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Month: March 2007

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Homilies,

Palm Sunday

They proclaimed:
—Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.—

If you look at certain depictions of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem you will notice that he’s traveling downhill, into the city, seated on an ass. People are throwing their cloaks and palm branches before him.

Behind Jesus come the Apostles and disciples, the women, the followers. Before Him are the crowds of Jerusalem, waiting to greet the latest and the greatest. Among them are the skeptics.

Jesus is rushing, downhill, headlong to His death. It is a crazy and tumultuous time.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
—Teacher, rebuke your disciples.—
He said in reply,
—I tell you, if they keep silent,
the stones will cry out!—

I wonder, in the midst of this tumult, in the excited crowd, if anyone truly meant what they said. Again:

—Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.—

Did anyone mean that? Did anyone truly desire that? Did the citizens, the Apostles, the disciples, the women?

What if they said what they meant: —Death to the Romans, power and glory to us.—

Well, I imagine, the crowd would have been put to death in short order, Jesus among them. The Romans would have come out of garrison and would have put an end to their desires.

Isn’t that what plagues us today? So many cry out Jesus, Jesus, here comes the King. But what are they saying? Hail my political power? Hail my money making ability? Hail what I’ve created? Glory and honor to me?

I would like for us to reflect upon the stones who, in the absence of the peoples’ shouts, would cry out.

I think that if we reflect a little we will understand that the stones would be honest. They would hail Jesus Christ for who He is. They would have no expectations, no desires, no needs, other than to hail Him as their King, the center of all that was, is, or will ever be.

That, my brothers and sisters, is a very difficult thing for us to do. It requires that we fashion ourselves into the likeness of Jesus.

He emptied Himself,
taking the form of a slave

He humbled Himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death

To approach Jesus in truth we need to be empty and humble. If we approach Jesus as an empty vessel He will certainly fill us. He can and will put more into us than we can possibly hope for.

Whether we are filled with terrible pride, greed, or lust, whether we are pushed down by poverty, sickness, or loneliness, He can and will fill us; if we can, but for a moment, set aside our agendas, needs, desires, and demands.

If we come to Him, empty like the stones surrounding Jerusalem, we will be filled.

Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem was downhill and headlong. It couldn’t be any other way. He was one with His Father’s will.

Our journey to the new and everlasting Jerusalem is uphill, rocky, and difficult. The road is narrow and filled with pitfalls. We mask our desires and hide them beneath a cloak of praise for a king. To make it we need to continually ask ourselves, is Jesus, as He is, the King?

When we meet Him in humility, when we come empty, when we acknowledge Him as He is, then we will know that we have met our true King, our only desire. When we meet Him we will know. For His love will fill us without measure. As it did on Good Friday.

PNCC, ,

Faith, conscience, and religion

In the life of a free Christian the voice of conscience is important and is the only healthy standard of human actions. Our conscience, therefore, is our master, our judge and our chastiser. This voice cannot be muffled with impunity. Human conscience can only be influenced by good example, that means, that humanity should be educated in moral matters not by the threat of punishment in hell, not only anathemas or torture but only by the proper education of man. I strongly believe in Divine light, the light of man’s reason and the light of humanity. Therefore, if a man errs one should not cast him off, punish or maltreat him, but he should be helped in a brotherly way, instructed, inclined to improve himself and in the end gained for God’s cause. Let us remember to forgive one another, even our enemies. It often happens to a priest raised in the Roman Church that he meets up with a rough soul and is ready to bar such a man from the confessional or the altar for the simple reason that he doesn’t like him.

It is not only among the priests of the Church but also among the lay brethren that a parish or organization, for any insignificant reason will exclude a person or a group of persons from its ranks thus causing great harm to itself. During the 32 years of the existence of my parish in Scranton, only one person was ever excluded and that was at the very beginning. Even though the parish said that this or that person should be thrown out, I always interceded for him and in this way, patiently awaiting his regeneration, I won him over to my side. Therefore, we are going to ask both the clergy and laity of the National Church in Poland to work according to this divine principle, that is, not to condemn, expel or place interdicts on someone but to forgive and love one another.

