Diamond Presence with my
story included availableds
from ACTA
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
June 29
If you are in need of redical change in your life--and we all are at one time or another: whether it is getting out of drugs or alcohol, or escaping abuse, or even less threatening situations: like movinng into a new and more challending occupation--look no farther than the man who was once Saul of Tarsus who changed into Saint Paul, and the man who was once a fisherman and who changed into an apostle.
There you will find radical change!
In the first reading today we see Peter confidently striding into the temple and boldly proclaiming: "In the name of Jesus rise up and walk!"
Can this be the same Peter that ran in terror away from the cross? The same Peter who when confronted with being identified with Jesus, proclaimed "I know not the man!?"
And in the second reading Paul readily admits that he was once a fierce peresecutor of the Christians who he despised and scorned.
We know that at every AA meeting in our own times, each participant introduces himself this way: "Hi! I am Bill and I am an alcoholic."
If they had AA meetings in the days of Peter and Paul, they might well have introduced themselves this way:
"Hi! I am Simon Bar jona , and I am a coward."
or "Hi I am Saul of Tarsus and I am a persecuting bigot."
And yet, Simon changed from quivering Simon to Peter which means the rock.
And Saul changed to Paul the apostle to the gentiles.
And all of this by the grace of God.
And the introit of today's mass proclaims:
"These men, conquering all human frailty shed their blood and helped the Church to grow. By sharing the cup of the Lord's suffering, they became the friends of God."
Their sufferings would take them to Rome to be martyred, and today pilgrims can visit St. Paul Ourside the Walls basilica and pray at the tomb of St. Paul.
And visitors to St. Peter's Basilica can wind their way down beneath the main altar, ending up standing on a first century street and peer into the very place where the bones of St. Peter were unearthed in the 1950's.
Do not the changes they underwent and the courage that they gained give us great confidence for any necessary changes we need to make in our own lives?
Today, the grace of God is at work and overflowing in the various support groups such as AA. It provides a path for radical change.
And how admirable are those who walk this path!
Finally, today's Gospel is especially poignant for those of us who are aging, for our dear loved ones who find themselves in care centers, and for any who suffer the loss of mobility as eventually most of us will.
Jesus says to Peter, "Amen, amen I say to you, when you were younger you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hand and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
Our consolation in this regard could be the beautiful song we sing: "Here am I Standing Right Beside You."
Jusr as Jesus stood beside Peter and Paul, so he stands with us as well.
12th Sunday IN Ordinary Time
Do not be afraid of those
who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul.
MT 10:26-33
Fear is consistently critiqued in
the New Testament.
The followers of Christ
are not to cower in fear.
Some fear, of course is understandable
and even necessary.
But the kind of fear that makes
us like a deer in the headlights,
frozen into inaction,
is warned about in our
Scriptures.
In the first reading today, Jeremiah
proclaims:
"I hear the whisperings of
many: Terror on
Every side!"
My, isn't that true today?
Last fall I traveled to Istanbul.
Some asked me:
"Aren't you afraid?"
Actually getting out of
some Caholic parking lots on
any Sunday may be more
dangerous than
Istanbul!
Herman Goering once wrote how
easy it is to play upon
fear, and condition people
for war:
"All you have to do is tell the
people they will be attacked
and denounce pacificism
for lack of patriotism, and
exposing the country to danger
--it works the same in any country!"
In my book, "Living In The
Shadow of
Terror" I wrote a poem about
fear:
"There is nothing wrong with fear.
its one of the players in the
drama of our lives.
We should accept fear as an actor,
but never give it the lead role.
For no great drama
was every successful
with fear as the main actor...
Never give fear more power than it deserves.
Let fear have a minor role:
some lines, but not all.
Give fear lines of caution,
but not panic,
lines of deliberation,
but not inaction,
lines of prudence,
but not cowardice....
Fear deserves no more than a bit part.
Give faith, hope, and love,
the major role."
There is a story about a fearful old man.
He was afraid of everytihing,
in particular losing any money,
and of course his life.
Each year he and his wife went to
the fair, and she always wanted
to take a ride in the open cock-
pit aircraft which offered rides
for $25.
Each year he would say to the
pilot, who offered a ride for
$25: he would reply:
$25---is $25....no thanks!
and then he and his wife would
squabble.
Finally one year the pilot knowing how much she wanted to take the ride said:
"OK, I will take you up for a free
ride with one condition: you do not
say one word to each other while
we're up there--No complaining
or words of any kind.
So up they went....around and
around, and in one loop,
the wife fell out!
When they landed, the pilot
looked back and said: "Where
is your wife?"
