So God Made a Farmer

-->

“So God Made a Farmer” by Paul Harvey

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/paulharveysogodmadeafarmer.htm

I played the audio version of Paul Harvey’s message “God Made a Farmer’ this past Sunday because another storyteller celebrated the contribution of the farmer in the stories he told. While standing in the rows of a vineyard, sitting beside a freshly planted crop, or looking at fields ripe for harvest, Jesus never tired of using the farmer and the soil of his profession to illustrate spiritual truths.  In most of these stories, God is the farmer, exhibiting interest in His crops and enduring patience with what he has planted.  

That is certainly the case in the Gospel story about the fig tree. A vineyard owner wants a fig tree planted on his land and has his farmer put one in the soil.  He expects it to grow and plant figs, yet it does not for its first three years.  He concludes that it is worthless and orders it to be removed.  The farmer, though, has more patience and convinces the owner to give it one more year, during which he will give it special attention and fertilize it with manure. He believes it has a future.

Recently, we asked our parishioners to respond to a survey about the “spiritual health” of Holy Family. One comment stated that maybe we should only baptize people from the parish. In our last baptism, people in the pews felt uncomfortable because the manners of the family at the font did not meet their expectations. Some people felt annoyed and upset by what they witnessed. Our committee members had a lively exchange of opinions. Maybe we need guidelines about who and who can’t be baptized in the church? Others felt that the parish “mission” statement welcomes all with open arms. 

Kathleen Norris, in her book The Cloister Walk, provides insight on what happens when we don’t repent, Repentance is coming to our senses, seeing, suddenly, what we’ve done that we might not have done, or recognizing … that the problem is not in what we do but in what we become.

Our lack of repentance results in our becoming something far less than God intended when he planted us in this world. We may look healthy on the outside, but our lack of fruit is evidence that we are perishing. You and I are not here to enjoy the rich nutrients of the soil and keep them all to ourselves. We are not here to take up space and not produce any fruit.  We are not here to live without accountability and inspection.  We are not here to wonder about other people’s innocence or guilt or etiquette and not consider our own.

What we are here to do is to thrive in the vineyard of God and bear fruit for the people of our world.  The fruit of our branches is to provide nourishment, taste, health, and life in our community.  Is such fruit on our branches?  Are we that part in the crowd who can’t understand Jesus?

The agricultural tip for the people to bear fruit rather than perishing was in the manure. God could take the waste of life and bring beautiful and life-giving fruit from it.  This wouldn’t happen unless they were willing to use it as fertilizer.  There was still hope. Jesus, one skilled in bringing life from waste, could see the potential in the people who gathered around him that day.  He looked at their fruitless branches and saw fruit. He could bring it out of them if they would join in; if they would do their work of turning away from the things that were destroying their lives and take in the ingredients of life God had for them.

Let us pray and reflect: “But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent.” (Wisdom 11:23).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that Lent becomes a time of crop inspection. Let this season be a time to see not so much what needs to be given up, but adding what is missing.  It is a time to allow God to redeem the waste of our unfruitfulness and bring the kind of harvest our world is missing.

Would You like to take a walk with Jesus?

-->

A woman was sitting in her patio, having a morning cup of coffee. Suddenly she felt the presence of someone standing behind her. She felt a thrashing shock like a thousand volts shooting through her entire body. Standing there was Jesus! Was she hallucinating? No, it really was Jesus, just standing there, smiling the most magnetic smile she had ever seen. "'Would you like to go for a walk?' he asked me.

Yes, she would very much like to take a walk with Jesus? She asked, “Is it all right for me to call you by your first name? Or would you prefer Master?”
“Jesus is fine,” he continued to smile ever so graciously. “Come, let's walk.”

What a fabulous opportunity, walking with Jesus. She had so many questions. Now she could finally get answers. Right from Jesus himself.
As they walked along, she broke the silence. “Jesus, you know this doctrine about the Trinity, three Persons in one God.” “Shhh,” he whispered. “do you hear the joyous babbling of that brook over there?” I listened with some impatience, she must admit.

