From the desk of Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

We have begun our Lenten journey!  As you already know, this journey leads us out of the oppression and captivity of sin through a deep change called conversion and into a new life closer to God.  This pattern follows the way of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus which leads to the resurrection!

Throughout the Lenten season we are reminded that from baptism, we have a special identity: we are God’s holy people!  Each one of us is a child of God and deeply loved.  Principle themes of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving by which, we show our gratitude to God for our own blessings and our care and concern for those in need.

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses instructs the people to recount the history of the Israelites and to present to God the first portion of their possessions in gratitude for God’s saving action which delivered them from oppression in Egypt and gave them a fruitful land.

The Gospel story picks up at a point immediately after Jesus’ baptism when the heavens were opened and the voice identified him as “beloved son.”  Following that, Jesus is led to the desert where he is tempted by the devil to turn away from God to sin.

The first temptation is to use his divine power to selfishly satisfy his own bodily cravings by turning a stone to bread when he is hungry.  The second temptation is to abandon his role as a humble servant of God in exchange for worldly power, wealth and glory but he would have to worship the devil to gain it.  The third temptation to jump from the temple height would be to reverse his role with God by trying to make God serve him.  Each of the temptations leads to loss of divine son ship.  In the face of each temptation, Jesus rejects sin and chooses to follow God’s commands affirming his role as an obedient servant of his Father’s will.  It is by his obedience that our disobedience is healed and restored.

At this early point in the journey, we are invited to evaluate our conduct as God’s children.  I’m sure that each of us can discover something in ourselves that compromises our divine “son ship;”  not living our true Christian identity, not giving of what we have, misusing the gifts we are given.  The good news is that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more!  God is here to help us truly be his beloved children and strengthen us in discipleship.  No matter what, let no one be afraid to turn to God and ask for mercy, help and healing.

May the God of all consolation be with you! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

Today’s readings remind me of Flannery O’Connor’s stories “Revelation” or “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”  I also recall Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird.”

The principles that Jesus is teaching today inspired these authors to describe situations that depict great injustices by societies, individuals and even whole classes of race toward other people.

We might label this kind of behavior as “Log-in-the-eye-disease” or “Cancel-culture.”

Jesus is asking us to be honest with ourselves about the way we treat others.  He is saying that frequently we quickly point out the faults and failings of others while overlooking our own greater faults and failings.  Darkness and hardness of heart are the root of viewing people wrongfully and this results in wrongful judgement.  Grudges and long-standing prejudices close out the light of the Gospel.  Jesus names it as evil and not capable of good fruit.  That means no happiness, no peace, no friends, no joy and no glorifying God.  If we, who are baptized into Christ, are suffering from log-in-the-eye syndrome, we are hypocrites and merit a hypocrite’s reward.

The remedy?  Listen to Jesus and follow him.  It helps to first consider that we don’t completely know another person’s story.  We must be able to identify bad behavior but that is a long way from condemning a person. Will Rogers said: “Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.”  If we begin from a perspective of understanding that all of us need room to make mistakes, that all of us need God’s mercy, we avoid being hypocrites, we don’t cancel other people.  We become better friends of God and our neighbor.  Blessings to you! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and Grace to you!

The Kingdom of Heaven experience requires a radical break from natural to spiritual maturity.

In the first reading, David has an opportunity to “pay back” Saul for all his meanness and dirty dealing toward David.  Saul is jealous and behaves as jealous is: hateful and mean.  David, on his part, demonstrates spiritual maturity through a willful desire to obey God’s Word.  David’s love for God moves him beyond seeking his own form/desire of justice into seeking what pleases God.  David’s experience of receiving injustice has not hardened his heart, it has brought about the divine fruit and trait of compassion.  He shows wisdom and spiritual maturity, magnanimity of character, by showing mercy to Saul.  David recognizes that God established Saul in leadership, and it is God who will deal with Saul, just as God will deal with David himself.  Is this perspective valued toward public leaders and all leaders of communities today?  With corruption so widespread in the world today, it makes it more important to address the wrongs with a renewed respect for the importance of the rule of law.

