Can We Help One Another

I thought I'd have more time today to gather my thoughts...but alas...that was not to be.

I was reading a great book in the car this morning, while waiting for parking to be legal, (you have to own a car in NYC to understand what that means...) and I am captivated my this book. The title is Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. It was loaned to me by a friend and I can see it is going to be the source of much prayer and reflection for me. You should find it and read it. I especially love the title of the second chapter...just saying...

Looking quickly at the Gospel I see we're talking about sheep again. And I can hear Fr Tony quoting the Pope and saying that the shepherd should smell like the sheep. (yuck!) I get it though...and I agree wholeheartedly!

I know that my inclination is the opposite of that...I don't like getting messy and dirty and dealing with the hard stuff of life. Most days I can push myself to overcome my hesitation and enter into another's reality. I need to ask God to help me do that more often and more graciously. How about you? Can you enter into another's suffering and comfort them? We all need someone to hold our hand or lend a shoulder when life gets tough. We are lucky when we can help each other.

God bless us all as we celebrate the wonders of this weekend!

Sunday Brunch with Jesus

We who are NYC dwellers know the joys of Sunday Brunch! How lovely is it to go to Sunday Mass with your friends and family, then head off to one of the many great local restaurants to continue to celebration.

I once heard this gospel referred to as 'Jesus' bbq on the beach'! Who wouldn't love that!! Jesus is so aware of what the disciples need in this story, I am so touched by his care for them.

The story starts with Peter saying: "I'm going fishing"...I can only imagine in the confusion after Easter, and his trying to process his feelings of guilt over his three fold denial, that some time on the water, fishing, is the thing he thinks will sooth his soul. Then there is the frustration of catching absolutely nothing. There is Jesus telling him how to do his job again, 'throw the net over the OTHER side...' like that should really make a difference...and then, oh nuts, tons of fish...more than they can haul in...what do you do with all these emotions-the sorrow, the guilt, the joy the fear and frustration, the doubt, the hope the longing...oh, it is all so very human.

Then Jesus cooks for them. Feeds them. How absolutely lovely. (said this Italian woman!!) How better to express his love for them then to prepare a hot meal? At the end of the meal he gives Peter the opportunity to begin again, to walk into the future with a clean heart. Yes Lord, you know that I love you.

What do I do, what do we do when we are overwhelmed with the emotions and the real demand on our time. How do we breath in the midst of all the multitasking our society is demanding of us? How is Jesus looking to feed us in spite of all the craziness in our lives? Do we even notice when God is trying to touch us?

The Easter stories are great reminders to us to look for Gods' presence in our everyday lives. We say He is everywhere. Do we believe that he is with us in the midst of that unexpected root canal? The car accident? The springtime hail storm? The unexpected death of a loved one? Both the traffic jam and the forsythia blooms give us an opportunity to be grateful for the love of God in our lives.

AA has the great treasure of "One Day At A Time". When life gets too hectic, I try to live by 'one moment at a time', trying to slow down and pay attention to each person, each event as best I can because I know that the potential to find God is present in each interaction.

I hope for you, in the midst of this never ending winter...and as we await our second springtime, you can slow down and look for God in whatever happens today. When summer finally comes and I go to that first bbq, I'm going to remember Jesus loved his friends enough to grill some fish for them. How cool is that?

Happy Sunday!

Easter Flowers and Crashed Computers

Life is funny. Actually, I have a dear friend who says 'God's a funny guy..." That's sort of how I'm feeling today.

I'm a few days into my annual Easter recovery week...starting to feel a bit human again.

The holy days here at St Francis de Sales were amazing! The best word I can come up with for me was that they were breath-taking. I have to say, as one who works in the parish, I don't always expect to have a prayerful experience of the holy days...but boy was I taken by surprise this year! Every day there were mysteries revealed to me about the immensity of the love God shares with each of us. I am immensely proud of the priests and parish leaders that I share ministry with. I am humbled by the community of St Francis and how we welcome all through our doors.

I am grateful for my family, who jump in to help with the craziness of Easter dinner when help is desperately needed. I who hate to ask for help, learned that I needed to ask others to help me, that I couldn't possible do 'it' all...and everyone was happy to help. A most valuable lesson for me to take to heart.

I was given some lovely roses by one of my young parishioners...and it reminded me in a very real way of all my friends in heaven who are actively supporting me in ministry, and working hard, I believe to help me grow and be the best minister in an ever changing, ever challenging church.

So, when I heard the loud crash this morning at 5:30 a.m. I wasn't sure what it was...As I came into the living room I was not happy to see that is was that particular vase of flowers that the cat (who is lucky he got fed this morning!!) had knocked over onto my laptop. Which is now fried. Not working. Kaput.

How is it that the Easter joy can so quickly slide back into Good Friday sorrow?

How do I hold the serenity of Easter morning, the bliss of the celebrations, and walk into this valley of 'how the  heck am I going to live without my laptop, can they recover my data, and why does everything cost so much' Good Friday gloom?

Our Easter Season lasts 50 days. It would have been nice if I'd had a bit more time to celebrate Easter before the harsh realities of life intrude again. Yet that is our daily journey as Christians isn't it...to hold onto and live out of some kind of Easter joy in the midst the every day 'stuff' we encounter. How we trust God and move through the every day makes all the difference doesn't it? Can I live out the faith I think I have and trust that God is there for me? Can I not panic at every set back? I'm learning.

And maybe finally, I'm learning it's OK, it's even good at times to ask for help. Because when I ask, it gives someone else a chance to step up and be the support, the angel I need just then. Much like the apostles in these early days after the resurrection...they needed to count on one another. They needed to rely on one another. So if I've learned anything this Holy Week and Easter week, it's that I don't have to do it alone. And trust me, for me, that's HUGE!!

Happy First Week of Easter!!

Looking For Holy Quiet Moments

I honestly didn't think I'd even get here today...to this blog thing...but I want to at least take a minute, one minute, to simply say, let us pray for each other during these most holy days in our Church. Let us pray, today, in a special way, for all those men and women who take on roles of leadership and service in our Church. May God's spirit bless them with patience and wisdom in our troubled world.

Let us pray, as we approach Good Friday, for all those places in the world where the crucifixion still happens over and over again...this week I am mindful like many of you for all who mourn in Brussels. There are so many places of suffering in our world, let us remember those souls when we come before the cross tomorrow.

At Easter Vigil my heart is always filled with prayers of hope and joy for all who choose to come into our zany little group we call Church...some days it is a mystery to me what they see in us, but I know it is a loving God who calls them, and it is our joy to accompany them as we all journey toward Easter Alleluias. Broken we may be, but love and laughter will lead us on and make the path unforgettable!

So, Happy Holy Days to each of you. Let us hold one another in prayer these next few days. God's peace and joy be yours.

Passion

We know this Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and is called both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday.

I'm thinking about Passion.

Mostly because I get so nuts that people are more excited over Palms then the Eucharist. I wish we had better explained to our folks that the Eucharist is something of a 'give away' or 'take home' EVERY week, EVERY day...and worth much more to our souls then...palm...

Maybe I need to look at the passion that surrounds folks and their desire to participate in this palm ritual and think about how to help them go deeper into the mystery of Holy Week...with their palm branches.

We retell the story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, with crowds chanting Hosanna and wanted to be a part of the glory of the moment.
We know those same folks are the ones a few days later shouting "Crucify him!" and rejecting any knowledge of Jesus or the good he had done.

Crowds can be crazy --passionate yes--but crazy too. It's easy to get swept along in the energy of the moment without perhaps paying close attention to  what's really happening around us.

Back in the day, when I was teaching high school, I used to do an exercise with my students to help them think about what values were the most important, the last thing they would willingly give up. After spirited conversation among them, where they said things like: family, friendship, and so on, I would chime in and add my two cents. I'd say that the last thing in the world I would give up would be--passion. And they'd look at me amazed that I would offer something so self revealing to them. I would explain simply by saying that I could't imagine getting up each morning if I didn't care so deeply for the world around me, and the people who were a part of my life. That passion, to me, meant caring deeply for others. That's what I wouldn't give up.

