Gospel, Homily and Coffee

The Jewish spiritual understanding of remembering is called Anamnesis. We remember to make what we remember real in our lives. It is not nostalgia, but a call to action.   For the Jewish people, Passover was and is pre-eminent. They remember how God freed them so as to live out that freedom in their lives. God created all. God created all with a purpose. God created this universe and this world to be one with God. We are part of that creation. We have a special place in creation, in that our humanity is about the work with and for God to continue creation; to make heaven and earth one. We also need to remember that Creation was not just a one singular event, but is an ongoing process; it continues until this today. And amid that process of creation God does something wonderful, and God asks Mary to participate in this wonderful action. Mary, full of Grace, willingly participates in God's plan. She models humanity; she symbolizes what we were created for. She works for a...

Some questions I received from some young persons a couple of weeks ago were: “How do I know if I will get into Heaven? How do I experience God?”  Really good questions, but given that we are preparing to celebrate the Incarnation of the Son God, maybe we will tweak these questions? And in doing so, we find a way to understand differently. We need to remember that at Christmas we are not just celebrating a birthday. We can use that description for little kids because it is an easy way for them to understand it, but adults, well we can also be more sophisticated.  At Christmas, We celebrate Heaven coming into the world.   We that fullness of the Divinity was born into a fully human person.  We celebrate that God is present here in our world, in our reality. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus, the Christ. John recognized him as the Son of God who came into our world. And think too what Jesus’ words were “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”  So our focus is...

The other night, the Confirmation 2 teens and I were together to talk about vocations and answer questions. One question I posed to them was what were their own questions about Life, the Universe and everything in it as a 4 to 6 year old. Can any of you remember what questions you had at that age?  I brought that up because when I was that age there were two questions and one concern. They were: Why were there no volcanoes in Ohio? Would the hill in our little town disappear before I had a chance to ride down it on my bike? And how did the Body of Christ fit in the tabernacle?  Geology and Theology questions: I think there was a message there. Name for ourselves all the messengers in our life; that pointed us in the direction we needed to go. Name for ourselves especially those messengers in our life that point us in the direction to a deeper understanding of God, and the consequently a deeper understanding of ourselves.  The cliche is that God works in mysterio...

Long relationships are good, but they can become awkward. In new relationships there is that energy, that passion. We spend time getting to know the new friend, the new love, the new baby. Everything is new and exciting. Then the passion, the energy subsides...and the real work begins. One of the hallmarks needed in a relationship for it to continue to grow is the space to grow. We need to permit the other to change and develop; to become more themselves; and we need the space for ourselves to grow. In marriage preparation this is part of the conversation; we cannot change anyone else including the spouse, nor can we stop our spouse from changing. Marriage is that commitment to remain with the other, to help them, and the other help us, become our best. Things will catch us by surprise in relationships. Each time I visit with my folks I almost always catch something new about them; a like or dislike, a new interest, something faded away. The Trick is to be alert to those mome...

In the Old City of Jerusalem are two bricked up gates. The legend is that they will be opened at the second coming. In the United States in the 1800’s, after what's called the Great Awakening and then the 2nd Great Awakening, certain christian sects believed on a certain day and time, the Second coming of Jesus would occur; it didn’t. When they recalculated, the same happened or rather did not happen. Then they got a little smarter and didn’t set a specific day and time, but preached it was imminent, and they knew how to save us. These gave rise to groups like Seventh Day Adventist and others. Dominionalism, and its followers believe that by instituting certain political changes, they can begin the Second Coming of Jesus. Like moving embassies to certain cities, making certain laws... Then throughout the world is destroyed and only the “faithful” remnant are saved. “Faithful” meaning those who fit their' ideas, which are often narrow and focussed on a set of criteria of...