Then she asked, “Jesus, I've been having a lot of trouble with my prayer life.” “Shhh,” he interrupted again. “can you hear the squeals of the little children playing out there in the meadow?”  She hadn't heard. And she must admit she couldn't have cared less. Jesus was here and she wanted answers

They kept walking along. 'What about this final judgment, you know the sheep and the goats? There's nothing there about missing Mass or forgetting to abstain from meat during Lent.” “Shhh,” Jesus said. “Look up there at the birds in the sky. Did you ever see anything so beautiful.” Jesus turned and began to walk away. He hadn't answered one of her questions. And she had so many more. Then he turned and looked at her with that smile of his. She thought he was going to say goodbye. But then his face clouded over with affectionate sadness and he said, “Why do you try so hard?”

Let us pray and reflect: “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they focus more attention on things that matter to Jesus. More smiles, more “I love you” to those dear to us, and more confidence that Jesus came to save us from our fears, doubts and worries. Besides giving up “sweets” for Lent, notice the beauty around you and thank God for his magnificent creation.

Tested

Last week I shared my experience at baking bread. Well after some initial success, I tried to make pizza dough and when I got home after church, the bread didn’t rise. Sometimes you just have to throw out the batch and start over again from scratch. I made another batch and twicked the recipe by adding beer instead of water to the yeast. To my surprise and delight, this recipe worked and the pizza dough rose. However, on my third attempt at bread baking my dough did not rise and it was a brick.

Jesus was tempted in the desert and maybe we have become a little nonchalant and not that he passed the test, but what about our effort for Lent. I shared a story on Sunday about a college senior who not necessarily opposed to hard work, she was only doing what she had to do to graduate.
She had taken as easy elective, but the professor had given her a “B” on her first assignment along with the request for a conversation after class.

The professor said, "Janet, this is A work. However, I am giving you a B because you can do better." Today a student in a similar situation would likely file a complaint. However, this professor told her student she had gotten lazy, that she had been coasting for a while now, that she had quit reaching. Then she told her that if she had any aspirations for graduate school whatsoever, she was going to have to step it up a notch.

Maybe it’s time for us to step it up a notch for Lent. Perhaps Jesus' forty days were meant to 'test him' to get him ready for what would follow. It was a time of honing, sharpening, and perfecting in much the same way our college senior was being tested. For it was not really about the grade she would receive after twelve weeks of reading and analyzing and learning and writing. It was about learning skills she could later put to use. Yes, in this case it was about developing 'character' and learning to work hard and to deepen her drive towards goal and love of learning --- all attributes that she would need throughout my life.

Lent comes to us as a time set apart to help us become more and more who God intends. What this means for each of us may well be different:

• For some we may continue in the ancient practice of giving something up as a way of somehow identifying with Christ's sacrifice in our behalf. 
• For others it may be a time of adding something: as in spending more time in worship and prayer. Or in experimenting with another kind of prayer which is less familiar to us.

As I place ashes on one forehead, the lady promised Jesus that she would write a letter to someone in prison, another shared that they would start reading the bible daily. How will you allow the spirit to transform you this Lent?

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they will take it up a notch and spend their forty days inspired to be more grateful, generous, compassionate and forgiving. To get your mind off the minus 22 below zero this morning, let me share an image that will help you relax and be a cure for the winter blues.

You Gotta Go Deeper

On retreat last week, I discovered that the secret of making bread is using live yeast. To my surprise and delight, I have found a new mentor in baking. Bob graduated 40 years ago from the Culinary Institute of America and he offered to teach me his secrets. I told him that my bread comes out like a brick. He laughed and shared that yeast is a live bacteria and you have to be careful not to kill the yeast. When I explained how I was using the yeast, he quickly shared that it might just be bad yeast or that I had killed the yeast in the preparation. My mentor advised that you add the sugar and whip till frothy. Then you knead the flour and yeast either by hand or with a machine. Once the consistency is right, you place it in a draft free area and cover with a towel. Either the plastic wrap killed my yeast, or, I didn’t wait long enough for the yeast to do its job. My first lesson is to be more patient and wait.

