Sunday Homilies of St. Matthew Parish

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Advent - 2009

Advent ... a time of waiting ... a time of preparing ... waiting and preparing for what?

for Jesus ...

But who is Jesus for me?

Do I even need Jesus in my life?

And what do my hands have to offer Him?

Am I self-sufficient, in organizing, planning and dealing with things - living in the illusion that I am capable of getting everything done on my own?

If so, then my hands are closed with a tight fist, in a posture such as a body builder who looks in the mirror to show off the muscles with pride.

Or, by living in the truth - do I take the posture of a poor beggar, seeing my weakness, my need for a Saviour who will pay the debt of my sinfulness?

In this situation, my hands will be cupped open and upturned, waiting to be filled with Gods graces of love and mercy ... ready to receive my Saviour.

Advent ... an opportunity to pray that my soul would be prepared and in a state of grace,

which would be open to accept the gift of God's Son,

at Christmas ... and at every Eucharist.

Humility is so important because God is ready to give everything to the person who credits nothing to himself...

"Reflections on Faith"

Advent is a time to welcome Jesus, the Son of God coming to you ... what are you waiting for!

Will you have the time for:

St. Matthew Parish Advent Mission

Dates: Saturday December 05 ç to è Wednesday December 09, 2009

Theme: Nothing More Beautiful than to know Jesus Christ

Program:

- Jesus Incarnate

Saturday 05 December

- 7:00 PM - Mass in Rocky Mountain House,

- 7:30 PM – First Conference

Sunday 06 December

- 9:00 AM - Mass in Rocky Mountain House

- 9:40 AM – First Conference

- 11:00 AM – Mass in Evergreen

- 11:40 AM – First Conference

- 1:00 PM – Mass in Caroline

- 1:40 PM – First conference

All Conferences after all Masses are presented by John Paul Markides

– Jesus Emmanuel

Monday 07 December in Rocky Mountain House

in RMH - 7:00 PM Mass

- 7:30 PM Second Conference Patty Higgins

in Evergreen - 7:00 PM Third Conference - Tim Hoven

- Jesus Messiah

Tuesday 08 December in Rocky Mountain House

in RMH - 9:00 AM Conference in St. Matthew School (grades 4-8)

- 2:00 PM Conference in St. Dominic School

- 7:00 PM Mass

- 7:30 PM Third Conference - Tim Hoven

Penitential Service

Wednesday 09 December in Rocky Mountain House

- 7:00 PM short conference and Penitential Service

in Evergreen

- 7:00 PM – short conference (Deacon) and Penitential Service

The schedule of the Christmas' and New Year's Masses:

Christmas Masses:

24.12. 2009 - Thursday - Christmas Eve

7 PM Mass for children

24 - Midnight Mass for all

25.12. 2009 - Friday - Christmas

9 AM - Mass in RMH

11 AM Mass in Evergreen

1 PM - Mass in Caroline

26.12. 2009 - Saturday - Boxing Day

7 PM - Mass in RMH

27.12.2009 - Sunday

9 AM - Mass in RMH

11 AM - Mass in Evergreen

1 PM - Mass in Caroline

New Year Masses:

31.12. 2009 - Thursday

4 PM Mass in Evergreen

7 PM - Thanksgiving Mass in RMH

01.01. 2010 - Friday - New Year - Solemnity of the Mother of God - Holy day of obligation

11 AM - Mass in RMH

1 PM - Mass in Caroline

02.01. 2010 - Saturday

7 PM - Mass in RMH

03.01. 2010 - Sunday

9 AM - Mass in RMH

11 AM - Mass in Evergreen

1 PM - Mass in Caroline

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:53:00 +0000

November 22, 2009 - The Feast of Christ the King “Year B”

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Picture the scene in today's Gospel. Alone and unarmed Jesus stands in front of Pilate on trial for His life. He has been falsely accused by the Jews of stirring up trouble among the people, and of telling them that it was wrong to pay taxes to Caesar.

Pilate soon saw that Jesus was innocent of all those charges. He even said so. He declared Jesus innocent before the religious leaders. But the religious leaders began to exert political pressure on him. They threatened to report Pilate to Rome for letting someone whom they claimed was an enemy of Caesar, go free.

Now the focus shifted from Jesus to Pilate. Pilate was now the one on trial. Would Pilate do what was right even though that might make his life difficult or would he bow to political pressure and give in to the demands that might appease the crowd and make Pilate’s life more bearable?

Jesus tried to help him make the right decision by assuring him that Jesus' kingdom was no threat to Caesar. To Pilate’s questions Jesus replied “ Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.”

And you can tell that that answer did bother Pilate because he struggled with it. But then he began to compromise. He considered what doing the right thing would cost him. He tried to appease Jesus' accusers — first by having Jesus scourged, and then by releasing Barabas. That should silence them and save the innocent man’s life. When even this didn't satisfy them, Pilate bowed to the political pressure and handed Jesus over to them.

Pilate knew what he had done. He called for water and scrubbed his hands in the vain hope of cleansing himself of the stain of innocent blood. And so, in the end, he is the one who stands condemned. He was in control. He had all the power. With just a snap of his fingers he could have set Jesus free. He knew that what he was doing was wrong.

Yet out of fear for his own position, he choose to do what he figured would take the pressure off of himself. He chose to do what he figured would make his life easier. Pilate allowed the most innocent person ever to walk this earth to go to his death. For the sake of convenience Pilate allowed Jesus to be crucified.

His cowardice contrasts sharply with the quiet courage of Jesus.

How many times in our lives have we bowed to pressure and for the sake of convenience, denied Jesus and His teachings in order to take the pressure off; in order to “make our lives bearable”, for the sake of convenience. Today our political leaders are frequently subjected to similar pressures. Pressure groups get on to them, threatening to put them out of office unless they get their way. And so at one time or another, all of us come under pressure. All of us find ourselves on trial. We have to constantly make decisions about right and wrong. By the way we live, but especially by our attitude towards faith and morals, we declare whether we are on the side of Christ and His kingdom, or whether like Pilate we take the way of evasion and cowardice or convenience.

Because, my friends, it is not possible to remain neutral. Our consciences won’t let us stay neutral. If correctly formed, our consciences will tell us whether or not what we have done violates the law of God. However, if not properly formed our consciences will mislead us and might even let us think that what we have done was the right thing. We won’t even feel bad about it.

Have we been misled by our poorly formed consciences?

We all hold positions now on Euthanasia, on abortion, on contraception, on same sex marriage, on divorce, on pre-marital sex, on adultery. Is our position the same as the Church’s on these issues? If not, why not? Have we made certain that the moral decisions we made were the right ones based on full knowledge of the teachings of the church.

Have we made decisions which will affect our eternal life based on lack of the truth, half truths or on the whole truth? How many people who have practiced contraception have ever read the encyclical Humanae Vitae (on Human Life)? If we have not then how could we in good conscience have practiced contraception? Could it be that we have formed our consciences based on the opinions of others rather than church teaching?

That is why not knowing what the church really teaches on any particular subject keeps us in the dark.

No wonder we can feel good about it and say it doesn’t bother us therefore it must be ok. What is ok? We have made decisions without educating ourselves and forming our consciences properly. We have dulled our consciences as to what is right and wrong. Why would we expect to feel bad about something we know nothing about?

Sometimes we may have let ourselves be led astray by someone in the Church whom we respect and whom we thought should have all the right answers. In that case it may not be our entirely our fault but rather the blame would be shared with those who have led us astray. But that still does not take away our responsibility to find out what God thinks about what we are about to do or have done.

There is a great deal of confusion—even among Catholics—about what our conscience really is. Some people think that if you don’t feel bad about something, if it doesn’t really bother you then what you are doing or have done must be ok. Unfortunately that is not the case. Conscience has very little to do with how you feel about it.

Sometimes we confuse our conscience with our emotions or our opinions, but conscience is neither of these either. It is not our conscience that decides whether something is right or wrong. Rather, the conscience tells us whether or not we have violated a known law of God. It stands to reason then that if we don’t know what the law of God is how can we violate it? We need to know what that law is and what God says about it before we can violate it.

It’s not our conscience that tells us that murder is wrong. Rather our conscience properly formed will tell us that we have violated God’s law against killing. Educating ourselves about that law is what we call forming our conscience. One of the main ways that Catholics form their conscience on any particular matter is to educate themselves on the topic through the teaching of the church.

The teaching of the church will tell us what God thinks about it. That’s the way God set it up. Not the church’s opinion but the church’s teaching. We need to know what the church teaches.

Otherwise we might think we are doing right and even feel good about it but could be acting in direct opposition to God’s law.

How many of us have turned away from the teachings of the Holy Father and the Church choosing instead to form our consciences from popular opinion or the teachings of dissenting theologians, bishops, priests, sisters or lay people without even bothering to read the church documents.

If we do that then we cannot say that we have properly formed our conscience. When we reject the church’s teachings without even reading them that may very well put us in a position of denying the truth.

Not the church’s opinion but the church’s teaching. Everyone else has an opinion – it’s the church who presents God’s teaching on the matter. And that’s why it’s the church’s teaching that should carry the most weight in forming our conscience.

After all, not educating ourselves as to what the church really teaches on the subject, and then doing something contrary to what the church teaches is in fact choosing to tell ourselves that we are right and the church is wrong on this issue.

And we need to know - that when we do that knowingly and purposefully - we are not exonerated from the guilt of the wrongful action we are about to commit or have committed.

We may just be washing our hands, and like Pilate proclaiming our innocence, but like Pilate we are not innocent but rather we are guilty as charged. Don’t you find it amazing that sometimes when we act contrary to church teaching we act as though we believed that the Holy Spirit has given us the truth because we wouldn’t want to do anything contrary to God’s will - and yet we fail to realize that in order for the Holy Spirit to have given us the truth, He must at the same time have misled the Holy Father and our Church in order to do so.

And if that is the case then Holy Scriptures are contradicted and Jesus is a liar. Think about it. This means that Jesus must not have meant it when He said to His Apostles and to their successors “Whoever hears you – hears me “. And, Lo, I am with you until the end of the age. He also told His disciples that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven.”

If we are in opposition to the church on any teaching, which one do you think is being guided by the Holy Spirit and which one is being guided by popular opinion and the world? If we are in opposition to a church teaching - one of us has to be wrong.

My friends, there is a battle being waged between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light, the kingdom of lies and the kingdom of truth, the kingdom of evil and the kingdom of good. The culture of life and the culture of death. In the end what side do we want to be on? Where do we want to spend eternity with our King or away from Him?

In the end our decisions now will tell which side we were on. Because in the end that is the side we will be on for all eternity. Let us never forget, however, that the Father's love and mercy are at the heart of the Kingdom. Jesus didn't tell us to fear the last day, only to be ready for it.

What a joy it will be for us to belong to Christ and His kingdom. We can always repent and turn back to God. It’s never too late until we are dead. Salvation is always a gift of God. He gives it most freely to those who know they are poor and who ask for it with empty hands and expectant hearts.

And that’s the way it will be my friends if we turn away from sin and let our lives be ruled by His spirit. In our own small way we need to work for the spread of His kingdom – which is a kingdom of truth and life, holiness and grace, a kingdom of happiness and justice, a kingdom of love and peace.

