I will give them some food Myself!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Proverbs 9:1-6~ Wisdom calls: “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!”

Psalm34 ~ Taste and see the goodness of the Beloved.

Ephesians 5:15-20~ Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise…

Gospel: John 6:51-58 ~ “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him/her on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him/her. 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

The world is starving for God. There is plenty of wisdom to be given, but unfortunately, people have a spiritual eating disorder. There is an inability to thrive. We were born into this world after spending nine months in our Mother’s womb. Those nine months were incredibly important. We were being fashioned and formed into the image and likeness of God. The blood flowing through the umbilical chord from our mother nourished us. If the mother understands that the father of her child loves her, the food is pure and spectacular. More nourishment and less anxiety are passed on to the child.

If we happen to come out of the womb prematurely, we require special care and assistance. I have seen parents helplessly sit beside the incubator longing to hold and feed their child with the spiritual nourishment of love beyond all telling. The love of parents for each other is the most important food they serve to their children. But it requires discipline.

This is what God is all about in the Scripture passages today. God is portrayed as a loving mother who prepares a table of love, plenty, sacrifice and compassion. Adult pelicans have been known to peck at their breasts during times of scarce food and feed the blood to their chicks.

Beloved, there is an abundance of evil in this world, which neglects to feed the poor and hungry in this world. But there is an abundance of love that is poured out from Our Father and Mother to feed us no matter the cost. The food is their very own flesh and blood. The food is Jesus, their son.

“Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.”

So Jesus imitates his Father and Mother and plucks the blood from his chest. Jesus feeds us with his own body and blood. We need only stop our foolishness and come to the table of plenty. Come to the feast of heaven and earth.

Jesus calls to us, “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.”

I am the Bread of Life
All who eat this Bread will never die
I am God’s love revealed
I am broken that you might be healed

All who eat of this heavenly Bread
All who drink this cup of the covenant
You will live forever for I will raise you up

No one who comes to Me shall ever hunger again
No one who believes shall ever thirst
All that the Father draws shall come to Me
And I will give them rest

                                      Song by John Michael Talbot

Let us share the Good News with a song to the Lord in our hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

August 19, 2018 ~ St. Monica, Palatka ~ Father Ron Moses +

He was amazed at their lack of faith!

 

Gospel: Mark 6:1-6 ~ Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this?” Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. 

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Jesus in some ways enjoyed his process/journey in life. He expected rejection. He would transform this rejection into life.

Often we feel rejection when our dreams do not come to fruition.

A friend fantasized about being a musician—a rock star, a phenomenal guitar player. He imagined being on stage, playing to screams of the crowd, people absolutely loosing their minds to his sweet finger-noodling glory. This fantasy kept him occupied for hours on end. It wasn’t about “if”, but “when”. It was all planned out: first he would have to bide his time, second he would finish school—making extra cash for guitar. Third he would make time to practice. Then… nothing.

Despite fantasizing half of his life, the reality didn’t come to fruition.  And it took him a long time to finally figure it out.  He didn’t actually want it.

My friend was in love with result—the image on stage, people cheering wildly, him rocking out, and pouring his heart into what he was playing… but he wasn’t in love with the process.

He failed. Actually, he didn’t even try enough to fail at it. He hardly tried at all. He never went through the daily drudgery of daily practice, logistics of finding a group and rehearsing, the pain of finding gigs and actually getting people to show up and give a hoot. He didn’t go through broken strings, the blown tube amp, hauling 40 pounds of gear to and from rehearsals with no car.

It is a mountain of a dream and a mile high climb to the top. My friend realized after a long time he didn’t like to climb much. He just liked to imagine the summit. It is like wanting to be a Marine, a teacher, or making the golf team without sweat or fear of being cut.

Beloved, it is all about process.

The truth is far less interesting. He thought he wanted something, but it turns out he didn’t. End of story.

He wanted reward without struggle, relationships or the cross.

He wanted the result without the process.

