Holy Thursday ~ Passover of Love

Holy Thursday ~ Queen of Peace Community, Gainesville

April 13, 2017 ~ 30^th Anniversary

Gospel According to St. John (13, 1-13): Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end…   So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

A woman ran up to Jesus and knelt down, saying, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered with a question as he often does, “Why do you call me good, for no one is good but God Alone? Do you really know I am the Son of God who came for you and loves you unconditionally? You know the commandments, which are essential for the journey. You shall not kill, steal, covet, commit adultery, defraud, or lie. You shall receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice, and return them to God with increase.” This community of Queen of Peace answers, “Lord, we have kept all of these commandments, since we were established as a parish in 1987.

Tonight, this night, Jesus looks at us and loves us. Then he says, “You are lacking one thing. Go sell what you have and give alms to the poor. Give more than 10% to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come and follow me and I will be with you through your fears.” In order to follow Jesus, we must be all in. We can’t be just a little pregnant with the Word of God.

Tonight, this most holy night, Jesus offers us a most wonderful and almost unimaginable gift. Jesus loves us. Jesus washes our feet… everyone of us! The gift is love. The gift is joy. The gift is peace. What more do we need if Jesus looks at us and loves us? On Passion Sunday, a song was proclaimed at the foot of the Cross-after the community proclaimed the Passion. That was Father Jeff’s homily. It was perfect. On Good Friday, we will hear the song again… but the response to our prayer will not be totally understood until the Easter Vigil when the baptismal waters and the Holy Spirit are poured out on all of us.

Jesus, the resurrected Son of God, will sing the song back to us with love:

In your eyes are my secrets that I’ve never shown you.

In my heart I feel, I’ve always known you.

In your arms there’s a comfort that I’ve never known

You’re what I’ve been waiting for. There’s no one like you.

Sure as a sunrise, pure as a prayer,

You fashioned hope right out of thin air.

Every dream I imagined, seems it could come true

I believe in miracles, there’s no one like you.

Jesus is inviting each of you tonight to a journey we have always known. It is the Passover into Love itself. Martha, loved by Jesus, recognized Jesus as the Passover Lamb when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me and dies will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” What is your response? Jesus is washing you with Baptism, feeding you with his Body and Blood, and enflaming your soul with His Holy Spirit. He is looking at you with love. If the Mass never ends, and I believe it never does, then let us take it with us and give thanks to God by loving one another and washing the feet of the world. And we shall pray together many more songs.

Beloved

Beloved set me free

Many nights we prayed, with no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hope for a song, we barely understood

Now we are not afraid, although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains long before we knew we could,

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, its hard to kill

Who knows what miracles, you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe
In this time of fear, when prayer so often proves in vain

Hope seems like the summer bird, too swiftly flown away
Yet now I’m standing here. My hearts so full, I can’t explain,

Seeking faith and speakin’ words, I never thought I’d say (Refrain)

From Prince of Egypt

 

Passing on the Torch of Compassion

We can only hope to give the best care possible to our heroes and heroines.

When medicine has gone to its limits

Or sometimes even beyond

In the compassionate care of the providers

It is then that the

Spiritual dimension of the human person

Shifts into high gear

It was already there, this spiritual dimension

Even in her denial

But at the moment of pain that escapes

the morphine

and encouraging words

and even tears of the soul…

that is when your RMT

Religious Ministry Team

facilitates the

Faith or lack thereof…

Within the indomitable

mysterious

wholly incredible

person

human being

and spirit

To save

That source and summit

Beyond death

And yet below, that is attainable

As I have witnessed

And borne with gratitude and trepidation

When a son or daughter of our nation is close to breathing no more,

Or even after the breath has been stolen away,

It is then that we ask their final wish and receive

their final statement

In the timeless moment before departure

stripped of all earthly desire…

life runs dry.

A chaplain records and witnesses this miracle of death

And the RMT can teach the Medical Team to provide likewise.

Let us journey with great love, hope, and humility.

Let us celebrate the hours and days and minutes

that will transform and transfigure

our wounded, dead, and their families forever!

AMEN.

We can only imagine what our kind acts, our compassion, our love, and our skills will create in eternity.

We can only imagine.

Chaplain Ron Moses Camarda +

Camp Fallujah, Iraq

February 24, 2005

Tear in the Desert

Last night I watched in great horror and disbelief when our president evoked a standing ovation for the widow of a Navy Seal who was killed in an operation that was deeply flawed. It didn’t seem like it was done out of compassion, but to make him look like he is doing a great job as our president. Most notable is that the father of that sailor is estranged from the president who hasn’t shown any respect for the loss of his son. The father held that Navy Seal when he was a baby. He was proud of him. He is probably mourning the many civilians and children who were also killed in that raid. Our safety as a nation can’t be bought with the deaths of millions of displaced people. People who make arms and weapons profited from that fiasco. Where are the prophets?

Where are the chaplains and commanding officers who know this is not the way to go? When I was in Iraq, I knew that my most difficult task would be to comfort the families and friends of those who died in my arms or whose bodies I received from the battlefield. As a priest, there are times when I need to be quiet while those mourning the death of their loved ones pounded my chest. That is the Cross and that is the fast that God requires or desires. To feel hopeless at such loss.

I do pray for President Donald Trump, but I still believe that Jesus is trying to break through his stony heart. I am trying not to judge, but Jesus does give me permission to observe the fruit. “You will know them by their fruit.” So when I think of our leaders of our country (including the media, congress, lobbyists and military industrial complex), I see people trying to profit at the expense of bearing the fruit of love, joy and peace.

Think of anyone you are supporting and see whether they have any of these fruits of the Holy Spirit…

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GENTLENESS

GENEROSITY

SELF-CONTROL

PURITY

FAITHFULNESS

These are more important than the Ten Commandments, because this fruit is what rules and laws are aiming for. This is what decreases the need for government; when people love one another. I have a long way to go, but at least I believe I am bearing some of this fruit.

For Ash Wednesday and Lent, I speaking out against hate that is often masked behind self-righteousness and hypocrisy. Of course, I am beginning with myself. It is not easy, but the peace, love and joy that rises in my heart is worth the fasting and sacrifice.

Love, joy, peace,

Ron Moses +

We are Called to…

Care Packages to Share

The fruit of silence is prayer

the fruit of prayer is faith

the fruit of faith is love

the fruit of love is service

the fruit of service is peace…

I prayed this prayer of Mother Teresa many times as the soldier, marine or sailor died.

 

Gratitude for Healing (28th Sunday)

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Then were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”                                                                              Gospel according to St. Luke 17:11-19

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Most of us have needed healing or cleansing of our diseases of body, mind, heart or soul. When weighed down by depression, lust, greed, cancer, poverty, shame, bitterness, relentless grief, unfaithfulness, or oppression… we cry out from a distance, “Jesus Master! Have pity on us!” After Jesus answers our prayer, however, only one out of ten of us recognizes the cleansing, returns out of joy, and gives thanks to our Beloved and Faithful God.

Through the suffering and death with Jesus, we discover how loved we are by God. He has told us through cleansing baptism, “I God, take you to be my beloved. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad times, sickness and health (including mental illness, drug addiction). I will love you for all of eternity, not just to death when you part from this world.

If we have died with him we shall also live with him:

If we persevere, we shall also reign with him.

But if we deny him he will deny us.

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (St. Paul to Timothy)

Is it possible that this hurricane cleansed something in us that we didn’t even realize needed healing? The safety and life of our loved ones mattered the most. Yes, we have anxiety over our homes and possessions. But most importantly, we care about each other. Our hostility is transformed into hospitality, our loneliness to solitude, our isolation to community, and our illusions to genuine prayer.

From time to time in each of our lives, we have a dis-ease, like leprosy, where we experience being an outcast to society. Broken is interpreted as not beautiful. We are even repulsed by our own leprosy. Leprosy is one of those skin diseases that eats away at our body and sometimes our soul.

