ON VACATION

Hi everyone I leave for vacation today. Yeah!!! So I'll see you back at My World after Labor Day! Enjoy the rest of the summer.

FROM THE PULPIT

Sometimes in our prayer lives we get frustrated when our prayers are not answered immediately one of the reasons is that sometimes we treat God like he is a soda machine in which we put our dollars of ‘Our Fathers’ and ‘Hail Mary’s’ and we want the product in our hands instantly but we need a mature understanding of faith as we see can see with King David for example. After he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Bathsheba's husband, the prophet Nathan confronted him, and he repented, doing public penance for his sins. But Bathsheba gave birth to a son as a result of their adultery. When the infant child fell sick and was dying, King David prayed and fasted for seven days, begging God to heal him. On the seventh day, the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him the news, because they thought he would take it badly. But they were wrong. When David realized that God had not given him what he was asking for, he humbly accepted God's decision and went off to have some dinner. When God doesn't give us exactly what we ask for, it simply means that he is planning on giving us something better. God is not a soda machine; he is our perfectly wise and loving Father.

In the gospel we see persistence in which the woman was absolutely single-minded. She shows something significant about her faith: sheer persistence matters. Although she was ignored by Jesus, she persists with results. Her persistence is recognized by Jesus for what is it—great faith and Christ shows pity on her.

The gospel just doesn’t reveal about persistence in regard to having great faith. We need to look at the working of the woman’s request, “Have pity on me, Lord Son of David!” Since her request is a healing for her daughter you would expect that she would word it in a way to have pity upon her daughter but the woman has revealed that in her pain she is begging for Jesus’ pity. I believe all the parents that are present here can relate to this mother’s pain because if you had a child that was ill it would be very painful. We see a woman that is not self-centered but is centered on another person which is her daughter. Since she is full of empathy and self-giving, when her daughter is healed, the woman is also healed.

We need to understand that there is a fine line between “persistence” and “nagging.” The latter is about getting what we want which becomes self-centered and not about others. The persistence that is shown in the gospel is about toward the good of others. Prayer and good works does require us to be persistent for that is how we are formed into people with good habits of being turned toward God and others.

Jesus changed his specific plans because his encounter with the Canaanite woman fit into his overall plan - to overcome the power of the devil and win all hearts back to God. This should give us unbridled confidence as we, like the Canaanite woman, bring our needs to the feet of Christ.

Today he will become truly present under the appearance of bread and wine during this holy Mass. And when I elevate the host after the words of consecration, all of us will be here on our knees giving homage to our Lord, just like the Canaanite woman. When that moment comes, let's open our hearts to Christ, showing him as much love, faith, and humility, as we can muster.

Perhaps we can do that by praying - at that moment of the Mass - passionately for a loved one who is ill or separated from God, as the Canaanite woman did. Perhaps our prayer will be more personal - asking God to strengthen us for our own struggles during this coming week.

However we do it, let's give Christ the pleasure of knowing that we truly believe in him and trust that he can make the crucial difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us. And then, when we return to the hustle and bustle of life during the rest of the week, let's make sure that we stay flexible enough to allow the needs of our neighbors to change our personal plans, whenever Christ's overall plan may require it.

Jesus never turns a deaf ear to the cries of our hearts. And so we should never turn a deaf ear to the often hidden cries of our neighbors.

The miracle of the Rosary

I came across this song and I thought it was neat that Elvis who was a Baptist sang a song to our blessed Mother. So on this the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presely enjoy "The miracle of the Rosary.

FROM THE PULPIT

The Holocaust is one of the terribly traumatic episodes of modern history, yet it has also yielded some astounding stories of bravery and faith. In France a Jewish family were hidden by some concerned French nationals in the basement of their house. The Jewish family waited and waited for their deliverance. At the end of the war these words were found scribbled on the wall of that basement: "I believe in the sun even when it does not shine. I believe in love even when it is not given. I believe in God even when he is silent."

In today’s Gospel we see a lack of faith in Peter but for us to see Jesus as the saving presence of God, we need faith. Faith gives us that ability to see Jesus for who he is—not a ghost but the Son of God, our Lord, brother and savior. Even during those times we do lack faith, Jesus continues to reach out his hand to us to save us. It’s our faith that will give us the ability to walk on the sea of life, to hear the call of Jesus, and venture out ourselves on those raging waters. We will not sink because Jesus reaches out to us. Jesus saves us and in this way we are able to receive the gift of faith and become empowered to be his disciples. In this way not even storms can stop us in following the commandment of Jesus to “Come”.

