From the Pastor

The readings this weekend remind me of a country western song by Tim McGraw. It’s a song about a man in his forties who has been given the shocking diagnosis of an illness that will end his earthly life. He responds to this devastating news by intentionally choosing how he wants to live the remainder of his days on earth. The lyrics gave me pause, not because the concept is new but because, of late, my own immortality has come to the forefront—though I keep trying to push it back.

Within the past couple of months I have had the privilege to accompany family members as they bury loved ones who are younger or just slightly older than I. And it seems this is the case in the recent stream of communications I have been receiving about those who are very ill or are journeying home to God, some of whom I have been gifted to visit. In all of these situations there has been no fluff, no non-essentials; conversations are all about things that truly matter or there is just a quiet “being with” as I internally acknowledge with gratitude that I am on holy ground and that the presence of God is permeating in and around us.

As the country western song continued, I was disappointed when the man began relaying the “bucket list” of things he did after he got “the news,” like skydiving, rocky mountain climbing and riding a bull (it is country western, after all.) But then … I heard him say also that he loved deeper, spoke sweeter, gave the forgiveness he had been denying, became a better husband and the kind of friend one would like to have. He even began reading “the Good Book.” And then it occurred to me that the songwriter was describing the kind of balance we are called to live in life—intentional time for self, others, and God in a way that demonstrates who we truly are as precious children of God.

Our lives tend to take on a pace that can rob us of this kind of intentional living. I guess some might say that if one is fortunate enough not to die suddenly, there can be some intentionality to the way one decides to live the rest of one’s life. But in reality, we already know that life on earth is temporary whether we die young or after a length of days. We don’t have to wait for medical professionals to tell us that it’s going to end. We know this early on in life. It occurred to me that this knowledge is truly a gift because it can allow us to choose how to live our lives today with the deliberateness of faith-filled people, trusting that God is with us just as He was with the Israelites in the desert as described in today’s first reading; just as He has been from the beginning of time and will be forever.

As St. Paul states in today’s second reading, “I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned Christ … so put away the old self … and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, putting on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” And in today’s Gospel, Jesus enjoins us “not to work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” As a prominent writer posited, our eternal life does not begin when we die … it begins the moment we are conceived for it is then that we begin our journey with God. We are called to live in the fullness of God’s love and presence in the here and now on this side of the veil, not only after we transition to the other side.

And so, we are called to live each day, dying in an ongoing way to those parts of ourselves and things in our lives that get in the way of our taking responsibility for the wellbeing of ourselves, others and our world. Jesus is our North Star. He is “the way, the truth and the life.” He has modeled and spoken about a way of life that gives us life, and he remains with us always so that we might have life “to the full.” If we believe this, how then shall we live?

Sr. Nancy Citro, SNDdeN

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 31, August 1, 2021

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus proclaiming that he is “the bread of life.”
He then offers an invitation to come to him. For us, the invitation is to live the Eucharistic life in Christ.
What does it mean for our parish family to live together in the Eucharist?
What does it mean for us to share the Eucharist together, to participate in the “bread of life” together?
Does it mean we love each other, support our community of faith, work together?
Do we carry each other’s burdens? Celebrate our joys?
What are the practical implications of being good stewards of our Eucharistic life together.

The Transfiguration of the Lord – August 6, 2021

In Year B, the reading for the Transfiguration comes from Mark’s gospel. (The Transfiguration also appears in the other two synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke.) In Mark, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, apart from the other apostles and disciples.

There, Jesus is transfigured (changed in form and appearance) and appears in dazzling white clothes. Elijah, the great prophet, and Moses, through whom the Israelites were given the law, appear with Jesus. A cloud appears, overshadowing them, and a voice states, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Jesus charges the three to not share with anyone what they had seen “except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” They keep their experience to themselves, pondering what Jesus meant by rising from the dead.

