January 1

Our New Year’s Resolution

It’s the 1st day of the 1st month of the New Year 2006! The name January comes from Janus, the Roman god with 2 faces: one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. Yes, this is a time to look back at the year that just ended and to look forward to the New Year ahead of us.

How did we spend the past year of our life? Did we use it to advance our goals in life? Did we use it to enhance the purpose of our existence? Could we have done better last year in the way we invested our time and talent between the demands of work, family, friends and parish and the demands of our spiritual life? What things did we achieve last year and what did we fail to achieve? How can we consolidate the achievements of last year while reversing the failures and losses in this New Year?

Through questions like these, we will find that a review of the past year naturally leads to goal setting and making resolutions for the New Year. But, there are people who would tell us that there is no point in making New Year resolutions. Well, do not believe them! We must set goals and make resolutions as a necessary conclusion to our review of the past year; and we need to review our lives from year to year because, as Socrates would say, the unexamined life is not worth living.

Today's San Jose Mercury News is filled with individual and collective New Year resolutions. However, most of those are not resolutions but only wishes. Now, what is the difference between a resolution and a wish?

A wish would identify a goal that one wants to reach while a resolution would specify the steps that one will take to reach that goal. A wish says: This is where I want to be. A resolution says: This is the road that I will take and this is what I will do to get there.

The wishful parishioner says: I want to get involved in the parish this year; the resolved parishioner says: I will devote an extra hour to my involvement every week in order to get involved. The wishful parishioner says: I want peace and love in my family this year; the resolved parishioner says: I’ll spend more time with my family at table instead of rushing off to the TV, so that we get to know and understand ourselves better. The wishful parishioner says: I’ll live a life of union with God this year; the resolved parishioner says: I’ll set aside this time everyday to pray and hear the WG. The difference between wishing and resolving is: are we prepared to do what it takes to make our dreams come true, are we prepared to pay the price?

Today’s gospel presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the New Year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart".

Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that his mother treasured all these things in her heart. Mary was a woman who valued the Word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. It is true that the holiness of Mary is attributed to the grace of God but this should not make us forget that she needed to make an effort in order to cooperate with the grace of God. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God.

The 2 examples above of Mary pondering the Word of God, namely, after the visit of the shepherds and after the finding in the temple, show that Mary found the Word of God both in divine revelation (the angel’s words to the shepherds) and in her own experiences (her encounter with her son in the temple). Similarly, today God speaks to us through divine revelation (the bible, the teaching and preaching of the Church) as well as through our personal experiences, if only we made time to reflect on them as Mary did.

Whatever the situation in which we find ourselves (a hardship, a disappointment, a decision to make), God has a solution and an answer that is right for us. We tell God about it in prayer but we also listen to what God has to tell us about it.

Prayer is a conversation with God. But sometimes, all we do is pick up the phone, read out the list of our problems to God and drop the phone without listening to what God has to say to us.

Today, on this New Year, let us resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure the Word of God and ponder it in our hearts. Then we shall be able to realize our New Year resolution as a new life in union with God.

January 8

We walk with the Magi too!

Nowadays, it seems that we don’t like to walk; I mean to walk with a purpose. Well, today, it is just too easy to get around. Today, transportation is always available and we’re always in a hurry; so why walk when we can ride. Nonetheless, walking is one of the most ancient and dependable modes of transportation that has ever existed. Well, we’ve been created with legs and feet to get around. Of course, for centuries there was no other way of getting from “here to there” unless you were rich enough to have a horse. In many 3rd world countries, people would walk 10 miles or more to go to the market or to attend church; it's a normal thing and nobody complains.

But aside from the fact that people in some countries need to walk in order to live, there are other reasons why one may want to walk somewhere. Today, many people think of walking as a great activity; well, it is also healthy and it puts one away from the pressures of daily life. It gets you in touch with nature, with beauty and with quiet. Walking can even put you in a spiritual experience: as you walk, you can pray or be in touch with God.

Going back many centuries in history, we have stories of people who have walked to holy places: it is called a pilgrimage. The earliest record we have in the scriptures is the journey of Abraham from the land of Ur in northern Iraq to the land that God promised him: the land of Israel today. People of other religions also make holy journeys. For instance, Moslems go to Mecca at least once in their life. Jesus also walked to Jerusalem many times during his life because Jerusalem was the holy place, the place where he could meet his God in the temple.

During the Middle Ages, many Christians would journey together to the tombs of the saints and martyrs. And, for centuries too, Christians in Spain and from around the world have been going on pilgrimage to the town of Compostella to visit the Church of St. James where they pray for special favors. The cathedral of our Lady of Fatima in Portugal is also a popular pilgrimage place. In France, thousands of young people each summer walk to the famous ecumenical prayer center at Taize. Of course, in our times many people here in the US go on pilgrimage to Rome or to the Holy Land or to the shrine of our Lady of Lourdes. Many also travel to the shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

Now what is all this traveling about? Partly, it could be vacationing but if it’s a pilgrimage, it is something else. A pilgrimage is a journey that people undertake for a sacred purpose: to some place they know is holy and they’d go as seekers, not as tourists. A pilgrimage is an act of worship. Of course, the most famous pilgrimage is the journey of the Magi who came from the East to pay homage to the newborn king and offer their gifts. So, pilgrimages, whether they’re made to some local shrine or other distant one, are done as an act of faith. Catholics believe that God can be discovered in earthly things and places. Christians believe that God can be found everywhere but there are certain places which just have a holy history, a place where holy things have happened. So, people go there in order to encounter that holy experience and it’s different for each who goes there.

But there is also another kind of pilgrimage that goes on from time to time in our own country, in which people don't go to a holy place and to experience something holy. For example, when people marched on the way to pray for civil rights and freedom, they were on a pilgrimage. In a sense, like the Magi, they followed a star: star of justice.

So, the reason people go on pilgrimage is because they believe as the Magi did: that they’re called to do that and that the journey itself really matters. It’s not just the getting there that matters; it's the traveling or what happens to the person while traveling that matters: whether alone or together. So, a pilgrimage is a kind of retreat moving forward in order to come in touch with whatever we think of as sacred.

I’d also say that pilgrimages are hard work: it takes you out of the ordinary world of everyday life and puts you into something new, something holy. In some sense, when we go on pilgrimage, we live our life story as we go along. And, the exciting thing about going on pilgrimage is that we never know what we will find when we get there. In fact, that’s not even important. What's important is what happens to you along the way. When you get to the place you are going, like the Magi, you offer your gifts and then you return home (by another way) because something will have changed within you and the everyday world will suddenly look completely different. Now, this is something to think about the next time you take a short walk from the parking lot to the church for Sunday worship. Remember, it's what happens to you along the way that ultimately matters; and I hope it's something nice: enthusiasm to participate actively at Mass.

January 15

We are called to do something special

I never had the inclination to focus into the meaning of dreams but I would assume that most of us are often fascinated by dreams. Whether there is any meaning in them or not is questionable, unless you happen to be a famous psychologist like Carl Gustavo Jung who spent a lot of time examining the meaning of dreams. But, I think it seems that our mind continues to grapple with the meaning of life even after we have gone to sleep.

It is always interesting to try to figure out what is happening up there in the night hours of the mind. Perhaps, there is some meaning in those sequences that happen in our brain waves between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Thus, we may even place some meaning on dreams whether they are objectively true or not. People who have a religious inclination often interpret dreams as messages from God. Personally, I’m rather skeptical about that but perhaps that's because I never had any dreams that seemed to have any spiritual meaning or significance to them. Nonetheless, there seems to be a consistent thread in the scriptures that interprets dreams as messages from God. Sometimes these are warnings but sometimes they are predictions of what the future holds for some individual.

