My Kingdom Is Not Of This World

Deacon Tom writes

“My Kingdom Is Not Of This World” 

The Solemnity Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Pope Benedict XVI wrote the following comment about today’s Feast of Christ the King:

“Jesus of Nazareth is so intrinsically king that the title ‘King’ has actually become his name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the king. God did not intend Israel to have a kingdom. The kingdom was a result of Israel’s rebellion against God.  The law was to be Israel’s king, and, through the law, God himself. God yielded to Israel’s obstinacy and so devised a new kind of kingship for them. The King is Jesus; in him God entered humanity and espoused it to himself. This is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways.  The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines”.

This reflection from the former pontiff challenges us to decide which of the many paths we will follow in this life. A few words from St. Matthew’s Gospel serve as a guide: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21).  How we pursue the treasures we seek in this life is an expression of the divine activity within us. Let’s face it! We have so many choices today and hardly any reigns on how we pursue them.  How do we set priorities between our spiritual and physical needs? To whom will we pledge our loyalties during this life and at what cost?  Will we be serving the spirit of this world, thinking only of our own selves and needs, acting as if it’s all about me, declaring to those with different opinions “it’s my way OR the highway”?  Or, will we choose a different path, and live in solidarity with the poor, advocate for the weak and oppressed, seek shelter for the homeless and food for the hungry, be mindful of the plight of refugees and orphans?  Will we see ways to build relationships with those who oppose us or will we seek to annihilate them? This is the ultimate freedom we have today, the freedom to choose to be subjects of the creator and ruler of the cosmos who has … “set us free...to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God”  ROM 8:21.

Jesus was right to tell Pilate that “his kingdom does not belong to this world”. But, the way to the kingdom is here and is a conscious choice whenever we serve those who lack power, privilege and prestige, those very people Christ identified with, served, and redeemed. When we serve them, we declare with our lives where our treasures lie and we give witness to others of our deliberate choice to follow the man whose kingdom is not of this world.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

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Shine Like The Stars

Deacon Tom writes

Shine Like The Stars

Thirty –third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Our Liturgical Year comes to a close next Sunday on the Feast of Christ the King. As we reflect about the passing of another year, our readings today focus our attention on the “End Times”. The physical laws of the universe tell us that all things must come to an end. That pertains to our world as well. Today we read a prophetic account of those days and they paint of pretty grim picture. The Prophet Daniel says, “it will be a time unsurpassed in distress”.  Jesus tells his disciples, “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give it’s light”. 

Hollywood has tremendous imagination when it comes to world-ending cataclysms. Our readings today, however, challenge us to see these apocalyptic signs through a much different filter, through the eyes of faith guided as we are by the two Prophets who speak to us today, Daniel and Jesus.

Daniel tells us that during these devastating days, “the wise shall shine brightly….and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever”.  Jesus tells his disciples that, “they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds… and he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds”.

Today’s readings tell us some truth about the future. Hollywood imagines the “how”; our Christian focus is on the “what”. For each of us must consider how we live our lives and prepare ourselves for that day which will be our last.   Through the eyes of faith we know that we have nothing to worry about on our “last days” if we have been faithful to our Baptismal promises and if we have let our light shine brightly to all around us so that in the words of St. Paul, we may “…shine among them like stars in the sky” Phil 2:15.

Aware of our shortcomings in this life, we place our trust in God and his abundant love, mercy and compassion in fervent hope that, at the appointed time, he will come and gather  to himself all who have let his light shine in their lives to be with him forever.   

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Only In God

Deacon Tom writes

“Only In God”

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In the course of today’s readings we encounter several women who have remarkably strong faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs, even for the most basic necessities of life!  We know neither of their names only that they share a common bond, that of widowhood. Being a widow was tantamount to being assigned to a most difficult and arduous station of life in the patriarchal society of the bible, and it remains such to this day. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. It reduced a woman to a life of begging and dependency upon the acts of charity from others in the community.

Despite her direful plight, the first widow we encounter in the Book of Kings offers the Prophet Elijah hospitality. She and her young son have only a “handful of flour… and a little oil” and that’s it. The widow and her son are themselves far beyond the bounds of destitution and yet she willingly makes “a little cake” for the Prophet leaving nothing for herself and her son!  Yet, “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry!”

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place at the Temple offering. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents”.  Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”.

These women teach us of a deep and trusting faith in God, lessons very appropriate for us today. They teach us not from their head, but from their heart and from their deep-seated experiences of life. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need?  This is a difficult question for us to wrestle with, but one that is certainly worth the effort. If we spend some time thinking about this question it may lead us to reflect on an underlying struggle we face often in this life – that is, how much do we really trust that God will be there in our time of need, whatever that “need” might be.