How are we to understand the Transfiguration? The story of the Transfiguration is also proclaimed on the second Sunday of Lent—a key part of Jesus’ journey towards the Cross. The Catechism of the Catholic Church draws parallels between Jesus’ Baptism and the Transfiguration. Jesus is baptized at the start of his public ministry. His baptism proclaims the mystery of our first regeneration—we die and rise again with Christ. The “Transfiguration ‘is the sacrament of the second regeneration’: our own Resurrection (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 45, 4, ad 2). From now on we share in the Lord’s Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ.

The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming, when he ‘will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body (Phil 3:21)’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 556). During the Prayer after Communion, we pray that God might “transform us into the likeness of your [his] Son, / whose radiant splendor you willed to make manifest / in his glorious Transfiguration.” The Collect, or opening prayer, tells us that the mystery of the Transfiguration “prefigures our full adoption to sonship.” The Transfiguration, initially revealed to Peter, James, and John, reveals to all of us a taste of what is yet to come.

The Transfiguration is the fourth of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

Copyright © 2021, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

I woke up this morning thinking about this Sunday’s Gospel story of Jesus multiplying loaves and fish to feed the multitude of people who were coming to him after he had crossed the Sea of Galilee. It seems that this is the only miracle of Jesus that is depicted, with some variations, in all four Gospels, even appearing twice in both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. For some reason, my mind drifted to a part of my own family story.

I come from a “right off the boat” Italian family – my parents and three oldest siblings arrived after having known the ravages of war. My older brother, who has since passed, and I were born in the United States. Adjusting to all that was foreign to them was no easy feat. And we were not a family of means, so my parents both worked six days a week. My mother arrived home from work each night, changed her clothes and began preparing the evening meal – always a simple first and second course and always from “scratch.” No canned food, no frozen dinners, nothing processed, no take out, everything fresh – and she always had a plan. All this after a day’s worth of stitching collars on raincoats, using a feet propelled sewing machine and then, weathering the Green Line.

Regardless of how hungry we were or how many friends dropped by, there always seemed to be enough food to go around; and I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have some leftover as well. My mother was always the last one to sit at the table because she was always preparing what was coming next. No matter how many times we called her or told her to come to the table so that we could all eat together, she was always the last to arrive and even then took time to make sure that we all had what we needed.

One Sunday, we all decided that none of us was going to eat until she sat at the table with us from the very start of the meal. We sat with tempting delicious plates of homemade pasta before us, conversing around the table with an eye on the doorway, waiting for my mother to enter. In she came and when she took in the scene, a quizzical look appeared on her face as she wondered why we weren’t eating. Was there something wrong with the food? My father told her to sit down, and for the first time and ever after, we all began eating together.

Devoting her life to her family – working, cooking, sewing, cleaning – was what gave my mother meaning. My sister and I helped my mother as much as we could, but my mother led the charge, seeing it as her God-given vocation. Her love for God, who was the center of her heart and the strength that flowed through her veins, and her love for us, was never ending; she always had a watchful eye, and she demonstrated her care for us in such unassuming ways.

Both then and now I stand in awe of the power of that love that emanated from her whole being. I don’t mean to convey that we had a perfect family or that my mother was perfect. Just that there were times that felt perfect. As the family grew and our doors were opened to others, invariably someone would shake their head and ask, “How does your mother do it?”

This is kind of how I feel when I think of the life of Jesus. I shake my head and wonder, “how did he do it?” I don’t mean how did he perform the miracles, as I believe they came from a place of deep union with God and a deep love for God; and I don’t ask if the miracles really happened, as some skeptics do. I mean, what enables one to live such an unwavering life of purpose and meaning geared toward the wellbeing of others?

One Gospel story after another reveals Jesus’ care and concern for us and his watchful eye for our wellbeing. Jesus’ compassionate gaze upon all who needed healing and his desire for all to be healed captures me the most. When the leper said to him, “if you will it, you can make me clean,” Jesus replied, “I do will it. Be made clean.” When the woman was afflicted with a hemorrhage for twelve years, she just touched his clothes and was healed. In another section of the Gospel, many were healed just by touching his tassels. Jesus was so filled with the desire to heal that his whole self emanated with healing power, so much so that even his clothes could not contain it and became instruments for healing.