Maybe a regret in life when looking back: why didn’t I take advantage of XYZ; what a difference it would have made!  Listening to advice from someone? A Financial venture? Relationship? Simply taking more time for fun with family and friends and less time at work?   Then again, maybe we were not just ready for it at that time. And maybe now we who are older, we see our young persons, and we ourselves are a bit frustrated...why aren’t they listening to me? Why aren’t they taking advantage of what I can give? I sometimes wonder if the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit don’t sit around and watch us, roll their eyes, and wonder why we don’t take advantage of what has been given to us? A key dogma of our Christian Faith: Jesus Christ, the Son of God was killed upon the cross and was then raised from the dead by the Father.  We call this the Paschal Mystery. One must believe in this to be Christian.  Yet, what do we believe of this? Do we simply give our assent t...

Wisdom, what is it?  It might be like an old adage: I may not know what it is, but I know it when I see it! Wisdom; the Old Testament speaks of it a lot. It is often given a feminine persona. Generations passed this wisdom down through proverbs, psalms; through an oral tradition. The Jewish Wisdom books were compiled several hundred years before Jesus in response to the Greek conquerors coming into the land and bringing their own form of wisdom. A wisdom that presented a threat to the Jewish people. Wisdom in the Christian sense connects to the Holy Spirit. It comes from this Jewish wisdom. Wisdom, the intersection of intellect and emotion. It comes from a practice of discernment; a practice of patience. It is foresight. It is vision. It has depth, it relies on community. Wisdom comes from, is with, and will be with Love. One of our great aspects of our Catholic faith is our belief in Sacraments. A Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality. By nature, our belief...

What does it mean to be human?   Whether we are conscious of it or not, we all have an idea of what it means to be human. Technically, the concept or the philosophy of what it means to be human is called “anthropology”. Humans are simply complex chemical reactions contained in matter, nothing more. This would be the anthropology of materialism, or those who think we are nothing more than machines.  This also believes we can be predicted and therefore manipulated. It also believes when “Faulty” or undesired, it is okay to shut them down. Another anthropology: Humans are animals, complex animals, but animals nonetheless. Our actions are all about preserving ourselves, getting more and more to survive. We consume and consume and we are driven by basal drives.  Yet another one: Humans inherently seek their own well being; are self-serving. Humans are isolated from others. Therefore all will disappoint us, including politicians. We don’t need anyone else, only “I...

When we speak of Jesus and his revelation of God; there may be a temptation to think that what Jesus had to reveal of the Father was truly innovative, new, progressive. He proclaimed God that has never been hear before.  In part yes, but... Jesus was also firmly rooted in the history of his people and rooted in their Scripture. What Jesus revealed of the Father was the fullness of that Revelation that the Father had begun with the people of Israel.   To paraphrase: to be ignorant of Scripture is to be ignorant of God. God revealed God’s self to humanity; Israel in Scripture understands God as one who loves the people and wants the people to know this and to respond to this love through their love of others. These are in the foundational stories of Genesis: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel.  It was inscribed in the law given to the people as we heard in Exodus.  Through word and deed, Israel was to show to the rest of the Nations God! The Pharisees, and the Sadducees, ...

Imagination is one of those distinctly human qualities. Children develop their imaginations when they play. We adults too need to be child-like and engage our imaginations.  The lack of imagination is what can hinder us in life and in our relationships and how we live life well. Some of the religious leaders could not imagine God as Jesus revealed. This led them to react with hostility against Jesus. The gospel for today makes it very clear.   Jesus came and He revealed all who God is. We know that this revelation angered some; it threatened them and their ideas or their so-called power. So in their hostility some religious leaders, with their lack of imagination, try to trap Jesus. A lack of imagination that divides. A lack of imagination that sees only divisions. That only sees themselves.  Jesus with his imagination overcomes that trap and reveals their lack of imagination. Jesus's imagination sees Unity Harmony between all Israel had to learn in their exi...

They say, forgive the gender specific term, “The clothes make the man.” Remember the TLC show, “What Not to Wear?” The idea was that the clothes people wear don’t always express the real person underneath. There was one episode in which this man with a small business and the skills could not get very far professionally. He dressed like a beach bum despite being a 40 something man. So the hosts came in, cleaned him up, dressed him to reflect his personality but also to show to others that he had professionalism. It was quite the transformation. We have a group of women who come together to talk, to form community and they also knit. When we baptize infants there is a beautiful part of the ritual in which a white garment is presented to the newly baptized. We use white blankets knitted by those women.  A few weeks ago I noticed something. Previously during the ritual I would give the blanket to the godmother to hold during the ceremony. However, at this one baptism the godm...

