Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

At Siena College this week, my students were intrigued by the Paschal Mystery and the idea of Jesus suffering; that, if Jesus is God, why is he afraid?  In the end, I explained two issues: first, his sorrow stems from the fact that he is abandoned, he is alone, he is isolated even from God; and second, that this isolation really cannot be, can it?  God IS a relationship of love, that cannot exclude, cannot isolate, cannot abandon.  And so, the sorrow and fear of Jesus, really cannot be, cannot ever exist when it comes to you and me: we can never, ever be abandoned, alone, or isolated from God and his love.

Clearly, the prophet Isaiah reminds us, God cannot forsake us, forget us, withhold his care from us.  Apparently, even in the darkest of circumstanceswhen we’re in the most dire needGod can never forsake us.  Does this mean that life will be easier for us, that somehow we’ll be spared trials and suffering?  No, for as long as we live in this world, the things of this world can always threaten and harm us.

Recall our gospel, where two images are set against each other: God and mammon.  Many translations have equated mammon with money, but actually it is more than money: it’s all the stuff that can be acquired with money.  When I was younger (and much more idealistic and somewhat scrupulous) I used to think I was fine in this regard since I didn’t have much money.  But that’s not the case; it’s not just money, but anything that can be gotten or gained in this world.  So Our Lord is setting up a choice for us between God and everything else.  But if we look at how “everything else” can be begged, borrowed, lost or stolen, there really isn’t any other choice.  We can really only place our trust and hope in God and His care.

This past Mondayfor examplewe had a Finance Committee meeting.  While our parish can no longer avoid the financial crisis of the last 6 years, we must now struggle to meet our own financial concerns head-on.  While I normally approach such problems with analytics and high levels of anxiety, this time, in the end, I have to admit that “I can only do what I can do” and that because all of this is for God and his great glory, God will have to see us through.  It’s not naive, it’s just true.  Remember, the stuff of this world can fail us, but God cannot: it’s not within his nature to forget us, to fail us, to be without care for us.

So what does this mean?  Considering the birds and the flowers of our gospel, we witness how much greater we are and that it would be absurd for God not to care for us.  If he can shower such beauty and generosity on simpler things, then even the most intricate of creationhuman beingswill warrant even greater care and concern.

And so we simply TRUST him.  We give ourselves over to him.  We place ourselvesand nothing elseinto God’s embrace, where he cares for us and provides for us.  For remember: in the end, all these things that money can buy are fleeting, will pass away, or we’ll have to leave them behind on our death…the only thing that is truly lasting is the love we have with the Lord God.

From this day onward, might we be resolute: place ourselves into the trust-worthy embrace of the Lord of all creation?  He who made us and sustains us, is the only One who never changes, is always stable, and is always loving & caring when he deals with us.  Only then can we begin to convince ourselves that we truly trust God over mammon.

God love you, always.

On December 29 of last year, Pope Francis introduced this Prayer to the Holy Family (see below) that he wrote himself, asking the faithful to pray with him for families throughout the world and for the work of the upcoming Synod of Bishops devoted to pastoral care of the family.  Pope Francis has made Christian family life a central priority of his remarkable pontificate.  For guidance and inspiration, he asks us to fix our gaze on the Holy Family of Nazareth.

In our first reading, the Lord commands, “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”  And then we hear how challenging and nearly-impossible the demands of holiness really are: we must go through life without revenge, without hatred…essentially, without sin.  And we only have to look at a day in our life and see that to live without sin is very challenging indeed.  Still, God commands us to be holy.

And Jesus helps us to see how holiness really is a blessing for us; let’s take a closer look at our gospel.  Now, in order to really appreciate the implications of Jesus’ words, we have to remember that He is speaking in ancient Palestine, where society was extremely shame-based.  The goal was to avoid being ashamed at all costs.

And Jesus says, “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.”  A strike on the right cheek involved either a backhanded slap from a right-handed person, or an open slap from a left-handed person.  Since the left hand was used for hygiene and would’ve been terribly offensive in that regard, we can imagine that the implication is a backhanded slap.  But because a backhanded slap is much more calculated and intentional rather than reflexive, it was considered four times more injurious, and required a much higher reward for injuries.  And so, Jesus’ instruction is much more difficult to take: not only do you not get an award for being struck and shamed, but you should submit again!  Why?  Because in turning the other cheek, the victim then reasserts his own freedom, his own power and control.  From there, the oppressor then must decide, he is put at the disadvantage…he now has to choose.  By turning the other cheek, the victim seizes the initiative from the oppressor, overcomes fear, and reclaims the power of choice…all while maintaining the humanity of the oppressor…it’s genius, and it allows us to live in holiness.