The Gospels are replete with stories of Jesus’ unending love for the people of His time. He spent his life teaching, feeding, healing, challenging, caring, never for his own glory but for our benefit and to fulfill his God-given call to, “bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” He did so unassumingly, to the point of sacrificing his own life for the benefit of humankind. He didn’t just do it 2,000 years ago. He is alive today with the same desire, calling us to be in relationship with him so that we can
benefit from all that He has to offer. This is a broad brushstroke of who Jesus is for me, and I can’t help but stand in awe of Him. Who is Jesus for you?

Sr. Nancy

Seventeenth Sunday
in Ordinary Time
July 24/25, 2021

The story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes is a familiar one, and has many lessons, not
least of which is how our willingness to share who we are and what we have.
Exercising good stewardship serves to release God’s power and bountifulness on the world and its people.
Do we realize that there is enough for all if we are willing to share?
Are we aware that God is at work when we share our time, our money and our other resources in His name ?

Supposedly it goes with aging – forgetting where something is – not remembering where you last saw/used or placed an item. While I resist that as an exclusive characteristic of someone over ’60, I have to admit some truth to the theorem. Losing one’s keys seems the most annoying, perhaps only bested by misplacing a cell phone.

Most of us can identify with the emotion of discovering something is lost – seems like it happens just when we need it ..! And can you recall how you feel when the object is found, especially if the search has gone on for a bit and others have been helping? The relief is huge.

But there are other kinds of losses we all know about: jobs, homes, friendships, money, health, agility, independence, even freedom that may not be resolved as we may hope. Truth is, life includes many moments when we face loss, and some are devastating. Sometimes our losses, big and small, can nurture a self pity and that can lead to magnify the loss in our lives.

One common response to certain types of loss is, “Why?” We search for answers and we often seek to find out whom or what is to blame for the loss. And often enough the answer is elusive and our anger is directed to God: “Why did
God let this happen to ME?” This course may cause us to turn away from the very One who seeks to comfort, sustain and direct us in times of trial.

So how do we live with loss? The movement of life is only in one direction – there is no going back. The pain of loss and change can break us or can open us to a new way of being. Instead of asking “Why”, in faith, one can ask “What”:
“What does God want me to do now? What can I do to move forward? What can I learn from this loss?”

I recall being at a very low point in my life, struggling with change and loss. I wandered into a bookstore and was browsing around. There was a display of book marks, little plastic strips printed with a quote or saying. One read, “The
will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God will not sustain you”. I bought that book mark and took great comfort in that truth. I needed to accept the loss and changes and seek to move forward, to learn, to grow, to adapt and to trust.

Marion Howard once wrote: “Life is like a blanket too short. You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable
night”. God gives to each of us whatever we need to live through the losses of our lives. When we believe that, actually trust that truth, then the loss can yield something to be found.

Maybe Charles Schultz is right when he says: “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use”. Indeed, we need to try out the other gears – they are there to be used and when we do, we may find a speed that really works very well for us.

Friends, the God who made us, who knows us better than we know ourselves and whose love for us is constant and unconditional will never abandon us. As we go forward with the losses and the finds of our life, look around. There is
some new insight and experience awaiting, and God is behind us all the way.

~ Fr. Ronan ~

Sixteenth Sunday Ordinary Time
July 17/18, 2021

The Letter to the Ephesians reminds us that Christ is creating a new world order:
one that brings about relationships based on love, peace, reconciliation, hope and unity.
As a Eucharistic community, we are stewards of Christ’s new creation.
How are we promoting peace and reconciliation?
How are we showing love for our neighbors?
What are we doing to encourage unity and understanding among those with whom we gather around the Lord’s Table each week?

All of us have seen or heard of this example: a child wants something seen at the store and insists a parent purchase it – say a candy bar. The parent patiently explains that it is close to dinner and there will be no candy before supper. After the child sulks and whines, the parent offers to purchase the candy, but the child cannot have it until after supper. The child’s anger and insistence on being given the candy bar – right now – is on display for everyone to see in the check-out line at the supermarket!

A recent television commercial promises that if you act NOW, this new carpet will be delivered to your home tomorrow. Another promises a new flat screen T V can be had with super speed. And yet another indicates that with just one click of the mouse, one can have much faster internet service and instant access to …. The whole
culture of “instant” and “faster access” to whatever seems to be spreading to everything, and I wonder what it means.

And are instant mashed potatoes really that good? Remember the term delayed gratification? The whole point seemed to me to be about realizing that something good was going to come one’s way – but only after waiting, working, saving, studying, learning …. And instant gratification is all about having that “good thing” right now!

Is it just me or do we seem to have slipped into a culture where instant gratification is now becoming the only norm?

Why does everything have to be faster? Who has placed this high value of everything happening in an instant? Who or
what is pushing this illusory truth? And at what cost do we have “faster and instant”?

One of the dangers of this immediate gratification mentality is that we can find ourselves dismissing as of little value or
reducing to irrelevant achievements, knowledge, institutions and people who do not conform to the philosophy of the immediate. If something cannot be summed up in a sound bite, it is boring or insignificant. If persons cannot satisfy
our “perceived” need in the twinkling of an eye, then they become disposable.

Let’s stop and take some time to reorient ourselves. All around us we delight in God’s creation – nothing too instant about that. People – you and me and everyone else – we are not instant. Relationships and experiences, growing and learning, working and sweating brought you to be the person you are. A friendship is a precious jewel and gift – not an instant thing. Love – while the culture might say otherwise – is an infinite, mysterious, overwhelming and wonderful experience that takes work and grows over time – never instant. Infatuation, yes, that is instantaneous; love is another matter.

After the year we have all lived through, perhaps it is a good thing to pause and savor the moment instead of looking for the next “thing” coming down the pike. This summer more than ever, take time to value the people we love, the experiences we cherish, the accomplishments we have labored to achieve. In this post-pandemic time, stop, reflect, assess, and take account of what is truly important in life instead of getting high on the newest fastest whatever. Some parts of life require immediate action yet many more might be at risk if not given the time and attention they truly deserve.

Is it possible that one of the reasons why “instant and faster” often leading to busier and busier have become normative is because so much of what occupies us is not enough? We are always moving forward and seeking more – I believe God wires each of us this way! We are touched by this truth when we pray, turn to God and live in love. For example, often people speak of the peace found when they go to church, sit in quiet and pray. Exactly. Saint Augustine said it best: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”.

Fr. Ronan

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 10/11, 2021

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul teaches that God, the Father, has established a divine plan to bring all of creation to Christ and that He has blessed us with an abundance of divine gifts to help implement that plan.
Christian stewards know what their gifts are and remain committed to using them in the service of the Lord.
Do we know what our gifts are?
Do we believe that God has given us these gifts?
Are we committed to using our gifts to serve the Lord?

When we as a nation were still reeling from Covid and the vaccine was just on the horizon, President Biden held out July 4 as the goal when Americans could once again safely gather with family. The freedom from the fears of the pandemic, he hoped would fade and healing of the nation begin. And so it is we can celebrate and remember all of the countless blessings we enjoy on this cherished July 4.

Some of the earliest memories I have of summer fun include July 4 celebrations. Most often we were at a big old house in Peabody, high on a hill and the view from there was great. The fireworks could be seen from miles around and so folks would come up the hill and relatives and friends as well would arrive for the FIREWORKS on the 4th of July. Being too young to stay up till long after dark meant I had to plead for the privilege, and often my pleas were successful. Only problem was, I think I still fell asleep with the excitement of the evening, before the fireworks began.

