Father Ray's 'Other' Corner

Will It Be ‘Forgiveness and Freedom’ or ‘Unforgiveness and the Torturers’?

2012-01-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

(Third Sunday of the Year (B):This homily was given on January 23, 2012 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Jonah 3: 1-10.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Third Sunday 2012]

I heard a story recently about aCatholic school teacher who wanted to teach her students a lesson aboutforgiveness. So she asked them to bringtwo items to class one day: the first was a large, sturdy plastic bag; thesecond was a sack of potatoes from the local grocery store. And for every person they could think of whomthey refused to forgive, they were instructed to take one potato out of thesack, write the person’s name on it, and then place it in the plastic bag.

Well, unfortunately some studentsended up with plastic bags that contained several potatoes. I say “unfortunately,” because the teacherthen told them that they would have to carry their potatoes around with themfor a whole week! She said, “You have totake them everywhere you go, and keep the bag over your shoulder wheneverpossible. You have to take them with youwhen you go to visit your friends, when you do your chores, when you play, and whenyou eat. You even have to put thembeside you in bed when you sleep.”

Well, as you might imagine, thoseyoung people learned a very important lesson about forgiveness—by first learning a very important lessonabout the consequences of unforgiveness!

Carrying around a bag of potatoesall week made those students miserable—which is exactly what unforgiveness doesto us when we allow it to enter our hearts and take root there. In addition to being a sin (and potentially avery serious one!), refusing to forgive other people drags us down mentally andemotionally. As many of you will recall,Jesus made this point in Matthew 18, when he told a parable about a man who wasforgiven a huge debt by his master, but who then refused to forgive the debt ofa fellow servant, who owed him a much smaller amount of money. When the master found out what hisunforgiving servant had done, the Bible says he “handed him over to thetorturers until he paid back what he owed.” I once heard a preacher mention this text in a sermon, and he commentedon it by saying, “Do you know what ‘the torturers’ are? The torturers are: depression, anxiety,confusion, anger and the like. These arethe things that literally torture uswhen we refuse to forgive other people in our lives.”

One man who would certainly agreewith this is the prophet—or, more properly, the reluctant prophet—Jonah. Weheard a short excerpt from his story in today’s first reading. Your assignment for the week, by the way, isto open your Bible sometime during the next 7 days and read the rest of theBook of Jonah. Read it from beginning toend.

“But, Fr. Ray, I don’t have timeto do that.”

Oh yes, you do! The Book of Jonah is one of the shortestbooks in the entire Bible! It’s lessthan 3 pages long in most versions of Sacred Scripture—and that includes theintroduction!

So don’t tell me you don’t havetime.

The verses we heard this morning occurin the middle of the book. Here the Lordcommands Jonah to go to the city Nineveh and preach a message ofrepentance. And Jonah goes—which he didNOT do at the beginning of the book when God called him the first time! In fact, after the initial call he receivedJonah got on the very first ship that he could find that was headed in theOPPOSITE DIRECTION, away from Nineveh!

Why, you ask?

BecauseJonah hated the Ninevites, that’s why! Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, which, at the time, was Israel’sarch-enemy. Jonah knew the Lord was notonly just; he knew the Lord was also forgivingand merciful. And he had a sneaking suspicion that if hewent to the Ninevites and told them to repent—and they did—then God would notallow their city to be destroyed.

ButJonah wanted the place destroyed! He wanted to see the city of Nineveh go up in flames! He wanted to see it “fry” like Sodom andGomorrah had many years earlier!

So he ran away (actually, hesailed away—on a ship that was headed west toward Tarshish).

God said, “Not so fast, Jonah!”and he threw the ship into a terrible storm. Jonah was tossed overboard in the middle of it and swallowed by agigantic fish (which is sometimes referred to as a whale).

After spending 3 days and 3 nightsinside this whale’s belly, God commanded the creature to spew Jonah up onto theshore—which is where today’s first reading picks up the story.

The Lord said, “Ok Jonah, let’stry this one more time. Go to the peopleof Nineveh and tell them that unless they repent within 40 days their entire citywill be destroyed.”

Now, to his credit, Jonah didlearn his lesson. He learned that it wasprobably not a good idea to disobey God a second time! So, as we heard a few moments ago, he went toNineveh—albeit begrudgingly—and he delivered the message the Lord told him todeliver.

And, almost immediately, thewhole place repented—which, of course, was precisely what Jonah did NOT want tohappen!

At that point, he allowed the‘torturers’—the torturers that Jesus talked about in Matthew 18—to enter hisheart full force, in particular anger and depression.