God Bless you

Deacon Bernie Ouellette

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Justice of the rich people ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Dan 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14, 18; Mk 13:24-32

TODAY IS THE SECOND LAST SUNDAY of the Church year. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.

On this Sunday the readings traditionally speak about the end of the world, the end of time, the final coming of Jesus to take all peoples and all creation to Himself. For Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega: the source and the end of all things.

In the passage immediately before today's Gospel, Jesus spoke about the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. It was a catastrophic experience for the Jews: even worse than the destruction of Rome and St Peter's would be for us. Because, for the Jews, Jerusalem and its Temple was the very dwelling place of God. It was not the first time the Temple had been desecrated and the Jews driven out into exile but this destruction has lasted 2,000 years. There is a Muslim mosque now on the site and that is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.

One of the essential parts of the good news of the gospel is the final and complete coming of the kingdom of God at the end of the world. Therefore, one of the essential characteristics of being a Christian is to positively desire the end of the world, and to look forward to it with great joy and hope and eager expectation. This is what we are actually expressing when we say in the Our Father, “Thy kingdom come” - that is, let this world end and let the kingdom of God come. And yet, the very thought of the end of the world fills so many with fear and anxiety rather than with joy and hope. One major reason for this is certainly that we have too easily understood the scriptural images and pictures about the end of the world in a completely literal sense, that is as if they were describing what will actually happen then. We have understood these images and pictures in a literal sense rather than in a symbolic sense, that is, as poetic, imaginative, dramatic attempts to express that God’s kingdom of justice and peace will completely prevail in the end, will do away with a world of injustice and sin, will destroy all the evil in the world, so that there will be a new heaven and new earth. In other words, Christ’s justice and power and glory and victory will burst forward and cover the whole world. It will be as extraordinary and startling and stupendous as would be a darkened moon and sun and fallen stars and shaken heavens over the whole earth. We might say that if the Scriptures had been written in our own time the writers would have used the contemporary images and pictures of a magnificent cosmic fireworks display to describe the wondrous grandeur of it all. That is, the world will not be destroyed or annihilated, because God created it and it is good; but rather it will be totally transfigured and transformed into a completely new creation, the very visible kingdom of God on earth.

So, the important thing is not the dramatic images and pictures themselves, but the message or meaning that they convey. If we concentrate on the dramatic descriptions as literal descriptions, then we can only fear and be afraid - in the face of such horrible things as universal darkness and fallen stars, shaken heavens and the fiery destruction of the earth. But if we look through the dramatic descriptions to the meaning, namely the mighty, all conquering coming of God’s kingdom of justice and peace, then we can look forward to that day with great joy and true peace, waiting for and earnestly desiring the final and complete coming of the kingdom of God at the end of the world. This is why we pray in every Eucharistic celebration: “Lord, in your mercy protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:36:00 +0000

32 Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mark 12:41-44

Sunday Reflection

“ I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.

I would like to buy just a little of the Lord.

Not enough to explode my soul and disturb my sleep.

Not enough to take control of my life.

I want just enough to equal a cup of warm milk.

Just enough to ease some of the pain from my guilt…”

The words of this poem, written by Wilbur Rees, reflect the difficulty that each of us has in surrendering ourselves totally to the care, mercy and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Unlike the widow spoken of in Mark’s Gospel (12:38-44), most of us find it too difficult to abandon the comfort and false sense of security that our possessions give us. This woman, desperately poor in material wealth, “…out of her poverty put in everything, all she had to live on”, a few pennies that she gave in faith to the temple treasury, while others gave merely out of their abundance.

Our attitude is rather the following:

“I would like to purchase a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.

If it doesn’t work, I would like to get my money back”?

******************************

A government social worker was visiting New England farms. He had the authority to give federal dollars to poor farmers. He found an elderly widow farming a few acres. Her house was clean but tiny. There did not appear to be much food in the house. The windows had no screens to keep out the summer flies. The exterior needed a paint job. He wondered how she could survive. He asked, "What would you do if the government gave you five hundred dollars?" Her answer was, "I would give it to the poor."

She was similar to the widow whom Daniel Webster had in mind. He was asked, "What moved you to become a Christian?" He replied, "Studying the way an old woman in New Hampshire lived."

The women of these two stories had much in common with today's Gospel widow. They were obviously cut out of the same bolt of exquisite damask. All three have much to tell us.

Our comparative tightness with our dollars comes despite Rousseau's admonition. "When a man dies, he carries in his hands only that which he has given away." We would do well to recall the question asked about the wealthy man who died. "How much money did he leave? The answer came promptly. "All of it!"

Research by Patrick Carney revealed that the highest percentage of Catholic contributions in the New York diocese comes from African-Americans in Central Harlem. Perhaps they have in mind Paul's advice in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "God loves a cheerful giver." Too often the comfortable give to God as though they were poor. And the poor give to Him as though they were wealthy.

Do most Catholics give a fair share of their income to the Church and to charities? A Gallup poll answered that query. In a recent year, American Catholics gave 1.3% of their income to parish and charities. But Protestants gave 2.4% and Jews 3.8%.

Someone has enumerated four different types of giving.

The first is called grudge giving. I hate to part with this twenty dollars but I will.

The second is shame giving. I must match whatever the Jones family is giving.

The third is calculated giving. We part with our money with what, someone deliciously called, a "lively sense of favours to come." Bingos, Las Vegas nights, and raffle tickets fit in very nicely in this category.

The final category is thanksgiving. I part with my funds precisely because God has been so wonderfully generous to me. The widow of today's Gospel fits comfortably into this area.

Now, returning to the widow of the Gospel reading, Jesus’ statement that she gave from her poverty her whole livelihood, could be seen as a praise of her generosity. It could also be seen as a condemnation of society who had left her so destitute that she, like the widow of Zeraphath, had nothing left to rely on than her certain death. The others gave from their surplus, she gave all that she had left. How had this happened? Had bankers mismanaged her money so that she had lost the little she had? Had religious leaders encouraged her to impoverish herself for the sake of the Temple treasury?

How had it happened that society could take advantage of the destitute? How does it happen that society continues to take advantage of those who have no protection?

Indeed, the strength of a society is measured by the care it gives to its weakest members.

Contrast

There is a striking contrast between the poor widow described in the second part of today's Gospel and the Scribes and Pharisees in the first part. The simple piety of this woman of no social standing is contrasted with the arrogance and social ambitions of some so-called religious leaders. She is also contrasted with the rich donors ostentatiously offering money they can easily afford. It is doubtful that what they gave involved even the slightest diminution in their standard of living.

How often have we foregone a vacation, or a weekend away or even a single meal in a restaurant because the money for it was given to people who were living on the edge of survival? Again, the Gospel is pointing the finger at us and not to people who lived a long time ago.

A daring act of trust

This poor woman, in a daring act of trust in God's providence, put into the treasury everything she had -- and it was next to nothing. She had two small coins. She put in both. She could have kept one for herself. But the service of God can never be in half measures.

The First Reading from the First Book of Kings has a similar story. It also features a poor widow and her son. Reduced to absolute penury she is on her way to get firewood to cook a last meal for them both from a little meal and oil, all that she has left. She sees nothing but death before them. Then Elijah, the prophet, himself hungry, comes and asks her for water and bread. When she tells him her situation, he still asks her to make a small scone for him. In a generous act of sharing, she does so and she is rewarded by their being enough for all three of them and the jar of meal and the jug of oil does not empty until the drought is over. The message is clear: when everyone gives, everyone receives.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:13:00 +0000

November 1, 2009 - All Saints

Today's liturgy speaks completely of holiness. But to know what is the way to holiness, we must go with the Apostles up the mount of the Beatitudes to draw near to Jesus and listen to the words of life that come from his lips. Today too he says to us again:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! The divine Teacher proclaims "blessed" and, we could say, "canonizes" first of all the poor in spirit, that is, those whose heart is free of prejudices and conditionings, and who are therefore totally disposed to the divine will. Their total and trusting fidelity to God presupposes renunciation and consistent self-detachment.

Blessed are those who mourn! This is the blessedness not only of those who suffer from the many misfortunes that belong to the mortal human condition, but also those who courageously accept the sufferings that result from the sincere profession of Gospel morality.

Blessed are the pure in heart! He proclaims blessed those who are not content with outward or ritual purity, but seek that absolute inner rectitude which excludes all deceit and duplicity.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! Human righteousness is already a very lofty goal, which ennobles the heart of whoever pursues it, but Jesus is thinking of that greater righteousness which lies in seeking God's saving will: blessed above all are those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness. For Jesus says: "He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 7: 21).

Blessed are the merciful! Happy are those who overcome their hardness of heart and indifference, to recognize in practice the primacy of compassionate love, following the example of the Good Samaritan and, in the last analysis, of the Father "rich in mercy" (Eph2: 4).

Blessed are the peacemakers! Peace, the sum of all messianic blessings, is a demanding task. In a world marked by tremendous antagonisms and barriers, fraternal harmony inspired by love and sharing must be promoted by overcoming hostilities and conflicts. Blessed are those who dedicate themselves to this most noble endeavour!

The saints took these words of Jesus seriously. They believed that they would find "happiness" by putting them into practice in their lives. And they realized their truth in everyday experience: despite their trials, moments of darkness and failures, they already tasted here below the deep joy of communion with Christ. In him they discovered the initial seed, already present in time, of the future glory of God's kingdom.

John Paul II, Sunday, September 24, 2000

Very often we think: "God is OK as long as he does not interfere with my essential purposes and priorities."

But the Saints didn't think this way. They were living totally the truth "God is first in my life".

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda

(The Church is Always in Need of Renewal)

5 Points for Renewing Church

PICKING UP PIECES: IOWA PRELATE PROPOSES PLAN

Trying to engage the world but forgetting what is distinctively Catholic has "wreaked havoc on the Church," according to the bishop of Sioux City, Iowa.

This is the claim made by Bishop R. Walker Nickless in his first pastoral letter, "Ecclesia Semper Reformanda" (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal). The document was published last Thursday.

"It is crucial that we all grasp that the hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture, which many think is the settled and even official position, is not the true meaning of the council. This interpretation sees the pre- conciliar and post-conciliar Church almost as two different churches.

"It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past. There can be no split, however, between the Church and her faith before and after the Council. We must stop speaking of the 'Pre-Vatican II' and 'Post-Vatican II' Church, and stop seeing various characteristics of the Church as 'pre' and 'post' Vatican II.

"Instead, we must evaluate them according to their intrinsic value and pastoral effectiveness in this day and age."

Full text of Bishop Nickless' letter: www.scdiocese.org/files/Pastoral_Letter_updated100809.pdf

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:15:00 +0000

XXX Sunday – B (October 25,2009)

Gospel

Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say,

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."

So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."

Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Blindness...

I just finished reading the book of Jose Saramago "Blindness".

Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. The apocalyptic blindness is spreading around in a terrifying speed. The first few hundreds who become blind are quarantined in an old psychiatric hospital. They create an island of blindness, separated from the external word and their lives become a nightmare.

If one or few persons in the society are blind it's deplorable, but we can only imagine (or perhaps we cannot imagine) what can happen if the whole society become blind.

And I will dare to say that this is more or less the condition of our contemporary society. We are living in the society which is blind to needs of the most fragile, the most vulnerable, the defenceless, the unborn, the sick, the starving, the aged and the weakest members of this society.

We can however cry with Barthymaeus, the blind men from today's Gospel: "Jesus, son of David, have pity on us, and give us back our sight".

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:36:00 +0000

29^th Sunday In Ordinary Time “B”

World Mission Sunday

You know, one of the images the Bible uses for life is that of a cup. And, just as a cup can be filled with a bitter-sweet drink, so the life of each of us could be said to be a mixture of the sweet and the bitter.

Isn’t it so that there are times when the cup of our life is full of bitterness. It may be so bitter that we don't want to drink it, or feel we are not able to drink it.

But at other times the cup may be over-flowing with sweetness. At such times we can't get enough of it. And at still other times the cup may be flat and tasteless. Finally, there may be times when the cup of life seems to be empty.

In today’s Gospel James and John came to Jesus with a very selfish request. They asked that one of them be allowed to sit at His right hand and the other at His left hand in His kingdom. They obviously thought that Jesus' kingdom would be just like the other worldly kingdoms. In those kingdoms those in high places would enjoy honour, glory, and power.

How did Jesus answer them? Jesus answered by asking them a question: 'Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?' Thinking that it would be a very sweet cup they immediately said that they could.

But what Jesus was really asking the two disciples was, 'Are you willing to go through the suffering that I am going to go through?'

This is no easy thing — to drink a cup of sacrifice and suffering. In fact, when the time came for Jesus Himself to drink it, He seemed to shrink from it. Three times He asked the Father to remove it from Him: 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me' (Mt 26:39). But then He added, 'Yet not My will but Thine be done.' And then He did drink it, all of it.

The apostles didn't know at this time that the Lord's cup would be a very bitter one. Nor did they know their own weakness. So when the time came, rather than drinking the cup with Him, most of them left Him, and He had to drink the bitter cup alone.

In our own lives, we don't know in advance what the cup of life holds for us. We just find out as we go along.

Jesus, the Innocent One, chose to drink a very bitter cup. But, as we have seen, even He didn't find it easy. Yet He drank it to the very bottom. And He did so out of love for us. Love can make a bitter cup drinkable. (So can dire necessity – if you think of a bitter tasting medicine that must be drunk to be cured.)

It is love and dire necessity that makes our missionaries respond to the call to preach the gospel to drink the cup of life in far off places.

As we celebrate world mission Sunday today, we are reminded that the call to follow Christ “in mission” extends not only to missionaries but to ourselves also. Our call to follow Christ extends beyond sharing our faith and fortune with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. This call extends to all peoples or, as Jesus said, even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Only a few of us may be called and sent by the Church to serve as Missionaries overseas. And here we think of our own Father Kaz and other priest missionaries like him who have left home and country to serve God in foreign lands.

We think also of sisters such as Mother Theresa’s Sisters of Charity in India and others like them in Africa and the jungles of South America. We think also of those lay missionaries who have shared their time, talent and money working in missions overseas.

People like Del and Agnes Reider who for many years have served and helped the poor in far off countries.

And there are many others. You know them. But the reality is that most of us say “Yes” to our missionary vocation by staying at home and sharing the burden by way of prayer, personal sacrifice and financial support.

The first way that we can be a missionary and help our missionaries on the front line is through our prayers. Everything that we do in the name of the Lord is based on our connection with God through our prayers.

Today, we pray for all who serve the Lord in the missions through their missionary tasks. We also pray for the people that these missionaries are inviting to Christ through their words and their witness to His love. They do this by their teaching and healing, their care for the elderly and the orphans. They are there in person. We are with them in prayer.

Another way that we can support them is by personal sacrifice. Our personal sacrifice joins us in a unique way with Christ and with the Missions. We all have burdens, trials and anxieties. Even as we struggle under the crosses in our lives and drink the sometimes bitter cup of life, we can offer these trials and sufferings in union with Christ on the Cross for missionaries and for those that they serve.

Finally we can help by our financial support. And this is also most essential. Here is how we might understand the importance of today’s World Mission Sunday collection.

What is provided to the Missions today – by us and by all Catholics around the world, even those in the missions – is as critical to the missionary work of the church as the weekly collection is to our own parish. This collection for the missions is the basic lifeblood of some 1,150 mission dioceses.

Think about it. Can those missionary sisters really be sent to an isolated village in Ghana or Tanzania to teach and care for the sick without our support? Can a catechist be trained for a mission in India without our support? Can a priest travel 50 rough kilometers to say Mass at a mission in South America without our support?

In a very real way, we are the ones whom Jesus is asking to share from our plenty in order to help support these efforts to spread the good news to the very ends of the earth. Saying “Yes” to Jesus makes these missionary efforts possible.

Like the priest in Africa, the sisters in India, and the lay missionary worker in the far off jungle, it is our mission to move ourselves, at least in spirit, to those far off places to call others to Christ. Like the missionary priests, sisters and lay people, it’s our vocation to make ourselves instruments of Christ’s peace, touching even the ends of today’s broken world.

Yes, it is our calling to show Jesus to the poor, the poor of all the world and to invite them to live in that same faith which brings us all here today to share the Eucharist.

Though Jesus was without sin, He experienced weakness and temptation as we do. He understands our weakness. Hence, we should approach Him with confidence, knowing that He can and will help us to drink this cup.

If we find the cup of life particularly bitter, there is no need for us to pretend that it is sweet, or to think that we can drink it by our own strength.

Unlike the two apostles, let us not be afraid or ashamed to say, “No, Lord, I can't drink it. I don't want to drink it. But if I have to, then with your help I will. Let Your will be done – not mine.”

To drink the cup of life, especially a cup made difficult by a life of sacrifice and service to others, is to follow Christ. But those who share the bitterness of His cross will also share the sweetness of His Easter victory.

May God inspire us to be generous today in sharing that abundance of gifts that God has seen fit to shower upon us.

Following His example, let us drink this cup with Jesus. Let us help to spread the Good news and share our wealth to help the poor. It is Jesus, after all, who asks us to drink this cup.

Will we share with our missionaries or will we let them drink the bitter cup alone?

God Bless You,

Deacon Bernie Ouellette

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:23:00 +0000

28 Sunday in Ordinary Time – B

Mk 10:17-30

HOMILY

The teaching against our selfish culture

It's interesting:

For the question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus does not answer: "Be free. Follow your conscience. If you feel good do whatever you wish" – like some of our contemporary liberalistic theologians.

Jesus' answer is precise and sharp:

"You know the commandments:

you shall not kill;

you shall not commit adultery;

you shall not steal;

you shall not bear false witness;

you shall not defraud;

honour your father and your mother."

We prefer to have the watered, nice and polite answers. But Jesus answers directly and sharply: Keep commandments! God gave us the commandments as an objective and reliable point of reference. We shall not dissolve them in the subjective and relativistic ideologies and politically correct theories. Like to the young men, He tells me also: "If you would like to inherit eternal life there is only one way; KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS!!!!"

So, do I realize that unless I keep the God's commandments I will NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

I certainly know the commandments and I don't need to smooth and flatten them, make them easy and more human. There are the objective and the most reliable means of entering the eternal life.

But this is not the end of Christ's teaching.

Many or most of us, sitting in the pews are not killers, adulterers, thieves, chronic liars, sinister schemers of fraud, or parent abusers. Rather, we are observing the commandments with faithfulness. Perhaps there are many people in our congregation who might be able to say to Jesus with the young man from the Gospel – “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth”. Nevertheless, like the young, rich man, Jesus can most likely address each one of us with the words – "You are lacking one thing … sell what you have, and give to the poor".

And this is the climax of His teaching. This is the most difficult point of His Gospel, because we –in the individualistic society- we are convinced that it is my right to posses, to defend and to multiply my possessions. The whole world around me is telling me that I am the most important, the most precious person and my needs, my requirements and desires are on top and should be satisfied by all means. If there are not satisfied, I am disappointed; I am upset and even frustrated.

And Jesus in His teaching is going against this mentality. He says openly: "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."

Very sturdy and very difficult teaching ...

My rights to posses against the teaching of Christ …

The teaching, which is not at all smooth and nice. The teaching which openly states: "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

Why is it difficult for rich men to enter the Kingdom of God? Is it the richness a kind of curse? Is richness a sin? Or maybe it is rather because the richness makes me blind and so I cannot see anymore nor God neither my neighbour?

"How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

It is hard not because the richness as such is a sin but because being rich very often I become blind and selfish, self-centered …

It's my choice to listen to - or not.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:52:00 +0000

27 Sunday - B
Readings: Genesis 2, 18-24; Psalm 128; Hebrews 2, 9-11; St. Mark 10, 2-16

Jesus’ teaching on the indissolubility of marriage in today's Gospel is very clear and distinctive.

Once a couple is validly married, there is no way that the marriage can be dissolved except by death. In Christ’s eyes a validly contracted marriage can never be dissolved in a divorce.

However, what the church teaches, which is the same as what Christ teaches, and the teachings of the secular world are quite often not the same and in fact are quite often opposite.

It is a fact that there is only one kind of divorce and that is a civil divorce. There is no such thing as a Catholic divorce.

A civil divorce is a permanent separation of the married couple which is recognized by the state but not by the church for as Christ says there can be no dissolution of the permanent bond of a valid marriage.

Everyone here is aware of the alarming statistics on divorce.

- One third of all those who contract a marriage end it in divorce.

- More than 50% of all new weddings end in divorce within 2 years after the wedding.

These statistics are a bit old but the percentages, in any cases, gives us a bleak picture of the state of marriages in today’s world.

Most of us have family members who are divorced. The dreadful plague has hit even our own homes.

So how can it be then that people who are divorced by the state can have a wedding again in the church?

This is because after thorough investigation the church has recognized that the first union was not a valid marriage and so issues a decree of nullity commonly called an annulment.

Is an annulment just a Catholic divorce?

No, an annulment is a decree granted by the church which to state it simply tells us that after thorough investigation a wedding had taken place but for various reasons a marriage did not.

Once this investigation is complete and the decree issued, the person is free to marry – since he or she was never married in the first place, even if many years have passed and even if several children were the result of the first wedding.

They were not married in the eyes of God and His church, and so after the decree of nullity and after a civil divorce is completed - the person is now free to marry.

There are three ways in which church or Canon law recognizes that a true and valid marriage did not exist in a previous union.

1. Where there was a lack or defect of what is called canonical form. As one example, Canonical form means that the parties were married in the presence of a properly delegated priest or deacon and two witnesses, following the rites of the Catholic Church.

2. There were impediments to the marriage. Impediments are circumstances of a person or of the couple that mean that they are not free to enter certain marriages. For example, if either party is below the minimum age. There are many others all of which should be reviewed with a couple planning to marry.

3. Defect of Consent. To put it simply, were the parties willing to consent, able to consent and ready to consent? Is their consent an informed consent? Did both parties freely accept and clearly understand the life-long commitment they were making? And so on.

Are they able to give themselves freely and fully to one another?

You know, the best kinds of gifts in life are the gifts given out of total freedom — no strings attached. The freer persons are from their own selfishness and self-gratifying desires, the more they can give of their true selves.

