4/28/2013 - The 5th Sunday of Easter

“We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble.” This quote comes from the servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, “We become like that which we love.” In today’s Gospel Jesus gives us a beautiful teaching on love, or charity. When we speak about love we can also use the word charity. Charity is often better because as Americans we are trained to think that love is really sentimentalism, love is tolerance, love is understood as a shallow and immature kind of “I’m okay you’re ok” sentimentalism. Authentic love and charity isn’t sentimentalism, it isn’t a thing, and it isn’t just a concept. Our faith tells us that love is a person; charity is incarnate in the person of our Jesus Christ. It’s Jesus Christ, love itself who tells us today, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” If we follow this commandment to love each other and love God with all our heart, mind and soul, we indeed become like that which we love: we become more like Jesus Christ, more like God. This is the end, aim and purpose of our spiritual lives, that we become more Christ-like, that we grow in our capacity to love, that we decrease so Christ can increase in our souls.

In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles we hear that as Paul and Barnabas were spreading the Good News of the Gospel they give the other disciples some advice from their own evangelizing experience: “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” We know this to be true as well, for if we really live out our faith and boldly proclaim the truths of the Gospel we are guaranteed to undergo difficulties and hardships. These hardships could be people not liking us because of what we believe, or maybe it means people mocking us because of the teachings of our Church guided by Jesus Christ. But when this happens, we’re in good company, because these same hardships we faced by Paul and Barnabas and many of the saints, and ultimately by our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified for witnessing and proclaiming without apology the truth about who He is. Jesus Christ is our example of love, for in the midst of the hardship of the Cross, and even as He’s being nailed to that Cross, what do we see? Love. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We show our love for God by going to Mass every Sunday and by praying every day. We show our love for God by being charitable in our speech and in our actions. We show our love for God by allowing His grace to transform us through the Sacraments. We express our love for others by striving to see Christ in them. The challenge for us is that while we will face hardships for the sake of the Gospel of love, we often times want the easy way out. We want a faith that is easy and not hard. We want a Church that is convenient and says you are fine no matter how you live, as long as it makes you happy, instead of a Church that challenges us for moral excellence. While we often try to avoid the Cross because it’s hard, the Passion, Death, and resurrection of Jesus shows that the Cross is the very instrument of our salvation, our embrace of the Cross is a sign of our love. If we wanted it to be easy we shouldn’t have become Christians. Easter shows us that there is no joyous Resurrection without the loving embrace of that heavy Cross.

A beautiful scene from the movie “The Passion of the Christ” is when Jesus is on the way of the Cross and bruised and beaten, He falls. Mary, the mother of Jesus, runs over to Jesus as He lay on the ground in pain, with the heavy Cross on his shoulders. The Blessed Mother of course looks distressed seeing her Son’s pain, but as Jesus rises from the ground He looks deep within her eyes and offers a word of hope as He says, “Behold, I make all things new.” He then stands up, picks up His Cross and continues on the way of the Cross. We hear that phrase from the Book of Revelation today in our second reading: “Behold, I make all things new.” The Paschal Mystery, Jesus’ Passion, death and Resurrection has indeed made all things new. Jesus has made us into a new creation and given us an example of how we are supposed to love. By emptying ourselves and serving others we too live out authentic charity.

We become like that which we love. When Jesus first visited His Disciples after His Resurrection He showed them the wounds on His hands, as if to say, “See how much I love you.” This Easter season we continue to celebrate the wonderful truth that Jesus rising from the dead shows us how much God loves us. Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead means that God has saved us from our sins, the gates of Heaven have been thrown open to the faithful, and we are offered God’s radiant and life giving grace in the midst of the Church. By loving God we become more like God, which means we become people of life, truth, joy, goodness, mercy and forgiveness – by loving God we become a people of love. Regardless of the hardships that we face for the sake of the Gospel, let us be open to how God can make us new through His grace, so that we become like that which we love, to be transformed more and more into the holy image of Jesus Christ.

Holy Land Pilgrimage

Holy Land Boston Priest Pilgrimage

April 7-16, 2013

 

“Lord, it is good that we are here.” (Matthew 17:4)

 

On the evening of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7th myself, Cardinal Seán and 28 of my brother priests began our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Because Israel is 7 hours ahead of Boston, when we finally arrived in Tel Aviv it was Monday evening. After collecting our luggage we boarded a bus and set out for Galilee. We stayed in the Domus Galilaeae, a beautiful retreat house and seminary staffed by priests, seminarians, and lay people of the Neo-Catechumenal Way. We were very blessed to stay at the Domus for a few days as we were so warmly welcomed and had beautiful views of the Sea of Galilee. We did and saw so much that it will take substantial prayer and reflection to process the whole experience. I will give you some highlights explaining what we did day by day and then I will give a general reflection on the pilgrimage.