So the secret for great tasting bread is the right ingredients, patience and technique. There’s a gospel story about the disciples having a bad fishing day. All nightlong and they caught nothing. So the advice from Jesus their mentor was to go out into the water again but go deeper.

When you want to pursue a goal, make an improvement in yourself or enhance the quality of some group you belong too, you gotta make an extra effort. That is true in academics, sports, farming, or bread baking and also our faith. To be closer to God, you gotta go deeper.

Simon was reluctant to go deeper at first because he was tired from working all day. He was exhausted from his labor. Just about everyone I know is tired after working all day. It’s not easy to come home and face the domestic chores of running a household or attending to the needs of children after a hard day’s work. It’s not easy to take a class a night or attend a meeting. We have to reach deep within ourselves to find that energy to go the extra mile.

Where do we find the energy to complete those tasks that are necessary for us to realize our goals? What did Simon do? First, he moved his boat into deeper waters. He had to go into territory he had never been. Secondly, he put his freshly cleaned nets back into the water. And third, he believed in Jesus’ words. “If you say so, I will let down my nets.” Since Jesus said it was what he needed to do, Simon did it. He whined a little at first, complaining of his hard day’s work, but in the end he trusted Jesus’ words.

 

Everyone complains now and then about the demands of life. I believe God hears our complaints. Jesus knew Simon had worked hard “all night long” but he also knew he could do more. Within all of us there is unrealized potential and God wants us to be fulfilled.

Sometimes we do leave our comfort zones and try new things, but do we really believe that amazing things can happen? Simon acted sincerely but deep down he was skeptical. But Jesus responded in love. Instead of saying, “I told you so” or “Why don’t you believe me,” he encouraged him and told him that in the future he would be catching people. He gave Simon encouragement and hope. Once again we hear those comforting words, “Do not be afraid.” When we go deep, God is with us. Even when we have doubts, God is with us.

The Lord watches over us as we pray: “Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread, but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.” Psalm 28:19

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends as we prepare for the Lenten Season. Inspire us with your wisdom to go deeper and trust in your words to find our purpose in this life. Note, I had to throw out another batch of flour because it did not rise. Back to the breadboard and keep on kneading.

God Is Searching for You

Crème puff had disappeared. This cute kitty somehow found a way to elude the pet nanny. We looked for five hours in the cupboards, under the bed and even in the refrigerator. Missing your neighbor’s kitty is bad enough, but losing your child on a trip back from a religious festival. Some might accuse Mary and Joseph of neglect or at least carelessness. But let’s take a closer look and learn what this story shows us about Jesus and his parents.

First, Mary and Joseph panic was doubtless real—any parent who loses a child in a mall or at an amusement park knows that the old metaphor about having your heart come up into your throat is pretty accurate as descriptions go.  But honestly, what had they been thinking

The idea came that just maybe they should check the Temple.  “I can’t imagine he’d be there” they must have said to each other, “but we we’re running out of likely places so let’s check.” The Temple was the first place they should have looked as it turns out. His parents don’t understand, however.  They are too flush with a combination of intense relief and a little abiding post-traumatic stress to be able to figure it all out just then. We learned that Mary “treasured” all these incidents in her heart. Don’t even imagine that she was silent; maybe a loving embrace, but you bet there had to be consequences for this twelve year old.

So the lesson from this very human, earthy story goes like this. You survived another Christmas, where Baby Jesus rubs elbows with perfect artificial trees, Rudolph’s red nose, and people spending gazillions on violent video games. If you are a parent, grandparent or nurturing adult then you are all too familiar with Mary and Joseph’s parental woes. This is a beautiful story about a Mom and Dad who are not only raising the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, but also helping a kid grow up. They worried. They failed. They dreamed. They prayed. They barely made it through some days.  

