Denied. The Good News (2015-09-13)

SUNDAY 13 September 2015,   24^th Sunday, Year B

•Isaiah 50:5-9a • Psalm 116 • James 2:14-18 • Mark 8:27-35•

Basis: J.H. Newman, “Self Denial the Test of Religious Earnestness,” Parochial and Plain Sermons, Book 1, Sermon 5,  

[__01__]   Serena Williams, Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and has been victorious in many tournaments and on all surfaces – grass at Wimbledon, clay in Paris, and the hardcourt surfaces of Melbourne and New York for the Australian and U.S. Opens.

This weekend in New York, Serena Williams had been hoping to, competing, endeavoring to complete a sweep of the 4 major tennis tournaments of 2015.  Having won in London, Melbourne, and Paris, she only needed one more win … at the U.S. Open in Queens.

Alas …. this Grand Slam sweep was not to be. In the semifinal, Italian Roberta Vinci, # 43 in the world rankings, pulled an upset… “denying” Serena Williams the opportunity.

[__02__]     In a denial…there is WINNING and LOSING.

We use the word “denial” frequently during scenarios of winning and losing.

·       On the tennis court or basketball court

·       In the legal courtroom … an objection might be “sustained” … might be “denied” by the judge.

·       And, in the GOVERNMENT of our own homes, we sometimes lament having been denied … I wanted a motorcycle. My mother said NO. I was denied.

[__03__]      Denial remind us of wins and losses, victories and defeats.

As a result, whenever we hear about denial, there often seems to be something negative happening for at least one person.

Such is the case in our encounter with God…in the encounter of holy men and women with God.

For example –

[__03.01__]        In the Book of the Exodus, Moses – though called by God to speak to Pharaoh – denied that he had the ability. Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)

Reflecting on this, we might ask ourselves – I might ask myself – have I denied my own talents my own gifts?

[__03.02__]        When the 12 apostles, at the Last Supper, were told that one would betray Jesus, they all wonder who it would be.

“The disciples looked at one another at a loss as to whom he meant.” (John 13:22)

Yes, it is true that only 1 of the 12 betrayed him by an explicit delivery of Jesus, the suspect, to the arresting guards. However, of the remaining 11, one denied 3 times, 9 went into hiding, and only 1 showed up at Calvary.

Have I not denied my responsibility?

[__04__]    Denial is a means to an end. There is often human method to our very human madness of DENIAL.

Denial may offer a victory. At least, denial seems to put us in control …or at least help us to get to the next set or semifinals.

[__05__]    In the Gospel this Sunday, our Lord and Savior reminds his disciples and us “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

Denial is part of the Good News of the Gospel. Self-denial.

[__06__]   Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote that “self-denial” is a test.

It is the test, the examination, the final exam, the Grand Slam of discipleship.

It is also the “Grand Slam” criteria we apply – logically – to others, to relationships. Is another person willing to deny himself/herself for me?

Am I willing to deny myself, to sacrifice myself out of love for God and love for my neighbor?

How do I know that I am really one of Jesus’ followers?

[__07__]    John Henry Newman, Cardinal Newman, suggests that we would ask ourselves if our “denial” of self will permit another person to win..or, even better, for God to win, for God to be seen, known, heard better through our actions.   St. Paul writes of this in terms of the “spiritual competition” of the Christian life.

"athletes deny themselves all sorts of things; they do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable" (1 Corinthians 9:25)

[__08__]    Denial is, or can be, a defense mechanism, a psychological defense mechanism by which we take control, seize control or win, whether by knocking out or overwhelming an opponent.  DENIAL helps us to win something, to gain something.

[__09__]     Our LORD also want us to gain the crown, win the prize of salvation…and make it to the FINALS.

In this regard, in his way, DENIAL – or self-denial – means that we would willingly sacrifice or lose our life so that we could save it.

[__10__]      John Henry Newman gives us some examples –

ANGER – while we may be well aware of the danger of our outrage or bitterness or resentment, we find at times that we are caught off guard …and then we react in anger.

“Self-denial” invites us to get ahead our anger… before the anger overtakes us, to prepare ahead of time, to pray for those who persecute us, to smile for those who might cause us sadness, to show up on time (gladly) even when we know the other person will wait …and to return a blessing rather than a curse in all things.

In this regard, we don’t necessarily DEFEAT an opponent, but we rather deny ourselves, gain greater self-control which is one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit cited in Galatians, chapter 5.

And, there many other daily and frequent ways that we can deny ourselves and take up our cross each day …

·       Let our very waking from sleep be a self-denial …

·       Let our mealtime be a self-denial …

And, in this regard as Newman says, we are living our faith, not merely saying words and gaining a victory in heaven, even if were to be denied on earth. [__fin__]

From Around Here ? (2015-09-06)

Sunday September 6, 2015,  23rd Sunday, Year B

• Isaiah 35:4-7a  •  Psalm 146   • James 2:1-5   •  Mark 7:31-37  •

[__01__]   Are you from around here? Where are you from?

If we  were to encounter someone with a different accent, tone, or manner of speaking, one of the first questions, we ask ourselves is, “where is this person from?”

And, if we – ourselves – were to go to, say  … South Carolina or the South of France or Staten Island, to a place where people speak differently, we might feel self-conscious about our own “accent.”

Where are you from?

[__02__]    At times, these differences in speech may create a boundary or an obstacle. We may not understand the other person’s accent regardless of how loudly or slowly the other person may speak.

[__03__]     I can recall the first time that I had the opportunity to travel outside the United States, to go on a study trip to ENGLAND, in college.

There, I learned of the existence of an “accent” or manner or speaking that I had not known existed.  Until that time, I did not know that there was something – some strange creature of God’s creation – called an “American accent.”

Other students – classmates would say … we could hear you coming, we could hear from around the corner… we can recognize  your “American accent.”

So…I don’t think I said anything right away…but I was thinking… no, I don’t have an AMERICAN accent, you have a BRITISH accent.

I could hear the accent – or dialect or variation in tone in another, I could not hear it in myself.

[__04__]    In the Gospel this Sunday, we read of a deaf man who also suffered from a speech impediment. He could not hear, he could not speak plainly.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, healed him by touching his mouth and ears and opening them.

The Aramaic phrase – “Ephphatha” or be opened – was spoken by Jesus as healed the man.

[__05__]    And, this word is presented, handed down to us for our use in the baptism ritual.

After a child is baptized, the priest blesses his or her mouth with this same proclamation, “be opened.”

So, it is a blessing – a spiritual gift to be able to open so that we can hear and speak …this is not only a physical power or endowment.

In Psalm 51 we read, “Lord open my lips that my mouth may proclaim your praise”

[__06__]   I am very aware, perhaps you are also are very aware of an accent or tone of speech different my own – or your own.

We may even find some of these to be impediments.

[__07__]   However, do we not also need help – God’s grace – so that we can grow and speak clearly – so that our ears may also be cleared to receive God’s word and mouths to proclaim his praise.

[__08__]    Going into another country, culture, language, we are often aware of our own habits, expressions, idioms, and preferred way of speaking.

However, in our journey of faith and examination of conscience, we are also called to grow in awareness of our gifts, talents, and how we SPEAK and SHARE them.   That is, how can we be opened?

[__09__]     We are called to grow in awareness of our brokenness, our inclination to sin, my inclination or yours to respond with undue ANGER, to something that is an ordinary frustration or a situation we cannot change immediately …or our inclination to be cynical when we experience rejection.

In these and other ways, we may have trouble not only finding the right words…. But also hearing God’s word and God’s way, discerning God’s will.

We may be a bit hard of spiritual hearing.

