Margaret Culkin
Banning, “Living With Regrets,”Readers Digest, October 1958
COMMANDMENTS
OF THE HEART
OPENING IMAGE
In Mikhail Sholokhov’s classic
novel, And Quiet Flows the Don, a group of young Cossack soldiers on the
way to war stayed overnight in an old man’s house.
While they were having their last
smoke before going to sleep, the old man, who had served in the Turkish war,
asked them, “So you’re off to war, soldiers?”
When they answered, “Yes,
grand-dad, off to war,”he said,“It won’t be anything like the Turkish war
was, I don’t suppose. They’ve got different weapons now.”
One of the Cossacks, named
Tomilin, barked back, “It’ll be just the same. Just as devilish. Just as they
killed the Turks off then, so we’ll have to now.” He sounded angry, butno one knew with whom.
The old man began to preach, “My
sons, I ask you one thing. I ask you seriously, and you mark what I say.
Remember one thing! If you want to come back from the mortal struggle alive and
with a whole skin, you must keep the law of humanity.”
Stephan, another of the young
Cossack soldiers, asked with a smile, “Which one?”
The old man blurted out, “This
one: don’t take other men’s goods. That’s one. As you fear God, don’t do wrong
to any woman. That’s the second. And then you must know certain prayers.”
The Cossacks sat up, and all
spoke at once:
“If only we didn’t have to lose
our own goods - not to speak of taking other people’s!” “And why mustn’t we
touch a woman? How are we to stand that?”
The old man answered right back,
“You must not touch a woman. Never. If you can’t stand that, you’ll lose your
heads or you’ll be wounded. You’ll be sorry after, but then it will be too
late. I’ll tell you the prayers. I went right through the Turkish war, death on
my shoulders like a saddlebag, but I came through alive because of these
prayers.”
Then the old man went into
another room, “rummaged beneath an ikon, and brought back a crumbling, faded
brown piece of paper.”
“Get up and write them down!” he
commanded. “You’ll be off again before dawn tomorrow, won’t you?”
And all the Cossacks, but one,
slowly got up, wrote down the prayers and tucked them inside with the crosses
they wore around their necks. And they left for war the next morning!
HOMILETIC REFLECTIONS
The old man in that story by
Mikhail Sholokhov is like Moses in today’s first reading. He delivers for God a
list of commandments that are meant to protect and help other people as well as
myself.
The old man in that story by
Mikhail Sholokhov is also like Jesus in today’s gospel. He is not afraid to
tell it as it is.
Anyone reading the Old and New
Testament knows that people need commandments. Anyone reading Sholokhov’s
novels or most novels or the daily newspaper, knows that people need
commandments. Do you think we need commandments?
People have strange gods. People
worship weird things. People curse god and others. People are workaholics -
never resting to enjoy Sunday as well as the gifts around them. People forget
God. People forget or neglect their parents. People kill. People commit
adultery. People steal. People tell lies about their neighbor. People idolize
and wish they had their neighbors wife, or husband, their swimming pool, their
$30,000 dollar plus car and their vacations.
The result is a ruined and
divided heart. Breaking commandments lead to broken hearts. Our core, our
center, is ruined if God and concern for others are not allowed presence there.
The human heart is the place where God wants to dwell, where God wants his
temple. The human heart is a temple and we can really mess it up, when we fill
it with all kinds of strange gods, idols, ideas, and desires.
Today’s Gospel is an invitation
to ask Jesus to come into our heart, into our temple and to clear out the sheep
and the oxen and to toss out the money changers.
Today’s Gospel ends with the
words that indicate very clearly that Jesus knows the motivations of the human
heart. He knows what makes people tick. “He needed no one to give him testimony
about human nature. He was well aware of what was in the human heart.”
Today’s Gospel is an invitation
to listen to Jesus’ warning, “Stop turning my Father’s house into a
marketplace!”