The more meaningful part of the celebration wasn’t the show, or the special foods, as well as the ice cream and other good stuff. The most meaningful was that we all were together to share this special evening. Brothers and sisters, mom and dad and cousins with uncles and aunts and assorted other friends and family all found their way to the hill for a beautiful summer evening of food, fun celebrating and sharing. And of course, what we were really celebrating is that we were free to do precisely that.

The freedom you and I enjoy every day as Americans is precious and comes to us at a very high price. This holiday is so special and necessary because it helps us remember, and not take for granted the gift of our freedom and the cost our forbearers and many of us have paid for it. Yes, service in the military is one such cost. However, it is more than those of us who were servicemen who paid that cost. It is all of the families – mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters and countless friends who gave their family and friends, either for some years or forever, in service to the country. It is all those who have labored to keep peace, order and security within the country who have paid a price. It is also the
countless citizens who work hard and pay heavy taxes to support the country and her mission who also contribute.

Freedom, as the saying goes, isn’t free. Many have paid the cost and continue to do so. On this Independence Day weekend, when we gather with friends and family to celebrate and share, gratitude ought to be the emotion in our hearts, and prayers for those who continue to pay the cost ought to be on our lips. Let us remember in prayer also those who do not enjoy the liberty that is ours. And of course, ultimately let us be thankful to God for the countless blessings we share in this great land.

The work of this great nation is not complete. We are a work in progress. There remain challenges of poverty, ignorance, racism, and countless prejudices that separate us one from the other. Our greatness will most brilliantly shine not in our economic accomplishments, but rather when we truly stand,
ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

~ Fr. Ronan ~

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 3/4, 2021

Today’s Gospel reveals Jesus being amazed that the people in his hometown of Nazareth do not accept
his teaching and ministry; he is amazed at their lack of faith (Mk 6:6).
Good stewards recognize and participate in Christ’s teaching, reconciling and healing presence in their community.
Are we good stewards of our family of faith?
Do we value and support the ministries that take place in Christ’s name?
Are we attentive to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our parish and encourage those who work to enhance our life of faith?

It seems to me the most powerful motivation in our daily lives is fear. I’m not speaking about the kind of fear that is nail biting and panicking, rather it’s much more subtle and it shapes our decisions and frames our daily choices and actions. One of the delightful things about children is they are often fearless and while that can be, of course, dangerous in one sense, it is wonderful to watch their freedom to explore, inquire and enter into all kinds of moments.

As we mature, we learn we have to measure up both to our own standards and expectations of family, teachers, employers and the broader community. Of course, it is a learning process for all of us and a beautiful one that includes successes and failures. On one level, fear is excellent in keeping us safe and helping us reach our goals. On another level, it can be crippling, holding us back and leaving us feeling incomplete and unsatisfied.

In all of this, one other critical intersection is between faith and fear. That is, to face our fears, consider what having faith really means, seek an appropriate balance, and step forward guided less by fear and more by faith. In the life of Jesus, He often urges people not to be afraid rather to believe.

This weekend we read the story of the father whose daughter is gravely ill, he seeks out Jesus and begs him to come and heal her. Naturally, he is afraid for his daughter’s life and Jesus counsels him not to be afraid rather to have faith. Every one of us has been in crisis moments when fear has gripped us and yet we wondered what role faith might have in such moments. Seems to me the fear is based upon our expectations of what ought to be, what we hope to be or in some way directed toward our desired end. On the other hand, faith may call us to let go of that end and trust that going forward will lead us to a place that will be all right whether or not it is the place we thought we ought to be.

Here in the first days of summer 2021, after the most turbulent year in the nation’s history everyone is seeking to return to some place of normalcy. At the same time we’re not sure what normal is going to look like in our work, in our
family, community, nation or the world. How can a person of faith look towards tomorrow? Can I look towards tomorrow, uncertain of the details and/or the outcomes, nonetheless with hope? I believe that is the gift that our faith offers each of us; not to hold on tightly to the script we imagine to be the right one, rather to trust that God will see us through tomorrow whatever that might be.

