I celebrated my birthday last Thursday in a rather unusual way, sitting before the Blessed Sacrament hearing confessions. How profound the evening became as I extended absolution to those who came to seeking forgiveness by acknowledging their sins in the sacrament of reconciliation. I felt they were receiving a new lease on life when I said, “Go in peace, your sins are forgiven.”

Forgiveness is what people of the whole Judean countryside sought as they acknowledged their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.

Forgiveness hits a tender spot. We have all done some stupid and immoral things from sniveling lies to large betrayals and maybe even worse. None of us wants the burden of shame and guilt as we live. Instead, we want forgiveness. None of us wants justice when we die. We want mercy.

Forgiveness from God, however, depends on our willingness to forgive others. Buried deep in the Lord’s Prayer is that line which goes, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The penance I gave most often that night was for the penitent to say that prayer thoughtfully before going to bed, then pray for those whom they needed to forgive and for those whose forgiveness they desired.

Knowing that God’s forgiveness depends on practicing the art of forgiveness ourselves, I thought that I would share with you the ten commandments of forgiveness. I do not expect you to remember all of them, but hopefully you will remember those that strike a chord with you.

The first commandment: forgiveness is not easy. We can’t just mumble, “I forgive you,” and presume that all is well. There is no quick fix, especially when the hurt is deep. Since forgiveness takes time, begin by asking God to start the process for you.

The second commandment: Forgiveness is not forgetting. The two words do not mean the same thing. Forgiveness is about a change of heart, not the erasing of a memory.

The third commandment: Forgiveness does not overlook evil nor does it mean denial. It doesn’t mean, “Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.” Someone who was hurt needs healing.

The fourth commandment: forgiveness isn’t indifference. We cannot go back to business as usual and let the hurt and damage go on. Instead, we should do what we can to make sure the evil won’t happen again.

The fifth commandment: forgiveness isn’t the same thing as approval. We can forgive yet still express our disapproval of the harmful behavior. Forgiveness doesn’t mean giving you permission to harm me again by your action.

The sixth commandment: forgiveness is recognizing that people are always bigger than their faults, their mistakes, and their wrong doing. In other words, we shouldn’t define who somebody is by something they said or did to us.

The seventh commandment: forgiveness is being willing to let go of the anger that prevents the rebuilding of a broken relationship by allowing the person who has offended us to start over again.

The eighth commandment: forgiveness recognizes the humanity of the person who has wronged us along with our shortcomings and our contribution to what went wrong.

The ninth commandment: forgiveness surrenders the right to get even. Forgiveness does not allow for revenge.

The tenth commandment: forgiveness means we wish the person or group who hurt us well. In fact, we wish them the best. That is tough, but basically we are letting God be the final judge and commend them to God’s mercy.

John the Baptist dared to be different and he dares us to also be different. He calls us to a change of heart, providing down to earth advice on how to change our lives for the better by filling in the valleys of prejudice, leveling our mountains of pride, and straightening our crooked paths of injustice. He is calling on us to prepare the way of the Lord and that means walking a new path. Celebrating the art of forgiveness when the need arises is one opportunity we must not pass up if we are to do our part in announcing the coming of Christ to others.

Life is a waiting game. We find ourselves waiting for the birth of a child, for the traffic light to change, to get on the ferry, for friends to arrive, or for dinner to be served. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t find ourselves waiting for something or someone and when the moment arrives, we are filled with joy and delight. Friday night, for example, I had dinner with some long time friends. The date had been set months ago, knowing that they would be in town for the Apple Cup. Today, the long wait of many years is over now that we find ourselves actually praying from the new Roman Missal. And of course, as soon as we finish one wait, we begin another. On this first weekend of Advent, we begin our wait of four weeks to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

When it comes to waiting, how do we pass the time? I can picture the father pacing the floor while the mother-to-be is in labor, impatient drivers drumming their fingers on the steering wheel staring at the traffic light, reading a book or chatting on a cell phone as they slowly inch toward the ferry loading area, or a host making certain everything is in place before the guests arrive. The ultimate question raised by these readings is this: what are we doing as we wait for the Lord to come? Jesus gives us pithy advice: “Be watchful! Be alert!”

Does he mean for us to sit still and stare at the heavens? Hardly. He is inviting us to share the present moment with him, to surrender to him, to hear his voice, to do his will, while we wait.

As I said, life is a waiting game. Ultimately, we are waiting for the moment we cross the threshold of death, hopefully to eternal life. This will be the moment when we will encounter the Christ in a way we have yet to fully imagine. Scripture is filled with many descriptions of our pending personal judgment. Jesus will judge our willingness to accept his offer of eternal life by the manner in which we lived this lifetime waiting for him to call us home.

