Gospel, Homily and Coffee

I will be closing down this blog today. Future posts can be found here:  https://ols-reno.blogspot.com/2023/12/3rd-advent-rejoice-god-is-with-us.html  

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

There is the saying, “out of the mouth of babe…” Those who work with kids know kids can say some outrageous and funny things, and also can express matters and ideas that are deep and wise beyond their years. I have heard kids express thoughts on God and their understanding of God that took my breath away; catching me by surprise. A danger for Catholics is our egotism, or chauvinism. We can fall into the trap of literally believing that we have the Truth, therefore there is no Truth outside the church. Which means we can have a tendency to ignore other Christian faiths and even some Non-Christian faiths, and lose out on some wisdom and insight. One of the more brilliant Scripture scholars in the world is N.T. Wright, who happens to be Anglican. I really enjoy on TikTok Dr. Dan McClellan, also a biblical scholar, who also happens to be Mormon. But I know some Catholics, including priests, who would never ever listen or read them or others, because they don’t belong; they are not part o

Parents, you are amazing. Each day you wake up and walk into the chaos of life with those special little somethings. Each day you walk into life and make choices, with little preparation, with those kids that are inherently bipolar: angels in one moment, in another, even Satan would be scared of them. Again, there is little prep; there is no easy app for parenting. I will repeat again, I do not mind noisy kids in mass; noisy adults I do, you all know better, but kids…please bring them and have them here. Parents thank you for bringing them and for having the courage and faith to be parents. Recently a friend asked me about depression. He asked me to describe what it is like. I could only give my experience: it is like a fog. It is being so overwhelmed by everything and feeling everything, and lacking the ability to take a step forward, to make a choice. There is no movement, only stagnation. It takes a lot of energy to be able to make a choice, to take a step. Earlier this week I w

When we go over Mt. Rose pass, near the top are the almost pristine, granitic rocks that make up the core of the mountains. Beautiful rocks to look at. Kind of like the rock we would use for our countertops. As a geologist looking for gold, those rocks would not be given too much looking at. God would be in the ugly rock, the broken rock, the altered rock, the rock with lots of reds, yellows; the fractured rock filled up with silica. That was where the treasure could be. Even then it would take a lot of effort to get that treasure. What do we all search for? What do we truly desire? Who do we want to be? These are ancient questions we humans have asked of ourselves for eons. For some, the answers may be superficial: search for jobs, status, influence. Some search for deeper meaning; love, relationships, security. Even deeper people seek a sense of self; sense of understanding of the universe. A related question I also get from people…how do I deepen my relationship with God? How

Looking into our lives, past and present; were there, are there still those certain persons who mentored us? Are there those persons who affirmed us; who were with us as we royally screwed up and helped us out? Maybe it was our parents or grandparents; a teacher or coach; a priest or sister. No matter what we could have done, they remained with us.  These people are jewels. They need to be cherished. Nothing says love like keeping those who made bad mistakes in our lives; love does not judge but only lifts up. We all have being; we are. Whether we believe we are because Cogito ergo sum; or because we experience therefore we are; or because we can touch and be touched…. We are. (Your philosophy lesson for the week). We as Catholics believe that we are, we have Being because God is; because not only has but IS BEING. We are because God loves us; God sustains us. If we were not loved by God, we would simply stop existing. God loves us no matter what. We know this from Jesus Christ. T

We learn as we open ourselves to learning. When we close ourselves off to new ways, different ways, different approaches…we will not learn. Learning brings growth and maturity; not learning causes stagnation. Part of the challenge of teachers is to open the children to learning. It is fun to watch those teachers in the younger classes excite the kids, and those little kids are sponges. They take so much in and grow. It is amazing.  Something can happen though as we age.  We can get jaded, lazy, and/or arrogant; we know it all and there is nothing more. Or the dreaded adolescent phrase, but I still hear in adults, “This is stupid.” When we enter into this mode, it takes something significant to jar us open, to let in a little different wisdom. It requires humility. Nothing humbles us like failure. When all our plans, ideas, machinations just do not succeed. It all falls apart. Sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small fashions. We want to succeed and we don’t.   Jesus does not c

One of my first conversations with my spiritual director when I entered seminary, at 31 years of age, was why now? Why did God take so long to get me here? I had in my mind the “ideal” or the lifer model in which guys went from high school into college seminary then major seminary, to be ordained at 25. My spiritual director, a wise older gentleman, still alive by the way at over 100 years old, told me simply; “I was probably not ready, and it was not my time.” That has stayed with me for these 27 years. Even now I am given these moments in time when I finally understand on a deep level life, and what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Seeds were sown, I was given information, theology, but it took time to grasp what it means. I had to be ready to receive what Jesus offered. It takes life experience to receive truly what God offers through the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ. It takes an understanding for us to receive what Jesus offers. Jesus lays out a clear, idealized version of wh

The hero’s journey; a journey written of by countless writers for millennia. This journey was brought to more modern minds through the work of Joseph Campbell, an American Philosopher who profoundly influenced George Lucas, who then gave us Star Wars. The hero’s journey is a discovery of self, of strength, and maybe joy. One of the positive aspects of having a few more years under our belts is that we can have a stronger sense of self, and also what and whom is truly important. I find with older people, some matters can roll off their backs; meh, been there, seen it, done it. Yet, younger people, less wise people, the drama can still get them! Things don’t go their way, or life throws a curve ball and boom there is heck to pay! People must be attacked, emails must be sent, tweets must be fired off, heads must roll… But, also there are still older people who are way over dramatic, angry at a world that does not give to them what they want; and younger people who are calm and peaceful.

In American Folklore, if we can call it that, the story of the tragedy of Kitty Genovese can hit hard. Kitty was young woman, who in 1964 was raped and murdered. She cried out for help, and people heard the cries, yet the story goes, nobody answered her pleas. She died in the street alone. The truth remains different. Jesus witnesses a crime. He sees people “troubled and abandoned” or a better translation is “harassed and helpless”. Our Gospel says he was moved with pity for them, but this fails to convey the fullness of what Jesus experienced. The original words said he felt this in his gut. He had a visceral, a strong experience, for these people. A people who have been maltreated, ignored, not shown the dignity they merit. It moves him to action. Kitty was attacked, she did cry out. People did hear and people did respond. A man, her friend got another friend up and she went down and cradled Kitty in her arms. Other’s called the police to get help. Jesus sees people who tr

Years ago I was talking with an older priest and we were discussing a teen who had not been the nicest of persons. We were talking about the situation and what could be done; and this senior priest said that it was too late, this kid was already set and it could not be undone. I thought to myself, but isn’t that against what Jesus taught and did? I love good stories of conversion. There are great ones on Instagram and TikTok; people changing the trajectory of their lives. Some of the strongest, wisest, holiest persons I have met and know are those who have moved from addiction to sobriety, from heart broken to heart open, from abused to advocate. The reality of conversion, redemption, repentance exists. We disciples of Jesus Christ, we Catholics live it. Or we are supposed to. Last week in our Gospel, we heard those amazing words from John 3:16: God so loved the World that God gave to the world the beloved Son to save the world.  Jesus Christ is the incarnation, the flesh and bl