Father Ronan

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 26/27, 2021

In today’s second reading, St. Paul teaches the community at Corinth about a spirituality of giving. He urges them to give and helps them understand that through their generosity, they will in turn be recipients of a spiritual abundance. They will receive from those who are the beneficiaries of their own giving a reciprocal gift that amounts to an equality of giving that deepens their relationship with Christ Jesus.
A good reflection this week would be to think of the ways your own life has been enriched by your generosity.
How might you have reaped a spiritual abundance through your own generous behavior?

Fathers’ Day is a wonderful moment to pause and recall the immeasurable gifts our fathers have given to us.

Growing up the youngest in a large family, it was easy not to notice how my wonderful father so influenced me
as I grew through childhood to adulthood. When I try to remember details of exactly and specifically what it is that my father “did” to make him a really great parent, the list sounds simple, even trite. Point being, our fathers do, of course, shape and help us in countless ways and a major impact they have on our lives is their example in daily life within the family. In fact, the most powerful and lasting impression a father of a family can make on his children is how he treats their mother.

Research is unequivocal on this point. When a child sees a father as a husband who is loving, supportive, respectful, and truly attentive to his wife, their mother, this has the most powerful influence for good on the development of a child. It surely was the case in my life and that of my brothers and sisters. The relationship between our parents was so obviously loving, that everything else flowed from that and shaped our entire family life.

When Jesus responded to His disciples’ request that he teach them how to pray, likely they were surprised with His answer. The Our Father is the most revered prayer in Christianity. The words teach us a truth that is enduring and inspiring; we are all God’s children and God is the loving Father of us all.

Some of us have grown up without a Dad. Others may have memories of a father that are hurtful. Seeking out positive ways in which to heal is so essential. And developing a meaningful relationship with our God who loves us unconditionally can be one profound source of healing. In addition, God’s Spirit can guide us to wholesome mentors who can aid us in our quest to grow into mature adults who are able to form a variety of supportive and loving relationships.

On this Fathers’ Day, we offer a profound prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of God’s unconditional love for us. And we can offer thanks for all our fathers and those who have been like a father to us, living and deceased.

Grateful too are we for those men who are role models to the children of our community: they are teachers and coaches, police and firefighters, family members and friends. Our children are precious and deserve the very best we can offer – and that includes the experience of unconditional love in the home and in our
community.

Fr. Ronan

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 19/20, 2021

In today’s Gospel we listen to Jesus’ disciples crying out in fear of a great storm.
Their cry echoes the cries of people around the world during the pandemic.
It is the ultimate cry of fear, doubt and abandonment.
It is a parable of the situation of all of us when cast adrift in the storms of our lives, seemingly without God’s presence and care.
But God is with us.
Jesus does calm the storm for his disciples.
Good stewards have faith that they do not live in a world where they should live in fear and chaos, seeing themselves alone and abandoned by God.
Reflect this week on your own faith in the promises of Jesus.
Do you believe Jesus is in our midst and can calm the storms in our lives?

A Father’ s Day Prayer

God our father, we give you thanks and praise for all fathers young and old , especially our own fathers.
We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation; may they find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice.
We pray for fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering; may they know that the God of compassion walks with them in their sorrow.
We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.
We remember fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in
our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen

I do not know exactly when it began; although I know it was many years ago, I became fascinated with the act of “wondering”. Living here in this great city with such developed commerce, banking, education and health care, to name a few of our resources, we are really very good at figuring things out. We are unsurpassed in areas such as research and scholarship with internationally recognized centers for education and science.

With all that, how good are we at wondering? To wonder usually means to encounter something unexpected, beautiful or inexplicable such that one responds by being astonished, amazed, stands in awe and is dumbfounded. Such an encounter in my experience is evocative and draws me out of myself. In fact, it seems that wonder might be the stepping stone to recognize the transcendent and openness to God.

There is so much we simply do not understand. In a busy, “productive” life it seems often the case that much goes unnoticed. This seems the more so as folks walk around plugged into some device barely noticing the traffic passing or the beauty of a child’s giggle or the scent of a Lilac tree in bloom. I wonder if the pandemic is changing this.

