Officially Started at the Parish

[KatS]

[quote]Sounds like you have a built-in home mission right next door... perfect place for a candlelight vigil...[/quote]

...and opportunities for your pro-life ministry to help girls and women with crisis pregnancies.

...and to point out the benefits of Natural Family Planning...

There are opportunities everywhere to serve. And yours Father are literally next door!

[Mercy me]

Congratulations on starting our new assignment. So much work to be done and an energetic, inspired new priest to tackle it. I like our odds!

[Paladin D]

Awesome Father, to quote the new [b]Vault[/b] soda/energy drink slogan: [b]"GET TO IT!"[/b]

[Charms717RM1]

[quote name='KatS' post='1006251' date='Jun 15 2006, 10:53 AM']
Did your church use to belong to another demonination?
[/quote]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering- don't the Episcopalians conside Martin Luther King Jr. to be one of their saints? I thought i heard that somewhere...

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='KatS' post='1006251' date='Jun 15 2006, 11:53 AM']
Did your church use to belong to another demonination?
[/quote]

No, it was just constructed during the liberal 60's

Supposedly, it is based upon the Beatitudes

Edited June 16, 2006 by Theologian in Training

[cappie]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1006231' date='Jun 16 2006, 02:35 AM']
(clears throat)...a new(ly) painted bathroom

It is actually an older rectory...they used to have a school and a convent, now the offices are in the convent and the school is being rented out to kids with disabilities and troubled teens

And, insult to injury...there is a Planned Parenthood right next door to the Church

And the Church windows have such beloved modern day "saints" as Dr. Martin Luther King, Tom Dooley, and some guy from the UN Damaschad or something like that

This will be interesting....
[/quote]

Doesn't help to go to a parish with a cynical mind

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='cappie' post='1006686' date='Jun 16 2006, 01:13 AM']
Doesn't help to go to a parish with a cynical mind
[/quote]

Not cynical, was just stating facts in a colorful tone

No, honestly I am really not that worried, and truly don't know what to expect, and have not really created any expectations in my head, this way I will be able to take it all as it comes.

God Bless

Edited June 16, 2006 by Theologian in Training

[ironmonk]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1006105' date='Jun 15 2006, 08:47 AM']
This past Tuesday. However, the bathroom was not ready so he told me to be there for the weekend

I will be saying my first Mass there at 10:00AM on Sunday and possibly the 5:30PM on Sunday night. So, I have officially begun at my parish for the next six years, according to my bishop.

I still have to write a homily...wow, I think I may have forgotten how to do that...I hope it is like riding a bike

God Bles

Fr. Brian
[/quote]


Awesome!

God Bless Father!


[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1006231' date='Jun 15 2006, 11:35 AM']
(clears throat)...a new(ly) painted bathroom

there is a Planned Parenthood right next door to the Church

[/quote]


What a great opportunity to get a group together, get some garden kneelers, and pray the Rosary right near the property line.

You're in my prayers.
God Bless!
ironmonk

[Nathan]

Blessings, Father. This must be a very exciting time for you.

[jezic]

I would take the garden idea a step further and think about having Eucharistic processions around the block with large buckets of holy water (and certain prayers ).

[Theologian in Training]

Well, I am there and have been for a while. However, they do not have (as of yet a network, and they use dial-up so I will not be getting online until I can set up the network.

Also, my homily is on my computer back at the parish, so you will have to wait until I can post it.

Hope all is well...see you guys soon...

God Bless

Fr. Brian

[homeschoolmom]

You don't sleep under your desk?

[Janana8706]

WOW Congrats. Hope all is going well. Can't wait to hear another update!!

[Theologian in Training]

Friday is my day off...so I came home for a little while.

This is the homily from this past Sunday...you should know that since I am at a new parish I can recycle a lot Also, I forget which day it was this past week, but I quoted T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral" "The last temptation is the greatest treason, to do the right deed for the wrong reason." I love when I have an opportunity to quote a literary figure...must be the B.A. in English talking :

Here is the Homily from this past Sunday:

"Take it; this is my body." Words we hear at every Mass, spoken daily by every priest, seemingly simple words.

Yet, it is these words that separate us as Catholics, it is these words many have a hard time believing, because it is with these words alone that Christ did something truly amazing, He turned bread and wine into His Body and Blood.

