This Sunday's Gospel reflection: Proclaiming the Kingdom of God

A reflection on Sunday's Gospel, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21


For many years as a Catholic I would hear about the Kingdom of God announced at Mass, I read about it in our Bible, hear preachers and the good Salesian sisters tell me that God’s Kingdom is at hand.  I would wonder: what the heck are they talking about?

It wasn’t until some years ago as an adult that I began to see that God’s kingdom is a place in my heart, in all our hearts.  When I accepted God’s word to be truth, my heart and mind were awakened.  That opening in my heart, even though it may have only been like a small crack in fine porcelain, it was enough of a space to allow in this understanding: God’s kingdom is both here and it is to come.  This paradox compels me to ‘not rest on my laurels’ as they say.  It means that when I accepted Jesus as my savior I entered into a relationship with him that allows me to see him in everyone. It allows me to see myself in all of his creation. It allows me to see hope even when all things seem dire. It allowed me to make sense of suffering and be so thankful for God’s mercy upon me.

God’s kingdom is God’s pledge of what is to come. God’s kingdom is the presence of the Holy Spirit now, in the moment. And when I can hold both thoughts at the same time: the “now” and the “to be”, then I am aware of God’s kingdom. This is the good news. When we proclaim this good news, we are proclaiming healing, we are proclaiming freedom, we are proclaiming sight, and we are proclaiming a future time where we can all be full of God’s Spirit.

Knowing this affects how we see ourselves and how we see others. One cannot separate God’s Kingdom and his spirit. And as the Spirit anoints us at baptism, the Spirit continues to propel us onward. The last few weeks we heard in the gospels Jesus was baptized and witness saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him, then the Spirit drove him into the desert to be tested by Satan. And now today we read how the Holy Spirit directs him into his mission of proclaiming God’s Kingdom.

I think of my own faith journey, baptized as a child, then all my growing up years you may say were my years of being in the desert, being ‘tested’, and finally as an adult accepting my mission.  The Bible teaches me that this is the work of the Holy Spirit and when I willing take this mission; God blesses me and his Church.  What is my mission?  I believe it is to bring healing first to my life, then to my family, and finally to my community.

This week I had the privilege to have been made a member of the St. Vincent de Paul South Pinellas Board of Directors.  At the start of the meeting we opened God’s word to this Sunday’s gospel.  Although I had already read the gospel reading earlier in the week as I prepared for this weekend, hearing it again as often happens, I heard God pointing out something new to me. 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…”

I thought back to some minutes earlier when I had parked my car outside the SVDP building to go inside for our meeting. The area where the SVDP buildings are located is south St. Pete, just under the shadow of the big arena known as Tropicana Field. It’s an area affected by blight.  Parking is along an old neighborhood street, where small houses are lined up, some in obvious neglect and others where flowers are carefully planted and windows freshly painted. It is an area struggling to make itself relevant to the larger community.  As I walked along I wondered how are the residents tolerating the many homeless vagrants that linger on the corner as they peacefully assemble to get their morning breakfast that is served in the SVDP soup kitchen. Would I tolerate this? These homeless men and women I noticed are all different shapes, colors and sizes. Some carry bags, some don’t. There isn’t a lot of conversation.  As I go to the front door of my building I noticed the long line that was starting to form and I thought “there they are”.  Just as quickly my mind shifted and I thought again…”there I am.”

This shift in attitude I believe is the work of God’s spirit in me.  I was anointed to bring the good news to all in my baptism.  I was too young to know what was happening then but our mother Church teaches us that the anointing by the Holy Spirit happened even if I wasn’t aware of it. Jesus was baptized so that we would all see the importance of our baptism as an initiation into his Kingdom, as a seal on our soul, a permanent testament of our profession of faith in Him, our Lord and savior.  My parent’s faith brought me to my baptism as a child and it was at my Confirmation when I was older that I took the faith in Jesus Christ that was passed onto to me by my parents I accepted for myself.  However, this process of accepting faith is a lifelong process, not a one moment in time only experience. That process leads us into the desert. It is in those moments of looking for God, crying out to him; losing and finding him that I have learned to rely on him more.  You see, I have learned that accepting God’s word as truth and turning my life over to him leads me into a relationship with Him.  A relationship requires nourishment and honesty. A relationship requires letting go. A relationship requires allowing me to be changed, to be made poor!  The poor are all those who solely depend upon God.

