Gospel, Homily and Coffee

Henry Ossawa Tanner,  Resurrection of Lazarus , 1896, Public Domain.  Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Ossawa_Tanner,_Resurrection_of_Lazarus.jpg A woman dies unexpectedly of heart issues. She was in her late 60’s to early 70’s; she was always at mass, always positive, always nice. Her husband was non-Catholic, did not attend mass with her and I had never met him before. We finally met a few days after her death; when asked how he was handling all of this, he replied with a cliché…”I know she is in a better place.” So I asked him “Does that make you feel better?” He broke down and said no. Then we really began to talk. A teenager, along with many others, was having fun in the desert. He and several kids were in the bed of a pick up riding in the sand and sage. The driver hits a bump, this teenager falls out of the back and under the truck, killed by it. What a waste. The funeral was full of kids from the High School, so many tea...

One of the enjoyable activities around here is when we take a guest who has never been here before up to Tahoe and the Sierra up the mountain. It’s really enjoyable hearing their oohs and aahs at the mountains (or shrieks of terror as we go up Mt. Rose Hwy). Then there are those views of the lake itself. They are snapping photos, just awestruck. It’s enjoyable too because we can forget just how wonderful those mountains are, the Lake. When we write papers or articles, or announcements for the mass; when we write, we clearly make some errors, but then we can find them, or at least the obvious ones. But after writing and reading and re-reading several times, we know what we have written, or wish to have written. But it takes fresh eyes to catch the incomplete thoughts, the typos, the grammar errors. How many of us have been searching for something; like our glasses, our keys, our cell phones… we tear apart the house, can’t find them. Then we put our hands on the top of our heads, th...

Can we remember our first encounter, our first exposure, awareness of Jesus? What was it? When was it? How did it come about?  My first remembrance was trying to comprehend how Jesus fit inside a tabernacle, and then later how he could be in our tabernacle and all other tabernacles. The questioning/searching has never stopped. Those of us baptized as infants or small children, will have been raised/immersed in our Catholic - Christian faith. Our first encounter or first exposure to Jesus probably came through family or church.  Those who were older when baptized; teens, adults, more mature adults may have a different encounter story. It could have happened through an encounter with a friend; through an invitation to come to mass or adoration or some other devotion; maybe it was an experience of a funeral or wedding, or maybe Jesus came and gobsmacked them….  In any way, at any age, that initial encounter of Jesus becomes an invitation; and that invitation becomes a re...

My family’s immigration story is a lot like others. My great grandparents, along with many others from Eastern Europe including other cousins, came to the US and Canada in the early 1900’s. They came to escape poverty, to escape the Hungarians who suppressed the Slovak language and culture; they came for a new start. Most, if not all, had to leave behind parents, siblings and extended family. It was not easy. Some got lost in alcohol and depression; some took their lives. They endured bigotry from non-catholics, from those hostile to immigrants; a familiar refrain even today. So some returned to Europe unable to cope. Those that remained and made it, such as my great grandparents, they worked hard, they remained stubborn and did what was needed for the following generations. They had a goal. Vision, purpose, mission, we know these are qualities needed for success. Companies, parishes, even individuals have mission statements; they have goals that help define choices, that give...