At such a time, we are called to seek God’s presence, God’s touch through the sacraments, through penance & reconciliation, through the Holy Eucharist, so that we might be opened to speak again, but first so that we might hear the truth from God from whom there always honesty and from whom there is also a translator …someone in our life –friend, family member, living or deceased, through whom we are taught to hear and speak.  [__fin__]    

Jesus and the Pharisees (2015-08-30)

August 30, 2015

• Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8  • Psalm  15  • James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 • Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 •

[__01__]  In this Gospel reading, Jesus debated with the Pharisees about the true meaning of law and the commandments.

On the one hand, our Savior and his apostles were accused of blasphemy, of law-breaking, of infidelity to the commandments.

That is, the disciples of Jesus were have been noticed for lack of compliance – or attention – to the rules of handwashing.

Thus, Jesus is asked, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” (Mark 7:5)

We might note that Jesus does not excuse their lack of compliance. Perhaps, he has rushed them off to to the ritual cleansing water so that they would have had clean hands.

We know that Jesus has great respect for Jewish Law and the Temple.

We read in Catholic Tradition, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Like the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days after his birth.(Luke 2:22-39) At the age of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must be about his Father's business.(Cf. Luke 2:46-49) He went there each year during his hidden life at least for Passover.(Cf. Luke 2:41) His public ministry itself was patterned by his pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts. (Cf. John 2:13-14; 5:1, 14; 7:1, 10, 14; 8:2; 10:22-23.)   (CCC 583)

[__02__]    Nevertheless, our Savior goes on to declare that the cleanliness of one’s hands or cup or home is not our greatest objective, but rather the purity of our heart, our intentions, our souls.

[__03__]    In Catholic teaching about married life and family life, we also learn that one’s marriage and one’s family is also not a matter of what we do superficially or publicly or even verbally / vocally.

Of what does Jesus accuse the Pharisees?  …that they honor me only with their lips but their hearts are far from me. (cf. Mark 7:6; also: Isaiah 29:13)

In other words, they are superficial.

Thus, to our families, to our spouses, kindness is important, kind words are important and not only when other people are watching, noticing, seeing us in public, in the store, at the bus stop, outside of school…but also in the privacy of our own home.

More important is the inside, the interior of the heart, our cup, our dish, the precious china and Waterford glass of home.

This is determined not only by what we say but also by what we mean and how we act.

[__03.01 /C-1-*__]  When we love another person, we strive to listen to him, to her ..and also to listen to God – in our consciences.  Loves teaches us to listen to conscience which our families cultivate and develop in us – inside of us  -- and not to powers which can overcome us from the outside.

[“Familiaris Consortio, n. 5”]

St. Paul writes in Romans about the lesson of Christian virtue and the importance of an interior life of prayer for our conscience, for our action …and for conscientious action … “And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

[__06__]   In this regard, when husband and wife are joined in marriage, they are also called to make a gift that is only possible because they recognize an eternal-unending dimension in their commitment, in their sacrament of matrimony.

John Paul II writes that this sacramental – or divine – dimension does not hinder their freedom but rather sets them a new understand, a new theology of love and God and sets them free from, say, from other THEORIES …

Meaning, for example, the theory of SUBJECTIVITY… that my marriage must be measured against my subjective opinion, my expectations… or my plan. Is not marriage and family a gift from God?

Also, the sacramental or divine dimension sets us free from the THEORY OF RELATIVITY ..not Einstein’s theory of relativity …but a relativity by which I measure my relationships and compare my relationships to other.

So, in this regard, the sacramentality of marriage is not an onerous burden but a way for us to be free from pure SUBJECTIVITY and RELATIVITY.

In this regard, marriage and self-giving are not only plan or your plan or plan but truly the plan of 2 or 3 gathered in God’s name. (cf. Matthew 18:20)

[__07__]   In marriage and in the traditions of Catholic marriage, John Paul II writes that the Church seeks the truth, which is not always the same as the majority opinion.

Have not our mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers taught us this … that what is good for you, for me, for the family is not determined by what choices are on sale, or available, or even attractive.

Have not our families – our parents – instructed us to make choices that – at first – made us unhappy …. But that, by doing so, we learned what was truly the right choice, the prudent choice, the dignified choice, and the life-giving choice?

[__09__]     Next month, Pope Francis will begin his journey to the United States as part of the World Meeting of Families.

This will be a time when our Holy Father will remind us – through his visits to the White House, Congress, the United Nations – that the Church – that though all of us are in a sense governed by these institutions   … that these institutions can organize our society, and can strengthen our communities … we are also called to listen to CONSCIENCE and not to POWER.

This invites all of us renew our commitments to love, to sacrifice, to an understanding of God’s plan.

[__10__]      Pope John Paul II reminds us that the struggle for every family to raise children, to live in peace, to bind up wounds, to forgive other family member is not simply a struggle between GOOD and EVIL. Though, at times, our families, our parents our spouses will point out – and teach us ..what is GOOD / EVIL.

Pope John Paul II reminds us that the struggle for every family is not simply a struggle for PROGRESS ..though every family does hope for PROGRESS ..to make economic progress, to allow one’s children to have greater opportunities.

While family life introduces us to these struggles,the struggle between GOOD / EVIL ..and the struggle for PROGRESS, the struggle in family life – and in marriage – is, simply, the struggle to be free, because everyone has his or own free will.

The family is a place where we learn about our individual identity and our communal relationships. Pope Francis observes that our mothers, in a profound way, teach us about how to ensure that our sense of “being an individual” does not morph into …or become some sort of amped-up self-centeredness.  Individual means – in the dictionary – that which cannot be divided. Yet, Pope Francis points out … our mothers are, from the moment of our conception and birth … dividing themselves (Pope Francis, 7 January 2015, General Audience)

And, do not both parents – in devotion to children – divide themselves, share themselves…thus laying down their lives for us in times of of both happiness and conflict, especially at times when the freedom of one member of the family bumps against the freedom of another member of the family? In the family, we have the miracle of being divided, of being multiplied, of gaining a great return on the investment of our love by God’s grace.

In the Gospel, Jesus declares, “He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner.” (Luke 3:11)

IN FAMILY LIFE … we also have the opportunity of freely learning from each other, of freely sacrificing for the other, that all of us may place God’s gift in the center of our family and accept God’s wisdom poured into our hearts into the cup which the Lord purifies, internally, by his grace.   [__fin__]

Will You Take Me With You? (2015-08-23)

 Readings:    Sunday August 23, 2015

• Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b  • Psalm  34  • Ephesians 5:21-32  •  John 6:60-69 •

[__00__]    In our second reading, from Ephesians chapter 5, St. Paul writes about the importance of unity of husband and wife, the unity of a man and woman in marriage.

However, sometimes, this message is hard to hear, difficult to understand, when we hear the words, “wives should be subordinate to their husbands.”

As soon as we would hear the word subordination, we would not think of a person who is lesser in value, we think of inequality.

This is not St. Paul’s message. His message is that both partners to the marriage are important. And, in fact, the messages to husbands is equally stern (serious), that husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies.

Husbands are called to lay down their lives for the wives. Both parties are called to lay down their lives for each other.

And, I am sure every one of you who has a daughter going out on a date …or seeing a boy or young man with a romantic interest would want your daughter to choose her companion – or her future husband – based on who would lay down his life for her.

Nothing less would be acceptable.

And, this is what St. Paul is expressing to us about marriage and about the importance of unity and love for one’s spouse.  As Jesus himself said, “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ” (John 15:13)

[__01__]   Regarding the Gospel …. This conclusion  of Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John which we have been reading these past few weeks.

Will you take me with you?

This is the question asked before we would embark on certain journeys, especially if we were to be stranded or helpless is perhaps just delayed in time at Penn Station, Newark or JKF Airport,.