In the Gospel we continue with the Sermon on the Plain.  Jesus knows well that human nature is strongly inclined to move in the wrong direction (concupiscence).  He sets forth some radical instructions.  They’re radical because they move us beyond our natural inclinations to return a strike for a strike.  Instead, Jesus directs us to a spiritual maturity that leads us into a Kingdom of Heaven experience and friendship with God.  If Jesus is delivering this set of principles to us, then he is instructing us to be his disciples and he will help us live them out.  No matter how difficult and no matter if we fail, we must be found in pursuit of living the principles of Christian life as best as we can.  “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” is not an option to the believer but a goal at heart.  Putting away an insult or criticism saves a life (you shall not kill).  Saving a life saves the world one at a time.  Blessings to you! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

As we listen to Jeremiah’s lamentations and hard-earned wisdom about the frailty and fickleness of human beings, we are given a stern reminder that in the end, God is the only one where we can place our ultimate trust.  Luke’s Gospel is the sermon on the plain in which are included the blessed (happy) and the woes (sorrows).

Jesus gives a message of hope for those who are poor, hungry, grieving, or experiencing hate from others because of their faith in God.  Jesus shows how compassionate God is.  God cares about every person’s human experience, and he reminds us that our situation in life is always changing but faith hope and trust in God will help them transcend any situation and lead to a good outcome.

While expressing a message of hope to those without, Jesus seems to be warning those who have possessions, wealth, comfort and friendship that they are enjoying what will not last.  He cautions people against placing their trust and confidence in the present situation or things, rather than in God.  Change will come and their experience will be sadness.  This set of blessed and woes can also be understood as an encouragement to use what we have wisely: as good stewards we consider what we have and remember there are those who need.

Stewardship is an invitation to partner with God and make God the priority and director over all that one has.  The greatest gift that we have is divine love.  God gifts us with his own life and love in the Eucharist.  We are stewards of this!

“Woe to you” can be turned around and become “blessed are you” when we are good stewards!

Blessed, fortunate and happy are you who are rich in money, power, influence, time and talent because you can do much for the poor, the marginalized, the alien, mentally ill, the prisoner and the lonely!  You can lift another’s burden!  If we have the heart and mind of Christ to recognize the needy as God’s children and act to care for them, God increases our joy.  In the large vision, we recognize that we need them as much as they need us!  We can experience the blessedness of the kingdom when we place ourselves and our possessions in God’s service.  May God continue to enrich you in every way! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace to you!

We have been reflecting the last few weeks on a kind of process through which God calls people and the encounter changes their lives forever.  Soon afterward, they become disciples.  A few weeks ago we heard Samuel’s story and how he had to learn how to listen and discern that God sometimes calls in the night when we are not so occupied with daily activity or when there is darkness or emptiness in our lives.

Isaiah explains how terrified he is at his vision of the “Lord of Hosts.”  He acknowledges that he is unworthy to be in the presence of God and fears death but the angel calms his fears by cleansing him.  Isaiah experiences God’s mercy and it changes him forever!  Filled with holy joy and loving zeal, he responds to God’s call “here I am, send me!”

St. Paul expresses something similar to Isaiah’s sense of personal unworthiness and we remember the story of his encounter with the risen Lord.  St. Paul was changed by his encounter and responded to God’s call in the same way as Isaiah: filled with holy joy, he was sent to proclaim the Good News!

This weekend we hear the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, James and John.  Jesus invites them to leave their boats and nets to follow him and become fishers of men.  Like Isaiah and Saul, Peter was immediately seized with fear and in response to that Jesus immediately calmed him with the words “Do not be afraid.”  Like Isaiah and the others, Peter’s life was forever changed.

The call stories are always interesting and powerful for us because they help us focus on listening and following God in new and deeper ways.  They also remind us that, like others in the past, God is calling us today!  He calls us to follow him closely and experience something new, of how wonderful he is and through that experience to be changed forever.  It is normal to feel a little uncertain or afraid at first but with each new experience, our faith that Lord is at our side grows.  God bless you in your journey and mission to join our ancestors in faith in the joy of proclaiming the Gospel! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace to you!

The most important daily activity Jesus engaged in during his life on earth was teaching.  True we love the stories about Jesus healing the lame and the sick, giving sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead but more important than all of those miracles is his teaching.

In the Gospel, we pick up from where we left off last weekend and all the people were amazed at the gracious words that Jesus spoke.  But suddenly, things changed—drastically!  By the end of the account, they wanted to kill him!  Why?  Because Jesus knew they didn’t believe what he taught them and that a miracle would only fascinate them.    Sincere faith however, doesn’t need a miracle.   The miraculous events for the widow of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian were given because sincere faith was already there.

