KEEP CALM!

THE EXAMPLE

OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Keep Calm! The Example of St. Francis De Sales.”

Today, January 24, is the feast of St. Francis de Sales [1567-1622].

FREDDY PRENATT

A priest I used to talk to for Spiritual Direction while in our major seminary, Father Freddy Prenatt, liked St. Francis de Sales.

He stressed the virtue and practice of “Keep calm!” He liked to say that St. Francis de Sales stressed “Con calme!” - doing life with calmness. “Con calme!” He would add that St. Francis de Sales stressed, “Omnia suave”. Translation: “All things sweetly!” “Do all things sweetly.”

I could end right there. That’s a good sermon idea: work on keeping calm. Work on doing all things sweetly. Nice and easy!

TWO PAGES

I aim for two pages - 14 pica - in these homilies for weekday masses - so let me flesh this out a tiny bit more?

Is keeping calm - being calm - a virtue? Is it something one can work on? Are some people more calm and some people more volatile - simply by nature. Can you watch a child and see a whole life?

Someone with passion is valuable at times. Someone who is calm is valuable at times.

Does the person who is calm - better too calm - need a little more passion in their life? Doesn’t Yeats - William Butler Yeats- in his poem, The Second Coming say something about all this - when we writes about the world falling apart - because the center cannot hold? Then he says, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

I read a bit last night about St. Francis de Sales.

It was interesting to read that this man who pushed for keeping calm - and doing all things sweetly - had a fierce temper - and had big struggles with anger. He admitted that it took him 20 years to overcome his temper.

This surprised people - but it seems that his solution was to zip his mouth - step back - hold off a responses - let things sit - give things time. If one does that, one can learn patience.

He got to know St. Vincent de Paul who said that he never met a kinder main in his life.

Is it where we are in the birth order - what are parents are like - that makes us what we’re like and become. He was the oldest of 12. He had a very definite - a very strong father. His father had big plans for him - including the woman he was to marry. His father got very angry with him when he announced he was going to go for the priesthood.

Was that the reason St. Alphonsus liked his writings - because he too was the oldest in his family - and his father was furious with his decision to stop being a lawyer to become a priest?

Both he and Alphonsus went through a serious depression. For Francis it was the fear of dying and going to hell. For Alphonsus it was that at times - he could be scrupulous - but it was also the loss of a big law case.

CONCLUSION

That’s enough. This morning I’m suggesting that we look at the issue of keeping calm - taking one’s time - building one’s life - not on fear - but on the love of God. I noticed that Alphonsus spotted that in Francis de Sales writings - and both said to build one’s life on just that - loving and being loved - God and each other.

DRONING ON AND ON AND ON 

Quote for Today - January  24,  2012

"The drones make more noise and are in a greater hurry than the bees, but they do no make the honey."



St. Francis de Sales [1567-1622] Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 10.

TO HAVE

A RIGHT TO LIFE 

ATTITUDE

[The following is a reflection for our St. Mary's High School Right to Life Mass - before we headed on buses to Washington D.C. The readings were the readings of the day - January 23, 2012 - 3rd Monday in Ordinary Time.]

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to pinch oneself every once and a while - and realize I’m here in this place in this time - enjoying the gift of breath and life - on sunny days, grey days, high energy days and slowly moving - I’m dead tired days.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to realize I am made in the image and likeness of God - and this means to be a creator - and a lover - a friend - and a servant.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means the last sentence in today’s First Reading fits each of us more and more - by the grace of God - and because we buy the grace of God: “David grew steadily more powerful for the Lord of Hosts was with him.”

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means that the Psalm Response for today’s liturgy is part of our outlook and our inner look, “My faithfulness and mercy shall be with him or her” - because we’re trying to walk hand in Hand with the Lord.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means that the words in today’s gospel hits us and we’re all working not to become a house divided - but to become more and more a house on a strong foundation - with the Lord in the center of our life and home.”

