Archdiocesan Appeal and Importance to our Parish (2021-01-31, Text and Video Link)

 January 31, 2021 –  3^{rd Sunday}  (Year B)

 INTRODUCTION / “homily” (brief) before showing the 2021 annual appeal video… 

To Watch this as a Video Click Here.

[__01__]   I bet you did not know it was movie night (movie time) at Our Lady of Lourdes. Coming to church during the “archdiocesan appeal time ”season, there’s a big screen, projector. Lights, camera, action.

          Movie night. Movie time.  That’s how you get through a pandemic. Lots of movie nights. Even when you don’t expect it, it’s good to watch a movie.

          This is an introduction to this annual giving campaign and the video available at RCAN-DOT-ORG forward slash “VIDEO”.

          Many years ago, as a child, I remember going to Madison Square Garden with my father to a basketball game. I was 10 or 11 years old. While we were walking to on the west side, to Madison Square Garden, somewhere between the Lincoln Tunnel and the Post Office, I saw a person, a human being, totally horizontal, asleep on about 6 plastic shopping bags that were holding her up off the ground.

          I had never such a sight. I could not take my eyes off this person. I was transfixed. My father told me to keep walking. My father is one of the most generous people I know. He gives to many charities. But, at that moment, there was nothing that either of us could do for this woman, nor was she asking us to do something. She was asleep on her bags, living on the street.

          You are stopped and asked for money from time to time, by people on the street. I am stopped and asked for money as well, by people on the street, near our bus stop, in our parking lot, at the rectory front door bell.

          We do what we can.

          I am not judging those particular instances for you or for me. But, I know that we need institutions and organizations to help to do the outreach that we cannot do on our own. We can only do so much on our own as individuals and even as a single parish.

          The Archdiocese has larger institutions not only to feed the poor, but for shelter, for job training and more through Catholic Charities.

          For this reason, I ask for your support for the annual appeal.

          If you have never given, I ask you to consider a gift, especially this year, with increased needs in the northeast NJ region of the 4 counties of the Archdiocese.

         

          Our goal is 28,000 (28,210) and we are required– especially this year – to guarantee that we will make at least $24,000 toward this goal.

          I know that sounds like a lot. Last year, we collected $14,000.

          We want to do whatever we can. If we go over the goal of 28,000, all the money comes back to Our Lady of Lourdes parish.

          The money supports many ministries such as pastoral assistance to persons with disabilities, programs for married couples and families, reminding us we are not only “church” in this building but also a church of disciples in our home.

          The appeal supports

Pastoral Assistance to Persons with Disabilities. Through outreach to those with sensory disabilities and learning needs, the appeal ensures we are caring for the poor and the vulnerable.

Family Life.  Through programs for families, married couples and engaged couples, the appeal supports education and outreach for the parish family we are called to form, not only by proclaiming the Gospel in church but also at home and in everyday living.

College and University Campus Ministry.  Living the Incarnate Word of the Gospel on 9 university campuses, Father Jim Chern (Lourdes weekend assistant and former parochial vicar) of Montclair State University and others work to build up a true Catholic community for charity, faith, and excellence in higher-education settings for our young people.

Formation and Education of Priests.  Being called by God, the priests and future priests of the Archdiocese rely on your support for their education. Father Bob Suszko (Lourdes weekend assistant and former parochial vicar), is engaged in the formation of seminarians at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University.

[__02__]   The grants and money collected through the appeal have come back to help us at Lourdes including …

          $45,000 grant to remediate – environmentally an old oil tank buried in the ground that would have been our responsibility.

          $15,000 to caulk and seal all of our church windows to help them survive for the long term.

          Also, in 2018, we had a debt to the Archdiocese of some unpaid bills that totaled $66,000.

          As part of the appeal/campaign funds, that 66,000 was forgiven. We did not have to pay that back.

          That’s all because the Archdiocese had some funds in order to forgive our loans.

          It’s also significant that  a division of the Archdiocese / Catholic Charities rents out our school building to serve children with special learning needs, many of whom are on the autistic spectrum. The rent paid by Catholic Charities to Lourdes comprises more than one half – more than 50% of our total income. We would be in a very different situation if we did not have this rental income.

          I ask your prayerful consideration. You may give online. You may contact me at anytime via phone or email with questions, or see me at church. Thank you…   

 

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 [_08_]    [_09_]    [_10_]    [_11_]   [_12_]    [_fin_]  [_fin_]     [_ver 01_] 

Essential Workers (2021-01-24, Sunday-03)

January 24, 2021 –  3^rd, (Year B)

●● Jonah 3:1-5, 10 ●● Psalm 25 ●● 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 ●● Mark 1:14-20 ●●

[__01__]   Are you as an “essential worker”?         