There is an aspect to these widow’s faith that reflects Christ’s complete self-giving, his pouring himself out completely for our sake, Christ’s “kenosis” as St. Paul writes in Philippians 2:7, in which Christ surrenders his own will to the divine will of his Father.  This complete giving of self is a gift from God that scripture reveals mostly in the lives of the poor and lowly ones, such as these widows we encounter today.  They teach us that God cannot be outdone in generosity.  Their strong faith enables them to trust God completely, to trust “only in God” in all things, not only for all the necessities of the present moment but for all future needs also.

May our faith grow to be like theirs so we too willingly give all …even our whole livelihood…for the greater glory of God. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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We Remember

Deacon Tom writes

“ We Remember”

The Solemnity of All Saints, Year B

“From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.”

These words from Eucharistic Prayer III remind us that our faith unites us to one another throughout time and throughout space. Our Church honors as Saints those who have gone before us having lived exceptionally good and virtuous lives. They are models for us to imitate. We see them as sources of inspiration for us to follow in our attempt to live holy and charitable lives. Names like St. Francis, St. Martin de Pores, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Damien of Molokai have earned their place in this ever-growing litany of inspirational lives. They inspire us in our efforts to serve one another as Christ taught us to do, and to carry those crosses that come our way because of our faith in Chris. Today we witness many ordinary people who live each and every day with a spirit of humility, who go through life making many sacrifices to ease the burdens of those around them. They do this because they are disciples of Jesus and they desire to follow in his footsteps. These too are saints in every sense of the word.

We honor both categories of Saints today, those recognized by our Church as Saints and those ordinary people who lived their lives in our homes and our communities witnesses and practitioners of God’s love, mercy, and compassion.  Yes, we remember the lives of the saints that we called our mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers, our husbands and wives, and children who made a difference in our lives. We recall the joy and happiness they brought into our lives and into the lives of so many others. We recall their faith, their struggles, and their love.

It is all these wonderful lives that make up the “Communion of Saints”. It is both the great and the small saints as John Nava depicted in his rendition of the “Communion of Saints” that we honor today. It is these men and women who have been “good and faithful servants” who have entered the kingdom of God and who now faithfully pray for us, the living, to do the same. And for them we praise God!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: Los Angeles Cathedral Tapestry by John Nava

The Courage To Speak

Deacon Tom writes

“The Courage To Speak”

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Today we hear the familiar story of Bartimaeus, a man whose disability sets the stage for his encounter with Jesus. It’s an ordinary day; Bartimaeus sets up on the side of the road to do the only thing he can do…Beg. His blindness makes him vulnerable and without the help of others, his life would go from bad to worse. How excited he must have been when he heard the crowd approaching! Perhaps, he might have thought, their generosity would get him through a couple of days, please God! But in reality, a greater gift awaited him.

In some ways we are like Bartimaeus. We routinely set out each day trying to secure the necessities of life, to earn enough to pay the mortgage, the orthodontist, buy groceries, fill the gas tank of the car. Yes, we need these things to provide for our families. That’s keeping it real. But there is more to life than the things that money can buy. Ironically, Bartimaeus, the blind man, helps open our eyes to the fact that our well-being depends totally on someone else, and that someone else is God.

It takes courage for Bartimaeus to continue calling out to Jesus when those around him demand his silence. Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus’ true identity as the “Son of David”. He cries out, not for a handout to get him through the day, but for God’s mercy that will open for him a whole new way of life and satisfy all that is lacking within.

We all stand in need of God’s mercy, for his healing, for the gift of sight to see the awesome works of God around us and even in our lives. We have so many needs; there are so many things to pray for. Prayers that break the silence to ask for God’s guidance, protection, and his mercy so that we might make it through today and have hope for tomorrow; prayers that silence the rumble of war and that bring peace to our troubled world; prayers for those who are abused and neglected who are often silent victims.    

Like Bartimaeus, let’s not be silenced by the world around us. Instead, let us call out “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us” and see what wonders lie in store. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Use Leftovers

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Deacon Tom writes ©

"Use Leftovers"

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In today’s first reading the Prophet Elisha is given twenty loaves of barley bread. Instead of keeping it for himself, he tells his benefactor to “Give it to the people to eat”. Afraid there wouldn’t be enough for everyone, the man reluctantly did as he was told. Surprisingly, we discover as the story ends, “there was some left over”.