Tuesday, April 9th – “The Word became Flesh” – (John 1:14)

• We drove through Cana to Nazareth and arrived at the Basilica of the Annunciation.
• We saw the very place where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that God wanted her to be the mother of Jesus
• We then went to Mt. Carmel on the Mediterranean coast. Here the triumph of Elijah over the pagan prophets of Baal took place (1 Kings 18.) We visited Stella Maris, the largest monastery of the Carmelite Order, dedicated to the prophet Elijah and Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We had Mass at Mt. Carmel.

Wednesday, April 10th – “Who do you say that I am?”

• In the morning we drove north to explore the upper region of Israel to the foot of Mount Hermon, overlooking Syria and the Road to Damascus, where Jesus appeared to Paul.
• We travelled to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked His disciples and each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?” Here Jesus acknowledges Peter’s act of faith in His true identity and says that Peter is the rock on which God will build His Church. It was interesting that there is literally an immense rock in Caesarea Philippi when Jesus said this to Peter.
• We then travelled to the ancient city of Capernaum, where Jesus started his public ministry. We walked along the Sea of Galilee where Jesus would have called Peter, James and John to, “Come follow me.” It was also there in Capernaum that Jesus found Matthew and called him to discipleship. Jesus also worked many of His miracles in Capernaum. Here, the excellent condition of a second century synagogue enclosed the sacred sanctuary in which Jesus taught and preached. We saw the actual synagogue where Jesus gave the Bread of Life discourse. We saw the home of Peter’s mother-in-law and I stood feet away from the very threshold of the home where Jesus would have entered many times
• We finished our day with a beautiful boat tour of the Sea of Galilee.

Thursday, April 11th - “Lord, it is good that we are here.” (Matthew 17:4)

• In the morning we left the Sea of Galilee and passed the double hillock of the Horns of Hattin (Belvoir) where the Crusaders were defeated in 1187.
• We drove to the foot of Mt. Tabor and then took a taxi to the top of Mt. Tabor. The elevation provided an unbelievable view of Galilee. It was in that very place on top of Mount Tabor that Jesus was Transfigured before Peter, James and John in the presence of Moses and Elijah. We had Mass at the exact place of the Transfiguration. During Mass we all were echoing in our heats the words of Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here.”
• We then continued along the Jordan Valley. We marveled at the desert that is blooming with beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables.
• We arrived in Jericho, the oldest city on Earth. While in Jericho we saw the sycamore tree that Zacheus climbed to see Jesus. We also saw the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus was tempted 3 times by Satan.
• In the afternoon we went to the River Jordan, where we saw and prayed at the place where Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist. Cardinal Seán blessed each priest individually with water from the Jordan River and we also made a renewal of our Baptismal promises.
• In the evening we finally arrived at the city of Jerusalem, and we checked into Notre Dame Retreat House of Jerusalem Center where we stayed while in Jerusalem.

Friday, April 12th – “Lord You know that I love You.”

• Early in the morning our group met with the Auxiliary Bishop and Chancellor to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He graciously welcomed us and shared many thoughts and reflections on the joys and challenges of the Church in Israel.
• We then travelled to and had Mass at the Church of St. Peter-in-Gallicantu. The Church is built on the site of the Palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest. It was in the very place that Jesus was imprisoned and Peter denied the Lord 3 times.
• In the afternoon we drove to the top of the Mount of Olives. The summit offers a magnificent view of the Old City. This visit reminded us of Jesus’ last hours of prayer and anguish as He faced His passion and death. We prayed at the Shrine of the Pater Noster where Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer. We also visited the Chapel of Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept.) We saw the place where Jesus looked out on Jerusalem and wept.
• In the evening we went to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount where we prayed.

Saturday, April 13th – Silent Night, Holy Night

• At 7:00AM we had Mass in the tomb where Jesus was laid at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Only a few priests could fit into the exact place in the tomb where Jesus body was laid and where our Mass was celebrated. They had the oldest and youngest priest join the Cardinal in there – myself as the youngest priest, and Fr. Tom Donahoe as the oldest priest in our group (at 86 years old!) It was a powerful spiritual experience to reflect on the Paschal Mystery in that special place.
• After breakfast we drove to the hills of Bethlehem. At Shepherd’s field we visited some of the caves, which are typical of the stables of that time. The highlight of our time in Bethlehem was a visit to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Basilica of the Nativity. Here, the Prince of Peace was born! We venerated the silver star that marks the place where the mystery of the Incarnation, the Word made flesh was revealed in a manger. I knelt down and kissed the place where Jesus our Lord was born.
• In the evening we had a beautiful tour of the Upper Room, where the Last Supper and first Mass was celebrated and where the Holy Spirit was sent upon the Apostles at Pentecost. All the priests renewed our ordination promises before the Cardinal in the Upper Room.

