Lenten Surprises

What are we learning these days of our Corona Virus Lent?

Facebook has all sorts of comical references to what it's like to have kids at home doing school work while mom and dad try to work at home too.

There are also plenty of references to who our real super heroes are today...health care professionals, teachers, grocery store employees, truckers, (I'd include sanitation workers too...can you imagine....??)

This morning when I was praying, I found myself thinking of and praying for our parish families and wondered how they were coping. So, I sent a note out to some of them, just to let them know I was thinking of them.

I was happily surprised by the responses I got. To a family, every one responded that they were enjoying the time that they had been given to spend together as a family. They were playing games, reading stories, cooking and baking...just absolutely reveling in enjoying their time together.  How great is that?? No snarky FB memes here...just really busy city families grateful for the chance to slow down and appreciate one another.

What a precious gift from God!
What's even better is that we are recognizing this time as a gift!

Sure, it's hard to slow down, and it's hard to stay inside and it's hard to not have every food item on hand that I might crave.

But it's lots of fun to pick a different part of my family each night and sit down in front of the computer at 5 pm and share a glass of wine or ice tea and chat about our days.

Fr Kelly will attest to the truth that a few weeks ago when we were mandated to stop hugging and shaking hands, I was having a really hard time with that. Deep down I think I was afraid that if we stopped greeting each other with that familial hug, we would forget how to do this before too long.

I'm not afraid of that anymore. I can see how we are all longing for community and looking forward to the days to come when be within 6 feet of one another again. I am moved by the ways in which we are looking out for one another and looking for ways to offer help and comfort. I am heartened by the awareness that by staying apart from each other, we are, in fact, showing great love and care for one another.

I've often wondered why in the gospel story of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus waited two days before making his way to Martha and Mary. Why didn't he go to them immediately?

I still don't know the answer to that, but I'm caught by the similarity of circumstance. Surely he wanted to be there, just as we long to be together today. There was a reason he stayed away. We know what our reasons are today.

Surprisingly enough, at least to me, the glory of God is being shown in the loving ways we are learning to be together, to help one another, to care for and pray for one another. I sense with every fiber of my being that this time apart will make us so much stronger when we come back together.

And for that I am so very grateful.

So, enjoy your family, your solitude, your spouse...
Enjoy the slower pace, the beautiful chaos of all sharing the same space...
Be patient and loving and kind with one another.
Take time to be by yourself when you can, even if the bathroom is the only private place in your apartment...
Bake cookies, eat salads, enjoy the taste of the meals you prepare.

Celebrate these days. For soon enough we will go back to our regularly over scheduled lives. I hope and pray that when that day comes, we will remember what we are learning now, about what is truly important, and hold on to the important with both hands.

Lenten Reflections on a Pandemic

I apologize. I'm not sure where the heck I've been in the last seven months...and how that much time has gone past, but here we are, and, since we've all become a bit more homebound than we're used to, I figured now was a good time to get back into the practice of blogging!

I've been reflecting on this a lot lately...at the beginning of Lent I had prayed for the grace to slow down my life a bit. I felt like I had been running around at such a crazy pace, at least internally, that I needed to consciously slow it down. Bur really Lord, I just meant me..., not the whole world!

So, I'm gonna take a deep breath and focus a bit on the Sunday coming up. It was really quite a surprise to me how very much I missed being together with everyone at church. I missed my community. Today as a staff we gathered in the church, keeping a safe distance from one another, we videotaped liturgy for the 4th Sunday of Lent. As I noticed the maintenance man join us, my heart swelled a bit. I love these people I work with, and how fortunate I felt to be able to share this liturgy with them after being absent from one another for even one week. "Fasting" is taking on a whole other significance for me this Lent. It's not so much about food on Fridays as it is the presence of others in my life. The opportunity for human connections. Those every day hugs and greetings that we take for granted.

But I digress. This Sundays' gospel is the story of the healing of the blind man. The constant refrain in this story is the question of what happened to him. He was blind, now he can see. Was he really blind? Who was the one who sinned, as if that were the cause of the blindness? Is he your son? Was he blind? Who healed you? Are you a sinner? What happened for real? And the blind man answers only "I don't know. I was blind, he touched my eyes and now I can see."