          In the past year, we have heard this identifier, regarding workers and professionals in:

-         HEALTH CARE + MEDICINE, nurses, physicians, technicians and maintenance personnel who clean and sanitize hospitals and patient rooms are vital & essential.

-         FOOD – food service workers in supermarkets, stores, restaurants are critical to our nutrition and survival.

-         CONSTRUCTION – structural jobs such as electricians, plumbers, construction workers both inside and outside are necessary and essential.

-         EDUCATION – teachers and teachers’ aides whether remote or in person are critical to the growth and nurturing of our children.

-         911 – police, fire, EMS / EMT and all emergency personnel maintain order and peace and help the most vulnerable.

[__02__]   Lots of different people are “essential” = of utmost importance.

          This is how we look at things.

          But, does this mean that some people are not “essential” ?

[__03__]    In this Gospel passage , this Sunday, this passage is official described as the “The Call of the 1^st Disciples” or the “The Call of the 1^st Apostles” = P, A, J, J. (Mark 1:14-20)

          All of them were fishermen. They were Jesus’ essential workers.

[__04__]   Is work an essential part of our existence / identity? Yes, work and even getting paid is an important part of our existence.

          I recall one incident from many years ago, when I was just out of college, one of my first jobs, and my boss told me I was going from one job to another and that I was getting a raise and told me the exact amount of the raise.

          When I got my first paycheck, I calculated exactly what that weekly amount was, multiplied by 52 weeks of the year and realized there was more money than I expected.

          I was thinking there was some mistake, as though I should return extra change I got at the cash register.

          My boss said it was OK.  Don’t worry about it.

          But, I was concerned about it. And, for many years, centuries, millennia, we - human beings have been “worrying about it… ”  not only been trying to figure out their “work”  (i.e., what to do) …. but also their “worth” (what are they valued at). How are we valued?

          What’s my worth? Am I essential?

          Knowing life to be “essential”, it also helps us to live with a sense of true “equality”.

[__05-new__]  This past Friday – January 22^nd – was  a day of prayer/fasting for the sanctity of human life, especially the sanctity of the life of unborn children, coinciding w/ Roe v. Wade 1973 Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in all 50 states.

          What is wrong about abortion is that a viewpoint has taken hold – among many people and even among scholars of law and medicine -  that a child/baby is less than “essential” or that anyone’s life is less “essential” if that life is not if someone is not wanted, that life may not be worth living, or that human life is not longer essential. That’s a basic “inequality.”

          Such a viewpoint that certain lives are less than essential affects our view of ourselves and affects our view of others, the respect we have for others, not just tragic results of an individual abortion but also tragic results of sadness or anxiety we may experience, or tragic disrespect through unequal treatment of others.

          God loves us and does not abandon us. While there may be sadness or anxiety that a mother or father may experience after an abortion and there is healing and hope for these our brothers and sisters who may be mourning or in pain. There is a program called Rachel’s Vineyard to which you or others may inquire confidentially through me or the Respect Life office of the Archdiocese. I assure you that every priest – including me – would be eager to guide you and journey with you.

          We are called to let others to know they are loved no matter has transpired in the past.

          When we truly view and value life –life as essential – it can lead to beautiful results of harmony and connection with others, and new appreciation of our own dignity.  “We are bonded in soul and heart because of Christ’s physical and spiritual sacrifice as the Son of God. We become whole in him and in relation to others. As members of the Church, we are called to be a family who loves and cares for others, even those outside of our communities. ”  (https://www.catholicapostolatecenter.org/blog/one-body-many-parts)

          During the pandemic, suicide risk has been much higher.        

          One of things we really value – and should value right now as Americans – is equality of rights and equal protection for all people. This is a gift. But it’s not a gift we acquired on Amazon or credit cards earned with “points” or how much  money we have spent or earned. We do not have to go through “try outs” to get this gift of

          It is a gift given by God. Equality of rights is based on a view that we are all created by God, that we all came from the same place, that we are all – ESSENTIAL.  We are his essential workers.

          We are all equal.  Here is an example

[__07__]   There is a TV show called “Grey’s Anatomy”  in which we meet nurses, physicians, and especially surgeons who are learning to carry out the essential work of medicine and healing.

          In one episode – a central character – Dr. Meredith Grey – is talking with her mother who is also a retired physician looking back on her own career and her very high hopes and aspirations for her daughter. This is a mother-daughter and also elder doctor-younger doctor conversation.

