise. Nothing is so bad that it is worth my surrendering the peace of mind and joy that I can find in being in the Lord's presence. Remember, eternal life begins in this life. For good or evil we are already in it and, thus, we can begin to experience the joy of God's presence here and now while the best is yet to come. All that it takes is the willingness to let go and let God, to accept the fact that you can't and to accept and believe in the depths of your soul that God can and will if you will just let him.

All this works on every day worries too. Remember, worry and anxiety do not resolve problems, they only interfere in their resolution. Listen to Jesus. Give it a try. What have you got to lose?

Now we will experience Jesus in the Eucharist. He, who has promised relief from worry and anxiety, has remained with us, body, soul and divinity in this most blessed sacrament. Put your worries and anxieties in the cup of salvation as it is offered, give them to Jesus as he gives himself to you.

Dcn. John Boyle

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Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.

The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." The lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the"green thing" in its day. The lady went on to explain:

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day .

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then .we walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing .But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle

every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

We don't much like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to set us off... especially from a kid who can’t make change or read cursive.

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Well, surprising news this week, something that hasn’t happened in 600 years. The Pope will resign. In the retirement community where I live this is a topic of conversation not only for Catholics. Some ask,<Why so young he’s only 85.=Some, knowing that I am a deacon, they ask me who I think will be the new Pope as if I had some inside scoop. I answer them that while there may some difference in style there will be no difference in substance. Those who would turn the Catholic Church into a copy of the current Episcopal Church will again be disappointed. The Church’s mission is to form the world’s culture not to conform to it. The Church thinks in terms of thousands of years and teaches that eternal truths are just that, timeless. This does not mean that the Church does not evolve because it does, but it evolves in its understanding of truth, not in the essence of truth. This drives some people crazy. The Liberal on-line Journal Tikkun regularly publishes articles by disaffected Catholics to whom John Paul II and Benedict XVI are, in their words,<evil Fascists=. The British Lord Macauley once said,<As a Protestant it distresses me to say that the Catholic Church must be divinely instituted in that it has continued to exist in spite of the rascals and rogues who have led it.= When Napoleon captured the Pope in 1815 he told him,<I will destroy your Church= to which the Pope responded,<If we haven’t been able to destroy it in 1800 years what makes you think you can?=While it true that there have too many unworthy and worldly men who have served as Pope, not one has been inconsistent in essential doctrine and the Church has survived them with its doctrine intact. It must mean something that the Papacy is by far the oldest and longest lasting institution in the history of the world. Caesar is no more. There is no Tsar. There is no High Priest. There is no Caliph. There are no Emperors.

European monarchies are now mere symbols and the Papacy was already ancient when they came into existence. Of all the institutions that exist today the best bet to be existence a thousand years from now is the Catholic Church and its Papacy. No other institution has its track record.

How will it survive? It will survive by following the example of its Founder, Jesus Christ, as found in today’s gospel. Jesus resisted temptation by adhering to the timeless teachings of Holy Scripture. Knowing that Jesus was hungry the devil tempted him with bread. Like Jesus the Church must put spiritual principles ahead of material considerations. The Church truly does not live by bread alone. Many of the magnificent former Cathedrals in Europe are now museums but in Africa and Asia where the Church is growing Mass is said in grass huts and tin roofed sheds. The Church grows best where it is poor. Jesus rejected power and glory and resolved to serve only his Father. The Church, therefore, must always put its spiritual mission first and hold fast to the truth even if the truth is difficult and unpopular. To compromise principles to gain favor only results in the loss of both. The Church has Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will preserve it from error but it cannot be reckless. It must continue to build on timeless truths and avoid giving into the fashion of the day. All this it will do regardless of who is Pope. That is why it will survive.

At times it is not easy to be a Catholic. . To be a faithful Catholic is not for the faint of heart. As John Zmirak has written,<Catholicism is a wondrous religion but really a pathetic hobby=. The rewards are great but you have to work at it not dabble in it. The Church in its teachings is adhering to universal and eternal truths. It cannot teach error and survive. We,

however, as individuals, can and do fail at times to live up to Church teachings but our failure is isolated, individual, easily remedied and does no permanent damage. If the Church falls into error, there is no remedy and the result is permanent damage to the deposit of Faith.

A church that teaches what is, in essence, merely the fashion of the day is no Church at all and eventually becomes just a collection of individuals each of whom is their own church blowing in the winds of the present time.

We will now celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist which is<the sum and summit of our faith.= It is through the Church that we trace the Eucharist back to its institution by Christ at the Last upper on the night before he died. It is through the Church that we trace our bishops and priests back to the apostles. It is because of this continuity that we can be certain Christ is truly present body and blood, soul and divinity in what is shortly before mere bread and wine. This is true now and it will be true a thousand years from now. I’m willing to bet on it.

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The first question we must eventually ask ourselves is: Why is there something rather than nothing? This question is the subject of many books and much argument. I like to keep things simple. Either God exists or he doesn't. All agree that the existence of God can neither be proved or disproved scientifically so ultimately both belief and disbelief are acts of faith. Our answer to this question determines our view of the human person. Are we, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, " not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Is each of us is the result of a thought of God. Is each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary." Or, are we "merely a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe" as affirmed in the comic strip Dilbert. Regardless of which is true, the former is certainly more attractive than the latter.

Blaise Pascal in the 18th century put the question as follows: "God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up... Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose... But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is... If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is."

The next question we must answer is whether or not this God has made himself known to us. Again, this is a yes or no proposition. If you answer "No" the Unitarians will welcome you with open arms. If you answer "Yes", you have some work to do. The three Abrahamic Faiths each claim to possess Divine Revelation. The first in order of time are the Hebrew Scriptures followed by the New Testament and lastly, the Koran. As it always best to begin at the beginning, a serious inquiry would begin with the Hebrew Scriptures.

The key word and idea in the book Leviticus is holiness- a word that appears over eighty times. The key text is 11:45 "I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Israel had been chosen by God to be holy (the word means to be "set apart") to be different from the world, to accomplish God's plan of salvation for the world. Peter Kreeft

The theme of universal holiness is emphasized in the Vatican II Document Lumen Gentium:

"Therefore in the Church, everyone ...is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification".

The Council in the document Apostolicam actuositatem (Apostolic Activity) promulgated on 18 Nov 1965 detailed the importance of the laity in completion of the Church's mission. It stated, "In the Church there is a diversity of ministry but a oneness of mission. Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling in His name and power. But the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world."

You are engaged in one of the most important ministries of the Church, the formation of the young. It is your mission to instill a desire for holiness in the next generation. But first we must define holiness if we are to have an idea of the goal.

Some definitions of holiness:

This of course is what holiness is: preferring God's will to all other things. Ralph Martin

Francis de Sales makes clear that that the essence of holiness is to be completely ordered towards love- love of God and neighbor, thereby being fully conformed to God's will. Ralph Martin Holiness means "to know Christ better and to make him better known to others."

then-Bishop Salvatore Cordileone

Only sanctity can justify Christianity's existence; only sanctity can make the case for faith; only sanctity, or the hope thereof, can ultimately redeem the world. Ross DouthathPerfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be. Ste. Therese, The Little Flower. There is a celebrated saying by the French writer Leon Bloy, who, in the last moments of his life, said "The only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint." Let us not lose the hope of holiness; let us follow this path. Do we want to be saints? The Lord awaits us, with open arms: he wants to accompany us on the path to sanctity. Pope Francis

The final question is how does one become holy, how do we become saints, how do we lead others to sanctity?

The Baltimore Catechism answered the question, Why did God make me?" simply and directly. He made me to know him, to love him and to serve him in this world and to be happy forever with him in the next. In brief, he made us to become saints and to do so we must know him, love him and serve him- here and now.

Know him:

The Bible:

You Can Understand the Bible Peter Kreeft Ignatius Publishing $14.46 The Catholic Bible Personal Study Edition Oxford University Press $25.68

Church teachings:Catechism of the Catholic Church USCCB Edition $23.70 Catholic Christianity Peter Kreeft Ignatius Publishing $18.22

Love him:

In the way of God, thoughts count very little. Love does it all. God, having need of nothing, considers only the love that accompanies our work. This sums up our entire call and duty: to adore God and to love Him, without worrying about the rest. Brother Lawrence.

You have only one moment, and it is the most beautiful moment: the present moment. Live it completely in the love of God. And if you build your life like a crystal from a million such sparkling moments, what a beautiful life it will be. Do you not see how easy it is? Francois Xavier Nguyen van Thuan.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and everyone of us. Ste. Therese, the Little Flower.

Why we must love our neighbor:For it is of the nature of love, to love when it feels itself loved, and to love all things loved of its beloved. So when the soul has by degrees known the love of its Creator toward it, it loves Him, and, loving Him, loves all things whatsoever that God loves. St. Catherine of Sienna.

Rabbi Heschel teaches that our "central concern is not ... how to escape death but rather, how to sanctify life." And that "Man is man not because of what he has in common with earth but because of what he has in common with God."

I believe we can best experience God in this life through love because God is love and no other attribute of God is as open to us here and now. Start with those who are easy to love and work your way up. Babies are a good place to begin especially grandchildren. That feeling of emotion, the warmth and glow we experience in their presence is just the beginning, a billionth, of the love that God has for us, for each of his earthly children. As we begin to understand and experience just how much we are loved we can begin to love others, even the unlikeable, because the God who so loves us loves them equally. Love feeds on love. The more we love the more we experience the wonder of being loved.

If we live in love in this life, death is merely a transition from imperfect to perfect love and heaven is not a place to go but is the completion of a transition already begun.

Meditation on Lord's Prayer- God as Our Father Meditation on the Crucifix

The Fulfillment of All Desire Ralph Martin Emmaus Road $15.63 Serve him: Chapter One of Apostolic Activity:

Difficult times:

To heal a suffering man is a noble and beautiful thing. But there is a difference between dulling his pain, and making him whole and well.

What we need to do in the years ahead is what God has always asked us to do: forgive each other; encourage each other; protect the weak; serve the needy; raise the young in virtue; speak with courage; and work for the truth without ceasing- always in a spirit of love.Charles J Chaput. OFM. Cap. The Catholic Church is the largest NGO in the nation. It operates more schools, universities, hospitals, social service organizations and the like than all the rest put together but that is not even remotely its primary purpose. These activities result from evangelization but are not its purpose which is the Sanctification of Souls. As each of us is called to be holy, to be a Saint. Nothing less will do. As we have seen we become Saints through prayer, penance and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. By our sanctification we give honor and glory to God and

that is the primary purpose of our existence. As Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ... and we were all given to drink of one Spirit". We, the Baptized, like those in the upper room on Pentecost, are charged by virtue of our Baptism to carry the Gospel to a world desperately in need of it. If we don't, who will?

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Jerry Seinfeld invented a holiday for those who had no holiday to celebrate during the already crowded Holiday Season. He called it “Festivus”, a festival for the rest of us. As a practical matter, it seems the Holiday Season, which Festivus typifies, now begins immediately following Halloween. The first big event is Black Friday which this year began on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. It is called Black Friday because it is the day when the retail Industry goes from the red into the black. The shopping mania intensifies through Cyber Monday reaching its zenith on the final weekend before Festivus Day. Festivus type celebrations continue through the “Holiday” which is marked by the arrival of Santa Claus, exchange of gifts, lots of food and an NBA double header. The next day “Holiday Trees” are removed to the curb and preparations begin for the next big event, New Years Eve. Festivus activities then go dormant until the final event, which may be the most important of all to some, Super Bowl Sunday. All in all it is a time of great fun and contributes hugely to the economy. During this festive Holiday Season the Church celebrates two liturgical seasons. They run concurrently with the Holiday Season but have little to do with it. The first is Advent which is a four week period of prayer and penance in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. It is signified by the Advent wreath which contains four candles, one for each of the Sundays of Advent. Its Christmas Season begins at this Vigil Mass hence the name “Christmas”and continues until January 13th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During our Christmas Season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family; the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; and the Solemnity of the Epiphany. Thus, we begin our Liturgical Year with a period of prayer and penance followed by an extended period of worshipful celebration. Unfortunately they are not as much fun as Holidays like Festivus and do not contribute to the economy so they get little mention outside of Parish Bulletins.

We, here at the Christmas vigil mass, begin the celebration of the Nativity, the birth, of Our Lord. We commemorate the birth of the God-man, Jesus, called the Christ. We celebrate the fact that God so loves us that he sent his only son to become one of us. It is our Faith that Jesus is one person possessing two natures, one fully divine and one fully human. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise through the Prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel which we heard in the first reading. He is the one whom in the second reading Saint Paul identifies as foretold by John the Baptist. He is the one of whom the angel of the Lord told Joseph when he said, “For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived...”. He is God’s gift to humankind conceived at the Annunciation, which we celebrated on March 25th,.

The Christmas Season is not, however, the Major Feast of the Church. It was not celebrated until the fourth century. The Major Feast is, and always has been, the Resurrection. As Saint Paul taught, If Christ is not truly risen from the dead, then our faith is in vain. The entire liturgy of the Church, including the celebration of Christ’s mass, points to the Easter Vigil. If there was no resurrection, there is no Church, there are no sacraments, there is no salvation.

But what is so special about the Mass. Why is it that it is Christ’s mass that we celebrate? Why not just call it Christ’s birthday. Why is the Mass the center of all our worship? It is because the Bible tells us so. Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John is the answer. Jesus said “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” That is why the Church teaches that, “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. That is why it is Christ’s Mass. That is why it is Christmas and not just another holiday in a season of holidays.

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I hope you enjoyed the Yule celebration. Last Thursday was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the beginning of the return of the sun. Decorated trees and wreaths all come from the Yule celebration which is making a comeback in some circles as one of the

<Holidays= celebrated in the Holiday Season. The Christmas Season, however, begins with this mass and continues until January 8th, The Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. In between we celebrate the Feast of Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, on December 26th, the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist on December 27th, The Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28th, the Feast of the Holy Family on December 31st, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1st, and the Solemnity of the Epiphany on January 7th. For Catholic and Orthodox Christians the Holidays are just beginning. Enjoy!

There are different Readings for each of the Christmas masses. We just heard the story of Joseph’s dream from Matthew’s Gospel. At midnight the Gospel will be from Saint Luke and will tell the story of the trip to Bethlehem, the birth of the Lord, the Angelic message to the shepherds. The mass at dawn will feature the continuation of the Nativity story from Luke. At the Mass on Christmas day the Gospel will be the first Chapter from Saint John which reveals the divinity of Christ. You really need to hear them all to get the true picture of just what it is that we celebrate. But there is unique message in the Gospel we just heard.

Poor Joseph. He is betrothed to a beautiful young woman from a good family and she becomes pregnant. It is not adultery under Jewish law as she is not yet married but it is fornication which is serious but not fatal. Betrothal was the next thing to marriage but under Jewish law a man could divorce his wife or betrothed by a simple declaration of intent. Sort of like today. In order to save Mary from further shame this is what he determined to do, quietly.

It is at this point that Joseph finds through a dream what his role in the drama of Salvation is to be. He knew his life had been irrevocably changed. All of a sudden this humble carpenter was transformed into a major player in the Greatest Story ever told. He was to be the foster father of the Messiah, the Christ. What did he do? He obeyed the angel’s command without hesitation and took Mary, his wife, into his home.

There is not much said about Joseph in the Gospels but he is always in the background. He is never quoted but we can infer from what is written that he did his job well. He took the

Holy Family to Egypt to avoid Herod’s murderous purge of the children of Bethlehem. He accompanied Mary when she presented her child in the Temple and looked for him when he was feared to be lost. He fed and clothed Mary and her child by the sweat of his brow and the work of his hands. He taught Jesus his trade. He apparently died of natural causes before Jesus entered upon his public ministry as he is not mentioned during this period.

Joseph’s life is the best example of Saint Therese’s <Little Way=; if you are called upon to do only little things do them with great love=. He is the model for those of us who are husbands and fathers. When you look at the Nativity scenes at Christmas Saint Joseph is usually at the rear standing quietly but ready if needed. He is, among many other things, the Patron of the Universal Church. I wonder what the humble carpenter of Nazareth thinks of all these posthumous honors. I would not be surprised if he is not too impressed by them.

So we begin our Christmas Season celebration with a Gospel featuring a humble tradesman who lived in backwater of the Roman Empire. But he had a significant role in the story of our salvation.

It is the story that changed history and has given hope to billions over the last two thousand years and continues to be The Greatest Story ever told. The creator of all that is so loved us that he sent his only begotten son to become one of us, to become human that we might become divine.

We celebrate this fact through the Sacrifice of the mass through which Christ comes again to be present to us on the altar in the Eucharist and sanctifies us in Holy Communion. Rejoice and celebrate the entire Christmas Season.

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I remember as a little kid waiting excitedly for the mail man to bring, what was for me, the beginning of the Christmas celebration: the holy of holies, the Sears Roebuck Christmas Catalog. For me the good news was not proclaimed by a chorus of Angels but by the U S Postal Service. I loved going through it with my mother whom I suspected had something to do with Santa's and Christmas toys.

A few years ago Jerry Seinfeld invented a holiday that defined the Holiday Season for those who had no holiday to celebrate during the already crowded Holiday Season. He called it "Festivus", a festival for the rest of us. It encapsulates my childhood Festival of the Catalog and more. As a practical matter, it seems the Holiday Season, which Festivus typifies, now begins immediately following Halloween. The first big event is Black Friday which this year began on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. It is called Black Friday because it is the day when the retail Industry goes from the red into the black. The shopping mania intensifies through Cyber Monday reaching its zenith on the final weekend before Festivus Day. Festivus type celebrations continue through the "Holiday" which dares not say its name in certain circles and is marked by the arrival of Santa Claus, exchange of gifts, lots of food and an NBA double header. The next day "Holiday Trees" are removed to the curb and preparations begin for the next big event, New Years Eve. Festivus like activities then go dormant until the final event, which may be the most important of all to some, Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy it. It is a time of great fun and contributes hugely to the economy. During this festive Holiday Season the Church celebrates two liturgical seasons. They run concurrently with the Holiday Season but have little to do with it. The first is Advent which is a four week period of prayer and penance in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity.

It is signified by the Advent wreath which contains four candles, one for each of the Sundays of Advent.

The Christmas Season begins at this Vigil Mass hence the name "Christmas"and continues until January 13th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During our Christmas Season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family; the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; and the Solemnity of the Epiphany. Thus, we begin our Liturgical Year with a period of prayer and penance followed by an extended period of worshipful celebration. Unfortunately they are not as much fun as Holidays like Festivus and do not contribute to the economy so they get little mention outside of Parish Bulletins.

We, here at the Christmas vigil mass, begin the celebration of the Nativity, the birth, of Our Lord. We commemorate the birth of the God-man, Jesus, called the Christ. We celebrate the fact that God so loves us that he sent his only son to become one of us. It is our Faith that Jesus is one person possessing two natures, one fully divine and one fully human. He is the fulfillment of God's promise through the Prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel which we heard in the first reading. He is the one whom in the second reading Saint Paul identifies as foretold by John the Baptist. He is the one of whom the angel of the Lord told Joseph when he said, "For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived...". He is God's gift to humankind conceived at the Annunciation, which we celebrated on March 25th,.

The Christmas Season is not, however, the Major Feast of the Church. It was not celebrated until the fourth century. The Major Feast is, and always has been, the Resurrection. As Saint Paul taught, If Christ is not truly risen from the dead, then our faith is in vain. The entire liturgy of the Church, including the celebration of Christ's mass, points to the Easter Vigil. If there was no resurrection, there is no Church, there are no sacraments, there is no salvation.

But what is so special about the Mass. Why is it that it is Christ's mass that we celebrate? Why not just call it Christ's birthday. Why is the Mass the center of all our worship? It is because the Bible tells us so. Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John is the answer. Jesus said "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." That is why the Church teaches that, "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. Every mass is Christ's Mass. At every Mass the Babe of Bethlehem is born again on our altars in the appearance of bread and wine. It is through the mass that Jesus keeps his promise made in the last verse of Matthew's Gospel, "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

That is why it is Christ's Mass. That is why it is Christmas and not just another holiday in a season of holidays.

Deacon John Boyle Christmas Vigil 2018

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Jerry Seinfeld invented a holiday for those who had no holiday to celebrate during the already crowded Holiday Season. He called it "Festivus", a festival for the rest of us. As a practical matter, it seems the Holiday Season, which Festivus typifies, now begins immediately following Halloween. The first big event is Black Friday which this year began on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. It is called Black Friday because it is the day when the retail Industry goes from the red into the black. The shopping mania intensifies through Cyber Monday reaching its zenith on the final weekend before Festivus Day. Festivus type celebrations continue through the "Holiday" which dares not say its name in certain circles and is marked by the arrival of Santa Claus, exchange of gifts, lots of food and an NBA double header. The next day "Holiday Trees" are removed to the curb and preparations begin for the next big event, New Years Eve. Festivus like activities then go dormant until the final event, which may be the most important of all to some, Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy it. It is a time of great fun and contributes hugely to the economy. During this festive Holiday Season the Church celebrates two liturgical seasons. They run concurrently with the Holiday Season but have little to do with it. The first is Advent which is a four week period of prayer and penance in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. It is signified by the Advent wreath which contains four candles, one for each of the Sundays of Advent. Its Christmas Season begins at this Vigil Mass hence the name "Christmas"and continues until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During our Christmas Season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family; the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; and the Solemnity of the Epiphany. Thus, we begin our Liturgical Year with a period of prayer and penance followed by an extended period of worshipful celebration. Unfortunately they are not as much fun as Holidays like Festivus and do not contribute to the economy so they get little mention outside of Parish Bulletins.

We, here at the Christmas vigil mass, begin the celebration of the Nativity, the birth, of Our Lord. We commemorate the birth of the God-man, Jesus, called the Christ. We celebrate the fact that God so loves us that he sent his only son to become one of us.It is our Faith that Jesus is one person possessing two natures, one fully divine and one fully human. He is the fulfillment of God's promise through the Prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel which we heard in the first reading. He is the one whom in the second reading Saint Paul identifies as foretold by John the Baptist. He is the one of whom the angel of the Lord told Joseph when he said, "For it is through

the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived...". He is God's gift to humankind conceived at the Annunciation, which we celebrated on March 25th,.

The Christmas Season is not, however, the Major Feast of the Church. It was not celebrated until the fourth century. The Major Feast is, and always has been, the Resurrection. As Saint Paul taught, If Christ is not truly risen from the dead, then our faith is in vain. The entire liturgy of the Church, including the celebration of Christ's mass, points to the Easter Vigil. If there was no resurrection, there is no Church, there are no sacraments, there is no salvation.

Every mass is Christ's Mass. At every Mass the Babe of Bethlehem is born again on our altars in the appearance of bread and wine. It is through the mass that Jesus keeps his promise made in the last verse of Matthew's Gospel, "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

That is why it is Christ's Mass. That is why it is Christmas and not just another holiday in a season of holidays.

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When we were being taught what is called Homiletics, how to give a sermon, in Diaconate Formation we were cautioned against creating Saints in funeral homilies. Conferring sainthood is the Popes job and way above our place on the bottom rung of Holy Orders. So I shall not canonize Gerry; but, I will say that I would be very surprised if he were not now where he wanted to be: with Jesus and seeing God. As he was dying he often said that was his hope: to be with Jesus and to see God. In that he was like Job, who, in the first reading cried, "And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing." Gerry, like Job, longed to see God. But there is more to it than just that. Gerry's theology was very profound. We heard in the second reading from Saint John that the children of God will someday be like God for they shall see him as he is. This is more than just seeing God as one sees a material object, it is seeing God as he is, that is, seeing and comprehending the divine essence; it is seeing and comprehending the Godness of God, and thus becoming like God. Like all the Baptized, Gerry has been with Jesus since that day when the Trinity was invoked on him as the water of life was poured over him. The catechism teaches us that by our baptism the Father has caused us to be reborn to His life by adopting us as his children in His only son. He incorporates us into the Body of His Christ; thus through the anointing of His Spirit, who flows from the head to the members, he makes us other, "Christs".

I believe that as he approached death, Gerry understood these truths. He showed no fear, no dread, only hope and expectation of the joy to be found in being in the company of his friend and savior, Jesus Christ, and in the wonder of seeing the Heavenly Father and becoming like Him. Gerry showed us all how a man of faith faces death: calmly, fearlessly, and hopefully.

Ever the considerate and thrifty husband he said he wanted to live until January first so Mary could file a joint tax return. He made it and then some.

The only time I heard him complain he said dying "was taking too long" It did take longer than was expected and this put a great deal of stress on his family. They responded as a good family does. They put aside all the possible distractions and gave their all so that their husband and father would not die in the cold and impersonal atmosphere of a hospital or extended care facility. This was not easy and was especially hard on Mary, who had to put up with strangers in her home and many sleepless nights. But you persevered and you, Mary, Chrissy, Paul and Joanne, can find satisfaction and consolation in the fact that Gerry died peacefully in his own home as he wanted.

Mary and Gerry had six grandchildren and one great-grand son. Pat and I share Joanne and three of their grandsons. All you grandparents know how special grandchildren are. Grandchildren make us better than we are. We have to try to be powers of example. This is not easy and we often come across as funny old people who are sort of out of it. Well, Papa Gerry did a good job of living. He and Mima were married over 55 years. They raised and educated your parents who reflect the excellence of the job they did. But, he also did an exceptional job of dying. When, many years from now, your time comes as it comes for us all, think back to this time and remember how he did it. He did it by living a life of faith and by availing himself of the graces found in the sacraments of the Church. He loved the Eucharist, the Mass. He received the Sacrament of the sick by which all sins are forgiven, he received viaticum, which is the final Eucharist, he loved prayer, especially the Rosary, he never said one Hail Mary, always three. He was certain that this is not his end but only his beginning, the beginning of eternal life with and in Jesus Christ.

Without our Faith death is only the mournful end of a life which has often been a struggle and which ultimately ends in pain and defeat. Death wins, we lose. But

with our Faith there is hope and with hope there is peace and even joy. Death loses, we win. Remember this so that when the time comes you will be able to say with Saint Paul and Papa Gerry, "O death, where is your victory; O death, where is your sting?"

We will now celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Gerry's behalf. In this Sacrament of Thanksgiving, Eucharist means thanksgiving, we will give thanks for the life of Gerardo Coletti, faithful husband, loving father, father-in-law, grandfather, great grandfather, brother , friend and, who knows, a Saint.

Dcn John Boyle Jan. 29 2009

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In 1920 William Butler Yeats wrote the poem: THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spritus MundiTroubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desertA shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about itReel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I knowThat twenty centuries of stony sleepwere vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

This poem was first published following the Great War (WWI) . Yeats was not a Christian but was a product of his class and time. As a student of Hindu spirituality he viewed existence as circular, hence the reference to the circling falcon.

The best, to Yeats, were the British upper class who have, as a result of the carnage of the war, lost all conviction and the worst who "are full of passion and intensity" are the advocates of the doctrines of bolshevism and fascism developing on the European continent. Yeats sees the two thousand year cycle of Western civilization moderated and formed by Christianity as coming to an end. He sees the "Spirit of the pagan pre-Christian world" as represented by the Sphinx awakening and slouching toward Jerusalem, the birthplace of Christianity, to be reborn in its stead. It is not the second coming of Christ. It is far from it. Yeats' fears were prophetic. Over 100 million people died in Europe in the ensuing carnage of World War II. Nazi socialism and Leninist Marxism were eventually discredited and left the scene but in the process Europe lost what was left of its soul.

It is sad but true that the doctrines of the Humanistic religion of the post-Christian age sound reasonable. Abortion eliminates the problem of unwanted children. Assisted suicide allows people to determine their own fate and euthanasia relieves society of the burden of caring for the terminally ill or disabled. Elimination of traditional marriage as the basic family unit allows children to be born and raised according to the lifestyle preference of a single parent. It is all so reasonable, simply a matter of individual choice.

On the other hand, Jesus teaching in today's Gospel is so unreasonable. "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day" How unreasonable can you get? Many of his disciples left him because of this teaching. It was after all " a hard teaching". According to a Pew Forum Survey: 40 percent of those professing to be Catholic do not believe Christ meant what he said. To them He is present only symbolically or not at all. It's just not reasonable. Yet, the Church teaches, "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian Life". It is what makes us what we are. How unreasonable!

Saint John Henry Newman said in this regard, "It is difficult, impossible to imagine, I grant; - but how is it difficult to believe?". If we can believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, it is no stretch to believe that He can be truly present in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine?

Can it be that the unreasonable is true and the reasonable false? How reasonable is it that men and women in their millions have died for their Faith, for their nation, or for their individual liberty? How reasonable is it that, from the beginning of the Human Race women, have been willing to risk their health and lives to bear the next generation? How reasonable is it that God would send his only begotten Son to suffer, die, and rise again that we might have eternal life?

God save us from the reasonable as we give thanks for the unreasonable. It is the unreasonable that gives us hope while the reasonable often leads only to despair.

David Bentley Heart in commenting in his book "Atheist Delusion" on the passage of the Christian Revolution and the re-berth of pre-Christian attitudes writes: "It seems ... quite reasonable to imagine that increasingly, the religion of the God-man (Christianity), who summons human beings to become created gods through charity, will be replaced once again by the more ancient religion of the man-god (Humanism), who wrests his divinity from the intractable material of his humanity and solely through the exertions of his will. Such a religion will not, in all likelihood, express itself through a new Caesar, of course, or a new emperor or Fuhrer; its operations will be more 'democratically' diffused through society as a whole. But such a religion will always kill and then call it justice, or compassion, or sad necessity."

We will now celebrate the unreasonable yet miraculous in the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass, whereby Jesus will come to be physically present with us and in us through Communion. Also, Jesus will be present in this Church from 3 to 4 pm Sunday afternoon. Come to further celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ by spending an hour with him.

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Donald Robert Kenney

The wise man who wrote Ecclesiastes, a reading from which a selection is often heard at funerals, named the appointed times of life. He begins at the beginning, the time to be born; and ends at the end, the time to die. All the other times fall in between, both the good and the bad, but physical birth and physical death are the parameters within which we are measured and upon which we are judged. Shortly after his birth Don was brought to a church and Baptized. At that time he was clothed in a white garment to signify the purity of life in Christ into which he was born on that day. Today he lies in this church covered with a white garment which signifies that life in Christ which he lived and now carries into eternal life.

A human life, any human life, forever changes the universe. It will never be as it was before. A human life, any human life is therefore wondrous. But Baptism forever changes the life of the Baptized. Natural life has been transformed into supernatural life and that is even more wondrous. When I prepare parents for their child's baptism it is this moment at the end of life that I ask them to consider. Will their child grow in the life of Christ or will it gradually weaken and eventually be lost to the demands and temptations of this world?

What can we say of Donald Robert Kenney on this day as he lies before us clothed in the white garment which signifies his Baptism. How did he do? That question can be answered in only one word. OUTSTANDING.

I met Don Kenney when he started hanging around my kid cousin, Elise whom we called ECIE. She was the only girl among the cousins and therefore often teased but always treasured. Don graduated from Boston College, was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Army and married Elise and they left to begin their life together. Linda, Laura, my God Child, and Jimmy were born in rapid succession. That happened a lot in our generation. Don and Elise lived the Army life and moved from post to post. Two tours in Viet Nam were experienced and we only imagine the anxiety of that period for both of them. Happily they survived and Michael was born. Don rose to the rank of Bird Colonel and eventually they retired to their Florida home. Don and Elise's story is one of fidelity and faith: fidelity to country, family, duty and each other; faith in Christ and his church and especially faith in each other.

Each of us knew Don according to our relationship with him. I knew him as an easy going guy with an Irish sense of humor who loved my cousin. His children knew him as a loving father; to Elise he was her soul mate, the love of her life, to his grandchildren he was the Grandpa who

loved them unconditionally. To his brothers and sisters he was an essential part of their life story. To his country he was its courageous defender. To his Church he was its faithful son. He was all that and more.

There is no question that Don will be greatly missed and it will take a long time, if ever, to adjust to his loss. The curse of a good marriage is the seemingly unbearable pain of the death of your life's companion. My cousin Elise is a good Army wife and she will adjust and survive but she will need the support of those who love her. For Linda, Laura, Jimmy and Michael life will go on but many times they will think, "I had better ask Dad what he thinks" before remembering that Dad cannot answer. Death is hard on Grandchildren. For most it is the first time they must face the fact that those who love them eventually pass out of their lives. At times like this life is truly hard. It breaks your heart, but don't let it break your spirit.

The gospel tells us there are many dwelling places in the Father's house. Let us pray that there is a special dwelling place for Don where there will be joy, laughter, and love in the company of Jesus Christ, who promised a place in his father's house for each of his disciples, for each of those who love him and do his will.

Though Don's time to die has arrived, through our faith we know it is also his time to be born, only this time into eternal life. Yes, it is a time to mourn for those who loved him. But while you mourn, remember to love life and one another as Don did, for our faith tells us the best is yet to come if we but love and follow Jesus, who is indeed "the way and the truth and the life".

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Well, you have just heard a lot of scripture. You have heard the creation story followed by a Psalm celebrating God's works. Then we jumped ahead to the story of the Israelite's escape from slavery in Egypt which our Jewish brothers and sisters are now celebrating during Passover. The psalm sings of a glorious and triumphant God. The reading from the Prophet Isaiah tells us our Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel called God of all the earth and promises peace and justice to the children of Israel. The psalm sings of salvation. I must confess, this is a lot of scripture and the hour is growing late and it has been busy day so I am sure most of us didn't grasp it all. So, let me summerize: God created the world and gave human beings dominion over it. He favored the children of Israel and brought them out of slavery for a purpose. And finally, he calls his chosen people to renew their special relationship with him through the covenant of David, the promise of a Messiah. This all leads us to the story of Jesus who came into the world to fulfill God's promises to his people. And what a story it is!

Yesterday those of us who were able to attend the Good Friday service attended a funeral

service. We heard the Passion of the Lord according to John, the story of Jesus, trial, scourging, crucifixion and death. No question about it, Jesus was dead and buried, dead,dead,dead. His followers fled, their hopes dashed, their lives now in danger. Jesus own last words were, "It is finished".

The next day was the Sabbath so nothing could be done but the next day the two Marys went to visit the tomb and found the heavy stone which had sealed the grave was rolled back and Jesus body was gone. In the next forty days Jesus appeared to many of the disciples. He was not dead but was not alive as we understand alive. He was different. He appeared and disappeared.

He appeared suddenly in locked rooms. He was more than resurrected, he was glorified. Can this really be the truth? Can we believe it? Let me ask you this. Why were his enemies unable to produce his body? I am sure they looked for it. If it were not the truth what are the odds that two thousand years later over two billion people would be celebrating the truth of it this Easter day.

What are the odds of his scattered band of followers converting most of the then known world to belief in spite of oppression and martyrdom? Jesus is the most famous person who ever lived. Could this be true if he was in fact merely dead and buried in a back water of the world two thousand years ago?

So what does this mean for us? Saint Paul tells us "We were indeed baptized with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life." The Easter candle represents the risen Christ. It burns with his light. At our Baptism our parents were presented with a candle which they lit from the Easter candle and charged to keep it burning brightly so that the light of Christ may be kept alive in our life. It is by our Baptism that we are reborn into life in Christ, that we share in his divinity. Thus it is also our own rebirth into glory that we celebrate this evening. Tonight you will stand with a lighted candle in your hand and renew your baptismal promises of faith. The flame of your candle represents the life of Christ into which you were born at your Baptism and which was entrusted to your parents on that happy day.

This most holy day of the year is not just a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It is also a celebration of our own death unto the world and our rebirth into eternal life in Christ. We have been blessed from all eternity and for all eternity through the mysteries of the past three days: the institution of the Eucharist; the sacrificial passion and death of Jesus, the Christ and his glorious resurrection.

In gratitude we can only repeat the words from the Exultet:

Father, how wonderful your care for us!

How boundless your merciful love!

To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

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When Marilyn called me and asked if I would make a presentation at this gathering I asked her what she thought would be of interest. She mentioned the George Zimmerman trial which had just concluded at that time. I told her I thought that trial was an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences and hence the topic of today. The bulk of my legal career was spent as the General Counsel of the Massachusetts State Lottery. We started that from scratch. It was among the first and we had to make it up as we went along. It was a spotlighted agency and was the subject of many media extravaganzas attempting to expose our anticipated incompetence. So, when people asked me what kind of law I practiced I would respond; The Law of Unintended Consequences and Murphy's Law. It was my job to anticipate and avoid these pitfalls. The quality of my work was measured by what didn't happen.

Let me elaborate on these two laws. The sociologist, Robert K. Merton, writing in 1936, mentioned five different ways that action, particularly those taken on a large scale as by governments may have unexpected consequences, both negative or positive. These include ignorance of possible far reaching effects, new unexpected developments which alter the facts upon which the action was based and self interest to the extent that a person so desperately wants to see a change that he or she doesn't evaluate the ultimate effects of that change. Pastor Reinhold Niebuhr, as a good disciple of Saint Augustine and John Calvin, taught, "Tragedy flows from overlooked human weaknesses that turn hopes upside down and bring disappointment and even desolation to ballyhood purposes... human actions nearly always end in unintended consequences." Catholic scholar George Weigel has pointed out that, "science and technology always carry with them a revenge of unintended consequences." Steve Jobs wrote, "There are down sides to everything; there are unintended consequence to everything." Author and political advisor Michael Novack has written, "Achieving the higher common good through politics takes more than a good character and good intentions. There are a million ways in which actions can go wrong and produce unintended consequences." When I worked in the State House a sign hung in one office to the effect that, "Neither life, liberty, nor the pursuit of happiness was safe when the Legislature was in session."

Murphy's law, briefly stated, is; whatever can go wrong does and usually at the worst possible moment. We have all seen that law in operation in our own lives.

I was successful in my Lottery career although I dodged many bullets. On one occasion we did cause a problem. It was not unanticipated but happened anyway. Relate Drawing story.

It is not my attention to argue the merits of the laws that have produced the consequences we will discuss. They all meant well. It is the fact of the consequences we will investigate.

Some examples: Stand your ground- Zimmerman Case

Some U.S. jurisdictions impose a duty to retreat from an attacker before one can resort to the use of deadly force. This is a carryover from the English common law. Up until 2005 Florida was one of these jurisdictions. In 2005 Florida enacted a law commonly known as "Stand your Ground" which now applies in varying degrees in 24 states. The driving force behind these laws was domestic abuse where the wife did not withdraw, used deadly force and therefore could not use self-defense as justification. The Florida Legislature with the best intentions passed a law to remedy this situation. The Florida Law is a self-defense, self protection law. It has four key components:

It establishes that law-abiding residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use

defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder.

In any other place where a person has "a right to be" that person has no duty to retreat if attacked and 'may meet force with force including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself to prevent the commission of a forcible felony"

In either case, a person using any force permitted by the law is immune from criminal prosecution or civil action and cannot be arrested unless a law enforcement agency determines there is probable cause that the force was unlawful.

This law has generated a number of case, including the Zimmerman//Martin case where the unanticipated consequences have been dramatic. In Zimmerman, under the police departments analysis of the facts and law Zimmrman was neither arrested nor charged. Following an expression of national outrage Zimmerman was arrested, indicted and tried. Following his sensational trial which was televised nationally he was acquitted. The nearly unanimous opinion, including the jury members who acquitted him, was that he was guilty of something but due to the state of the law no one could figure out just what. Did the State of Florida intend to allow an individual to essentially stalk and unarmed teen age and kill him when he attempted to defend himself? I doubt it. Is that essentially what happened? Yes.

Tampa Bay story: 1

Marissa Alexander: 2

Mandatory Sentencing: 3

Began in 1970's to reduce crime by getting criminals of the street and limit the discretion of Judges perceived to be soft on crime. Prison population has since quadrupled to 2.4 m (1 in 107 Americans) at cost $80 billion /year Feds 40% over capacity. 600% inc in 33yrs. But 1.3 M are for non-violent crimes (war on drugs)

Crack cocain perceived as more dangerous so penalties more severe: 5 grams crack 5yr 50 grams 10yr. Drug of choice for Black community so while 13% of pop they are 50% of the jailed for drug possession. 3,023 per 100,000 black men v 478/ white males; 129/ 1000, Black female v51/ 100,000white.Closing of mental health facilities as a result of drug availability: Tracy Aldridge severely mentally disturbed jailed 27 times for more than 1000 days, 8 years in all at age 42 cost $719.436 . Cook county jail home to between 2000 and 2500 with diagnosed mental illness@ $190/ night at least$140M / yr Cook County LA NYC are treating more than 11,000 prisoners for mental illness on a typical day. By comparison 3 largest state-run hospitals have a combined 4,000 beds. Cost of housing an inmate for just one year $167,731. Much cheaper to send them to Harvard.

Great Society and War on Poverty. Daniel Patrick Moynahan 4

Aid to Families with Dependant Children AFDC- Great Society 1960"s

Daniel Patrick Moynihan liberal Scholar and later Senator issued report, The Negro Family: The case for national action. Even as unemployment decreased welfare expanding. Noted 24% of black children being raised by single mothers. Called racist and attacked for blaming the victim. Despite Moynihan's recommendations AFDC program included rules for payments only if

the "Man was out of house" Result: In 2011 72% of black babies born to unwed mothers and 55% being raised by single parent, only 29% of blacks married compared to 60% in 1960.

College Loans

1862 Morrill Act 69 land grant colleges Agriculture and Mining (UMASS) today enroll 4.6 M students.

1944 GI Bill 10 M attended college through government subsidies. Tremendous economic payoff.

But, State Budgets are returning public universities back to a luxury available to the well off. Only 15% of UV and Cal Berkeley come from State.

Higher Education Act of 1965 created federal scholarships and low interest loans in the hope of making college accessible. 1964 federal student aid $231M, By 1981 $7B on loans alone, now about $105B on loans and$ Trillion total. Grants are $49B compared to $6.4B in 1981 Per student debt continues to rise in spite of aid as college costs increase. $26,000/ grad avg. (10% owe more than $40,000.)Tuition costs have increased at a rate in excess of cost of living for at least the last 30 years resulting in a massive transfer of wealth to colleges and universities. At the expense of their students. Doing a poorer job as an avg of only 55% graduate w/in 6 yrs. Today only 7% of recent college grads come from bottom 25% compared to 12% in 1970 when student aid was scarce.

Students now owe $1.2 trillion in loans (6% of National Debt) By any measure the Higher Education Act of 1965 has not been a good investment.

Colleges turning into Club Med: Stanford- more classes in Yoga than Shakespear. Princeton

$136M student residence nearly $300,000 per bed. NYU $90M to administrators and faculty houses and summer homes on Fire Island and the Hamptons. Former Ohio State Pres. Gordon Gee $2M compensation and 9,630 sq ft mansion 1.3 acre estate, $673,000 in art decor. Also

$23,000/ month expenses and $.5 M for private jet.(Resigned in June for making defamatory remarks about Catholics) Ohio tax payers owe us one.) U Cal 2358 administrators in just its President's office alone. The unintended consequence has been the creation of a lost generation. Coupled with the Economic collapse we now have a generational problem unparalleled in our history. The effective unemployment rate for Americans under 25 is over 20%. More and more college graduates are turning to jobs that do not require a college degree. Their ability to pay off their debt has become doubtful and measures to provide them relief are under consideration but these measures are themselves open to unintended consequences.

High Cost of dying_ Medical advances and medicare are each good things but the combination has created a situation, for lack of a better term, the high cost of dying. Studies show 70% of people want to die at home but only 25% do. About a quarter of Medicare's $550B annual budget pays for medical care in the last year of life, and during that time one third to one half of Medicare patients spend time in intensive care units where 10 days of futile treatment can cost as much as $323K. Over-treatment costs the US health-care system an estimated $158B to

$226B a year. (Knocking on Heaven's Door-The Path to a Better Way of Death by Katy Butler) With an aging population this is not sustainable yet research is ongoing with the goal of extending the human life span to age 150 and beyond. But consider a world in which millions of 150 year olds exist in a stressed environment. Would people bother to have children? Could they support themselves? Who would care for them?

Baby Bust-

In 1798 Thomas Malthus published an Essay on the Principle of Population. Since then the issue has continued to be debated and while the population has continued to rise the doom he predicted has not yet happened. There is now evidence that the problem is the opposite, that is a, baby bust. I recommend to you THE RISE OF POST-FAMILIALISM: HUMANITY'S FUTURE. This

study was sponsored by Civil Service College in Singapore, Chapman University and Fieldstead and Company. It is available on the inter-net. It discusses the probable consequences the breakdown of the family and the consequent failure of the current generation to reproduce itself. Time Magazine recently had a cover story, The Child Free Life, on the significant number of people who are opting for childlessness, currently 20% of those of child bearing age.. The Economist in its issue of March 23, 2013 published an article entitle: Where did everyone go?

Jonathan V. Last's book ,What to expect when no one's expecting, is worth reading on this issue. China and India are already experiencing an unintended lack of females. Due to selective abortion China has 35 million extra males for whom there are no women and India has 25 million. History dictates that this situation is very dangerous and usually results in war. There is not time to treat this issue in detail but it exists and must be addressed- sooner or later.

Summary and Conclusion

As we have seen, these consequences ordinarily result from actions that are, or are perceived to, likely result in an end to be desired. They can happen because the actor did not think through the likely results of his or her action or did not recognize that the action would be influenced by other circumstances. The most damaging, because of their nearly universal application, result from actions taken by government or its agencies. Since they are created by government they can be reversed or eliminated by government. Problems arise when there is not universal recognition that the unintended consequences are not desirable or the government or its agency is dysfunctional.

The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) is a classic example of this phenomenon.

Whenever you hear a piece of legislation labeled "Comprehensive" start to worry. This means they are trying to do too much in one bill. It was generally agreed that 30 million Americans with no health care insurance was unacceptable but there was no consensus about what to do about it. The political process took over. This resulted in a bill drafted by several legislative staffs none of which really understood the entire bill. It was passed without debate under a process used for budgetary items so there is little legislative history which is generally available to help resolve disputes. Obama Care is 2700+ pages in length. More than 5 reams of paper, it is at least 10 inches thick. The regulations promulgated under it are so far 10,535 pages and counting (21 reams of paper, 3.5 feet in height). All in all a gold mine for unintended consequences. It is already being amended by executive order because the legislature is deadlocked. Some issues already have arisen such as the effect on jobs (50 employee limit and 30 hours not full time) which has had to be delayed by executive order to prevent at least 313 businesses which have already decided to slash the hours of 30,377 workers to under 30 hours. . Congressional exemption 1 year delay on employer plans. Union objections. Congress has exempted themselves and its employees from the Act which has caused objections and resentment.

In 1917 when the US Congress passed the Second Liberty Bond Act it imposed a limit on

the debt of the United States. The intent was to restrain governments ability to take on debt. It

has been ineffective in that regard. Since 1978 it has gone from $752 billion to about $16 trillion (16 thousand billion). According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress voted 53 times from 1978 to 2013 to raise the debt ceiling. Of the 53 increases 26 were clean- that is stand alone, no strings attached. The remaining debt-limit increases were part of omnibus package of other bills or a continuing resolution. Of the so-called "dirty increase" the democrats have been responsible for 60% and the Republicans 15%. The remaining 25% occurred during divided Congresses. The 1995 debt ceiling debate resulted in the government shut down 1995 and 1996. Now a bill designed to restrain government spending has run head on into a conflict with a bill to provide health care to the uninsured. Both are admirable goals but with the potential unintended consequence of the United States for the first time defaulting on its debt. An event upon which there is nearly universal opinion would be catastrophic world wide.

Can you say Comprehensive Immigration Reform? Deficit reduction?

Probably at no time in history are so many major changes happening all at once. Hold onto your hats.

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The two most important decisions most of us make are: how to earn a living and who to marry. For Eric each of these decisions was easy. Eric was born to teach. Even as a child he would force his younger cousins to go to the school he created in our Family Room. He gave them home work and made them do it. As the first born of his generation he had seniority and he used it. He was born to teach and so he does. He met Lisa, also born to teach, when she came to Bridgewater-Raynham High School to teach special education students. They share the same profession which is a vocation to service, to the formation of the next generation. It may not have been love at first sight but, if it wasn't, it was pretty close. They are well matched. Now, by that I don't mean they are exactly alike. Lisa reminds me of the person who lived next to the whirling Dervishes. When asked how he stood their constant whirling he replied, "I just let them whirl". Lisa just lets Eric whirl and with a smile on her face. I mentioned that Eric is the first of his generation and as such he has inherited the baton of leadership except, that, in our family, it is not a baton. It is a wooden spoon and the recipe for baked beans. Lisa, you will never go hungry.

So, here we all are, gathered in the sight of God to witness their marriage and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with them and for them. Our Faith teaches us that the Sacrament of Matrimony creates an intimate community of life and love established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. It is a sacramental covenant between a man and a woman whereby they mutually give and receive one another in a union sealed by God himself. The family home thus created is the place where children are to be born and nurtured.

The Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonheoffer, wrote a sermon for the wedding of his niece. He never got to deliver the sermon because he was executed for his participation in a plot to end Germany's war in Europe. He wrote:

"Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which He wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time...in marriage you are a link in the chain of generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls His Kingdom. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal- it is a status, an office... so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. It is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love".

Lisa and Eric's understanding of marriage is reflected in their choice of readings. The first reading, from the book of Geneses, teaches us that "God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them." It is in the union of a man and a woman that the image of God is complete. God's charge to them, and by extension to their descendants, is to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth and God saw that what he had made was good. The second reading was the great love poem of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. This teaching is true not just for those entering the married state. It is true for each of whom Jesus commanded to love God and neighbor. For all of us, it must be ever and always about love because we are taught "love never fails". For the Gospel reading we heard the Beatitudes, the "blessed". Much of what Jesus taught was not new. He presented himself as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures but he did not add or detract from them. The Beatitudes of the Sermon of the Mount were a new revelation.

By blessed are the poor in spirit Jesus means the humble, those who are not possessed by the pursuit of material wealth; by those that mourn he means the compassionate; by the meek he means the gentle; by those who hunger and thirst for righteousness he means those who seek justice for all; for the merciful he means those who love and forgive their enemies; for the clean of heart he means the chaste; and for the peacemakers he means those who avoid violence as a solution to the problems of the day. He may well have had teachers in mind.

A favorite story of mine is that of Ford and Daisy Callis as told by Ford's friend and family doctor. It exhibits a good example of marriage in action. Ford Callis was a soldier in WWII and he was trapped in a fox hole as a member of the "Lost Battalion". Wounded and desperate, he hung on because he had to make it home to Daisy. Years later Daisy had lapsed into dementia and Ford was her faithful caretaker. Ford got up in the middle of one night because he heard Daisy cry out. He tripped and fell seriously injuring himself. He lay on the floor until his daughter found him the next day. Seriously injured he lay in intensive care but he told his doctor he had to get home to Daisy. He said, "Having someone believe in me and waiting for me back home, that is what gives me purpose. I am more than myself because of our marriage." He went on, "You know, it takes three people to stay married: Daisy, me and God. This is not a civil agreement: we are one".

So let us pray that fifty or sixty years or more from today it is still Lisa, Eric and God still one and still with God just as they are today. The best way to preserve that relationship is for them to worship together at least once a week. It is vital to the preservation of their holy union to honor the third member of that union and to do it together.

For Catholics, the most perfect form of worship consists of the Mass. At Mass we hear God's Holy Scriptures proclaimed and, through the homily, explained and related to our lives in the present day. We pray together the universal prayer of the entire Church. It is in communion at Mass that we comply with Jesus' command; "unless you eat of my body and drink of my blood you shall not have life in you." It is in the Eucharist that your partnership with God becomes complete. One hour a week, together, the three of you.

I would like to close with a favorite prayer of mine. It was composed by Ste. Therese, the Little Flower, a Carmelite nun, who died at the age of 24:

Lisa and Eric, this is the prayer we all offer for you today and always.

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There is an old Latin proverb: Nothing comes from nothing. We all know that you don't get something for nothing. You don't even get nothing from nothing. It is the universal human experience that nothing plus nothing equals nothing. Yet in this morning's Gospel reading Jesus fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. All ate their fill and there were seven baskets left over.

How could such a thing happen? Bread doesn’t't reproduce and dead fish are notoriously unfertile so the bread and the fish didn’t't do it. Who can create much out of little? Only God. But it was Jesus who blessed the bread and fish and distributed it. Can it be that Jesus is God like; can it be that Jesus is God? This is our faith. This is the significance of the Gospel story. Jesus is doing that which only God can do. This miracle also prefigures the Eucharist by which Jesus has fed and continues to feed his people, only now he does it with his own body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine. If Jesus is God this is not a stretch. If we accept the Gospels as true then all else follows.

Sadly, in our time many professed Catholics reject the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. A 2008 CARA Catholic Poll found that 43% of professed Catholics believe that the bread and wine are symbols of Jesus but that Jesus is not really present. It is not surprising that the same poll found that 91% of Catholics who believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist attend Mass weekly or more: but 60% of those who believe the bread and wine are merely symbols of Jesus who is not really present attend Mass only a few times a year or less. Why put yourself out for a mere symbol?

`There is therefore a direct correlation between Mass attendance and belief in the real presence. The conclusion that the Eucharist is merely symbolic is contrary to sacred scripture, the writings of the early church fathers and Church Tradition dating back to apostolic times.

In Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Saint John Jesus told his disciples, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." He went on to say, "... unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." He continued, "For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." He promised, "Whoever feeds on me will have life because of me." Like the 43% of today's professed Catholics many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard, who can accept it?" Saint John tells us that, "As a result of this, many of his disciples left

him..." So then, as today, this Blessed Sacrament, which is the greatest gift that a loving God can give, is rejected by many out of hand as too difficult to accept. Accordingly, having rejected the plain meaning of Jesus words, they see no need, or value, in participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on anywhere near a regular basis, if at all. Offered the bread of life they stay away and they have done so without any serious investigation or study.

Flannery O'Connor a prominent Catholic writer of the 20th century was at a dinner with a group of her contemporaries one of whom opined that the Eucharist was "a wonderful symbol of Christ's love." Ms. O'Connor said in reply, "If it’s just a symbol then the hell with it". I echo her sentiments. If it is only a symbol then Christ is a liar and we have been duped.

This is truly a serious crisis in contemporary Catholic faith. That so many of our brothers and sisters, who through their Baptism were born into the life of Christ, have so easily dismissed the great truth that is the Eucharist and as a result have deprived themselves of the graces which flow from it is tragic..

We must ask ourselves, why? and reach out to them. James Carroll who is a frequent critic of the institutional church remains a Catholic. He has written that his, "firm connection to the Church is the Eucharist, the sacred meal of the Mass, affirming the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ." It is the institutional Church which, in spite of its failings, has preserved the Eucharist unchanged from apostolic times and thus has preserved this most precious gift for us and those to who are to come.

Other than our Baptism, it is our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist that unites us and makes us Catholic.

So, now we will proceed to the Eucharistic portion of the Mass where Jesus Christ comes to nourish us with his body and blood under the appearance bread and wine. How fitting on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Corpus Christi that we do this.

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Words of Wisdom: Peter Kreeft, THREE PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE.

Love is individual

"The object of love is a person and every person is an individual. No person is a class, a species, or a collection. There is no such thing as love of humanity. If your preachers or teachers have told you that the Bible teaches you to love humanity, they have told you a lie. Not once does the Bible say that; not once does it even mention the word humanity. Jesus always commands us to love God and our neighbor instead."

It is easy to love an abstraction. It involves no personal commitment, no giving of oneself, no inconvenience, no emotional investment. Love can only truly be expressed one to one in a personal relationship. As we will see in the Scripture readings of the day, this is how God has designed things. This is how human beings are able to do terrible things to other human beings in the name of humanity. The perceived greater good of an abstract "humanity" trumps the concrete rights of the individual and thereby horror is unleashed upon us, one by one.

Today's gospel is a continuation of Jesus teaching in the "Sermon on the Plain". The first portion was read last Sunday and the final portion will be read next Sunday. Jesus is speaking before a big crowd of people; but, his words are not directed to the merely curious. He is talking to those who would be disciples, to those who would take his words to heart and act upon them. These words are at the same time more practical and yet more radical than they appear. They are the basics of

non-violent resistance. Mahatma Gandhi, who delivered India from British imperialism by practicing non violent resistance, called Jesus, " The greatest non violent resister in history".

The Jewish crowd understands that Jesus is telling them to do more than to love each other.

They are to love their oppressors, the Romans, and to pray for not only the Romans but also their Syrian allies, the Jews ancient enemies, who made up the local occupying army. These are revolutionary words and guaranteed to alienate a large part of the crowd who were Zealots and favored armed resistance to Roman domination. To make this non violent resistance easier, Jesus offers some practical suggestions. Turning the other cheek is not what it seems to be. At the time of Jesus superiors struck inferiors on the cheek with the back of the hand. A right handed person's blow would strike the strike the other person on the right cheek. Turning the left cheek would prevent a second back handed blow. To strike an inferior with the open palm was unthinkable because it would imply that they were as an equal. Under Jewish law, the law of a nomadic desert people, if you took another's cloak as security you were required to return it each night so they would not be cold in the dark of night. It was therefore considered extreme to take another's cloak and it seldom happened. By also giving the tunic you would further shame the taker as this would leave you publicly naked, a condition to be avoided at all costs in Jewish culture. In other words instead of looking just bad, they would look really bad and looks counted in those days.

The Golden Rule was well known before the time of Jesus and appears in the Old Testament. What is radical about Jesus teaching of it is that he extends it to non Jews, to the hated Romans and other Gentiles.

Jesus goes on to explain there is no credit in doing what comes naturally, loving those who love you, giving to those who give to you. We are to act super naturally, and if we do we will be children of the most high God, who is kind and merciful to all. Jesus promises us that we can't out give God. We know from our own experience that what we give is what comes back. When we give love, eventually love is what comes back to us. When we give hatred and envy that is what comes back to us. What we give is what we get. We know this.

In one of his annual Lenten messages Pope John Paul II used this Gospel as his text. He said, "believers should re-examine whether their lives to conform to Christ's command to 'love your enemies (and) do good to those who hate you'."

These words are the key to peace, peace of soul, peace between individuals and peace between nations. Hate breeds more hate but love breeds more love. Hate breeds hate and love breeds love. It's that simple.

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EVENING PRAYER OAKLEAF LOUNGE JULY1, 2012

words of wisdom

Saint Basil the Great 4th Century

Basil was indeed Great. He is a Doctor of the Church largely because of his writings condemning the Arian Heresy which denied the Divinity of Christ. He was also the Bishop of Caesarea and in the year 368, during an area wide famine, he distributed his own inheritance to the poor and established and worked in a soup kitchen he had founded. Basil reminds us that our obligation to the poor is not based on charity, it is not optional. It is based upon Justice and is mandatory.

The Readings for today are typical in that the First Reading, Psalm and the Gospel have a relation but the second reading stands alone. The First reading makes the point that death came into the world not by God's action but through the devil's envy. The Gospel demonstrates Jesus's power over death. Likewise the Psalm, which was originally a psalm of national Thanksgiving over the restoration of the Temple by the Maccabees following its desecration by Antioch us Epiphanies, celebrates Christ's victory over death.

But what about the reading from 2nd Corinthians? Saint Paul is taking up a collection for the Christians of Jerusalem. It is a sales pitch. But note that Paul, like Basil, does not appeal to their charity. He says, " it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need." Fair balance is the same as Justice.

So what was an issue in the first century was also an issue in the fourth century and remains an issue today. From now until the election you are going to hear a lot about this issue. One side advocates a redistribution of wealth through government intervention. The other argues that a rising tide lifts all boats and advocates a market centered approach. I don't know the answer but I know one

thing: which ever side prevails, unless the implementation is just, it is bound to fail. Sadly, it seems that, to parties involved, it is much more about winning than justice. Each side demonizes the other and they don't even look for common ground. Any compromise is regarded as a betrayal. What is just is, if at all, only a secondary consideration.

Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist at the Stern School of Business at NYU has written a best seller entitled: THE RIGHTEOUS MIND; WHY GOOD PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED BY POLITICS AND RELIGION. Mr Haidt identifies

himself as a liberal atheist but admits to some centralist tendencies.

He advocates "Equal opportunity for all, special privileges for none." He notes that this was the campaign slogan of Andrew Jackson in 1828. Not much progress toward that goal has been made in 184 years. Mr Haidt calls for both sides to reexamine their beliefs and the beliefs of their opponents. They may find an accommodation and achieve Saint Paul's goal of a fair balance based on abundance and need. At the very least they might stop yelling at each other.

Serenity Prayer

God Grant me the serenity To accept the things I can not change;

Courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as a pathway to peace.

Taking as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to his Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him in the next.

Reinhold Niebuhr

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Words of Wisdom :

The solution to 'the problem of evil' is to wait. God will bring good even out of evil, if only we turn to Him. Peter Kreeft

At first blush it seems that Doctor Kreeft is advocating passivity in the face of evil but that is far from the case. The significant phrase is "if only we turn to Him". What does he mean by that? In an essay entitled 'The Winning Strategy" he expanded on this thought. What is the winning strategy? Each of us, you and me included, must become a saint. How do you do that? It is simple he says, Write a blank check to God; complete submission to his will for us. He quotes

T.S. Eliot, Christian life is: "A condition of complete simplicity/ Costing not less than/ Everything"

I recently read Bernard Cornwell's novel "Stonehenge". It is a fictional tale of the development and construction of the Neolithic Temple known as Stonehenge on the plains of England's mid-lands. The Temple dates from around 2000 years before Christ and is related to the passage grave at Newgrange in Ireland, which predates it by a thousand years. Both are oriented to the setting sun on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. This fact, and the orientation of the temple as a whole, leads to the conclusion that the sun and the moon formed the basis for the religion of these late Stone Age people. Cornwell weaves a fascinating tale of the conflict between those who worship the sun and those who worship the moon. The sun worshipers ultimately prevail but also secondarily honor the moon by placing stones in the temple which celebrate the moon's relation to the sun. What struck me was the fact that their worship was based not on love or honor of these two celestial bodies but on fear, fear that failure to placate these powerful beings would result in disaster. Parents would disfigure their infants so that they would not be chosen to be sacrificed to placate the angry Gods who only accepted the unblemished. Their world was a fearful and dangerous place where natural events or tribal rivalry could, and did, repeatedly result in sudden death or cruel enslavement. Their priests encouraged this fear as it gave them total control over the people.

Today's reading from Isaiah dates from about 1500 years after the construction of Stonehenge and is full of promise to all peoples from a just and loving God. It is a message of

salvation, joy, and hope, not of fear. Our psalm is a hymn of love and praise to a saving God. Saint Paul's letter to the Romans calls all peoples to God's love and mercy. The Gospel reading teaches us the rewards of faith in Jesus Christ. We have come a long way from fearful homage paid to created celestial objects to the worship of a just and loving creator.

I have found that meditating on the way things were makes me appreciate all the more the way things have become; but, I am concerned about the way things are becoming. Is the cruelty and fear of the age of Stonehenge coming back? The pictures coming from northern Iraq are frightful. A small religious minority has been marked for extinction by so-called Muslim extremists. Thankfully, the world, led by the United States, is providing "humanitarian aid" but their ultimate fate is very much in doubt. What is being pretty much ignored is the fate of 100,000 Iraqi Christians who were driven into the desert with only the clothes on their back by the same "extremists". They, to date, have received little attention and no international "humanitarian aid". To date, our government has viewed violence against Christians as a 'sectarian dispute" in which they are reluctant to take sides.

John L. Allen, Jr. has written a book, "The Global War on Christians". It is frightening. It is disconcerting that in a violent world it is the followers of the Prince of Peace who are targeted for elimination. The near east, the Holy Land, will soon have little, if any, Christian presence. In Asia Christianity is at best tolerated. Yet, Christianity is the world's largest religion as more than 2 billion people profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Saint John Paul has taught us, "The power of Christ's Cross and Resurrection is greater that any evil which man could or should fear." Thus we know how it will be in the end. Christ shall prevail but there are some difficult times ahead. We must at all cost: Keep the Faith for it is the last best hope of human kind.

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WORDS OF WISDOM:

Loretta Lynn)Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Once upon a time there lived a man and his name was Isaac He walked with God both day and night but he didn't wanna die He cried oh Lord please let me live death is close I know God smiled down on Isaac and gave him fifteen years to go Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Lord I wanna go to heaven but I don't wanna die. So I long for the day when I'll have new birth still I love the livin' here on earth Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die[ guitar ]When Jesus lived here on this earth he knew his father's plan He knew that he must give his life to save the soul of men When Judas had betrayed him his father heard him cry He was brave until his death but he didn't wanna die. Everybody wants to go to heaven...Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die

Scripture does not tell us a lot. Saint Paul tells us "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him" 1 Cor 2:9.

Saint John wrote : " Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 1John 3:2

This sounds promising but certainly lacks detail.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote an essay entitled Death as a Homecoming which I love. He wrote:

" Is death but an obliteration, an absolute negation? The view of death is affected by our understanding of life. If life is sensed as a surprise, as a gift, defying explanation, then death ceases to be a radical, absolute negation of what life stands for. For both life and death are aspects of a greater mystery, the mystery of being, the mystery of creation. Over and above the preciousness of particular existence stands the marvel of its being related to the infinite mystery of being or creation. Death then, is not simply man's coming to an end. It is also entering a beginning".

To paraphrase the good Rabbi; If we do not begin to experience heaven in this life, we are unlikely to find it in the next.

The question of who goes to heaven arises in the Gospel of the day. "Someone", we don't know who, asks Jesus a leading question, "will only a few people be saved?" Lawyers expect leading questions to be answered in the affirmative. I suspect that this someone was a lawyer who believed that only a few would be saved and that he was one of them. Jesus avoided answering the question directly but instead indicated that the questioner and his ilk might be on the outside looking in. Jesus also told him that many would come from throughout the world to recline at the table in the Kingdom. I am sure that this is not what "someone" expected or wanted to hear.

But what is the answer? The Book of Revelation gives us preview. Saint John wrote: "... I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They worshiped God and exclaimed, " Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever." They were identified as the "ones who "have washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the lamb", the Christ. Of them it is written, "They will not hunger or thirst anymore nor will the sun or heat strike them ... For the Lamb who is the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Thus it appears that an uncountable multitude from all corners of the earth will be saved through life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb, and they will spend eternity in the presence of God in complete contentment for "they shall be like him and see him as he is".

Rabbi Heschel teaches that our "central concern is not ... how to escape death but rather,

how to sanctify life." And that "Man is man not because of what he has in common with earth but because of what he has in common with God."

If we live in love in this life, death is merely a transition from imperfect to perfect love and heaven is not a place to go but is the completion of a transition already begun.

