into the earth - into my soul. And the alleys and the cars will be washed and life will go on and on and on - green, green, on and on - and on - even though it's the end of September and grass will soon brown and leaves will become rust orange, red and brown and fall to the ground - so too me - so too slow crumble - so too winter - so too the slow knowing about resurrection and Christ and hope and the Eternal Spring.
The title of my homily for this 26 Monday in Ordinary
Time is, “Who’s The Greatest?”
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Wow! Wasn't the pope the greatest on his trip to us. Wow did he make Catholics proud of being Catholics. Before Pope Francis headed home to Rome, he handed out 6 copies
of the gospel of Luke - which he signed - to 6 families at the Celebration of
Families in Philadelphia. They also are sending thousands of copies of the
Gospel of Luke to the countries where the 6 families are from - or was it just
Syria?
Just one gospel. Luke.
I like the idea. We used to do that for weekend retreats.
We could get small inexpensive pocket size paperback copies of the different
gospels from the American Bible Society. We’d cover different stories or
parables and ask the retreatants to use that gospel for meditation till they
came back for their weekend retreat the following year. It worked and it was
well received.
The Pope is connecting the Gospel of Luke - which is also
called the Gospel of Mercy - to this upcoming year of mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
It will also be Year C in our Lectionary - the year of Luke.
So here we are on weekdays - going through the Gospel of
Luke as well.
And in today’s gospel, Luke 9: 46-50 - Jesus is asking us to look at the issue of
wanting to be great - even the desire to
be the greatest. We all have that desire - that instinct. All of us - more or
less want to look better - feel better - than other persons.
It’s in us.
When that feeling hits us, sometimes we feel dirty - “oh-no-ish.”
Paradoxically in that very feeling of not wanting to be proud - up front -
holier than thou - we are being just what we want to avoid.
Jesus in the gospel of Luke talks about these feelings -
Pharisaical - at their worst. Jesus rubs the parable of two people who are
praying in the temple in our face. The one up front says, “Thank God I’m not
like these sinners here - especially that guy in the back”. Then he brags about
all he does to show he’s better than others. And the guy in the back of the
temple says, “Be merciful to me because I’m a sinner.”
I always think that the first step in humility is humor.
And this stuff often shows up in religious feelings.
So Church goers need to know and laugh at themselves.
So here in today’s gospel Jesus is telling his disciples about greatness.
It’s serving. Then he takes a child and puts him right next to him and says,
“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me and whoever receives me
receives the one who sent me.”
Kids don’t have titles - labels - degrees - medals -
stripes - robes - top hats - uniforms to prove they are on top.
SO WE SAW THE
POPE
So we saw the pope in his little Fiat sandwiched on both
sides - and back and front - by big SUV’s with flashing lights.
So we saw the pope embracing little children and little
old ladies.
So we saw the pope embracing prisoners and down syndrome
folks.
So we saw all these bishops with fancy prestige vestments
and pointed hats.
You gotta have a sense of humor. I’ve seen articles with
pictures of bishops hats - one taller than the other. I was looking at the
bishops in the processions last night and Pope Francis’ hat - miter - was
smaller than some of these other guys with their miters. The pope talked to
bishops about all this in private meetings. It’s the stuff of humor and
jealousy amongst us priests.
Unfortunately we saw that picture in Catholic magazines
last year of a Cardinal in Rome with a big red cape trailing behind him for 10
yards - bigger than any bridal gown - with her long white veil.
This stuff - called jealousy - wanting to be bigger and
better than others - prestige - pride -
shows up in church - politics - picnics - groups - clubs - volunteer groups -
work - what have you.
People want better seats, different seats, higher seats -
whatever is bigger and better than our seat to show that they are better than us. We use age, cars, home, cars, brands, clothes, jewelry, toes, toe nail polish,
skin color, shape, weight, height, size, the look, to look better than the
other.
You have to laugh.
PEOPLE GET MAD
AT ME
People get mad at me when I hit this “greatness” button.
I make comments that are digs - and the hidden agenda is that I’m better than
those I’m making fun of. I do that. Jesus didn’t.
For example, when I saw all those bishops - all males -
up front at the pope thing - the comedian in me - likes to say, “I’d like to
see God be a woman for the next 2000 years - along with the bishops and priests
- and see how the men react to that. I would then watch the same thing happen
with women that happens with male priests.
I heard of a woman who wants to be a priest - and her
reason, “I want to be served as priests
are served - have someone pick up after me.”
Smile.
We all are included in Jesus’ watching us and trying to
get us to laugh at ourselves.
We are all included in Jesus watching us and wanting us
to serve the little children and the older folks - especially those in their
second childhood as the pope pointed out by example more than words.
CONCLUSION
I love that picture of Francis - Jorge - on a subway in Buenos Aires in Argentina by himself - carrying his bag - wearing his black suit - travelling with ordinary folks..
Some of us priests - I know I do - make fun in our minds and sometimes with our
tongues of priests and all these seminarians who are into French cuffs and
clerical garb.
I know that’s the deeper sin - inner mocking - inner
judgment - inner criticism - and all that stuff - that I’m better - we’re better than them.
So Jesus laughs at me too.
Thank God there is always mercy - and thank God the call
is always there to forget the nonsense and serve one another. Amen.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “What Are You Observing?”
Yogi Berra died last Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at the
age of 90.
He’s famous for many comments - called Yogi-isms.
One is, “You can observe a lot by watching.”
As a baseball catcher - while behind the plate - he had
to observe a lot - he had to watch a lot. He had to do the same while at bat - as
well as later on while coaching and managing.
So he observed a lot by watching - even though what he
observed came out of his mouth not that clear at times - but many times with a
twist of wisdom and smart insight.
THE POPE
I’m sure all of you are watching a lot of TV when it
comes to the pope.
I’m sure some of you went to see him - and you’ll be telling people that story
for the rest of your life. I know I’d be doing that.
Whether on TV or in person, what did you observe about this pope? What did you learn? What are your wonderings?
What are your questions? What are you hearing? What are you hoping for?
I observed that he looks a lot like Yogi Berra - and that
both have a lot of wisdom - even though Yogi only went to the 8th
Grade. Both have big ears. Both are first generation Italian-Americans. Both
have immigrant roots - one in North America - the other South America. Both
have great smiles. Both are wise - and beyond wise.
I observed that both became shepherds. Francis of the
Church. Yogi of the Yankees and Mets as manager and coach and Houston as coach.
I am not a Yankee fan. In fact I was brought up in
Brooklyn and we were taught to hate the Yankees.
Hate is a no no for this pope. But the Yankees?
Yogi played for 18 seasons - 1946-63 and with him the
hated Yankees reached the World Series 14 times and won 10 titles. He was MVP
three times. He struck out rarely and threw out people trying to steal bases regularly.
Francis our pope is out there playing the position as
pope for going on 3 years now. He looks
like a MVP and Hall of Famer to me.
We’re observing him up close and personal now - here on
the east coast and quite close to us here in Annapolis. We are observing him on TV big time.
What are we seeing?
What are we observing?
Keep talking to each other.
Keep observing to each other.
I’ve been asked 25 times in the past few days, did I see him in Washington? I’m
sure various people have asked you the same question.
I said, “Nope” but on TV “Yep” - big time.
Father Charlie of our community went to DC and got within
60 yards of him at the Mass at the National Shrine. I got a chance to ask him
all my questions. He’s going again today to Philly.
I think I am observe a lot more on TV and in the papers
and on the computer - than I would being there in a crowd. But that’s another
experience.
While in Rome in 1984 I went to see the Pope at the
Wednesday audience in the Vatican circle or Piazza. A priest at our place in
Rome where I was staying told me to get there 1 hour ahead of time - and he drew
on a napkin where to exactly stand. I was to be at a wooden saw horse fence -
on a corner - on the route the pope mobile would pass after his talk and
prayers.
So there I was standing - at the right spot. Surprise!
I look at the person right next to me. It was Bill Walton the basketball
player - believe it or not.
Just as the pope mobile turned to come down our way - the
crowd knocked over the wooden fence or portable saw horse fence and made a dash
for the pope.
I found myself in the back of the crowd. Jesus was right.
The first shall be last.
I observed and learned that day you see a lot more on TV.
Kathy at our doctor’s office said she went to see the pope in Washington D.C.
years ago - along with a million other people. She couldn’t see the pope in
person. There she was watching the whole thing on one of those jumbothons TV’s.
So I prefer a soft seat in front of the TV.
WHAT DID I
OBSERVE ABOUT THE POPE THIS PAST WEEK?
I observed a lot.
I noticed that I have a lot of questions.
I want to know whom he consulted - whom he talked with -
fellow Jesuits. Americans? Who?
I want to know how long had he worked on his English. My
Spanish is horrible - and I had it for 4 years while in the seminary - along
with Portuguese, Greek, and lots and lots and lots of Latin.
I want to know if he had any impact and what kind of an
impact - on congress, the president, the United Nations, Cuba and our Church in
the United States.
I want to know what Catholics who have dropped out are
thinking?
I want to know what people are talking to each other
about on the one zillion cell phones -
besides all those pictures.
I’m wondering about how many people got a hint from the
Holy Spirit or their parents or grandparents that they would be welcome back at
Church.
Welcome….That’s a major, major, major, major message of Pope Francis.
I loved it that our high school kids were in our
auditorium watching the pope’s address to congress. I’ll find out in the coming
year - if and what kind of an impact the pope had. I’ll try to find out what kind of an impact?
This is this pope’s first visit to the United States. We
are not the world. We are part of the world? We are just the East Coast - what
about Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles?
What about Toronto and Paris and Moscow and Beijing? What about Vietnam and Lagos, Nigeria?
Pope John Paul 2 made 7 visits to the United States in
his 27 years as pope.
The title of my homily is, “What Are You Observing?”
What a great way to read the scriptures?
Millions of people along the routes that Francis took in
his pope mobile studied his smile - waved back to him - took their pictures -
especially selfies with him in the background. Many more millions observed him
on TV and with Yogi Berra or Jorge Bergoglio - Francis ears - heard his
messages.
What a great way to read the scriptures?
Picture yourself in the crowd for today’s readings.
Picture yourself hearing his words on TV. Hear his messages.
Jesus in today’s gospel - Moses in today’s first
reading - and reiterated by Pope Francis - celebrate the good done by
anyone of good will.
Please do the same. Engage those you live and work with -
church goers or not - and celebrate people of Good Will - and be sneaky and
subtle, smart and as wise as Yogi Berra and this pope - invite Catholics and
Christians and all back to centers of worship to make this a better world.
Amen.
[The following is a story for our Children's Mass - Today - the 26 Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B]
THE DOMINO EFFECT
Four old men were just sitting there in a big, big room
in a nursing home.
It was around 4 PM on a Monday afternoon. There were no football games on the big TV in
the corner. There visitors were there on Sunday - so they were just sitting
there remembering.
Three men were at another table playing dominoes. They
were laughing and talking and enjoying the game.
Five ladies were on the other side of the room knitting
and talking and adjusting their hearing aids - trying to hear each other and
the guys on the other side of the room.
One of the four old men just sitting there - watching and
thinking about the 3 old men playing dominoes asked, “When did you first learn
about the Domino Effect?”
The other 3 men also adjusted their hearing aids and
asked, “What did you just say?”
“When did you first learn about the Domino Effect?”
“Oh,” said one of the four. “I noticed it when I was 12
years old. I was at a baseball game - the Baltimore Orioles against the Boston
Red Sox. Carl Yastrimski of the Red Sox hit a home run and my little brother
tried to catch it, but missed. An old man in front of him - probably about 40
years old - caught it - and seeing my brother’s disappointment - gave him the
ball.
“Hey, kid, here’s the ball,” he said.
“Well, my brother,” the told the other 3 old men, “didn’t
see anything that happened for the rest of the game. He just stared at that
baseball. He was making out he was throwing it - curve - fast ball - knuckle
ball.”
“In the car on the way home, he had the greatest smile in
the world. In fact, that’s the first time I ever saw him smile. He was a whiner.”
“In fact, come to think about it. I don’t think he ever
whined for the rest of his life.”
“Come to think about it, that changed my life as well.”
“Thinking about the man - the fan who caught that ball -
and how he gave it to my brother right away - that changed me as well. I
learned to be nice to people - and I’d see how they then were nice to people
and then they too were nice to people.”
“Come to think about it - looking back after all these
years, I bet that guy who gave my brother the baseball - never knew the effect of doing that had on
others.”
One of the 3 old men asked, “What happened to the
baseball?”
“Oh,” he said, “my brother has it in a plastic case and
it was on his bookcase till he died. His son has it now - because he heard his
dad tell a hundred people how some guy when he was eight years old caught that
ball at old Orioles field - Memorial Stadium - and he gave it to him.”
Then he concluded, “I guess that’s when I learned about
The Domino Effect.”
The second guy said I learned about the Domino Effect
from our dog. Whenever he woke up,
everybody woke up.
He would bark if he heard the paperboy toss the paper up
on our porch.
That would wake my mom up - who would wake my dad up -
and we would hear them talking or the toilet flushing - and we would all wake
up.
At work if the boss was in a good mood, I noticed
everyone would be in a good mood - but if he was grouchy - others would react
and be grouchy. Same too with people beeping their horns in morning traffic.
The third guy said, “Oh - I guess I noticed it when I was
in school. If the teacher was in a good mood, we’d all be in a good mood. If
she got mad at some kid that kid would take it out on some other kid and on and
on and on.
“I guess bullies cause the most problems. Hitting -
pushing - being selfish - name calling - would bounce all over the school
playground.”
“Of course, I didn’t notice that till I was in the Navy -
on a submarine. If someone was in a bad
mood - everyone got the after effect of
it every time.”
“But once we got a Captain - who was the happiest person
I ever met in my life. When he came on board, I noticed that laughter on our
submarine improved 11 thousand percent - compared to the captain we had before
him.
“So I guess that’s when I really learned about the Domino
Effect.”
Then he added, “I heard this when I heard it called the
Butterfly Effect.”
“What’s that?” the guy on his left said.
“Oh, it’s a theory that if a butterfly shakes his wings
in China - it works its way all the way to California and beyond.”
There was still one guy who had spoken up.
So they finally asked him, “When did you first hear about
the Domino Effect?”
He said, “I never heard about it. At first when you guys
started talking I had no idea what you were talking about.”
Then he paused.
Then he said, “Now I know why everyone is so happy with
this Pope Francis. He smiles and the whole crowd smiles.”
Then he paused - seeing
the other 3 guys smiling.
Then he said, “I guess that smile is going all around the
world - all night long - and into today and into forever. Wow!
