From Managers to Producers

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

It is estimated that in the course of just one day, the average human being receives over a thousand images, words and ideas, all in just one day. From the moment we wake up to the moment we shut our eyes so much comes at us each day, so much that we perceive. As a result, we spend much of our lives responding, reacting, dealing with what comes at us, from the outside.

We are managers, managing the variables of life, family, work, finances, etc. Thanks be to God, life is not just one way; there's more to life than what comes at us from the outside. Life is really a two way street and while that may seem far more complicated, it is indeed Good News, Hopeful News. News that demands our attention.

For you see, Life is more than what comes at us. Life also includes what comes forth from us, and what a wonderful difference that makes, what a wonderful difference our choices, our actions can make on our lives and the lives of others.

While it is true that we may spend much time managing life, we are not just managers, we are called to be producers. Today, we are invited to consider: What is my life producing? What's coming forth from my life? What's the tone, the fruit, the quality of love coming forth from my life? Did you ever ask yourself that question? It's worthy of some thought.

Our readings today offer us hope. We are reminded that Yes, we are good, the Lord has chosen us, he loved us. There is in human nature, an innate goodness in us, we are a fertile field. And we are called to bear fruit. We are called not to subtract from or add to God's law, just receive the gift of His Law, His Word. No need for managing or manipulation, only reception.

St. Paul tells us, "Humbly welcome the Word that has been planted within you and it's power to save your souls." God's Word has power, we must not stifle it. Thus, we are called to welcome the word of God and then the fruit will come.

At times in today's world, we are tempted to focus on all the problems that are outside of us, and that in itself is a problem. We must therefore, cultivate the goodness that lies within us.

Allow me to offer you the following reflection, and let us ask ourselves this week, what is the garden of my life producing? In the garden of happiness, we must:

First Plant Five rows of peas:

Prayer, Perseverance, Politeness, Promptness, Purity

Next plant three rows of squash:

Squash gossip, Squash criticism, Squash indifference

Then Five Rows of Lettuce:

Let us be faithful to duty
Let us be unselfish
Let us be truthful
Let us follow Christ
Let us love one another

No Garden is Complete Without Turnips:

Turn up for Church
Turn up with a smile
Turn up with new ideas
Turn up with determination to make everything count for something good and worthwhile.

Let's plant well, and allow the gifts that lie within each one of us to come forth and bear abundant fruit.

Growing into a Christian Man

A great video...Be Inspired to Live Greatness...

Point of Decision

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2009
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

With the passage of mid August, the time of year is shifting. School days are approaching and it's time for new things: New shoes, pencils, pens and paper. This is always an exciting time of year for parents and teachers and yes, even for some students. There comes a time, when even students know, It's Time...Time to move on to another year.

We find similar times in our readings today. In our first reading, we find ourselves in the last chapter of Joshua. You will remember that Joshua was the leader of the Jewish people after Moses died. And we see in this last chapter, Joshua's final address to his people. They've finally arrived in the Promised land and now it is time for them to renew their faith, renew their covenant with the Lord. Joshua proclaims to the people, "Decide today whom you will serve, the gods of the people around us, or the Lord God." Joshua declares to the people, "as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." A point of decision, indeed.

We see a similar scene in the Gospel. Having followed the Bread of Life Discourse for the past 4 weeks, we finally arrive to the last section. As we see, the people are still murmuring! They've been murmuring throughout the chapter and the end is no different. "This is a hard teaching", they say. But notice carefully our Lord. He stands firm, he does not give in to the mumuring crowd. And in one of the saddest lines of all the Scripture, we read..."As a result of this (teaching), many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him." That is quite a line and it's interesting to note it's citation, John 6,66. Isn't that interesting??

Then our Lord, turns to the 12. "Do you also want to leave?" What a demonstration of freedom. It's a point of decision for them too. Thank God for Simon Peter. He says, so honestly, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

My friends, where are we in our walk with the Lord, in our faith in Jesus Christ. Certainly, we are all walking with Him, we're in church today. But now is the time, this is the time of year, a wonderful time to believe again in Jesus and to accept again His saving power. To renounce evil, to embrace life! We do this for yourselves, for our households, for others. For without this choice, our lives lack so much power and life.

One of the hot items right now in stores and in our homes are HDTVs. Really, a great thing. Well, did you ever wonder how good it would be to have a high defined life? An HD Life of faith, hope, love, centered on God and family!!!

Now's the time, for us to go for it. To come to believe and to be convinced in the love of Jesus our Lord. Let us serve him faithful for he has served us so...

Such faithfulness demands, Daily Prayer, prayer with family, monthly confession, and daily decision for Jesus.

So let us reach our decision and in so doing, we'll be living in high definition, living in love, in the Lord.

Divine Transplantation

I hope that by this time of summer, you have had an opportunity to get away and rest a while, how important it is that we do so, and give a rest to theese hearts of ours. This week, I read an article about a group of people who are finding not only a restful heart but a new heart quite literally. I read a story about heart transplantation. An amazing story of people right here in Philadelphia who are awaitng and receiving new hearts. It's a story of life and death, of waiting and patience, of science and doctors, sick people and generous givers...all coming together in a remarkable way, to provide new life, new hearts for needy people. One hospital in our area averages 40 new hearts a year, almost once a week...amazing stuff!

Such a miracle fits well into our Gospel this week, as we move into the heart of John 6, Jesus teaching on the Bread of Life. For 3 weeks now, we've been reading along in this 6th chapter of John's Gospel. We've seen the miracle of the loaves and fish, the crowds following the Lord here and there, like sheep without a shepherd. And now today, we see our Lord getting to the heart of the matter, and teaching quite clearly about what exactly He provides for his people, in short, He provides Himself.