He was in love with not the fight, but the victory.

The thorn that St. Paul talks about is the fantasy of finishing the race before one barely starts. It is a God thing after all. This is not willpower or grit. It is a simple component of life. Our struggles determine our successes. Our problems birth our happiness… along with slightly better, slightly upgraded problems.

To follow Jesus is a never-ending upward spiral. There is no rest in peace. And if you think at any point we are allowed to stop climbing, I’m afraid you’re missing the point of the Gospel. This is the reason Jesus and all the true prophets are rejected. Because they tell us the joy is in the struggle and climb up the mountain and onto the Cross. And the people and his family did not want to hear that. O my!

July 15, 2018 ~ St. Monica, Palatka ~ Father Ron

Best Baked Bread Ever!

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
22-23 July 2017
St. Monica & St. John the Evangelist Catholic Communities

Wisdom 12: 13-19 ~ And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.
Psalm 86 ~ Beloved, you are good and forgiving.
St. Paul to Romans 8:26-27 ~ The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness: for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
Gospel according to Matthew 13:24-43 ~ Jesus proposed another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

Jesus goes on to teach that in the first parable, “The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son o Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Jesus did not explain who the slaves of the Master were. Who do you believe are the slaves? Jesus tells us that the harvesters are the angels, which means that is not any of us. I am certainly not an angel.
My hunch is that the slaves are those of us that are ministers of the Word and the Eucharist. The good seed are the baptized. St Paul has told us in Philippians that Jesus took the form of a slave, something to be grasped.” So we priests and you ministers and volunteers of St. Monica and St. John are slaves, something to understand, something to ponder. We ask Jesus what to do with the weeds that seem to be in heaven. I am pondering writing a book called, “Mosquitoes in Heaven”!
Beloved, what if the mustard seed is the church of St. Monica? Surely it is the smallest of parishes that was sown by Jesus in 1858. It survived a civil war and so much more. But when we grow, we have become the largest parish in Palatka where people from all over Florida and parts of the States have come to her branches and dwell here. St. John the Evangelist in Interlachen is the same. People are fed through the food distributions and ministries to the poor. People come in and rest within the bountiful branches of our beautiful but simple sanctuary.
I love the parable of the yeast where God is portrayed as a woman and Jesus is the yeast. Look at this unleavened bread with no yeast (hold the unconsecrated bread). This is what we use at Mass. It really is rather tasteless and, well, flat. But this is the wheat gathered into the barn. God takes the gift of Jesus and mixes him into all of us through the Word and at Communion until we all rise together as the whole Body of Christ resurrected. Wow!
Now this is real Good News, don’t you think?
Let’s make the Best Bread we have ever eaten!!!

 

 

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!”

We Are A Banquet of Love 22nd Sunday ~ St. Augustine

Then Jesus said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14: 7-14

Touched by Jesus

Upon my return from the war raging in Iraq in 2005, Jesus invited me to join him for a banquet that he was invited to in Haiti. Father Jeff was also going to bless the Home for the Elderly named Queen of Peace after this community. Queen of Peace is constantly inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind to this table through their stewardship of the first 10% of your collection. Just like the Gospel passage we heard, none of the people we help could repay us back. Just by being a member of Queen of Peace Parish Community could be the first step to a really nice seat at the Table in Heaven and Earth.

After the blessing of this home, the small group of us Queen of Peace Missionaries and Jesus were invited to celebrate. Then Jesus invited Father Jeff and I to a home for the malnourished children in a town called Aquin. This was the most amazing place I have ever seen. Parents or family must stay with the very malnourished child and learn skills to keep their children healthy and avoid having to come back. Many times the mothers sit at the perimeter. On this occasion, Jesus had a little girl about 3 or 4 years old on his lap. She was licking a lollipop. Before I could save Jesus from what was unfolding, the little girl gleefully took the lollipop out of her mouth and forcefully thrust the lollipop into Jesus’ mouth. Jesus seemed to delight in the generosity of the little girl. I on the other hand was aghast.