“If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.”  Remember that we’re in a shame-based culture and this time we’re in a court of law, and in Jesus’ teaching, if someone takes a case against me and demands my tunic, I am now also required to give them my cloak as well.  The result?  I would be in court and naked and, in this shame-based culture, nakedness was an unspeakable, unimaginable condition.  But shame would not be upon me, but rather upon the one who caused me to be nakedthe plaintiff.  He would be the embarrassed one.  He would then be forced to insist that I be dressed again.  A genius plan, again, and one that still allows us to be holy.

“Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles.”  Roman soldiers (of 1^st century Palestine) were most often Israelites turned mercenaries and they were allowed by law to force a fellow Israelite into service for one mile, but often they abused this right.  Carrying the war-gear was humiliating enough; being forced to do so by a traitorous fellow citizen was even more humiliating, but by Jesus’ command, again, the victim is asserting his own personal freedom, thus elevating himself.

“Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” While the rich in Galilee wished to invest in land in order to prosper, most often it was not for sale, since land was always passed down by ancestral heritage.  But what would happen is the rich would lie in wait until a poor peasant farmer defaulted on his debts and they would pounce in order to seize the property.  Jesus was suggesting instead that poor peasants should band together and help each other so that they wouldn’t fall prey to greedy creditors.  They were to take care of one another and loan each other what was needed in order to prevent the loss of land.  Here, again, Jesus prevents violence being done in the face of violence, all while perpetuating a positive justice…brilliant, and holy.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.  Finally, Jesus reveals how the reign of Godand a life of holinessensures that everyone is treated equally.  To treat enemies with love does not necessarily mean that their hearts will soften and they will reconcile, but it does mean that we have not allowed another to change us, control us or dominate us.  In fact, just the opposite: the oppressor gives us yet another opportunity to grow in holiness.

In all of these, Our Lord is simply inviting us to see into God’s own life, where God showers his love on those who are good, as well as those who are not.  God’s love is inclusive and as disciplesas children of Godwe are called to share in that kind of love.  For true perfectionand our holinessexists when our love touches God’s love, and is shared with all, always.

God bless you.

 

Prayer for Bishop Elect

Edward B. Scharfenberger

 

 

Most generous God,

we thank you and praise you for your many gifts.

 

You have always blessed your Church in Albany

with dedicated and prayerful pastors

who have provided us with solid direction.

 

We are especially grateful to you

for the many years of faithful, loving service

we have received from Bishop Howard Hubbard.

 

Now we are preparing to receive our new bishop,

Edward B. Scharfenberger.

 

In your goodness,

we ask your blessing upon Bishop-elect Scharfenberger.

 

May his prayerfulness

inspire us to seek a deeper relationship with you.

Conscious of your justice,

may his teaching

guide us to loving concern for all people.

Through his leadership,

may our parishes, schools and institutions

be a home for all who seek you

so that your Church may thrive and grow

in this young century and for ages to come.

 

We ask this is the name of Jesus, the Lord,

in the grace of your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The following message from Pope Francis was just recently released by the Vatican:

 

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR LENT 2014

He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (cf. 2 Cor 8:9)

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As Lent draws near, I would like to offer some helpful thoughts on our path of conversion as individuals and as a community. These insights are inspired by the words of Saint Paul: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). The Apostle was writing to the Christians of Corinth to encourage them to be generous in helping the faithful in Jerusalem who were in need. What do these words of Saint Paul mean for us Christians today? What does this invitation to poverty, a life of evangelical poverty, mean to us today?

Christ’s grace

First of all, it shows us how God works. He does not reveal himself cloaked in worldly power and wealth but rather in weakness and poverty: “though He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor …”. Christ, the eternal Son of God, one with the Father in power and glory, chose to be poor; he came amongst us and drew near to each of us; he set aside his glory and emptied himself so that he could be like us in all things (cf. Phil 2:7; Heb 4:15). God’s becoming man is a great mystery! But the reason for all this is his love, a love which is grace, generosity, a desire to draw near, a love which does not hesitate to offer itself in sacrifice for the beloved. Charity, love, is sharing with the one we love in all things. Love makes us similar, it creates equality, it breaks down walls and eliminates distances. God did this with us. Indeed, Jesus “worked with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, he truly became one of us, like us in all things except sin.” (Gaudium et Spes, 22).

By making himself poor, Jesus did not seek poverty for its own sake but, as Saint Paul says “that by his poverty you might become rich“. This is no mere play on words or a catch phrase. Rather, it sums up God’s logic, the logic of love, the logic of the incarnation and the cross. God did not let our salvation drop down from heaven, like someone who gives alms from their abundance out of a sense of altruism and piety. Christ’s love is different! When Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan and was baptized by John the Baptist, he did so not because he was in need of repentance, or conversion; he did it to be among people who need forgiveness, among us sinners, and to take upon himself the burden of our sins. In this way he chose to comfort us, to save us, to free us from our misery. It is striking that the Apostle states that we were set free, not by Christ’s riches but by his poverty. Yet Saint Paul is well aware of the “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8), that he is “heir of all things” (Heb 1:2).

So what is this poverty by which Christ frees us and enriches us? It is his way of loving us, his way of being our neighbor, just as the Good Samaritan was neighbor to the man left half dead by the side of the road (cf. Lk 10:25ff). What gives us true freedom, true salvation and true happiness is the compassion, tenderness and solidarity of his love. Christ’s poverty which enriches us is his taking flesh and bearing our weaknesses and sins as an expression of God’s infinite mercy to us. Christ’s poverty is the greatest treasure of all: Jesus wealth is that of his boundless confidence in God the Father, his constant trust, his desire always and only to do the Father’s will and give glory to him. Jesus is rich in the same way as a child who feels loved and who loves its parents, without doubting their love and tenderness for an instant. Jesus’ wealth lies in his being the Son; his unique relationship with the Father is the sovereign prerogative of this Messiah who is poor. When Jesus asks us to take up his “yoke which is easy”, he asks us to be enriched by his “poverty which is rich” and his “richness which is poor”, to share his filial and fraternal Spirit, to become sons and daughters in the Son, brothers and sisters in the firstborn brother (cf. Rom 8:29).

It has been said that the only real regret lies in not being a saint (L. Bloy); we could also say that there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.

Our witness

We might think that this “way” of poverty was Jesus’ way, whereas we who come after him can save the world with the right kind of human resources. This is not the case. In every time and place God continues to save mankind and the world through the poverty of Christ, who makes himself poor in the sacraments, in his word and in his Church, which is a people of the poor. God’s wealth passes not through our wealth, but invariably and exclusively through our personal and communal poverty, enlivened by the Spirit of Christ.

In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. Destitution is not the same as poverty: destitution is poverty without faith, without support, without hope. There are three types of destitution: material, moral and spiritual. Material destitution is what is normally called poverty, and affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally. In response to this destitution, the Church offers her help, her diakonia, in meeting these needs and binding these wounds which disfigure the face of humanity. In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ. Our efforts are also directed to ending violations of human dignity, discrimination and abuse in the world, for these are so often the cause of destitution. When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of wealth. Our consciences thus need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing.

No less a concern is moral destitution, which consists in slavery to vice and sin. How much pain is caused in families because one of their members often a young person – is in thrall to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography! How many people no longer see meaning in life or prospects for the future, how many have lost hope! And how many are plunged into this destitution by unjust social conditions, by unemployment, which takes away their dignity as breadwinners, and by lack of equal access to education and health care. In such cases, moral destitution can be considered impending suicide. This type of destitution, which also causes financial ruin, is invariably linked to the spiritual destitution which we experience when we turn away from God and reject his love. If we think we don’t need God who reaches out to us though Christ, because we believe we can make do on our own, we are headed for a fall. God alone can truly save and free us.

The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution: wherever we go, we are called as Christians to proclaim the liberating news that forgiveness for sins committed is possible, that God is greater than our sinfulness, that he freely loves us at all times and that we were made for communion and eternal life. The Lord asks us to be joyous heralds of this message of mercy and hope! It is thrilling to experience the joy of spreading this good news, sharing the treasure entrusted to us, consoling broken hearts and offering hope to our brothers and sisters experiencing darkness. It means following and imitating Jesus, who sought out the poor and sinners as a shepherd lovingly seeks his lost sheep. In union with Jesus, we can courageously open up new paths of evangelization and human promotion.

Dear brothers and sisters, may this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live in material, moral and spiritual destitution the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ. We can so this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by his poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.

May the Holy Spirit, through whom we are “as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:10), sustain us in our resolutions and increase our concern and responsibility for human destitution, so that we can become merciful and act with mercy. In expressing this hope, I likewise pray that each individual member of the faithful and every Church community will undertake a fruitful Lenten journey. I ask all of you to pray for me. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep you safe.

From the Vatican, 26 December 2013

Feast of Saint Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr

FRANCIS