How often might you have echoed the words of Zion? “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” That line resonates the lament of many people throughout history yet Isaiah is quick to come to God’s defense, using the example of a mother and her child. Can you imagine anything or any reason that would cause the average mother to forget her baby? Nor can I. God’s love for Zion, the chosen people, is even more passionate than any mother’s love.

God will never forget us. More likely we have forgotten God when we are ill at ease for any reason. No wonder Jesus tells us, “…do not worry about your life…” yet isn’t that what we do so often? We fret about our budget, our livelihood, our future. Jesus knows our mindset so he cautions us, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Now that’s a word we don’t hear often. Mammon is an ancient word that means money. We cannot live without that so what does he mean?

…

8th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Life is full of relationships. Good relationships nourish us, giving us joy and satisfaction, but sooner or later, something is apt to go wrong and someone gets hurt. Instead of forgiveness, the name of the game many of us play when we have been victimized is getting even. In good conscience we even defend that right with a line from Leviticus, which Jesus quotes in today’s gospel, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” If any line from Leviticus is worth remembering, however, it’s the one we hear today, “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.”

Hatred is a very dangerous thing that must be handled with great respect and reserved for a cause such as injustice or intolerance, not for an individual. Hatred expends far more energy than any other emotion, even love. Hate corrodes the soul. We should save our energy for better things. When Jesus speaks of hating enemies, he is referring not to distant nations but to people close to us who make life difficult for us. That could be a relative, a neighbor, a classmate, people we seek to avoid, whom we find hard to forgive, who awaken in us feelings of fear or anger that can turn into hatred. …

7th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Jesus undoubtedly stunned his listeners with what he said in today’s gospel by challenging their views on morality. Last week what I said along with the Bishops’ prayer for migrants and refugees ruffled some feathers. Several parishioners complained to me that politics do not belong in Church. The way we deal with immigrants and refugees may sound like partisan politics. However, like many others, I see the issue of immigration as a matter of faith and justice, not politics.

The heritage of our nation is based on immigration. Every one of us owes our presence here to migration. If not us, then our ancestors who came seeking a safer life than what they left behind. The motivation to leave their homeland and face an unknown future outweighed the situation they were in, be it economic or political unrest or religious persecution. …

6th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

In July of 1776, 57 men who believed in our intrinsic human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness signed the Declaration of Independence. That has been the American credo ever since. Our very presence here suggests that we have life and liberty, but have we found happiness?

If not, then perhaps we need to first consider what happiness is. Many people associate happiness with pleasure and having what they desire, yet psychologists tell us happiness cannot be purchased. The Oxford Dictionary defines happiness as “deep pleasure in, or contentment with, one’s circumstances.” In other words, the poorest person in our community could be quite happy while the richest person could be very unhappy in spite of his or her wealth. …

4th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Once while having lunch with Archbishop Brunett, he picked up the bottle of water on my tray and exclaimed, “Thirty grams of sugar! Wow!” Stunned by his comment, I felt like he was saying, “Shame on you!” He then told me that he had pretty much eliminated sugar from his diet. Now, I could see the value of cutting out candy, cookies, and deserts, but any thing that has sugar, like carrots and potatoes? With skepticism, I asked him if this sugar free diet really worked and he bragged that he had lost 35 pounds.

I am not suggesting that any of us here need to go on such a diet but in today’s gospel, we find Jesus walking through the most unchurched region of ancient Israel, Zebulun and Naphtali, urging those who would listen to consider a diet free of sin. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” …

3rd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »