Author: yuengerwv

Many of us have heard the phrase, “hell, fire, and brimstone”. The first reading provides an alternative for the prophet’s preaching; “Comfort, give comfort to my people”. The Church is intended to provide comfort to God’s people. According to the Cambridge Dictionary compassion is “a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them”. Yet the help or comfort to be provided is not saying, “I’m OK, You’re OK”. It is not compassionate to not speak the truth. To help someone does not mean leaving them where they are but also moves them forward to where they need to be. This is why Pope Francis recently stated on Italian television RAI: “When I say ‘everyone, everyone, everyone,’ [I’m speaking about] people. The Church receives people. Everyone. And it does not ask how you are. Then, inside, everyone grows, but from a Christian belonging.” Growth implies not staying the same but moving toward what one is called to be.
The second reading reminds me of a joke about someone asking God to let them win the lottery. God replies, “Give me a day to think about it.” We forget God is not bound by our concept of time and space. Are we likewise focused on the long term? As we look forward to Jesus’ coming are we growing for the future or stuck in our present?
Modern social media tends to emphasize the person regardless of the message. Popularity is all that counts, even if the message is not a good one. The Gospel today challenges us to pay attention to the message and not be concerned about the messenger. John the baptizer was popular but not because he told everyone they were OK. He challenged them to repent and reform their lives in accordance with God’s commands. In preparing for Jesus’ coming are we listening to John?

I remember someone blaming their parents for “letting” them get into trouble by doing something they knew to be wrong.  The first reading seems to do the same thing, saying, in a sense, “all our mistakes are God’s fault, because he could have stopped us but didn’t.” Here the prophet seems to imply that if God were more “heavy handed” we wouldn’t be in such difficulties. That kind of thinking eliminates the idea of “free will” and “personal responsibility! 
God loves us and gives us free will because he loves us and wants us to choose to love him in return. To remove free will, we would all become robots, unable to love. A people devoid of love is not the kind of people God wants.
I once had someone ask me to “tell them what to do” because they didn’t want to have to think. We have Sacred Scripture. We have the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We have the Church’s magisterium. The problem is if we don’t like something we want to throw everything out. The problem isn’t God, but us.
We start off the new liturgical year (B) with a reading from the Gospel of Mark. The reading is appropriate for the Advent season as we prepare to celebrate the first coming of Jesus and as we await his second coming. “Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert!” Boring! Boring! Boring! Boring! After waiting, watching, and being alert for a short while our attention quickly wanes.
When I was studying preaching, we were told to keep the homily short and to one point.  The reason is because the average attention span of an adult is only 8.5 seconds. Any wonder why people start reading the bulletin instead of listening to the preacher?
Are we truly a people expecting Jesus’ return? If so, are we acting like it?

I have a question.

Can you comment on all the changes we are hearing from the Vatican? I am quite unsettled by them from limiting the Latin Mass to seemingly working with the Chinese communists to give them authority over who becomes a bishop, etc.
Thank you

Tom,
Regarding the “changes in the Vatican”. First the mass.
The mass of St. Pope John Paul II CAN be said in Latin and was promulgated in Latin. I know of several places that do the mass of Pope John Paul II in Latin.

Regarding the mass and the local bishop. In Canon Law, which was revised under St. Pope John Paul II, the regulation of all liturgies in a diocese are under the authority of the local bishop. This is not really a new policy as it goes back even prior to Pope Pius V who promulgated the so-called “Tridentine Mass”. Pius V also recognized this tradition when he proposed his new mass. The only blip in this tradition came under Pope Benedict XVI when he permitted priests to disregard the desires of the local bishop regarding the use of this mass. Part of his hope at the time was to get Lefebvre’s followers to return to the fold, which never happened. Pope Francis merely returned the authority to the local bishop to oversee the liturgies in his diocese. following the ancient tradition of the authority of the local bishop.
Keep in mind that even the revised Missale Romanum, issued in 2000 A.D. under St. Pope John Paul II, needed to be promulgated by the local bishop before it could be used in a given diocese. In my diocese that took almost 10 years. I often ask people why the mass was in Latin. It was initially in the “sacred language of Greek” prior to being translated into the “vulgar language” of Latin. It was translated into Latin so that the people in the west could better understand, as they didn’t speak Greek. This is the same understanding that came out of Vatican II so that, in a global church, people can understand the mass, as most people in the world do not speak Latin. Some of the rubrics were changed in the mass of St. Pope Paul VI, as they were in the mass of Pope Pius V, to be more in line with a modern global Church.

Second, regarding the concordat with China. If you check your history, the local government proposing candidates to be bishops is not novel. Numerous European monarchs in centuries past and present had the same agreement with the Bishop of Rome. I agree it may not be the optimal, however, it is certainly not unique or unprecedented or foreign to the way the Vatican has functioned in centuries past.

I hope this answers your questions. If I did not, please let me know and I will try to respond better.
Thanks for checking out my website.
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and may your cancer go into remission again.
Peace and Love
Fr. Paul

We have come to the last week of the liturgical year!  While Christmas tunes have been playing for a while already, we Christians are keenly aware this IS NOT the Christmas season.  We are called to remember this week that the end of time will come to each of us the moment we die.  When that happens how will we be judged?  By how many times we were baptized?  By how often we sat in church pews? 
Ezekiel points out that God will himself shepherd his sheep.  He also says, however, he will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.  Which category do we belong to?  Jesus clearly challenges us to remember his words of the two great commandments.  Here we hear him emphasize the latter one.  How well do we love those around us?  How can we say we love a God whom we cannot see, if we cannot love our neighbors whom we can see?   As we conclude the year let us examine ourselves as to how we are doing in the area Jesus considers important at the final judgment!

We are coming to the end of the liturgical year and the readings change to remind us of the end of time and the end of our walk on earth.  While the first reading speaks of a worthy wife, this proverb can apply to other aspects of life as well.  How do employers treat good employees?  How do we treat our neighbors?   Our co-workers?  How we treat those around us says a great deal about what and who we consider important.  Do we let them know how we appreciate the good things they do?  I knew a pastor who never thanked anyone for anything, figuring it was their “duty”. 
Paul reminds us that we are supposed to be children of the light.  Do we behave accordingly?  Often as a priest I have heard people say after a loved one has died that they wish they had been more kind or told them how much the person meant to them.
Do we use our talents for the good of ourselves alone?  Do we share our blessings with others?  Do we even use our talents?  Or use them in the proper way?  I have met numerous geniuses behind bars in prisons.  Talented people who used their gifts improperly or for only themselves.  What are we doing with the gifts and blessings God has given us?

We are coming to the end of the liturgical year and the readings change to remind us of the end of time and the end of our walk on earth.  While the first reading speaks of a worthy wife, this proverb can apply to other aspects of life as well.  How do employers treat good employees?  How do we treat our neighbors?   Our co-workers?  How we treat those around us says a great deal about what and who we consider important.  Do we let them know how we appreciate the good things they do?  I knew a pastor who never thanked anyone for anything, figuring it was their “duty”. 
Paul reminds us that we are supposed to be children of the light.  Do we behave accordingly?  Often as a priest I have heard people say after a loved one has died that they wish they had been more kind or told them how much the person meant to them.
Do we use our talents for the good of ourselves alone?  Do we share our blessings with others?  Do we even use our talents?  Or use them in the proper way?  I have met numerous geniuses behind bars in prisons.  Talented people who used their gifts improperly or for only themselves.  What are we doing with the gifts and blessings God has given us?

How many of us seek wisdom as much as we seek money, power, advancement, glory, praise from our fellow workers?  The first reading reminds us that the one who seeks her finds her.  How many awake extra early to search for her?  Or do we presume we already know all we need to know?  We are often wise in how to manipulate the world but not wise in how to apply what we have learned to be in accord with God’s will.  Do we ask God’s guidance in all our decisions or figure we can do our best without Him and then expect him to make up at the end whatever we forgot to take into account?  As the psalm asks, do we thirst for God’s wisdom?
When we hear the story of the ten virgins, do we get lost in the details?  I remember on person saying that it wasn’t very Christian of the five not to share their oil.  Obviously, this person missed the point of the parable.  If we have sought out Wisdom as the first reading mentions we will do our best to always be prepared.  Here Paul comes with the argument to not be unaware.  In our Christian life are we only concerned with the short term?  Do we figure our plans are sufficient awe do not need to take into account what God’s plans are?  Do we figure we will always have more time to make changes “later”?  What happens if we do not have a “later”, after all no one is guaranteed tomorrow.   As it says, “you know neither the day nor the hour.”

There are multiple possible readings for this weekend, each pastor will make his own determination as to which will be read in your parish. For this reason, I will primarily focus on the Holy Family rather than the readings. Here I will be reflecting on the traditional understanding of “family” rather than the modern or politically correct variations.
Have you ever considered what constitutes a “holy family”? I propose three criteria. My first criteria would be a willingness to respond to God. This begins obviously with the husband and wife in marriage. From the beginning, even before marriage, are they discerning God’s will for their lives? A solid couple would be discerning not just about marriage, but also about if “this person” is the one I should be married to.
My second criteria which is in the first sentence of the first reading is the word “honor”. To honor someone is to hold them in high esteem or great respect. To do this means I am looking for the best of the other person more than my own needs and desires. It appears, in the modern Western World, asking God to help discern whom to marry is not even considered prior to a marriage proposal, if at all. A good husband or good wife should be the primary catalyst for their spouse’s holiness. This is the bedrock of a family focused on being a Holy Family.
In Marriage Encounter it is pointed out that, while important and significant, the couple are the foundation of a family. They are to be there BEFORE the children arrive and will be there AFTER the children have moved out. If a husband and wife truly HONOR each other, a solid foundation is set prior to flushing out the family’s holiness with, or without, children. In addition, the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University shows that regular religious service attendance is associated with 50% lower divorce rates in later life. This has an impact on the holiness of the entire family.
My third criteria is found in Pope Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae” the focus of which is not on birth control, as many people think, but on respect for the human person. A truly holy family has a husband and wife who truly respect each other. If this is true, then this carries over to respecting children as well as others.

I will stop here and reiterate my three key criteria for a Holy Family: God, Honor, Respect. I have found if these three criteria are present, chances are good I have found a Holy Family.

In the first reading we hear God addressing not the people but the priest! The theological leaders of the people.  He points out that they have failed to properly instruct and guide the people, preferring instead politically correct measures.  Throughout history the majority of heresies were begun by priests.  The scandals of today in the Church largely involves priests.
Yet, how many of the sheep insist upon such faults to ease their conscience or political or economic power?  The Church needs to become more modern, needs to accept new norms, needs to change its teachings to conform to a new world.  And how many in today’s church defend the Church versus cry out against those defending the Church? 
Some want liberalities, yet others expect a stern taskmaster cracking the whip at every infraction.  Paul points out that he was as gentle as a mother nursing her children.  That is hardly the image of a whip.  Yet as kind as Paul was, he also did not cut short the word of God to give you his own message.
Many people point to the priests and others who have turned from the Church or caused the scandals of today.  The Gospel reminds us that our focus needs to be on the message of God rather than the feeble messengers.  The truth is still there, regardless of whomever is in the administration of the Church.  I recall that Padre Pio was once silenced by his superiors.  Pio obeyed.  Yet it is Pio who is canonized not the superiors.   Following those who have taken the seats of authority has a value, even if it seems unjust.  Let us follow the message of Jesus handed on to us by his messengers, rather than follow the messengers themselves.

The Exodus reading is appropriate for all times but perhaps even more today with all the arguments around persons who are displaced because of natural or manmade disasters.
“Thus, says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”  This is not an issue of politics it is an issue of justice.  If not ourselves, who among us did not have ancestors who migrated to this land?  All of us are aliens together traveling through this life.  I remember a story by a Jewish author who when asked by a guest to his home where his furniture was.  The rabbi answered, “where is your furniture?”   The guest said, “I don’t have any as I am just passing through.”  The rabbi answered, “So am I!”  All of us are just passing through. 
We have the obligation to think, “If I were in that person’s shoes, how would I like others to treat me?”  Remember it says to love our neighbor AS ourselves.  It is clear then that if we do not love our neighbor, we obviously do not love ourselves either!  Jesus said, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.”  When they come, do we presume to think we will recognize them?  Jesus says, “Whatever you did to the least, you did to me.”  How can we claim to love a God whom we cannot see when we cannot love the person we do see?  Jesus made it clear that we cannot separate love of God from love of neighbor when he responds, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.