What kind of passion did Jesus hold in his heart for us that he willingly entered into all of Holy week, the excitement of Palm Sunday, the bittersweet moments of Holy Thursday, the absolute horror of Good Friday...the mystery of the tomb and the resurrection. What great love!

What do we need to hold close to our hearts this last week of Lent? What do we need to ask God to help us with?  How can these palm branches help us to remember to live our lives with a passion so deep that we can't help but love our sisters and brothers in the world around us more deeply? Maybe this year, let these palms symbolize a great love, a great passion within us to help make a change for the better in our part of the world. How we do that? I don't know...but I think that should be a part of our Holy Week and Easter prayer! Let us pray for one another during these most holy days.

Righteous or Self Righteous?

What's the difference between Righteous and Self Righteous? This is a question inspired by Sunday's cycle C Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. We know it has to do with how we see ourselves and others before our God. Over and over again we are reminded not to judge others and yet that is a sin so many of us fall into.

Who do you identify with in the Gospel this Sunday? Would it be the Pharisees who, with the law on their side speak against a woman caught in a terrible circumstance, a terrible sin? Would it be those men standing with stones in their hands and hidden in their robes ready to carry out the command of the law? Maybe you identify with the woman herself, and stand terrified before those who would accuse you? Perhaps you wonder about the absent adulterer, the man who was not standing there with the accused woman? Are you an observer to the scene? Are you ready to pick up your own stone and take the law literally into your own hands? Are you a peasant hidden behind the crowd trying to imagine how to change the end of story?

Do we understand what Jesus is really saying?

If I take the time to look at my own life and judge myself honestly…where would I ever find the nerve, the right, the desire to judge my brother or sister? And let's be honest, it's easier and a lot less scary to be looking at the sins of others, then to do the work needed to look at myself and judge myself. Jesus tells us in the Lord's Prayer to forgive others AS we forgive ourselves…how easy is that to do if we don't know how to forgive ourselves?

Judging. Forgiving. Accepting. Mercy…In this most incredible year of Mercy, that is the bottom line isn't it? Mercy!!

I used to wonder, like the chicken or the egg, which came first…God's mercy or God's justice. I do believe and am ever grateful that in the end, it is always God's mercy that triumphs. So, it is no surprise at all in this story that Jesus is merciful. Jesus is the face of God's mercy, and quite simply, calls us to be the same in our time and place.

Happy 5th Week of Lent. Are we ready for Holy Week? Much peace to you and yours.

New Things are Coming!

At the midpoint of Lent we hear St Paul (cycle C readings) telling us that the old things are passing away and behold new things are coming! Is that ever hopeful!! That is exactly how I'm feeling as the daylight lasts a little bit longer every afternoon and the morning sun is up a few moments earlier during my commute. Darkness is fading, light is taking hold again in the world around me.

I need to get away from the darkness of sin too. We celebrate the scrutinies these last three weeks of Lent, and so I've been mindful of the many many things, the temptations, the evils, the sinfulness that gets in the way of my relationship with my God.

Too many to list for sure, but here's a short list...jealousy, judging others, pride, arrogance, impatience...these vices always seem to be on the top of my list when preparing for confession. I thank God for the days I am not all those dreadful things at the same time...and I am sorry for the times when it all gets the best of me.

Springtime, the end of Lent, the promised coming of Easter gives me hope that new things in me are coming too! I want to be better. I want to be more hopeful and optimistic. I am so grateful and blessed to be in a parish where almost every Sunday people leave church moving to the music, smiling or munching on a homemade cookie. We are happy when we come into Church, and filled with the hope and the challenge as we leave, to bring the good news to the folks we spend the Monday to Friday with. We are the ambassadors for Christ that Paul talks about!

So, as the days get longer, as we await Holy Week in all its solemnity and the Easter joy that follows, let us make the most of this second half of Lent. Let us be reconciled to God and to one another. Look for opportunities to mend fences and heal old hurts.  Let us continue to try harder, to be our better selves, to live in the light of God.