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It was quite a week. We have a new Pope. He is the first Pope from the new world. He is the first Pope Francis. He is the first Jesuit Pope. He is the first Pope that is

younger than I am. That fact did not make the papers but that's a lot of firsts. I appreciated that before he blessed the people in Saint Peter's square he asked them to join him in silent prayer for him. I liked that he wore the ornate papal stole only when he conferred his solemn blessing. I liked that he did not ride in the popemobile but got on the bus with the other Cardinals to go back to the hotel to pick up his luggage. I like that he paid his hotel bill himself. I like that he is known to a be pastor and advocate for the poor. I like that, as far as it possible for a Jesuit, he is not an intellectual, not a theologian, and not a writer of books. Those are all good things to be and do but we have had those in the previous two Popes and it is time for a hands on Pope.

The readings of the day are appropriate for the occasion of the election of Pope Francis. The first reading from Isaiah deals with the return of the Jewish people from exile in Babylon. Isaiah tells them to forget the events of the past and to consider that the lord is doing something new. This is the period that culminates in the birth of Jesus the Christ. A new day wass dawning. Saint Paul writes from prison to the Philippians that he is forgetting what lies behind but is straining forward to what lies ahead. A new day was dawning. Jesus was in the Temple area, the center of the Jewish people when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him and he was asked whether the law of Moses should be applied. If he said no he broke the Jewish law. If he said yes he was a breaker of the Roman Law as the Jews were forbidden to impose capital punishment. It was a trap. Jesus avoided the issue by simply passing the decision back to them. Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.

And they went away. Jesus did not condemn her but cautioned her to sin no more. A new day was dawning.

In his first homily on the day following his election Pope Francis told the Cardinals assembled before him, "When we walk without the cross , when wwe build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are, bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes but not disciples of the Lord. I would like that all of us after these days of grace, might have the courage - the courage - to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the cross of the Lord to build the Church on the blood of the Lord, which is shed on

the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way the Church will go forward." And he ends with, "My hope for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, that the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother, might grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to build, to profess Jesus Christ Crucified."

And so in his first message to his brother bishops he reminds them that we are the Church, not a social service organization, not a political entity, but are the means by which the grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ earned for us by his Passion and death are to be brought to the entire world. Let us pray that a new day is dawning.

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This past week there has been enough sorrow to last for a long time. In addition to the sorrow we all carry as a result of the terrible events of last Tuesday, Cliff's family and friends must bear the additional burden of personal grief at the death of their husband, father, brother, uncle, brother fire fighter, and friend, a man who loved his family, who loved to fish and loved his profession of firefighter. Our faith is our consolation but that does mean that we do not grieve.

The first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures reminds us that long ago the ancient Isrealites believed that the souls of the just rested in the hand of God and were at peace. They recognized that we are tried in this life as gold in the furnace; but that, if we keep faith and do not weaken, God will take us to himself and we shall abide with him in love. Cliff was tried over the last two years as he battled heart disease and cancer. His battle did not make him bitter however and in his final illness he found God. Good came from the evil of illness and love triumphed over pain.

Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans that Christ, the just man, died for the unjust, for us, and in doing so justified us by his blood. The firefighters rushing into the crippled twin towers in New York did not stop to think whether the people they sought to save were just or unjust. In this regard they were Christ like. Firefighters are not like most people. They run into buildings while most of us are running out. As a fire fighter Cliff shared this selflessness with his brothers and sisters who stand ready to risk their all for the good of all, whether just or unjust.

Up until last Tuesday it seemed that this nation had adopted an attitude of cool indifference toward the behavior of others, toward right and wrong. What ever turned you on; do your thing; live and let live. Many held there was no such thing as objective evil. We all went to heaven, if there was a heaven.

Well, we learned last Tuesday there is such a thing as evil, unspeakable horrible evil. We learned that men can delude themselves into believing that killing innocent men, women and children by the thousands is some how an act of worship and that they are martyrs worthy of paradise. This is a perversion of the religion they profess to practice and an affront to all religions. If, in fact, the same

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Well, surprising news this week, something that hasn't happened in 600 years. The Pope will resign. In the retirement community where I live this is a topic of conversation not only for Catholics. Some ask, "Why so young he's only 85." I have informed one and all that there is no truth to the rumor that he is moving to Linden Ponds. Some, knowing that I am a deacon, ask me who I think will be the new Pope as if we deacons, the bottom of the clergy pole, had some inside scoop. I tell them that while there may some difference in style there will be no difference in substance. Those who would turn the Catholic Church into a copy of the current Episcopal Church will be disappointed. The Church will continue to attempt to form the world's culture but will not conform to it. The Church thinks in terms of thousands of years and teaches that eternal truths are just that, timeless. This does not mean that the Church does not evolve because it does, but it evolves in its understanding of these truths, not in their essence. This drives some people crazy. The Liberal on-line Journal Tikun regularly publishes articles by disaffected Catholics to whom John Paul II and Benedict XVI are evil Fascists. The British Lord Macauley once said, "As a Protestant it distresses me to say that the Catholic Church must be divinely instituted in that it has continued to exist in spite of the rascals and rogues who have led it." While it true that there have too many worldly men who have served as Pope, even they have been consistent in essential doctrine. It must mean something that the Papacy is by far the oldest office in the history of the world. Caesar is no more. There is no Tsar. There is no High Priest. There is no caliph. There are no Emperors. European monarchies are now mere symbols and the Papacy was already ancient when they came into existence. Of all the institutions that exist today the best bet for being in existence a thousand years from now is the Catholic Church and its Papacy. No others have its track record.

How will it it survive? In part by following the example of its Founder, Jesus Christ, in today's gospel, who resisted temptation by adhering to the timeless teachings of Holy Scripture. Knowing that Jesus was hungry the devil tempted him with bread. Like Jesus the Church must put spiritual principles ahead of material considerations. The Church does not live by bread alone. Many of the magnificent former Cathedrals in Europe are now museums but in Africa and Asia where the Church is growing Mass is said in grass huts and tin roofed sheds. Jesus rejected power and glory and resolved to serve only his Father. The Church must always put its spiritual mission first and hold fast to the truth even if the truth is unpopular. To compromise principle to curry favor only results in the loss of both. The Church has Jesus' promise that the Holy Spirit will preserve it from error but it can not be reckless. It must continue to build on timeless truths and avoid giving into the fashions of the day. All this it will do regardless of who is Pope. That is why it will survive.

It is not easy to be a Catholic. It is not supposed to be. That its teachings may be difficult to follow is true. But the Church in its teachings is adhering to universal and eternal truths. It cannot teach error. We, however, as individuals, can and do fall into error and fail at times to live up to these teachings. Our failure is merely individual and is easily remedied with no permanent damage. If the Church falls into error, there is no remedy and the result is permanent damage to the depository of faith. A church teaching what is, in essence, merely the fashion of the day is no Church at all and eventually becomes just a collection of individuals each of whom is their own church.

We will now celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Catechism tells us that, "The Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith." It is through the Church that we trace the Eucharist back to the Last upper on the night before Jesus died. It is through the Church that we trace our bishops and priests back to the apostles. It is because of the continuity of the Church that we can believe that Christ is truly present body and blood, soul and divinity in what was shortly before mere bread and wine. This will be true a thousand years from now. I'm willing to bet on it.

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We have now reached the fifth Sunday of Lent. We usually think of Lent as preparation for Easter, the Resurrection. We don’t do penance for the good news. We do it for the bad news. It is really preparation for Good Friday. The Gospel of John for today contains the profound announcement of Jesus impending death, <The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. Amen, amen I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.= He is telling us that in order to be glorified he must die. It is the same for us. In order to reach our heavenly destiny we must first die.

I had a graphic demonstration of the circle of life over the past week. Last Thursday and Friday I did the wake service, funeral homily, and burial committal of my oldest and best friend, Frank. On Sunday my first great grandchild, Cecelia Margaret Hoy, was born. That’s life: loss and gain. Over twenty years ago I took my then five year old grandson swimming in a hotel pool. He was paddling around and I was watching him. He looked at me very seriously and said,

<Papa, you’re going to die=. I said, <That’s true Kev but not today=. He said, <You have to make room for more people=. That is pretty deep for a five year old. We do have to make room for more people. People keep making more people. My friend Frank has gone but Cece has arrived. The count remains even.

At times like this the question posed by Bert Bacarach arises anew: What's it all about, Alfie

Is it just for the moment we live

What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie.

Or, are we <merely a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe= as affirmed in the comic strip Dilbert and is life a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience as claimed by Woody Allen?

ours. As a sign of that rebirth we were clothed in a white garment and presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, which signified that new life of grace.

My friend Frank’s earthly remains lay before an Easter candle, clothed in a white garment his earthly life complete. The circle of that life has closed but his immortal soul lives on for that is his destiny. Our Church was instituted by Christ to confer his grace upon us by means of Sacraments, visible signs instituted by Christ. We have the promise of eventual union with God given to us at Baptism and renewed in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Dying. We don’t have to wonder.

Listen to words of Jesus as he approached death, <Whoever loves his live loses it and

whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.= But there is a qualifier,

<whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.= If we are to share glorified eternal life with Jesus we must serve him and follow him in this life. Jesus asks no more of us than he required of himself. As Saint Paul tells us, <Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. Being a Christian is taking the hard road but it is the road to eternal salvation and all the joy that follows.

You have to work at it but the end, eternal life in Christ, is the pearl of great price and cannot be gained on the cheap. We can’t make it on our own and that is why Jesus left us his Church and the sacraments.

The Eucharist is the sum and substance of our faith instituted by Christ on the night before he died. It is what makes us Catholic. It is what gives us hope that one day we too will celebrate eternal life in Christ. We will now celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass whereby the risen Christ becomes present on our altar but under the appearance of bread and wine.

Rejoice and be glad for the best is yet to come.

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Food, glorious food!

What wouldn't we give for That extra bit more -- That's all that we live for Why should we be fated to Do nothing but brood

On food, Magical food, Wonderful food, Marvelous food, Fabulous food

So sang the workhouse boys in the musical <OLIVER=. Nothing else so focuses the mind on food like the lack of it. The availability of a consistent food supply has been the driving force of human history. Where there is food, we flourish. Where there is no food, we perish. God fed the Children of Israel with Manna and quail in the desert. Through Isaiah, God promises their descendants that, if they heed the word of God, they shall eat well, they will have life. In today’s Gospel we hear of Jesus feeding a multitude with five loaves and two fish. Our Heavenly Father knows that we need food, not only to sustain the body, but also to sustain the soul. That is why he has given us the Gospel, the Word of the Word made flesh. It contains The Good News of our salvation and the promise of eternal life which gives us Hope and the strength to persevere in difficult times. He has given us the Eucharist so that we might be physically and spiritually nourished by our redeemer. It is this food from heaven which, in spite <of anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword=, Saint Paul tells us, <will hold us fast to the to the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.= If we turn our back on this food for the soul, just as the body shrivels and dies from lack of food so will the soul. A famished soul is a rapacious soul. Sensing its emptiness it seeks to fill the void by acquiring more: more money; more pleasure; more property; more drugs; more more more but there is never enough because just as our hungry bodies:

Do nothing but brood On food,

Magical food, Wonderful food, Marvelous food, Fabulous food

Our hungry souls seek

God Glorious God

Wonderful God, Marvelous God, Fabulous God

And they are restless until they rest in Him. That’s the way we are made.

Prayers of the Faithful:

Brought together in one Spirit by Christ, we stand in the presence of the Father as brothers and sisters. Let us bring together in our prayer today the needs of all who share with us the mystery of human life.

That those who lead us in faith work within society to heal, unite, and reconcile in love. Let us pray to the Lord

That world and national leaders renounce hostility born of the drive for power, and lead us from self-interest to concern for our common good. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those serving in the Military, particularly those in harms way, that they may return safely to their loved-ones. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those in the Linden Ponds Community who are in any way in pain or suffering that they may relieved of their difficulties and restored to health. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our family of faith be to our larger community a sign God’s love, compassion, and concern

for all. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those intentions which we hold in the silence of our hearts, Let us pray to the Lord.

Father, there is no joy that does not come from your hand, no pain that does not echo in your heart. See our needs and give us strength to work with you and each other in building a world where love can live.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

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I met Francis Joseph Falvey in the summer of 1942 when my family moved to Adella Avenue in West Newton. He was 7 and I was 8. Since that day I have learned that the three most important conditions that will largely determine the kind of life we will experience are totally beyond our control. They are the time, the place and to whom we are born. Francis and I were fortunate indeed. We were born in the middle of the great depression but both of our fathers were employed so we knew no privation. There were only a few of us born at that time so we had a competitive advantage. There just weren’t that many of us. You could mess up but you had second and third chances. We were too young for WWII and in college during the Korean War. We lived during a time of great deprivation and warfare but we never missed a meal or got shot at. We were raised in West Newton Massachusetts which at that time was a self contained village of the city of Newton. Everything you needed was there: a First National Super market; 2 family run groceries ,the Falveys being Irish, used Cocheran’s rather than Guzzi’s; two hardware stores, a branch library, four pharmacies; two banks; Izzy Moran’s bakery; a movie theater and more. If that wasn’t enough the Middlesex and Boston Bus was a quarter and there was a train station. Saint Bernard’s Church had a grammar school, a girl’s high school, a gymnasium and bowling alleys. Our families were intact. I had a younger brother, Ricky, and Francis had an older sister, Mary Ann. Our parents were practicing Catholics so we received all the sacraments. Francis went to Saint Bernard’s school through the eighth grade and then to Boston College High School. I went to public grammar and middle school and to Saint Mary’s Boys High School in Waltham where I was taught by the Christian Brothers while Francis suffered through the Jesuits. Our gang was me: Johnny, Franny, Ricky and Phil Reilly who we called Jimmy. It was right out of Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best. Francis and I ended up together at Boston College in the class of 1956. We were roommates. We lived off Campus in my car but slept at home. We had jobs at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company courtesy of Francis’s father. Francis was now Frank and he worked at the information desk. At first he tried to give out information but gave up after a while and just told people to call back during business hours. I was a file supervisor which meant I mostly watched other people work. We had it made but unfortunately we graduated and had to enter the real world. Frank got drafted. He was going to be rejected for high blood pressure but was told to lie down and he fell asleep. They woke him up and took his blood pressure again and he was in the Army. Frank ended up an MP at Ford Ord in California but due to the expertise he had acquired as the disinformation clerk at Liberty he found that if he wore his MP arm band and carried a clip board he was left alone. I was in charge of Ann, whom Frank had met at Liberty Mutual, until he finished his two years of playing MP at Fort Ord.

Our lives continued to follow similar paths. We both married good and wonderful women who put up with a lot of foolishness. We both ended up lawyers. We both found recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. I had nine months seniority which I never let him forget. We and our wives raised a total of ten kids between us who produced a total of sixteen grandchildren. Not bad, not bad at all.

I knew Frank longer and better than anyone other than Ann. But I must admit that I knew that I didn’t know him all that well. Frank was a very private individual. He used his Irish wit and humor as a shield and it was very effective. The Jesuits taught us that, <As a being is so it acts.= From his actions I believe Frank was a good man, a good husband, a good father, and a good Christian. That is good enough for me.

At times like this, when we lose a loved one the question posed by Bert Bacarach arises anew: What's it all about, Alfie

Is it just for the moment we live

What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie.

Are we, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, <not some casual and meaningless product of evolution? Is each of us is the result of a thought of God. Is each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.= Or, are we <merely a temporary arrangement of matter sliding toward oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe= as affirmed in the comic strip Dilbert and is life a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience as claimed by Woody Allen?

For Dilbert and Woody Allen and those who believe that this life is all there is, death is the end and to be feared. But death holds no terror for the Faithful. We recognize it for what it is: part of life. Heaven is not a reward for a life well lived. Heaven, union with God, is our destiny, it is that for which we were created. On the day of our Baptism, when we were reborn into life in Jesus Christ by the pouring of the water and the invocation of the Trinity, that destiny became ours. As a sign of that rebirth we were clothed in a white garment and presented with a candle, lit from the Easter candle, which signified that new life of grace. Today Frank’s earthly remains lie before the Easter candle, clothed in a white garment.

His earthly life is over. The circle of that life has closed but his immortal soul lives on for that is his destiny. Our Church was instituted by Christ to confer his grace upon us by means of Sacraments, visible signs instituted by Christ. Frank has the promise of eventual union with God given to him at Baptism and renewed in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Dying. We don’t have to wonder.

We can know that as proclaimed in the book of Wisdom, <his soul is in the hand of God and no torment shall touch him=. Now, I cannot make Frank a Saint. There may be some final polishing up to be done and that is why we pray for our beloved dead but I believe Ann has him under control and can finish the job.

We will now celebrate the Holy Eucharist for the repose of Frank’s soul.

The Eucharist is the sum and substance of our faith instituted by Christ on the night before he died. It is what makes us Catholic. It is what gives us hope that one day we too will celebrate eternal life in Christ with those we love and who have gone on before us. So in your sorrow rejoice for the best is yet to come.

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We have just experienced the Passion of Christ as related by Saint John who scripture and tradition tell us was present for the whole thing. It is a Horror Story. It has all the elements: betrayal, gratuitous violence upon an innocent victim, a grieving mother, painful death, violence upon violence; spikes pounded through human flesh, legs broken, torment, and torture. We know the story well and it is terrible.

But, why? Why the extreme cruelty? Why didn’t't Jesus run and hide. Why did it have to be this way? It is in the words of Isaiah from the first reading, written 700 hundred years before the fact, that we find the answer. He prophesied:

"Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offences, crushed by our sins; upon him was the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed"

Jesus took the sins of every human being that has ever lived, or ever will live, to the cross with him. These include my sins, these include your sins. By his wounds we are healed. Jesus gave each of us the gift of eternal life through his gift of self. The crucifixion is the ultimate love story.

I was witness to another love story this past week. Where we live at Linden Ponds we

have become friends of Ed and Maria. Ed is the retired Pastor of First Baptist Church in Randolph. Their daughter, Joyce, lived in a nearby group home and came to stay with them on weekends. Maria and Ed would bring Joyce to the cafeteria on Friday and Saturday and share their meals with her. Joyce could not speak but she had a vibrant personality. She was usually smiling and pointed at items that interested her and insisted that you look where she was pointing. If she had some new item of clothing or a recent hair cut she made sure you noticed. On March 26th, after one month in South Shore Hospital, Joyce died.

Thursday my wife and I attended her Funeral at First Baptist Church. Just before the close of the service the Pastor asked if anyone had a remembrance of Joyce that they would like to share.

Many spoke but all said essentially the same thing. Each had been profoundly affected by Joyce's obvious love of life as she experienced it and how she shared those experiences with others in the only way available to her. She smiled and pointed.

Well what has this to do with Good Friday? It is simply this. The ultimate gift is the gift of self. Jesus gave himself to a painful death out of love for each of us that we might have eternal life. Joyce gave the gift of herself, of her delight in ordinary things, to those with whom she came in contact. She reminded us of the beauty of the ordinary. So let us learn from Jesus and from Joyce: the only thing we have to give that really matters is the gift of self; to God and to one another.

Churches will be crowded on Easter Sunday. That is good. It is good that people celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it is you who are here tonight, the relative few who stand by the cross to be with him in his darkest hour, who can fully appreciate his gift of self that led to the miracle of Easter. You are the ones who know how great was the price that was paid on Good Friday for the glory that is Easter. You are in good company here at the foot of the cross. You stand with Jesus's mother and Aunt, with Mary the mother of Clopas, Mary of Magdala and the disciple whom Jesus loved. Four women and one man. All the rest were somewhere else. You are here. All the rest are somewhere else.

Jesus knows that you are here because you love him and understand the price he paid for your salvation. You are much more than Easter Christians. You appreciate that without Jesus gift to us on the first Good Friday there would be no Easter.

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Where I live, Linden Ponds, there are many groups which meet to share common interests. One group is that of Retired Clergy. At one meeting the wife of a retired UCC minister, who is herself very active in caring for the homeless, expressed the thought that she could not believe that anyone, least of all God, could willingly allow their child to suffer and die if they could stop it from happening. I replied that God did not send Jesus to suffer and die. He sent His Son into the world for the salvation of humankind. It is humanity, represented by the civil and religious leaders of the time, who determined that Jesus would be horribly killed. She agreed but said that God, as He is all knowing, knew what was going to happen. I asked her if, as that is true, would she rather that Jesus had not been sent? She did not answer.

There is no question that Jesus knew his fate. Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures and they foretold of the manner in which the Messiah would die. Three centuries earlier the Prophet, Zechariah, had written, "And I will pour out upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son". 400 hundred years before Zechariah, Isaiah, in the reading we just heard, wrote of the Suffering Servant who was to come, Isaiah prophesied "Yet it was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole; by his stripes we were healed." Jesus died with the opening verse of the 22nd psalm on his lips, "My God, My God why have you abandoned me". This psalm goes on to prophesy:

"But I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads; 'he committed his cause to the Lord; let him deliver him, let him rescue him'...". It goes on, "I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it is melted in my breast, my strength is dried up like a pot shard and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; thou does lay me in the dust of death. Yea dogs are around me; they have pierced my hands and feet- I can count all my bones- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them and for my raiment they cast lots".

Yes, his end was made very clear. Jesus knew what would happen but he came anyway. Why? Jesus told Pilate, "I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate, on behalf of the intelligencia of all ages asks cynically,

"What is truth"? Saint Augustine, never one to waste words, wrote, "That is true which is." Saint Thomas Aquinas taught, "Truth is equation of thought and thing." It is therefore, objective and real and not, as Pilate would have it: subjective and relative. Jesus proclaimed himself to be, "The way, the truth and the life." and his way is not the way of the rich and powerful. It is the gentle and humble way of the Beatitudes. Jesus is the truth and for this he had to die. On the face of it Pilate was right. Jesus died. There is no truth. Might makes right. The strong survive and the weak are disposable if they get in the way. If the story ended on Good Friday there would indeed be no hope. But it did not end there. Jesus rose as he predicted. The Holy Spirit came as promised; and, in the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, "Every truth without exception - and whoever may utter it - is from the Holy Spirit." So we gaze at the Crucifix, not in despair, but in hope; hope in the power of the Holy Spirit; hope in the promises of Christ; and, most powerfully, hope in the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus who is the Christ and died that we might have eternal life.

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No one witnessed the resurrection. We know that the tomb was empty when Mary Magdalene came to minister to the body on the third day. Peter and John witnessed the empty tomb and Jesus appeared to his disciples on several occasions before ascending to his Father. But a multitude witnessed his cruel death. We just heard Saint John’s version of the Passion.

Tradition tells us that Saint John, the Beloved Disciple, was an eye witness. We believe Jesus was raised from the dead. We know he died horribly. Unlike most, Jesus was flogged before he was crucified. Unlike most, Jesus was not tied to the cross but was nailed to the cross. Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long and they were driven into his wrists rupturing the tendons so that he could not pull himself up to breathe but had to push up with his legs which were anchored to the cross by a single nail through both feet. For three hours Jesus struggled to breathe and in the process bled out. Before Jesus was taken down from the cross a Roman soldier pierced his side with a lance to be sure he was dead and only water came forth.

Jesus horrible death demonstrates the depravity of the unredeemed human condition. This reality is not appreciated in the world today. When churches removed the figure of Christ from their crosses they symbolically removed the necessity and the reality of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. They focused on the Resurrection, on salvation and forgot the continuing reality of fallen human nature. We divide humanity into the good and the bad. David Mills in writing in the journal, FIRST THINGS, told of a television show when the killer of a child in a twenty year old murder case was eventually caught, he protested, <I am not a bad person=. The detective, who solved the case, replied, you’re the worst kind of person. You walk and talk like us. But you’re nothing like us.=Mills commented, <It’s not a good sign when the writers of a very popular show have so completely lost touch with the reality of original sin and therefore of human solidarity.= Humanity is not divided into good and bad people. We all share our tainted human nature. We are all guilty of sin, original and personal. Christ died for all not just for those we identify as in need of it. Saint Paul spoke for all of us when he said we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Those to be most pitied are those who don’t realize the depth of their need of a Savior. By his death on the cross Jesus dramatically illustrated the gravity of sin and the depth of our need. Those who feel no need of a redeemer have no need for Christ. They may enjoy his friendship but they don’t accept their need of it. How wrong they are.

Pope Francis, in his message to the Cardinals who elected him, said, <When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord.= He prays that the Cardinals <might have the courage to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of Christ: to build the Church on the blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified.= Peter Kreeft of Boston College has written, <The continuation of Christ’s work– if it is really Christ’s work and not a comfortable counterfeit– can never happen without the Cross.=

And so, on Sunday we will celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, a glorious Feast Day, but we must remember that without Good Friday there is no Resurrection. It is the Resurrection that gives us hope but it is in the sign of the Cross that we experience the depth of our need and the price paid to satisfy it.

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It is a question that seems impossible to answer. If Jesus is in fact the Son of God, if he is in fact God, the second person of the Trinity, why did he have to suffer and die such a horrible death? If pain was required wouldn’t't anything painful be enough? He was a carpenter. I am sure he hit his thumb with a hammer many times. Why wasn't that enough? Could it be that the suffering involved had to at least be equal to the gravity of the sin to be atoned for? Could it be that it had to be so memorable that it would echo throughout eternity? If there had to be some equivalence between the evil atoned for and the act of atonement, the brutality involved makes a kind of sense. G. K. Chesterton wrote, "Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved." The horrors of the 20th century were so great that you would think we would have learned our lesson but just look at the 21st century. So far the killing just continues to go on. What is even worse is that the solution being adopted is not to stop doing evil but to deny evil exists. Alister McGrath has noted, " The 20th century gave rise to one of the greatest paradoxes of human history: that the greatest intolerance and violence of that century were practiced by those who believed that religion caused intolerance and violence." It seems clear that there will be sin to atone for as long as human beings continue to exist. That is why atonement had to be infinite. That is why Jesus had to suffer as he did, there was, and is, so very much to be atoned for.

A friend of mine taught in a parish school. She asked her third graders what they thought Mary would say to Jesus on Good Friday. One girl wrote, "Drop that cross and run". Doesn’t't that make sense. Out the mouths of babes.

There is no question that Jesus knew his fate. Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures and they foretold of the manner in which the Messiah would die. Isaiah, in the reading we just heard, wrote of the Suffering Servant who was to come, Isaiah prophesied:

"Yet it was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole; by his stripes we were healed."

Knowing what was to come, why didn’t't Jesus "drop that cross and run"?

The answer lies in our contemplation of the Crucifix. It is a representation of infinite suffering due to infinite sin because of infinite love.

It is because, as Saint Paul tells us, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin." And therefore we can "confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help"

Jesus proclaimed himself to be, "The way, the truth and the life." If the story ended on Good Friday there would indeed be no hope. But it did not end there. Jesus, glorified, rose as he predicted. The Holy Spirit came as promised. The Church, the Bride of Christ, persists. So we gaze at the Crucifix, not in despair, but in hope; hope in the power of the Holy Spirit; hope in the promises of Christ; and, most powerfully, hope in the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior who did not drop the cross and runaway, but who is the Christ and died that we might have eternal life.

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We have just experienced the Passion of Christ as related by Saint John who scripture and tradition tell us was there for the whole thing. It is a Horror Story. It has all the elements: betrayal, gratuitous violence upon an innocent victim, a grieving mother, painful death, violence upon violence; spikes pounded through human flesh, legs broken, torment, and torture. We know the story well and it is terrible.

But why? Why the extreme cruelty? Why didn’t't Jesus run and hide. Why did it have to be this way? It is in the words of Isaiah from the first reading, written 700 hundred years before the fact, that we find the answer. He prophesied:

Jesus took the sins of every human being that has ever lived, or ever will live, to the cross with him. These include my sins, these include your sins. By his wounds we are healed. Jesus, by his wounds, gave each of us the healing gift of eternal life through his gift of himself.

We will rejoice in the Resurrection at the Easter Vigil and during the Masses on Easter Sunday but we cannot truly experience the Resurrection. Maybe someday we will but for now it is beyond our human powers. We can, and do, experience suffering so we do have some limited idea of what Jesus experienced on the cross. Why would anyone voluntarily experience such suffering? The answer is: Love. We all experience love and Jesus suffered and died out of love, love for all of us and love for each of us. You and I have been loved to death. The crucifixion, while it is a horror story, is also the ultimate love story. So, what is the message of Good Friday? It is simply this. The ultimate gift is the gift of self. Jesus gave himself to a painful death out of love for each of us that we might have eternal life. So let us learn from Jesus that the only thing we have to give that really matters is the gift of self out of love; to God and to one another.

You stand with Jesus's mother and Aunt, with Mary the mother of Clopas, Mary of Magdala and the disciple whom Jesus loved. Four women and one man. All the rest were somewhere else. You are here. All the rest are somewhere else.

Jesus knows that you are here because you love him and understand and appreciate the price he paid for our salvation. You are much more than Easter Christians. You appreciate that without Jesus gift to us on the first Good Friday there would be no Easter.

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I have always been fascinated by the human hand. You can tell so much about a person by looking at their hands. The hands of primates are unique in the possession of an opposable thumb. It is because of the thumb that we are able to grasp and hold objects. Without the thumb we could not effectively use even the simplest tools and our civilization would never have evolved as it has. When I was in college, I worked vacations as a plasterer. The men I worked with put their cigarettes out on the palms of their hands. Their hands were so calloused that they felt no pain. I am sure that Saint Joseph had hands like theirs, hard-working hands. Now when I look at my hands they tell me that I have grown old. When I distribute Holy Communion, I notice your hands. They tell me so much. The hands of the young are new and not yet marked. The hands of the workers, male and female, reflect toil undergone and the hands of the elderly, like mine, reflect the passage of years and the damage inflicted by simply staying alive. When Thomas said he would believe only if he saw the hands of the Risen Christ what did he expect to see? He would believe only if he saw the marks of the nails. And what do those marks reveal?

They tell us how much Jesus loved us since he willingly experienced such mutilation and pain for our salvation. The hands do not lie.

Isn't it reasonable to believe that, having suffered such agonizing torture and death for our redemption, Jesus wills us to be saved? The thief on the cross beside Jesus simply asked to be remembered and was promised Paradise. Jesus told Saint Faustina: "My heart is sorrowful because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship with Me is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how that wounds My Heart! Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe my words, at least believe My wounds." Again, the hands do not lie.

This is the age of mercy and today is Divine Mercy Sunday. This is the day that Jesus promised Saint Faustina that He would flood the world with His Mercy.

The image of Divine Mercy is present in our Sanctuary. Jesus promised Saint Faustina, "that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish". He also promised victory over the soul's enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death." Jesus has made many other promises contained in the "Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska" which is available in a paper back. I suggest that everyone obtain a copy and read it. It is a source of hope and consolation in trying times. It also contains words of caution: "Before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide

the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice " I, for one, hope to choose the door of mercy when my time comes

because I fear the door of justice.

So remember that you have been loved to death and that a bottomless font of mercy is available just for the asking. If you are tempted to doubt it, take a tip from Thomas, look upon a crucifix, see the mark of the nails and remember: the hands do not lie.

Deacon John Boyle April 28, 2019

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HEAVEN IS NOW

Jesus told a parable about a man who's enemies sowed weeds in his field. When his servants discovered the weeds growing with the wheat they asked him if they should pull them up. The man said, "No". He reasoned that the wheat would be damaged by the pulling up of the weeds and so instructed them to wait for the harvest and then separate the weeds from the wheat, burn the weeds and gather the wheat into his barn.

Wheat or weed, that is the question. If you're wheat you end up in the barn with all the wheat; that is in the Heavenly Kingdom with the Saints. If you'are a weed the future is not very promising. No one likes to think about where the weeds are headed, the "other place". When I was a kid we heard a lot about the "other place". You got the impression that it was where most of us would end up. It almost seemed that God created us so he could punish us. Today you hear very little about the "other place". The Catechism of the Catholic Church is nearly 900 pages in length and less than two pages are devoted to the "other place". In these two pages there are none of the terrible images that were the topic of many sermons in the past. The Catechism tells us that "To die ... without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell". It elaborates, "The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." This means we cannot even begin to appreciate the pain of this sense of loss suffered in hell unless we first make some progress in our present relationship with God and his only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

Only to the extent that we begin to experience the love and joy of the heavenly kingdom in this life can we begin to imagine the pain of its absence in the next. We begin to grasp the truth that God did not create us to punish us. Rather, he created us to love us and it is his love that fulfills us and makes us unique among his creatures.

Ralph Martin, in his book THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE, writes, " To be holy is not primarily a matter of how many prayers we say or how much Christian activity we're engaged in; it's a matter of having our heart transformed into a heart of love." He refers us to Saint Teresa of Avila who taught that holiness is a matter of bringing our wills into union with God's will and to Saint Therese, the Little Flower, who wrote "Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be ...".

We can begin to experience Heaven in this life if we open our hearts to God's love and live in the present moment in accordance with His will for that moment. In the moment there are no regrets for the past and no anxiety for the future, there is only the peace and joy that come from God's presence and His love. We can then trust that it is His will that is before us, we are where we are meant to be.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel, a wise and holy man, wrote in this regard,

" Unless we cultivate sensitivity to the glory, while here, unless we learn how to experience a foretaste of heaven while on earth, what can be in store for us in the life to come. The seed of life eternal is planted within us here and now. Eternity is not perpetual future but perpetual presence. The world to come is not only a hereafter but also a here-now".

Through our Baptism we became wheat. If we lose our "wheatness" the sacrament of Reconciliation can restore it. Jesus through his life death and resurrection, his sacraments and his Church has given us all we need to be gathered into the heavenly barn. Don't wait to begin to experience Eternal Life.

It is here and now especially in the Eucharist through which we are joined to Jesus Christ here and now.

And pray for the weeds. We live in the time of Divine Mercy and there is still time for conversion before the harvest. There is plenty of room in the barn.

Deacon John Boyle June 4, 2012

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When the priest or deacon prepares the chalice for the Eucharistic celebration as he pours a little water into the cup of wine he prays, "Through the mystery of this water and wine may we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity". In this brief prayer has a ton of meaning. First of all it expresses our belief in the Incarnation, in the divinity of Christ and the fact of his dual natures, fully divine and fully human. Secondly it prays for a share in the divinity of Christ, that we as humans might become as he is, both human and divine. How dare we pray such a prayer? No other religion prays such a prayer. Is this not the height of presumption? Humans fully sharing in divinity is anathema to the Jews, a scandal to the Muslims, and an absurdity to all others.

In today's first reading Isaiah promises that in the New Jerusalem the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food. What else is this but the Eucharist? In today's gospel Jesus feeds the multitude with seven loaves and a few fish. What else is this but a preview of the Eucharist? In the chapter in John's gospel where the tale of the loaves and fishes is related Jesus tells his followers that, "unless you eat the flesh of the son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you". This hard saying caused many of his disciples to leave him and return to their former lives.

You have the words of eternal life." Where else can we find the food and drink of eternal life? Where else can we share in the divinity of Christ?

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Many who believe in God do not believe in a personal God, in a God who cares about the affairs of his creatures. To them God is the great clock maker who made the universe, set in motion and then went about other business. This is not the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The two readings of today are in that tradition and are a source of great consolation to those of us who read and believe them. Isaiah talks of a God who gives strength to the fainting and vigor to the weak, a God who renews the strength of those who hope in him and as a result shall soar as if on eagle’s wings, run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. In Matthew's gospel Jesus promises rest to those who come to him. To those who take his yoke upon them he promises relief from their labors and burdens. In these readings both the Father and the Son involve themselves in the affairs of human beings.

In both these cases help and guidance are given to those in need of help: to the fainting and weak in the case of Isaiah and to those who labor and are burdened in the case of Jesus.

However did Lord Jesus know that I would someday need him so?

How did he guess my loneliness would cause in me such deep distress that I would suffer dark despair

and turn to him for my soul’s repair. He knew, and waited on the cross until such time as my pain and loss would force my pride to give away and I would turn to him and say "my God, I can't go on this way".

Only then did he take my pain away. How good to have a God who bears my worries, fears and daily cares. Who loves me so that he will take my wounds upon himself and make my broken life again brand new.

He made me, that is how he knew.

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A loser never wins and a winner never loses. Winners assume they will win and keep going until they do. A loser expects to lose and will keep going until he does and then quits. Some people just cannot stand prosperity. Poor Zechariah. He and his wife endure the pains of childlessness. To be childless in their day and age was a major disgrace because it was believed to be a punishment for sin. They continue to pray for a child and to keep the commandments into their old age.

Finally his luck changes, he is chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary to burn incense. While in there the angel Gabriel appears and gives him wonderful news. He and his wife are to have a child, a son, who is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, a child in the spirit and power of Elijah the great prophet. What is his response? "How can this be? I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." He knows the story of Abraham and Sarah who had Isaac in their old age. He knows the story of Manoah and his nameless barren wife who gave birth to Samson in her old age. He knows God never seems to do things the easy way. Special acts require special circumstances. Yet he misses the whole point and when given the best news that any human being had received up until that time, he asks a dumb question and is struck dumb as a result. Poor Zechariah, he can't stand prosperity. As my mother would say, "he looked a gift horse in the mouth."

So from now on, thanks to Zechariah, I’ll pray without evaluating my prayer's chances for success. I'll ask and God can decide Yes or No. What have I got to lose?

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Today we celebrate the Feast Day of all those Saints who are known only to God; sort of like the Unknown Soldier. They are men and women who have made it to heaven but whose sanctity on earth was not so heroic as to earn official recognition by the Church on earth. In other words they are people like us who, through cooperation with God's grace, have received a place in heaven. They are members of the multitude that Saint John writes of in the first reading who have washed their robes in the blood of Christ and through their union with him now see God face to face as God's very own children. We are of course happy for them but as a practical matter this seems to be a little remote considering our present situation.

We are preoccupied with the business of living in a world that requires a lot of effort on our part just to make it from day to day. Maybe someday we'll be saints but right now we have our hands full. This seems especially true since last September 11th. Now even small every day things can be matters for concern. Just opening the mail can get you in trouble. A weakening economy is getting weaker and many of us are concerned about keeping our jobs. Do we have the time right now to worry about becoming a saint?

As a matter of fact we don't have to wait for sainthood. By virtue of our baptism in Christ we became saints on the day we we're baptized. On that day we were washed clean by the blood of the lamb and given a white robe to signify that fact. So for most of us it is not a question of gaining sanctity, it is a question of not losing it. How can we lose it?

We lose it by sin. Those of my generation were very familiar with sin. It seemed in those days the church was very preoccupied by sin. The sins all had names and rankings. Some sins were 9's and 10's- those were the biggies and required confession in the sacrament of penance.

Some sins were 5's or less and an act of contrition would be enough; between 5 and 8 you were sort of on your own. Lately it seems we have gone to the other extreme and nothing is really a sin as long as I am a "good person" and "mean well". Each individual determines what it takes to be a "good person" and so what is sin has become a subjective judgment by one who is not in a position to be impartial.

It is a truth that when a person loses a sense of sin, of right and wrong, the loss of sanctity is not far behind. We are either growing closer to God or turning away from God. Things never stay the same. Each wrongful act makes the next wrongful act easier and eventually leads us to acquire a habit of doing wrong. No one starts out an evil person. We get off the track in small ways and eventually our consciousness of God in our life starts to fade and sanctity is at risk.

The less we think about God, the less importance God has in our life, the more we do the wrong thing, the easier it becomes to do the wrong thing. It's all a matter of direction. Are we growing closer to God or are we growing farther away? If we are not growing closer we are probably growing away because, as I said before, things never stay the same. If any good has come from the events of September 11 and beyond it is that they have caught our attention and made us evaluate what is important in our lives. They have reminded us just how suddenly life can end. The heroes of September 11th were heroes in waiting .They were men and women who had developed a habit of selflessness and when the occasion arose they automatically acted according to their nature, selflessly. So it is with sanctity. If we were to be called suddenly into the presence of God would we have retained and developed the sanctity conferred on us by our baptism or would we instinctively turn away from God because turning away had become our habit? Will we still be saints and therefore at home in heaven or will we no longer be saints and be terribly out of place.

The best way to keep our sainthood is frequent reception of the Eucharist. It has been my experience that people who have a devotion to our Lord in the sacrament of his love and

thanksgiving grow closer to God day by day. They are saints now and will be saints in heaven when the time comes. So let us turn to the Eucharist and pray that some day we will join our brothers and sisters in Christ who see God as he is, who rejoice in his presence, and who have survived the time of great distress.

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Today's first reading is traditionally taken to be the ordination of the first deacons in the Church. I cannot miss the opportunity to talk about deacons. I'm sure I will tell you too much. I tend to do that. My granddaughter once asked my wife to ask me about something or other. My wife said, "Why don't you ask Papa yourself?" Andrea said, "I would, but he always tells me more than I really want to know". So here goes.

Diaconate is the first order of the three orders, deacon, priest and bishop, which constitute the sacrament of Holy Orders. Deacons generally handled the administrative duties of the church up until the sixth century when the order was suppressed in the western church. The order was retained symbolically since men were ordained deacons shortly before being ordained priests; a practice which continues until this day. The Council of Trent in the sixteenth century called for the reinstitution of the order of deacon as a permanent state. Nothing happened and the Second Vatican Council in 1964 again called for the reinstitution of the diaconate as a permanent order. The Church does move slowly. In 1976 the first class of Permanent Deacons was ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston. Since then, approximately every other year, a class of deacons has been ordained. I was ordained in 2000 in a class of 22. Twelve men will be ordained in September of 2002. There are about 200 deacons in the Archdiocese of Boston and about 12,500 in the U.S. There are about 45,000 priests in the US so there is about one deacon for every four priests.

It takes five years to become a deacon. The application process extends over one year. There is a year of orientation which is called aspirancy and in which the wives must participate. Then there are three years of academic study. A married man must obtain his wife's written consent before he can be accepted. Most deacons are married men whose families are raised or nearly so and are in their 50's and 60's. There are exceptions but single men who are ordained a deacon must remain unmarried so the priesthood generally attracts them more than diaconate. If a married deacon's wife dies, the deacon ordinarily may not remarry.

Deacons are ordained for word, sacrament and charity. Deacons therefore proclaim the gospel, preach, and are ordinary ministers of the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage and the Eucharist. Deacons may confer most of the blessings that can be conferred by a priest. Deacons may bring viaticum, the last Eucharist, to the dyeing. We cannot remit sin or pray the Eucharistic Prayer. Deacons are active in the Church's charitable endeavors. Many are hospital chaplains or prison chaplains. All are assigned to a parish on a volunteer basis in addition to whatever else they may do. More and more, deacons are becoming an extra pair of hands for the priests who find their duties increasing as their numbers diminish. Deacons all love and honor the priesthood and we are in no way a substitute for priests.

At best, we can take some of load off of them and enable them to perform their unique functions of celebration of the Eucharist, anointing the sick and Reconciliation.

Yesterday I participated in the funeral of a deacon, Tom McMorrow, of Saint Thecla's in Pembroke. The funeral brought home again to me just how blessed we deacons are. First of all we have wonderful wives. Tom's wife, Barbara, was consoling us even as she was parting from her best friend and the love of her life. Deacons have wonderful families. Tom's children all took part in the funeral liturgy and are a credit to Tom and Barbara. They are beautiful young people who love their faith and are sure their beloved father is in good hands, the hands of Jesus Christ, who it is that calls deacons to the service of his people.

There were nine priests and thirty-five brother deacons present for a beautiful liturgy which was truly a celebration of Tom's life. The church was full of friends and parishioners. Tom was a happy person who brought laughter and love wherever he went. His funeral was an occasion love, some laughter with tears sprinkled throughout.

Deacons know that you can't out-give Jesus. The more you give the more you receive in return. A year and a half ago I came to Saint Joseph's as a stranger. But, because I am a deacon, you immediately welcomed me into your parish community. Because I am a deacon, I have been privileged to baptize your children, grieve with you at the death of your loved ones; share in the joy of First Communions and Confirmations; celebrate the joyful feasts of Christmas and Easter in our beautifully decorated church; work with two fine, dedicated and loving priests; enjoy the beautiful children of Saint Joseph's parish and school; be befriended and encouraged by the sisters of our convent of Daughters of Charity; to love and be loved in return.

Yesterday and the reflections and feelings it has engendered has reminded me that the difficulties our church is presently going through are but temporary; and will be resolved by the Holy Spirit in good time. It has reminded me that Christ and his Church really live and operate in our parish communities and our parish communities remain faith filled, loving, and healthy. I love being a deacon almost as much as I love being a husband, a father and a grandfather but most of all I rejoice in being a member of the Mystical Body of Christ which is known as the one, holy and catholic apostolic church; and which, for me, is found within the faith filled community of Saint Joseph Parish in Holbrook, Massachusetts; the community wherein we worship and live our faith and I am privileged to serve as your deacon.

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You made the effort today to come to church for ashes. Let that be a good start on your Lenten devotions... If you feel that by coming for ashes today you have earned a bye until Easter Sunday, reflect upon what that means. Does it mean that you do only what makes you look good to others? If so, ask yourself what Jesus would have to say about that.

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You made the effort today to come to church for ashes. Let that be a good start on your Lenten devotions.. If you feel that by coming for ashes today you have earned a bye until Easter Sunday, reflect upon what that means. Does it mean that you do only what makes you look good to others? If so, ask yourself what Jesus would have to say about that.

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In today's Gospel Jesus tells us what is important: That the food allowance be distributed and on time. That is that people should not go hungry. In a world where billions do not get enough to eat while millions have too much and spend their time trying to get more, something is terribly wrong.

Thank God that Jesus did not come today because I don't think he would be too happy with too many; but, then they would probably be too busy to notice.

As we approach the Eucharist let us pray that our world becomes less busy with acquiring more and more interested in seeing that all of God's people at least have enough to eat.

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The Jewish crowd understands that Jesus is telling them to do more than to love each other. They are to love their oppressors, the Romans, and to pray for not only the Romans but also their Syrian allies, the Jews ancient enemies, who made up the local occupying army. These are revolutionary words and guaranteed to alienate a large part of the crowd who were Zealots and favored armed resistance to Roman domination. To make this non violent resistance easier, Jesus offers some practical suggestions. Turning the other cheek is not what it seems to be. At the time of Jesus superiors struck inferiors on the cheek with the back of the hand. A right handed person's blow would strike the strike the other person on the right cheek. Turning the left cheek would prevent a second back handed blow. To strike an inferior with the open palm was unthinkable because it would imply that they were as an equal. Under Jewish law, the law of a nomadic desert people, if you took another's cloak as security you were required to return it each night so they would not be cold in the dark of night. It was therefore considered extreme to take another's cloak and it seldom happened. By also giving the tunic you would further shame the taker as this would leave you publicly naked, a condition to be avoided at all costs in Jewish culture. In other words instead of looking just bad, they would look really bad and looks counted in those days.

Only those who have excess can give. If you have nothing, you have nothing to give. If you have extra, however, you are to give to those who in need. One who takes what is yours would be one in authority, a Roman, and it would be useless to demand it back. Don't give them the satisfaction of begging. The Golden Rule was well known before the time of Jesus and appears in the Old Testament. What is radical about Jesus teaching of it is that he extends it to non Jews, to the hated Romans and other Gentiles.

When we give love, eventually love is what comes back to us. When we give hatred and envy that is what comes back to us. What we give is what we get. We know this.

In his annual Lenten message Pope John Paul has used this Gospel as his text. He said, "believers should re-examine whether their lives to conform to Christ's command to 'love your enemies (and) do good to those who hate you'."These words are the key to peace, peace of soul, peace between individuals and peace between nations. Hate breeds more hate but love breeds more love. Hate breeds hate and love breeds love. It's that simple.

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When we give love, eventually love is what comes back to us. When we give hatred and envy that is what comes back to us. What we give is what we get. We know this.

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Jesus never answered the question. Will only a few be saved? One thing we know about God is that he likes large numbers. Billions of galaxies each contain billions of stars. And that is only in the observable universe. We don't know how many there are in the universe we will can not see, at least in this life. There are more than six billion people on this planet today. Probably at least another six billion people have already lived on this planet.

Even a small percentage of twelve billion is a lot of people. How do they all get through the narrow door? The only possible way is one at a time. Each of us at the time of our death will, in turn, approach the door and knock upon it. Will it open? Or will we hear, "I don't know you"? I have thought of that moment many times and at length. I know my only hope is in Christ. On my own I'm a goner. It is then that I will rejoice in my membership in the Mystical Body of Christ that is the Church. I know that my soul will bear the mark of my baptism. I know that I will be fortified by the sacramental graces that I have received through the practice of the faith. The Church teaches that God wills all to be saved and gives to each sufficient grace for salvation. But the Church also teaches that Sacraments, outward signs instituted by Christ, confer graces upon us that are not otherwise available. This is why I cling to the Church. This is why I stay in the boat with Peter. I may not like everyone in the boat and I may sometimes object to the way it is run but it is the safest bet for entry into eternal life in the Kingdom of God. It is the best place from which to knock on the door. It is my best hope of being recognized as one of Father's children and a brother of Christ. There may be other ways to get through the door but not for me. If I am saved, it will be through the grace of Christ dispensed by his Church through its sacraments.

The Church, while it is divinely instituted, it lives and operates in the physical world. While Christ has promised it will be free from error in matters of faith, its leaders can and do make mistakes, sometimes tragically. There is a story that Napoleon once told the Pope that he would destroy the Church. The Pope replied, "If we have not been able to destroy it in over 1800 years what makes you think you can?" Many of us feel that we are Catholics not because of the Hierarchy but in spite of it. Nevertheless, from sacred scripture and the writings of the early Church Fathers I am convinced that Christ did indeed found a Church and that Church is the one, holy, Catholic (with a capita C) and apostolic Church.

As a lawyer I know that it always helps if you know the judge. Through his Church and the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, I have come to know Christ and have reason to believe that he has come to know me. It is therefor my hope that when he looks at me he will see himself because if he sees only me, I'm in trouble.

Belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist seems to make all the difference in how actively one practices his or her faith. It is estimated that 91% those who believe in the Real Presence attend Mass weekly or more while only 9% of those who doubt the real presence do so. (Flannery O'Connor story)

Sadly too many Catholics have little knowledge or understanding of Church teaching. (Dr Laura story)

Those who make the effort to learn the truths of the Catholic Church come

to understand what a grace it is to be a Catholic. To have access to the sacraments and through them to life in Christ. This is why it is not true that one religion is as good as another. This is why we are obliged to evangelize, to know our faith and to share it. Remember, the door is narrow. What a grace it is to have the key and be one the family.

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That is how Jesus must have felt at the home of one of the leading Pharisees among all his influential friends. But unlike my boss and me Jesus was not in awe of his surroundings. Instead he notes how many are elevating their own importance by choosing places of honor. He advises them to take lower places lest they be embarrassed by being moved to a lower position at the table. He does not advise them to fairly evaluate their own importance; but rather appeals to their self interest. Self interest is the only motivation for this kind of person. An appeal to reality would be fruitless. Advice to conduct themselves with humility as encouraged in the first reading would be a waste. Impressed with their own high opinions of themselves, the reality of their situation as sinners in need of redemption, in need of a savior, in need of Jesus the Christ, was beyond their comprehension. We cannot even imagine the shock of this leading Pharisee when Jesus advises him that in the future he should not invite his important friends to dine with him but should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This man would regard such people as unclean, as untouchable, and would no more associate with such unfortunates than he would heal someone on the Sabbath as Jesus had just done.

All this leads to the question, where will we be seated? We know that we are invited because through our Baptism we share in the life of Christ. The first reading gives us good advice.

Finally, we are to be generous and give of our time, talent and treasure so that the fires ignited by sin in the world may be quenched.

Let us now turn to the Eucharist and pray that we may be present with Christ now and when he comes into his kingdom, when the righteous join in his resurrection.

Deacon John Boyle

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IN OUR COUNTRY WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH KING'S. WE HAVE BURGER KING AND KING SIZE AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.

THE ANCIENT JEWISH PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE KINGS EITHER BUT EVERYONE AROUND THEM DID. THEY COMPLAINED TO GOD THAT THEY WANTED TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND HAVE A KING TOO. GOD TOLD THEM, THROUGH HIS PROPHETS, THAT THEY WOULD BE SORRY. ONCE YOU HAVE A KING THEY CAN BE VERY HARD TO RID OF. THEY INSISTED AND SO GOD SENT THE PROPHET SAMUEL TO FIND THEM A KING. SAMUEL FOUND A MAN NAMED SAUL AND ANOINTED HIM KING. ONCE HE GOT TO BE KING, SAUL LET IT GO TO HIS HEAD AND SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME FROM THEN ON TRYING TO INSURE THAT HE WOULD STAY KING AND THAT WHEN HE DIED HIS SON WOULD BECOME KING. THIS INVOLVED A LOT OF FIGHTING AND CHASING AROUND AFTER A MAN NAMED DAVID WHOM SAUL FEARED AS A RIVAL. THIS WAS THE SAME DAVID WHO KILLED GOLIATH AND WHO DID EVENTUALLY BECAME A GREAT KING AFTER SAUL DIED. SAUL WASN'T SO CRAZY AFTER ALL.

SO THE JEWISH PEOPLE DID GET THEIR KING BUT THEY ALSO GOT TAXES, WAR, POLITICAL CORRUPTION AND FORCED MILITARY SERVICE. YOU HAVE TO VERY CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, YOU MIGHT GET IT.

ALL OF THIS CREATED THE NOTION THAT KINGS WERE CHOSEN AND ANOINTED BY GOD TO RULE OVER THE PEOPLE WHO WERE TO OBEY THEM WITHOUT ASKING ANY QUESTIONS.

BY THE TIME OF JESUS, THE JEWS WERE A CONQUERED PEOPLE AND SUBJECT TO THE RULE OF THE ROMAN KING WHO WAS CALLED "CAESAR". THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR A NEW KING OR MESSIAH WHO WOULD RULE OVER THEM AND FREE THEM FROM THE RULE OF THE ROMANS.

INSTEAD, THEY GOT JESUS WHO TOLD THEM TO BE GOOD CITIZENS AND PAY THEIR TAXES, TO GIVE TO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT BELONGED TO CAESAR; TO LOVE THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER; TO BE THE SERVANT OF ALL AND MASTER OF NONE. THIS WAS NOT WHAT THEY WANTED AT ALL. THEIR LEADERS DECIDED THEY HAD TO GET RID OF JESUS.

THIS, VERY BRIEFLY, IS HOW WE GET TO TODAY'S GOSPEL. THE ROMAN GOVERNOR, PILATE, HAS BEEN PUT UP TO THE JOB OF KILLING JESUS ON THE BASIS THAT JESUS HAS CLAIMED TO BE THE MESSIAH, THE KING, OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. PILATE ASKS JESUS IF HE IS A KING AND JESUS DOES NOT SAY HE IS BUT DOES NOT DENY IT EITHER. HE TELLS PILATE THAT HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. THAT MEANS YOU CAN'T SEE IT WITH YOUR EYES, ONLY WITH YOUR HEART THROUGH THE EYES OF FAITH. ELSEWHERE IN THE BIBLE JESUS TAUGHT THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN EACH OF US. THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T SEE IT BUT YOU CAN FEEL IT. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LOVE. IT IS THE

LOVE YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF, YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR AND, MOST OF ALL, FOR JESUS, BECAUSE TRUE LOVE COMES FROM JESUS.

AT OUR BAPTISM WE WERE ANOINTED TOO. BECAUSE OF OUR BAPTISM, WE LIVE WITH THE LIFE OF CHRIST AND SO, LIKE HIM, WE ARE ALL KINGS. FROM JESUS WE LEARN HOW TO BE A KING. WE LEARN THAT A TRUE KING LOVES HIS PEOPLE AND PUTS THEM FIRST. A TRUE KING WILL EVEN DIE FOR HIS PEOPLE LIKE JESUS DID ON THE CROSS. A TRUE KING BECOMES ONE WITH HIS PEOPLE AS JESUS DOES WHEN WE RECEIVE HIM INTO OUR BODIES AND SOULS IN COMMUNION.

WE ARE THEN ALL KINGS UNITED WITH THE KING OF KINGS AND WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH CHRIST THE KING'S WONDERFUL GIFT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST.

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Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. That's us. We are those who have not seen, yet we believe. Why do we believe? I don't think any of us are here, at Mass, by accident. We have been drawn here, we have been called here by faith and faith, we are told, is a gift. A gift from the God we have not seen and yet in whom we believe. Since we believe, Jesus says we are blessed.

I have not seen in the way the disciples saw. I have not seen the risen Christ. But I have seen in other ways. There have been too many coincidences in my life for them to be coincidences. Things have happened that I cannot explain. Events have moved me in the direction of faith, of belief. Events have confirmed me in my faith. The Church teaches that God wills that all people be saved and that he gives each person grace sufficient for salvation. I have been moved by that grace. I suspect that you have too or you would not be here this morning at Mass. And Mass today is especially a blessing and we are truly blessed to be here.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. I know most of you are aware of the devotion of Divine Mercy but for those who are not let me explain. A young Polish nun, Sister Faustina of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, now Saint Faustina, in the 1930's, just before the beginning of the Second World War, reported in her diary a series of visions of the risen Christ. Jesus instructed her to proclaim a devotion to his Divine Mercy. You have seen the picture of Jesus with red and white rays coming from his heart. This is the picture of Divine Mercy. At the back of the church there have been cards with this picture and on the back instructions how to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy on rosary beads. We are asked to pray it, especially at 3:00 p.m. the hour of Christ's death. Jesus spoke to Saint Faustina of his great desire that all people be saved. He revealed the extent of his mercy and promised to give mercy to all who turn to him.

In a vision on February 22, 1931 Jesus told Saint Faustina of his desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Divine Mercy. The reason given was that, "Souls perish in spite of my bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy." On May 5, 2000 this request was honored by Pope John Paul. Today is to be a day of worship of God's mercy and a day of grace for all people. We are promised that if we worthily receive Holy Communion today, have gone to Confession during Lent, have an attitude of great trust in the mercy of God and are ourselves merciful we shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment due to them. Jesus has promised through Saint Faustina that he will pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those who approach the fount of mercy. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flows are open. Today Jesus asks us to trust in his mercy and to conform our wills to his will.

I invite you, therefore, to join me in the silence of our own hearts, to pray:

Jesus, for the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on me and on the whole world. Jesus, I trust in you.

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Because of where we live we don't often think of the fact that to most people of the world we are deluded. To them, we worship a dead carpenter; a failed itinerant preacher; who preached an idealistic and simplistic message; and had an unrealistic view of the world and human nature. Even Jesus understood that his story was a hard sell. He understood that many would not believe because they had not seen. Even those who had seen were afraid. Up until this point in the gospel story, those who had been his followers were hiding behind locked doors. Something more was needed and that something was the Holy Spirit.

Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, nearly two thousand years after Jesus’ death we continue to rejoice in the message contained in today's reading from Peter's first letter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". We, who appear to the worldly to be deluded, are in fact blessed. In a world where most live hard lives and die without hope, we possess a living hope in our salvation and a genuine faith, which. In Peter's words is more "precious than gold". Most of us were born to this faith as our inheritance from our forbearers, many of whom suffered greatly to do so. A few were called to Faith as adults; but we all, today and in this church, reaffirm, by our presence, our belief in the risen Christ and our expectation of the salvation which he earned for us by his life, death and resurrection. Our faith is, in Peter's words, "an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading."

This evening in this church the Holy Spirit will be called down to pass on this inheritance of faith to a group of our young people in the Sacrament of Confirmation. I have been privileged to share in a small way in their preparation and know that they are a fine group, a credit to their parents and their parish. They will spend their adult years in a very different kind of church than their elders. The core of our faith will not change; the creed recited each Sunday will not change. But many of the externals will. They will worship in parishes staffed by one priest and maybe will share a priest with another parish. They will not be able to select a time for Mass from four or more alternatives. They will have to work harder than we have if they are to have a full spiritual and religious life. More of them will have to take an active interest in parish life if their parish is to meet the needs of its members. The active participation of the laity will become more and more important to the vitality and effectiveness of the church. In a much more real sense than in the past, these young people are the future of the church. The church will as good or as bad as they are and so they need our prayers.

As we turn to the Eucharist we pray for our young people and all the young people of the Church that the Holy Spirit will bless them, energize them and inspire them to make our Catholic Church, a church of and for the people of God, and an inheritance to succeeding generations that remains imperishable, undefiled and unfading.

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Usually the Homily is based upon the Gospel and not on the New Testament reading.

This reading is usually not really connected to the other readings and so is difficult to tie into the general theme of the day. Today’s second reading is however from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians which scholars say is a candidate for excising the most influence on Christian thought and spirituality. The passage read today is from the introductory Thanksgiving. In it Saint Paul reminds all Baptized Christians that they have been blessed in Jesus Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, that we are <chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy...= Through the Father’s love for the Son we are adopted as His children and as his children we are to seek and obey his will for us and in doing so to become and remain holy as is our destiny. But how do we become holy. Ralph Martin, in his book THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE, tells us <To be holy is not primarily a matter of how many Rosaries we say or how much Christian activity we’re engaged in; it’s a matter of having our heart transformed into a heart of love.= He refers us to Saint Teresa of Avila who taught that holiness is a matter of bringing our wills into union with God’s will and to Saint Therese, the Little Flower, who wrote <Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be ...=.

How do we do that? My spiritual foundation is based upon the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. These steps were based upon the Oxford movement. They, in turn, were based on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It is the eleventh step in particular that deals with submission to the will of God. It states, <Sought through prayer and meditation we sought to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out=. In his essay on this step Bill Wilson wrote:

<The moment we catch even a glimpse of God’s will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that when we turn to Him, all be well with us, here and hereafter.=

I have learned from AA, as have many others that it is possible to stumble into heaven by backing away from hell.

A Christian Brother, Brother Dominic, whom I loved and admired, was forever reminding his students that we live in the Holy Presence of God. God is always and ever all around us and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the hairs on or heads are numbered, Our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. We can trust Him and His will for us.

The next closest we come to Heaven in this life is when we can open our hearts to God’s love and live in the present moment in accordance with His will for that moment. There are no regrets for the past and no anxiety for the future, there is only the peace and joy that come from His presence and His love. We can then trust that it is will that is before us; we are where we are meant to be.

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There was a song popular during World War II sung by a young woman bemoaning the fact that all the eligible men were in the army. Those still available were "either too young or too old". In today's gospel Jesus points out that the power elite of his day, like the young women of World War II, could not be satisfied. John was too much an aesthetic who preached repentance and penance. Jesus taught that there would be plenty of time for penance after his death and so enjoyed the pleasures of the table with both foes and followers.

We must find common ground in a mutual love for the Eucharist which is the Church's greatest strength. As the disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized Jesus we must come to love

each other in the breaking of the bread.

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This Lent and Good Friday have been marked by the release of Mel Gibson’s film portraying The Passion of the Christ. Released on Ash Wednesday, it has been viewed by over 30 million people. Almost without exception, it was seen in a crowded theater and was accompanied by muffled sobs. At the end, most people just sat there for a while and then filed, silently, back into the world of the 21st century. One of the questions raised by critics is whether or not the film, and by extension, Christianity is anti- Semitic. Upon reflection, all of the roles played in the film are present in our own day. We have politicians, like Pilate and Herod, who seek to shift blame and responsibility to each other; who pander to the masses and choose the expedient over moral and ethical truth: who choose death over life and call it <choice=. Like the High Priests we have had religious leaders more concerned over their rights and prerogatives than the welfare of those entrusted to their care. We have the cruel and sadistic that enjoys inflicting pain upon the innocent as did the Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus. We have the eternal, frenzied <crowd= which runs from one extravaganza to the next, seeking escape from empty lives through celebrity worship and obscene spectacle. We have thieves and murderers, repentant and unrepentant. We have those who, while they help carry the cross, do so only reluctantly. And we also have disciples, both the bold and the timid; both those who stand beneath the cross boldly and those, like most of, who stand a little at a distance. Even though those who are depicted in the film may have been mostly Jewish, they are but representatives of all of us. It is significant that the hands depicted in the film as nailing Jesus to the cross are the hands of Mel Gibson. He, and each of us, has played a part in the Passion to some degree. If the film, and by extension the Passion are anti-Semitic, then we are all Semites.

Another criticism of the film was that it was too violent. The truth is that it was far less violent than the actual Passion. The scourging and carrying of the cross take up most of the film. It was the dying on the cross, which took a relatively short time in the film that constituted the greater violence. For three hours Jesus hung there, unable to breathe unless he pushed himself up with his feet by pushing on the nails which secured his feet to the cross. When he did so his back, torn open by the lashes, was scraped against the rough wood of the cross, up and down, up and down, up and down with each breath. The nails in his hands had severed nerves in his arms so that he underwent terrible spasms causing him to involuntarily twist and turn and pull upon the nails. And this goes on for three hours, three hours, each breath more shallow than the last, until he just cannot do it anymore, and death comes at last by suffocation.

The stunning truth is that ultimately the Passion, violent as it was, is a love story. It is while he is suffering so that Jesus forgives and prays for those who have tortured and are killing him. It is while he is suffering so that he gives his Mother into the care of the Beloved Disciple; and, by extension, makes her the mother of all humankind. It is while he is suffering so that he pardons the repentant thief and promises him eternal life. It is while he is suffering so that he gasps out the opening words of the 22nd psalm which contain the prophecy of the Passion and wills himself to live on until all <is consummated=.

Sunday, Easter Sunday, the Churches will be full. Many will join in the celebration of the Resurrection and that is good. But it is you here tonight, the disciples who wait here at the foot of the cross, few in comparison, who are especially graced. To you it has been given to understand the price that was paid for there to be an Easter. To you it has been given to understand the love and the mercy that flow from the pierced side of Jesus who is the Christ, who is Divine Mercy. It is you who must carry the message of the Passion to those Easter Christians who will join us on Sunday. Christ died for all. Christ spread his arms on the cross to embrace all. We, who call ourselves Disciples, can do no less. Good Friday 2004

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Zero calorie food. No wonder they call it heaven.

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The other disciple saw and believed. For this disciple the empty tomb was enough. He believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. The others believed when they saw the risen Christ. We believe because we accept their testimony that Christ is indeed risen from the dead. Saint Paul tells us that if Christ is not risen from the dead our faith is in vain and we are the most pitiable of people. The resurrection is of crucial importance for it completes our salvation which began on Good Friday and finds perfection on Easter Sunday. It is in the resurrection of Christ that we find our hope for our own bodily resurrection and for eternal life. The truth of the resurrection is vital to the determination of whether we are in fact children of God and heirs of heaven or deluded fools who worship a poor carpenter who has been dead for nearly two thousand years. The difference between these alternatives is infinite because it is the difference between the material and the divine; eternal life and nothingness; hope and despair.

There is an excellent book, the Handbook of Christian Apologetics, written by Peter Kreeft and Donald Tacelli, both of whom teach at Boston College, which contains an entire chapter on the resurrection. In it, the logical arguments for the truth of the resurrection are presented and they are persuasive. I will not go into detail on these arguments especially this early in the morning but I recommend them to you. But over and above these proofs from logic is a feeling deep within us that Christ is risen and we are saved. It is that mystery, that gift, which we call faith. It is the certainty that comes to us in the presence of the Eucharist that He is there and we are not alone.

Each Sunday we say the Creed which briefly and accurately summarizes our faith. We profess our belief in the resurrection of Christ and in our own resurrection on the last day.

But it expresses that and much more. Since Vatican II many people seem to feel that since the Church teaches that God wills all people be saved, one religion is as good as another. It came as surprise to many that recently Pope John Paul released a document entitle "Lord Jesus" which restates the teaching of Vatican II that all truth subsists in the Catholic church and that all others reflect that truth in varying degrees but only imperfectly. This document caused a great deal of concern among those who are concerned with ecumenism and Christian Unity. It was labeled "divisive" and "elitist". But if it is not the truth why are we here this morning and not still in bed? As Catholics we believe that it was Jesus plan to bring salvation to the world through a visible and organized church, a Church that dispenses his grace through sacraments. A Church that is, in

the words of the Creed, one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

It is not easy to be a Catholic. It separates you from the crowd. Americanism is rapidly becoming a religion unto itself. It rigidly keeps any mention of God out of public life, to the point where agnosticism has become the established religion. To hold that there are such things as objective truths is to be insensitive. Sunday is now for soccer, Little League or Pop Warner games and shopping, if any time is left over.

One television commercial claimed that Sunday was invented for the New York Times. The media, when it depicts the Church at all, does so in a negative way. The genial Father O'Malley of Going My Way is dead and buried. In our desire to become assimilated we have become in danger of being eliminated. If the present trend continues we will be irrelevant within a generation.

Jesus did not go along to get along. When he saw evil and hypocrisy he spoke out. He did his Father's will and accepted, even invited, the consequences. So must we if we are to be called disciples. This is a difficult time for the Church. It reminds me of the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in exciting times". We have many issues which must be resolved and problems to be addressed. But this does not mean we must hang our heads and accept the negative portrait of our church that appears in the media daily. If members of the church are guilty of crimes against society they should and will be reported to the proper authorities. But the church is still the greatest single force for good in the world and can not accept the characterization as evil which its enemies put forth.

Today, on this celebration of the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and through the grace conferred upon us by the Holy Eucharist let us resolve to defend our church against those who would destroy it, to be active and creative in addressing those matters which cry out to be resolved, and above all to love the Church as Jesus has loved us because for that which we love no sacrifice is too great.

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Deacon John Boyle

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This Lent and Good Friday have been marked by the release of Mel Gibson's film portraying The Passion of the Christ. Released on Ash Wednesday, it has been viewed by over 30 million people. Almost without exception, it was seen in a crowded theater and was accompanied by muffled sobs. At the end, most people just sat there for a while and then filed, silently, back into the world of the 21st century.

One of the questions raised by critics is whether or not the film, and by extension, Christianity is anti- semitic. Upon reflection, all of the roles played in the film are present in our own day. We have politicians, like Pilate and Herod, who seek to shift blame and responsibility to each other; who pander to the masses and choose the expedient over moral and ethical truth: who choose death over life and call it "choice". Like the High Priests we have had religious leaders more concerned over their rights and prerogatives than the welfare of those entrusted to their care. We have the cruel and sadistic who enjoy inflicting pain upon the innocent as did the Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus.

We have the eternal, frenzied "crowd" which runs from one extravaganza to the next, seeking escape from empty lives through celebrity worship and obscene spectacle. We have thieves and murderers, repentant and unrepentant. We have those who, while they help carry the cross, do so only reluctantly. And we also have disciples, both the bold and the timid; both those who stand beneath the cross boldly and those, like most of , who stand a little at a distance. Even though those who are depicted in the film may have been mostly Jewish, they are but representatives of all of us. It is significant that the hands depicted in the film as nailing Jesus to the cross are the hands of Mel Gibson. He, and each of us, has played a part in the Passion to some degree. If the film, and by extension the Passion are anti-Semitic, then we are all Semites.

Another criticism of the film was that it was too violent. The truth is that it was far less violent than the actual Passion.

The scourging and carrying of the cross take up most of the film. It was the dying on the cross, which took a relatively short time in the film, that constituted the greater violence. For three hours Jesus hung there, unable to breath unless he pushed himself up with his feet by pushing on the nails which secured his feet to the cross. When he did so his back, torn open by the lashes, was scraped against the rough wood of the cross, up and down, up and down, up and down with each breath. The nails in his hands had severed nerves in his arms so that he underwent terrible spasms causing him to involuntarily twist and turn and pull upon the nails. And this goes on for three hours, three hours,

each breath more shallow than the last, until he just can not do it anymore, and death comes at last by suffocation.

Good Friday 2004

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Because they just don't get it. They resent being told his truth will set them free. As far as they are concerned they don't need to be set free, after all they are the children of Abraham, the chosen people. The fact that they are a conquered people and have been for much of the previous thousand years doesn't enter their heads. That they are laboring under an impossible burden imposed by the Mosaic Law doesn't occur to them. They insist that they are all right and there is nothing wrong with them and all they need is someone to kick the Romans out and restore the Kingdom of David and everything will be fine.

We are no better off today then the Jews of two thousand years ago. We cannot accept that by our very human nature we are disposed to sin. It's called concupiscence and it is a result of original sin. It is why we needed a redeemer; it is why Jesus had to come to our rescue.

Practically no one receives the sacrament of Reconciliation any more. Why? Because we just don't get it. We are good persons and there is nothing wrong with us.

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"You want the truth, you can't handle the truth". Jack Nicholson's line as the tough Marine colonel in the movie, "A Few Good Men", applied to Herod's wife, Herodias. John the Baptist, whose birth we celebrate today, preached a doctrine of baptism in repentance for sin in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. But as to Herod, John preached that repentance involved repudiating his marriage to Herodias, his brother's wife, whom he had married in violation of Jewish law. Herodias could not handle that truth and so tricked Herod into beheading John.

The truth is powerful stuff and can get you in a whole lot of trouble if you are not careful. While it is never permissible to lie, there is often a question of whether or not the whole truth is required or if there is a little room for creativity in the answer. For example, a friend of mine, when we were in college, got caught coming in by his mother at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning and she asked him, "What are you doing up at this hour?" and he replied "I thought I'd go to early Mass with you".

I am afraid, however, that this tendency to avoid confrontation has gotten out of hand. We tend to ignore evil if it can be passed off as another's right to privacy, or another's right to choose, or the result of free market forces. I don't believe John the Baptist would approve of the rationalizations that we accept as truth today. I don't think he would excuse Herod's taking of his brother's wife on the basis of an alleged right to privacy. How can we respond to John's call to repent if we refuse to acknowledge that there is such a thing as objective wrong, as evil, as sin?

Is it in fact true that we can't handle the truth? The truth is that abortion is not a health care choice but is the wrongful taking of an innocent human life. The truth that marriage between a man and a woman is a sacrament instituted by Christ to enable life, knowledge and faith to be passed onto a new generation and not just one of several equal alternative life styles. The truth that hard core pornography is an evil and corrupting influence on those who expose themselves to it and not protected free speech. The truth is that there is never a right to choose acts that are intrinsically evil.

The truth is that unrestrained market forces have helped create a situation where two thirds of the world's people live in poverty and that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. The truth that God sees each of us face to face, that he has numbered the very hairs on our heads, that he loves us with a love that is infinite as he is infinite, that we are ever in his holy presence and that he knows all that we think and do and thus, in that sense, there is no such thing as privacy.

It's a pretty safe assumption that you and I accept these truths because we are here today but I know that I don't always defend these truths as I should. So I ask you to think about whether or not you do. Have we become, in the words of Lucy, "wishy washy" like Charlie Brown? Can we become more like John the Baptist and be willing to live and proclaim our faith regardless of the consequences? Can we be a light in the darkness or are we salt which has lost its flavor and good for nothing?

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"Woe also to you lawyers." This phrase is the most often quoted to us Lawyers. The second most quoted phrase comes from Shakespear's Henry VI, "First we will kill all the Lawyers." I suppose woe is better than kill but neither is something to look forward to with pleasure. I believe that woe to Lawmakers would be more accurate. Both Congress and the Legislature routinely enact laws and then exempt themselves from the operation of those laws. It is this conduct which causes Jesus to call down woe upon the lawyers of his time. In any event it seems that distaste for lawyers goes back a long way. One fringe benefit of ordination for me is that now when people ask me what I do, I tell them I am a deacon and do not have to confess my lawyerness.

Aside from that, the passage from today's gospel is the reason that Jesus, my redeemer, is also my hero. This exchange comes during a meal in the house of a Pharisee. First Jesus accepts the invitation from one he knows is out to get him. He walks into the Lion's den. Next he fails to perform the ritual cleansing that Jews perform before dining. He knows that this will not go unnoticed and will cause comment. When it does, Jesus goes on the offensive. Gentile Jesus becomes a tiger. He lays them out, comparing them to unseen graves, a horror to the Pharisees, who regard the grave as unclean. It is the same as calling them pigs as far as they are concerned. When one of the lawyers speaks up, he levels them too. From this time on the Scribes and Pharisees are determined to finish him off. As far as they are concerned he is asking for it and he will get it. No one gets away with attacking them, they cannot allow it because it is the truth and deep down they know it. If it were not the truth, he could be passed off as a nut and be ridiculed into obscurity. But the truth is a powerful weapon. As Harry Truman said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth, and they think it is hell." So not only was Jesus, our Savior, gentile, he was also tough, tougher than nails.

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In the reading from Saint John's first letter we are told, "Beloved, if God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another." That is, we must love as God loves. In the Gospel Jesus tells us, "This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you."

And how do we do that?

Every Good Friday we see how much Jesus loves us. The Christian churches celebrate, that is the right word, celebrate our redemption by Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. In the word's of Saint John, God "sent his Son as an offering for our sins." We, fortunately, are not called upon for such a heroic manifestation of our love; but we are called to selfless love. In the book, Love Story, the meaning of love in contemporary times was distilled into the phrase, "Love means never having to say you’re sorry". The inference being that one who loves should forgive anything, no matter how outrageous, without requiring the guilty party to express or feel remorse. This is not to be loved but to be used. This is selfish love and the opposite of the selfless love commanded by Christ. As many of us have learned by bitter experience, this type of love leads only to self absorption, and ultimately to loneliness and despair. Those of us who follow a twelve step way of life are graced with the Prayer of the Third Step: God I offer myself to thee- to build with me and do with me as thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of thy power, thy love, and thy way of life. May I do this always!

Through painful experience we have come to understand that happiness lies only in release from self-centeredness. That true, selfless, love and true joy are inseparable.

Today I attended the Funeral Service of a friend. Edwin Moyer was a retired American Baptist Minister. He was in active ministry for forty years and continued to minister in retirement until his death at the age ninety-three. Ed had absolutely no ego. He radiated love and acceptance. In Ed I saw the greatness present in Christian humility. Ed was a great man primarily because it never occurred to him that he was.

When Saint Paul taught, <Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong doing hut rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.= he might well have been anticipating the witness of Ed Moyer.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to know Ed Moyer and I shall miss him. I hope to meet him in the Heavenly Kingdom. I am sure he is there. I hope I make it.

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Tevye in the play "Fiddler on the Roof" is a poor Jew living in Russia during a period of persecution called a pogram. Times are very hard for him. Tevye constantly talks to God. In his worry and frustration he says to God, "I know we are the chosen people, but every now and then would it hurt to choose someone else?" Being one of God's chosen can be hazardous to your health. We know what happened to Jesus, Peter was crucified upside down, Paul beheaded, Saul a suicide, David betrayed by a beloved son, Stephen stoned to death, Lawrence fried on a griddle, the list is nearly endless. Today we are told the story of the man born blind. He is not blind by chance. He was chosen to be born blind so that his sight could be given to him by Jesus as lesson to the Jewish leaders who, while they can see, are blind to the truth that is before them in Jesus the Christ. When the man is in trouble for being healed, his parents wimp out on him and he is thrown out of the Synagogue. He is at one and the same time given his sight and made an outcast. There are indeed risks in being chosen.

The lesson of the story is that the world which was in darkness, like the man born blind, is illuminated by the light that is Christ. The man washing in the pool signifies our birth into that light through baptism. The Pharisees, who can see, do not see the light and so are blind to what really matters.

Saint Paul expanding on the theme of the Gospel story reminds us that we were "once in darkness but now are light in the Lord". He tells us to "live as children of the light" and warns us to "expose the fruitless works of darkness".

Strange isn't it that in our day, the "fruitless works of darkness" were exposed by no less than a court order obtained and reported upon by the Boston Globe while an otherwise good and decent man, a man chosen by God to be a leader of the light that is Christ's Church, has enabled the darkness that engulfs our Archdiocese.

Yesterday I attended a listening session with the Cardinal conducted during the Convocation held at the World Trade Center. A representative from each parish was present and given an opportunity to address Cardinal Law face to face. It was a most unusual and remarkable event. The people told the Cardinal of their heartbreak and anger over his failure to protect the children. They spoke of their great love and concern for the great majority of priests who serve faithfully and well and have been exposed to ridicule and caused great pain. They spoke of their concern that the so called zero tolerance policy could result in irreparable harm to accused but innocent priests. They spoke of their concern for those priests who, while they may be guilty of

one offence, have otherwise served long and well and appear to be just cut adrift. They spoke of the need to empower the laity in general and women in particular. They reminded the Cardinal that the people are people of God, that we are the Church. A solid majority expressed, with compassion, their opinion that the Cardinal should resign. The people were magnificent in their courage, honesty, compassion and faith. The Cardinal was remarkable in his ability to listen attentively, to accept what must have been crushing, to endure the unendurable. I have never seen the like of it and I have seen a lot.

How all this will play out is unknown but I do know this, the Church in Boston will never be the same as it was. The Cardinal heard a declaration yesterday. The people of God have spoken. No longer will they trust Church leaders to do the right thing without oversight. The people are involved, they care and they will be watching and that is a good thing.

How do we explain the facts that a very, very smart man has done an incredibly and admittedly dumb thing; that the newspaper that supports much of what the Church opposes is the organism that causes the sleeping people of God to awake? Could it be that the Holy Spirit, who called Bernard Law to a position of authority, also blinded him to the consequences of covering up an evil so that a greater good could occur? Maybe. I don't know; but I do know one thing.

Something historic happened yesterday. I know because I was there and I could not believe my eyes and ears.

In his closing remarks the Cardinal expressed his belief that since we are united in the Holy Eucharist, through the power of the grace of Christ in his sacrament of love and thanksgiving, we will survive this time of trial and be better for it. We shall see.

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In Deuteronomy Moses is speaking to his people just prior to their entering into the Promised Land. It is the last of the five books of the Pentateuch and is powerful in its effect upon the Jewish people even down to the present day. Leon Uris in the book Exodus has Ari, his personification of the modern Israeli, say that to understand modern Israel one must read Deuteronomy three times through without stopping.

In today's reading Moses reminds the Israelites that they have been chosen by the one God to carry his law to the world. He promises that as long as they do that by teaching the law to succeeding generations they will live in the land that God is giving them. That law is the Ten Commandments, the Natural Law, which is embedded in our very natures and which makes us human. And so long as the children of Israel were faithful to the law they flourished. It was when they fell away from the law that they suffered the loss of God's protection and were driven into exile.

Jesus often quoted Deuteronomy. He quoted it in resisting the temptation in the desert and on his teaching on the first and greatest commandment, the duty to love God. He is certainly alluding to it in his teaching in today's gospel and enjoins all his followers to follow the Law of Moses and teach law to all who come after them.

And so it is that when you are chosen by God, you incur obligations. Preference has its price and a blessing imposes a duty. Those of us who hear and accept the word of God have a duty to not only live it but also to share it. Failure to do so results in the loss of preference and leads to disaster.

The founders of our nation were aware of these facts. 52 of the 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were committed Christians and the other 3 believed in the Bible as divine truth. John Adams wrote on July 4, 1821 that:

"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity". Thomas Jefferson wrote in the front of his bible, "I am a real Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator." James Madison wrote "We have staked the whole future of our new nation not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves

according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments." George Washington in his Farewell Address warned. "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." Having suffered under British rule and its established church the founders forbade the establishment of a state religion in the Constitution. Over the years the advocates of for a secular state have gradually expanded this provision to drive religious considerations from the public square. Our Founding Fathers clearly did not advocate for a secular society. In fact there writings indicate just the opposite.

There is a huge difference between a society where no particular religion is preferred and a society where religion is restricted to private worship on private premises. The President of the United States and the Secretary of State no longer speak of Freedom of Religion. They now only speak of Freedom of Worship. The handwriting is on the wall. Recently activist judges have barred the ten commandments from public buildings and the words "under God"have been challenged in the Pledge of Allegiance. We must remind them that you ignore the law of God at your peril. One need only read the history of the Jewish people to see what happens when a people turns its back on God. It is not pretty.

As we turn to the Eucharist let us pray that our nation will ever seek to do the will of God as revealed in his commandments and in so doing retain his blessing on us and those who come after us.

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And how do we do that?

Every Good Friday we see how much Jesus loves us. The Christian churches celebrate, that is the right word, celebrate our redemption by Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. In the word's of Saint John, God "sent his Son as an offering for our sins." We, fortunately, are not called upon for such a heroic manifestation of our love; but we are called to selfless love. In the book, Love Story, the meaning of love in contemporary times was distilled into the phrase, "Love means never having to say you’re sorry". The inference being that one who loves should forgive anything, no matter how outrageous, without requiring the guilty party to express or feel remorse. This is not to be loved but to be used. This is selfish love and the opposite of the selfless love commanded by Christ. As many of us have learned by bitter experience, this type of love leads only to self absorption, and ultimately to loneliness and despair. Those of us who follow a twelve step way of life are graced with the Prayer of the Third Step: God I offer myself to thee- to build with me and do with me as thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of thy power, thy love, and thy way of life. May I do this always!

Through painful experience we have come to understand that happiness lies only in release from self-centeredness. That true, selfless, love and true joy are inseparable.

When Saint Paul taught, "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong doing hut rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." he might well have been anticipating the witness of Ed Moyer.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to know Ed Moyer and I shall miss him. I hope to meet him in the Heavenly Kingdom. I am sure he is there. I hope I make it.

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The reverend Peter Gomes in his beautiful Sermon on Mary delivered at no less a place than Harvard's memorial Church said that part of the Protestant problem with Mary was, that they "believe her to be a Catholic".

The readings for today make it very clear that Mary is first of all Jewish. The first reading from Numbers is the Blessing which has accompanied the Jewish people throughout their history: and, which has been adopted by the Christian Churches, by which God's blessings have been invoked upon countless generations. The second reading, from Saint Paul, points out that God's son was born under the Jewish Law. In the Gospel reading we see Mary and Joseph, according to Jewish law, bring Jesus to the temple for his naming and circumcision, the sign of the Covenant of Moses.

Most of our artistic representations of Mary are of her as a beautiful young mother holding Jesus as a baby or a young child; or, in her glorified state as Queen of Heaven and Earth. But, I am particularly drawn to the image of Mary in the Pieta: an elderly Jewish mother with the broken body of her only son in her grieving but loving arms. As a product of her times Mary was old at forty-six, her approximate age at the time of Jesus death. Life was hard in first century Palestine. It was a conquered nation and taxes were high. She was a widow and her son had not earned any money the last three years of his life. Now she was childless and dependant on the generosity of Jesus’ followers who had not exactly covered themselves with glory in the last few days. Jesus had given his all on the cross but so had Mary. Whenever we think we have troubles we need only remember the Pieta to put our troubles in perspective. It is true that Mary experiences resurrected glory but only after experiencing unimaginable heartbreak.

My other favorite image of Mary is that of the apparition late in the day of August 21, 1879 in the village of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland. Mayo is best described by a story I heard from an Irish missionary Father from Mayo.(Tell story) In 1879 it was even worse. There had been the great hunger from 1845 through 1850 during which more than one third of the population of Ireland either starved or fled the country. Mayo was particularly hard hit. If ever a country needed the blessing of a Marian apparition it was Ireland in 1879. By the gable wall, the wall at the rear of the church, Mary appeared with Joseph to her right and at her left, John, the Disciple whom Jesus loved and to whom Christ entrusted with her care from the cross. She was pointing to an altar upon which was a lamb and a cross and around which angels worshiped. She

did not speak. It was Ireland after all and she probably could not get a word in edgewise.

Clearly she was pointing the Irish people to the Eucharist as the source of their recovery and restoration. And so it is that Mary, who knew anguish as a broken hearted Jewish mother, points us to the Eucharist, the sacrament of the body and blood of her Divine Son as the New Testament source of God's blessing; of God’s grace; and God's peace.

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The Jewish Scriptures recognize two kinds of sin. First there was the collective sin of the entire people. They were surrounded by people who worshiped idols and so idolatry would creep into and sometimes replace their worship of the true God. God would withdraw his grace from them and they would fall into ruin. The first reading today was such a time. The Jewish people had been led into captivity in Babylon as a result of their idolatry. In Babylon they repented and now they are again entering into God's favor. God, through the Prophet, informs them that he is wiping out their offenses and will remember their sins no more. What is significant is God's reason for doing so. It is because he loves them, not because they love him. Thus it is that God is always willing to forgive us when we repent. He loves us.

The other kind of sin that they recognized was personal sin. This was the sin that was indicated by the infliction of some misfortune. If you became sick or poverty stricken it was in punishment for sin. This was why, when Jesus healed the paralytic by forgiving his sins, the onlookers understood that whatever sins had merited his affliction were being forgiven and therefore his affliction disappeared. They also understood that since sins were offenses against God, only God could forgive them and that by doing so Jesus was claiming to be God.

Eventually this God Jesus into a great deal of trouble.

In our age we have kept the notion of personal sin. We no longer equate misfortune as punishment for sin. Indeed we see how the sinful often prosper as a result of their sin. Crime often does pay. But we have lost the consciousness of collective sin. That is what allows us to take curious positions such as that of nominally Catholic politicians who say "I am personally opposed to abortion but will not force my beliefs on others". They are attempting to avoid personal guilt by shifting it to a group, "others". That doesn't work. We are our brother's keeper. We all bear some responsibility for the society in which we live, especially those who participate in the process which creates the laws under which we live. The right to take the life of the unborn or the sick or aged is not an option anyone is free to choose.

If we are to be true to our faith and our God, we as Church, must be conscious of collective guilt. We must require that our leaders be forthright and courageous in protecting the rights of all. We must hold our Church leaders to their promise to protect our children and to no longer tolerate private sin of a few in order to avoid the appearance of collective guilt. We must hold our civic leaders to personal responsibility to embrace Catholic principles if they are to call themselves Catholic. We must no longer act as if what society does has no relation to God's law as embedded in our human nature.

It is true that God always forgives; but there can be no forgiveness, even by God, if there is no admission of guilt and consequent remorse, repentance, and reformation. If by our failure to be forthright in our convictions, we assist in the enabling of evil in our society, we share in society's guilt and for that we must repent and mend our ways if God is to continue to bless our nation.

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The first reading was from the story of Job in Old Testament. Job was a man who had everything but through no fault of his own lost it all. His friends said he must have done something terrible to have been punished so. Job insisted that he had done no wrong. Job's wife was very bitter and cursed Job and God for their misfortune. Job, although he came near to despairing, did not blame God for his misfortune but remained faithful. In the end God restored to Job all that he had lost.

When I was fourteen I was a Junior Job. School was not going well at all. It was time to go from Junior to Senior High School and the Guidance Counselor told my Mother I should go to vocational school which was OK with me because the only A I had gotten was in woodworking in spite of running a hook into my hand and hanging myself from the ceiling. My Mother had been a school teacher and this was not acceptable to her. I don't know how I got in but I was accepted by the de LaSalle Christian Brothers at Saint Mary's High School in Waltham.

I noticed that the other kids went into the Church every day and came out a little while later. I asked what they were doing and they said they were making a visit. I asked who they were visiting and they said "Jesus". I went in to see if I could see Jesus and I had a conversion experience. I noticed the little house behind the altar and I suddenly felt the presence of Jesus deep down inside of me. My life has never been the same after that. I got good grades went on to college and law school and raised a family. I have had some difficult times from time to time as does everyone but Jesus has always been there when I have turned to him to bail me out. Like the people in the gospel story I have been healed by Jesus not just once but many times.

So like Saint Paul, by virtue of my ordination, I preach the gospel and like Saint Paul this is no reason for me to boast for an obligation has been imposed on me also and woe to me if I do not preach it. I pass on to you the truth that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. If you are having trouble now or you ever have trouble in the future, try turning to Jesus in the Eucharist and ask him to help you just as he helped me. It is to help us that Jesus came and he is only waiting to be asked.

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Whenever you go to the cinema you have to sit through about 10 minutes of coming attractions. Some them will not be coming for six months but never the less we must be <teased= so that when they finally appear we will all want to see them. Well this morning you have been teased, you have heard the coming attractions for the week according to the Gospel of Saint Mark. The plot is one that is still used today in any number of variations. Good young citizen runs afoul of evil rulers who plot his downfall so that they may continue in their nefarious practices whereby they live off the wealth extorted from the common people who remain innocently oblivious to their exploitation. In the movies the innocent young man is ultimately successful in overthrowing the bad guys and is acknowledged by all to be a hero and he even gets the girl who never lost faith in him.

Our coming attractions differ in that there is no girl; but there is a mother who is indeed faithful until the end. Also our young man is apparently a failure who dies a horrible death at the hands of his oppressors with the collusion of one of his closest associates who has betrayed him. His other associates flee and even deny that they know him. As the story ends his defeat appears total. He is buried in a borrowed grave an apparent failure. No Hollywood ending here.

This drama will be played out in the liturgy this coming week; the week that is called

<Holy= even though on the face of it you might wonder why. To understand why, we have to look deeper into the story.

This Thursday, which is also called Holy, at 7 pm the events of that last Passover meal are reenacted. Feet will be washed. Bread and wine will be blessed and the words <... this is my body= and <this is my blood...= will be spoken by a priest who is a direct spiritual descendant of those present at that first sacrificial meal.

We celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the foundation of the priesthood.

That meal has been reenacted for nearly two thousand years and is glue that holds the Church together and it will be celebrated here at Saint Joseph’s Church in Holbrook and all over the world in thousands of places from the Basilica of Saint Peter’s in Rome to hidden cellars in Asia. We will be able to join in that celebration with our sisters and brothers in Christ all over the world and all through time. Don’t miss it.

On Friday the terrible events of that long ago Friday when the most horrible act imaginable occurred will be recalled here at three o’clock when the Stations of the Cross will be prayed by the children of Saint Joseph’s. At 7 pm will have the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. Saint John’s version of the Passion Story will be proclaimed, prayers for the Church, the Pope and clergy, those preparing for Baptism, the unity of Christians, the Jewish people, for unbelievers, and those in public office will be said. There will be an opportunity to venerate the cross of Christ and receive Holy Communion. With the conclusion of this service Holy Week comes to a close. Jesus is in his tomb and the Church is bare.

On Saturday at 8:30 pm Act 2 of our story begins. But that is a whole other matter.

Come and experience it, it is beyond spectacular.

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Inferences are drawn from facts. Philosophers like to say that as a being is so it acts. By observing someone in action we can draw valid inferences about what kind of person they are. From the behavior of the Apostles in the passage from Acts we can infer that something significant has happened to change them. This is the same group that was hiding in a locked room not too long ago. Now they are speaking out boldly and publicly regardless of the consequences.

The inferences which we draw from scripture provide a solid basis for our faith and are important sources of grace in our spiritual lives.

The events of the last two days have forced me to draw some very painful inferences. The young man from Newton, who alleges he was raped by Paul Shanley when he was a child of six, is the nephew of a friend of mine. My friend is a superior officer on the Newton Police Department and has children of his own. He remains strong in his faith and he and his family are active parishioners of Our Lady's Church. He has sent his sons on extended trips under the auspices of the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry. That these are good and stable people, who are loyal to their faith, supports an inference that there is no hidden agenda here and the things they allege did in fact happen. It further supports an inference that people in influential positions in the Archdiocese did, in fact, put the welfare of an individual priest above the safety and welfare of the children with whom he came in contact. As the father of two sons this is beyond my comprehension. I can't even begin to imagine the pain caused to my friend's nephew and those who love him. As a deacon, and therefore a member of the hierarchy, a very minor member but a member none the less, I am greatly disappointed and saddened by the action, and lack of action, on the part of my superiors. I had hoped, as I know you had, that we would soon be able to put this all behind us that the worst was over. I am afraid that our hope was in vain.

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Failure can be funny but only up to a point. At that point it ceases to be funny and becomes tragic if allowed to go further. In the Old Testament reading Elijah is having a wonderful time at the expense of the priests of Baal. The picture of them calling upon Baal from morning until noon with Elijah cheering them on is funny. Elijah then puts on a demonstration of the power of Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. It is not enough to just light a fire under the sacrifice, he must drown it in water first. The Lord's fire consumes the sacrifice, calf, wood and water and all in an instant.

At this, all of the people fall prostrate and once again reject idolatry and give glory to the God of their fathers, the true God, the only God.

Our reading today stops just short of the passage where Elijah has the priests of Baal seized and he cuts their throats. What was solemn and serious became funny, then glorious but ended in tragedy. Tragedy also fell upon Elijah who must now flee for his life as a result.

ridiculous in the eyes of the world, its moral force, its ability to speak with authority will be gravely, maybe fatally, compromised. Who then will speak for the unborn, the terminally ill, the marginalized the forgotten?

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Saint Stephen, the first martyr, was one of the first seven men ordained as deacons by the Apostles by the laying on of hands and is the patron of all deacons. The first deacons were selected from the Greek speaking Jews of Jerusalem and their first duty was to see to the equitable distribution of food. They also preached the word of God and this is what led to Stephen's martyrdom. Deacon is the first of three orders within the hierarchy of the church and deacons are clergy and recipients of the sacrament of Orders. The other two orders are presbyter or priest and bishop. All priests are first ordained deacon and it is at this point that the oath of celibacy is required. Married men over the age of 35 may be ordained permanent deacons but ordination to deacon is an impediment to marriage so once ordained a deacon may not marry without a dispensation which is rarely given and never in the case of an ordained single man.

Deacon's are heralds of the Lord and charged with the reading of the Gospel at any liturgical service. Only in the absence of a deacon the Gospel is to be read by a priest. If there is more than one priest present, the gospel is to read by the priest who is not the presider at the Eucharist. In the early church deacons were charged with crowd control and with the distribution of the Eucharist. This tradition is preserved by having the deacon announce the sign of peace, distribute the Eucharist and dismiss the congregation at the end of the liturgy. The deacon is the minister of the cup and if it is too offered to the attending ministers of lector and acolyte it is the deacon who does so. In this case the deacon drinks last from the cup. It is the deacon's responsibility to see that the vessels used in the Eucharist are properly purified before being washed. The deacon walks beside the presider at a liturgy not as a place of honor but as a place of service. The deacon’s primary responsibility is to assist the presider and should therefore stand at the presider's right hand in order to so efficiently.

The deacon is also an ordinary minister of the sacrament of baptism and marriage.

Deacons are called to be ministers of acts of charity and to administrative duties. It was due to overzealous administrator deacons that the order was eventually suppressed as a permanent ministry. Both the council of Trent in 1525 and the Second Vatican council in 1964 called for the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order and in 1968 Pope Paul VI restored the diaconate as a permanent order in the western church. It had continued to function as a permanent order in the eastern rites.

The first deacons were ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston in 1976 and there are a little over 200 deacons incardinated in the archdiocese today. It takes five years to become a permanent deacon. One year is devoted to the application process. One year as an aspirant and three academic years as a candidate. An internship of at least 100 hours is required be served in the summer before the final year of preparation. There currently is a class every other year, there are 12 in the class of 2002 who will be ordained next September.

You now know more than you probably wanted to know about deacons.

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Jesus never answered the question. Will only a few be saved? One thing we know about God is that he likes large numbers. Billions of galaxies each contain billions of stars. And that is only in the observable universe. We don't know how many there are in the universe we will never see, at least in this world. There are six billion people on this planet today. Probably at least another hundred billion people have already lived on this planet.

Even a small percentage off billions is a lot of people. How do they all get through the narrow door? The only possible way is one at a time. Each of us at the time of our death will, in turn, approach the door and knock upon it. Will it open? Or will we hear, "I don’t know you"? I have thought of that moment many times and at length. I know my only hope is in Christ. On my own I'm a goner. It is then that I will rejoice in my membership in the Body of Christ that is the Church. I know that my soul will bear the mark of my baptism. I know that I will be fortified by the sacramental graces that I have received through the practice of the faith. The Church teaches that God wills all to be saved and gives to each sufficient grace for salvation. But the Church also teaches that Sacraments, outward signs instituted by Christ, confer graces upon us that are not otherwise available. This is why I cling to the Church. This is why I stay in the boat with Peter. It is the best place from which to knock on the door. It is my best hope of being recognized as one of Father's children and a brother of Christ. There may be other ways to get through the door but not for me. If I am saved, it will be through the grace of Christ dispensed by his Church through its sacraments.

As a lawyer I know that it always helps if you know the judge. Through his Church I have come to know Christ and have reason to believe that he has come to know me. It is therefore my hope that when he looks at me he will see himself because if he sees only me, I'm in trouble.

What a grace to be a Catholic and to have access to the sacraments and through them to life in Christ. This is why it is not true that one religion is as good as another. This is why we are obliged to evangelize, to know our faith and to share it. Remember, the door is narrow and it may also be closed. What a grace it is to have the key and be one of the family.

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<When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said 8We should like to hear you on this some other time9.= Some other time. I can understand those who scoff. If I were they, in their time and place, I might well have been one of them. It is, after all, our common experience that this does not happen. Them, I can understand, but to be interested yet too preoccupied to hear more is the tragedy that continues until this day. It is why eighty percent of those who call themselves Catholic do not bother to attend Mass regularly. They have given themselves a new label: CEO Catholics, Christmas and Easter Only. It is a sad fact that the Church is irrelevant to how they live their lives. It is merely an ornament that is briefly retrieved from the back of a closet on those two festive occasions and then packed away, out of sight, out of mind.

Jesus had great compassion for sinners. He loved his disciples even when they stumbled, when they failed to understand him, when they didn9t get it.

However, he didn9t waste much time on the indifferent. In the Gospel of Matthew he teaches his disciples <Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.= Strong words from the gentle savior. In his Book of Revelation Saint John quotes the words of the Spirit to the angel of the church in Laodicea, <I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.= Thus, it seems there is more hope for those who are cold, who actively oppose the Christ, they are at least interested, than for the lukewarm, the indifferent.

So how did we become the like the church in Laodicea? There are many reasons and I have not the time to elaborate on all. But let me give one reason. We have come to believe that it is possible to create paradise in this world. Happiness can be had here and now so hope of a better life to come is neither needed nor anticipated. We are too busy becoming comfortable here and now to be concerned with God and our relationship to him. In our time prosperity and not poverty is the cause of a pervasive indifference to life in the spirit. Those who believe that there is such a thing as objective moral truth, absolute right and wrong, are not with it, out of step with the times, anachronisms, intolerant, and counter cultural; but better to that than neither hot nor cold, to be spit from the mouth of the Spirit.

In the quiet time that we have Jesus present to us in Holy Communion let us pray for the cold, that they become open to the faith that they oppose, for the lukewarm that they may become aware of the faith that they ignore and for ourselves that we may become neither.

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The Psalmist says, "The Lord brings to naught the plans of the nations; he foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the Lord stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations"

Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. This terrible act resulted in the saving of the House of Israel from famine because Joseph ends up in charge of Egypt's granaries.

Coincidence or plan?

Jesus sends his twelve disciples to evangelize the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" and to proclaim to them "The Kingdom of God is at hand." Looks like a plan.

Does God really have a plan or not? If we look at the world today it seems that if he has a plan it is either not working or a very strange plan indeed. The problem with a plan is that it might not be readily apparent in the short run.

Having reached an age where I can look back at my life in the long run, I can see that what appeared to be disaster in the short term worked to my spiritual benefit in the long run. I can see that God did in fact have a plan for me. Sometimes I felt he could have made it clearer as it was unfolding but I can see now that I needed the tough spots for it is then that I matured. Bill Wilson, the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, wrote that, "pain is the touch stone of all spiritual growth." Sad but true.

I am convinced, therefore, that God does in fact have a plan, not only for the human race, but for each and every member of the human race. It is our job to find that plan which is God's will for us and, with the help of his grace, to carry it out. For most of us the plan does not involve anything extraordinary. For most of us it consists of showing up each and every day and doing that work which the Lord has placed before us that day. That sounds easy but we all know that there are many days when it takes all our effort to show up.

Many days we just want to pull the covers over our heads and let someone else do the showing up. Those are the days when we need God's grace to follow the plan. His grace is ours for the asking but many times we forget to ask or, in our despair, think he has forgotten us. If each of us can remember each day to start our day with a prayer for that day for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out, we will do our part in the big eternal plan which is the proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven to the entire world.

You can't do much better than that!

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The message of today's readings is clear. Faith will be rewarded and lack of faith will be punished. Actions have consequences.

The Lord tells Moses that he is giving the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. The scouts sent to reconnoiter the land discourage the people and they doubt the Lord. As a result they continue to wander in the desert for a generation, until all are dead. The psalm laments their lack of faith. The Gospel tells of the persistent Canaanite woman who's request is ultimately granted because of her great faith.

Faith is rewarded- lack of faith is punished- actions have consequences- it is all so simple. So why do we act as if faith is risky. Saint Francis at the end of the day gave his entire surplus to the poor. He kept nothing for the next day trusting that God would meet his needs as they arose. For this he was made a Saint but seldom, if ever, imitated. Most of us keep a reserve for a rainy day, just in case. This lack of faith is called prudence and a virtue.

Abortion and contraception have reduced reproductive rates to a level in the first world that will ultimately lead to extinction and is already causing economic problems that require immigration in large numbers to resolve. Actions have consequences. Just because they are unpleasant and so are ignored doesn’t't mean that they are not there.

It is in our nature to complicate things when what really matters is so simple. God so loved us that he sent his only begotten son to become one of us. His son so loved us that he suffered, died and rose again so that we might have eternal life. Because God so loved us, for love of God, we must love ourselves and one another. Lack of faith is punished, faith is rewarded, and actions have consequences. It's all so simple.

And yet without grace it is impossible. So on the night before he died Jesus instituted the sacrament we call Eucharist through which grace in abundance is available to the faithful. Faith is indeed rewarded and lack of faith is a tragedy.

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Epiphany means <manifestation= and today9s readings are intended to manifest the fact of Jesus as the Messiah. The first reading from Isaiah tells of the wonders of the Messiah, so great that <the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before him and the wealth of the nations as well.= The psalm glories in the King and his son. Saint Paul tells us that the Messiah shall be not only for the salvation of Israel but for the Gentiles too. The Magi, who come following a star, are seeking the new born king of the Jews are directed to Bethlehem.

All of this builds up an expectation of something glorious yet what do the Magi find on the completion of their journey; a little baby, new born, in humble surroundings with his very young mother and her husband in attendance. It doesn9t sound very awe inspiring does it? And yet the magi prostrated themselves and did the infant homage as well as offering gifts of great value. All Babies are cute but there must have been something very different about this little one to inspire such a response. So in the actions of the magi is the first epiphany or manifestation of the truth that is Jesus the Christ. There were many other manifestations throughout Jesus9 public ministry but this homage paid by strangers who followed a star is the first sign that Jesus is much more than he appeared to be. On the face of it, Jesus is the low born son a craftsman. He earns his bread through day labor. He has no wealth, no privilege, no property, and no status and yet he is recognized by those he calls to him as the Messiah, the Son of God. It can only be that each of those who left all to follow this itinerant carpenter turned preacher had an epiphany, a manifestation of his identity, of their own.

And so it is that each of us who are called to follow Christ as his disciple have had some kind of epiphany, some kind of star, wherein the identity of Christ is manifested to us. I had mine at age 15. I was labeled a chronic underachiever by the guidance department of Warren Junior High School. This resulted in my being enrolled in the tenth grade at Saint Mary9s Boys High School in Waltham in the care of the deLaSalle Christian brothers. Other than being asked to leave the first grade at Our Lady9s grammar school for giving the class scarlet fever, this was my first experience in a Catholic School. I noticed that the other kids kept going in and out of the lower Church. I asked another kid what they were doing and he said they were making a visit. I asked, 8who are they visiting=? He said <the Blessed Sacrament= More to fit in than out of devotion, I decided to make a visit. I can still recall the feeling that hit me when for a brief moment I had a sudden realization of just who was present in the tabernacle. This was my star, it was my epiphany. It was the beginning of my relationship with Jesus Christ. I have had other epiphanies since but if it were not for that first one the others would not have been recognized. I can see now that it was no accident that I ended up at Saint Mary9s instead of Newton High. I can look back and see the Holy Spirit working in my life. guiding me, even dragging me back when I lost sight of the star and I did so more than once.

So today take some time to look back over your life and try to discover your star, your epiphany, the manifestation that first drew you to faith in Jesus Christ and which began your relationship with him. It is there but you have to pay attention, sometimes it is very subtle but it is there or you wouldn9t be here. Sometimes a star can only been seen in the darkness and for many it appears when things seem darkest. Each of us must follow our star as it is the path that leads to our destiny. It is the most important thing we have to do in this life. Most of us have no frankincense or myrrh and little, if any, gold. The most precious gift we have is the gift most acceptable to the Lord. It is the gift of self and we make it by seeking always His will for us and the power to carry it out. In that lies our hope of peace and joy in this life and eternal happiness in the next.

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One thing that is very clear from today’s readings is that Christianity does not make sense. <Blessed are you who are poor.= We live in a country that while it contains only 5 percent of the world’s population, controls nearly 60 percent of its wealth. If any group of people can be called blessed it is us. One half of the world’s population is malnourished. Thirty per cent of Americans are obese and the rest are on diets. Who is it that is really satisfied? Will the weeping victims of Katrina ever laugh again? The rich are to be pitied, the well fed are destined be hungry; the laughing to weep and grieve. The itinerant Jewish preacher who spoke these words died horribly on a cross between two thieves and had to be buried in a borrowed grave. It doesn’t make sense at all.

And yet the message has survived for two thousand years. In a dog eat dog world one million young people assembled in Cologne to profess their faith in this nonsensical way of life. It is in this nonsense that the best hope of a life worth living lies. Saint Paul points out our earthly parts: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. The world is full of these evils and yet the nonsensical live in it chastely, and generously. Anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language are found everywhere but the nonsensical find serenity, peace, good will, truth and the language of love. It doesn’t make sense.

It is only in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that it all makes sense. This is how Jesus lived and died. This is how Jesus merited eternal life for all those who have died to the life of this world and been reborn, in Saint Paul’s words, <into the life hidden in Christ in God.=

It is only in Christ that we can live sanely in a world gone mad. It is only in Christ that we can find hope of deliverance from the forces of evil that lead so many astray.

It is only in the Eucharist that we can become united, spiritual and physically, with the God in which we find our hope of a life worth living in this world and eternal happiness in the next. Thank God for nonsense.

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The man had a withered hand. Jesus said, <Stretch out your hand=. He stretched it out and his hand was restored. Their reaction? They went out and plotted Jesus’ death. How could that be? They had just witnessed a miracle and their reaction was to kill the miracle worker. Why?

Because he had done so on the Sabbath and that was work and work was forbidden on the Sabbath. Talk about putting the cart before the horse! They were so fixated on the rule that they completely missed the point. That wouldn’t happen today. Or would it?

Our modern Pharisees are so fixated on what they see as a good result that they completely miss the evil of the means used to attain that result. A woman’s reproductive health care is maintained by killing her child, sometimes through the brutal procedure of partial birth abortion wherein the head of a late term fetus is crushed after the body has been delivered. The frustrated desire for a child is fulfilled not by adoption but by creating a number of fetuses, in a dish, most of whom will never be implanted and eventually destroyed, possibly by <harvesting their stem cells=. Harvesting! Isn’t that supposed to be something good? They not only pollute our morals but they pollute our language.

It is interesting that the dispute over fetal stem cells involves the government funding of that endeavor. Why do they need government funding? Because the science is so shaky that private investors are not interested in risking their money. Even the proponents admit that they are years away from being able to stabilize, never mind direct, the behavior of fetal stem cells and that it may be impossible to do so. Investors are much more willing to fund adult stem cell research because that science has already produced results. Why waste your own money if you can get the government to waste the people’s money? People suffering with spinal cord injuries and dementia are used as pawns in the effort to provide subsidies to the biotech industry.

They are told that cures are immanent when in fact they are years away and maybe never to be obtained. They are told to stretch out their hands but they remain withered.

In Montreal, in Saint Joseph’s Oratory, there is more than one wall upon which are hung hundreds of prosthetic devices of all kinds. Each one of these represents a cure obtained through the intercession of Saint Joseph at the request of a humble lay brother of the Holy Cross Brothers, Saint Andre Bissette. He is said to have been the cause of more than ten thousand miraculous cures in his lifetime. It is he who caused to be built the magnificent edifice that is Saint Joseph’s Oratory. The evidence of the cures is there for all to see and Brother Andre Bissette has been declared a Saint by the Church. Canada, however, has become a secular nation. Abortion, gay marriage, fetal stem cell research are either legal or on their way to becoming legal. The wall of miracles is there for all to see but they do not see. Like the Pharisees they are more interested in death than life; in rules than miracles.

Like Jesus, who we are about to receive in the Eucharist, let us also crying out, <Is it lawful to do good...rather than to do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?=

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In my 40 plus years in AA I have seen today’s gospel played out in real life over and over. Some come to AA and grasp the program intellectually at once. In a week they are experts and telling the old timers what they are doing wrong. Their sobriety has no depth and they do not last. Some come and get too well too soon.

They decide they have to make up for lost time and dive into business ventures, school or relationships. Before long they are running in all directions missing meetings and they disappear. Bill Wilson who wrote the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, says of them, <it is not their fault they seem constitutionally unable to be honest with themselves=. The people who last are those who are able to see how desperate is their condition and give themselves over to the program; who, in the vernacular of AA, swallow the program whole.

So it is with the word of God. We must accept that our condition is hopeless, that we are unable to work out our own salvation. We must see things as they are. We must understand that it is only through the grace earned by the passion and death of Jesus Christ poured into us through our baptism that we dare hope to obtain eternal life. We cannot let the cares and difficulties of everyday life divert our attention from the perseverance in the life of grace. We must swallow it whole. Half measures avail us of nothing. To do otherwise is to look but not to see; to listen but not to understand. Conversion is just that: a turning away from the world and toward the divine. Salvation is serious business. That is what Jesus is telling his disciples in this gospel and what we must understand if we are to be disciples. Only in so doing can realize just how blessed we are. We can then turn over the cares that distract others to the care of our Savior who has promised that even the hairs on head are counted. We can let our faith grow deep roots that will withstand the heat of the day and the dry spells that come to us all.

It is sad to see someone who desperately needs the healing that can be found in the twelve steps of AA turn away from the source of their delivery from a life that is killing them and return to thinking that brought them to ruin in the first place. It is even worse to see people turn away from the life of grace found in the sacraments and toward the values of the world which lead to the death of grace.

Let us pray to our Savior in the Holy Eucharist that he will give us the grace to see things as they are; to see that by ourselves we are lost but in Christ, through the grace of our Baptism and the other sacraments, we are born into life in Christ and that life is not only eternal but also joyful, carefree and glorious.

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As we progress through Lent the Gospels from Saint John are showing Jesus becoming more and more divine. He heals the man born blind, the royal official’s son and the man at the pool of Bethesda. Today he called God his own father and Saint John says that this was understood by the hearers as making himself equal to God. Jesus goes on to elaborate his relationship to the Father and to define his mission on earth. He speaks of the resurrection of life and of judgment rewarding those who have done good deeds and condemnation of those who have done wicked deeds.

This is serious stuff. Condemnation is not often talked about today. Jesus is too often depicted as someone who has no preferences. His mercy and love, while real, are not all that there is. Jesus cares how we act. He cares how we treat each other. He teaches love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus takes personally how we treat each other.

In the first reading the prophet speaks of salvation and hope to the children of Israel who are in bondage. They have been punished for their transgressions and feel that the Lord has forsaken them. Isaiah reminds them that the Lord can no more forget them than a mother can forget her infant, that they will never be forgotten. But the fact remains that for the time being they are in bondage.

There is no free lunch with God. He loves, he gives, he forgives, he redeems but he is also just. One cannot expect to ignore God and his commandments with impunity. One cannot mistreat his neighbor and expect it to be overlooked. It matters how we act. It matters what we do and what we fail to do. We cannot earn heaven but we can lose it. Jesus has said that those who have done wicked deeds will be resurrected to condemnation. Jesus does not lie.

So as we look forward to Easter and the resurrection let us remember that how we live makes a difference. How we treat others is noted for good or evil. It is not enough to have faith; we must do good and avoid evil. We must love one another as Jesus loves each of us and act accordingly. Anything less is playing with fire.

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My mother used the expression "lazy man's load". She used it quite often because I usually tried to carry more than I could handle in a vain attempt to avoid a second trip. It was like one of those three stooges’ skits where Curly would try to open a door while carrying a big load of packages. As he would reach for the door he would drop some of the packages but instead of leaving them on the ground and opening the door, he would pick them up and then try again to open the door repeating the entire process over and over again all the while having a fit. Eventually Moe would open the door from the other side into Curly, bopping him in the nose and knocking the packages every which way.

Jesus does not mean that we hate father, mother, wife, and children. The word hate is too strong a translation for the Aramaic word Jesus used. He is telling us what we must do if we are to be his disciples. What Jesus means is that we must detach from worldly things if we are to follow him. We can't be like Curly, trying to open the door to Jesus while hanging onto a bunch of stuff. It is a matter of priorities, a matter of putting first things first. Discipleship must come first and if it does all other things fall into place.

As we turn to the Eucharist, the reenactment of the greatest sacrifice ever made, when Jesus gave his all for us, let us pray for the grace to seek first the kingdom of God and his glory in the certainty that, if we do, all else that we need in this life and to enter into eternal life will be given to us- just as Jesus has promised those who dare to be his disciples.

C 23rd Sun.Ord.Time

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<For apart from me you can do nothing.= That is a hard one to swallow. I had to test that one. I tried. I failed. I tried again. I failed again. Well, I thought, maybe I can do a little on my own. I tried. I failed. I tried again. Guess what, I failed again. I was one of the lucky ones. On my own I was a total loser. I saw some who accomplished enough on their own so that they were fooled into thinking they could handle things by themselves. Eventually they blew it all. I learned the hard way that Jesus was telling the truth. Apart from him we can do nothing. No thing! Nothing! The ones who think that they made it on their own are the branches that are eventually pruned for they bear no fruit only a showy display of foliage. They look good but good looks eventually pass away leaving only dead wood that is of no value. They are like the greedy entitled who, as my friend Joe says, were born on third base and think that they hit a triple.

We, the Baptized, the branches, are born into life in Christ, the vine. It is from him and through him that we receive the grace that gives us hope of eternal life in and with Christ. The Divine vine dresser takes away those who do not bear fruit. What he does with them remains unstated but we know from experience that dead wood usually meets an unpleasant end. Even those who produce fruit are pruned from time to time. These are the trials that come to us all. If accepted as the will of the vine dresser and endured with faith they cause us to become stronger, healthier and more fruitful. If they are allowed to cause resentment and self pity they fester and eventually separate us from the life giving vine.

It is a truth that those whom the devil will destroy he first makes rich. Proud of their material success they become more and more convinced of their personal prowess. Their theme song is <I did it my way=.

I thank God that he let me lose. I thank God for my failures. I thank God I am not rich. It is in losing that I eventually accepted the great truth of this Gospel, that without Jesus I can do nothing. In accepting this truth I found the greater truth: that with him I can do everything.

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Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, <I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.= Jesus tells his Father regarding his disciples, <I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.=

It is in times like these when the word of Jesus that is our Faith is under attack that we must remember that, as Disciples of Christ, we are not of this world. As a matter of fact, if we are comfortable in the world there is something wrong.

When the word of Christ conforms to the ways of the world it is not the word of Christ, which is, of its very nature, counter cultural. Human society is made up of human beings and human beings are tainted by original sin. Society reflects this fact and the grace of Christ through his Church and the Sacraments struggles to overcome it. Sadly, as Saint Paul prophesied, <from our own group men come forward perverting the truth=. What is the truth? Jesus tells us. It is God’s word. And what is God’s word? It is the constant teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church; and, if it is not that there is no truth, for departure from the least of those teachings eventually leads to chaos where truth becomes what each individual believes it to be.

Hated and persecuted the early Christians persevered in the faith. Miracle of miracles, those hated, despised, martyred followers of a hated, despised, murdered itinerant preacher converted half the then known world. This fact, this miracle, is the strongest proof that Jesus was, in fact, whom he claimed to be. This could only happen because there was unity in the acceptance of what was God’s word. It was only after a thousand years that unity was fractured in the great schism of the Eastern Church. Five hundred years later the Protestant Reformation further divided the western Church. But, while there was theological division, there remained common moral teachings and values. It is only in the last 60 years that more and more Christian denominations have discarded ancient truths and accepted the relativistic moral values of the secular society. These denominations conform to the world and in doing so become, by act and deed, worldly and no longer consecrated in the truth that is the word of God and their decreasing numbers reflect this fact.

The more the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church is attacked from without and from within, the more convinced I am that it is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ because that is the way he said it would be. Let us rejoice that it is so. Let us persevere as did the early Christians, for it is doing so that we become Christ like and true disciples.

Learn your faith, live your faith and proclaim it boldly for it is truth. It is

God’s word.

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Today’s first reading is a description of Wisdom and its rewards to those who seek it. Today’s Gospel deals with those who act in Jesus name without express authority to do so. Jesus’ statement, <Whoever is not against us is for us= at first glance appears to grant authority to act in his name generally. But this statement must be understood in the light of wisdom.

When I was in South Carolina I went into several large bookstores. The section labeled <Christian Fiction= was bigger than the entire section on Religion. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown has been on the Best Seller list for years. The 10 novels of <The Left Behind= Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have sold over 40 million copies and counting. These books have been read by many Catholics who have told me how great they are. It really concerns me that the only book regarding religion that they have read in years is one that either portrays Mary Magdalen as the Holy Grail because she bore Jesus a son who’s existence was hidden by evil churchmen interested in advancing their own agenda or a series of books that portray as Christians only those Catholics who dissent from Church doctrine.

Wisdom dictates that not everyone who claims to act in Christ’s name is doing so. Wisdom dictates that their actions be tested. We must first determine whether an action or teaching is motivated by Christian love or by expectation of personal gain. The second inquiry is whether or not the unity or harmony of the mystical body of Christ, the Church, is advanced or harmed. And finally we must determine whether or not the action or teaching is in accord with Scripture and Tradition.

The facts that these books have made wealthy and famous men out of their authors but have nothing to do with fostering the Christian love must be considered. These books are divisive in that they infer that those who disagree with their content do so because they are evil doers who suppress the truth out of base motives. And, finally, they have no true basis in scripture or tradition.

Two books which give the Catholic position relative to these best sellers are published by Ignatius Press. They are: The Da Vinci Hoax by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel; and Will Catholics Be Left Behind also by Carl Olson. It is good to pray for wisdom but a little education is good too. The famous Serenity Prayer is usually portrayed as one of acceptance but it is also a prayer of action. It is fine to accept the things we cannot change but wisdom dictates that we must have the courage to change the things we can. We should learn the truths of our faith so that we can defend it from those who attack it. That is wisdom: the treasures of knowledge; an understanding of justice; and the breath of life.

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Ambition caused trouble and dissension right from the beginning. Jesus has just gotten through telling the twelve what was in store for him and what is the reaction? The two sons of Zebedee ask for the seats of honor in the kingdom to come and the rest become indignant. Jesus told James and John that they would pay dearly for their preference for they would drink from the chalice of which he drank and they did so. James was beheaded and John, while tradition says that he died a natural death in his 90's, suffered exile and many hardships. If you seek power you must be willing to pay the price.

I have a theory that only neurotics seek places of honor and power. You have to be a little crazy to want to live your life in the public eye. Someone asked Ronald Regan what was the worst thing about being President. He said that it was not being able to go down the drug store and thumb through the magazines. Truly great leaders have power thrust upon them. They do not seek it. It finds them. Pope John Paul II was such a leader. It was his natural ability and talent that caused his rise. He did not abuse his power in any way. In fact, if he can be criticized at all, it is that he was not authoritarian enough, that he delegated too much too the Curia.

There is some indication that Pope Benedict may be similar to John Paul. It is reported that he asked John Paul to be allowed to return to teaching and John Paul said <no=. Let us hope it is true.

We all have known of arrogant leaders. It is an all too common occurrence. Jesus told Pilate that he would have no power over Jesus unless God gave it to him. Poor Pilate thought his power came from Caesar but didn’t understand where Caesar’s power came from. Because all authority ultimately comes from God, those to whom it is given are accountable and will be judged harshly. An abuser of power will have much to answer for. Arrogance is particularly distasteful in a member of the hierarchy. This gospel should be required daily reading for all ordained ministers. Some forget just who it is that they work for.

Today’s first reading puts things in perspective. Our God is the God of the universe, the dread of all nations, the eternal God of Israel and the prophets, the merciful God, the gracious God who leads us in the way of justice.

So as we receive our Eucharistic Lord let us pray for all those who wield power over others that they may realize just who it is that gives them power and that they will judged on their stewardship; that they will appreciate the fact that the other side of the coin of power is accountability; that the God of the universe is watching.

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It is around 57 AD, about 25 years after the death and Resurrection of Jesus, and Paul is taking up a collection for the Church in Jerusalem. It is the first Diocesan Appeal. This was a first, not only a first for the Church, but also for the world. Prior to this alms giving was a person to person thing. Here we have an organized effort by one group to assist another related group which had fallen upon hard times. This tradition has continued through the ages. The Catholic Church is still the greatest charitable institution outside of government.

Christian Charity is different than other charity. When Mother Theresa was awarded the Nobel Prize one commentator criticized the award because Mother Theresa did not try to alleviate the suffering of the living but directed her efforts on behalf of the dying and she openly acted out of a love for Christ and only indirectly out of love for humanity. Mother Theresa saw Jesus Christ in every person and that was the secret that motivated and energized her. Christians do not minister to the suffering because they love humanity. Christians minister to the suffering because they love Jesus and understand that Jesus loves us all, especially those in need. This makes it possible for Christians to love the unlovable because they love Jesus to whom no one is unlovable. The proponent of euthanasia looks at the dying and reasons that they are suffering, they do not contribute, they are using scarce medical resources so why not end their pain and society's expense. The Christian sees Jesus Christ in the suffering and dying and, while doing all that can be done to ease their suffering, knows that they are priceless because Jesus loves them, Jesus died for them and Jesus lives in them.

The Christian is aware of the Divine Consolation which gives us peace and joy no matter what. It is this: that God so loves us that He sent His only begotten son to become one of us, to suffer and die for each one of us, and to rise again in glory so that each one us may, through him and in him, also conquer death and enter into eternal life.

As Jesus teaches in today's Gospel, Christians give and act privately because their motive is not public approval and adulation. Their motive is love, supernatural love, love of the One who so loved them that He gave all for them.

So as we receive our Savior in the great sacrament of love that is the Eucharist let us pray that we will see Christ in all those who suffer and remember, in the words of Saint Paul, "God loves a cheerful giver".

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This makes it possible for Christians to love the unlovable because they love Jesus to whom no one is unlovable. The proponent of euthanasia looks at the dying and reasons that they are suffering, they do not contribute, and they are using scarce medical resources so why not end their pain and society’s expense. The Christian sees Jesus Christ in the suffering and dying and, while doing all that can be done to ease their suffering, knows that they are priceless because Jesus loves them, Jesus died for them and Jesus lives in them.

As Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel, Christians give and act privately because their motive is not public approval and adulation. Their motive is love, supernatural love, love of the One who so loved them that He gave all for them.

So as we receive our Savior in the great sacrament of love that is the Eucharist let us pray that we will see Christ in all those who suffer and remember, in the words of Saint Paul, <God loves a cheerful giver=.

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It took me a while to figure out the relationship of the first reading to the Gospel. What did seed falling on various types of terrain have to do with God feeding the children of Israel in the desert? Then it came to me. The children of Israel were the seed that fell among the thorns. Their difficulties so distracted them that they claimed all their attention. They were completely absorbed in self pity and despair and completely forgot who they were and why they were where they were. Moses was the rich soil and it was he who heard the word of God and brought it to the people. It was because of Moses that the Lord responded to the grumbling of the people and provided meat and bread in abundance. They were grumbling when they should have been praying.

How often do we complain when prayer would be more effective in resolving our difficulties? Are we like the children of Israel and do we let the thorns and weeds of life in the 21st century preoccupy us and crowd out the word of God? I am afraid that in our time this all too common. It seems no one has any time anymore. It seems that all of the seed is falling in the thorns and weeds.

Now I sound like the children of Israel. Complain complain complain! Let us rather pray that God will prepare more rich soil on which to sow the seed that will produce a hundred fold. Let us pray for young people who will grab onto the word of God and spread it among their peers. Let us pray for Pope Benedict XVI as he reaches to youth of the world this summer. Prayer beats complaining any day.

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Moses was not really doing too well. He was on the run from Egypt where he was wanted for murder. He had a job as a shepherd and that was for his father- in-law. No offense to any of you shepherds out there, but it is safe to say it is not a high end job to begin with and working for your father-in-law is no day at the beach under the best of circumstances. I would say that Moses was probably a little weak in the self esteem department. Moses sees a bush on fire but it is not being consumed by the fire. Since not too much exciting happens in his shepherds’ job he decides to look into the matter further. As he gets near the bush a voice calls out his name. The narrator says it is the voice of God but Moses does not know this.

He replies in the manner of the day, <Here I am=. And only then he is informed that it Almighty God speaking to him from the bush. And as if that isn’t enough, God tells Moses that he is sending Moses to Egypt to lead the people of Israel out of bondage. Moses sensibly protests, <Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt=? And God’s answer makes all the difference, <I shall be with you =

It makes all the difference when God is with us no matter who we are or what our station in life is. Moses was a fugitive, a common laborer and God made him the leader of His chosen people by whom His divine son was to come into the world. Now isn’t that just like God. He never does the expected. The Jewish people expected a political messiah, a great King in the model of King David. Instead the Messiah came as a humble tradesman, an itinerant, homeless teacher, who died a most shameful death. In the gospel Jesus praises the Father for hiding the truths of his teaching from the wise and the learned but revealing them to the childlike. And so it is to this day. The self proclaimed wise and the learned in our great universities reject religion as superstition and accept only that which can be scientifically demonstrated. Wise and learned judges have constructed a wall between God and our public institutions so that only the strange religion of atheistic humanism can be proclaimed therein. But why are we surprised? Didn’t Jesus say it would be so? We, who are believers, are indeed the child like.

Like Moses we hear the voice of God, not in a burning bush, but in the silence of our own hearts. Each of us has responded to that call or we wouldn’t be here this morning at Holy Mass to celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that is the Eucharist. We, the childlike, celebrate the miracle that is the true presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ upon our altars and within our bodies under the appearance of bread and wine. Like Moses we can only protest, who am I lord, who am I that I should be so blest?

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Moses was the rich soil and it was he who heard the word of God and brought it to the people. It was because of Moses that the Lord responded to the grumbling of the people and provided meat and bread in abundance. The were grumbling when they should have been praying.

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It is not popular today to remind people that actions have consequences. But they do. Each of us must make a decision as to what our priorities shall be. Will we live for personal pleasure and material gain or will we live in accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the two great commandments? The stakes are high; so high that we really can’t really appreciate their magnitude.

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us inkling in the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. In each case the finder sells all that he has to acquire the treasure. You can’t give more than all that you have. They didn’t quibble and try to get a better deal. They gladly gave all that they had. The message is that the Kingdom of Heaven is worth all that we have. Heaven is not to be had on the cheap.

In the first reading we get a taste of what Heaven will be like. Moses glows so brightly from being in the presence of the Lord that when the children of Israel saw him they became afraid.

As we go about our daily business we tend to get lost in the details of our earthly existence. It is easy to forget what is the real purpose of our existence: to know love and serve God in this world so that we might be united to him in the next. This is our purpose and destiny. Earthly pleasure and material gain pale in comparison. So let us keep our eye on the prize and seek first the Kingdom of God and his glory in the hope that we like Moses, may someday glow from the reflected radiance of the most high God.

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Reading: Matt 20: 1-16

It all depends on your point of view. Was the landowner generous to the last hired or was he unjust to those hired first? I suppose either view is understandable depending upon whether you were one of the first or one of the last. Of course no employer acts this way. The employer here is God and God, by definition, is unfathomable. To me the message here is that the reward is not a day’s wages but heaven and heaven is Eternal Life which Jesus, in the gospel of John, says is <to know thee the only true God=. There can be no greater gift than this so, if this is the reward, it must be the same for all. There is no partial heaven. There is no heaven lite. The Beatific Vision is an all or nothing state.

This makes sense but then again it does not. If this is the way it is, then why labor the whole day? Why come to Mass and say the Rosary? Why fast and do penance? Why not just go into the market place late in the day and be one of the last ones hired? This is the reason that in the early Church many deferred Baptism until they were on their death beds. Today many so called Born again Christians preach that all one need do is confess Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior and they are saved regardless of their behavior. To Catholics this is the sin of presumption which is the other side of the coin called despair. Like Saint Paul, we work out our salvation in <fear and trembling=. We never have it made in this life. Sure the reward is the same for all but not all are rewarded.

This is why the doctrine of purgatory makes such sense. It reconciles the God’s infinite mercy with God’s perfect justice. It is apparent to anyone who really is paying attention that not all people die in what is called the odor of sanctity. Saints are saints because their sanctity is heroic and heroic by definition is extraordinary. So what about the rest of us who die not completely sanctified even though we are saved having been baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ and not having rejected life in Christ by unrepentant mortal sin? For us it makes sense that there must be some additional purification between death and heaven and this state is called Purgatory.

When I was a kid we heard a lot about purgatory. It was often used by over loaded teachers to keep unruly kids in line. Even as a little kid I couldn’t really believe that God would use fire on a little kid. Unfortunately, because it was over sold, the idea of purgatory disappeared sometime in the 60's. That is too bad because I now I understand that purgatory, unlike heaven or hell, is only temporary. While it is a state of purification it is outside of time and space and therefore not a place or period of time; but it is also a state of great joy. It is heaven’s boot camp. Saint Catherine of Genoa said that <although purgatory is incomparably painful because we see all the horror of our own sins yet it is incomparably joyful because God is there with us and we are learning to endure his truth and his light.= My reaction if I find myself in purgatory will be <I made it!!!=

The other wonderful thing about purgatory is that those who are there can pray for us and we can pray for them. Since we don’t hear much about purgatory any more I fear most of the prayers are going only one way. This is a tragedy because I suspect most of us will experience purgatory and thus will need the help of prayers. We can only hope that those whom we assisted with our prayers will then be in heaven and will remember us. This is why we go to Mass, pray the rosary, fast and do penance.