If you choose to dwell on a perfect and divine Jesus wowing the religious experts, go ahead! But I prefer parents’ worried about their failures and a child’s absence. I imagine Joseph and Mary searching Jerusalem with thumping hearts and panicked eyes. When they find Jesus, they yell at him and embrace him and—divine, human, or both—they are his parents and love him. Imagine this is the way your Divine parent worries about you in the New Year. My parents worried about me until their last thoughts and breaths. Of that I am sure. What am I sure about in my faith? I’m human, and will make mistakes. And the divine, the Holy Abba, always searches for me, is always filled with love (and a dose of divine worry) for me.

Next time you are worried about your kids pray: Mary and Joseph come help us make room for Jesus in our life, that he may grow up in us day after day and make us more like him.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are nurturing anyone at any stage of life. Imagine, Jesus standing by our side when our children have lost their way. May the spirit bring us compassion, patience and gentleness.

Jesus Birthday Card

-->

I found the perfect birthday card to give to Jesus. To my surprise, it was a card one sister sent to her sister that said: “So glad we’re sisters…We’ve whispered …we’ve giggled… Cried and supported. We’ve vented, confided, laughed ‘till we snorted. We’ve battled and tattled. Forgave and forgot. We’ve rushed in to be there— And been there a lot. We’ve asked our opinions. We called just to chat. We’ve shared family gossip. (No shortage of that!) We’ve always been lucky to have what we do. There’s nothing like sisters—and no one like you. Happy Birthday”

If you ever wondered what kind of relationship you might want with Jesus you could think of it in this way. It can be silly one moment and serious the next, sometimes somber, apologetic and then comforting. Christmas might be your opportunity to rekindle a relationship that makes you a holy person.

Next time you look at your manger scene, think of God’s promised to be there in our painful moments. The Savior's name is Emmanuel, a name that means God-is-with-us.

God is with us when we come home dirty and exhausted after another long day in the field, driving the tractor, hauling the manure, and nursing a sick animal.

God is with us when we are shocked by the news that our grandchild, daughter or husband has some serious disease.

God is with us when we learn that our spouse is being deployed to a foreign country for work or to defend our country from terrorist.

God is with us when we have been rejected by our children for Christmas and we could not see our grandkids.

God is with us when our child faces a sentence of life in prison or a mental institution.

God is with us when a grandparent is shocked to learn that their 19 year old grand-daughter was found dead due to a drug overdose on Christmas Eve.

How do we handle these tragic situations in life that bring us to our knees in tears? How do we turn things around from this darkness and find God to give us strength and courage?

That beautiful birthday sums up where we need to be at this moment, chatting with our friend, pouring out our hurts, asking our friend to be our comfort and peace. Know that God hears all of your fears and comes now to wipe your tears and hold you close until you find your peace. Let us pray:

“May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation.” (Psalm 67: 2-3).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are in pain this holiday. May God bless you with his mercy and know that you are in my humble prayers.

Christmas Message

I am humbly blessed to serve as “shepherd” of Holy Family Catholic parish.

On Sunday, December 6^th, our parish celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas inviting our children to bring “refreshed” toys from their toy boxes to be donated to needy children in the community. 

Our goal is to help these kids learn to be children of gratitude. What better way to show our kids how fortunate they are than to help out those in need? Angel Action is the local community service agency that identified over 150 families in Wyoming County. Our kids’ parents along with other local churches contributed gifts to these families in their time of need. St. Nicholas came to our church to receive their toys and gifts and help deliver them to the families in the community.

Let this Christmas note express my sincere gratitude and thanks for all the special favors, counsel, support and prayers that you have offered our family in the past year. For help in cutting down 500 trees, to collecting 14 tons of debris for an elderly neighbor, repairing tractor hitches, uploading computer software, donating to the parish playground fund, enjoying concerts and hockey games, sharing Christmas cookie recipes and a million other favors that bring joy to my ministry.

From all the kids and St. Nicholas, may the Christ Child enter your heart and bring you and your family good health and a gentle peace.

Father Matt, Shepherd Holy Family Catholic Parish

4316 Route 98, North Java, NY 14113

Sunday Mass at 10:00am. First & third Sunday social hour after Mass.

Check out our updated website and join our facebook.

Website: www.holyfamilyncc.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/holyfamilyncc

Who am I to Judge?

In preparation for the holidays, here is my to-do list for company coming:

Dust both sides & hinges of all doors: up & downstairs

Vacuum out bottoms of all cabinets: up & downstairs

Clean microwave & range hood & nearby kitchen cabinet

Wash/wipe down cabinets & appliances fronts kitchen/laundry

Put away Fall plates/cups-get out Christmas plates/cups/napkins

Sort coat closets—make space/hangers for guests

Wash tile & wood floors-under bench-make room for guest boots

Dust/wash picture frames & glass: up & down

Plan meals to cook—food shop

Christmas gifts & cards

Vacuum & dust guest room

Donations to Salvation Army

                 

You’re kidding, you might be saying. So despite your grumbling that you didn’t get all your shopping done on Black Friday or Cyber Monday let me focus your attention that this is also Advent, a time for new beginnings.

This new church year is being referred to as the “Year of Mercy.” What better way to begin then to go through our list “housecleaning our souls” in preparation for the coming of Christ. But how do we do that without condemning ourselves for the sins of the past?

Perhaps the single, most-often quoted line from Pope Francis is his response to a question he was asked on a particularly-dicey issue. His, infamous-famous reply: Who am I to judge?

Although this remark is often assumed to be flighty and less-than-serious; it is, in fact, on pretty safe ground. There is judgment; except it doesn’t work the way it is fantasized inside the popular mind. According to what Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel, judgment works this way:

God’s light, God’s truth, and God’s spirit come into the world. We then judge ourselves according to how we live in the face of them: God’s light has come into the world, but we can choose to live in darkness. That’s our decision, our judgment. God’s truth has been revealed, but we can choose to live in falsehood, in lies. That’s our decision, our judgment to make. And God’s spirit has come into the world, but we can prefer to live outside that spirit, in another spirit. That too is our decision, our judgment. God judges no one. We judge ourselves. Hence we can also say that God condemns no one, though we can choose to condemn ourselves. And God punishes no one, but we can choose to punish ourselves. Negative moral judgment is self-inflicted.

Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and chastity. Only when we are living inside of these virtues are we living inside God’s spirit.

So then, this is how judgment happens: God’s spirit (charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and chastity) has been revealed. We can choose to live inside the virtues of that spirit or we can choose to live instead inside their opposites (self-indulgence, sexual vice, rivalry, antagonism, bad temper, quarrels, drunkenness, and factionalism). One choice leads to a life with God, the other leads away from God. And that choice is ours to make; it doesn’t come from the outside. We judge ourselves. God judges no one. God doesn’t need to.

When we view things inside this perspective it also clarifies a number of misunderstandings that cause confusion inside the minds of believers as well as inside the minds of their critics. How often, for instance, do we hear this criticism: If God is all good, all loving, and all-merciful, how can God condemn someone to hell for all eternity? A valid question, though not a particularly reflective one. Why? Because God judges no one; God punishes no one. God condemns no one to hell. We do these things to ourselves: We judge ourselves, we punish ourselves, and we put ourselves in various forms of hell whenever we do choose not to live in the light, the truth, and inside God’s spirit. And that judgment is self-inflicted, that punishment is self-inflicted, and those fires of hell are self-inflicted.

God watches over us as we pray: “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.” (Psalm 119:66).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we be less judgmental in our lives and let the spirit of the light guide our behavior and we be more prone to say: “Who am I to judge?”

All Saints Day Children's Mass

 If you were not able to attend the All Saints’ Day Children’s’ liturgy at Holy Family, you missed a truly “holy experience.”

The children walked in procession led by the bumblebee cross bearer. At the sanctuary, twenty little ones sat on the steps and shared their favorite treats from Halloween night. “Hershey’s chocolate” was the kids favorite! Then Spiderman and Bumblebee read from the scriptures, while I shared the story about the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.

