When I was eleven I had this rough and tumble Schwinn bike.  I thought it was the toughest thing on wheels until my mom unknowingly backed the station wagon right over it as it lay on the ground in the driveway.  Within just a few days I realized the torture of not having a bike anymore and so I took on tons of extra chores and saved up enough money that I eventually got another bike…but with this one, I always made sure it was on the kickstand!  I kept it well-oiled, clean, and in tip-top shape because I had worked really hard for it and it was valuable to me…I was finally free again to have fun with my friends!

For each us, when something is really important, really valuable to us, we’ve learned to care for and protect it.  Whether it’s a house, a car, an investment portfolio…whatever the case might be, we always give it extra special care, don’t we?  If we want that great vacation, we save, we invest, we scrimp…and we let nothing deter us.

Well, in today’s readings, we are asked to consider the invitation from God that we be His disciples.  God, in His great love and generosity, desires us to follow him in order that we might share in the fullness of His life always.  Consider the beginning of today’s gospel: Jesus resolutely determines to go to Jerusalem.  Remember, Jerusalem is where his mission is fulfilled: he is rejected by all and He offers His life for us so that we might have life in its fullness.  We see the same rejection from the people of the Samaritan village, but Jesus is not deterred.  In Jerusalem, Jesus continues without distraction toward His paschal mystery.  On the way, He invites and challenges many not to be concerned with the dead or with family, wealth, history or means, but simply to proclaim the reign of God always and everywhere.

Yes, discipleship is about risk and abandoning ourselves to the Lord.  But if we wish to dwell in God’s reign…if we desire to share eternal life, then the same invitation, tasks, challenges, risks and demands belong to us…but so too do the rewards!  There is no easy way, but there is still the way that leads to life with God. That way will not be without struggle or rejection, but with our resolve to follow after Him because of the great and awesome reward that is promised is very important, very valuable to us who have faith.

I was willing to work my tail off, to scrimp and save for another bike because it connected me to friends and tons of fun.  Now, because of my faithmy trust in God’s faithful promise to share His life with me always, and my desire to share my life with Himit behooves me to resolutely proclaim the reign of God, to constantly be aware of my faults, to reflect regularly on my desire to be holy, because this is so important, so valuable to me.

Ultimately, Jesus reigns as our king in God’s Kingdom.  From rejection and ridicule, to life eternal: may these be so valuable and important to you as well as to live in discipleship.

God love you always.

If you enjoy the art of stained glass you’ll love our new stained glass window in the Chapel of St. Joseph.

The Church has always encouraged artists and the use of sacred art to help not only transmit the beauty of the transcendent, but to bring us who behold such masterpieces into the beauty and majesty of God Himself.  That is the goal of this window: to invite us to share in the wonder of God’s interior life, God’s life shared with us, and our lives transformed into holy women and men in our midst.  Here are just a few of the elements that our design hopes to transmit:

God’s Trinitarian life as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a life of lovecreative and generative love.  As the Father shares with all of creation the gift of His only Son, Jesus furthers this gift by offering Himself from the waters of His baptism to the altar of His Cross to the fruits of His resurrection.  By sending the Holy Spirit, God furthers His great blessings to us in the sacramental life of the Church, most clearly when we are bathed in the waters of our own baptism and nourished in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  Baptism envelopes us into God’s life while the Eucharist feeds us as we walk along the way God lays out for each of us who believe.

And what is “the way” that God desires for each of us?  We are invited to be holy, to live our lives conformed and bonded to Christ’s own life.  As we gather during our worship of God and celebration of the Eucharist, we are renewed in holiness.  As we approach the sacrament of Christ’s Body & Blood, our daily lives are transformed and we are then empowered to be holy, to live saintly, dedicated lives to God and the Church.

In particular, our window depicts such things: the central image being that of the Trinity… then flowing into the Eucharistic Feast of our own gathering.  Depicted in the lower portion of the window are the various people and professions that were popular at our establishment as a mission church in 1927 (thus the mention of Pope Pius XI).  Thankfully25 years laterBishop Gibbons established us as a parish church, always connected to the Universal Church.  Twelve holy women and men grace the upper panel as guides for us.  Each one tells a story of holiness in their particular actions, devotions and ministries.  Very soon, we will publish an aide to help each parishioner and visitor to delve into the theology of our new window and the stories that make it so inspiring.  Our hope?  That our parishioners may find this window an inspiration…a window into God’s own life…and a window into the life to which God invites all: holiness.

First of all: happy Father’s Day to all of our dads.  We’ll have a special blessing for you toward the end of Mass, but I wish to thank you for all of the ways you help to guide us closer to God and to true love.  I am aware that many times you are unnoticed, generous in secret and quietly caring: thank you for the blessings you are for your families and for our parish community!

With summer fast approaching and kids being ready to play all day, there will inevitably be little tiffs and fights.  Moms & dads will have to be ready to instruct them, as always, to “kiss and make up”, because a kiss is used to heal & strengthen love.  So, naturally, kissing and loving just go together.

So in today’s gospel: a sinful woman has not ceased kissing Jesus’ feet, while SimonJesus’ hostdid not even offer a kiss to the Lord.  The woman’s encounter with Jesus not only brought her forgiveness, but was also an occasion for her to show her great love…with a kiss.

Yes, David in our first reading, and the lowly woman in our gospel: both opened themselves with love to the mercy & forgiveness of God…and it was granted them.  Thus love healed & restored them.

All too often, we try to be the judge as was Simon: we place other sinners outside of God’s love, God’s life by passing judgment over them, while instead, we should be rejoicing over their love, their forgiveness, their restoration & healing.  In our gospel, the woman knew darn well how sinful she wasshe didn’t need Simon to remind herand yet it was, in the end, Simon who was the one in greater danger; Simon was the one without strong faith…Simon was the one who was rooting for Jesus to condemn the poor woman who simply demonstrated her great love.

This week, may we take this Eucharist that is offered on our altar and let it soften our hearts: that we may see as God sees; that we may love as God loves; that we may live as God lives…in love and forgiveness with each of us.