WISDOM  LESSON  # 234

Quote for Today   March 10, 2012

"One way to be popular 
is to listen to a lot of things 
you already know."

Anonymous

LIMITATIONS

Quote for Today           March 9, 2012

"We have to make peace with our limitations."

Dr. Harold Lindsell

Questions: 

How old does a person have to be to be able to realize that?

How old was Dirty Harry Callahan when he said, "A man's got to know his limitations." Magnum Force - 1973

Name 3 of your limitations:
1)
2)
3)

What were your life experiences that helped you learn that lesson?

Ask your spouse of a close friend - what they think are your 3 key limitations:
1)
2)
3)

THE  FACE  

IN  YOUR  MIRROR

March  8,  2011

Quote for Today - Thursday

"Take care that the face which looks out from your mirror in the morning is a pleasant one. You may not see it again all day, but others will."

Anonymous

DROPPING  

OUT  OF  CHURCH 

Quote for Today - Wednesday March 7, 2012

"Don't stay away from church because there are so many hypocrites; there is always room for one more."

Anonymous

Drawing: The Pharisee and the Publican, Unknown illustrator of Jerome Nadal's 'Evangelicae Historiae Imagines." 1593

Questions:

What are the 3 reasons you have noticed why people stay away from church?
1)
2)
3)

If you could tell the pope three things, what would they be?
1)
2)
3)

If you could tell God three things, what are they?
1)
2)
3)

HUMOR AND HUMILITY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Second Tuesday in Lent is, “Humor and Humility.”

Father Tizio likes to use props in his homilies - and he uses them very well. They are not the message. They help his message. And they don’t get in the way of his message - which I always find very clear - not just with kids - but with adults.

So I have a prop for my homily this morning. It’s a Whoopee Cushion. Someone gave me a present recently that had 2 Whoopee Cushions in the box. Why? I don’t know. I gave one away and kept this one. One evening last week I filled this one with my hot air and placed it on the cushy chair that Father Joe Krastel uses. However, the cushion of the chair doesn’t lift, so I put this Whoopee Cushing under a blanket on the chair. I’m sitting there watching the evening news when Joe walked to the chair. He grabbed the blanket first and spots the Whoopee Cushion. He laughs and the laugh was on me. My little game didn’t work.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The reason I mentioned the Whoopee Cushion is because every time we have this gospel, I remember a story I heard it from a bishop telling a story about another bishop.

In South America they had this very, very pompous bishop who was the top guy in the Bishop’s Conference. Well, before he came into this big room for a big meeting of bishops, this one bishop put a Whoopee Cushion under the  cushion of the big shot’s chair and told all the bishops in the room to be ready. All were waiting for the big moment. In marches the bishop, serious as a bishop, in all his regalia. He sits down on the chair and you know what a Whoopee Cushion does. And all laughed except himself - at first. Finally he smiled.

Well, in today’s gospel [Matthew 23: 1-12], Jesus talks about the Scribes and the Pharisees taking their seat on the chair of Moses.

And Jesus says “they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant.” Then Jesus finishes this blast with the message: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Tough stuff. The title of my homily is “Humor and Humility.”

Jesus after blasting and ridiculing the scribes and the Pharisees here in Matthew 23 - which is close to the end of his gospel - gives us one more clear reason why they wanted Jesus killed.  I’m sure some of the folks hearing Jesus speak these words laughed - seeing the humor in hypocrisy - seeing those who exalt themselves being humbled.

We priests - as well as bishops and the pope -  are voicing these words from pulpits and podiums around the world today. Obviously, we need to hear these words more than others. These past years we have certainly been humiliated with our sins and our mistakes - especially in the abuse cases - the harming of so many young people. Will we ever learn? [Pause!]  I sense that some good has come out of the horror cases:  more protection for more young people. It also seems that Rome is broadcasting to the dioceses of the world to wake up. Obviously abusing others is wrong. No more cover-ups; much  more vigilance. It hurts as priest to hear comedians use the abuse stories for laughs - but in another sense, may the humor and the humiliation make us better - protecting the innocent everywhere.

Humor and humility are connected. Humility and being human are very connected. In the Book of Genesis we read that God bent down and created us from the clay, the humus, of the earth and then breathed the spirit of life into us. Then we rise - and sometimes we stop being down to earth. We think trappings and titles - seats of honor - will make us better than others. When we start to think that way, it’s a signal we actually down deep think less of ourselves. That’s the paradox of wanting power - seeing it at times as the power to put down others - to humble them - to make ourselves feel better.

If we can laugh at ourselves - when the air is knocked out of us - when our inflated ego is deflated - then we’ll see what we’re really doing and who we really are - just one more human being in the room.

As I thought about this stuff last night preparing this homily, I asked myself, “Should I put this in my homily - say this stuff in church?”  Then it hit me, “Hello! Isn’t this the kind of stuff Jesus is getting at in this gospel - which the church is asking us to listen to today?” So we better laugh and laughter helps us with humility.

CONCLUSION

I’ll close with a Jewish proverb: “Don’t make yourself so big. You are not that small.”

LAUGHTER

Quote for Today  March 6,  2012

"Man is the only creature endowed with a sense of laughter; is he not also the only one that deserves to be laughed at?"

Fulke Greville

HO! HO! HO! 

Questions:

Would part of your life resume be: "I have a sense of humor"?

Have you ever been described as over-sensitive?  Can you take a joke about yourself?

Have you ever made fun or someone and you realized afterwards that it hurt that person? What happened next?

What is one thing about you that is funny? Your ears? Your belly? Your walk? A mannerism? Your way of eating? Your way of driving? Your way of talking?

KYRIE  ELEISON

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Second Monday in Lent  is, “Kyrie Eleison”

For the Penance Rite,  the first part of the Mass, before the recent changes in the Liturgy, we were encouraged to use variations - and one was “Kyrie Eleison.”

I suspect we priests didn’t use that too often - or it all depended on which priest or deacon was up here - and I suspect we’ll use it a bit more now with the new prayers - because there seems to be less variation - or what have you.

I know I’ve been using it a bit more.

IT’S GREEK TO ME

When I was a kid in grammar school at OLPH Brooklyn, N.Y. we grew up saying or singing this Greek prayer at every Mass. I have to read up on this, but it seems it  sort of dropped out with the arrival of the Liturgy in the language of the people.

Greek was the language of the scriptures and I assume that of the Liturgy before Latin - and after Aramaic - the language of Jesus.

Kyrie is a variation of the Greek word, “KURIOS” meaning Lord.

Eleison is a variation of the Greek word “ELEOS” - meaning mercy.

Christe is a variation of the Greek word  “CHRISTOS” - meaning anointed.

So Kyrie eleison is a most basic prayer: “Lord have mercy.”

It touches a normal human saying we use in our basic interactions with each other, “I’m sorry.” “Forgive me!”

So we pray to God, “I’m sorry!” “Forgive me!” “Lord have mercy.” “Kyrie Eleison”. Want a simple act of contrition. There it is.

As priest in confession I hear people unfolding a crinkled piece of paper that has an Act of Contrition on it or they struggle with a long formula that is an Act of Contrition. I suggest as an Act of Contrition to simply say, “Lord have mercy” or “Kyrie eleison”.  If some priest complains say some priest said “Lord have mercy” was a beautiful Act of Contrition.

MARKET PLACE

Whenever we come to today’s gospel I wonder when did Jesus come up with his comments about the measuring that takes place in the market place. [Cf. Luke 6: 36-38]

Was he a teenage boy and he was shopping with Mary?

Was he an adult - just walking through the market and saw a grain merchant doing just what Jesus said one did in the marketplace?

A lady is shopping and asks for a certain amount of grain and the merchant pours some into her garment.  Then he packs it together. Then he shakes it and pours some more in - till it’s falling out.

Did Jesus stop to watch this marketplace ritual? Did he watch the woman’s face as she watched the ritual? Did he see her face change and she added layer upon layer of success, smile, wonderful, at each step by the merchant. Did he see the merchant’s face light up gradually in making one more customer happy?

Did he see the faces of those who judge - as rigid tight faced folks?

Did he see the faces of those who don’t judge as more relaxed?

CONCLUSION

There you have it. And let me conclude with a repetition of  today’s gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."