“For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” I chose this quote from Dag Hammarskjold to be on the memory card from my religious profession. It speaks of a profound gratitude to God and an openness toward God and towards whatever lies ahead in life and in death. November is traditionally a time in which we remember the dead. In some cultures people set up little home altars on which they place photos and mementos of their loved ones who have died and gone ahead of us to that which we call the afterlife, heaven. We do not know what lies ahead but yet we are part of it, promised resurrection through our Baptism.

As we careen towards the end of the liturgical year and towards Advent, our readings turn toward “the last things”. This is not meant to cause us to be gloomy or sad; on the contrary, it is meant to offer us an opportunity to reflect on the transitory reality of this life in the context of the gift of the promise of eternal life. While none of us really knows what it will be like, and the speculation has made for good reading over the centuries, some theologians today talk of it as something analogous to a glorious and knowable uniting, a joining with God in a new and spectacular way, beyond our wildest hopes and dreams! Heaven! Down through history this belief of the resurrection has motivated many people to stand up and resist oppression and evil, not unlike in the first reading.

What do I believe about heaven and the afterlife? Do I fear death or dying? If I built a little home altar whose photos and mementos would I place on it? What oppression and evil do I need to stand up to?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

Have you ever noticed how in the Gospels Jesus seeks out social outcasts and religious losers? Zacchaeus is despised by his neighbors because he has “cozied” up with the Roman occupiers and was extracting excessive taxes from his own people. He was not a popular man in town. But Zacchaeus wasn’t beyond being saved…beneath all his greed, beneath all his sinfulness…Zacchaeus was open to the presence of God when it walked by! While the Pharisees and town’s people had “written him off”…God had not! God came to his house!

Think about that for just a minute…God sought out this sinner and offered him a new life…and he took it! It is so easy to write people off…because of what they do or have done…the country they come from….how they look…the color of their skin…or who they love. There are all kinds of reasons we “write people off”…but God doesn’t! Who have I “written off”…why? Who are the people that I disdain or distance myself from…why? When was the last time I climbed a tree to get a better look at God passing by?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

When I was a little kid we had two elderly, rather eccentric, “aunts” who loved to buy my sisters and brothers and me gifts for every occasion imaginable. One Christmas they came over to our house with an absolutely huge box of Whitman Chocolates. And being kids…we tore into the elegantly wrapped box of confectionary delights with the greatest of joy…only to discover that the “legend” had been taken out of the lid of the box...so we had no way of knowing what was inside each of the smooth shiny milk chocolate squares. Our aunts howled with laughter at our consternation. (We had a “house rule” that no one was allowed to “punch holes’ in the bottom of chocolates to find out what kind of filling was inside and you always had to eat whatever piece you took.) As we hovered over the huge box of chocolates trying to decide which piece we would risk trying…my little brother Kevin, who was only about five years old, gleefully said…“it’s like hunting for treasure…you don’t know what you’ll get until you bite into it…and then you’ll get surprised!”

Jesus’ parables are a bit like eating from a box of chocolates without a legend…you never really know what you’re going to get and by the time you discover what it is, it’s too late to refuse it. Jesus’ parables draw comparisons between what we know and what we don’t know, conventional understanding up against gospel truth. First we say…oh yeah…I know this…and then a sharp corner is turned, and we swallow hard, and we see that the story has a “surprise filling”…not quite what we were expecting.

In today’s parable the Pharisee is supposed to be the righteous one and the tax collector is supposed to be the bad guy…but things are not always as we think they are supposed to be. We need to be careful about judging others… the fact is that we don’t know what is in someone else’s heart…only God knows. In the Gospels Jesus gives us a different set of rules for judging things to be acceptable or unacceptable…it is a different set of lenses through which we are called to view the world. These Gospel lenses “see” the poor, the immigrant and the marginalized as the beloved of God rather than “a drain on the system” or “foreigners” whom we should fear and send “back home”! Looking at the world through “Gospel lenses” reveals a whole new way of seeing “others” and the world around us. What do “Gospel lenses” let me see about our current social and political debate on issues of racism, immigration, refugees, Muslims, misogyny and poverty?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

Prayer has been, “reverently”, described as wasting time with God…I like to think of it as a “blessed” waste of time. Our Scripture this weekend offers us an opportunity to think about “prayer”…to think about our relationship with God. Jesus calls us “to pray always without becoming weary.” Some folks are a bit hesitant to talk about their prayer life…some think you need a degree in theology to talk about prayer. But I beg to differ…some of the most profound insights I ever heard about prayer and God’s action in our lives didn’t come from theologians or professional religious, they have come from ordinary people… folks in the trenches of life who at times have found themselves lost in a dark wood…only to encounter a light in the midst of the darkness. I have learned far more from people like you about prayer than from all the books I’ve read and the courses I’ve taken…and as well, I’ve learned from my own journey with God.

One thing I have come to believe is that God desperately desires us to engage with Him/Her. God loves us deeply and passionately, just the way we are, and desires us for we are “God’s beloved”! And because we are God’s beloved, God wants to communicate to us, to commune with us… and this we call prayer. Prayer happens when we are willing to open our hearts and my minds to God’s presence…right in the midst of the ordinariness of our daily lives. God seeks us out but we have to stop running…we need to sit down and just “waste time” with God.

How much time have I “wasted” with God lately? What could I do to deepen my prayer life? How does God most often speak to me…through Eucharist, music, nature, a loving relationship, caring for others, sitting in the silence? Can I schedule
just 5 to 10 minutes, 3 or more times a day into my busy life to “waste time” with God?

God’s Blessings,
 Fr. Tim

Today’s readings deal with the theme of gratitude…of giving thanks. The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word for “the act of giving thanks”. Our Eucharist is first and foremost an action of giving thanks to our God. The readings portray two remarkable foreigners. In the first reading we meet Naaman, a foreigner, a powerful commander of one of Israel’s enemy’s army. In the Gospel we meet a leper, an outcast not only because of his leprosy but because he is a Samaritan. The actions of gratitude of the two foreigners are truly admirable, but the most remarkable lesson may be found in the character of God. In the healing of both foreigners, we see the universal scope of God’s salvation. In both instances, we are shown that God’s love and salvation has no ethnic or racial boundaries or borders. God’s love is universal and without limits. The only fitting response to God’s wondrous love for us is joyful thanksgiving and a willingness to emulate this love and healing by following Jesus’ example. Jesus calls us to reach out to the leper, to the lost, the lonely, the outcast and the immigrant and the refugee…all those denied justice and whom the world despises. We are called to embrace them all…to be the loving arms of our God present in the midst of hatred, violence, racism and marginalization. What am I grateful for in my life? Who are the lepers, the outcasts, the marginalized in my life that I am called to open up my arms to and embrace?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

In today’s Gospel we hear the apostles asking Jesus to increase their faith, a seemingly appropriate request. But Jesus rebuffs their request. Why do they need more faith...they were with Jesus in the flesh…they had seen his miracles first hand, they had heard his preaching…what more did they need? Perhaps they were fearful of their doubts, perhaps they saw that some of them had more faith than others within their group. Perhaps the one who asked wanted to impress Jesus or possibly he was struggling with his own faith in Jesus. Regardless of the reason for the question, Jesus responds basically telling them all that however much faith they have, it is sufficient to do all things.

I often have conversations with folks about faith and doubt, so often people express a sense of shame or embarrassment at what they perceive as “a lack of faith”. And yet in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that even faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient! That leaves all kinds of room for doubt…but Jesus focuses on the power of that “tiny faith” and the reality that with even a little faith great things can happen!

​My takeaway from this Gospel is that while we all have doubts, just like the apostles, the faith we do have is sufficient to do what we have been called to do! In and through the power of the Holy Spirit, that lives within each one of us, we can indeed respond to the Gospel way of life, building up the Reign of God through working for justice and building peace in the world. In this moment in our nation that we find ourselves we need more than ever to rely on our faith that God is present with us, in the suffering of our sisters and brothers and gives us the strength we need to respond to their suffering. What are my doubts and where is my faith strong? What actions will I take this week to live out my discipleship, to build up the Reign of God?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

A few words from our old friend Amos…the prophet Amos was outraged and ashamed of how the poor and foreigners were being treated by the people of Israel. He condemned them for human trafficking and cruelty to the poor. He warned that God would punish them for their selfishness and obsession with becoming rich. Jesus also took up the topic of being obsessed with the accumulation of wealth…particularly when others were in such great need. Jesus warns us that we need to be “wholeheartedly” devoted to God and if we divide our heart between God and money we will lose out in the end.

Now the reality is that we all have to be concerned with making a living and providing for ourselves and our families. But how much is enough? At what point does “making a living” become “getting rich” and then begin to take over our thoughts and become the measure of the success of our lives? Being rich is not a sin…it is what we do or don’t do with what we have that can be sinful. Keeping God at the center of our lives will help us decide how to use what we have and with whom to share our wealth. It seems the Gospel is calling us to reflect on our relationship to our “stuff” and our relationship to God and others.

How much of my “stuff” really matters to me? Would I feel freer if I had less stuff? When was the last time I talked to God about how I share my time, money and talent with others, especially the poor,the marginalized and the immigrant and migrant? What would the prophet Amos and Jesus have to say to us today about the humanitarian crisis at our southern border today?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

Today’s Gospel focuses on the lost being found…a sheep that wandered off…a coin misplaced and finally a rebellious child who had gone far from home. By this point in the Gospel the religious leaders have become increasingly displeased at the “type of people” that Jesus has been hanging out with and eating with…sinners and tax collectors, the sick, the poor and the
marginalized and “the lost.” Aware of their anger he tells three short stories…each one designed to drive home exactly why he is doing what he is doing…attempting to reorient their understanding of the sinner and the tax collector… “the lost”. He is trying to tell them that God’s love, mercy and forgiveness is for everyone and it is not held back from anyone…regardless of their actions or status in life!

Arguably, the best known of these three stories is “the prodigal son” and with good reason as it is so jarring to our sense of what is right and what is fair. Each of the three main characters has an insight into human relationships or our relationship with God. But what always seems to take center stage are the lavish actions of the father. His love for his child is so great that it overpowers any other feelings that he might have had…disappointment, sadness or anger…they are all completely overpowered and blown away by his love for his child and his “thrill” at his child’s return!

And that is what Jesus is trying to get across to the Pharisees and religious leaders…that God’s love for us is so great that there is nothing that can hold it back from being poured out upon each one of us regardless of how great a “sinner” we may be! God’s forgiveness is LAVISHED upon us…the real challenge is to “live like the forgiven” …and to lavishly offer our love and forgiveness to others. Imagine what the world might look like if all of us throughout the world who claim to be disciples of Jesus were “lavish” in our love of the marginalized, “the lost”, the refugee and the immigrant…how different this humanitarian crisis at our southern border might look. Imagine if we lavished our love on those who are different from us, different by the color of their skin, different by their politics or religion or country of origin or sexual orientation or gender or age or economic status…imagine if we were all lavish with our love and forgiveness…just imagine! What would I need to let go of…or begin to do in order to better “live like the forgiven”? Who are “the lost” in my country, my neighborhood, my school, my family?...Who most need me to lavish love and forgiveness upon them?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

A real deal breaker…in today’s Gospel we hear Jesus utter the words that no doubt sent a flood of people walking away from him; walking away from discipleship! Not only did he tell them that they had to renounce their family and all their possessions but, that they would have to suffer as well and carry their cross! How this must have stung their ears because in their culture family was everything. Family gave you your “identity” …you knew your place in the society and how to act and interact with others based on your identity which was rooted in your family. So to renounce your family would be tantamount to renouncing your identity…which it seems is exactly what Jesus was attempting to do…to help his disciples to let go of the old identity and to develop a new identity as disciples of Jesus Christ...as members of a new family. To do this Jesus wanted them to leave behind their old life and all its trappings and to be willing to walk with him, knowing that it would be a difficult journey. It was all about living their discipleship, putting it into action each and every day…full on, all the way! Membership in this “new family” would now be the source of their new identity; the source of knowing how to act and interact with others, and during this “Season of Creation” we have to examine our relationship with the earth as well!

How we live on the earth and how we “use” the earth, how we consume and what we consume. Being good disciples means being good stewards of “our common home”. How does my membership in “the family of disciples of Jesus” inform my daily actions and interactions with others and with the earth? How do I keep God at the center of my busy daily life?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

This weekend we find ourselves reflecting on several themes in the readings. This is due to us celebrating both World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and Labor Day. In the first reading from the book of Genesis we hear of the creation of the earth and the heavens as well the creation of Adam and the garden of Eden and human’s job to cultivate and care for the earth. We know the story well and know that the garden of Eden becomes the home of Eve and Adam, a place of beauty and harmony, at least for a time. It is theirs to labor in the garden and cultivate the land and care for it. Just as we too are called to do the same today, and yet, it seems that instead of caring for our common home, we have quite literally set it afire. We have polluted our rivers, lakes and oceans and deforested it and poisoned the land with pesticides. And we continue to pollute the very air we breathe. Pope Francis has called us to join together and to respond immediately to the environmental crisis we find ourselves living in at this very moment. Climate change is real and undeniable! We humans, by the manner in which we have lived have brought about this crisis and we must act NOW, working together with people from around the world to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint and find ways to decrease our consumption. We must work to clean our oceans, lakes and rivers. We must find ways to clean the land we have poisoned with chemicals and replant what we have deforested. We have to remember that the earth was made for us as a “common home”; a place that we are responsible to love and care for. Not a place to consume and use thoughtlessly without regard for the consequences of our actions. As we join with people around the world to celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, let us commit ourselves to live more simply and consume less, to become more conscious of what and how we consume and what impact that reality has on our planet and on our sisters and brothers.

And finally, this Labor Day weekend let us remember that “Catholic teaching holds that central to promoting the dignity of work and rights of workers is building solidarity with and among workers. The Church has long looked towards the important role played by labor unions in the effort to protect the needs and rights of workers in situations of inequality and injustice” (see Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 305, taken from USCCB Labor Day Pastoral Aid). Let us pray for workers’ rights around the world, for fair and just wages, healthcare, paid time off, family leave and safe working conditions.

Blessings,
Fr Tim