So here’s the good news about God’s kingdom: we don’t enter into God’s kingdom because of what we do, or where we live, or how much money we have, or how beautiful we are, we are all invited into God’s kingdom!  And this kingdom is present to us today! We don’t have to wait! And….and….the best news of all is that we can find this kingdom when we look into the eyes of our brother and sister in need because they are usually the ones who have learned to depend only upon God’s grace. 

That morning as I heard this reading this revelation is what jolted me: that God’ kingdom is available if I am open to finding God in all things, in all people. God was present in that moment among those people. Those people are me. I am those people. We all belong. We are all loved infinitely by a merciful and loving God.

This week I had an opportunity to meet a family who came knocking on my office door.  They were a young husband, wife and young child.  They were smiling and so happy to have found us (the church). They had just arrived from Venezuela 3 months ago.  They know no one here in this country.  Not too long ago, the wife went out walking in despair because they had no food to eat in their small apartment. As she walked she came upon a small Christian church in our neighborhood and she went inside to pray. There the pastor found her and after hearing her story he gave her some bags full of food to take home. She had tears in her eyes as she said this to me and said “I knew God would not abandon us”.  Then she went on to tell that that although she was very appreciative, she didn’t feel at home at this small church because although our Lord was there, our Mother Mary wasn’t there. 

This Venezuelan family celebrated their Catholic faith in her country and as all good Catholics had learned to depend on Jesus’ mother and to learn from her example as the first disciple.  She wanted to find a Catholic church where Mary would be present.  This past Sunday they came to our Spanish Mass for the first time and she knew she had found her home. She was happy to see our statue of Mary and the stained glass images where the story of Jesus unfolds. In Jesus’ story Mary is so present. As Jesus is present in God’s Kingdom, so is Mary. 

The Kingdom of God was first proclaimed by Mary. Her “yes” to God filled her with God’s Spirit. She is FULL of his spirit.  Meeting with this lovely family, inviting her in, listening to her story and welcoming her into our church, setting them up to meet other families, was a blessing to me and to our community. She reminded me of the joy of being a member of God’s kingdom. There is room for everyone and we are not alone.

We are to go out and find those who are alone, abandoned, hungry, unjustly accused, hurt, imprisoned, insulted, cold, have no clothes to wear. Sometimes they find us. In those encounters you will find God’s kingdom.  There you are to proclaim God’s blessings! St. Vincent de Paul said “consider God’s generosity towards you rather than your own unworthiness in his sight; and live in his strength, rather than the thoughts of your own weakness.”

This friend,  is living in God’s spirit. This is living in God’s Mercy. This is living God’s will for us.

“Today, this scripture has been fulfilled while you heard it.”  I am listening Lord. Help me to proclaim your Kingdom to all who would listen. Help to live as though I believe this to be true.

 

When Prayer is not enough, pray more!

Last night, after the last college shooting in Oregon, many of us listened intently as our President reflected on the state of humanity in our country.  He said that we have become numb, he has become numb, to having to address the nation as we mourn yet another tragedy like this one.  He is correct.  Then he said “our thoughts and prayers are not enough”.   I know what he meant…..it is true that we must follow our prayers with action.  However, I wonder what would happen if he turned that phrase around? What if he said that our thoughts and prayers must increase?  Mr. Obama says he is Christian.  He should understand the power of authentic prayer.
Our Christian faith teaches us that prayer is a relationship.  It is a way of life that helps us to come to know Our Father in a deeper way. It is a listening, a personal and profound time that is spent with our Creator, who calls us to be in relationship with him.  St. Teresa of Avila said “Prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart to heart conversation with Him, Who we know loves us.” (Life, viii)
Mr. President, is this kind of prayer not enough?  At times it may seem like it is not enough, but it is not only enough, I propose it is everything! Prayer is the way to change our attitude towards our brothers and sisters.  It opens us to discovering our purpose in life.  This is what our nation needs most of all.
When my son was dying and needed surgery the day he was born, we called in all the experts.  But we first prayed for guidance.  While my son was in surgery we didn’t ask for more doctors, no, we asked our friends for more prayers. I didn't care if those doctors were of another faith denomination beside my own, but I did care that they were believers ad that through prayer we would all be connected.  I felt God's presence when the lead surgeon asked me to pray for him just minutes before he took my son into surgery.  Those seconds, minutes, days, years were spent in prayer. Yes, I also visited many specialists and took very good care of him but it all flowed from the font of my relationship with my heavenly Father, of my awareness that He was leading us to help heal my son. So in my prayer, I listened, I trusted.  I changed. Then I acted. Prayer taught me to love more than I thought possible. Prayer taught me to include everyone in my good thoughts. Prayer led me to love myself better. Prayer led me to the love of Christ.
A great American moral leader during a very horrible time in the middle of the 20th century once said, “A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing, unconditional love for all men. This oft misunderstood and misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of mankind. And when I speak of love I’m not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of John: “Let us love one another, for God is love. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on “Why I Oppose the Vietnam War”)
How do we discover this Love? Sitting at the foot of the cross of Jesus. When we sit at the feet of Jesus and listen, when we stand and follow where Jesus leads, the power the Holy Spirit fills us with everything we need to overcome all things that seek to oppress and destroy us.
Mr. President I ask that you encourage us all to pray with you and with more fervor.  Exhort us to develop an intimate relationship with our Father in heaven.  From this kind of relationship, whether we be Christian, Jewish or Muslim, Hindu, etc., true prayer will lead us to Love. Prayer leads us to an answer on how to deal with these kinds of horrific occurrences and will open us up to an intimacy with our God of peace.