So let us now offer the perfect prayer that is the Eucharist for Holy Souls who wait the

ultimate reward which Saint John tells us <is to be like God and to see him as he is.=

Deacon John Boyle, August 17, 2005

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Saint Bartholomew was an Apostle. That's about it. Nothing else is known for sure about him. There is some indication that he may have founded a Christian community in India and there is a legend that he was martyred by being skinned alive. The patron saint makers therefore made him the patron saint of tanners of leather. You really have to wonder about those people. He may have been also been known as Nathaniel hence the Gospel of the day. In any event, according to Saint John, his name appears on the wall of the heavenly city of Jerusalem. Not much homily material though.

As I pondered on the gospel I did reflect that Jesus makes it very clear as to what kind of people he likes and those with whom he has a problem. Here he praises Nathaniel, who enters the scene with a wise crack, as a true child of Israel in whom there is no duplicity. Some translations use the word guile which is defined as insidious cunning or duplicity in reaching a goal. There is plenty of that in the gospels. Herod, the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Caiphus and Ananias come to mind. Jesus also is tough on child molesters. Remember the mention of swimming with a mill stone around the neck. He was tough on the wealthy who failed to share their wealth with the poor.

Remember the rich man at whom's door Lazarus begged and where he ended up.

The gospels make it clear that Jesus preferred to associate with common people. He was not concerned with the letter of the law but applied it with compassion and common sense. He wept over the grief of his friends. He was easily moved to pity and responded to humble requests made in faith. He was a good son and a loyal friend. He liked to socialize and many of the gospel stories take place over a meal. This really astounds me. Jesus is not only divine, he is likeable. The second person of the most blessed Trinity, the creator of all that is, Lord of Lords, God of Gods, the most high God, is likeable. The God of the Hebrew Scriptures is awe inspiring, he is mighty, all powerful, fills the people with fear. Jesus, the God of the Gospels, is likeable.

We know how much he must love us. He died for us. But in our shared humanity he also like us, likes us little people, warts and all. Our God is also our best friend. How wonderful is that!!!!!

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The Psalmist says to us today, <I, like a green olive tree in the house of God, Trust in the mercy of God forever and ever=. And we respond in kind, <I trust in the mercy of God forever.= And yet I spent much of yesterday watching the disintegration of a great American City.

If you have ever visited New Orleans you know what I mean when I say it is unique among our cities. Its origins are French and it has a distinctly Gallic foundation with Cajun and Irish overtones. Jackson Square on the banks of the Mississippi is a beautiful park in which you can enjoy an ice cream in the shadow of a beautiful church and watch the river traffic. The hurricane, Katrina, veered left at the last moment and spared the city its full fury while doing what hurricanes do and blowing things apart. But for a while it appeared the city was spared the flooding which would be disastrous for a city below sea level. Then a levee failed, opening up a hundred yard gap allowing the lake to flow into the city. Now a million people are homeless.

Rescue workers are entirely engaged in rescuing people who refused or were unable to evacuate. The two major hospitals have been evacuated. Food and water are in short supply or unavailable. One man, clutching his two small grandson’s hands, tearfully described his wife being swept from his grasp pleading for him to take care of the children. He has no place to go and has only the clothes on his back. As if that were not enough several towns on the Mississippi coast have ceased to exist and tidal surge has wiped out Biloxi’s Casinos which provide the lion share of tax revenue for the entire state. It is an American tragedy that far exceeds even that of 9-11-2001.

And yet the Psalmist says, <Trust in the mercy of God.= That is easy for us to say but how about the million homeless? How about the crying man and his two small grandsons? Can we say that to them and expect them to take consolation from our advice? But considering that we live on a planet that is subject to violence in the form volcanic eruption, hurricanes and cyclones, tornados, earthquakes, flood and drought; and considering that our planet is a satellite of fiery glob of nuclear hydrogen which part of an immense galaxy spinning through space filled with a billion other galaxies- do we have any other choice? No, the fact of the matter is that we are all at the mercy of many forces over which we, or no other human being, have any control.

We can build levees. They may or may not hold. We can put aside provisions. They or may not survive. We can do all in our power to prepare for disaster. It may or may not be enough. When all is said and done we all must trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. Forever means for all time and ever means at all times. There is nothing else for us to do. This trust does not mean that tragedy will not befall us. What it does mean that it need not destroy us. It points out that our destiny is not of this world. All we have in the world and even our place in it can disappear overnight. God’s mercy promises us that even if the worst happens God will somehow make it right.

That is the nature of trust, the ability to believe that no matter what happens God will eventually make things right. To persevere in Hope and avoid despair is difficult, if not impossible, in such circumstances absent an infusion of God’s grace. So let us approach our Eucharistic Lord and pray that he shower such grace on our suffering brothers and sisters of the Gulf coast and that their suffering remind us all that life is a dangerous business and that we are always and ever dependant on His loving mercy.

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The first reading told us, "As high as the heavens are above the earth are God's ways above your ways." God's ways are not our ways.

The gospel story today is an illustration of the ways of God who is more than just; more than fair; generous to all. Yet the first workers hired accuse the King of injustice. Not because he gave them what they bargained for and what was a fair day's pay but because he gave those who worked less than a full day, a full day's pay. Their human minds saw God's generosity as an injustice to them. That is our way of looking at things. We view everything from its relation to ourselves. Thus generosity to another becomes an injustice to us.

Why then do all the extras? Why come to mass? Why pray mornings and evenings? It is because they bring us closer to God in this life. The future reward may be the same for all but the love of God we experience in this life is proportional to the effort we make to grow closer to him each day. The more we pray the easier it is to pray and the more we want to pray. The closer we come to God, the more we crave his presence in our lives. Those who come near to Christ no longer know fear. To them, like Saint Paul, "Life is Christ and death is gain."

Reception of the Eucharist is the best way to be close to Christ that we have in this world.

Don't we all smile when we meet our best friend?

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The Feast of today is the other side of the coin that is the cross of Good Friday. The cross we celebrate today has no torn and bloody body hanging from it. Today it is the cross of the Resurrection. If a figure is on it, it is the resurrected Christ fully clothed and arms outstretched toward all of humanity for which he suffered and died.

The only tragedy of today is the fact that so much of humanity has no idea that it needs a savior. People who have embraced evil, the people Scott Peck calls the people of the lie, have been present in all ages. They have chosen and have rejected Christ much like the thief who taunted Christ from the cross at his side.

They are nothing new. Then there are those who have never heard the Gospel and so are blameless in their ignorance. The tragedy of which I speak is the growing number of people who recognize Christ as a good man, a wise man, a special man, but only a man. Saint Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Philippians that Jesus is indeed a man but much much more than a man.

Humility is looked down on by such people. Self esteem is the buzzword. Humility is the ability to see things as they are. Self esteem is to feel good about yourself, even if there is no reason to do so. As such it is divorced from reality. But if you have self esteem you don’t need a savior. And if you don’t need a savior, the cross is a meaningless symbol of the needless death of a deluded first century marginal Jew. Therefore, only about 15 to 20 per cent of the Baptized feel the need to attend Sunday mass. The real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is to them a quaint relic from an unsophisticated age. The Church’s moral teachings are really only suggestions which may or may not be followed.

The only real evil is not to feel good about yourself.

It is only when you are able to see things as they are can you begin to appreciate the gift of the cross. The human race, corrupted by the sin of the first humans, was lost. By the life death and resurrection of the God-man, Jesus the Christ, it was brought back to the divine life that is grace that is eternal life as sons and daughters of the most high God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

This is the story of the cross of the tragedy of Good Friday and the triumphant cross which we honor today. Only when we come to realize the need that each and every one of has for a savior, only when we come to realize the magnitude of our short comings can we begin to appreciate the gift we have been given through the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ. You can never come to this realization by feeling good about yourself.

But once understanding the true human condition and beginning to grasp the glory that was purchased for us on the Cross you don’t need to feel good about yourself. The joy, the gratitude, the love that flows from this realization is overwhelming but only a hint of what is to come.

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One thing that Jesus makes very clear is that those who appear to be the least in this world are God9s favorites. In today9s Gospel Jesus says, <I did not come to call the righteous but sinners=. As proof of this, these words come just after he has called a hated tax collector to follow him.

It was true then and is true today that sinners, who know they are sinners, who seek relief from the burden of their sin and find release from that burden, make the best disciples. The righteous are of two kinds: the truly righteous and the self satisfied. The truly righteous are those who are born with a deep sense of their dependence on the grace of God and live their lives accordingly. Most are Saints. The self satisfied are generally those who have consistent good fortune as their lot and who believe that it is their due. These merry souls have no idea of their need for salvation and happily go through life accepting its benefits as entitlements. It is sad but true that their condition is the most pitiable. Not being aware of the love and mercy of Jesus Christ, they do not seek it and in failing to do so miss what life is really all about.

This condition is epidemic in the so called <First World=. European elites, in drafting the proposed Constitution for the European Union, refused to mention Christianity has having any influence on the formulation of western civilization.

Thomas Wood in his book 8How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization= points out that; modern science was born in the Catholic Church; Catholic priests developed the idea of free market economics five hundred years before Adam Smith; the Church invented the university; western law grew out of canon law; the Church humanized the west by insisting on the sacredness of all human life; and more. And yet to the elite of Europe it is not worthy of mention in their foundational document. In their pride they doom themselves to failure. They are a society that is not replacing itself. It is a society that is forced to rely on immigration to obtain young workers to support its aging population and in doing so breeds a militant minority who regards them as infidels and oppressors.

In our society there are no sinners. How can you have sin where there are no objective standards? When each person determines what is right or wrong for them how can they sin? They can break the law but then they are lawbreakers. But given the right to privacy there are no laws that can proscribe the sin that is committed behind closed doors. There being no sinners there is no one to hear Jesus9 call. So it goes largely unanswered and so the elites of our society persevere in their race to the bottom where anything goes and chaos results.

In the words of the old hymn, <Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling=. Is

anyone listening?

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The Lord called Nehemiah from his cushy job with King Artaxerxes to Jerusalem to repair the temple gates and the city walls and he went. Jesus called two to follow him and they gave an excuse. We all are called. Who will we be like, Nehemiah or the two in the Gospel?

The call is called a vocation and we all have one or more. Sometimes the call is not very loud or indistinct but it is there none the less. The process of determining our call is called discernment. As in everything prayer helps but we have to do something too. <Try it you might like it= is always good advice. If you don’t like it you’ve learned something. That is not your call. Doing nothing gets you nowhere. Keep on trying until you find that which God has destined for you. Then you will know peace, then you will find fulfillment. This is true at any age. It is never too late. God calls at all stages of life and even in death.

For most of us the call is not to do what the world would consider great things. We live simple lives doing ordinary things in an ordinary way with ordinary results. If told that we were living extraordinary lives we would not believe it. But the fact of the matter is that, if in living our ordinary lives we are doing the will of God for us, we are in fact living the ordinary in an extraordinary way. The greatest thing that we can do is the will of God as it is made known to us through his grace. If you have that you need nothing else. God’s will for us can never be evil. It may differ from what we think it should be but God knows best. It is in doing his will that we find peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the next. We may be happy in the short term doing our will but sooner or later we will be miserable if we are not doing God’s will. That is why so many people who set their heart on obtaining wealth end up rich but unfulfilled.

Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, an eighteenth century Jesuit, wrote a series of letters to a group of Nuns for whom he was Spiritual Advisor. These letters have been published under the Title <The Sacrament of the Moment=. He taught that God could only be found in the present moment. He advised, <Abandon yourself entirely to all that God pleases to do in you, and for so long as he pleases; but do not cling on to any of the interior dispositions he may will to give you, and do not regret those he takes from you.= To paraphrase,= abandon yourself to the will of God, do not hang on to anything and accept everything.= This is impossible to do without God’s grace but with God’s grace it is the only way to live in perfect peace and joy. It is to this that God calls us all.

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The message of today’s readings is very clear and it is <Actions have consequences=. In the reading from Isaiah the fact that the vineyard, the Children of Israel, is unproductive results in its ruin. The psalm laments the vineyard’s destruction and implores God to restore it to the people of Israel if they turn back to God... In the reading from Saint Paul, trust in God, prayerful petition, and thanksgiving result in that peace which surpasses all understanding. In the Gospel, the evil actions of the tenants result in severe punishment. Yes, actions have consequences. Things happen because things have happened.

This remains true today. For example, marriage is on the way out. In 2002 there were twenty-nine weddings performed in our parish. This was half the average of not too many years in the past. It gets worse. In 2005 we had seventeen weddings and so far there are only six are scheduled for 2006. Our parish is not that different than other parishes and in some it is even worse. Actions do have consequences.

Marriage has not changed. It is the perception of marriage that has changed. The Catechism teaches that the married state is an intimate community of life and love, established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. As such it is a sacramental covenant between a man and a woman whereby they mutually give and receive one another in a union sealed by God himself. The family home thus created is the place where children are to be born and nurtured. Then there is civil marriage which is a creation of the state. The one preceded the other and changes in civil law do not alter the nature of sacramental marriage in any way. Marriage is, and always will be, the divinely created institution for the sanctification of the husband and wife and the procreation and education of children.

But actions have consequences and the decline of civil marriage is effecting the perception society has of marriage as a whole. Since the advent of no-fault divorce marriage has come too viewed as a temporary arrangement that can be walked away from by either of the parties for any reason or for no reason at all.

I have heard wedding vows that are binding only <for as long as love shall last=. This is a temporary and arbitrary standard that anticipates the breakup of the marriage in the same instant that it is created. Given this view of marriage is it any surprise that many couples decide to avoid the formality and expense of a ceremony and just <live together=. Generation X has gone even further and settles for temporary <relationships=. For the first time there are now more households of one person in the United States than there are households consisting of a mother a father and children.

In the early 1950's only 4% of births were to single mothers. In 1988 this percentage had grown to 25%, and in 1988 to 33% and as of 2009, more than 40% of all live births were to single mothers. This has resulted in the creation of an

underclass of young men who, never having an adult male role model in their life, do not work. In 1999 when employers were frantically looking for employees, 30% of this group would not even look for work. Actions do have consequences.

Now we have the issue of same-sex marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has decided, by the narrow margin of 4 to 3, which the Massachusetts Constitution requires that same sex couples are entitled to marry. Now since civil marriage is a creature of the Legislature, if the Legislature had enacted such a law, that may be so; but this determination was made by judicial fiat, and thus has precluded any action by the Legislature. Chief Justice Marshall, in rendering her opinion, rejected the argument that marriage is an ancient institution which has for its purpose the union of a man and a woman for the propagation and education of children. She cited no legal precedent and gave no reasons for so holding. In effect, she held the purpose of marriage is estate planning. This result can be reversed only by amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution and efforts to do that failed when the Legislature declined to allow the matter to be put to a vote. Actions have consequences and undoubtedly this decision will further adversely affect the already imperiled institution of marriage. Christians who are opposed to homosexual marriage are characterized by its proponents as <mean spirited <and homophobic. They misunderstand. Our objection is not personal. Jesus Christ calls us to love our neighbor and ourselves because he has loved us to the point of dying on the cross for us, for each and every one of us regardless of whom or what we are. It is the Catholic Church that is the fearless and constant advocate for the infinite value of each and every single human life including the unborn, the aged and infirm, the saint and the sinner, the gay and the straight. It will do me no personal harm if gays are allowed to marry but it is not about me and it is not about them. It is about the nature of the society by which my, and your, children and grandchildren will be formed. Will it be a society which values the intact family where each child is nurtured by a mother and a father, where sons have a male role model and daughters a female role model or will it be a society where children result from mere relationships and have little, if any, permanence in their attachment to either parent?

Actions do have consequences; things do happen because things have happened. If we sit by while our society is transformed into an unruly mob where each individual is encouraged to act only for her or his own selfish advantage regardless of the consequences to society as a whole, we shall have only ourselves to blame when, as in Isaiah’s day, our vineyard loses its hedge, its wall is broken down, its vines trampled and it then becomes overgrown with thorns and weeds and is turned over to grazing. Such is the fate of a society that is not fruitful, which fails to produce a crop of value. It was true then and it is true now.

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The Gospel of today should be preached throughout Western Europe which is on its last legs. The twentieth century was a disaster in which it was torn apart by two world wars, which were really one long war with a brief interlude of uneasy peace, and which was ultimately resolved only through the selfless intervention of the United States on two occasions. Millions lost their lives. Two generations of young men were destroyed and most of its major cities leveled or severely damaged. Thanks to the generosity of the American people through the Marshall plan, Western Europe was rebuilt and within twenty years had recovered. Again, with America's help, it survived the threat of Communism in Eastern Europe and by the start of this new century had hopes of a European political and economic union that could rival Japan as the second largest economy in the world.

The gifts of the Catholic Church to Western Europe were: the first universities in the world; the first hospitals and social service institutions which evolved from the monasteries that were centers of learning and through which the literature of the ancient societies and the Middle Ages were preserved. The first scientists were clerics. Its architectural and artistic triumphs were all Church sponsored. The first codification of law was of canon law and the rule of law evolved from this code as did the concept of human rights based upon natural law upon which our nation among others were founded. The theory of market economics was developed by Church scholars. The list goes on.

And what two institutions are generally reviled by western Europeans today? The Catholic Church and the United States of America.

Now the European Union is falling apart. The only European nation which has a birth rate sufficient to maintain present population levels is Muslim Albania. Italy is well on its way to becoming a theme par

Germany and France are welfare states where an aging population is supported by an ever diminishing labor pool and yet where unemployment is in double figures. The list of woes goes on and on.

So what is my point? It is simply this. There is a double standard. Much (is) required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more" and "The servant who knew his master's will but... did not act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely." Not my words but the words of Jesus Christ.

Western Europe has been given much but has turned its back on its benefactors. As a result it is in a decline which, if not reversed will result in a complete loss of its identity and, as one author has written, its transformation into Eurabia, a Muslim entity.

So I ask you good people who come here faithfully in response to Our Lady's call to pray the Rosary and assist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to pray for the people of Europe, who are in mortal peril, that they might rediscover their Christian foundation and return to fold of the Good Shepherd from which they have wandered.

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Yesterday was the Feast of All Saints. Saints are those souls who enjoy the Beatific Vision. Who, as Saint John says, are like God and see him face to face. Today is the Feast of All Soul; but which souls? Those in heaven had their feast yesterday and there is no feast, or hope, for those souls in Hell so we must be celebrating the souls who are in the P word, Purgatory.

Now I know I gave a homily on Purgatory not too long ago but I can’t let All Souls Day pass without putting in a word for the Holy Souls. I am sure that many, if not most, of the souls in Purgatory are very surprised to be there since they did not believe in it in this life. Yet, it was enunciated as a doctrine of the western Catholic Church by the Second Council of Lyons in 1274 of which the Catechism says, <From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice.= In 1439 the Council of Florence’s struck a balance between the western concept of satisfaction and expiation for sin and the Eastern emphasis on purification by eliminating all reference to fire and avoiding any language that would lead to a concept of Purgatory as a place. Following the rejection of the doctrine by the Protestant reformers, the Council of Trent reaffirmed its existence and the fact that the souls detained there are aided by the prayers of the faithful, especially by the sacrifice of the Mass. The second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium stated, <This sacred council accepts loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors in the living communion which exists between us and our sisters and brothers... who are yet being purified after their death=. In spite of all this you can go for years without hearing the P word mentioned. Two generations have gone through catechesis without ever hearing the word.

You can see that a place of fire and flames is not what we’re talking about. Purgatory is a positive process of purification and not a negative place of punishment. Saint Catherine of Genoa rightly says the pain is caused by seeing for the first time the horror of our sins. Now remember, by definition she is not talking about big sins, big sinners are not there. She is talking about those little sins we commit by the dozen every day. Great Saints are humble in that they see things as they are. Great Saints, whom we would regard as sinless, appreciate their sins for what they are and repent and do penance. Since they make the rest of us look bad, they are called scrupulous and neurotic. Their sanctity is heroic, which by definition is extraordinary and not for the rest of us. It is after death when we face our particular judgment that we see for the first time how much we leave to be desired. And so we begin the process of coming to terms with our sinfulness and shedding the love of things and self which separates us from the face of God. The goal is glorious but the process is painful because in order to see God as He is we must first see ourselves as we are and it is not pretty.

So let us today and every day pray, especially at Mass, for the holy souls who are undergoing the painful process of purification in the hope that if, and when, our turn comes they will pray for us.

Deacon John Boyle All Souls Day 2005

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In about 312 A.D. The Emperor Constantine donated the land upon which the basilica of Saint John the Baptist at the Lateran stands. The original basilica was dedicated by Pope Sylvester I on November 9, 324. It has been the site of five ecumenical councils and is the cathedral church of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. It is called Lateran because it is the site of the castle of the Laterani family of which Constantine’s wife was a member.

It is therefore linked to the event which was the best and the worst thing to happen to the young Church of Jesus Christ: the conversion of Constantine and the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. It was the best in that it brought many converts to the Church and spread the gospel throughout the Empire. It was the worst because it attached the Church to the civil government and eventually made it a political power in its own right. From that point on wealth and power became a significant part of the Church’s dynamic. Without this wealth and power it is doubtful that Western civilization would have become as deeply and universally Christian as it did. It was the Catholic Church which formed the educational, religious, and social fabric of western civilization and it was the expansion of western civilization to Asia and the Americas that made Christianity a worldwide religion.

It is difficult to relate the history of the Church from the time of the dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran to the present day with the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who could have been rich and powerful but chose to be poor and powerless in worldly terms. Wealth and power, while helpful in the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, have also given the world a false impression of the Church of Jesus Christ. Christ and his Church have little to do with wealth and power and buildings. In the words of Lumen Gentium, <the Church in Christ (is) a sacrament-a sign and instrument of communion with God and of unity of the entire human race. One can read the entire document entitled the <Dogmatic Constitution on the Church= and the entire Article nine of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and find nothing about buildings or wealth or power.

The Church from apostolic times until the time of Constantine had no wealth or power and yet it survived and thrived. The persecuted Church of Ireland had no rights, no wealth, no buildings and no power but it survived and thrived through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered by priests on the run in hedge rows and holy wells in the forests. The infant church in Japan and Korea had no wealth and no power and no buildings and no clergy but it survived underground for hundreds of years. The Church in Boston had great wealth and great power and splendid buildings. I recall that when then Vice President, Harry Truman, came to Boston he drove out to Lake Street to pay a courtesy call upon Cardinal Cushing. I can recall a time when a message from Lake Street to the Legislature could stop a bill in its tracks. Today many buildings are being sold, including the Archbishop’s residence, to satisfy financial obligations incurred during its time of wealth and power. Now legislators who profess to be Catholics openly reject Church moral teachings and vote accordingly.

So much for wealth and power, they come and go but the Church is eternal and seems to do better without them. In the long run it is prayer and sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of the Mass, which is the source of the Church’s wealth, influence and power. It is the people of God who Saint Paul teaches, <is the temple of God and in whom the Spirit of God dwells= In the Gospel it is the temple of his body, not a building, of which Jesus spoke and promised to raise up. Accordingly let us, the people of God, rejoice in the resurrected and glorified body of Jesus Christ for it is the Holy Eucharist which is the power and wealth of the Church, the rest is window dressing.

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There is a lot of fear in the Scriptures. The words "fear" or "afraid" appear four hundred and ninety-two times in the bible and one hundred and eight times in the new testament alone. For me today's gospel is all about fear. Why did the wicked servant hide the coin entrusted to him in a handkerchief? The reason in his own words "I was afraid". In the first reading the mother tells her son, "Don't be afraid of this executioner". Fear is a great motivator. Fear is a great deterrent. It is probably, other than love, the most powerful of human emotions. It may be rational in which case it is the cause of prudent acts to avoid injury. It is irrational fear which causes so many of our troubles.

It starts at a very early age. How many children are afraid of the dark? It takes quite a while before we can really accept being left alone in a dark room as something good. In middle school the fear of being different causes us to go to great lengths to fit in. God forbid we should stick out. I remember being told " You wouldn’t't worry so much about what other people thought of you if you realized how little time they spend thinking of you." Even as so called grownups, how often have we failed to do the right thing because we are afraid to stick out, to cause controversy, to be different? I am afraid I can identify more with the poor soul who hid the coin than with the wheeler and dealer who made ten for one. I know enough about investing to know just how much risk you must accept to make ten for one. In nearly 50 years of attending AA meetings I can reliably report that the most common reason for excessive drinking is fear. There is a saying "One shot of whiskey adds 75 pounds of muscle". Afraid of crowds? Have a couple. Afraid of people? Have a couple. Afraid of anything? Have a couple.

In old age fear of illness, fear of death, fear of outliving your money take center stage. So from the cradle to the grave fear is always there if only in the background. For me the only way out has been to take Jesus at his word and trust him. I don't mean to trust him that I will get my way. I mean to trust him that if I do I'll get his way.

On the night before he died Jesus suffered such fear that he sweat blood and yet he overcame that fear and did the Father's will. Jesus does not teach us to avoid fear for that is the coward's way, the way of the fearful servant. Jesus teaches us to face fear and to pray for the grace to do his will in spite of fear. If we do that, the world may call us brave but we will know that we are not brave but blessed. If we do that we may experience pain but not remorse. If we do that we may stick out but we will not have to bear the shame of the coward.

We, whom Jesus calls to partake of his body and blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are called to eternal life so what is there to be afraid of? This is the great truth of our faith. It is the coin of great value and shame on us if, like the wicked servant, we hide it in a napkin.

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Trying to read the hand writing on the wall; we’ve all done it. It is human nature to want to know the future. There all kinds of fortune tellers: crystal balls; tarot cards; Ouija boards; pendulums; animal entrails and more. Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams saved the children of Israel in Egypt. Pagan priests and shamans made a good living out of fortune telling. Tim Lahaye has sold millions of books prophesying the Rapture which he holds is imminent. These stories are based on the belief that Christians will be removed from the earth prior to a time of Tribulation and The Second Coming which he believes to be imminent.

It is a shame that all this concern for the future, all of which involves the occult or strained biblical interpretation, takes attention away from the only time that really counts: the present. Everything that happens happens in the present. It is only in the present that we can find God who exists in the eternal now. We are what we are now. If we are to do the will of God we must do it now. The moment we leave now and project our thoughts into the future we remove ourselves from the place where all the action is to a place that may never exist. If we try to live in the future, all we produce is anxiety because we are attempting to live in a place that does not exist.

Jesus tells us in the gospel of the day how we are to handle the future. He tells his disciples that they will find themselves in serious trouble because of his name but they are not to prepare their defense beforehand. Jesus promises that he, himself, will give them the wisdom in speaking that will render their adversaries powerless to resist or refute them. Jesus promises that although they will be hated their perseverance will secure their lives. In short, they are to stay in the present and trust in Jesus.

That was good advice then and it is good advice now. Those who worry about the end times do so fruitlessly. Since the birth of Jesus Christ we have lived in the end times. How long they will last means nothing because we have entered into eternal life by virtue of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. We live with him in the eternal now. All else is a distraction.

How blest are we who rely upon Jesus and his promise for our security. Only if we fail to take him at his word should we fear the future. He, who died for us, he, who conquered death on our behalf, has promised that if we trust in him we have nothing to fear, now. And it is always now.

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Why do they hate us? What drove the men who high jacked the planes on September 11th and crashed them into buildings full of ordinary people? At least a part of their motivation is the subject of this week’s readings from scripture: the use and abuse of material things. The high jackers resented America's apparent wealth and resulting ability to influence events in their part of the world. Targeting the World Trade Center was symbolic of this resentment. While all reasonable people would agree that these actions can never be justified, we should, in evaluating our response, consider what is the proper attitude one should have toward material things?

The Prophet Amos speaking in the eight century before Christ condemns those who cheat the poor, who prize possessions over people. Amos says the Lord will never forget a thing they have done. We as individuals and as a nation must beware that we never place a higher value on things than people, no matter how tempted or provoked. We must never forget that our nation was founded on the basis of basic human rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was not founded on a right to own things in excess of what is required to achieve those basic human rights. If we do not order our priorities the Lord will never forget it. It is a matter of concern that the richer we get, the less we give in aid to those living in the poor nations of the world. A generation ago the United States provided the means to rebuild the nations who brought ruin upon themselves by their attack on the free world. We should be prepared to do as much today for those who through no fault of their own live in poverty and need.

In today's Gospel Jesus tells a story of a rich man and his steward. It appears the rich man approves of the actions of the steward in cheating him to the advantage of his debtors. There are many interpretations for this story. I believe the rich man is expressing the admiration of a cheat for a cheater. His is a dog eat dog world where the last man left standing is the king of the hill.

Today we say the person with the most toys wins. We have rewarded pampered sports stars with millions while pegging the minimum wage at less than $6.00 per hour. Executives have received bonuses for increasing stock value by laying off employees, many of whom were instrumental in building the company during the good times. For a while it appeared that our nation had rejected God in favor of material things.

My father used to say, "People are at their best when the wolf is at the door". As a man who lived through two world wars and the great depression I believe he knew what he was talking about. A high school student wrote a story which was published in the Washington Post. In it he contrasted the behavior of his class mates before and after the disasters of September 11th. On September 10th many argued that the pledge of allegiance is not needed and that a moment of silence would infringe upon their constitutional rights. On September 13th, when school reopened, those same students stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and celebrated a moment of silence. He finished his story with, "It took a disaster to bring our nation together". My father would have said, "The wolf is at the door".

As we turn to the Eucharist, the sacrament of love and thanksgiving let us pray for our nation: that we will choose God and virtue over material things; that we will consider the effects, upon those who are innocent and in need, of our actions in opposition to terrorism; that we will not oppose terrorism with terrorism; that we will remember the high deals upon which our nation was founded and through which it has prospered; and, that we will remain true to those ideals which have made this nation unique in the history of human kind.

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It is trite but true. Actions speak louder than words. The philosophical axiom expressing the same truth is “As a being is so it acts”. So when John’s disciples ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” he does not answer the question directly. If he claims he is indeed the one, all they would have is his word for it. So instead he points to his actions, to what they, themselves, have seen and heard; the blind see; the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them.

Lawyers would call them percipient witnesses which is lawyer talk for eye witnesses, the best kind there is. But it is more than that. True, these are marvels but do they answer the question? John’s disciples know their scripture. They are familiar with the Book of Isaiah which prophesied that such things would occur when Israel’s redeemer came. When these disciples return to John and relate what they have seen, John can draw his own conclusion based on these events. Objective evidence trumps a subjective claim every time.

This pattern flows through all of the Gospels. Much of what Jesus taught was not new. The so called Golden Rule is in the Book of Tobit. What was new was generally a new interpretation of existing Hebrew Scripture. It is what Jesus did that has revolutionized the world and the human race. The wonders that identified him to John were not what identified him to the world. Saint Paul says it. “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” It is the Resurrection that is the significant event. All that came before led up to it. All that has come after flows from it. If there had been no resurrection there would be no glorified body and if there is no glorified body there is no Eucharist. If there has been no resurrection then Jesus is worse than a fraud. He is a blasphemer. From beginning to end it is not what Jesus said but what he did that really matters.

That is why if we are to be his disciples we must do his will. It is not enough to cry Lord, Lord, and then let self will run riot. Each day we must pray for a knowledge of his will for us and the grace to carry it out. It is our actions that identify us as disciples for actions always speak louder than words. That was true for Jesus and so it is true for us.

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It is trite but true. Actions speak louder than words. The philosophical axiom expressing the same truth is <As a being is so it acts=. So when John’s disciples ask Jesus, <Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?= he does not answer the question directly. If he claims he is indeed the one, all they would have is his word for it. So instead he points to his actions, to what they, themselves, have seen and heard; the blind see; the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them.

<If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.= It is the Resurrection that is the significant event. All that came before led up to it; all that has come after flows from it. If there had been no resurrection there would be no glorified body and if there is no glorified body there is no Eucharist. If there has been no resurrection then Jesus is worse than a fraud.

He is a blasphemer. From beginning to end it is not what Jesus said but what he did that really matters. That is why if we are to be his disciples we must do his will. It is not enough to cry Lord, Lord, and then let self will run riot. Each day we must pray for knowledge of his will for us and the grace to carry it out. It is our actions that identify us as disciples for actions always speak louder than words. That was true for Jesus and so it is true for us.

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It is a beautiful moment. A young girl alive, as only a woman bearing new life can be, visits a much older woman; who, at an age when women of her time did not bear children, is also full of new, vibrant life. Both are filled with joy as is Elizabeth’s child who leaps in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s greeting. Here is the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures; the first meeting of the Messiah and the herald who is to go before him. It is a scene full of hope; full of promise for the world and its people. How wonderful.

It is a blessing that even the wonderfully graced like Elizabeth and Mary cannot see into the future. If Elizabeth could see her beloved son pulled from a filthy cistern, beheaded and his head displayed to a drunken crowd to satisfy the hate and spite of an evil political opportunist there would have been no joy for her, ever. If Mary could see her beloved son die stripped naked and nailed to a cross after sustaining a terrible beating could she have survived? Such is the way of the world; moments of joy but too often years of torment. We, who are fortunate enough to live in this country at this time, find it hard to appreciate the fact that life for most people who have been born into this world has been short, brutal and pain filled. I saw on television a little girl in Afghanistan who had stepped on a land mine and had her leg blown off. She was crying as American Military doctors worked on her. The voice over said that she had no family, no leg but she was crying because she had no friends. For too many people life is like that: brutal; unfair; pitiless, just as it was for Elizabeth’s child, just as it was for Mary’s child.

But that is why Jesus had to die as he did. So that all who suffer in this life; so that all who bear injustice; so that all who exist in poverty and need can be consoled by the fact that God himself, who so loved the human race that he became part of it, suffered injustice; was poor; died a painful death but triumphed over all the evils of the world by his resurrection into eternal life and in doing so gave hope of eternal life to all, especially to those who’s lot in this world is most desperate.

The real tragedy is that so many, like the Afghan girl, who so desperately need to know the truth of Christ’s life, death and resurrection do not know of it. That is why we must pray that the mission spirit of the Church be encouraged and supported. There are so many to whom the consolation of the Christian message could be the difference between despair and hope; between eternal life and the death of the soul that comes from such destitution.

We are in the final week of Advent, the period of reflection and penance that precedes the joy of the Incarnation. Let us reflect as we look forward to that joy upon the sorrow that afflicts too many of our brothers and sisters of this world. Let us pray that Mary and her beloved son, who know from personal experience the pain they bear, may enlighten their souls with the grace that awaits those who turn to Jesus in love and trust and seek his divine mercy.

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I recently read an article on the plight of the grandchildren of baby boomers. It seems that they as they are generally an only-child or have only one sibling and that, as a result, they have been spoiled. Their parents have seen to it that their self esteem is very high, so high that it is very often out of proportion to reality. They have been taught that they can do anything. The result is a generation that is out of tune with the real world. One young woman with a master’s degree in flute performance from an elite school could not understand why she was unemployable. The author posed the question, <What if their chosen field is too crowded or the skills too difficult or the child is just not that talented=. And then she wrote a line that stunned me in its truth and simplicity, <It’s a sad but unalterable fact that most people are average.= Whoa! How about that! Me average? I can accept it about myself but my Grandchildren average? Don’t try to tell that to their Grandmother.

Most people are average. It is factually true, but deep down don’t we all have a sense that we are special, that we are unique? Well we are unique. In all the history of the human race there has never been anyone exactly like me and there will never be another me. For good or evil, I’m it. So we’re average but unique.

How can that be?

For Christians the answer is the found in the reading from Saint Paul which we just heard. It is that we are infinitely loved by God the Father in and through His son, Jesus Christ. Saint Paul eloquently proclaims that nothing, no earthly calamity, no unearthly power, nothing, can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.

The first reading from Isaiah and the Psalm detail the goodness of God and his care for the Children of Israel in worldly terms; but it is in the love of Christ as demonstrated by his willing sacrifice upon the cross that we can begin,just begin, to grasp the value of each human person. It is in meditating upon the Passion of Jesus Christ that we can begin, just begin, to grasp the horror of sin and the love that was poured out to free us from its grasp. It is from the infinite price that was paid out of love for our redemption that we each become of infinite value.

This is why, if we love God, we must love ourselves and one another. It is not because we are, of ourselves, lovable. It is because He, who is love itself, loves us that we are lovable, each and every one us, even the people we don’t like.

But God’s love does not stop there. In today’s gospel Jesus feeds many more than five thousand people with only five loafs and two fish. The left overs filled twelve wicker baskets. Today Jesus feeds the entire world with his body and blood which is offered in the holy sacrifice of the Mass all over the world at every hour of the day. I can joyfully accept the fact that I am average because, as a Baptized Christian, it is a very, very, very high average.

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Merry Christmas! I have been wishing people a Merry Christmas for over seventy years and had never realized that these words are <hurtful= and I have been <insensitive=. Bernie, one of my dearest friends, is Jewish and Bernie always told me he loved Christmas. He got a paid holiday, ate Chinese food and went to the movies. Who knew that he was secretly suffering? He hid it well. One thing I can’t understand though. Why is it that Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Kwanza, and Ramadan don’t offend me even a little bit? I must be missing something.

In a way I’m kind of glad to see Christmas divorced from what have come to be known as the <Holidays=. I like the Holidays. All the good food, pretty lights, decorated trees, Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, and gift exchanging are fun. But they really have little to do with Christmas. Christmas is the English speaking expression for what is known in other cultures as the Nativity, for example Noel in French, Natale in Italian, Natividad in Spanish and so on... It means that on the Nativity, the birth of Christ, the liturgy we call the Mass is Christ’s mass because it is his birthday.

But in a very real sense every Mass is Christ’s Mass, whether it is celebrated in splendor in Saint Peter’s Basilica or as it was by Archbishop Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan in solitary confinement using the palm of one hand for an altar the other as a chalice. This so because the Sacrifice of the Mass is the re-enactment of the Last Supper when Jesus, on the night before he died, directed us to eat his body in the form of bread and drink his blood in the form of wine in remembrance of him. In instituting this sacrament he said the bread is his body and the wine is his blood. He didn’t say it represents his body and blood. He didn’t say it signifies his body and blood. He said it is his body and is his blood. Is means is and if he didn’t mean is, he would have said something else. Some say this is too hard to believe. They are not the first to doubt. When Jesus first said that <unless you ate my flesh and drank my blood you shall not have life in you=, many of his followers left him. For believing Catholic and orthodox Christians the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Jesus Christ. If, as we profess, Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity, then such a miracle is easy for him to perform. And if Jesus is not God, then what are we doing here?

So for us this night is a wonderful, miraculous night. We celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the Incarnation, the fact that God so loved us that he became one of us, that the divine nature and human nature became present in one person, Jesus the Christ, the God-man. And we celebrate this fact by calling him down from heaven to be present to us and for us on the altar in the Eucharist and to become united with us in Holy Communion. Christmas is so much more than a Holiday. It is a Holy Day, a day of wonder, a day that gives hope: hope of experiencing Christ’s peace, love and joy in this world and hope of eternal life with him in the next. So let us proclaim Christmas to the world in the manner of the early Christians, by loving one another, by expressing our joy and by extending to all the peace of Christ who is born again for us on this Oh so holy night.

Christmas 2005

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We have walked the Way of the Cross with Jesus and he is now in his tomb. All those who love him are in a state of shock. What has happened? How could it have happened? Only a few days ago he was welcomed with joy by the people.

Palms were spread in his path. Now, suddenly, he is most horribly gone. We, who believe, take comfort in the fact that on the third day he will rise again and death will be vanquished as was sin on the day he died. But to so many he is just dead, if in fact he ever lived at all.

Jesus showed mercy to one of the criminals who was crucified next to him.

But mercy was only given to the one who asked for mercy. The fate of the criminal, who persevered in evil, taunting Jesus even as he suffered, can only be imagined. That is the real tragedy of the cross. That so many for whom Jesus underwent such torment never ask for the mercy that awaits their simple request. For them Jesus suffered and died in vain. Thus it is because we love Jesus and appreciate the price he paid for all of us that we must, especially today, pray for those who reject his love and mercy. They, like us, are sinners but they, unlike us, are unrepentant or, is often the case in this day and age; do not believe there is such a thing as sin and therefore nothing to repent of.

So we who stand today at the foot of the cross, who appreciate the price that was paid for salvation and the forgiveness of sin, must pray for those who are not here, for those to whom this day is just another day, for those to whom Jesus holds out his broken hands and to whom he calls in vain that they will come to realize the truth and, like the repentant thief, reach out for the fountain of love and mercy which is theirs for the asking. So great a sacrifice should not, ever, be in vain.

Good Friday 2005

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But why? Why the extreme cruelty? Why didn’t Jesus run and hide. Why did it have to be this way? It is in the words of Isaiah from the first reading, written 700 hundred years before the fact, that we find the answer. He prophesied: <Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offences, crushed by our sins; upon him was the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed=

What happened to Jesus was the result of sin. It was due to the depravity of which our race is capable. It was horrible because sin is horrible. It was extreme so that we might begin, just begin, to appreciate the real horror of sin. As Jesus hung on the cross he could not only see the ancient horrors such as human sacrifice, usually of children, to false Gods but he could also see into the future. He could see the mistreatment of his own people, the Jews, at the hands of those who would claim to be his disciples. He could see his beloved slaughtering each other in his name over conflicting views of his teachings. He could see three million Irish starved and driven from their homes by their British overlords. He could envision the Armenians being slaughtered by the millions, often being burned alive while locked in their churches. He could envision the Holocaust that was Europe in the middle of the last century when forty million people, over 6million Jews alone, died from war and genocide. He could envision the rape of Nanking and the firebombing of cities. He could envision Kosovo, Rwanda and Darfur in the Sudan. He could see the modern Holocaust that is abortion, over 40 million in the US alone in the last 32 years. And last week Harvard University announced that it will begin therapeutic cloning for fetal stem cell research. That is the intentional creation of human beings for the purpose of destroying them for research. Human beings are to be used as laboratory animals. No one can tell where all that will end. No-fault divorce, so called, and co-habitation without marriage have already seriously weakened the institution of marriage and the effect of homosexual marriage has yet to be determined. One thing is for sure. Saint Joseph’s will have fewer than 20 marriages this year; one third of the number of a few years ago. It was sin, past present and future that caused Jesus terrible suffering. It is sin that is destroying our culture.

We will have five masses for Easter. They will be crowded. That is good. It is good that people celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it is you who are here tonight, the relative few who stand by the cross to be with him in his darkest hour, who can fully appreciate the miracle of Easter. You are the ones who know how great was the price that was paid on Good Friday for the glory that is Easter. It is you who fully understand that there is a force for evil in the world and that evil is never stronger than when it is not believed to exist. When evil is seen as good and good is seen as evil all hell breaks loose.

You are in good company here at the foot of the cross. You stand with Jesus’ mother and Aunt, with Mary the mother of Clopas, Mary of Magdala and the disciple whom Jesus loved, four women and one man. All the rest were somewhere else. You are here. All the rest are somewhere else. You know the price paid for there to be an Easter. You know the damage done by sin. Jesus knows that you are here because you love him and understand the cost of our salvation. You are much more than Easter Christians. You understand that without Good Friday there would be no Easter and you understand that it was sin that made Good Friday inevitable.

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Today most theologians seem to more interested in humanizing Christ than in exploring his divinity. The so-called Jesus Seminar and the Gospels of Thomas Jefferson are just two of the attempts to remove what they deem as impossibilities from the Gospel. Our readings today bring home the fact that the world was not so much changed by what Jesus taught as by what he did. There have been many wise religious teachers, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tse, in the East for example. Much of what Jesus taught was a new interpretation of centuries old Jewish law. But what Jesus did was new. It is what he did that makes him unique. To deny that he performed miracles, especially the raising of the dead and the resurrection is to miss the entire point of his coming.

In the first reading Peter and John did not try to educate the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate. Instead they acted. Following the model of Jesus, they cured him. They did not act in their own names but made it clear that it was Jesus acting through them who performed the cure. No words of wisdom, no theological enlightening; no pious platitudes but action <rise and walk=.

In the Gospel Jesus does explain the Hebrew Scriptures prophesying his life, death and resurrection to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus; but this is not what transforms them. It is when they recognize him in the breaking of the bread that they understood the miracles of the resurrection and the Eucharist.

I must be honest. If Jesus were only a wise teacher and a good man I would be in bed right now. I have known and read the works of wise and good men and women. I have had excellent teachers. I know that I am not smart enough to analyze Jesus teachings as do eminent theologians and scholars. I know my limits. We simple souls are attracted to miracles. We believe in them and because we do we experience them. Wiser heads explain them as coincidences. We believe that when cures that are unexplainable by medical science happen at Lourdes and other shrines it in Jesus name that they occur. We simple souls believe that when Jesus said, <this is my body= and <this is my blood= he meant what he said and it is the truth.

Through the eyes of faith, like the two on the road to Emmaus, we recognize him in the breaking of the bread. Like the people who saw the crippled man walking and jumping in the temple we are filled with amazement and astonishment at what has happened.

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In the year 258 Lawrence was killed in the persecution of Valarian which three days earlier had claimed the life of Pope Sixtus II and six of his deacons. Lawrence was a deacon too but the story goes that he was allowed to live so that he might deliver the Church’s riches to the Emperor. Instead Lawrence distributed the church’s funds to the poor and then brought the poor to Valarian and told him, that they, the poor, were the Church’s treasure; for this, the legend goes, he was broiled to death on a hot griddle. As a result Saint Lawrence is the patron of the poor, cooks and fire fighters.

The readings for the Feast of Saint Lawrence are well chosen. The reading from Saint Paul celebrates the cheerful giver. The psalm honors the man who gives to those in need. The gospel honors whoever hates his life in this world and thus preserves it for eternal life. Saint Lawrence is indeed the model for these readings.

It is interesting to note that this week we celebrate the martyrdom of one bishop but seven deacons. In the early church there were many deacons because the deacons administered the church. To this day there must be one cardinal deacon in each consistory. He is of course a bishop but then all bishops were once deacons however briefly.

This gospel is also, however, also Eucharistic. The grain of wheat that dies yields much fruit which becomes food in the form of bread. Christ, like the grain of wheat, was sacrificed that he too might produce much fruit. It is in the sacrifice of the Mass that the fruit of the grain of wheat becomes our spiritual food as the resurrected body of the sacrificed Christ.

In the early church the deacons were the ordinary Eucharistic Ministers. It was their office to distribute the Eucharist to the Faithful. To this day the deacon is an ordinary minister of the Eucharist. The deacon is the minister of the cup and that is why, when a deacon is present, it is he who ministers the cup to the other ministers. It is proper that the deacon not drink of the cup until after he has presented it to all the other ministers in the Sanctuary. He is the servant of the others and servants are served last.

The deacon is also the minister of the Gospel. When a deacon is present it is he who proclaims the Gospel. It is so even in the presence of the Pope. Just as the priest or bishop is the presider of the Eucharist the deacon is the presider of the Word.

It is because of the example of the early deacon martyrs that the order of deacons is honored by the Church and deacons serve all over the world. When I read the stories of the many Saintly Deacons: Saint Steven, Saint Gregory who became Pope Gregory the Great, Saint Lawrence, Saint Vincent, Saint Philip, Saint Francis of Assisi to name just a few I feel very unworthy to be one of their company and yet, by the grace of God, that is what I am.

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The good news is that most of us are not great sinners. The bad news is that most of us are not great sinners. As we saw in today’s readings, big sinners like David and the penitent woman were also big lovers. They had sinned big time and they knew it. They were grateful. Having been given much, they fell deeply in love with the giver. Simon, the Pharisee, was very pleased with himself and looked down upon penitent woman as a sinner. He was not conscious of his own sins, saw no need for forgiveness and certainly did not love Jesus whom he regarded as a mere teacher, an interesting guest but nothing more. With his companions, he scoffed at Jesus’ claim to able to forgive sins. No love there. What about us? We too easily rationalize our sins as no big deal. After all, we’re such a nice person. Do we fully appreciate, as Saint Paul did, that we have been crucified with Christ and now live by faith in the Son of God who has loved us and given himself up for us? If we truly appreciated what Jesus has done for us, the price He paid for love of us, we would be filled with love and gratitude and detest sin, no matter how minor.

Nothing more graphically demonstrates the magnitude of Jesus’ love for us than the crucifix. A close second is the image of His sacred Heart; crowned with thorns, heart pierced and on fire for love of us, you and me.

June is the month of the Sacred Heart. A statue of the Sacred Heart is in the Sanctuary. When I was growing up most Catholic homes had a picture of the Sacred Heart hanging on a wall. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the result of the visions of Saint Mary Margaret Alacoque. Jesus made known to her his desire to be loved and the image manifesting His Heart with all its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation. The love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the refrain of all her writings. The promises of the Sacred Heart given to her are twelve in number. They are:

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and Infinite Ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

I need all the help I can get so I have an image of the Sacred Heart by the door of my apartment. It reminds me to say a prayer to the Sacred Heart every time I go out. My favorite is <Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.=

In our sophisticated age such simple devotions as that to the Sacred Heart have fallen into disuse, too old school, not hip, out of it. Well these devotions have proved to be powerful in the past and are just as powerful today if we swallow our pride and practice them.

The novena prayer to the Sacred Heart is: O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant me, good Jesus that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body; assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Who could ask for more?

We now turn to the Eucharist where we shall receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ whereby we shall be united to the one whose heart burns for the love of us, His brothers and sisters for whom He died most horribly and rose most gloriously.

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Rarely, but sometimes in the heat of battle, a teenager will flat out refuse to do as asked and retreat into the teenage defense mechanism called "a sulk". In that condition there may be a sudden flash of reality and it dawns on them that what was asked was not as bad as what they are going through in the sulk so they change their mind, do as requested and go on their way. This sudden flash of reality is called a conversion experience. In an instant we clearly see the reality of a situation and dramatically change our behavior.

We are not called to be a good person, a nice guy or a good girl. We are called to be Christ like to be perfect as he was perfect. To do so we must first realize that we are not such, that is to be humble; to believe that we can be such, that is to have hope; and pray that God will make us such, that is to be people of faith.

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While today the Church honors the two greatest Apostles, the date, June 29th, is not associated with either Peter or Paul. It is a date associated with the Romulus, the traditional founder of Rome. This fact indicates that the celebration honors not only the two great Apostles but also celebrates the establishment of the Church in Rome. . There is no doubt that both Peter and Paul both ministered in Rome and that both were martyred in Rome. This is an ancient celebration. The Christian observance in Rome began in the year 258. This Solemnity appears in the Lectionary of the Anglican Communion and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is celebrated throughout the eastern Churches.

As such this feast is of ecumenical importance to all western Christians. In Peter we see the mission to the people of Israel and the foundation of the institutional Church. In Paul we see the mission to the Gentiles and evangelical Church. Here in one place at one time is the beginning of the dual mission of the Church. It seems that we never seem to get these two missions in balance. As the Church becomes more institutional it becomes less evangelical. Here in the Archdiocese of Boston organizational problems have sapped the energy of the Church and we have become defensive. It is hard, if not impossible, to be defensive and evangelical at the same time. The Church is most evangelical where it is least organized, in the third world. It is important to be Peter, the rock, but it is also necessary to be Paul and bring the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to all. It is necessary to be like Saint Paul, to fight the good fight, to finish the race, to keep the faith, to strive to merit the crown of righteousness.

Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have recognized that while they are the successors of Saint Peter they must also be like Paul and reach out to all the world: to the eastern Churches, the separated Churches of the Protestant Reformation and voices of dissent in Catholic Church. This is not popular with the conservatives in the Church but it is required if they are to be faithful to the two great men we honor today.

These two men could not have been more different. One was a working man, a fisherman, impetuous, a man of action. The other was an aristocrat, a scholar and student of the law. Yet between them, in less than 35 years, they brought the Church of Christ from a small group of outcasts in a backward and isolated locality to a Church centered in Rome, the seat of empire, with branches in the major areas of that empire, with the potential to become the official religion of that empire three hundred years later.

So as we honor these extraordinary human beings let us also recognize that the Holy Spirit which empowered them can also empower us. Let us not only be Peter, steadfast and loyal to the institutional Church, but let us also be Paul, the evangelist, the bearer of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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It was a very brief encounter. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples follow Jesus who asks them, <What are you looking for?= Jesus invites them to accompany him and by four in the afternoon they are able to tell Simon, <We have found the Messiah=. In 1803 Elizabeth Seton left the United States to accompany her sick husband to Italy in the hope that the milder climate would help him. It did not and he died; but, in 1805, she returned to the United States and shortly thereafter became a Catholic. In 1808 she founded a school for girls in Baltimore. In 1812 her Community’s Rule, based on that of Saint Vincent De Paul, was approved and she was elected superior of the new Community of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Joseph, the first American religious society. She was from then on known as Mother Seton until 1975 when she became Saint Elizabeth Seton, the first native born American Saint.

These are two dramatic examples of the phenomenon known as conversion: A sudden, unexplained change in an individual which dramatically alters the direction of their life and their spiritual alignment. W. E. Orchard wrote in <From Faith to Faith=, <There must remain ... an element of mystery about conversion; partly, because it involves movements of the mind which remain obscure even to the acutest introspection, but still more because the workings of divine grace are secret; so that the most exhaustive controversy and most penetrating analysis have left theology baffled in its attempt to determine how grace influences the mind or co-operates with the will.=

<An element of mystery=: What happened in those few hours with Jesus that convinced Andrew and the disciple that Jesus loved that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah? What happened in Italy to cause the devout and well to do Episcopalian Elisabeth Bayley Seton to become an outcast to her family by embracing the Church of Rome? Ultimately the only answer is the mystery of grace which <influences the mind or co-operates with the will=: the mystery of conversion.

It is apparent to anyone who looks that what used to be called Christendom is in need of conversion. Regarding our own nation, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has written, <The United States has become a culture of noise, confusion, and complication. Americans are a distracted people, and American Catholics are now a distracted Church.= The answer, as it was in the past, is conversion. Archbishop Chaput notes that, <The hunger for God persists in every human heart, even when it’s buried under a mountain of consumer goods.= He further notes that, <Too often (the Church is) not feeding that hunger as effectively as fundamentalists and other evangelical Christians.=

The remedy? Archbishop Chaput has it. <... the Church throughout the industrialized world urgently needs to recover her original spiritual fire. We need to lead people back to the fullness of Jesus Christ, which can only be found in sacramental community- especially in the Eucharist.=

And most importantly he calls out to his brother Bishops, <If we really want the conversion of the world, we who are Bishops need to seek that same conversion first within and among ourselves.= Let us pray that his brothers are listening!

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Why didn’t it work? It had always worked before. Whenever the children of Israel relied on God, he had bailed them out. God delivered them from the Egyptians, didn’t He? What about the walls of Jericho? Surely, if they put the Ark right out in front, the Lord wouldn’t let anything happen to it. Even the Philistines believed that Israel’s God was to be feared and their defeat was certain. From the sound of it they almost didn’t show up for the battle and did so only because death was to be preferred to slavery. Wonder of wonders, the Israelites were defeated, thirty thousand of their troops killed, and the Ark of God captured. What happened?

What happened was that the children of Israel had grown complacent. Like spoiled children of an indulgent father, they had forgotten God as long as things were going well. It was only when they were in trouble that they turned to God and they presumed that he would, once again, come to their rescue. Not so!! They had been warned. The Prophet Eli had been told by God that his sons would be destroyed. So who did they pick to carry the ark but Eli’s sons? They just didn’t get it.

We cannot be too hard on the Israelites. Don’t we tend to take things for granted when they are going well? What is true for the individual is true for society which is, after all, a group of individuals. We live in a time when God is not first and foremost in the lives of most people. In the last 50 years the world view of most people has shifted inward. Self fulfillment, personal gratification, accumulation of material things are now the buzz words. Very few people are primarily concerned with spiritual development, ethics, the common good, or a life of grace. Religion is supposed to affirm a chosen life style not determine the style of life. God is good in so far as he affirms our self esteem but is bad if he arouses feelings of guilt. If your church does not affirm your behavior, don’t change your behavior, change your church. Unlike the Israelites we do not call upon God when things go wrong, we just blame God when they go wrong.

Only when we come to accept that God is not a problem solver to be held in reserve; to see that God and our relationship to him are what gives life meaning; then will we see that this life is our opportunity to come to know Him and, in knowing Him, serve Him and thereby gain eternal happiness in His presence for eternity.

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Many of Jesus sayings are at first glance just not fair. <To one, who has more, more will be given; from who has not, even what he has will be taken away=. Why should one who has, been given more? Why should he who has not, lose what little he has? Now that seems to be plain mean.

We get that impression because we think in material terms, having means having material goods. Having not means the absence of material things. Jesus does not value material things. He, who could have had material wealth, chose to be born poor; to work as craftsman, and itinerant preacher and teacher. Jesus is never talking in material terms. With Him it is all about the life of grace, the life of the spirit. Jesus is about giving. The light of grace should be placed on a lamp stand, not hidden under a bushel basket. The measure of grace which we give away will gain us more grace.

Nothing ever stays the same. We either grow spiritually or we wither away.

The selfish person never has enough. He, or she, seeks fulfillment in material things. The more they have, the more they want because they are attempting to satisfy the spiritual hunger we have for God with material wealth and it cannot be done. The people I have met in my life that I most admire, that are the most giving, and the happiest are uniformly people who have no great regard for material things. They are people people and they are God people and some of them are sitting out there among you. If you are thinking, <He can’t mean me= I probably do because you’re the sort who has no idea how much light you radiate. Humility is part of the package.

You must be careful if you set out to seek the most high God in the person of his son, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, because the more you find, the more you will seek and the more you will be given. Some people who do that end up in the desert in sack cloth. Spiritual wealth can end up in material destitution just as material wealth can result in spiritual destitution.

We all must choose. Let us pray we choose wisely for eternal life is the reward for so doing, while eternal frustration awaits those who fail to do so.

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That must have been some wedding. If you do the math Jesus made one hundred and fifty gallons of wine more or less. Assuming that they had gone through approximately that amount already that’s 300 gallons of wine. Now weddings in those days lasted up to a week but that’s still a lot of wine. As Jesus was still under cover it is unlikely that anyone asked Mary to ask Jesus to make more. It seems that she noticed the host’s problem and took action on her own. I believe she continues to notice our problems and takes action in our behalf. In the last two centuries she has appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure, Saint Bernadette, at La Salette, Fatima, and Akita. She knows we are in trouble and it is getting worse. Her message is similar on all such occasions. Do penance and pray, especially the Rosary. I am ashamed to admit that I seldom do either. In almost all Catholic Churches there is a small group of dedicated people who come to Mass daily and before Mass, they pray the Rosary. They are generally elderly and there are about two women for every man. Their number grows fewer every year and they are not being replaced. We have a group sponsored by the Knights of Columbus who meet monthly to pray the Rosary for Life. They too are few in number. This Thursday we will have a Holy Hour for Life. There will about forty people in attendance. I remember as a youngster when every Parish had an annual mission. Two weeks it lasted, one for men and boys and one for women and girls. Forty hours devotions were common as were Novenas. I was with my father with 45,000 other men and boys at a Eucharistic Congress in Fenway Park of all places. The point I am attempting to make is that, except for a very few, Mary’s message by and large goes unheeded.

The consequences will be dire.

We will have a collection today for the people of Haiti. The terrible suffering they are undergoing is evident on television. What is also evident is how many of them are such good, heroic and patient people. A young girl had been pulled from the rubble. She was lying on the ground with a severely injured leg. A commentator was deploring her plight when she said something quietly in Creole. The commentator turned to her and she repeated what she had said the translator spoke for her. <It could be worse=. The commentator was stunned. Is that what she said, he asked. Yes, responded the translator. Another woman was pulled from her house praising Jesus even though her leg had been cut off to get her out. It could be worse. These people know it could be worse for many of them have seen worse. There was no self pity in either of them, only the acceptance of things for what they are. They are courageous. They are loving. They are in pain. It will get worse. The difficulty in bringing food, water, shelter, and medical care, to those most in need will result in disease, dehydration, hunger and God knows what else. The people of Haiti are not being punished by God. They are suffering because they are unfortunate enough to live in a poverty stricken country on a fault line in the earth’s crust; but in a sense they suffer for all of us. Possibly if we had responded to Mary’s message they might have suffered less. One of the buildings completely flattened was the Cathedral and the Archbishop was killed in his residence. No favorites are being played. We should all realize that we live in a very dangerous place, the physical universe. We live on a planet filled with molten rock spinning around a fiery star in space which is filled with all kinds of debris. A fault line runs under our own region and yet most of us don’t buy earthquake insurance. We willingly suffer all kinds of inconvenience because terrorists killed three thousand of our countrymen but we talk on our cell phones and send text messages while driving even though more than 3000 of us are killed every month in automobile accidents. Yet we don’t pray. It is right that we contribute money for Haitian relief but many will do that. Let us also pray that they will be spared further suffering. I’ll say a Rosary for them. Will you?

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I have always liked this song written by Johnny Nash. Its lyrics go, don’t worry I’m not

going to sing:

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny Day

I think I can make it new, the pain is gone All the bad feelings have disappeared Here is the rainbow I have been prayin for

It’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

Look all around, there’s nothin but but blue skies

Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

I like the song and its Reggae beat but I have always wondered what had inspired it. For me it was a puzzle.I don’t know about you but for me the lyric should be.

<I can see clearly now that I can’t see anything at all.=

As I look back upon the 75 years of my life it seems a t lot of it just happened. It was not planned; it just worked out that way, mostly for the good but not as I planned at all. I did not see most of it coming.

Well it has happened again. My wife decided that we should explore the retirement community of Linden Ponds in Hingham. We liked what we saw but with the real estate market as it is I thought it would not happen in the foreseeable future. We put down a deposit and put our house on the market. The second couple who looked at it made an offer which we accepted and it looks like that on August 27th we will be moving to Hingham. Surprise Surprise !!! I did not see it coming.

I am sure it will work out just fine as have most of the other unplanned major events of my life did, eventually. I have felt the hand of God working in my life because so much of my life has been a total surprise to me. Johnny Nash is right but I have never been able to see it at the time.

This is where faith comes in. Faith without trust is useless. Faith is believing without seeing. You can have all the faith in the world but if you don’t trust God nothing happens. The Canaanite woman had great faith that Jesus could heal her daughter but she also trusted that he would do it if she just didn’t give up, if she just would not take no for an answer. Pope John Paul II wrote, <faith is not only the intellect’s adherence to the truth revealed but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to God ...= Faith must be a total commitment with nothing held back or it is ineffective, useless. It must be a two way street.

If we can just turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God with complete trust that God will work things out can see clearly that Johnny Nash’s lyrics express the hope that come from true faith and not blind optimism.

We too can sing

Look all around, there’s nothin but blue skies

Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies I can see clearly now, the rain is gone Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

And as we approach the great gift of the Eucharist in total faith and trust in the true presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine let us so know in our hearts that:

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny Day

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Peter Kreeft, who teaches Philosophy and Theology at Boston College, asks all his incoming freshman the same question. Why do you hope to go to heaven when you die? Almost all answer, with variations on the theme that they should go to heaven because they are a good person. WRONG!!!! No one earns eternal life, least of all based on the self serving declaration of their good personhood. The reading from Saint John we heard today so upset Martin Luther that he called it an Epistle of Straw and suggested it be removed from the New Testament.

Luther correctly taught that salvation was a free and unmerited gift of God resulting from Faith in Jesus Christ. He erred, however, in teaching that this meant good works meant nothing. Luther believed that while we were saved by faith we were still essentially corrupt and thus incapable of doing good. Saint John wrote of the necessity of good works but he never said that we earn our way into heaven by performing them. They are evidence of our faith and consequent salvation not the cause. The Saved are no longer corrupt but are in the State of Grace and alive with the life of Christ.

Professor Kreeft’s students are typical of too many of today’s Catholics. The Salvation earned for us by the life, death and resurrection of the God-Man, Jesus Christ has been replaced by <good personhood=. This can only be the result of an inability to understand the magnitude of the gulf opened between God and his creatures by sin of our first ancestors. Their sin was one of disobedience in their attempt become like God. This was the same sin as that of the devil and his fallen angels, the attempt to become the equal of the one who has no equal. They fail to understand that by this sin the entire human race became separated from God and his grace. It was a calamity of infinite proportion for each and every one of us. We were lost, separated from our Heavenly Father and his grace. We were in fact in the condition atheist’s advocate today.

There was no God, life was short, brutal, meaningless and had no real purpose beyond one’s own pleasure. The residue of this great gulf lives on today in the inhumanity of man to his brothers manifest in war and cruelty which plainly exists in our present time.

Such a separation could not be repaired by a mere human being. Humanity had separated itself from God and the separation could be repaired only a being who was both God and human, hence the incarnation whereby, through the cooperation of a human being, the Blessed Mother Mary, and God, the Holy Spirit, that Human and Devine Being, Jesus Christ, came into existence. The magnitude of the separation is graphically demonstrated by the horror of the act that repaired it: the passion of Jesus Christ. Jesus prediction of His brutal murder and subsequent resurrection so shocked Peter that he dared rebuke Jesus for it. Even Peter did not understand the gravity of original sin and thus the magnitude of the act required to atone for it. Jesus hit the nail on the head when he said to Peter, <You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do=. Don’t we all.

So, if being a good person is not enough, what is? Jesus tells us: <Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself and pick up his cross and follow me.= Indeed, he goes on

<...whoever wishes to save his life will lose it...= This is a tall order indeed. How can we do it? We do by dying to our human life and acquiring divine life through our Baptism. We preserve this divine life by seeking always the will of God for us and by carrying out his will in our life through the grace provided by the Sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist.

In doing so we might also become a good person but what is that compared to being a child of the Heavenly Father and brother or sister of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? In seeking only to be a good person we miss the boat entirely. Salvation is so much more, so much more.

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The Pharisees were lawyers. The question they posed was a lawyer's question. It was designed to trap Jesus. If he said it was lawful to pay the tax he alienated the Jewish people who hated the tax and if he said it was unlawful he risked the wrath of the Roman authorities. Jesus was a good lawyer himself. He answered their question with a question. He thus forced the Pharisees to answer their own question based upon the coin with which the tax was paid, he narrowed and defined the issue. In doing so he established the proper relationship between Church and State. Except when one's relationship with God is involved, one is to defer to the state. Unfortunately the line between the law of God and the law of the state is, of late, in dispute.

On one issue there is no debate. It is the duty of all citizens to vote. The right to elect the nation's leader and the representatives of the people in Congress has been attained and maintained by the sacrifice of a countless number of our fellow citizens living and dead. It is not only our duty to vote but it is also our duty to inform ourselves of the issues and the positions of the candidates especially on those issues which involve basic human rights and universal moral truths. The Massachusetts Catholic Conference has written, "Politics must always abide by fundamental values such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms." Pope Benedict has said, "The’re are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor."

Neither the Church nor any Church representative can tell you how to vote. We can and should, however, remind you of civic duties which, in addition to voting, involve being an active citizen engaged in the political life of one's own town, state and country in the endeavor to promote the common good.