Then the little girl who had invited Jesus to her own little banquet showered Jesus with another unexpected and humbling gift. When the good sister lifted the child off of his lap, the little girl had baptized Jesus with a generous portion of piddle. When I looked into the eyes of Jesus with my own horror, he simply smiled and had this look of radiance, acceptance, humility, love and great gratitude for this little girl’s gifts.

Beloved, all of us can invite people to a banquet or luncheon. We have been invited to this great banquet where Mary, the Queen of Peace is the hostess. We receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. We become what we eat. We have everything we could ever possibly desire. Do you remember when Peter and John were going into the temple and came upon a crippled man? They said to him, “We do not have anything of value to give you, but what we do have you can have. In the name of Jesus, rise and be healed!” He sprang up. Peter and John invited the crippled man to the Banquet.

Let me tell you a secret. This is a true story, but it was Father Jeff who was really sitting with the little girl with the lollipop. It was Fr. Jeff who received gifts. Jeff was invited to Haiti as a guest of the poor and sat at the lowest place. He was humbled by the generosity of the little girl. He was the one whom I tried to save, but the little girl beat me too it. And she did it with a splash.

Let’s keep doing it. Let’s keep inviting the poor in body & spirit, the crippled by grief, and those blind to God’s infinite love. Let’s continue to invite them to the Table of Plenty where saint and sinners are friends. Let us become what we eat and invite people to this Eucharistic Banquet. Let us give from our want, not from our surplus. We need to love those we share our gifts with.

We are one with God. We inherit God’s love. What could we fear?

Tithing isn’t about repaying God, but rather it is an opportunity to invite others to share in our abundance of love with a splash and joy.

We are Called to…

Do Not Be Afraid ~ 19th Sunday

Jesus said to his disciples: Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.                          St. Luke 12:32-40

Jesus says it over and over, “Do not be afraid.”

Let us ask the question: “What am I afraid of?”

Jesus shares with us that if we open the door immediately when the Master knocks, he will have us recline at table and then wash our feet, and then proceed to wait on us. What could we possibly be afraid of?

God was knocking on Penny’s door. She volunteered to go to Kalighat, a home for the dying run by Mother Teresa’s sisters, for the first time. I suppose she was intrigued by the love of the Missionaries of Charity. It was terribly traumatic for Penny—being a beauty therapist, she was used to everything being all nice and spick-and-span, smelling nice, so it was quite a shock. I am sure many of you can relate to this when you volunteered for mission work in a place like Haiti or Catholic Heart work camp. Or maybe the first time your first child had diarrhea. When I began volunteering as a retreat director for Ministries of Disabilities, the drooling, physical suffering, and people who violated my boundaries raised my anxieties. I had whopping headaches and emotional paralysis.

When one of the sisters asked Penny to wash this woman she just thought, ‘There’s no way. I just couldn’t.’ So the sister said, ‘All right, come with me,’ and she picked up this little bundle of bones, because that’s what this lady was, and took her into the bathroom. Even now it makes her cry—there wasn’t a lot of light in the room and she was absolutely catatonic. Then all of a sudden the whole room just lit up! One minute she was saying ‘I just can’t’ and the next she realized, ‘Of course, I could.’

Throughout our lives, especially those here at Queen of Peace, we have worked among the poorest of poor, people with severe mental and physical disabilities, social injustice, Marines, sailors, soldiers and families torn apart by IED’s and shrapnel to the soul. Whenever we tell God there is something we just can’t do, like shave a man who does not have use of his arms, comfort the grieving, embrace a person with AIDS, tell a person we love them just before they will die, or work with schizophrenics or drug addicts… God seems to knock on the door of our terrified hearts. Then all of a sudden, light floods our darkness. We no longer label people as a diagnosis; we see the whole person light up. One minute we are saying, “I just can’t” and the next we realize, “Of course, we can!”

