Today January 6th - is the feast of another North
American Saint: Brother Andre Bessette [1845-1937]
He is known for his welcoming smile as the greeter
doorkeeper at St. Joseph’s.
So we too smile at his famous line: “When I joined this community, the
superiors showed me the door, and I remained there for 40 years.”
I have a nice memory of taking a dream trip for my mom and
dad - to see the 3 Famous French
Canadian Shrines: Sainte Anne de Beupre, then Cap-de-la-Madeline which was at the meeting spot of the
St. Laurence and Saint-Maurice rivers in Quebec, and finally St. Joseph’s
Oratory in Montreal.
We first went to Sainte Anne de Beupre - pictured right below this:
Next we we went to Our Lady's shrine at Cap-de-la-Madeline. Here's a picture of the old shrine right below:
It was the late 1960’s. I remember my sister Peggy and I making
fun of my mother who had to climb any long series of steps at a shrine on her
knees. Just take a look at these steps at St. Joseph’s
Oratory in Montreal
- which was the 3rd and last stop for us.
That was the first time I heard the name of Brother Andre.
Hearing about his life at this great shrine of St. Joseph impressed me. What grabbed me from
moment one was that smile and that look of this Holy Cross Brother. I was to see it in several Redemptorist
brothers in my life time.
As I did yesterday for St. John Neumann, here is a short video I found on line
about this neat person - Brother André
Bessette, C.S.C.
WALKING AND TALKING!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Monday after Epiphany is,
“Walking and Talking!”
Walking and talking: two simple realities. They can be
profound or not so profound or just so so. So it’s an all depends.
Walking and talking: two things people have been doing since the beginning of
the human story.
Just walking …. Just talking …. Just moving along somewhere
- in some place ….
To understand Jesus is to understand walking and talking -
two things that don’t necessarily go together.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Today’s gospel from Matthew 4:12-17 - 23-25 - has Jesus
moving in a odd shaped triangle - going from the wilderness area in Judea in
the south - where he was in the desert
after he was baptized by John the Baptist - going back to Nazareth where he grew up. This would be a trip of about 80
miles. Then Matthew says he left Nazareth and
goes to Capernaum
by the sea. This would be a trip of about 20 miles.
I’ve been to Israel
once. If you’ve been there, pinch yourself, because you hear the scriptures
differently. If you get a chance to get there, go for it.
As I read today’s gospel - or any of the gospels, I picture
what I saw in Israel in January of 2000 or I start looking up what I can learn about a text.
Then there are the wonderings - the questions - that pop up:
Did Jesus travel on foot? I assume so. That’s what it sounds
like in the gospels to me.
Did he travel alone - like in today’s gospel - after leaving
the desert?
What did he see - when he looked out those eyes?
Did he see differently than before he was baptized by John
and then go into the desert?
Did the arrest of John trigger the movement in his being to
start walking and talking - teaching and preaching?
BY BUS
I saw Palestine - Israel - the Holy Land
- by bus.
I was with 22 priests. We had the benefit of a Scripture Scholar - Stephen Doyle - a
Franciscan - as our leader and commentator - the one who could answer our
questions.
In a way I saw more by bus. I remember looking out the window and seeing something that looked like a pen - a fenced in
stockade - with both sheep and goats together - on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. We landed in Tel Aviv - took the bus to the Lake of Galilee - saw the north - for the first few days. Then we took headed from Capernaum to Jerusalem - a journey of 120 miles. We went down the eastern side of the
Jordan River - through Jericho - taking a side trip to the Dead Sea -
and then back up to the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. Stephen Doyle said we would be where the Old Road would have been - provided it didn't rain. It didn't.
I saw first hand from a seat at a bus window - what I would
not have seen from the road - how easy it would be from robbers to leap down
from a small cliff and rob someone on the road to Jerusalem
or from Jericho.
Going slow - sometimes you see and hear more ….
Going low - sometimes you see and hear more….
Going high - sometimes you see more because you’re at a distance …..
BY BOOK OR GOOGLE
OR INTERNET
One great way to read scriptures is to use the many Biblical
Picture books that are around or abound. Another way is to type into a search
engine - if you’re a computer user - a name like "Nazareth",
or "JudeanDesert"
or "Capernaum" -
and see the pictures and listen to the information that pops us.
CONCLUSION
The title of my short reflection is “Walking and Talking”.
One great way to grow in the spiritual life is to walk and
talk to a friend - and tell each other what you wonder about. That’s a good New
Year’s resolution. Important as well -
is to walk and talk to yourself - and pick up what Jesus thought about and
figured out as he walked along the roads of this life as well. Amen
OLD MEN DIE
A Poem for Today January 6, 2014
OLD MEN
People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.
Old men are different. People look
At them with eyes that wonder when…
People watch with unshocked eyes;
But the old men know when an old man dies.
Today January 5th, is the Feast of St. John Neumann - a diocesan priest, who became a Redemptorist, who then became the Bishop of Philadelphia. He was born March 28, 1811 in Bohemia - now in Czech - and died in Philadelphia today, January 5th, 1860 - 49 years of age. Check out this short film on St. John Neumann by just scratching his nose!