Both the Massachusetts Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have written materials on voting issues. These are available on line.

The Gospel is clear; but, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God are in dispute.

This election will in large part determine what kind of a nation, and, because of our nation's status as the worlds only super power, what kind of a world it will be in the 21st century. This will be my 14th Presidential election and I believe it to be the most important election ever. We must inform ourselves and prayerfully reflect on our vote.

Let us therefore now turn to our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and pray that we and all the electorate will be guided by the Holy Spirit on November 4th and that those elected may in turn be inspired by the Holy Spirit to act for the benefit of all humankind: even if unborn, aged or infirm, lacking the necessities of life, or otherwise weak and vulnerable.

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There is a saying in AA that it is not enough to talk the talk, you have to be able to walk the walk. I was at an AA discussion meeting and a woman gave one of the best reflections on the third step, <made a decision to turn over our lives and our wills to the care of God, as we understood him=, that I ever heard. The next week she was not at the meeting and asked her friend where she was and the friend replied that she was drinking again. I never saw that woman at another meeting. She could talk the talk but she couldn’t walk the walk.

This is the message that Jesus has for us this morning. It is actions not words that count. Philip Lawler, a former editor of the Pilot and Catholic World News has written a book on the collapse of the Catholic Church in Boston entitled THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED. It is a serious study of the Church in Boston from the reign, and it was a reign- he had a throne room- of William Cardinal O’Connel, Richard Cardinal Cushing, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros to that of Bernard Cardinal Law. Each of these men was a gifted and talented man. They did many things right and well but they uniformly failed to thoroughly walk the walk of Jesus Christ. Each became too concerned with the opinion of civic leaders and their standing in the larger community. During this period of time the Church in Boston grew from an immigrant church, ridiculed and persecuted, to a rich and politically powerful institution. Cardinal O’Connell could, and did, cause the passage or defeat of any piece of legislation before the legislature. He was respected and feared but not loved. Cardinal Cushing was greatly loved by all but in his attempt to reconcile Catholic Doctrine with the political process and enable the election of Catholic politicians was the father of sophistry of <While I am personally opposed to- insert abortion, stem cell research etcetera- I will not impose my religious views on others not of my faith.= Cardinal Medeiros was a gifted administrator and returned the Archdiocese to solvency but he failed to react pastorally to the pain inflicted upon many of his people by the forced busing of their children to schools far from their homes in what turned out to be a vain attempt to right the wrong of segregated schools. Catholic schools were forbidden to accept new students and priests were directed to ride the buses to ensure compliance by the faithful. This caused a breach between laity and hierarchy which has not yet healed. Cardinal Law failed to protect young people of his flock from the small minority of priest who abused them and in fact enabled the continued abuse by putting the welfare of the predators before that of the victims. Each of these exceptional men enabled the Church in Boston to be built on sand rather than rock and we all know what happened when the flood gates opened.

This was a hard homily to write and even harder to deliver. But if we are to rebuild our Church we have to admit the errors of the past and become people of the gospel which we must proclaim boldly without regard to the consequences.

We are blessed in our present Cardinal to have a Friar who is working hard to repair the Church in Boston. We must pray that the bicentennial celebration will be the beginning of a new era when, regardless of the consequences, we all walk the walk that Christ walked even if leads to the cross so that when we at last meet him in his heavenly kingdom we will not hear those dreadful words, <I never knew you.= Depart from me you evildoers.= Jesus loves sinners but he cannot abide hypocrites.

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The readings today are about God’s call. Samuel was called by God to be the Prophet Eli’s successor and Judge of his chosen people. Peter was called to be the rock upon which Jesus would build his Church. We are all called by the Father, by virtue of our Baptism, to share in the life of Christ as priest, prophet and king.

Today I am calling upon you to join with me and 77 of my brother deacons, more than 100 priests and as many as 20,000 faithful in prayer before our Eucharistic Lord as we pray for those who defenseless souls who are so at risk in our world in this day and age. They are the unborn human beings whom, in our nation, an average of one out four, whose physical lives, are ended by induced abortion.

That’s about 1.2 million per year and more than 45 million in the last 35 years.

Prayer is the ultimate and most effective weapon of those of us who would protect these innocents. The secular press and the abortion industry accuse those of us who oppose the unlimited abortion available in our country of hatred toward women and of the denial of what they call their reproductive rights. We are the bad guys. Actually, hatred has no part in it. Through Project Rachael and like programs those opposed to abortion are the most active in helping those women suffering from the after effects of abortion and of providing alternatives to those considering abortion. Only, one percent of abortions in the United States are the result of rape and only five percent are for health reason. The rest, ninety-four percent, are for social reasons, that is the child is unwanted or inconvenient. Two thirds of abortions are by women who have never been married, so much for the sexual revolution. The rate for those below the poverty line is more than four times that of those more than twice the poverty line so it appears that economic class is a factor. More than 60% of abortions are obtained by members of minorities and half of those obtaining abortions are age 25 or younger. It therefore appears youth and race are disproportionate influences.

The situation is becoming worse. The development of abortion by medication is making abortion cheaper and more readily available. Genetic testing is causing the abortion of those at risk of genetic defect. Girls have always been disproportionately aborted, especially in third world and developing countries. As it is a scientific fact that human life commences at conception, the determination of when the unborn’s rights as a human person come into being is more and more at issue. Thirty-five years ago it was deemed to be at the age of viability, that is after six months when the child could survive outside the womb. This did not mean that the child could not be aborted; it meant that the abortionist had to certify that it was done to preserve the <life or health of the mother=. This certification may be based upon such things as <fear of the stigma of unwed motherhood <or <the distress associated with the care of an unwanted child=. In fact the words <life or health of the mother= are code words for unlimited abortion. Today children who survive an attempted abortion, who are by definition viable, are put aside until they expire and

must be disposed of with medical waste and thereby denied burial as human persons. It gets worse. The head of the ethics department at Princeton University, which was founded by devout Presbyterians, holds that the rights of personhood do not attach to the human infant until at least one month after birth. He argues that at the age of one year a pig is of greater value than a human being of the same age because at that age the pig has greater self awareness and it is self awareness that determines personhood.

I wish I was making this up but I’m not. This brutal treatment of unwanted children has already devalued human life in our society. This effect is encouraging the acceptance of so called assisted suicide which in Europe has developed into the mercy killing, so called, of the aged and infirm. It was the recognition of the value of each and every human life which Christianity introduced into human society which elevated our culture above that of the heathen. The devaluation of human life will ultimately return us to that unholy state.

I really wish I did not have to give this homily. I would so much rather talk about the positives of our wonderful faith of which there are so many: the fact that our Heavenly Father so loved each of us that he sent his son to become one of us, to suffer, die and rise again that we might have eternal life; or that Jesus Christ will soon be our spiritual food in the Holy Eucharist to mention only two.

Instead, I invite you to spend one hour before our Eucharistic Lord in the Archdiocesan wide Holy Hour for life to be held simultaneously in 154 locations on Wednesday, January 21 st at 7:30 pm. It is hoped that as many as 20,000 of our brothers and sisters in faith will participate in this Holy Hour on the eve of the National Day of Prayer and Penance for the victims, abortion.

You may rest assured that this effort will be ignored by the secular media and scorned by abortion advocates but that is OK- we are not talking to them. We will be talking to our Heavenly Father in the Eucharistic presence of his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of us all, born and unborn.

Please join us. It’s only one hour.

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Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it? Jesus question to the rulers of his day echoes down through the ages. The answer, it seems, should be obvious to all. It was not then and it is not now. Jesus act of healing ultimately resulted in his death sentence. Today it is lawful to destroy innocent life and unlawful to act to protect that life.

Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States held that the regulation of the practice of medicine properly belongs to the several states and is not a matter under Federal control. The fact that the practice allowed by the state regulation is physician assisted suicide was not relevant to the decision. There is no question that a bill allowing physician assisted suicide will be introduced in this session of the Massachusetts General Court and it is likely that it will pass.

Those who oppose such legislation will of course be labeled <insensitive= and <hurtful= as forcing life upon those who are suffering and wish to <die on their own terms=.

I don’t know how many of you have read <Tuesdays with Morrie= by Mitch Albom but if you have not I recommend you do so. Morrie was Albom’s favorite teacher at Brandeis University. Morrie is dying of ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and appears with Ted Koppel on Nightline to discuss his situation His former pupil sees the program and re-establishes contact with his old professor. As a result Albom wrote a book detailing Morrie’s decline and death.

Morrie appears to be a secular, rather than religious, Jew but he is a very wise and sensitive human being. Morrie has been married for over 40 years to the same wife. He and his wife have raised sons who are successful and prospering. Morrie does admit towards the end that he may be reconsidering his agnosticism but his approach to life and dying are based on the practicalities and values of life and not on the hope of an afterlife. Morrie approaches death as part of life, a process to be experienced and from which wisdom may be gained. Not once does he exhibit any self pity. He accepts his physical decline and his consequent reliance upon others as a learning experience. Morrie dies in the company of his wife and sons with acceptance and in peace.

What a loss to us all if Morrie had chosen to end his life by his own hand with the assistance of his physician. Morrie’s illness and death are proof that life has meaning and value under the most extreme circumstances. Christians have an additional motive in letting nature take its course at the end of life. By uniting our own suffering with that of Jesus Christ we can make holy the process that Morrie made meaningful. The whole world witnessed the decline and death of Pope John Paul II. I do not see how anyone could have failed to be impressed by his valiant effort to remain productive while at the same time accepting physical decline and death with serenity and grace.

The experience in Europe has shown that physician assisted suicide is really voluntary euthanasia and the first step toward physician determined, involuntary, euthanasia. Stay healthy- illness is becoming more and more dangerous.

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Two vineyards, one, in spite of the best of care, brought forth bad fruit. The other brought forth good fruit but was in the hands of bad men who denied the rightful owner the benefit of its produce. The first vineyard was the children of Israel who, in spite of God's love and care, failed to do his will and as a result were sent into exile in Babylon. The second vineyard was entrusted to the children of Israel but they denied God its fruits. They mistreated and killed the prophets and Christ prophesied his death at the hands of their power elite. As a result, the vineyard would be given to others, to the gentiles, that's us.

We ask ourselves, "What was the matter with them? Couldn't they see what they were doing?" "Didn't they realize that God would reject them if they acted so ungratefully?" We certainly would not make that mistake. Or would we? Or are we? We live in a vineyard that, as we sing, has been blessed from sea to shining sea. We sing of Purple Mountain’s majesty and fruited plains. We have the highest standard of living ever in the history of humankind. We rejoice in liberty in law. We possess a system of government which provides for continuity through free elections rather than civil war and assassination. We have surplus food. We have all kinds of technological marvels. We are rich in natural resources. We are the world's only super power. . Everyone who lives anywhere else would give anything just to live here.

Yet just like the chosen people, the children of ancient Israel, we are in danger of losing it all. When mother Theresa was asked by President Clinton what her message was to America she said, to his face, "Stop killing your babies". Mother Theresa was not one to mince words. No euphemisms for her. Abortion was about killing, not about "reproductive health care". Abortion was about killing, not about "choice". Since the decision in Rowe vs. Wade we have had an estimated 43 million abortions. An entire generation is missing. Our population is increasing only because of immigration.

The population of Europe is decreasing. The white race is committing suicide; it is headed toward extinction because of contraception and abortion. Black Africa is in the midst of a pandemic outbreak of aids accompanied by wide spread government induced starvation. Millions will die. Japan will be a village of 500 people in less than 200 years if its present birth rate is not reversed. Marriage is about the creation and education of children and the continuity of the human race. It is about human life and its continued existence. It is not about same sex unions.

Whatever they are called, they are not marriage.

Pope John Paul rightly calls this the culture of death and it is spreading. The vineyard is in peril. God will not have to act. Our own actions will be our ruin.

So what do we do about it? In the words of Lucy to Charlie Brown, we must stop being wishy washy. We must stop trying to be politically correct. We must, like Mother Theresa, not mince words. We must insist that there is never a right to choose moral evil. Killing a baby is murder regardless of whether it is born or unborn. Families with children must be protected and assisted not discouraged and marginalized. We need more homes for children not more childless homes. We need to celebrate life, not encourage death.

We turn now to the Eucharist whereby we partake of the life of Christ. Let us bring that life of Christ out from our churches into the world which so desperately needs it.

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When we finally withdrew our support these regimes fell and subsequently so did communism.

As we turn to the great sacrament of love and thanksgiving, the Eucharist, let us pray that our nation in seeking to protect its people from terrorism avoids the perils of over reaction, of seeking revenge rather than justice and avoids alliances with those who oppose human rights.

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In today’s Gospel John the Baptist proclaims the theme of the Advent Season: <Prepare the way of the Lord=. And how are we to do that? We are to repent. Repentance is the constant message of the Baptist who, himself, lived a life of penance. Repentance and penance are not really in vogue in our days. You don’t find advent wreaths anywhere but in churches. The holiday season now begins on Thanksgiving and ends on New Year’s Day. Hanukkah and Kwanza and Christmas fall in there somewhere and are celebrated with varying degrees of devotion and intensity; but there is no advent, no repentance, and no penance anywhere in public display or consciousness. For the many who subscribe to an ethical system based on subjective morality, there is no need for repentance because there is no such thing as objective wrong. For those who are guilty of great evil, the really big sinners, there is no hope for repentance because they are not sorry, sorry they failed or got caught maybe; but not sorry for the evil they did or caused. Death bed conversions are extremely rare. For the rest of us, minor league sinners, just as we are too busy earning a living to make any big money, we are too busy trying to keep up or to catch up to the celebrating to do any big sinning and therefore see no real need for repentance and penance.

This is too bad because if there is no need for repentance there is no need for a savior, no need for a Christ and therefore, no real need for Christmas. Of course, the truth is that we did and do need a savior. Just how much we needed Christ is indicated by the magnitude of the horror of the act by which we are saved. The horror of the cross is memorialized by the crucifix which is venerated in all Catholic Churches. That is what evil looks like. Look at it, really look at it and then try telling yourself there is no evil in the world, no need for penance, no need for a redeemer. The manger scene prefigures the cross and the tortured figure upon it because the manger enabled the cross. No manger, no cross.

For us, the Baptized, our Advent repentance should not be occasioned by guilt. We are required to do more than refrain from evil. Much more is expected of us. For us Advent is ultimately all about our failure to love as we ought. The story of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection is the greatest love story ever told. Later in this Gospel Jesus teaches us that <God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.= Jesus requires us to love as he does, selflessly. In the words of Saint Catherine of Siena:

<For it is of the nature of love, to love when it feels itself loved, and to love all things loved of its beloved. So when the soul has by degrees known the love of its Creator toward it, it loves Him, and, loving Him, loves all things whatsoever that God loves.

As we meditate upon the fact that God is love that it is not just that God loves; but loves is of his very essence and realize that in Jesus Christ that love is personified we come to understand that we, the Baptized, as children of God born again into life in Christ are to love as God loves us.

Simply put, we are called to love ourselves and others because God loves us and them. It is for our failure to so love and to bring that love to perfection in our lives that we need to repent and do penance during the advent season.

As we turn now to the Sacrament of love and thanksgiving that is the Eucharist, let us ask our heavenly Father, in this Advent Season, to forgive us our failure to love, to love ourselves and one another as he has loved us.

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The gospels of the last week and this week took place within a conversation between Jesus and his disciples on the Mount of Olives just prior to his passion and death. They concern Jesus’ response the disciple’s questions relative to the end of times.

Jesus tells the disciples no one but the Father knows when the end of days will be; but he tells them some of the signs of its coming. He cautions them, and us, to be vigilant lest we be caught unawares. Lastly, in today’s Gospel he tells them of the judgment of the nations. This is not the individual judgment that each of us must undergo but a collective judgment based upon each nation’s treatment of those whom Jesus calls these <least brothers of mine=. These <least brothers= are the disciples and the Christian missionaries who bring the word of God to the nations. Those nations which welcome support and accept them and the good news of the gospel are welcomed into the kingdom which has been prepared for them. Those which fail to welcome the gospel and give aid and comfort to its bearers suffer eternal punishment. Eternal punishment, these are tough words.

Why judge nations as well as individuals? We all belong to a society. We are social animals and are largely formed by the society in which we live. By and large we act in conformity with what is judged to be normal in the larger group of which we are a part. No one likes to be thought of as odd, a weirdo. This is especially true of the young. If Jesus words mean anything they mean that we are collectively responsible for the acceptance or rejection by our community of the word of God and those who proclaim it. We dare not sit back passively and allow our society to be formed by the culture of death and thus into eternal punishment without fighting back.

I quote George Weigel, <What is to be done? The first order of business is to prevent the new congress from passing the federal Freedom of Choice Act=. Weigel points out that this act would destroy every state based pro-life legal achievement of the past three decades. It would eliminate state conscience-clause protections for health care professionals. Weigel claims this would, sooner rather than later, result in the destruction of the Catholic Health Care system as we know it. Proof of this fact is the forcing of Catholic Charities out of adoption services in Massachusetts by similar state action. The state of Washington has joined its neighbor Oregon in legalizing Physician Assisted suicide. The suicide booths of Huxley’s <Brave New World= draw ever nearer. The debate over embryonic stem cell creation continues in spite of the fact that a new procedure developed in Japan produces cells with all the benefits of stem cells from embryos produced by cloning without the production and destruction human embryos or the use of human eggs. What do over 1 million abortions a year and the prospect of even more say about the society in which we live? What does the movement to encourage the aged and infirm to kill themselves say about our society? What does the unchecked greed of those financial manipulators who have thrown our economy into a tailspin say about our society? I could go on but I think you get the idea.

If we don’t want to end up on the side with the goats we had better start to speak up and act out. We must make sure our young people know that we do not accept such behavior as normal. Call it what it is <evil=. Let us live our Christian faith openly and with fervor. This gospel is deadly serious and should be taken as such.

of what goes on today does not in any way reflect my values and I welcome any opportunity to say so. So let us speak up and speak out against those who would deny the sacredness and sanctity of all human life, marriage as a unique divinely instituted institution for the procreation and education of children and the sacredness of human sexuality.

We will now turn to the Eucharist by which He, who identified himself as the King who will judge the nations, comes to us under the humble appearance of bread and wine. As we receive this most blessed sacrament let us be resolved to proclaim boldly the truths of the faith which once turned the world away from evil and can again turn it toward that love of God and all humanity that is possible only if we seek first the Kingdom of God and its glory and reject those who would reduce humanity to the level of a self aware animal of no greater import or value than any other animal.

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The gospels of the last week and this week took place within a conversation between Jesus and his disciples on the Mount of Olives just prior to his passion and death. They concern Jesus' response the disciple’s questions relative to the end of times.

Jesus tells the disciples no one but the Father knows when the end of days will be; but he tells them some of the signs of its coming. He cautions them, and us, to be vigilant lest we be caught unawares. Lastly, in today's Gospel he tells them of the judgment of the nations. This is not the individual judgment that each of us must undergo but a collective judgment based upon each nation's treatment of those whom Jesus calls these "least brothers of mine". These "least brothers" are the disciples and the Christian missionaries who bring the word of God to the nations. Those nations which welcome, support and accept them and the good news of the gospel are welcomed into the kingdom which has been prepared for them. Those which fail to welcome the gospel and give aid and comfort to its bearers suffer eternal punishment. Eternal punishment, these are tough words.

I quote George Weigel in this week’s issue of the Pilot, "What is to be done?. The first order of business is to prevent the new congress from passing the federal Freedom of Choice Act". Weigel points out that this act would destroy every state based pro-life legal achievement of the past three decades. It would eliminate state conscience-clause protections for health care professionals. Weigel claims this would, sooner rather than later, result in the destruction of the Catholic Health Care system as we know it. Proof of this fact is the forcing of Catholic Charities out of adoption services in Massachusetts by similar state action. The state of Washington has joined its neighbor Oregon in legalizing Physician Assisted suicide. The suicide booths of Huxley's "Brave New World" draw ever nearer. The debate over embryonic stem cell creation

continues in spite of the fact that a new procedure developed in Japan produces cells with all the benefits of stem cells from embryos produced by cloning without the production and destruction human embryos or the use of human eggs.

What do over 1 million abortions a year and the prospect of even more say about the society in which we live? What does the movement to encourage the aged and infirm to kill themselves say about our society? What does the unchecked greed of those financial manipulators who have thrown our economy into a tailspin say about our society? I could go on but I think you get the idea.

If we don't want to end up on the side with the goats we had better start to speak up and act out. We must make sure our young people know that we do not accept such behavior as normal. Call it what it is "evil". Let us live our Christian faith openly and with fervor. This gospel is deadly serious and should be taken as such.

I always said I would not be one of those old guys who complain about how bad things have become but I never began to imagine how bad things would become. I wish that today I could have preached on the love of God and neighbor modeled on Jesus Christ which is the basis of our Catholic faith; but I did not pick the words of today's gospel. Jesus spoke them because he knew that the larger community was a reflection of the values of its individual members. Much of what goes on today does not in any way reflect my values and I welcome any opportunity to say so. So let us speak up and speak out against those who would deny the sacredness and sanctity of all human life, marriage as a unique divinely instituted institution for the procreation and education of children and the sacredness of human sexuality.

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This has been quite a week. Much has been made as a result of Pope Benedict’s historic visit to the United States and the United Nations. There is much that I could talk about in that regard. The Gospel of the day is a powerful one and there is much to meditate upon in its words. The reading from Saint Peter is a powerful one and has much to say.

I am not going to talk about any of the above. I am going to talk about the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles because it talks about deacons and I can’t let the opportunity pass by.

The only subsequent mention of any of the men chosen and ordained as servants to the Greek speaking Jews of the early church is of Stephen’s powerful sermon which resulted in his martyrdom, the first of many, and Philip’s preaching and conversion of a pagan eunuch. Clearly preaching was part of their ministry from the very beginning. Early on the deacons became the church administrators. Gradually the diaconate fell into disuse and survived only as the first order conferred upon those who eventually become priests. As a result of Vatican II, the ministry of the diaconate was reestablished as a permanent order. The first class of Permanent Deacons in Boston was ordained in 1976. The current number of Permanent Deacons averages about 240. It is unlikely that it will get much above that figure. Deacons are active in prison and hospital ministries but most are, like me, involved in parish ministry. Deacons are not paid for parish ministry while those in full or part time positions outside of their parish ministry can be paid a salary. I was ordained in 2000 and came here to Saint Joseph’s. Parish ministry has changed greatly in just that short time. I used to do weddings if it was just a ceremony and not a mass. Now there are so few weddings that the Pastor is able to handle them alone. I remember that the first time Father Lou had me go to the grave site for the committal prayers and blessing a parishioner told him. <If you send a deacon to the cemetery with me I’ll come back and haunt you=. Now in many places prayers at the cemetery are led by a lay Parish Associates or undertaker as neither a priests nor a deacon is are available.

Deacons are presented the book of the Gospels at their ordination. Deacons are the ministers of the Gospel and that is why, if a deacon is present, he proclaims the gospel. This applies without exception. He is also an ordinary minister of the Eucharist and in particular the minister of the cup. A deacon may perform just about all the blessings except those reserved to Bishops. A deacon may conduct weddings and funerals outside of those including a mass. I am doing more and more funeral services in Funeral homes each year. I have been privileged to Baptize nearly half of the babies baptized in Saint Joseph’s Paris in the last seven years. That is a lot of babies and it is the most rewarding aspect of my ministry.

Sometimes I get to hold the babies and I love it. My wife helps me and is the greeter and traffic cop. A deacon may bring viaticum to the dying but may not

perform the Blessing of the Sick which is reserved to a priest. Deacons are clergy not laymen. This is sometimes a disadvantage. Most deacons were once active laymen and involved in a meaningful way in church finance and governance. Once ordained you are just the bottom rung of the clergy ladder and don’t really have any influence on anything. That however is not all bad when you reach my age. I suspect that will change as Cardinal Sean has indicated it is only a short time until deacons are administrating parishes in the Archdiocese.

How do you become a deacon? First you must have been active in parish life as a layman. There is a lengthy application process which involves many interviews and psychological tests. You must have the recommendation of your pastor and regional bishop and your wife must consent to your application. All deacons have wonderful wives. They have to be because they give up a lot. There is one year of orientation which is called aspirancy. This involves an average of five sessions per month and a weekend retreat, all of which wives must attend. If accepted into candidacy at the end of the first year there are three years of academic study which is seminary lite. All of the courses in the last four years of priestly preparation are required but on a pass/fail basis. This involves two nights of classes per week and one Saturday a month. Wives’ attendance is optional but there is one required session per month only for the wives. You must purchase your books and supplies and pay tuition of one thousand dollars per year. If you can’t afford the tuition, financial aid is available. There is one weekend retreat for husbands and wives per year. An internship of 100 hours of prison or hospital ministry is required between the third and fourth year of study. I did mine at Shattick Hospital and it one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.

At age 75 we must send a letter to our Bishop requesting Senior Deacon status. This may or may not be granted. Senior Deacon means that you are not assigned to a particular parish and may minister in any parish the Pastor of which lets you. I will be 75 in September so if there is anyone out there who wants my job they better get going.

I have truly enjoyed being a deacon. I have been fortunate in being assigned to Saint Joseph’s. I knew nothing about you before coming here and have been treated almost like a native since I got here. I have been associated with great priests: Fr Joe Raeke; Fr Lou Palmieri; Fr Paul Aveni and now Fr Ed and Fr Linh. I have been associated with the Altar servers and have seen youngsters go from baptism to first communion and then to confirmation.

Thank you and May almighty God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.

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The devil is an equal opportunity tempter. Not only does he tempt us little folk but he went after the Son of God too. He offered Jesus big things but he gets us with little things.

Temptation becomes less of a problem as you grow older. I tell people I have neither the energy nor the money for serious sinning. When my wife and I were busy raising our four kids we had neither the time nor the finances for serious sinning. I have to go back a long way to recall a time when the devil had much of a clear shot at me. The devil knows that, so after the wild oats have been sewn, he gets a lot more subtle. Very few of us are tempted to murder anyone. We don’t have the opportunity to steal large sums of money. Our temptations are hard to spot and often go unnoticed: That unkind word that is spoken before we even think about it; the angry deed that happens on the spur of the moment.

Of course the reality of the devil and sin are not much in our consciousness today. The Ten Commandments have been replaced by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the psychiatrist’s bible. The fifth edition is in the works and is the subject of much controversy. There is no question that mental illness is real and causes untold suffering to those afflicted and their loved ones. My genetic code is one half made up from the west of Ireland.

Among other things, the west of Ireland is known for a disproportionate occurrence of mental illness especially manic depression and schizophrenia. Recently a book entitled <The Egans of Roscommon= was published which detailed the tragic history of one family. My Grandmother was Catherine Egan who emigrated from that area. Gramma suffered from depression for the last 20 years of her life as did her brother John. My mother had two bouts of severe depression after my father died. The other side of the coin of depression is anxiety. You seldom see one without the other.

So I know, first hand, that mental illness is real and not a moral issue. But I also know that there are such things as moral issues. What is happening is that some moral issues are being classified as mental disorders. This new manual proposes a new diagnosis for gluttony, binge eating, and greed, hoarding, and lust, hyper sexuality. These amendments are likely to inadvertently place large areas of undesirable human behavior under the umbrella of pathology. Rather than evils to reject they become pathologies to be treated. I am not suggesting that treatment should be avoided but I am suggesting that the moral issues should also be addressed. Tiger Woods is in therapy for sexual addiction but he also found it necessary to accept personal responsibility for his behavior and to apologize to those harmed by his conduct. He is not hiding behind a diagnosis and that is significant. Treatment is not enough, forgiveness is needed.

In summary, there are mental health issues but many arise from moral issues that are not addressed. The Evil One is subtle and many of these issues begin as small transgressions, barely noticed at first; but which, unless recognized and avoided, grow into serious issues. Recovery involves not only contrition and a purpose of amendment but also forgiveness. During the Lenten season there is an initiative: <The Light is on for you= whereby every church and chapel in the Archdiocese of Boston will have individual and private confession available every Wednesday in Lent from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. We are urged to be open to God’s love and grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to encourage family members and friends to do the same.

Just as Jesus turned his back on the tempter he stands ready to help us do the same.

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<The child grew and became strong filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.=

Today we reflect on the fact that Jesus, who could have been born rich and privileged, chose instead to be born into a working class family. This fact reminds us that Jesus chose to be like us and that he lived most of his life as a member of a family. With the exception of sin, all that it means to be human also applied to him. He was, like most men all through the ages, a working man and so he confronted all the difficulties that go with that lot in life: difficult supervisors and dead beat customers; risk of physical injury; unrealistic deadlines and the like. Jesus had taxes and bills to pay. He probably was out of work from time to time. He also had joy in his life. He had the most loving of mothers and a solid stepfather. He no doubt enjoyed religious festivals and family celebrations. It is safe to say that, given the different time and culture, his life up until age thirty was pretty much like anyone's. When we approach him with the difficulties we encounter in ordinary life he knows what we are going through and understands. The incarnation was a miraculous marriage of human and divine nature in one person but it was also 2 o'clock feedings, dirty diapers, colic, skinned knees, loose teeth, bullies, acne, lost jobs, bill collectors, taxes, annoying neighbors, and death of loved ones. It was in a family that Jesus was formed as a human being and it was with the family as its basic unit that the human race developed into the dominant force it is among all earthly species. It is the breakdown in family life that now threatens our progress and way of life.

In America today over 40% of the children born in the USA are born to single mothers. Over 50% of those who do marry will divorce. The traditional family of mother, father, and one or more dependent children is now a minority. This situation is by and large the result of government policy. No-fault divorce has been a significant factor in that now one partner in a marriage can dissolve it at will. The income tax structure we have today was designed with the traditional family in mind, that is, when there was a single wage earner. The fact that most mothers are now employed outside the home has resulted in the so called marriage penalty. A working couple can reduce their joint tax liability if they are not married. A college student’s eligibility for tuition aid is increased if the parents are divorced but, if the mother remarries, her new husband’s income reduces her children’s eligibility for aid because his income is deemed as available to them although he has no obligation to help them. I don’t know why the government is opposed to the traditional family but the fact is that it acts as if it is. In 1992 the third edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defined family as <a fundamental social group consisting of a man and a woman and their offspring=. When the fourth edition was published in 2000 the last part of the definition was changed to <typically consisting of one or two parents and their children=. This is troublesome in light of the fact that studies indicate that children are happier, do better in school and are better adjusted when they live in a traditional family. A recent study indicated that 20%, one in five, of people of college age suffer from an emotional disability. Can this be related to the decline of the traditional family? It is also interesting to note that the traditional family is more common among the well educated and economically advantaged. It appears this issue has become an issue of class and that is a shame. Probably the most troubling fact is that the US census bureau reports that the largest single family unit in the year 2000 was a family unit of one. The American Heritage Dictionary’s definition needs a further change.

The readings of today reflect life as it was lived within the Holy Family. We should commit ourselves to living as they did so that, at least in our family, however it is configured there will be love, honor, fidelity, respect, harmony, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, peace and wisdom.

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We don’t know exactly when the Jesus will return. But today’s Gospel gives us a hint. Whenever it is, it will be at a time when we do not expect him. I don’t expect to be around for the official Second Coming; but I know that for each of us there is a private second coming. We all die. I am at an age when, as my mother used to say, <A lifetime warranty is just not the good deal it used to be.= When I was the lawyer for the State Lottery and people would ask what kind of law I practiced, I would reply Murphy’s Law. Murphy’s Law states that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong and at the worst possible time. It was my job to anticipate disaster, which was usually the result of a second law, the law of unintended consequences, combined with Murphy’s Law. I’ll give you an example. The lottery had a campaign whereby people sent in five losing tickets for a bonus drawing. Anticipating a huge number of entries we hired a specific post office box and had special envelopes printed with that Box Number printed on them so the tens of thousands of entries would not get mixed into our regular mail. Unintended consequence: the post office apparently confused by the special post office box ignored the Box number and not only mixed them into our other mail but also the mail of another tenant in the office park, Sallie Mae, an organization that processed student loan payments, . This meant we had to sort a roomful of envelopes which took some time. Murphy’s Law dictated that this happened at the time of the month when many people sent in their loan payments and they defaulted the loans and everyone involved went nuts.

So what has this to do with anything? Well based on my experience, if I am not very careful I can expect to meet my Lord at a time when I’m not expecting to and at a time when I am not at my best. What to do about this? The principal of my High School was a giant de LaSalle Christian Brother, Brother Dominic, known to his irreverent charges as The Big D or BD for short. BD started every class, assembly or whatever by saying, <Let us remember we are in the Holy Presence of God.= It was an attempt to keep us focused, quiet and attentive and it usually worked. It has been for me, especially in later years, a rule of life. Always and ever we are indeed in the Holy Presence of God. Not the puritanical kind of God who is keeping track hoping to catch us doing wrong; but the loving Father who sent his only son to become one of us even though he knew he would suffer terribly, die a cruel death, but rise again so that we might have eternal life. We love our children and want them to do well and succeed. We cannot even begin to imagine the love and hopes that our Heavenly Father has for us, his earthly children.

Remember, we are always in His presence. He is always there. Try to mainland a conscious contact with your Heavenly Father and act accordingly and you will not give Murphy’s Law a chance to catch you unprepared to meet your Savior when that time comes, and come it will.

I find it helpful to put reminders of God’s presence around me. A crucifix in the bed room, a picture of the Sacred Heart by the door, a Miraculous Medal around my neck all help me to remember who is watching over me. We all display pictures of those we love. Do we display images of the one who loves us?

And now we prepare to enter into the physical presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist,

the best reminder of all of God’s love for us, the gift of Himself.

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The good news is that most of us are not great sinners. The bad news is that most of us are not great sinners. As we saw in today's readings, big sinners like David and the penitent woman were also big lovers. They had sinned big time and they knew it. They were grateful. Having been given much, they fell deeply in love with the giver. Simon, the Pharisee, was very pleased with himself and looked down upon penitent woman as a sinner. He was not conscious of his own sins, saw no need for forgiveness and certainly did not love Jesus whom he regarded as a mere teacher, an interesting guest but nothing more. With his companions, he scoffed at Jesus' claim to able to forgive sins. No love there. What about us? We too easily rationalize our sins as no big deal. After all, we’re such a nice person. Do we fully appreciate, as Saint Paul did, that we have been crucified with Christ and now live by faith in the Son of God who has loved us and given himself up for us? If we truly appreciated what Jesus has done for us, the price He paid for love of us, we would be filled with love and gratitude and detest sin, no matter how minor.

Nothing more graphically demonstrates the magnitude of Jesus' love for us than the crucifix. A close second is the image of His sacred Heart; crowned with thorns, heart pierced and on fire for love of us, you and me.

Jesus reaffirmed his mercy for repentant sinners, great and small, to Saint Faustina Kowalska and the image of Divine Mercy where blood and water flow from His heart is also in the sanctuary. Just as Jesus forgave the sins of the penitent woman He has promised mercy to all who ask. He has promised more than forgiveness to all who honor His Sacred Heart. I need all the help I can get so I have an image of the Sacred Heart by the door of my apartment. It reminds me to say a prayer to the Sacred Heart every time I go out. My favorite is "Jesus meek and humble of heart; make my heart like unto thine."

In our sophisticated age such simple devotions as that to the Sacred Heart have fallen into disuse. Too old school, not hip, out of it. Well these devotions have proved to be powerful in the past and are just as powerful today if we swallow our pride and practice them.

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There is an old Latin proverb: Nothing comes from nothing. We all know that you don’t get something for nothing. You don’t even get nothing from nothing. It is the universal human experience that nothing plus nothing equals nothing. Yet in this morning’s Gospel reading Jesus fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. All ate their fill and there were seven baskets left over.

How could such a thing happen? Bread doesn’t reproduce and dead fish are notoriously unfertile so the bread and the fish didn’t do it. Who can create much out of little? Only God. But it was Jesus who blessed the bread and fish and distributed it. Can it be that Jesus is God like; can it be that Jesus is God? This is our faith. This is the significance of the Gospel story. Jesus is doing that which only God can do. This miracle also prefigures the Eucharist by which Jesus has fed and continues to feed his people, only now he does it with his own body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine. If Jesus is God this is not a stretch. If we accept the Gospels as true then all else follows.

Why put yourself out for a mere symbol?

In Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Saint John Jesus told his disciples, <I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.= He went on to say, <... unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.= He continued, <For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.= He promised, <Whoever feeds on me will have life because of me.= Like the 43% of today’s professed Catholics many of his disciples who were listening said, <This saying is hard, who can accept it?= Saint John tells us that, <As a result of this, many of his disciples left him...= So then, as today, this Blessed Sacrament, which is the greatest gift that a loving God can give, is rejected by many out of hand as too difficult to accept. Accordingly, having rejected the plain meaning of Jesus words, they see no need, or value, in participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on anywhere near a regular basis, if at all. Offered the bread of life they stay away and they have done so without any serious investigation or study.

Flannery O’Connor a prominent Catholic writer of the 20th century was at a dinner with a group of her contemporaries one of whom opined that the Eucharist was <a wonderful symbol of Christ’s love.= Ms. O’Connor said in reply, <If it’s just a symbol then the hell with it=. I echo her sentiments. If it is only a symbol then Christ is a liar and we have been duped.

We must ask ourselves, why? and reach out to them. James Carroll who is a frequent critic of the institutional church remains a Catholic. He has written that his, <firm connection to the Church is the Eucharist, the sacred meal of the Mass, affirming the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ.= It is the institutional Church which, in spite of its failings, has preserved the Eucharist unchanged from apostolic times and thus has preserved this most precious gift for us and those to who are to come. Other than our Baptism, it is our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist that unites us and makes us Catholic.

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WORDS OF WISDOM:

(Loretta Lynn)

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Once upon a time there lived a man and his name was Isaac

He walked with God both day and night but he didn't wanna die He cried oh Lord please let me live death is close I know

God smiled down on Isaac and gave him fifteen years to go Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die Lord I wanna go to heaven but I don't wanna die

So I long for the day when I'll have new birth still I love the livin' here on earth Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die

[ guitar ]

When Jesus lived here on this earth he knew his father's plan He knew that he must give his life to save the soul of men When Judas had betrayed him his father heard him cry

He was brave until his death but he didn't wanna die Everybody wants to go to heaven...

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die

In my opinion this is because we want to go to heaven eventually. Maybe we are not completely sure it exists and, if it does, we are not sure we will really like it. The popular vision of heaven, hanging around on a cloud with wings, a halo in a shapeless white gown, playing the harp sounds pretty boring. Scripture does not tell us a lot. Saint Paul tells us <no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him= 1 Cor 2:9.

Saint John wrote: <Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.= 1John 3:2

This sounds promising but certainly lacks detail. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote an essay entitled Death as a Homecoming which I love. He wrote:

<Is death but obliteration, an absolute negation? The view of death is affected by our understanding of life. If life is sensed as a surprise, as a gift, defying explanation, then death ceases to be a radical, absolute negation of what life stands for. For both life and death are aspects of a greater mystery, the mystery of being, and the mystery of creation. Over and above the preciousness of particular existence stands the marvel of its being related to the infinite mystery of being or creation. Death then, is not simply man’s coming to an end. It is also entering a beginning=. To paraphrase the good Rabbi; if we do not begin to experience heaven in this life, we are unlikely to find it in the next.

The question of who goes to heaven arises in the Gospel of the day. <Someone=, we don’t know who, asks Jesus a leading question, <will only a few people be saved?= Lawyers expect leading questions to be answered in the affirmative. I suspect that this someone was a lawyer who believed that only a few would be saved and that he was one of them. Jesus avoided answering the question directly but instead indicated that the questioner and his ilk might be on the outside looking in. Jesus also told him that many would come from throughout the world to recline at the table in the Kingdom. I am sure that this is not what <someone= expected or wanted to hear.

But what is the answer? The Book of Revelation gives us preview. Saint John wrote: <... I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They worshiped God and exclaimed, <Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever.= They were identified as the <ones who

<have washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the lamb=, the Christ. Of them it is written, <They will not hunger or thirst anymore nor will the sun or heat strike them ... For the Lamb who is the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.=

Rabbi Heschel teaches that our <central concern is not= ... how to escape death but rather, how to sanctify life.= And that <Man is man not because of what he has in common with earth but because of what he has in common with God.=

If we live in love in this life, death is merely a transition from imperfect to perfect love and heaven is not a place to go but is the completion of a transition already begun.

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Today might be called The Feast of Humility. In the first reading Sirach tells us: "Humble yourself the more, the greater you are." Jesus tells the Pharisee and his guests to take the lowest place lest they be humiliated when told to move lower. Jesus teaches them that: "... everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. But is that all that humility really is about, making yourself look bad so that you can look good? It is so much more.

I believe that humility is the ability to see things as they are and then to be able to put them into perspective. Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholic Anonymous, wrote that humility "amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are." Robert Burns, the famed Scot's poet wrote "O would some Power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us!" The anonymous author of "The Cloud of Unknowing" wrote seven hundred years ago, (Humility) in itself is naught else but a true knowing and feeling of a man's self as he is."

When seen in that perspective we have a lot to be humble about. The authors of the current gaggle of books promoting the "New Atheism" are very pessimistic about the human race, both its past and future. If this is all there is, I don't blame them.

And now, in love and gratitude, we celebrate the Holy Eucharist through which Jesus Christ, who suffered so greatly that we might be exalted and have eternal life, comes to us, body and blood, soul and divinity, under the humble appearance of bread and wine.

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Words of Wisdom

This is Black History month so I went to a document that I believe to be one of the most significant documents of the 20th Century and of significance for all centuries: The Letter of Dr. Martin Luther King from the Birmingham Jail. He responds to members of the Clergy of Birmingham who ask him to be patient, to give the new Mayor a chance. In it he laments the failure of the Christian Church to address the continuing evil of racial segregation. His words ring equally true today.

The readings of today relate two Alleluia events: The gift of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments and the Transfiguration of Jesus. Both of these events occurred on a mountain; both caused a profound impression on the participants; both figured significantly in the subsequent history of the human race. Both are indicative of a unique relationship between God and humanity.

Today what we need to ask ourselves is: Did these events really happen or are they simply myth? Did God, the Creator of the Universe, give us a code of conduct that is universally and eternally imposed on all of our species or did some unknown Jewish scribe make it all up. Did God acknowledge Jesus as His son in whom He is well pleased to the Hebrew prophets, Moses and Elijah and the Apostles, Peter, James and John or did Luke make it up? There is a profound difference. More and more religion is excluded from the Public Square. More and more we accept the argument that religion is a matter of personal preference and has no basis in fact. We must make up our minds. Did God impose Ten Commandments on the human race or did he not? Is Jesus Christ the beloved Son of God sent for the Salvation of the human race or is he not?

Based on Dr King's observation of the Church's "silent- and often vocal- sanction of things as they are"; we too often act as if these events are merely nice

stories but no more factual than Harry Potter's adventures. If they are timeless truths we cannot stand by and let them be trivialized and ignored as merely personal opinion. To do so is to make a mockery of the blood of martyrs.

Doctor King chastised the moderates of his day. He wrote. "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection".

Well, what can we who are in the twilight of life do about this? We approach the penitential period of Lent. Let us do penance and pray that the Church be revitalized in the spirit of Dr King, who when asked why he was in Birmingham, replied: "I am in Birmingham because there is injustice here."

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Last Sunday evening we were treated to the movie, "The Chosen". The movie gave us a peek into Hasidic life and belief. The movie did not high-light the central object of devotion of these people. It dealt more with the relationship of a father and son. Mentioned only as an element in the development of this relationship was what is central to their way of life, The Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For the Chosen people it is much more than five books of scripture, it is the foundation of the universe and the necessary condition for its continued existence. In his essay: God, Torah, and Israel, Rabbi Abraham Joseph Heschel writes:

Not only was the existence of the Torah the necessary requirement for the creation of the cosmos; it is also the necessary condition for its continued existence. The world was created on approval. Unless the Torah was accepted at Sinai, the cosmos would have to be returned to chaos. The Torah is the ground of all beings. The creatures of heaven and earth cannot exist

without it The Torah is God's gift to his creation and his creatures. When god gives the Torah,

it is as if he gives of himself.

In other words it is much more than a book it is the essence of God's relation to humankind and the material universe. It is sacred. This explains the ornate covering and reservation in a decorated Arc of the scrolls which are its manifestations.

The Gospel reading of today is the basis for Christian belief in and reverence for the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper. It is our "Torah". Just as the Hebrew people were fed by Manna, and the crowd of 5000 was fed with a few loaves and fish we believe we are fed by the body and blood of Christ.

We may differ on the exact nature and content of Eucharist but we agree it is of great significance in our religious practice.

There is a second way we are fed by God and that is through Holy Scripture in general and the Holy Gospel in particular. As a Deacon, the Gospel is of particular importance to me. Just as a priest is the minister of the Eucharist, the Deacon is the minister of the Gospel. At our ordination, immediately following the imposition of the Bishop's hands, we are presented with a book of the Gospel with the words: Receive the Gospel of Christ who’s Herald you now are.

Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you preach.

At all our liturgies it is the Deacon who proclaims the gospel. Just as the Torah is reserved in the Arc, the Eucharist is reserved in a Tabernacle and the Book of the Gospel is enthroned in a place of honor.

This is fitting. In our time and place where God is becoming less relevant it is more important than ever that these gifts from God to his people be venerated by His children. They are more than symbols. Like the Torah they are manifestations of God's love for us. Thus, in our world view there is a God who created all that is and who has communicated his love and existence in tangible ways: Torah, Eucharist and Gospel. These are the direct and living connection between human kind and the Heavenly Father. If we fail to honor that connection, if we fail to avail ourselves of these gifts we are in danger of becoming like Michelangelo's statue of David. We can look like human beings but be mere things with a human form but with no soul, no vitality and unable to give and receive love. When you come down to it: It's all about love. Saint John's Gospel tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life'". John 3: 16.

The visible manifestation of that love is Torah, Eucharist, and the Gospel.

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Today’s readings deal with material wealth and our relationship to it. The reading from the Book of Wisdom makes clear that in relation to wisdom it is inferior. The author first prayed for prudence and upon its receipt pleaded for the spirit of wisdom which was accordingly granted to him. Wisdom was preferred over his scepter and crown and riches were deemed nothing in comparison with wisdom.

The psalm likewise pleads for wisdom, not material goods.

Jesus then makes it clear that wealth is an impediment to entry into the Kingdom of God. It is not easy for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, indeed it is impossible. But there is hope. Jesus reminds us that all things are possible for God. We don’t know how; but when God intervenes the impossible becomes routine. And finally Jesus assures us that we cannot out give God. Whatever is given up for his sake is returned one hundred fold, here and in the life to come.

But what about us? Clearly we have material needs. Very few of us at Linden Ponds are able to earn our keep by the sweat of our brow. I sweat getting out of the shower. We survive through reliance on the material wealth we have been able to preserve after a lifetime of effort. Some of us have accumulated more than others. Some of us have a surplus and some of us have none. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. But one thing is sure: we cannot give away what we have and hope to survive. But we are not required to. The young man was invited into a discipleship that required him to shed his wealth. We are not.

What we are required to do is examine our relationship to material things and to keep things in proportion. I was educated by the de la Salle Christian Brothers who’s founder, Saint John Baptist de la Salle, wrote, <It is not a sin to have riches, but it is a sin to fix our hearts upon them=. When wealth becomes more than a means to a legitimate end but becomes an end in itself that is sin.

In the recent past we have seen the pursuit of wealth run riot. Many, if not most, of the graduates of our most prestigious universities were drawn not to service, medicine or research but to Wall Street where they made millions per year selling so called <derivatives=, manufactured securities of, as it turned out, were of little real value. Even after the collapse of the house of cards that they built one bond trader made a one hundred million dollar bonus just this past year; one hundred million dollars in just one year. Who needs that? Who can spend that? That money came from somewhere. Someone or some group has one hundred million dollars less to spend so that this one individual can accumulate wealth way beyond any possible

need that he might have. He did not even create any wealth or make anything, all he did was trade securities and take money off the top. This is wrong by any measure and the system that allows it is badly in need of reform.

I don’t think any one of us in Linden Ponds is in this category but if you are, have I got a

deal for you: The Linden Ponds Benevolent Care Fund.

So to summarize: For some, and only some, the call to discipleship involves giving away all material possessions but those will be rewarded one hundred times over both in this world and the next; for the rest of us, we are allowed to retain material wealth sufficient for our needs but the accumulation of excess material as an end in itself is sinful. We should seek Wisdom, with a capital W, in which, in the inspired words of the Psalmist, <shall the work of the Lord be seen by his servants and his glory by their children and the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours.”

In wisdom there is no fear, only trust in goodness of the Lord who knows our needs and protects those who love Him.

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WORDS OF WISDOM:

On Sunday, November 19, 1933 Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached on Repentance in London, England. His text was 2 Cor 5-10: <For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body.=

Pastor Bonhoeffer taught; <Christ is the judge of human kind. His judgment is eternal.

Those who pass him by without having clearly said his 8Yes; or 8No9, will have to stand opposite him and look him in the face in the hour of death when their lives are weighed in eternity. And the question will be 8Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?9 Here there is no more subterfuge, no excuses; no beating around the bush, here one9s whole life lies open before the light of Christ.=

He concluded; <Finally what is 8good and evil9 about which Christ asks us? The good is nothing other than we ask for his grace and take hold of it. The evil is nothing other than fear and wanting to stand before God on one9s own, wanting to be self-righteous. Repentance means turning from one9s own work to the mercy of God.=

If I may paraphrase, on our own, we9re sunk; but, in Christ, we are saved.

The Lectionary from now until Advent focuses on the end times. Today they deal with life after physical death. Happy Holidays!

The mother and seven sons in today9s reading from second Maccabees had no doubts about what was to come. As he was being slain one son proclaims, <... the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.= Another said, <It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you there will be no resurrection to life.= What was their offence for which they died so horribly and yet willingly? They refused to eat pork. It was not because they didn9t like pork. It was because the consumption of pork was forbidden by Mosaic Law. Their tormentors knew this. It was not about pork.

In today9s Gospel a group of Sadducees poses a hypothetical question to Jesus about a woman who had been married to seven brothers. It was not about the woman. It was about what happens after physical death. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death. They would have eaten the pork. They were just being wise guys. You know the type. They are still around. But we must be grateful to them because, in his response, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is to come: <... those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.= In Pastor Bonhoeffer9s words they are the ones who turned away from self and toward the grace and mercy that Christ, through his life death and resurrection, made available to the world and its entire people.

For those of who accepts these truths of faith the issue is resolved; but what about the scoffers, the Sadducees? I am reading a book that I recommend to them: Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. It is subtitled <What we can learn from the near death experience=. I have read several books on near death experiences including that of Raymond Moody, M.D., LIFE AFTER LIFE, the first serious study of the subject. While interesting, they never really impressed me as evidence of anything other than personal experiences, probably

resulting from oxygen deprivation. My uncle, Jim Boyle, died suddenly but was given CPR and came out of it a month later. Jim said <Don9t be afraid of dying, there9s nothing to it, one minute you9re here and then you9re not=. This book, however, includes instances where some NDEers, as they are now known, relate facts that were impossible for them to know and which were independently verified as true e.g. a sneaker on a window ledge of the hospital which was found to be where the NDEer said it would be as well as other similar occurrences. But what has most impressed me is the many detailed descriptions of a full-life review immediately following the death experience. These narratives are strikingly similar and involve, what is described as a Being of Light, who is a loving presence and who assists in the review. Some identify this being as Jesus. The individual9s entire life, including every detail however minute, is experienced in a timeless manner in 3D. What is striking is that they experience, as well as their own emotions and reactions, also those with whom they are interacting. For some this is excruciatingly painful. This seems perfect justice because what we have done unto others we will experience as done unto us.

So the next time you9re tempted to be insensitive or cruel to someone, remember you could also be doing it to yourself. Remember Bonhoeffer9s question, <Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?= Think about it!

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Sadly, for most non-Catholics and too many who profess to be Catholics, the Church is defined by the secular press. Any positive news is suppressed and any negative story gets full coverage. The image thus projected is that it is a haven for sexual predators populated by homophobic bigots and anti women rights agitators. It is subtle but that’s the picture.

The question immediately comes to mind, why would anyone in their right mind belong to such an organization? The answer is clear. If this were an accurate portrayal, no one would. Those of us who know our Church and understand its teachings know that, while there have been problems, our overall experience is positive. I attended a Christian Brothers High School and Jesuit College. I have had priests, brothers, and sisters as my dearest friends and mentors. They are my heroes. I had never seen or heard of anyone being sexually abused until James Porter appeared on the scene in the 90's. He seemed to be an isolated exception until the storm broke in 2002. The Church, while divinely instituted, lives and operates in the physical world. While Christ promised His Church would be protected from errors of Faith, its leaders can and do make mistakes, sometimes tragically. There is a story that Napoleon once told the Pope that he would destroy the Church. The Pope replied <If we have not been able to destroy it in over 1800 years what makes you think you can?= The Bishops who tolerated and protected abusive priests did more damage than Napoleon. Their actions were outrageous. No one denies that; but their actions do not define the Catholic Church.

For most of us who actively practice our Faith the Church is our Parish. It is the local community of the Baptized who gather to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass, Baptize and educate their children in the Faith, celebrate their marriages and bury their dead. My Parish, Saint Joseph’s in Holbrook, has an average attendance at Sunday liturgies in excess of 800.

We have a school, nearly 300 students in pre-K through 8th grade, 500 children in Religious Ed. an Annual Bazaar and Parish picnic, a Youth Minister and youth activities, adult catecheses and more. We have a fine young priest, Father John Currie, as Pastor. It is a welcoming, vibrant Faith Community.

It is a reflection of the larger Church that is the Archdiocese of Boston.

Our Cardinal Archbishop is a Capuchin Franciscan friar, a mendicant priest, vowed to poverty, chastity and obedience. He lives in the Cathedral Rectory in the South end of Boston. He pastors an Archdiocese of 291 Parishes where in excess of a quarter of a million of the Faithful attend Mass at least weekly. This is however only less than 20% of those who identify themselves as Catholic. They profess to be Catholic; they just don’t work at it. Cardinal Sean has about 400 active Diocesan priests, 249 deacons, and 2100 sisters and brothers to minister in the Archdiocese. Many of the priests are elderly and there less than 150 under the age of 50. These numbers are far from what they once were but the Church is a reflection of the society in which exists. Ours is a largely secular society. Massachusetts ranks 44th among the states in the percentage of residents who profess to believe in God, only 60%., well below the national average of 71%.

Nationally, Catholics make up 22% of the US Population but a significant portion does not actively practice their Faith. In spite of this fact, the Catholic Church enrolls more than 2, 1 million students in its 7000 plus elementary and high schools. As these schools receive no public support, this represents an estimated saving in excess of $25 billion to the tax payers. 561 Catholic hospitals treated more than 86.5 million patients and over 7 million received health care services in other Health Care Centers. 1688 local Catholic Charities agencies and institutions provided services to 8.5 million people. Catholic Charities is the largest NGO providing services in the United States.

Historically, if Jesus Christ founded a Church, it is the Catholic Church. All other Christian Churches have broken away from the Catholic Church or from churches that had previously broken away. Some had theological differences and some political but all must, sooner or later, trace their roots through the historical Catholic Church if they are to claim a direct connection to Christ. It was under the auspices of the Catholic Church that the New Testament canon was compiled and preserved in existence. The monasteries of Catholic monks were the original hospitals and centers of learning. It was under the auspices of the Catholic Church that Universities were founded and developed. Most early scientists were monks. The perceived historical evils associated with the Church throughout its 2000 year history, when examined in the context of their time, are, if not always praiseworthy, at least understandable. Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, was of the opinion that a study of history was a necessary companion to arriving at an understanding of the Church.

The teachings for which the Church is now under attack were, until just recently, the positions of all main line Protestant Churches and are still the positions of many Evangelical Protestant Churches. It has been the constant teaching of the Church that marriage and the resulting family forms the divinely instituted basic unit of human society. Its purpose is the procreation and education of children and thus it is necessarily composed of a man and a woman. It has been its constant teaching that, as this is true, the sex act outside of a committed marital relationship open to the procreation of children is illicit regardless of whether heterosexual, or homosexual in nature. Pope Paul VI recognized that this was a difficult teaching and called upon confessors to be gentile and merciful in dealing with penitents. No one has ever said it is easy to be a Catholic, it is not supposed to be.

It has been the constant teaching of the Church that human life is sacred and to be protected from conception to natural death. In the last 50 years these teachings have come to be perceived in our society to be not only erroneous but, to many, evil. It is important to remember that it is not the Church that has changed, it is society that has changed and I leave it up to you to decide whether that change has been for the better or worse.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a treasure. Study it. It is based on Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers. It will lead you to these sources and to a knowledge and understanding of your Faith.

I love and am grateful to the Church, warts and all. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit it has hung in there for two millennia and, as Jesus promised, when He said <I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it= (Matt. 16:18), it is still with us, challenging us, teaching us, and sanctifying us. Through it, especially through the Eucharist, I have been born into life in Christ and found His love, peace and joy in this life and Hope for eternal life in and with Him in the next. I pray you have too.

DCN John Boyle Feb. 8, 2011

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You could call today’s gospel the Valium Gospel. I was, at one time of my life, very

familiar with Valium but thanks to this gospel, no longer. Jesus tells us <do not worry= and asks

<why are you anxious?= We respond, yeah sure, if you only knew my problems. Well, guess what, he knows. Those of us who have experienced it know that anxiety is worry on steroids. It could put me in such pain that I would be curled up in a ball afraid I was going to die and even more afraid that I wasn’t going to die. Compared to anxiety, mere worry is a day at the beach.

We are told by well meaning souls to have faith. (little f)Anxiety is not caused by lack of faith, it is caused by brain chemistry and yet Faith (capital F)is a huge part of recovery. Now, hopefully, most of you have little or no idea of what I am talking about; but more than a few of you know exactly of what I speak. I am not talking about rational concern over existing problems and formulating sensible plans to overcome them. I am talking about a psychological paralysis that precludes action to resolve difficulties. I am talking about being scared. stiff.

The first step is to seek competent professional help. Medication is usually required to stop the downward spiral. Behavioral Therapy is also helpful but, for me, I also needed the Gospel cure. I read this Gospel often, very often and, as instructed, resolved to <seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness= by turning my will and my life over to His care and seeking His will for me on a daily basis. I try to live in the present moment because God’s presence can be experienced only in the moment. It is impossible to experience anything other than in the present because we are always there. Anxiety arises when we try to resolve future difficulties in the present. That creates tension and that tension produces anxiety.

Jesus does not lie. He has promised, <Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous and all these things=, all the necessities of life, <will be given you besides.= Isaiah has promised that the Lord can no more forget you than a mother can forget her child, that he will never forget you. Our job is to trust in their words.

I have come to believe that my anxiety attacks were a gift. They made me dig in. They made me practice the directives of the Gospel. As a result I have come to a place I would not otherwise have reached. Living in the moment, living in the presence of God, I have come to know a peace, love and joy that I would have never achieved otherwise. Nothing is so bad that it is worth my surrendering the peace of mind and joy that I can find in being in the Lord’s presence. Remember, eternal life begins in this life. For good or evil we are already in it and, thus, we can begin to experience the joy of God’s presence here and now while the best is yet to come. All that it takes is the willingness to let go and let God, to accept the fact that you can’t and to accept and believe in the depths of your soul that God can and will if you will just let him. All this works on every day worries too. Remember, worry and anxiety do not resolve problems; they only interfere in their resolution. Listen to Jesus. Give it a try. What have you got to lose?

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<God is the issue. Is he real, reality itself, or isn’t he? Is he good or do we have to invent the good ourselves? The God question is the fundamental question, and it sets us down right at the crossroads of human existence. What must the Savior of the world do or no do? That is the question the temptations of Jesus are about.=

Pope Benedict XVI from JESUS OF NAZARETH

If there is no God, who is good itself, then temptation has no meaning. If all our actions are morally neutral, neither bad nor good, then why resist? Temptations become merely inducements to action, instincts to be obeyed rather than inducements to do evil and resisted. Such a view certainly makes life easier for the individual but makes for a difficult worldly environment. It becomes the world of Freidrich Nietzsche where, God being dead, might makes right. We all know what that led to.

The devil was not sure whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, the one who was to come for the salvation of humankind, so he tested Jesus. As he often does, he tempted Jesus when his defenses were down, when he was tired and hungry. Knowing Jesus was hungry, he first tried food. Jesus quoted scripture in response, nothing original, Deuteronomy, <not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.=Next the devil resorts to the tactics of the playground bully, the dreaded <Oh yeah, if you’re so great I dare you, I double dare you!= This is an appeal to pride. I’ll show him! And usually leads to disaster for the daree. Pride goeth before a fall is all too often true. But, again, Jesus answers with scripture and declines the dare. Lastly the devil trots out his ultimate weapon, an appeal to greed and avarice. When all else fails this one usually works. But again Jesus quotes scripture and commands the devil by name to leave him. The devil got his answer. He never tempted Jesus again but worked through those who hated and feared Jesus and his message just as he does to this day.

The devil’s tactics worked in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had all they needed materially so he promised them wisdom, knowledge of good and evil. And so they bit, literally and figuratively. They who had known only good now also knew evil and in that knowledge became aware of and suffered its consequences. Human nature, created good in the image and likeness of God, became twisted and not only capable of evil but prone to it. We will never know, at least in this life, what humanity could have been had our first ancestors been obedient; but, we know only too well the horrors of which our race is capable of as a result of their disobedience. All this leads to the conclusion that temptation is not in itself evil. Jesus was tempted but he resisted and no evil occurred. It is yielding to temptation that results in evil and evil can result only if there is such a thing as evil to begin with. In a sense, the devil has gone underground. As Pope Benedict has pointed out, <God is the issue=. If there is no God, if there is no absolute and objective good then good is what we say it is and temptation is merely an option to act or not act according to our own inclinations. In teaching us to pray Jesus included the words <lead us not into temptation=. He did not teach <let us not be tempted=. Temptation is largely situational and we should flee those situations which induce us to do evil.

We also have an obligation not to tempt others by creating situations that could induce them to do evil. How many parents have caused their children to fall into addiction by leaving prescription drugs and alcohol unsecured and available to them? It is a basic auditing principle that, if you make it possible for employees to steal, many will steal. It is not that they were thieves to begin with but that you made it possible for them to become thieves and they were unable to resist the temptation.

So what are the lessons from today’s scripture readings?

There is such a thing as objective evil. Some things are always and everywhere wrong and to be avoided.
Temptation is not evil in itself. It is yielding to it that causes evil to be done.
Temptation is situational. We should not put ourselves or others in its way.
Prayer, particularly scripture is, the antidote to temptation.

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JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

CROWD

HosaVVa Hey SaVVa SaVVa SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SaVVa HosaVVa Hey , woV t you sWi{e at We? SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SupevstavCAIAPHASTe{{ the vabb{e to be quiet, we aVticipate a viot. This coWWoV cvowd, is Wuch too {oud. Te{{ the Wob who siV9 youv soV9 that they ave foo{s aVd they ave wvoV9. They ave a cuvse. They shou{d dispevse.CROWDHosaVVa Hey SaVVa SaVVa SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SaVVa HosaVVa Hey ,

you ve a{vi9ht by We SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SupevstavJESUSWhy waste youv bveath WoaViV9 at the cvowd? NothiV9 caV be doVe to stop the shoutiV9. If evevy toV9ue weve sti{{ed The Voise wou{d sti{{ coVtiVue. The vocks aVd stoVe theWse{ves wou{d stavt to siV9:CROWD AND JESUSHosaVVa Hey SaVVa SaVVa SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SaVVa HosaVVaCROWD Hey , woV t you fi9ht fov We? SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SupevstavJESUSSiV9 We youv soV9s, But Vot fov We a{oVe. SiV9 out fov youvse{ves, Fov you ave b{essed. Theve is Vot oVe of you Who caV Vot wiV the kiV9doW. The s{ow, the suffeviV9, The quick, the dead.

CROWD d JESUSHosaVVa Hey SaVVa SaVVa SaVVa HosaVVa Hey SaVVa HosaVVaCROWD Hey , woV t you die fov We? SaVVa HosaVVa Hey Supevstav

These lyrics were written by Tim Rice in 1971 nearly 2000 years after the event they depict, Jesus entry into Jerusalem. It is a rock opera and the lyrics reflect that genre but the theology is profound. Jesus did receive a royal welcome from the people. He was feared and rejected by the Jewish leadership. Jesus did fight for the people and did die for them, for all of us. We are blessed. Later this week we will celebrate the three days that changed the world.. They are: Holy Thursday when we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist; Good Friday when we mourn the horrible death of the Savior; and Easter when we celebrate the Resurrection. These are wonderful, grace filled liturgies. You can not fully appreciate the Easter miracle unless you have experienced the preliminaries. Come and be present at the Last Supper. Stand at the foot of the cross with Jesus's mother and the disciple whom he loved. You will then be better able to appreciate the glory of His Resurrection.

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What makes Catholics different from other Christians? Primarily, it is our belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We hold this belief on good authority: the words of Jesus himself in the Gospels; the practice of the earliest Christians; and the constant practice and teaching of the Church throughout nearly two thousand years. In chapter six of Saint John’s Gospel Jesus makes a startling statement, so startling that it caused many of his disciples to abandon him. He said, <I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.= He went on to say, <Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you.= In today’s gospel Cleopas and his companion are instructed in the Scriptures while on the road to Emmaus. But it is only <in the breaking of the bread= that Jesus is revealed to them. What occurred that day is a Mass; Scripture readings, teaching, and Eucharist, the breaking of the bread, that’s a Mass. Those who accepted Peter’s invitation on Pentecost to Baptism, only fifty days following the Resurrection, subsequently, according to the Acts of the Apostles <devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers=. The celebration of <the breaking of the bread=, the Eucharist, is constant and continuing among early Christian communities. Saint Justin Martyr was born sometime around 105 A.D. He was a scholar who converted to Christianity in about 130A.D. In about 153 A.D. he wrote the Roman Emperor a defense of the Christian Faith and an explanation of its practices. I will not quote the entire passage but it describes what Justin refers to as <the Eucharist= which he declares is <the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh=. He quotes what he calls the

<Gospels= and the words which actually appear in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as Jesus’ words of Eucharistic institution. Justin goes on to say, <For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise we have been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word ... is the flesh and blood of that Jesus

....= I could go on and on but it will suffice to say that it is the consistent teaching of Scripture and the Church Fathers from earliest times that the body, blood, soul and divinity of the risen Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is, therefore, the source and summit of Catholic Christian Life. It is our most precious gift from a loving God and the highlight of our Faith. It is what makes us different.

Now, I don’t want any of you to take what I am about to say personally. You are the backbone of the Church, the Faithful who come each week to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the Mass. It is my hope, however, that you will gently share my message to those who might benefit from it.