The Church has always taught that the human person is most fully human when acting from an informed conscience and free choice and not by blind impulse. The human person either "governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy."

One must be quick to add, however, that to follow one's conscience requires that one has taken the time to properly form one's conscience. One must not follow a conscience that is in error.

Therefore anyone, whether that person be a deacon, priest or bishop or anyone else who gives advice to married couples, merely tells the couple to follow their conscience without giving them the teaching of the church is only copping out of the situation and in doing so commits a gravely sinful error.

Any person who simply follows their conscience without ensuring that it has been properly formed by the church’s teaching is also in danger of grave error.

To follow one’s conscience without knowing the teaching of the church is to do so in way that does not lead to freedom.

For example in the case of a sexually active couple living together before marriage, or a divorced Catholic couple proceeding to live together as man and wife or to marry without an annulment or church dispensation, those couples have become enslaved to sin rather than becoming free to the truth that Christ has taught us.

What is that truth? Jesus says “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her”.

And today marriage being so free and easy it is no wonder that so is divorce free and easy. Well, maybe not free but certainly easy. It often has a tremendous cost on human beings. The children are the ones who most often suffer grievously.

But it is not all bad news, there is some good news. Not everyone runs to the divorce court.

For example:

- Some serious studies show that only one out of fifty seven marriages ended in divorce among husbands and wives that worshipped at church in a consistent manner.

- Even more amazing was the finding that only one marriage in five hundred concluded in divorce in couples where there is regular praying of the Rosary.

These are the facts. What does that tell us?

Remember Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said the family that prays together – stays together.

Well, it’s a proven fact so we can say: the husband and wife who pray together have an above-average chance of staying together.

The couple who pray together before marriage have an excellent start on a true and faithful marriage.

Whether we agree with Him or not it is quite plain that Christ condemned divorce and the written records confirms that fact. And St Paul clearly understood that point, for he underlines that same prohibition in his own letters.

We may not agree with Him, but, for Christ, marriage means undivided loyalty.

One commentator has observed that our culture teaches husband and wife to ask, "What's in it for me?" But Jesus wants them to ask each other, "What's in it for us?"
Am I ready to give up my life for you as Christ did for His bride the Church?

Marriages will not succeed today without God. The truest test of love is giving – that is, sacrifice. Almost all marriages that fail, fail because they fail this test – that the spouses refuse to make sacrifices.

“Justice” “rights” and “freedom” are three words that true lovers never use. The wise words of the old marriage rite taught us to vow to love “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.”

This is realism, for there will be worse as well as better; sickness as well as health and there will be death. Life cannot avoid the need for sacrifice, and love certainly does not avoid sacrifice. Love also forgives all things because it knows God’s forgiveness.

Like everything in our religion it is all there in the crucifix.

Thus the marriage bond which was established not by the church but by God Himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved.

No one should ever say “I disagree with the church about divorce” but rather they should truthfully say “I disagree with Christ about divorce.”

Christ says:

“But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one. So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

And so I would like to conclude this homily with the blessing taken from the Catholic Marriage ceremony.

May God, the almighty Father, bless you with His joy.
May the only Son of God have mercy on you, and help you in good times and bad.
May the Holy Spirit of God always fill your hearts with His love.

Amen.

Deacon Bernie Ouellette

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:56:00 +0000

26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B

Nm 11:25-29; Jas 5:1-6; Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."

They are very strong words. Listening to these words we feel immediately awkward, uncomfortable and absolutely ill at ease. We would prefer to skip this passage or even to delete it from the Gospel. But Jesus is telling us today in a very open way about something we prefer not to listen to. He is telling us about Hell and the scandal we are causing by our words, our teaching, our behaviour and our negligence.

First we have to make a clear distinction between two different things:

- being upset

- and being scandalised

- In the first case I am upset because I don't like the truth somebody is trying to tell me, and in this case I am wrong!

- In the second case I am misguided, somebody purposely give me the wrong example, lied or did something wrong in order to mislead me, to encourage me to commit a sin.

And this is the case Jesus is talking about in today's Gospel.

Let us see the first part:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."

Let us take an example:

Do you remember your First Holy Communion? If you are a faithful Catholic, that is one day of your childhood that stands out in your memory. We make a big deal out of receiving First Holy Communion. Grandparents will travel a hundreds of miles to be present for a seven year old’s big day. Parents will work hard with their children to be sure the little ones understand what they are doing and Whom they are receiving. First Communion is not a celebration of childhood. It is a celebration that the child is now admitted into the Gift of a Eucharistic relationship with Jesus Christ. We remember the first time we received Him, and we thank God that we have lost count of the times we have been united to Him in the Eucharist.

But, do you know what is the most frustrating moment -for me- at the beginning of the school year? It is when I am confessing the grade three children. Last year there were prepared for the First Communion, for ten months they were coming to participate in the classes, they were all excited to be prepared to receive Jesus Christ, they were excited for their first Reconciliation, the day of First Communion they were beautifully dressed and living and extraordinary day, ... and then ... after summer holidays they say with sincerity:

- "Father since the day of my First Communion I haven't been in the church".

- Why?

- "O, you know father we were traveling, golfing, camping, visiting our relatives ... and when I ask my Mom why we don't go to the church at least on Sunday, she answered me that we have no time, that we are too busy."

And I ask myself: "What for was this whole year's preparation, courses, stress, and finally let us be frank 'hypocrisy'?" Was it only for this one Sunday at the end of May, or maybe for our "comfort" so that we can say "I am catholic"?

In this case children are not upset, they are scandalized.

You can tell me that there are far bigger and more serious scandals caused by unfaithful and treacherous priests, and you certainly know it better than me. But does it justify the scandals we are causing to our children? They (the priests) will be certainly called to account, but is it an excuse for me and my acts, words and sins?

And ... what kind of books do we allow the children to read? What kind of movies they are allowed to watch? What do they can see and learn in our houses and in our schools? How to understand the fact that children are coming sometimes complaining:

"Father, why our teacher is contradicting the teaching of the church and this, what our parents tell us. We are confused. Who is right?"

They are upset –certainly they are- but they are also scandalized.

Do we realise that it is a very serious matter? Do we realise that we will be called to account for what we were teaching and showing our children?

Let us see the second part when Jesus says:

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off ...

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off...

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out ..."

It is obvious that I cannot and should not cut of my hand, but I certainly can cut off my stupid TV programs or channels?

I certainly don't need to cut off my foot, but I can simply restrain to go where I will get nothing good or nothing worthy. Or where I expect to be confused or to do something wrong.

It is obvious that I cannot and should not pluck out my eye, but I can certainly plug off my computer connections and not to be exposed to the sin of pornography.

This I can without cutting off my hands or my feet ... or without plucking out my eyes.

Jesus talking about the matter of sin and scandal is very serious, because it is the reason for what He came to the world to liberate us from the sin, even of sometimes it makes us upset, or awkward, or uncomfortable.

Because as Card. André Vingt-Trois – archbishop of Paris says:

„Christ didn’t come to accept the opinions of the majority or to adjust to the politically correct ideologies of His time. He did have much greater ambitions; He came to call sinners to repentance and holiness.”

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Seventh Worldwide Children's Eucharistic Holy Hour

See the Web Page

ORDER OF SERVICE FOR
PARISH ~ SCHOOL ~ FAMILY
FOR THE
WORLWIDE CHILDREN’S EUCHARISTIC HOLY HOUR
The order of service for the Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour, as outlined below, is straightforward and easy to use. The basic form may be modified to accommodate your particular circumstances. For example, in many places throughout the world it may not be possible to expose Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament or to have a procession with our Blessed Mother’s statue. Nonetheless, adoring Jesus truly present in the tabernacle is exactly why the “Little Shepherds of Fatima” referred to Jesus as the “Hidden Jesus,” truly present and yet hidden from our eyes.
This order of service to “Visit with the Hidden Jesus” will soon be available in booklet form. It will be a modified version of that used for the Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour and is meant to be used for a Visit or Holy Hour in your parish church or chapel. For more information, please visit our website at www.childrenoftheeucharist.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Wis 2:12, 17-20; Eph 4:1-7, 11-13: Mt 9:9-13

St. Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles, is the author of the first Gospel. This has been the constant tradition of the Church and is confirmed by the Gospel itself. He was the son of Alpheus and was called to be an Apostle while sitting in the tax collectors place at Capernaum. Before his conversion he was a publican, i.e., a tax collector by profession. He is to be identified with the "Levi" of Mark and Luke.

His apostolic activity was at first restricted to the communities of Palestine. Nothing definite is known about his later life. There is a tradition that points to Ethiopia as his field of labour; other traditions mention of Parthia and Persia. It is uncertain whether he died a natural death or received the crown of martyrdom.

He preached among the Jews for 15 years; his audiences may have included the Jewish enclave in Ethiopia, and places in the East.

St. Matthew's Gospel was written to fill a sorely-felt want for his fellow countrymen, both believers and unbelievers. For the former, it served as a token of his regard and as an encouragement in the trial to come, especially the danger of falling back to Judaism; for the latter, it was designed to convince them that the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus, our Lord, in Whom all the promises of the Messianic Kingdom embracing all people had been fulfilled in a spiritual rather than in a carnal way: "My Kingdom is not of this world." His Gospel, then, answered the question put by the disciples of St. John the Baptist, "Are You He Who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Writing for his countrymen of Palestine, St. Matthew composed his Gospel in his native Aramaic, the "Hebrew tongue" mentioned in the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Soon afterward, about the time of the persecution of Herod Agrippa I in 42 AD, he took his departure for other lands. Another tradition places the composition of his Gospel either between the time of this departure and the Council of Jerusalem, i.e., between 42 AD and 50 AD or even later. Definitely, however, the Gospel, depicting the Holy City with its altar and temple as still existing, and without any reference to the fulfillment of our Lord's prophecy, shows that it was written before the destruction of the city by the Romans in 70 AD, and this internal evidence confirms the early traditions.

We imagine Matthew, after the terrible events surrounding the death of Jesus, going to the mountain to which the risen Lord had summoned them. "When they saw him, they worshipped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them [we think of him looking at each one in turn, Matthew listening and excited with the rest], 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age'" (Matthew 28:17-20).

Matthew would never forget that day. He proclaimed the Good News by his life and by his word. Our faith rests upon his witness and that of his fellow apostles.

He is the patron saint of our parish, our religious community, our church. What is the meaning of the words "Patron Saint"?

Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or guardians over areas of life. These areas can include occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes -- anything that is important to us. The earliest records show that people and churches were named after apostles and martyrs as early as the fourth century.

saint to whose protection and intercession a person, a society, a church, or a place is dedicated. The choice is often made on the basis of some real or presumed relationship with the persons or places involved.

We as Catholics are expected to have also our personal, individual Patron Saints. Like Mary, Joseph, James, John are obviously Patrons in the lives of those who were baptized with these names. But what is a patron saint of a girl who was baptized Kaleya ?

Recently, the popes have named patron saints but patrons can be chosen by other individuals or groups as well. A patron saint can help us when we follow the example of that saint's life and when we ask for that saint's intercessory prayers to God.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:33:00 +0000

XXV Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wis 2:12, 17-20; Jas 3:16-4:3; Mk 9:30-37

ENVY

Our culture's understanding of greatness comes down to amassing enough wealth and power to do whatever you want. Jesus, on the other hand, reveals that human greatness has to do with living the truth of our relationship with God and with each other regardless of how much wealth or power we may possess.

