st Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 26, 2007
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Today’s Gospel reading speaks about entering the narrow gate. In Bethlehem in the West Bank of Palestine is the Church of the Nativity. One enters the church through a 3 foot wide by 4 foot tall door. Obviously, only one person can enter at a time. No matter how many people from however many different countries travel to that church, they all have to go in one by one.
Probably most of us have not visited Bethlehem - so we can’t say we have had that experience. But most of have had similar experiences of what we call a “bottleneck.” Like when traffic is reduced to one or two from many lanes, or at large events at a stadium, or a concert or the theatre, even getting on a plane. Many people are reduced from a wide space to a very small lane creating a “bottleneck” effect - each person going one at a time.
This can be really frustrating because what we had planned is very quickly and without warning changed. All of our plans and tight schedules are challenged particularly when it is a traffic situation. Today, we hear Jesus tell us that we will all have a similar experience when we stand before God face to face. We will all be judged according to how we have chosen to live our lives - each of us - one at a time. The difficulty comes - in some instances - when what God has planned for us and what we have chosen are not the same.
When we began our journey together as the parish of St. Katharine Drexel , we made a decision to be a “Stewardship Parish.” What does that mean? It means that we made a choice to work our way toward the narrow gate, not by accident, but by design. Instead of being forced, we chose to concentrate our energy and learn God’s way so that we might merge ourselves into the image and likeness that God has created and taught throughout the ages. This week, in the bulletin, I have listed many different scriptural passages that refer to the age-old teaching of Stewardship and our call to tithe a minimum of 10% of what God has given us - BACK to God. I did that so we might have the opportunity to look back at the scriptures on our own and in our own time.
Christian Stewardship is different from other ways of “giving.” Our society today has become accustomed to philanthropic giving. This means that those who have an over-abundance give to a particular need and are recognized for their generosity. They have a plaque with their name on it or have a building named after them. This is not necessarily bad - but it is really not the same thing as Christian Stewardship.
Many churches also have something called a Capital Campaign. In fact, it is what most organizations and churches do when they are trying to do something on a very big scale. This is also not necessarily bad and can be incorporated into a complete understanding of Christian Stewardship. The difficulty, however, with these types of programs, is that they usually incorporate things that include philanthropic styles with various ways to include peoples names and how much they donated. In many ways, this creates designations between those that have a great deal verses those who have much less.
When we decided to learn and begin to incorporate the teaching of the scriptures regarding tithing and stewardship, what we quickly learned is that this kind of designation does not exist. Scripture teaches that each person is called to give according to their own particular ability, not because we get some sort of special recognition, as if what we are given us really ours. But rather, that we return to God and God’s people a portion of what we recognize to be from God in the first place. God has blessed us, thus we are called to share that blessing - to be a blessing to others. There is no haves and have nots. Instead, we are all haves and we all give according to our abilities. We do not give to the Church because the Church needs it. Rather, we return to the community of believers a portion of what God has shared with us to make present the Kingdom of God here and now.
What we give is combined with what others offer to create a surplus - enough for everyone and beyond. Psalm 117 says, “For steadfast is the Lord’s kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever.”
There is a down side to relying completely on everyone accepting and embracing God’s teaching. The down side is that not everyone accepts it - not everyone embraces the teaching of Stewardship. An image of this can be when we are stuck in traffic in that bottleneck situation. There is always a few cars that just will not accept the inevitable. They fight and change lanes and blow their horns and drive through the median to the service road, usually only to get stuck in traffic there and then they do the same thing … Today we even have a name for that - road rage. In the situation of the parish - the fewer people that respond to God’s call means the less there is for the rest. St. Paul describes this in what we call the theology of the Body. All of us are called to respond according to our abilities, just like the body, the finger does what the finger can, the toe does what the toe can, until the whole body functions and one amazing miracle.
