Stewardship ... Memorial Day

L ast weekend, we participated in our ninth Stewardship Sunday by making individual commitments of time and service. I would like to reflect on what stewardship is. The following is taken from guidelines on stewardship. I hope that we all continue to consider our own personal need to be stewards in our parish.

A complete definition of "stewardship" would be: the full expression of our Christian discipleship. Indeed it is how we live our lives when we understand that we are in a relationship with a God who loves unconditionally, eternally and completely. This same God has found us worthy to entrust us with his creation, that we may manage all of it on his behalf. And so, with the understanding that God has entrusted us to manage his creation we approach our lives as Jesus’ disciples and we firmly accept the role of "stewards of creation."

In November of 1992, the Bishops of the United States approved a Pastoral Letter on Stewardship entitled "Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response." This document outlined for all practicing Catholics in the United States a vision of how we should live our lives as Stewards of God’s Creation.

Stewardship is based on scriptural references and is inherent in our faith as Catholics.

There are four concepts to Stewardship and we will, during the course of the next few weeks spend some time on each one:

• The steward recognizes that God is the Source of All

• The steward lives his or her life with an attitude of gratitude and awe.

• The steward recognizes that God has entrusted with gifts that are meant to be shared. 
• The steward makes a conscious return to the Lord with increases.

Understanding that God is the Source takes our focus off of "us" and places our focus on the true source of our lives. If we are made in the image and likeness of God as is stated in the book of Genesis than God is truly present in all of us. That is the fullness of God is present in all of us even if we cant see it or experience it.

Let us ponder this. We are united with God through His Son Jesus our Lord.

Memorial Day....

In a very real sense the men and women, who gave their lives for our country in wars, were true stewards of the USA. They knew the value of God given freedom which America fostered. They did everything to protect us.

May we always remember their sacrifices. Let us always remember them. Without thinking about them and praying for them, we can easily take for granted the land for which they fought. May they be with our Lord in eternal glory!

 Father Stanley

God's Will or My Will?

T here are atheists and those who say that they believe in God. Amongst the believers are many who do not go to church -- any church. They don't want anyone telling them about what to believe or what to do. The pope, bishops and priests are an annoyance to them. Does this attitude show any faith? Do these persons really believe in God? Or do they believe that somewhere there is a God without caring what He says? Let's look at this. 

If you don't want to hear someone telling you about God and his will, from whom do you learn about Him? The only authority you have is yourself. You determine who God is and what He teaches us. You may as well worship yourself because you are the god.

God exists. He created us. He did not just leave us on our own to live and then just to die, to cease to exist. God revealed Himself. Where do we learn what He told us about Himself? The answer is: faith and reason. They are complementary to each other. We can reason to his existence through nature and what we observe in life. We can understand what He has shown us through his direct communication with man. We find this in his written word, Sacred Scripture. But, there were many other things that He said which were not written down. St. John says: "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." (21:25) This is called Sacred Tradition. It's not like ordinary tradition, like custom. It is the revealed word of God as entrusted to the Church to be passed on to all in every generation.

Out of humility we always have to ask is it my will or God's will that I am doing. Is it my way of seeing things or am I docile to God's word? Even in the Bible we see people who stubbornly understood things apart from God. Pope Francis in his General Audience address on April 23 reminded us that Thomas the Apostle doubted Him, Mary Magdalene did not recognize Him, and the disciples of Emmaus who felt sad and defeated because they thought that He died once and for all. These holy persons were trapped in their own limited perceptions. The reality was different, even if miraculous. Jesus was risen -- alive!

May we always be humble enough not to depend only on ourselves, but to have the courage and faith to depend on God.

Father Stanley

Barbara Bonney "Laudate Dominum" Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Two Great Saints and God's Mercy

W hen St. John Paul II was chosen as pope on October 16, 1978, Cardinal Stefan Wysziñski, the Primate of Poland, told him the Holy Spirit chose him specifically to lead the Church into the third millennium. John Paul worked ceaselessly to bring all people to the awareness that Jesus Christ is central to history and to all of humanity itself. He traveled in 1999 in the Middle East and Holy Land to underscore this fact. He established numerous jubilees, pilgrimages to Rome and celebrations to commemorate special events. There were jubilees recognizing migrants, journalists, scientists, sports, priests, families and many more. All of this to draw attention to God's presence and love.

The first person whom he canonized in the new millennium was Sister Faustyna Kowalska who received the vision of Jesus, the Divine Mercy. He was teaching us that God's mercy comes to the whole world through the crucified heart of Christ. Jesus made our sins hissins so that He could expiate them. The wounds, the marks on his sacred Body, remain after his Resurrection to show us his abiding love for us. St. Faustyna was the bridge from the previous to the present millennium, as an instrument to remind the world of endless mercy of God in spite of all the sin and darkness in the world.

In establishing the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, St. John Paul II said that he wanted to show the connection to the Second Vatican Council. This Council purposed to reveal to the world by modern means the eternal truths concerning God and us. It's not surprising, then, that Pope Francis decided, along with John Paul, to canonize Pope John XXIII who convened the Council. Both Popes deeply desired to lead every person to the God of Mercy.

In his homily during the Mass of canonization on April 27, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis said:
Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ, they were not scandalized by him, by his cross; they did not despise the flesh of their brother (cf. Is 58:7), because they saw Jesus in every person who suffers and struggles. These were two men of courage.... bore witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy....

In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self-emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the joy which these two holy Popes had received as a gift from the risen Lord and which they in turn bestowed in abundance upon the People of God, meriting our eternal gratitude.

We need the intercessions of these two great Saints along with our continued prayers that the world know the light of God's mercy and his love.

Father Stanley
 

The Month of May and Our Lady

We  and many Catholic Churches in the world began this month with special honor being given to our Blessed Mother by processions and crowning her statue with beautiful flowers. It was because of her love that God joined Himself to our humanity. Because of her love, salvation entered into the world. Because of her love, the Church was able to be born. Because of her love, we are her children and the children of God. All of this and so much more could not have taken place without her first consent: "Let it be done to me according to your word."

We see that God planned for her to be an intimate part of our lives and of our salvation. Jesus saves us, but his mother aids us and directs us. She protects us and helps us; she urges us along the right path; she pleads with us sinners to turn to her Son. It is only natural that we want to show her our love by singing of her, by pilgrimages and by adorning her image.

The Church recommended May as a suitable month for this in order to counter old pagan practices when the flowers began to bloom. Mary's obedience and purity leads us to that which is wholesome and pleasing to God. The pagan ways of unlimited freedom to do what ever pleases one causes misery to oneself and to others. Our Lady wants us to be happy, as any mother would. Therefore, she not only is an example of one who does God's will, but she leads us by her maternal love to do so in our own lives.

So, rightfully we give her special affection this month as a resolve to give her our love and honor every day of the year.

In the same kind of way we have this day, Mother's Day, which was made into a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. We realize that we can never repay our mothers for all that they have done for us. They put themselves last, taking care of their families first. This helps us to reflect on what true motherhood is. It is selfless love which stands in contrast to certain unhealthy practices of selfish "motherhood," that is wanting to be a mother simply because the person wants it. So, we have planned motherhood (at the "right" time). We have surrogate motherhood. Also, there is even the desire to have "designer" children: choosing the gender and appearance of a child.

The term "selfish motherhood" is really an absurdity. Motherhood in fact counters selfishness. We have that great example of all mothers: Mary. We have, by God's providence, the example of our own mothers who by and large always turned to Mary for help. May we ever grow in our appreciation and love for each of our mothers, living and deceased, and for our Blessed Mother.

Father Stanley