The secret of understanding the greatness of Jesus and thereby the meaning of human greatness is to understand the relationship of Jesus with God. He reveals what it means to live and to die as God's beloved Son (Mk 1:11). In other words, Jesus shows us the implications of being created in the image and likeness of God as beloved son or beloved daughter. Believing in his human soul that his relationship with God was his ultimate truth, Jesus trusted that God's will for him amidst the trials he endured could only be love.

Now is the time to take the antidote for envy: to become like a little child, recognizing our radical dependence on God and others.

Today's Scripture readings warn about one of the most hateful sins - envy. The Old Testament reading tells how people bring down a "just man" because he makes them feel bad by comparison. St. James identifies envy ("jealousy and selfish ambition") as the source conflicts and wars. And in the Gospel we see Jesus' disciples manoeuvring for top spot.

As the Catechism explains, envy is a desire for superiority that leads to "sadness" at the other person's good fortune and satisfaction at their downfall. "When it (envy) wishes grave harm to a neighbour," says the Catechism, "it is a mortal sin." (#2539) It can plunge a person into hell - to spend eternity with the one whose root sin was envy. Lucifer could not stand the idea of anyone being superior to him - not even God. Envy fuels his implacable hatred of God and God's children.

All of us experience envy - sometimes in ridiculous ways. I remember being envious of another priest's full head of hair and rich speaking voice. It tormented me, although I did eventually repent. A person can repent of envy - but that repentance involves the willingness to be cured.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante describes a cure for envy. He tells about a woman named Sapia who was so filled with envy that she rejoiced at the downfall of her hometown - because its defeat brought bad fortune to those she envied. Well, Sapia repented and wound up in Purgatory. But before she could enter Paradise, she had to undergo a cure. It involved having her eyes sealed and putting her arm on the person ahead of her to find her way. The cure for envy is understanding - not just intellectually but deep in one's soul - our dependence on each other.

An ancient Spartan gives us a good example. The city had to choose 300 men for its governing body - and Paedaretos was on the initial list of candidates. When the final list was read, however, Paedaretos was not chosen. A friend said to him, "I am sorry. The people ought to have known what a wise officer you would have been." But Paedaretos replied, "I am glad that Sparta has 300 men better than I!" Here was a man who knew that the greatness of others did not subtract from - but added to - him. He had the antidote for envy.

If a pagan could have such wisdom, what about us who have the example - and grace - of Jesus? Now is the time to take the antidote for envy: to become like a little child, recognizing our radical dependence on God and others.

Who would be the greatest among the disciples? Who would make it to the top? Would it be James, John, Peter, or Andrew? They did not know what greatness was. They would learn though. Jesus would show them greatness from a cross.

Jesus calls us to be his disciples, His true followers. He calls us to set aside our own desires for the sake of others. He calls us to seek the greatness of humble generosity, to “rank first” among our families, friends and communities by taking on the spirit and role of being their servant. “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be last of all and the servant of all.” The jealousy and selfish ambition that attacks the just man in the Book of Wisdom in our first reading this Sunday, and that James berates in the second reading are the sad marks of identification of the godless, people who have rejected God and His Son. The sign of the Christian is seen in setting another’s needs over his or her wants.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:21:00 +0000

24^th Sunday Ordinary “B”

The story is told about Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith received the news that one of her neighbours, Mrs. Jones, was very seriously sick in hospital. She asked the bearer of the news to bring a message to Mrs. Jones. “Tell her that I'll remember her in my prayers, and that I hope she'll soon be feeling better.”

And she was as good as her word. That same night as she said her night prayers she prayed very sincerely and fervently for Mrs. Jones. She said to God, 'Lord, I want to commend my neighbour Mrs. Jones to you. She's very seriously ill. She needs a lot of help, a lot of support.'

When she finished her prayers, she felt better. And yet, something was bothering her. But she was tired and she soon fell asleep. She had a dream. In her dream she heard God saying to her, 'I can see that you're very concerned about your neighbour, Mrs. Jones.'

'Yes, Lord, I really am,' she replied with no little pride.

'And I understand that your neighbour is in great need of help,' said God.

'So I've been told,' said Mrs. Smith.

The Lord said to her 'You know, what she needs most is someone to spend a little time with her.'

'You're absolutely right Lord. I was thinking the same myself,' Mrs. Smith answered.

'Now when you asked me to help her, you weren't expecting me to come down from heaven to visit her, were you?'

'No, Lord, I wouldn't expect you to do that. Nor would my neighbour expect it either. In fact, I think the shock of it might kill her.'

'But she does need someone to visit her?'

Yes, she does, Lord.'

Jesus said 'Whom can I send?'

After a long pause, Mrs. Smith said, 'Send me, Lord.'

When she woke up from her dream, she knew exactly what she had to do.

St James says, 'If someone comes to you who is lacking food or clothing, it's not enough just to say to him, "I wish you well," and leave it at that.'

It's not enough to say to a needy person, 'I'll pray for you.' We must not think that we have done our bit once we have referred the matter to God. That sounds very much like passing the buck. When we pray for another person, in effect we are saying to God, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”.

Our prayer should commit us to some positive action, no matter how small. But even a small act, such as a visit, could prove to be a costly gesture, because it means putting ourselves alongside a suffering person. And to do that is to lay ourselves open to that person's pain. We will inevitably absorb some of that pain.

To pray for people, or to wish them well, is a good thing. It gives them the comfort of knowing that they are not alone.

But the Bible says that is not quite enough. St. James calls that a dead faith. If our faith is alive we will express our concern in action also.

St. Peter got the identity of Jesus absolutely right. Jesus was the Messiah. St. Peter’s faith was perfect as far as words went. But when the time came for action, he was sadly lacking.

When Jesus asked him to watch with Him during His agony in the garden, he fell asleep. And later that night he denied that he had ever known Jesus.

So there is a type of faith that consists only of words. And there is a faith that flows into actions. We need God's grace, not only to profess our faith, but also to live it.

We are all aware of the upcoming debate in the House of Commons concerning Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Many of us have written letters to our members of Parliament.

It should give us a good feeling to have participated somewhat in the fight for justice for the elderly and those others who may also become victims of this new law.

We may even have prayed to the Lord about the issue.

And that’s good but we didn’t do this to feel good. We did this to be faithful. And being faithful does not end with one good deed. It calls for consistency and persistence.

For example, now that we have written our letters and said our prayers, how many of us have discussed the issue with our neighbours, many of whom may not be aware of Bill C-384.

Don’t be fooled. This issue will be introduced as one of mercy. A human right.

Once it becomes law, once the door has been opened it will not be closed.

The strategy of those who want to sneak this past us is to not allow debate on the issue once it becomes controversial.

Take the issue of abortion for example – how often do you hear about it in the news? Never.

It is a forbidden topic in politics in Canada.

There is no outcry because there is no discussion in the first place. As a result Canada is the only country in the western world that has absolutely no law in place regarding abortion.

None whatsoever.

And they don’t like to call it abortion anymore. Instead it’s a human right. A woman’s reproductive health issue.

What ever happened to the baby’s right to be born?

Abortions can be done in Canada, any time and any place without penalty. As I speak, there are Canadian babies that are being dissected in the womb. First they are killed with instruments and then dissected, removed and disposed of.

This can be done anytime up to the day before the birth of the baby. We don’t hear about it because the topic is taboo.

We think if we don’t hear about it, it isn’t happening.

Make no mistake about it our silence has put the blood of thousands of innocents on our hands.

And God will want an answer for our silence.

Recently Audrey and I were at the Hospital for a hymn sing which is done every Thursday by the various churches, each church taking a turn.

After the sing-a-long was over we were greeted by a lady with a Dutch accent. During the course of the conversation she informed us that she just recently returned from a final visit to her birthplace in Holland.

A final visit? we asked. Yes, she said, I am getting older now and with the new laws over there, if I get sick and end up in their hospitals that could be it for me. They could just put me down like a dog and it would be perfectly legal and nothing could be done about it.

You see in 1984 Holland introduced legal Euthanasia. It was introduced as a humane measure to end people’s suffering. It was introduced as a human right.

At first it required the patient to give their consent and when this was not possible then a responsible relative had to give their consent.

Then the doctors made the argument that for various reason it was not always possible to get either the patient nor the relative’s permission and the patient suffered needlessly.

So we are told that the law was changed to allow the doctor in certain cases to be the only one to make the decision.

Today this is commonplace.

A survey conducted by the Journal of Medical Ethics in Holland looked at figures from 1995 (that was 14 years ago) and at that time they found that even then of the 3600 authorized cases for euthanasia there were also 900 others which the doctors performed without any permission from anyone.

In those identified cases the doctor merely stating that they felt they were terminating the patient in their best interest. Nothing was done about it. And so today it has become commonplace.

Dr. Henk Jochensen of the Lindeboom Institute and Dr. John Keown of Queen’s College, Cambridge carried out a study and found that the reality in Holland is this: In a clear majority of cases of euthanasia, both with and without request, many now go unreported and unchecked.

Dutch legal claims of effective regulation ring hollow. There is no regulation. Like abortion in Canada, it is not discussed. It is just done.

Dr. Peggy Norms, chairwoman of the group “Alert” tells us “ We need to learn from the Dutch system that euthanasia cannot be controlled.” There are patients in a nursing home who are carrying around what they call sanctuary certificates all the time on their persons. This certificate states that they do not want to be helped to die.”

But there is no guarantee that any doctor will honor the certificate.

People are afraid of being sick in case a doctor takes the decision, without their permission, to stop treatment or to otherwise initiate termination.

In Holland, it started innocently. A law to allow euthanasia in special cases, with many safeguards in place, in the interest of humane treatment to end suffering.

In Holland today we are told that any person can be selected for termination in a hospital. The Doctor makes the decision. He or she need not consult with colleagues or even the family. The doctor makes the sole decision. And they do so with impunity. The law protects them.

Once the door was open it was a very speedy and slippery slope to the present state of affairs.

And that door is about to be opened in Canada. In the name of so called mercy, medical practitioners, not necessarily a doctor, will be allowed to assist at suicides and to practice euthanasia.

Euthanasia is now legal in several states in the United States and soon will be in Britain.

Are we next? And will Canada, as it did for Abortion, be the one to set the example by removing all restrictions?

Considering that the elderly account for just over a third of the funds spent on health care and with our over extended health care system, what do you think the odds are that financial consideration will be the one important determining factor.

Do we need this bed for someone else?

And just as our tax dollars are being used to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent human babies in the womb, our tax dollars will also be used to foot the bill for the expected thousands of innocent elderly and other vulnerable and expendable human beings to be disposed of in a humane manner in the misguided name of mercy. Mercy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbour in their spiritual and bodily necessities.

Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving others and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the imprisoned and burying the dead.

No where does it include ending the life of anyone either in the womb or the hospital bed in the name of mercy. The right to end life in all these cases belongs to Almighty God alone.

In Canada we have the blood of thousands of innocents on our hands since the onset of free and uncontrolled abortion. Make no mistake about it we will have to answer to Almighty God for our silence on that issue. Are we about to add Euthanasia to the list of our corporate sins? Or are we going to fight this?