The real challenge of Advent is to prepare ourselves in body and soul for that great moment, by letting God’s presence and power get to work in our lives. Life is incomplete without God and we are inadequate without his presence. God alone can fill us with true inner peace. This season makes us aware of our need to turn to God in hope and humble prayer, begging him to save us from our sin so that when we stand in judgment before his son, we will hear words of welcome, not rejection.

If in the past year, we have abandoned God, neglected prayer, or broken the commandments, now is the time to make a fresh start at building a closer relationship with the Lord. Liturgically speaking, we begin a New Year, so this would be a fitting time to adopt resolutions that would enable us to keep “watch” as Jesus urges us to.

Christian tradition has long interpreted his message to be watchful for the moment of our death, our final moment in this life. We are advised, “Be ready to die, be ready for the moment, don’t be caught off guard when God taps you on the shoulder and asks for an accounting of your stewardship.” While that is a valid understanding of these readings, it isn’t the only one. We should be on the watch for the many opportunities in the course of any given day when we can respond to God’s presence.

God values our response to his love and when you stop to think about it, there are countless ways we can respond; visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, being neighborly, seeking reconciliation if necessary, spending quiet time in prayer, reading scripture, attending daily Mass to name but a few. We pass through this world only once and any good we can do should be done now. While Advent is a time of waiting for God to come into our lives, keep in mind that God has been waiting for us longer than we have been waiting for him.

1st Reading: Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28
Gospel: Matthew 25: 31-46

It is a blessing to see all the children here this morning. It is a blessing also to see all these families here together with their children especially on this Feast of Christ the King. It is for all a blessing to be able to come to this table where the King of Kings offers himself up for us.

I would like to start off by talking with the children here this morning. I would like to tell you a story children about a little girl named Isabelle.

Now, Isabelle’s mother helped with the big kids at the church they attend. One Saturday, Isabelle’s mother said; “Would you like to go with me and the youth group to Samaritan House to help the boys and girls there?”

Now kids, this is a good place where children are helped to heal from an accident.

“Oh yes” said Isabelle. She wanted to do what the big kids do. When they got to Samaritan House, Isabelle asked her mother, “Why are all the children in wheelchairs?”

“Because they can’t walk”, said her mother.

“Why”, asked Isabelle.

“Because they have been hurt”, said her mother.

“Why don’t they talk right”, asked Isabelle.

“They are trying to talk right, but it’s hard for them”, said her mother.

Isabelle was scared in that place and stayed right next to her mother.

She watched the big kids. They weren’t scared. They sang songs for the children. They played with them and talked with them.

But despite what she saw the big kids doing,Isabelle wanted to go home.

That night when Isabelle and her parents were getting ready to say prayers, she said, “Why did we go to that place with all the weird children?”

“Isabelle,” said her mother, “Those children aren’t weird. On the outside they look different, but on the inside they think about things just like you do.”

“Just like me?” said Isabelle.

“Just like you. If you got hurt like that, if you ran out into the street and didn’t look both ways and a car hit you, you’d still be you,” said her mother.

That made Isabelle feel scared. “I don’t want to look at them,” she said.

“If you don’t want to look at them, you can look at Jesus in them,” said her mother.

“What do you mean?” asked Isabelle.

“You know how we pray for you when you are sick, how we ask Jesus to come and be inside you and make you well?’ said her mother.

“Yes”, said Isabelle.

“Well, if Jesus wants to be inside you to make you well, don’t you think that Jesus also wants to be inside those children too,” said her mother.

“I guess so,” said Isabelle.

“So, the next time we go to Samaritan House, look at Jesus inside them. Then they won’t look weird any more.”

“Is that the way the big kinds do?” asked Isabelle.

“That is,” said her mother.

Then they prayed a prayer and they ask us to pray with them like this:

Dear God, Help us to see Jesus inside us and inside everyone, Amen. Thank you Children for listening.

All of us can get something out of this story. Isabelle’s fear of the unknown is what got to her and our fear is what gets to us. How many times have we passed by someone who acts different because of a disability and not really looked at them? Do we look away or do we make eye contact? Were we afraid of saying anything or did we say hello in friendship?

Remember what Jesus said in today’s gospel? “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Yes, we can see Jesus in others if we really look; not a quick glance but a real look like you look at one another.

Jesus goes on to say that when “I was hungry, thirsty, sick, a stranger. Christ makes himself one with those in need. Our King is in the hungry, our King is in the thirsty, our King is in a stranger, our King is in the sick, our King is in those in prison. Can you see Jesus in them?

We need to see Jesus all in all. Everything that is good comes from God through Jesus Christ. And in the final day, all of humanity will be assembled in front of the King of Kings on His throne and in hope ready to be judged by Him. Will he say to us “Depart”, or will He say to us “Come?” That is up to each one of us.