          Dr. Meredith Grey is asked a question about her life and hopes and she responds immediately by telling her mother that she has a boyfriend and that she is very happy in this relationship.

          Her mother, on the other hand, wonders whether this relationship is really serious or worthwhile and does the boyfriend understand the demands of Meredith’s medical career?

          Then Meredith is asked, “have you chosen a medical speciality ” and mentions that others are already doing so and she should not wait too long.   Meredith responds: “Well, you know, it’s still early and I am waiting to be inspired”.

          The mother responds – with some fury and insistency, especially because the mother herself is suffering from a terrible disease and needs all the best from her doctors:

          “You are waiting to be inspired? I am dying here and you are telling me about your boyfriend.   What happened to you?

The Meredith-daughter I knew was a force of nature, a worker, passionate, a fighter…. You have gone soft…. I have a disease for which there is no cure…are you kidding me? Anybody can fall in love, not everyone can pick up a scalpel and knife and heal someone [as a doctor can]”.  PAUSE

In a way, Meredith is simply being reminded – in a very forceful way – that she matters, that she is essential and that no one can take that away from her.

No one can take away the essential nature of a human being – of your essential nature.

Of course, Meredith – in this fictional case – is bearing her mother’s anger and being told that what is essential is based on what is functional or productive.

Nevertheless, the question remains that Jesus might ask any one of us – “what happened to you”  not in a vengeful or reproving way but also in a way that does require a response from us, that does call us to prayer, to work for his coming and his kingdom each day so that we may be his essential workers. [__fin__]  

God Among Us. (2021-01-17, Sunday-02)

 [__ver 08__]     ●   Jan. 17, 2021 ●

 ● 2^nd Sunday ● 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 ● Pslam 40 ● 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 ●

John 1:35-42 ●

 [_01_]    What about God among us? as 1 of us?

          The first disciples are asking this question – a question also posed in a hit song of the 1990’s.

          The Christian author, Mark Shea, describes a moment at his workplace/office when this song came on the radio :

It was the old song of Joan Osborne asked – “What if God were one of us ?”

          Joan Osborne sang it this way

[][] If God had a name what would it be?  And would you call it to his face? If you were faced with Him in all His glory What would you ask if you had just one question?  [][]

          And, hearing it, one person would – what about that..what if …

Wouldn’t that be a great idea for a book, movie, story.

          To which, this fellow replied…

          God did become one of us!

Mark explained to his coworker that this has indeed already happened. 2,000 years ago, God did enter the world and became one of us. He did look just like one of us, no different from anyone else in the crowd. You could look into his eyes and ask him any question. He did have a name: his name was Jesus. (Source:  https://stpetersbeaufort.org/news/what-if-god-was-one-of-us  )

          So.. we do not need to ask what if …or what about… it already happened…

[_02_]    We may ask … what if ..or what about regarding God… but Boston College Professor Peter Kreeft observes that God takes the initiative in the Bible / Gospel.  (Peter Kreeft, Catholic Christianity, p. 69)  So…when we speak of “Revelation” &  “Salvation” & even “Mercy”, this is not my (or your) Google-search for God, but God’s search for me. I’m told that God has his own “search engine” called grace and wisdom. 

          Also, he already knows – by his own brand of GPS – where we are at all times.

          This love God has for us reminds us that our dignity and worth does not come from the government or politics or even the law, but from God.

          Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this about his own struggle – with many other brothers and sisters – …he lived by “what-about” or “what-if” but in a positive way regarding the self-evident truths of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every person.

          MLK wrote: “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle … Before the pen of [Thomas] Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here.”  (Letter from A Birmingham Jail).

          In other words, Martin Luther King Jr. did not discover or find justice or dignity …but simply asserted justice and dignity were theirs, by right.

          When we speak of Christians of the dignity of all lives, the born the unborn, the dignity of the oppressed, the dignity of the dying, we are simply asserting what is already there, what has been given by God. God took the initiative …

 

[_03_]    Sometimes, we can be troubled by or hindered by “what if”… or “what about…”

One example of this was a diagnosis and subsequent treatment given to mother…

          We asked what about…what if…

Several years ago, we took my mother to the doctor because of a medication/treatment had been causing some temporary cognitive memory loss. She could not remember certain basic things.

          Actually, we all had “memory loss” because the doctor had told us this was going to happen, don’t be alarmed but there was some freak-out factor when we noticed it and we immediately went for an appointment.

          The appointment went like this, to test my mother:

          What is 100 minus 7 =

          What is 93 minus 7 = …

          So if you do not know this you may have memory loss. My mother failed the little math test.