His parents don't understand what happened. The pharisees don't want to understand. The man himself really doesn't know what happened, but he sure is grateful, I'd bet. And when Jesus invites him to believe in the Son of Man, the man is all to willing to accept this invitation.
By the end of the story, we understand that the folks who were blind in this parable were the pharisees and all the folks who couldn't or wouldn't believe in Jesus. A very cool turn of events if you ask me.

Where are we blind today in our lives? In these days of Covad 19 what do we refuse to see clearly? In the face of the horrible stories of illness and death, of hoarding and doctors being forced to decide who gets a respirator and who doesn't, of disregarding advice from medical experts and being foolish or callous in the face of an unknown virus, perhaps what we are blind to are the simple human virtues that we need to call upon today: charity, kindness, a love for our neighbor. A willingness to share (do we really need all that toilet paper?)

The question I keep asking myself is this: What does all this have to do with my own lenten journey?
Fr Neil would surely be asking: Where is Jesus in all of this?

Have you pondered that for yourself yet? What is the connection between your Lenten Journey and what's going on in the world around you? I'd be curious to know what you discover for yourself. I know there's much to learn here, and like the blind man, much I need to see.

Will we have the grace and courage to open our eyes and see what Jesus is inviting us to discover?

Are You Rich?

Chapters 11 and 12 in the Gospel of Luke might rightly be called parables of the snarky siblings. Last week we heard Martha complaining about her sister, this week we here "someone in the crowd" complaining because his brother wouldn't share his inheritance. Makes me realize there truly is nothing new under the sun for sure. Human nature really doesn't change much does it?

Jesus goes on to tell a parable about a rich man who was happy with all his stuff and wanted to protect it well. That might seem pretty responsible to us. Surely we are to be good stewards of the gifts God has blessed us with.

I think the point of the story is that we sometimes forget who and what are the real gifts that we have been given. In the case of Sunday's parable, the man was more concerned about his harvested grain and other goods than about any other things in his life.

What are those other things? Relationships. God. Family. Friends. Care for our part of the world we live in. Being good and helpful to others. Laughter and love. Are these not the most important 'things' in life? If we are lucky enough to be well off, are we happy and free enough to share our blessings? I am so grateful for all the friends I know who are incredibly generous. They are such good examples to me of how I want to live.

Jesus ends the parable by having the voice of God say to the rich man: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you....what happens to all those things you thought so important?"

For very personal reasons this Gospel hits home with me particularly hard. Recently a man I was just coming to know as both family and friend, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. Those who love him most are beyond sad and lost. His passing is felt deeply by so many who knew him and were proud to be his friend.

In many ways, he was a rich man. He had really just rebuild a home for his retirement. It was to be a place of peace and joy for him. As he lay in his bed in this tranquil space, God called him home.

However, unlike the man in the parable, Gary was a man who was 'rich in what matters to God'. Gary was a man of faith, a man who adored his family and friends and shared his life and his blessings freely. I am honored to have known him for the short time I did.

I know with certitude that unlike the man in this weekend's Gospel who heard such sad words from God, I know, without a doubt, Gary was received with open arms, and the words we all long to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant"!

So when I pray with this scripture this weekend, I ask Gary to help me be more generous with the gifts I've been given, and I hope to live a life,  'rich in what matters to God'. What about you? Are you rich?

"Better..."

This weekend we will hear again the Gospel story of Martha and Mary...

This story caused quite a ruckus among my RCIA team this past week. Much discussion over why Jesus would praise Mary over Martha. After all, Martha was doing all she could to make Jesus feel at home. So many of us work hard to be the perfect hosts, that we were a bit offended by Jesus' choice for the sister who sits there seemingly doing nothing...

I tried best I could to defend Jesus in this story...and Martha does come across with a bit of a snarky attitude...
But my team pointed out, the Scripture does say that Mary has chosen the 'better' part and it would not be taken from her...

I am pondering what does 'better' mean in this case?

Maybe it doesn't mean that she's right and Martha's wrong...

Could it mean that while hospitality requires both active work and a welcoming heart, what might be 'better' for us, is to, when we can, take the time to just listen to what Jesus is saying to us. That idea of centering ourselves in the God who loves us.

I think about what Sundays are like when you are busy in a parish. We do as much as possible to make sure folks feel welcome. We set lemonade stands on the street. We warmly greet folks at the doors. It is not often on a Sunday when, as a person involved in ministry, you might, we might, actually remember who calls us together for worship. It takes some actual effort to quiet ourselves down in the midst of all the folks and actually pray. Much the same way, when we're having company over our homes and trying so hard to be the consummate host, we may get carried away with the details and miss the opportunity to spend quality time with our guests.

Martha was doing a fabulous job. It sounds like she exhausted herself getting ready for a visit from Jesus. In hindsight, I wonder if she wished she had done things differently that day?

Mary, chose to take her place as a disciple and listen to what was going on right in front of her. She was paying attention to this moment with Jesus, and she didn't let anyone disturb that, not even a snarky older sister.

I'm guessing there must have been more than a bit of sibling jealousy there, and if this Gospel raises your blood pressure the way it did for my friends this week, I'm thinking that could be because we all recognize, whether we want to or not, the kernel of truth in the story: we say we want Jesus to be the center of our lives but it's too easy to let so many other inconsequential things get in the way.

May this re telling of the story of Martha and Mary gently remind us to take the time, as often as we can, to sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to what he wants to share with us in love. For in truth, isn't the best hospitality we can offer another to listen to them with all our heartfelt attention? What is Jesus trying to say to you this week?

Where Have Three Months Gone?

With humble apologies for disappearing from our site, I'd like to try and jump back into blogging weekly.

I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about justice, mercy and forgiveness. My starting place is always gratitude that God is in charge of judging our actions and intent, not me...because I trust God is way more merciful than human little me would be.

The story of the Good Samaritan we hear this week combined with today's gospel of the naming of the disciples (and their instructions to go to 'the lost sheep of Israel') highlights for me the immensity of God's mercy.

Who were those lost sheep of Israel?
Did the priest and the levite repent over their failure to help the poor man beaten on the side of the road?
Do I repent when I fail to do good for another? When I 'cross the road' to avoid someone in need what does God think of  me then?

When I close my eyes or my heart to the plight of another, or when I can't listen to the news anymore-isn't that the same as crossing over to the other side?

The story of the Good Samaritan tells us quite clearly, as Jesus' followers we are called to see the pain of the stranger on the road with us, and we are called to figure out how to help alleviate that pain. We are supposed to do this as individuals, and as a society as well. There's no waffling on this point.

Justice means that there are consequences for our actions. That causes me to pause and reflect seriously on what I'm doing in the here and now...how am I helping or hurting those around me?

Mercy means that when I fall short in my actions, when I neglect to do what I should for my sister or brother, God may take pity on me and not treat me in a like manner.

Forgiveness...ahhh, forgiveness. St Vincent de Paul is quoted as saying "It is only for your love, your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread  you give them."  One day we will all have to answer for the times we crossed the road won't we? I pray it's not to late to open my eyes and see what's going on in front of me. I pray I have the courage to act as kindly as that Good Samaritan.

WE ARE the Disciples!

Here we are at another Holy Week and I find myself reflecting on who WE are as DISCIPLES of Jesus.

We know that the original 12 disciples, and all those unnamed followers in those earliest days, well, some were strong and faithful to the end, and others, eh, not so much. There's some comfort in knowing that we're not alone in the struggle to be faithful to our Lord and Savior.

How are you living your life as a disciple of Christ? What are you reflecting on as this Holy Week begins? How did you do with your Lenten practices? Did these 40 days help you draw closer to Jesus?

What do disciples DO anyway?
They must do more than fish, right?

Disciples listen, to the Lord first, to hear what God's will is...
Disciples act in accordance with the will of God...

