“The way to relate to others which truly heals instead of debilitating us, is a mystical fraternity, a contemplative fraternity. It is a fraternal love capable of seeing the sacred grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being, of tolerating the nuisances of life in common by clinging to the love of God, of opening the heart to divine love and seeking the happiness of others just as their heavenly Father does.” –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR

 

Jesus asks, ‘Who is my brother or my sister or my Mother?’ He tells us that those who do the Will of his Heavenly Father are his brother and sister and Mother. If we live that Will in our own life, our ‘Family’ changes…perhaps exponentially!

 

What is Fraternal Love? It is a Genuine Love from a Pure Heart that goes beyond family ties to relationships characterized by unconditional love…even when that love is not reciprocated…when that love is freely given for the good of the other without reservation or expectation…whether stranger or friend or enemy.

 

Where do we get the Spiritual Strength to give that LOVE? It starts with God who  is Pure Love in Who He Is and amAll He Does.

 

His Profound Love For Us is manifest in Salvation History.  Even in the face of the sin of Adam and Eve, the sins of those who Crucified Jesus, and our sins against our families, friends, enemies, and strangers…our sins of Comission and Omission…God has maintained his Covenant Relationship with humankind. God has NEVER given up on us when we have given up on him.  Through Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection, we see God’s Love For Us In Our Salvation.

 

Created in God’s Image, that Love is innately in us. Through our Free Will, and the Grace we receive in our Sacramental Relationship with Jesus, we choose to manifest that Love In Our Daily Life — in All We Do…All We Encounter…All We Are.

 

Through his teaching, preaching, healing, and raising from the dead, Jesus shows us that Love is A Fruit Of The Spirit.

 

Turning to others — family, friend, enemy, or stranger — in love, will transform us. It will move us out of ourselves, our sin, and our darkness…rehabilitating us instead of debilitating us…putting us at the Service of Others…willing the Good of Others…changing the Lives of Others…for Good…For God…

 

In Learning God’s Love, we Live God’s Love fraternally and contemplatively.

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You+

“True conversation happens when we accept the gift of grace, and a clear sign of its authenticity is when we become aware of the needs of our brothers and are ready to draw near to them.” –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR

What is SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP?

From the time of Jesus and his Disciples, there has been just something different about Catholicism and TRUE FRIENDSHIP. The Spiritual Masters call it SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP. Saint Theresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross, Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal, Saint John Paul II and Saint Theresa of Calcutta…they brought CONVERSION and TRANSFORMATION to their lives and the lives they touched because of the POWER of their SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP.

Throughout the centuries, the Spiritual Masters, and Aristotle,  have articulated the LEVELS OF FRIENDSHIP.

UTILITARIAN FRIENDSHIP is  based on what we need from the relationship, but lacks any depth of love and care.

SELF-FOCUSED FRIENDSHIP includes those that are for pleasure, and usually ends when the object ends.

VIRTUOUS FRIENDSHIP is the most rare, with mutual, moral values that assist both parties to reach their fullest potential.

For Aquinas, the Virtuous Friendship embodies the definition of TRUE LOVE…To Will The Good Of Another.

The Book of Sirach reminds us, ‘Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth.’

That being said, the level beyond Virtuous Friendship is SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP…the Friendship of the Saints.

They truly realize that ONLY JESUS can be all things to us and completely fill us. Jesus is the CENTER OF THEIR LIFE individually,  and at the CENTER OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP. That is why their COLLABORATIONS WERE SO SUCCESSFUL…mystically, mysteriously,  and miraculously.

TRUE FRIENDSHIP consists in our ability to extend a warm welcome to those in need…spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, physically, financially.

SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP occurs when WE BECOME TO THEM the FRIEND WE DESIRE FOR OURSELF…

+May God Bless You and Keep You +

“The example of the martyrs also teaches us the importance of charity in the life of faith. It was the purity of their witness to Christ, expressed in an acceptance of the equal dignity of all baptized, which led them to a form of fraternal life that challenged the rigid social structures of their day. It was their refusal to separate the twin commandment of love of God and love of neighbor which impelled them to such great solicitude for the needs of the brethren. Their example has much to say to us who live in societies where alongside immense wealth, dire poverty is silently growing where the cry of the poor is seldom heeded and where Christ continues to call out to us, asking us to love and serve Him by tending to our brothers and sisters in need.” –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR

 

The SAINTS are ALL MARTYRS because they DIED TO THEMSELVES…they went to the PERIPHERY OF THEIR WORLD…and THEY FOUND HOLINESS…

 