Think about all that we have done in these five years to get to where we are as a parish; think of the many challenges and bottlenecks that we have faced. Think of the many times that we have had to slow down, step back and re-evaluate what was happening to try and get back on course, understanding what it is that is God’s plan rather than our own. One of the most exciting things that we continue to learn is that we are not islands in and of ourselves. We all need one another to make it all happen. One person has one ability, another person can do something else. The more we come together and share our gifts, the more we become aware of the abundance of God.
These next few weeks we are going to be talking a great deal about stewardship. This past week you should have received a letter from me talking about Christian Stewardship and what our task as disciples of Christ are. Also, in this week’s bulletin, is a letter from Archbishop DiNardo.
Next week we will hear from some of our brothers and sisters in Christ and how they have tried to listen to the teaching of God and the Church and implement in their own lives. Why is that important? Because as I have been mentioning, we do not live in a bubble. God asks us to contribute to the greater good, but there is also a part of Christian Stewardship that calls us to be accountable to one another.
The second week of September we will all be working together to fill out time and talent surveys. We will be checking to see that the information we have in our census data is correct, we will be asking you what ministry you are currently involved in or would like to be involved in. You will also be receiving another letter in the mail with a treasure survey in it. This is strictly confidential - but we are asking you to let us know what you are able to offer in response to God’s generosity financially. Why?
Because just as God has expectations of us as individuals, God also has expectations of us as a parish. We are called to feed the hungry, to help the helpless. Parents ask us to offer assistance in forming their children in the Catholic Faith. All of us are called to continue our own Christian Formation. God asks us to worship together weekly, as well as throughout the week. We have baptisms and confirmations and weddings and funerals - all of this takes planning and supplies and people in place to make all of these things happen. If we do not know what assets we have and can count on coming in, then we cannot plan for any of what I have mentioned, just to name a few things.
And - we are also continuing to pay off our parish debt so that we can begin construction on our new church. But, of course, everything that I am talking about is about building the Church of God - all of us together!
I appreciate that all of this sounds a little overwhelming - but it is really not. It is simply a decision for us to live according to God’s teachings. If we do that - and the more we do that, the more our blessings add up and the more abundance we realize because of our fidelity to God. God can never be out given.
Someone recently said to me, we do not give to the Church because the Church needs it. We give to God because we have been blessed in abundance. We give because it is simply what we are supposed to do. Let us not be caught off guard when we finally come face to face with God. As we hear in today’s Gospel, when the doors to the banquet are closed, let us hope and pray that we are on the inside, not left outside knocking at a door that will never be answered.
| Journey of Faith |
Jornada de Fe |
| Heavenly Father, we thank you for theGift of faith and your call through
Baptism to be your people, the Church.
May all of us respond to that call with
sincere love, gratitude, sacrifice and
dedication.
Let your Holy Spirit guide our hearts and
Hand, our minds and tongues so that we
may grow in unity as your people, free of
all discord.
As we progress in our journey of faith,
May we give You, Heavenly Father,
Honor, glory and praise through Jesus
Christ, your Son, in the power of the Holy
Spirit, now and forever.
Amen. |
Padre Celestial, te damos gracias, porquePor medio del Bautism, nos diste el regalo
De la fe y el llamado a ser tu gente, la
Iglesia.
Que todos nosotros respondamos a tu
llamado con su amor sincero, con gratitude, sacrificio y dedicación.
Deja que tu Espíritu Santo guíe neuestros
Corazones, nuestras manos, nuestras mentes
Y nuestras lenguas para que podamos crecer
Un unidad, como tu gente, libre de toda
Discordia.
Mientras avanzamos en nuestra jornada de
Fe, recibe de nosotros, Padre Celestial,
Honor, Gloria y alabanzas, todo esot por
Medio de Jesucristo, tu Hijo, en el poder del
Espiritu Santo ahora y siempre.