Are we going to add our names to those who may have to pay a price for their convictions in order to protect the innocent?

And here I think of Leah Hallman and her associates. What will her fight against abortion cost her? A fine, an education, a jail term? Maybe all three? This is the kind of faith in action that St. James is talking about. Their faith is not one of words alone. They backed up their words with action.

Will we oppose abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide in an open and vocal manner realizing that it could also cost us a price? Will we be true disciples of Jesus by standing and defending the innocent?

In today’s Gospel Jesus calls to us.

If anyone wants to be a follower of Mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for My sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

Jesus is asking us right now: You already have the killing of innocents by abortion in Canada and now Euthanasia and assisted suicide are coming your way. If you call yourself Christians, if you say you are my disciples, if you are followers of Mine, what are you doing to try to stop this injustice?

Will you take up your cross and follow Me – no matter what the cost?

Deacon Bernie Ouellette

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Why the Various Postures at Mass

Several readers had inquired regarding the correct posture during the consecration.

Answer following the ZENIT

As already mentioned, the correct posture is kneeling. According to universal norms, this means from the epiclesis (when the priest outstretches both hands over the chalice) to the memorial acclamation. This is the minimum requirement.

In some countries the faithful kneel during the whole Eucharistic Prayer or a substantial part of it in virtue of particular law or legitimate custom.

Standing during the consecration is permitted only for exceptional circumstances, such as when there is no space to kneel.

Sitting is never foreseen during the consecration except for the physically impaired.

As we mentioned, the present significance of kneeling reinforces the sense of respect and adoration contained in standing.

With this in mind a Canadian reader asked about his bishop's insistence that churches should remove kneelers and new churches must be built without them. The argument given is that in his diocese: "We stand with Christ in his resurrection during the consecration."

Loath as I am to disagree with a successor of the apostles, I must honestly state that in this respect the bishop is simply wrong in his theological interpretation of the meaning of kneeling and in his interpretation of liturgical law.

I would suggest that the reader in question send a copy of the bishop's written directives (and not just hearsay) to the Congregation for Divine Worship and inquire if this is the mind of the Church. If possible, it is preferable that the inquiry should come from a cleric, especially one who knows something of canon law and who can phrase the query appropriately.

Such a query should be brief, to the point, and respectful of all persons involved, especially toward the bishop. This is the best way of receiving a prompt and satisfactory outcome to the consultation.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:04:00 +0000

23 Sunday in the Ordinary Time - B

Is 35:4-7a, Jas 2:1-5, Mk 7:31-37

Down the ages those words resonate: He has done all things well, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak. There is no doubt in our minds that Jesus was the Son of God and that he can perform great miracles, both when he walked this earth and indeed also in our own day. But miracles and signs and wonders are not really what Jesus is about. They are not his primary purpose. They are not what he came among us to achieve.

What he came for was to give his life in sacrifice for our sins so that we might be saved and have the way to eternal life opened up for us. He came also to teach us and to open our eyes and ears, to heal our blindness and dumbness. The particular aspects highlighted in today’s Gospel passage are speech and hearing. Jesus opened that man’s ears but in a real sense he opens all our ears. He opens them to the Word of God, to the words of those who are in need, in misery, in despair.

The brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting,

"What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic.

"Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded.

"I threw the brick because no one else would stop...."

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

Jesus speaks to us. He does so in a myriad of ways: through his words in scripture, through the mouths of our brothers and sisters, through signs and events, and seeming coincidences in our own lives. He quite often has to break through a lot of barriers to make Himself heard. We put up many obstacles such as our prejudices, our treasured opinions, our so-called experience.

Frequently we actually make ourselves deaf to the Word of God, especially if we feel that on hearing it we might be obliged to make some changes in our lives. We easily delude ourselves into making exceptions to the Gospel to suit our own particular circumstances.

Jesus, however, can break through all this. He only has to say ‘be opened’ and we will hear his saving words.

Lord, unblock my ears; help me to hear what you have to say to me.

Lord, loosen my tongue so that I may bring your Good News to all I meet.

Lord, help me to see around me those who are in need. Amen

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:46:00 +0000

22^nd Sunday Ordinary “B”

When you hear the name of Jesus what do you think of? What sort of picture comes to your mind?

I know that when I picture Jesus in my mind - I often think of that man with a gentle face carrying a lamb around His shoulders.

For me, it’s a nice picture. A smiling, reassuring face. That is the Jesus I often think of. Or at least that is the way I prefer to think of Him. A gentle, compassionate, loving and forgiving God. And He is all that and more.

But the picture I get from today’s Gospel gives me quite a different picture.

I see Jesus talking to a large crowd and then suddenly confronted by the Scribes and Pharisees who hope to embarrass Him and make Him lose credibility.

How does Jesus handle the situation? Here we have a Jesus who seems more human that I want Him to be. He appears angry and not only that but He actually engages in some name calling.

When He was asked by the Pharisees and scribes “Why do your disciples not live according to the traditions of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?

Jesus said to them “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written “this people honours me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me”….

And then Jesus goes on to tell the other people who are standing there listening to this exchange - that there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile a person but the things that come out of a person are what defiles them.

For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.

When we look at people isn’t it true that we often look at the success they have achieved in their lives rather than the good they may have done in their lives?

And here we can think of many movie stars and politicians whose personal lives and examples leave a lot to be desired but they are stilled admired by millions of people.

In education don’t we often attach more importance to the head than we do to the heart? Don’t we make more fuss over a smart child than we do over a good one?

A kid could be the best behaved and kindest kid in the world but isn’t it often the case that the child who has the highest grades – that’s the one who gets the most praise. That’s the child who gets their picture in the paper?

In the world of business and politics don’t we reward cleverness, political correctness and achievement rather than goodness?

And yet when you listen to the words of our everyday language we seem to acknowledge the primacy of the heart over the head. At least we seem to say that we know where our priorities should be.

For example, we judge a person by the heart.

One of the most damning things we can say about anyone is that 'he has no heart', is heartless, is hard hearted or that 'he has a cold heart'.

But then again one of the best things we can say about anyone is that 'he has a heart', or 'he is warm-hearted', or 'he is soft-hearted'.

We judge the degree of a person's commitment to something in terms of the heart. We say, 'his heart is not in it', or 'that was only a halfhearted effort'.

As a result, we’re thinking that he’s probably going to quit. Or we think that even if he stays, he will not put his best effort into it. He won’t put his whole heart into it.

On the other hand we could say 'his heart is in it', or 'his effort is wholehearted'. Meaning that he most probably will not only persevere but will put his best effort into it.

It’s the same when we want to express sorrow and joy in terms of the heart. We say, 'her heart was broken', or 'she went with a heavy heart'. Or we say, 'her heart overflowed with joy', or 'she has a light hearted way of speaking'.

We often describe burdens and wounds in terms of the heart.

A 'heavy heart' is the most wearisome burden of all and a 'broken heart' is the most painful wound of all.

There are many more examples that could be given. But, let’s just look at two more examples from today's Gospel.

The first example concerns the worship of God.

The most damning thing that can be said about someone's worship is that the person's heart is not in it. In which case it is mere lip-service, like that of the Pharisees.

And one of the best things than can be said about someone's worship is that the person's heart is in it. That their worship of God comes from the heart.

The second example concerns badness and goodness. A corrupt heart is the worst form of badness. It means to be bad at the very core of our being. A pure heart is the best kind of goodness. It means to be good at the core.

The Gospel places great emphasis on the heart, and we can see why. As Jesus says the heart is the source from which all our thoughts, words and deeds flow.

If the heart is clean, then all that flows from it will be clean, like water flowing from a cool, clear, pure mountain spring.

In the Gospel, the Pharisees paid more attention to the outside than the inside. They were more preoccupied with having clean hands than having clean hearts. Appearances rather than worshipping God.

What if Jesus came in person and talked to us today? What would He say about our worship? Do we practice what we preach?

Do we come to Mass every Sunday, greet each other sincerely, listen to the Word of God, receive Holy Communion and sing our hymns of praise to God?

Do we then leave this place this place of worship and share our heartfelt love and our life with our brothers and sisters throughout the remainder of the week?

Or after seeming to praise God do we leave this place and live our lives the rest of the week as though we had never heard of Jesus Christ?

Jesus says that it's the heart that matters. Where is our heart on the matter of abortion, the killing of innocent unborn babies? Does our silence condemn us?

Where is our heart on the matter of euthanasia and assisted suicide? The killing of the elderly, the depressed, the suffering?

What do you think Jesus would ask us to do about it – This Euthanasia, this so called mercy killing? This killing of fellow humans through assisted suicide??

Do you really think that Jesus would want us to start killing off our elderly, our misfits, our depressed, those whose lives we want to shorten because we think they are dying anyway and some of them are suffering terribly?

Don’t we love them too much to continue to just watch them suffer? Shouldn’t we just put them down in a humane way and end it all? Shouldn’t we do for them what God does not appear to be willing to do?

What do you think Jesus would do?

What do you think He is asking you to do about it?

We are all aware of Bill C-384. A Bill being introduced into the House of Commons to make Euthanasia or so-called mercy killing and assisted suicide, not only legal but easy to accomplish in Canada.

In the coming weeks we will hear more on this subject. We will hear all about how humane we would be when we end or help to put an end to someone’s suffering. We do it for dogs why can’t we do it for humans?

Don’t get me wrong. All of us have probably stood by the bedside of a relative who was suffering terribly in the last few days of their lives. If only God would take them now and end this suffering.

It’s hard for us to stand there and watch helplessly. We’ve all had these thoughts. And now this bill will seem to make it possible for all that suffering to end quickly and legally too.

But our chief Shepherd Archbishop Smith has addressed the topic in the latest issue of the Western Catholic Reporter.

If you haven’t read it – please do so. We need to know as much as we can about Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Archbishop Smith tells us what Jesus is asking us to do.

What does this bill really propose to do for us? We need to see it for the evil that it really is. We need to see the wolf hidden here in sheep’s clothing.

And then what we are asked to do is act on this information. We are being asked by our Archbishop to make our voices heard. And we can do this by writing a simple letter. A short letter.

All it takes is one little sheet of paper addressed to the Prime Minister or Blaine Calkins or both.

Simply telling them in one or two sentences that you do not approve of Euthanasia or assisted suicide.

No need for a long explanation. It will be the number of letters received that will count. Not the arguments for or against. A hand written letter is best.

Then simply sign your name and mail it. Postage free. You don’t even need an address – simply Blaine Calkins – House of Commons, Ottawa. It will get there.

My brothers and sisters if we say we are Christian then we must act like Christians. We cannot say one thing and do another. We cannot profess our faith and then deny it.

Our Archbishop is asking us to speak up on this issue and to speak up now. We mustn’t wait for someone else to do it –

How does that saying go “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

We always think of the gentle Jesus’ – the God of Love and compassion. But here in today’s Gospel Jesus’ use of such strong language sort of shocks us.

The use of the word hypocrite flung in the face of the Pharisees should give us a strong hint of what He thinks of hypocrites and Jesus is not afraid to speak up. Archbishop Smith isn’t afraid to speak up either. And neither should we be afraid.