1st Century — Stephen, Jerusalem

2nd Century — Scillitan Martyrs, Africa

3rd Century — Maurice, Egypt

4th Century — George, Nicodemia

5th Century — Augustine, Algeria

6th Century — Benedict, Monte Cassino

7th Century — Mellitus, Canterbury

8th Century — Walburga, Baveria

9th Century — Cyril, Moravia

10th Century — Wenceslaus, Bohemia

11th Century — Vladimir, Kiev

12th Century — Bruno, Cologne

13th Century — Elizabeth, Hungary

14th Century — Catherine, Siena

15th Century — Joan, Normandy

16th Century — Juan Diego, New Spain

17th Century — Rose, Lima

18th Century — Junipero Serra, New Spain

19th Century — Andrew Dung-Lac, Vietnam

20th Century — Joseph Freinademetz, China

21st Century — Leonella Sgorbati, Somalia

 

Where is YOUR PERIPHERY? Are you on the journey to YOUR PERIPHERY? WHAT IS THERE — spiritually, emotionally, physically,  psychologically, or financially? How is it CHANGING YOU? How is it CHANGING OTHERS?

 

And along the way, have YOU died to self?

 

+May God Bless You and  Keep You+

“The danger always remains that by a constant refusal to open the doors of their hearts to Christ who knocks on them in the poor, the proud, the rich, and powerful will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is Hell.”           –Pope Francis

 FROM THE PASTOR

 

How do we move from the SOLITUDE  THAT CONDEMNS the Poor, the Proud, the Rich, and the Powerful to the LOVE THAT SAVES?

 

Your Answer will determine Your Eternity. Why? Because God does not Condemn Us…we Condemn Ourselves…through the exercise of Our Free Will.

 

On the Last Day, Jesus will pass judgement on each of us. He will see the patterns of sin in our daily life…AND HE WILL READ OUR HEART. If our Heart was intent on him, even when we failed in our Thoughts, Words, or Deeds, our Heart will carry us to him.

 

We see this in the life of King David, Saint Peter, and Saint Augustine…they all SINNED in thought, word, or deed. But God could TRUST them…and Their Good OUTWEIGHED Their Evil.

 

Why is that? Because God is PURE LOVE. It is OUR EGO and OUR PRIDE that move us away from God and Others. They move us from Supernatural Love to Material Love.

 

And what is HELL? The longing for and absence of PURE LOVE…

 

The ONE who is PURE LOVE seeks us to our last breath…the poor, the proud, the rich, the powerful…wanting to SAVE US FROM OURSELVES…regardless of who we are in the social structure.

 

What is his LOVE THAT SAVES?  It is a very special love… a love demonstrated not by word but by ACTION. It is a love that is intended to lead the one who gives love and the one who receives love to HOLINESS. It is a love that is HUMBLE… not seeking attention, praise or obligation. It is a love that is UNCONDITIONAL, without reservation or discrimination, and without ceasing.  It is the love that TRANSFORMS LIVES.

 

Open Your Heart to Jesus…Reject the Option of Eternal Solitude…and the transformation will not only change WHO YOU ARE…but WHOSE YOU ARE…FOR ETERNITY!

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You+

“The Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction” –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR

 

How did Jesus CHALLENGE his antagonists?

 

He encountered them FACE-TO-FACE — in joy, in sorrow, and in scorn.

 

He Confronted the High Priests,  the Pharisees, and the Scribes who tried to trap him in the Temple. He Admonished the Samaritan Woman who was living in sin. He Questioned the Blind Man who wanted to see. He Responded to the Lepers seeking a cure. He Went to the Body of his friend Lazarus. He Preached to the People who came to hear him on the Mount. He Met Nicodemus in the night to talk to him. He Answered Pilate’s questions.

 

And how did Jesus react? He was moved to pity in some cases — in others he taught, in others he healed, and in others he admonished. He SPOKE and ACTED with TRUTH.

 

BUT IN EVERY CASE IT WAS NOT FROM BEHIND A WALL OR THROUGH A THIRD PARTY…BUT FACE-TO-FACE!

 

And what did he see? Sometimes thankfulness, joy, love, and trust…other times  disbelief, arrogance, brutality, indifference, abandonment, and hate.

 

Jesus confronted his Humanity with Faith and Trust. He accepted the Will of his Heavenly Father in Obedience and Humility.

 

And that is how he encounters you and me every day in the Holy Eucharist  — at Holy Mass, in Adoration, or present in the Tabernacle. He looks at you, and you look at him…FACE-TO-FACE. That is how a personal relationship is formed…how FAITH is formed.

 

Jesus modeled this Behavior of Encounter as a Way of Life for you and me.

 

FACE-TO-FACE we see the poor, the refugee, the immigrant, the sick, the lame, the marginalized, the suffering, the homeless, the different…the INVISIBLE.