Let us all be like Isabelle our story. Let us pray to our Father in heaven to help us see Jesus in others. Let us pray to God to help us be open and ready to receive Jesus in us through his body and blood in the Eucharist. Let us come to this altar ready to sacrifice ourselves for His kingdom on earth.

God will reach out to us when we become lost in the dark. He will tend his flock, yes-you and I, and in the end of time, he will judge us accordingly through His son, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

In Advent, which starts next Sunday along with the changes in the Roman Missal, the new Church year will begin with a focus on the final restoration of all creation to its original glory. In preparation, on this last Sunday of this Church year, we proclaim the expected advent of the Lord of lords and King of kings . But until he comes, we can and will experience a glimpse of His Kingdom when we see Him in others.

Pray this prayer daily and live it out daily and you will be happy and joyful when the time of judgement comes:

“Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in any thing
to do it as for thee.” Amen!

1st Reading Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17
2nd Reading 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28
Gospel Matthew 25: 31-46

Today is the Thirty Fourth Sunday and final Sunday of our liturgical year. Next Sunday we will start a new liturgical year with the first Sunday of Advent, an exciting time especially with the revisions to the Roman Missal. On this last Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Will we be told, at the end of time, to “DEPART” or will we be asked to “Come?”

Today is the culmination of all that we have been hearing in scripture and in the homilies for this liturgical year. The Jesus we have heard about and journeyed with going around the towns of Galilee, Samaria and Judea, the Jesus we have watched teaching, healing, consoling, liberating, is our Lord and KING. He is the visible presence of God in our midst.

In our second reading from the 1st letter to the Corinthians, Paul is portraying a powerful and awesome picture of Christ as Lord and King and rightly so. As all have died because of the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, so all are made alive in Christ through our Baptism. Christ is also presented as the all powerful ruler whom every other power and authority must eventually give way.

The other two readings from today, the first from Ezekiel and the Gospel from Matthew give a very different picture of God and Jesus. Ezekiel shows God as a shepherd tending His flock. How often have we heard Jesus called the Good Shepherd in scripture?

But what is striking and goes to the heart of it all is how we will be judged when Jesus returns on His Kingly throne. Yes, the same Jesus who offered himself to us during our lives, the one who gave His very human life for us, will judge us for what we did or did not do during our lives. Jesus gives us the way to live by looking at others to see Him. This reminds me of a story many of you know.

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain is the story of two boys who lived three hundred years ago in England. Not only were they good friends, they looked so much alike that they could have been taken for identical twins. One of the boys was Edward, the prince of Whales; the other was Tom Canty, a pauper, a poor boy.

One day for some fun, they decided to switch places. They changed their clothes. Edward put on the rags of poor boy and wandered through the slums of London, rubbing elbows with beggars and the under-privileged.

After a time they both got tired of the game. In his ragged shirt and trousers, Edward tried to tell the police that he was the prince. He was thrown in jail. Just as Tom was about to be crowned King, Edward showed up and convinced the officials that he was the true prince. As a result of his experience, Edward became a kind and just ruler. He gained a heart that was always looking after the poor. A lesson for all of us.

As God, Jesus knew the sufferings of human beings. By becoming man, he actually suffered what men, women and children have to endure. The prince in our story learned about the poor in the streets of London, Jesus knew the plight of the poor, the under-privileged. We heard time and time again in scripture how Jesus tended to the lowliest of mankind, beggars, prostitutes, outcasts.

No wonder Jesus lays down this test for entering His eternal home: Did we help the needy or did we not? Today’s gospel is one of the most important in the story of Christ-Good News for those who listen, Bad

News for those who pay little or no attention to the needs of our fellow human beings.

We do not have to wait to be tested. We can test ourselves today: Have we ever fed a hungry person? Perhaps we never met a really starving person, child or adult. Yet everyone knows that millions go hungry.

Did we help by means of the special collections throughout the year or maybe volunteer or donate food or money for our local food bank?

When was the last time we visited someone who was sick? When did we visit someone in prison? This does not mean only those behind iron bars. It also means people behind the bars of loneliness, ignorance, maybe even grief.

Have we taken time to get involved in matters of Catholic Social Teaching? Have we protected the rights of the unborn, the rights of

every human being to be shown respect and dignity?

What have we done for those who are spiritually starving, spiritually sick, spiritually strangers, or spiritually imprisoned? If we have done little or nothing at all, don’t be surprised at the end when a voice is heard that gives the command, DEPART! I pray that none of us do.

The gospel goes even further: What you do for these needy you are doing for Christ himself. Notice what Jesus Says: “I was hungry, thirsty, sick, a stranger. What you did or didn’t do, you did or didn’t do to me.”

