One of the great joys of being a parish priest is the comings and goings during the day. This is especially true on Sundays and the days when school, camps or other activities with families are happening around the parish grounds.

As I stand at the doors of the church before Mass begins I am able to witness the coming together of a family and my greatest joy is when the young children coming running up to the church often imploring mom and dad, or their siblings to hurry up. It is also true that as time goes on, as children grow, this enthusiasm of running to church can wane. It is true that as many of our youth reach the “teens” and young adult life they begin to resist and can at times turn away from the celebrations of our Catholic faith, most notably the Mass as they proclaim that they are “spiritual” but not “religious.”

At the beginning of Chapter 3 of Amoris Laetitia Pope Francis offers this view of marriage and family I believe helps us to resist this waning of faithfulness. Following the message from the Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium) we are encouraged to be a prophetic voice of joy and love in the world. This is the goal, how God desires we follow in his plan of creation…to be joy filled people of love. Now comes the hard part.

“In and among families, the Gospel message should always resound; the core of that message, the kerygma, is what is “most beautiful, most excellent, most appealing and at the same time most necessary”. This message “has to occupy the center of all evangelizing activity”. It is the first and most important proclamation, “which we must hear again and again in different ways, and which we must always announce in one form or another”. Indeed, “nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wise than that message”. In effect, “all Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma”. (58)

There is this little word “kerygma.” What does it mean and how does it help us to fight for the joy of the Gospel. I will leave it to St. John Paul II to give meaning to kerygma (see below), but to put it plain and simple…as we know the Gospel, we know Jesus and follow him by faith.

It has been taught, said, proclaimed…use whatever word you like…over and over again that parents are the first and best teachers of the faith. This is done by both words and example. And it is not easy. While St. John Paul II writes we are overwhelmed by God’s love as we entrust ourselves to Him, how many times do we, and especially parents, become overwhelmed by the many things that can distract us away from the love of God, family and neighbor.

The message, though simple, is very difficult to follow as we allow the small distractions to enter into our daily routines. I asked a parent one time, when she was struggling with her teenage daughter, if she prayed with her before bed (or at any time). She looked a little shocked and said she had stopped that practice when her daughter was ten years old. I challenged her to begin again knowing that there would be great resistance..

Pope Francis reminds us that as we grow, as we know God better (or worse), as we are challenged by the changing world, the message of the Gospel, the practice of the faith and the life of virtue are still important and relevant to the forming of our lives. We just need to say it a bit differently.

I wish I could promise parents complete success by following a prescribed program…but I can’t…the free will thing God has blessed us with. But I do trust that the seeds we plant, the nurturing we do and the tears shed in watering the hopes of our world are blessed by God. We may never see the return, but trusting in God we know that life conquers death and love overcomes sin.

God Bless

Fr. Mark

 

 

St. Pope John Paul II wrote in Catechesi Tradendae,

“Thus through catechesis the Gospel kerygma (the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith) is gradually deepened, developed in its implicit consequences, explained in language that includes an appeal to reason, and channeled towards Christian practice in the Church and the world.” (CT 25).

A woman once desperately asked God in prayer, after many discouraging trials, “If only you could assure me that I can persevere, I would be satisfied.” An answer came from her heart, “Well if I did give you that assurance, how would you act? Just do that and all will be well.” Trust in God. (From Bringing the Imitation of Christ into the 21^st Century p 19)

 

To “Bear Wrongs Patiently” is the Work of Mercy that I missed during the month of June. In my excitement with Amoris Laetitia I missed this work during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Therefore, I ask you to bear this small wrong patiently as we discover a little bit about how we are to live this Spiritual Work of Mercy.

 

As the above short story tells us to bear wrongs patiently is both an inward and outward work of mercy. It is the act of forgiveness and mercy that is echoed so beautifully in the Lords Prayer when we pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” All works of mercy include the active engagement of our hearts with the other in our life: God and neighbor.   We must learn to be patient with our self, our sins, our faults, our failures to be truly “mercifully patient” with others.

Take for instance my golf game…the greatest challenge is to be patient with who I am as a golfer…not very good…and to play the game with joy and mercy. I can get better (and I am, little by little) but I need to recognize the gradual movements within my ability. This is why we need to learn to bear wrongs patiently with others. I can loose the perspective on my own faults when I choose not to hear the voice of others as I listen to the negative and unfavorable voices in my heart and not hear the encouragement of the progress being accomplished in the voices of the other in my life.