Sunday, April 14th – “Not my will, but your will be done.”

• After Mass in the Chapel of the Notre Dame Center we visited Ein Karem, home of Elizabeth, Mary’s kinswoman, and Zachariah. It’s also the birthplace of John the Baptist. We then saw the Church of the Visitation, one of the most artistic in the Holy Land. We had time to pray about the meeting between the two mothers, Elizabeth and Mary.
• In the afternoon we went to pray at the Garden of Gethsemane. At 3:00PM we passed the Garden on our way into the Church and we then entered the sanctuary. After kissing the very place where Jesus' sweat turned into blood the night before he died we began a Holy Hour of prayer. Cardinal Seán led this beautiful hour of prayer where before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament we listened to the Gospel of Jesus’ Agony in the Garden, sang spiritual songs, prayed some psalms and had time for quiet meditation. All of the priests had a blessed opportunity to stay awake with Jesus Christ for one hour and to ask Him for the grace to always follow God's holy will in our lives, even when it means embracing the cross.
• We then walked up a hill to see the place where Mary was born. Near the birthplace of our Blessed Mother and the home of Saints Joachim and Anne was Bethsaida, which contains the springs of healing where the paralyzed man was told by Jesus to, "Pick up your mat and walk." This was an incredibly moving place for me to visit because I lifted up in prayer through Mary's intercession all of our St. Agatha parishioners who are sick, suffering and in need of any kind of healing. I prayed that Jesus the Divine physician may lay His healing hand upon them and give them peace.

Monday, April 15th – “He is Risen Indeed”

• First thing Monday morning we went to visit with Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Custos of the Holy Land. He gave us a nice presentation on his wonderful ministry in the Holy Land and answered our questions.
• We then drove to the Old City and entered through St. Stephen’s Gate to the convent of the Sisters of Zion to see Lithostrotos in the chapel of the Flagellation, where Jesus was tried and condemned by Pilate. We then walked the Via Crucis (the Way of the Cross) and prayed the Stations of the Cross as we retraced Jesus’ last steps before His Crucifixion.
• We then had a tour of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, where we venerated Calvary, the place where our Lord was crucified. We prayed again at the tomb where Jesus was taken down off the Cross.
• Late in the afternoon we visited the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem for a meeting with Fr. Jerome Murphy O’Connor, O.P. He is a very learned Scripture scholar.
• We then went to The Ambassador Hotel for our last supper in the Holy Land. After dinner we went to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport for our midnight return flight to the USA.

This pilgrimage was an incredible experience for me. It made our faith and the Scriptures very real as we saw the places of salvation history, from Bethlehem to Calvary, from a stable to the Cross, from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Resurrection, from the Annunciation to the Visitation, from the birth of Mary to the Assumption, from the Jordan River to the Transfiguration, from the Sea of Galilee to the Upper Room. We experienced every mystery of the rosary in this pilgrimage (except the crowning of Mary, which please God we will see in Heaven!) To be with 28 of my brother priests and our Cardinal Archbishop as we prayed at all these holy places added to the beauty of the retreat. This pilgrimage strengthened my faith in Jesus, my hope in God’s Word, and my love of the Church. I felt the power of Jesus’ presence with us in a very powerful way. I want all the parishioners of St. Agatha’s to know that I prayed for you every day and I offered many of my Masses in the Holy Land for you and your intentions. I would often think about Fr. Casey, the parish staff, and you parishioners as I was literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the Lord Jesus continues to guide us in Milton/Quincy today, so that the life and light of Jesus Christ will be manifest in our lives, in our community, and in our Parish, just as it was in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. Amen.

To see some of the pictures that I took, click on the Albums:
Album 1	Album 2	Album 3

For more pictures and reflection from the Boston Priest Pilgrimage go to these websites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostoncatholic/sets/
http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/
https://www.facebook.com/#!/BostonCatholic/photos_albums

4/21/2013 - The Fourth Sunday of Easter

4/7/2013 - Divine Mercy Sunday

“Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them.” On this Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter we see once again that Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead transformed people’s faith powerfully, His Resurrection changed the disciples and those who would become disciples from the inside out. But we know this belief and faith wasn’t immediate for everyone in the days after the Resurrection, for the disciples stumble through a rollercoaster of emotions when they see the tomb empty and then hear that Jesus has risen from the dead. They experience excitement, joy, belief, fear, questions and even doubt.