Jesus finds himself in a similar situation surrounded by a hungry crowd with few resources… five barley loaves and a couple of fish. Surprisingly, he too had ample food to feed everyone and needed twelve wicker baskets for the “leftovers”.  There is a common theme in both readings… Can you guess it?

In the economy of the kingdom Jesus reveals to his followers there is always a sufficiency, there is always enough to go around and fill everyone’s needs. Bread…the basic food staple for most of human history was essential for daily life. Without it, people suffered and died. Elisha and Jesus were extraordinary in their ability to supply bread to satisfy people’s hunger…and still have leftovers.

Chapter 6 of the Gospel of St. John is the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. In many ways this event sets the stage for Jesus making the connection between the bread as a staple for physical life and his body that will be offered up on the Cross in order to nourish our spiritual life. The Eucharistic Banquet feeds the deepest hunger we experience in life… our hunger to be intimately connected with God and to be satisfied completely with the graces that flow from that intimacy.

Our readings tell us something very important from the bread, the nourishment we derive from our deeply rooted and personal experience of God in the Eucharist… there is always an overabundance of God’s supply not only to nourish us, but to also nourish others.  

Now in our day and age, when we have more than enough for our needs, when we are done with supper and there is more food on the stove, we break out the Tupperware and pack the leftovers into the frig for when we are hungry tomorrow. That’s not how God works. That’s not how divine supply works. Remember the story of the Israelites wandering in the desert and, when the people complained that they were hungry, God provided them with bread to eat?  The bread was called Manna and the people were instructed to gather only what they needed for that day. No more, no less! Of course, some people didn’t listen, perhaps not trusting that God would deliver and provided for them on the next day. Here is what happened when that happened… “But they did not listen to Moses, and some kept a part of it over until morning, and it became wormy and stank”

Every time we receive the Eucharist, God provides us with the nourishment we need to carry out his plan, which as Jesus taught his disciples, is to go out into the world and feed others. And, the way we do this is by the way we act, by the way we love and forgive one another, by the way we envision this world and the way we provide solutions to the many problems we face.  There are no leftovers in God’s plan. Everything, everyone has a purpose and a role to play in advancing God’s Kingdom of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

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Obstinate of Heart

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Deacon Tom Writes ©

“Obstinate of Heart” 

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In our first reading, Ezekiel has a profound experience that he describes, “As the Lord spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet”. Thus, the Lord has chosen Ezekiel to be his servant to deliver a message to the Israelites that they have become a “rebellious house”. They are a people who are “hard of face and obstinate of heart” because they have turned away from God and “rebelled against him”. This is a theme we hear time and time again in the Old Testament. It is like the ebb and flow of the tides, this turning to and then away from God. The one thing that is constant throughout the ages though, is that God never does the turning away. He always remains faithful to his people, always calling them to return to him. And so God sends Ezekiel to deliver the message that a “prophet has been among them” urging them to change their ways and turn their hearts to the Lord.

In today’s gospel, we see another prophet at work among God’s people. The prophet is Jesus, chosen by God, indeed, God in human form!  But, worker of miracles though he is, he is rejected by the people because they can’t get beyond their judging, skeptical hearts and minds that are closed to the truth; they are “obstinate of heart”!  So we read that Jesus, “was not able to perform any mighty deeds there” and “He was “amazed at their lack of faith”.

These scripture passages point out our tendency to resist the Holy. Indeed, God actually names the condition that plagues us. He refers to it as having an “obstinate heart”. An obstinate heart resists God’s invitation into the mystery of the divine presence. An obstinate heart is closed to the transformation that the divine presence is able to bring about in us and actually desires to bring about in us. We develop this condition when we refuse to be open to an alternative way of thinking or seeing the reality around us. This is very much a part of our human condition, inherited, perhaps, through “original sin”. We all have a large degree of obstinacy in us.

One remedy for overcoming an “obstinate heart” that impairs our spiritual growth is prayer, that time we spend opening our hearts and minds to Our Lord. This is the traditional way of letting God into our lives so we may be filed with his presence. Of course, the very desire for prayer comes from God who never abandons nor turns his back on us. Prayer will always turn the hardest and most obstinate of hearts to ones full of love and compassion.

Happy 4^th of July…Enjoy this special day and give thanks to God for the freedoms we enjoy!

Deacon Tom 

Stormy Weather

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Stormy Weather 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The gospel paints quite a picture for us today. A nice day on the water suddenly turns into a heart-clutching event. The disciples are “terrified” and fearful that they are about to die.  They wonder how Jesus can sleep through this violent storm.  Indeed, they ask him outright, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  After Jesus calms the sea, it’s his turn to ask the tough questions: “Why are you terrified?  Do you not yet have faith”?