One time, as a baby priest, I visited a leper colony in Kingston, Jamaica. As we pilgrims with Food for the Poor approached the home from our mini-bus, I could hear the most beautiful music of my life. The joy coming from that home was luring me into the building. I noticed the bounce in my feet as I approached.

When I entered and saw the many residents with the deformities that come from a treatable disease that is not treated in the poorest of the poor… I was shocked. I was moved with pity. Unlike the story in the Gospel today, they didn’t cry out to Jesus or me for pity. For they were already cleansed by Jesus through their faith. It took a few minutes for my emotions to catch up to the truth.

The sisters and caretakers directed me to a seat between Lillian and Martin, both elderly. The disease blinded Martin, but he was singing and swaying to the music. Then he recited a most eloquent poem about the beauty of the soul and inner sight. Lillian had no fingers and no feet for they were decimated by the relentless leprosy. I’m not sure she could see with her physical eyes. But she was singing with joy and clapping her pancake hands with heavenly rhythm and abandon. She was broken but most beautiful. She broke into song singing praise.

As I began to sing reluctantly with this intoxicating and fragrant celebration, Lillian leaned into me and sang into my ear, “Isn’t God good?!” With tears streaming from my eyes and realizing my own healing, I rejoiced with her and cried out, “All the time!”

Let us Cross to the other side.

Be Praised!

Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy.                  2 Kings 5:14-17  (His flesh was better than before the leprosy.)

Awareness & Intimacy

Morning grogginess and resistance to get out of bed

this time of year… sun doesn’t come up until 7:12 am

my soul really, really wants to be taken to the beach

thirsting for God or love or higher power or something…

O so tired… possessive of my sleep time, food for my brain

rationalizing the sacred wrestling with the sacred.

 

Reluctantly rising… at least my soul,

start the obnoxious grinding of my coffee maker… excited

pushing and pulled by my body to take care of duty

then no excuses… bike pushed out of garage

silence getting louder

body catching up to the desires of the soul

 

coffee in hand, seated on bike…

first surprise

waning moon just two hours from setting

peddling in the cool but warm shadows of morning

intoxicated by the moment before sunrise

my soul like a dog distracted by the smells or squirrel

letting go of seeing the sunrise

appreciating the moon… the feel of the bike beneath me

 

So much, no video, no photo, no story could understand

my ride to the beach was like eternity

gifted to me…

contemplating

filling up with intimacy and flowers bursting from the sand

 

little pricks to my senses like

fire in the distance

bug crawling along my ear and hat line

clouds blocking the sunrise… but a blessing

I was late and would have felt cheated

reluctantly left my bike on the path to the beach

 

breathing deeper

no longer fighting the tiny ants on my path

noticing the sound of the waves crashing louder with every step

silhouetting clouds

disjointed waves

delicious humans and dogs enjoying the same by different perspectives

feet finally in the water, soul thanking my body

sandpipers and dolphins skirting and frolicking

aware, alive, alone and one

 

o so much more,

but not the energy to express

ya’ll need to experience your own morning

even if ya don’t get out of bed…

how beautiful the yawn and stretch

the smells and creaky bones

encounter of your beloved, if only in your memory

 

borrowed a few shells from the shoreline

to share with my friends at Wekiva

beautiful friends

healing and stabilizing

as the mind, body and soul wake up to

awareness and intimacy

 

let us pray

let us hope

let us be aware and intimate

with our day, body and soul

 

breathe in…

breathe out…

Take, Beloved, receive…

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them…Whoever does not carry one’s own cross cannot be my disciple…Anyone of you who does not renounce all one’s possessions cannot be my disciple.  Luke: 14:25-33

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          The good Jesuit priest Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) to be missionaries. Ignatius never got the opportunity to go on mission physically, but he was the catalyst of an order which one day would bring about a Pope Francis with a missionary and merciful zeal. Every day, Ignatius would pray before a cross in Rome these words. I imagine he also sang them:

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is yours, dispose of it wholly according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace, for this is sufficient for me.

When couples marry, a man and a woman leave their parents and become one. In reality, they say those words St. Ignatius used: “Take and receive all my liberty, all I have and possess. Your love is enough for me.”