God doesn’t ask us to do things he isn’t already doing.

God is hoping that we do small things with great love.

God is hoping to find us ready when he knocks.

And then Our Father will welcome us home, wash our feet and invite us to dine with him and Our Family.

When God asks us to step out of our comfort zone and we do it,

we are always better for the experience.

Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

Now that is Good News we can treasure.

 

Mission Statement of Queen of Peace

As Christians we receive God’s gifts gratefully,

cultivate them responsibly,

share them lovingly in justice with others,

and return them with increase to the Lord.

Remember what He said to you…

Easter- 2016 ~ Luke 24:1-12 ~ At daybreak on the first day of the week, the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them (Moses & Elijah of Transfiguration?). They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.

The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James (Peter, John and James in Transfiguration); the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.

 I am amazed and humbled that with two phenomenal preachers here at Queen of Peace, I was asked to preach today like a third string quarterback. O well, pray for me!

We remember.

We celebrate.

We believe.

Jesus, we remember how you washed our feet. In his homily on Holy Thursday, Father Jeff helped us understand that it is you, Jesus, who consecrates and breaks the bread, feed our souls, baptizes and anoint us. You heal us so often even when we complain that we can’t find you.

Even though Jesus walked with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t recognize him because they were too caught up in their own terror, fear and anxieties.

Their hopes were not as big as God’s hopes and dreams for them. But Jesus was patient and asked the two to remember all the way to their dinner table. They celebrated and believed when he said the blessing and broke the bread. Another miracle of Easter is that the men finally believed the women.

Though we don’t always recognize Jesus present in our sufferings and distractions, we do believe he is with us at this moment and for all eternity. In fact, Jesus can’t imagine heaven without every one of us today! We have trouble accepting such a magnificent love. Too often, we seek the living one among the dead.

The living one is seeking us today.

Jesus, we celebrate the breaking of your body and the water and blood that flowed from your side. When we are terrorized by hatred, unfaithfulness and betrayal, you show us how to love. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” and “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Your sacrificial love is our only hope to end all wars, hatred and fear. Yes, it was a truly Good Friday.

Jesus, we celebrate how you eat and drink with us every time we come to Eucharist. “Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter into my body, but only say the Word, and my soul will be healed.

Here a million wounded souls, are yearning just to touch you and be healed.Gather all your people, and hold them to your heart.

We remember how You loved us to the end.

And still we celebrate, for you are with us here;

and we believe that we will see you when you come in glory, Lord.

We remember. We Celebrate. We believe.   (Song by Marty Haugen, 1980)

The key to Easter is that God loves us and wants to spend time with all of us. (Lots of time and for all of eternity).

It isn’t so much that we are seeking God, but God is seeking us.

It is through the birthing pains of our faith, the way of the Cross, that we understand this. When we encounter the empty tombs, keep searching. We must seek more diligently than the kids who will be seeking those Easter eggs in a few minutes, which might seem like hours to them. It is not an easy task, but with love of God and one another in our hearts… Jesus walks with us this Easter Morning today… even before we find him or recognize Him. He is alive with us… TODAY!

We remember his words.

We celebrate his love and mercy.

We believe how much God loves all of us… no exceptions.

He is Risen! Halleluiah!

WOW!

Let us raise our voices with Father Kaz.

Discover the Risen Christ, the Beloved, as we sing our Easter Joy with Hallelujahs…

Life is changed…not ended.

Anchor

Yes!

Why are you terrified?

A Father’s Love

The Treasure Within my Soul – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Book of Kings 3:5-12: “I give you a heart so wise and understanding…”

Paul to the Romans: We know that all things work for good for those who love God…

Gospel According to St. Matthew: Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

You offer security.

You are solid under me.

I walk,

And you seem to glide beneath my feet,

Catching my footsteps,

Preventing a fall into the abyss.

 

True, at times, you seem too fixed,

Unmoved, unresponsive, unyielding,

Then, you hurt, aggravate, block,

That’s your nature.

