Have you met the risen Christ

In the Gospel today, we hear the story of Jesus' transfiguration as he appears in his heavenly glory before Peter, James, and John.  As they see Jesus transfigured with Moses and Elijah, they can have no doubt that Jesus is truly God.  Still, they were afraid and didn't know what to say.  This was a one-of-a-kind event, transforming  their lives.  And yet, when Jesus was led to the cross, Peter and James were nowhere to be found and Peter even denied him three times.  How could they so quickly abandon Jesus in his time of need? 

Probably, many of us have had experiences in our lives when we have felt the presence of Jesus.  It may have been a time of trial when we felt uplifted.  Or, maybe we heard a reading or a homily at Mass which touched us.  Maybe we were praying and heard an answer to a difficult problem. 

These are spiritual highs when Jesus seems to be close to us.  But, often, as we deal with the day to day issues of life, we can forget about these close moments and even wonder where Jesus is.  We might think: "Has he abandoned me?"  In fact, some of us may be wondering right now where Jesus is in our life.  We may be experiencing a desert time in our spiritual journey.  We may feel that he has turned away from us.  Or we might even have turned away from him as Peter and James did during Jesus' passion and death. 

Eighteen years ago, our pastor, Father Lou, Deacon Hershel, and several men and women from the parish were led by the Holy Spirit to bring Christ Renews His Parish or CRHP here.  They hoped to renew the faith of the parishioners through a weekend retreat during which men or women witnessed to their faith.  Over the past eighteen years, over 600 have attended these weekends including many who are here today.  Many lives have been changed as a result of these weekends.  Many non-Catholics have joined the Catholic church after attending a weekend.  Many Catholics have gone to confession for the first time in years during a weekend. 

One person whose life was changed by attending CRHP  I'll call  Joe.  Joe's wife and children are Catholic but Joe wasn't and he never felt a real need for God in his life.  So, when they went off to Sunday mass, he found other things to do around the house.  Six years' ago, someone from the parish invited him to attend a CRHP weekend.  Joe agreed to attend because he wasn't happy.  He thought there should be more to life than the stress from his work.  He was also lonely, because outside of his relationship with his family and some people at work, he had few friends.  He hoped the weekend would give him some downtime to think about what he could do to improve his life.   During the weekend, for the first time in his life, Joe felt the presence of God, especially in the love of Christ through the men on the weekend.  By the end of the weekend, Joe had decided to  become Catholic.  At the Easter vigil the next year, Joe was baptized and came into the church.  His life had changed because he found what had been missing - Jesus.  He now had purpose.  And he found friends he never knew he could have.  He was more joyful, even at work, and began to attend daily mass and bible studies.  Today, Joe continues to grow in his faith journey and help others in theirs.  His relationship with Jesus improves through daily mass, an adoration hour, and meditation.  And it all began when he attended a CRHP weekend.  Are you being called to a closer relationship with Jesus? 

I have been the lead spiritual director for CRHP for almost eight years.  I have witnessed participants whose lives have changed, who have experienced the joy of renewal and transformation,  and who are closer to Christ.  Many have established a bond with others on the weekend who are now their lifetime friends.  As I attend these weekends, I am continually blown away by the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those on the weekend.  For many of them, it is as if they are witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus, just as Peter, James, and John did.  For some, their lives will never be the same. 

Also, these CRHP weekends have had a ripple effect.  Many ministries in our parish have blossomed as a result of those who have attended these weekends.  In addition, teams from our parish have helped two other parishes start their CRHP programs:  St Patrick's in Morristown, Tennessee and St Henry in Miamisburg. 

Truly, CRHP has been a blessing for the past eighteen years.  But, like any long term program, after a time, it needs to be recharged, renewed, and reinvigorated.  About a year ago, Mathew Kelly's Dynamic Catholic organization assumed responsibility for CRHP.  They have changed the name of CRHP to Welcome in an attempt to change the focus from the parish to the individual.  In addition, they have created new manuals for the program which are especially helpful during the formation process as the team prepares for the next weekend. 

