GIVE US THIS DAY
OUR DAILY BREAD
OUR DAILY BREAD
April 24, 2012
Quote for Today
"The history of the world from the beginning has been the history of the struggle for daily bread."
Jesue de Castro
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
WHO WOULD YOU
RATHER BE?
[Self Test # 7]
[This was a homily or a self test or a reflective questionnaire for our St. Mary's High School Mass today. I noticed in the Lectionary for April 23, one of the options was the gospel for the feast of St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr. It was John 10:11-16 - "A Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."]
Who would you rather be: a Good Shepherd or a scared Hired Hand who runs away when he hears the sounds of wild wolves - or wild dogs in the night?
Who would you rather be: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Blake Griffin, Jeremy Lin, or Nelson Mandela?
Who would you rather be: Madonna or Lady Ga Ga or Pat Summit or Brittany Griner or would you rather be Aung San Suu Kyi who was under house arrest for almost 15 years - received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 - and finally was released on November 13, 2010. Her party recently won 43 out of the 45 vacant seats in the lower house of parliament in Myanmar (Burma)?
Who would you rather be: J. K. Rowling or Suzanne Collins or Jennifer Lawrence?
Who would you rather be: George Zimmerman or Treyvon Martin?
Who would you rather be: the bug or the windshield, the Louisville Slugger, the bat, or the ball as the old song, “The Bug” - sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter - goes?
Who would you rather be: the kid graduating from kindergarten this spring or the kid graduating from high school this spring?
Who would you rather be: the cheerleader or the manager of the sports team?
Who would you rather be like: your mom or your dad?
Who would you rather be: the lobster or the clam?
Who would you rather be: the tortoise or the hare?
Who would you rather be: the sheep or the goat?
Who would you rather be" the welcome mat at your front door or the comfort blankie the 3 year older can’t let go of - even though it’s covered with rips and spills and stains of washed out poops or “Ooops!” or who knows what?
Who would you rather be: the famous artist who did the painting on the wall - hanging in the National Art Gallery or the guard in the dark blue uniform who stands there watching 1000 people every day and 10,000 on weekends - go by that painting - telling people what time it is and where the bathrooms are - every time with a smile and a “How do you do”?
Who would you rather be: the kid who goes to the community college, even though her parents wanted her to go to State - but by going to Community, she ended up meeting her husband to be and finally finished her college 21 years later - after their 4th kid got into high school and they love going to Davis’ pub once a month, the beach every summer or would you rather be the kid who went to an Ivy league school - and his or her parents wonder where he or she is now - after dropping out of 3 alcoholic rehab places so far?
Who would you rather be: the Prodigal Son in the story who came home after messing up his life and asked his father’s forgiveness or the older brother who never messed up - but wouldn’t forgive his younger brother when he came home after messing up his life?
Who would you rather be: a plumber who doesn’t mind - well doesn’t mind most of the time - when he’s called up at two o’clock in the morning to come and fix a broken pipe in a bathroom or a philosopher like Benjamin Williams whom a high school senior named Harrison Smith loves to read?
Who would you rather be: a skateboard or a ten speed bike?
Who would you rather be: an Easter Lily that lasts two weeks - and sits there in church singing Alleluia like a horn or would you rather be a desert cactus still surviving, still growing, mostly unnoticed, but celebrates whenever it gets a bit of water, even though it stings or cuts someone every once and a while?
Who would you rather be: a shotgun or a policeman’s bullet proof vest?
Who would you rather be: a priest or a nun celebrating 25 years of service or a married couple celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary?
Who would you rather be: an 87 foot yacht that sleeps 32 people or a tiny sail boat that seats 2, but can be pulled to a dock on a small car trailer?
Who would you rather be in the case found on page 76 in M.S. Peck’s book, The Road Less Traveled: “Imagine two generals, each having to decide whether or not to commit a division of ten thousand men to battle. To one the division is but a thing, a unit of personnel, and instrument of strategy and nothing more. To the other it is these things, but he is also aware of each and every one of the ten thousand lives and the lives of the families of each of the ten thousand.”
Who would you rather be: a 17 year old girl in Minnesota who got pregnant - put her baby up for adoption and went on to become a doctor and her baby she finds out 27 years later also became a doctor, surprise, surprise or would you rather be a 17 year old girl in Wilmington who got pregnant and had her baby aborted and she too became a doctor?
Who would you rather be the kid over there in that other bench here in this church or would you rather be the person in your skin, in your clothes, in your seat, with your story so far?
Sunday, April 22, 2012
HOW JESUS
WAS MADE KNOWN
IN THE
BREAKING
OF BREAD
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “How Jesus Was Made Known In The Breaking of Bread.”
The title of my homily is, “How Jesus Was Made Known In The Breaking of Bread.”