He whined; he pouted; he sulked;he told God that he had a “right” to be angry (I’m not sure where that rightcame from, but Jonah insisted that he had it).

And it got so bad that heeventually prayed for death! He said, “Ican’t deal with this anymore, Lord, so please take my life.”

He had the choice between forgiveness and freedom on the onehand, and unforgiveness and torture onthe other; and, sadly, he chose the latter.

In fact, Jonah was more concernedabout a dead plant (which died while he was sulkingunder it one day) than he was about the thousands people in Nineveh, all ofwhom would have died had they not repented.

The Lord said (and here I quote):“[Jonah], you are concerned over [this] plant which cost you no labor and whichyou did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh,the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousandpersons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mentionthe many cattle?”

Now that, my brothers andsisters, is where the story ends. What Ijust read to you are the final words of the Book of Jonah.

Which leaves inquiring minds likemine to wonder: What happened? Did Jonaheventually change? Did he allow God’swords to soften his heart? Did hefinally forgive the Ninevites and free himself from his anger and depression?

Or did he stubbornly cling to hisunforgiveness and allow the torturers to continue to kill him, slowly, from theinside out?

We don’t know. The Holy Spirit, through the inspired authorof this book of Scripture, hasn’t told us—which is not a mistake or a coincidence.

The Book of Jonah ends the way itdoes, I believe, because God doesn’t want us to focus on Jonah’s situation allthose centuries ago; he wants each of usto focus on our situation right now! He wants us to read this short and very entertaining story, and then reflecton how we’re currently responding to the people who hurt us at work or atschool or in some other location—or even within our own families.

You see, whether we realize it ornot, the choice Jonah faced all those years ago is the same one we facewhenever someone offends us now: forgivenessand freedom or unforgiveness and the torturers.

Let’s pray at this Mass that makingthe right choice—the choice to forgive—willalways be a lot easier for us than it was for poor, old Jonah.

Mary, Us—and the Moon

2012-01-01T12:13:00.002-05:00

(Mary, the Mother of God, 2012:This homily was given on January 1, 2012, at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I.,by Fr. Raymond Suriani.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Mary, the Mother of God 2012]

When you look up into the sky atnight and see the moon, do you ever think of Mary, our Blessed Mother?

You should—and so should I.

This is something I became awareof when I was on retreat last month. Thepriest who said Mass on the first morning of the retreat (which happened to bethe Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) made this comparison, which he told meafterward he had read in a book by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

That didn’t surprise me; itdefinitely sounded like something Sheen would say.

And it’s a great analogy, firstof all because the moon is not the source of its own light; rather, it reflects light from the sun (sun there isspelled s-u-n).

Well, Mary does somethingsimilar. As many of us know, somenon-Catholic Christians accuse us of “worshipping” the Blessed Mother, as if wethink that Mary is equal to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the 3 divinePersons of the Blessed Trinity.

But that’s not true. As Catholics we don’t worship Mary, we honor her—precisely because she reflected the light of the Son (in thiscase, Son is spelled capital S-o-n!).

What the moon does in the naturaldimension of reality, Mary does in the supernatural dimension—which is why themoon is such a fitting symbol for her and her life. She was not the source of the light sheradiated to other people (please tell that to your Protestant friends!): thesource was God, the source was her divine Son, Jesus Christ. As she said in her Magnificat, “My soulproclaims the greatness OF THE LORD; my spirit finds joy in God, MY SAVIOR.”

But she didn’t just reflect thelight of God’s truth and love every once in awhile, or when she happened tofeel like it; she did it ALL THE TIME! That’s why, properly speaking, she’s like the FULL moon. When the moon is full, the side facing theearth is fully lit up. No part of it, visible to us, is in darkness.

That’s a perfect symbol for theSINLESS Virgin Mary.

Some of you heard my homily onDecember 8, the feast of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception. In that homily, you will recall, I mentioneda recent Christmas special on Canadian television that had in it a comedysketch which involved the Holy Family. Now what upset me about this show was the fact that they hired noneother than Pamela Anderson, of Playboy and Baywatch fame, to portray Mary in thissketch!

That was blasphemous—because whenwe think of Mary, our next thought should not be Pamela Anderson! Ever! Nor, for that matter, should it be you or I. When we think of Mary, our next thought afterthat should always be JesusChrist, her divine Son, whose love and truth she perfectly reflectedduring her time here on earth.

