GOD NEEDS 

OUR COOPERATION 

Quote for Today - April 30, 2011


                "Tis God gives skill,
But not without men's hands. He could not
                 make
Antonio Stradivari's violins
Without Antonio."


George Eliot (Marian Evans Cross) 1819-1880, Stradivarius

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

The honeymoon ends ….

The last kid leaves ….

The other goes ….

Death hits home ….

Cemeteries exist ….

The ginger ale loses its fizzle ….

The steak gets cold….

The beer gets warm….

Prayer becomes boring ….

Mass feels meaningless ….

Emptiness invades and then inhabits everywhere….

The Lord and his dream of a kingdom ended last Friday….

We leave for Galilee. We leave for home. We leave for where we came from….

We fish the whole night and catch nothing….

It feels like 3:25 in the morning too many times ….

I guess this is what they mean by the dark night of the soul….

Time ticks ….

The sun slowly surprises the darkness….

The sun always rises ….

Faith screams like a rooster
or a roaring fire engine in the last dark before dawn….

There’s always hope, there’s always the morning, daybreak,
an end to death….

We hear his muffled voice in the morning mist….

The Lord is always on the shore directing us where and how to fish,
and 153 new possibilities appear in our net….

The dark night of the soul disappears like the night – for a while –
and we experience the bright sunlight of the soul….

We’ve been here before and we’ll be here again….

Prayer sparkles….

The Mass alleluias….

Resurrection is as sure as the dawn….

Jesus is Lord….

Jesus eats with us….

We chew – we digest – we swallow the bread….

We eat the fish we caught and cooked….

We sit there on the sand – digesting the Risen Lord,
knowing it’s always these morning moments of communion that
help us face the Noonday Devil – as well as the slow afternoons –
as well as the long commute home – and then some nights –
the dark night returns - and we can't sleep and
we wonder it this is big one - the eternal night – and we know
we have to let go - if we want to go on - if we want to get to sleep -
and we make the big act of faith -  the big leap in the dark -
knowing there will be the eternal dawn for us – after our death –
when we arrive on the other sure – Jesus the Risen Lord
waiting for us even if our nets are empty....

By faith – by experience – we know the Son always rises….

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Painting on top: The Second Draught of Fish by James Tissot, 1836-1902

This is a homiletic reflection for Easter Friday - 2003. I had a funeral this morning, so I didn't have a Easter Friday Mass. I have been wanting to add some thoughts other than my Quote for the Day,  so I went fishing in my homily collection. I had 4 homilies for this Easter Friday. They are sort of so so - so let me go fishing with this one - and see if I help you net some thoughts.

I noticed as I looked at  this reflection from 2003 that one of my lines was probably stolen - unconsciously - from F. S. Fitzgerald. His line is: "In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning." That's from The Crack Up [1936]. I didn't read it, but I have seen that quote from time to time. I also noticed that Bartlett's - where I found Fitzgerald's quote - has a footnote to check St. John of the Cross and Napoleon. I did. St. John of the Cross [1542-1591] has a whole book with the title, "The Dark Night of the Soul." Bartlett's has this quote from Napoleon Bonaparte [1791-1821], "Two o'clock in the morning courage: I mean unprepared courage." That quote has this following it: "[December 4, 5, 1815] From Las Cases, Memorial de Ste-Helene [1823]" Then that quote has this footlnote: "Le courage de l'improviste. The three o'clock in the mornng courage which Bonaparte thought was the rarest. - Thoreau, Walden [1854], chapter 4, Sounds."  It struck me that I could keep going on with this and it might end up sometime around 2 or 3 in the morning.

MEANY,  MEANY, 

BETTER  GO 

Quote for Today - April 29, 2011

"A patronizing disposition always has its meaner side."

George Eliot [Marian Evans Cross] 1819-1880, Adam Bede [1859], Chapter 27

LIFE'S  ILLUSIONS

April  28,  2011

Quote for Today

"Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand."

George Eliot [Marian Evans Cross] 1819-1880, Silas Marner [1861], chapter 18

THE BEGGAR 

AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Easter Wednesday  is, “The Beggar at the Beautiful Gate.”

In the history of the world there have been many beggars – and if beggars are smart – and beggars can be choosey – they often pick beautiful places to beg.

We’ve all see beggars outside stores in the Mall. I just gave a guy a 5 two weeks ago – outside of Office Depot – and lots of folks have seen a lady with kids – begging out in our parking lot on weekends and we said to her to go to our St. Vincent de Paul – because this parish is very, very generous. We say this because they help as well as screen folks well – and a lot of people are truly stuck – and the economy is still “iffy!”

Beggars ….

TODAY’S FIRST READING

I chose to say a few words about the first reading – especially because today’s gospel will be the Sunday Gospel – not this Sunday – but the Sunday after that. It’s the story of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus – and we’ve all heard many homilies on that key gospel story.

Today’s first reading from Acts is the story of “The Beggar at the Beautiful Gate”.

I heard a homily on this text in 1968 and I still remember it. A priest at Most Holy Redeemer Church in New York City used this story in reverse. He used it to thank a rich donor – a man who didn’t have to beg – a man who had silver and gold – and gave a nice chunk to the church – and they were honoring this man for his many gifts to the church.

Most Holy Redeemer was my first assignment. I had finished my studies. I was now in ministry. I was starting to get my real education. Here was an old priest who taught me that scriptures can be used in surprising ways.

So I gradually learned that all these readings that were talking about people from a long time ago – can also be talking about people here and now in ways I never noticed before.

BEGGING

In this homily I’ll reverse what I heard in 1968 and say that we are the beggars.

