Homily: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend we hear the parable of the widow and the judge. The Gospel writer begins with a summation that the parable talks “about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” But if we left it just there, we would miss the secondary and deeper meaning behind the story. What is it? Check it out…

Click here for a podcast of the homily
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Click here for the readings of the day

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke speaks about prayer more than any of the other Evangelists…and in this weekend’s gospel we hear the disciples, asking Jesus to teach them how to pray and he responds with a simple version of the Lord’s Prayer. With prayer being so foundation to who we are, how do you pray? But the bigger question may have to do with how we view prayer.  In other words, do we come to prayer as a transactional or a relational activity? Do we spend our time in prayer looking for something from God…or are we desiring a connection with God?

Leave it to my grandson Oliver to open my eyes to what prayer is really all about.  Check it out and see what I mean…

Click here for the podcast of the homily

Click here for the text of the homily

Click here for the readings of the day

Homily: Ash Wednesday

(c) Bro. Mickey McGrath

This past Wednesday Christians came together to be marked on the forehead with ashes, beginning the 40 day journey of Lent. Most have figured out some favorite food or activity to give up, which is all well and good.  But what about looking at the way we pray.  Sure we come to church…we say our prayers at home…but do we pray as Jesus taught us how to pray?

The Gospel tells us that Jesus taught his disciples to stop babbling words, for God already knows what you need;  instead, go to your inner room, close the door and to pray in secret. What is Jesus talking about? What does that look like?  How does that help me? How does that transform me…and others?

Check it all out….

To listen to a podcast of the homily, click here

For the text of the homily, click here

For the readings of the day, click here

Laughter and Prayer

When did you laugh last?  Well depending on whom you were rooting for in the Super Bowl you may or may not be laughing this morning! 

But really, when did you laugh last? 

Why do I ask?  Because I think when we see a baby laughing like this or like this or even like this…or when twin babies gaze at each and laugh like this it is a reminder on how to pray.

Pray?

Sure.  And this is why.

I think so often we spend so much time trying to find the right words, the right formulae, and the right rituals in order to pray we miss what Jesus told us when he said, “when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matt 6:7)

So what option do we have?

Well…Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:3)  And then later on Matthew says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matt 19:4)

 

I think what Jesus was trying to remind us is that God only seeks for us to be open to God’s connection – like a child.  Isn’t that why we love looking at babies and hearing them coo and laugh?  It is pure innocence and presence.  There is no agenda, no right words, no climbing the ladder, no desire for power or effort to earn love.  Rather the baby is the essence of love and a perfect example of what it means to be in union – which is prayer. 

So with less than two weeks before Ash Wednesday, maybe give some thought on how you will pray this Lent…and remember to laugh today!

Homily: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari - 1562

A great deal of focus this week has been paid to Lance Armstrong and his interview with Oprah and the years of lying about his doping.  Most of the media coverage has been discussing whether or not society will forgive him.  I think the better question is why now?  Perhaps as he began a New Year he felt a need to empty himself so that he could begin to be filled with something else.  And just maybe he got that idea from today’s gospel about the Wedding Feast at Cana?  Click and see what I mean.

Click here for the Sunday readings
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Cardinal Dolan's Benediction at DNC - Life Prayer

The following is the text of Cardinal Dolan's Benediction at the Democratic National Convention, September 6, 2012....A Prayer for Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.

Let us Pray.

Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, revealed to us so powerfully in your Son, Jesus Christ, we thank you for showering your blessings upon this our beloved nation.  Bless all here present, and all across this great land, who work hard for the day when a greater portion of your justice, and a more ample measure of your care for the poor and suffering, may prevail in these United States.  Help us to see that a society’s greatness is found above all in the respect it shows for the weakest and neediest among us.
We beseech you, almighty God to shed your grace on this noble experiment in ordered liberty, which began with the confident assertion of inalienable rights bestowed upon us by you:  life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Thus do we praise you for the gift of life.  Grant us the courage to defend it, life, without which no other rights are secure.  We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected.  Strengthen our sick and our elders waiting to see your holy face at life’s end, that they may be accompanied by true compassion and cherished with the dignity due those who are infirm and fragile.

