JUDGING

Quote for Today - May 25, 2013

"The guilty person is always the first to judge."

Anonymous

Questions:

Agree or disagree?

Is this why Jesus did not judge?

Is this why people throw rocks?

NAVY

Quote for Today - May 24, 2013

"No matter what the atomic age brings, America will always need sailors and ships and shipborne aircraft to preserve her liberty, her communications with the free world, even her existence. If the deadly missiles with their apocalyptic warheads are ever launched at America, the Navy will still be out on blue water fighting for her, and the nation or alliance that survives will be the one who retains command of the oceans."

Samuel Eliot Morison, The Two-Ocean War, 1963

Picture taken today at the end of the graduation of the the Class of 2013 from the Naval Academy here in Annapolis, Maryland. Congratulation to the Class, their teachers, the people who serve the academy - as well as to my grandnephew, Sean Lavelle.

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Light and Darkness.”

Basic stuff: light and darkness.

That’s the theme that hit me - when I read the readings, you  the class of 2013,  picked for this your Graduation Mass - especially the gospel text you chose for this Mass: Matthew 5: 14-16

                     “You are the light of the world.

            A city built on a hill 

            cannot be hidden.

            No one lights a lamp and then puts

            it under a measuring cup.

            They set it on the lamp stand

            where it gives light 

            to everyone in the house.
            In the same way 

            your light must shine before all,

            so that, seeing 

            the good things you do,

            they will give praise 

            to our heavenly Father.”

“Light and Darkness?”

We’ve all seen t-shirts and maybe even a tattoo or two with ying and yang on it. In the middle of the white light sliver side  of the ying yang circle, there is a belly button circle of darkness and in the stark dark sliver of the other side of the ying yang circle there is a white button of brightness in the middle of the darkness.

There’s a message there in that ying yang circle.

There’s a message there in all the circles and wheels of our life - in the joy rides - as well as when life is a flat tire.

Life: there is always something else. There’s always the twist and the turn - as the circle spins. When things look bright, the dark button sounds its warning signals - if we listen. When things look dark, look for the light - of hope.  There’s always the light of dawn after the dark of night - and the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

To see the light, we need the dark - we need contrast - otherwise we'd be blinded by too much light. But to see the dark, we don’t need the light. You see: there is always a twist. There’s always a surprise. There’s always a sunrise. There’s always a sunset. Expect them. There’s always the  expected as well as the unexpected difference.  Expect them.

Light and darkness. Expect them.

Grace and sin. Expect them.

Opportunity and temptation. Expect them.

Mistakes - as I’ve heard Mr. Matt Hogan tell you and your parents several times. Expect mistakes. Be honest about them. Learn from them. Get moving again from them.

And that goes for life - not just your life here at St. Mary’s.

THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY AND 27,000 FEET IN THE SKY

When driving at night, there is a curve on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey - somewhere above Exit 105 - when you come up a slight hill and around an easy curve -  and you start to see the light - lots of light.  There is a town sitting there. There’s people sleeping there - with some lights still on.

When walking at night through Palestine, Jesus came around a bend - or a curve - and there in the distance - he saw lights - the lots of lights of a  town or a city.

And Jesus said to his disciples that night or after sunrise the next day the words we heard in today’s gospel,  “You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden.”

When flying at night in a plane some 27,000 feet or so above the earth - if you have a window seat - you can look out and down into the darkness and spot a sort of circle of city with its lights because of the darkness.

THE NEXT 50 TO 60 YEARS

When looking to your future, graduates,  the road ahead has ups and downs,  curves and twists and turns and you can only see so far ahead. I’m hearing you have your colleges picked out: Anne Arundel Community College, Gettysburg, Wheeling, Pepperdine, South Carolina, High Point, Fordham, Steubenville, Penn State, Boston College, Etc. Etc. Etc.