And what’s more, is that this same thing happens everytime the priest goes before the altar saying those words. One of the greatest mysteries: bread and wine becoming body and blood.

I wonder how often we think of that, that at the beginning of Mass we have little white hosts and wine and at the end we have something entirely different, we have Christ.

In fact, this is why we have so many devotions towards the Eucharist, why we are encouraged, to spend some time in prayer before the tabernacle, and why we even have feast days devoted to the Eucharist, as we do today. Because we realize that Christ is truly present Body, Blood, soul and divinity.

And yet, this is the hardest thing sometimes to believe because it demands us to believe without seeing and to know. And this only comes with faith because to believe such a thing we have to take one of the greatest leaps of faith. It demands a lot, because our entire faith is centered upon this one belief, and why the Church calls it the “source and summit of our lives.” In fact, it has to be.

It has to be the source of all of our strength, the one thing that can sustain us, to make we who are weak the strongest in this world, to be our highest peak, the ultimate pinnacle of our existence.

At heart though, the Eucharist has to be the greatest and most importance person in our entire lives.
For, in a few moments you will see not just a white host but Jesus Himself. He will be here with us, in front of us on that altar, waiting for you to receive Him, and when we expose Him on the altar before the end of Mass He will speak to all of you, address your problems, your fears, and your concerns. Listen to Him, thank Him, for He has given us one of the greatest gifts possible: His Body and His Blood.

[cmotherofpirl]

[Theologian in Training]

My day off is today because the pastor is leaving for two weeks, putting me in charge...so I get to play pastor

Anyway, couple of things, thanks cmother for your feedback, second, turns out Planned Parenthood is down the street, not right next door, next door is the Daily Plan It, where they help people that normally can't, get jobs. Also, I ordered 7 new computers and am working with Optimum Online to set up a network...need to bring this place into the 21st Century.

Otherwise, all is well.

God Bless

Fr. Brian

[KatS]

Good luck w/everything going on at the parish!

Wonderful homily!!

[Theologian in Training]

St. Margaret's is now online. Now, I wait for the new Dells.

Our little parish has now entered the 20th Century

God Bless

[melporcristo]

The homily was great!
I am definately praying for the parish - they are blessed to have you!
Praise Him!

+JMJ+
Mel

[Theologian in Training]

Since some of you seem to enjoy my homilies, I figure I will post some of the Sunday one's and some of the daily Mass ones. Enjoy. I realize some are not the best, but the message is still there, I think, I hope and I pray. God Bless

_____________________________

In this very short Gospel, we are given not only instruction on how to live life, but also what that entails. Granted, it may sound strange giving our other cheek to strike, or giving away not just our shirt but our coat, or even going “that extra mile” for a person unless we see it in the context in which it is meant to be understood. That is, through the lens of a life lived in, with, and through Christ. Because, let’s be honest, no one would voluntarily do these things, because we live in a culture where these things are looked down upon, imply a certain weakness, or even require effort on our part. Yet, that seems to be the point of this Gospel today, that we can’t do these things, we don’t want to do these things, and can only do these things when we are in Christ and He is in us.

And how does that happen?

By spending time with Christ in order to learn His ways, for the more time you spend with the one you wish to imitate, the more you will imitate Him. Yet, the true beauty and mystery of it all, is that we not only imitate Him, but become Him provided we live our life in full communion with Him. In other words, to echo St. John “He must increase and I must decrease,” so that when that happens we can say, as St. Paul says: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.”

__________________________________

Today Jesus lays out for us a beautiful and seemingly simple reminder: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” However, what He is saying and what He is asking may not as simple, and perhaps, as beautiful, as it first appears. It is with this that I would like to offer a little meditation upon these words.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

To be a branch is to be an extension of the source, to gain nourishment, sustenance, and life itself by always being connected to this source.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

What’s more is that by springing from the same source, it means that there is no difference between the vine and the branch. As Christ says: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.”

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

And, if there is no difference between the vine and the branch, then there should be no difference between Christ and us. In other words, His desires should be ours, and ours should be His, or put more simply, we should be able to say: “My will is His and His Will is mine.”