Another moment of Grace!

You would think after three prior Confirmations of my daughters, the fact that my son is getting Confirmed today would be routine for me. It is not. Each one of my children has traveled their own spiritual journey and as their Mom I am aware of how important my own faith experience has been and will continue to be on them. Today is a reminder to me that everything a parent professes and lives out has an influence on their children.

This process of preparing my child for this day has taken a special priority in our family the last few months and it has made this day very special to me. I have gotten to know my son a bit better and it has given us an excuse to pray together more often than normal.
Often I hear people say "I will let my child choose for themselves what they want to believe" by not advocating any particular form of spirituality or religion. I agree with that sentiment. The child must be allowed to choose for themselves. However, I am not so naive as to think that I don't have any influence on what they end up choosing. What I believe affects what I say and how I live. My spirituality or religiosity or lack of has an impact on how my child sees their world and their unique place in it.
My own walk in my Catholic faith has had its complexities and its nuances.  There was a time when I walked away from the foundation my parents had laid out for me. They were wise enough to give me the freedom to wander, although they never stopped praying or loving me. In the course of many years I found that the promises of the world, the goals I had set out and achieved, and the dreams that had "come true" never measured up. I always felt a longing for more.
Our Christian faith has a word that describes what happened to me over the course of those years. That word is "Grace" with a capital "G". I encountered Grace and my life started anew. This occurred at a time when my children were still very young.
As I look back I realize how radically different I had approached life before.  Upon discovering God's love and mercy, I realized that anyting good and true causes me to want the best for others, including my children. I was compelled to share this discovery with my family. This new vision of Grace led me back to my Catholic roots. Returning to my "home" I uncovered what it meant to be a follower and lover of Grace (Chirst). The treasures of my Catholic faith awaited me and I was elated and also ashamed that I had not understood what I had left behind. This was a maturning point in my spiritual life.
What it means to be Catholic is that we are to love life and to know that we were created for abundant joy! The Church points to that vision of who God is and what he wants for us and helped me to tap into the reality that God is alive within me and He is in our midst. The Church's mission is to tell and show everyone who God is!
How I was lead astray is the reality of most most people (even my own children) because we as human beings are so easily distracted. As well, the Church as the body of Christ, although divine is also human. At times the Church cause us great hurt. However, that does not mean that Grace is not present in God's people.  I found that out when I walked back in through the church doors at Incarnation in 1996 with a whole new understanding of who God is and who I am because of him. He is Grace in spite of everything!
Today my son will stand up on his own and affirm that he desires to be a part of our Catholic faith community. I pray that he will experience the beauty and truth to be found in God's people and his Church despite the wounded souls he may come across at times. I realize that his path is his own. He will choose daily which way he wants to go, as I do so as well.
My child has a purpose in this life, each one of us does. As his mother I can help him as he matures in his faith, to always be open to an encounter with Grace. I rest assured in the fact that Grace is within him already. In the meantime, I will continue to pray for each one of my children and live my life aware of who Grace is and what He has done for me. He is Abba, He is God. A God who became man, died cruelly on a cross for our sins. He resurrected for us. We are a people that continues to remember him in our Eucharist and we partake of this mystery each time we come together at Mass. It all matters. He lives within each one of us. This is Grace, with a capital G. I can confirm that and I am thankful my son will too.

Who is this boy? A birthday reflection for my Son.

This morning I ventured into my almost 13 year old boy’s room and realized that if I squinted my eyes, tilted my head, held my tongue, and looked really carefully, beyond the chaos I would see who my son truly is.

His bed unmade and blanket lying on the floor, tells me how anxious he was to go out into the world this morning, ready to confront the struggles of the day; obviously no time for bed making! This boy is an advernturer!

Five empty of Gatorade lay on the floor, like grenades, half hiding, waiting to be stepped on. They challenged me to walk over them, snickering at me as I pass.  What a strange kid he is I think to myself, so in  need of constant hydration and yet not enough sense to toss these silent mom-bombs into his trash basket only 3 feet away from his bed.   Surely, this must be a secret military experiment; he is waiting to see who explodes first, the room full of empty bottles or his mom who will blow her top seeing all this on the floor?  Such a silly military scientist in training.

Colorful plastic clothes hangers wrestle on the bottom of his closet.  As I stare at this structural feat, I was amazed at how high this sculpture rises from the floor and obviously I think, in this room sleeps an engineer or an artist!  Perhaps this is how Monsieur Eiffel got started before he designed the famous Parisian tower or his Statue of Liberty. Why, it is like a modern work that rivals the likes of Klee or Picasso.  This boy is so creative!

The dresser top is in competition with the bedroom floor; strewn with not empty drink bottles, but empty cologne bottles.  He goes through these fragrant sprays as quickly as he sucks down his hydration.  A Clearasil tube is evidence of his transition into puberty. His collection of used toiletries makes me realize there may be moments when he realizes that being a slob may not be so “cool”. Like his father, my boy likes to look good and smell good too! This gives me some hope!

Around his bed, almost outlining his silhouette from the night before, are rejected study papers, quizzes, stacks of lessons.  Here sat an intelligent boy, doing his homework last night, catching up on old work. What boy has time to pick up his own papers when he has so much more scholastic work to do? I realize I must not disturb his algebraic formulas, as he will return to them this weekend I am sure!!!! He is obviously a studious boy!

Who knew that 13 years ago I would be walking into a boy’s room that makes my 50+ year old hairs stand on end; that I would have given birth to a son who just doesn’t understand why bed sheets need to be changed often? A boy who can’t conceive why his dog should not be daily rummaging for snacks in his trash can or sleeping on his  stack of clean laundry?  Who would have convinced me that my son would be perfectly fine wearing stinky khakis to every occasion on earth, or that opened bedroom doors are better left closed and closed closet doors are best left open (because the hanger sculpture make it impossible to close) and that washing up means getting water all over the place except where it is meant to clean or that clean clothes means that they were actually laundered not just that they never made it to  the hamper?

No one could have convinced me how much I could love my 13 year old son so much despite his messy room and his magnetism for dirt and his obsession for Gatorade and dirty shorts!  I love this boy so much and I can’t imagine how I could have ever lived without walking by his artistic/scientist/homework lab  every morning, a place we like to call his bedroom.

Happy 13^th birthday Zachary Andrew!!!  I am as much in love with you today as I was when I first held you in my arms.

 

A Christmas point of view

There’s an old story that goes something like this: Many years ago there lived a young disciple and his elder. 

The disciple asked the elder, “Holy One, I have a great spiritual question I need to ask you. Is there life after death?” 

The Holy One thought and said, “That is a great question, but it is not the greatest of spiritual questions. The greatest spiritual question would be, “is there life before death”?

In my studies, the more I learn about Jesus the more I realize that he was devoted to teaching us to live life to the fullest.  He desired to show us how to live fully before our death.

I also know from my readings that Jesus knew and studied the Psalms.  One thing about the Psalms is that when we pray them we will realize that they call us to a way of life that is not heavily  steeped in legalism and rigidity.  Psalms teaches me that God loves all his people and he always listens to his people. As I read Psalms I get to know a personal God who wants good and gives good to everyone. No one is left out of his love for creation. There is no need to fear. This is a wonderful Advent message.

This mornings Psalms touched me deeply, a portion read at Mass said,

Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.