On this Third Sunday of Easter I think the gospel reading
wants to get at the theme of recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread -
okay fish is sometimes part of the story.
Listen again to the opening sentence in today’s gospel: “The
two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made
known to them in the breaking of bread.”
I think one goal for today’s readings is get us to say, “I
know him” as today’s second reading puts it - and as today’s first reading puts
it - that Jesus is seen as the holy and the right one - that he is seen as the
author of life.
GOSPEL READINGS
On Easter Sunday, the Sunday readings for Years A, B and C
are all the same. The theme is that Jesus is not in the tomb. He is Risen.
On the Second Sunday of Easter - last Sunday - we have the Doubting Thomas story for Years A, B, and C.
This Sunday - the Third Sunday of Easter, in Years A and B, the gospel readings are different. Yet they are Part One [Year A] and Part Two [Year B] of the Emmaus Story where the disciples recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
The gospel for Year C, next year - on this Third Sunday of Easter, we’ll hear about the disciples fishing all night and catching nothing. Jesus is on the beach making breakfast for them. Like the disciples on the way to Emmaus they don’t recognize Jesus right away. When he yells to them - where to cast their nets, when they get a net full of fish, they know he’s the Risen Lord. They rush to the beach, eat some of the fish they caught, but in the midst of the words we hear about bread which Jesus gives them at that breakfast. That’s significant.
In this homily, I’d like to reflect on discovering Jesus, in the breaking of the bread.
On the Second Sunday of Easter - last Sunday - we have the Doubting Thomas story for Years A, B, and C.
This Sunday - the Third Sunday of Easter, in Years A and B, the gospel readings are different. Yet they are Part One [Year A] and Part Two [Year B] of the Emmaus Story where the disciples recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
The gospel for Year C, next year - on this Third Sunday of Easter, we’ll hear about the disciples fishing all night and catching nothing. Jesus is on the beach making breakfast for them. Like the disciples on the way to Emmaus they don’t recognize Jesus right away. When he yells to them - where to cast their nets, when they get a net full of fish, they know he’s the Risen Lord. They rush to the beach, eat some of the fish they caught, but in the midst of the words we hear about bread which Jesus gives them at that breakfast. That’s significant.
In this homily, I’d like to reflect on discovering Jesus, in the breaking of the bread.
DO WE
REMEMBER?
Do we remember our first communion? Some Catholic adults do - especially if they are converts and they come into the Church as adults.
I remember going through our family photo albums and seeing
the pictures of the 4 of us kids in our First Communion outfits.
I vaguely remember getting a dollar from my godmother - and auntNan .
For a 7 year old kid in 1947 in Brooklyn , one
dollar was a lot of money.
I loved those 2 cent chocolate candies - unwrapped - behind the glass counter - eye high for a 7 year old kid - in the shape of an ice cube or a tiny casket - raspberry inside - chocolate outside.
They were to be bought in a candy story on5th Avenue - between 60 and 61st Street .
One dollar would get you 50 of those - but I had to save money for other stuff like an egg cream.
The soda parlor was just a walk across the avenue from the candy store - climb with effort to get up on one of those dark red vinyl silver spinning stools - and then put my elbows a bit on the marble counter - and announce and pronounce, “An egg cream please.”
I vaguely remember getting a dollar from my godmother - and aunt
I loved those 2 cent chocolate candies - unwrapped - behind the glass counter - eye high for a 7 year old kid - in the shape of an ice cube or a tiny casket - raspberry inside - chocolate outside.
They were to be bought in a candy story on
One dollar would get you 50 of those - but I had to save money for other stuff like an egg cream.
The soda parlor was just a walk across the avenue from the candy store - climb with effort to get up on one of those dark red vinyl silver spinning stools - and then put my elbows a bit on the marble counter - and announce and pronounce, “An egg cream please.”
I remember those moments - vaguely - but being a 2 cent raspberry
chocolate and an egg cream addict - the many injects into my mouth with that
good stuff - that all runs together - and I might be mixing up older and more
conscious moments with earlier memories - like the guy or gal making the egg
cream and beating that egg cream together in its glass - with a noisy spoon hitting
against the inner sides of the glass.
Life is a big mix - a big stirring of lots of moments - hopefully lots of sweet tasting moments and memories.
Life is a big mix - a big stirring of lots of moments - hopefully lots of sweet tasting moments and memories.
Communion - receiving my first communion - I’m sure I looked
forward to it. One of the benefits of going on for many First Communions as a
priest - like going to weddings - or
confirmations or funerals - one has triggered inside one’s memory a whole album
full of various memories - all mushed and mixed and stirred together.
When I see a little kid 3, 4, 5, 6 years old come with a
parent at communion time and reach and want whatever his or her parents are
getting, I wonder: “Was that me? Did I too do that - that reaching for the
bread?”