My faith does not want to move your mountains—

But rather, aspire to their triumph

Touching the sky.

 

When you do move beneath us—

Quaking, sliding, collapsing—

Our safety vanishes.

We need you to be invincible, for

The earth (treasure) in us is so vulnerable.

          Meditations for the New Millennium: Communion of Life by Chris Glaser, 1999 (Day 5 Earth)

We are all in the palm of God’s hand

This poem could be a direct prayer to the kingdom of God, our treasure. We come into this world with nothing but dust. We leave this world with nothing but the treasure buried in our dust. I don’t know about you, but I often cherish security as my greatest treasure… if I am honest. I cling to security like a child desperately wanting swim, but refusing to trust and let go of his patient father. For the first stanza I thought of Simon Peter saying to Jesus during the storm, “If you are the Son of God, then command me to walk on the water to you.” “Come!” Jesus says. And when Peter finally walks a few steps, he reverts back to the way things were, safe in the confining boat.

With the second stanza I think of Jesus saying to Simon Peter, “Get behind me Satan!” or “Put out into the deep and lower you nets for a catch!” “But master, we have been hard at it all night long and caught nothing!” Then we hear Jesus say not only to his disciples, but to me, “Unless you eat my body and drink my blood… pick up your cross and follow me… love me more than family… to follow me requires suffering… Will you leave me also?” Then you hurt, aggravate, block… That’s your nature. And then we think of treasure buried within us of the broken bread/body and poured out blood.

They recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, but he vanished from their sight. “Weren’t our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us along the way?” The Way of the Cross is not easy. We cry out like the poet: My faith does not want to move your mountains— But rather, aspire to their triumph, touching the sky.

In the final stanza, we realize life without the treasure hidden within us is a life without safety, joy or hope. Our life is so vulnerable.

What if the second coming of Jesus, the pearl of great price, is actually hidden among the refugee children risking everything to enter our Southern borders from Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador? Your bulletin gets it right this week, “If you think fertilized eggs are people but refugee kids aren’t…you’re going to have to stop pretending your concerns are religious.”

The parable today inspires Queen of Peace Catholic Community to think about tithing beyond 10% to the poor. Our community finds the buried treasure of God’s Love for the Poor. Then we go out and sell everything to purchase the field with the buried treasure. Cheerful givers that we are, Queen of Peace does this by giving away 10% of the offertory. That is the first place people consider finding more money. We don’t want to look at the 90%, but that is where God buried the treasure! Our God being good all the time, will not be outdone in generosity. The Kingdom of Heaven resides in each of us today. O my!

As Christians we receive (or find) God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord. (When we hide the treasure in our bodies as Eucharist… God, our treasure, multiplies the fruit within us: more fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, self-control and faithfulness.

After my mission visits to Haiti, Guatemala and Honduras, I agree wholeheartedly with Pope Francis. “I can say that the most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith. In their own way, all these instances of joy flow from the infinite love of God, who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ.” (Joy of the Gospel: 7)

And finally in the Imitation of Christ, we recognize the rising and revealing Treasure inside our hearts:

“God frequently visits the heart of a person. There the Beloved shares with the person pleasant conversations, welcome consolation, abundant peace and a wonderful intimacy. So come faithful soul. Prepare your heart for your spouse to dwell within you!

Make room for Christ. When you possess Christ you are a rich person, for the Beloved Jesus is sufficient for you.

Until you are intimately united with Christ, you will never find your true rest.

Beloved, the Kingdom of heaven that Jesus speaks of is already buried within us. We only need to search for the treasure with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. As we search, we discover that God has been searching for us. Let us use the gift of wisdom and be like three magi who offered the infant Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

God says to us: “I give you a heart so wise and understanding…”

Let us imitate St. Ignatius of Loyola who sang before the crucifix every day: “Take Lord, 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 has buried the treasure in each one of us.

