May 8th

I was so thankful when Deacon Frank began his homily and cleared a path in my mental mess.  He made reference to a Spirit-filled priest whose message meant very much to my husband and me, Fr. John White.  And Deacon Frank recalled that Fr. John would state frequently that we should “keep the main thing the main thing,” and that “Jesus is the main thing.”
 Now, I am a slow learner, and since that epiphany, I have done a perfectly magnificent job of forgetting the main thing.  I have made mountains out of molehills,  and elevated non-Jesus things to “main thing” status.  Lost ties have become the main thing, or sand on beds, or the daily rush.  But, and I think this is a very significant part of Christianity, at least I now know I am doing it, and that it is wrong, and that I want to change it.  When you become embroiled in the daily distractions, and the main thing seems so far away, what do you do to restore the balance?

May 7th

What a beautiful weekend!  Did you notice that it finally felt like the big thaw had arrived and spring had sprung?  Tis the season of Baptisms, Confirmations and First Communions.  If you are on Facebook  or another form of social media the pictures are going up fast and furious.  Pictures and videos of the family and their big day.

Do you remember your First Communion?   It was an exciting day.  What I remember the most was my dress.  Primarily because I was the fourth girl to wear it.  It stayed in a big white box in my mother’s closet.  I remember taking it out when my mother wasn’t home and trying it on.  Much like one would try on her mother’s wedding dress.  I couldn’t wait to wear it.  I wanted the veil, the gloves and the flower bouquet.   New white patent leather shoes and my hair done up in curls.  I remember all my cousins coming over and eating cake my grandmother made.

This weekend I had the pleasure to witness my cousin’s son receive his First Communion. I sat in a pew at Holy Name of Mary Church in Croton-on-Hudson and listed to Mel Jr. do the first reading and listen to these children sing in unbelievably sweet and clear voices.  It was a great day filled with family and cake.   Yes it was windy, but the sky was blue and if you stood in the right spot you could feel the warmth of the sun on your face.    I even ran into a high school friend and we laughed.  “where else would two Catholic school girls be on a day like this?”    That’s when I felt it, that feeling when you are surrounded by the love of your family and yes your church.  The milestones of these wonderful sacraments are celebrated and the entire church family as the priest said in his homily embraces us all.  Even when it’s not the church you go to every week, it still feels like home.

Please listen to my favorite choir.  The talented children of PS22 Chorus singing Home by Phillip Phllips 

May 6th

I was moved by the words in Sunday’s Gospel when Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as his Advocate.  Does this mean the Holy Spirit speaks for him?  Does the Holy Spirit argue against Evil on his behalf?  Does it help him to reconcile conflicting interests or plead his case to those who do not believe? Perhaps not in the way we usually think about having an advocate.  Yet, when we receive the Holy Spirit within ourselves, the Advocate does all these things and more.

I hear Jesus’ words and message most clearly when I feel the presence of  the Holy Spirit within me, especially during the Easter season.  Through my communication with others, how I treat them and when I have the opportunity to share those teachings with others, I feel His presence.  When I confront Evil I turn to the Holy Spirit to fill me with courage and wisdom to combat it.  When I encounter crossroads or difficult decisions, I practice the Lectio Divina.  I stop to listen . . . and feel the Holy Spirit fill me so that I can hear the answer to the question: what would Jesus do or advise me to do?    During those times, I feel the Holy Spirit is as much  Jesus’ Advocate as he advocates  for me.

Happy Easter!

May 4th

To be a Christian, to have received holy Baptism, must not be looked upon as something of negligible importance. It must be something which thrills the baptized person to the very core of his being. He must look upon it with the eyes of the Christians of the early Church, as an “illumination” which draws down upon his soul the life-giving radiance of divine truth, opens heaven to him, and sheds upon this mortal life that light which enables him to walk as a child of the light toward the vision of God, the wellspring of eternal happiness.

 ~ ECCLESIAM SUAM, Encyclical of POPE PAUL VI on the Church

Last Sunday, we were thrilled to witness two infants being illuminated.  Two small candles, one for each child was lit from the Paschal candle. Fr. Greg said, “Receive the light of Christ.” The symbolism of each candle being lit directly from the tall Easter candle was reinforced by the stretching Fr. Greg had to make to light them (and not light the second from the first). It made clear to me that even though we come to worship as a congregation, we are to have a personal and direct relationship with the risen Jesus. Easter is so much about Baptism: a life changing event.