Thomas’s reaction to the Resurrection of Jesus is highlighted in the Gospel today. We know the story well: the Resurrected Lord Jesus visits His disciples, offers them peace, breathes the Holy Spirit on them and then gives the Apostles the power and authority to forgive sins in His name. The disciples who saw the risen Jesus must have been excited, overjoyed, filled with awe and wonder and the grace of God present in their souls. Thomas, who had faced a little Murphy’s law and missed out on this great experience, comes back to the other Apostles who are flailing with excitement: “We have seen the Lord!” they exclaim. Put yourself in Thomas’s place for a moment: you can imagine that he feels left out, alone, maybe mad at himself that he missed this awesome moment and maybe he’s also a bit jealous of the others. Thomas asserts that, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” The doubting Thomas; he needs to see in order to believe. The story doesn’t end there, for Jesus will visit again, still offering peace, but then showing him his hands and his side, and commanding Thomas to not be unbelieving but to believe. Jesus turns Thomas’s doubt into faith, demonstrating that once we experience the Resurrection of God we can never be the same.

Doubt vs. faith. St. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” This is true, for faith is our foundation, and we are told by God that our faith shouldn’t rely on signs, but the foundation of our faith should be a trust in God’s providential and merciful care for us. We even hear Jesus tell Thomas in today’s Gospel: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” That’s Jesus prophetically speaking of all of us who sit here in this Church tonight, for we didn’t physically see the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead almost 2,000 years ago, yet we believe in it. Lest we get too high and mighty though, I would propose to you that often times we are like our friend Thomas. How often do we doubt God’s mercy? How often do we doubt God’s abiding presence in His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and its sacred teachings still guided by our Resurrected Lord? How often do we rely on signs of God’s presence and let these be the foundation of our faith? How often do we need to see in order to really believe?

We all have experienced this in one way or another, so we can identify with the doubting Thomas. But what did Jesus say to Thomas when he visits again? He doesn’t say, “You unbelieving fool, how dare you doubt me, I’m God!” Of course not. God, the Resurrected Lord Jesus offers Thomas peace, shows him mercy and then draws him into an experience of faith. So here’s my point: yes, we walk by faith, not by sight, faith is our foundation. But God is so good, God loves us so much and wants us so badly to have faith that he does indeed give us visible signs of his presence, visible signs of the holy. There are signs all around us showing us God’s presence, but sometimes we aren’t paying attention. For example, our new Holy Father Pope Francis is a visible sign to us that God is always guiding the Church He founded. No matter what difficulties we face, doubts we may encounter, or fear that comes our way, we must always have faith that God is in the business of transforming us, as He mercifully changed Thomas’s obstinate doubt into radiant faith. May the Resurrected Jesus hear us echo Thomas’ profession of faith: My Lord and my God.

3/30/2013 - The Easter Vigil

3/29/2013 - Good Friday

           Why on earth do we call this Friday Good? It’s a day where we hear about sin, evil, doubt, suffering, pain, hate, lies, vengeance and darkness, and we call this a good day? This is one of those paradoxes of our Catholic faith, where the painful things I just described are certainly true, but that’s not the whole story, it doesn’t end there. The reason we call this day good is because sin, evil, doubt, despair, hate and darkness do not have the last word – God always has the last word. What will be the last word of God? Well, this weekend it will be a word of virtue, and goodness, and faith, and hope, and joy, and happiness, and peace and truth. It will be a word not of death, but a word of Resurrection and new life.

            Good Friday reminds us that there is no Resurrection without first the Cross, there is no life without first a kind of death, there is no redemption without first some suffering. This was true not only in the earthly life of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, but it’s also true for us, His disciples. Yep, we have those days and experiences in life where it sure feels like Good Friday. We may have been hurt by another person, we may have experienced the loss of a loved one, we may feel lonely, we might be struggling with a sin, we may be struggling in our faith, or maybe we see a loved making the wrong life choices and we feel that there’s nothing we can do to help. Whatever our Good Friday moments may be, it doesn’t have to be the last word. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shows us that God always has the last word – and the Passion, death, and eventual Resurrection of Jesus shows us that there is indeed no Resurrection without first the Cross – the Cross is indeed the very instrument of our eternal salvation. We have a God who walks with us in any pain or suffering that rocks our life – we have a God who suffers with us but who also leads us to Resurrection and the new life of spring. In our human perspective we feel that a day like this can’t be good – but with the lens of our Christian faith we see that the badness of Good Friday is what won for us such a good Redeemer. We will see this Easter weekend that God always has the last word – and this last word of Resurrection is good.

2/28/2012 - Lenten Weekday - Thank you Pope Benedict