"Oh she fell out when you made
that loop."
The pilot exclaimed: 'Oh my!
why didn't you scream
of say something?"
"Well, $25 is $25!"
Today, not only does Jesus tell us not to be afraid, he tells us to know where our treasure is....and it is not in $25 nor is it in $25 million!
"So do not be afraid, you are wotth more than many sparrows?"
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 15, 2008
In today's first reading, we have the words of Moses which he attributes to God:
"I bore you up on eagle's wings and brought you here to myself."
Isaiah also uses the beautiful image of eagles' wings, and we sing about this image and and it's poetic meaning in the beautiful hymn: "Eagle's Wings."
I have also written a poem which compares a father's role to that of an eagle and which may be appropriate to today's Father's Day: It was written to be used at the funeral of a good father:
The eagle's flight, like human parenting,
gives shelter, food, and faith,
in rough terrain.
Watching the brood with eagle eye,
making the daily commyte,
coming home, always faithful.
Pulled toward earth,
by turbulence,
yet circling toward the sun.
Soaring with joy when eaglets
learn to fly,
and when strength is gone,
flying beyond the rim,
towards the morning star.
This poem reminds me of three fathers I have thought much about the last several days:
Tim Russert was one. What a wonderful book he wrote about his own father who worked his way up through the sanitation department--starting out as a garbage collector.
I highly recommend that book for any father.
Several years ago, I met Tim Russert and I have a picture on my bookshelf of he and I.
I simply met him on the street by chance and he was as gracious to me as he would have been to any important public figure.
A few days before he died he had walked into the Boston College stadium to witness his son's graduation.
And the name for all Boston College teams? They are called "the eagles." May Tim's blithe spirit now soar with the eagles!
The second father on my mind was our parishoner Richard Weigstead who I buried on Friday.
When I talked to his sons, one shared something that I think would be worth hearing by all fathers.
His son remembered a particular conversation with his dad who was a labor negoiator for a large industry.
He had returned from an intense labor negoiation, and his son said to him something like: "Well dad, I suppose you are happy having negoitated a winning contract for the company."
The father replied: "Son, at the end of the negoiating process, we want it to be a winning result for both sided--a fair settlement for all involved."
What a wonderful response, and how worth remembering by any parent. You should all hope that someday your grown son our daughter will be able to remember a particular conversation that helped to shape your values.
Thursday I was in Omaha, standing beside a friend to bury his 48 year old wife leaving him as both father and mother for his teenage daughters and 8 year old son.
And it reminded me of how a heroic a task it is for any single parent--mother or father to carry on both roles.
Finally, we have the moving words of Jesus in today's Gospel:
"..."Jesus heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shapherd..."
In our world there are too many children without fathers or mothers, or some with negligent or uncaring parents.
We should remember them too, and on Father's Day, give thanks for places like Boys Town or Friends of the Orphans which supports abandoned children in South America who indeed are like sheep without a shepherd.
So today, we remember the importance of fatherhood, and surely we need look no farther for the dignity of parenthood as the prayer we shall say together:
"Our Father who art in heaven..."
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 8, 2008
Jesus sees Matthew sitting at the counting table with wadfs of money stacked up before him. Jesus gazes into his eyes...calls his name....and Matthew leaves all and follows him!
Amazing!
Joyce Rupp shares this story in her new book titled prayer:
"A beggar stands at a corner begging alms. Along comes God disguised as a person of royalty dressed in rich robes and riding a fine horse.
This great dignitary stops in front of the beggar, and the begger's heart leaps for joy, anticipating a big contribution from such an important person.
However to the beggar's dismay, instead of giving something, the royal person asks the beggar: "And what do you have to give me?"
The disappointed beggar is put off by this unseemly request. He reaches into his tawdry bag of possessions and touches some grains of corn.
He pulls out one kernal which he gives to the dignitary.
At the end of the day, the same royal person returns, comes to where the beggar is standing, leans over, and places one kernal of gold in the beggar's outstretched hand.
As the royal person rides away, the beggar weeps with regrets and says:
"How I wish I had the heart to give you my all!"
Matthew did have the heart to give his all.
If Jesus came to Wall Street today, would he get the same kind of response? Maybe from some he would.
But if he were to come to Wall Street today, or to the Phoenix office towers, he would have first stopped on Van Buren, to say a kind word to the prostitutes there. That is the other amazing lesson Jesus gives us in today's Gospel:
The Pharisees asked in amazement: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
And Jesus responded: "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
Go and learn the meaning of the words "I desire mercy-- not sacrifice~"
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