Have a good and positive attitude. Look about you and see those people past and present, who offer encouragement by their example. You may not imitate them exactly or be as successful as they are but be uplifted by them and allow you own faith and hope to supply. (From Bringing the Imitation of Christ into the 21^st Century p 19)

Bearing wrongs patiently is an active movement! It is not sitting back and becoming a doormat in allowing others to “do wrong” and being patient with the forlorn hope that change will come about. Back to the golf game: My friend, Henry, gently reminds me, when I’m in a listening frame of mind, that to hold the club lightly in my hands gives me greater control than squeezing the life out of the club. He has reminded me of this blessing for over seven years of playing together…and I am still learning. I begin to appreciate the bearing of wrongs with patience when I hear that kind and persistent voice of reminder. I know it must get frustrating for him to say it over and over again wondering if I will ever “get it”…I promise you I do try to remember.

It is a reminder to me, as it should be to all of us, that sometimes the wrong that we must bear is a lifelong cross of seeking the very best for the other in our life.

 

In the end, this is why we bear wrongs patiently: for the good of the other. The spiritual work renews our hearts and helps us to accept God’s mercy, as we become bearers of mercy to our brothers and sisters. It is recognizing the compulsions and passions that are in need of patience from our self and others. It is when we can do this that the mercy of love becomes more apparent and we are able to bear the wrong with lightness in God’s saving grace. Fr. Richard Rohr in the below quote reminds us in forgiveness, the continual act of mercy, we learn to see God through our faults and the faults of others by recognizing that we are all daughters and sons of a merciful and loving God. And when we, with God, bear wrongs patiently, we are then able to truly embrace the other, as Jesus embraces his Cross. It is here that love flourishes and mercy abounds.

The task is to overcome these passions and to learn to perceive reality (more) objectively. We have to press through to God, the Totally Objective, who for Christians is at the same time Totally Ours, since he has committed himself to our world and become part of it. We must be capable of meeting someone other that ourselves. (From What the Mystics Know p 33)

God Bless

Fr. Mark

 

 

1. Bringing the Imitation of Christ into the 21^st Century, by Fr. William A Meninger OCSO
2. What the Mystics Know: Seven Pathways to Your Deeper Self, by Fr. Richard Rohr OFM

 

As we read this short reflection we pray for the victims of violence, those who have died, their family, friends and communities.  We pray that the true peace of Jesus Christ may rest in the hearts of all people.

 

Visit the imprisoned, the Corporal Work of Mercy that we focus on this month is a little bit scary for many people. I have been writing a lot about marriage, relationship and how we understand them through the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia the last few weeks but, in this Year of Mercy, I would like to return to the works of mercy for this week.

How do we visit the imprisoned? That is a good question and a hard question to answer. I think if we all decided to call the local jails and prisons in the area tomorrow and ask to visit a person that is incarcerated we would all be questioned and it would take months, if not years, to get the proper permissions and appointments necessary to visit someone in prison. Unless we are in the position of having a relative imprisoned it is very difficult to simply “visit the imprisoned.”

Too often in our society the life of the imprisoned is glamorized both positively and negatively. Whether on television or the movies we are given a glimpse of life within cells and walls, that for many of us, are easily left behind as we turn the channel and walk out of the theaters. The life portrayed doesn’t allow us to see the grinding weight of the loss of freedom and the violence done to the human spirit.

But once more it begs the question, how do we visit the imprisoned? I would certainly ask you to pray about joining ministries that do take time to go into the jails and prisons to visit those men and women are incarcerated. When I was in Morgan Hill as pastor of St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish, we had a group of dedicated lay volunteers who visited the local juvenal facility on a weekly basis not only sharing the Gospel message but also the reality that each young person they visited was loved and cared for in the dignity of a child of God.

I believe this is the ultimate gift of visiting the imprisoned; we recognize the other as a child of God, whether free or imprisoned. So what can we do? We are reminded that the imprisonment does not end when they are released. Both the spiritual and mental imprisonment often continues as their “record” follows them into society. The Diocese of San Jose promotes a restorative justice model that assists those imprisoned with criminal records to find pathways of reintegration into society. The Catholic Church along with many other religious and social service agency work with families, especially children, to help them adjust and grow through the pain and burden of having family members imprisoned because of their actions. This is where our actions can make a difference of “visiting the imprisoned” when we choose to encounter in the other in hope sharing the gift of peace given by our Lord Jesus.