 

Their physical presence to us leads us to a Conversion Of Our Own Heart…their pain and pleas, their needs, their infectious joy, their innocence, and their non-demanding love Crack Our Stoney Heart…seeing Jesus in them…being Jesus to us…

 

And through this encounter,  we confront ourselves…FACE-TO-FACE…

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You +

“With great wisdom Benedict XVI reminded the Church many times that for man, authority is often synonymous with possession, dominion, success. For God authority is always synonymous with service, humility, love. It means to enter into Jesus’ logic, who bends down to wash the feet of the Apostles (cf.Angelus, January 29, 2012), and who says to His disciples:’…[W]however would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave’ (cf. Mt 20:25-27).

FROM YOUR PASTOR

 

SERVICE, HUMILITY, AND LOVE

 

Meditate on these words…

 

‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve’…Jesus and the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

 

‘I must decrease so he can increase’…John the Baptist when he recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God.

 

‘Be it done into me according to your word’…Our Blessed Mother to the Angel at the Annunciation.’

 

‘No one reaches the Kingdom of Heaven except by Humility’…Saint Augustine in Lib. de Salut.

 

‘Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks. Compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands. Yours are the feet. Yours are the eyes. You are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours’…Attributed to Saint Theresa of Avilia.

 

‘Love is a one-way street. It always moves away from self in the direction of the other. Love is the ultimate gift of our selves to others. When we stop giving, we stop loving, when we stop loving we stop growing, and unless we grow we will never attain personal fulfillment; we will never open out to receive the life of God. It is through love we encounter God’…Mother Teresa.

 

‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously’….Saint Paul to the Corinthians.

 

‘How could I wear a crown of gold when my Lord wears a crown of thorns and he wears it for me?’…Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

 

These are the words of Our Spiritual Masters…they reflect Man’s Search for God…they tell us that WHAT WE DO DEFINES WHO WE ARE…

 

GOD IS FOUND IN THE HEART THAT SERVES OTHERS

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You+

“Mercy,  which always rejects wickedness, takes the human person in great earnest. Mercy always appeals to the goodness of each person, even though it be dormant and numbed. Far from bringing destruction, as we so often desire or want to bring about ourselves, mercy seeks to transform each situation from within. Herein lies the mystery of divine mercy.” –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR 

 

MERCY IS THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN OUR HUMANITY!

 

Jesus,  our Savior and our Brother through Baptism,  lived a life of Mercy and Compassion. The ONE WITHOUT SIN was Baptized with Sinners to express his Solidarity with them. He walked with them, he ate with them, he talked with them….and HE HEALED THEM AND FORGAVE THEM.

 

Why? Because he came to Save Souls Not Condemn Souls. He said, ‘Sin no more…your faith has healed you.’ He did not say, ‘If you do this, then I will do that.’

 

THAT IS THE ULTIMATE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE…THAT IS DIVINE MERCY!

 

How, then, do we become dormant, numbed, or self-destructive? Primarily through the Pressures of our World — Anxiety, Grief, Depression,  Unemployment,  Tight Finances, Loss from Death, Loneliness,  Addictions, Illness, Homelessness, Sex,  Failure, Pornography, or Poverty. We Succumb To  Our Humanity.

 

The Book of Numbers 14:18-19 tells us that God’s mercy is Patient, Kind, Just, and Forgiving. Why? Because God Is Merciful, he knows We Need Mercy, and Mercy Gives Joy. We Experience His Divinity In Action.

 

God exercises his Divine Goodness toward ALL his creatures. He gives Mercy to the Afflicted through His Son — the ultimate Gift of Grace that Transforms our Heart. This Divine Power Empties Our Heart of the Godless, and Fills Our Heart with Goodness. It Removes the DESIRES OF THE WORLD and Infuses the TRUTH OF JESUS — love, mercy, goodness and joy.

 

Thus, our heart becomes the Dwelling Place of God’s Divine Mercy within us, and…

 

DIVINITY TRANSFORMS HUMANITY!

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You+

“When we judge we put ourselves in God’s place. This is true, but our judgement is a poor judgement because true judgement is what God gives. Why can’t our judgement be like that of God? Is it because God is omnipotent and we are not? No, because our judgement lacks mercy. And when God judges, He judges with Mercy.” –Pope Francis

 

FROM THE PASTOR

ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS…Do as I SAY and not as I DO…PRACTICE what you PREACH!

The World gives us many directions not only on how to live OUR OWN LIFE, but also how to influence the LIVES OF OTHERS.

In many ways, the discussion is moving away from a World dominated by a FEAR OF THE LORD to the PERSONAL POWER OF HUMANKIND. ‘Praise GOD from whom all blessings come’ has been replaced by ‘In ME I trust.’

Ironically, the WORLD has given us perhaps an unintended direction through its ACTION. The BIBLE is the BEST SELLING BOOK of all time. PLEASE NOTE — it is not just a book of stories…it is the INSPIRED WORD OF GOD.

What a Contradiction in the Commerce of the World…in the Action of the Popular Culture!