For going on eleven years I have had the privilege of standing behind the celebrant during the Eucharistic celebration. In that time I have noticed a steady decline in decorum especially during our most holy and sacred moment. Too frequently a parent and a child get up and leave and shortly return. I can only assume the child is being taken to the bathroom. Sometimes this may be unavoidable. Accidents happen but are preventable with a little foresight. Too often this happens during the Eucharistic prayer, sometimes even during the consecration. Once, I observed that as the host was raised at the most solemn moment of the Liturgy a father and child got up, turned their backs and walked out. Not only was this an act of disrespect to the Eucharist, it was most distracting to those who understood the magnificence of what was happening and wanted to savor the moment.

Sadly, reverence for and understanding of the Eucharist has steadily deteriorated. After funerals consecrated hosts have been found on the floor, inside hymnals, and even in the bushes outside the church. During a First Communion this past weekend as I was administering the cup, a man carrying a small child who looked to be about two bit the host in half and handed the other half to the child. I kept my eye on them and I believe the child ate the host in an unscheduled first communion. After Mass I checked the pew where they had been seated and did not find anything so it appears that at least the child did the right thing. At this same liturgy I am informed a woman was busily engaged erasing items from her cell phone. Each erasure was accompanied by a loud beep. This did not seem to bother her but it bothered those around her.

I want to make it clear that distractions are not the problem. They happen.

Bring the kids to Mass. If they become fussy and you feel they are distracting others please feel free to take them to the rear of the Church at any time. It is avoidable distractions, those that can be prevented with a little foresight and the disregard of the sacred nature of the Eucharist that are the problem. If people would just use the common sense God gave us all and be considerate of others and their beliefs most of these issues would be resolved. Please spread the word. Thank you.

And now a word to Mothers. In the words of Cardinal Spellman:

<What is a mother? Who shall answer this?

A mother is a font and spring of life, A mother is a forest in whose heart Lies a secret ancient as the hills,

For men to claim and take its wealth away; And like the forest shall her wealth renew And give and give again that men may live.=

Thank you Mothers, each one of you, for like unto Christ you give the gift of life.

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…. and he went away sad for he had many possessions..

He had been invited to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple, and maybe eventually an apostle but he went away sad. We might put ourselves in this young man's place and think we would have acted differently. But would we? He had asked a poor itinerant preacher what he must do to have eternal life and was told to make himself poor. He wanted eternal life but he didn't want it that badly. He made a choice. He chose a comfortable "now" over the promise of "future" treasure; a "sure thing" over a "maybe". Wouldn't most of us make the same choice?

We are to obey the commandments but we are expected to do more than refrain from doing evil. We are expected to; first of all, follow Jesus, to live as he did, for others, to be loving, generous and self sacrificing. No one is more pitiful than the person who lives for himself or herself alone. They usually end up alone, or even worse, surrounded by people like them. Envy and greed drive them and happiness eludes them because happiness cannot be bought.

How are we to apply them to our own lives in our own circumstances? We too are called to put Christ ahead of material wealth and worldly success, to do the impossible, remembering that Jesus taught, "All things are possible for God."

To help us in attempting the impossible Jesus left us himself in the sacrament of the Eucharist. As we approach the Eucharist we do so with empty hands. Wealth or the lack of it makes no difference at that moment.

Let us trust our heavenly father to give us the wisdom to understand that, in the words of Saint Paul, "nothing about us is concealed from him but that we are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account." God knows what we hold dear, what means the most to us. Let that be our love for his son, our lord Jesus Christ, and we will not, like the rich young man, go away sad.

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"Repay Caesar what belongs to Caesar."

Who was Caesar? What did Jesus mean? Why does he care? How can you be a good citizen? If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem.

Pay taxes; vote; do well in school; don't litter and pick up for those who do; volunteer to help those less fortunate; participate in fund raisers for charity etc. Lessen the burdens of government.

As we turn to the Eucharistic celebration let us pray that all citizen's perform their duty on each election day and that thereby God's will be done.

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Well, that’s it. All the biggies are over. We’ve had Christmas, the magnificent memorial of the Incarnation of God who became one of us in the person of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. We have experienced the drama of Palm Sunday, the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the Passion of Christ on Good Friday and the wonder and joy of the Resurrection on Easter. And today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world in the form of tongues of fire upon the Apostles. With the exception of a few Feast Days we can pack away the white and gold vestments. It’s mostly green from now until the end of November when a new Liturgical Year begins with Advent. Now, being half Irish, I have no problem with green but it can get boring after a while. Even the name of the Liturgical Season is boring: Ordinary Time.

That sounds so, well, ordinary.

What is one to do? Do we just sit back and wait for a new round of biggies? Not if we get the message of Pentecost. Now is the time to begin anew the work of the Holy Spirit. It is Evangelization, which is the sharing of the Gospel, of the Good News, through word and deed. That is the extraordinary business of Ordinary time for Christ and the Church. No less than the Apostles are we called to live in the Spirit, to spread the Good News, to be the Heralds of the Kingdom of God. Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth but also said of the salt it is useless if it loses its flavor. We’re not of much use if we lose our zip. We live in a secular society. Under the guise of a corrupt interpretation of Separation of Church and State, God is no longer welcome in the Public Square. Many, once very Christian Congregations, now exist primarily as humanist service organizations which practice fellowship but little, if any, worship. The Catholic Church is the largest NGO in the nation. It operates more schools, universities, hospitals, social service organizations and the like than all the rest put together but that is not even remotely its primary purpose. These activities result from evangelization but are not its purpose which is the Sanctification of Souls. Each of us is called to be holy, to be a Saint.

Nothing less will do. We become Saints through prayer, penance and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. By our sanctification we give honor and glory to God and that is the primary purpose of our existence. As Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, <For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ... and we were all given to drink of one Spirit=. We, the Baptized, like those in the upper room on Pentecost, are charged by virtue of our Baptism to carry the Gospel to a world desperately in need of it. If we don’t, who will?

Chapter Five of The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church is entitled The Universal Call to Holiness. It says in part, <The Lord Jesus Christ, divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of life, which he both initiates and brings to perfection to each and every one of his disciples no matter what their condition in life.= It goes on, <The followers of Christ, called by God not for what they had done but by his design and grace, justified in the Lord Jesus, have been made sons and daughters of God by the Baptism of faith and partakers of the divine nature, and so are truly sanctified.=

And so there you have it! There is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time and nothing ordinary about those called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. It is a time to begin anew the work of Evangelization of world through the sanctification of each individual member of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. You cannot give what you haven’t got so we all have to get busy if we are to do our part.

This Pentecost our Cardinal Archbishop, Sean, has issued a Pastoral Letter on Evangelization. It is in this week’s Pilot but can also be found on-line at rcab.org. In it the Cardinal reminds us, <We can only share what we have received. In preparing to evangelize, we are called to conversion, which means continually to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ

individually and as a Church. The good news nurtures us, makes us grow and renews us in

holiness as God’s people.=

So, may the fire of the Holy Spirit enkindle in each of us a fervent desire to grow in Holiness so that through our example the Gospel message of love proclaimed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ may once again light up the world and give hope to all its people.

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In 1920 William Butler Yeats wrote the poem: THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand; surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep

were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

This poem was first published following the Great War (WWI). Yeats was not a Christian but was a product of his class and time. The <best=, to Yeats, were the British upper class that has, as a result of the carnage of the war, <lack all conviction= and the <worst= who <are full of passion and intensity= are the advocates of the atheistic doctrines of bolshevism and fascism which are developing on the European continent. Yeats sees the two thousand year cycle of Western civilization moderated and formed by Christianity as coming to an end. He sees the

<Spirit of the pagan pre-Christian world= as represented by the Sphinx awakening and slouching toward Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity, to be reborn in its place. It is not the second coming of Christ. It is the opposite. Yeats’ fears were prophetic. Over 100 million people died in Europe in the ensuing carnage of World War II. Nazi socialism and Leninist Marxism were eventually discredited and left the scene but, in the process, Europe lost what was left of its soul.

It is sad but true that the doctrines of the pagan Humanistic religion of the post-Christian age of which Yeats wrote sound reasonable. They claim abortion eliminates the problem of unwanted children. Assisted suicide allows people to determine their own fate and euthanasia relieves society of the burden of caring for the terminally ill, demented or disabled. Elimination of traditional marriage as the basic family unit allows children to be born and raised according to the lifestyle preferences of a single parent. It sounds so reasonable, simply a matter of personal choice. But, in the words of David Bentley Hart, <... such a religion will always kill and then call it justice, or compassion, or sad necessity.=

On the other hand, Jesus teaching in today’s Gospel sounds so unreasonable. <Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise

him on the last day= How unreasonable can you get? Many of his disciples left him because of this teaching. It was, they said, <a hard teaching=. According to a Pew Forum Survey: 40 percent of those professing to be Catholic do not believe Christ meant what he said. To them He is present only symbolically, if at all. Yet, the Church teaches, <The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian Life=. The doctrine of the Real Presence is its constant teaching all the back to apostolic times. It is essential to who and what we are.

Saint John Henry Newman said of the Real Presence, <I grant, it is difficult, impossible to imagine, – but how is it difficult to believe?= If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly Devine, it is no stretch to believe that He can be truly present in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine.

Can it be that what seems unreasonable is true and what seems reasonable is false? How reasonable is it that men and women in their millions have died for their Faith, for their nation, or for their individual liberty? How reasonable is it that from the beginning of the Human Race women have been willing to risk their health and lives to bear the next generation? How is it that what is best about us seems totally unreasonable? How reasonable is it that God would send his only begotten Son to suffer, die, and rise again that we might have eternal life?

In a small town in Italy around the year 700 AD a monk, who was celebrating Mass for the town’s residents, experienced a miracle. He had been having doubts as to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and prayed for relief from these doubts. As he said the words of consecration the bread and wine turned into flesh and blood. These have been preserved and are still in existence. A scientific study in 1970 concluded: <the flesh is real human flesh; the blood is real human blood; both are type AB; the flesh consists of the muscular tissue from the interior of the heart; no preservatives are present; and the preservation of the flesh and blood which were left in their natural state for (over) twelve centuries without any chemical preservatives and exposed to the action of the atmosphere and biological agents remains an extraordinary phenomenon.=.

So, God save us from the reasonable as we give thanks for the unreasonable. It is in the unreasonable that we find hope and experience God’s infinite love while what appears reasonable leads to the death of innocents and a frightening future.

We will now celebrate the unreasonable, yet miraculous, in the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass, whereby Jesus will come to be physically present with us and in us at Communion.

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Wheat or weed, that is the question. If you're wheat you end up in the barn with all the wheat; that is in the Heavenly Kingdom with the Saints. If you're a weed the future is not very promising. No one likes to think about where the weeds are headed, the "other place". When I was a kid we heard a lot about the "other place". You got the impression that it was where most of us would end up. It almost seemed that God created us so he could punish us. Today you hear very little about the "other place". The Catechism of the Catholic Church is nearly 900 pages in length and less than two pages are devoted to the "other place". In these two pages there are none of the terrible images that were the topic of many sermons in the past. The Catechism tells us that "To die ... without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell". It elaborates, "The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." This means we cannot even begin to appreciate the pain of this sense of loss suffered in hell unless we first make some progress in our present relationship with God and his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Only to the extent that we begin to experience the love and joy of the heavenly kingdom in this life can we begin to imagine the pain of its absence in the next. We begin to grasp the truth that God did not create us to punish us. Rather, he created us to love us and it is his love that fulfills us and makes us unique among creatures.

He refers us to Saint Teresa of Avila who taught that holiness is a matter of bringing our wills into union with God's will and to Saint Therese, the Little Flower, who wrote "Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be ...".

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a wise and holy man, wrote in this regard, " Unless we cultivate sensitivity to the glory, while here, unless we learn how to experience a foretaste of heaven while on earth, what can be in store for us in the life to come. The seed of life eternal is planted within us here and now. Eternity is not perpetual future but perpetual presence. The world to come is not only a hereafter but also a here-now".

And pray for the weeds. We live in the time of Divine Mercy and there is still time for conversion before the harvest. There is plenty of room in the barn.

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Today's gospel is the scriptural basis of Christ's foundation of His Church and the primacy of Peter as the rock upon which it is built. The Papacy is the oldest continuously functioning institution in the world. When George Washington was inaugurated president, the 250th Pope was reigning. Benedict XVI is the 265th Pope. Some of the Popes have been scoundrels but many have been Saints. Today we celebrate the Feast of one of the Saints, Pius X... It is impossible to study the history of western civilization without studying the history of the Papacy. It is difficult, if not impossible; to identify an institution that has generated more controversy. Many otherwise good men have demonstrated a particular animosity toward the Papacy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor who was martyred for his opposition to the policies and resultant atrocities committed by Nazi Germany, referred to the Papacy as the anti- Christ. Those who persecuted Catholics usually referred to them as Papists, and they did not regard it as a complement. Whether we like it or not, if we confess to the Catholic Faith, we are identified in the minds of others with the Papacy. Even Catholics in public life, who decline to follow the teachings of the Church in their civic life, usually do not reject the teachings but maintain that, while personally opposed to such matters, they are unwilling to impose their beliefs upon others. Even those Catholics who vehemently oppose many teachings of the Church do not want to get rid of the Papacy. They may want to get rid of a particular Pope but recognize the divine institution and necessity of the office.

I believe we implicitly understand that a leaderless institution eventually disappears.

Bonhoeffer, in interpreting today's gospel, maintained that Peter represented only an individual Christian and that what was true of Peter was true of each of us called to Jesus through Faith. Followed to its logical conclusion this means there are as many churches as there are Christians. They may unite in denominations based upon some shared beliefs but each person is essentially a unique church. In an attempt to accommodate these diverse beliefs the main-line Protestant Churches have compromised more and more of their once firmly held doctrines to the point where they have lost their identity and consequently much of their membership. The growth Churches today are those which call themselves nondenominational and consequently possess no doctrine or liturgy. Their sanctuaries contain musical instruments, sound systems, and DVD screens but no cross, no altar, no hymnals.

The difference between the Institutional Church and each individual as a church has been graphically demonstrated in the past weeks. In England, where religion has gradually been replaced by a culture of individualism and secularism, there have serious riots, murder and looting by mostly young, chronically welfare dependant individuals. It is significant that the stores looted were those that sold merchandise they favor: electronics; youth fashions and the like. Not one bookstore was touched. In Madrid where World Youth Day is being held over a million people, including hundreds of thousand young people from the world over, came together to partake of the sacraments, perform works of Charity and listen to the Pope and worship with him. They were peaceful, joyful, prayerful, loving and inspiring. They were also, as far as I could tell, basically ignored by the secular communications media. It seems they are interested only in

murder and mayhem.

So, as for me, I will stay in the boat with Peter. I may not like some of the people in the boat and I may not like some of the rules of the boat but I know that outside of the boat there is only darkness and deep water. I believe that, through his designated servants, Jesus built the boat and protects it from fatal error. I believe that within the boat I shall be nourished with the body and blood of Jesus and in doing so I shall find eternal life.

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Through the Prophet Isaiah God tells us to <turn to him for mercy; for he is generous and forgiving.= God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways.= The Psalm of today tells us the <Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and of great kindness.= The Gospel continues this theme in the story of the generous landlord. The last are rewarded equally with the first. Not because they have earned it but because the landlord is generous. On the face of it, this not fair to those who worked the entire day. In similar situations what is our usual response? That’s not fair! Isn’t that cry of a child? Children can be forgiven for they have not yet learned that life is not fair. We who have lived long enough have learned that life is not fair. In my work at the State Lottery I learned one thing for sure. God does not care in the least who wins the Lottery. I saw some thoroughly nasty people walk away with big money. No, life is not fair, far from it. But in the matter of our salvation fairness has nothing to do with it.

We do not earn our salvation. It is a free and unmerited gift from God, possible only because of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A gift is a gift. It is not dependant on what we have done or not done. Those of us who have had children remember the joy and excitement of our child’s first birthday. What a great day! New clothes, a funny hat, luscious cake, lots of presents, pictures and videos taken, Happy Birthday sung. hugs all around. The child understands little of what is going on and is often puzzled or frightened by it all. The child has done nothing to earn all this and it matters not at all whether the child has been an angel or a brat. It is in the end all about our love for our child. When our child reaches up to us we respond with love. All is forgiven, tears are wiped away and love carries the day. What is fair has nothing to do with love freely given and joyfully received.

And so it is with our Heavenly Father’s love for us. It is not earned, it just is, it <is= because we are his children and he loves us. Our union with God in the heavenly kingdom is not a reward for good behavior. It is the fulfillment of our eternal destiny, freely given by the one who created us for it. We can reject God’s love, we can separate ourselves from this love but we cannot stop God from loving us. No matter what we do, or don’t do, God’s love for us is eternal; it is only our openness to that love that changes. Just as God’s love is infinite so is his mercy.

Jesus promised Paradise to the repentant thief dying on the cross next to him because the thief asked. He didn’t earn it, he simply asked. It was a gift. Jesus told Saint Faustina, <I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those who trust in my mercy...= Jesus asks only for our trust in him and his love for us.

So does this mean we can do whatever we want and, relying on God’s love, still be saved? Some think so. But human nature doesn’t work that way. In our relationships we either grow closer or farther apart. Things evolve, nothing stays the same. If we choose to ignore God’s love for us and act contrary to his will we will eventually turn toward self and away from him and his love. It’s the way we are. Deathbed conversions are rare. We die as we have lived and God respects our choices. If we choose to separate ourselves from his love he allows it. It is not his will but ours. If we want to respond to God’s love, we will seek his will for us in all things.

We will surrender our lives into his care and in doing so manifest his presence in us and our world. If we can do this, we will be able to say as did Saint Paul, <Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.= We will have attained that for which we were created: eternal life in Christ. What could be fairer than that!

We will now turn to that perfect manifestation of God’s love that is the Holy Eucharist.

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Love God and Love your neighbor. These are not new commandments. In his response Jesus is quoting Jewish Scripture. Deut. C. 6 v. 5 <... you shall love the Lord, you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.= And Leviticus C. 19 v. 18 <Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.= Reginald Fuller, in his commentary on the Lectionary, points out that <Jesus understands the interlocking of the two commandments in a new and quite radical way. You cannot have one without the other. Without love of neighbor, the love of God remains a barren emotion; and without love of God, love of neighbor is but a refined form of self love.=

Christian Charity differs greatly from other forms of charity. When Mother Theresa was awarded the Nobel Prize one commentator criticized the award because Mother Theresa did not try to alleviate the suffering of the living but directed her efforts on behalf of the dying and she openly acted out of a love for Christ and only indirectly out of love for humanity. Mother Theresa saw Jesus Christ in every person and that was the secret that motivated and energized her.

Christians do not minister to the suffering simply because they love humanity. Christians minister to the suffering because they love Jesus and understand that Jesus loves us all, especially those in need. This makes it possible for Christians to love the unlovable because they love Jesus to whom no one is unlovable. The proponents of euthanasia look at the dying and reason that they are suffering, they do not contribute, and they are using scarce medical resources so why not end their pain and society’s expense. The Christian sees Jesus Christ in the suffering and dying and, while doing all that can be done to ease their suffering, knows that they are priceless because Jesus loves them, Jesus died for them and Jesus lives in them.

In following Jesus, the Christians give and act not from motives of public acclaim or humanitarian impulse, their motive is love, supernatural love, love of the One who so loved them that He gave all for them.

So as we receive our Savior in the great sacrament of love that is the Eucharist let us pray that we will see Christ in all those who suffer.

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Today's Gospel talks about the need to be watchful for we do not know the time when the Lord will come. I doubt any of us will be alive for the end of times. For us, the end will come one at a time. It seems that during Advent we prepare for the beginning, on Christmas joy by meditating on the end. On Sunday, November 19, 1933 Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached on Repentance in London, England. His text was 2 Cor. 5-10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body."

Pastor Bonhoeffer taught; "Christ is the judge of human kind. His judgment is eternal.

Those who pass him by without having clearly said his 'Yes; or 'No', will have to stand opposite him and look him in the face in the hour of death when their lives are weighed in eternity. And the question will be 'Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?' Here there is no more subterfuge, no excuses; no beating around the bush, here one's whole life lies open before the light of Christ."

If I may paraphrase. On our own, we’re sunk; but, in Christ, we are saved.

I recently read a book that I recommend: Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. It is subtitled "What we can learn from the near death experience". I have read several books on near death experiences including that of Raymond Moody, M.D., LIFE AFTER LIFE, the first serious study of the subject.

While interesting, they never really impressed me as evidence of anything other than personal experiences, probably resulting from oxygen deprivation. My uncle, Jim Boyle, died suddenly but was given CPR and came out of it a month later. Jim said "Don't be afraid of dying, there's nothing to it, one minute you're here and then you're not". This book, however, includes instances where some NDEers, as they are now known, relate facts that were impossible for them to know and which were independently verified as true e.g. A sneaker on a window ledge of the hospital which was found to be where the NDEer said it would be as well as other similar occurrences. But what has most impressed me are the many detailed descriptions of a

full-life review immediately following the death experience. These narratives are strikingly similar and involve, what is described as a Being of Light, who is a loving presence and who assists in the review. Some identify this being as Jesus. The individual's entire life, including every detail however minute, is experienced in a timeless manner in 3D. What is striking is that they experience, as well as their own emotions and reactions, also those with whom they are interacting. For some this is excruciatingly painful. This seems perfect justice because what we have done unto others we will experience as done unto us.

So the next time you tempted to be insensitive or cruel to someone, remember you could also be doing it to yourself. Remember Bonhoeffer's question, "Have you lived a life of love toward God and humans, or have you lived for yourself?"

But also rejoice for Christmas is coming and as Pope Benedict said in his reflection on death: "God has truly appeared. He has become accessible. He so loved the world "that He gave His only Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16) and in the supreme act of love - in the cross - plunging into the abyss of death, He conquered it, He rose and He opened the doors of eternity also to us."

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Happy New Year's Eve. Today is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year of 2011. Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent 2012. It is also the first Sunday we will use the new translation of the Roman Missal, the Church's prayer book. Many of you have attended the information sessions held this past week but for those who were not able to attend please understand that this is not a new missal it is a new and more faithful translation of the Latin of the missal into English. There will be cards in the pews with the responses and Profession of Faith in the new translation. Those of us who went through the change from Latin to English will recognize some familiar language. We survived Latin to English. We will survive English to English.

Now, to today's Gospel. This Gospel is not a parable, not a story told to illustrate a point, like the Prodigal Son which dramatizes God's forgiving love for us, his children. It is a prophecy of the Last Judgment. On the surface Jesus appears to rewarding good deeds but one thing that Catholic and Protestant theologians agree upon is that we do not earn our way into heaven.

The goats are those nations which rejected Christ and neglected or mistreated his messengers. This is not to say that it is not good to feed the hungry, or cloth the naked, or visit the sick or imprisoned. These are good things to do; but they are also performed by many who have no connection with Christ or his Church. They don't, however, gain you entrance into Christ's Kingdom.

The Catechism tells us, "The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it confidently, bear witness to it, and spread it.

It is not enough to simply be "a good person" as too many have come to believe. There is so

much more to it. Peter Kreeft of Boston College has written that more than 90 percent of his students believe you earn your way into heaven by doing good things. He teaches them, " At heaven's gate our entrance ticket, according to Scripture and Church dogma, is not our good works or our sincerity, but our faith, which glues us to Jesus." The misinterpretation of today's gospel as a requirement to perform good deeds in order to be saved has caused many to miss the glory and wonder of the Christ's miracle of Redemption and Faith and reduce it a "I feel good about me because I am a good person who does nice things" banality. All these things the heathens also do.

What makes us different? Like Mother Theresa we are to love and serve others for love of Christ not to gain a reward. By Baptism we are reborn into life in Jesus Christ and become members of his Mystical Body, beloved adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. By reception of the Holy Eucharist we partake of the true body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ who on the night before he died instituted this most Blessed Sacrament for the remission of sins. In the words of Saint John, "... We are God's children now " and some day "we shall be like him and see him as he is."

This is the wonder and glory of our Faith in Jesus Christ and his Church and so much more than just being a "good person by doing good things" in the hope of a reward.

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Happy New Year’s Eve. Today is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year of 2011. Today’s Gospel is not a parable, not a story told to illustrate a point, like the Prodigal Son which dramatizes God’s forgiving love for us, his children. It is a prophecy of the Last Judgment of the all the nations... On the surface Jesus appears to rewarding good deeds but one thing that Catholic and Protestant theologians agree upon is that we do not earn our way into heaven.

Salvation is a gift, freely given, received through Baptism and faith in Jesus Christ by whom we are justified. Good works are but manifestations of that grace which flow from our Faith in Christ. Well then, who are the sheep and the goats? The sheep are those nations which listened to and accepted Jesus teaching and manifested this acceptance by their care and support for his messengers, whom he refers to as his <brothers= but also includes Sisters. Today we have an opportunity to fulfill Jesus mandate by generously contributing to the support of Retired Sisters. These selfless women, like the Daughters of Charity who contribute so much to our Parish, built the Church’s charitable, educational and medical institutions which contribute so much to our nation’s health and welfare. They have earned our support in their later years. The goats are those nations which rejected Christ and neglected or mistreated his messengers. This is not to say that it is not good to feed the hungry or cloth the naked, or visit the sick or imprisoned. These are good things to do; but they are also performed by many who have no connection with Christ or his Church. They don’t, however, gain you entrance into Christ’s Kingdom.

The Catechism tells us, <The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it confidently, bear witness to it, and spread it.It is not enough to simply be <a good person= as too many has come to believe. There is so much more to it. Peter Kreeft of Boston College has written that more than 90 percent of his students believe you earn your way into heaven by doing good things. He teaches them, <At heavens gate our entrance ticket, according to Scripture and Church dogma, is not our good works or our sincerity, but our faith, which glues us to Jesus.= The misinterpretation of today’s gospel as a requirement to perform good deeds in order to be saved has caused many to miss the glory and wonder of the Christ’s miracle of Redemption and Faith and reduce it an <I feel good about me because I am a good person who does nice things= banality. All these things the heathens also do.

What makes us different? Like Mother Theresa we are to love and serve others for love of Christ not to gain a reward. By Baptism we are reborn into life in Jesus Christ and become members of his Mystical Body, beloved adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. By reception of the Holy Eucharist we partake of the true body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ who on the night before he died instituted this most Blessed Sacrament for the remission of sins. In the words of Saint John, <we are God’s children now <and some day <we shall be like him and see him as he is.= This is the wonder and glory of our Faith in Jesus Christ and his Church and so much more than just being a <good person by doing good things= in the hope of a reward.

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We just heard the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. There is no question that Jesus was a healer. But Jesus made it clear on more than occasion that he could not heal those who did not have faith in his ability to do so. That did not mean that all those who had faith were healed. It meant that none who lacked faith could be healed. Jesus presumed the faith of those who brought the paralytic to him from the extreme lengths they went to get him there. He told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven not because his sins caused the paralysis but to show the scribes that he had the power to forgive sins.

Just as healing was a significant part of Jesus ministry healing is a significant part of the Church’s ministry. This has been true from the very beginning. Peter healed in Jesus name. The first hospitals were monasteries. The 611 Catholic Hospitals in the United States treat more than 85 million out-patients per year and 5.4 million patients are admitted. You, no doubt, have heard that by Regulations imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services the continued existence of these institutions as Catholic Institutions is at risk.

Another Health Care issue that you will be hearing a lot about is the so-called

<Massachusetts Death with Dignity Act= of which you heard the Cardinal speak last week. In both of these instances the secular press will portray the Church as opposed to progress and stubbornly holding on to old fashioned and outmoded positions. Do not be fooled. Redefining pregnancy as a disease requiring preventative health care or abortion as reproductive rights or assisted suicide as Death with Dignity do not change the nature of the evil practiced.

If an individual is in severe and unbearable pain or is depressed and despondent as a result of illness, what they need is not a pill to kill them. What they need is a new doctor. There is effective medical treatment available to deal with these conditions.

There is a natural human reluctance to contemplate our own death. We don’t like to think about it. The fact that we don’t want to think about does not mean that we should not prepare for it. What other significant in the life of each and every person is generally ignored until the occasion arises? Departing this life can be much more difficult than getting into it. When the inevitable begins to happen, what should be our response? Some refuse to accept the impending end of life and insist on continued medical intervention regardless of the cost in dollars and the physical and emotional suffering to them and their family involved. Some want to throw in the sponge and bail out. What the Church hopes for them is, in the words of the American Bishops,

<that they may live in a manner worthy of their human dignity, and spend their final days on this earth in peace and comfort, surrounded by loved ones.= Physical healing may not be possible but mental and spiritual healing is always possible and should be the goal.

So in the coming months don’t bite for the sound bites. In practice, laws of this nature have been the first step towards euthanasia, so called mercy killing. A British Doctor who writes under the name of Theodore Dalrymple has written, <My objection to the business of killing patients is that, since the whole of life is an incurable disease ending inevitably in death, the malevolent will be provided with a readymade slippery slope down which to slide. And my experience of mankind leads me to suppose that it cannot so much as glimpse a slippery slope without sliding down it.= His prediction for the British Health Care System is frightening, <Soon there’ll be a death committee in every hospital, composed of the chaplain, the director of finances, a social worker and a mortuary attendant, with monthly meetings to decide who is to shuffle off this mortal coil at his own request or otherwise.=

We are at a tipping point in our nation’s history. Do we continue the unique experiment that has been America or do we move toward the humanistic socialistic path that is gradually reducing what was once called Christendom toward cultural and economic extinction?

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Just as healing was a significant part of Jesus ministry healing is a significant part of the Church's ministry. This has been true from the very beginning. Peter healed in Jesus name. The first hospitals were monasteries. The 611 Catholic Hospitals in the United States treat more than 85 million out-patients per year and 5.4 million patients are admitted. You, no doubt, have heard that by Regulations imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services the continued existence of these institutions as Catholic Institutions is at risk.

Another Health Care issue that you will be hearing a lot about is the so-called "Massachusetts Death with Dignity Act" of which you heard the Cardinal speak last week. In both of these instances the secular press will portray the Church as opposed to progress and stubbornly holding on to old fashioned and outmoded positions. Do not be fooled. Redefining pregnancy as a disease requiring preventative health care or abortion as reproductive rights or assisted suicide as Death with Dignity do not change the nature of the evil practiced.

There is a natural human reluctance to contemplate our own death. We don't like to think about it. The fact that we don't want to think about does not mean that we should not prepare for it. What other significant in the life of each and every person is generally ignored until the occasion arises? Departing this life can be much more difficult than getting into it. When the inevitable begins to happen, what should be our response? Some refuse to accept the impending end of life and insist on continued medical intervention regardless of the cost in dollars and the physical and emotional suffering to them and their family involved. Some want to throw in the sponge and bail out. What the Church hopes for them is, in the words of the American Bishops,

"that they may live in a manner worthy of their human dignity, and spend their final days on this earth in peace and comfort, surrounded by loved ones." Physical healing may not be possible but mental and spiritual healing is always possible and should be the goal.

So in the coming months don't bite for the sound bites. In practice, laws of this nature have been the first step towards euthanasia, so called mercy killing. A British Doctor who writes under the name of Theodore Dalrymple has written, "My objection to the business of killing patients is that, since the whole of life is an incurable disease ending inevitably in death, the malevolent will be provided with a ready made slippery slope down which to slide. And my experience of mankind leads me to suppose that it cannot so much as glimpse a slippery slope without sliding down it." His prediction for the British Health Care System is frightening, "Soon there'll be a death committee in every hospital, composed of the chaplain, the director of finances, a social worker and a mortuary attendant, with monthly meetings to decide who is to shuffle off this mortal coil at his own request or otherwise."

We are at a tipping point in our nation's history. Do we continue the unique experiment that has been America or do we move toward the humanistic socialistic path that is gradually reducing what was once called Christendom toward cultural and economic extinction?

As we approach the Eucharist let us pray that our merciful Lord will guide us in our deliberations and enlighten our leaders.

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Jan 15, 2012 2nd Sunday in Ord. Time B Dcn. John Boyle

Catholic morality is generally portrayed in the secular press as bigoted, hateful, hurtful, inhumane, that sort of adjective. Just before the New Hampshire primary, protesters staged demonstrations outside locations where the two Catholic candidates had scheduled events. Their signs and chants featured the word <bigot=. I looked up the definition of that word, <a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own.= I have witnessed no attempts by the targeted individuals to prevent the so-called protesters from expressing their opinions but the so-called protesters caused the picketed events to be canceled and thereby denied the candidates an opportunity to present their views. So just who are the bigots?

Now it is neither my intention nor my right to discuss or debate politics from the pulpit but it is my obligation to defend moral teachings that are fundamental to the Faith which have been handed down to us from apostolic times. The present day attacks on Catholic morality stem from a world view that is opposed to the traditional Christian world view. To the secular humanist, a human being is merely a highly evolved, self aware animal, highly evolved but an animal none the less. In today’s reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians he clearly presents the Christian world view: <Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one in Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. You have been purchased at a price.”

These words, written within a generation of the Resurrection, were counter cultural at that time and are counter cultural now. They were not mainstream then and they are not now. That does not make them irrelevant or unimportant. C. S. Lewis wrote, <Christianity if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.= The difference between being a mere animal and a Temple of the Holy Spirit is a gulf so fast as to be unimaginable. We are morally obligated and compelled to proclaim and defend these truths. We do not hold them out of hate but out of love. We do not hold them to hurt but to heal. Under our form of government we are just as entitled to practice and express our sincerely held beliefs without interference as are they who oppose them. We are entitled to hear from candidates who share those beliefs without experiencing violence or intimidation.

The reading from the Hebrew Scripture and the Gospel we heard today both deal with a call from God. Samuel is called by God to become the latter day Moses of his people. Andrew and his brother Simon, renamed Peter by Jesus, and a third, most likely John the author of this gospel, are invited to <Come and see=. They came and they saw. Things were never again the same. We too are called, called to truth, called to discipleship, called to holiness, called to the Eucharistic table. We bear no ill will or evil intent against anyone, but we are called to defend the truths of our Faith regardless of the consequences. If we do not, who will?

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Jonah is a tongue in cheek satire written about 500 years before the birth of Christ by an unknown author. Jonah is a reluctant prophet. God is sending him to warn the Assyrians. The Assyrians are hated by the Jews. The story of Jonah could not have been a popular with the Jews of its time and it is a miracle that it was ever written. It is truly divinely inspired and its message of mercy for all peoples, not just the Jews, was and is revolutionary.

The real message of Jonah is that reconciliation is of higher value than strict retribution. Reconciliation is of higher value than retribution. It is better to forgive than to get even. The God of Jonah is a God who repents of the evil he had threatened when the people repented of their evil. This message is affirmed for Christianity by the Gospels. The God of the Gospels is a loving Father who waits only for us to repent so that he can forgive us. He is a God who sent his son to become one of us, to suffer, die and rise again that we might have eternal life...

God's mercy is never ending and when mercy and justice conflict mercy carries the day.

In the Gospel of the day Jesus calls Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and James and John from their work as fishermen. They drop their nets and follow.

Unlike Jonah they are not reluctant at all. They know John the Baptist has been arrested and are very aware they are not making a good career move and yet they do not hesitate. I often wonder what my reaction would be in similar circumstances. I am afraid I would have been more like Jonah and tried to weasel out of the call.

Let us not be reluctant prophets like Jonah. Rather, let us rejoice in God's mercy and proclaim it to all, especially to those who are most in need of it, the lapsed, the alienated, and the outcast. Late in life we may feel our ability to evangelize is very impaired and maybe it is to some extent; but that does not relieve us of the obligation to try. If we can reflect the joy of our faith in our lives, meet difficulties calmly, deal with others lovingly maybe, just maybe, they will ask us our secret and we can share with them the consolation of our faith in Christ, his mercy, and our heavenly destiny. We are all called to holiness by Jesus. We are all called to come after him to the extent we are physically and mentally able. There is no retirement from discipleship.

We will now receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Ask him to show you the way, to point out your mission. We all have one. We are all called.

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We just heard the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. There is no question that Jesus was a healer. But Jesus made it clear on more than one occasion that he could not heal those who did not have faith in his ability to do so. That did not mean that all who had faith were healed. It meant that none who lacked faith could be healed. Jesus presumed the faith of those who brought the paralytic to him based on the extreme lengths they went to get him there. He told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven not because his sins caused the paralysis but in order to show the scribes that he had the power to forgive sins.

Just as healing was a significant part of Jesus ministry, healing is a significant part of the Church's ministry. This has been true from the very beginning. Peter healed in Jesus name. The first hospitals were monasteries. The Catholic Church has a two thousand year tradition of caring for the sick, the infirm, the orphan, and the elderly. The 611 Catholic Hospitals in the United States treat more than 85 million outpatients annually and 5.4 million are admitted. You, no doubt have heard that Regulations imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services the continued existence of these institutions as Catholic Institutions is at risk.

Another Health Care issue that you will be hearing a lot about is the so-called Death with Dignity Act of which the Cardinal spoke last week. In both of these instances the secular press will undoubtedly portray the Church as out of date and opposed to progress stubbornly holding on to old fashioned positions. Do not be fooled. Redefining pregnancy as a disease to be prevented or abortion as a reproductive right or assisted suicide as death with dignity does not change the evil of these actions.

If an individual is in severe and unbearable pain or is depressed and despondent as a result of illness, what they need is not a pill to kill them. What they need is a different doctor. There is effective medical treatment to deal with these conditions.

There is a natural human reluctance to contemplate our own death. We don't like to think about it. The fact that we don't want to think about it does not mean that we should not prepare for it. What other significant event in the life of every person is generally ignored until the occasion arises? Departing this life can be much more trying than getting into it. When the inevitable begins to happen, what should be our response? Some refuse to accept the impending end of life and insist on continued medical intervention regardless of the cost in dollars and the physical and emotional suffering to them and their family. This often happens because the

individual has not prepared a Health Care Directive and their children can't let them go without direction. Some just want to throw in the sponge and bail out. What the Church hopes for all, in the words of the American bishops, "that they may live in a manner worthy of their human dignity, and spend their final days on this earth in peace and comfort, surrounded by loved ones." Physical healing may not be possible but mental and spiritual healing is always possible and should be the goal.

So, in the coming months don't bite for the sound bites. This is not about contraception. It is about freedom of conscience. It is about allowing the Church and its institutions to continue its two thousand year old ministry to the poor, sick, and suffering. The organization, Death with Dignity, was formerly named The Hemlock Society and advocated euthanasia. Historically laws of this nature have been the first steps toward euthanasia, so called mercy killing. They have changed their tactics as well as their name.

They have targeted Massachusetts as it is one of the most liberal states in the nation and therefore apt to vote their way. Don't be fooled. A British physician who is employed by the British National Health Care System writes under the name of Theodore Dalrymple. He has warned, "My objection to the business of killing patients is that, since the whole of life is an incurable disease ending in inevitably in death, the malevolent will be provided with a readymade slippery slope down which to slide. And my experience of mankind leads me to suppose that it cannot so much as glimpse a slippery slope without sliding down it." His prediction for the British National Health Care System is frightening, "Soon there will be a death committee in every hospital, composed of the Chaplin, the director of finances, a social worker and a mortuary attendant, with monthly meetings to decide who is to shuffle off this mortal coil at his own request or otherwise."

We are at a tipping point in our nation's history. Do we continue the unique experiment that has been America or do move toward the humanistic, socialistic path that is gradually leading Europe, was once called Christendom, toward moral, cultural and economic extinction?

As we approach the Eucharist let us pray that our merciful Lord will guide us in our deliberations and enlighten our leaders.

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The readings for today are brief and to the point. First we had of God’s covenant with Noah after Noah’s forty days upon the waters of the flood. Then Saint Paul reminds us of the connection between the Covenant of Noah and the waters of Baptism by which we are cleansed. Finally the Gospel recounts Jesus forty days in the desert and the temptation by Satan in preparation for his public ministry. The Gospel reading ends with the words used on Ash Wednesday, <Repent and believe in the gospel=.

Why forty days? The number, forty, has had significance throughout human history. The 360 days of the year when divided by 40 create nine periods within a year which have been reflected in ancient ruins. For example, Stonehenge in England has 9 circles. A Bronze Age artifact discovered in Germany indicates that the ancients would have been familiar with a calendar count of 40 days. There at least ten instances in the Hebrew Scriptures and The New Testament where the number forty appears in either years or days e.g. Noah, Moses on the mountain top, the Israelites in the desert, Jesus fast in the desert and the period between the Resurrection and Ascension. A forty something time period is always a period of testing, trial, probation, or chastisement ending with a period of restoration, revival or renewal. The forty days of Lent are mentioned in Christian Literature as early as the fourth century. Pope Benedict recently said, <... the Church calls the period in which we are now entering <Quadragesima= in short a period of forty days and, with a clear reference to Sacred Scripture, it introduces us to a specific spiritual context.= He goes on, <The Christian Liturgy of Lent is intended to facilitate a journey of spiritual renewal in the light of this long biblical experience and especially to learn to imitate Jesus, who in the forty days spent in the desert taught how to overcome temptation with the Word of God.

Unfortunately the negative aspects of Lent may create a gloomy outlook relative to its practice. Yes, fasting and penance are ancient practices and good for us in moderation but I prefer to think of Lent as an opportunity for spiritual reflection and growth. As the Pope Benedict has taught, Holy Scripture is the best source of Spiritual growth. Celia Sirois, who is an excellent teacher of Holy Writ, will be conducting a series of Reflections on the Gospel of Saint John here on the Mondays of Lent from 11:00 to 12:00. Some Spiritual reading is good preparation for the joy of Easter. I recommend Jesus of Nazareth, Part Two, and By Pope Benedict XVI which recounts the story of Jesus from Passion Sunday through Good Friday. I find that meditation on the Crucifix is helpful. The Crucifix is a profound demonstration of God’s love for us, for each of us. That the Father would allow the Son to so suffer so greatly for us can only demonstrate that His love is infinite and we are indeed his children. It is also a demonstration of the extent of the depravity of which human beings are capable and its consequent desperate need of redemption. The Holy Father, in commenting on the desert of the world and history, has written, <In this desert we believers certainly have the opportunity to profoundly experience God, an experience that makes the spirit strong, confirms the faith, nourishes hope, animates charity; an experience that makes us partakers of Christ’s victory over sin and death through the Sacrifice of love on the Cross.=

And, of course, frequent reception of the Eucharist is the best way to grow in the Life of Grace. As we age it is not always physically possible to attend the Eucharist as frequently as we would like but the daily Mass is available on EWTN, Channel 26 as the next best thing. We will now have the opportunity to actually receive the Eucharist.

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As we prepare for Passion Sunday, which comes next week, today’s readings are directed toward Christ’s death and resurrection. We will be hearing much more on these subjects in the coming weeks. Today is much more than the fifth Sunday of Lent. It is the date of the Solemnity of the Annunciation which will be celebrated tomorrow because it falls on a Sunday this year. To me the Annunciation is more important than Christmas because without it there would be no Christmas. The Gospel passage of that day from the Gospel of Luke ends with the words, <May it be done unto me according to your word.= With these words of Mary the Word, Jesus Christ, came into the world and the process of our salvation was begun. With these words of a young Jewish girl a worldly transformation commenced.

I think that Gabriel may have misled Mary. A mighty angel appears to a young girl and tells her that she will bear the son of the most high, the Son of God, and God will give him "the throne of David. And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever.= Isn't it reasonable to assume that Mary was expecting a little more than giving birth in a stable to a son who grew up to be a carpenter and who, at the age of thirty, was still living at home and dies as a criminal? I don't think anyone would blame her if she felt a little deceived. The angel did not lie but there was certainly less than full disclosure. What would actually happen is not revealed to Mary. She is only told of the good parts.

The glory part of the promise did not begin to happen until after Mary had lived through the horror of the Passion. Picture Mary as a middle-aged widow who has worked hard all her life only to see her son hung on a cross. We can only imagine how hard a woman had to work as a member of the working class in Judea two thousand years ago. We can't even begin to imagine the pain of witnessing the crucifixion of a beloved child. It was a hard life that Mary lived.

We live our life as Mary lived her life. A day at a time, some are good, and some are bad.

We don't know all that is store for us. We too will have times of severe trial, times when the promises seem forgotten and we have been the victims of false advertising. This time is the lent of our lives. These are the times when we must remind ourselves that God became human in Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our salvation. These are the times to remember we are Easter people. We know that life may be hard and that Good Friday awaits. But we also know he end of the story of Jesus which culminates in the glory of Easter.

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Today is the day when we contemplate the Mystery of the Cross. Today is much more than the anniversary of Jesus death. It is the essential prelude to the Resurrection. If Christ did not die, he could not rise and we would remain lost to sin. But why did he have to die so cruelly and in such a shameful manner? Who did he die for? Did he die for all or for only a chosen few?

I believe that in meditating on the crucifix and the Gospel accounts of the Passion the answers to these questions can be found. First of all we can begin to understand the magnitude of the love that God has for humanity by seeing the price He was willing to pay for our salvation: the cruel death of His only Son. Secondly, we can begin to understand the extent of the evil of which humanity is capable and which required such an extraordinary remedy. Why so publically? So that there would be no question that he did in fact die.

That leaves the question. For whom did he die? The answer is personal. He died for me, he died for you. But how many of us are there? The answer lies in Saint Luke9s Gospel recounting of the Passion relative to Christ9s interaction with the two criminals between whom he was crucified. Saint Luke writes: <Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, 8Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us9. The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, 8Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And, indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal=. Then he said, <Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.= He replied to him, <Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.= Tradition gives this criminal the name Dismas and is the patron saint of prisoners and thieves. So just how did this thief steal Heaven?

First of all, he acknowledged his guilt and expressed a willingness to atone through his acceptance of a just punishment. Then he expressed faith in Jesus and asked for mercy.

Is it that simple? It would seem so. But what about those who did not have the good fortune to die next to Jesus, those who never even heard of Jesus? In Lumen Gentium the Second Vatican Council proclaimed:

<Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he gives to everyone life and breath and all things and since the Savior wills everyone to be saved. Those, who through no fault of their own, do not know the gospel of Christ or his church, but, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – these too may attain eternal salvation. Nor will the divine providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life.=

Christ9s death on the cross atones for all the evil which has ever or will ever be done on behalf of all people who have ever or will ever live. This is true because Christ9s sacrifice is infinite while evil and humanity are finite.

But there is more. To assist us in our journey to everlasting life he sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide, he established his church and through its Sacraments provides objective symbols of the grace conferred; and, as we celebrated last evening, he instituted the Eucharist, the most Blessed Sacrament, through which he comes to dwell within us.

Tomorrow at the Easter Vigil the Exsultet will be sung and will celebrate the Felix Culpa, the Happy Fault, that merited such a redeemer. It is in the horror of Good Friday that we find hope.

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Secondly, we can begin to understand the extent of the evil of which humanity is capable and which required such an extraordinary remedy. Why so publically? So that there would be no question that he did in fact die.

First of all, he acknowledged his guilt and expressed a willingness to atone through his acceptance of a just punishment. Then he expressed faith in Jesus and asked for mercy.

Tomorrow at the Easter Vigil the Exsultet will be sung and will celebrate the Felix Culpa, the Happy Fault, that merited such a redeemer. It is in the horror of Good Friday that we find hope.

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Today is the end of the Easter Season. Except for Feast Days, we will put away the white vestments until Christmas. It’s all green until December 2nd when we take out the purple for advent. Today we wear red for Pentecost as it is the color of the Holy Spirit. While today is the last Sunday of the Easter Season it is also a beginning, it is the birthday of the Church. Professor Luke Timothy Johnson writes in his book on the Creed, <The Holy Spirit is, from our perspective, the link between the risen Christ and the church, the means by which we experience the power of the resurrected one and are being transformed into his likeness.= This is why we will wear green until the liturgical cycle begins anew. Green signifies life and growth and the period following Pentecost is the period of life and growth for the Church. It is unfortunate that liturgists designate this period as <ordinary time=. That is such an ordinary title for a period that should be celebrated as a period of excitement and evangelization. There should be nothing

<ordinary= about this season. Is the season when the seeds planted through the life, death, and

resurrection of Jesus Christ bloom and flower.

There was nothing ordinary about the Holy Spirit’s arrival in the house where the Apostles were hiding. There was a load noise, heard throughout the neighborhood, and tongues of fire resting on those present. Loud noises arouse curiosity but being on fire really gets your attention. People speaking in strange languages gets noticed. There was excitement and wonder and a crowd quickly gathered. Peter gave his great sermon which quotes the prophecy of Joel and David’s Psalm s and which is the first public proclamation of the Gospel and which resulted in about 3000 being baptized.

Where has all the excitement gone? Why are our times so ordinary? Has the Holy Spirit given up on and gone home? Or is it that the culture in which we live has heard the message of Pentecost and rejected it? Are we afraid to be thought out of it, living in the past or, more often today, labeled <anti-women and homophobic=. Is it because the good news has become old hat?

Today as we do every Sunday we will recite the Creed. It is our profession of Faith, the product of 400 years of development based on the Scriptures and the writings of the early Church Fathers. With some variations it remains the profession of Faith of all who call themselves Christian, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant alike. Listen to it as you recite it. It is not only an expression of belief. It is a message of hope, an expression that there is more to human existence than this worldly existence. It is a message of love from and about our Creator. It is because we love and value life, all life, that we believe as we do. We believe that each and every human being, with no exceptions, is our neighbor and to be loved as we love ourselves because they are loved by their Heavenly Father, unconditionally. Let us resolve to relight the fires of Pentecost in our Church and our world: Come Holy Spirit and fill our hearts; Enkindle is us the fire of your love;

Send forth your Spirit that we may be recreated; and our souls renewed;

grant that we may be truly wise and rejoice in the divine consolation; that our Heavenly Father so loved the world

that he sent His Only Son to suffer, die, and rise again that we might have eternal life.

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You can tell all you need to know about a culture by listening to its music. In October of 1965 Frank Sinatra recorded a song with these lyrics:

Love and marriage, love and marriage, Go together like a horse and carriage,

This I tell ya, brother, you can’t have one without the other.

Love and marriage, love and marriage,

It’s an institute you can’t disparage.

Ask the local gentry and they will say its’s elementary.

Try. try, try to separate them, it’s an illusion.

Try, try, try and you only come to this conclusion: Love and marriage, love and marriage,

Go together like a horse and carriage.

Dad was told by mother you can’t have one You can’t have none

You can’t have one without the other.

That was then, this is now. To parody another song from the sixties: Where have all the fathers gone? Thanks to the so called Sexual Revolution men now can have one without other and too often that means he isn’t around when the resulting child is born.

In my generation the rule was: You make it, you raise it. I remember the day I became a father. It was not the day my daughter was born. It was about six months later. I was driving home from work and it hit me.

I, who shortly before had been a carefree bachelor, now had a wife, a daughter and a mortgage. I was stunned but I remember thinking, <There is no turning back, I’ve got to see it through.= That’s the moment I became a father. I am still seeing it through and I would not have it any other way. But I had the support of my culture and my time. That’s the way it was then. Now we are expected to be accepting and tolerant. Sex between consenting adults is simply a life style choice and what business is that of anyone else. That may be OK if only the consenting adults were involved; but in our society, in our culture, over 40% of the children born today are born to single mothers. More than fifty percent of children today have no Dad in their lives.

Studies indicate that even the best of Moms can’t replace a father. Boys, especially, need a male role model. Study after study indicates that children raised in an intact family unit containing a mother and a father do better in school, have fewer emotional and drug problems, and are more apt to complete their educations Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution testifying before Congress this June 5th said, <I want to emphasize the importance of individual initiative in reducing poverty and promoting economic success. Young people can virtually assure that they and their families will avoid poverty if they follow three elementary rules for success- complete at least a high school education, work full time, and wait until age 21 and get married before having a baby.= He testified that those who followed these rules had a 72% chance of joining the middle class and only a 2% chance of being in poverty. Those who failed to follow these rules had a 77% chance of being in poverty and only a 4% chance of making it into the middle class. It goes without saying that a young person’s chances of making the right decisions are much greater if he or she has positive role models in a Mom and a Dad who made the right choices in their lives.

I believe that much, if not most, of what’s wrong in our culture is due to lovers who want

one without the other, who want the loving without stepping up to the responsibilities of that

love in a committed marriage. It is a matter of fact that societal problems have increased in direct proportion to the decline of marriage in our culture.

I want to make it clear that this decline is in no way related to the issue of same sex marriage. That is a separate issue. Proponents of same sex marriage have a valid point when they argue that for better or for worse traditional marriage have already been destroyed and the process began long before anyone even dreamed of legalizing same sex marriage.

Well, what can we do about it? I am afraid we can’t turn our culture around over night. Things will get worse before they get better. But we can, and must, form the culture of our own families. Do not be afraid to talk to your kids. Be sure they are aware of the pitfalls of love without marriage. Be clear that not all life styles are OK. They don’t want to be judge others but that’s not the issue. The issue is their behavior, not that of their friends. It is just not smart to do things that have negative consequences simply because their friends are doing them. Bad decisions at a formative time in life have lasting negative consequences and they should be reminded of that fact early and often. Our kids are not like the mustard seed that germinates and develops on its own. They need nurturing and loving care if they are to grow to be strong, happy and fruitful.

My hope and prayer this Fathers Day for the fathers of Saint Joseph’s Church is that they

will be positive role models, loving husbands and great Dads.

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Things look different when you put them into perspective. Cosmologists, those who study the universe and its beginnings, tell us that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old, give or take a couple of million years. They also tell us our solar system, one of billions just in our galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 5.3 billion years old. Now to put this into further perspective a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. A billion of anything is a lot, a one with nine zeros following, a thousand million. About a million years ago a humanoid first used fire. Somewhere between 100 and 200 thousand years ago our species, Homo sapiens, evolved. We’re just the new kids on the block. Somewhere between then and now all other humanoids disappeared, the last, the Neanderthals, about thirty thousand years ago. It took another 20,000 years to develop agriculture which replaced hunter gathering and led to the development of cities and recorded history commenced. Prior to the development of agriculture world population was estimated to be 15 million people. At the time of Jesus there were probably about 50 million. It is now about

7.5 billion.

Now let’s look at today’s Gospel. What do you think the odds are that 12 men sent out into the world with no food, no money, one extra tunic and the sandals on their feet will have any impact. Pretty slim. Yet within 500 years their efforts led to the conversion of the Roman Empire, the development of a creed that is still recited every week throughout the world, and the foundation for a Faith that today numbers more than two billion people worldwide.

What conclusions can we draw from all this? Well, first of all it appears that the Creator was in no hurry. It took thirteen and a half billion years for the human race to come into existence and other two hundred thousand or so years to develop a civilization that could sustain the birth of the Messiah and the spread of his message.

It took a long time from big bang to now. Jesus Christ lived and died a little less than 2000 years ago, the blink of an eye when you put it into perspective.

Secondly, The Creator likes big numbers. Billions of years, billion of galaxies, trillions of stars, billions of people, as many as 100 billion in all have lived up to today. Thirdly, the Church of Jesus Christ must have been divinely instituted and sustained by grace. The odds are impossibly small that it could have survived, let alone grown, without his grace.

All this cries out for an answer. Why? What’s it all about? In today’s second reading Saint Paul tells us: <In love, he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will = Saint Paul goes on, <In him we were also chosen, destined in

accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory who first hoped in Christ.= So there it is: We are created to be his beloved adopted children through life in Jesus Christ. It is because of his love for us that he gives us the opportunity for everlasting life in his presence.

So the answer to <What’s it all about?= is: it’s all about us, us and our relationship to God, to the Father through the Son by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, when put into perspective, the phrase, <Much ado about nothing= comes to mind=.

Now we will celebrate the Eucharist, the miracle in which the creator of all that exists or ever has existed or ever will exist comes to us under the appearance of simple bread and wine. You will hold the universe in your hand and make it part of your being. How wonderful is that!

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The hit movie "Oliver" contained the song "Food Food, Glorious Food" One of the biggest sections in any book store is the Cooking section. There is a food channel on cable TV. I'm told that the Italian national motto is "Mangia". The book of famous Irish recipes is the shortest book in the library, but it is there. The search for food and its cultivation is the basis of all civilizations. None of us can live long without it. Nutritionists tell us that we are what we eat. Basic needs are always identified as Food, shelter and clothing, in that order. There is no question that food is at the center of human life and its absence leads to a slow and painful death. Food figures prominently in the Bible. The Israelites were fed with Manna in the desert. Food figured significantly in Jesus ministry. Many of his parables were food related and many miracles occurred when he was at table. Jesus made himself known to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the breaking of the bread. It appears, therefore, that even glorified and resurrected bodies will be capable of taking nourishment even though by definition they will not need it.

Zero calorie food. No wonder they call it heaven.

Beginning with last week we have been reading from Chapter 6 of Saint John’s Gospel and will continue to do so for the next two Sundays. This Chapter is one of the most important to Catholics and one of the most problematic to Protestants. It’s all about food, heavenly food, the Eucharist. The Gospel readings began last week with Jesus feeding of the multitude with five barley loaves and two fish. This week when the crowd asks Jesus for a sign he responds with the words <I am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.= Next Sunday the readings from Saint John will conclude with the Jesus statement that <unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you do not have life in you.= In two weeks we will see how this teaching caused many disciples to turn away from Jesus. They knew what he meant. They knew he was not talking about a symbol and they could not accept the plain meaning of his words. Peter, when asked by Jesus, <Do you also want to leave?= answered for all believers when he replied <Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.= Peter understood but was steadfast in his faith.

The Eucharist, that most Blessed Sacrament, heaven come down to earth, is the central act of our faith and the source of extraordinary graces. Whenever I am asked why I am a Catholic the answer is one word, "Eucharist". Sadly, in our time many who profess to be Catholics reject the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. A 2008 CARA Catholic Poll found that 43% of professed Catholics believe that the bread and wine are symbols of Jesus but that Jesus is not really present. It is not surprising that the same poll found that 91% of Catholics who believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist attend Mass weekly or more: but 60% of those who believe the bread and wine are merely symbols of Jesus who is not really present attend Mass only a few times a year or less. There is, therefore, a direct correlation between Mass attendance and belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ. Why put yourself out for a mere symbol?

The conclusion that the Eucharist is merely symbolic originated in Martin Luther’s 15th century teaching that Christ was present in the bread and wine but the bread and wine remained just that, bread and wine. It was then just a short step to the Eucharist being merely a symbol.

This teaching is contrary to the plain words of sacred scripture, the writings of the early church fathers and Church Tradition dating back to apostolic times and universally accepted up until the 15th century Protestant Reformation. Accordingly, having rejected the plain meaning of Jesus words, many see no need, or value, in participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on anywhere near a regular basis, if at all. This is truly a serious crisis in contemporary Catholic faith. That so many of our brothers and sisters, who through their Baptism were born into the

life of Christ, have so readily dismissed the great truth that is the Eucharist and, as a result, have deprived themselves of the graces which flow from it.

We must ask ourselves, why, and reach out to them. James Carroll who is a frequent critic of the institutional church remains a Catholic. He has written that his, <firm connection to the Church is the Eucharist, the sacred meal of the Mass, affirming the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ.= It is the institutional Church which, in spite of its failings, has preserved the Eucharist unchanged from apostolic times to the present and thus has preserved this most precious gift for us and those to who are to come. Other than our Baptism, it is our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist that unites us and makes us Catholic.

So, now we will proceed to the Eucharistic portion of the Mass where Jesus Christ comes to nourish us with his body and blood truly present but under the appearance bread and wine.

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Jerry Seinfeld invented a holiday for those who had no holiday to celebrate during the already crowded Holiday Season. He called it <Festivus=, a festival for the rest of us. As a practical matter, it seems the Holiday Season, which Festivus typifies, now begins immediately following Halloween. The first big event is Black Friday which this year began on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. It is called Black Friday because it is the day when the retail Industry goes from the red into the black. The shopping mania intensifies through Cyber Monday reaching its zenith on the final weekend before Festivus Day. Festivus type celebrations continue through the <Holiday= which dares not say its name in certain circles and is marked by the arrival of Santa Claus, exchange of gifts, lots of food and an NBA double header. The next day <Holiday Trees= are removed to the curb and preparations begin for the next big event, New Years Eve. Festivus like activities then go dormant until the final event, which may be the most important of all to some, Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy it. It is a time of great fun and contributes hugely to the economy. During this festive Holiday Season the Church celebrates two liturgical seasons. They run concurrently with the Holiday Season but have little to do with it. The first is Advent which is a four week period of prayer and penance in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. It is signified by the Advent wreath which contains four candles, one for each of the Sundays of Advent. Its Christmas Season begins at this Vigil Mass hence the name <Christmas <and continues until January 13th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During our Christmas Season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family; the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; and the Solemnity of the Epiphany. Thus, we begin our Liturgical Year with a period of prayer and penance followed by an extended period of worshipful celebration. Unfortunately they are not as much fun as Holidays like Festivus and do not contribute to the economy so they get little mention outside of Parish Bulletins.

We, here at the Christmas vigil mass, begin the celebration of the Nativity, the birth, of Our Lord. We commemorate the birth of the God-man, Jesus, called the Christ. We celebrate the fact that God so loves us that he sent his only son to become one of us. It is our Faith that Jesus is one person possessing two natures, one fully divine and one fully human. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise through the Prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel which we heard in the first reading. He is the one whom in the second reading Saint Paul identifies as foretold by John the Baptist. He is the one of whom the angel of the Lord told Joseph when he said, <For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived...= He is God’s gift to humankind conceived at the Annunciation, which we celebrated on March 25th,

The Christmas Season is not, however, the Major Feast of the Church. It was not celebrated until the fourth century. The Major Feast is, and always has been, the Resurrection. As Saint Paul taught, If Christ is not truly raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain. The entire liturgy of the Church, including the celebration of Christ’s mass, points to the Easter Vigil. If there was no resurrection, there is no Church, there are no sacraments, and there is no salvation.

<Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.= That is why the Church teaches that, <The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. Every mass is Christ’s Mass. At every Mass the Babe of Bethlehem is born again on our altars in the appearance of bread and wine.

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In 1920 William Butler Yeats wrote the poem: THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last

,Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

This poem was first published following the Great War (WWI) . Yeats was not a Christian but was a product of his class and time. The "best", to Yeates, were the British upper class who have, as a result of the carnage of the war, "lack all conviction" and the "worst" who "are full of passion and intensity" are the advocates of the atheistic doctrines of bolshevism and fascism which are developing on the European continent. Yeats sees the two thousand year cycle of Western civilization moderated and formed by Christianity as coming to an end. He sees the "Spirit of the pagan pre-Christian world" as represented by the Sphinx awakening and slouching toward Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity, to be reborn in its place. It is not the second coming of Christ. It is the opposite. Yeats' fears were prophetic. Over 100 million people died in Europe in the ensuing carnage of World War II. Nazi socialism and Leninist Marxism were eventually discredited and left the scene but, in the process, Europe lost what was left of its soul.

It is sad but true that the doctrines of the pagan Humanistic religion of the post-Christian age of which Yeats wrote sound reasonable. They claim abortion eliminates the problem of unwanted children. Assisted suicide allows people to determine their own fate and euthanasia relieves society of the burden of caring for the terminally ill, demented or disabled. Elimination of traditional marriage as the basic family unit allows children to be born and raised according to the lifestyle preferences of a single parents. It sounds so reasonable, simply a matter of personal choice. But, in the words of David Bentley Hart, "... such a religion will always kill and then call it justice, or compassion, or sad necessity."

On the other hand, Jesus teaching in today's Gospel sounds so unreasonable. "Amen,

amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day" How unreasonable can you get? Many of his disciples left him because of this teaching.

It was, they said, " a hard teaching". According to a Pew Forum Survey: 40 percent of those professing to be Catholic do not believe Christ meant what he said. To them He is present only symbolically, if at all. Yet, the Church teaches, "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian Life". The doctrine of the Real Presence is its constant teaching all the back to Apostolic times. It is essential to who and what we are.

Saint John Henry Newman said of the Real Presence, "I grant, it is difficult, impossible to imagine, - but how is it difficult to believe?". If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly Devine, it is no stretch to believe that He can be truly present in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine.

Can it be that what seems unreasonable is true and what seems reasonable false? How reasonable is it that men and women in their millions have died for their Faith, for their nation, or for their individual liberty? How reasonable is it that from the beginning of the Human Race women have been willing to risk their health and lives to bear the next generation? How is it that what is best about us seems totally unreasonable? How reasonable is it that God would send his only begotten Son to suffer, die, and rise again that we might have eternal life?

In a small town in Italy around the year 700 AD a monk, who was celebrating Mass for the town's residents, experienced a miracle. He had been having doubts as to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and prayed for relief from these doubts. As he said the words of consecration the bread and wine turned into flesh and blood. These have been preserved and are still in existence. A scientific study in 1970 concluded: "the flesh is real human flesh; the blood is real human blood; both are type AB; the flesh consists of the muscular tissue from the interior of the heart; no preservatives are present; and the preservation of the flesh and blood which were left in their natural state for (over) twelve centuries without any chemical preservatives and exposed to the action of the atmosphere and biological agents remains an extraordinary phenomenon.".

So, God save us from the reasonable as we give thanks for the unreasonable. It is in the unreasonable that we find hope and experience God's infinite love while what appears reasonable leads to the death of innocents and a frightening future.

We will now celebrate the unreasonable, yet miraculous, in the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass, whereby Jesus will come to be physically present with us and in us at Communion.

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The Catechism teaches that <To become the mother of the Savior, Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to her role.= The Angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as <full of grace.= Full of grace means free from sin. This teaching is embodied in the Doctrine of the Mary’s Immaculate Conception which we celebrate today.

Some time ago Father Joe asked me to preach the Immaculate Conception to the kids at the school mass. I wondered how I could explain the wonder of this doctrine to school kids. Well, Christmas was coming up so I got two empty boxes from my wife’s box collection and I wrapped one of them in beautiful Christmas paper with a fancy bow. The other I wrapped in plain brown wrapping paper and used duct tape to secure it. I explained to the kids that when you are giving a precious gift to someone you wrap it beautifully to indicate that it is indeed special. For ordinary items practical wrappings are good enough to do the job. I went on to explain that when God determined to become human in the person of Jesus Christ he needed a special person in order to accomplish this. He chose Mary and made her extra special because she was to bear the baby Jesus within her body. So that she might be a fitting vehicle for the generation and development of the Savior of the world, a precious gift, she was gift wrapped.

Now, Mary also needed Christ for her salvation, just as we do, but she was saved at her moment of conception in anticipation of Jesus life, death and resurrection. This made sense to me and I hope it made sense to the kids of Saint Joseph School. I hope it makes sense to you too. Thus we pray, Oh Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.

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This is the approach of experts. Ralph Martin, in his book THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE, writes, " To be holy is not primarily a matter of how many prayers we say or how much Christian activity we are engaged in; it's a matter of having our heart transformed into a heart of love." He refers us to Saint Teresa of Avila who taught that holiness is a matter of bringing our wills into union with God's will and to Saint Therese, the Little Flower, who wrote "Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be ...".

