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...

There are two basic ways to become a US citizen. A person is born here or a person immigrates and becomes naturalized. A citizen then is expected to follow the laws, pay taxes; that is the minimum really. There remains the invitation to become more engaged as a citizen; to volunteer, to vote, to become better informed about issues and how our various governments work. It is those Engaged citizens that create more impact. There is only one way to become an official Christian, a person needs to be baptized. There are billions of Christians. Of those billions, there are estimated at 1.3 billion who are considered Catholic. There are an estimated 70 million plus Catholics in the United States Now, once baptized, most simply do the basics and fulfill the expectations. They are expected to go to Mass every week; continue to celebrate the other sacraments including Reconciliation, give to support the church; that is the basics. Clearly, not all even fulfill these basics. Disciple ve...

We Americans have an odd relationship with “law”. We say we want law and order, but I wonder if we only mean that of others and not ourselves. When I worked in the mining industry we followed MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration; it is the equivalent of OSHA. We learned that the laws of MSHA come from events and instances in which people were hurt or killed due to negligence or ignorance. A miner gets hit on the head and is hurt, so now we all have to wear hard hats. OSHA works the same way. I remember once a construction person complaining that he had to go to classes on heat management; griping about government law. Yet, he had to go because companies were forcing workers to be outside on roofs in the horrible heat of summer without providing breaks, shade or cooling; someone died, so the law was changed. If they want to eliminate laws, treat people better. We tend to see law as something to control, manage or prohibit behavior, especially bad behavior. When we read...

I want to repeat again our Catholic understanding of Sacraments: a visible sign of an invisible reality. A source of anger/frustration, of sadness, happens when someone we know who has abilities does not try to use it. Parents and teachers experience this with children; they know the child has the ability to think or do something, yet the child does not seem to want to or thinks he or she can’t. The child has the intelligence or the skills; they have the gift…and yet…!!!! It also applies to other adults…we recognize in someone a capacity to grow, to do something, to act better; yet they will not, or think they cannot. This is not about controlling or forcing, but is that heart knowledge: we know they can do it! We believe in them. What do we do? We want that inner capacity to be expressed in their lives!  Yelling and threatening probably does very little. Crying as well and guilt tripping certainly does not.  It seems a long haul effort; of affirmation and support; enc...