Monday, June 2, 2014

COME HOLY  SPIRIT! 
LIFE  TAKES TIME,  
HAVING  THE  TIME 
OF OUR  LIFE 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Come Holy Spirit! Life Takes Time, Having the Time of Our Life.”

Traditionally, these 9 days before Pentecost, which we celebrate next Sunday, we had the Novena – 9 days of prayers for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Novenas have somewhat fallen out – and with Ascension Thursday being moved to Sunday – yesterday – in this diocese – the stress is lessened even a little bit more.

Yet this week is a good week – as well as next Sunday and next week – to focus on the Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit!

TODAY’S FIRST READING

In today’s first reading – Acts 19:1-8 – we have this moment in Ephesus – when Paul discovered some disciples. Surprise! So he asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”  And they answered, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Paul then asks, “Well, how were you baptized?”

And they answer, “With the baptism of John.”

It tells me: faith takes time.

It’s a telling scene. It’s telling us that Paul has his work cut out for him – to proclaim not only the Holy Spirit – but also Jesus Christ as Lord – as well as God as Our Father.

It’s telling  us that Christianity comes to folks in bits and pieces.

The Acts of the Apostles is a remarkable document. It gives us glimpses of the Early Church and  the growth and development of these early Christians.

It connects me to all the times I’ve sat with someone who wants to explore the Catholic – Christian Faith – a bit more.

My favorite moment was with a couple in my first assignment on the Lower East Side of New York. It was in the late 1960’s  not too long after I was out of the major seminary.  I was going through the Bible with them and the guy says, “But when do the Vikings come in?”

It connects me with a talk which a Redemptorist Missionary from Thailand gave us. He said his parish was a river. He would go up and down a river – sleeping in a boat – his rectory - all night. He would arriving in a village in the morning. The whole day would be spent catechizing –  baptizing, marrying, hearing confessions, saying Mass – and then getting in the boat – and during the night motoring to the next village . They would get there the next morning – and go through the same thing day after day.  Each place was hit a few times every year. Year by year they learned – and grew as Christians – sort of like these communities we hear about in the Acts of the Apostles.

CONCLUSION

So too us. We’re all in different places as Christians and Catholics on the river of life.


In the meanwhile – “Come Holy Spirit” is a good daily prayer.


IT IS WRITTEN

Poem for Today - June 2, 2014


THE CROW’S LETTER

I opened and read
The small read envelope
The mountain crow had brought:
‘On the night of the moon
The hills will blaze
Savage and red.’

I was going to reply,
When my eyes opened.
Ah yes, there it was:
A single red leaf.


© Saijo Yaso

Sunday, June 1, 2014

I  AM  MORE  THAN … 


INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “I Am More Than…”

The feast of the Ascension – celebrated in this diocese this Sabbath – leads me to reflect upon the theme of “more than”.

I am more than .......... Fill in the blank.

SOMETIMES

Sometimes we get the thought and the feeling –  I am more than I am right now.  We hear ourselves saying, “I am better than this.”

We might say it after yelling at one of our kids – or when we’ve wasted a few hours doing nothing – like late at night – like watching a dumb movie – or playing solitaire game after solitaire game on the computer – or what have you – and it’s late – and we go, “Oh no, not again!” Wasting time, time, time…. And I told myself I’m going to exercise more or get more sleep or do better than this….”

We might say it when we’re at a dead end job – or we have a decent job – but we’re not really working hard – we’re just putting in time – or texting – texting – texting…..

We might be thinking and feeling this feeling of “I’m more than….” when we realize I am more than my job – or my salary – or my house, car, boat, motorcycle – or my sense of humor or math skills or my stories – or my resume of successes – that I like to salt and pepper my conversations with at times – cutting others off in the middle of their stories – not being aware of family or friends or the others in my life.

My successes – my good stuff -  can be nice, great, wonderful – but sometimes we sense there is something more – more – more - and we’re feeling empty or have that itch or ache for a different more – God, spirituality, generosity, giving, listening, letting others shine - making life sweeter for those around me – and I’m in a fog or a funk. “I know,” we say.

ASCENSION

Ascension means more than. Ascension means stepping up – as “He ascended up the staircase.” Or “The mountain had a steep ascent – but they made it to the top.”

Today’s first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles – and we hear in the opening words of the book, to whom it’s addressed: Theophilus. That means  a lover of God. Philus – lover - and - Theos – God.

We know that: that we want to be a lover of God. Please God.

We know God is the more – that’s why we’re here in church.

That’s why we want nourishment when we come to church – words – a message that satisfies us from the scriptures or from a homily or from our prayers – or all 3 and more.

But there’s always that ache for more.

I’m aware of it in the homilies I write. Sometimes something I say or come up with hits me – okay, that makes sense, thank You God – but most of the time I’m on the edge of something – I’m on the far edge, the far side of God – and I know it and you know it – and that’s humbling.

