We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.
Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be canceled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.
Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation —“ very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.
The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his his triumph. We recognize it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s glory, listen to his words: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be. And once more: —Father, glorify your name.— Then a voice came from heaven: —I have glorified it and will glorify it again.— Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph. — The cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.
First reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: 1 John 4:17-21
Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, —And who is my neighbor?—
And there lies a problem we all face. We having nagging doubts about love, especially in our interaction with others. At first it might seem like the lawyer was being haughty, but I think he really wanted to know. He wanted Jesus to verify whether he was right or wrong. Like the young lawyer we want to know the things that we must do. How do we love properly? Is our love living up to God’s love?
Brothers and sisters,
The young lawyer, might have been like many of today’s young lawyers, working all kinds of cases, and usually the worst kinds of cases. He may have seen too much. He probably saw too much strife, too many problems, the depths of human conflict, and people’s inability to even remotely approach righteousness. While he was probably thought of as being a very good young man, fulfilling the precepts of the Law as understood and taught in his day, his experiences likely increased his nagging doubts – the same sorts of doubts that we have.
Then comes Jesus. Talk about upsetting the apple cart. Jesus was speaking in ways that defied the teachers of the time. He told people that it takes more than the Law to find one’s way to God and to His heavenly kingdom. So the lawyer wants to find out if his nagging doubts, the questions stirring in his conscience, the question Jesus has pushed out into the open, can be answered. He wants to get the reassurance he longs for. Am I loving as God would have me love?
My friends,
Our young lawyer likely studied scripture, and knowing what he knew, he had to wonder why, with such a loving God, he saw far more of those Jesus described at the beginning of the parable of the Good Samaritan:
—A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Why didn’t he see the people described in today’s passage from Jeremiah:
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Where were the people with God’s love written into their hearts? Where were the people who love as God would have them love? Why was he only seeing the characters Jesus described. He was seeing the worst of the worst; the brigands, the uncaring rubberneckers, those that were unwilling to stop and love, stop and care.
So our young lawyer might have left Jesus still wondering. We still wonder. How do we love properly? Is our love living up to God’s love?
Brothers and sisters,
The answer Jesus gives us is that our love must be like God’s love — unconditional.
St. John speaks of that when he says:
We love because he first loved us. Those who say, —I love God,— and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Our neighbors, all we know or may come to know, even the brigands and rubberneckers are not constrained by geography, culture, race, religion, or looks. They exist. They live and by that very life they are our neighbor, people worthy of our Christian love. There is nothing that makes another person a former neighbor. We mustn’t allow anything to separate us from our neighbor, to stop us from loving them.
The aspect of being Neighbor is unconditional, and there is the key to salvation, to justification. Being neighbor and seeing neighbor in others is built right into us. It is part of God’s way — much different from the world’s way. We are called to choose love according to God’s way. God’s love, His salvation, His work, His shedding of blood is unconditional. God’s love is limitless and we as His children are to receive and give unconditional love.
That is the kind of lawyers, doctors, co-workers, family members, community members, citizens, priests, deacons, and bishops we are to be — the unconditional kind. Like the Good Samaritan we are stop, to act, to look past the cost of time and treasure, to look past fear and apartness, and to be limitless and unconditional in our loving. St. John tells us that perfect love, God’s love, casts out all fear.
Our trust must be focused on this alone; to live out God’s love through the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His way of love is unconditional. The seed of that love is within us and we are to nurture that seed, right here in the safe confines of the Holy Church, and throughout the world.
In abiding in God’s love, in bearing God’s love, our ability to be limitless, to be unconditional, will increase. We will no longer be apart. We will be joined, one-to-another, in a bond of love. When the love of God joins us we will truly be members of the kingdom. May Your kingdom come Lord Jesus! Amen.
From The Vindicator: Polish Day features 2 famed polka bands
NEW CASTLE, Pa. —” The 18th Lawrence County Polish Day will be Sept. 21 at Cascade Park Pavilion, featuring polka bands Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push and Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones.
Gomulka has earned 12 Grammy nominations, while Blazonczyk has a Grammy and 17 nominations.
The doors and kitchen open at noon with Polish food prepared by Holy Trinity Polish National Catholic Church. Admission is $12 (children 16 and under free). The dancing starts at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Rose Marie at (724) 658-5916, Gary (724) 752-9988 or Christine at (724) 658-7990.