Our first Welcome weekends are approaching.  The men's weekend is just two weeks' away - March 10/11 and the women's weekend is April 14/15.  There are sign up tables in the foyer with men and women from the teams for the upcoming weekends ready to answer your questions.  Please stop by and check it out.  It can change your life.  After  the 11 o'clock mass, there will be an hour of adoration to pray for the success of Welcome in our parish.  Please come and pray with us. 

If you attended CRHP a number of years ago or in another parish, feel free to attend again.  Over the years' CRHP has changed and now Welcome has also changed it some.  Also, you have changed and you may be ready for a new encounter with Christ. 

On this second Sunday of Lent, as we prepare for Jesus death and resurrection, please take this opportunity to grow in your faith, to experience the great love of Jesus, and to see the Holy Spirit working in your life.    

God bless 

What are you looking for?

Jesus asked Andrew and John: "What are you looking for?"  This is a question that all of us ask ourselves or others many times during our lives.  We may be looking for something or someone.   In fact, we might not even know what we are looking for.

Another way of asking this question would be: "What do you worship?"  We find our identity in what we worship.  We may worship sports figures, politicians, movie stars, or just money or fame.  If we are worshipping anyone or anything else other than Jesus, we are confused and are off track.

In our culture today, I suspect that the most popular answer would be a relationship, then maybe money, then fame.  I suspect that few people would respond that they are looking for Jesus, instead of someone else or something.  But, if we really understood our basic needs, that would be the answer many of us would give. 

St Augustine said:  "our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Lord."   All of us are searching, all of us are looking,  all of us are restless.  And the only thing that satisfies us is the Lord. 

We might be looking for happiness in the wrong places. We might expect our spouse to give us complete happiness.  And sometimes we can be very happy in our marriage relationship.  But, this isn't the ultimate happiness that all of us seek. 

We also might look to things for happiness.  We get a new car and it satisfies us for a short time.  Then, we get tired of it and begin to look for something else.  We cannot find happiness in any thing.  The more things we have the more we need and the less they satisfy us. 

We might also look to new experiences for happiness.  We might look forward to an exciting vacation or an adventure.  But, when these are over, we are still searching for happiness.

Many years ago, a friend told me about the trips he took by himself to the highest mountain in both North America and in South America.  These were exciting, dangerous, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for him.  But, ultimately, they didn't satisfy him.  Then, he looked for an even more exciting adventure.  I've lost touch with him.  But, I wondered what he did next.

Andrew and John responded to Jesus question by asking him: "Where are you staying?"  Initially, I thought that this was an odd response.  But, John the Baptist had told them that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the Messiah.  So, Andrew and John just wanted to spend some time with Jesus, to hang out with him, to get to know him. 

This would be a good response for all of us in answer to our restlessness.  We need to spend some quiet time with Jesus.  We can spend time with him at mass after we receive him in the Eucharist.  And, we might spend time in Adoration, some one on one time with Jesus.  During these times, we develop a relationship with Jesus.  We get to know who he is and can begin to satisfy the longing in our hearts. 

Jesus told Andrew and John:  "Come and you will see."  This is his answer to our questioning.  Come, follow me.  Come, spend some time with me.  See the love that I have for you.  Peace be with you. 

He wants to make it easy for us.   We can just hang out with him and we will be happy.  It sounds so easy, doesn't it.  Why do we make it so hard?  Why do we have to follow our will instead of his will?   Why do we often ignore his commandments?  Why aren't we at mass more often?  Why don't we appreciate receiving him in Holy Communion?  Why do we question His Church?  Why is it so difficult for us to pray?

He wants to open our eyes so that we can see Him - the way, the truth, and the light.  He wants to take us out of darkness into the light of his love.  He sends us the Holy Spirit, the advocate, to help us on the our journey, to bring us closer to Him.

Hopefully, most of us will find the ultimate happiness Jesus offers us.  Then, we will be rewarded by hearing Jesus words to us at the end of our journey: "Well done my good and faithful servant, now enter into the kingdom of heaven."  Then, our search will be over, we can stop looking, we will have found the answer, the destination, the goal.  And we can just rest in the arms of the Father.  