When a newborn is presented to parents, parents say to their children: “Take and receive all my liberty, all I have and possess. Your love is enough for me.” Beyond the anxieties, they said these words to each of us.

When we are ordained priests or enter religious life, it is not all blessings and bliss. We say to the people of God, “Take and receive all my liberty, all I have and possess. Your love is enough for me.”

So, when we assess what we will need to complete the most essential successes in life, those that manifest our love, whether we understand or not, the outlay will be all we have and possess. Discipleship is of course one of those successes that require us to be “all in for love.”

This weekend our Holy Catholic Church officially proclaimed what the whole world already knows: Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a saint. Having worked with the sisters in Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and Guatemala, I know all of her sisters are saints who gave everything and received everything they need from God.

She once said, “Look at your hands; you have five fingers. Every morning ask yourself what you will do today for the Lord with these five fingers. At night do the same thing and ask what you will do for Jesus and humanity tomorrow.”

In the parables of the tower and the king preparing for war, Jesus reminds us that we do not live the life of God by accident, that to live our baptisms demands focused attention and deliberate action, courage, faith and hope and love.

Now Jesus is on the cross and says these words to each of us:

Take Beloved, receive… all I have and possess;

My memory, understanding, my entire will.

Give me only your love and your grace, that’s enough for me.

Your love and your grace are enough for me.

Jesus is simply waiting for our response. Jesus is waiting for us to say “Yes” to his invitation to join him on the Cross. This Cross has built more than bridges, but love to shelter us for eternity.

Mother Teresa suggested a “Simple Path,” for humanity to thrive (let’s say it together)

The fruit of SILENCE is

PRAYER

The fruit of prayer is

FAITH

The fruit of faith is

LOVE

The fruit of love is

SERVICE

The fruit of service is

PEACE…That would truly be good news!

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On the night that Mother Teresa died, September 5, 1997, I had a dream. I wrote the following in my journal that morning.

Mother Teresa  +

         forgive us God

         for all this pomp

         tell her we love her

         and push us and gently guide us

         to get back to work

         and quench the thirst

         of Jesus on the Cross

 

a dream I had last night

that I entered a special

and privileged group

everything was given to me

as I went from event to event

they smiled, the ones in charge

and freely gave me and my companions

everything we needed

         but

         but

I was very distressed…

uneasy

like something was expected

i had to earn my keep… pay back

i became angry in my dream

at these people who gave me things

i tried to ask them what they wanted in return

         but nothing

                  just a dumb smile

 

I was looking for the hitch

         the trap

nobody gives anything without

         expecting something

 

and then I got it

they were the rich who gave a lot

they were in charge

and wouldn’t look into our eyes

         touch our sores

we were the poorest of poor

and they were satisfied

         in us

when we are so grateful for their sharing…

which wasn’t totally true love… free of guilt

 

and then I woke up immediately recognizing how rich I am.

snatched with this thought…

God smiling

Teresa smiling

Holy Spirit smiling

   and Jesus smiling.

At Eucharist

Jesus gives to all… the same plain bread and wine

         some places in the world can’t afford the wine

         but that’s okay

         sort of

Working with the Sisters of Charity

         they eat what the poor eat

         Cities of Joy

                  in

Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, Cuba

Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Tanzania, Mexico, Ghana, Liberia, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, New York, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Panama, El Salvador….

                                             They are there!

                                             Jesus cries out from the Cross:

                                             “I thirst!”

Soulful Prayer ~ 17th Sunday

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

                        Father, hallowed be your name,

                           your kingdom come.

                        Give us each day our daily bread

                        and forgive us our sins

                        for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,

                       and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

Jesus went on, “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?              

                                                                                                            St. Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying. He doesn’t ask us to do things he wouldn’t do himself.

Jesus teaches us how to pray if we ask; real and sustaining prayer; prayer like food.

Jesus also informs us that as sons and daughters of the Father, we have an abundance of bread and gifts that the world is in desperate need of.