This week we pay attention to Catholic schools—and Catholic education.  I was educated in a Catholic school by Dominican Sisters from first to twelfth grade.  Then later, my college undergraduate and graduate level studies were completed with the Benedictines at Mt. Angel Seminary.  Looking back, I believe that the greatest gift I have ever received in my life has been an education and more importantly, a Catholic one.  What makes it distinctive?  It’s not just learning to read, write, do math or play sports.  A Catholic education is first of all grounded in belief and practice.  The Catholic values that form the whole person travel into whatever activities we engage in and become part of our institutional structures including business corporations, city hall and national policies.  This ensures honesty; not corruption, justice; not inequality, compassion and care for others; not cruelty and cold indifference, love; not hate.

The value that the Catholic school environment brings to our places of activity is virtually inestimable!  It is beyond an earthly price and it leads to an eternal reward for the individual and society!

Not many of our families are able to attend a Catholic school these days.  We know that this increases the importance of our religious education programs in the parish setting.  I am very impressed and proud of our families that volunteer and make the effort to teach the faith to our children and adults.  Teaching and learning the faith is the top priority in the mission of the Church.

As the Annual Catholic Appeal draws near, keep in mind that the support we give is needed and a large percentage of the Appeal income supports Catholic education.  God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

May the Good News lift you in joy and peace!

The historical context of the first reading indicates that the people are just returning to Jerusalem where the Temple had been desecrated and is badly in need of repair while the people themselves suffer ignorance of God’s covenant and law because of their captivity in the Babylonian exile.  The focus of Ezra and Nehemiah is twofold: repair the Temple building and teach the people to live the law and covenant.   The people need to be restored physically and spiritually to reclaim their identity as God’s holy people.

In the Gospel, Jesus has just returned from the desert where he struggled against the temptations of the devil.  By overcoming all the temptations, Jesus does not succumb to the captivity of sin and maintains his identity as God’s Beloved Son.  Jesus comes in the power of the Spirit to announce the good news of salvation and a promise of favor from God.

The combination of both readings beckons us to evaluate ourselves before God and identify the things that hold us captive.  But we are not to punish ourselves with negative thoughts about ourselves, our failings, weaknesses or past sins.  Rather we are invited to trust Jesus’ promise of God’s favor ever more deeply and rejoice!  This is a time of liberation and deliverance!  God’s goodness and mercy are not just for a day or a year, but from the moment Jesus announced it until the end of time.  When Jesus said “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” he meant that this fulfillment is in him from now on.

St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us that we have a special relationship with other people of the church—spiritually we’re members of Christ’s own body.  The gifts that all the members have received are for service and the good of others—just like the ones Jesus announced.  Giving of ourselves and receiving from others are the concrete forms of the communion we have as members of the one body and it is the concrete expression that strengthens us spiritually and brings joy.  As God’s beloved child, how do you experience this good news today?  How do you proclaim this good news to others each day?  God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace be with you!

The readings this weekend draw us to contemplate the deep, passionate love that God has for the human race— especially for the people he calls his own, the Church.  These readings enhance the meaning of the covenant relationship of baptism that we enter with God through Jesus’ baptism.

In the first reading from Isaiah, the people are just returning from exile—a place of servitude and slavery.  It is a time of transition which includes the mix of feelings that always accompany change but the message is overall one of great hope and bright promise!  This first reading serves as a spring board for the Gospel.

The Gospel story of the wedding at Cana is the first of Jesus’ signs that announce God’s presence among us and that the fulfillment of all promises is taking place!

The wedding is symbolic of the marriage of mankind with God.  This union of two natures is present in the water and the wine and the person of Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man.  Mary appears in the story as one who understands the needs of the people and as one who speaks or intercedes on their behalf before God.  Mary knows that Jesus is the Savior and the source of all grace for the human race.  When she tells Jesus “they have no wine,” she is asking Jesus to remember the love and compassion he has for humanity and to fulfill his promise to save them by letting his divine love and grace flow upon them to heal the division between men and women and restore harmony and peace to the human race by reconciling them with God: to free them from sin.  Jesus responds that his “hour has not yet come” because the consummation of the new covenant is not until he offers his body and blood on the cross for his bride the Church.  Jesus must accomplish the expiation of our sins at the appointed hour.  Mary understands what Jesus means but she also knows that she is the first among the redeemed.  Because she was given this favor from God at the beginning of her life, she also asks a share in this grace for the people that God was preparing to be his bride.  Mary’s words to the servants are also directed to us: “do whatever he tells you.”   At Mary’s request, Jesus generously shows his love by giving them a foretaste of the new covenant symbolized by the best wine.