We come to church – to this beautiful gate of heaven – to beg.

Question: What are you begging for today?

What did you beg for the last time you came to this beautiful place?

What will you beg for tomorrow?

We are all beggars?

St. Alphonsus – the Founder of the Redemptorists - is labeled as "The Doctor of Prayer"  – because he preached so often on it, He said the # 1 reason for prayer is to ask – to beg.

We come here begging for our children, begging for our world, begging for peace, begging that our leaders will lead and lead us well. We come here to beg for faith, hope and charity.

We come here begging for sight and insight.

St. Aphonsus also stressed action – some action – some movement – some motion on our part. The beggar has to crawl or get to the Beautiful Gate – in order to beg. He or she can’t stay in the shelter, the apartment – the cardboard box.

All have to hear the mantras: “Pray for potatoes, but pick up shovel.” “In a storm, pray - but row to shore!”

We come here to hear God and Peter and John and all the saints and all our wisdom figures say to us, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”

We come here to beg that we receive the power to rise from where we are and to walk in a new light.

Yes we have problems – family problems, health problems – and we need to beg for help if possible.  We also need to hear: Pick up a shovel. Start rowing.

We also come here to hear that we can help others to rise and walk with a new way of doing life. There might be people in our lives who need a good push to stand up – to get off their butts – out of their beds and move it. It might be a son or a daughter in their 20’s, 30’s or 40’s – or a husband who has become a couch potato. Move it. Rise and walk. Get out of the house and garden. Get out of the house and volunteer. Get into the garage and clean it up. Wake up and make our surroundings a more beautiful place to live.

Use the clicker to turn off the boob tube. Get out of your Lazy Boy chair.  Get into reality.  Rise and walk.

I remember a couple who prayed and prayed for their son – in his early 30’s - who settled in their home and wouldn’t work or move it. So they bought a trailer and headed west and came back a few months later and he was gone – and the door was closed. It worked. I guess the refrigerator and freezer eventually emptied out.

Sometimes solutions are not so beautiful – and the gate to freedom – is escaping or doing something strange  to be a desired action.

CONCLUSION

To be honest, I have trouble putting into words this issue of prayer and action, grace and self-help, how God works, how prayer works, but I would assume that the  bottom line message is: beg – pray – but also rise and walk. Amen.

SELF KNOWLEDGE,

SELF SIN,

SELF SALVATION

Quote for Today - April 27, 2011

"Knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation."

Marcus Annaeus Seneca - ca. 54 BC to ca. 39 AD. He is also known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rherotician.

THE ALLELUIA EGG

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “The Alluluia Egg.”

I was going to say a few words this morning just on the word “Alleulia” – because we use it so many times – especially at Easter Time.

THE ALLELUIA EGG

While doing some research last night about the word, “alleluia” – I came across the mention of the Alleluia Egg. I had never heard of it – nor do I know how wide spread the custom goes. The Alleluia Egg is a Golden Egg that is hidden along with all the other eggs for kids to find at Easter time.

When you find the Golden Egg – you’re the big winner – and you might yell, “Praise God” – the actual meaning of the word, “Alleluia”.

I was up at my niece Patty’s house in Reisterstown for Easter Dinner and before dinner they had the Easter Egg hunt once more – outside – and all over the place. Patty’s kids and some cousins – even though three kids are finished college – a cousin is at the Naval Academy and one kid is a freshman in High School. The kids love the custom and don’t want to ever see it end – especially because there is money in various amounts – all green – to be found inside each plastic egg.

MEMORIES

In doing my reading I found out that eggs – and painting them – and hiding and finding them goes way back into the history of various cultures and religions. Eggs symbolize spring. Eggs symbolize new life. Eggs symbolize the world – the shell the sky – and inside is the floating world – water and earth. Christians painted eggs red to show that Christ redeemed the world through his blood. People must have time on their hands so all the other colors came as well, especially the Golden Egg.

While reading, I noticed a family story told by a Monsignor Hellreigel – I’m assuming he’s the famous theologian on the Mass. He told the story in a sermon – telling everyone about how on one Easter he found the Golden Egg – over his ten brothers and sisters. It was painted gold and had written on its shell, “Alleluia!” But he forgot to tell what the prize for finding it was – till some kid jumped out into the main aisle and started waiving his hands and the priest said, “What happened?” And the kid said, “Please Father, tell us what was the prize?” “Oh,” the priest said, “The prize was a luscious German sweet cake, large enough to last any little boy a week or so. It was covered with cinnamon and sugar and nuts and the center sometimes had a Stollen filling.”

Reading that triggered a family story and memory our family likes to tell. A long time after Easter one of my brother’s daughters – he had 7 of them – no boys – opened up a jar of peanut butter from the very back of the refrigerator and you know that peanut butter doesn’t have to be refrigerated – but after they got into it, there was the Golden Egg. Somewhere along the line somebody came up with the idea of hiding Easter eggs and really hiding the Golden Egg. Nobody had found it that Easter – and in the meanwhile my brother had died of melanoma.

CONCLUSION

I hear churchy people complaining about Easter Eggs at Easter,

Santa Claus at Christmas, Hearts at Valentine’s Day, and Trick or Treat at Halloween. I would suggest we tell about the deep human and spiritual and religious background of many of these celebrations and customs. I would suggest a tiny bit of research.

After all, we’re all hunters and searchers – and sometimes we’re hunting for money or sweets – or the honor of being the top finder - great – but the Easter message is to be a searcher for Christ like Mary and when you find him, don’t let them go. Be a clinger like Mary Magdalene.