We all experience tempests in our lives.  Oftentimes they terrify us and challenge our faith.  Doubt, uncertainty, guilt, fear and regret raise havoc with our faith.  When we are in such a state we question why God doesn’t reach out and save us from our misery.  “He’s sleeping”, we may think, or “He just doesn’t care”.  We may even begin to rationalize to the extreme… “God’s not helping because he doesn’t exist”... Or at the least, “We doubt that he will come to our rescue”.  If we let these thoughts gain control over us they can lead us to utter despair or worse, a complete crisis of faith. 

Yet, what do we hear in today’s gospel when the apostles were overcome with fear?  We are told not to fear, not to doubt, but rather, “Quiet! Be still!” Listen for that quiet voice within where God speaks to our hearts.  When we are overcome by the overwhelming circumstances we can’t avoid, there is something we can do… and that is to listen for that quiet, still voice within us…the promptings of the Holy Spirit who is “nearer to us than we are to ourselves”, in order to tap into an endless supply of Christ’s abiding love to help us persevere until the storms of uncertainty pass us by. 

You may recall the expression, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger”. This is true in matters of faith as well.  As we grow in our faith we gradually begin to understand that it is during those dark and uncertain moments that we experience God’s abiding presence, when we are most aware that God is “near to the brokenhearted”.  We recognize God’s presence more and more in our lives the more we are tossed about by the sea of life and especially when things are not going our way. Perhaps that’s because when everything around us has failed… when our friends have abandoned us, when we lose our jobs or health or loved ones, when we begin to realize that we don’t have the power to fix what’s wrong in our lives or the lives of those we love… it is then when we are out of options that we turn to God.  It is in times such as these that we are more open to receive what Christ has to offer us…his love, compassion, and mercy.

All of the tempests in our lives have the potential of bringing us closer to Christ if we let them.  If Christ truly becomes our rock and our salvation, we will overcome all the stormy weather we encounter as we navigate the waters of this life while keeping our bearings on the one to come. 

A Happy Father’s day to all the fathers, grandfathers, and soon to be fathers (that’s for my son-in-law, Brandon!!!). I jumped the gun by putting this in last week....I am loosing track of time!!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Fruit of the Vine

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Fruit of the Vine

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

In the gospel we hear the story of the “Vine and the Branches” that, not surprisingly, contains a message quite suited for us today. That message is this: if we live our lives trying to discern God’s Will for us and see ourselves connected with and dependent upon one another, a life of simple abundance awaits us. Not an abundance of the material “stuff” this age of consumerism has spawned upon us, but rather, an abundance of those things that matter most for our overall “well-being”, both spiritual and emotional.

We begin our journey to pursue the rich abundance the gospel speaks of in earnest when we realize that it is lacking in our lives. Simple abundance is a matter of choosing to live well-balanced lives that contribute and enhance the “well-being” of others.  It is what Jesus taught his disciples to do when he said they must put others first and be the servants of all. This is the hardest challenge Christians face and, make no mistake about it, it is in actuality a… “dying to self”. 

For most of us this doesn’t describe the current state of our spiritual journey. John’s gospel today reminds us that God calls us to “bear much fruit”, but we settle for so much less. Think about it!!!  Would our God, who through Christ promised to raise us from the dead and share eternal life with us not also want us to experience some simple joy and happiness during this life that has more than its share of sadness and sorrows?  I am sure that God wants us to have these good things and more, but we often settle for the glitter and trinkets, far lesser “stuff”.

God has truly set a banquet before us. It starts in this life and comes to completion, perfection in the next. We know that we can do nothing without him, nor should we want to. For God desires to be a part of our life’s journey so he can fill us with his joy and peace, fruits that matter.   And, he waits for us until that day comes when he, the harvest master, gathers to himself the rich harvest of the fruit of our lives.

I know that to be true for my sister Kathleen, who passed away this Thursday, the eve of the Feast day of St. Joseph. The fruit of her life has now all been harvested. For all the good she has done in bringing comfort, healing, and peace to so many others during her life, she has made this world a better place. We will struggle to go on without her. Well done, good and faithful servant…!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Shepherd Me, O God

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Shepherd Me, O God

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

One of the songs in the Hymnal is based on the 23^rd Psalm and carries the refrain, “Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life”.  This beautiful melody helps us draw upon the rich imagery of a “good” shepherd, one who keeps the flock safe and secure, even when dangers abound.  The idea of a good shepherd, unfortunately, seems to have folded into the pages of history as our society has progressed from its early ranching days into the age of high-tech.  Yet, it seems from some recent events that we still long to have good shepherds in our midst, watching over us, shepherds who put the needs and cares of others before their own.