Now that is Good News I can treasure. How about you?

Is God searching for YOU?

15th Week in Ordinary Time: Not so Ordinary!

Sisters of Bon Secour in Mariottsville, MD.

Deuteronomy 30:10-14 ~ No, it is something very near to you, already in your moths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.

Psalm 69 ~ I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me!

Paul to 2 Timothy 1-8 ~ The Spirit that God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise.

Gospel according to Luke 10:25-37 ~ But because the scholar of the law wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him…”

Homily Given at Bon Secour 

Susan was a good Catholic girl from a good Catholic family. Susan had just received her doctorate in psychology when she woke up with a dilemma. She had separated from her husband, she was hoping to somehow patch up her battered and stunted marriage together for she truly didn’t believe in divorce. She truly loved her husband yet was painfully acknowledging her mistakes and irreconcilable differences.

The day of her graduation she realized she was pregnant and the father was not her husband.

Sometimes we think that we could never get into such a messy situation or a ditch like the man who fell victim to robbers. And then it somehow happens and we feel so small, so very small. . .  while the problem seems to get bigger and bigger.

Susan deliberately went against her beliefs about abortion out of fear and backed by the folly of our society. As a practicing psychologist she had tormenting thoughts and feelings that followed her abortion.

Susan once told me: “More than a baby would die in that room… Once I had had a personality, a life, a soul. Now I was a body with broken pieces inside.” Susan was more than half dead.

Susan’s personal drama depicts the anguish of many women who have realized too late that they have destroyed a life. So often we see them in the ditch and we cross to the opposite side of the street and keep going. We judge and condemn. Jesus is addressing this parable to the priests (including bishops and deacons) and all faithful Catholics. Jesus is telling us that we do not see our neighbors… all of them.

Jesus is the Good Samaritan. He comes to those in the ditch. Jesus rescued almost all of the main characters and saints of our faith like Saul/Paul, Mary of Magdela, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi, Jacob, Joseph and countless others.  He did it with King David who did something more despicable than our obsession with what we perceive justice or lack of in the Zimmerman trial.  King David committed adultery with his soldier’s wife, conspired to murder her husband to cover up the child, and then married the woman. David compromised his integrity and ability to rule. When David admitted his guilt and the consequences from God, he became a more compassionate and effective king than if he never sinned so horrifically. The entire church recites his prayer of repentance at least every Friday morning in Psalm 51.

For Susan, it was a gradual healing through God’s forgiving love. The letter of Paul to Timothy says: The Spirit that God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise.

It goes on: Therefore, never be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord.” God made Susan strong, loving, and wise. Jesus lifted Susan out of that ditch when everyone else passed her by. Jesus had already forgiven her. God had plans for Susan.

But first she had to face depression that brought her to the brink of suicide, a raging husband, and a divorce with hardly a fair settlement. The rejection of her father and mother whom she thought the world of compounded the oppressive misery of her ditch. The same physician/father that was gentle with a friend of hers who had hemorrhaging after someone performed an abortion was not gentle with her daughter.

Susan had to rely on no cowardly spirit. She forgave those who robbed her of so much. She forgave herself. She has a most joyful spirit!

Susan was a woman who combined a high-risk openness with a vision that embraces human hurting and God’s healing. “Therefore, never be ashamed of your testimony to Our Lord.” Susan knows how it is to wear the big Scarlet Letter “A”, and I don’t mean just adultery.

Susan’s full name is Susan M. Stanford-Rue, PhD. She proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the healing forgiveness of God through three ways: through her lectures, through her post abortion trauma counseling to many broken women, and through her book, Will I Cry Tomorrow?

http://www.amazon.com/Susan-M.-Stanford-Rue/e/B001KHQA92

The priest and Levite were simply following the laws, but Jesus insists that the Law of Love is written on our hearts and souls. If we have the courage to realize that many times we all cross the street when we see someone in the ditch, then we are more open to see Jesus as the Good Samaritan when it is actually you or me in the ditch desperate for love, breath, and acceptance. Then, and only then, does Jesus trust us to heal others in the ditches of life.