My brother and sisters, only God can see what is in our hearts. And only God can change our hearts into what they should be.

Let us pray that many Christians today will act on what is in their hearts.

Let us not be hard hearted or heartless. We may not be able to change much by writing that letter but at least they could not then accuse us of being hypocrites, can they?

For we have acted on what God has written on our hearts.

Deacon Bernie Ouellette

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino

http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html

21 Ordinary Time

Faith is a choice - Choices and the Only Choice

· Instaurare omnia in Christo" – Pope Pius X

Renovate everything in Christ

· The Eucharist is "the source, the center and the summit of the Christian life – Vatican II

· Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit – Pope John Paul II

The Church is living from the Eucharist

· Deus Caritas est – Pope Benedict XVI

God is Love

"To whom shall we go: You alone have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are now convinced that you are God's Holy One."

There are a lot of people who say just as those Pharisees did: Who can believe in this nonsense?

In the first years of his papacy, Pope John Paul II made his first trip to the United States as the pope. Newspapers and magazines carried articles about the Church in the United States. Those bastions of spirituality, like Newsweek and Time, coined a phrase to describe American Catholics. They called us "cafeteria Catholics". By that they meant that many American Catholics pick and choose what dogmas to believe and what areas of morality to practice or to ignore. Those articles were offensive mainly because they contained a lot of truth. In those days of over-emphasizing positive self esteem, children and Teens were asked what something meant to them rather than what it was. So questions like, “What is the Eucharist? or What is confirmation? would elicit as many different responses as the individuals answering, few of which had anything to do with the truth of faith. The articles were also true when they spoke about morality, or the lack thereof. People would say, “I’m a good Catholic, but I don’t believe in marriage. Or, “I’m a good Catholic but I am pro-abortion.”

So there was a lot of truth to referring to American Catholics as cafeteria Catholics. Sadly, there still is. There are many people who want to simplify our belief system and our morality to make it less demanding and more in conformity with a largely pagan world. For example, many people have reduced the necessity to receive the Eucharist and end up putting the Eucharist on the same plane as a reminder of Jesus’ action, such as Holy Water. No the Eucharist is not a reminder of Jesus. It is Jesus. But this takes a leap of faith, a leap of trusting in the Word of God. Or on the morality side, many couples have decided that marriage comes after living together, not before living together. And I can assure you, they do not want to hear the statistics showing the elevated percentage of failed marriages for those who cohabitate, or that sex outside of marriage is a sin, and that cohabatation is a public proclamation of the sin. Morality also demands a leap of faith, faith that living as a Christian will give the rewards of Christianity.

“But all of this is so hard. Can’t we just tone down our faith, and our morality?” There is nothing new to this complaint. We just heard the disciples voicing it to Jesus. People were leaving because they did not want to take the leap of faith and accept the Eucharist. Couldn’t Jesus tone this all down? Jesus’ response was simple: are you going to leave too?

Truth has nothing to do with numbers. Truth has nothing to do with surveys. Truth is from Jesus Christ alone. As I often like to phrase at the beginning of Mass, His Truth gives meaning to the very concept, Truth.

Thank God, many of our young adults and Teens have rejected the concept of truth by numbers, and are fighting against the temptation to be cafeteria Catholics. Empowered by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, these people are demanding a following of Christ that some would call radical, but that in reality is merely adhering to the Truth. Their faith is Eucharistic centered. They are adamantly pro-life. And they are finding meaning in the Lord.

And those of us of the later generations, the former hippie generations turned conservatives, look at the young Moms and Dads, the young singles out of college, in college and in high school, and we see great hope for our Church and, consequently, for the world.

But we also know, that all of us, adamant young and determined less than young, all of us are still tempted to go by the numbers. So we are tempted to fall for the crock that there is a new morality. We mess up our lives by falling for the lies of the pagan society and experiment with drugs, with sex, or whatever, under the veil of “This is now acceptable. Or simply, everybody’s doing it.” The number of people who commit a sin, does not change the sinfulness of the action. The number of people who stay away from regularly receiving the Eucharist does not change the reality of the Eucharist.

If following Jesus means that we are radicals, then let’s be radicals. Isn’t it better to be part of a minority that has Jesus Christ in our lives than to be part of the crowd that compromises His Presence out of their lives?

Joshua in our first reading couldn’t be concerned whether the majority of the people of Israel would choose to live as pagans. He knew where he stood, “As for me and my family, we will choose the Lord.” Peter made his greatest profession of faith at the conclusion of today’s Gospel. When confronted with the possibility of leaving Christ, he proclaimed, “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

It is all laid on the line for us. We have the choice. We can live meaningful, purposeful lives. We can possess Jesus Christ. Or we can join the numbers, be part of the survey the atheists take to degrade religion, and lose ourselves and our lives in that which is not the Lord.

Yes, there are times that it is difficult to follow Christ. Following Christ means taking up the cross. It means denying ourselves the passing joys of immorality for the eternal joy of living in His Presence forever. Following Christ means being different than most of society. Following Christ means being “holy”, for that is what holiness is–being different than all that is not God.

Back in 1925, the great English poet, T. S. Eliot, wrote about the people of his time who lived without God. He called his poem, “The Hollow Men.” That is what life is without the Lord, hollow. You don’t have to go back to 1925 for examples of hollow existence. The atheistic existentialists of the fifties and sixties, could find no reason for life. The reaction to society presently expressed by those who embrace Goth demonstrates the frustration of life without meaning. Many people live a shallow, hollow existence.

But, we are not hollow. We have Jesus Christ. He gives us all we need.

“Lord, where can we go? You alone have the Words of Eternal Life.” And we have come to know, to believe, and to experience the Presence of God.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:19:00 +0000

XX Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 16^th, 2009

Proverbs 9, 1-6; Psalm 34; Ephesians 5, 15-20; St. John 6, 51-58

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy

Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon established mighty empires by force.

Jesus began His Empire with love and service, with Last Supper and the gift of His Body and Blood. Theirs have disappeared. His remains.

Each week millions assemble to salute Him in the Eucharist. He spoke that last night to a small band of illiterate men as though the memorial ceremony would continue down through the centuries. History has proved Him correct.

This week we come to the climax of John 6. John 6 is about sustenance. It is about eating. It is about nourishment. It is about the Eucharist. "Who eats my flesh and drink my blood will have the eternal life."

It is not about eating like we normally eat. Normally, when we eat, we assimilate the food.

But that is not what happens when we receive the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, we don’t assimilate the food, the Food assimilates us. When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus transforms us. Instead of the food taking on our life, we take on the life of the Lord. We just heard: “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.”

Jesus didn't say: "Who eats the symbol of my flesh, or who drinks the sign of my blood" ..

The attraction of the Eucharist is dynamic. Jesus is dynamic. When we receive communion or when we come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, we don’t just kneel before a static object. It is not a crucifix or a statue that reminds us of something. This is Jesus. The One Who Is. When we receive communion or come to adoration, we come before the dynamic, powerful Presence who speaks to us through the life He has given us. Eucharist is the same body, and the same blood given for the life of the world on the cross.

When Jesus gave us his Body and Blood the night before He died and when He gives us his Body and Blood every time we receive communion, the Lord gives us the total sacrifice of Himself to his Father. “This is my Body which shall be given up for you. This is the cup of my Blood, the new and everlasting covenant that shall be shed for you and for all until the end of time.” When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus is present as the Servant of God who in his sacrificial death is saving us all. Right here, right now. Today’s Gospel states: ‘The one who feds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal.” In the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist we receive Jesus saving his people.

If would like to simplify, to make this mystery more comprehensible, more logical and intelligible, if we refuse the real presence of the Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament, we finally refuse to recognise the reality of His passion and death. In today's Gospel Jesus identifies, means make the sign of equality between the bread of life and His Body. We cannot deny it, we cannot neglect this reality of the authentic presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

"The Bread that I will give you for the life of the world IS MY FLESH".

When we receive communion, we receive Jesus saving us now. We receive Christ strengthening us and transforming our joys and sorrows into prayers to his Father. Our union with Christ in the Eucharist is union with Christ in passion, death and resurrection. Sometimes we are full of the joy of the Resurrection, sometimes the sorrow of the Passion, but always we are strengthened by the one who gives us his body and blood. The Lord is always in action. His Presence is dynamic.

The Eucharist is "the source, the center and the summit of the Christian life. (CCC, 1324)

Is it really? Is it the Eucharist really a center of my life?

It is interesting how much time and effort we spend to maintain our physical body in good condition. How many hours we spend in gyms, on the health paths, at the doctor, in the solariums, on walking, jogging, exercising, choosing the healthy food, and so on, and so on, …………… and at the same time very often we don't have time or interest to come for Sunday for Mass, we don't have time to come for one hour or even few minutes of Adoration, we don't have time for prayers, we are to tired for worshipping the Giver of Life.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Archbishop Richard W. Smith

Pastoral Letter on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Cardinal Marc Ouellet Calls Out Brother Bishops for Lack of Support for Pope

By John-Henry Westen

PHOENIX, August 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a short but stunning talk before some 90 Bishops, eight Cardinals and 1000 Knights, the Primate of Canada, Quebec City Archbishop Marc Cardinal Ouellet, addressed the subject of unity at the 127th annual Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus last night. Ouellet spoke of the "hard winter" Pope Benedict XVI had to "suffer" this past year as he was "harshly criticized both within and outside the Church and was not adequately defended by those who share his ministry."

The two biggest controversies that sparked criticism of the Pope in recent months from the liberal, mainstream media, and even from some in the Church hierarchy, were the lifting of the excommunications of the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, and the Pope's remarks against the use of condoms. Although Cardinal Ouellet mentioned by name only the Pope's "effort to bring back the Schismatic group of the Lefebvrists to full communion," he noted the Pope was criticized "for this and various other reasons."

Only one other controversy - that of the condom comments - caused an international outcry against the Pope, even from some within the Church. AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the pontiff said to reporters aboard the papal plane on March 17 this year.

The comments were followed by heavy criticism from world leaders, including Catholic leaders, and even veiled criticism from bishops in Portugal, Germany, and Canada. Two cardinals, one retired and one active, were among those who were unsupportive.

While there were various cardinals and bishops that defended the Holy Father on the matter, the defense of the Pope was far from widespread.

"At every level of leadership in the Church, unity with Peter and solidarity with him has not been a great achievement in this past year," said Ouellet in his address.

In a rousing call for unity with the Pope and also an affirmation of his teaching authority, Cardinal Ouellet said: "It is fully time to take action and stand with our Holy Father who is himself so admirably peaceful and coherent in fulfilling all his duties. We are greatly blessed by the quality of his teaching."

The Quebec Cardinal congratulated the Knights on their theme for the convention: "We stand with Peter in Solidarity with Our Bishops and Priests."

"Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us all to give stronger witness to our loving loyalty to the Church and its Chief Shepherd, successor of Peter," he said. "Unity in the Church is the key to the realization of its mission."

The Primate of Canada pointed to dire hardships in the Church as the fruit of disunity with the Pope. "When there is a lack of unity within the Church we quickly see a decline in vocations and in Church attendance and disintegration of family life," he said.