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

Yet, if we are a branch then we also need to be pruned, to be shaped, molded, cut back. In other words, in order to become like Christ, we need to let Christ be seen in us. And in order for that to happen, we have to be willing to endure those difficulties, those sufferings, that, quite simply, we don’t want.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
And, if we endure those sufferings, and allow ourselves to be changed by them, we are strengthened, renewed, because we then realize, as Jesus reminds, and Paul has so often reiterated: “Without me you can do nothing.”

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

If then, we allow ourselves to be this branch, then Jesus promises us that we, in turn, will bear much fruit, and become His disciples. But even more, is that whatever we ask for, whatever we want, will be given to us which, in turn, will glorify the Father.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

Since it is Mother’s day, I felt I should add one more meditation.

Before we enter this world, we reside in the womb, and we are sustained with nutrients, oxygen, those things that we truly need. And we become entirely reliant upon these things not just as a means of comfort, but for our very survival. Our mother, in a very real sense, becomes our lifeline, our source, our vine. And, what’s really humbling is that Jesus, the vine, allowed Himself to be that “branch” in Mary’s womb.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

___________________________

In today’s Second Reading we are given a theologically dense understanding of what it means to live in Christ. And though it is not the easiest to understand, it is probably one of the most beautiful explanations of not just the spiritual life, but what that life entails. It is with this, that I would like to offer a little reflection on this reading.

“Once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.”

God became man and in order to redeem us, died for us. He could have saved us any other way, but He chose an ultimate sacrifice. Yet, this death, is not just His, for when we become Christian, by either birth or choice, we also share in this death when we are washed in the waters of Baptism, cleansed of our sins, dying to our old selves in order to live a new life as a Christian.

“He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised”

In other words, the moment we take on this new life, we are no longer our own person, our life is a life in Christ. It sounds redundant, but to live in Christ we must do as Christ did, and to no longer be our own person we must do what many saints have constantly spoken about: die to ourselves.

It is a strange concept, to be sure, but not as abstract or morbid as it sounds, because we actually do it or see it done each and every day. In fact, think about the soldier, who leaves his wife and family to go and serve his country, knowing he may never return to see them again. Or, the young men and women who still enter cloistered monasteries, leaving behind their family, their friends, and their possessions to exclusively follow God alone. In each case, painfully letting go of what they treasure most in this life, to attain a greater treasure, freedom and justice or an unhindered and loving union with God. To die, as it were, to their old life in order to live it anew.

Paul says it well: “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

And this is what it makes it so beautiful, Christ allows us to imitate Him fully, and in essence, live His life. It is an intimacy unlike any other, because we are given the ability to not just imitate anyone, but God Himself.

In the end, to live in Christ means Christ must live within us, there should be no distinction. In fact, this is why when many people talk about their encounters with the saints, they don’t say they saw Mother Teresa or Padre Pio, they say they saw Jesus. Today, Paul is inviting us to strive for the same, so that we too can imitate Christ to the same degree, and then we can say, with all confidence, as St. Paul has also said: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.”

___________________________

Today, Jesus teaches us how we are to pray, but not just how to pray but what that entails. In other words, it seems Jesus it asking us to look at our intention, to ask ourselves a challenging and perhaps difficult question: why do we pray? It may sound strange to ask such a question but I think it gets to the heart of Jesus’ message today.

Why do we pray?

The answers are, of course, different to each person, but I think we could all agree that we pray to draw closer to God, to always be aware of His presence, in a word, speaking to God and knowing He listens. And that seems to be what Jesus is trying to underscore, that our prayers are indeed heard, and we don’t need to do anything fancy, we don’t need to try and get His attention, we don’t need to shout from the rooftops, as it were, because when we do these things, though we are trying to let Him hear us, others hear us as well, and that is what we need to try and avoid.

For at heart, true prayer entails full humility and that humility comes when we go to the inner room of our heart, knowing that our prayers were heard, and merely listen waiting for God to speak.

________________________

The Our Father, arguably one of the most beautifully rich prayers we have, and the one Jesus introduces us to, when giving instruction on how to pray.

There are so many aspects each could be homily itself, that is why I would like to focus on just one part of this prayer, the one many have difficulties with, the one that demands a lot from us, that one simple phrase: “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I wonder how often we think of the implication, how often we ponder this very powerful phrase.

We always hear about God’s will, and we are always trying to fulfill that will, but what exactly does that mean?