Those are lights in the darkness called the future - that you already see. You’ve visited those universities and you liked what you saw. Those are slivers of the known, but who knows - who really knows -  what’s around that next curve, and the curve after that curve, over that next hill and over that next hill after that. Expect surprises. Expect the unknown. Expect the opposite in the circle of what you’re expecting. Expect the ying in the yang and yang in the ying.  

Life is the unexpected. Otherwise: boring, boring, boring.

50 to 60 years from now you’ll be sitting on a porch on a summer night - and you’ll spot the lights of tiny planes high, high up there in the night sky and like the passenger 27,000 feet in the sky - in the window seat - you’ll see the bright lights of your life - from a distance - in the dark.

You’ll also see the times the lights went out - and all went wrong - and you were plunged into the mystery of life - into the ying and the yang of life - and by then you should have the hang of life - well at least a tiny bit more figured out  than what you have figured out by today - May 23, 2013 -  as you graduate from this school -  because you were in circles of lights and darkness - from time to time.

Life. Light and darkness.

Jesus saw on the road - that his road would graduate. It would gradually head towards Jerusalem - a city on a hill - and he would confront darkness and evil - even more - big time -  and he would lose - that day - some Bad Friday in the distance. The darkness would crush him on the cross on Calvary - but he trusted that the darkness would not win in the long run - that those who got that message - the message that’s what we all are called to do in life - to confront darkness and be the light - and turn Bad Fridays - Bad Days - to Good Fridays - to Good Days - because we are here.

Jesus knew darkness. Jesus knew light. Jesus knew people. Jesus knew life.

Jesus spoke about being the Light of the World. Jesus called his disciples to be the Light of the world.

That’s the plan of St. Mary’s - that you would go forth from here and bring light to our world - to bring the  lights that you have - that will overcome the darkness.

The plan is that you will leave St. Mary’s and bring you - a better you - to other schools - to other cities and countries - that you will improve media, meetings, marriages, messes - our world - that needs your light.

The plan is that you will not self destruct - that you won’t have to rip up or throw away your wedding photos - or delete the scenes of your life from your cell phones that show wrong moves and wrong relationships - but you live in the light and bring Christ’s light into our world.

That’s the plan - that Jeremiah - spoke about in the first reading we heard today read by Brad Beard. [Cf. Jeremiah 29: 11-14]

When young we think that plan by God is carved in cement or in a Bible or some book somewhere - out there - and it's up to us to find it.

When middle aged - we laugh - because we will have discovered that life is not a plan of what we’re supposed to do with our life - and who we’re going to marry - what’s going to happen in those marriages - and that God is the author of our autobiography. Hopefully, we will see the light. We will know we are the author of our life. Hopefully, we’ll also know the Lord is with us. Hopefully we will have learned and experienced what Saint Paul said in his letter to the Philippians [Cf. 4:13-19] which Meghan Norwood read for us today:

“I have the strength for everything

through him who empowers me.” 

That’s the plan.

CONCLUSION

Graduates - and here comes the graduation day stuff.

Some days will be bright. Some days will be dark. Some days will be sunny. Some days will be funny. Some days will be sad.  Some days will be rain or storm - but we hope not all day - not till the graduation or the picnic or the game or one’s life is over.

Some days we will need to be challenged. 

Some days we will have to speak up - challenge our family - our church - our world - ourselves. That means sometimes we’ll have to be the whistle blower. Some days we’ll have to shine our light into the darkness of a job situation when selfishness and evil is running the show.

Some days we’ll step back. We’ll walk alone on some early morning beach - at Ocean City or Hawaii  - and we’ll realize that the morning sunlight - is always there. We just have to be there to see it rising. We will have learned how life is learning how to start again over and over again. And on that beach, hopefully we’ll  meet Jesus and have the humility to admit that too often we were fishing in the wrong places and we’ll hear him tell us where to cast our nets in the right places and our nets will be filled to breaking point.