What do you think God is asking of you these days?

How can you best use your gifts, as a disciple, to help others know the love of God?
Can we help you discover this in the parish?
Are you called to make others feel at home here? Are you called to proclaim the word of God, or assist in bringing Jesus in the Eucharist to others?
Are you called to share your faith as a teacher or companion to someone just beginning their journey of faith?
Are you called to be the warm smile that helps a stranger feel at home with us when they walk through the doors?
We each have gifts to share with one another. May this Holy Week help you discover or discern more deeply, what gifts you have that you would like to share with others.

Disciples look to see the needs of the world around them and act to meet that need.

A great example of this would be the way our parish family and our Facebook friends acted in concert these last few weeks to collect supplies and create our Easter gift bags for our homeless neighbors. Your generosity was overwhelming. Your goodness will bring a bit of happiness to those folks we will meet on the street in the next week. Please know how grateful we are for your kindness. This has been an incredible life lesson for our children in learning what they can actually do to help those who are less fortunate then themselves. We will place these gift bags at the doors of the church during the holy days ... if you would like to take a bag to share with one you may meet on the way home from church, please feel free.

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, we processed from the park to the church waving palm branches and singing Hosanna. The sound of your voices preceded you into church and gave me goosebumps. What I saw were hundreds of you, proud of your faith, your community and your God, and your joyful willingness to witness to that at the very crossroads of our neighborhoods: the Upper East Side and East Harlem. I was and continue to be so proud of who we are as a parish family. Thank you for helping me pray this week. I hope I can do the same for you.

May we learn more deeply this week, what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus in our world today, and may we be joyful witnesses to the love of Christ in this time and place.

Happy Easter.

Make a Friend at Frank's Cafe!!

We know we are all called to welcome one another at church. We know it's not just the 'job' of the folks who greet you at the front door. One of my favorite moments at Mass is right at the very beginning when we are invited to say 'Hi' to the folks sitting nearby, the folks we will be praying with for the next hour or so. I just love how the noise level rises in the church as folks greet one another. Then after a few minutes, we all settle in for some good prayer. It speaks to me of what we are really about...joyful community, family connections, trying week after week to share the love of Christ with one another. I do believe at St Francis we do this well.

For the last few months we have been rebranding the downstairs parish hall as "FRANK'S CAFE". So far, this new project has been going well, and more folks come down each Sunday to see what's going on down there. Thank you to the folks who keep bringing bakery goods for the table, (we will always say YES to whatever YOU want to bring to the table!) Thanks to to one special family for the donation of couches. To the friend who was passing by and donated the high top tables, much thanks to you too! We are grateful for all the gifts folks have shared with the parish.

So here's the challenge now, for each of us. It's fun to come downstairs, grab a cup of coffee and catch up with our friends. It's a great time to catch one of the staff to ask a question, or plan a meeting.
Do you notice that person sitting by herself over there with her cup of coffee? Can you see that there's a new couple by the couch and they don't look like they know anyone else? What could YOU do in that moment?

Ok, yes, we all live in NY, but at church we can be brave enough to leave our 'subway persona' aside and go over to that new person or couple and introduce yourself! One of my nieces when she was little went up to someone at a party where she didn't know a soul and simply said: "Hi, I'm Nadina, I'm 7...who are you?" I was amazed at her ability to reach out to someone else, and when I'm feeling shy, I often pray for that kind of grace...

For when we think about it, if we were the new person sitting alone, wouldn't we want someone to come say hello? Church is the perfect place to practice a bit of extroverted welcoming behavior. Don't go crazy...just check and see if there's anyone by themselves and invite them into the conversation you're already having with your friends. We have such interesting parishioners that I guarantee whoever you say hi to is going to be someone you will be happy to have met.

This weekend, in Cycle A, our Gospel is about the healing of the man born blind. Let's challenge ourselves to be a bit better these days at not being blind...at really looking and seeing one another and keeping an eye out for the stranger, so we can make them feel welcome at our St Francis de Sales home. (Everywhere else too!)