Nothing is impossible for God

The angel said to Mary: "nothing is impossible for God."  As I read the Gospel in preparation for today's homily, this phrase jumped out at me.  Do I really believe that nothing is impossible for God?  It's hard for me to wrap my mind around this statement.  I have a tendency to make God much smaller than he is.  I tend to view him as I would a human, someone who isn't God.

Our God is a God of miracles.  In the bible, miracles are occurring over and over again. God  parts the Red Sea.  An angel tells Joseph to flee Bethlehem before Jesus is killed.  Jesus heals many people, raises Lazarus from the dead and feeds five thousand.  Peter escapes from prison several times.  And the list goes on and on. 

God is far more than we can grasp.  He is the creator of the universe.  He knows what we will do in the future and how our actions will impact this future.  He knows what is best for us, and he loves us more than we can even imagine. 

Today's Cincinnati Enquirer has a headline on the first page, "Millennia flock to the priesthood".  It describes the dramatic increase in the number of seminarians from 40 in 2011 to 82 today.  In a generation which is becoming less religious overall, these men are choosing to give themselves in service to the Lord.  Like our parochial vicar, Father Wood, they are on fire with the Lord.

Truly, nothing is impossible for God.  If we open our eyes in faith and look for miracles, we will see them all around us.  We may attempt to attribute these miracles to coincidences but in reality they are God's work.   Some of us may see small miracles and praise the Lord.  Others may not have enough faith to see them. 

Mary has great faith.  She says "Let it be done to me according to your word."  She was a young teenager who was just told that she would become pregnant with the Son of God through the Holy Spirit.   Although she was married to Joseph, she wasn't yet living with him as was the custom at that time.  So, once her husband, her parents, and her friends found out that she was pregnant, her life would be turned upside down.  For example, Joseph, before he was visited by an angel, had decided that he would divorce her quietly.  And yet, in faith, Mary accepted God's will to become the mother of Jesus.

The greatest miracles in my life have been the birth of my five children and my nine grandchildren.  I was present for the birth of each of my children and have seen each of my grandchildren on shortly after their birth.  What a blessing it has been to witness the great miracle of birth.  And I am proud of my children and their spouses that they have accepted God's will and the great responsibility of becoming parents.  Of course, there are a lot of joys associated with being parents but it also involves sacrifice and sometimes sorrow. 

Last Sunday, we had a birthday party at our house.  Except for one child and one grandchild, all of our children, their spouses, and their children were present.  It was a joyous occasion.  My youngest grandson, Dominic, who is two, was at the other end of the table from me.  He calls me De-do.  Dominic kept making faces at me.    Then, again and again, he ran to my end of the table and either high fived me or give me a fist bump.   

Children and grandchildren are such a blessing.  But, it takes faith to bring children into the world today.  Like Mary, spouses have to trust that God will give them the grace to handle whatever life throws at them. 

Hopefully, as we reflect on our lives, we can see instances where we have faithfully accepted God’s will.  We may see this in our family as we endure the day to day struggles of life.  We may see it in our marriage as we struggle to remain faithful to our marriage vows.  Or we may see it in our illnesses and our continuing aches and pains. 

Today, as we approach the solemn feast of Christ’s birth, we should all reflect upon the woman whose faithfulness made it possible.  Mary could have said: it's my body, my choice.  Or I don't fully understand this.  Or giving birth to the Messiah is too much to ask of me.  Where would the world be today if Mary hadn’t said yes?  How will our world be changed if we faithfully say yes to God’s will for us?

Have a Merry Christmas!

Foolish or wise

Today's Gospel parable is well known to us.  There are ten virgins.  The five wise virgins have enough oil for their lamps;  the five foolish virgins don't.   The bridegroom is delayed and the virgins fall asleep.  At midnight, the bridegroom arrives.  The foolish virgins go to a merchant to buy oil and when they return the door is locked. 