Prayers to God and Jesus are always answered. Prayers are not always answered the way we expect or desire, but they are always the absolute best answer. Why? Because God loves us as only a mother and father could. If we ask for a snake to eat, God most likely will give us a fish.

When we ask for something in prayer, do we always consider how our prayer will impact others? I am sometimes baffled how God could answer my trivial prayer to get over a cold before migrants and refugees who ask only to be treated with a drop of respect and drink of water. I shutter to think how our country cries over our health care details when our life expectancy is greater than most other countries that have none. Being rich is not a blessing as much as it is a responsibility. When much has been given, much is expected.

Our daily bread is a recognition and Eucharistic gratitude that we have the Creator of the world within our bodies and hearts. Therefore our prayer needs to be for wisdom (the first gift of the Holy Spirit), humility, joy and gratitude.

The serenity prayer says much about a true prayer. People who have hit rock bottom and are crying for mercy desperately pray it. “Lord, grant me the courage to change the things I can change, the acceptance of the things I can’t change, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

I accept that I can’t change how we human beings prophet from violence and from divisions like divorce and politics. What I can change is being more responsible for myself; becoming less reactive and more peaceful.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, self-control and faithfulness. All human beings can improve on this fruit. I’m praying for a bumper crop of love, joy and peace… in me!!! I am reassured that in tragedies like Orlando and Dallas and Baton Rouge, people still come together like they never knew they could.

God is more interested in our return to prayer than we are. It isn’t about the sins of others, but about my sins and my need for mercy. We simply need to listen and spend time with Jesus and continue to ask him to teach us how to pray better than we did yesterday. It all begins and ends with love. But our prayer will be uncomfortable.

I often take long walks on the beach and I pray. Often this song wells up from my soul:

There is a longing in our hearts, O Love, for you to reveal yourself to us.

There is a longing in our hearts for love, we only find in you o God.

 

For justice, for mercy, for freedom hear our prayer.

In sorrow, in grief, be near hear our prayer o God.

 

For wisdom, for courage, for comfort… hear our prayer.

In weakness, in fear, be near hear our prayer o God.

 

For healing, for wholeness, for new life… hear our prayer.

In sickness, in death, be near hear our prayer O God.

 

Lord save us, take pity. Light in our darkness.

We call you. We wait. Be near, hear our prayer O God.

                                    Song by Anne Quigley  1992

If you pray like this, I am confident that God, the Father, will not only hear your prayer, but answer it.

As a country, many knock at our door. Many are praying that we open our doors and see. Once I saw the poorest of poor in Haiti, Jamaica, the special needs and Honduras… I realized that I needed to bang on the doors of my friends for some bread (food and money). When confronted with over 1500 casualties and 81 deaths in Fallujah Iraq, I realized the 10,000 soldiers, sailors and Marines were pounding on the door of my heart for spiritual bread to make sense of the senseless. I was depleted and bankrupt of mercy. As long as we profit from wars, we will never be able to listen to the prophets. Although Jesus has given me an abundance of Bread and Blood, there came a time when I was the one pounding on the doors of my friends late at night for my friends and their families in need. I am still pounding!

In other words, my prayer is that I have the courage to open the locked door of my heart tonight and see the plight of the poor and hungry. Sometimes I have to be the beggar for the hungry, refugee, oppressed and poor like the friends who come to me in the middle of the night. God will provide.

Ah the dangers of praying as Jesus teaches us…

Do you think God might answer this prayer?

O my! & wow!

 

 

 

 

Hostility to Hospitality

16^th Sunday of Ordinary Time ~ Hostility to Hospitality

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Hostility needs to transform into Hospitality. How often do we bring in a third party to solve our conflicts rather than working out our troubles with love, hospitality and understanding?

Martha had a valid complaint and concern for her sister Mary. Women of that time just didn’t do that kind of behavior. It is similar to how Saudi Arabia doesn’t allow women to drive a car even today. And yet some bold women have done just that. And they paid a terrible price. Remember the excuses men gave for women not being able to vote. Many paid a terrible price.

Mary was responding with her heart first. If she hears Jesus with her heart, she will later respond with her hands.