I understand that not everyone is able to help, volunteer or spend time in this act of mercy on a regular basis, but if through prayer and discernment you feel that this is where God is calling you to serve, then respond with generosity with the gift of your time and talent in being the hands and feet of Jesus.

To “visit the imprisoned” may be the most difficult work of mercy that we are called to do but each and everyone of us can and should begin with prayer: prayer for a more just society, prayer for the protection and sanctity of families, prayer for victims of crime and those who perpetrate acts of violence and prayer for the peace of Christ that is the one way to true community, true love and true peace in the world.

God Bless

Fr. Mark

“The bonds of friendship make the demands of discipleship bearable. “Bering one another’s burdens,” within the Christian community, enables its members to walk a path of healing and conversion.” (#170 Love is our Mission)

This weekend I will be witnessing the sacramental marriage of my nephew Phillip and his wife Bethany. The con-validation of their marriage is a moment of great joy and blessing to them, their children and the whole family. We, as children of God, are always in process but if we truly follow the call to truth and love we will always find our self on this holy journey together with Jesus at our side.

When Phil and Bethany celebrate the Sacrament they are to become the bond of friendship will deepen and be graced and blessed in the unique way of becoming husband and wife. As the quote above reminds us, the relationship of the man and woman in marriage calls them to walk the path of healing, the path of grace, and the path of salvation.

I will remind Phil and Bethany that their one work within marriage is to get the other to heaven. (1 Cor 7:14-15) In the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia the Church puts it this way, “The sacrament of marriage is not a social convention, an empty ritual or merely the outward sign of a commitment. The sacrament is a gift given for the sanctification and salvation of the spouses, since “their mutual belonging is a real representation, through the sacramental sign, of the same relationship between Christ and the Church. The married couple are therefore a permanent reminder for the Church of what took place on the cross; they are for one another and for their children witnesses of the salvation in which they share through the sacrament” “(72)

Phil and Bethany will become the “gift given” as they take each other in the vows they pray. To become a gift of the beloved is the opening of hope in the joy of love. The gift (husband and wife) is freely given and without bounds that withhold any part of the gift. This is the hard part and why the first quote of walking a “path of healing and conversion” becomes the essential part of the marital love growing through their conjugal love within the sacramental life of husband and wife.

I will share with them through the “mutual belonging” they come to life and share life in the dignity of Jesus Christ. It is the obedience in love to the others that opens the true reality of the friendship that flowers through spousal love which moves through the fullness of life and new life and new hope flowers in their relationship.

We will talk about how the cross becomes for them the tree of life as they become living witnesses to mercy and healing to each other, their children and all whom they meet in their journey of life.

The tree of life is a tree of blessing where the fruit of blessing in joy and fun thrive. Marriage is a place of laughter and grace where true joy comes to life in the shared gift of faithfulness and love. Marriage is the place where shared smiles, shared touches and shared blessings feed the happiness of the soul for each other.

Marriage is where the rituals of life find their deeper meaning. The morning kiss becomes a kiss of blessing, the shared coffee becomes a gift of unity and the spoken word becomes a prayer that binds us closer together in God’s divine love.

Lastly, we will remind them to laugh daily, to forgive hourly and to embrace their beloved continually in the love of knowing that as we embrace the other we truly embrace our cross, a cross blossoming in forgiveness, mercy and joyful love.

God Bless

Fr. (Uncle) Mark

Pope Francis says some remarkable things…and he also says some remarkably confusing things. The media world was abuzz with this one phrase, “the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null.” Oh my. He later amended his remarks to state “a portion” and not a great majority. This is still a remarkable statement. Many people have been dissecting Pope Francis’ words but I would suggest that we read them in light of Amoris Laetitia and the greater understanding of marriage.   I think if we look at it in this light then the words become less likely to shock us and more likely to spur us forward in hopefulness and faith.

 

In Chapter 6 of the Exhortation the Holy Father talks about the pastoral aspects about marriage and the man and woman preparing their life for marriage. It is a candid and forthright discussion of the realities of married life and how we, as the people of God, can support and grow the depth of love and understanding within the family.