In this parable, the bridegroom is Christ, who comes at a time we do not expect.  We are the virgins.  Some of us are wise and some are foolish.  The oil is our overflowing love of God and neighbor.  We don't know when our day of reckoning will occur.  As the parable tells us: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

The door in the parable is our entry into heaven.  It is interesting that once this door is locked the foolish virgins cannot enter and the wise virgins cannot exit.  Once we get to heaven, we will be there eternally with God.  Otherwise, we must spend eternity without God in hell.

The foolish virgins say: "Lord, Lord, open the door for us".   Jesus, the doorkeeper, doesn't say "you're too late, the door is closed."  Instead he replies: "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you."   The foolish virgins don't have a relationship with Jesus, so they cannot get in.  We get to know him through prayer and by receiving him in the Eucharist.  Our relationship with Jesus is reflected in our actions, especially our love for others. 

The emphasis in today's Gospel is on becoming wise.  Being wise in terms of Jesus means knowing that we are waiting with the confident assurance that he will come.  This waiting is an important part of life, showing good faith in the promise of Christ's return.  And part of waiting is being prepared to greet the master.  The wise are aware that they are always waiting for the Lord to come.

Waiting is not a virtue in our culture.  For most people, waiting is something they don’t want to put up with.  I must confess that, if I can, I try to avoid it, by gently accelerating through yellow lights and checking out various lines at the store for the shortest one.  I can be very impatient when I have to wait.  But I, like all of us must wait, in eager anticipation, for the Lord.

When we come here to give thanks, to participate in the Mass, we are acting wisely.  Being here reminds us that we are waiting on the Lord.  We come to the meal that is a reminder of the heavenly banquet that awaits us. 

The difference between being wise and foolish is not some unusual effort on the part of the wise, but a habitual way of living.  The wise anticipate the One who will come, even though they don’t know when.  When the bridegroom arrives, it's too late for the foolish virgins - their eternal destiny is sealed.  They cannot get oil from the wise virgins and they cannot purchase the oil, the love, they need. 

Fortunately, it's not too late for us.  The door isn't locked.  Jesus reminds us that we still have time.  Jesus has shown us what we must do to keep a good supply of oil- love God and love our neighbor.   At this Eucharist, we acknowledge our need and dependence on God.  We yearn and search for Wisdom  -- it is given to us in these scriptures and in the food prepared at this table set before us.

We may not know the day or hour but we can be prepared. We have been given the gift of faith—we have a relationship with God—a relationship to which we must cling with all of our strength. The virgins, and all of us, are ultimately either wise or foolish- there is no grey area.  We will either be welcomed into heaven- possibly after a stop in Purgatory, or will be dispatched to hell.  Let us pray that we will be fully prepared to meet him on the last day and will celebrate forever at the heavenly banquet.

Our wedding garment

When I owned a software company for many years, I often read business books to help in running my business.  One of my favorite books was Stephen Covey's Seven Principles of Highly Effective People.  His last principle in that book is "Begin with the end in mind."  This refers to having a vision of how you want something to end up in the long term.  It’s about starting things with a clear idea of your destination, so that you make progress towards that goal. 

This principle applies to many areas of our lives: including leadership, project management, and sports.  If you’re sure about how to complete a project, you’ll be able to plan it efficiently, better communicate its purpose to the people involved, accurately measure its success upon completion and, above all, have the proper motivation to tackle it.

In today's readings, this principle is applied to our spiritual lives.  The first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah gives us a view of heaven.  Isaiah says that the Lord of hosts will provide a feast of rich food and choice wines.  The Lord will remove the veil that veils all people and will destroy death forever.  Finally, the Lord tells us to rejoice and be glad that he has saved us.  Certainly, this view of heaven should provide an end or a goal for our lives.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives us a parable of a wedding feast which again gives us a vision of heaven.  Then, it focuses on our possible responses to being called to the feast and the judgment that we all must experience before reaching our ultimate destination of eternal bliss or eternal damnation.    