What does this BEST SELLING BOOK tell us? It tells us not only the Act of Creation, but the Hope of Creation. It tells us not about Man’s Search For God, but God’s Search for Man. It tells us that When We Are Lost, We Can Be Found through Jesus Christ.

It is a LOVE STORY. It is not about Condemnation…it is about Salvation. Yes, there is a Final Judgement…by God, not Man…based on Actions, not by Preferences. And THAT is where the Human Heart and the Heart of God diverge.

The World forms Hearts of Stone…from the Anger and Hurt of the daily battle. God created us out of Pure Love to spend Eternity With Him. He sent his Son to Forgive Our Sins.

He did this out of LOVE, MERCY, AND COMPASSION…not out of Judgement.

The Bottom Line…HIS Actions speak HIS Words…HE Does what HE Says…HE Practices what HE Preaches…WITH LOVE FOR US AND IN LOVE WITH US…

+May God Bless You and Keep You +

“I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think – and I say it with humility – that this is the Lord’s most powerful message: mercy. “ –Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR 

 

There is a WAR INSIDE US!

 

Our Intellect versus Our Emotion…Our Heart versus Our Mind…

 

What is our INTELLECT? It is our ability to reason and understand objectively — it is the source of thought, comprehension, judgment, and wisdom – – it is THE MIND!

 

What is our EMOTION? It is our state of mind derived from our circumstances,  mood, relationship with others, passions, and inclinations – – it is THE HEART!

 

And the dominance of the MIND or the HEART in us defines our SPIRITUALITY… deciding how we live, how we relate, who we love, and HOW WE LOVE.

 

We CONDEMN others with our MIND…justifying our emotions as right and just. Our MIND rules Our HEART.

 

More importantly,  sometimes we see in others what we despise in ourself…hurting them instead of healing ourself.

 

Part of OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY is to LET GO of  our presumptions and expectations of others…OUR JUDGMENT OF THEM.

 

The other part of OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY is to listen to Jesus…OPEN OUR HEART TO HIM.

 

From the Cross — HIS MOST POWERFUL ACT —  Jesus taught us to Forgive. FORGIVENESS can heal a broken Heart…ours or another… so we can LOVE ourselves and others. And in Love, we can SEEK MERCY and GIVE MERCY.

 

THE LOVE OF JESUS WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND AND RULE YOUR HEART…

 

+May God Bless You and Keep You +

Father Ron’s Reflection for the weekend of December 29th, 2019:

Why does Jesus ask us to have the Faith of a Child?

Perhaps because he chose to ENTER OUR WORLD AS A CHILD. As the Son of God, he could have come to us in many ways…but he chose to come into this world as we do — WITH A MOTHER AND A FATHER and IN THE CONTEXT OF A FAMILY.

AND THEY WERE POOR…Reflecting so much of THE WORLD TODAY.

This is EXTRAORDINARY! Jesus Trusted Mary, His Mother and Our Mother,  to nurse him, to embrace him, and to love him. Jesus Trusted Joseph to protect him, to provide for him, and to love him. They did this in the most extraordinary of circumstance…not unlike the complex circumstances of the lives on many families today.

But they survived. HOW DID THEY DO IT?

They had FAITH IN THE UNKNOWN. They were GUIDED BY ANGELS…from the Annunciation to the Flight into Egypt.

They were PEOPLE OF FAITH. Mary’s Faith was formed by her years in the Temple where she developed a humility in relationship to God and an obedience to the will of God.  Joseph’s Faith was formed by his culture. As a devout Jew, he understood the Patriarchal Society and the role of the man as Husband and Provider.  He knew that without him a woman and child would become outcasts or wards of the community.

> Grave Hardship…a woman with child outside of marriage…a jealous king who wanted to murder his rivals.

> Light and Hope…the favor of God guided them and protected them in their darkest moments of embarrassment or physical danger.

> Charity…the Open Heart of Joseph was filled with love for God and for Mary.

> Indifference…the option of divorcing Mary quietly disappeared through the Divine Words of the Angel.

> Disbelief…never an option — ‘Be it done unto me according to your word’…’Flee to Egypt.’

> Apathy…impossible in the face of Mary’s and Joseph’s sense of duty throughout Jesus’ life — working as a family in Nazareth, then walking as a criminal to Calvary.

> Open Hands and Open Hearts…Mary went in haste to Elizabeth, and Joseph listened to Jesus in the Temple — a Faith lived through Trust.

> For Good…because like ALL CREATION, they are GOOD.

AND SO IT IS WITH US…in the Good Seasons and the Bad Seasons of YOUR LIFE, Jesus is there TO LEAD YOU, Mary is there TO PROTECT YOU, and Joseph is there TO INSPIRE YOU…

LET THEM!

+May God Bless You and Keep You +

-Very Reverend Ronald W Cattany

Pastor and Rector