          But, I recall that the doctor was really not that concerned because he could see that her memory was returning to normal. He could see this by talking to her. 

          In the end, fortunately, my mother recovered her memory or what we define as “memory”.  But, what is a memory? It is not simply something we produce by our own strength or intelligence or talent.

          Our knowledge of God’s truth, or what is right and wrong – is not simply about being smart.

          Also our salvation is not about what we did or did not do in individual moments but about our continuing ongoing conversion and connection and always asking not what about this …or what about that … but rather  or what about him or what about her,  but what about me ?

          In the first reading from the Book of Samuel, the young prophet SAMUEL --  is awakened from sleep in the middle of night. He goes looking for Eli – the priest – twice he goes looking for Eli ..but then Eli gives him the instruction we all need – when we are looking, when we are searching to remember that God is already here that he has already found us… Jesus expresses it as Come and See…and Samuel expresses this connection as a prayer we are all called to make, to hear God’s voice:

          “Speak Lord for your servant is listening…”

          What about you, me? What if God was one of us?  [__fin__]

Directions. D.C. January 6. (2021-01-10, Baptism of the Lord)

2021 January 10 _ Baptz Lord _  

 [_01_]     I have an uncle who is really into maps and geography and where places and cities are located.

          Once, when my uncle was in the hospital, he had an operation due to a broken leg. We were worried about him. He had just come out of surgery. I wanted to know how he was and the first thing he told me was that his attending physician was from Illinois, outside Chicago.

          That was really key information for my uncle.

          And, before the availability of GPS on the phone and computer and car, I would rely on him for directions to places in and around NY and NJ. One time, I was driving from Ohio to Michigan and he gave me very     exact roadways and directions.   He lives in NYC, but he knows the roads and maps everywhere. And, even if I did not ask him for directions, he might give them anyway.

[_02_]     The Catholic philosophy professor, Peter Kreeft, write our Catholic morality and the commandments of God’s Word are like a map of what to do, where to go, what to do and not to do. However, the map of the streets to your home is not equal to your home. It only tells you how to get to your home.

          We do not live in the street; some people – tragically – live in the street. In poverty and homelessness, they live in the street. But we are not supposed to live in the street, but to reach home.

[_03_]      So, the map helps us and the streets help us to reach the destination of home. They are not our home

          Following the commandments – about honesty and respect and love for each other – helps us to be in loving relationships with each other.

          The commandments are not EQUAL to the relationship itself. They are street maps – they are GPS – to a relationship, love of God and love of neighbor.

          My uncle’s apparent observations and obsessions with maps – while endearing and quirky – were are also signal of his desire to know you better, to connect with you, to be at home with you, with us in our family.

         

[_04_]     This Sunday is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, reminding us of our Baptism brings us into communion with God, our forgiveness from sin and original sin.

          Being in a covenant or committed relationship means that we are following certain principles and beliefs – laws and a “street map” rules of the road – together.

          Regarding, for example, the the covenant of marriage, Peter Kreeft, the rules of the road give the marriage a structure. Nevertheless, it is LOVE that enables husband and wife to observe the “rules”… it is not the rules that force them to love.

          Also, husbands and wives love each other – not only face to face when they are physically together. They love each other even when they distant. They love each other when they are “out in the street” and cannot see each other.

          The love helps them to find their way home.

          Catholic morality helps them to remember not only the “rules” but also the person of Jesus Christ who gave himself to us, and the person of our neighbors.

          Love of God and love of neighbor go together.

 

[_05_]     This past Wednesday, January 6, out in the street, something happened. Not around here, but in D.C. District of Columbia the Capitol. Big news.

          Of course, the event – the storming of the U.S. Capitol – was not the only time in history that something went wrong “in the street” or that the rules of the road were broken. Not the only time a protest has turned violent.  Not the only time this has ever happened.

          And, not everyone in D.C. on Wednesday was involved. Hundreds of thousands of people were NOT involved.

          A group “within the group” of people stormed the Capitol and committed these crimes that led to such chaos and injury and deaths.

         

[_06_]  St. Augustine, in his “Confessions ”  autobiography, tells of an event of vandalism by himself and others as a young person.

          He and his friends broke into a privately owned orchard – an orchard where there were fruit trees and pear trees – and they stole the pear fruit from the trees.

          In the case of Augustine’s “crime” of his youth which he regrets – there were no deaths or injuries, no clashes with police officers.

          Nevertheless Augustine points that in all of our sins or temptation to sin – to lie or cheat or steal -- we are often following– a false or fake – or counterfeit beauty.