Amen. |
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 5, 2007
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The first weekend in August - and for those who have school aged children - you are already beginning the activities of the fall semester. Football teams are beginning to practice, band is starting to work on songs and marching and routines for half-time shows, Drill teams and flag corps and cheer leaders are beginning audition and practice.
Even if your youth is not in any of these activities… everyone knows that school is approaching. Commercials on television are talking about back-to-school supplies and new clothes, computers, ipods, cell phones, everything your child does and does NOT need for back-to-school.
Even here in our parish, we are working on catechist orientation and then registration and orientation for our Religious Education program for children, youth and adults. You are seeing our notices that we still need catechists - persons willing to share their faith with our children and youth. And for adults, we are still registering for our adult process, Formation Toward Christian Ministry. If you have not registered yet, please do not delay. If we do not have at least 50 persons signed up within a few weeks, the center will not make and will be cancelled.
We are meeting and working on our fall Bazaar. Things are gearing up.
In today’s Gospel - Jesus presents to the crowd and us, a man who, for all intents and purposes, is set for life. The problem, though, as we see, is that his life does not turn out the way he planned.
So a question for us as all of these fall events and schedules and events begin to draw closer: Where does the real meaning in life come from?
The man in the Gospel is introduced as already rich, with a surplus harvest. He has no appreciation that this blessing is from God, nor of the Jewish religious tradition and human prudence that demanded that he make provisions for himself as well as his whole community. The rich man considers that he owns everything: crops, barns, grains, and even his own soul. He seems to have no family, no close friends, he does not consult anyone about his decision to store up all of the grain, everything is for him and his retirement. His final speech is also made to himself, “This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!’”
Everything is about “me” and “my” happiness” and “my” security. This, however, is very foreign in the culture of Jesus’ day. When someone was given such a bountiful harvest, it was never understood as merely for the good of the one person. It was understood that this bounty came from the hand of God and that it was for the good of all of God’s children. To store it up would have been the gravest of sins. Rather it would have been distributed to the community so that all could celebrate God’s generosity. Storing grain was for the distribution to the poor. Keeping it instead of sharing was greed in the worst sense.
In the first trip that Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the United States when she came to set up houses for her religious order to minister to the homeless and forgotten, she commented on how harried and unhappy she saw Americans to be. She said she saw homeless people, people left alone and unvisited in nursing homes, people who bought things they did not need as substitutes for love. “This,” she said, “is the worst kind of poverty.”
Very often, when we read about the poor in sacred scripture, we are not reading about the economically poor. When scripture speaks about the poor, it is referring to the socially poor. A person’s wealth was not measured by money or possessions, but rather, by their family, their friends and their generosity. The man in today’s Gospel, though wealthy in possessions was socially very poor. It seems he had no family, no friends and he certainly was not interested in sharing what he had been given with others.
This weekend we are celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism. It is the sacrament by which we enter into the life of Jesus and you parents and god-parents are making solemn promises today to form these children into the faith in which they are about to be baptized. The primary responsibility is upon you. Therefore, you parents who have baptized children - please consider if God is calling you to share your faith in our Religious Education programs.
Our second reading today is from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians. He says in the letter that through baptism our refuge is so secure that it is as though we are hidden with Christ in God. We are therefore to set our hearts on what is above, not on what is below; not on what is of this world. In St. Paul’s list of what a Christian is to avoid, he makes a special mention of greed, which can become a kind of idolatry when, like the rich man in the parable, money or possessions become the center of our worship, or our life. In baptism, we have been stripped naked, descended into the waters, and ascended with Christ to new life.
St. Paul says today, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self (in baptism) and have put on the new self…
As Mother Teresa indicated in her first visit to the United States, there is a concern that we are continuing to be affected by a horrible disease. In spiritual language, we would say that more and more of us are being drawn into the sin. We are loosing our understanding of responsibility and concern for the other. When the Church talks about a preferential treatment for the poor, it is not merely indicating the economically poor. The Church is as much, if not more concerned with the poor in spirit, those who are socially poor, those who are alone, those who are isolated or have isolated themselves, even if materially wealthy. Many are beginning to believe, like the man from the Gospel, that it is all about me.
We say, “There is no reason to vote, it will not do any good anyway; It is not my responsibility to care for the poor, let them get a job; It is not my concern to care for the sick, the lonely, the elderly, the abandoned, let their families do it. And if they don’t have a family, then let the government do it, that is what they are supposed to do…” And then, as if we have forgotten what we have said to ourselves we complain because our taxes are paying for the very thing that we have dispensed ourselves from.
Even here in our parish, we say things like, “Father should do that, that is his responsibility, someone else can do this or that, I don’t have time. Someone else can visit the sick, that is not my problem. Father has a staff now, what are they doing? Let them do all this work.”
This is exactly why today in my pastor’s column that I have quoted from the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. The holy fathers said, “It is to the laity, though not exclusively to them, that secular duties and activity properly belong. When, therefore, as citizens of the world, they are engaged in any activity… they will not be satisfied with meeting the minimum legal requirements but will strive to become truly proficient in that sphere. They will gladly cooperate with others working towards the same objectives. Let them be aware of what their faith demands of them in these matters and derive strength from it; let them not hesitate to take the initiative at the opportune moment and put their findings into effect. It is their task to cultivate a properly informed conscience and to impress the divine law on the affairs of the earthly city. For guidance and spiritual strength let them turn to the clergy; but let them realize that their pastors will not always be so expert as to have a ready answer to every problem (even every grave problem) that arises; this is not the role of the clergy: it is rather up to the laymen [person] to shoulder their responsibilities under the guidance of Christian wisdom and with eager attention to the teaching authority of the Church” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican II, #43).
Where does real meaning in life come from? Why do I need to share what God has shared with me? Because, we have not been created to be alone, we are not given abilities and talents just for our own good. We are not even given economic wealth, if we have it, just for our own good, that is a complete distortion of the Judeo-Christian understanding of wealth.
After the rich man’s last speech in today’s Gospel, God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
I share my gifts because it is why God has given them to me. I do not tithe to the Church because the Church needs it, I tithe because I am not supposed to hoard up my harvest in new barns. I give back to God and God’s holy people that which came from God in the beginning. And as the Gospels teach us, I am to give it back with interest earned. In other words, I am to improve myself and my abilities for my own good AND for the good of others. I am to share what I have first and foremost because it has been shared with me. “Vanity of vanities… All things are vanity!”
Let us pray:
God our Father,
Gifts without measure flow from your goodness to bring us your peace. Our life is your gift. Guide our life’s journey, for only your love makes us whole. Keep us strong in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 22, 2007
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I. Two pieces of business
A. On July 10, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican released a document called “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church“.
1. It re-affirmed Catholic teaching that the Catholic Church is the one, true church of Christ, even though elements of truth and Christ’s saving grace can be found in separated churches and communities.
2. It makes a distinction between what it calls “Sister Churches” and “Ecclesial Communities.”
a. Sister Church is used for any of the Orthodox churches
b. Ecclesial Community us used for any Christian community born out of the Protestant Reformation.
3. There are some very basic differences that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith us using.
a. It is looking at those churches who have preserved apostolic succession, the ordained priesthood and the Eucharist.
b. Remember I spoke about a second understanding of “communion” last week - meaning that we were in “union” with others.
c. The Orthodox churches have retained these three things, however, they are not in union with the pope.
d. Regarding churches or communities that have formed after the Protestant reformation, the Congregation is saying that they do not have apostolic succession (the unbroken succession of bishops going back to St. Peter). And, except for very few exceptions, they do not have what the Catholic church teaches as Eucharist, that is the Body and Blood of Christ - not in the form of a symbol or a representation, but really and substantively, the Body and Blood of Christ, via the consecration at the hands of a validly ordained priest in union with his bishop and the pope.