In our very turbulent and wounded world, the emotional response only heightens the anxiety. Martha was really anxious. Has anyone here been anxious about terror, violence, economics, relationships, teenagers or politics? Martha really wanted to sit and listen to Jesus, but she was programmed otherwise. It wasn’t Mary’s problem; it was Martha’s problem. Martha invited Jesus to her house (unusual for a woman) with joy. She believed she was going to be a great sacristan, Eucharistic Minister, altar server or lector or usher. But Jesus wanted to engage Martha’s mind and heart in the same way he connected with Mary, her sister. The Scriptures emphasize how Jesus loved these sisters very much.

Has this ever happened to you? Your generosity and hospitality turned to hostility? I know I have been caught. “Ron, Ron, you are anxious and upset about many things.” It is very hard not to get anxious these days. Psychologically, we know that if anxieties rise like in tragedies, conflict, atrocities or deadlines… thinking decreases dramatically and decisions are made with our emotions and reactivity.

I dunno. I wonder if Martha invited her sister Mary into her quiet space after Jesus left. “What did he say?” “How did you take it in?” “Did he like my matzo balls and leftover lamb?” If they had any conflict or hostility toward each other, it probably transformed into hospitality.

Jesus personally invites each of us to this Eucharistic celebration today. Some of us became the feet, hands, voice and heart of Jesus. His hospitality is outstanding, but his Word is divine! We welcome people through the penitential cleansing and baptism. We serve the Word as lectors. We are busy with live entertainment and musicians. We are stewards of our time, talent, treasures, AC, electricity and nutritious donuts. We experience the most incredible bread and wine transformed into Jesus’ Body, Blood and Soul. All are welcome. This is a 7 Star restaurant!

After the banquet we go home, but not alone.

The Mass truly never ends. We take it with us.

Martha did eventually listen to Jesus when death and tragedy struck her home. Martha begged Jesus to come and heal her brother who was quite ill. Jesus couldn’t make it to her home until her brother was four days in the tomb. This time it was Martha who first threw herself at the feet of Jesus. “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask of God will be granted.” Jesus replied, “Martha, your brother will rise.” She replied, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus then caught her attention again. He broke through her anxieties. “Martha, Beloved Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha’s tears dried up and I imagine she looked Jesus in the eyes. “Yes Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” John 11:17-27

Amazingly, Martha leaves Jesus there and calls her sister secretly saying, “The Teacher is here and asking for you.” These sisters truly love each other with no grudges. In all of the Scriptures, Martha is the only woman called twice by name. She joins, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, and Saul now Paul. And let us not forget the 7^th call from the Son on his Cross. My God, My God…

Insignificant…Not!

Martha received Jesus in her home. She then took Jesus with her. Or did Jesus take her with him?   When we leave today from this Eucharistic Banquet, we will welcome Jesus into the home of our hearts. Then we will hopefully discover that we are the ones invited to our own home where Jesus is reclining. We listen first like Mary and then we serve like Martha and Jesus. Remember that during the Last Supper, Jesus got up and washed his disciples’ feet. Let us do the same.

First love with your heart, then love with your hands.

This is what it means to love God, self and neighbor equally with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength and with all your mind.

And if we are going to live for all eternity, what stops us from living eternity today? All we need to do is welcome him into our homes. Don’t be anxious nor afraid.   Jesus wants us to know that he will be with us always as reflected in this song:

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow’r of hell and death is at your side, know that
I am with you through it all.

Song by John Michael Talbot

Let us pray for the people throughout the world subjected to terror.

People in places like Africa have been suffering for years. They too are neighbors.

Let us respond to terrorism with love and non-violence. Reactivity only leads to reactivity.

Caught Breaking the Spirit of the Law

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There was a scholar of the Law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply,  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? Luke 10:25-37

 We go over the speed limit.

We text while driving.

We cheat at work. We exaggerate on our taxes.

Shoplifting something small. Drink too much before we drive.

Texting at the dinner table or when dining with someone.

We don’t complete our homework and we are in class.