The readings this weekend invite, even challenge us to stop and notice. How does seed sown in the earth grow to become an abundant crop ripe for harvest? How does it come to pass a tiny seed grows to a shade tree and home for families of birds?

At a university research center, we could analyze these questions, research and experiment and prepare scholarly papers for scientists to debate. We would have answers, sort of. However, if we wonder about these questions, our conclusions will be far different from those of the scientists.

The numbers of parents of newborns with whom I have spoken confirm unequivocally that new moms and dads especially are drawn into wondering in a most dramatic way. Oh they marvel at the gifted medical services they receive
and realize that medicine is not the cause of the new life they so cherish.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, a brilliant Jewish theologian, once wrote: “Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge”. Saint Paul in examining our human journey puts it this way: “We walk by faith not by sight”. In my thinking true understanding of our human journey can never be achieved apart from wondering and faith.

Some have argued that faith and intellect are opposed to one another. That is not true; they are not opposed, they are complimentary.

Coming into summertime seems the most perfect time to slow down and wonder more. And if you need a little help, ask a child. Children are experts on wondering, a talent adults seem to put aside and replace with reasoning. So, remember, it is not either/or, it is both/and. Abraham Heschel also once noted, a person who never wonders cannot find God.

Fr. Ronan

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 12/13

In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the beginning of God’s kingdom to a mustard seed. This tiny seed, which fits in the palm of a hand, can grow to fifteen feet with sprawling branches. Like the mustard seed, the Christian community had a tiny, seemingly insignificant beginning. The church, which began with about 120 followers, added three thousand people on Pentecost Day following the descent of the Holy Spirit. Since then, the number of Christ’s disciples has grown incalculably and continues to grow throughout the world. Good stewards go about God’s business of “planting seeds” among all those they encounter. What will we do this week to “plant seeds” and add to God’s kingdom?

In the early 1950’s, there were probably close to 150 second grade children receiving their First Holy Communion at Saint Peter’s Parish in Dorchester. I remember getting new clothes and shoes and a haircut. There were the rehearsals, I think a number of them. Additionally, folks inside the family and around the neighborhood would be asking, “When are you going to make your First Communion?” All of this and more prepared one for something big!

We learned that we would be receiving Jesus and that he was truly present in the little round white piece of bread that we would receive on that special day. Now I think children have wonderful imaginations and are rather good at thinking outside the box. It seems only later in life that we are constrained by logic, reason, education, and life experiences. Nonetheless, I had to wonder why Jesus would do this, namely, become a piece of bread so that he could come to be with me and all the other kids on this remarkable Sunday of our First Holy Communion.

That simple question of wondering why Jesus would do this is one that I’ve asked myself now for decades. I think it’s a really good question and, while I thought I would have bigger more theologically profound answers to the question
today than I did 70 years ago, I’m not sure that I do. For me, the answer then and now is found in Love.

God is love and love of its very nature is giving. Just as the Father gives self to the Son and the Father and Son give selves to the Spirit bringing about the Trinity, so Jesus gives himself fully to us in the Church and in and through the sacraments, most particularly in the Eucharist. The self-gift of Jesus in the Eucharist is the greatest proof of Love.

In our culture and our Church, all too easily we can mingle the question of worthiness and sin with the truth of God’s love. Just as we cannot merit the love of God, we cannot earn, qualify or ever be worthy of such immeasurable love. In
fact, it is not about our goodness or badness. Rather it is about the reality of the unconditional love that is God – a relentless love that seeks union with you and me.

The Eucharist is a gift of immeasurable proportion. The body of Christ is offered time and again in selfless sacrificial gift to nourish, heal, and unite the people of God. It is everything we need to become whole. That is, it is the essence of love for which every human heart longs.

In addition to receiving Holy Communion, spending time in quiet presence before the Most Blessed Sacrament is a wonderful practice. Through the years, we have had such opportunities in our Parish, often called “Eucharistic Adoration.