Christ makes himself one with those in need. Our King is in the Hungry, our King is in the Thirsty, Our King is in a stranger, Our King is in the sick, our King is in those in prison. Can you see Jesus in them?

Yes, we serve, worship and offer ourselves with Christ our King to God the father on this altar. With the food of His body and blood in the Eucharist which we receive in us, we serve and worship our King in those under-privileged, those needy we serve. When we follow Jesus then we will be very happy and joyful when we hear that voice at the end asking us to “Come”.

But until that time comes, let us experience the Kings kingdom here on earth. Let us see Jesus in others. Let Jesus our shepherd and King lead us to the Father as we pray this simple but profound prayer:

“Teach me, my God and King,

In all things thee to see,

And what I do in any thing

To do it as for thee.” Amen

Go to any local hardware store and you will find nails in all shapes and sizes from brads to spikes. As simple as a nail may be, its mission is important. As one nursery rhyme puts it, “For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for the want of a horse, the soldier was lost; for the want of a soldier, the battle was lost; for the want of a battle, the war was lost.” The lowly nail keeps things together.

What can be said about the value of a nail can also be said about the value of each person’s talent in the scheme of life. Every person, blessed with talents by God, is expected to do something toward making a difference in this world if the kingdom of God is to be realized.

The servant who returned with only one talent was punished for making no use of what he had been given. Have you been in his shoes? How often do we hesitate to act out of fear that we will fail or that others could do a better job? Many people say, “Not me,” convinced that what little they could do wouldn’t make much difference anyway. As the lazy servant discovered, holding back did not good for anyone, especially for him. The king was counting on everyone to do something.

In any parish, many of its members excuse themselves from participating in its different ministries, convinced that their gifts are too modest to make any difference. Yet their gifts of time, talent and treasure are as important to God and the building of his kingdom as the missing nail is to the soldier in battle. To hold back on what we have to offer is to become the missing nail that is sorely needed at this point in time.

Ultimately, the servant punished himself and so do we when we hoard what we have. Years ago, I read an article that made the point that those who have a strong love of heaven have always worked the hardest for a better world. Conversely, we can deduce that those who aren’t so motivated to improve the world we live in really don’t have much love for heaven either.

Blessed Pope John Paul II once puzzled people in attendance at a general audience in Rome when he noted that heaven isn’t a physical reality but a state of the being. Heaven, he said, is neither an abstraction nor a place in the clouds. Instead, heaven is a living personal relationship with the Trinity.

If we use our talents to work for the reign of God in this lifetime, we can look forward to hearing those happy words in today’s gospel, “”Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master’s joy.” On the other hand, if we choose to hold back, we do little to deepen our relationship with God. We shortchange ourselves and may get the same rebuke that the hesitant servant received. When Jesus comes as a thief in the night, can we really expect him to invite us to share in the joy of what has been brought about without any effort on our part?

The lesson of this parable is obvious to me. We all have some part in bringing about God’s plan for our world. To others, what we can contribute may seem small, like a brad, yet even a brad, any homebuilder will tell you, is vital in the right place. God is asking us to use the talents, that is, the gifts we have been given and to put them to the service of God and others, not bury them in the deepest recesses of our being.

Last week, the gospel spoke of lamps, and we reflected on “this little light of mine.” I observed how if one candle dispels the darkness, imagine how bright many candles would be. Fred McCarthy went one step further, “If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be!” If every one of you would take the time to wander through the ministry fair and engage your talents in someway, imagine how much more this parish can do toward building up God’s kingdom.

When we hear the word, talent, we think of a person’s innate abilities, but the origin of this word can be traced back to this parable. In biblical times, a talent was a vast sum of money, equal to 6000 days of wages for the average peasant.

As you consider how to invest your talents in our parish, I urge you to consider both your abilities and your treasures. Hopefully you spent time the past week reflecting on them and today you are ready to make a commitment.

To help us with our future planning, we ask that you make a commitment to share your treasure. Ideally, we should be returning to God 10% of our income; that is the biblical notion of tithing. We are urged to give half of that to the parish and the other half to other charities. If you aren’t there yet, consider taking another step in that direction.

If you haven’t completed a card, pick one up now and take this opportunity to fill it out. On the reverse side, you will find a chart to help you calculate what a fair and sacrificial pledge should be.

You can make your contributions through electronic fund transfer from your checking or savings account. This can be arranged once you provide the necessary deposit slip.

If you are sitting there, still hesitant to fill out the treasure card, consider this: the precious fragility of life should prompt us to use our gifts now before it is too late. Jesus wants us all to give and to grow by using our talents, that is, both our treasures and our abilities, for the good of others, not just for ourselves. Even the mediocre use of one’s talents will merit his invitation, “Well done, my good and faithful servant…Come, share your master’s joy.”