God’s plan is that we experience abundance - not of stuff - but of love and joy and giving. God’s plan  is that God is with us as we love and serve - as we give without counting the cost - that we give our life for our family and for a better world - that our life is a life of light and we take away some of the darkness each day.

             Light and darkness,

             Ying and Yang,

             Yackety Yack,
             Give it all back.
             That’s the plan.

GRADUATION

Quote for Today - May 23, 2013

"Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars."

Richard Halliburton

AVOIDANCE

Quote for Today - May 22, 2013

"You often meet your fate on the road you take to avoid it."

Goldie Hawn

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 7^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Commencement Addresses.”

I like this time of every year - because the New York Times and various newspapers - yes newspapers - they are still around - they feature best excerpts from commencement addresses from around the country. C-Span - if I can catch them - also offers various commencement addresses from around the country as well.  I try to catch them as well. And you don’t have to be out in the sun - on a hard chair to listen to them. And I listen with ballpoint pen and paper in hand.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings triggered this topic. A commencement speaker could use both of today’s readings for advice giving to graduates.

Today’s first reading from the wisdom book called, “Sirach” begins with this statement:

My son,

when you come to serve the LORD,
stand in justice and fear,
prepare yourself for trials.

I would assume that most graduates from college expect that after college they will get a job - and get going. They might not use the word “to serve” - unless they are graduates of our service academies - but many students hope to get into the service industry - which is a major base or jobs in our nation.

Then Sirach goes on to tell his audience to expect tough times - trials - and he then gives various one liners - clips of thought - about attitude: “Be sincere of heart and steadfast…. Wait on God, with patience …. Accept what befalls you….  When sorrowful be steadfast….” and on and on and on.

Today’s gospel from Mark has Jesus also telling his disciples that there are tough times ahead - that he Jesus is actually headed for Jerusalem where he will be killed.

Imagine a commencement address speaker telling his audience that. Imagine a commencement address speaker saying that many people go forward in life with the goal in mind to become the greatest - but Jesus tells his followers - it’s service - it’s being the least important person in the room - it’s being as simple as a child. It’s gradual - meaning step by step - but that’s the goal.

THIS WEEK

This week here in Annapolis there are two graduations that I know of: St. Mary’s High School on Thursday and the Naval Academy on Friday. I’m going to go to both of them with my grandnephew Brian graduating from the Naval Academy. The commencement address speaker at St. Mary’s H.S. graduation is going to be Camille Brown - Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore;  President Barack Obama will be speaking at the Navy Stadium.  I’ll be listening with ballpoint pen and paper in hand.

Last week Professor James Schmaus from Columbia University in New York City spoke at  the graduation at St. John’s College here in Annapolis. I didn’t hear or read it. The title was, “Commencement Speeches and Community Acts.”  Perhaps he spoke about the impact on lives between words and actions. Perhaps he spoke of the rejections and protests in the past few years about commencement speakers - based on their pronouncements - their actions - whether they are liberal or conservative - or what have you.

I gave 3 commencement addresses in my life - one for a grammar school, one for a high school, and one for a small college.

Commencement address speakers often use the message in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address - people will not remember what was said here - but all will remember what happened here.

Well Lincoln’s address was remembered.

Commencement speakers - like preachers -  know their speeches or sermons will not be remembered. However, I assume they also know that they serve the purpose of being part of the pomp and circumstance. I assume they know they are like the table holding up the food. I hope they know that the key thing is not get in the way, but remind the graduates to thank their parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, janitors, maintenance people - and all those people sitting there who are grateful that they  have made it. I assume that all know that his is not a eulogy - but a commencement - not an ending but a beginning.  Hopefully it sounds like that - that the talk is not deadening - but a beginning - that these kids are ready to get out there and get a job and get moving.

I assume that’s what Sirach and Jesus were getting at in their comments - which we heard in today’s readings. Amen.

SMILE

Quote for Today - May 21,  2013

"If you lived well, your smile lines are in the right place."

Jennifer Garner

Question: Which are more important, smile lines or tan lines? Smile.