But I laugh. I know I’m not God – and I say, “God you do it – feed these folks with your more – because I can’t. I’ll try – but you’re the More. Be it please for them and me too.

You know this, we all know this, our prayers are never – just right – our mind wanders – our laziness sneaks in – our feelings of less, very less – less than even being decent human beings at times go “hmm!” “hmm!”

I don’t know about you, but this is proof enough for me that there is life after death. I don’t know about you, but I need time and eternity to grasp and get God – because I’ve only got glimpses of God so far.

Today’s second reading – from Ephesians – says just that – and far better than I just put it: “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.”

Ephesians goes on, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.”

Words – words – words – but what do they mean.

But good thing that words are presented – that they are spoken at us – because sometimes somehow a word or two grabs us. Nudges us.  Touches us on the edge of what we want more of….

We want wisdom, more of it.

We want knowledge of God, more of it.

We want the eyes of our heart enlightened – interesting image “eyes in our heart” – from today’s second reading - but we grasp what it means – to see the more in  our heart aches for God.

We want to hear his calls to us.

We know that we need to spend more time with God – to take walks alone in the evening or early morning – or to drop into an afternoon church when nobody is in here – or maybe some church just  5 minutes away from where we work.

GOD EXPERIENCES

Then there are moments when we experience God.

Take a moment and make a short list – like come up with 3 God experiences in our life

That more feels like more – from all those times we’ve experienced God in our lives.

It might have been at a ball game seeing all those people – and the game is a blowout – but God hits us – in a gigantic crowd – with a home run of a moment – God touches down on us – touches the edge of our t-shirt of sports jacket and we’re all alone with 32,000 people or 80,000.

It might have been while taking a good shower, seeing a super sunset – having a little baby’s touching our nose – and looking us in the eye – and laughing – or that time we received Holy Communion 18 years ago – and in an instance – we knew Jesus Christ in his fullness for a minute or two – and “Phew!” we knew.

YES OR NO OR KNOW

The title of my homily is, “I Am More Than….”

Jesus is more than we realize. We know that – or we can “No” that.

Spelled: K N O W  or  N O.

God is more than we realize. We know that.

Spelled: K N O W  or  N O.

I am more than I realize. I know that.

Spelled: K N O W  or  NO.

Life is more than we realize. We know that.

Spelled: K N O W  or  N O?

Scratch life and we’ll know – K N O W – we have an itch for the more of life….

Ascension means to keep ascending to that more – and avoiding descending to the pits.

Christianity says we don’t have to do life alone.

Be church, be family, be connected.

And Christ says in today’s gospel, “I am with you always.”

And Christ says more – as we heard  him  saying in today’s gospel –  we have been called to go into this whole world and help others discover Christ – God – the More we are all looking for.

Did you ever meet someone who gives you a sense – a taste – a desire – for the More called God?

Pray to be that someone.

I love Chesterton’s comment about us: “We are the million masks of God.”

In other words, that underneath us – that because of us – someone would sense and discover God.

CONCLUSION

What would it be like to pray every morning:
“O would that, O God,
O would that O God,
that I be a mask of You

for someone today.”
AGENDA  FOR  TODAY


Poem for Today - June 1, 2014



OUT  OF  CANA

Eat bread.  Drink wine. Try to sing the song
of Christ.  Live life.  If you can dance, dance.
Everywhere grace awaits. Desire to love to love.


© Maura Eichner
from Out of Cana

Saturday, May 31, 2014

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Poem for Today - May 31, 2014

THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER

As long as you’re dancing, you can
break the rules.
Sometimes breaking the rules is just
extending the rules.

Sometimes there are no rules.


© Mary Oliver

Page 19, in A Thousand Mornings
he Penguin Press, New York, 2012

Friday, May 30, 2014

GIFT  AFTER  GIFT

Poem for Today - May 30, 2014


MIDNIGHT  GLADNESS 

“Peace be upon each thing my eye takes in,
Upon each thing my mouth takes in.”

The pleated lampshade, slightly askew,
dust a silverish muting of the lamp’s fake brass.
My sock-monkey on the pillow, tail and limbs asprawl,
weary after a daya of watching sunlight
prowl the house like a wolf.
Gleams of water in my bedside glass.
Miraculous water, so peacefully
waiting to be consumed.

The day’s crowding arrived
at this abundant stillness. Each thing
given to the eye before sleep, and water
at my lips before darkness. Gift after gift.


© Denise Levertov
APPROACHING GOD 
IN  PRAYER

Poem for Today - May 29, 201449




49

I never lost as much but twice,
And that was in the sod.
twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God!

Angels – twice descending
Reimbursed by store –
Burglar! Banker – Father!
I am poor once more!

© Emily Dickinson