Concluding, Cardinal Ouellet said: "Let us stand with Peter's successor, our Pope, at this challenging time courageously taking up our Christian duty of building unity and solidarity everywhere."

To watch the Cardinal's full address begin at 24 minutes in this video (place mouse in bottom of video window and video controls will show):
http://www.catholictv.com/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=136&videoID=315

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:30:00 +0000

Summary of Bill C-384

(Click here for Complete Analysis)

• Bill C-384 would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.
(For the purpose of the analysis, euthanasia and assisted suicide will be referred to as "intended death".)

• Bill C-384 does not restrict intended death to Canadian citizens. (The bill could make Canada a destination for Suicide Tourists and Suicide Clinics).

• The individual would need to be at least 18 years old.

• Bill C-384 does not limit intended death to the terminally ill and it does not define terminal illness.

• The individual may refuse appropriate treatments and still die by an intended death.

• Bill C-384 allows intended death for people who experience depression or other chronic mental conditions.

• Bill C-384 measures competency based on "appearing to be lucid". The term "appearing to be lucid" does not assure that the individual is actually lucid.

• Bill C-384 would allow intended death for incompetent people who stated their intentions while still competent.

• The language of the bill is not clear whether medical practitioners are the only individuals who can intend the death of an incompetent individual.

• Bill C-384 would require at least two medical practitioners to confirm the diagnosis in writing.

• Bill C-384 would require that all requests for intended death be made free of duress. ( However, no assurances are built into the bill)

• Bill C-384 would require the medical practitioner to inform the individual of all alternatives. (There is no requirement to try effective treatments).

• Bill C-384 would require the medical practitioner to provide confirmation of the diagnosis to the coroner. This is a form of after-the-fact reporting. The medical practitioner is only required to file a report after the individual has died. This is to protect the medical practitioner and not the individual who is dead.

• The definition of medical practitioner is not limited to a physician.

Complete Analysis of Bill C-384

An act to amend the Criminal Code (right to die with dignity)

On May 13, 2009 Francine Lalonde MP (BQ - La Pointe-de-l’Île) introduced Bill C-384: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (right to die with dignity).

Previously, Lalonde introduced Bill C-562 (June 2008) and Bill C-407 (June 2005). Bill C-384 is identical to Bill C-562 while Bill C-407 was very similar.

Lalonde’s husband Guy Lemarche is the communications director of the euthanasia lobby group - l’Association québécoise pour le droit de mourir dans la dignité (AQDMD).

Bill C-384 would amend subsections 222(7) and subsection 241(2) of the Criminal Code.

Euthanasia is a deliberate act undertaken by one individual with the intention of ending the life of another individual to relieve that person’s suffering, where the act is the cause of death. (Of Life and Death - 1995)

Bill C-384 legalizes euthanasia by amending subsection 222(7) of the Criminal Code. Section 222 is the homicide provision within the criminal code.

Assisted suicide is the act of intentionally killing oneself with the assistance of another who provides the knowledge, means or both. (Of Life and Death - 1995)

Bill C-384 legalizes assisted suicide by amending subsection 241(2) of the criminal code. Section 241 is the assisted suicide provision within the criminal code.

Bill C-384 amends the Criminal Code by adding to subsections 222(7) and 241(2) exceptions whereby the law is circumvented.

Bill C-384 states that the person must be at least eighteen years old. It may be unconstitutional because it limits what is determined by the bill to be appropriate medical treatment only based on the age of the individual. Since the constitution recognizes that everyone is equal under the law, it may be unconstitutional to limit the rights of individuals, based on age, without good reason.

Bill C-384 states that the individual is eligible: "after trying or expressly refusing the appropriate treatments available that they continue to experience severe physical or mental pain without any prospect of relief."

The bill states that an individual is eligible for intended death if they experience severe physical pain without any prospect of relief.

Physical pain can always be mitigated. Modern palliative care has substantially improved over the past 30 years. Medicine has not solved every concern with pain and symptom management, but the concept of experiencing physical pain without any prospect of relief is a sign of a patient who has not been appropriately cared for and not a justifiable reason for intended death.

Bill C-384 directly threatens the lives of people with disabilities and/or people with chronic conditions. People with disabilities and chronic conditions are often perceived as being without any prospect of relief. These same people will usually view their life experience differently from those who are making judgements on their quality of life.

The Bill states that an individual is eligible for intended death if they experience severe mental pain without any prospect of relief.

Chronic depression and mental pain are always treatable. One must question the concept of intending the death of an individual who experiences chronic depression or mental pain because you can never be sure that the individual is competent to consent. The bill states that you must only "appear to be lucid."

Bill C-384 does not require that medical practitioners refer individuals with mental pain to a specialist.

Since an individual is eligible if they have refused appropriate treatments that are available, how can a medical practitioner determine that the mental pain has no prospect of relief if the individual can refuse appropriate treatments?

The bill states that the individual is eligible for intended death if they suffer from a terminal illness.

Bill C-384 does not define terminal illness.

Many people live with a terminal illness but are not actively dying. Bill C-384 qualifies an individual for an intended death when they are diagnosed.

Bill C-384 states that the individual is eligible for intended death if: "the person has provided a medical practitioner, while appearing to be lucid, with two written requests more than 10 days apart expressly stating the person’s free and informed consent to opt to die."

The assumption that someone is competent when they "appear to be lucid" is questionable. To appear to be lucid cannot be considered an appropriate measure for competency. In other words, Bill C-384 would allow an intended death upon someone who may not actually be competent.

Making two written requests more than 10 days apart is designed to prove the lasting intent of the individual. It is an illusion because the individual who makes the request only needs to "appear to be lucid".

Bill C-384 states that if: "the person has designated in writing with free and informed consent, before two witnesses with no personal interest in the death of the person, another person to act on his or her behalf with any medical practitioner when the person does not appear to be lucid."

This means that an individual can have an intended death if they have made the request in a valid advanced directive.

It is unclear whether the individual who does the act of intended death of the incompetent individual must be a medical practitioner. Because the bill states that another person can act on his or her behalf with any medical practitioner, it is unclear whether or not the act referred to is the intended death or consenting to the intended death.

Bill C-384 requires that written confirmation of the diagnosis has been received from at least two medical practitioners. In the state of Oregon, people who are denied assisted suicide from their physician will seek intended death through Compassion & Choices. In 2008, 53 of the 60 assisted suicide deaths in Oregon were facilitated by the lobby group Compassion & Choices.

Bill C-384 requires "the medical practitioner to assure that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the written requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide were made under duress or while a person was not lucid."

This is designed to guarantee the that individual is mentally competent. It is an illusion because the individual making the request only needs to "appear to be lucid."

Bill C-384 requires that "the medical practitioner has informed the person of the consequences of the request for euthanasia or assisted suicide and of the alternatives that are available to the person."

This is designed to guarantee that the individual is aware of the available options. It is an illusion because the individual is not required to try effective treatments and there is no requirement to refer the individual to a palliative care specialist.

Bill C-384 requires "the medical practitioner to act in the manner indicated by the person and that the person may revoke their request at any time."

This simply means that a individual may change their mind at any time. It is an illusion because the bill allows for an intended death after the individual is deemed incompetent, as long as the individual had requested an intended death while being competent.

Bill C-384 requires "the medial practitioner to provide the coroner with a copy of the written confirmations of the diagnosis that were received from at least two medical practitioners."

This is a common "after-the-fact" reporting system that exists in other jurisdictions where intended death has been legalized. After-the-fact reporting is a safeguard for the medical practitioner and not the individual who has already died.

Bill C-384 defines medical practitioner as a duly qualified person by provincial law to practice medicine. The definition of medical practitioner is not limited to a physician.

Final comments

Society cannot legislate autonomy and choice in relation to acts that intentionally and directly cause death. No statutes that allow for intended can protect vulnerable people from the subtle pressure to "choose" death.

Legalizing euthanasia and/or assisted suicide is always wrong because:

It directly and intentionally threatens the lives of the most vulnerable members of society. The lives of people with disabilities and chronic conditions, people who live with depression and mental illness, and others are directly threatened by intended death.

It establishes intended death as a treatment option for problems that are properly solved by effective and compassionate medical care.

It changes the trust relationship between the medical practitioner and the patient.

Canadians must tell their member of parliament to vote against Bill C-384.

noreply@blogger.com (Kazik) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:11:00 +0000

July 26^th – XVII Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pope Benedict XVI begins His Encyclical Letter "Caritas in Veritate" by the challenging words:

"Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life, death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity." (no 1)

Charity in truth, should be the principal driving force behind the authentic development.

Charity in truth and not greediness, charity in truth and not the success, charity in truth and not avarice and selfishness should be the only driving force of an authentic development. Without charity and truth there is no development, there is not a sincere and honest progress.

Preparing today's homily I read also the introduction to 17^th Sunday liturgy from the "Living with Christ" booklet. What I found there are the following words:

"It's hard to believe, but the statistics are just as shocking as they are dreadful: in our day and age, some 800 million people still suffer from malnutrition or starvation. More than 35 thousands children die from hunger every day, when our society claims unparalleled living standards and unmatched technological sophistication." Why?

Pope in his Encyclical letter answers in a direct way:

"Life in many poor countries is still extremely insecure as a consequence of food shortages, and the situation could become worse: hunger still collects enormous numbers of victims among those who, like Lazarus, are not permitted to take their place at the rich man's table, ..." (no 27)

And this is due to the fact that we won't like to understand that we are lacking in our daily life "charity in truth".

In today's psalm we read:

"All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord

And all your faithful shall bless you ...

You open your hand satisfying all our needs"

Yes all our needs are satisfied but we are constantly unhappy and unsatisfied, greedy and disappointed, because we are lacking truth.

When the man bringing the food to Elisha (in the first reading today) objects: "we have not enough food for a hundred people to feed them", Elisha repeated his order: "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord".

When Andrew and Simon Peter in today's Gospel complain: "we have only five loaves and two fish but what are they for so many people?" Jesus repeats His order: "Make the people sit down and give them to eat."

Are we not in the similar position? Do we not complain constantly that we do not have enough? Are not rather lacking charity in truth? Charity toward those who less fortunate than we and truth about our own wealth and prosperity?

From today's readings we learn that God is a life-giving God, who cares for hungering and poor crowds. And when God gives, He always gives over-abundantly. Prophet Elisha and Jesus the Son Of God show us that God always provides more than we need, for He wants us to share our goods with all His children. We, who are privileged to have all the food we need and more, can make a difference by sharing what we have.

And this is what Pope Benedict XVI says in his Encyclical letter:

"The reality of human solidarity, which is a benefit for us, also imposes a duty. Many people today would claim that they owe nothing to anyone, except to themselves. They are concerned only with their rights, and they often have great difficulty in taking responsibility for their own and other people's integral development.

Nowadays we are witnessing a grave inconsistency. On the one hand, appeals are made to so-called rights, arbitrary and non-essential in nature, accompanied by the demand that they be recognized and promoted by public structures, while, on the other hand, elementary and basic human rights remain neglected and are violated in much of the world. ... Claims to a “right to excess”, and even to transgression and vice, within affluent societies, are in a scandalous contrast to the lack of food, drinkable water, basic instruction and elementary health care in areas of the underdeveloped world and on the outskirts of large metropolitan centres." (no 43).