We praise and thank you for the gift of liberty.  May this land of the free never lack those brave enough to defend our basic freedoms.  Renew in all our people a profound respect for religious liberty:  the first, most cherished freedom bequeathed upon us at our Founding. May our liberty be in harmony with truth; freedom ordered in goodness and justice.  Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love.  Make us ever-grateful for those who, for over two centuries, have given their lives in freedom’s defense; we commend their noble souls to your eternal care, as even now we beg the protection of your mighty arm upon our men and women in uniform.

We praise and thank you for granting us the life and the liberty by which we can pursue happiness.  Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God.  Empower us with your grace so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community.  May we welcome those who yearn to breathe free and to pursue happiness in this land of freedom, adding their gifts to those whose families have lived here for centuries.

We praise and thank you for the American genius of government of the people, by the people and for the people.  Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask your guidance for those who govern us:  President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Congress, the Supreme Court, and all those, including Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan, who seek to serve the common good by seeking public office.  Make them all worthy to serve you by serving our country.  Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself. With your grace, may all Americans choose wisely as we consider the future course of public policy.

And finally Lord, we beseech your benediction on all of us who depart from here this evening, and on all those, in every land, who yearn to conduct their lives in freedom and justice.  We beg you to remember, as we pledge to remember, those who are not free; those who suffer for freedom’s cause; those who are poor, out of work, needy, sick, or alone; those who are persecuted for their religious convictions, those still ravaged by war.

And most of all, God Almighty, we thank you for the great gift of our beloved country.

For we are indeed “one nation under God,” and “in God we trust.”

So dear God, bless America.  You who live and reign forever and ever.

Amen!

Homily: Seventh Sunday of Easter

Today’s gospel is a poetic and rich passage from John often called the High Priest Prayer.  It is the final prayer Jesus says before his arrest. This prayer, while directed to God, calls for all of us to spend our lives as disciples of Christ by being in the world and not of the world.

So what does that mean!?

The answer can be found in the actions of a successful Kentucky businessman and a Kmart store closing its doors.

Click here for the readings.

Click here for the homily.

Fast or Feast?

The desert can be very barren and lifeless.  That is until the rains arrive and overnight, life shoots forth. Lent is like that.  A time of barrenness that is quenched by the baptismal waters of Easter.  We are only a week away from the Easter Vigil: a time to review our fasting of Lent and the pending feasting of Easter.  It is a time to ready ourselves and our souls for the refreshing waters that await us!  As we move into this liminal time of Holy Week, take a minute for this prayer by William Arthur Ward:

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ indwelling them

Fast from emphasis on difference; feast on the unity of all

Fast from thought of illness; feast on the healing power

Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude

Fast from anger; feast on patience

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism

Fast from worry; feast on divine order

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation

Fast from negatives; feast on affirmations

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness

Fast from self-concern (ego); feast on compassion for others

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope

Fast from suspicion; feast on truth

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promised that inspire

Blessings on both from what you fast from and what you feast on!

The Scrutinies of Lent 2012

So as we head into the Third Sunday of Lent we begin the Scrutinies.  Over the next three weeks the Elect (those who will be baptized) will take this time to carefully look inside themselves to see what needs to be changed.  But this introspection time is not just for them…it is for all of us!

We began on Ash Wednesday by being reminded that Lent is a time when we are called to repent!  Repent: to turn ourselves around and live differently….to live as Christ called us to live.

In 1940 Frère Roger wondered what it really meant to live a life like that.  To live a life according to the scriptures.  Swiss by birth, he wondered how he could fulfill his vision in the war stricken country of France.  A year later Roger settled in a small desolate village called Taizé.  Soon others came from Switzerland to join him in this Christ-centered community which was a sanctuary to countless war refugees.

By the 1970’s followers from various Christian backgrounds joined the community causing them to build a larger church just outside of Taizé.  By this time the role of the community was to reach out around the world, through prayer and song and to show others how to ‘repent’….how to turn around and live differently.

And one of their greatest gifts to all of us? Music! Designed to be easily learned and sung in many languages, their music emphasizes simple phrases and lines from Psalms or other scripture which are repeated.

So find four minutes to think of how your life needs to be different…and click to listen to this gift from the community at Taizé!

Ash Wednesday 2012

“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  These are the words most will hear as the blessed ashes are placed on our foreheads today.  For we now enter into the liturgical season of Lent.

Historically, today begins the period of forty days of prayer and penance and preparation for Easter.  For most of us, it has been the time to decide what we will be “giving up” for Lent – a self-imposed penance, of sorts.  Perhaps it has been chocolate or coffee or desserts or maybe that glass or two of wine. 

And all that is good and well.  But perhaps this year it is time to do something different and a time to really…

Occupy Lent!

Just as the protesters have been adamant these past months in their pursuit for social-economic equality, maybe it is time to look in the mirror and ask, “Do I really want to make a difference in my connection with God.  Do I really want to have prayer in my life?”  And if so, what does that look like?  This year, how can I really Occupy Lent?!

If you reading this blog, then most likely you are on your computer a great deal.  And if you are like me, finding some time for prayer may not be easy.  So leave it to the Jesuits to help out.  They have two websites that I enjoy.

Click here to head over to Sacred Space, the Irish Jesuit daily prayer site.  Or…

Click here to get to one of my favorite daily prayer sites done by the Jesuits at Creighton University.  They have a site dedicated to Lent called, Praying Lent.

One of the best daily mediation sites that will email you each day is by my friend Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM.  To sign up, simply click here and follow the instructions. Or if you are a fan of the printed word, Fr. Richard has a great daily Lenten meditation book called Wondrous Encounters.

There are many options available, but whatever you choose, have this be a Lent that you occupy and take hold of.  Let this be a Lent where you allow yourself the time and space to really renew and recommit to the identity given to all of us at our baptisms…a disciple of Christ.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

More than 300 Christian Churches and ecclesial communities around the world are observing a week of prayer for Christian unity ending on January 25th. This annual celebration dating back to 1908 invites the whole Christian community throughout the world to pray in communion with the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).

This past weekend I attended the marriage of a Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic at the former's Church. Even though the marriage was Orthodox I had prepared the couple over the past year for their wedding. Once I arrived the Orthodox priest and I spent the first few minutes having to apologize for our respective faiths in our inability for us to co-celebrate the wedding. Same God. Same Christ. Two religions still trying to work out how to be one.

This weekend I find myself in New Mexico attending a conference led by Richard Rohr and Bill Plotkin: Nature and the Human Soul. Over a thousand people, from all different faiths taking time to pray over the connection of soul to the gift of nature God has given us.

Sounds too new age? It is far from it. Actually it provides the space for all those here, while appreciating and giving thanks to our own faith traditions, to do a reality check to see if we are focusing our time and energies on "church-ianity" or Christianity. We often forget that Christ did not come to start a new religion, rather he came to teach us a new way to live and to love. What faith tradition you want to wrap around that gift from God...is really up to you.

We pray, this week, that one day we may all be one.

Homily: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time



Jake, Peter, Jon and Tim in Cape May, 1999



With Christmas Season behind us, today we enter Ordinary Time!  But don’t be fooled by that title for there is nothing ‘ordinary’ about these Sundays of the year.  Rather it is a time when the Church gives us scripture readings that instruct us on how to live out our faith in our everyday lives.

Today, as we enter this part of our liturgical calendar, we hear the readings of God calling Samuel and of Christ choosing Simon Peter. So what does this scripture have to do with me teaching my sons, when they were young boys, how to swim?  Take a look…

Click here for the readings

Click here for the homily