Will someone take us? Carry us? Or put us on stand-by?

Will you wait for me? Will you take me with you?

Can I go with you? Do you have space? Room? For one more?

[__02__]    We might say this was a question raised to Jesus, earlier, in this 6^th chapter of the Gospel of John.

First, there had been (was) a hungry crowd of thousands of people. Jesus, seeing – and taking a headcount of -- the crowd, asks Philip, “ ’ Where we can we buy enough food for them to eat?’  Jesus said this to test [Philip]--- [we read]- because he himself knew what he was going to do.” (John 6:6)

“Where can we buy enough for them to eat ….?”

[__03__]    Jesus was asking the apostles, in other words, “Can we take the 5,000 plus people with us?”

In the miracle, Jesus takes on – receives – everyone in the crowd – and multiplies enough bread and fishes for everyone, with “twelve wicker baskets with fragments left over.” (John 6:13)

[__04__]   Our Savior fed them, provided for them, took them in, preventing the crowd from going hungry, stranded and in out-of-the way place. They were on a mountainside during the encounter and miracle of the multiplication.

[__05__]    Now, of course, being fed, the crowd of 5,000 plus was satisfied and ready to move on, to walk away.

The challenging question of our Savior in return to them and to us is, “Will you take me with you?”

Or, as Jesus says to these followers, “will you also leave?”

They were having trouble with the fact that Jesus was not simply feeding them with bread made of grain but that he would feed them with his own flesh and Blood.

In other words, “will you also leave me behind?”

“Does this shock you?”

[__06__]   We come here to Sunday Mass to remember, to celebrate, to receive his wisdom, his perfect sacrifice. This is Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist.

We come here also to rest in God’s presence, both during the spoken words of the Mass and in the silence.

We come here to approach the table of the Lord’s altar, recalling that He multiplied his presence in this tabernacle of Our Lady of Lourdes and in many tabernacles so that there would be enough for everyone.

“Will you take me with you?”

[__07__]   This is a question not only about the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ at a scheduled Mass or Sunday Mass.

It is also question of our RECEPTION of God’s word, that we are called to not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God (cf. Matthew 4:4). So, we are called to receive God’s word whether we are  at WORK or   PLAY/LEISURE.

When we are trying to decide how to use our time, money, energy.

Will you take me with you?

[__08__]  And, we might say – as some members of the crowd say – that we can find excuses not to accept Jesus as the additional traveling companion.

 [__09__]     Some of the followers in this crowd, after the multiplication, find themselves satisfied and they leave.

They are satisfied with BREAD ALONE …. Not with all the words that Jesus has spoken about his flesh and blood sacrifice.

They feel hindered by our Savior’s teaching.

This is free will. The free will which we all possess. The Lord does not impose himself on anyone.

[__10__]      He simply asks about our choices, our actions … in cases when feel ….

n  INJURED / HURT … We are called to forgive those who trespass against us. Will you take me with you?

n  REJECTED – if we have been rejected by someone, can we – as St. Paul says – return a blessing rather than an insult? This does not mean we have to make room – or encourage - for a person’s sinfulness or sinful behavior, but rather that we would make room for God’s mercy and kindness. Will you take me with you?

n  VULNERABLE … or if we trying to protect the vulnerable or precious life of someone else. Will we regard ourselves and others as Temples of the Holy Spirit?  Just as we show reverence at Holy Communion and before the tabernacle, can we also not show reverence to the Holy Spirit present in each of us, even reverence to ourselves.

We are called to be gentle judges of ourselves, but rather than harsh judges of ourselves or others.

St. Francis de Sales writes that a judge is more effective in passing sentence if he does so after some deliberation and he urges us to do the same before we pass harsh judgement on ourselves or others.

…and to recognize that Jesus is here in you and in me --- and that we are called take him with us, wherever we go.     [__fin__]

I Know Your Parents (2015-08-09)

[__01__]     “I know your parents.”