What are we about as Christians, as Catholics? What do we have, as the Body of Christ to offer to the world, to Nevada, to Reno, to our children and families?  Or maybe another way to think about it...what does Jesus reveal the Father wants for all? or better yet...Why? Jesus clearly states in Jn 10:10, “I came so that they may have life in the full”. Elsewhere he will reveal that He came that “we may be one, just as the Father and Son are one.” Think back to the second story of creation in Genesis, which is actually the older story. God creates a Garden and within it God places the Man and Woman to work in the Garden, to produce the harvest. Humanity worked for God for a common purpose; paradise existed.  Trouble arose when the man and woman forgot God and made it about themselves. We as Catholics have been gifted. There is a beauty, an elegance to our faith. Our faith in the goodness of all of creation. Our faith in the goodness of all human persons.  Our Faith th...

Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2, describes how matter converts to energy and vice versa. The universe, over 13 billion years ago, was pure energy all within a single point. This energy expanded, cooled, and converted to matter, which eventually became us.  Plants convert the photons of light into food.  We convert fossil fuels into our energy, of course, now with detrimental effects.  We convert mechanical energy into sound waves and make music.  Carbon, black and sheet like, can be converted to brilliant hard diamonds. A few simple cells in a womb convert into a human child. A way to think about conversion is not about changing something from one thing into another, but about bringing forth the inherent properties. What if People don’t need to change?  What if we considered that people do not need to change?  Rather, consider if we believed that people need their inherent goodness to be brought forth. I remember once, many years ago in a galaxy far far ...

Do parents still tell children fairy tales and folktales? You know like Goldilocks and the three bears, Hansel & Gretel, Three Little Pigs? Or how about that tale from Hans Christian Anderson, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” That one, synopsis, a vain emperor who spent a lot of money on clothes meets two con men who tell him they can weave a special cloth so sheer, so brilliant that only the most intelligent and sophisticated can see it. The Emperor tells them to make him clothes out of this. They “Get to work”, and court officials come by to observe, yet seeing nothing but in their own vanity and own fear, say nothing.  At last the new clothes are ready, the con men vest the Emperor in these new clothes, and he parades in front of the people, who too are unwilling to state reality. It takes a young boy to speak the truth: the Emperor is naked. Reality, the way we see it, is directly influenced by our minds. If we expect to see something, then we will. Our philosophy, consc...

Anger is an emotional reaction to an unfulfilled expectation.  Anger is a reaction to when things do not go the way that we expect. Anger is an emotion when things do not go the way that we want. Anger is an emotional reaction, but it is not a sin. The sin is when we choose to hold onto the anger and let it poison us. When we have anger we have to work on letting it go, otherwise known as forgiveness. One important step in all of this is to understand our expectations. What are our expectations? It is important to know these in ourselves. Our expectations influence the way that we act, consciously and unconsciously. Our expectations influence the way we see our world. When we expect people to fail us then that generally is what will happen. When we expect people to succeed then that is what will happen. What are our expectations? This Parable that Jesus presents to us offers us a way to examine our lives, our expectations, our anger and how we choose to act. He offers us a w...

Pope Benedict 16 wrote that Jesus, as THE ultimate prophet, fully reveals the face of God. Pope Francis calls us as Church to be as Jesus in the world. Jesus reveals God. We are called to reveal God. This has profound implications for us as Catholics on how we believe and what we believe. We need to ask ourselves: what does Jesus reveal of God, what does God look like? God has no particular color, characteristics, no political party. God favors no country above another. God loves. God sees good in all and wishes for that goodness to come through. God calls us to be transformed. God is self giving.  And all of us need to be challenged in our concept of God...Continually. Otherwise we settle into a version of God that fits our own individual mode of thinking; we conform God to our vision of the world, our view of politics. We create an idol and that is what we often will spread. This applies left or right, progressive or conservative.   When we spread our own ide...