We are changed and in a way we change the world, like when one part of a mobile is touched, the whole is affected.   We now see life through the lens of the Resurrection and we move differently because of it, we are enlightened!

Happy Easter!

May 3rd

During the celebration of the last supper, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: “ Love one another as I loved you”

“Do we have now 11 commandments?”  Once I asked my religious education teacher, a long time ago. I will never forget what she said in reply: “No, we don’t.  You see, when you love, you place God above all. When you love,  you honor your mother and father. When you love, you don’t need to lie…Jesus’ love ties everything and everyone together, so we need to love as he loved us”

This new commandment of love, at that moment, seemed clear and simple. The answer this teacher gave me became a motivation to try to imitate Jesus by loving others the way he asked us to do.  As I grew older, I found inspiration in Mother Teresa’s work of “simple” love as a way to love as Jesus asked us to do.

“Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier”- Blessed Mother Teresa.

May 2nd

“My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.  I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:33-35)

I do love this Gospel and I know that the most important lesson God wants us to learn is how to love.  Loving one another should be our most important objective and greatest ambition in this life.

In his homily, Father Greg said that “love was a choice”.  We make a conscious decision to love.  I’ve tried to take that to heart as I go about my week.  Most times I wait for that loving feeling to come from the depths of my soul and bubble up to the surface.  But…now I am trying to make the mindful decision to love.  What I have found is that when the mind and soul are in concert, the feeling is even more powerful.

I’m not saying this is easy; in fact, it is very hard at times.  To love when someone has disappointed you; to love when you witness meanness; to love when you are angry; to love when you are jealous; to love when someone you have never seen before is sitting in your seat at Church.  But yet, there it is:  love one another as I have loved you.  Boy, does He love us!  He loves when we are mean, nasty, jealous, vulnerable, sad, depressed, joyful, content, whatever our present state, at our best and our worst, Jesus loves us.  He never stops….so why do we?

To quote one of my favorite lines from A Raisin in the Sun, Mama’s son has just lost a lot of money and is about to sacrifice his integrity as a man.  His sister has just called him a “toothless rat” and says there is nothing left of him to love and Mama says to her,

“Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning – because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ’cause the world done whipped him so! When you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”

I think all of us should listen to Mama.

May 1st

I heard this word for the first time on an episode of “The West Wing”.  It has roots in the Old Testament, and has taken on many meanings.  The most common usage is to refer to a password.  More broadly, it can mean a test to prove whether or not a person belongs to a certain group.

I thought of the word this past Sunday while listening to Fr. Greg’s homily.   The Gospel reading (John 13:31) concludes with Jesus saying to the Apostles, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  Fr. Greg noted that our Christian love for others is the essential way in which we are identified with our faith.

So, back to the episode of “The West Wing”.  A group of refugees from China is seeking asylum in the United States, claiming that they are being persecuted for being Christians.  The President is scheduled to meet with a representative from the group, to assess the veracity of their claims.  One of the President’s advisors asks him how he will evaluate whether the members are true Christians.  The President explains the concept of a shibboleth as a password, while acknowledging that the evaluation will not be that simple.

What follows here is an interaction between the President and the representative.  (For some reason, I could not find the video file on YouTube, but I did find this audio clip.  It may actually be more moving that way.)  Please listen closely.  The dialogue is powerful, and makes an important point about what identifies us as Christians . . . and what doesn’t.

I know it’s simplistic to say this, but what defines us as Christians is not in our minds, but in our hearts.  An academic understanding of our faith is a good thing; it helps us to contemplate what we love.  Ultimately, however, love and faith are simple concepts.  They are often elusive, but they are simple.

So, please pray that we never attempt to elevate ourselves above others because of our academic understanding of the Church’s teachings.  After all, if we can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, we are nothing.

April 30th

Some days, life can seem pretty discouraging – on a global scale (Boston bombings, natural disasters, political strife, war, disease) and right down to the nano level – as we try to get through the day in our little corner of the world.

It comforts me to know that I am loved – in my family, through my friendships and community, and in my faith. That gives me the push I sometimes need to get through.  And likewise, I hope that I am able to do the same for others, even in a small way.  It’s a rough world out there.  It’s can also be wonderful.