Reflections By The Bay

Monday, June 5, 2017

June 5, 2017

CAP TITLES

Make Luke 9: 46-48 Great Again

Make Us Humble Again, O Lord.

Make the World Better, O Lord.

Make Us Make Our World Better, O Lord.

Make America Last by Being the Servant of All, Lord. Mark 20:41-45

Make Us Care About the Earth and Each Other, O Lord.

Make Us Peace Makers, O Lord.

Make Us Good Stewards of Creation, O Lord.

Make Us United, O Lord.

Make Us Listen to Each Other, O Lord.

Make Us Make Our Planet Better, O Lord.

My Thoughts:

For the sake of transparency I am a Democrat - yet for the sake of trying to keep my blog objective - I have avoided political comments - 99 % of the time. For the sake of clarifying my thoughts in my blog piece above, I add that I am also a Catholic. I find much of current political rhetoric contrary to the Catholic Social Justice teachings that I was brought up with. Hence this blog piece. Our Pope Francis certainly expresses his theology about many current comments being made - and they are certainly what the Catholic Popes and Bishops, teachers and theologians, have proclaimed down through the past few centuries. Enough for now ....

Next Comment:

I received two comments to my comment above. I rarely get any comments.

The first was an "Amen" and the second was from Anonymous. This second comment states what Democrats hold. My reaction was to not put in the second comment, but for the sake of further thinking, I added it. I disagree with whoever Anonymous is - because she or he can't tell what all democrats hold or believe - anymore than I can. I just know what I as a democrat hold.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

COMING HOME:

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of Pentecost is, “Coming Home: The Importance of Place.”

If you ever have the money, the time and the opportunity, to get to Jerusalem, go.

And if you go to Jerusalem, as Christian, as Catholic, you’ll probably visit a site, a holy place, called, “The Cenacle.”

I went to Israel once, January 2000, as a suitcase carrier.

One of our older priests, Leo Dunn, whom I had been stationed with in our retreat house in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, in the 1970’s, was asked by our provincial, “Leo, you never get out, you never take trips, you never go on vacation, why don’t you take a trip to some place you’d love to go to?”

And he said, “No!”

And the provincial said, “Why not? Leo you love the scriptures, the Bible, wouldn’t you love to go to Israel?”

And he hesitated and then said, “I’d love to, but I’m too old for that now.”

So George, the Provincial said, “I’ll get Andy to carry your bags.”

After several more “no’s” and a lot more pushing, I got a phone call and ended up being Leo’s suitcase carrier to Israel for two weeks. Nice.

We first saw the north: Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, Cana, the Mount of the Transfiguration - where we had a spaghetti dinner - and many other places. We then traveled south - also by bus - to the Dead Sea, Jericho, Bethlehem, Bethany and Jerusalem.

If you ever get to Israel, you picture these places every time you hear them mentioned in the Bible readings for the rest of your life. Neat.

In Jerusalem you’ll go to the Garden of Olives, the Wailing Wall, the possible place of the crucifixion and the Cenacle - or Upper Room.

It’s 2017. A lot of things have happened in Israel in the past two thousand years. Jerusalem has been destroyed a few times. Buildings have been leveled - and different places are claimed to be the places for this and that.

Our tour guide, a Franciscan priest, Stephen Doyle told us history, possibilities, and legends of each place.

Whatever….

TODAY’S READINGS

I think of the Cenacle, the room of the Last Supper, the place of waiting for what’s next, after Jesus was killed, the place where the disciples were hiding behind locked doors, the place of the coming of the Holy Spirit, whenever I hear today’s first reading and today’s gospel.

As I stood there I thought of what took place in the Upper Room, the Cenacle. Father Stephen Doyle read out loud today’s first reading and possibly today’s gospel.

TITLE OF MY HOMILY

The title of my homily is, “Coming Home: The Importance of Place.”

We all have our places.

Father John Harrison grew up just down the road from here. I’m sure when he drove home to St. Mary’s - after saying Mass here at St. John Neumann’s, different things hit him - than hit any of us who are from somewhere else.

Last weekend I was up in Danvers, Massachusetts for a family wedding. I had never been there before - but I was with lots of family members whom I had not seen in a while. Neat.

I was feeling down a bit - because the wedding had no Catholic stuff in it - and being priest, of course that hit me. But it was good to be there to be with family. Life has it’s pluses and misuses - half full and half empty moments.

I wore my black suit and priest black shirt and collar and did a reading - but that was the only mention of God. At the meal, it didn’t look like they were going to say a public prayer before the meal, so I sort of pushed my way into doing that.

Many parents and grandparents speak to priests about their feelings at a time like that. Other than that, it was a good wedding in a beautiful place - and it was great to see another member of the family marrying into another family. And it was a nice moment in a sacred place - a field with a nice big pond to our right - down a hill.

Gary, the husband of my niece Mary, told me that the day before, since they were in Massachusetts for the wedding, they took a side trip to the place where they had their first apartment after they got married. He told me that they always went there whenever they were in that area and their two sons made fun of their parents for doing this. Boring…. Boring…. Boring…. Just stopping a car on a strange street - getting out and walking around. This time they saw a “For Sale” sign and they were without their sons and they were able to get into a similar apartment to one they had lived in years ago. Neat.

The title of my homily is, “Coming Home: The Importance of Place.”

Both their sons will someday know the importance of coming home to their first home in Pennsylvania and their first homes - now that they are married - Brian in Austin, Texas and Sean in Jacksonville, Florida.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE

Where we went to school…. where we got engaged …. where we went on our honeymoon …. where we were blessed …. where we were cursed ….

This week for homework: If you doodle on your computer or if you use pad and pen - write out the top ten places on the planet that are important to you - that are sacred to you.

Where are the places that formed and informed you - where you became who you have become: jobs, homes, parks, playing fields, stage….

Are there any places that are no longer there?

The street I grew up on - is still there - 62^nd Street, between 3^rd and 4^th Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. is still there, but our home - 326 - was torn down to make way for an extension of the Gowanus Parkway - coming off the Verrazano Bridge. Bummer….

But that house is still in my memory and still in my mind - and it’s still in our black and white pictures.

Sort out your pictures and in good time, show your grandkids where you come from - the importance of place - or take them there - and let them see it - even if it is boring, boring, boring to them - but it brings tears to you - and in time - hopefully, they will learn the importance of place.

CHURCH

Just as Israel contains Jerusalem and various shrines of our Christian roots, so too each person has in their mind and memory, churches - places where they were baptized, made first communion, confirmation, were married - and celebrated funerals.

Church places are important…. Today’s a good day to think about all this.

I was up in New Jersey last week for a common retreat for about 60 Redemptorists - at our retreat house. I was stationed there for 7 years of my life.

Two times - during the retreat - I went into the chapel - when I could be all alone - and I sat in different places and remembered talking with someone down the corridor in a counseling room - about a family problem or a marriage problem and I said, “Let’s go down to the chapel and say a prayer over this.” And I had my favorite places of prayer.

I remembered another retreat house where I spent another 7 years of a my life and I remember a former pro football player whose name is well known. He came up to me once and said, “I guess you wonder why I only sit in the back seat - over in the ride hand - side aisle corner?”

I remained silent - and nodded my head. I never had problems where people sit in church - because I have heard some wonderful stories why people sit where they sit in church - including urinary problems - and the need to shoot out to the bathroom. I remember one lady said she always sits under the 4^th station - because she wants Mary the Mother of Jesus to be with her in the ways of the cross in her life.

Speaking of urinary problems, I remember once going back to our childhood church - OLPH - in Brooklyn - and I noticed men on one side of the confession boxes and women on the other side. I didn’t remember that, but then I remembered as a little boy, I thought they were bathrooms.

Well, in a way, they are….. Smile.

Well this former pro football player said he sits where he sits - because that’s where his mother sat in their local church for over 20 years - praying for him to come back to the faith.

And he said, “I finally did, thanks to my mother’s prayers.”

CONCLUSION

This place here - St. Mary’s Church downtown Annapolis - the churches of your life - especially your childhood - the places of the stories of your life - are all important - and the beauty of being a human being is - you can return to them in reality or imagination - and visit and pray in any place we want. Amen.

June 4, 2017

PENTECOST

Come Holy Spirit!

Breathe new life

into me - Holy Gust

of fresh air - come

into me - again and again.

Grab me by my shoulders

and shake me till my

foundations shake and ache.

I need a better

Spirit of forgiveness….
Sometimes I find that

difficult to pull out

of me when another

has hurt me too hard.

I also need many more

characteristics - qualities

that don’t seem to be

working inside me.

For example, I need

courage, creativitity,

insight, integrity,

faith, hope and charity.

Do I just pray for these

gifts - and then watch

and wait till they arrive

or do I focus on one -

for example, faith,

and then work till I’m

putting it into practice?

Is that how prayer and

the gifts of the Holy Spirit work?

Come Holy Spirit.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

COMMUNICATION AND CONFUSION:

WHY ARE THERE

SO MANY LANGUAGES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Vigil of Pentecost is, “Communication and Confusion: Why Are There So Many Languages?”

Did you know there are about 7000 distinct languages in our world?

Did you know that there are about 230 languages spoken in Europe, 2000 languages in Asia.

Did you know Papua-New Guinea, with a population of about 4 million, has 832 different languages.

Why are there so many different languages?

TONIGHT’S FIRST READING

That’s a theme that comes out of today’s first reading - different tonight from tomorrow.

Check out Genesis 11: 1-9!

Of course, I could skip tonight’s vigil Mass - and just use tomorrow’s readings for this feast of Pentecost.

No. I’ll come up with another homily for tomorrow's readings. But this first reading has the question I think it’s worth thinking about.

It tells us what people were thinking thousands of years ago - in answer to the question: Why do people speak different languages?

Answer: It’s God’s fault. God did it.

Today’s first reading begins by saying exactly that: “The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.”

Then it says everyone is migrating till they settle in a valley in the land of Shinar. They learn to make bricks - hard bricks - and decide to build a city and a tower to the sky and make a name for themselves - otherwise we’ll be scattered all over the place.

God sees all this and says, “Who knows what they are going to do next, so we better put a stop to them now - because they’ll think they can do it all.”

So God stops their building their big city and their big tower to the skies. God confuses their speech. So instead of building they start to babble. Then they end up scattered all over the world - speaking all kind of languages.

What are your thoughts and reactions to that explanation for so many languages?

It's certainly an interesting take on languages. If you Google that question about why so many languages, you’ll come up with some interesting theories. Pick your best - the one that makes the most sense to you.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

In The Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-11 - that will tomorrow's first reading - the Holy Spirit comes - and people who speak all kinds of different languages understand each other - and instead of building a big building they build a big church.

As we hear in today’s first reading from Romans we can move from groanings to understanding each other’s intentions.

FEAST OF PENTECOST

The feast of Pentecost - in the Old Testament - is a Harvest Festival. It takes place 50 days after the planting. It's also the birthday of the Jewish people. It happens 50 days after passing over from Egypt and they are heading for the Promised Land. It happens 50 days after escaping from slavery. It’s their birth into freedom. It’s the day they become free people - a united people - the People of God. It's a celebration when Moses gives them the new law.

So too the feast of Pentecost for Christians - in the New Testament. It’s the birthday of the Christian people 50 days after the death of Christ on the Cross and his rising from the dead. They are becoming the People of God as well.

It's the feast of the human race moving from babbling to understanding each other - no matter what language one speaks.

MESSAGE

The title of my homily is, “Communication and Confusion: Why Are There So Many Different Languages?”

I remember hearing - when talking about Marriage Preparation - someone saying there are three secrets for a good marriage: communication, communication, communication.

Communication means using mouth and ear - speaking and listening.

It takes in prayer and play.

It takes in work and leisure.

It takes in planting, harvesting, and eating together.

The family that eats together, stays together.

Father Patrick Peyton used to say, “The Family that prays together stays together.” Then he pushed the Family Rosary.

I used to hate the family rosary as a kid. During the summer we’d be out on the street playing stick ball and my sister would stand on the stoop and cry, “Rosary”. And five minutes later four of us kids and my mom and dad would be kneeling around a bed - leaning into the mattress saying Hail Mary’s. It felt like it took 4 hours. It was only 15 minutes - but then my mother started to add the extras as time moved on. Years later as adults my brother and I were at home and my mom said, “Let’s say the rosary.” By then it had become 25 minutes of prayer and my brother says when it’s over, “Mom are you going to put vestments on now and say Mass for us?”

We stayed together. We prayed together.

But I would add things like: The family that plays together, stays together. And we did that as well - especially cards. I would add that the family that talked and listened and ate together - listened to The Shadow and The Lone Ranger on the radio and then years later watched Milton Berle and Ed Sullivan on TV together stayed together.

I would think that the family that has family gatherings - whenever possible - like Thanksgiving - stays together.

I would hope that the iPhone and cell phone helps families grow better.

I would hope that that couples and families and neighbors who are willing to communicate and clarify confusions are better off than not.

So that’s my first point for this Pentecost homily: communication, communication, communication, means less confusion, confusion, confusion.

Come Holy Spirit

SECOND THOUGHT - THE WORLD

I don’t know about you, but I disliked the phrase, “Make America Great Again.”

I liked what the President of France, Emmanuel Macron just said, “Make our planet great again.”

I hope the word “Catholic” means what it says, “Kata Holos” - with all - with the whole people.

That our church is a catalogue of all people who speak all kinds of languages - who are working together to make this a better world and a better planet.

I would hope we learn to communicate with each other in spite of our different languages, our different religions, our different cultures, our different ways of doing life.

I would hope we learn to communicate with each other - even though we have the same language - but we know people mean a lot of different things with the same words.

If we don’t understand each other’s groans, we have confusion.

If we don’t communicate, we have confusion.

If we don’t ask others calmly, what another means by different words, we have confusion.

If we don’t sit down and be in communion with each other, we won’t understand what Jesus came to do - make words become flesh - so we can be in Holy Communion with each other.

CONCLUSION

But if we learn to listen, if we are calm with each other, if we communicate with each other, then we can build a better planet that is part of the whole universe we live in. Amen.