This time of year is a joyful time.  We gather with family, we read the story of Jesus’ birth, we exchange gifts with loved ones, we give to the needy, we visit family,  and we sit down to a special meal surrounded by those whom we care for.  Our blessings for one another include messages of hope, peace, love, and faith.  All things that remind us of our blessings and that we are called to share them with everyone.

This particular Christmas I have caught myself repeating these two words in my daily reflections: humility and trust. I realize how important it is for me to trust completely in  God, especially whenever I am  experiencing  personal challenges. I contemplate the Nativity in the Manger and I see how much trust Joseph and Mary had and I am challenged to ask for that kind of trust in my personal prayer time with God.  I ask myself, how can I be so trusting that I allow God’s will be done to me?  It is then I realize, I must pray more and immerse myself more in his word.

I am aware that praying doesn’t change the world, but it does change me.  I ask for a life that is full, that is renewed each day, one that overflows so that others see God through my  decisions and actions. Often I fail. Often I point fingers and blame others for my failures.  Slowly I am learning that God is more than I can ever imagine. I am so limited by my human imagination: I see how I put God in “a box”, how I often ask him to choose sides.  What matters is not focusing on who is on God’s side and who is not. The better thing is to reflect; am I on God’s side? This is a matter of humility.

So this Christmas I resolve to be joyful and to love those around me, even when I struggle to do so.  
I will trust that the infant king that came into our world so many years ago did so for a divine purpose.  I pray God shows me the way and that I be open to listening and seeing him in everyone and in every circumstance, no matter how difficult.  I will pray that like Mary and Joseph,  I too am on the side of his divine purpose.

 

Prayer leads to compassion

Our catechism teaches us that God loved us first.  Although we often lose our focus on Jesus, he never tires of calling us and asks us to encounter him in prayer. Prayer is our natural response to God’s love. In the unfolding history of our salvation we can see how this drama of God calling us has played out. If we pay close attention, we can also see it playing out in our very own lives: we turn away from God, or as we explained yesterday to our catechumens, we “miss the mark”, yet God never stops loving us. 

Last night someone very special  who just returned from a weekend Catholic retreat called me.  She was able to take time away from her busy week to spend intimate time in prayer. She exclaimed to me how she was able to possess once again that sense of hope she had not felt in a long time. She also said something that moved me: she said she realized it was not God who had abandoned her; it was that she had lost her way and she knew she had to return to Him.  This conversion experience made her realize that she needed to pray more and to do things differently. She returned with a new attitude of compassion. 

How easy that is to happen to all of us; we get too caught up in what we are doing and how little time we spend in praying and in reflecting on who we are “becoming” each day.  I too get distracted by “doing all the right things”, and easily lose my mark.  Prayer is the narrow road- the way back to God.

In yesterdays Gospel we heard Jesus speak of a parable about having faith and having persistence in prayer. (Lk 18: 1-8) Often we look upon this story to remind us to be persistent in our prayer life and there is truth to that. But if we look at this parable closely, maybe Jesus is telling us to put ourselves in the position of the one being able to help the woman pleading to God for justice.  Often times we are the ones who can be the  voice, the hands and feet of Jesus to the weak and vulnerable in our world. 

Jesus concludes his story by asking, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Our prayer is that we transform our prayerful attitude into a disposition of bold faith, hope, and love. 
Let us always take time to be prayerful and learn to live with an attitude of compassion.

Incarnation Parish-celebrating 50 years as a privileged place.

“The parish is a privileged place where the faithful concretely experience Church.” John Paul II (The Church in America, Post-Synodal  Apostolic Exhortation, 1999)

A “privileged place

I came to Incarnation to worship 23 years ago having been gone away from parish life for a while. Although at that time I was not yet a convicted follower of Christ, it was here where I felt God‘s call to know him more.  God was good and merciful to me and revealed himself in the Eucharist and in his Word and in the sacrament of Reconciliation. This personal encounter of being welcomed and loved led me to see with new eyes. I became aware that my Incarnation parish was a special place that God had prepared for me and my family. It became a place where he could strengthen, nurture and sustain me so that I could take it back to my home and work place. The peace I felt here when I received of Jesus at Communion or when I would go to Confession allowed me to have that peace within me more deeply. Yes, our parish is a privileged place!