4. The document does not say that the Protestant churches are NOT churches, but that they are not churches in the precise sense that the Catholic Church uses the term church - as I explained above.
5. Of course Protestant churches disagree, the president of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe said the original characteristics of the church of Christ are preaching and the Gospel and administering the sacraments. “That, and no more, is needed to be able to be seen as an authentic expression of the one church of Christ.”
6. The Catholic Church disagrees with that statement.
a. The document is looking at the tem in a “strictly theological” way, explaining that if the Catholic Church believes apostolic succession and valid sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, are essential aspects of the church established by Christ it cannot recognize as “church” those communities who do not have them.
B. Secondly - On July 7, Pope Benedict XVI issued a motu propio, an Apostolic Letter in which he provides for more frequent use of celebrating Mass and other sacraments in the manner in which they were celebrated before the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council from 1963-1965. The primary reason that the Holy Father has approved the more frequent use of the “Tridentine” Mass, is to see “interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church.”
1. Some bishops, priests and faithful had a difficult time accepting the revised liturgy after Vatican II and continued to use the Tridentine form. This led to a schism in the Church when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordained three bishops without the Holy Father’s approval. In order to provide the opportunity for those who have followed Archbishop Lefebvre to return to full participation in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict is allowing a more frequent use of the Tridentine Mass.
2. The permission is for extraordinary circumstances and only if a “stable group” of people ask for it and have been faithful to the Tridentine Mass and Sacraments since Vatican II.
3. The Roman Missal of Pope Paul VI which came out after 1965 is still the ordinary form of celebrating Mass (in Latin or any other language).
4. The pope’s letter restricts the celebration of the Tridentine Mass for reasons of nostalgia or to accommodate the preference of a proportionally very small number of parishioners.
5. It also states that the priest must be able to speak Latin and know the Latin Liturgy. I do not know Latin nor have I ever studied the Mass of Pope Pius X.
C. Finally, in today’s bulletin, you will see that I wrote that last week was the Gospel about Martha and Mary… it is obviously wrong, since today we hear about Martha and Mary.
II. In the first reading from this Sunday, Abraham runs to meet three men.
A. Hospitality was and remains one of the most important social requirements of the Middle East.
B. We see Abraham acting as a perfect host.
1. Nomadic people had enemies, and when strangers approached, the best thing to do was to treat them well, so as to begin a relationship with respect.
2. Abraham offered rest and food. The guests accepted because, conversely, to refuse hospitality was also an affront to the one who offered it.
C. Then the strangers ask for Sarah.
1. This was unheard of… men were not supposed to see women.
D. Abraham’s response is equally amazing.
1. He actually answered.
E. Abraham kept the cultural norms of hospitality but he also went beyond them. Because of Abraham’s generosity and hospitality… the three men reveal themselves as angels and promise that Sarah will conceive and have a baby in her old age, Isaac.
III. In today’s Gospel, there are serious breaches of cultural norms for hospitality.
A. First, Jesus is in the home of two women without anyone else present. This was scandalous.
B. Secondly, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, the posture which describes a disciple of a rabbi. Women could not be disciples. But Jesus allowed it.
C. Third, families never were to bring their guests into a family dispute.
1. Martha not only brought Jesus into her dispute with Mary, she actually told Jesus to correct her. Anyone else would have left immediately because of the insult.
2. But Martha was culturally correct.
a. Martha was trying to offer hospitality.
b. And of course we know that it was not just Jesus there, he was there with his 12 apostles and who knows who else who came to hear Jesus preach.
c. Martha was concerned about serving everyone food and drink.
3. But Mary - was much more concerned about sitting at the feet of Jesus - hearing the Word of God.
a. Mary put God first even BEFORE cultural norms.
D. Jesus says to Martha that Mary has chosen the better part
1. Are we choosing the better part?
2. Are we like Martha, more concerned about cultural norms and what “others expect” even in the presence of Jesus himself?
