Gospel, Homily and Coffee

The other day I was walking around Virginia Lake and a family was getting out of the car. They had a 2 to 3 year old child. She wanted something, and she apparently wanted it NOW. And was throwing a tantrum. I smiled as I walked by. Haven’t we all witnessed that before. Children throwing fits, displays of anger because the situation does not go the way they expect. Of course, we adults never do that. I am a Monty Python fan. I have been since I was a teen. One of my favorite scenes from their movies is from “Search for the Holy Grail”. The Knights, when confronted by danger such as a rabbit with big nasty teeth, yell “Run Away! Run Away!” But also imagine they are not on horses, but imaginary horses. is tenacity? It is that quality of sticking with a situation when it is difficult so as to resolve it or comprehend it. It is not stubbornness, that is more egotistical. Tenacity seeks fulfillment, completion and understanding. Tenacity has a long view of the w...

A woman born into late 19th century New York lives a bohemian lifestyle: full of vigor and energy, restless. When pregnant for the 2nd time, she begins to grasp the Catholic Faith, and begins to see her life in a new way. She later worked during the depression to support the many persons who were unemployed and founded the Catholic Worker Movement.  A bishop was selected to become an Archbishop. Considered bookish, an intellectual, he would be thought as a placeholder until a “real” Archbishop could be found. He began to see life differently. He saw how the poor were treated horribly by the powerful families of his country. He saw how corruption had tainted those high up, both in government and church. He chose a better path, and spoke out for the rights of the poor and of all. The rich and powerful had him shot while serving mass. How many other stories are there. How many real life stories of people who saw or were given a different path and walked it.  How many...

Tonight, traditionally, the Pastor washes the feet of 12 people. This year because of “Social distancing” this is not permitted. We are not permitted to be physically close. In every Sacramental celebration touch or physical nearness is essential, it is part of the ritual. We don’t do these rituals from afar, because at the heart they are always about the person, always for the lifting up of a person.   In Baptism parents hold their child and the celebrant places the water over the head. It is an intimate ritual. Just as bathing is. In Confirmation and Ordinations, Bishops touch the person with oil on the foreheads or the hands to confer the sacrament. He looks them in the eye. Reconciliation and Anointing of sick need that closeness as well.  Marriages are sealed with a kiss; not by the priest or deacon, but the new wife and husband. Touching and proximity remind us that real people are involved. Life and salvation involves people. Not in an abstra...

Fear, an emotional response to a perceived threat.  Fear, we all experience it, and I would say a good many of us are experiencing it now. Our way of being in this world, threatened.  Our way of being church in this world, threatened.(?)  How can we interact with others we love when we are told to keep away?  How can we stay healthy? Keep our kids safe? Fear, as one famous set of books writes, is the mind killer.  Fear, if not worked through, truly isolates us. We get swallowed up in our own perceived losses. We start to see only threats, darkness, conspiracy... Love conquers all fear. Jesus experiences fear.  There are very real existential threats to him. There is betrayal, physical abuse, personal attacks, and there will be the cross. I don’t know about you, but for me that scene in the Garden is pivotal.  Jesus understands what is about to take place. He is scared. What does he do? He prays.  Read how he prays. He d...

I have seen people come back to life! It’s amazing! One young man who I knew as a boy got caught up in drugs and abusive relationships. When I saw him as an adult, he did not look good; but he was ready for life. He has made changes, and today he looks so healthy. He has a job. He is connected back to family. This is LIFE! Once, a newly wed couple were so in love. They traveled and explored. Did new things together Yet, within a few years, she developed cancer. They went through treatments together. He nursed her the whole way. She got free of it. They returned to living life together. Then it came back. He again, put his life on hold to make sure she was cared for. She eventually passed. But the love they had for each other persisted. He revealed his true self. This is life. Depression, unemployment, financial strain, egos, fear...so many “Things” out there to keep us from being engaged in living; that keep us from being engaged from letting others love ...

If we go online we can find those optical illusions: is it a rabbit or a duck? Is it a vase of two faces There is the one we have here in the church: is it a bunch of splotches, or can the face of Jesus be seen?  These are kind of fun because they tell us that the mind controls what we see. A favorite poet of mine is Billy Collins. He writes, at least in his collection called “The Art of Drowning”, of simple things but in a much deeper way. His poem on 'Osso Bucco" is one of my favorites.  Poets and artists see life in a different way, and their art translates their visio n so that we can see differently too. Remember the Catholic definition of a Sacrament...a visible sign of an invisible reality.  Catholic by our very nature are to see very differently. Our faith tells us that what we see represents, or signifies something even greater. This is the mystic!  A mystic doesn’t necessarily have supernatural visión, or is a seer; but is one...

In the major cities of the United States, and especially back in the east, Catholic Parishes were in a lot of places, even within blocks of one another.  Why?  God forbid the Irish worship with the Italians with the Polish with the Germans. Cincinnati, where I lived for a couple of years, had a large German immigrant population early on in its history. In the Clifton area where I lived within a mile of each other there were at least 3 huge church buildings, St. Georges, St.Monica’s and I forget the other. When I asked why there were so many so close, I was told that each was built by immigrants from their own towns back in Germany, because they would not worship with the others.   And I also suspect they wanted to retain the sense of community they had back in the “old country”. So the sense was one belonged to the parish because of DNA and geography! Faith in Christ...maybe  Of course, these parishes have now had to rethink this as our cultures have change...