          When we say we are following God’s law – the rules of the road – we not simply trying to avoid what is bad, but also to choose what is good and beautiful.

 

[_07_]     Sometimes, we are led astray – led astray by the crowd – Anybody remember “peer pressure”?

          Peer pressure does not just exist at West Orange High School or Seton Hall Prep or Mt. St Dominic Academy or the local middle and high school. Peer pressure existed on January 6^th at the Capitol. Bad peer pressure.

 

 

[_08_] And, sometimes, we

are led astray by our own desires.

          Why did people break into the D.C. Capitol building and Congress?

          They were led astray by a certain gang mentality or herd mentality, like a herd of sheep.

          Augustine wrote this about the fruit trees, the pears.

          “I most certainly would not have stolen into the orchard and stolen the pear fruit, if I had been by myself. I already had better tasting pears than in the orchard. But, I loved the camaraderie with my fellow thieves. In other words, the pleasure was not in the pears stolen but in the company of others who shared in the sin.”

          Sometimes others lead us astray.

 

 

 

[_09_]     Being baptized into the church we are acknowledging our ability – with God’s grace – to resist what is bad and choose what is good.

          We need God’s help and truth and direction of the commandments to find our way home.

          My beloved uncle knew how to find his way home from many places in the tri-state area and beyond.

          He could find his way because he knew the streets and maps so well.

          He could separate himself from the crowd to find his way.

          And, we are called – at times – to separate ourselves from the crowd – to connect in relationship to Jesus our Savior – to follow God’s way and always come home. I pray that at this time of distress and division in our country, that we may find our home at our church and in home with and for each other in contemplation and community.

          Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us !

 [_10_]      [_fin_]     

Epiphany (2021-01-03, Sunday)

3 January 2021,  EPIPHANY / THREE KINGS

●● Isaiah 60:1-6  ●● Psalm 72 ●●  Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6  ●● + Matthew 2:1-12 ●● 

 [_01_]     On this feast of the Epiphany of the 3 Kings, we read about the Magi – or the 3 Kings – coming from the East. And, they are following a star.

 They have left their own country and comfort zone to follow and see the child, Jesus, in Bethlehem.

 [_02__]     Last month, there was big ASTRONOMY or SCIENCE news about following – seeking – something – in the sky, in the heavens. Astronomically. Scientifically.

          We read this on the NASA website what is called the “great conjunction (joining) of the planets and Jupiter and Saturn”…and Jupiter and Saturn are the 2 largest planets in our solar system

The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.

What makes this year’s spectacle so rare, then? It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction. Or great joining….”

 [_03_]      The GREAT CONJUNCTION of Jupiter and Saturn invited many individuals – scientists and non-scientists- to see things in the darkness that we cannot see in the bright light.

          In other words, when the Jupiter and Saturn come close together to each other – at night in the darkness, it creates a different effect than in the daytime. Such light is not otherwise visible.

          Why did the Magi come to Bethlehem?

[_03.01_]           They come to get a view of the light – the light of God that is not otherwise visible.

          God appears in the light and appears as a small child to us.

          Isn’t it true that children bring us joy and information and revelation about ourselves and about God’s love for us?

          Children demonstrate to us the existence of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.  Of unconditionally loving another person.

          Children appreciate this unconditional love.

          Also, children give unconditional love in a way that we, sometimes, forget how to do.

          This is the star, the star of God’s love coming to us.

 [_03.02_]     Children demonstrate to us the importance of forgiveness.

          Children also demonstrate a divine quality that we – as adults – find difficulty. That is – forgiving and forgetting. Or, forgiving and letting go.

          A child cannot only be forgiving but also can, in their way, forget what happened.

          In this regard, children resemble God because God is able to forgives our sins and forgets our sins as well.

 [_04_]      So, children in their slightly small stature – and situation – represent the greatness, the power, the vastness of God’s love to us.

          They represent to us God in slow motion, we could say.

          And, the GREAT CONJUCTION or joining of Jupter and Saturn reminded everyone to be prepared for the event.

          A few years ago, there was a solar eclipse and you may recall that at the last minute everyone was running around trying to buy the special glasses at the last minute.

          Some people paid a high price!

It helps then if you were prepared, ahead of time …with the vision. The Magi – the 3 Kings, 3 Wise Men were prepared ahead of time with this special vision.

This special vision is not on their heads but in their hearts, a desire within to discover God – in the person of a child.

And, we are called to see and discover in Jesus as the newborn Messiah – and as it is manifested to us in the children in our lives.  [_fin_]