3. What might our distractions be?
a. work, house work, worldly desires, peer pressure, bodily desires…
IV. Psalm 15: He who walks blamelessly and does justice; he who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. He who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;… He who does these things shall never be disturbed.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 15, 2007
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This weekend at our 9 a.m. Mass - we are receiving 6 people into the Catholic Church - three adults and three youth. Last weekend at the 11 a.m. Mass we celebrated the First Communion of one of our youth, and only a few weeks ago, we celebrated First Communion for 48 other children of our parish. At Easter we received two adults into full initiation of the Catholic Church.
All of these people, these 6 today, those who were fully initiated at Easter and those who have recently received their First Communion have been on a journey of faith. Perhaps they did not always realize that they were on a journey, but they were. In fact, God works in all of our lives whether we realize it or not.
Did the inn keeper from today’s Gospel reading have any idea that the Samaritan was going to bring in the robbed man before they arrived? NO. Yet, I wonder what sort of conversion; what kind of decisions the inn keeper had to make once the Samaritan man left having arranged and paid for the inn keeper to care for the injured man until he recovered. And, just to keep the inn keeper accountable - the Samaritan man told the inn keeper he would be back to see how things went… I wonder if the inn keeper had any idea that God was working in his life… even before these two men arrived at his inn.
Today we are receiving 6 candidates for full initiation into the Catholic Church. At Easter, we initiated two people; two catechumen, into the Catholic Church. So let me define a few things for us:
- 1) What does fully initiated mean?
There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church… (CCC 774). They are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present the grace that they signify. (CCC 1084). The sacraments are signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them… (CCC 1131).
The first three of the seven sacraments are - Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Once a person has received these three sacraments, they are considered to be fully initiated into the Catholic Church.
For children who are baptized as infants - their parents make and act of faith on behalf of their the child being baptized that they will do everything in their power to form the newly baptized child in the Faith of Jesus Christ - via the Catholic Church. Once that child is fully initiated, then they take on the responsibility for their own faith. For those of us who were baptized as infants, this is a journey of faith that takes some years as we grow and develop.
For adults (which for the Catholic Church means anyone over the age of 7) - rather than have someone else “speak for them” like their parents - they assume responsibility for their faith. So after the age of seven, any one who seeks baptism must go through a period of formation in the Church and when they are baptized, they are fully initiated. In other words, they receive all three sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
A Catechumen is an unbaptized person over the age of 7 who is in formation.
A Candidate is a person who has been validly baptized in a different Christian Religion, and is now in formation to be fully initiated in the Catholic Church.
- 4) When a person is initiated into the Church - it is important that we understand that they are initiated into the whole Church - not just a particular parish.
The formation of all of these people takes very different forms. For those who are Catechumen and Candidates it is the same in some ways and different in other ways. Both catechumen and candidates need time to learn Catholic doctrine and worship. They need time to be exposed to the Catholic way of life. But a candidate, usually, already knows the basics about Christianity as a whole, like what is the Bible and the 10 Commandments, the teachings of Jesus, etc. In many cases, the unbaptized do not have this information. Or they do, but in limited ways.
But of course - every person is different and every person brings with them their own particular history. So we try to offer to each individual what he/she needs to the best of our abilities. And, hopefully, their formation echoes the patterns of the formation for the rest of their lives. They, just like all of us, are called to constantly learn more about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church. For this very same reason - we offer formation classes for all ages.
What is common for all of those who have recently been initiated into the Church - is that all of them have had an intense desire and longing for the Eucharist - to go to Holy Communion. I would like to talk about two aspects of Holy Communion- the Eucharist.
- 1) Communion - the Eucharist - According to the Catholic Church - the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is not a symbol, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in the words of consecration, and through the faith of God’s Holy People - the bread and the wine is changed, really and substantially, into the Body and Blood of Jesus.