Several memorable examples come to mind.  The first is that of Estella Pyfrom, a guidance counselor in Palm Beach County, Florida.  She was aware that many students did not have access to a computer after school. Coming from poorer families, she recognized that this was a serious problem. Her solution: she took her life savings and bought a bus, filled it with computers, and brought technology to the kids.  Her mobile computer lab called “Estella's Brilliant Bus” has provided free, computer-based tutoring for thousands of students since 2011.  To the many students who have received essential computer skills that promise to enhance the quality of their lives, Estella Pyfrom is truly a “good shepherd”.

Then there is Danielle Gletow who notices that Foster children go without so many ordinary things that children who grow up in biological families often take for granted.  Her solution: she has created an online site where the wishes of Foster children are posted so the public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the mom to all these kids who might not feel like they have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.

These ongoing acts of kindness give us the extraordinary witness of two individuals who went to incredible lengths to improve the lives of others in need. You can call them “good shepherds” because their primary concern was the well-being of others, the strangers in our midst.

Christ remains for us, of course, the eternal “Good Shepherd”, the one who laid down his life for us.  The Lord told us three things about the true shepherd:  he gives his own life for his sheep; he knows them and they know him; he keeps the flock together.

While Jesus is the true shepherd calling us to the one fold, those who follow him can easily recognize that there are times when we are called to shepherd others.  These recent experiences of Estella Pyfrom and Danielle Gletow are extreme cases for sure.  But, in the ordinary course of our day, we too have many opportunities to be shepherds to those around us.  We share in the ministry of Christ, the Good Shepherd, when we share Christ with others by reaching out to those who are lonely or sick; when we welcome the stranger or feed the hungry; when we forgive those who have hurt us; when we work to break down the barriers that divide us so that we may become one in Christ.  We participate most in being good shepherds when we… “deliver others beyond their wants, beyond their fears, from death into life”, as Jesus so often does for us.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

In The Beginning

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“In The Beginning”

Sunday of Divine Mercy, Year B

The Acts of the Apostles chronicles the early days of the church as it came to understand its purpose and mission.  It describes individuals coming together and struggling to understand the profound mystery they had recently witnessed.  Today’s first reading from the forth chapter says that, “...the community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common”. It appears that the death and resurrection of Christ touched their lives profoundly and so they made a conscious choice to live their lives according to the spirit of Jesus’ teaching… and to care for one another… “so that there was no needy person among them”. 

What’s happened?  Has the mandate Jesus gave us to “love one another” changed?  Has it been enhanced or modified or made conditional so that we…love others only IF they love us in return, or IF they hold the same ideological position as we do, or IF they are the same color, ethnicity, or culture as us! God forbid that we define “neighbor” as used in the Golden Rule as only those who are just like us.  Jesus had a much wider interpretation in mind.   

Jesus loves the victim, no matter what side of the fence they are on. The Risen Jesus in not concerned about nationalism, borders...ethnicity, etc. He is with the suffering of every race and creed. He is an outcast with all those who are disenfranchised; he mourns with all the broken hearted no matter the color of their skin…He is shunned along with all those people we run and hide from...that we are afraid of…that we can't look in the eye, perhaps because we helped contribute to the way they are.  Christ suffers want, rejection, isolation, poverty, and humiliation with all who experience those pitiful states of existence. 

We hear the rhetoric: we can’t afford to pay for everyone to have health insurance… or let them work like the rest of us have to...or send them home where they belong!  And so Jesus wanders the streets today, sick and uncared for. He sits in an ICE detention center waiting to be sent back "home". He’s chronically unemployed, under educated, losing hope or lays wounded on some far away battlefield, crippled by another “Child of God” who also is “only following orders”.

Didn’t Jesus have something to say about these things? How we have twisted and distorted his words. I guess the Romans weren't as brutal as history or we might judge them to be. Sure they beat Jesus...They tortured him…They made him drag the instrument of his death across town...They nailed his hands and his feet to the cross so he couldn't move. And, they even stuck a lance in his side to make sure he was dead. BUT, they never silenced him! We do that when we choose to ignore the things he taught us…about love, about being servants, about what it will cost to follow his lead.  

In these joy filled days following his Resurrection, let us pray to be filled with the Spirit of Christ so we may follow his example and his teachings as those early followers of his did “ in the beginning”.

Have a great day!

Deacon Tom