When I think of Cana, I am awed by the interplay between Jesus and Mary and the attentive care they have for every person.  In my brief reflection, I have only hinted at some of the deep realities contained in this scripture passage.  I hope that you find yourself rejoicing as you savor the new wine of God’s gifts of love that are yours.  I hope that you can be awestruck when you look at your spouse and children and contemplate how great the gift of a human life is.  I also hope that you are even more awestruck at how the gift of divine life comes to us through the sacraments!  God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord in which God reveals Jesus as The Beloved Son.  This event always calls us to reflect first upon John’s baptism of repentance (turning-to-God) and why Jesus was baptized by John.  Even John questioned it.  Jesus expressed his desire to fulfill righteousness, which means to fulfill God’s plan— to do God’s will and sanctify people of faith in Christ who are baptized.  Jesus entered creation and was born a man so that human beings could share divine life with God.

Today upon his baptism, we see something new: Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit!  In this event, Jesus makes the waters of baptism holy so that those who experience Christian baptism are reborn, cleansed from sin and re-created as children of God, united to God as members of Christ’s own body and sharing in the life of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians we are enabled to live and love as God’s beloved sons and daughters and we are empowered to carry on the saving mission of Jesus in the world.  We are called and sent to work for justice and peace and share the Gospel message so that other people may be free from error, darkness and sin.  For many of us who were baptized as infants, we have never fully understood or embraced the radical character of our baptism.  That is why Feasts like today’s and the renewal of our baptismal promises are so important.  They help us to understand more fully what baptism really means.  Such occasions also help us recommit ourselves to living more deeply the covenant of love as Jesus Christ taught us.  The baptism of Jesus was the starting point of his public ministry when he taught the people about God and the moral life.  He worked many miracles of healing to show that God’s power comes as love and mercy for the person who desires salvation.  This was Jesus’ mission and ours too.  Jesus still works miracles through those who do good works in his name.  I hope that many of us have a sense of renewal and a spring in our step knowing that we share in such a beautiful and important work.  May God bless all your efforts! +++ Fr. Peter

May the light of faith guide you to eternal life!

We celebrate the Epiphany this weekend, which means “manifestation.”  It refers to the events around Christ’s birth that show how God has revealed his plan of salvation for the whole human race; not just the Jewish people.  The first reading prophecies that a ruler shall arise from the assembly of faith who will truly be like a great light in the heavens!  This ruler will establish true justice, peace, and he will govern with heavenly wisdom and be recognized by all nations as a gift from God.  St. Paul speaks of a stewardship of divine grace that was given him by God in order that he may continue guiding all nations in the light of the Gospel: God’s love and mercy shown toward the human race in Jesus.

The Gospel story depicts Wise Men from the East.  They saw a light in the heavens that they had never seen before and they believed this star signaled that a very important and great king had been born.  The journey of the Magi speaks of the yearning for peace, justice, love and mercy in every human heart through history.  The Magi represent everyone who seeks the truth in hope of healing, peace and salvation.  Herod, on the other hand, represents those who feel threatened by an authority greater than their own, those opposed to accountability to truth and justice and those who are selfish to the point of evil.  This also pertains to the fallen part of human nature and selfish inclinations to seek only after our own desires with little or no regard for God or others.  We are given an example of the forces at work within ourselves through the characters in the story.  We seek the truth and are guided by God’s heavenly wisdom which leads us to peace through serving God first and others.  This is the path by which we discover the joy of knowing the truth, acting in justice, mercy and love.  We have a choice to follow the wisdom of God or we can turn away.  The conclusion of the story is that the Wise Men experienced Jesus in humble simplicity and were enriched by him in a profound, mystical way.  They went away in a new direction because they had been changed by the light of God’s love and goodness.  Herod remained hardened at heart and dark in selfishness.  Let us pray that we too will seek God’s wisdom so that we will shine more brightly with the joy and peace found only in Jesus and his cross.  Let us ask Jesus to touch others with his light through us.  God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter