Gospel, Homily and Coffee

Joy, the reality of God is Joy. Joy, that gift of a moment, of an experience, in which we sense hope, trust; a moment in which the eternal is touched. Joy, that gift of God that renews us and calls us to live life differently. We cannot make Joy happen by our own efforts per se. This is why trying to buy joy through objects and things does not work. Joy runs deeper, it is that recognition of hope and love for the future, within people; affirmation of hard work with others. Joy again, is pure Gift. We can’t make it happen, we can only prepare ourselves for it. Joy, it is that moment in which we witness a couple formally adopt their child and a family grows.  Joy is that moment when a couple say I do to each other while looking into each other’s eyes, and we know that they truly mean it. Joy is that moment when a parent sees real maturity in their child who has begun to make good decisions for themselves. Joy is the moment when we children thriving, laughing and simply enjoying life. Joy

Many years ago a friend living in Texas came up to visit me in Fernley. This friend had been born and raised in the city. Anyway, I had asked him what he would like to do and he wanted to go geocaching. Okay, I thought it is March in Northern Nevada, fun! But we went, found a cache located near Lahontan Reservoir, and so we drove out there. I parked the car near the cache and the gps device told us the cache was about 500 feet away. I looked around and had a sense of where it would be, on this hillside. My friend became worried: worried that we would get lost. I said not a problem. What if we lose sight of the car? I looked around, it was Nevada sage, no tree for miles; and again we were only going 500 feet up a hill. I said we will be fine, we will never lose sight of the car and we won’t get lost. We didn’t. I have been lost in the wilderness once. It was scary. I was in Northern New Mexico, in a thick forest and it was an overcast day. I was by myself, and nobody knew where I was, a

Going to museums can be amazing. Art can affect and have an effect upon us. It can cause us to react, to think, to transcend, to appreciate beauty! If we notice it. I have been in the New York Met, in front of a Rothko and started to cry. I have stood before a Caravaggio and been drawn into the story being told. Recently I was in a museum and was struck by a particular statue of Hercules. It was tall, 20 feet, dynamic, with amazing detail. I was admiring it, and this woman came up, took a quick glance, pulled out her phone, took a photo and moved on. We do this and can witness this taking place a lot. Amazing things in front of us, art work, vista scenes, weddings, baptisms, flowers…and we spend more time getting a photo than we will taking in the view. We may capture the object, but we fail to capture the moment. We do not truly see what is going on. Life is meant to be lived with fullness, with intensity; that means to experience it as it is, not how we want it to be.  Living life et

We owe God nothing. A provocative statement right? We owe God nothing. In November while in Egypt, I and along with the other priests had the pleasure of meeting with Bishop Joseph Thomas. He shared a story from his life. He initially studied to be a veterinarian in Cairo. When he had finished school the diocese contacted him and asked him to take a visiting Greek Orthodox Monk from Mt. Athos Greece to the desert. This monk was seeking a spiritual experience. Just an aside, Mt Athos monks live in monasteries completely separated from people, and the Egyptian desert historically had been the site of many early Christian monks. So he took this monk out into the desert. The first night he watched as this Monk stood and prayed, mouthing many many prayers. But this monk stopped and said he needed to go deeper into the desert. The current place was not sufficient. So Joseph took him further out. Again prayers and such, and this monk was still not satisfied. He wanted to go out further and

My first car was a 1977 chevy nova, v-6, two doors; under the hood there was so much space. I got it the summer before my sophomore year in college, so I was 18-19. I wanted to change the oil so my dad told me how to do it. He said when I change the filter, hand tighten first, then give a small turn with the wrench, do not overtighten it. Me, being a college man, and knowing everything, gave it a good strong turn and thought well done. Several months later, it was time to change the filter again. I could not get it off. I tried and tried. My dad noticed and came to help. He told me that I had cranked it hard the last time didn’t I. Yup, with a degree of shame. He worked to get that thing off. My Uncle who lived nearby saw the commotion, He came and helped. It took them a long time, and what they did was eventually pound through the tire jack, and twisted it off that way. I learned my lesson; I felt a lot of shame on that one. Being able to hold in tension or conflicting ideals signifie

In our parish there are quite a few good athletes: marathoners, High School volleyball; weightlifters. There are also some great musicians, aside from the obvious. None of them just showed up and started running and lifting, or playing. They all started off with the basics; they learned technique and form, built up strength, built up skills. Then they made teams, won races, they played or sang beautifully. Religious, those Priests, Nuns, Deacons, Brothers, we go through formation. We are not merely educated but formed. We go through years of study, examine our hearts and minds; we share and reflect on God and all that entails. Then we come to a point of commitment. Formation does not end at ordination or at final vows. Religious, if we wish to be of good service, will constantly work on our formation. We do so to remain open to the mystery of God in the life of the church. In a few weeks we and many parishes in our diocese begin another round of Religious Education for children and te