The title ofmy brief homily or thought for this morning, November 5, 2018, the 31st
Monday in Ordinary Time, is, “In You, O Lord, I have found my peace.”
That’s the Psalm Response for today.
Have we found the Lord in our life?Have we found peace in our life?
We all know the Beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers
for they will be called the Children of God.”
CHILDREN
I don’t have children - but one of my surprises I’ve
noticed about little kids is this: one
minute they are laughing and smiling. Beautiful. Then I turn my back and I hear
a child crying - actually screaming -
and I turn to see who it is. It’s that same child - a second later. Then his or
her parents do something or give the kid something - food or attention - and
the kid is laughing again.
That scene which is repeated every day in many, many
ways.
It gets me asking: “Is that child all of us? Do all of us want what we want when we want it - and if we don’t get what we want when we want it, we’ll scream.” Warning ....
And when another gets screamful, we want them peaceful.
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings got me thinking about that scene I’ve
seen in kids.
Today’s readings - especially the first reading gives
several secrets of peace.
The scriptures are all about peacemaking.
Today’s first reading says: encourage each other. Will we
do that today?
Today’s first reading says, pray for the Holy Spirit. Will
we do that today?
Today’s first reading says, have compassion and mercy. Will we do that today?
Today’s first reading says be united. Will we do that
today?
Today’s first reading says, don’t be selfish. How will we
be today?
Today’s first reading says the other person is more important
than me. Will we work on that today?
Today’s gospel says invite everyone into the banquet of our
life: especially the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
I
used to feel guilty, that I don’t do that - till one day it hit me: I am the
poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. I'm it - and Jesus has invited me today to be here at this banquet of life.
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily is: “In You O Lord, I Have Found
My Peace.”
Going back to my opening image of the little child: who
laughs one moment and the next moment screams.
Who will I be today? We’re watching.
November 5, 2018
NOVEMBER RAIN
It’s raining….
November rain ….
Cold …. But not icy….
The water colored brown
and rust colored and
orange colored leaves
are water colored on
the ground …. but half are
still holding on to their moms:
the trees. It’s November ….
Pain.... Rain .... Remembrance .... Three weeks to remember
Today’s gospel opens up with someone walking up to Jesus
and ask him a question and it ends up with this comment: “And no one dared to
ask him any more questions.” [Cf. Mark 12: 28b to 34]
People are still walking up to Jesus and asking him
questions.
So the title of my homily is, “Do You Have a Question?”
We’ve all been at talks - when they have a Q and A
session after the talk - and someone gets up and goes on and on and on. And the
person running the Question and Answer period finally asks,“Do you have a question?”
Sometimes the person does and sometimes they don’t.
The title of my homily is, “Do You Have a Question?”
When I’m preaching the thing I worry about is that people
have questions - but I’m probably not answering them in my homily.
FOR EXAMPLE
For example are you going to say something about the
Bishops and Priests and Church’s problem with sexual abuse of minors - as well
as cover-ups.
For example: are you going to say something about the
Pittsburgh killings or the elections or the march or voting next Tuesday orwhat have you?
For example: what does that comment about Babylon in the
first reading mean?
CLEMENT JEDRZEJEWSKI
In the early 1970’s I was stationed in a retreat house in
Long Branch, N.J. and we used to say Mass in the morning at another retreat
house - also on the Atlantic Ocean. Neat spot.
In this other retreat house - run by the Sisters of Peace
- an old man - Clement Jedrzejewski - got a room there.He was the only man in the place and he
didn’t have a car - and this was way before Uber or Lyft.
I once said to him, “Clement if you ever want to go
shopping - or go to the drugstore and you need a lift, just ask me. Maybe you
want toothpaste or what have you.
Well he took me up on it - and it became a great move.
While driving I asked him what he did before New Jersey
and he said he was a professor at a small college in Brooklyn: St. Francis
College.
He said he taught teaching methods.
On one trip I told him I did about 15 high school - 3 day
retreats - each year and did he have any suggestions.He asked a few questions and said, “Let me
think about it.”
On another trip to a drugstore he said, “When the kids
arrive, let them check out the whole place. A dog when it comes to a new house
sniffs everywhere.”
Then he said, “Get their questions. Say there are no
stupid questions, just stupid answers.”
Then he said, “Hand out pieces of paper. Have them by
themselves write down all the questions they have about their life: the future,
work, family, relationships, school, drugs, booze, what have you.”
Then tell them, still by themselves, put a circle around
the top 3.
Then put that piece of paper in your pocket.
Next do the same thing with one other person - a whole
page of questions - then the top3.
Next do that with 4 or 5 others - whole page - circle top
3.Tell them to pick 4 or 5 friends or
people you know - not strangers.If you
want this retreat to go beyond the 3 days - pick people you hang with.
Then do this with the whole group. Large pieces of paper
on the wall - then agree on 3.
This took two hours that first evening, but we had 3
areas they agree upon.
Then for the next 2 days, we tackled those 3 questions.
QUESTION
Try it. Jot down or put on your electronic pads and
computers all your questions - then pick out your top 3.
What are your top 3 questions about your life, your
future, your past - and talk them over with your closest people.
Questions are great. They are shaped like fish hooks - and
if you want to go down deep below the waters: fish.
Jesus walked around Palestine and began by catching 4
fishermen.
Abraham Heschel wrote, “It is not enough for me to be
able to say, `I am’’ I want to know who I
am, and in relation to whom I live. It is not enough for me to ask
questions; I want to know how to answer the one question that seems to
encompass everything I face; What am I here for?”
Alexander Eliot wrote, “Personal answers to ultimate
questions. That is what we seek.” Alexander Eliot
I jotted down in my quote book,
a great quote from Betty Friedan. It’s in her book, The
Feminine Mystique, 1963, “Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As
she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate
peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and
Brownies, lay beside her husband at night—she was afraid to ask even of herself
the silent question -- `Is this all?’”
Didn’t Peggy Lee have a song way
back then, “Is that all there is? my friend. Is that all there is?”
TODAY’S
READINGS
Today’s readings trigger the big
question: “What am I supposed to do with my life everyday?”
As I began, we find the scene in
today’s gospel - where a scribe - that’s someone who could write - comes up to
Jesus with a question:
"Which is the first of all the
commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
This was something people went to Rabbi’s with all the
time - as well as wisdom teachers - in all the religions and philosophies of
our world.
CONCLUSION
What is your question?
Start with a page full…. Narrow
it down to 3.Narrow it down to 1.
Then get answers.
You’ll find them everywhere.
And when you ask the best
question and you get a great answer, hear Jesus say, “Do that and you shall
live - really live.”