You take on a job and realize that although you graduated with honors, you didn’t learn the material.

What is our number one concern?

Getting caught!!!

Sometimes our behaviors are dangerous and can cause serious injury. But getting caught is our number one concern.

When we do get caught, we attempt to justify why we broke the law or can’t do the work. We blame, we squirm, we dig a deeper hole. Or like a good defense attorney, we find the loopholes. We get further and further away from the truth and ourselves.

Every Mass we come with gratitude and blessings.

We also come with a question similar to the scholar of the law.

“Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus throws the question right back at us. “You went through Catholic schools or a great confirmation class. You came into the church through RCIA. What is written in the Scriptures, how do you read it?”

We all answer the question intellectually correct. Some still answer as cradle Catholics or with the Baltimore Catechism. Some answer with a conservative, traditional or liberal bent.

We all answer correctly. “Do this and you will live.”

But then we attempt to justify ourselves because we got caught. It was only 5 mph over the limit.

We believe we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind. We ask what is the minimum I need to do to get into heaven.

What does loving our neighbor with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind really mean?

How have you loved our neighbor who is often poor psychologically, physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually? Children are not born racist, violent, nor greedy. They are taught to be so. They do not have a choice. A puppy does not have a choice about whether they are mean or gentle. They simply reflect their master and their family. Behavior is automatic like stopping when the light turns red or crossing the street when we see trouble. But human beings have a choice. We choose a life in the Holy Spirit. But it takes great effort.

In the parable, we know nothing about the victim in the ditch except he was probably Jewish. We do know that Jesus loves this man in the ditch. That is why Jesus tells the story. He wants us to see him for who he is: God’s beloved son and our brother. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta pleads with us that the poor and victims are Jesus in the distressing disguise. This victim probably had a family and friends. The ripple effect of this violent crime will carry for generations. We all have similar stories in our ancestry. How would the story be passed down if the man eventually died in the ditch? What if the antidote to violence in our world was mercy?

The victim’s grandchildren would tell the story of the merciful stranger who loved him out of the horrific hole he was in. Jesus was stripped, robbed, beaten and left for dead. Love prevented the story from being passed down as a tragedy. Jesus freed us from the bitterness. God loved us back to health. There will be times when we are in the ditch. I believe the victim and the Samaritan are no longer strangers. They are friends. The best of friends.

Jesus is in all victims: He is in the people escaping tyranny and war, immigrants, Honduran parents who empty their savings to send their children to avoid the gangs and drugs, drug addicts and those on the brink of suicide. Jesus is in Minnesota, in Louisiana, in Dallas, in Baghdad, in Turkey, in Brussels, in Paris, in Nigeria and Orlando.

The law will not get anyone into heaven. It just teaches us. After we graduate and clothed in the Holy Spirit, we must put our knowledge and skills to the test. God can heal the world, but he needs each of us to do our part, not just 10% which is the law. Christians are called to a much higher accountability because we live in the love of God. Love one another as our own son or daughter, father or mother.

We must love God, love self and love neighbor all equally. Love them equally and without judgment like the mother of nine children even if a couple of them forget to send a Mother’s Day card. We are one Body in Christ.

To love is to be compassionate with suffering and mercy.

Let Jesus help you to be more than you thought you were.

Bear fruit 30, 60 or even 100 fold. There are neighbors you will meet this week who are in the ditch. The grieving mother of a soldier or policeman, a community responding to hatred with insensible looting, a classmate whose depression has them on the brink, a woman who realizes her abortion is crippling her.

How we work here on earth for justice is how we work in heaven. We are instruments of God’s peace. What are we waiting for? With Jesus in our blood and heart we already experience the joys of heaven. This parable is a call. The harvest is great, but the merciful laborers are few.

May rivers of God’s Mercy flow through you every day.

May your neighbors become your beloved friends.

Mass is ended. Go in peace.

The Mass never ends, we take it with us!