It seems to mean that God has a plan for each and every one of us, and He desires for us to follow that plan. Granted, sometimes we stray but I don’t think the plan gets changed, since God knows already what will happen, but I think it can draw us away from Him, because God has given us one of His greatest gifts and something we can easily abuse, our own free will. I know this sounds very abstract because it is, but what it comes down to is a simple phrase, and one I would recommend we all adapt and remember throughout the day: “My will is His Will”

God wants are happiness and He knows how that will happen better than us. Granted, sometimes we have to suffer, sometimes we have to leave behind a part of our life we love, not out of malice or masochism on the part of God, but because, in doing so, it draws us closer to Him.

In fact that is perhaps the most difficult thing about accepting God’s Will, the fact that in order to do so, we may have to suffer. Yet, I am always reminded of two things, first, Jesus showed us the way to the Father, and that entailed tremendous suffering and, second, as one saint has said, “the more we draw closer to the sun, the more we feel the heat.”

That phrase that Jesus teaches is both incredibly powerful and incredibly challenging, because to give our will to His means we give everything, are we ready to do that, are we ready to say: “My will is His Will?” Because if we are, then we can also say in sheer confidence, “His Will is mine.”

_______________________

Today’s Gospel is probably one of my favorites, because it is so simple and yet, at the same time, incredibly powerful. We have Jairus who is pleading for Jesus to come see his daughter, knowing that all Jesus has to do is lay His hands on her for her to get well, confident that Jesus can heal her. Yet, what makes this Gospel so beautiful is that even after he is given the news that she has died he still trusts that Jesus can save her. In fact, we are told that Jesus ignores the message that she has died, and instead turns to Jairus and simply says “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” In essence, reassuring him to keep his faith, to not stop believing, no matter how difficult it may be, no matter how unrealistic it may seem for Jesus to do the impossible. Even when they get there and everyone is crying and mourning and Jesus then reassures everyone that “The child is not dead but sleeping,” the parents are the only ones who still believe, in fact, everyone else ridicules Him, laughs at Him. So, He puts them outside, and only invites those who believe that He can do it. And then He does it, one of the most amazing and beautiful miracles in the bible, something He also does to Lazarus, He speaks a Greek phrase and with that raises the dead. He raises the dead.
It’s beautiful because it shows us the strength and power God has, so much so, in fact, that He conquers even death. A death, as our first reading reminds God did not intend because it was the result of envy, the envy of the devil. And this is why Jesus performed such an amazing miracle, not so much to focus on a particular person as much as it was to show His strength and dominion over even death itself. For He has destroyed death by dying Himself, but it was not just His death that did this, rather, it was His rising from the dead, the Resurrection.
Yet it also beautiful because it puts things in perspective for us, it shows us what is possible with God, and that faith is actually a very powerful thing, for, when Jesus reassured Jairus, He affirmed this to be the case and though we heard it before, it bears repeating: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Faith in what? Faith to believe that something as unrealistic as raising a person from the dead is possible, that God is in control and we are not, that with faith not only can we move mountains, but we too can believe in the impossible, for, all things are possible with God. Perhaps it may sound a little idealistic, but if we read the bible with a sense of wonder, astonishment, and amazement, if we approach it in simplicity and with simple faith, the faith of a child that we hear so often, we too will start to believe and Jesus tells us what is possible, we will ignore the taunts and laughs of those who do not believe and be able to do extraordinary things, perhaps, not raise the dead, but then again, you never know.

__________________

Today, with one word, Jesus heals the centurion’s servant, one word. Yet, the true miracle that we witness is the faith that this centurion has in Jesus, so much so, in fact, that he believes that not only will heal the servant, but that Jesus can heal the servant without being there.

And this is the true meaning of faith, to believe without seeing, and to trust without knowing. In essence, as clichéd as it sounds, we have to take a leap of faith in order to have any faith at all. In other words, we have to be ready to trust so much, even if we may not understand what it is God wants or can do. A great example of this was St. Peter who would only attempt to walk on water provided it was indeed Jesus and Jesus would tell Him to come to Him on the water. And he did walk on water, but his faith was shaken, he got scared, he no longer trusted, and began to sink.

Today, let us take the centurion’s beautiful example of what it means to have faith, simple faith, faith like a child, so that Jesus too can say of us: “Amen, I say to you, in no one else have I found such faith.”

Edited July 4, 2006 by Theologian in Training