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Month: June 2021

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Reflection for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Strength of Faith

She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Over the months of Ordinary Time, a time dedicated to growth, we focus on how we live out the Christian faith, how we walk in Strength of Faith. Remember, we are focusing on our Strength of Faith.

Today we experience two examples of strength of faith, that of Jarius whose daughter was at the point of death, and the woman afflicted with hemorrhages over many years.

Notice in these two examples, Jesus was not the first one either of these people turned to. 

The Gospel recounts that the woman had suffered for years and suffered even further under the hands of many doctors, even spending all she had looking for a cure. Jarius’ daughter certainly grew sicker and sicker, and it wasn’t until she was a death’s door that her father pled with Jesus.

These examples are instructive for us at two levels. The first is that we tend to search for our own solutions. Money can solve it. Experts and consultants can get the job done. If only I do this or that. Then we reach the end of all our efforts and finally turn to Jesus. Perhaps we even fear turning to Him and must sneak up on Him for that which we need. We need to change that. The second instruction, even though these people waited and tried relying on themselves, once they approached Jesus in faith, Jesus answered them. He did not rebuke or turn them away.

The overriding lesson, why wait? Why delay? As Jesus asked the disciples in the boat last week, Where’s your faith.

As we focus our efforts on our strength of faith, let us practice turning to Jesus first. Before we ring the alarm bell, before we invite the consultants and spend the dollars, let us place faith and trust in Him. He will see us through our troubles and struggles, He will guide the hands of the doctors, He will break the chains and snares of the evil one who seeks our destruction. Faith indeed works tremendous miracles.

Also notice Jesus Himself acts in strength of faith.

People came and said: “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” In great faith what did Jesus do? He disregarded the message that was reported. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”  Once they arrived, they found commotion, weeping, and wailing. Jesus responded by speaking truth and received nothing but ridicule. Yet, He proceeded in strength of faith.

As we work on growing in our strength of faith, as we live out our Christian lives, let us also disregard ridicule, naysayers, and those who wail in panic searching for answers. Living the gospel faith, relying on Jesus, we will overcome all things in the strength that is eternally ours.

Christian Witness, Homilies, , ,

Reflection for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Strength of Faith

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him

As mentioned last week, over the months of Ordinary Time ahead, a time dedicated to growth, we will focus on how we live out the Christian faith, how we walk in Strength of Faith. Remember, we are focusing on our Strength of Faith.

The disciples are in the boat, we all know the story, they are afraid in the storm and Jesus wakes up, calms the storm, and asks them about the strength of their faith.

Obviously, Jesus, perfect God and man had faith, He was sleeping through the storm. He was confident that amid the storm, faith, and His Father, would see Him through. He had the same faith confronting torture, the cross, death, and the grave.

It does not really surprise us does it? Jesus lived in strength of faith, the disciples questioned and feared, they were at least, at that time, weak in their faith. 

But, what about us now? How does this storm experience relate to us, here in the 21st Century, not crossing many lakes or rivers in a boat? How about us in secure homes with GFI plugs and grounded electrical systems, and other safety and security measures?

Perhaps we do not fear storms, but the analogy of storms works because is speaks about all the other stresses we face. We can go to Jesus about those. We can say, Lord, don’t You care that I am perishing? But, that is not really the point Jesus is making in His gospel. It is not the lesson the Lord is impressing on us. Rather, bottom line, it is about strength of faith. It is Jesus asking us: Where’s your faith. “Why are you terrified?”

The question before us is whether we have the strength of faith to stand in the storm, to be the leader when others are running and hiding, to live the gospel in the face of evil and persecution. To hope when all is hopeless.

We have examples around us. Those men in the boat went on profess Jesus with strength and power across the world. We have the examples of our own fathers, godfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and the other special men in our lives who not only protected us but longed for us to learn the lessons necessary to be strong.

We have the example of all those who with strong faith fought the evil of slavery, who prayed in watch parties for freedom and who with us continue to this very day to stand up to inequality, the endemic sin of prejudice, and the inherent inequality still plaguing us.

We are called upon this very day to come forward, to walk through those doors, to appear here in this church, to say no to fear and raise up the holy and awesome name of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are called to grow in faith, hope, and love so that fear may be removed from us and so we may stand in strength of faith! With strong faith, the power of our Father will see us through.

Christian Witness, Homilies,

Reflection for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Strength of Faith

Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away.