Anchor

The Tree of Life

We are Called to…

BETWEEN THE DIAGNOSIS

Life is full of stressors

I, adamant about not being called disordered…

Don’t ask – Don’t tell

Leave me alone

Do ask – Do tell

For I am caught in a place in-between heaven and hell

It’s as if I am in a humvee in a small insignificant convoy…

Aimlessly driving…

The lead vehicle hit…can you say “I-E-D”?

The third and last vehicle has disappeared from my dream and in reality

So I am stuck in-between the convoy

“in” and “tween” either demolished or ousted

only I “be” left or is it right

damn politics add to my jam

“Con-Voy” – like “Em-manu-el” – without.

“man-you” alone “with” out “El” – even God

without “con” in “voy” – I am nothing!

I am in-be-tween diagnosis: PTSD – TBI

Something not right

Don’t ask me to take drugs prescribed by pharmacology

Don’t tell me I’m disordered

My stress is post traumatic

Spiritual, emotional, psychological and in-between

How about Post Traumatic Stress Disabled…or even Dead?

Part of me is dead to something about life

Something that not even suicidal death will heal

Could be a good thing – don’t know

I thought I had this “thing” beaten like my president said:

“Mission Accomplished!”

            Oops!

Thought I was unscathed

Macho and strong enough to shake it off

Told my story in a book I published

But whiney anonymous people kept speaking

Through their patriotic hypocrisy:

“Don’t tell me the truth of an unjust war. – Don’t ask me to look at my part.”

 

Yep! The lie is simple – we never learned from Vietnam, Cold War or Korea

War sucks… the life out of our given world…and for whatever its worth…me

Throughout the years war has been glorified…even if undeclared or unjustified

            O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand

            Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation

Blessed with victory and peace

May the heaven’s rescued land praise the Power that has made

And preserved us a nation…

Then conquer we must, if our cause it is just…

I be still caught in-between my founding fathers…

and the pursuit of liberty, justice and peace for all

enemies real or perceived are part of all

Throughout the years of our young nation, war has been glorified

Fight is might

Our Founding Fathers (and might I add Founding Mothers?)

handed down to us anxieties, constitution, stress, land, freedom

and making a living off war like in the sales… or aid

of weapons of mass destruction…yes, U.S…Ah!

Using, not loving our enemies

Using, not seeing how we enslave other countries to terror and devastation

I HATE WAR – War is Hell – Just ask FDR and the Memorial

Close to Arlington National where over 20 men I held are buried

The Founding Fathers didn’t find or found anything…

Except a beacon of hope

To live in peace where…

All people are not created disordered, but

All men and women are created ordered and equal

Our country we love was born of wars and glory

Our country is still seeking peace

…but we haven’t found it yet

The hope of course is in our Founding Mothers, at least in spirit…

Who will have enough of Gold Star Mothers and Fathers

Who will have enough of wounded warriors and disordered children

returned to struggle and demons and suicide

When and if we recognize that,

“War is the defeat of humanity” to quote a pope JPII of late,

If all are created equal             –not disordered, not partisan

—not more or less patriotic

                                                –not even richer nor poorer

Then we have a chance of being founding fathers and mothers

of the first nation that does not crumble, disorder or collapse from within

The Founding Fathers and Mothers

encourage us to keep Amendments coming

until we find the right path to a true homeland security

and a motto, “In God We Trust!”

formed and made of inalienable rights

for all people of good will – all faiths

all Native Americans

and the rest of us all immigrants

brought here weary of oppression, slavery and lost

all enemies no more…foreign nor domestic in the post traumatic

Until then…

I be “in-be-tween” the diagnosis…like my wounded country

The brain in-be-tween the traumatic—injury.

ron moses camarda +

***Ron served as a catholic chaplain in the fierce battle of Fallujah from October to December in 2004. He received casualties every day from 9-11 to 12-24 while at Bravo Surgical – a M.A.S.H. type Marine Medical Battalion. He personally received over 1500 casualties and 81 deaths; over 12 died in his arms. He also journeyed into the city of Fallujah many times while the battle was still raging and in the aftermath to minister the sacraments to the Marine, Navy and Army troops. He has not been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). It could be a thing of pride or maybe, just maybe, it is something much deeper and mysterious.