The National Church does not recognize any anathemas. We are a group of free people and if, therefore, someone comes to know that our principles appeal to his soul, his education, and temperament, then we acknowledge him as our brother or our sister. In the same manner, if a person changes his conviction and leaves us, we do not condemn him because this is his free and Christian right. When new religious groups emerge, we do not curse them but acknowledge them as brothers. We, therefore, invite all the people of good will to our Church and if they do not come to our side, we will not degrade or ridicule them. We firmly believe that if not in this generation then in the next a large majority of the present Roman Church adherents will throw off the papal shackles and will secure for themselves truth and spiritual freedom. The National Church recognizes religious freedom on par with political freedom. We take cognizance of the fact that man’s conscience cannot be coerced.

The Most Rev. Franciszek Hodur, from a lecture on the Creed of the Polish National Catholic Church at the 1928 Synod in Warsaw, Poland. Translated by the Very Rev. Louis Orzech.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective

Chocolate Jesus

Seems the problem really was, according to the earliest press release, that, (HORRORS!) Jesus was depicted naked… you know like it really happened

From Huw Raphael in Catholic League has trouble w/ reality.

I read about this, and that was the first thing that came to my mind as well. People are scandalized by Jesus Christ’s manner of death.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

I don’t really care what the artist’s motivations are, and obviously Mr. Donohue only represents a limited number of Roman Catholics. But I would suggest to anyone who calls him or herself a Christian that they reflect on the image of the crucified Christ, in all its horror, disgrace, and indignity and as we pray in one of the versions of the Stations of the Cross we do in our parish, say together: “This is for me.”

Everything Else, ,

Mass For Anyone Touched By Adoption

A Mass for anyone touched by adoption will be celebrated by Rev. Daniel Fawls on Saturday, April 28th, 2007 at 10:30am.

All are welcome to attend, Birth Parents, Adoptees, Adoptive Parents, Grandparents and other relatives.

Our Lady of Victory R.C. Basilica
Ridge Road & South Park Avenue
Lackawanna, NY 14218

Reception to follow

For more information, please call Baker Victory Services at 716-828-9500 or the R.C. Diocese of Buffalo Pro-Life Office at 716-847-2205.

Calendar of Saints, PNCC

March 30

St. John of the Ladder, Abbot, (649)
St. Zosimus, Bishop, (660)
St. Regulus, Bishop, (250)

St. John Climacus

Love in its nature makes a human being like God, as far as is possible for a human being. The soul is intoxicated by the effects of it. Its characteristics are a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, an ocean of humility. — St. John Climacus, Stairway to Paradise

Current Events, Political

What happened to the love?

A question President Bush is certainly asking today.

Mr. Bush and King Abdullah lovefest

Recall the not too distant past, with the King of Saudi Arabia visiting Mr. Bush at his Texas ranch. There were handshakes, hugs, goodwill all around. They probably had a love fest in Mr. Bush’s oil filled jacuzzi. Well, it appears the love is gone.

From the Voice of America: US ‘Surprised’ by Saudi Comments on American Role in Iraq

The Bush administration Thursday expressed surprise, and said it was seeking clarification, over remarks by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah at the Arab League summit that the United States role in Iraq was an “illegal foreign occupation…”

Of course our being in Iraq, and totally distant to the persecution their Sunni co-religionists are experiencing, would tick off the Saudis. In addition, the Saudis certainly see the coming conflagration involving Iran. They know that they will be on the receiving end of a boatload of hurt in a region-wide war.

Let’s see how long it takes for Mr. Bush (at the urging of his family) to pull out from Iraq. Their historical ties to the House of Saud should seal the deal. Unfortunately, the family is dealing with the stubborn, intractable son.

$10 a gallon anyone?

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