With only a very few exceptions other churches apart from the Cathlolic Church speak of communion or Eucharist, as a symbol of the Body and Blood of Jesus. This is VERY different from what we as Catholics believe!
When we receive Holy Communion, we believe that we are spiritually at the Last Supper, receiving that which Jesus Himself is offering, through the hands of the ordained priest.
In fact, we can all learn a great lesson and be motivated by these 6 people being initiated into the Church today. They are all so very hungry for the Eucharist! They have been longing for it, yearning for it, desiring it for a very long time. Hopefully it will inspire us to renew our own hunger, longing, and desire for the Eucharistic Jesus.
- 2) Communion - regarding the Community -
This part of communion is often misunderstood. Of course communion is about Eucharist… but the word communion itself means unity - to come together. Therefore, a big part of communion also means that we are in union with one another. Here in the parish, of course we get that because we come to Mass together, we come to formation sessions, meetings, activities, all together. But the idea of communion also goes beyond the parish.
It means that we are in union - com-munion - with the rest of the Archdiocese. All of us Catholic Christians are working under the same banner seeking, pretty much, the same thing. It also includes being in union with our Archbishop - Daniel DiNardo. He is the pastor of the local Church here in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
Even beyond the diocese - it means that we are in union with the other dioceses in the United States, in the World and very importantly - in union with our pope, Pope Benedict XVI.
He and the other bishops are direct descendents of the original 12 apostles - so the unbroken lineage from us to Jesus is very important.
In today’s Gospel - the Good Samaritan chose to be in communion with the injured man in spite of the risk and cost that it could mean for him. Last Sunday one of the most important words of that Gospel was “Peace.” As the disciples went out to towns and villages they were to proclaim “Peace” to all who lived in the homes in which they stayed.
Supposing two men come to a city without food, money, or a change of clothes. Who do you think would welcome them, where would they find an open door? Who would want to know them? What sort of lodging would they find and where would they start to look for it? One must surely marvel at the power of one who could send his disciples out in such a way, and at the faith of those whom he sent.
Why be so amazed that the apostles were believed, or that they themselves could believe, and that they returned home safely after being welcomed (or not)?
Unknown strangers, poorly dressed, and without contacts, traveled all over the world proclaiming someone who had been crucified, and offering a life of fasting in place of drunkenness, and irksome self-restraint in place of sensuality. It can hardly have been easy for those addicted to such vices to receive these exhortations to renounce them and live upright lives. And yet whole peoples (you and I) seized upon this teaching, whole nations embraced it.
(Bishop Eusebius of Emesa [+359]
Not only are we called to be in communion with those who are like us, but also with those who are, perhaps, not like us.
Today, Luke offers us another word, “compassion.” To be moved with compassion is perhaps to describe how that which is inside us longs to get out. Jesus no longer wanted “sacrifice,” He wanted “self-sacrifice.”
We welcome these 6 people into the communion of the Catholic Church. And we all hear the voice of Moses from our first reading today, “If only you heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in [the] book of the law, - [then] - return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.”
And, finally, Jesus says to us today, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, is a restoration of an ancient practice of initiation into the Church. It is a process of discerning and ritualizing the stages of conversion, leading to full communion within the Catholic Church. RCIA is designed for ages 7 – 99+ years that are either searching, unbaptized, baptized Christians in another faith who may think about becoming Catholic, or baptized non-catechized Catholics who never received First Communion and Confirmation. The first stage of this journey is “The Inquiry Stage.” This stage is a time to gather with other inquirers, ask questions, and meet other Catholics in the community. At this time there is no commitment. Contact the parish office for more information.
it when she was excited, and when she was frustrated. It was mostly a kind of exclamation. Everything about this little chapel is an exclamation to the glory and wonder of God.
The hanging light fixtures came from Christ Our Light (formerly St. Patrick’s) in Navasota.