With all restrictions easing we will begin once again to offer times for Eucharistic Adoration. This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) and we will have a brief period of Adoration after each of the Masses. Additionally, each Friday afternoon from 3 – 5, we will have Adoration in the Chapel at the Parish Center at 46 Winthrop Street. Anyone is welcome to come by for a visit of whatever length during those hours.

As I have grown older, my childhood question of why Jesus would come to us in such a way yields the same answer, yet it is so very much bigger!

Fr. Ronan

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 5/6

Today’s Gospel gives St. Mark’s account of Jesus gathering his disciples for a last supper, revealing to them a new covenant established through his own blood that would be poured out as a sacrifice from them.
Every time we participate in the Eucharist, we make a pledge to renew and deepen our participation in Christ’s covenant in practical ways.
For those who exercise stewardship of Christ’s covenant, that means making daily, personal sacrifices to strengthen this covenant relationship such as deepening our relationship with the Lord in prayer, supporting our parish, and giving comfort to the poor and those who suffer.
As we begin to see our way out of the COVID pandemic, it is a good time to reflect on how we
might renew and strengthen our covenant with the Lord and our community in practical ways.

Reading a good novel that includes some real twists and turns in a courtroom drama has always been enjoyable. If you listen and/or read carefully about the moment the prime witness is called forward to give important testimony, there is that swearing-in moment. “In the testimony you are about to give, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?” The judge, the jury, and the entire courtroom are seeking to arrive at the truth.

The emphasis placed on the whole truth and nothing but the truth is powerful, to say the least. I cannot make up the truth, I cannot repeat something often and, because of my saying so, it becomes the truth. The truth is exclusively and
totally the truth.

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the one whom Jesus promised to send remains as a force and an ongoing reality in Christianity. In fact, Jesus would say that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit’s reason for being among
believers is to give testimony to the truth.

So what is the truth about God? What is the truth about God’s role in creation and, in fact, in and for each one of us? How has God revealed the truth to us? The underlying truth to which the Spirit testifies is that God is love. It is a simple
phrase heard in sacred Scripture and in religions of the East and the West. God is love. The entirety of creation, all of us, are expressions of this truth.

The continuing movement of the Spirit of truth draws us more and more deeply into the concrete manifestation of this truth, found in Jesus Christ. For while we can know about the truth, it is another thing to live the truth. The life, the teachings, and example of Christ show us how to live the truth. It is a truth so profound that embracing it alters the landscape of life. It can define us, allow us to find our true purpose, and show us how to live out our purpose.

Telling the truth enables us to live with integrity. Living in the truth enables us to be good models of what it means to be a follower of Christ for others, especially our children and the children of others.

If for whatever reason one does not seek to live the truth, one can find oneself living a lie which manifests itself in so many of the classic illnesses of our time: loneliness, destructive excesses, pervasive searching, discontent on so many levels, an unhappy restlessness, the deterioration of societies, demonization and denigration of one another as persons and as countries, violent conflict and more are all manifestations of not living the truth.

That God is love and we, each of us, are expressions of that love, called to live that truth in our daily lives with one another, is the foundation of everyone’s true purpose in life as is the responsibility to identify and challenge lies. So, perhaps when things become out of sorts and life is closing in on us, reaching out and grasping the truth and all that it means for each of us every day can not only be a lifesaver, but a soul saver – the soul of humanity.

Fr. Ronan

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
May 29/30, 2021

In today’s Gospel and in the reading from the letter of St. Paul we hear of the gift of the Triune God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In our devotional life we make the sign of the cross and recite the “Glory Be” as an expression of our faith as a Trinitarian people.
But what does it mean for Christian stewards to accept in a practical way the experience of God in this threefold gift?
Is it not a call to share our own life in community, with compassion and love,
and to work for healing, justice, peace and unity?
Is it not an invitation to invite others into fellowship with us in the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
ICSC@catholicstewardship.org (800) 352-3452 International Catholic Stewardship Council www.catholicstewardship.co