EPIPHANY
INTRODUCTION The title of my homily is, “Epiphany!” Epiphany: we know the word means “showing” - “manifestation” - “appearance”. "Epi' - a prefix - from the Greek - meaning - “on” - “upon” - “attached to” - “over” - “besides” - “after” - “outer”. "Phany"- from the Greek verb “phaneroo” “to show”. So we’re celebrating the showing of God to the world - and the light shines upon - it attaches itself to one baby - born in Bethlehem. So we’re celebrating the moment when God shows God to the whole world - as indicated from the Magi or Wise Men - or Kings - from around the world - who come looking for him - and God is discovered to be a new born baby. This Epiphany is a moment a light. A star appeared in the sky - and leads these magi - from the east - to Jerusalem - and then to Bethlehem. This is big stage stuff. We’ve all been to plays where the theater is in darkness. Then a spot light casts down a bright light from above and focuses on a star on stage. Then we listen to someone break into song or story! Or we might have seen these new light pointers. Teachers and lecturers use them to point out a specific statistic on a chart or part of sculpture in a gallery or museum. Epiphany. TODAY’S READINGS Today’s three readings point out what we need to see. The first reading from Isaiah 60: 1-6 announces to Jerusalem, “Your light has come!” It says, “See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over your appears his glory.” I assume that those who chose this reading, chose it because it connects well with the quote from Micah 5:1 - which we hear in today’s gospel from Matthew 2:1-12. The magi went to Jerusalem - and obviously went to the king - who was Herod - and asked, “Where’s the new born king?” And Herod assembles the chief priests and the scribes and asks them the same question: “Where is the Christ to be born?” So we have two Jewish scripture passages that back up that a Messiah is to come and he is to be born in Bethlehem. Matthew will continue to do that throughout his gospel. In today’s second reading from Ephesians, the key word is “revelation”. The mystery has been revealed - and now has been also been revealed to the Gentiles as coheirs - copartners. Epiphany - Revelation - Light - Theophany - The Showing - What is Made Clear - What is Divulged - Where the Spotlight Lands - is Christ. “Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!” as we sing. That’s why we have the light on the baby in the crib - as well as - and I assume - the star on the top of the Christmas tree. If it’s an angel on top of your Christmas tree - that brings us, I also assume - to the other great Christmas moment - the night when the Shepherds heard the angel singing and pointing them to the Crib in Bethlehem. Whether we’re king or shepherd - wise or uneducated - Christ the baby beckons us forward - to be met - to be discovered. Come as you are! Come with hands empty. Come with hands full. Don’t we get that little “Uh oh! Oh no!” twinge - when we get out of the car and we’re heading into a house for a party - and every one has a crock pot or a plate or a plastic something with them - and we have nothing. If that happens to you appear at the house as a shepherd and not a king! Down through the centuries some Catholic cultures stress Christmas as the big feast - the giving of gifts on Christmas - and other cultures the feast of Epiphany is the big feast - Christ coming to the Gentiles - symbolized by the kings. Check out our crib - the shepherds and Wise men stand or kneel side by side adoring Christ the new born babe in Bethlehem. The kings have the things. The shepherds bring themselves. The baby doesn’t care - as long as we’re there. THE BOY AT THE WINDOW One of my favorite stories is one that happened to me a long time ago, I was visiting this couple I had married a few years earlier. In their apartment, I was sitting on the couch talking across the room to both of them. Their little son was making a racket - climbing up onto the metal radiator that rimmed the room. I noticed that he liked one particular spot where there was a window. It was facing the west - facing the setting sun. With both hands on the window sill and both feet on the radiator - he would let go of one hand and start grasping for something in the air - something coming into the room. I was wondering if it was the breeze. He’s slip off and then get back on the metal radiator. With shoes on he was making lots of noise. It must have been was obvious that I was trying to figure out what he was doing. I must have had a puzzled face - squeezed into a question mark. His mother said, “You’re wondering what Little Sal is doing - aren’t you?” I said, “Yeah!” His mom, Ann said, “He does that all the time. He’s trying to grab the light.” That happened in the early 1970’s and I have never forgotten that moment. He became a school teacher. I wonder if he’s still trying to grab the light. That kid is each of us. We spend our lives searching - grasping for the light. We spend our lives hopefully having Epiphany moments. CONCLUSION And obviously - theepiphany moment - the revelation - is the moment we experience meeting Christ the Light of the World. Amen. And obviously, as we grasp the gospel more and more - as it becomes us more and more - we realize we are called to then to be the Light of the World to others - so that they too discover Christ - in us - and on and on an on.
HOW TO BE OLD
A Poem for Today - January 5, 2014
HOW TO BE OLD
It is easy to be young. (Everybody is, at first.) It is not easy to be old. It takes time. Youth is given; age is achieved. One must work a magic to mix with time in order to become old. Youth is given. One must put it away like a doll in a closet, take it out and play with it only on holidays. One must have many dresses and dress the doll impeccably (but not to show the doll, to keep it hidden.) It is necessary to adore the doll, to remember it in the dark on the ordinary days, and every day congratulate one’s ageing face In the mirror. In time one will be very old. In time, one’s life will be accomplished. And in time, in time, the doll -- like new, though ancient -- will be found.