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means that the words of the Mass, “This is my body …. this is my blood - I’m giving my life for you” is our way of seeing and doing life as well.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means that I notice a spider and a paper bug or mite and a fly and an ant crawling on the sidewalk or wall - and to realize I started small - egg and seed - and look at me now.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means I give up my time for others. A lady I know got on a plane this morning at BWI and is on her way to Jamaica right now to clean teeth this whole week in a small alcove inside a Catholic Church - that serves as a dental clinic all year long - and the alcoves of that church - with their statues - and now care for living people all year long - serving the folks on the area - and this dental hygienist does this in Cumberland, Maryland area one week a year as well - and one week in her parish as well. That’s 3 weeks of extra help - besides here regular life.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to wince yesterday when reading the book review in the Washington Post of a biography of Heinrich Himmler - who was in on the killing of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people - in the 1930’s and the first part of the 1940’s - till he killed himself by taking a pill of cyanide poison which the Nazi high command had on hand in case they were caught.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to be against and to speak up when one sees bullying - picking on others with verbal attacks - making fun of others - and the picking on and funny comments are not cute verbal fun between friends - but it’s nasty comments to hurt another - in order to feel better or bigger about oneself - at the expense of another.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to be against abortion - to cry because a future kid, a future singer, dancer, student, friend, scientist, mom, dad, has been destroyed - but to have a deep love and concern for the person who has been in on the abortion - because we’re dealing with human life here.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to live life to the full - in the service of others - discovering and developing one’s talents - working with others to make each other’s day - and to make the world better each day by my presence in it.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to enjoy the gift of life - to be grateful to God and one’s mom and dad for the gift of life - and be grateful for all the people in one’s life - known and unknown - realizing we all need each other - from the truck driver to the truck maker - from the pipe and platform welder to the rig operator in the Gulf of Mexico - and on and on and on - in all the different the streets and avenues, paths and roads of life.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to listen to the person next to me - not interrupting them - trying to hear what they have to say - what they are excited at - or angry at - not answering one’s cell phone when another is talking with me face to face.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means taking time to see as Jesus said - the birds of the air and the flowers of the field - buying bird feeders at Home Depot - and clearing out dumps to plant trees and flowers.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to be against Capital Punishment - to hope that murderers and criminals can get rehabilitated - or if someone is dangerous - that they are put in a safe place so they won’t hurt others.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to take the time to play with younger brothers and sisters - to thank one’s parents for the food they buy for us - appreciating and thanking them for their work - knowing the time it takes to make a pay check, to shop, to prepare meals, to keep a house and cars in good maintenance.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to take time with older folks - especially those who find it difficult to get out - or those who need home care - or assisted living or nursing home care.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?
It means to laugh and to sing and have fun - and to run - to play and to give others a chance to participate - whether it’s tag football - or Monopoly or chess or Boggle or charades or Wii.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to learn others languages - like Espanol - or Creole - a language that Father Joe learned and loved - during his 17 years of work as a Redemptorist in St. Lucia and Dominica.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to learn the nuances, the inner understandings, the hopes, the dreams, of our mom and dad, brothers and sisters, teachers, friends, by taking time while driving or being with them - to get their take on life and what’s happening in our family and in our circles.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means having a concern for the water and the look and feel of creation - as well as the sidewalks and parking lots - not dumping on them - not marring another’s walls with graffiti - leaving the bathroom stall we use in the highway rest area or the Burger King Bathroom cleaner than when we walked into it.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means respect for all peoples - all religions - all ways of life - even when we disagree with aspects of other’s take on life.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means noticing and affirming other’s positive and good stuff and not just pointing out their mistakes and miscues.

What does it mean to have a right to life attitude?

It means to be thankful, to be Eucharist, at this moment, in this place, right now. Amen.

INFLATED  EGO

Quote for Today - January 23,  2012

"All keys hang not on one person's key ring."

Someone

Question: Who are the key persons you hang onto and what keys do they have that you don't?

RELUCTANCE AND

THE BOOK OF JONAH

INTRODUCTION

Today’s first reading features a section of The Book of Jonah - and having read that I came up with the theme and the title for his homily, “Reluctance and The Book of Jonah.”


Today’s first reading triggered the memory of reading a book many, many years ago entitled, “Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet.” It might have been written by Alexander Jones - but I couldn’t trace it down on the Internet.


In doing that search yesterday, I noticed that when preachers preach on Jonah, the word “reluctance” often shows up.


RELUCTANCE


Think about reluctance.


What to say and what not to say or when to say something to another? Choosing a career path? Marriage? Children? Switching jobs?  Kids dating so and so? Another’s drinking patterns? Suggesting to another to bathe more or brush their teeth? Kids living together - and not being married? Moving? When to put a house on the market?


Reluctance means hesitation, stopping to consider, delaying, going slowly because one has some doubts or wonderings or fear about going in a certain direction. Reluctance indicates resisting, holding back or holding off, or see sawing a “yes’ or a “no”, being moderate, or to put oneself in neutral, or even in park, or reverse - and maybe go another way or direction.


Reluctance…. That’s Jonah’s middle name.


So Jonah has been labeled the reluctant prophet.


When was the last time you felt reluctance? What was going on?


THE BOOK OF JONAH


The Book of Jonah is a very short book or scroll in the Jewish Bible. As you know, the original texts didn’t have chapter and verses indicated in the text. In our texts, it’s 4 chapters and 48 verses all together. It can be read calmly in less than 10 minutes. When told as a story, I would think 7 minutes would be the max.


It’s found in the Jewish Bible with the prophets. It was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery. It has been a part of Israel’s body of thought. It’s read in its entirety at the afternoon service in Jewish synagogues on Yon Kippur - the Day of Repentance.


It’s a parable, a story, an imaginative tale, with an interesting theme: reaching out to the non-Jews - which is rarely a theme or a message in the Jewish Bible. It’s also a journey into the mind of God - and those who take that journey by reading this book, can have it come home to them that God is a God of mercy and forgiveness and second chances.


THE STORY


We know the story.


A man named Jonah is called by God to preach the message of repentance - change - conversion - to the people in the city of Nineveh in Assyria.


Jonah does not want to do this. It’s different. It’s difficult. It’s dangerous. So Jonah is reluctant - scared - filled with hesitation. He just doesn’t want to do this.


So he heads for the docks to get in a boat to get as far away from this call by God. He finds a boat that is about to set sail for Tarshish. Some say that means Spain. It doesn’t make much difference - it’s a tale. The boat sets sail when the tide is going out - and no sooner are they out to sea that a big storm comes up.


The crew say that someone on board is the problem. Finally they say it’s Jonah and they toss him overboard and the storm stops.


A big fish swallows Jonah and he’s inside this fish for 3 days and 3 nights.


Jonah is praying - praying big time.


This is a big fish story. Jonah repents and the fish dumps him on a beach. Once more God asks Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach conversion.


This time he says, “Yes” to God. He goes to Nineveh and preaches, “You have 40 days to repent - otherwise God is going to destroy your city.”


Surprise. They repent and the city is not destroyed.


Message and moral of the story: When God calls you to do something, do it, otherwise expect trouble.


Message: God calls not just the Jews to salvation.


Message: the Ninevites repented and Israel isn’t repenting.


Message: we can say, “No” to God - but we can also change - our mind and say, “Yes”.


TODAY’S OTHER READINGS


I assume that the team that put together today’s readings had in mind thinking about that what Mark presents first. Mark’s theme is Jesus calling people to follow him. This is the year of Mark and we’ll go through his Gospel this year in Ordinary Time. Having today’s gospel in place, they took a reading from The Book of Jonah because like the gospel, it’s a calling story. It’s also at the water. Both readings present calls to preach.


The second reading often doesn’t fit in, but today’s 2nd reading does. The folks are expecting the end of the world - and Jonah is preaching the end of it all for these folks if they don’t repent.


FATHER MAPPLE


Let me talk about Herman Melville’s famous book, Moby Dick. There is a scene early on in the book that describes a sermon in a church. Melville is putting on paper background material before the Pequod - Captain Ahab’s boat - and the crew set sail in search of whales - especially Moby Dick.


Father Mapple is in the pulpit - an odd pulpit - that is designed as ship. Behind the preacher is a sea scene. He had to climb a rope ladder to get up into the pulpit. I checked this out by finding scenes on Moby Dick movies - on YouTube.

Rumors are that Father Mapple used to be a sailor - and in his sermon - which is long - he talks about, “When God calls, you better listen. When God tells us what he wants of us, we better do it.”


Father Mapple says that Jonah’s sin was disobedience. He would not listen to God.

To flesh out, to spell out that message, he tells the story of Jonah. This is a logical choice - because the main character in the book won’t listen to God or others. Moreover the big fish in the Jonah story was described as the whale. And Captain Ahab ends up being killed by a whale.


The Jewish scriptures don’t say it’s a whale in the Jonah story. It simply tells the reader,  it’s a big fish.


Father Mapple in his sermon on Jonah says that God calls us - God gives us a mission - God gives us our destiny and we better follow it.


A MESSAGE


A message for us today is to sit here in this church and ask God is He sending us a message. If God is, what is that message? If we grasp and get that message, are we following it? Or are we reluctant?


I have thought about that question - God’s will, God’s plan, God’s hope for me - much of my life.


I don’t know how to say that - other than that way - but I suspect - I assume - that everyone of us - has wondered about this question all our lives.


If for starters, God has a plan, a wanting, a will, a hope for me, how specific is it.


In reflecting upon all this for this homily, a key division of thought that hit me was:  looking backwards and looking forwards.


At the age of 72, looking back at my life, I down deep say to myself and to God, “This made sense - being who I am, what I chose, what I’ve done, what’s happened in my life so far.”


I’ve learned that this hits us from time to time - especially at moments in life - when one is experiencing a blessing.


For example, seeing a grandkid getting baptized or seeing one’s kids in a play or sitting in the stands and seeing one of our kids playing a great game or graduating - and feeling great gratitude..


That’s looking backwards.


What about moving forwards? What about my future? What’s next?


This is where reluctance shows up over and over again - whether to retire - or move to South Carolina - whether to take a job in Washington State or Washington D.C.


Where the issue of reluctance shows up for me on a regular basis is the question of what to preach upon.


Before I start working on a sermon, I say a prayer. I sometimes say, “God help me to come up with something that will help at least one person here.”


Then I read the readings - and listen to what pops up.


I hear themes and issues. Ideas hit me. Then I ask, “Is that what folks need today?”


When I hear myself saying, “Uh oh!” I’m often at a reluctance moment.


Here is where the question and the idea of reluctance comes up.


The clock is ticking. I have to come up with a homily.


Take the issue of abortion. 3 or 4 people said I have to preach about abortion this weekend - because tomorrow is the day we have the March for Life in Washington D.C. and to peacefully demonstrate that we think the Roe Vs. Wade decision - was wrong.


I’m against abortion - but I feel reluctance at times about preaching about it - because I realize a bunch of things come with it. I rather use the words, “Pro Life” - because I want to stress being pro life for the whole of life.


I realize this issue is used to get votes. I realize there are people in church who have experienced the pain of abortion in their lives or in their families.


When abortion is brought up in sermons, I realize people feel squirm - feel deep emotions - hear various, "What about ....?"- and these questions or issues are  jumping up and down in their brain - like on a trampoline. The word "abortion" brings with it “baggage” and even to stay that - hits buttons. It brings with it questions about the Catholic Church - and women’s issues -and men's issues - and men doing all the talking. It brings with it at times, “Capital Punishment”, “Child abuse by priests,” etc. It brings with it the strategy issue. What is the best way to end abortion, cut down on abortion, and what have you?


Talking about something is different than doing something about something - to make things better. That's why I always liked Pope Paul VI words, "Want peace. Work for justice." That's why I like the slogan, "Action speaks louder than words."


As priest, I remember being at a talk when I first got here on abortion. A speaker - a priest - came to St. John Neumann and said “There should be something said about abortion in every homily - and you should tell your priests that.” I raised my hand and said in the Q. and A. period,  “I am a priest and I disagree that a priest has to say something about abortion in every homily.”


Silence.


CONCLUSION



The title of my homily is, “Reluctance and The Book of Jonah.”


I said that the Book of Jonah brings up for me the issue of “Reluctance.”


I said that one area is to look backwards. In reminiscing, sometimes we realize that an experience, a decision, a moment or moments, in my life now makes sense. Thank you God.


I also said that the area of looking forwards brings with it feelings of reluctance at times. Having heard today’s readings - words from today’s pulpit - personal prayers while being here  in this church today, is there a calling to do something in my life? How specific does God get? Is it volunteering? Is it moving? Is it confrontation? Is if forgiveness?


And I dare say, I believe it’s right there - in the reluctance - where we will discover God’s deepest calls to us.

EMPATHY

Quote for Today - January  21, 2012

"Every one can master a grief but he that has it."

Shakespeare [1564-1616]

Question: What's the one grief, one regret, one hurt, one resentment, you can't shake?

FANATICISM

 

January  21, 2012

Quote for Today

"Fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity."

Edward Gibbon [1737-1794]