We all need healing in our dark secrets of life. Trying to justify ourselves only leads us further away from love and compassion. Jesus demands that after we are rescued from our horrific experiences of life, we need to go and do the same with great love.

*Incidentally, all royalties and all profits Susan makes on the book are donated to Pro Life.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The Prophet Isaiah: 66:10-14 ~ Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!… As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.

Psalm 66: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy!

St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians: 6:14-18 ~ From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.

The Gospel According to St. Luke: 10:1-20 ~ Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.

Today, we heard how intimate God is with us. For many of us, we deflect in the light of such love. God invites us to crawl up into God’s lap like a child finds peace in mother’s lap. God delights in each and every one of us. We are God’s beloved.

Last August, when I came up to Maryland to attend Loyola University, I came kicking and screaming. Of course it was the best place for me, but at the time I felt like I was being sent away into isolation. I had no place to stay. Jesus always sent his disciples out by twos, but I could not understand why I was sent alone. Little did I know that Jesus was my partner. I wrote the following on August 31^st:

O Jesus!?#

I am broken, humbled and a mess.

Now, what do you wish to do with me?

It seems that anywhere I attempt to turn

I get swatted or smacked around.

Between losing my license and botching my interview with Father Jim…

I wonder what you see in me at all.

And yet I know in the depths of my being,

It is you showing me another corner hidden of my soul,

Nurture and sustain me O Beloved

Let me never think or imagine I am less than your beloved.

You chose me.

You call me.

“My sacrifice, a contrite spirit… a broken humble heart you will not spurn.”

And here I am before you ,

Wounded but not dead, . . . gratitude . . . I think.

Give me peace and joy; give me more love and hope

Allow me to share in your suffering,. . . but please be there when I break.

I am a coward and scared… and full of anxiety

Teach me to trust in You Alone ~ Jesus!

Three messages from God span the Scriptures:

“I am with you.”

“I love you.”

“Trust me.”

This is a mantra to breathe in… and breathe out…

“A true Christian,” Blessed john Cardinal Neuman wrote once, “may almost be defined as one who has a ruling sense of God’s presence within oneself.”

I slowly began to realize that

I am new wine skin.

The church today is old wine skin.

Both are good.

I am new wine.

I kept wanting to become new wine placed in old wine skins.

BURST!!!

Jesus was placed as new wine into old wine skins.

He bursts with water and wine…

Drink up!

St. Anselm (1033-1109), although he was a bishop of the church, was exiled twice. He writes what I think and experience about my intimate relationship with God.

“My soul stands on tiptoe to see more, but apart from what it has seen already, it sees nothing but darkness. Of course it does not see darkness, because there is not darkness in you, but it sees that it can see no further because of the darkness in itself. “

“O supreme and inaccessible light, O complete and blessed truth, how far you are from me, even though I am so near to you! How remote you are from my sight, even though I am present to yours!”

“You are everywhere in your entirety, and yet I do not see you; in you I move and have my being, and yet I cannot approach you. You are within me and around me, and yet I do not perceive you.”

“O God, let me know you and love you so that I may find my joy in you; and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make progress every day, until at last that knowledge, love and joy come to me in all their plentitude.”

So does Jesus send us out to do his work? Or does Jesus send us so that we walk with him as he brings us deeper into the love and soul of God?

Jesus assures me of three truths:

“I am with you.”

“I love you.”

“Trust me.” 

Even though Jesus might send us out like lambs among wolves, he will never let us perish! He loves us too much for that to happen. Just like a parent, he would rather forfeit heaven if we were not to be with him in heaven. Do you realize how much God loves YOU???

Have a blessed week in God’s love and protection.

 

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Come unto me and rest; Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.”

I came to Jesu as I was, so weary, worn and sad;

I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.