Each of our little ones shared how they came dressed for this special All Saints’ Day Mass. Some were princesses, a clown with a large red nose, Olaf (snowman character from the 2013 film Frozen), and my favorite a cowgirl. They learned that "Hallow" means holy and the word Halloween refers to the night before the feast of all holies, or All Saints Day. And then I shared that each of them is a “child of the light” and they are to walk in the light of Jesus.

At the beginning of Mass, I told all our parents, neighbors and many visitors that our children’s smiles, laughter and joy are simple gifts that God gives us to erase our sadness and fear.

We then walked to the side altar where our parishioners had placed photos of loved ones who have died. When I asked the children where are these people who walked on this earth with us, they shouted together “in heaven!” Once again these children became a light to the grownups in the pews and taught us that their smiles can erase hatred, evil, pain and sadness. The light in us is just like Jesus' light. This is the blessing prayer for all our children and you are encouraged to offer this blessing for your children at home.

“God who created pumpkins and people, bless our beautiful Halloween light.

This light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus shines through the darkness and turns the night into day, sadness into joy, hate into love and tears into smiles. Bless the candies that we gathered on Halloween night. Let them be a reminder that we are your sweet creations, lighting up the smiles and hearts of our friends and family. Bless the happy pumpkins we have carved so that everyone who sees them might never be afraid of the darkness because your wonderful light is with us. Our choir then sang a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine.”

If you ever get discouraged again, I ask you to come back to this Sonshine message and spend a moment looking at the following picture of a little elephant peaking over the edge of the pew saying in so many words:

“Do worry, I will be with you always.”

Don't You Get It

I wonder how many times Jesus he rolled his eyes and look heavenward mumbling under his breath for the umpteenth time, “Don’t you get it.”

The apostles keep misunderstanding his meaning, message and mission.  St. Mark tells two stories about blindness. The first story depicts a blind man who sees fuzzily, squinting, he says that people look like tall trees walking around. Then Jesus places his hands on him and then the man sees clearly.

In recounting this first incident, Mark is insinuating a parallel with the apostles. They are also blind and their faith in Jesus, like this man’s, is coming very slowly, in stages. In the second story, however, where Bartimaeus sees instantly, Mark seems to be admitting that the apostles seem to be finally getting it.

And what are they getting? Listen to this: Discipleship with Jesus means an upside down world where the first are last and the last first, where one forgives one’s enemy seventy times seven, where the one who loses his life will save it, where the miserable, chest-striking publican in the back of the Temple is more worthy than the triumphant Pharisee in front, where proud fathers run to their wayward sons instead of the other way around, where one gives his coat when only asked for as shirt, where enemies are to be prayed for, good deeds are to be done in secret, and the one who wishes to rule over all must be the servant of all.

Talk about this radical teaching! Think about what you just heard. That’s a tough Christian mission that won’t get you very far in a world of greed and me-first. No wonder the apostles had trouble seeing Jesus and his message, and maybe, if they did see, they didn’t want to and pretended to be blind. Yes, seeing Jesus like Jesus brings a lot of difficulties.

The truth is, if we will admit it, that in some areas of our hearts, in some areas of the spirit, like the apostles in Mark, we have misunderstood Jesus and his message, that we have spiritual blind spots.

But Jesus is calling us: What do you want of me to do for you?” he asks. Right away we can think of a million things, but a more reflective response should be that of Bartimeuas: “Lord, I want to see.”

God walks by our say as we pray: “From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.” Psalm 72:14

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to humbly see more clearly what you need us to change to walk in your spirit of wisdom and peace.

My Gift to You

 

A rich young man once asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In response, Jesus says to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor.”

Selling what you own is a pretty radical thing to do. Just think what you own: a barn, a tractor, and a truck. And that’s just the beginning, isn’t it? There’s also the computer, the cell phone, the flat screen TV—and on and on.

Early in Christian history, people who sold everything they owned set up religious communities, so that they could live together and share what they needed. And so Jesus’ teaching to sell what you have and give to the poor is usually taken as a call to the religious life. Understood in that way, Jesus’ advice to the rich young man is one of the counsels of perfection. It explains what you have to do to be perfect in this life.

But here’s a puzzle worth noticing. If selling all he has and giving it to the poor is what the rich young man needs to do to inherit eternal life, what about everybody else? Does everybody have to sell what he has in order to attain heaven? If you don’t sell everything you have, are you going to hell?

The solution to the puzzle is to think about the description of the man asking Jesus the question: he is the rich young man. In other words, his gifts lie in his wealth. 

Now think about your unique gifts. There are gifts of learning, of music, of many other things. But a person’s gifts are meant to be given back in service to the Lord. You cannot bury your talent—your gifts—in the ground and hope to please the Lord. So here is what you need to do to inherit eternal life: You need to follow Jesus and use your gifts to the full when you do.

I have a Sonshine friend who serves as chair of a committee that awards scholarships to college students who exemplify the spirit of Jesus on campus. It was “Parents Weekend” on campus so the families were invited to Mass and attend the award ceremony. My friend took everyone to breakfast as his gift. He’s not rich but his gift is to share his faith and help these students grow in their faith and vocations.

Let us reflect as we pray: Many seek the favor of the generous, and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts. (Proverbs 19: 6).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who daily give their time, their smiles, their friendships and generosity to those in need. Bless the work of their hands and let their good works go before them into heaven.

Apology to All Divorced Catholics

Veronica, (not her real name), is 68 years old and in 1972 she remembered with great pain and anger coming down the aisle with her two daughters to receive Holy Communion. With her head bowed, she approached the priest who said to her: “You know you’re divorced and cannot receive Communion.” Shocked by his bold remark and ashamed, she went back down the side aisle fuming with disgust and called back to the priest: “father, that was rude  and I’ll be not coming back.”

It’s been 43 years since that tragic moment and I am sure she was not the only divorced person to ever receive this rejection by her pastor. At this moment, I want to apologize to all divorced Catholics. It was and still is a hurtful thing to say to anyone in public. “Father” was only following the norms of the church and he never realized the pain and hurt he caused. Yet, it certainly is not the way of Our Lord’s teaching about compassion and mercy.

Pope Francis issued a powerful call for the church to embrace Catholics who have divorced and remarried, telling a gathering at the Vatican that such couples “are not excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way!”

“They always belong to the church,” he added, calling on pastors to welcome Catholics who have remarried without an annulment, even though such Catholics are currently barred in most cases from receiving the Eucharist.

“The church is called to be always the open house of the Father. … No closed doors! No closed doors!”

Since he was elected in 2013, Francis has said that the church must be more merciful and open, and he has encouraged debate on changing pastoral practices to allow, for example, divorced and remarried Catholics to take Communion. Current teaching says such Roman Catholics cannot receive communion unless they abstain from sexual relations because their first marriage is still valid in the eyes of the church.

In my current ministry to help a parish reboot itself after being closed due to the shortage of priests. The Polish National Catholic tradition welcomes all divorced Catholics to receive Holy Communion without fear of sin or rejection. However, both traditions strongly encourage Catholics to seek the annulment process to have your first marriage annulled and your new marriage blessed. Many people prefer to abstain from this process since it results in bringing up the trauma from the past and requires a judgment from a marriage tribunal that the marriage was null and void. For many, this only adds further pain and anger thinking that their former marriage can somehow be negated by the system.

Let me conclude with this story that speaks of mercy and compassion:

In Frederick Buechner's novel The Final Beast there is a scene in which a member of a congregation is begging the pastor to declare forgiveness to a deeply disturbed woman in their church—a man or woman who has been divorced and remarried and are living a good Christian life. The pastor replies that the woman already knows that he, the pastor, has forgiven her, to which this other member replies, "But she doesn't know God forgives her. That's the only power you have, pastor: to tell her that. Not just that God forgives her for her poor adultery. Tell her that God forgives her for the faces she cannot bear to look at now. Tell her that God forgives her for being lonely and bored, for not being full of joy every day in a household full of children. Tell her that her sin is forgiven whether she knows it or not, that what she wants more than anything else--what we all want--is true. Pastor, what on earth do you think you were ordained for?”