The prayer experts do not give detailed instructions as to what should happen. They are content to let God work it out. They ask only for knowledge of God's will for them and the power to carry it out. They trust that God knows what is best for them and are content to submit to his will. If we presume to give God detailed instructions in our prayer request it is always wise to add, "If it be your will." Otherwise we might get just what we ask for and that might not be what is for the best.

The fact of the matter is that, if in living our ordinary lives we are doing the will of God for us, we are in fact living the ordinary in an extraordinary way.

The greatest thing that we can do is the will of God as it is made known to us through his grace. If you have that you need nothing else. God's will for us can never be evil. It may differ from what we think it should be but God knows best. It is in living his will that we find peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the next. We may be happy in the short term doing our will but sooner or later we will be miserable if we are not doing God's will. That is why so many people who set their heart on obtaining wealth end up rich but unfulfilled.

Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, an eighteenth century Jesuit, wrote a series of letters to a group of Nuns for whom he was Spiritual Advisor. These letters have been published under the

Title "The Sacrament of the Moment". He taught that God could only be found in the present moment. He advised," abandon yourself entirely to all that God pleases to do in you, and for so long as he pleases; but do not cling on to any of the interior dispositions he may will to give you, and do not regret those he takes from you." To paraphrase," abandon yourself to the will of God, do not hang on to anything and accept everything." This is impossible to do without God's grace but with God's grace it is the only way to live in perfect peace and joy. It is to this that God calls us all.

We will now turn to the Eucharist where the one who turned water into wine turns wine into his most precious blood and bread into his body that we may have his life in us.

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Today might be called The Feast of Humility. In the first reading Sirach tells us:

<Humble yourself the more, the greater you are.= Jesus tells the Pharisee and his guests to take the lowest place lest they be humiliated when told to move lower. Jesus teaches them that: <... everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. But is that all that humility really is about, making yourself look bad so that you can look good? It is so much more.

I believe that humility is the ability to see things as they are and then to be able to put them into perspective. Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholic Anonymous, wrote that humility

<amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are.= Robert Burns, the famed Scot’s poet wrote <O would some Power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us!= The anonymous author of <The Cloud of Unknowing= wrote seven hundred years ago, (Humility) in itself is naught else but a true knowing and feeling of a man’s self as he is.=

The first requirement of humility is, therefore, total honesty. We must be able to honestly appraise ourselves and recognize not only our weaknesses but also our strengths. False humility is the other side of the coin of false pride. False pride is apparent in our society in the ascendancy of the so-called meritocracy. These individuals believe they are entitled to positions of wealth and power due to their personal merit. The truth is that they have been gifted with advantages based on personal intellect, superior educational opportunities, and preference. As a friend of mine says, <They were born on third base and think they hit a triple=. False humility however can cause some who are gifted to under value their gifts and fail to make good and efficient use of them. The humble person recognizes his or her gifts for what they are: assets they possess that should be used for the good of all and not selfishly solely for personal gain. Never confuse a poor self image with humility.

The second and equally important requirement of humility is a sense of proportionality, the ability to put things in perspective. What is important and where do we fit in the order of things? We live on a planet in orbit around a relatively insignificant star, one of billions, in one of billions of galaxies. Each of us is one individual among the probably 12 billion of our race that have inhabited our planet. Our civilization, advanced as it is, will not survive for long as time is measured in the universe. All in all we are not cosmically significant. When seen in that perspective we have a lot to be humble about. The authors of the current gaggle of books promoting the <New Atheism= are very pessimistic about the human race, both its past and future. If this is all there is, I don’t blame them.

But we look beyond the physical universe. We look to things not seen and truths beyond our understanding. Philosophers can reason to the possibility of God’s existence, maybe to a probability of the His existence. But we believe that, starting with our Jewish elder brothers and sisters and continuing with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of His Church. We are taught that God, the creator of all that is, so loved us that He sent His only son to become one of us, to suffer and die and rise again that we, each of us, might have eternal life. In view of God’s love for us and the resulting sacrifice of Jesus Christ each of us is of infinite value, a value not based on who we are or what we have; but, based on the love of our creator for us and the price paid for our salvation. It is because of the fact that we are infinitely loved by the infinite that we each have infinite value. If we can come to understand and accept this truth of faith, really really understand it at depth, then we need not seek humility because the reality of the love with which we are loved will evoke such gratitude that all other realities will be eclipsed. Our eyes will be opened and we shall see things as they truly are.

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<But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.= So there you have it. Most early Christians thought the end times were right around the corner but here we are 2000 years later. Periodically some self appointed prophet decides he knows the date. The most recent gave up after 3 misses. Tim LeHaye made a fortune on the <Left Behind= series of books but they seem to have run their course. It seems God likes big numbers. Billions upon billions of stars, billions upon billions of human beings, 13 or more billion years since the big bang, 5 billion years since the earth was formed, these are big numbers. The graves of Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England were 3 thousand years old when Christ was born. There were ruins of ancient civilizations in the Near East when the first books of the bible were being written. I would say it is a safe bet that God is no hurry and the end of time will be a long time coming. But for each of us there will a personal end of time. The evidence is conclusive. Each one of us shall suffer physical death.

Where I live, Linden Ponds, death is a frequent visitor. In the last six months 39 residents have died out of a community of 1200 souls. The pastoral services people have run several seminars on aging and its spirituality. I have tried to get them to offer a program on end of life issues and decisions but have been unsuccessful. As a lawyer and deacon as well as in my own family I seen the problems that this failure can cause. One member of the pastoral team shared that she and her siblings kept her 92 year old father on life support for a full year against his wishes because they were reluctant to let him die. He was on Medicare and it didn’t cost them anything so they kept him alive because they wanted to.

Doctor Ira Byock has written a book, The Best Care Possible, a physician’s quest to

transform care through the end of life.

Doctor Byock is director of palliative care at Mary Hitchcock hospital at Dartmouth. He is a secular Jew and his views are in no way influenced by religion but he is a good and compassionate man who believes that no one should suffer in the process of dying and advises the dying who is suffering to find another doctor. He is opposed to assisted suicide as he believes it will eventually lead to euthanasia and he believes that it is a doctor’s job to heal and if that is not possible to care for the terminally ill and palliate their suffering to the extent possible.

There are two extremes in this debate. One is the children who kept Dad alive until they were ready to let him die and the other, those who want to hurry the process along through assisted suicide. I prefer Doctor Byock’s middle way. Make your wishes known to your loved ones. As a result of her painful experience relative to the death of her mother, Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe has created a web site she calls <The Conversation Project=. It contains an eleven page document that goes step by step through the process of making your wishes known to your loved ones. Become familiar with the Catholic teachings relative to end of life issues. A friend of mine is an Episcopal deacon who spent some time as a Chaplin at a catholic hospital.

He said these issues were handled there with care and understanding unheard of in secular institutions. Very briefly, no one is obligated to use extreme measures to prolong life, food and water; however, are not extreme measures. In determining whether measures are extreme, issues to be considered include: whether the measures to be taken are disproportionate to the results foreseen; do the measures impose a burden on the patient disproportionate to the expected results;, does the treatment imposes a financial burden disproportionate to the results reasonably foreseen. Medication sufficient to relieve the patient’s pain is allowed even if the medication dose is sufficient to cause death so long as the intent is to relieve the pain and the death is an unintended consequence. This is a very brief treatment and you should look into these issues in depth.

These concerns are not just for the elderly. The most famous case involving these issues is that of Terry Schiavo who only 27 was when she suffered the stroke that eventually led to her death.

OK, enough about death, what’s the good news? In today’s readings Daniel has prophesied, ... the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.= and Saint Paul tells us that Jesus ... <by one offering has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.= Mark tells us that on that last day <... he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.= So for us, the Baptized, death is not the end but rather is the beginning of eternal life in Christ and the Eucharist we now celebrate is but a preview of coming attractions.

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Today's readings feature two different kinds of people. In the language of today we would refer to them as: winners and losers.

The reading from the Book of Proverbs tells us the story of the "worthy wife" whose value is “beyond pearls". Clearly this woman is a winner. To her husband she is an "unfailing prize". She is to be rewarded and praised. Her family and community are fortunate to have her.

Where then is the message for us in this parable?

I believe the message for us in this story is "don't be afraid" because fear paralyzes and ultimately destroys. You cannot be afraid and free at the same time. You cannot be afraid and effectively use your God given talent be it one or many.

Stress is epidemic in our culture and causes all kinds of evil: road rage; domestic violence; depression and even homicide. Stress is the result of fear. Fear that we will not make it somehow: on the job; at home; in traffic; with the wife or husband; with the kids; with the boss; with the deadlines and on and on. And if the stress, or fear, becomes too great, we run the risk of losing it all just like the poor servant in the Gospel story.

So what is Jesus telling us to do here?

All through the Gospels, and especially in Matthew, Jesus tells us not to be anxious and fearful. He tells us to consider the birds of the air and how God feeds them and the lilies of the field and how God clothes them. He tells us our very hairs are numbered. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

He is certainly not the Master in today's story who punishes the fearful. The Master in today's story is the "world"; a culture that punishes the fearful and takes away what little they have while casting them aside.

Jesus is showing us the ruin that is caused by fear and telling us to be ourselves; to be one talent or two talent people and for, a very few, to be five talent people. He is telling us to relax and let our talents take us where he wants us to go. This takes faith. It takes faith and trust to let go and it is not easy.

Now if you're everything is going good for you at the moment, count your blessings and thank God for your talents and your ability to use them. But please listen to what I'm going to say because it's a long life and you never know when you're going to get handed something that you can't handle alone.

In a little while, at the offertory, when the bread and wine are placed on the altar, put your fear, anxiety and stress on the altar too. Ask Jesus, when he becomes present at the consecration, to remove these emotions from your life and to replace them with faith and trust that Lord will show you his will for you and give you the strength to carry out that will each day.

Then, the next time you're tempted to be fearful, anxious or stressed, remember that you gave these painful negative emotions to Jesus and don't take them back.

This is Jesus message: he is still here with us in the Eucharist and that we need not be afraid. That we should use and enjoy the talents he has given us, whether many or few, and use them for the benefit of all.

It is in this way that we shall find peace and joy in this life as well as the next.

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The main purpose in life is not the accumulation of material wealth. Equitable distribution of the good things of life is not an option, it is required. It is not right that many go without so that a few can have too much. They will call us idealists, impractical, insensitive, homophobic and worse but at least we shall not be called indifferent.

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I remember the first time I felt like a stranger. I was in kindergarten. Up until that day I really had no concept of self as different from or separate from the world in which I moved. I remember all the kids were waiting in one big group to play a game. I must have had a premonition that something unusual was about to happen because I vividly remember the feeling of being just one of that group; waiting for the game to start. We were told to form a circle and then we all started to sing "The Farmer in the dell..." The teacher had placed one kid in the circle and he was the "Farmer". In due course the "Farmer" took the "Wife", who in turn took the "Child" and so on down the hierarchy of Farmdom until eventually the "Cat" took the "Rat". I remember feeling a flood of gratitude wash over me for not being selected as the "Rat"; but, I was not off the hook. The "Rat" took the "Cheese" and that dirty little rat took me. What was worse, I didn't get to take anybody. I had to stand alone in middle of all the other kids as they sang, "the CHEESE STANDS ALONE". That is when it dawned on me I was not part of the group anymore but was an individual and at that moment a very lonely individual, a stranger to the group.

I believe most people, at one time or another, have felt different or separate from the crowd; have felt the pain of loneliness or the loneliness of pain. For many this is a passing feeling that leaves when circumstances change. But for many others this feeling becomes a way of life. The pain of this sense of isolation compels them to adopt extreme measures in order to obtain relief. Some compulsively seek to acquire material wealth in the belief that if they can acquire enough things they'll be accepted; they'll be liked and respected. Others turn to an ego driven obsession with the acquisition of power, feeling that if they can gain enough power they can demand the respect and acceptance they crave. Often this power is exercised over a battered and terrorized family. Many others medicate the pain with alcohol and other drugs; accepting the isolation if the pain will go away, even if only temporarily. These compulsions, left untreated, cause untold misery to their sufferers and those around them.

Unlike Thomas, who saw and then believed, we are those who believed and therefore saw, saw that in Christ our loneliness is lost and love and acceptance are found. Saw that in Christ we are never alone, never lost, never abandoned and always blessed.

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I remember the first time I felt like a stranger. I was in kindergarten. Up until that day I really had no concept of self as different from or separate from the world in which I moved. I remember all the kids were waiting in one big group to play a game. I must have had a premonition that something unusual was about to happen because I vividly remember the feeling of being just one of that group; waiting for the game to start. We were told to form a circle and then we all started to sing "The Farmer in the dell..." The teacher had placed one kid in the circle and he was the "Farmer". In due course the "Farmer" took the "Wife", who in turn took the "Child" and so on down the hierarchy of Farmdom until eventually the "Cat" took the "Rat". I remember feeling a flood of gratitude wash over me for not being selected as the "Rat"; but, I was not off the hook. The "Rat" took the "Cheese" and that dirty little rat took me. What was worse, I didn't get to take anybody. I had to stand alone in middle of all the other kids as they sang, "the CHEESE STANDS ALONE". That is when it dawned on me I was not part of the group anymore but was an individual and at that moment a very lonely individual, a stranger to the group.

I believe most people, at one time or another, have felt different or separate from the crowd; have felt the pain of loneliness or the loneliness of pain. For many this is a passing feeling that leaves when circumstances change. But for many others this feeling becomes a way of life. The pain of this sense of isolation compels them to adopt extreme measures in order to obtain relief. Some compulsively seek to acquire material wealth in the belief that if they can acquire enough things they'll be accepted; they'll be liked and respected. Others turn to an ego driven obsession with the acquisition of power, feeling that if they can gain enough power they can demand the respect and acceptance they crave. Often this power is exercised over a battered and terrorized family. Many others medicate the pain with alcohol and other drugs; accepting the isolation if the pain will go away, even if only temporarily. These compulsions, left untreated, cause untold misery to their sufferers and those around them.

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How she acquired her faith in Jesus’ ability to heal her daughter we do not know. She, somehow, came to believe that Jesus could do as she asked if he wanted to. Her faith supplied the ingredient that seems to have been required if Jesus was to work a wonder, a confidence that he could if he but would.

This story tells us how a prayer of supplication works. First and foremost we must believe that God has the power to answer our prayer if he chooses to do so.

Secondly we must be persistent. It is OK, even advisable, to nag God.

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What is there about us that makes us want to take sides? The first thing we learn as little kids on the playground is to pick up sides. Why did some want to be of Paul and some of Appolos? Here, very early in the history of the Christian Church, we see factions developing. Because of this Paul must remind them that, regardless of who plants and who waters, it is God, and only God, who causes the growth.

One of the effects of that blessing and curse that is free will is to see some people as not us, different, as "others". I watched a Frontline program on channel 2 last night which dealt with matters of faith and doubt arising from last September 11th. It struck me as how this shared disaster drew all of the victims’ families together, unified by their suffering and grief, regardless of their many differences. The rest of us came together in their support, united by our compassion for them and our outrage at those who caused such grief and a new sense of vulnerability to terrorism.

A common theme were the questions, how could this happen to us? Where was God? Why didn't he stop this? The question in my mind was why we were so surprised that people can and do horrible things to other people. The history of the human race is awash in the blood of those who were deemed by some powerful group to be somehow "others". In each of our churches hangs a reminder that even the son of God was deemed in his own time to be "other" and cruelly executed. It is in this fact, however, that we can, if ever, find our unity as human beings and children of God. Christ did not die for some of us. For him there were no "others". He died for each of us and for all of us. Until humankind understands this truth, we will continue to choose up sides. Until we can become as upset and grief stricken because one human being dies cruelly, alone and needlessly as we did at the death of the our brothers and sisters of September 11th, we will continue to choose up sides and savage one another.

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Discipleship, even if inconvenient, comes first. It if does all other things fall into place.

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Discipleship, even if inconvenient, comes first. If it does all other things fall into place.

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My other favorite image of Mary is that of the apparition late in the day of August 21, 1879 in the village of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland. Mayo is best described by a story I heard from an Irish missionary Father from County Mayo. He had been assigned to Africa and the Bishop, a Cork man, told him <you’re being assigned to a horrible and desolate place but being from Mayo you’ll hardly notice any difference=. In 1879 it was even worse.

There had been the great hunger from 1845 through 1850 during which more than one third of the population of Ireland either starved or fled the country. Mayo was particularly hard hit. If ever a country needed the blessing of a Marian apparition it was Ireland in 1879. By the gable wall, the wall at the rear of the church, Mary appeared with Joseph to her right and at her left, John, the Disciple whom Jesus loved and to whom Christ entrusted with her care from the cross. She was pointing to an altar upon which was a lamb and a cross and around which angels worshiped. She did not speak. It was Ireland after all and she probably could not get a word in edgewise.

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<Reading: Matt 20: 1-16

This is why the doctrine of purgatory makes such sense. It reconciles the God’s infinite mercy with God’s perfect justice. It is apparent to anyone who really is paying attention that not all people die in what is called the odor of sanctity. Saints are Saints because their sanctity is heroic and heroic by definition is extraordinary. So what about the rest of us who die not completely sanctified even though we are saved having been baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ and not having rejected life in Christ by unrepentant mortal sin? For us it makes sense that there must be some additional purification between death and heaven and this state is called Purgatory.

The other wonderful thing about purgatory is that those who are there can pray for us and we can pray for them. Since we don’t hear much about purgatory any more I’m afraid most of the prayers are going only one way. This is a tragedy because I suspect most of us will experience purgatory and thus will need the help of prayers. We can only hope that those whom we assisted with our prayers will then be in heaven and will remember us. This is why we go to Mass, pray the rosary, fast and do penance.

So let us now offer the perfect prayer that is the Eucharist for Holy Souls who await the

ultimate reward which Saint John tells us <is to be like God and to see him as he is.=

August 17, 2005

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<Reading: Matt 20: 1-16

This is why the doctrine of purgatory makes such sense. It reconciles the God’s infinite mercy with God’s perfect justice. It is apparent to anyone who really is paying attention that not all people die in what is called the odor of sanctity. Saints are Saints because their sanctity is heroic and heroic by definition is extraordinary. So what about the rest of us who die not completely sanctified even though we are saved having been baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ and not having rejected life in Christ by unrepentant mortal sin? For us it makes sense that there must be some additional purification between death and heaven and this state is called Purgatory.

So let us now offer the perfect prayer that is the Eucharist for Holy Souls who await the

ultimate reward which Saint John tells us <is to be like God and to see him as he is.=

August 17, 2005

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Mattie Stepanek is eleven years old- but I'll let Mattie tell you about himself.

Mattie says, "It is very upsetting to get kicked out of heaven".

Mattie believes that God speaks to each of us through our Heartsongs.

Mattie explains through a poem.

Mattie has since died and is now back in heaven with Katie, Stevie, and Jamie.

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It is the kind of prayer that is needed if the animosity between the Jewish people and the Canaanite people which persists until our day is ever to be resolved. It is the kind of prayer that can not be ignored and demands to be answered. It is life and death prayer.Our best hope of achieving this kind of prayer comes in and through the Eucharist. Both in the public prayer of the Eucharistic prayer of the priest on our behalf and in our participation in that prayer by our responses and then in the private prayer we offer after communion when the living God is present within us. Let us therefore turn to the Eucharist and pray like our lives depend on it, like a mother with a sick child and no where else to turn, like the Canaanite woman.

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In today's Gospel Jesus affirms the law of the Torah, the Jewish Scriptures, as described in the first reading. In light of the subsequent mission of Saint Paul to non-Jews and the decision of the first church council, the Council of Jerusalem, not to require Gentile converts to become Jews, this is a difficult passage. Are we subject to the Law of Moses or are we not? Entire books have been written in an attempt to resolve this apparent contradiction. I will not attempt to do so even if I could. Obviously we do not obey the over 600 requirements of the Law of Moses as contained in the Jewish scriptures, so what meaning can this Gospel have for us in the year 2001?

I believe that for our purposes we can substitute the concept of Natural Law for the Law of the Torah. The Torah codified the natural law in the Ten Commandments. Saint Thomas Aquinas defined the natural law as "the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided". In his Encyclical, The Splendor of Truth, Pope John Paul says the natural law "is the human expression of God's eternal law". It is an objective standard built into our human nature by which we determine what is right and what is wrong.

The existence of a natural law was once universally accepted but in our society its existence is denied. The standard now is a subjective standard and varies according to the judgment and sensations of the individual. If it feels good it must be right. If it is inconvenient it must be wrong. For example, natural law dictates that all life is sacred from conception to natural death. Situational ethics, as taught by, Peter Singer, the head of the Ethics Department of Princeton University, holds that human life has value only to the extent that contributes to the society of which it is a member. Infants and elderly or infirm do not contribute and therefore their lives have no value. This man actually teaches that parents have the right to terminate their child's life up to the age of eighteen months. He is the head of the ethics department at Princeton University!!!

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What is there about us that make us want to take sides? The first thing we learn as little kids on the playground is to pick up sides. Why did some want to be of Paul and some of Appolos? Here, very early in the history of the Christian Church, we see factions developing. Because of this Paul must remind them that, regardless of who plants and who waters, it is God, and only God, who causes the growth.

One of the effects of that blessing and curse that is free will is to see some people as not us, different, as "others". I watched a Frontline program on channel 2 last night which dealt with matters of faith and doubt arising from last September 11th. It struck me as how this shared disaster drew all of the victims’ families together, unified by their suffering and grief, regardless of their many differences. The rest of us came together in their support, united by our compassion for them and our outrage at those who caused such grief and a new sense of vulnerability to terrorism.

A common theme was the questions, how could this happen to us? Where was God? Why didn't he stop this? The question in my mind was, why were we so surprised that people can and do horrible things to other people. The history of the human race is awash in the blood of those who were deemed by some powerful group to be somehow "others". In each of our churches hangs a reminder that even the son of God was deemed in His own time to be "other" and cruelly executed. It is in this fact, however, that we can, if ever, find our unity as human beings and children of God. Christ did not die for some of us. For him there were no "others". He died for each of us and for all of us. Until humankind understands this truth, we will continue to choose up sides. Until we can become as upset and grief stricken because one human being dies cruelly, alone and needlessly as we did at the death of the our brothers and sisters of September 11th, we will continue to choose up sides and savage one another.

are so blessed do not do so, then wl1o wi{{?

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` It was noon of a fine soft day in Ballybunion, County Galway when Pat Doherty pounded on Father Kelly's door. The good Father said, "What is all the noise about?" and Pat said "It's the second coming, I just saw the Jesus walking up the road from Galway city. Father looked down the road and sure enough the Lord was trudging up from Galway City. He ran to the phone and called the Pope and asked what he should do. The Pope said "Look busy man, look busy."

In today's Gospel Jesus tells us what is important; that the food allowance be distributed and on time. That is that people should not go hungry. In a world where billions do not get enough to eat while millions have too much and spend their time trying to get more, something is terribly wrong.

Thank God that Jesus did not come today because I don't think he would be too happy with too many; but, then they would probably be too busy to notice.

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Discipleship, even if inconvenient, comes first. It if does all other things fall into place.

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John teaches that perfect love, the love that is of God and not self-centered, drives out fear. Fear and perfect love cannot co-exist. But for the transformation to take place requires an infusion of grace, a miracle. How else can mere mortals share in the love and life of God? The entire twelve step program of AA is designed to bring about this miracle. The first step requires an admission of defeat, an admission of powerlessness leading to a belief that a greater power, God, alone can restore sanity. The third step is a decision to turn one's will and life over to that power, the God of the individual's understanding. The remaining steps involve clearing away the wreckage of the past, making amends for past wrongs and reaching out to God in prayer and meditation and to others in love and service. It is a spiritual program of recovery based on the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius as incorporated into the Oxford movement of the early 20th century. It has saved the lives of millions including mine.

In my forty plus years in recovery I have witnessed many miracles. A friend of mine used to say when speaking at an AA meeting that he was a miracle looking out at a room full of miracles. I have never personally witnessed a miracle outside of AA but neither have I seen another group of people who work so hard at inducing them. Richard Pryor, the comedian who set himself on fire free basing dope, said that you derive a great sense of urgency to action from the fact that your pants are on fire.

It seems that today there is a shortage of love and a plentitude of fear. Individuals impute the basest of motives to anyone who disagrees with their particular agenda. The epithets fly back and forth. Rational discussion of pressing economic and social issues is impossible due to the heat of the discourse. I shudder to think of the negative political advertising we will have to endure until Election Day.

I remember a song by The Carpenters. It went, <What the world needs now is love sweet love, it’s the only thing there’s just too little of=. You don’t hear that song anymore but the words are more relevant now than they were in the turbulent time they were written.

What if we all reached out to one another in love and thereby created a world free from fear? What a wonderful world it could be! What a wonderful world it would be!

And now we will proceed to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of love and Thanksgiving whereby we are bathed in the love of the one who suffered and died that we might have eternal life.

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What if we all reached out to one another in love and thereby created a world free from fear? What a wonderful world it could be! What a wonderful world it would be!

And now we will proceed to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of love and Thanksgiving whereby we are bathed in the love of the one who suffered and died that we might have eternal life.

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The first reading today is one of the most powerful in The New Testament in two ways. First, it reminds us of something we don't often consider. When we think of Christ we usually think of the risen, glorified Christ. We don't usually dwell on Jesus in his humanity. This reading reminds us that Jesus was like us in every respect. With the exception of sin, all that it means to be human also applied to him. He was, like most men all through the ages, a working man and so he confronted all the difficulties that go with that lot in life: difficult supervisors and dead beat customers; risk of physical injury; unrealistic deadlines and the like.

Jesus had taxes and bills to pay. He probably was out of work from time to time. He also had joy in his life. He had the most loving of mothers and a solid stepfather. He no doubt enjoyed religious festivals and family celebrations. It is safe to say that, given the different time and culture, his life up until age thirty was pretty much like anyone's. When we approach him with the difficulties we encounter in ordinary life he knows what we are going through and understands.

The incarnation was a miraculous marriage of human and divine nature in one person but it was also 2 o'clock feedings, dirty diapers, colic, skinned knees, loose teeth, bullies, acne, lost jobs, bill collectors, taxes, annoying neighbors, death of loved ones, birthday parties, graduations and weddings. Oh Oh, weddings, that's another story.

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As I wrote this our state and our nation had just voted. Since I live in Massachusetts, where our senatorial and congressional delegation is pro-abortion to the point of supporting even partial birth abortion, my views have no advocate in Congress. Yet most of these same elected officials profess to be Catholic. If your faith gets in the way all you have to do is define moral issues as political issues and then declare that you cannot allow your faith to dictate your actions on political issues. Just change how you frame the issue and you’re off the hook.

In today's gospel Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

The real surprise that even this prophetic Pope did not anticipate is that these results would be looked upon as good and be regarded as progress in human development. Promiscuity and marital infidelity are now rights to sexual freedom. Abortion is a merely a choice and a right to reproductive health care. Pornography is free speech. Co-habitation is merely a preferred life style. Marriage is sexual slavery, unless it is a homosexual union, in which case it is to be honored.

Today it is the defense of marriage and human life that is looked upon as mean spirited, bigoted and therefore evil. Words have lost their meaning and their meaning is beyond words.

It now appears that the opponents of life have won. The populations of Europe and Japan are not replacing themselves. The population of the United States has increased only because of immigration. As of the year 2000 there are now more Moslems in the world than Catholics, not due to religious conversions but due to birth rates. Western civilizations are committing suicide. This is not a threat it is a fact. Species which do replace themselves become extinct.

The coming crisis is: too many old people and not enough young people to support them.

In China, due to its one child policy, each child will have to support two parents and four grandparents and thus each married couple will have to deal with four parents and eight grand parents, that’s a total of twelve people. This is unsustainable. The solution? Get rid of the old people. In our pragmatic world the easiest solution is the one adopted. The elderly and infirm will be portrayed as without value, as selfish, unproductive and not worthy of continued existence. Sort of like the unwanted unborn today.

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In today's gospel Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

Today it is the defense of marriage and human life that is looked upon as mean spirited, bigoted and therefore evil. Words have lost their meaning and their meaning is beyond words.

not a threat it is a fact. Species which do replace themselves become extinct.

The coming crisis is: too many old people and not enough young people to support them. In China, due to its one child policy, each child will have to support two parents and four grandparents and thus each married couple will have to deal with four parents and eight grand parents, that's a total of twelve people. This is unsustainable. The solution? Get rid of the old people. In our pragmatic world the easiest solution is the one adopted. The elderly and infirm will be portrayed as without value, as selfish, unproductive and not worthy of continued existence. Sort of like the unwanted unborn today.

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Today Saint Paul reminds us that Jesus did not come to save angels, he came to save men and women, the sons and daughters of Abraham, human beings. We are told that because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those, that is all of us, who are being tested. Because of his suffering and cruel death Jesus comes to us as one who not only preached a message of self sacrifice in reparation for sin but himself made the ultimate sacrifice in expiation of the sins of all people. In the vernacular, he not only talked the talk but he also walked the walk.

It is no accident that self help groups are effective in helping those who seek them out. One who has suffered as you are suffering speaks with much more authority than one who has not. The fact that someone has suffered as you are suffering and has come through it in one piece gives hope to the hopeless. To be credible one needs credentials. If you want to be an effective helper you need to have at one time needed to be helped. If Jesus was to be the hope of the hopeless it was necessary that he, himself, overcome suffering and death. It is in Jesus' victory over suffering and even death that gives us hope of eternal life. No matter what we suffer we can never say that Jesus doesn't understand. Jesus knows, Jesus has been there and therein lays our hope that in Jesus we too will overcome, someday.

"Overcome someday" those words have a ring to them. Especially today the 74th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King. Reverend King was a true disciple. He too did not just preach he acted. He advocated civil disobedience but he also went to jail with those who heeded his words. Just has Jesus stood up to an authority that imposed unjust burdens on his people, Martin Luther King stood up to authorities so steeped in prejudice and evil that those who did not live in those times cannot fully appreciate just how evil they were. Black and white television pictures of fire hoses, police dogs and night sticks being used against unarmed civilians incensed all fair minded people and eventually forced the Federal Government to step in and halt the brutality. Can any of us who saw it ever forget the pictures of a little girl in pig tails wearing her best dress and carrying her books being escorted through a spitting howling mob just so she could go to school? I attended a memorial service for Reverend King at the Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton. It was the place of worship of the black community in Newton, a community that dated from before the civil war. The church was full, standing room only. The Pastor's name was O'Neill and he was a big man with a powerful voice. He could hardly speak

that day. The grief in that church was so heavy it could hardly be borne. I really don't remember what was said but I'll never forget the profound sadness I felt to see the looks of desolation on the faces of those around me. Jesus was present in that church and I know his heart was broken anew at the suffering he saw and only he, as the one who had suffered, could fully understand and appreciate.

On April 4th our Episcopal brothers and sisters observe that day, the day Reverend King died, as a memorial to a martyr. I think that this time they got it right.

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Jesus does not mean that we hate father, mother, wife, and children. The word hate is too strong a translation for the Aramaic word Jesus used. He is telling us what we must do if we are to be his disciples. What Jesus means is that we must detach from worldly things if we are to follow him. It is a matter of priorities; a matter of putting first things first. Discipleship must come first and if it does all other things fall into place."

The 23rd Sunday in ordinary time was September 9th. We all know what happened on September 11th.

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Biblical scholars like to say that the New Testament is hidden in the old. Sometimes we can find an explanation for the new by looking at the old. This is one of those times.

The answer is in the Old Testament reading for today. Isaiah tells us, "The Lord does not faint or grow weary...He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength." It was through the power of God's grace, freely given, that Lucy was able to accept a premature and painful death and it is through this same grace that we are able to bear our burdens. God can do what we cannot do and bear what we cannot bear. Saint Paul taught that "it is when we are weak that we are strong." It is by coming to Christ, it is by surrendering our wills and our lives to Christ that his yoke becomes easy and our burdens become light; "that we mount up with wings like eagles; that we run and are not weary".

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the working firemen and the public rejected the idea. The average person, using old fashioned common sense, recognized that diversity is to be celebrated where it exists but history is not to be rewritten to create diversity where it did not exist.

Those in the positions of authority did not understand this simple truth. It is hard to believe.

In both these instances people with an agenda missed the message given because they were fixated on their agenda rather than on what was really happening.

In yesterday's Globe James Carroll, a former Paulist priest, whose agenda is the liberalization of the church, took the occasion of John Geoghan’s conviction as an opportunity to write an op-ed piece entitled "People of the Church Must Take It Back". In it he expresses his oft stated views as to a celibate priesthood, women as priests, homosexual unions, artificial contraception and the like. He is entitled to his opinion and there is no doubt that he is a gifted writer, a good human being and a very smart man. But in spite of all that his agenda blinds him. How a former priest can argue that the people must take back that which they never had is beyond me.

When Jesus founded his church he gave worldly authority over it not to the people but to the Apostles. The Bishops, as their successors, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit are the leaders of the Church with the Pope, the first among equals, the successor of Peter as their leader. If the people take it back, whatever that means, it would not be the Church. It would be just another church. There is already a perfectly good Episcopal Church. We don’t need another one. What’s wrong with having a Catholic Church too?

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We often hear the expression, "They don't get it". There are times lately when we begin to wonder if anyone gets it. There is little consolation in the fact that this is not a new problem. Jesus famous "parable of the Sower" is found in all three Synoptic Gospels that is Matthew, Mark and Luke. In all three language to the effect that most people "do not get it" appears.

The gospel of Matthew contains the quote from the Prophet Isaiah to which Jesus alludes. Isaiah prophesied:

You will indeed listen but never understand and you will indeed look but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull and their ears hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes so that they might not look with their eyes and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn- and I would hear them

It is ironic that one of the proofs of Jesus being the Messiah is that most of those who heard him preach and saw his miracles did not get it.

I think the problem that most American Catholics face today is the problem of those seeds that fell among the thorns. We hear the word but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for things intrude and choke the word and thus we bear little, if any, fruit. We have lost the sense that we need the word, that we need conversion, that we need forgiveness. Very few seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis and I include myself in that. We are too busy; we shut our eyes and do not listen. It is enough to be a "good person" in our own eyes and keep busy keeping up with everyone else who, of course, is quite busy keeping up with us.

One of the advantages of growing older is that I can't keep up anymore. I have accepted that fact and find comfort in it. I am no longer anxious about the future because I don't have much of a future. A lifetime guarantee doesn't mean what it used to. I don't need every modern convenience because I can't remember how to operate them all. In my case, and I believe I am not the only one; the seed did not fall on good ground but prevailed by outliving the weeds.

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Today God is telling us through scripture that he knows life can be hard and that we must have faith and persevere, even to the shedding of blood, if his grace is to heal us.

The entrance hymn is Christ's proclamation that the spirit of God is upon him and that his mission is to the poor and broken-hearted. Saint Paul reminds us that the Hebrew Scriptures, in the Book of Judith, teach that "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines" and reminds us that in doing so he treats us as sons and daughters that he cares how we turn out. The psalm reminds us that his kindness is everlasting to those who fear him, who keep his covenant because he knows they are formed from dust and need his love. The Gospel demonstrates that Jesus was powerless before the lack of faith of those who knew him best, his neighbors in his home town. In the preceding verses he healed a woman of her hemorrhage when she touched his cloak in faith and raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead because Jairus was not afraid and had faith.

We see that Jesus can help those who realize that they need help and have faith that he will help them if they but ask.

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It is February 4, 2003. It gets dark early. It is cold and slippery under foot. It is damp and the sun doesn't shine much. The economy is lousy and unemployment is increasing. Today our Secretary of State will try to convince the United Nations it should support our effort to depose Saddam Hussein who is at least a murderer of his own people. Yesterday our President presided at a memorial for the seven astronauts who died tragically last Saturday. Last Saturday I was present at the funeral of the 26 year old son of one of my deacon classmates. A B.C. High and Bowdoin College graduate he suffered from bi-polar disease which had been tormenting him for some time. His mother, father, brother and sister were devastated. Last night Natalie Jacobson had a special on the torment of four children whose mother had an affair with a priest who was present when she lapsed into a coma and who left her without calling for aid. The Church hierarchy had known of this affair for years and did nothing before or after her death.

It is not even lent yet and we're dragging. Have I ruined your day or was it ruined before you got here?

At times like this we throw in the towel, pull the covers over our heads and hide or get a grip on ourselves and keep on trucking. The days are getting longer and spring will come. My deacon classmate and his family were a miracle of faith in the way they buried their son and brother. It was the greatest demonstration of grace and faith in the face of tragedy that I have ever witnessed. You had to see it to believe it. Jesus went on to become the most important single figure in human history.

One way or another Saddam will pass from the scene but evil is ever with us and we will continue to challenge it. Our Church is being cleansed and new leadership is in place that, we hope and pray, has learned from the mistakes of the past. The economy is always lousy before it improves. It's called the economic cycle.

But most of all, we rejoice in the fact that our Savior is present in our midst in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. How can we be other than joy filled at such a prospect?

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When I passed the bar my mother was very proud. She used to send me birthday cards addresses to Attorney Boyle. But when it came to taking legal advice from me she would look at me strangely and say "Are you sure". On some level I was never a real lawyer to my mother. She knew me too well. She remembered when I didn't have enough brains to come in from the rain and had to be watched every minute lest I do something stupid and hurt myself. She could not disassociate the me whom she had raised from the me I had become. I have a friend whose daughter has become a physician. He says he has a hard time following her medical advice because it is coming from someone he used to feed baby cereal.

This is what happened to Jesus when he went home. His neighbor's could not forget that they knew him as a child, a carpenter, and Mary's son, who grew up under their noses. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. After all he had just come from raising the daughter of a temple official from the dead. The hemorrhaging woman was cured by merely touching his cloak because she had faith in his power to cure her. At home he could work no mighty deeds because there was no faith in his ability to do so. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. Jesus relates their failure to recognize him for who he is to the historical failure of the people of Israel to recognize the prophets sent to them by God over the years. He can see his own future, rejection and a painful death, in the actions of his neighbors and it must have been devastating.

The miracles we need are for human life to be recognized for what it is, a precious gift from God to be protected and respected from conception to natural death; that pornography to be recognized as a perversion of human love and not protected speech; that violence be rejected as an accepted means of gaining one's political agenda.

These and more can be accomplished by him who defeated sin by his death and resurrection but only if we have faith that he can and will do so.

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Chromosome 2 in humans, the second biggest of the human chromosomes is a mutation, the fusion of 2 medium sized ape chromosomes. The author suggests that the occasion of this mutation may be the moment when, in the words of John Paul II, there was an "ontological discontinuity" between ancestral apes and modern human beings. The point when God infused the human soul into an animal lineage, the moment when, in the language of today's first reading, God blew into clay the breath of life and human kind was born.

From that moment until this, mankind has been looking for an easy way out.

Adam was not satisfied with Eden; he wanted more, the knowledge of good and evil. He disobeyed and discovered evil and having discovered it fated all his descendants to struggle with it all of their days. The Pharisees tried to overcome evil, to obtain salvation by what they ate and how they ate it. Today many people are turning to Christian Fundamentalism which promises that you need only accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and you have it made. Saved, that's it, no matter what you do from then on. You are still evil and prone to do evil things but you have put on Christ to cover the evil and that's enough.

Catholics know that there is no easy way out. Saint Paul says we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. What we are involved in is a process of conversion; of changing from the animal to the divine. We do that through the reception of sacraments, outward signs by which we obtain the grace won for us by Jesus' life, death and resurrection. We learned as children that there are seven sacraments. Many modern theologians put the number at nine. The seven familiar ones and two super sacraments, Jesus Christ himself, and his Church. In any event, seven or nine, it is through them that we Catholics are saved. Being one not to take any chances, I have received seven. I need all the help I can get. It is however by the reception of the sacrament of thanksgiving and love, the Holy Eucharist, that the grace of the others is energized and perfected. Shortly Christ in his resurrected and glorified body will be present among us and invite us to mystical and physical union with him by reception of communion, the most Blessed Sacrament. How far we have come from those early days when, by disobedience evil came into the world, from those days when men tried to experience God through what they ate and how they ate it.

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Poor God. He just can't help giving us another chance. In the reading from Genesis, even though he comes to accept that humanity is fatally flawed, he resolves not to ever again destroy every living being. God, being God, understands that this means he will send his son to repair the flaw and he will be treated badly. The flaw, which we know as "original sin", while in one sense a tragedy, is also the "happy fault" which, in the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, "gained for us so great a Redeemer". Thus in our imperfection lies the source of our glory, the coming of Jesus the Christ. Saint Paul understood this when he wrote, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more".

This being true, we must be living in a time of grace for there is no denying that sin abounds in our time. I always said I would not be one of those old guys who sit around longing for the good old days. I try not to but sometimes I am tempted. On last night's news it was predicted that within a few years there will a human being cloned. In our country alone over a million naturally conceived babies are aborted each year, yet millions of dollars will be spent to produce a clone. Why?

I read that Africa is being decimated by Aids, 30 million infected, most of them young adults with children. There is no medicine available because it costs too much. Here in the United States Aids is increasing again because the free availability of medicines has decreased the fear of contamination. I got myself depressed. But then I read today's Gospel where Jesus healed a blind man. It took two tries, the first being only partially effective. Healing was a process and took a little time. Jesus understood this fact and was willing to give it a second try.

I was reminded that the salvation of the world is also a process and will take time. I must also remember that God loves all people even though flawed, that "where sin increases grace abounds", that God has promised "while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease", that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

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In the meantime we must do the best we can to figure out what is going on.

If you can only see imperfectly, you need help. For us that help consists in the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church. But even there, clarity of vision may be limited at any given time. While it is true that dogma never changes, it does develop. Over time the Church's understanding of a truth does mature. Not too long ago the Church regarded freedom of religion as a dangerous concept.

Today the Church is the leading proponent of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right to be respected by all governments.

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My mother grew up in Hooksett New Hampshire. Her father grew up on a farm in Bow New Hampshire. Her mother came from Balle Liam in Galway. My mother, as a result, was steeped in two traditions. She had a head full of Yankee and Irish adages. One of her Yankee ones was: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". This means, of course, that the children are very apt to be like their parents.

Through Jesus we know the He, who possesses all power, chose to be powerless. He, who could have been rich, chose to be poor. He, who deserves to be served, chose to serve. He, who is mighty, chose to be meek and humble of heart. He, who could associate with the rich and powerful, calls to himself those who labor and are burdened that they might find rest. God prefers the burdened and afflicted over the rich and powerful because they need him. Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light because, if we allow it, the yoke is for two and Jesus helps us carry it.

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The trouble is that it is never really lost. It just sort of floats around over my head and when I'm not looking it drops back on and brings along a few more. I know how hard it is to take off weight and keep it off. Yet, when I get a piece of junk mail telling me I can eat all I want and lose 10 pounds a week I want to believe it. There is a set of before and after pictures to prove it's true. I have given up and don't reply to such ads anymore but I'm sure many people do or they wouldn't keep sending them out. Mass marketers know that if you can promise people their heart's desire and provide any evidence at all that their product works you can sell a lot of stuff.

But, if the believers are right, the unbelievers will be in big trouble. Whatever the cause, when the predisposition to believe is present, God pours forth the gift of faith and we come to know Jesus as our redeemer, our savior, our lord.

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"For whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus calls us to tolerance of those who perform deeds in his name. It is in this spirit that on November 21, 1964, the same day as the promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, that the Second Vatican Council proclaimed the Decree on Ecumenism. This was followed on December 7, 1965 by the Declaration on Religious Liberty.

After first referencing Lumen Gentium, the Council set forth "guidelines, helps and methods" by which Catholics can respond to the divine call for the restoration of unity among those "who invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior." We are first to "avoid expressions, judgments and actions which are not truthful and fair in representing the situation of the members of the separated Christian communities". No more name calling. Dialogue between competent experts from different Churches is called for: and, finally "all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will for the Church and, wherever necessary, to undertake with vigor the task of renewal and reform". The Church's primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be renewed and done in the Catholic household itself, in order that its life may bear witness more clearly and more faithfully to the teachings and institutions which have been handed down from Christ through the apostles. As Catholics we are to aim at Christian perfection so that the church may daily be more purified and renewed against the day when Christ will present her to himself.

Never the less, this in no way detracts from our obligation to personally and collectively strive for that perfection in creed, ritual and practice which is required if our separated Christian brothers and sisters are to recognize that truth.

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How does this reading relate to the gospel? I don't know. I couldn't figure it out. I love this gospel; first of all because of the mother of James and John. She is pushing for preferment for her boys. My kind of mother. If she doesn't push them who will. She is the prototype of the Jewish mother. I had an Irish Jewish mother. I think I've told you that she used to send me birthday cards addressed to Attorney John Boyle. I can't help but think of what the mother would have done if she knew the nature of the cup Jesus and her boys would share. You can bet your bottom dollar that if she did those boys would have been out of there and fast.

I also like to speculate who the seat at Christ's right hand is reserved for.

My pick is Mahatma Ghandi who lived a most Christian life but was a Hindu. Like Jesus, he was loving, gentle, and killed because of it. Ghandi said he loved Christianity; it was Christians he couldn't understand.

But none of this helps me relate these two readings. It must be that they are related by their difference. Jeremiah, a human, reacts humanly. He wants to get even. He wants those evil doers done in; not only them but their children and therefore their children's children. Jesus, the God man, however, teaches that those who would be great must be the least of all, they must be slaves and servants. Jesus not only forgives those who killed him, he dies in atonement for their sins, and makes possible the ransom of their souls thereby opening the gates of heaven for all who repent. The evil that Jeremiah prays for is contrasted to the good that Jesus does. This gospel also makes it clear that this life is meant to be a life lived for others and not for self. Last night we had a session on vocations for the Confirmation class. A seminarian from Saint John's spoke to the kids as did a Paulist Sister. As these young people spoke I was reminded of the brothers who taught me in high school, the sisters whom I have known, the priests I have been privileged to know and work with, my brother deacons and their wives and you, the people of God of Saint Joseph's who come to mass every day. The common denominator is that all are people who love, people who love Jesus and who love other people. Nothing else is required.

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The real message of Jonah is that reconciliation is of higher value than strict retribution. Reconciliation is of higher value than retribution. It is better to forgive than to get even. The God of Jonah is a God who repents of the evil he had threatened when the people repented of their evil. This message is affirmed for Christianity by the Gospels. The God of the Gospels is a loving Father who waits only for us to repent so that he can forgive us; a God who sent his son to become one of us. God's mercy is never ending and when mercy and justice conflict mercy carries the day.

Let us not be reluctant prophets like Jonah. Rather, let us rejoice in God's mercy and proclaim it to all, especially to those who are most in need of it, the lapsed, the alienated, and the outcast.

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Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that the "natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided". The Second Vatican Council points out that the "supreme rule of life is the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God ... directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human community". This law is codified in the ten commandments and is impressed upon and experienced through our human nature. Pope John Paul writes in "The Splendor of Truth" that the natural law is the "human expression of God's eternal law".

For example, according to natural law, all life is sacred and to be protected from conception to natural death. Situational ethics, as taught by Peter Singer, the head of the Ethics Department of Princeton University, holds that there is a right to life only if the individual is self aware and thus able to contribute to the society in which he or she exists. Therefore, he teaches, parents have a right to terminate the life of their child up to the age of eighteen months. In effect, if Junior seems a little slow or has the wrong color hair, get rid of him and try again. This from the head of the ethics department of Princeton University which was founded as a Christian University !!!

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In the modern opera "Jesus Christ Super Star", the lyricist, Tim Rice, explores the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Judas is unhappy with the fact that Jesus is passive and forgiving. Judas wants Jesus to be a militant messiah and take his place as leader of the Jews against the Romans. When Jesus refuses to do so, Judas plots to force Jesus hand. He turns him in, fully expecting Jesus to step into the role Judas has in mind. When Jesus does not and is killed horribly instead, Judas is horrified for he never intended Jesus' death. It is then that he returns the money and hangs himself after reproaching Jesus for not being who Judas thought he was. Ultimately he is overcome not with guilt but with despair. He believes that Jesus was not the Messiah but a deluded fool and thus there is no hope for Israel against the Romans. The ultimate irony is that Judas accuses Jesus of murdering him, Judas, because Jesus knew what would happen and did not stop him.

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"I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me." Jesus Christ, who said that he is the way the truth and the life, who we accept as our savior and redeemer, tells us that HE seeks to do not his will but the will of the father. If that is good enough for Jesus shouldn't it be good enough for us? Jesus taught us and we pray often to the Father that "thy will be done". But how hard it is to give up our will and seek and accept the will of God in our own life.

Yet we must be careful. There is so much evil in the world. Farmers all over Europe are being wiped out by foot and mouth disease, people get sick and die, floods happen even in our own area. Is it enough to just pray "thy will be done"?

Couldn't God use a little direction, a little help in determining what the right thing is for us? Can we really trust him to do the right thing? Or maybe it's just that we're not desperate enough, yet.

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"I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you."

The Second Vatican Council in its Declaration "Nostrae Aetate” declares "Sounding the depths of the mystery which is the church, this sacred council remembers the spiritual ties which link the people of the new covenant to the stock of Abraham. Saint Paul reminds us in his Epistle to the Romans (9:4-5) that, "the Jews are the Israelites, and it is for them to be sons and daughters, to them belong the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

To them belong the patriarchs, and of their race according to the flesh, is the Christ."

We must remember especially during this time of grace that, in the words of the Council, the Church "deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti- Semitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews."

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Jesus is not debating them, he is telling them. He is telling them that he has been in the presence of the Father and is doing what he has been told by the Father. In rejecting him they are rejecting the Father. They cannot accept this fact. This dialog eventually ends up in Jesus affirming his divinity and they pick up stones to kill him.

I often wonder what I would have done in their place. I am afraid I probably would have acted as did these former disciples. Assume you have found someone whose message strikes a chord in you. He talks sense and you believe he is something special, maybe even the Messiah for whom you have been waiting.

Then he starts to talk crazy talk. He says you must eat his flesh and drink his blood. He talks about talking to God and being in God’s presence. Anyone could have second thoughts under those circumstances. The sensible thing to do is to walk away and look for a new Messiah. In this case doing the sensible thing is exactly the wrong thing to do. They are in a lot of trouble but they don’t know it.

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Inferences are drawn from facts. Philosophers like to say that as a being is so it acts. By observing someone in action we can draw valid inferences about what kind of person they are. From the behavior of the Apostles in the passage from Acts we can infer that something significant has happened to change them. This is the same group that was hiding in a locked room not too long ago. Now they are speaking out boldly and publicly regardless of the consequences.

The inferences which we draw from scripture provide a solid basis for our faith and are important sources of grace in our spiritual lives. The events of the last two days have forced me to draw some very painful inferences. The young man from Newton, who alleges he was raped by Paul Shanley when he was a child of six, is the nephew of a friend of mine. My friend is a superior officer on the Newton Police Department and has children of his own. He remains strong in his faith and he and his family are active parishioners of Our Lady's Church. He has sent his sons on extended trips under the auspices of the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry. That these are good and stable people, who are loyal to their faith, supports an inference that there is no hidden agenda here and the things they allege did in fact happen. It further supports an inference that people in influential positions in the Archdiocese did, in fact, put the welfare of an individual priest above the safety and welfare of the children with whom he came in contact. As the father of two sons this is beyond my comprehension. I can't even begin to imagine the pain caused to the friend's nephew and those who love him. As a deacon, and therefore a member of the hierarchy, a very minor member but a member none the less, I am greatly disappointed and saddened by the action, and lack of action, on the part of my superiors. I had hoped, as I know you had, that we would soon be able to put this all behind us that the worst was over. I am afraid that our hope was in vain.

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It is not fashionable to talk about hell in our society. According to a song that was popular in my youth the worst that happens is you get a rusty old halo and ragged wings if you're bad. A popular show on television is "The Osbournes". As I was writing this homily last night my younger son called me and told I had to watch it. He thinks my horizons are limited and I need more exposure to what's the happening thing. I turned it on. An aging rock star and his family have a camera following them around as they live their lives. Between the English accents and the bleeps I could understand little of what was said. It appears they are very rich and live in a Hollywood mansion full of strange friends of their kids who apparently just move in and stay and various dogs, none of whom are house broken. Their lives appear to consist of aimless obscene conversation, clutter and dog poop.

According to my son this is the hottest thing on TV. God help us all, hell is here and it’s on MTV. Empty talk, empty lives, self induced dysfunction, and escape from the reality of the meanness of that life through drugs and alcohol, that's close enough to hell for me.

Opposed to the emptiness of hell is the fullness of eternal life as promised by Jesus. To know God, to be like him, to see him as he is, this is the promise to those who hear, believe and live the words of Christ. I cannot understand the attraction of the Osbournes; I cannot understand the attraction of evil. I cannot understand why anyone would choose emptiness over the fullness of life in Christ. It can only be that is indeed a force of evil loose in the world and that force has taken over the means whereby contemporary manners and morals are defined. These are indeed tough times and if I didn't know that it in end Jesus wins, I'd really be worried.

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It seems it is not easy to recognize the risen Jesus. Mary Magdalen did not recognize him at the Garden Tomb. The two disciples did not recognize him on the road to Emmaus, at least at first. Thomas was able to see his wounds when invited to explore them. There were no wounds apparent in the garden or on the road to Emmaus. That would have been apparent to Mary and the disciples and would have immediately identified the stranger as Christ.

Mary finally recognized Jesus only when he spoke. The disciples recognized him only after the breaking of the bread. When he appeared on the beach of the Sea of Tiberius they didn’t recognize him until he called out to them. Saint Paul, when he had his vision of the risen Christ, had to ask, <Who are you?= If it was difficult for those who knew the living Jesus to recognize the resurrected Christ, what about us? Jesus understood that it would be especially difficult for those who have not seen him to believe and so he calls us blessed and blessed we are. There are, however, those who in our times have seen the risen Christ and who have carried his message to us. They are always little people. As he did in life, the resurrected Jesus favors humble and simple souls. One of those was Saint Faustina. An uneducated young Sister of Mercy who served in Poland as a cook, gardener and doorkeeper in the 1930's. She died in 1938 and left a brilliantly written spiritual diary detailing her visions of the risen Christ and his message of Divine Mercy.

Sister Faustina is now Saint Faustina.

It is Jesus’ message of Mercy that he delivered to Saint Faustina that we celebrate today. The picture of Divine Mercy as described by Saint Faustina is in our sanctuary. It shows Christ with red and white rays coming from his sacred heart. The rays represent the blood and water which flowed from Christ’s side when the Roman lance pierced his side as he hung on the cross.

They also represent his divinity and humanity which are poured out in mercy for all sinners who appeal for it. Jesus revealed to Saint Faustina that now is the time of mercy available to all who ask for it. This time of mercy is to be followed by a time of Judgment when Justice shall be dealt to all who have rejected Christ’s offer of mercy.

God works in curious ways. This message of mercy and its Chaplet have spread throughout the world in a relatively short period of time. Skeptics have said it is only because Pope John Paul II was Polish and pushed for Sister Faustina’s canonization that the devotion caught on. One can argue that it was actually the other way around, that it was the reason he was elected Pope. Who knows?

Let us rejoice in the wonder of Divine Mercy and the hope it offers and let us rejoice in the Eucharist and the grace it confers as we pray for those in need of mercy but know it not.

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"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Never hunger, never thirst! What can Jesus mean? Obviously he cannot be talking about physical hunger and physical thirst. It is a sad fact that many who came to Jesus in the Eucharist have in fact starved. The Irish famines of the nineteenth century caused the death of millions of believers.

The Catechism tells us that "What material food produces in our bodily life.

Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life." So Jesus offers himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as spiritual food and drink.

We who are blessed to receive the Eucharist frequently should, therefore, never hunger or thirst spiritually. True, most of us have times when we do hunger and thirst in the Spirit. We have times when the routine or lack of routine, in daily life weakens our spirit and breaks our connection with the Lord. But these times are over-come if we persevere in our Eucharistic union with the Lord, if we continue to feed our spirit with Jesus, the Bread of Life".

But what about those who are spiritually hungry? We live in a land of physical plenty. Most of us have never known what it is to be seriously hungry. As a matter of fact too much food is a national problem as overweight, especially in the young, becomes a national health problem. On the other hand we, at the level of the national communication media, are in the midst of a spiritual famine. The

sit-com "Friends" which is broadcast during early evening prime-time, when young children can see it, has degenerated into a series of juvenile seductions between the main characters. It is introducing a new character, Kathleen Turner, plays the transgendered father of Matthew Perry, one of the "friends" In other words she is a woman playing a man playing a woman. This may happen in real life, but, if it does, there is nothing really funny about it, sad yes, but funny no.

That we are fulfilled, and moreover, expect eternal life and to be raised on the last day. If we truly believe, we will be joy filled people and will draw the spiritually hungry to Jesus and the Bread of Life.

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Last week I read "City of God" by E.L. Doctorow. He wrote Ragtime and Billy Bathgate and is an author I enjoy. His latest is about an Anglican Priest and a husband and wife who are Reform Rabbis and start a Reformed Reform Synagogue in New York. Without going into details, the novel is an attempt to reduce Scripture to historical fact and remove whatever is deemed surplus by the author. The result of this effort is summarized in a paper presented by the woman Rabbi in which she writes, that in her view " God...is imperceptible, ineffable, except for our evolved moral sense of ourselves." In other words, God can only

be found in human behavior as it reflects this moral sense. If this is true, then to say the least, God is a very imperfect God indeed. If human behavior is all we can know of God, then God is a monster. What kind of God can we know from the history of humanity's unspeakable crimes against humanity?

How sad for those who do not see the light, who remain in darkness. The Gospel tells us that Jesus does not condemn them. They condemn themselves. They condemn themselves to a life of futility and hopelessness and to judgment on the last day. Since many are otherwise good people, I believe that judgment will not be a fiery hell but will be that they remain in the darkness, never knowing the light that is Jesus, never knowing the love of God that is in the light, never seeing God. How sad. How very very sad.

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What is really frightening is that even those who have not accepted the lies have accepted the argument that they should not impose their views on others. Many of us, maybe even most of us, have become what is the curse of our society, indifferent. We lack passion. We might say that we need another John the Baptist to turn things around. But we had Mother Theresa who when asked on her visit to the United States, What is your message for America? She replied "Stop killing your babies". John Paul II is personally beloved. He draws great crowds wherever he goes and delivers a message of life and hope. People love the Pope and ignore the message.

What can we do? The least we can do is what John did. Tell the truth. Call sin, sin. Don't buy into the lie that truth is relative. We are not all entitled to our own definition of "is" as was claimed by a famous member of the liberal elite when his back was to the wall. Life is precious and to be protected at all stages of development. Human sexuality is a gift from God and to be used to propagate the human race and to perfect and complete the love between husband and wife. It is not a toy to be casually used solely for personal enjoyment. The main purpose in life is not the accumulation of material wealth. Equitable distribution of the good things of life is not an option, it is required. It is not right that many go without so that a few can have too much. They will call us idealists, impractical, insensitive, homophobic and worse but at least we shall not be called indifferent.

We now continue with the celebration of the one for whom John was the Herald, Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is through him that we know that God is not mocked, that truth will prevail, the kingdom will come and God's will at last be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

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In today's Gospel Jesus asks his Father to consecrate his disciples in "truth" which he defines as the "word" of the Father? He does not ask that they be consecrated in the current opinion of the majority. Jesus says that his disciples do not belong to the world just as he, Jesus, does not belong to the world. From that we can infer that Jesus’ truth is not worldly truth but other worldly truth. It is not the truth because it is popular; it is the truth simply because it is the word of the Father.

Jesus never said that it would be easy to be a disciple. In fact he said the opposite. He recognized that we would slip and fall and so he gave his apostles the power to forgive sin. He knew the best of us would sometimes sin. He knew we would get off the track from time to time so He gave us a marker to follow so that we would know when we were on track. He called that maker Peter, the rock upon which he built his Church. When I am in the boat of Peter I know I am in the right boat. I may not like some of the people in the boat. I may not like some of the rules in the boat. But I do not ever get out of the boat because outside the boat there is only bottomless water.

On one thing James Carroll and I agree. He writes that his "firm connection to the Church is the Eucharist, the sacred meal of the Mass, affirming the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ." He seems not to see that those who have substituted mere preference for the word of God ultimately have lost the Eucharist. When the majority comes to see it only as a symbol that is what it becomes.

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If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will you be done for you.

Ask for whatever you want? This sounds like a blank check; too good to be true. As a practical matter we don't really expect God to deliver whatever we ask for all the time. I remember as a kid being told that when my prayers seemed not to be answered that they really had been and that the answer was "No". That seemed a little cute to me. It still does. So what does this mean?

There are contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and the Lectionary detailed instructions relative to this common prayer. Briefly, the celebrant is to invite the congregation to pray and say the concluding prayer while the deacon, cantor or other person announces the petitions. The entire congregation expresses its supplication by a response said together or by silent prayer. The instruction says that in this prayer "the people exercise their priestly function and intercede for all humanity".

This prayer is rendered even more powerful by its location. It is placed within the greatest of Christian prayers, the Mass, and located just before the most solemn part of the Mass, the Eucharistic prayer and is an integral part of the liturgy.

When we pray as Church, we the living branches of the living vine that is Jesus Christ can be sure that the Father, the vine grower, hears our prayer and that it is music to his ears.

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It's an old question. What to do when people who are not disciples act in Jesus name?

Today it raises the question of other churches who call themselves Christian and their relation to us who say we belong not to a church but to the Church.

Finally we must determine whether the actions are in accord with Scripture and Tradition for if they are not, they cannot be the will of the Father. Therefore, in determining whether an activity is of God, we examine the motive, the effect on Christian unity and whether or not it is in accord with divine revelation. Only then can we make an informed judgment whether the actor is for or against Christ.

Regardless of our feelings toward the Cardinal as a result of the horror of abuse of children, as Christians we must reach out to a brother who must be in great pain. So I ask you to pray for him that he will be able to bear whatever he must and accept the will of God as it is made manifest to him through the application of the truths contained in today's readings.

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Our readings begin to prepare us for Pentecost Sunday and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is the third great feast of the Christian Church after the Incarnation and Resurrection and is really the birthday of the Church. Through the Holy Spirit our hunger for God is satisfied for it is the Spirit that lives within us and through whom grace of Jesus Christ acts upon us. Without the spirit there remains only the longing, only the emptiness which prompted the Athenians to erect a memorial to the God they craved but did not know.

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Saint Paul had some time to kill so he went down town and debated with the locals. He ended up with the circle of philosophers who hung around playing mind games with each other. Athens was the center of philosophy going back 500 years to Socrates, his pupil Plato, and his pupil Aristotle. This was the philosophical major leagues. But philosophy could only carry you so far and that point had been reached some time ago. Socrates and his pupils reasoned to the existence of a prime mover or first cause, a god, but it took God, reaching out to man in revelation, to go further. As a result, these philosophers were spinning their wheels, looking for something new. They were involved in listening to everything but committed to nothing. The best definition of commitment I know of is contained in a plate of bacon and eggs. The chicken is involved but the pig is committed.

Saint Paul is committed to Christ and the Gospel. He has a message for these people but they are a hard sell. In the end it was not the intellectuals who believed, but the people. The people were not too intellectually superior to accept the simple truth that God so loved the human race that he sent his only son for its redemption. Christianity was built from the ground up not from the top down. That the early Christians were committed is proved by the number of martyrs in the early history of the Church. Very few of these martyrs were from the intellectual elite.

Our society today seems much like Athens in the time of Saint Paul. On the surface there seems to be involvement in a lot but commitment to nothing except the acquisition of consumer goods and the advancement of technology. There is great interest in anything new or different but that interest lasts but a moment and the search for something new begins anew. The intellectual elite seems detached from the real world and our colleges and universities have become symbols of political correctness and little else.

But there may be hope. A survey in U.S. News and World Report indicated that 69% of Christians and 40% of Non-Christians say that religion is very important in their lives. 52% of Christians claim to attend religious services at last once a week. More than 84% of our population claim to be Christian.

This indicates that there is certainly involvement by Christians in religious life. But the fact of 43 million abortions since Roe v. Wade means that an entire generation is missing. It is equivalent of the population of our 50 largest cities being wiped out. This fact by itself certainly raises the question of our commitment to Christian life.

How can we go from involved to committed? Jesus tells us in today's gospel that he will send the Spirit of Truth to guide us. In two weeks we will celebrate the great feast of The Holy Spirit, Pentecost. Let us pray that the Spirit will bring a Spirit of Renewal, a Spirit of Commitment to life in Christ to our Catholic Church in America so that, as were the early Christians, we may be a light unto the world rather than a scandal.

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Last week I read "City of God" by E.L. Doctorow. He wrote Ragtime and Billy Bathgate and is an author I enjoy. His latest is about an Anglican Priest and a husband and wife who are Reform Rabbis and start a Reformed Reform Synagogue in New York. Without going into details, the novel is an attempt to reduce Scripture to historical fact and remove whatever is deemed surplus by the author. The result of this effort is summarized in a paper presented by the woman Rabbi in which she writes, that in her view " God...is imperceptible, ineffable, except for our evolved moral sense of ourselves." In other words, God can only

be found in human behavior as it reflects this moral sense. If this is true, then to say the least, God is a very imperfect God indeed. If human behavior is all we can know of God, then God is often a monster. What kind of God can we know from the history of humanity's unspeakable crimes against humanity?

seeing God. How sad. How very very sad.

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Success was doing the will of God to the best of your ability always remembering that we are ever in the Holy Presence of God; and, in doing so sharing in the joy of Christ. So it was the Brothers who first taught me what it was to be in the world but not of it. Since then I have met many vowed religious and priests who have confirmed for me the joy to be found by being in the world but not of it. A real loss occasioned by the decrease in vocations to the religious life and priesthood is loss of the great powers of example to be found in these dedicated servants of Christ.

I look forward to returning to the building where I was taught so long ago what it meant to be not of this world and which has lately become a refuge for those who, while not long for this world, nevertheless deserve a place to live out their years in peace.

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The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies in CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. In part: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights Governments is instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness."

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Encyclical Letter of John Paul II: On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, May 1, 1991, in Part:.

In a certain sense, the source and synthesis of these rights is religious freedom, understood as the right to live in the truth of one's faith and in conformity with one’s transcendent dignity as a person".

Dignitatus Humanae Dec. 7, 1965, in part:

Words to cherish; words to defend; words to celebrate. Happy Independence Day!