 

Hope is the leaven that, in those first years of engagement and marriage, makes it possible to look beyond arguments, conflicts and problems and to see things in a broader perspective. It harnesses our uncertainties and concerns so that growth can take place. Hope also bids us live fully in the present, giving our all to the life of the family, for the best way to prepare a solid future is to live well in the present. (219) The gift of hope Pope Francis talks about is the ongoing growth of love. We understand all relationship, whether it is between us and God, husband and wife or the friendships that enter our life, are all on a growth pattern we individually experience. All married couples experience this blessing as it looks toward a future. The love of husband and wife naturally grows and the understanding of the reality of marriage also takes on a deeper meaning.

 

This process occurs in various stages that call for generosity and sacrifice. The first powerful feelings of attraction give way to the realization that the other is now a part of my life. The pleasure of belonging to one another leads to seeing life as a common project, putting the other’s happiness ahead of my own, and realizing with joy that this marriage enriches society (220) Pope Francis’ statement about marriage occurs as the process of stages. It is the process that moves through initial attraction to the stage of courting, engagement and finally the growth of marriage that creates the fertile field of faith and love where the common dreams of life become united in the husband and wife growing in understanding about the truth of marriage. This is the gift of the mystery of love where the search for the other invites us to “take” the other into our deepest heart as the man and woman pray on their wedding day.

 

Each marriage is a kind of “salvation history”, which from fragile beginnings –thanks to God’s gift and a creative and generous response on our part – grows over time into something precious and enduring. Might we say that the greatest mission of two people in love is to help one another become, respectively, more a man and more a woman? Fostering growth means helping a person to shape his or her own identity. Love is thus a kind of, craftsmanship…At every new stage, they can keep “forming” one another. Love makes each wait for the other with the patience of a craftsman, a patience which comes from God. (221) While some couples may not fully understand the Sacrament they become in marriage, there is the “forming” of the greater self which marriage engenders in the other. This is where the remarkable sentence of our Holy Father becomes clearer. As a priest, prepared intentionally and rigorously to become the Sacrament that I am, I too continue to grow in my understanding of how I am called to be part of salvation history as a priest. The married couple, prepared (maybe not as rigorously) too often within the greater influence of modern society also must continue to grow and be formed in the understanding of the sacramental nature of their unique and life giving love as husband and wife.

 

We are all works in progress. Pope Francis’ comment was not a condemnation of many marriages rather, I believe, it is a challenge to the Church, her ministers, and all married couples to seek to continue to grow into the blessing of grace we are called to be in God’s eyes.

 

God Bless

Fr. Mark

I am writing this reflection from the shores of Lake Tahoe. As I sit here in the quiet of the night I can hear the gently lapping of the water against the shore and the cool night air surrounding me as I pray and offer this small note. I am at Tahoe for a very specific purpose. I am the youth chaplain for the Diocesan Youth Retreat (DYR) that has been happening this week. We are celebrating this week of God’s joy with over 190 teens from many parishes around the diocese (St. Lucy has 7 teens, 2 leaders attending) and almost 70 staff members helping to bring the presence of God more fully into the experience of these wonderful and holy Catholic youth.

 

Our keynote speaker has been Fr. Augustino Torres CFR. He has poured out the grace of God in prayer, stories, song and the holy joy of serving God as a Franciscan priest. (http://franciscanfriars.com/ you can learn more about is order here)

 

At the retreat we have been focusing and speaking a lot about the Jubilee Year of Mercy (yes it is still going on) and how God’s mercy is present in the life of each person and how as young Catholics they can celebrate this mercy and share it with others.

 

The keynote talks have been amazing. The sharing the youth do in their small groups has been life giving. Listening to them asks and struggle with deep questions of faith and how to live their faith more fully in the world is a powerful blessing to hear and share with them. The playtime, the singing, the praising of God in word, worship and sacrament fills me with wonder. But I would like to share two specific events that have been impactful to me personally and I know, through speaking with and witnessing the teens celebrate God’s love are life changing.

 

The first occurred Wednesday evening with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I have helped at literally hundreds of retreats in the eleven years I have been ordained as a priest and without fail, the time of sacramental Reconciliation is always a powerful moment when the grace and love of God touches the heart of the teens. The ten priests who came to celebrate the Sacraments spent over three hours listening and counseling the young people in the healing mercy of God. And many times it is much more about the listening than the counseling. The burdens the young men and women gave over in blessing to Jesus Christ through this sacrament of healing were truly a movement of the Holy Spirit.