Then the wondering: “What did I think when I received communion for the first time? Were my hands still folded in prayer? Did I have my eyes closed? Did I peek to see what others were doing? Did I have a clue about the Sacred - about Jesus? Did I know what I was doing?
When did I realize this is Jesus coming into our hearts and minds and soul and being and substance?
Then the wondering: “What did I think when I received communion for the first time? Were my hands still folded in prayer? Did I have my eyes closed? Did I peek to see what others were doing? Did I have a clue about the Sacred - about Jesus? Did I know what I was doing?
When did I realize this is Jesus coming into our hearts and minds and soul and being and substance?
Looking back I don’t know when it was the first time I knew
Jesus was in the bread. To make and to have that belief is quite a belief - and
all of us here this morning have that belief. Amazing. Who would believe what
we believe: Jesus, the Risen Lord - our God - is present in the Tiny Piece of Bread?
Last Sunday I preached that it’s normal to have doubts about
that and various other things. That’s normal.
The Sunday before that - Easter Sunday - I preached on Faith. Faith and doubt - like two hands at the bottom of our arms - hopefully they work together so we can pick things up.
The Sunday before that - Easter Sunday - I preached on Faith. Faith and doubt - like two hands at the bottom of our arms - hopefully they work together so we can pick things up.
However, any time you have any doubts about Jesus’ presence
in the bread, just grab 10 minutes and
read Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. Break that chapter apart like you would
break bread and then chew on the words - and digest faith in Jesus' presence that he is "the bread of God" "which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" [John 6;33].
One of the great, great learnings about scripture that
changed my thinking big time was this: the gospels are finalized well after the
year 60 - the earliest Gospel being Mark - perhaps the last one being John -
but maybe not. The gospels tell us more about what was happening in the Early Church
And since they talk about bread and not immediately recognizing
Jesus in the bread - that tells us that this was an Early Church growing and
developing moment. People in that Early
Church
It would take centuries - with fights and struggles - splits
and splintering in the Church - before folks came up with words like
transubstantiation for how Jesus is present in the bread - and consubstantial
that all 3 persons in the Trinity are God.
CONCLUSION
Faith takes time.
It takes us long after our First Communion to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the Bread - if we started receiving as a cradle Catholic.
Faith is a process.
We might have seen our parents bringing us to church. We saw them take the holy water and put some on us - with the sign of the cross. We saw them genuflecting to Christ in the tabernacle. At Communion time in the Mass we might have been carried up with them as they walked up to receive Holy Communion. We saw them put their tongue or hand out to reach out to receive this Bread. We sensed that something was different here.
It takes us long after our First Communion to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the Bread - if we started receiving as a cradle Catholic.
Faith is a process.
We might have seen our parents bringing us to church. We saw them take the holy water and put some on us - with the sign of the cross. We saw them genuflecting to Christ in the tabernacle. At Communion time in the Mass we might have been carried up with them as they walked up to receive Holy Communion. We saw them put their tongue or hand out to reach out to receive this Bread. We sensed that something was different here.
Then we made our First Communion and our 1000th Communion
and somewhere along the line we began to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the Bread -
some days more than others.
Because we’re taking the parish census this week, I want to end here - but first I want to tag that some other time, I want to go off on further
wonderings. For example, I wonder: when did Jesus came up with this idea of being bread? Did he want to be with us at every
supper and every breakfast - and every time we go out the door to catch fish
and we catch nothing or we get it all?
Did he watch people break bread and share it with others? Did he go further back and imagine the whole
process of bread becoming bread and on and on and on?
Enough already.
It’s good to watch the stir and the swirl of images in our memory - like the person behind the counter putting together an egg cream for us - to do all this before they put us in our tiny casket. Then hopefully we'll wake up the next moment or 3 days later or however this works to the real thing - to the eternal banquet - where we’ll be fed the finest bread - hopefully leavened - because there will be not more rush as in life. Amen.
Enough already.
It’s good to watch the stir and the swirl of images in our memory - like the person behind the counter putting together an egg cream for us - to do all this before they put us in our tiny casket. Then hopefully we'll wake up the next moment or 3 days later or however this works to the real thing - to the eternal banquet - where we’ll be fed the finest bread - hopefully leavened - because there will be not more rush as in life. Amen.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
JOIN THE DANCE
April 20, 2012
Quote for Today
"God is infinite fun."
Mary O'Hara
+++++++++++++
Questions: Would you describe God as "Infinite Fun"? When was the last time you laughed and it was a God experience? What is the funniest animal God came up with? Who is the funniest person you know? Would anyone describe you as "A funny person"? Who was Mary O'Hara and what was the context or circumstances of her making the comment above? Is there a scripture text that would underline that quote that "God is infinite fun"?
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