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He gave them authority over unclean spirits; they were to drive out demons. Last Sunday in the reading from Luke we heard that they indeed were able to cast out demons in Jesus name. Of course we don't have demons today, or do we? While my wife was recuperating from her surgery she became hooked on COURT TV. If you spend much time watching Court TV you learn that demons are alive and well. They just don't foam at the mouth and roll people in the dust anymore. They have become too smart for that. For two weeks the trial of a Wellesley physician who brutally murdered his wife of 32 years with a knife and hammer was aired on COURT TV. This man took the stand and in front of his three grown children, who were supporting him, and told an unbelievable story of a phantom killer. This was a highly successful physician who was not mentally ill and did not clam to be. If he was not possessed by a demon, he was in fact a demon himself. All this week COURT TV is doing a series on prisons. The worst of inmates, who are a danger to officers or other inmates, are locked in what is called Super Max. Super maximum security, a cement room with a solid steel door, a cement bed, a stainless steel sink and toilet is their home 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. It must be a demon that drives people to behavior so extreme that such treatment is warranted. If it is not a demon it is surely demonic. A church worker, a youth minister, just pleaded guilty in Essex Superior Court to more than 70 acts of indecent assault to young boys in his care. A Jewish youth worker is under indictment for a similar number of similar crimes. This is demonic behavior to say the least. I have heard it said that the devil has not given up he has just gone underground.

In this archdiocese, and nationally, ministry to those in correctional institutions has in many instances been given to my brother deacons. The head of prison ministry in this archdiocese is a deacon and many of the prison chaplains are deacons. One of my class mates prepared six women at MCI Framingham for the sacrament of confirmation and they were recently confirmed at that institution. Another of my class mates volunteers at MCI Shirley, a maximum security institution. Deacon John Manning is the Chaplain at MCI Cedar Junction. It was his task to inform John Salvi's parents of their son's suicide while in isolation in that institution. Shortly after that he suffered a heart attack. Coincidence? Our own Gary Machaby has ministered to inmates in Plymouth House of Correction for many years.

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Who can understand the Father? Jesus tells us in today's gospel that he can but also those to whom Jesus chooses to reveal him. But earlier he says that things are hidden from the wise and revealed to the childlike.

In the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures it is clear that God allows the Assyrians to take the Kingdom of Judah into bondage not because he favors Assyria but because he is using the Assyrians as a tool to purify Israel.

From Jesus we learn that with God things are seldom as they seem. Those who appear to be blessed may only be tools and those who seem to be vanquished may be destined for glory. Those who seem to be blessed may be in peril and those who seem to be in peril may be blessed.

We read in the news of the greedy corporate executives who took millions when they already had millions while impoverishing their investors and employees. They took the money because they could and because they somehow deluded themselves into thinking they deserved it. They do not need God's help because they are very able to take care of themselves. They have no idea how desperate their situation is. They haven't a clue of the danger they are in.

The psalms tell us that it is the humble and afflicted person that God prefers. His son, who could have come in glory, came as a working man, a tradesman. He lived simply, often not even having a roof over head. He associated with working men, outsiders. He rebuked the power elite while embracing sinners. Jesus’ preference for the ordinary, for the working poor, for those in need of forgiveness is the constant theme of the gospels. Yet many miss the point. Because God has given them much they conclude that they don't need him, they have done it on their own. As my friend says, "Because they were born on third base they think they hit a triple."

Once the truth that of ourselves we can do nothing, that all that we are and have is an accident of birth; that, if we were born anywhere in the third world, our chances of a comfortable life would be remote, dawns upon us we should become less comfortable, less self satisfied. We should probably be more concerned for the souls of the well off than for the poor. The poor know they are in need but the well off live in ignorance of their true condition. Very few lack sufficient intelligence to understand that we are indeed very small specks in a very big universe; that we need God's love and forgiveness if we are to amount to anything. No one is too dumb to be saved but, unfortunately, many are too self satisfied to recognize that they need to be saved.

Let us pray that Jesus in the Eucharist may make us unwise and childish; that we may be given the gift of humility, the gift that allows us to see things as they are; to see that without God we are nothing but that through our faith in him we can enter into eternal life in his kingdom.

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Professionals, of course, possess no superior method than lesser mortals to perform that particular feat. She, however, had no idea what he was talking about. It went right over her head. The poor woman had made a mistake often made by those who see everything in relation to their presumed status. They confuse the message with the messenger. They will accept the wrong message if it comes from a messenger who meets their approval and dismiss the true message because the messenger is perceived as their inferior.

In today's reading from Matthew Jesus points out that the professionals, the scribes and Pharisees, have rejected his message and the significance of his many miraculous acts while the childlike have accepted them. The elite judge Jesus, and therefore his message, upon his status as a tradesman from a rural area. They expected a messiah from their own ranks not from the working class. The same is true today. Many highly educated people ignore the truths of faith claiming that they are accepted by only the naive and gullible. The godly are portrayed as simple souls who are somehow defective or weak. For example: Carl Marx, "the opiate of the people", Ted Turner and Jesse Ventura, "the refuge of the weak".

Grace is that unmerited gift without which no one has faith; and which the Catechism tells us is "a participation in the life of God" and "surpasses the power of the human intellect and will".

And so we see that no one can be smart enough to gain Faith through their intellect and will but they may be too smart to accept the message as a child; too dumb to figure it out for themselves and too smart to take it on faith. They are too smart and too dumb at the same time, what a fix to be in.

It is a paradox that those who's souls are in the most peril are those who seem to be the most fortunate in earthly terms; the celebrity, the social elite, the intellectual, the materially rich.

So as we pray for those whose lack of the necessities of life deprive them of the opportunity for a spiritual life let us also pray for those whose over abundance of the good things in life blind them to the truths that lead to eternal life.

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Shortly after I was admitted to the Bar the phone rang in the office where I worked with several other people. The person who answered the phone turned to me and said, "Someone wants to talk to Attorney Boyle". I said "It’s probably my mother". It was my mother. Mothers are like that.

The mother of James and John was just being a mother when she tried to help her sons to positions of favor. Maybe they put her up to it but I doubt they had to. Jesus truthfully responded, "You don't know what you are asking". If she did she would have taken them right home and locked them in their room. They would indeed have a place in Jesus' kingdom but only after, like Jesus, James had been executed and John had died in exile. The mother of James and John made a mistake made by many in believing that Jesus kingdom was an earthly kingdom.

Even to this day we continue to look for an earthly kingdom. We look about and ask ourselves why the world is as it is. Why are so many solely preoccupied with getting ahead; making their way; getting their share? Why do we act as if this is all that there is? If you don't make it here you don't make it anywhere is the way it seems.

Jesus teaching that whoever wishes to be great must be a servant; that the last, a slave, shall be first in his kingdom and the first in this world last in his kingdom is taught by many who spend a lot of time trying to make it here.

Apparently there are many who are willing to accept a low place in the life to come in exchange for worldly success. Thank God they are few but we have all known arrogant clergymen. You wonder if they have ever read the gospel and if they have how they so missed the point. Why do we call Bishops "Excellency" and Cardinals "Eminence" when the Pope is simply "Holy Father"? These are hardly titles fitting for those who are after all servants.

The other night the movie "Ghandi" was on television. Ghandi often said how he loved and respected Christianity. It was however Christians who used and abused the people of India and imprisoned Ghandi. Ghandi applied Christian principles without reserve. He turned the other cheek; he would not return violence for violence. He was meek in the face of arrogance; he loved those who opposed him. He once stopped a brutal civil war by fasting, almost starving, before Moslems and Hindus, who both loved him, stopped killing each other so he would eat. He was willing to die so that others might live. Does that remind us of anyone? Mahatma, which means "Great Soul" Ghandi was one of the most Christian persons who ever lived and he was a Hindu. Wouldn't it be something if the one who is to sit at Jesus right hand in his kingdom is a Hindu. Ghandi's mother, of course, would not be surprised.

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My father used to say he would rather be lucky than smart. He was lucky.

He was no fun to play cards with because he would usually win. In the gospel reading today we have two men who sell all they own to acquire something precious. One was lucky. The man who found the treasure apparently stumbled upon it on someone else's property. He doesn't tell the owner of the property but instead buys the property from the unsuspecting owner so that he may acquire the treasure. The other man is a seeker. He knows what he is looking for and pursues it to the exclusion of everything else. When he finds it he sells all that he has to acquire it. As he makes no comment on this distinction it appears it is irrelevant to Jesus whether we find his kingdom as the result of personal effort or by blind luck. What matters is that once we have found it that we treasure it.

Those who have had to struggle to acquire the faith, who has to make sacrifices, maybe lose friends and family, to enter the kingdom seems to appreciate it more. One thinks of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, John Henry Cardinal Newman who gave up a promising career in the Church of England to become a Catholic, the Great Saint Augustine who lived a life of pleasure before his conversion, and Saint Gertrude Stein who left family and friends and a brilliant academic career to become a Carmelite Nun.

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The readings this morning show God punishing the lack of faith of the Children of Israel by making an entire generation pass away in the desert before allowing them to enter onto the promised land. God reinforced bad behavior with attention. My friend Joe would not approve. The gospel shows Jesus rewarding an act of faith with a healing. Jesus was reinforcing good behavior. This is more like it.

Sound too good to be true? If it does, pray for an increase in faith because Jesus has promised and he keeps his promises. It is we who hold back; who doubt; who don't take him at his word.

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God's ways are not our ways. Our ways are the ways of the first reading. The Leaders of Judah were supposed to reflect the generosity of God. They were to be shepherds and protect the flock. Instead they thought only of themselves. They fed off the milk of the sheep; they wore their wool and slaughtered their lambs. This is the way of mankind: selfish; self centered; full of greed with no attention to what is just or who is in need.

The gospel is the way of God. More than just; more than fair; generous to all. Yet the first workers hired accuse the King of injustice. Not because he gave them what they bargained for and what was a fair day's pay but because he gave those who worked less than a full day a full day's pay. Somehow to their minds generosity equaled injustice.

The answer is "fair" has nothing to do with it. None of us, none of us earns our salvation. Salvation, whether of the first or last, is an unmerited gift. The gift is the same for all and comes to the saved through the merit of Jesus Christ earned through his life, death and resurrection. We have very little to do with it. We certainly don't earn it.

Why then do all the extras? Why come to daily mass? Why pray the rosary? Why pray mornings and evenings? Because it brings us closer to God in this life. The future reward may be the same for all but the love of God we experience in this life is proportional to the effort we make to grow closer to him each day. The more we pray the easier it is to pray. The closer we come to God the more we crave his presence in our lives. My mother would have said, "In for a penny, in for a pound". If a little is good, a lot is better. Thus, the more often we receive the Eucharist the more we come to appreciate the wonder of the graces it contains.

Pope Saint Pius the Tenth was in many ways a reactionary. He fought modernism in the Church tooth and nail. One thing he did, however, for which we must be eternally grateful, was to foster frequent reception of the Eucharist by the laity. For that, we who cherish the Eucharist are in his debt. It is in the Eucharist that we find our heaven on earth. It is in the Eucharist that those who go the extra mile find their reward and it is heaven on earth.

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While it didn't seem fair, there was some satisfaction in being first, even though God just didn't seem to appreciate all that extra effort. My grandfather was a Seventh day Adventist and was baptized a Catholic shortly before he died. I took some consolation in that fact. Even if it wasn't fair it helped my grandfather and that was good.

Saint Paul has written that, "we work out our salvation in fear and trembling". I think that this is what he is talking about, this possibility of losing what we have been given by our baptism in Christ.This is why it is important that we avail ourselves of the graces available to us through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

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Yes, we Catholics were the first ones hired alright. We were paying our dues.

So, what we do cannot merit our salvation; but, what we do can cause us to lose it. Those things that I did as a kid formed me as person to whom God is important; as a person to whom worship means something. The habit of prayer and the experience of God in my life pulled me back when I got too far out of line more than once. So all that effort was not wasted; it may not have gained my salvation, which came as a gift from Christ at my baptism, but it has helped me to hang on to the gift when I might very well have lost it.

Saint Paul has written that, "We work out our salvation in fear and trembling". I think that this is what he is talking about, this possibility of losing what we have been given by our baptism in Christ.

This is why it is important that we avail ourselves of the graces available to us through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

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The Gospels of the last two days and today are the "woe to..." Gospels. They begin with the words, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted". What follows are indictments of the scribes and Pharisees who obviously fall in the category of those who exalt themselves. So Jesus promptly humbles them.

We must resist the temptation to feel superior to the scribes and Pharisees. In berating them, Jesus is berating all like them, past, present and future. If we congratulate ourselves on our humility are we not exalting ourselves? You cannot be proud of your humility. True humility is the ability to see things as they are. It is the knowledge that all of us, high and low, are sinners and in need of the grace of Jesus Christ if we are to be saved. It was for the sins of each of us that Jesus died.

Individual guilt varies only in degree but not in kind.

Those who are most pleased with themselves in this life will be the most surprised in the next. It seems that the most fortunate among us develop a feeling of entitlement to the good fortune they enjoy. There is something about wealth that engenders greed rather than gratitude. The CEO's that looted their companies to the detriment of their employees and stockholders are but the latest examples of Pharisees and scribes. It seems that times change but people do not.

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Once you grant that any truth is relative, that is, what is true for you need not be true for me, you are in deep trouble. In asserting your truth you are denying the validity of my truth.

Under this reasoning, the mere assertion of your truth is "insensitive" and, since it causes me discomfort, it is labeled “hate speech". So, for example, if you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman as a unique institution, based upon human nature, for the purpose of the procreation and education of children; and, therefore, for the continuation of the human race, you offend those who would extend the definition of marriage to include same sex unions. Having offended them you are guilty of being "insensitive", and in this case homophobic.

On August 6, 1993 Pope John Paul published the Encyclical letter "The Splendor of Truth". The stated purpose of this encyclical is "to set forth...the principles of a moral teaching based upon Sacred Scripture and the living Apostolic Tradition, and at the same time to shed light on the presuppositions and consequences of the dissent which that teaching has met." John Paul stresses the importance, for not only individuals but for the whole of society, of the reaffirmation of the fact that some acts are always and everywhere evil. Needless to say this letter is politically incorrect and hates speech in the eyes of many.

As we turn to the celebration of the Eucharist let us ask our Eucharistic Lord for the strength, as John the Baptist did, to always and everywhere to seek and to profess the truth regardless of the personal consequences.

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How do you go about getting attention? Celebraties go to award shows where they take turns giving each other awards and standing ovations. The more outrageous their clothing, or lack thereof, the more attention they get. Exposure means exposure. Or you build a web site, buy commercial time on the Super-Bowl and sit back and wait for the hits to come.

In Jesus time there was no TV. He had no web site and there was no Super- Bowl so he had to improvise. Signs and wonders catch the eye. Healing people always got attention and so he healed. Some were people he knew like Peter's mother-in-law, and Lazarus whom he raised from the dead; but most of the people he healed were strangers. Most really needed healing and were in desperate condition. Even today miraculous healings draw attention and often Canonization as well. Too much attention could be bad however, so Jesus would often told those he healed to keep it quiet. It seems the more he told them to be quiet, the louder they became. He eventually accepted the fact that his mission must end in personal disaster and he predicted the miracle to end all miracles, his death and resurrection.

To this add in the Holy Spirit, a burly headstrong fisherman and eleven other Apostles, a young Pharisee workaholic, a miraculous sacrificial common meal, some more healing, the blood of many martyrs and Jesus indeed became a celebrity. In the words and music of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber, he is a Super Star. It has added up to a sellout run of 2000 years on the Great White Way that is the history of the human race. Not bad for a poor Jewish boy from the sticks.

This entire scenario is so unlikely that its occurrence is a proof of its divine origin. If it had not happened, no one would believe that it could happen. And it all began with a wedding in a small town, a friend's sick mother in law and some healing of poor unfortunates in a small town on the edge of a lake in the middle of nowhere.

I have had miracles in my life. Not big ones but miracles none the less. I am sure you have had miracles in your lives because you are believers, you have faith. If we expect miracles they will happen and if they happen they will help spread the word, to draw attention to Jesus and his message of love and salvation.

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We would recognize that the greatest force for love and good and liberty for all men and women is Jesus Christ and his Church and it must be strong, effective and loving if there is to be any hope for the afflicted of the world. We must find common ground in a mutual love for the Eucharist which is the Church's greatest strength. As the disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized Jesus we must come to love each other in the breaking of the bread.

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The same thing can happen to us. Like the Pharisees of Jesus time we can miss the obvious if we become too preoccupied with nonessentials, with details, with preserving the comfortable status quo. We must not forget that the Holy Spirit has guided the Church for two thousand years; that the Church has survived bad popes, bad politics, and many many serious difficulties. We must remember that the future of the Church is secure. We know this because Jesus has said it is so and the Holy Spirit is alive and well. We cannot allow the problems of the age to distract us from rejoicing in the ageless truths: that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again; that the Church is built upon the rock that is Peter and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it; and that Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Sacrament of the Eucharist which we are now graced to receive.

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Sam Levinson, if you can remember who he is you're as old as I am, said his father used to say "It isn't so good with money as it is bad without it." Money will not solve all our problems, ill health for example, but poverty magnifies all problems and creates new ones. The Irish used to say, "Enough is a banquet". In that persecuted isle few could ever say they had enough. For seven hundred years it was an ocean of need. Jesus did not value material possessions but recognized that basic needs had to be met. In today's gospel he sends his disciples out with no food nor money nor extra clothing. Since he knew they could not survive without them, we must assume that he knew their needs would somehow be provided for. He instructed us to consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field that neither sewed nor weaved and yet were provided for. We all know the story of Lazarus, the beggar, and the rich man. A proper attitude toward riches is essential if we are to be called Christian. Jesus truly says we "can not serve two Masters." He has strong words for the rich and their salvation, if at all, will be difficult.

Let us pray as we celebrate the Eucharist for those who may very well be in the long run the most needy and unfortunate of us all, the rich.

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TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY!!!

I DON'T THINK SO. PERHAPS IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER. WE CARRY A LOT OF BAGGAGE. IN OUR WORLD THERE ARE MORE AND MORE DEMANDS ON OUR TIME AND RESOURCES. WOMEN ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE A HOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES AND HOLD DOWN A JOB AT THE SAME TIME. THE TELEVISION IS TELLING US AND OUR KIDS ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE JUST HAVE TO HAVE. PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO SUPERVISE THE PLAY OF THEIR CHILDREN HENCE THE TERM "SOCCER MOM".

KIDS HAVE TO PLAY POP WARNER, LITTLE LEAGUE, SOCCER, TAKE MUSIC LESSONS AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR SCHOOL, HOMEWORK, AND RELIGIOUS ED.

I THINK THAT TODAY JESUS IS TELLING US TO DROP THE EXCESS BAGGAGE: THE GUILT WE BEAR FOR PAST SHOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE, SHOULDN'T HAVE; THE CONCERN WE HAVE OVER OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS; THE FEAR AND WORRY WE HAVE ABOUT THE FUTURE; THE ACQUISITIVENESS THAT MAKES US CHASE AFTER THINGS WE REALLY DON'T NEED BUT ARE TOLD WE MUST HAVE; THE LOAD OF GUILT WE CARRY BECAUSE WE JUST CAN'T DO IT ALL; FEAR OF AGING BECAUSE YOU'RE OLD AT THIRTY AS FAR AS MANY EMPLOYERS ARE CONCERNED. THE LIST IS NEARLY ENDLESS.

HOW MUCH BETTER IS THE MIDDLE WAY EXPRESSED IN PROVERBS: "GIVE ME NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES". BY TAKING NOTHING ON THE JOURNEY; TRUSTING IN THE GOD WHO SAVES AND LOVES US; LIVING IN THE PRESENT; SAYING YES TO GOD BEFORE WE KNOW THE QUESTION; WE KNOW PEACE.

SO, AS WE APPROACH THE LORD IN THE SACRAMENT OF LOVE AND THANKSGIVING, THE EUCHARIST, LET US LEAVE OUR EXCESS BAGGAGE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS.

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Couldn't be simpler than that.

I guess it’s that simple. God wants us to succeed. He is all we need to succeed. So go into the world and spread the good news and, if rebuffed, shake it off and keep on going.

I know that as a result of my legal training I should be able to complicate the simple and obscure the obvious but even a lawyer cannot complicate what the Lord makes plain.

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The Pharisees were lawyers. The question they posed was a lawyer’s question. It was designed to trap Jesus. If he said it was lawful to pay the tax he alienated the Jewish people who hated the tax and if he said it was unlawful he risked the wrath of the Roman authorities. Jesus was a good lawyer himself. He answered their question with a question. He thus forced the Pharisees to answer their own question based upon the coin with which the tax was paid, he narrowed and defined the issue. In doing so he established the proper relationship between Church and State. Except when one’s relationship with God is involved, one is to defer to the state. Unfortunately the line between the law of God and the law of the state is, of late, in dispute.

On one issue there is no debate. It is the duty of all citizens to vote. The right to elect the nation’s leader and the representatives of the people in Congress has been attained and maintained by the sacrifice of a countless number of our fellow citizens living and dead. It is not only our duty to vote but it is also our duty to inform ourselves of the issues and the positions of the candidates especially on those issues which involve basic human rights and universal moral truths. The Massachusetts Catholic Conference has written, <Politics must always abide by fundamental values such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one’s children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms.= Pope Benedict has said, <There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor.=

Neither the Church nor any Church representative can tell you how to vote.

We can and should, however, remind you of civic duties which, in addition to voting, involve being an active citizen engaged in the political life of one’s own town, state and country in the endeavor to promote the common good.

Both the Massachusetts Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have written materials on voting issues. These are available on line.

The Gospel is clear; but, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God are in dispute. This election will in large part determine what kind of a nation, and, because of our nation’s status as the world’s only super power, what kind of a world it will be in the 21st century. This will be my 14th Presidential election and I believe it to be the most important election ever. We must inform ourselves and prayerfully reflect on our vote. Let us therefore now turn to our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and pray that we and all the electorate will be guided by the Holy Spirit on November 4th and that those elected may in turn be inspired by the Holy Spirit to act for the benefit of all humankind: even if unborn, aged or infirm, lacking the necessities of life, or otherwise weak and vulnerable.

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Lord, teach us to pray. The Lord responds with the perfect prayer in less than forty words. Entire books have been written about this brief prayer without exhausting the topic. This brief prayer revolutionized God's relationship to humanity by raising us to the status of children of the most high God.

I marvel at the fact that I dare address the God of Heaven and Earth, creator of all that is, at all, never mind as Father. What is even more astounding is that, like John Donne, I do so and then let my mind wander. What must God think of me? Sometimes I think I'd be better off not even to try. At least then I'd not insult God with my inattention. But then I remember, he is my Father and loves me and wants to hear from me even if imperfectly. I remember that Jesus gave us the simple prayer, the Lord's Prayer, and even I should be able to get through that so I try again and again and again. I hope that the Father counts the effort and not the results. If all that Jesus gave us was this simple prayer which, in the words of the Catechism, expresses, "filial trust, joyous assurance, humble boldness and the certainty of being loved" his place in history would be merited. But he gave us so much more, redemption through his death, hope for eternal life through his resurrection and the Eucharist which gives us heaven on earth.

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"Woe also to you lawyers." This phrase is the most often quoted to us Lawyers. The second most quoted phrase comes from Shakespeare’s Henry VI, "First we will kill all the Lawyers. I suppose woe is better than kill but neither is something to look forward to with pleasure. I believe that woe to Lawmakers would be more accurate. Both Congress and the Legislature routinely enact laws and then exempt themselves from the operation of those laws. It is this conduct which causes Jesus to call down woe upon the lawyers of his time. In any event it seems that distaste for lawyers goes back a long way. One fringe benefit of ordination for me is that now when people ask me what I do, I tell them I am a deacon and do not have to confess my lawyerness.

Aside from that, the passage from today's gospel is the reason that Jesus, my redeemer, is also my hero. This exchange comes during a meal in the house of a Pharisee. First Jesus accepts the invitation from one he knows is out to get him. He walks into the Lion's den. Next he fails to perform the ritual cleansing that Jews perform before dining. He knows that this will not go unnoticed and will cause comment. When it does, Jesus goes on the offensive. Gentle Jesus becomes a tiger. He lays them out, comparing them to graves, a horror to the Pharisees, who regard the grave as unclean. It is the same as calling them pigs as far as they are concerned. When one of the lawyers speaks up, he levels him too. From this time on the Scribes and Pharisees are determined to finish him off. As far as they are concerned he is asking for it and he will get it. No one gets away with attacking them, they cannot allow it because it is the truth and deep down they know it. If it were not the truth, he could be passed off as a nut and be ridiculed into obscurity. But the truth is a powerful weapon. As Harry Truman said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth, and they think it is hell." So not only was Jesus, our Savior, gentile, he was also tough, tougher than nails.

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Jesus never answered the question. Will only a few be saved? One thing we know about God is that he likes large numbers. Billions of galaxies each contain billions of stars. And that is only in the observable universe. We don't know how many there are in the universe we will never see, at least in this world. There are six billion people on this planet today. Probably at least another one hundred billion people have already lived on this planet.

Even a small percentage of those billions is a lot of people. How do they all get through the narrow door? The only possible way is one at a time. Each of us at the time of our death will, in turn, approach the door and knock upon it. Will it open? Or will we hear, "I don't know you"? I have thought of that moment many times and at length. I know my only hope is in Christ. On my own I'm a goner. It is then that I will rejoice in my membership in the Body of Christ that is the Church. I know that my soul will bear the mark of my baptism. I know that I will be fortified by the sacramental graces that I have received through the practice of the faith. The Church teaches that God wills all to be saved and gives to each sufficient grace for salvation. But the Church also teaches that Sacraments, outward signs instituted by Christ, confer graces upon us that are not otherwise available. This is why I cling to the Church. This is why I stay in the boat with Peter. It is the best place from which to knock on the door. It is my best hope of being recognized as one of Father's children and a brother of Christ. There may be other ways to get through the door but not for me. If I am saved, it will be through the grace of Christ dispensed by his Church through its sacraments.

What a grace to be a Catholic; to have access to the sacraments and through them to life in Christ. This is why it is not true that one religion is as good as another. This is why we are obliged to evangelize, to know our faith and to share it. Remember, the door is narrow and it may also be closed. What a grace to have the key and be one the family.

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How does this relate to us in our own times? Are we expected to walk away from away from those we love and from what we have if we are to follow Jesus?

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Does this story sound familiar? It should for we heard Matthew's version last Sunday.

Pope Paul called upon the bishops to "work ardently and incessantly for the safeguarding and holiness of marriage". They were to consider that mission as "one of their most urgent responsibilities". The bishops failed to accept the Pope's challenge and "don't ask, don't tell" became the accepted norm. This was 1968. We now know that this was also the time of the beginning of the scandal in which we caught up in today. There too the bishops played it safe and failed to take the risk of doing what was right.

Let us pray as we celebrate the great Sacrament of the Eucharist that a lesson has been learned, that fearless leaders, risk takers, disciples of the like of Saint Benedict, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Theresa of Avila, Saint Catherine of Sienna, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Archbishop Romero of San Salvador and John Paul II will appear to rescue the Church of Christ from the curse of playing it safe.

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The Feast of the Presentation of Mary comes to us from the Eastern Church where it is one the twelve great feasts. There are several theories as to how it came to adopted since it celebrates an event, the presentation of Mary in the temple at Jerusalem, which is not described in the New Testament. It was placed on the calendar of the universal church in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V.

The Old Testament reading tells us of a mother who lost her seven sons as a result of their remaining faithful to God. The relationship of this story to Mary who gave her divine son as a sacrifice for all humankind is obvious.

The gospel tells us that it is not enough to preserve the Kingdom of God for our self. We are to make it grow if we are to be considered profitable servants.

Mary is the most profitable of servants. Without Mary there would be no incarnation. For God to become human it required a human mother. God could be the father but even God can not be a mother of a human being. Since Mary was conceived without original sin she already possessed the Kingdom of God. It was in unselfishly giving human form to Jesus that she enabled the rest of us to possess the kingdom and she is, thus, the mother of us all.

"I love you, O our Mother, and I will share your effort, your preoccupation and your combat for the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus." The Archbishop now does so as the President of the Pontifical Counsel Justice and Peace which has as its task the promotion of the social doctrine of the Church.

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In today's gospel Jesus warns his disciples that they will face persecution.

But he tells them not to be concerned about what they shall say in their defense. He promises that he, himself, will give them wisdom in speaking that will be impossible to refute. We see this borne out in Acts when the deacon Stephen gives an eloquent defense of faith in Christ which his oppressors are indeed unable to refute. Unfortunately this fact so unhinges them that they stone Stephen to death.

So it seems that Jesus keeps his promise but the unintended consequences can be fatal.

I have had some inkling of this fact by just staying alive long enough to be able to put my life into context. I can see now that things that I thought were disasters at the time were in fact for the best. I am a deacon today directly because of a series of events, beyond my control that at the time nearly drove me crazy. At the time I was sure that Jesus had let me down badly. But instead of giving up on him I received the grace to take it on faith that he knew what was best and sure enough he did. I believe that, in spite of evidence to the contrary, if we have given the care of our lives over to Jesus we need not be anxious nor fear the future. I believe that, in the fullness of time, we will come to see that grace did in fact control our destiny and it was all for the best. If we can accept this as fact, we are freed from the care and concern for the future that leads to fear and anxiety. We can live comfortably in the present trusting that great and wonderful are the acts of the Lord and just and true are his ways.

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The church year is coming to an end and the readings are about ends. The end of the second temple, the sack of Jerusalem, and the end of time. Jesus is coming to the end of his ministry.

When Luke wrote his gospel the Romans had already destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Early Christians expected the second coming at any time. Saint Paul thought it might occur within the lifetime of some of his contemporaries. Some Fundamentalists believe that these are the end times because of the existence of the state of Israel. There is a certain fascination with the end of time. I personally don't want to be around for it. It sounds kind of messy. Later on in Luke Jesus says that, "people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming". I don't need to see that.

The Old Testament reading is where we get the expression, "the hand writing is on the wall". Is the hand writing on the wall? In a sense it is. The horrors of the 20th century were not the indication of the end and what is going on now seems mild in comparison. While there are pockets of anti-Christian activity, we are not faced with a general persecution. It seems that the history of the human race is far from over. I don't believe that the end of time is near.

I do however believe that we are at the end of the beginning of human history. In the short span since the end of World War II we have come from a nearly universal national belief in the sanctity of human life to a point where our government institutions defend an absolute right to abortion within the first two trimesters and very nearly the same right up until the child exists independently of its mother. Human embryos are being cloned in Worcester with a goal of using them to obtain stem cells. A right to die is in the process of being created and euthanasia in the form of assisted suicide is already here. Science is proceeding into dangerous territory before the ethical issues have even been explored. It is coming down to, if they can do it, they will do it. The times are changing and in that sense the handwriting is indeed on the wall. I saw a television commercial for home delivery of the Sunday New York Times. It seems that Sunday is not Sunday if you haven't read the New York Times. The commercial ends with an attractive young woman saying with a straight face "Sunday was created for the New York Times." Wouldn't Moses be surprised?

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How does this apply to us? We do not face persecution. Our lives are not threatened. The practice of our faith involves no personal risk. I sometimes wonder how I would react to persecution. I am afraid I would need a lot of help. I am not afraid of dying for my faith but, at times, it appears I do fear being embarrassed by it. Many times I have kept my mouth shut when I probably should have spoken up. Like Charlie Brown, I have been, in the words of Lucy, "wishy washy".

I don't think I'm the only one. How many times have we heard Catholics say that while personally opposed to abortion they would not force their opinion on others who have a right to choose for themselves. In that sense they claim to be "pro choice". Nearly all of our representatives in congress and both of our Senators who profess to be Catholic take that position. Our Church, in the name of Christ, teaches that there is no right to a choice which is intrinsically evil Never was and never will be. I wonder if any of these people have ever even read Evangelum Vitae, The Gospel of Life.

In our formation for diaconate, moral theology was the last course taken.

Father O'Leary, who taught us, said the reason for this is we couldn't handle it until the end. We needed the foundation of all the other courses if we were to accept the Church's moral teachings. He is right.

We cannot build our ethical system on thin air. It needs a strong foundation in scripture, theology and church history. Only then are we able to present the churches teaching rationally and confidently without embarrassing ourselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a wonderful place to start. If you don't have one, please get one and read it.

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I have always liked this song written by Johnny Nash. Its lyrics go, don’t worry I’m not

going to sing:

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

I think I can make it new, the pain is gone All the bad feelings have disappeared Here is the rainbow I have been prayin for

It’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

Look all around, there’s nothin but blue skies

Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

I like the song and its Reggae beat but I have always wondered what had inspired it. For me it

was a puzzle. I don’t know about you but for me the lyric should be.

<I can see clearly now that I can’t see anything at all.=

This is where faith comes in. Faith without trust is useless. Faith is believing without seeing. You can have all the faith in the world but if you don’t trust God nothing happens. The Canaanite woman had great faith that Jesus could heal her daughter but she also trusted that he would do it if she just didn’t give up, if she just would not take no for an answer. Pope John Paul II wrote, <faith is not only the intellect’s adherence to the truth revealed but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to God ...= Faith must be a total commitment with nothing held back or it is ineffective, useless. It must be a two way street.

We too can sing

Look all around, there’s nothin but blue skies

Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies I can see clearly now, the rain is gone Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

And as we approach the great gift of the Eucharist in total faith and trust in the true presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine let us so know in our hearts that:

It’s going to be a bright (bright), bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny Day

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Words of Wisdom:

Excerpt from The Grand Miracle by C.S. Lewis:

<One is very often asked at present whether we could have a Christianity stripped, or, as people who ask it say 'freed' from its miraculous elements ... you cannot possibly do that with Christianity because the Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left.=

It’s that simple. If Jesus Christ is not who and what he claimed to be then Christianity is a cruel hoax and we are deluded fools. It’s that simple. A child’s faith in Santa Clause would be more rational than our faith in a charlatan who is ultimately just another man claiming to be more than he is. There is no middle ground. Jesus is either all that of which the Herald Angels sang or demented or a liar. Those who would attempt to <free Christianity of its miraculous elements= do not understand the magnitude and necessity of those elements to the Christian faith. They do not know Christ nor do they understand that if you remove the miracle of Christ from Christmas Frosty the Snowman and Santa and the elves cannot even begin to make up the difference.

I never thought that the Boston Globe and I would agree but wonders never cease. In an editorial entitled <Whose Holiday?= a Globe editor wrote, <As for the war on Christmas- it’s over. Retailers won a long time ago: the signature activity of the season is shopping.= That got my attention. When you think about it, the <Season=, regardless of whether you call it the Christmas Season or the Holiday Season, is a creation of the Retail Industry. It used to start on Thanksgiving Day with the parades, all of which were sponsored by local merchants. This year it started before the retailers could get the Halloween stuff entirely down. The Holiday stuff was up and out on display before the last witch had left Salem.

All of this has led to a great deal of confusion. An eighth grade Jewish boy wrote Dear Amy, <I feel uncomfortable going to the mall and seeing a humongous Christmas display, complete with Santa Claus, fake snow and a Christmas tree that reaches to the ceiling.= He lamented that there was nothing more than a six foot menorah on display for Hanukkah and said,

<He was personally offended by this.= I would agree with this young man because I too am personally offended by this. Not by the display of the Menorah which is a Jewish religious symbol and appropriate for a display celebrating Hanukkah. He does not understand that fake snow, Santa Claus, decorated trees in the Mall are worldly symbols of the <Shopping Season= but they are not Christian religious symbols. Since it was initiated by Saint Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century, the Christian religious symbol for Christmas has been the Crèche, the Nativity Scene. I doubt you will ever find a Crèche on display in a mall. The retail Shopping Season is not remotely about Christ, it is about profit. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But let’s recognize it for what it is.

The Shopping Season ends at 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve and is wound down by After Christmas Sales and exchanges. The Christian celebration of Christmas begins at this Christ’s Mass on the vigil of Christmas and extends for eight days in what is in the Church calendar calls the <Octave of Christmas=. The celebration then continues through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th when the Magi arrive to present their gifts to the infant savior of the world. Every kid likes to stretch out their birthday, the longer the better. The Church stretches out Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.

One day of celebration is not enough for the wonder we are celebrating which is: the Incarnation of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, into human form in the person of Jesus Christ, the infant son of Mary, a young Jewish girl of the tribe of Judah and the House of David. It is the celebration of the miracle necessary to the Christian Faith of which C. S. Lewis wrote.

The period before Christmas is Advent of which this is the final Sunday. Advent is a time of penance and reflection in preparation the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Advent has been swallowed up by the Retail Holiday Season and as a result gets little attention. It does however seem to me that what people go through to buy all the gifts and put up all the decorations and prepare all the food is in fact a real penance for anyone who has to do it. This last week of Advent is the time to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas which is: the hope for peace on earth and Good Will to all that comes to us in the form of a little human baby who is also the Son of Almighty God, the GOD-MAN Jesus the Christ. It is a time to appreciate the fact that God so loved the Human Race that He become one of us and one with us and we, therefore, one with Him. It is a time to rejoice in our own unique and intimate relationship with the Creator of all that is.

Genetics teaches that each of us has a unique genetic code, different from anyone else that ever has existed or will ever exist. Science tells us that our unique genetic code comes into existence at the moment of conception. Faith teaches us that a unique human soul is created by God to animate our human body at that same instant. Through this individual and unique relation to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, with whom we share our human condition, we have thus become children of God. Through our Baptism, we come to share in the divine life of Christ as priest, prophet and Ruler.

We have so very much to celebrate. We have so very much for which to be grateful.

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Words of Wisdom: Peter Kreeft, THREE PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE. Love is individual

<The object of love is a person and every person is an individual. No person is a class, a species, or a collection. There is no such thing as love of humanity. If your preachers or teachers have told you that the Bible teaches you to love humanity, they have told you a lie. Not once does the Bible say that; not once does it even mention the word humanity. Jesus always commands us to love God and our neighbor instead.=It is easy to love an abstraction. It involves no personal commitment, no giving of oneself, no inconvenience, no emotional investment. Love can only truly be expressed one to one in a personal relationship. As we will see in the Scripture readings of the day, this is how God has designed things. This is how human beings are able to do terrible things to other human beings in the name of humanity. The perceived greater good of an abstract <humanity= trumps the concrete rights of the individual and thereby horror is unleashed upon us, one by one.

These words are at the same time more practical and yet more radical than they appear. They are the basics of non-violent resistance. Mahatma Gandhi, who delivered India from British imperialism by practicing non violent resistance, called Jesus, "The greatest non violent resister in history".

The Jewish crowd understands that Jesus is telling them to do more than to love each other. They are to love their oppressors, the Romans, and to pray for not only the Romans but also their Syrian allies, the Jews ancient enemies, who made up the local occupying army. These are revolutionary words and guaranteed to alienate a large part of the crowd who were Zealots and favored armed resistance to Roman domination. To make this non violent resistance easier, Jesus offers some practical suggestions. Turning the other cheek is not what it seems to be. At the time of Jesus superiors struck inferiors on the cheek with the back of the hand. A right handed person's blow would strike the strike the other person on the right cheek. Turning the left cheek would prevent a second back handed blow. To strike an inferior with the open palm was unthinkable because it would imply that they were as an equal. Under Jewish law, the law of a nomadic desert people, if you took another’s cloak as security you was required to return it each night so they would not be cold in the dark of night. It was therefore considered extreme to take another's cloak and it seldom happened. By also giving the tunic you would further shame the taker as this would leave you publicly naked, a condition to be avoided at all costs in Jewish culture. In other words instead of looking just bad, they would look really bad and looks counted in those days.

give God. We know from our own experience that what we give is what comes back. When we give love, eventually love is what comes back to us. When we give hatred and envy that is what comes back to us. What we give is what we get. We know this.

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Today is called Gaudete Sunday, Rejoice Sunday. Our first reading tells us to Shout for Joy, Sing Joyfully, Be glad and exult with all your heart. Saint Paul tells us, <Rejoice in the Lord always.= We are to take a breather from the time of preparation that is advent to rejoice in the coming of the Christ and our consequent salvation.

It is hard to Rejoice this year. In the past week we have witnessed random shootings in an Oregon shopping mall and a Connecticut kindergarten, senseless violence coast to coast. The killing of innocent children is particularly hard to understand. The images of crying children on my TV set as I prepare what was to be a homily on the joy of the Christmas season will haunt my Christmas consciousness as I suspect it will haunt yours. At such times the question, we ask, how can a loving God permit this to happen? The answer is: it is because human beings are capable of such evil that we have a Christmas. If there were not evil in the world there would be no need of Christmas. If we were not lost to sin we would have no need of a redeemer, no need of a savor, no need of a Christ. If we need a reminder of the evil of which human beings are capable we need only look at the crucifix which has a central place in all Catholic Churches. Innocence itself was cruelly butchered.

The other question asked is, why? There is no answer, there is no Why. Insane actions have no rational motive. But there are similarities. Both killers were alienated young men, ages twenty and twenty-four. One of the victims was the killer’s mother and the other young man was basically parentless and raised himself. It was a young man who opened fire in a crowded theater in Aurora Colorado. It was a young man who took 32 lives at Virginia Tech. It was a young man who opened fire on Gabby Giffords and her companions. They all had mental health issues. They all had access to guns. They all were once in the second grade. They are all products of the secular culture that has developed in the last two generations. They are members of the so called millennial generation, ages 18 to 29. Theirs is the least overtly religious generation in modern times with over 60% of them regarding religious life as not at all important. George Washington in his Farewell Address warned us. He said, <Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.=

Washington understood that there is no question that there is evil in the world and that only religion can contain it. Yet religion is becoming more and more devalued in our society and, therefore, it is likely the evil will continue to thrive. This is not an indictment of an entire generation, the heroic teacher who died protecting her children was a millennial, but it is recognition of a grave situation that is becoming increasingly worse. Typically, the response will be symptomatic such as plans for increased security and gun control. These are worthwhile but the cause will remain unaddressed as religion becomes more and more devalued. Yet, at such times where do people turn for comfort and solace? It is to religion. Who could not be moved by the scenes of the Memorial Service at St. Rose of Lima Church where an overflow crowd gathered to remember 7 young members of their parish who did not live to receive their First Communion?

So, what are we to do? We must grieve for those who have lost their children and for the surviving children who lost their childlike innocence. One cannot begin to imagine their pain.

We must put our own children first lest they too become alienated from family and faith. We must instill in them a love for God and for their Faith so that will have an anchor to hold them fast in the storms that are to come. We must make our homes Domestic Churches, places of sanctuary and prayer where God is present and welcomed. We can no longer trust society to form our children because society is becoming more and more perverted as religion is forced from public life. We have become a nation which defends pornography and condemns public prayer. It is up to us, each one of us to resist this decline in values. Our country will be as good we are but no better.

But, in spite of it all, we must rejoice. We must rejoice in the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, who by his life death and resurrection has conquered evil and given us hope that evil will not prevail and that love shall conquer in the end. We must rejoice in the Eucharist through which Jesus comes to abide in each of us as we experience his presence in the Sacrament of love and thanksgiving.

Deacon John Boyle. Third Sunday in Advent 2012

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Those of us who are or have been parents know to beware of open ended requests. When a child cuddles up and says something like, <Do you know what?= we know to be on our guard. My daughter, Ellen, met me at the door one night as I was coming in from work. If I wore slippers she would have had them ready. She sat me down and asked, <Do you know what?= All my defenses sprang into readiness. I bit, <What=. She said a neighbor had a dog that was available for adoption. I said I was not interested. She was indignant and said <You mean you will not even interview the dog?= Needless to say I was no longer Father of the Year at least for that night.

James and John were old enough to know better but they tried an open ended request. It didn’t work. It could be argued that Jesus came into his glory on the cross and there were men to his right and his left. They were not James and John. Lucky for them. Lesson number 1. Be careful what you ask for. You might get it. Lesson number 2. Those who will be great in the kingdom of God will be the servant, the slave of all. Jesus came not to be served but to serve and we are to be like him.

Now, for most of us that is not too difficult. Most of us are not wealthy as wealth is measured in our society. We do not hold positions of power and are not likely to ever do so. Most of us are just trying to get along, pay our bills, educate our kids and put something aside for retirement. Our goals are simple and our needs are basic. While life can be difficult for us at times we can take comfort in the fact that, like it or not, we are Jesus’ kind of people. Jesus chose to associate with little people; fishermen, tradesmen, widows. He used the wealthy and powerful as examples of what we were not to be. His people had to struggle with all they had just to stay in place. Sound familiar? If so, you’re in good company, if you’re rich and powerful, and the two seem to go together, be careful.

For most of us our only hope of making any impact in life is to do well what has been put in front of us. It helps if we can follow the teaching of Saint Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. She was a Carmelite Nun who entered the convent at fifteen and died at twenty-four. She spent her short life in one town and it seemed she had little opportunity to do anything great. Yet she is a Saint, a Doctor of the Church and one of, if not the most famous of her generation. In her Autobiography, The story of a Soul, she laid out what she called, <The Little Way=. Recognizing her own littleness she tells us, the little people, that while we may not do great things we can do little things with great love. It is all in motive. Getting up and going to work day after day can be tough. But if the conscious motive is love for those whom you support it makes it easier. Love makes it possible to do willingly, even joyfully, that which you would rather not. For those of us who experience mostly little things we must learn to find joy in them if we are to find joy at all. Saint Therese was deeply in love with Jesus. As a professed nun he was her spouse and it was this love that was her motivation for all her actions. We are, by virtue of our Baptism, called to Christian discipleship and this discipleship must be exercised, if it is to be exercised at all, in our everyday life and actions. So let us imitate Saint Therese and be content and find peace and joy in the little things we do because of the great love that motivates them.

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Last Sunday evening we were treated to the movie, <The Chosen=. The movie gave us a peek into Hasidic life and belief. The movie did not high-light the central object of devotion of these people. It dealt more with the relationship of a father and son. Mentioned only as an element in the development of this relationship was what is central to their way of life, The Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For the Chosen people it is much more than five books of scripture, it is the foundation of the universe and the necessary condition for its continued existence. In his essay: God, Torah, and Israel, Rabbi Abraham Joseph Heschel writes:

without it The Torah is God’s gift to his creation and his creatures. When god gives the

Torah, it is as if he gives of himself.

In other words it is much more than a book it is the essence of God’s relation to humankind and the material universe. It is sacred. This explains the ornate covering and reservation in a decorated Arc of the scrolls which are its manifestations. It is the Jewish Eucharist.

The Gospel reading of today is the basis for Christian belief in and reverence for the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper. It is our <Torah=. Just as the Hebrew people were fed by Manna, and the crowd of 5000 was fed with a few loaves and fish we believe we are fed by the body and blood of Christ. We may differ on the exact nature and content of Eucharist but we agree it is of great significance in our religious practice.

There is a second way we are fed by God and that is through Holy Scripture in general and the Holy Gospel in particular. As a Deacon, the Gospel is of particular importance to me. Just as a priest is the minister of the Eucharist, the Deacon is the minister of the Gospel. At our ordination, immediately following the imposition of the Bishop’s hands, we are presented with a book of the Gospel with the words: Receive the Gospel of Christ who’s Herald you now are.

Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you preach. At all our liturgies it is the Deacon who proclaims the gospel. Just as the Torah is reserved in the Arc, the Eucharist is reserved in a Tabernacle and the Book of the Gospel is enthroned in a place of honor.

This is fitting. In our time and place where God is becoming less relevant it is more important than ever that these gifts from God to his people be venerated by His children. They are more than symbols. Like the Torah they are manifestations of God’s love for us. Thus, in our world view there is a God who created all that is and who has communicated his love and existence in tangible ways: Torah, Eucharist and Gospel. These are the direct and living connection between human kind and the Heavenly Father. If we fail to honor that connection, if we fail to avail ourselves of these gifts we are in danger of becoming like Michelangelo’s statue of David. We can look like human beings but be mere things with a human form but with no soul, no vitality and unable to give and receive love. When you come down to it: It’s all about love. Saint John’s Gospel tells us that <God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life’<. John 3: 16. The visible manifestation of that love is Torah, Eucharist, and the Gospel.

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Today’s readings deal with material wealth and our relationship to them. The reading from the Book of Wisdom makes clear that in relation to wisdom they are inferior. The author first prayed for prudence and upon its receipt pleaded for the spirit of wisdom which was accordingly granted to him. Wisdom was preferred over his scepter and crown and riches were deemed nothing in comparison with wisdom.

The psalm likewise pleads for wisdom, not material goods. Saint Paul in the reading from Hebrews reminds us that everything about us is exposed to the Lord and it is to him that we must render an account. God knows us, knows the reflections and thoughts of our hearts, and knows what we our priorities are, what we value and what we disdain.

Now comes the significant part. Looking at the young man, Jesus loved him and invited him to become a disciple; but he also told him to do so he must give up his wealth. Saddened, the young man turned away. Who knows what his inability to let go of his possessions cost him. He might have been an Apostle and venerated throughout history as are the twelve whom we venerate even in our time two thousand years later. We don’t know what became of him but we do know what was more important to him, his wealth. Jesus then makes it clear that wealth is an impediment to entry into the Kingdom of God. It is not easy for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, indeed it is impossible. But there is hope. Jesus reminds us that all things are possible for God.

We don’t know how; but when God intervenes the impossible becomes routine. And finally Jesus assures us that we cannot out give God. Whatever is given up for his sake is returned one hundred fold, here and in the life to come.

One hundred million dollars in just one year; who needs that? Who can spend that? That money came from somewhere. Someone or some group has one hundred million dollars less to spend so that this one individual can accumulate wealth way beyond any possible need that he might have.

He did not even create any wealth or make anything, all he did was trade securities and take money off the top. This is wrong by any measure and the system that allows it is badly in need of reform.

I don’t think any one of us in Linden Ponds is in this category but if you are, have I got a

deal for you: The Linden Ponds Benevolent Care Fund.

So to summarize: For some, and only some, the call to discipleship involves giving away all material possessions but those will be rewarded one hundred times over both in this world and the next; for the rest of us, we are allowed to retain material wealth sufficient for our needs but the accumulation of excess material as an end in itself is sinful. We should seek Wisdom, with a capital W, in which, in the inspired words of the Psalmist, <shall the work of the Lord be seen by his servants and his glory by their children and the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours.”

In wisdom there is no fear, only trust in goodness of the Lord who knows our needs and protects those who love Him.

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<chronic underachiever= by the Warren Junior High school guidance counselor and he recommended I go to the vocational high school. OK by me but not my mother who had been a teacher and expected more from her eldest son. I ended up in the 10th grade at Saint Boy’s High School in Waltham under the care of the de LaSalle Christian Brothers. We got report cards every 2 weeks and my first report card had a 97 average. My mother asked what happened and I answered, <They hit you=, my mother said, <If I had known that I’d have hit you a long time ago.= In my three years at Saint Mary’s I was never hit but the thought of being thrown out was enough. I loved the Brothers and I loved the school. They transformed me by their example.

<cum laude= on it. BUT I also had a six pack that day. Two days later I left on a train to Clark’s Summit, PA to spend six weeks discerning a vocation to Maryknoll. I came home intending to return but I was drinking every night and working construction during the day. I only went to Sunday Mass. I returned to Maryknoll but didn’t last a week.

growth. For many years I regularly attended a discussion meeting at Campion Hall in Weston, the Jesuit nursing home and retreat center. The meeting was run by Brother John Sullivan.

Brother John was a big man physically and spiritually. He was a fountain of wisdom and common sense. He had been the wine cellarian and infirmarian at Boston College. He used to say that during his tenure the entire wine cellar went down an inch, he took the top off of everything except the medicinal alcohol, he had some scruples. Over the years I have attended hundreds if not a thousand 12 step meetings going over and over the spiritual principals that lead to contented sobriety and a rich and fulfilled life.

I was very active in my parish, Saint Bernard’s in West Newton as vice-chair and counsel to the Finance Committee and an Extraordinary Eucharistic minister of the Eucharist. During my life time I attended daily mass whenever I conveniently could. When I worked in Boston mass was available at several locations. After my bout with depression I found daily mass very beneficial. After some reflection I had decided to not apply for the Permanent diaconate Formation Program. One morning at mass I had one of those AHA moments and I felt an unmistakable call. I went home called for an application, was accepted and in the year 2000 was ordained and assigned to Saint Joseph’s in Holbrook. I had never been in the church in my life but I was welcomed by Father Raek and the people of the parish. I often say I was ordained in one church and have ministered in another. Almost a year to the day later 9/11 happened and we were all traumatized. Father Joe was in Rome at the time and Father Lou and I dealt with it as best we could. Then in the long lent of 2002 when the priestly sexual abuse and cover up crisis blindsided us I asked myself as did many priests and deacons, <Is this something I want to involve with?= The Bishops went from cover up to zero tolerance which meant that any priest or deacon accused was thrown overboard, guilty until proven innocent One accusation and I would be removed from ministry and be on the front page of the Globe. Was this a risk I should expose my family to? Due to my legal training I had always been careful not to expose myself to situations that could be compromising so I finally decided the risk was an acceptable one and remained in ministry but it took some of the joy out of it. Shortly thereafter the reconfiguration happened and nearly seventy parishes were closed in an unnecessarily arbitrary manner and we went through another crisis. Fortunately Saint Joe’s avoided this one just as we had largely avoided the abuse crisis but it was still there. All in all I have had many more ups than downs at Saint Joe’s. I have felt appreciated by all the priests I have served with and by the people.

I remember the very clearly the day I became a father and a man. I was driving home from work one day when it hit me. I was 26 years old and I had a wife, a baby and a mortgage. I

was trapped and there was no way out. I grew up that day and accepted the responsibilities I had assumed. Sometimes it has not been easy but I have never regretted that decision. Most of my life has been great, great wife, great kids, great grandchildren, and great career but there have times when all has not gone well. There was my drinking and recovery, two children developed alcohol problems but both are successfully in recovery, one for 25 years and one for 16 years.

One of our children had a severe learning disability but neither he nor we gave up and he graduated from college and now works for Harvard University. My eldest daughter’s husband died last year and left her with a special needs child. My other daughter’s husband walked out on her after 18 years of marriage but she has remarried to a man I call the answer to a father’s prayer. He is a wonderful match for her and a powerful example to her now young adult children.

Maxims to Live By:

(Not in order of importance as all are required at one time or another and often all at once.)

The only thing you can control is your own mental attitude.
The process of aging involves the development of an ability to cope with a continuing succession of losses.
Any job is better than having no job.
Keep things and people in perspective.
Develop a method of tension release.
Have a person or group with whom you can blow off steam.
At times judicious use of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication is allowed.
Do not be afraid to seek competent professional help.
Nothing lasts forever.
Avoid negative people and, to the extent possible, associate only with people with a positive orientation toward life and living.
Do not entertain negative thoughts. They tend to spiral you down.
Have an intense spiritual and religious life and develop a close relationship with God.
Accept the fact that you and only you can spoil your day.
Live in the present moment.
Maintain your sense of humor.
Maintain an attitude of gratitude. Do a daily inventory of what is good in your life.
Toughen up.

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Homily for the wedding of Lisa Marie Anderson and Eric Joseph Hoy

Lisa reminds me of the person who lived next to the whirling Dervishes. When asked how he stood their constant whirling he replied, <I just let them whirl=. Lisa just lets Eric whirl and with a smile on her face. I mentioned that Eric is the first of his generation and as such he has inherited the baton of leadership except, that, in our family, it is not a baton. It is a wooden spoon and the recipe for baked beans.

Lisa, you will never go hungry.

The Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote a sermon for the wedding of his niece. He never got to deliver the sermon because he was executed for his participation in a plot to end Germany’s war in Europe. He wrote:

<Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance, through which He wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time...in marriage you are a link in the chain of generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls His Kingdom. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal- it is a status, an office... so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. It is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love=.

Lisa and Eric’s understanding of marriage is reflected in their choice of readings. The first reading, from the book of Geneses, teaches us that <God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.= It is in the union of a man and a woman that the image of God is complete. God’s charge to them, and by extension to their descendants, is to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth and God saw that what he had made was good. The second reading was the great love poem of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. This teaching is true not just for those entering the married state. It is true for each of whom Jesus commanded to love God and neighbor. For all of us, it must be ever and always about love because we are taught <love never fails=. For the Gospel reading we heard the Beatitudes, the <blessed=. Much of what Jesus taught was not new. He presented himself as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures but he did not add or detract from them. The Beatitudes of the Sermon of the Mount were a new revelation.

A favorite story of mine is that of Ford and Daisy Callis as told by Ford’s friend and family doctor. It exhibits a good example of marriage in action. Ford Callis was a soldier in WWII and he was trapped in a fox hole as a member of the

<Lost Battalion=. Wounded and desperate, he hung on because he had to make it home to Daisy. Years later Daisy had lapsed into dementia and Ford was her faithful caretaker. Ford got up in the middle of one night because he heard Daisy cry out. He tripped and fell seriously injuring himself. He lay on the floor until his daughter found him the next day. Seriously injured he lay in intensive care but he told his doctor he had to get home to Daisy. He said, <Having someone believe in me and waiting for me back home, that is what gives me purpose. I am more than myself because of our marriage.= He went on, <You know, it takes three people to stay married: Daisy, me and God. This is not a civil agreement: we are one=

For Catholics, the most perfect form of worship consists of the Mass. At Mass we hear God’s Holy Scriptures proclaimed and, through the homily, explained and related to our lives in the present day. We pray together the universal prayer of the entire Church. It is in communion at Mass that we comply with Jesus’ command, <unless you eat of my body and drink of my blood you shall not have life in you.= It is in the Eucharist that your partnership with God becomes complete. One hour a week, together, the three of you.

I would like to close with a favorite prayer of mine. It was composed by Ste.

Therese, the Little Flower, and a Carmelite nun, who died at the age of 24: May today there be peace within

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Lisa and Eric, this is the prayer we all offer for you today and always.

Deacon (Papa) John Boyle at Sacred Heart Church, Weymouth, Massachusetts on April 11, 2015

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Like most of you I have been stuck in a time warp ever since Monday9s act of terror at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. My son was at the finish line taking pictures for his employer, John Hancock. We could not get through to him for about fifteen minutes, a very long fifteen minutes. Since we found out he was safe a continuous loop of images has been running in my head: a cloud of smoke, an elderly runner falling to the ground, police and medical personnel running toward the injured, elderly volunteers in yellow jackets aiding the injured. They all appeared so suddenly and seemed so organized and efficient that you would swear they were expecting what happened and had rehearsed their response, the picture of a little boy in his First Communion suit holding up a banner that read <Martin=, the picture of a lovely young woman named <Krystal=, the picture of a young Chinese graduate student, Lingzi, so far from home. It is all so sad, so senseless, and so evil.

One is reminded of the aftermath of 9/11, 2001. Last Monday differed in scope; three killed instead of three thousand, shattered windows not collapsed sky scrapers, but not in kind. Innocent people were killed and maimed by a force of evil. One significant difference is that no one is asking <why=. We have become used to the existence of unexplained evil in our society. The names: Oklahoma City, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, Newtown, and now Boston have rendered the question <Why= moot. These acts of terror were not perpetrated by organized terrorist groups. The government security agencies have been successful in frustrating these groups. These terrorists are home grown, and seemingly mentally deranged. They are impossible to anticipate and pointless. There is no why, there is just pointless, senseless evil.

My image of the effects of evil and its consequences is contained in the cross that hangs above our altar. Innocence itself hangs in unspeakable agony to atone for all the evil perpetrated by the human race from the beginning of our history until its end. Mother Olga Yagob of the Sacred Heart is originally from Iraq and is familiar with evil and its effects. In speaking of Monday9s bombing she said, <We need a lot of grace to overcome the darkness of hatred. We know that there is no sin too big for the cross – we have been redeemed by his blood; we have been covered by his mercy ...= The image that gives me hope for the victims of Monday9s evil is the Easter Candle that burns during the Easter Season. It represents the Risen Christ. Mother Olga continued her remarks, <The only way we can overcome such evil, such darkness, is by turning to the light of the Resurrection.= That light is contained in the words of Jesus in today9s Gospel reading; <Jesus said; my sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.=

So we trust the innocent, slain and wounded, to the mercy of God. We trust them to the great vision of John of Patmos which we heard in the second reading, <That the one who sits on the throne will shelter them. That they will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.=

Pope Benedict XVI in commenting on this reading noted that John <closed his book with a final aspiration invoking the definitive coming of the Lord: 8Come Lord Jesus9=. He notes that this was the central prayer of the early Church and in Aramaic is Marana tha. Close enough.

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I met Donald McAdam when he came to work at Hardware Mutual Insurance Company as a claims adjuster where I worked. He came right off of Sutherland's oil and ice truck and, as he always did, fit right in. We worked together there for 14 years and became close friends. Don had a quick wit and quicker tongue. Don became our problem call specialist. We gave him all the wise guys and he would cut them right down to size. For example, a guy had browbeaten two or three female claims people. He was a bully. He wanted to deal with the top man so they gave him to Donny. He proceeded to tell Donny how important he was and how he only dealt the top people and not flunkies. Donny said, Oh yeah, who delivers your mail, Larry O'Brien?" Larry O'Brien was John Kennedy's Postmaster General at the time. I was privileged to sit in with him during some lengthy conversation between his father and uncles. Don and I were not really allowed to participate but could only listen although Don could ask questions if he dared. These men had grown up in Nova Scotia where there was not a lot of entertainment other than conversation. They were experts. They could argue for hours over how far it was to the bridge into Sydney and they were hilarious. Donny did not have to learn to gab, it was in his genes. We too spent many hours talking about nothing but we had studied under masters of the art. One time Donny discovered that although I was Irish I did not know the Wild Colonial Boy. He decided that I had to learn it and could not leave until I did. I told him I was only half Irish so I should only have to learn half of it. No deal, it was all or nothing. I can still remember all the words.

When Donny got the job at the Port I asked him what he did. He said he went around talking to people. I said, They pay you for that? You always did that for free." Don made lasting friends wherever he went and his acquaintances were many and varied. Donny was open to anyone who was on the up and up and not a trimmer.

If he knew you and you were not his friend, there was something wrong with you. Jesus talked about "The Salt of the Earth", people who give life flavor and seasoning. He had Donald McAdam in mind, I'm sure.

At his baptism Donny was born again into life in Jesus Christ. He was then clothed in a white garment and told: See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven. Upon the reception of his remains in the Church today he was again, as at his baptism, sprinkled with Holy Water and covered with a white garment

accompanied by the declaration: "In the waters of baptism Donald died with Christ and rose with him to new life. May he now share with him eternal glory." So the circle has been closed. The Faith journey that began 83 years ago has not ended but has gone to the next level. Based on the fact of his baptism, his reception of the sacraments particularly the Eucharist, and the life he led, we have every expectation that he is indeed in the hand of God and no torment shall touch him; that he has competed well; has finished the race; and kept the faith. His family, particularly Terry his beloved wife and best friend, will miss him greatly but they may be consoled in the hope that is to be found in Jesus' resurrection and its promise of eternal life, where as Saint John has written, "we shall be like God, for we shall see God as he is."

For the Gospel reading we heard the Beatitudes. Much of what Jesus taught was not new.

He presented himself as the fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures but he did not add or detract from them. The Beatitudes of the Sermon of the Mount were a new revelation. By blessed are the poor in spirit he meant the humble; by those that mourn he meant the compassionate; by the meek he meant the gentle; by those who hunger and thirst for righteousness he meant those who seek justice for all; for the merciful he meant those who love and forgive their enemies; for the clean of heart he meant the chaste; and for the peacemakers he meant those who avoid violence as a solution to the problems of the day. I believe Donny lived the Beatitudes. Humble, compassionate, gentle, righteous, peacemaker, merciful, and just are surely attributes that describe him. The world that Donny and I grew up in and raised our families was very different from that of today. The beatitudes of the world in which we live today seem more to be more like: blessed are the arrogant for they shall be powerful; blessed are the hard of heart for they shall not be held back by compassion; blessed are the powerful for they shall take over the world; blessed are the schemers for they shall be successful; blessed are the unmerciful for they shall not held accountable; blessed are the pornographers for they shall prosper; blessed are the warmongers for they shall profit. Such a world needs the likes of Donald McAdam more than ever: Semper Fidelis- always faithful; faithful to Family' faithful to God and his Church; faithful to his country. It is up to you, his children and grandchildren and those like you to keep alive the spirit of Christ's Beatitudes in such a world. Donny never compromised, he stuck to his guns and so must you if you are to honor his memory. You can do it. You have a good role model. You come from good stock.

One of the last times I visited Donny I gave him a blessing. He seemed perplexed but as I was leaving he called out to me," John, God bless you." He gave me his blessing and I treasure it. That was Donald McAdam, a giver of blessings right to the end. Sometimes when we speak of the dead we tend to over look some faults and exaggerate the positives. I have not done that today. He was and is a good man, one of the best, top shelf.

We will now celebrate the Eucharist for the repose of Donny's soul. For us, Catholics, this means that Jesus Christ will be born again on the altar, body and blood soul and divinity. All that remains of the bread and wine is the appearance. How do we know this? Because Jesus told us so and he does not lie.

Deacon John Boyle, May 30, 2014

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We celebrate this Mass as a memorial of those who were buried from Saint Joseph's Church in the past year. Their names are posted in the sanctuary. It is right and good that we remember them in a special way. But in a larger sense this Mass and all Masses are a memorial: A memorial to all who have died in the faith of Jesus Christ. It is also a reminder to us, the living, that our's is but a temporary condition and death awaits us all. But most importantly it is a memorial of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in whom alone rests our hope of eternal life for our loved ones and for ourselves.

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom attributed to Solomon, the son of King David, tells us that over 3000 years ago the Hebrew Scriptures taught that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God and only appear to have died. It teaches that the faithful shall abide in God in love. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans teaches that Christ died for us and that we are justified by his blood for our salvation.

So we know from scripture that the souls of the just rest in the Lord justified by blood of Jesus Christ shed for all mankind on a hill called Calvary on a Friday called "Good".

In the gospel Jesus tells us that he has prepared a place for us in the presence of the Father and they we find our way to that heavenly home through Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

And where do we find Jesus? In the sacraments: through our Baptism we are born again into life in Christ; through our Confirmation we are born again in the Holy Spirit; through reconciliation we are forgiven our sins and through the Eucharist we receive the graces found in the true body and the true blood of Christ and bring them into our bodies and into our souls.

This, briefly, is the plan of Salvation. In it lies our hope in the company of our loved ones, of one day seeing God face to face, of seeing him as he is, of living eternally with them in his holy presence. In return for all of this certain things are expected of us. We are to live in the imitation of Christ. We are to try to be Christ like. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and his glory. We are to be mindful of the poor and unfortunate; the widow the orphan and the dispossessed. Material things should be sought as needed and not as ends in themselves. Prayer must be a part of our daily lives lest when we appear before the Lord for our particular judgement we appear as a stranger. It is not enough to have done no harm. He would have be disciples. Disciples act as Jesus acted. Disciples know and live the beatitudes. Disciples love God and love their neighbor as they love themselves because Jesus wants us to. He will give us the grace to succeed but we must ask and we must try.

So, while we grieve for the loss of our loved ones to us in this life, let us rejoice in the hope that one day we shall be with them, in glory, in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is for this that we were created; it is for this that we were born and it is for this that we all must die. Life, no matter how long, is but the blink of an eye compared to eternity so this separation, no matter how painful, is only temporary and, for those who live and die in Christ, the best is yet to come.