 

The second occurred on Thursday evening. After a full day of blessing, the celebration of a sunset Mass on the shores of Lake Tahoe we invited the teens to a time of adoration. Led by Fr. Augustino the young women and men spent nearly 2½ hours singing and praising the presence of Jesus the Eucharist. They were invited to bring their lives to the altar and offer themselves to the blessing of Jesus to seek and follow the path that God has called them to follow. It is often impossible in life to have anyone, let alone a teen, spend anytime away from the intrusion of the electronic siren call of the telephone or tablet but I witnessed the grace of these blessed and holy followers of Jesus loose themselves in the timelessness of God’s presence. The laughter and tears of prayer intermingled with the procession of candles representing their gift of self to God were brought with genuine joy knowing that they were loved and accepted by God.

 

I will return the parish tomorrow evening exhausted in body but renewed in spirit as God has blessed me in so many different ways with healing and mercy. If you are interested in seeing the pictures of the retreat you can go to any Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use #DYR2016 to find the photos. It was such a blessing to serve with wonderful youth ministers from around the Diocese let by Row David from Holy Spirit Parish and the many other adults and young adults that helped bring God’s love and blessing to this remarkable week. Thank you Jesus.

 

God Bless

Fr. Mark

 

As we continue our journey through the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia we are reminded that the family is the foundation for all stable and just societies and the breakdown in family life begins the slow and painful breakdown of the greater society. Two things become very clear throughout the exhortation. First is the biblical foundation on the family as the symbol of God’s presence and love in the world. The second is the long tradition of Catholic teaching on the unity and blessing of the family as husband and wife with the fruitfulness of children.

 

As our school year ended at St. Lucy parish I have been thinking a lot about families and how we grow together in support of each other. We hear many times the oft repeated phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child” which is true to some extent but the village can only raise the child when there is a unity of purpose and a goal that respects the dignity and freedom of the mother and father in determining what is best for their sons and daughters. It is the unity that comes from a common dream and hope that unites us as one through God’s call to serve.   No family can be fruitful if it sees itself as overly different or “set apart”. To avoid this risk, we should remember that Jesus’ own family, so full of grace and wisdom, did not appear unusual or different from others…Jesus did not grow up in a narrow and stifling relationship with Mary and Joseph, but readily interacted with the wider family, the relatives of his parents and their friends. (182)

 

When we are able to live in the interaction where the child discovers his or her wider purpose in life is be loved as a child of God we then begin to see joy spring forth in vibrant and fruitful love. A married couple who experience the power of love know that this love is called to bind the wounds of the outcast, to foster a culture of encounter and to fight for justice. God has given the family the job of “domesticating” the world and helping each person to see fellow human beings as brothers and sisters….For their part, open and caring families find a place for the poor and build friendships with those less fortunate than themselves.(183)

 

It is now rare that we hear stories of families that welcome the stranger into their midst. When I was at St. Martin of Tours, John and Ellie, two true disciples would spend their gifts of time, talent, and treasure in service of the poor of the community. Often inviting strangers to meal and purchasing items for those in need. It was watching the Gospel come alive when they would tell stories of gentle kindnesses that influenced not only their children but also a parish to become more compassionate and generous with our gifts. Their example was always a challenge and call for others and me to “fight for justice” in small acts of charitable blessing. It wasn’t about changing the systems of the world it was about seeking the presence of God and serving Him in our sisters and brothers. The example of parents doing this allows their children to see and experience a different kind of generosity, one that flows not from the natural bond of biological connection but from the beating heart of love.

 

By their witness as well as their words, families speak to others of Jesus. They pass on the faith, they arouse a desire for God and they reflect the beauty of the Gospel and its way of life. Christian marriages thus enliven society by their witness of fraternity, their social concern, their outspokenness on behalf of the underprivileged, their luminous faith and their active hope. Their fruitfulness expands and in countless ways makes God’s love present in society. (184)

 

It is the act of Christian charity that grows the vines of fruitfulness in the heart of the family, especially the children who witness this love. When we allow our self to be extended, to be stretched in love, to be given the gift of sharing what we have for others we discover the peace of Christ in the marriage and the family, a peace that heals and binds the wounds of sin as we work towards a better and more just world. God calls each of us, through the family to be his hands, his face, his word of comfort to one another. It is who we are called to be as a living Church whose stones are broken and shared for all to see.