In the parable, the king summons his invited guests to the feast as he has all of us. But, many refused to come.  Then, the king sent his servants out a second time to invite guests to the feast. Again, some of the guests ignored the invitation and went to the farm to work and to their business.  They were busy doing things that seemed more important at the time.  Others reacted to the invitation by killing the servants who invited them.

The king is enraged and sends his troops to destroy the murderers and burn their cities.  Then he sends his servants out another time to gather all they can find, good and bad, to attend the wedding feast.  But, one of those gathered didn't have the proper wedding garment.  This guest was cast out into the darkness outside.  Finally, the parable ends with the ominous statement:  "Many are invited but few are chosen." 

This parable should be a wake-up call for all of us.  Jesus is telling us about the judgment that all of us must face.  When Jesus tells us that few are chosen, it should strike fear into our hearts.  We certainly don't want to spend our eternal destiny in darkness where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.  This should cause us to take a good look at our lives and to consider whether or not we are striving to be holy. 

At baptism, we become members of God's family and are given a spotless wedding garment.    At the end of our lives, to enter heaven, our wedding garment must again be spotless.  That is, we must be free of serious sin.  If we have turned away from God and knowingly committed a serious sin, it is critical that we go to confession and receive absolution so that our wedding garment is once again spotless. 

Of course, many in the world today tell us that a loving God wouldn't condemn anyone to eternal damnation.  They tell us that virtually everyone will go to heaven.  This is a lie and it is the work of the devil.  The devil wants us to believe this so that we won't get our lives in order and will continue to turn away from God.

God has given each of us a free will.  We are free to accept him or to reject him.  If we reject him, he will accept and honor our decision.  In effect, we condemn ourselves to hell when we reject him by knowingly committing a serious sin.

For each of us, our ultimate destiny will be either heaven or hell, eternal bliss with God or eternal damnation.   As I get older, I find myself thinking about my judgment more seriously.  I wonder if I will clear the bar to at least be sent to Purgatory for some purgation before eventually reaching heaven.  Like many, I face this judgment with trepidation.  Today, let each of us begin with the end in mind.  Let us visualize ourselves and our family in heaven seeing God face to face.  And, let us begin to make whatever changes are needed in our lives to assure that our wedding garment will be unstained when our earthly journey ends.

Who are our watchmen?

In today's first reading, the Lord tells the prophet Ezekiel that he is the watchman for the house of Israel.  Ezekiel must warn others when they sin; otherwise he will be held responsible for their sin.  Once he warns someone, Ezekiel will not be held responsible for any sin they might commit and he will save himself.

Who are our watchmen today?  Most people would probably say that our religious leaders, our bishops, priests, and even our deacons are watchmen.  As clergy, we clearly are responsible for warning others when they are sinning. 

But, all of us, as Christians, as followers of Christ, are watchmen.  We are all responsible for warning others about their sinful behavior.  This is not a duty to be taken lightly as we hear in the first reading.  If we are negligent in this duty, we can be held responsible for someone's spiritual  death. 

It is difficult to reconcile this responsibility with today's attitude toward sin and truth.  If I were to tell someone that it can be a sin for him to miss mass on Sunday, he would probably say to me that he doesn't believe this and that I should keep my opinions to myself.  He might also comment that I am being intolerant of him and am judging him. 

Reminding someone that what they are doing is not right is never easy.  When we do this, we might be successful in getting someone to change or we might be told to get lost.  We all should shudder when we read today’s passage from Ezekiel where God tells Ezekiel “if you do not speak to the wicked person about their wickedness, I will hold you responsible for the consequences of his or her wrongdoing.”  We all may have a lot to answer for because of things that we didn’t say or do.

Love should be the motivation behind any form of fraternal correction.  Paul tells us today: “owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.”  We shouldn’t go around finding fault with people because we enjoy it.   We should do it because we love them and we hate to see them doing things that will cause themselves harm, either spiritually or physically.  

Often our words of wisdom or encouragement, even if offered in love, fall on deaf ears.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us one more way to help our brother or sister who is straying from the path of righteousness.  Jesus encourages prayer for the person.  As a matter of fact, even before we dare offer advice or criticism to another, we should pray for the right words and then if we are told to mind our own business, we should keep on praying for them.  St James summarized our efforts in this area when he said: “whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

There is no human power greater than truth spoken in love, but this power does not protect us from retaliation.  When Pilate asked Jesus , "are you a king?"  Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king.  For this I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.".  Then Pilate promptly ordered Jesus to be crucified.

Jesus doesn't promise we won't suffer for speaking the truth.  But he says, "If you seek to save your life on this earth, you will lose it.  How do you profit if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul."  We are not on earth to save our lives- or our jobs or our relationships with others if we have to suppress the truth to keep them.  Rather we are here to testify to the truth.  The person we will be for all eternity will be determined by how well we do that.

We all need to help each other on our spiritual journey, to be watchmen for one another.  At St Francis, there are groups of spirit-filled men and women who meet regularly- including bible studies, faith sharing,  marriage encounter and CRHP.    As we get to know each other and to know our joys and sorrows, our strengths and weaknesses, it is a great opportunity to share our struggles with each other and to provide some assistance, some fraternal correction, to each other.  If you are not already a member of one of these groups, I would encourage you to join one.   We all can learn from each other's successes and failures.  

Divorce and contraception

Just as in Jesus' time, it is difficult to reconcile Jesus' teaching about divorce with our society.  With divorce rates around 50%, Jesus would say to us that our marriages are a mess "because of the hardness of our hearts." 

During my lifetime, I have seen a dramatic change in attitudes toward marriage and divorce.  In the 50's and 60's, divorce was somewhat rare and there were few single parent families.  It was a much simpler time and many people listened to and respected the Catholic Church.

Then, came the sexual revolution and things rapidly changed.  Much of this change was driven by the birth control pill.  As the pill was rapidly accepted throughout all segments of society in the 70's and 80's, we witnessed an interesting and troubling phenomenon.  As the percent of women using the birth control pill grew, the percentage of marriages ending in divorce grew at approximately the same rate.  Unfortunately, this was true in Catholic marriages also.  There was little difference between the percentage of marriages ending in divorce for non-Catholics and Catholics.  in both groups, the number peaked and has stayed around 50%.

In July 1968, Pope Paul VI wrote a short prophetic encyclical: Humanae Vitae.  This encyclical said the marital act must be unitive (two become one) and procreative (life-giving).  The encyclical also said that if artificial birth control is widely accepted, we would see an increase in divorces, abortions, pornography, and spouse and child abuse.  We would also see governments interfering in this area and unnatural methods of creating life.  Unfortunately, all of these predictions, which were considered to be ridiculous when the encyclical was written, have proven to be true. 

This encyclical was not understood or accepted by most Catholics.  In fact, even some theologians, priests, and bishops rejected it.  It was just too counter-cultural for many people to embrace.  Because of this, the birth control pill was widely used by Catholic women.  It was not difficult to find a priest who said that this was OK.

Fortunately, some Catholic couples have continued to follow church teaching as outlined in Humanae Vitae.  The divorce rate among these couples is under 5%.  Many of them are using Natural Family Planning or NFP to space their children.  This has about the same effectiveness rate as the pill.  It has proven to be very effective in helping them either achieve or avoid pregnancy.   And many of our priestly vocations have come from these families.  My wife and I taught NFP for many years.  We witnessed many couples whose marriages were blessed and strengthened, including ours, as a result of using NFP.

Today, we are witnessing another troubling trend.  Many couples are choosing not to get married and just live together.  They figure, why bother, since it will just end in divorce, like we see with so many of our friends.

So, today, let us pray for all married couples.  Let us pray that we have the courage to live and to embrace our marriage covenant.  Through our marriage, we are meant to  live a covenant which is free, total, faithful, and fruitful and which images Christ's love for His Church.  Let us live our marriage covenant with joy and encourage other couples to do the same.