It’s easy for us to come to Jesus in the obvious things such as faithful attendance at Mass or being faithful to the precepts of the church. It’s more difficult to see God in the little things such as being pleasant to the telemarketer who seems to call us every other day or spending time with people even though we have other commitments.

St. Augustine said that, “"If I try by myself to swim across the ocean of this world, the waves will certainly engulf me. In order to survive I must climb aboard a ship made of wood; this wood is the Cross of Christ. Of course, even on board ship there will be dangerous tempests and perils from the sea of this world. But God will help me remain on board the ship and arrive safely at the harbor of eternal life."


So my dear brothers and sisters how can we in the twenty-first century keep focused on Christ? We won't be able to look into Jesus' physical eyes, as Peter did, until Judgment Day. But in the meantime we can still keep our eyes fixed on Christ, in at least three ways.

First, we can spend time in prayer in the presence of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the real presence of Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearance of bread. This presence is an ongoing miracle, a truly amazing gift of God's love that we always have with us, right here in the Tabernacle, right next to the sanctuary light, whose living flame reminds us of Christ's living presence in this sacrament. Coming to make a short visit to the Eucharist, or coming to adore him in a longer visit - this is one sure way to keep our gaze fixed on the Lord.

Second, we can always find Christ in the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is a unique book; it is inspired by God. When we read it with faith, seeking to find Christ there, he reveals himself to us. The Catechism quotes St Jerome on this point, saying: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." It is the immature and irresponsible Christian who doesn't take some time each day, even if only a few minutes, to gaze upon Christ by reading the Bible.

Thirdly, we can gaze upon Christ by serving our brothers and sisters in need. Jesus himself said that whatever we do for our neighbors, we do for him - he is present in them.

Today, as Christ, through this Mass, comes to us once again across in the stormy seas of our concerns, worries, and weaknesses, let's welcome him with strong faith, and let's promise to keep welcoming him, to keep gazing upon him, every single day.

A voice of an angel

FROM THE PULPIT

Everyone was gathered in the courthouse. The prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly woman, to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy. And, frankly, you've been a big disappointment. "You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. Yes, I know you." The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?" She replied, "Why, of course I do. "I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to babysit him. "And he, too, has been a real disappointment. He's lazy, bigoted, and has a drinking problem. "The man can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is shoddy and crooked. Yes, I know him." At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you ask her if she knows me, I'll hold you both in contempt of court!"

In today’s Gospel we see the fear that the disciples have when Jesus informs them to feed the crowds. “Five loaves and two fish” were all they had but Jesus as he
always does provides for everyone. Jesus takes these meager human resources—and he blesses them and gives them to his apostles so that they can give them to the crowds. What the disciples feared that they couldn’t do they were able to do with the blessings of Jesus.

We hear about a similar connection to the first reading from Isaiah: “All you who are thirsty come to the water!” The image that is portrayed is of a desert place where there is an uncomfortable thirst to the point of death. In this barren place in which life can’t be supported, God makes an invitation for people to drink and eat without paying out of their own resources. God make the desert place fertile and produces abundantly without effort on our part except to “come to [God] heedfully” and to “listen.”

In the Gospel of John 15 we hear about the final commandment, the great desire of his heart: "Love one another as I have loved you... This is how they will know that you are my disciples: by your love for one another" (John 15:12, 13:35).

My dear brothers and sisters, do you know what holds us back from fulfilling this commandment more courageously? FEAR!!! We are afraid that if we give of ourselves to others - our time, talent, treasure, attention, help, comfort - we are afraid that if we give what we have, we won't have enough left over for ourselves.

But today Jesus has obliterated that fear. His Twelve Apostles started with five loaves of bread and two fish - not even enough for themselves. They entrusted their scant supply of food to him, and then in his name they gave it away to others who were in need. Did they go hungry? On the contrary! In the end, there were twelve baskets of leftovers - more than what they had started with, an entire basket for each Apostle.

God will never be outdone in generosity. If we give as he has given, we will receive more than we can imagine. We are Christians. Today, when we receive our Lord in the Eucharist, let's promise that this week we will do our very best to live up to our name.