“I know your parents.”

Have we not been greeted by people from time time who know us, identify us, or identify with us, because they know either our mother or our father? Perhaps, also one of our grandparents.

“I know your parents.”

[__02__]     For several years, I was assigned to a parish church in River Edge, New Jersey, north from here, located about six miles from the George Washington Bridge.

Starting out in River Edge, I knew a few people. However, due to a variety of coincidences, several people knew me before I arrived.

And, my parents knew several of these families as well. However, we had never lived in River Edge or even travelled there at all.

Thus, I would be greeted by certain people from time time. “I know  your parents. I know your mother, your father.”

This was not a threat, but a friendly overture, a way of connecting.

Of course, this connection, this statement. This happens to us throughout our lives.   “I know your parents.”

[__03__]     In the Gospel today, we read, “we know his parents.”

We imagine folks (people) in the crowd around Jesus are calling out to him.

“Hi ..Hello… I know your parents”

Some in the crowd were connected to Jesus to him through his parents, through Mary and through his foster-father Joseph.

We read …

“The [Jewish people] murmured (they grumbled) about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his mother and father? Then, how can he say ‘I have come down from heaven’” (John 6:41-42)

“We know HIS parents.”

[__04__]       The biblical scholar and Vincentian Father Bruce Vawter wrote that this “I-know-your-parents” statement is really part of the Christian profession of faith.

After all, we will profess in a few minutes …

“I believe in God the Father the Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth …and in Jesus Christ his Son, our Lord … who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary …”

Father Bruce Vawter reminds us that the first readers of the Gospel of John were also well aware of our Savior’s birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Blessed Mother.

“I know your parents” à The Gospel of the Lord.

“I know your parents” à Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.

[__05__]      Saint John the Evangelist, reporting this encounter, reminds us that our Savior’s mission came from his ancestry, his parentage.

His birth was his connection to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in the Gospel this Sunday:  “Stop murmuring [stop grumbling]among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him and I will raise him on the last day.” (John 6:43-44)

In other words, Jesus said, “You know my parents.”

And, we are receiving the same message, from him and remember that our Savior’s vocation and calling and the calling to love, to serve was nurtured for him and for us …in the home.

** PAUSE **

[__06__]       “I know your parents.”

Hearing this statement, I usually found myself in an encounter with someone who worked with my father or mother, who went to school with them, or grew up in the same neighborhood in the Bronx.

Hearing this statement, we are sometimes called to imagine are parents much younger, at a time in the past, perhaps before we were born.

** PAUSE **

[__06__]   “I know your parents.”

Of course, we have also been taunted or threatened by this statement.

By, for example …

è The school principal or teacher turning to us or catching us in some act of defiance or disobedience. You know … “I KNOW YOUR PARENTS.”

è By the coach who wants us to play harder or work harder …“I KNOW YOUR PARENTS.”

è By the neighbor who caught us trespassing, “I KNOW YOUR PARENTS.”

è Or, perhaps we are warned by the parent of one of our friends. “I KNOW YOUR PARENTS.”

“I know  your parents” is a reminder that we are tempted, that we are fragile, broken, that we may need correction, corrective measures, that we  may need to be pulled back from danger, that we may need mercy and compassion and forgiveness and that we need, also, God’s paternal-maternal love throughout our lives.

“I know your parents.”

[__07__]   Hearing these words, Jesus was reminded that his mission and covenant began even before he was born in Bethlehem, in the time of the Roman Empire and Caesar and King Herod.

And, his mission would continue after his death on Calvary.

 [__08__]  “I know your parents.”

This also reminds you and me that we are loved and known even before we were born.

And, a reminder that our faith, our baptism also makes us one family that we are works in progress, that we are children always developing.

That we are young people in God’s eyes and still able to learn and practice the good things we have been given.

For, we know our parents.  [__fin__]