Interestingly also, the biblical writers also interpret messages from God as coming through the word of an angel. We may remember the message that Mary received through the angel Gabriel that she would become the mother of God. What happened in her case; well, she knew that something mysterious was happening to her and she naturally attributed it to God; I guess that we would all do the same.

We have another example in today’s 1st reading. It is the story of the vocation of Samuel to be a prophet for the Israelite people. The call came in the middle of the night: the time when God speaks in special ways; that is, in dreams. It took 3 attempts to get the attention of Samuel but in the end he became convinced that he was truly called to do something special.

There is a similar vocation story in the gospel: Jesus saw something special in Simon. He said to Simon: From now on, you will be called Cephas, Rock. You will be the foundation stone for my other disciples and later for the entire church. So, here we have Peter's call, not at night time but surely a moment that was important in his life. It is interesting that the scriptures usually speak about the vocations of people as happening in mysterious ways, dreams or with a special name changes, etc. Now, is there any lesson in all that?

And, I ask the question because I think most of us would say that we may have experienced a number of different instances in our life when there was a unique call (or a dream) to do something special or to respond to a mysterious voice inviting us to think about the future of our life. Well, I have had several of these experiences, not just the vocation to the priesthood but other invitations to do some special work; perhaps you also have. Now where could these special calls or invitations have come from? Well, in my own case, they did not happen in the middle of the night in a dream. It was always through some special person: my mother, a friend, a fellow-priest. All this tells me that I happened to be in the right place at the right time and that changed everything. My life was never the same after that. Now, was that a message from God?

Well, it wasn't a dream but there was something special going on, something sacred. Had I not paid attention to it, I'm sure my life would have gone in a different direction. Obviously, I’m not the only one who has had experiences like that. It happens in all our lives and it doesn’t always happen in dreams (although it could). The call happens in moments when things are quiet, when you have time to reflect to pay attention to the silence. The call happens when someone you trust takes the time to share their deepest ideas with you. The call happens when you are doing something ordinary. You see, it is all about noticing, about paying attention, about being attentive to something which at first seems ordinary but turns out to be very extraordinary. It would have escaped you, if you had not been alert.

So, I have nothing against dreams or their interpretation. Also, I have nothing against visions of angels. It can happen. It is just that God also acts in ordinary ways through the human experiences of everyday life. Well, that's where most of our vocations come from even though they don't always appear to be very spectacular. So, don't stay awake all night wondering what that latest odd dream was all about. It will all become clear to you when you go to work in the morning but in a way you may never have imagined.

January 22

In my office, when the phone rings and I am busy or when someone suddenly appears without an appointment, momentarily I am a little bit annoyed because I have something I just need to get done at that moment. And, here comes someone who breaks that neat little schedule that I have and wants me to pay attention. Fortunately, the feeling of irritation wears off in a hurry.

Well, we all live in our own restricted do not disturb areas that are important for us. We have our own plans, schedules to keep, important things to think about and accomplish. Then, when this whole agenda is interrupted, we are a little bit distressed. Perhaps, the great question would be: why are these little interruptions in our life any less important than what we happen to be doing at the moment? For sure, they are important to someone but it is just that they don't fit our time-frame or other priorities we may have.

When you think about it, life itself is a continuing series of interruptions and deviations. The point is that we need to be constantly attentive and sensitive to whatever may be waiting around the corner for us. Not surprisingly, there are some interesting events described in today’s readings that talk about people who found that they were being interrupted in what they were doing and needed to do something.

The first is the familiar story of Jonah. We don't know exactly what he was doing before God told him to get ready because he had better plans for him. Jonah was a Jew and he was happy in his religion. But all of a sudden, God called him to set off for Nineveh; Nineveh, the great sin city in the Middle East. He could care less about those people; they were not related to him and they worshiped other gods. So, why should he set off across the desert to tell these pagans to fast for their sins?

The part of the story that is not told in today’s 1st reading is that Jonah did not want any part of this trip west, so he deliberately travels east until he gets thrown overboard by some sailors and is swallowed up by a whale. That turns out to be the moment where he decided that God is really serious about Nineveh and so he finally decided that he should go to Nineveh. Jonah preached repentance, the people repented and the city was saved from disaster. So, there you are: a man who had other plans in his life suddenly finding out that his attention was needed somewhere else. Because he was willing to be disturbed, some good things happened in Nineveh.

St. Paul also had something to say to the Corinthians. Like Nineveh, Corinth was a wild place with lots of crazy people there. Paul tells them: Folks, time is running out, the world in its present shape is changing, get ready to change with it or you get left behind. Well, obviously, we do not know how many changed course, probably not a lot but we know that one of the earliest Christian churches came out of Corinth. So, something good happened because Paul was willing to let his life be disturbed.

Today’s gospel also describes 4 people who were already deep in their careers and plans for their lives: 4 fishermen. Here comes Jesus, whom they had never met before, saying to them: The KG is at hand: come and follow me, I will make you fishers of men. And, they packed their things and went with Jesus. Today, with history behind us, we know what happened because they packed up and left their boats and careers. Here we are today, gathered for worship because 4 guys decided to take a chance, follow Jesus and do something completely different.

Now, it's doubtful whether any of us will ever be asked to give up our normal careers and go to those sin cities of Las Vegas, Atlantic City or wherever to preach repentance. It won't happen and I don't think any of us will be asked to leave whatever it is we are doing and choose a different way of life like Peter, Andrew, James and John. There is just too much involved: family, job, home, career and future.

But there are a few people who have done that in our time: Thomas Merton who was a worldly young man with a great future as a writer. He decided to join the Trappists. Today, he is known as a man who taught us something about contemplative prayer and silence. Dorothy Day was a promising newspaper writer and one day she just decided to devote the rest of her life to the poor by establishing Houses of Hospitality, soup kitchens around the United States. 25 years after her death, she is still known as the advocate for the downtrodden. They wanted to make her a saint even before she died but she said: Don't even bother. Well, with all that, are we also asked to do anything that will change our lives radically? Probably not!

But there is something that we could do and it is about the openness and the willingness to respond to the bishop’s invitation to the Annual Diocesan Appeal. This is an opportunity for us to respond to God’s invitation in proclaiming His message and in living our faith in ways we can support the local church.

As you know, the ADA is the major fund-raising drive for the Diocese. Each year, 52 parishes and missions take part to raise funds for the support of the centralized services, ministries, activities and programs of the Diocese. The theme of this year is PROCLAIM GOD’S MESSAGE. This reflects the challenge that we are all called as disciples of Jesus to be witnesses of Christ, to imitate Christ and to proclaim God’s message to everyone we meet. Our parish goal is $94000; $1500 less than last year. Last year, 370 families supported this appeal. We have 600 families in the parish. This year, I hope we can increase the participation by just 15%.

Supporting the ADA should be good news for all of us because in conjunction with the gospel, well, we won’t have to leave town or our careers to proclaim God’s message. The Diocese will do this for us. In fact, we won’t even need to go out and preach repentance and forgiveness. But what we can do is to support the ADA through our spiritual backing and our financial support.

Let us seek the Lord’s invitation through earnest prayer. And when we pray, let me remind you that the true purpose of this annual appeal is not about the gift but the giver; however small the amount it may share, it is the spirit behind the amount that matters most as we join hands to proclaim God’s message of hope to our local church.

January 29

My experience of God was fairly healthy but my experience of religion and church as a young boy was a little bit negative. It all started in a catechism class taught by one of our parish priests. I believed that he was never meant to be a teacher and perhaps, he should have been doing something other than teaching a group of kids their catechism.

At any rate, his method could be described as authoritarian. On many occasions, I remember feeling threatened with eternal punishment if I could not repeat the long definitions of Catholic doctrines from the Catechism.

Today, it seems that sometimes power or authority could also be the resource that teachers or other leaders feel they have to do in order to get their charges to follow them. As for myself, I always had the natural instinct that God must obviously be a kind person and that religion should be fun or at least interesting. For that reason, some of my best experiences of God happened when I went for walks during spiritual retreats with fellow priests. But my experiences of Catholicism and the Church were fearsome.

Thinking back on all that, when it comes to faith, it seems to me that power and authority are not the best resources to draw on, especially with kids. Ideally, a good teacher leads by attracting, not by forcing or threatening. But now as I reflect when I was a child, I find that even today we use the word authority a lot both in the church and in the secular world as well.

For instance, we say that the church teaches with authority, with the authority of God, when it speaks of faith and morals. Presidents have power given to them by the people. The church also uses a hierarchical model wherein power comes down from the top: from the pope to the folks in the pews. Pastors often use their power to get things done the way they like, not worrying about how their parishioners think of them; well, I don’t do that! The irony is that there are people who pretend they have more power. We use the term power to refer to anyone who is in charge: government, teachers, police, community leaders, indeed anyone who is chosen or designated to lead others, to keep good order, to bring peace to the community.

When one thinks about it, all of us have some power, some more and some less; but we have it. Even little kids know how to exert power when they are out in the school playground. As we know, some also become bullies and the truth is that we all like power; it feels good when you can tell others what to do. Of course, if left unchecked, that can become a real problem.

So, where does power come from? Obviously, we don't invent power. All power comes from God whether we wish to admit that or not. Presidents, kings and even popes have their power because the will of God for the human community is to protect, maintain good order and restore peace. Titles and names, crowns, even tiaras and miters mean nothing. The character of leadership is that we must be willing and have the ability to lead others but with humility and without arrogance.

We have a beautiful example of that in today’s gospel. It tells us that people who heard Jesus speak and observed him doing miracles were astonished at his power and authority. It was something unique to himself and not like that of the scribes and Pharisees.

So, what was the difference between the power of Jesus and the power of the scribes and Pharisees? I think it was basically this: the scribes ruled by the power of the book (law) and Jesus ruled simply from the depth of his character. People were willing to follow him because he was sincere. There was in him and his leadership something sacred. Jesus did not need books to reinforce his words. He spoke with the power and authority of God and people knew it instinctively. People were willing to listen and to follow. Today, it's what we would call the trust factor. Jesus just projected a natural sense that he could be trusted and people did trust him implicitly.

The place where this trust seems most evident is when Jesus preached or proclaimed the good news of God. We know the stories: People hung around all day and well into the evening to hear his words, and then, of course, after all the words were heard, they got fed: with loaves and fish. It seems to me that the model of the preaching power of Jesus should be a model for everyone who teaches or leads (we all do it in some way). Jesus did not use his divine power to talk down to people. All he did was to identify with people, speak in their own words and out of their own experiences; and for that reason people implicitly trusted him.

To my mind, that should be the model for all of us to follow, for those of us who claim a role of leadership. We should not insist on special privilege or depend on personal authority. And, if we do that, people will lose trust in us immediately and the message that we want to project will fall on deaf ears.

Like Jesus, we must be able to teach and lead from our deepest sense: that we are doing God's work and not our own. We must have a sense that God entrusts us with the lives of others and that itself is truly a tremendous responsibility. Well, with all that, I am glad that I managed to get through life still remaining Catholic, still loving the Church. Fortunately, I had some really wonderful teachers and leaders along the way, who had displayed character, compassion and values, whom I learned to trust simply because they seemed to teach and lead like Jesus did; and, I'm sincerely happy that it all worked out for the good.

February 5

There’s a story about a couple who had been married for more than 30 years. One evening, when the husband returned from work, he found his wife packing already. He asked: What are you doing? The wife replied: I can’t handle it anymore; I’m tired of all the arguing and complaining that’s been going on between us all these years. I’m leaving. Whereupon, the startled husband suddenly dashed to the bedroom, pulled a suitcase, filled it with his belongings and ran after his wife. Then he said: I can’t handle it either; I’m going with you.

Today’s 1st reading also tells us about a man named Job who is at a point in his life where he can’t handle it anymore; he expressed himself as a man without hope. But, as we will discover it later, his problem was because he had not turned himself to God. He kept on complaining and challenging God, instead of listening to God. His problem was resolved later when he confessed to God; he would later say: Lord, I know that you are all-powerful. I was the one who obscured your designs with my empty-headed words. I’ve been holding on matters I can’t understand, on marvels beyond me and my knowledge.

Like Job, many of us tend to challenge God’s motives. But, Job learned to trust in God’s promise that there was meaning in his suffering; that whatever happened, his life was not in vain. And, he took a new lease in life, not because he understood God’s purpose but because he accepted it in faith.

Jesus calls us to do likewise. He says: Follow me. Discover the love of the Father; embrace in faith the power and the beauty of true love that surpasses all human understanding.

We need to listen to what the Lord has to say and we will learn to pray with Job: Lord, we know that you are all powerful; we know that you can perform things that are beyond our ability to know.

In today’s gospel, when Jesus visited the house of Simon, he was told that Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Jesus cured her. The evangelist tells us that that evening, they also brought to Jesus all who were sick and those possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding around the door and Jesus cured them who were suffering from diseases.

It was suggested by some biblical scholars that, perhaps, some of those described as being possessed by devils were persons afflicted with the syndrome I can’t handle it anymore. These are people who can’t cope with life situations, people who are severely depressed.

There was this woman, a beautiful 38 year-old former model; she was a mother of 2 teenage boys; she was dying of cancer. She had already undergone surgery but some of the cancer cells are still there and had grown anew. Because the woman was in an extremely weakened condition, the surgeon called-in a consulting physician to help in determining if the woman would be able to withstand another surgery. After examining the woman, the consulting physician told her that he was not recommending surgery. Then she asked: So you think that I am not strong enough to survive the surgery?

The doctor said: Well, in my professional opinion, weighing your condition against the risk of surgery and the potential benefits…” Then, the doctor broke his response; he was not able to finish telling the woman that he could see no hope for her. But the woman said: Doctor, I want you to change your recommendation. You know, when I was a little girl, my father told me that the cup of life is never half-empty or half-full. My father said that it didn’t matter that terrible things were happening; that, if I had conviction and if I believed in myself, my cup would never run dry, my cup would always be a source of life, inspiration, strength, love and everything else that I could possibly need. That woman had surgery and she survived; and, she lived to see her 2 boys become men.

God comes to us also in our time of sorrow, pain, time of need, time of helplessness. There may be persons who are hurting at this very moment: a serious illness striking without warning or a broken relationship that devastated a wife or a husband. And, it is important for us to grasp, that in times of sorrow and feelings of helplessness, Jesus identifies with us. And, if we’ll turn to Jesus, we can find ways to work our way through these agonizing episodes. Today, we may have come here with some feelings of doubt but God can change all that! We need only to say: Yes, Lord. We will take the next step toward healing. We will depend on you to show us the way. And, because the Lord is with us, whatever problem we may have or whatever situation we may be in, we can handle all these things. As a parish, one of the things that we can also handle together is the Annual Diocesan Appeal. As the Diocese of San Jose celebrates its silver anniversary this year, we need to support this annual appeal for the work of the bishop.

February 12

St. Martin of Tours was a young soldier in the Roman army. One time, he was elegantly dressed and he was riding on his horse when he was accosted by a leper begging for alms. The sight and the stench of rotting flesh were so repulsive to the sensitivities of St. Martin that his first instincts were to ride off on his horse; but something moved him to stop and approach the beggar. Since all he had was his military coat, he cut it in 2 and gave half to the leper while he wrapped himself with the other half. It was a very cold winter day. That night in his dream, he saw Jesus clothed in a half coat saying to the angels around his throne: Martin has clothed me with his garment. This event was the turning point of Martin’s life.

The natural revulsion of Martin to leprosy is nothing compared with the OT attitude to leprosy. In the OT, leprosy was not only a feared natural disease; leprosy was also seen as a punishment from God.

In the Book of Numbers: we see the story of Miriam who was struck with leprosy as a result of her misconduct; Job was also afflicted with leprosy! This reinforced people’s view of leprosy as divine punishment for sin. In today’s reading, the practice of ostracizing lepers is reported as God’s will.

But the gospel paints a different picture: was leprosy indeed a divine chastisement? Was the dehumanizing treatment given to lepers the will of God? Well, if these things were God’s will, then there’s no way that Jesus would want to heal a leper. On the other hand, if leprosy is an unfortunate disease like any other disease, then there’s a possibility that Jesus who had earlier healed many sick people would also heal a leper.

The leper in the gospel decided to find out the truth once and for all! He ignored the law that required him to keep away from people and he got close to Jesus and knelt before him. And, instead of shouting, unclean unclean, he says to Jesus: If it is your will you can make me clean.

Jesus said: It is my will; be made clean! And, this statement of Jesus did 2 things. First, it restored the leper back to health. Second, it proved to him that leprosy was not a divine punishment but a disease that prevents people from being fully alive as God wants all people to be.

According to the OT, physical contact with lepers would make a person unclean. In particular, holy people were expected to keep a safe distance from lepers. And, against this background, the gesture of Jesus stretching out his hand and physically touching the leper becomes unthinkable. Was Jesus not afraid of being contaminated? What is going on here?

Actually, Jesus wants to challenge and redefine the traditional views of holiness. Jesus wants to challenge the traditional norms that certain people are impure by the conditions of their health, social status or birth.

A friend from India once said that in one part of his country, people of a higher caste would not sit together in church with those of a lower caste: the so-called untouchables. By reaching out and touching the leper and thereby making him pure again, Jesus is teaching us (his followers) to reach out and embrace the dehumanized and the outcasts among us. A deed of solidarity with the dehumanized does not dehumanize the doer but rather it restores full humanity to the dehumanized.

The late Pope John Paul II has declared February 11, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, as the World Day of the Sick. Thank God, leprosy has become a curable disease. Yet, the tendency to see some diseases as divine punishment and to ostracize those who suffer from them is still with us today. And, this is how many still see people with HIV-AIDS? Maybe you have heard tele-evangelists saying that AIDS is a divine punishment for sin?

Today, Jesus challenges us to abandon such dehumanizing beliefs and reach out in solidarity with those modern-day lepers among us, just as he himself did in his own days. We are challenged to reach out to the less fortunate ones in society.

February 26

Today, Jesus compares himself to a bridegroom: an image of the relationship between God and his people that goes back to the OT. In today's 1st reading, Hosea compares his own marriage to a prostitute with the relationship of Israel with God. Later, he speaks of taking an adulteress as a lover. These are images of the deficient relationship that existed between God and his people. Yet, in spite of their unfaithfulness, God is shown to be faithful and loving to Israel. It is such a deficient relationship between God and his people that is also suggested in today's gospel. People who thought they were serving God were in fact adulterating the true spirit of the Law in reducing it to a set of legalistic observances. Jesus says it is time for change!

In the gospel, we are reminded that the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees had the tradition of fasting regularly. For them, it was a sign of a deeper commitment to God. But how is it then that the disciples of Jesus were not fasting? Well, Jesus gave 2 answers in the form of parables or images. First, he says that a wedding feast is not a time for the attendants on the bridegroom to be fasting; in fact, it’s a time for joy and celebration. But this will not last forever for a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away, then there’ll be times when fasting will be appropriate.

But then Jesus continues with another kind of image. He says: No one uses a piece of new cloth to patch an old cloak. The new patch will pull and tear the weaker, old cloth and things will get worse than before. Similarly, no one puts new wine in old wineskins. As wine ferments and expands, the old containers will burst; the skins are ruined and the wine lost.

What Jesus is saying here is that his teaching cannot be judged by the old, traditional standards of external behavior. Jesus has brought a paradigm shift in the ways we relate with God and with one another. If we judge what Jesus does by the old ways, we will have difficulty in understanding his message and his vision. As St. Paul would say: We need to have the mind of Christ.

This teaching is still relevant in our Church today. 40 years after Vatican II, there are still people who have not understood the radical shift in thinking that it introduced. I often hear people ask me, after hearing a homily: But we were taught differently in school.

For instance, Vatican II brought radical changes in the way the Eucharist was celebrated. For many, however, the changes are just seen as cosmetic, on the surface. The language was changed; the priest faces the people. These changes reflected a very new way of celebrating Mass. Yet, it seems that many people still go to Mass with basically unchanged attitudes or understanding. Others try to cling to the good old days (Tridentine Masses), following old devotions (some of which border on the superstitious). There is still a lot of individualism and saving my soul to get to heaven mentality. These are the old wineskins and the new wine of a changing Church does not fit in. New wine needs fresh skins!

There are many older people who still cling to the past ways and who don’t appreciate the beauty of the new wine. Because of this, many young people have never been given the opportunity to appreciate what Vatican II has proposed. As a result, they have voted with their feet and just left.

The result is that our Church becomes more and more irrelevant in a rapidly changing world. Of course, the central core of the gospel message is unchanging and unchangeable. But the living out of that message in a changing world calls for changes in the way we present and live our faith and in the needs we respond to. An Asian theologian used to say: The world writes the agenda for the Church. Unless we are in touch with the world and communicate the gospel in a way that it can understand, we’re wasting our energies; and the gospel isn’t being preached.

Would it not be wonderful if the words of Paul to the Corinthians today could be applied to all of us? It is a beautiful image to think that each one of us is a letter from Christ, addressed to all those around us. And it expresses the difference between the new wine and the old wine. The old wine emphasizes external observance of laws and commandments but the new wine flows from deep within our hearts. St. Paul says today: The new covenant is not a covenant of written letters but of the Spirit: the written letters bring death but the Spirit gives life.

That was what the disciples of JB and the Pharisees did not understand. They were people of the letter of the Law, of external observance. The followers of Jesus follow only the commandment of love, the love which gives one's life for one's friends, the love that embraces both friends and enemies, the love that reaches out to the brother and sister in need. This is the new wine with which we need to be intoxicated.

ASH WEDNESDAY

When our parents sent us to school, they wanted us to learn the basics: how to read, how to write and how to work with numbers. With those 3 skills, we can succeed in this world: reading, writing and arithmetic.

Today, Jesus gives us the 3 basics in order to succeed spiritually, that is, to grow in our relationship with God. Not only Jews and Christians have practiced them but almost every religion in the world has followed them. The 3 basics are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

The 1st is prayer: if we want to have a friend, we have to be in each others’ presence: we talk. The same applies in our friendship with God. It will not happen automatically. Of course, the most important is what we are doing right now: participating in the Mass. It is the greatest prayer because it renews Jesus’ sacrifice. Try to read a good spiritual book, which will help you focus on God. Pray the rosary or take a walk asking the Lord to accompany you. Don’t do it for show but to grow in your friendship with Jesus.

The 2nd basic practice is fasting. Today, this is tricky for us. Our culture has placed so much guilt around food, making us feel bad about eating a Big Mac or a plate of linguini; well, we should certainly enjoy food and the enjoyment that accompanies a good meal. But, we must find a place for fasting. Every generation of Christians, until about 1960, fasted. We need to return to this practice. Give up for Lent some food you particularly enjoy. Cut out eating between meals. At a very minimum we must follow the rules of no meat today and the 7 Fridays of Lent. Fasting, giving up some favorite food or eating less, reminds us to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

The 3rd basic practice is almsgiving: once again, this can be a bit tricky. Honestly, I do not give to every person who shows up or to the people with signs at stoplights. I want to be a good steward, to use my resources to best help others. I do it mainly through the Parish and the Diocese; and helping as best I can the needy.

St. John Chrysostom said that after we have satisfied our own basic needs and of those we are directly responsible for, all the rest belongs to the poor.

Lent is time to look at the things I spend my money on. Lent is also a good time getting rid of some of the clutter in ones room and ones life. With a bit more organization, I could better serve the needy.

In a few minutes, you will each receive a black cross on our foreheads. It reminds us that soon, very soon, we will return to dust. How do we want to use the time that God has allotted to us? Lent calls us back to basics: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

March 5

Recognizing God's Presence in us

A few years ago about this time of year, a story appeared in the newspaper about a strange occurrence in NYC. A thief cornered a man in a dark place. He threatened to slash the man's throat with his knife unless he handed over his money. As the victim reached for his wallet, the light caught him in such a way that the thief saw that his victim was a priest. Quickly, the robber apologized for his behavior explaining that he was unaware of the fact that he had preyed on a priest. The priest, still shaken from the incident, pulled out his cigarettes to calm himself with a smoke. As he did, he offered one to the thief; but the thief replied: No thanks, Father. I gave them up for Lent.

During this season of Lent, we will focus on how to proclaim God’s message of repentance. Lent is a time to evaluate what we have been doing with our lives and a time to evaluate our spiritual progress. Although we may be a little fuzzy on the real meaning of repentance, well, we can be sure that it involves more than making a few minor adjustments in our lives. Repentance reverses our priorities; it upsets our accustomed sense of values.

For many of us, repentance is a word that belongs to yesterday; it is one of those slippery words. We speak and hear this word without attaching real meaning to our lives. For some people, there is a vague understanding of repentance as something that is done when one is caught. Repentance is more than saying: I am sorry. For some people, there is a vague understanding of repentance as involving a change of attitude, a change of mind or turning over a new leaf; there are elements of truth in all of these.

But the truth is: genuine repentance means more than feeling sorry for our sins or telling God that we are in his side. The sign of true repentance should bear fruit and the evidence of repentance is to be found in the fruit that is brought forth from our lives. So repentance is a positive action and it is something that should enhance our life and the lives of others.

There was this story about 2 friends since childhood. One friend asked the other: Well, why is it that you never got married?

The friend replied: Well, to tell you the truth; I spent my entire youth looking for the perfect woman. In NYC, I met this beautiful and intelligent woman, with eyes dark olives but she was unkind. In Montreal, I met a woman who was a very kind person but we had no common interests. Over the years, I met one woman after another who seemed just right but there was always something that was missing. Then, one day, I met her! She was intelligent, generous, kind and we had everything in common. In fact, she was perfect.

The other friend was puzzled and asked: Well, what happened? Why didn’t you marry her?

The other friend said: Well, sad to say; it seems she was looking for the perfect man.

Yes, none of us is perfect! That is why the call to repentance should be consistent and constant. Nobody is perfect! No perfect person has ever entered this church; no perfect neighbor has ever entered this church; no perfect pastor has ever entered this church. All of us belong into that category of people who need to repent and none of us can truly enrich our lives and the lives of others unless we are willing to change.

In one of his letters, St. Paul said that apart from Christ he can do nothing. He tells the Christians: Mend your ways; live in harmony and peace. And, the God of love and peace will be with you. And, in today’s gospel, Jesus says: The time has come and the KG is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News. This statement represents the spirit of his entire ministry: a series of demands for rebirth and renewal.

In all of his preaching and teaching, Jesus consistently calls for a change of heart. Jesus calls for a change so radical, so profound that he wants to convert us into living witnesses to the coming of the KG that he proclaimed.

This means to forgive those who hurt us; this is not easy! This means to pray for those who mistreat us; this is not easy! This means to give aid and comfort to those who need us; this may be easy. This means to be merciful and compassionate towards the outcasts of society. And to do all these things consistently means an entire lifetime of dedication for us to change. We are always challenged and there is always a need to reorder our lives!

To our catechumens, today, Jesus is asking all of us to look into our lives and to encounter ourselves; he is asking us to recognize his sacred presence in our hearts; and he is asking us to rise above our doubts, our difficulties and our fears.

March 12

Walking with Jesus

One day a young monk asked an older monk: Why is it that so many come here to join the monastery but after a while they give up the effort to be a monk and they leave? The old monk thought for a while and he said: As you stand here in front of the monastery, sometimes you’ll see a rabbit pass by, chased by the village dogs, barking & howling. After some time, the rabbit comes back but there are only 1 or 2 dogs in pursuit. These are the dogs that actually saw the rabbit; the other dogs just followed the barking. Likewise, if we are to persevere in the monastery & live as monks we must have a glimpse of the rabbit (of the Lord) & not just be following the barking.

The Transfiguration is one of those moments of seeing the rabbit, of seeing Jesus as Lord. Jesus took Peter, James and John to Mt Tabor. Suddenly, his clothes became whiter than snow, an inner light radiating out from him. Then, standing beside Jesus was Moses, who received the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai. Then, Elijah joins them, a great prophet. Then, a voice from the cloud: This is my beloved son; listen to him. What a picture! Peter, James and John saw Jesus as someone to listen to and to follow. Jesus the lawgiver, like Moses but he is greater! Jesus the prophet, like Elijah but greater!

Our 1st reading describes a different scene, a dramatic scene. God said to Abraham: Take your son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. Remember the story of the birth of Isaac? For years, Abraham and Sarah had prayed and waited for a baby. Then, when Abraham was over 100 years old and wife Sarah was over 90, Isaac was born: their 1st child, their only child. They were old enough to be great-great grandparents but their young son gave them joy, meaning & wonder: a son who’d give them grandchildren.

One day, when Isaac was still a boy, God told Abraham to make a burnt offering of him: to make Isaac a human sacrifice. Abraham tied up his son Isaac, laid him atop the wood pile. Shaking, Abraham raised his arm, ready to plunge a knife into his son. But, a voice was heard, the Lord's messenger says: Abraham, stop, I was testing your faith; do not lay a hand on your boy. Abraham puts down the knife, untied his son. What a picture! A dearly loved son to be sacrificed in obedience to God! God relented at the last minute.

But, look at our 2nd reading! God told Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac but God did not spare his own Son. God's own Son a sacrificial lamb. Jesus, God the Son died on the cross. Makes us ponder. What are we asked to sacrifice for our God? Could we make the sacrifice? Are we able to give up what gives us joy and makes life meaningful? Not that easy, I think.

Jesus said: Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. I'll always remember the father who said: I didn't realize I could love so much until I held my daughter in my arms for the first time. Would that father give up his precious daughter? Not easily! When the news breaks that a child has been kidnapped, the headline Jessica, age 10, kidnapped, what parent does not feel that fear, that someone may abduct their child. We’d plead: Please, don’t ask me to sacrifice, to never see again, my child.

How about our church? In many parts of the country, churches built many years ago are being closed because so few are attending: they can’t pay the bills and there is no priest to be assigned to the parish. What do the parishioners say? In our local case: Bishop, do not send a lay minister to our church, the church where we were baptized, confirmed and married; where we meet friends each Sunday as we come for Mass; the church where ashes are placed on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday and where we stood in line to go to confession. We love our church! We need a resident priest!

How about our possessions, how ready are we to sacrifice what we own? Jesus told the apostles as he sent them out: Take with you no gold or silver, no bag for your journey. We'd ask: do we have to give up our cars or our homes to enter the KG? How many grown children have resisted their fathers and mothers when their parents wanted to sell the family home and move to a smaller home? The grown children walk through the old family home and remind mom and dad: This was my bedroom, memories popping into mind. Or, how readily do we give up the memorabilia we carry with us? Think of that old ball on the shelf, losing air but is kept because with that ball you scored the winning points in your last high school homecoming game. Precious possessions, that remind us of who we are and where we came from and of the colorful and fun people of our lives. We do not easily give up these reminders of the people we love and the exciting moments of our lives. We ask: Why would God want us to give them up?

Only 4 weeks remain until the Holy Week. Today, Jesus invites us to ascend that mountain with him and to place our trust in him.

March 19

We meet God in the Church

There are many memories from our past that have given us a sense of identity, a sense that we belong somewhere. The first of these is our home, especially the house where we lived and grew up in our early years. I have great memories in my parents’ house, a house that I had to share with my 3 brothers and 3 sisters; I can still remember every corner of that place and that house has had a great impact in my life. I still have a vivid image of our house. Now, why is this important for me? Well, it has something to do with a sense of place, a sense that I belong somewhere, a place where there is warmth and protection, an assurance that I was safe there. I'm sure most of us would raise our voices in protest if someone decides to take our homes from us. We may even think that homes are a sort of sacred spaces where we prayed with our parents, where we first learned our catechism, etc.

The 2nd building that I remember from my youth and that has left a great impact on me was our church. We always say that churches are ours because in a sense we know that we can go there and that we will be welcomed; if not by an usher, then surely by the God. It was quiet there! There’s a sense of holiness when you come in. Some churches may even have had the smell of incense or the crowds of people that packed it each Sunday. Churches have a unique odor of holiness!

Again, it is interesting that we could call St. Cyprian Church our very own: the smallest Catholic Community of this part of Sunnyvale. Other people have their churches and we have ours. This is the place where family events took place: baptisms, 1st Communions, Confirmations, weddings and funerals. We could expect that our spiritual needs would be satisfied there. So, why are churches so precious to us? Well, I think it is because we have the deep sense that here is where we meet God; here is where God takes up residence with us when we come. No other building can compare with this one; it has a special ness we call sacred. That’s why: we give them special names, names of the saints or one of the mysteries of Christ. Here is where our Christian character is formed.

Jesus also had his favorite church, a place where his character was formed by the teachings and rites that were held there. It was the Temple that King Herod constructed over a number of years. Parts of it still remain standing today and people come to pray every day at the so-called Western Wall.

So, we learn something in today’s gospel how Jesus felt about this Temple where he had learned something about God when he was 12 years old. Of course, by the time he was about 30, he had a special call from God to preach the good news and to heal the sick. But he also had this need to pray at the temple occasionally, to experience the quiet of the sanctuary, perhaps to make an offering. It was this need for quiet time with God that drew him to the temple on a particular day. Perhaps, he had not been there for a while. And, when he walked in, he found that businesses were being transacted there. Well, we don’t have many evidences that Jesus really got angry during his life but this is one that stands out very clearly. Jesus was shocked at the sight of the selling of animals and birds for sacrifice, at the money that was being exchanged. When we read the details of this event, we’d say: Jesus became violent. It must have been a ferocious scene: tables flying, money scattered across the pavement, birds and animals running wildly, people yelling. The odd thing about all this is that most of the people who went to the temple to pray, seemingly didn’t get agitated by the commercialism going on there. This tells me that Jesus had a deeper sense of the sacredness of the temple than the rest and he was willing to go to extremes to defend its sacred character. We also know that this event got Jesus into trouble with the temple and civil authorities; eventually, it led to his passion and death.

So, what does all this have to do with our sense of church today? Obviously, we do not have ushers at the entrance, making change or charging rent in the pews! Actually, tickets for parish functions are sold outside or in the vestibule of the church. But churches today are also places that serve a variety of human needs: surely, hospitality. But they are also places where we should have the freedom to meet God on our terms. Aside from the liturgy, we should be able to drink in the meaning of the symbols that surround us. We should be able to come away from this time with God refreshed, quieted and satisfied spiritually. There should be no distraction! At the same time, we should feel free to take part in the Mass with passion and delight along with fellow parishioners because we come as a community, not as individuals. In a sense, churches are places where there is room for everyone's spirituality; we need to make room for each other. Here at St. Cyprian, we still have plenty of spaces for worship.

March 26

God’s Love through Jesus

There was this little 4-year-old girl who was dying of a very rare disease. Her only hope was having a blood transfusion; and the only possible person who could give matching blood was her 6-year-old brother.

The doctor handling the case talked very sensitively to the little boy. He said: Your younger sister is very sick and we think that if we can take out some of your blood and put it into her it might make her better. Would you be willing to let us take it? The little boy paused for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement.

A few days later when the little boy came back with his parents to visit his little sister, they met the pediatrician. The doctor said to the boy: You know; it’s so wonderful! Your blood saved your sister; she’s going to be okay now.

But the little boy started to cry. The doctor asked him what was wrong. He said: Now, when am I going to die?

All the time he believed that he was going to die in giving his blood for his little sister but he had been willing to do it!

Today's gospel tells us of this kind of love, God loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

Believing in that Son and in that Father is not always easy! The world that God made has this wonderful system of regeneration and rejuvenation of birth, death and of the coming of new life. This happens in the plant, animal and human kingdom as well as in the earth itself. In countries where volcanic eruptions happen, volcanic ash is being spewed out from the bowels of the earth to provide fertile soil for future generations.

But this wonderful process is often devastating and painful for those who get caught up in it: for the people who lose property and loved ones in this eruption and for those who lose relatives and even children in death. It is hard and even impossible to see the plan of God behind all these.

But God loved the world that even though he could not change the system in which the world worked, he showed that he was not cold hearted and indifferent. He sent his own Son to be part of that world and to suffer. The Jesus whom he sent to us, well, showed us by word and example where our freedom lay; in suffering gracefully in the face of the inevitable.

Jesus came into the world as a light but people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hate the evil and does not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be shown to be evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light so that it can be clearly seen that the works have been done in God.

The great and mysterious truth of God needs to be brought into the light; it is always there like the sunlight behind the clouds. And, just as it is often difficult for us to believe in the sunlight during a storm; so too it is often difficult for us to believe in God's love in times like these.

But prayer helps us to see everything differently, not so much to see different things. Because in prayer, we remove our own shadows (our own words, ideas and images) that keep getting in the way of our being in the presence of God's love. In prayer, we gradually expose our darker inner selves to the sunlight of God's love.

In prayer, we come to know a God who was willing to give his life for us, like the boy in our story, so that we may know his love in a world that makes no sense outside of this paradoxical life: a life that brings life out of death as the morning brings light out of darkness.

5th Sunday of Lent (B)

Transformed by God’s Message

Two things strike me in a special way whenever we make our annual clergy retreat at El Retiro in Los Altos: they are the wind and the birds. I hear so many kinds of songs from the birds but I couldn’t find where they were among the trees. But, from their beautiful songs, I knew they were there! The retreat place is always cool and breezy; I could feel the wind and see the trees sway but I couldn’t see the wind. I could only see the things touched by the wind and I knew the wind was there.

Then it dawned on me that we couldn’t see many of the most important things in life: air, ideas, courage, love, forgiveness or God's grace. However, we can see the effects of their presence: the things touched by the wind, the song of the birds, the courage of friends to speak the truth, a man and woman pledging their love and commitment in marriage.

In today's gospel, some Greeks asked to see Jesus; well, the apostles could have pointed out Jesus and invited the Greeks to listen. But what would be more convincing is too their lives (apostles) transformed by Jesus' message. Eventually, Jesus will no longer be visible to them. Jesus will be glorified and will return to the Father: how could people see him then and how can people see him today?

Well, we can see Jesus in the same way we can see the wind, the birds in their songs, power of an idea, the depth of courage and the reality of human love. We see these things by the changes they make in a person's life: a good tree must bear good fruit. We don't see Jesus as the apostles saw him; we can’t see him with our eyes but we can experience and encounter him. Like those Greeks in today's gospel, we long to see a Jesus who makes a difference in the lives of those who say they were his followers.

Yes, we long to see Jesus today! We long to see a Jesus, who inspires us to share the good news of salvation through our lives. When we have encountered Jesus, we can no longer stay still and do nothing. We want to announce what marvelous things God has done for us, how good and merciful He is, that He has come to save us. We long to see a Jesus, who knows what is in our hearts, who knows how difficult it is sometimes to do the right thing, who knows our efforts and our weaknesses, and is ready to lay down his life for our sake.

None of this can happen unless we see the effects of Jesus' presence in the lives of other people. We read or heard about the canonized saints, people whose lives radiated God's presence and love. We remember saints like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Augustine. We also know saintly people even though they were not yet officially canonized, like Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II. They were well loved by the people and I'm sure you know of others. We know of people who have God's love written in their hearts that their lives would make no sense if God did not exist. Fr. Damien asked to be assigned to a Leper Colony in Hawaii; and there he ministered to the lepers until he died.

We know of people whose suffering might rival that of Job but who still trust in God's love and goodness; they don't get discouraged; they continue to pray and trust.

Well, it's not enough that we be on the receiving end of such deep faith and great love; we need to be on the giving end too.

And, how can we do that? We can help others by guiding them along their faith journey. Today, many people, especially the youth, are searching for meaning in life. The traditional approach of the Church often turns them off. What they need is the witnessing of Christians, whose lives stand as testimonies of God's love for humanity; Christians who can integrate deep gospel spirituality with their daily concerns. We can witness by our prayer in easy times but especially in tough times. Not every Eucharist can be the high point of our life but our faith may help make one particular celebration a high point of someone else's life.

Then there is the witness of the work of charity, done not for recognition but because it is Jesus, who is hungry, naked, sick or in some other need, our solidarity with the suffering - especially when we lack the words or the ability to make their pain go away, our concern for those who are grieving can be signs of God's presence.

Some people may say that they’d like to see Jesus. Today’s Eucharist renews our faith and helps us to share Jesus through words and lives overflowing with Jesus' compassionate love.

Feast of the Holy Trinity

There’s this story about a group of scientists, who decided that humankind had progressed so much on its own that they no longer needed God. So they selected one scientist to go and tell God that he is no longer needed. The scientist walked up to God and said: God, we've decided that you are obsolete and we don't need you anymore. We've reached the point where we can cure just about every disease; we have the technology to both destroy creation and rebuild creation - even making it better; we can travel across heavens; we can even clone people. So, God, we really don't need you anymore. God listened very patiently to the scientist and when he had finished, God said: I see. Before I go, what if we have a contest? A contest in that whoever one of us makes the best human being, wins. If I win, I stay put; if you win, I'll leave, no hard feelings.

The scientist said: You're on. Then, God said: Now, we're going to do this just like I did it back in the old days with Adam. Both of us start with dirt. The scientist answered with great confidence: Sure, no problem, you're on. And then, he bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt. But God stopped him, Uh, uh, no, no. You have to get your own dirt.

After Pentecost, we celebrate Feast of the Trinity. The readings for this Sunday are devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects. We begin on Trinity Sunday by contemplating the mystery of God. Simply stated, the mystery of the Trinity states that there is 1 God in 3 divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the HS. The Father is God, the Son is God, the HS is God yet there’s only 1 God, not 3 Gods: 1 nature in 3 distinct divine Persons. It is a mystery: not to be solved and explained but a mystery to be professed and lived. It is the mystery of the God who created us and our world out of love, a love so perfect and complete that we cannot begin to understand it; the God who continue to re-create us and our world in the gift of His Son, the very love of God made man and real for us.

Out of the same mysterious love, God calls us back again and again, not as a all-powerful Creator demanding homage from lowly subjects, the objects he created but as a compassionate parent welcoming back his own children and loving them unconditionally. God invites us to a relationship with him not based on fear and judgment but centered in love, mercy and trust.

I’d relate beautifully the Trinity to the sign of the Cross that we make at the beginning and end of every prayer. Making the sign of the cross should be more than a routine procedure. It’s a prayer in itself, a very profound one. This sign is a powerful profession of our faith in the existence of the Trinity. It is a mini-liturgy, we do and say something that is distinctively religious.

One of the ways to deepen the meaning of today's celebration is to concentrate on the reverent use of this sacred sign. We touch our heads and show our assent of faith, as we pronounce the name of the Father, our divine Creator; we dedicate our minds to God. Next, our fingertips come to rest at the base of our hearts, symbol of love. We mention the 2nd Person of the Trinity. And, then we move our fingers from one shoulder to the other, signifying eagerness to give our arms and hands to good works under the guidance of the HS. Finally, the hands interlock, showing we’re united and single-minded in our efforts. With this conclusive gesture we say "Amen".

In the name of the Trinity, we were signed in baptism, our sins were forgiven and we received many blessings. Although basic to our faith, the Trinity is not to be understood but professed and admired.

Some people, desirous of solving every mystery, over simplify God and claim to know God’s intimate nature and thoughts; they interpret the bible avoiding scholarly assistance, which they say only complicates matters. This approach may be attractive but is not honest, for God is not simple, nor is religion. We believe God is 1 nature but 3 persons but the full meaning of those words is far beyond our understanding. However, the Trinity is a unique model and sign of unity: a unity that God expects to see in our lives. Every blessing of the Church flows from the Trinity, traced out through the sign of the Cross. Under that sign, you sealed your wedding vows; and that same sign will bid you safe passage to the eternal Kingdom. Today's celebration of the Trinity confronts us with our response to God's invitation and our worthiness to be called God's children. May Trinity Sunday inspire each of us to manifest faith with our minds, to love with our hearts and to serve with our hands. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

July 9

We are called to be prophets too!

An old man was wondering if his wife had a hearing problem. So one night, while his wife was sitting in her lounge chair, he went behind her and said softly to her, “Honey, can you hear me?” He gets no response. So he moves a little closer and says again, “Honey, can you hear me?” Still, he gets no response. Finally, he moves right next her and said, “Honey, can you hear me?” This time she looks up with surprise and replied, “Henry, for the 3rd time, I can hear you!”

Well, sometimes, we blame the other person for a breakdown in communication when all the time we ourselves are mainly responsible for the situation.

There’s a saying that says: familiarity breeds contempt. It means that the more we know people, well, the more likely we are to find fault with them and then dislike them. We take them for granted and we underestimate their capacity to grow, develop, change and become more wonderful and gifted than we ever expected they could be.

For example, Beethoven had a rather awkward style of playing the piano and he preferred to work at his own compositions rather than play the classical artists of his day; his teacher disapproved his style and he called him hopeless as a composer. Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was 4 and couldn’t read until age 9; he was described by his teacher as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift in his foolish dreams.” The teachers of Thomas Edison advised his parents to keep him at home from school, stating that he was “too stupid to learn anything. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who complained that he lack creative ideas.

Obviously, all of these people lived to contradict their naysayers and they excelled in their respective fields. So also Jesus, so also Ezekiel! And, today’s readings challenge our human tendency to label and limit people; they invite us to begin to look at God, the world and one another with more open eyes and more receptive hearts.

Because Jesus’ hometown neighbors and friends thought they knew all about him, they didn’t expect greatness from him. Since they knew where Jesus lived and who his family was, they also thought they knew what he could accomplish and who he’d become. As a result of their close-mindedness, Jesus couldn’t work a miracle among them.

The prophet Ezekiel also faced a similar rejection when he was empowered by the Spirit to minister to the people. The people just couldn’t accept someone from there own midst.

In the case of prophets, the very people who are too much for us may just be the special venue for God’s surprises. Not everyone wanted to listen to Martin Luther King Jr. when he preached about the civil rights of all people. Today, the Church refers to this as the dignity of the human person.

Today’s gospel had deep meaning for Mark and he placed it carefully at this point in his gospel. The rejection that Jesus encountered was also being shared by the community of St. Mark 30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Although many Gentiles were accepting and welcoming the gospel, the hometown crowd, i.e. the Jewish people were rejecting it, just as many of them had rejected Jesus.

For Jesus, his being a prophet was probably the most important part of his ministry. Today, there are prophets among us who are also sent by God to us. Who are today’s prophets of the Church? Which of their prophetic calls do we not hear or perhaps ignore?

• How about life issues from conception to death?

• How do we treat today’s immigrants?

• Do we help the 3 billion poor of the world who live on less than $2/day?

Who are today’s prophets who represent these needs and many others? Should we be among them? Perhaps, we should transition from listening to prophets to becoming prophets ourselves. We can always become more than we are, more than what others think we can be, like Beethoven, Einstein, Edison and Disney. Our spiritual models should be Jesus, Ezekiel and the many prophets and saints who have gone before us.

When we were baptized, we were anointed priest, prophet and king. Each one of us is called to be prophetic in our local community, national and international community.

July 16

Genuine source of blessing

The Russians have a fable about a foolish boar, a wild pig. This particular boar was very greedy for acorns. If he found one, he’d keep digging and looking for more. One time, he dug so deep that he began to destroy the roots of the oak tree. Finally, the tree spoke, "Look up, you foolish animal. I am the source of your food. If you destroy my roots, you will have no more acorns.”

Today, Jesus reminds us of the true source of blessing. He did this when he sent his disciples out, two by two. Each disciple had a traveling companion but not much else: no food, no sack and no money in their belts. By their lack of possessions, they’d witness to real wealth, what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven. Laying hold of that wealth involves 3 things: repentance, liberation from demons and for the sick, anointing with holy oil.

And what do the disciples gain by giving up everything? Jesus promised both material and spiritual gain. In this life, the disciple will receive blessings of a hundred fold. Jesus assured missionaries that they’ll find homes ready to receive and care for them. When I was in Argentina, I saw this generosity in action. In spite of the people’s own poverty, they still wanted to give me the best they had. And, I see that same generosity here at St. Cyprian.

Perhaps, some will protest: I don't want the generosity of other people; I want my own home, my own kitchen, my own bank account. In one sense that is fair enough because having one's own possessions is part of human freedom. Yet, in a deeper sense, Jesus tries to tell us that the one thing none of us can ever have is my own things. When I try to hold on to my own things, it separates me from God and other people.

There was this guy who was showing off his new car. He was so proud of it that he wanted everyone to see it. In admiration, one of his friends extended a hand to touch the seat cover. The owner stopped him. He said: "Opps, be careful; don't get your fingerprints there.”

Once I own something, I have to defend it. We spend money on security and consider it money well spent but there is a danger. Possessions can become more important than people.

There is a big difference between ownership and stewardship. Stewardship begins with gratitude and ends with sharing. Ownership asserts that I am somebody because of what I possess. When you think about it, it is so unrealistic. Sooner or later, everything we own will slip from our hands. That new car will end up in the junk yard - and, before that happens, the owner might meet his demise.

The death of Ken Lay (ENRON) should serve as a lesson for us. Of course, as Christians we pray for his eternal rest. Still, it is hard not to see him as an example of what happens when a person grasps at wealth. In retrospect, his actions seem both infuriating and pathetic.

According to newspaper accounts, in addition to owning 15 homes, he once gave his wife a $200,000 yacht as a birthday present. Nice but he owed over $10 million (not counting those he defrauded). Ken Lay enjoyed many luxuries but like everyone else, he couldn’t take his money with him. At the same time thousands will say, "Ken Lay took my money with him.” Like the foolish boar, he ignored the source of true wealth. May he have found that Source before his sudden death. Perhaps his father, a Baptist minister, interceded for him.

The point here is not to judge the state of Ken Lay's soul. The point is that you or I could die in a similar manner. We do not only have the negative example of those who defraud others; we have the positive example of a few who give up everything as witnesses to Christ.

One time I received a big shock. One of our formators in the seminary announced that he was stepping down from formation ministry to become a Trappist monk. He was a successful priest, a brilliant preacher and a person who enjoyed outdoor activities. Now he wants to trade tasty food, sleep, entertainment and freedom for prayer, penance and manual labor. Most people would not consider that a very good bargain but he wants to do it.

I have to admit it made me think: not about becoming a Trappist monk. I know I could never do that! But I could think about my own approach to possessions, what I falsely consider to be mine.

St. Paul tells us that only in Christ do we have true wealth: "In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he has lavished upon us

July 30

We are channels of God’s love

A generous benefactor gave a significant donation to a parish with a request that each of the sisters working in the parish receive $50. One sister was also inspired that she gave her $50 to the first poor man she meets. After the Mass she saw a shabby looking man leaning at the back of the church. She ran to him and gave him her $50 saying: Here, you poor man; Godspeed! The man asked: But Sister, what's your name? Sister Ann, came the answer as she ran into the convent. That same afternoon the shabby looking man went to the convent looking for Sr. Ann. The porter told him: Sister Ann is at prayer; she cannot be disturbed. Would you like to leave a message?

The man said: Yes, here's $200. Tell Sr. Ann that Godspeed came in second!

Well, that's a kind of multiplication. Today’s gospel is about the multiplication of the bread but I don't recommend you apply it to the racetrack. Often, we wish we could multiply our family budget. We earn a fixed income and that means we have to calculate our budget. Among our expenses, 1 item stands out & that item is food. It is also central in our lives.

When it comes to food, we spend a lot of time and energy going to the market; we spend more time preparing the food. And how much time do we spend just eating our meals every day. Food and eating is an important part of our lives. Much of our meetings and business deals are done over dinner or a cup of coffee. It is not surprising that Jesus often pictures the KG as a wedding banquet. And he sets the most important sacrament, the Holy Eucharist in the context of a meal, the Last Supper.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we say: Give us this day our daily bread. But we are not praying for spiritual sustenance; it's actually very material. Martin Luther said that the words daily bread is meant everything we need for this life: food and clothing, home, property, work, income, a developed family, an orderly community, a good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, true friends and neighbors. The bread that God gives to us relates to our entire being. We pray that God will feed us generously with the Living Bread and that we will share with others with grateful hearts.

We need to be nourished regularly by the Bread of Life, just as we need to eat regularly to nourish our bodies. Worship, reading the bible, prayer and receiving the Eucharist, are all parts of Christian life; so is fellowship with other Christians that God creates through the Church.

The Spanish philosopher and writer Unamuno tells of a Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain that was built in 109 AD and brought water from the mountains to a thirsty city for more than 1800 years. One day, it was decided to give the old aqueduct a well-deserved rest. So the city constructed a modern pipeline to carry water to the people. But soon the aqueduct began to fall apart. The sun cracked the mortar and made it crumble. For hundreds of years this aqueduct had held together but now it began to disintegrate. What generations of service could not destroy, idleness soon disintegrated.

Our Christian lives are like that. If they fall into disuse and are left idle, they soon fall apart and disintegrate. That's why bread is such a wonderful symbol of Jesus, God's gift to us. Just as our physical bodies need regular nourishment, so our relationship with God needs to be nourished and celebrated and expressed each day. Like that ancient aqueduct that needed to be used regularly to be effective, we need to be channels of God's love and mercy towards others.

Each Sunday Eucharist is accompanied by many signs: vestments, music, candles; others are also essential to the meaning of the Mass - the words of scripture, the bread and wine that is brought to the altar, the assembly itself.

We must be open at each Mass to see more deeply into these signs (both external and essential) as leading us to faith in the person of Jesus, who is the focus of each Eucharistic celebration. He’s present here as the Bread of Life, an encounter with the very life of God.

Today’s 2nd reading pleads for the kind of Christian living that flows from the Eucharist we celebrate: a community marked by humility, gentleness, patience: the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. Only with God's help can we become this reality - which is what we will pray for in a moment, in our Eucharistic Prayer.

May God continue to feed us lavishly and may we gratefully point others to that Living Bread.