Today’s readings then are one
more Lenten call for conversion of heart. And as we know, conversion of heart
means dying - a dying to self. St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading,
that the message of the cross is crazy and foolish. It’s absurd to let go of
all thoseresentments and hurts that
fill our heart. Disarmament is dangerous. The message of the cross is a
stumbling block. It always sounds absurd, that is, till we see the long range
results of our present patterns of behavior. The message of the cross always
sounds crazy, that is, till we look through Good Friday to Easter Sunday, when
we begin to see the possibility of resurrection and new life on the other side
of our present death, when we see a cleansed temple on the other side of our
present messy one.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
To be practical, I would suggest
taking some time out for Lenten prayer and reflection on the following three
questions that come out of today’s three readings:
1)
What’s going on inside our heart?
2)
What are the commandments of our heart?
3) Do I see the
wisdom of the cross or does it still seem foolishor absurd?
First question: What’s
going on inside my heart?
When Jesus walked into the temple
to pray, he walked into a temple whose god had become the god-almighty dollar.
He walked into a temple that had become a marketplace for animals. He saw a lot
of things that were not helping it to be a house of prayer.
Lent is a great time to have a
heart examination. Allow Jesus the healer to come into your heart and look
around. Jesus found money changers and animals for sacrifice in the temple in
Jerusalem. What would he find in our heart, our inner temple today? What beasts
within us need to be sacrificed?
Name the beasts! Lent is a good
time to make a moral and spiritual inventory. What’s biting or bugging me?
What’s barking inside of me? Am I an alligator, always causing fear by attacking
people? What do I pig out on?Am I a
bear of a bull to live with? Am I a pest? What animal is on my high altar?
Whatpet resentments do I keep on
feeding? What place does money play in my life? What are my sins?
To answer those questions is to
name our beasts. To answer those questions is to make a moral and spiritual
inventory. Lent is a good time to do just that.
Second Question:What are the commandments ofmy heart?
In prayer, we see not only the
beasts that roam our heart, we can also hear God’s commandments of the
heart.
In 1927 in his essay on “The
Future of An Illusion,” Freud asked, “In what does the peculiar value of
religious ideas lie?” Then he asks his readers to reflect on what would happen
if people just went by instinct. “If one imagines its prohibitions lifted - if,
then, one may take any woman one pleases as a sexual object, if one may without
hesitation kill one’s rival for her love or anyone else who stands in the way,
if, too, one can carry off any of the other man’s belongings without asking
leave how splendid, what a string of satisfactions one’s life would be! True,
one soon comes across the first difficulty: everyone else has exactly the same
wishes as I have and will treat me with no more consideration than I treat him.”
Sound familiar? It’s the same
message that the old man gave the young soldiers in the opening story of this
homily. Sound familiar? It’s the golden rule. Sound familiar? It’s Jesus
command to love one another as we love ourselves. In prayerwe can realize this. Isn’t that one good
reason why we need churches and temples? Don’t we need places on the planet
where people can hear that they are not the only personon the planet?
Third Question: Do I see the
wisdom of the cross or does it still seem foolish or absurd?
To name our beasts and to keep
God’s commandments is a dying to self. To many people to do that is absurd.
Moreover to realize that I can’t change by my own power, but only with the help
of God, is also absurd for many people. Yet, if I look at my life in prayer
while sitting in a cleansed temple and empty heart, I’ll gradually see what
Paul is getting at in today’s second reading. As with Jesus it’s only in my
weakness that I will find the wisdomand
power of God.
CONCLUSION
The old man in the opening story
of this homily told the young soldiers to write down some prayers. They did and
then tucked them inside their shirts next to their crosses. Today’s readings
suggest going even further. Allow Jesus into your heart, into your temple, and
let him cleanse you as he cleansed the temple in today’s Gospel and then begin
to live by his commandments of the heart, hiscommandments of love. It will hurt. It is the cross. But your heartwill be what you were meant to be: God’s
temple - the Father’s house - a house of prayer.
March 4, 2018
HIDE-AND-SEEK
Who was the first cavewoman, caveman,
cave grandmother or grandfather, to play,
Hide-and-Seek? Close your eyes and
count till 100. And we have been playing
that game ever since. It’s called family.
“But Jesus, when you
don’t have money, the problem is food.When you have money, it’s sex.When you have both it’s health, you worry about getting rupture or something.If everything is simply jake then you’re
frightened of death.”
J. P. Donleavy [1926-2017] Ginger Man (1955) chapter 5.
"Once I realized
that Christianity is not a creed and that faith is more a matter of embodiment
than of axioms, things changed."
The
Future of Faith by Harvey Cox
February 28, 2017
EVERY TIME, WELL SOMETIMES
Sometimes we're taking it easy - like two cop cars just talking - or two old boats just relaxing - that is till a big noise comes into the room roaring at us. Life has the surprise of interruptions and sometimes the scream, "Come on get moving!" I rather be an old red or white rowboat - just sitting there enjoying the calm of the river than be a big bully motor boat filling the room.
February 27, 2018 Black
History Month Thought for today: “Avoid having your
ego so close to your opinion that when you position falls, your ego goes with
it.”
General Colin Powell
February 26, 2018
JUDGING:
THE
SECOND MOMENT
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 2nd Monday in
Lent is, “Judging: The Second Moment.”
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Today’s gospel triggers thoughts about judging.
That’s an issue we worry about at times. It’s a feeling of shame when we mis-judged or judged another
human being.
When preparing for confession, we think and worry about
sins of judging others.
We know it’s none of our business, yet we judge others -
and we confess doing just that.
AS TIME GOES ON
WE GATHER NUANCES ABOUT JUDGING
As time goes on, hopefully
we gather nuances and thoughts and understanding about judging others.
Let me offer a few that I have come up with. I mention
them so that you will do some soul and mind searching on how you deal with
figuring out people.
The first learning I got about judging is from the
Talmud.
It says, “Teach thy tongue to say I do not know.”
I like to push using the rosary for more than Hail
Mary’s.
Say 59 times - using the beads, “Teach thy tongue to say,
‘I do not know.’”
I’ve said that at least 6,567 times on my beads, “Teach
thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’”
Do that and when judging another you’ll find yourself saying
in loud, “Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’”
Another saying is from Father Pat Lynch who used to be
stationed here. I heard him preach once about being careful when judging the
motives of others. He said, using his fingers as if they were walking on the
wood of the pulpit, “Nobody has ever seen a motive walking down the street.”
I like that.We
forget most homilies. ButI have never
forgot that saying.
So say - once more - using your beads, “Nobody has ever
seen a motive walking down the street.” Say a rosary full of that comment 59
times and you’ll find yourself saying
that to yourself when judging another.”
The next learning I got in life about judging others I
learned from Carl Jung. It’s in his theory ofPersonality Types.He describes
some people as “Judging Types”.The
judger type person judges others and situations automatically. It’s normal for
them to judge.
Listen to people.Some say about others behavior, “Well that was stupid.”
That’s a judgment. I usually say, “It’s interesting.”
My trick would be to look at the judgmentwe make about others and say things like,
“Interesting” - or “I don’t know” or “”You never know.”
So if some people judge automatically, the trick is the
second thought after that initial judgment.
That’s where the title of this homily comes from: “Judging:
the Second Moment.”
So if we tend to judge others automatically, if we find
ourselves saying, “Now that was dumb.”Or “That outfit is ugly.” Then
pause and stop judging. This is where morality comes into the picture. This is
where sin can be. It’s there when we
take that second moment to think about what we thinking about this other
person. It’s after the first thought -
the automatic judgment - and we say, “I don’t know.”Or I don’t know so and so’s motive.
So shutting up is the key. So stepping back is the trick.
So realizing we have time to hesitate is the secret.
We have a choice here.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Now let’s jump to today’s gospel.
Jesus says, Stop judging!
Jesus says “Be merciful.”
Jesus says, “Forgive.”
Then when we meet Jesus at judgment time we can say, “Hey
I thought you said not to judge, so please don’t judge me.”
Or you said “Show mercy. So show me lots of mercy.”
Or continuing with today’s gospel, be like the merchant
in the market place who fills the robe of his customer with lots and lots of
flour and then some and then some more after that.
Then the person will walk home from the market place with
a great smile on her or his face that day.
“Wow did I get a good deal today.”
And lastly, Jesus talks about measuring rulers or
scales. Have an enormous ruler for mercy
and forgiveness and get rid of the measuring rod for judging.
February 26, 2017
BLINDSIGHT
"Oh, I see." "Sometimes." "It all depends...." "But most of the time I miss the person at my door." "Or I see - but sometimes I'm narrow blinded." "I guess I don't see what's really happening." "God, I can be so blind - especially when I judge." "Lord, that I might see." "... even if it takes years. It's called 'Blindsight.'"
“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who
remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
BLISS PARK
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Second Sunday in Lent [B]
is, “Bliss Park.”
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, as a kid, almost every
Sunday we would walk down to a 24 acre park called, “Bliss Park.”
It’s real name was, “Owl’s Head Park” - perhaps because
some thought the land was in the shape of an owl - or because the Nyack Indians
called it that - or because there were owls in the barns or trees there early
on.
We grew up calling it “Bliss Park” - but we knew it also
had the name, “Owl’s Head Park.”
It was a great spot for kids.We didn’t think as kids to say, “It was a
great place for families - but it was. We grew up thinking everything was for
kids - nothing was for parents. They were there totake care of us.
It had a big hill that was great for sledding in winter. If it snowed everyone
for two or three miles around headed for Bliss Park. It was perfect. People
skied. People used the big main hill as well as back sections for sleds. There
was ice skating in the kiddie pool. It was bliss.
During the summer it was perfect for bike riding and
roller skating. It was perfect for rolling down the grassy main hill. It was
perfect for picnics - a whole family on blanket, potato salad, peanut butter
and jelly and baloney or ham and cheese sandwiches.It didn’t have tennis courts, but there were
seesaws, basketball courts, slides and monkey bars - and a kiddie pool.It was perfect for kites and catch [baseball,
football or spaldeens].
One of my earliest memories is falling in that kiddy pool
and cutting my stomach.
What are your earliest memories?Are they filled with bliss and joy - running,
rolling, riding,sledding, or hurts and
cuts.
At the top of the hill we could walk to a big wall, climb
up on it, and look out at the water - a place called, “The Narrows” - where
boats could come into and out of New York Harbor. The Verrazano Bridge wasn’t
built yet. We could see the Statue of Liberty, some of the lower part of New
York City, Staten Island on the other side of the water - as well as with parts
of New Jersey with interesting names like Hoboken.
We could also see the New York Ferry - which went from
Brooklyn, to Staten island to Manhattan and back.
Many times we would walk down the back side of that hill
and take that ferry ride to Staten
Island and back to Brooklyn. It was a nickel - maybe even free for kids. I
don’t remember that - but my dad would hide with us in the bathroom - till the
ferry boat emptied out - and then come out and ride back for free.
We were poor - but this worked.None of us became thieves by that bad
example.
It was bliss. It is bliss looking back now.
Looking back on your life, what were your moments of
bliss? What was your childhood like?Have you taken the time at family get togethers to remember what it was
like when you were a kid?Have you told
your kids and grandkids what your growing up was like?
How to do that, when to do that, and the kids liking that
- and not being bored - that has a right time and a wrong time. Watch for the
yawns. Read faces and eyes. Story telling is essential home schooling education
for all kids.
In reading about this yesterday - doing my homework for
this homily - I found out the park was
nicknamed Bliss Park, not because it was a place of bliss, but because a guy
name Eliphalet Williams Bliss owned it. He bought if around 1881 for $80,000
from a guy named Murphy.
Reading back much earlier, I loved it that an owner from
way back in the 1670’s, a Dutchman, sold some land - part of which would
eventually be Owl’s Head Park to a man named Swaen Janse Van Lowaanen - who
might have been a black man who emigrated to the colony in 1654 - from Sierra
Leone. Some thought he was a freeman. Some thought that he had been a slave.
Great story - perfect to mention in Black History Month.
TODAY’S
READINGS
Today’s readings triggered these memories of childhood.
Today’s two readings mention two mountains.
In preaching contrasts are important.So let me contrast two mountains - well
actually 3.
The first reading talks about the mountain that Abraham
was asked to climb and sacrifice his son. Abraham was to build an altar - line
up wood - start a fire and make a holocaust - a sacrifice of his son.
It’s a mysterious story - perhaps constructed to put an
end to the horrible religious practice some folks had of thinking God wanted
fathers to sacrifice their sons. Or to put an end to the religious thinking
that when a child died - God wanted that
kid as a sacrifice.
Religion has the idea of sacrifice. Offer it up. To get
what I want - especially when someone is sick - you have to make a sacrifice.
Many kids did die early. Why does God allow that? Does
God want that. Is that God’s will? Walk through old cemeteries and study the
dates on the stones.
Make sacrifices - but not of your children.
So what is this sacrifice story of Abraham and his son
Issac about?I don’t know yet -
really.I know Kierkegarde tells the
story about a couple who lost their son as a child - and they spent their lives
after that talking and crying to God using this story of Abraham and Isaac. I
think it’s in his book: Fear and Trembling.
This image of the possible sacrifice of Isaac by his
father can lead us to the story of Mount Calvary and the sacrifice of Christ -
the only son of the Father.
Going there is a horror story - not a story of bliss.
Every one of us who is Christian has to go through Lent
every year and get into the mystery of Christ dying for us - and in place of
us.Good Friday at first is a bad
Friday.
Every one of us has to get into the mystery of sacrifice
- that’s one reason we come to Mass - that life is all about sacrificing our
life for our children and caring for our parents when they start to lose it.
Every one of us has to learn what Christ meant when he
said, “Greater love than this, no one has, than to lay down their life for their
friends.”
I think of this big guy - Aaron Feis, aged 37, an
assistant football coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland
Florida, who rushed his body into the
bullets to save kids. Thank God he was big - with plenty of weight because
maybe that saved some kids.
I don’t know if I could do that. I hope so - because I’ve
had plenty of the gift of life so far - the kids who were killed had only just
begun.
I don’t know if I’d be like the police guard or guards who
couldn’t go it - if that’s what happened - I don’t know - and I pray for those police as
well.
During Lent we have to climb Mount Calvary and be with
Christ under his cross and think about these heavy thoughts.
Life is not always bliss.
Yet we need to do what Christ does in today’s gospel.
We can’t forget the other mountain - the mount of Bliss.
When I was in Israel in the year 2000 we went by bus to
the mount of transfiguration - and then for the top half, Mercedes cabs to the top.We prayed up there. We also had a spaghetti dinner
up there. It was good to be up there. What a view!
We need to climb mountains in our lifetime.
We need to take time off. We need Sabbath. Weekends. We need blissful moments. We need family time. We need kids to say what
Peter, James and John on the mount of the transfiguration said, “Lord, it is
good that we are here.”
They are saying: “Let’s stay here forever.”
I can relate to that. That’s what we felt at Bliss park
as kids with family.
I hope my mom and dad pinched themselves seeing us
sledding in winter and rolling down a grassy green grass hill and laughing in
summer.
CONCLUSION
Obviously we need moments and mountains of bliss -
because sometimes we’re on the mount of sacrifice and it’s tough to give one’s
whole life for others.It hard tohear, “Okay now you’re finished school. You
have to geta job and do your life’s
work.”Vacations end. Monday morning
arrives. Doctors and plumbers and rescue squads get calls at 2:30 in the
morning.
I think today’s readings can get us in touch with some of
these life moments: whether we’re at Bliss Park or Calvary or Abraham’s
mountain in Mariah.