Over the years I baptized two additional children at Incarnation, all four children received their First Communion here and three have celebrated Confirmation.  Our oldest daughter was married here by our Pastor, we have celebrated many funeral Masses and Remembrance Masses for dear departed family members and friends. At Incarnation I have wept together with my community, fed the needy and clothed the poor, prayed for one another, welcomed new members, said good bye to others, studied God’s Word , shared faith, and come to know each other’s stories. I learned what a diverse community we are. Yes, we are privileged community!

The people I have met throughout the years in my parish have marked my spiritual journey in profound ways.  I think of Yolanta, an adult Polish American woman who I became great friends with before she died from cancer when my son was only 1 year old.  Although we had only about six years together, our friendship was solid and strong.  When I met her, she used to sit in front of us at Church. She had suffered car accident years earlier and was left disabled. She needed a cane to walk.  It was obvious that she was a bunch of energy and determination. Her spirit was fierce and Catholic, in the purest and best sense of the word! One day after Mass she turned around, shook my hand and said, “my name is Yolanta, with a ‘t’”.  She and her family became very special to us.  I learned their story.  I was inspired by their faith and how it had sustained her parents through World War II, the Holocaust, forced to work as farm laborers when they immigrated to this country and prospered so that their children (Yolanta was one of two) could live peacefully and worship God in their Catholic faith. We ate with them in their home, prayed with them, learned to love Polish food, and share in their Polish traditions.

 If I ever missed Mass, Yolanta would leave a phone message that went something like: “Where the bloody h_ll were you? Call me!”  Yolanta loved standing by the front doors of our church each Sunday and personally welcome each person that walked in.  This was not an official duty, this was just Yolanta being herself.  This was truly someone who was Catholic. The last memory I have of her is at my son’s birthday party, when she and her family shared this special day with me and my family.  She was there for a short bit, very sick fighting Cancer, but she did not want to miss this special day in our son’s life. She was not going to “bloody miss his birthday!”  She passed on not too many weeks later.  Yolanta was sharing with me what she had received from God: love in huge, generous amounts. She is a very powerful reminder for me of how our parish is a privileged place.

The Church is a privileged place because it is where we celebrate the miracle of all miracles and gift of all gifts: the Paschal mystery. Jesus suffered, died and resurrected for us, sinners. In our parish, Body and Blood of Christ has been shared and celebrated every single day for 50 years.  What a blessing!

Indeed, Incarnation is a privileged place as the Holy Father reminded us. We celebrate Mass together and we become Christ-like to one another. We are united to his Body, each of us having a part to play, through our baptism. (1 Cor. 12:27) Together we are Jesus’ caring hands, we are his loving glance, and we are his soothing words. We celebrate 50 years as a Eucharistic community, as a parish, as our spiritual home.  

A “concretely experience Church.”

We are not perfect because we are human, but there is a divine dimension to our community. As a parish we can be sacrament. The definition of sacrament according to our catechism is a special symbol (efficacious symbol) that points to another reality and brings about the very reality that it points to. Jesus, for example, points to God’s love. He IS truly what he represents. Our parish points to God’s true presence among His people. Our parish points to that reality!

Today is a great opportunity to think about how we as active members of our parish have an incredible responsibility to be sacrament to one another! Being parish means to take seriously the social dimension of our encounter with the Risen Lord. “He who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 Jn 4:20)  In our parish I have experienced members sacrifice for others; share their time, their talents and their treasures with the community.  I have seen men and women dedicated to their work in our parish, doing most of their serving away from the lime light. I have experienced it personally, as the times my parish prayed for my sick son during  his surgery, visited my loved one at their death bed, sent me cards, held me up in very difficult moments and celebrated with me when God blessed us.  Many of these parishioners did not know me personally, and yet, I felt united with them in a special way in those moments. Through them I felt God’s hand in my life.

Incarnation Parish has been blessed by God. We have seen our community change, we have grown, and at times the changes were not easy. Today we gather and we give thanks for those who came before us to make Incarnation the parish it is today.  Now, we must be mindful that we too must carry on the work of Christ, to be concrete examples of God’s love for everyone who comes through our doors and take it to others who may never enter our doors, always remembering how privileged this place continues to be.

Let us continue to work as a parish in solidarity with our Pastor Michael Suszynski, our Bishop Robert Lynch and with our Pope Francis I. Together lets all be reminded of St. Luke’s words “From those who have received much, much will be required.”