We hear the Lord proclaim today, "I am the bread of life. The bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever." Unlike your ancestors who ate manna and died, those who eat this bread will live forever.

At this, we hear the crowds "murmur". Who is He? Where is he from? Is he not from Nazareth? And yet, amidst the murmuring his teaching could not be more clear. In short, Jesus is proclaiming today that he is Our Life, Our Salvation. The living bread without which we have no life. And this is the very heart of the matter. Jesus is providing Himself to us, to feed and eat of Him.

How mysterious and refreshing are theese words. You see, all of us my friends, have been born with a heart defect, it's called sin. And we stand in need of a remedy, we stand in need of a "new heart", a heart transplantation of sorts. We stand in need of a heart that will never stop beating, a perfect heart, a pure heart, a Sacred heart, Jesus' heart!

And the Lord Jesus provides. "I am the living bread, the bread of life, eat and drink of me and never die."

St. Paul tells us today, remove from your hearts all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling. In place, be kind, be compassionate, forgiving, be imitators of God. Be with the Lord.

You see my friends, this teaching of Jesus is an amazing gift. And what he provides for us each day is even more amazing, i.e. HIMSELF, in the Eucharist. It is far more remarkable than what happens in our local hospitals, but no less real. Our Lord is giving us new hearts, his heart.

How much we need the Heart of Jesus, to heal us, to save us, to restore us. This week, let us make a conscious choice to bring our hearts to him. Let us come to Jesus with all our hearts. With all the heart murmurs that we have, all the heart burn, all the heart aches and heart attacks, all the clogs and blockages. And he will give to us His heart. And make our hearts like His. This is what He offers to us, this is what Jesus gives. How blessed we are to receive. Lord Jesus, I give you my heart, help me to receive all the love and life that flows from yours.

REMEDY FOR HUNGER PAINS

Several years ago, IKEA Furniture Company ran a commercial that was quite clever. The viewer saw a kitchen cabinet door that was opening and closing back and forth, over and over again. And in the background, one could hear a child's voice saying, "Mom, can I have a cookie?, Mom, can I have a cookie?". Over and over again, the question sounded and with it, the door opened and closed. Thus, trying the patience of a mom, but proving the endurance of IKEA cabinet furniture! Indeed, the point was made: IKEA furniture endures.

We know that in real life, hunger endures as well. Like a repeating record, how often, we get hungry and hungry over and over again. At times, we may call out for cookies, but our hungers take many and varied shapes and sizes, throughout the course of our lives and it seems whether we are young or old, our hungers know no lasting peace.

Of course, this reality is nothing new; this is not particular just to us. We have proof of that in today's readings. In Exodus, we hear the moans and groans of the people, 600,000 of them not including children. Crying out to poor Moses, saying that they would rather be slaves in Egypt and have full stomachs, than be free and hungry in the desert. How sad! And in the Gospel, we hear the hunger refrain continuing, with the crowd of people following the Lord. The Good News is that they are following Jesus, the sad news is that they are following him not because of faith, but because of hunger. Having eaten the loaves and fish, they hunger again...and they are still searching for more.

And so the Lord provides. But notice well, how he provides for them, and what he is providing. He provides not by feeding them more food, but rather by inviting them to a radical faith, faith in him. We get a foretaste of this in the First Reading. In the Old Testament, notice that the Lord provides not just the manna, but instruction as well. They were to collect the manna, day-by-day. No hording, no storing, but rather daily collecting, thus demanding faith, faith in the providence of God, that he will provide the manna for tomorrow. The lesson and the gift here is not just manna but the invitation to faith and obedience to the Lord who provides.

In the New Testament, we see something similar. The people say, "Sir, give us this bread always, so that we never hunger." And Jesus says, "I am the Bread of Life, whoever, comes to me will never hunger, whoever believes in me will never thirst." Notice well, the instruction. To "come" and then "to believe". This, my friends, is the way the Lord provides, for the hungers of the crowd. You see it's not just a matter of following Jesus, of witnessing miracles, or eating multiplied bread. It's a matter of obedience, coming and believing in the Lord and only in this way, will our hearts be satisfied.

Friends, is this not true of our lives, as well? Is it not true that the only rememdy for our hungers is love?? And that Love can make all the difference in life? And that is what the Lord is inviting us to...namely Love.

In our relationship with Jesus, our coming to Church, are we aware of Love. Where is the Love in our relationship with the Lord? Do we have a love relationship with the Lord, or is our relationship with the Lord driven by our hungers. Does our prayer sound like love, or like a broken record/IKEA commerical, "Jesus, can I have a ....?" We are challenged today to seek the Jesus and his enduring love.

Our presence here today should be a sign of love, a sign of our obedience, our duty to love the Lord. We give him this time, we "come to Him", we "profess our faith" in Him and he gives us HIMSELF. What a tremendous gift. This is what the Eucharist is all about. And this is what the Eucharist brings forth, i.e. Love.

My friends, this is why I am a Catholic Priest, not to serve bread on Sundays, for mere unleavened bread does not satisfy. Rather, I am a priest in order to bring forth the love of Jesus to the world. And His love alone can satisfy. For God is Love. And so, we are invited as the crowd is invited today, to love Jesus. To come to him, to believe in him. And in doing this, we find that our hungers are satisfied, that we have our daily bread, that our God is a faithful God. How wonderful, to know and love Jesus with all our hungers and desires! Let us, then, allow that love to lead us, to guide us, and to provide for us. He will, He really will!