Let us therefore, with all haste, put an end to this [state of things]; and let us fall down before the Lord, and beseech Him with tears, that He would mercifully be reconciled to us, and restore us to our former seemly and holy practice of brotherly love. For [such conduct] is the gate of righteousness, which is set open for the attainment of life, as it is written, “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go in by them, and will praise the Lord: this is the gate of the Lord: the righteous shall enter in by it.” Although, therefore, many gates have been set open, yet this gate of righteousness is that gate in Christ by which blessed are all they that have entered in and have directed their way in holiness and righteousness, doing all things without disorder. Let a man be faithful: let him be powerful in the utterance of knowledge; let him be wise in judging of words; let him be pure in all his deeds; yet the more he seems to be superior to others [in these respects], the more humble-minded ought he to be, and to seek the common good of all, and not merely his own advantage. — Chapter 48. Let Us Return to the Practice of Brotherly Love.
Let him who has love in Christ keep the commandments of Christ. Who can describe the [blessed] bond of the love of God? What man is able to tell the excellence of its beauty, as it ought to be told? The height to which love exalts is unspeakable. Love unites us to God. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love bears all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing base, nothing arrogant in love. Love admits of no schisms: love gives rise to no seditions: love does all things in harmony. By love have all the elect of God been made perfect; without love nothing is well-pleasing to God. In love has the Lord taken us to Himself. On account of the love He bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God; His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls. — Chapter 49. The Praise of Love.
The Holy Spirit made choice of this magnificent and noble introduction to the Psalter, in order to stir up weak man to a pure zeal for piety by the hope of happiness, to teach him the mystery of the Incarnate God, to promise him participation in heavenly glory, to declare the penalty of the Judgment, to proclaim the two-fold resurrection, to show forth the counsel of God as seen in His award. It is indeed after a faultless and mature design that He has laid the foundation of this great prophecy; His will being that the hope connected with the happy man might allure weak humanity to zeal for the Faith; that the analogy of the happiness of the tree might be the pledge of a happy hope, that the declaration of His wrath against the ungodly might set the bounds of fear to the excesses of ungodliness, that difference in rank in the assemblies of the saints might mark difference in merit, that the standard appointed for judging the ways of the righteous might show forth the majesty of God. — On Psalm 1.
Holy Name of Jesus Parish is holding a car wash this Saturday, September 13th in the parking lot of the Schenectady Bingo Palace, 1866 State St., Schenectady, NY 12304 from 9am to 3pm.
If anyone is is the area I encourage you to attend. My family and I are taking the 1-3pm shift.
— Deacon! you missed a spot…
The festival features Holy Mass at 11am at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, 529 E. Locust St., Scranton, PA. More details below as excerpted from the following article in the Scranton Times Tribune:
Polish staple pierogies one of features at upcoming Polka Fest 2008
Around these parts, folks take their pierogies as seriously as their polka.
So, you can bet that at this weekend’s Pennsylvania Polka Fest 2008, they won’t be serving the stuff from the supermarket freezer section, no offense to Mrs. T.
The highly versatile Polish staple will be among the edible highlights at Polka Fest, the WVIA-sponsored celebration of the music, food and culture of Eastern Europe. It’ll be held all day Saturday and Sunday at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel.
Among other things, Polka Fest will feature: performances by acts like The East-Side Groove and Ed Goldberg and the Odessa Klezmer Band; strolling accordion players; dance lessons given by Matt and Elaine Bonowitz, the No. 1 ranked Polka dancers in the country; a Polish Ethnic Mass in St. Stanislaus Polish National Catholic Cathedral, 529 E. Locust St., featuring Stanky and the Coalminers; and a live broadcast and show tapings of WVIA’s popular program, —Pennsylvania Polka.—
And then there’s the food. Area churches and nonprofit groups will be on hand selling a variety of Eastern European delicacies, including halushki, kielbasa, potato pancakes and, of course, pierogies. Saturday’s festivities will include a Best Pierogi Maker in Northeast Pennsylvania contest, for which WVIA is still searching for contestants. Those interested should call Wendy Wilson, WVIA vice president for corporate communications, at 602-1181…
Note that the article includes a pierogi recipe. Smacznego, Bon Appétit…
Found quite a number of beautiful pictures from Poland. The pictures cover everything from villages to castles to cities to roadside shrines.
Click on this picture from Jastrzębia, a village in the Mazovian Region, to review the rest of the photos. Hint, click on następne above the photos to move to the next picture or use the photo scroll below the photo.
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. — A Prayer for Our Country, BCP, 1925.