Over the next twenty-six weeks we are going to focus on how we live out the Christian faith, how we can walk in Strength of Faith.

In the text of today’s Epistle, we hear Paul say that we aspire to please him [i.e., God], whether we are at home or away. Hearing that immediately took me back to the days of family vacations. At home or away.

The first family vacation I remember was to Florida, Coral Gables, and my Uncle Frank’s house. Both of our families had been touched by tragedy, the loss of my dad and Frank’s loss of his wife, his children’s mom. This was still a pretty fresh memory for all of us.

This time gave us some freedom from those thoughts. I recall each thing we did, the visit to the breach, the salt water of the ocean, shells, going to the Venetian Gardens and its beautiful pools, running away after taking a wedge out of the green on a very nice golf course (I think they’re still looking for me). Being with my cousins. Visiting Ma Easter, an in-law to Uncle Frank, a great, very funny, and vivacious southern woman. Going to the planetarium and seeing moon rocks.

Some of this was culture shock, most just plan fun, and parts even scary. Life is like that, and the overriding question is: How do we approach life? Paul was writing about how we are to live. He boils it down to living in the strength of faith.

The love of God encompasses everything. Grounded in God’s love through Christ’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s communion, we can be what we have been called to be; commending ourselves with confidence to everyone regardless of circumstances, regardless of where we are.

In fact, all that we do while we are in our bodies will be manifest before “the judgment seat of Christ” – the moment when Christ, coming in power, will judge all. This reference to Christ’s “judgment seat” and how we are to live is not a threat or something we should fear, but rather a promise and an expectation of the fullness of the kingdom for those who live in strength of faith.

Although we live in a world where tech savvy, wealth, power, and the call to constant conflict with neighbors seem to override and even wipe out thoughts of God’s steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, we can be confident that God, and we who live His way, will prevail in the end. 

Our “transformation” into Christ’s image takes place not in some otherworldly place, only at the end, but here and now in how we live. Here is where we need to live and act in strength of faith, to go the way of Christ when we feel the pull to conflict, greed, the need to repost criticisms, to finger-point, to REACT. God’s grace is sufficient power to overcome, to live in strength of faith and to be truly Christian.

Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi 2021

The Banquet.

“Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”

Who remembers their first communion? Mine remains a very vivid memory for several reasons. The first was the suit (dark blue), shirt (white), bow tie (white), silk buttionier, new prayerbook, rosary, lapel pin. In Buffalo you went to the old Polish neighborhood to Spolka Clothing on Broadway to get your first communion clothes. Since first communion was in May, it was still pretty cold the day we went shopping. The changing rooms at the back of Spolka were freezing. Do I have to? Yes. Ok mom. A few days later, having been chilled to the bone, I was sick.

There was class of course, learning what happens in Holy Mass, what we were going to receive. It was amazing, here we are, a group of seven- and eight-year-olds, and Jesus was coming into our hearts. We were going to receive Jesus, not some token, not some plain old bread, but Jesus in all His reality, body, blood, soul, divinity.

The preparation went on. Next on the list, my hair. We had to train the part and hold that cowlick down. Brylcream was your friend. It took weeks of combing and gluing to make it cooperate.

The day arrived. My sister in white with a blue and gold cape. Those of us with younger sisters had them there as our ‘angels.’

The angels processed into church first, followed by all of us. Hair in place and walking and standing straight as a board with hands perfectly folded on that bright sunny morning. We genuflected and knelt in perfect unison. Holy Mass proceeded and the precious moment came, we were going up row-by-row to kneel at the altar rail and receive Jesus. I was so happy.

As we left church the heavens opened up and it poured. Rushed to the car, we were off to the banquet, in the Knights Hall, that my family held just for me, the guest of honor. A feast after the great eternal feast I could now participate in anytime I was spiritually prepared.

 I share all this not just for the sake of reminiscence, but rather as reminder of the importance of what happens at Holy Mass, how the lessons learned though all the care in preparation we took inform us today. Each occasion to receive is equally important, equally precious. It is an equal participation in the great eternal feast, the heavenly banquet. We are equally privileged and also obligated to come forth prepared.

This special day in the Church year calls us to re-recognize the majesty of what we receive, to remember our first reception of Jesus, coming into our hearts and lives, and to ensure each encounter with Jesus’ body and blood is met with the same importance. Recognizing all this, let us rejoice for Jesus’ banquet is ever prepared for us and we share in the eternal feast.

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