To end with my favorite quote from the last few years… For a parish to actually be a ‘family of families’ calls for concrete actions of hospitality and generosity. St. John Paul II said that ‘opening the doors to one’s home, and still more of one’s heart,’ is a mode of imitating Christ. (#88 from Love is our Mission: The Family Fully Alive)

God Bless

Fr. Mark

I had prepared to write on something entirely different this week from Amoris Laetitia and then I witnessed something so wonderful and beautiful that I needed to write this short reflection.

After morning Mass early this week, after saying goodbye to the people and walking back to the sacristy I saw a young and very pregnant women enter the church, sit down and begin to pray the Rosary, nothing too remarkable in that. When I came out of the sacristy to pray my morning prayers I looked over at the young woman and this was when the blessing blasted through: as she prayed the rosary lay upon her womb as a perfect circle, as if the prayers of Mary were surrounding the little child growing within the mother. I certainly paused wondered and began to ponder this in my heart as I brought my prayers to God.

It is this gift of life given through the procreative act of man and woman that we hear proclaimed loudly and with love. Pregnancy is a difficult but wonderful time. A mother joins with God to bring forth the miracle of a new life. Motherhood is the fruit of a “particular creative potential of the female body, directed to the conception and birth of a new human being”. Each woman shares in “the mystery of creation, which is renewed with each birth”. The Psalmist says: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13).

Every child growing within the mother’s womb is part of the eternal loving plan of God the Father: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5). Each child has a place in God’s heart from all eternity; once he or she is conceived, the Creator’s eternal dream comes true.

Let us pause to think of the great value of that embryo from the moment of conception. We need to see it with the eyes of God, who always looks beyond mere appearances. (#168)

Indeed, let us pause….

As I finished my morning prayer and got up to leave the church I glanced once more at this pregnant mother with the rosary in hand, not encircling the womb as before but draped over the unborn child.

“Pregnancy is a difficult but wonderful time.” Enough said. The gift of new life within the family is always an interruption in the patterns of life. Even when we look forward with great joy to the new member of the family there are many difficulties that can range from little inconveniences to the serious medical and health issues of mother and child. I have spent hours laughing with new parents and other hours praying and listening to the fears and doubts of new life. But whether it is in the former or the latter, the hope of love shines forth and the wonderfulness of the mystery of life grows ever greater as the father and mother looks forward in anticipation to what will be.

Then there is this little nugget placed for our pondering, “the Creator’s eternal dream comes true.” WOW!!!!! You and I, all people great and small are part of God’s dream for a world and peace, hope and love. Amen. Stepping back and being reminded that each of us is part of God’s greater plan, His dream, is mindboggling and invites us to look at life, especially new life, with eyes of blessing. If we can focus on the hope of the eternal dream of God how much different does the world look knowing God’s dreams that you and I are made to be participants in His Kingdom. And more importantly, we are all made to play our part however small or large. And even more, all life helps us to see and trust in God’s divine mercy and love.

Place this in the context of a parent’s love for their child…they dream of a future for their child(ren) that is not mundane but is filled with joy, blessing and hope…how much more so for our Heavenly Father. This dream founded in the protection and blessing of love…a Rosary of prayer encircling new life, a Rosary of prayer growing in love.

God Bless

Fr. Mark

 

Being a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Memorial Day Weekend has grown in importance over the years.. Growing up it was always the last holiday that marked the end of the school and the beginning of summer vacation. I began boot camp in San Diego two days after Memorial Day and celebrated my first Memorial Day as a Marine in Beaufort South Carolina.

The first and greatest change in honoring those who have died in the service of our country, as a member of the military, is the solemnness that marks the day. There are other days throughout the year when historical and special events pertaining to the branch of service are given a special honor, but this day is held in deep respect and remembrance of the lives given in the protection of freedom and of our loved ones.

The death of a loved one is always life changing and the death of a son or daughter in war is at times even more difficult to understand. Listening to the stories of the men and women who walked as brothers and sisters with those who died serving and sacrificing is hearing the whispers of voices of hope coming alive once again. It is a moment to be reminded once more of the dignity of life but also its fragility and priceless worth of each life when bound in love. These stories told and shared take on a sacred nature.

We as followers of Jesus Christ understand and live this experience. It is standing with Jesus in suffering and sorrow, walking the way of the cross with Him that we are able to fully embrace and honor the sacrifice. I remember one night at work with the Gunnery Sargent in charge of the night maintenance crew shared about his first tour in Viet Nam that began days before the 1968 Tet Offensive. I sat listening, with my 19-year-old bravado, to the story of life and death and how his friends died or were maimed. The voice of love and honor, even twelve years after the event, were still apparent and changed my heart.

During this Jubilee Year of Mercy we are called to listen more carefully for the voice of God in our conversations and our actions with and towards others. In the shared experience found through the conversations of life our hearts are softened to hear how we are called to reach out, respond and be touched by the other in our life. As Pope Francis writes in Misericordiae Vultus, “In this Holy Year, we look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society: fringes which modern society itself creates. How many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today! How many are the wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned out by the indifference of the rich!…Let us ward off destructive cynicism! Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters…let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! May we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity…let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy…Moreover, we will be asked if we have helped others to escape the doubt that causes them to fall into despair and which is often a source of loneliness.” (#16)

When we choose to remember with the heart of mercy we are more apt to hear God’s voice spoken in the memorial of life. Our call to serve is a call to be with and walk with the poor, the broken, the sorrowing. It is to be with one another where we share the burdens and seek to grow in unity through the memorial of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. I pray that you have a holy and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

Semper Fi–God Bless,

Fr. Mark

As part of my prayer life this year I have been reading from a book of short spiritual reflections by Fr. Richard Rohr OFM titled What the Mystics Know. Early in the book he reflects on Matthew 13:26-27 the “Wheat and the Weeds” (p 15) where he writes about the problems of good and evil and how in the spiritual life we are confronted with this reality, as we look within and see, the wheat and weeds of life growing together within us. I have returned again and again to these short reflections over the past few months as the echo in my heart and I seek to see how the co-existence of good and evil can be a mirror for my understanding of God’s compassion and mercy in my life and the life of His people.

I often counsel and console people both in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in brief chats that conversion happens both as a sudden and life altering event and as the slow slog through a life of searching for and living in holiness. I remind myself and them that we are called to sow the seeds of grace in blessing in the fields that are often overrun with the weeds of sin and through God’s blessing see the wheat of love begin to grow slowly and steadily. I listen to the fear and sorrow of family and friends who speak of loved ones who have strayed from the path of holiness and grace and how we, as God’s people, seek to witness in hope and call them into the fruitfulness of love.

It is the wheat and the weeds growing together within our hearts that help us to be vigilant and trusting in the mercy of God for all people because we too have reached out and received his mercy. Rohr gives us this short reflection, “Victory over sin is never total but rather a victory over sin’s power to overwhelm us or defeat us. The sacred signs [in the form of stories, images, symbols, or dreams] allow us to live with and walk with and through our sin to God. God’s help does not readjust our false self or polish up our self-image. Instead, God shows us the depths of our emptiness and sin so that we have nothing more to shock or humiliate us.” (p 21)

This month of May, the Spiritual Work of Mercy, Counsel the Doubtful, flows wonderfully from this above reflection. Not to be shocked or humiliated by our sin does not mean to accept it or to allow it to rule our life rather it is a time to open our hearts more fully and completely to God’s healing mercy. When we choose sit in counsel, to listen and hear, to speak and share doubts we become the light of God’s love shine on the weeds of our life.

How do we choose to counsel and be counseled in our life? Each of us suffers doubts about many thing and our doubts about God are compounded by our failing again and again to do the things we don’t want to do and fail to do those we are called to do to better our life and the world. It’s not a new problem…just read the Bible…where in the search for God, the search for peace, the search of justice holy men and women failed over and over again. Yet, the common thread is they continued to reach out to God and live with and work with the sin as they walk to God. The example we are called to follow.

We, as people of mercy, are called to accompany and share our story of walking with God in encouragement and patience. We counsel those in doubt in the reality of conversion and the call to follow Jesus. A conversion that changes our vision of the world and a conversion that asks us to walk through the field of sacrificial love. It is a field filled with weeds. It is also a field, when we choose to work and play in God’s image, we become abundant…30 or 60 or 90 fold…in true joy.

God Bless

Fr. Mark