So where do Pamela Anderson andthe rest of us come into the picture? Where do we fit into all this? Well, it’s really very simple. Touse the image I’m focusing on in this homily: If Mary is like the full moon, theneach of us, spiritually speaking, is like the moon in one of its many other“phases.”

That statement, I suppose, needsa bit of an explanation.

Because the moon orbits aroundthe earth roughly once a month, the amount of light it reflects toward us isconstantly changing, depending on where it is in its cycle. For example, when the earth is directlybetween the moon and the sun, we have a full moon, because the sun’s light hitsthe entire surface of the moon that’s visible to us on earth. But there’s another point in the cycle whenthe moon is directly between us and the sun, which is called the “new moon”phase. At that point we don’t see the moon at all from the earth, even on a crystalclear night. It appears not to bethere. And, of course, in between the fullmoon and the new moon there are a number of other phases: during the daysbetween the new moon and the full moon the amount of light reflected increasesor “waxes”; in the days between the full moon and the next new moon the amountof light reflected decreases or “wanes”.

You didn’t know you were comingto an astronomy class today, did you?

Well, my point here is not togive a science lesson; my point here isto illustrate a spiritual truth. Ifa person is in the state of mortal sin, in a certain sense he’s like a “newmoon”—in other words, he’s not reflecting the light of Christ at all in hissoul! As the Catechism states inparagraph 1855, mortal sin “destroys charity in theheart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, whois his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.”

Ipray there are no “new moons” here today. But if there are, remember that the remedy is readily available. It’s called confession!

Agood examination of conscience, followed by a thorough and honest confession,can immediately turn a “new moon,” spiritually speaking, into a “waxingmoon”—and that waxing can continue throughout the person’s life, such that heor she reflects more and more of the light of the Son (capital S-o-n) as time goes on.

Inthe 4^th century a young man named Augustine lived like a new moonfor many years—he slept around; he lived with a woman to whom he was notmarried; he even fathered a child out of wedlock. But eventually the prayers of his saintlymother brought him to conversion, and from that moment until the end of hislife, he became a “waxing moon,” so to speak, to the point that we now refer tohim as Saint Augustine.

Sothere’s always hope—even for Pamela Anderson (and I’m seriousabout that!).

Becausewe’re sinners, we’ll never be a “full moon” like Mary—until we get to heaven.

Butwe can be a “waxing moon” from now on, if, by the grace of God, we choose tobe.

Andwe can begin that process by making some spiritual New Year’s resolutions,which I invite you to do today. Here arejust a few suggestions:

Resolve to be faithful to Mass every Sunday and holy day—even when you’re on vacation! It always amazes me how many Catholics think that it’s ok to take a vacation from Mass when they’re on vacation from work or school! Well, it’s not ok! It’s a serious sin that needs to be confessed—before you go back to receiving Holy Communion.

And how about going to Mass once in awhile during the week—when you don’t have to? Believe it or not we have 75 to 100 people who come here to Mass every single day—at 7am! And others go to Mass every day at Immaculate or St. Clare’s at 8. Ask them how beneficial it is, if you don’t believe me.

Another resolution to consider: Examine your conscience every day, and get to confession at least once every month or two. And do that even if you’re not aware of any serious sins in your life. A person who’s like a “waxing moon” will be growing in his awareness of even the little sins he commits, and will want to confess those things frequently. This explains why many of the great saints went to confession on a daily basis (or at least once a week).

Another possible resolution: Read the Bible for at least 5 minutes a day. (If you say you don’t have 5 minutes, then re-arrange your life because you’re way too busy. Everyone can find 5 minutes if they try hard enough!)

Another resolution to consider: Pray the Rosary every day. Many of the canonized saints have hailed the Rosary as a great spiritual weapon against the evil we all have to face in the world. If you don’t have a lot of extra time, keep the radio off and say the Rosary while you’re driving your car to work or to school or to some other place. I have the Scriptural Rosary on CD (where a little Scripture verse is read between each Hail Mary). I use it in my car all the time. I love it because those Scripture verses help me stay focused.

Finally, you could resolve to make a Holy Hour at least once a week; or, if you don’t have that large a block of time to spare, resolve to stop into a Catholic Church a couple of times a week to make a brief visit to the Blessed Sacrament. That’s a great way to bring your intentions to the Lord and to get “re-focused” in the midst of the rat race of life!

Thoseare just some of the possible resolutions we can make if we want to reflectmore of the light of the capital S-o-nin our life.

Throughthe intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, may each of us follow through on atleast some of these resolutions in the new year of 2012—and every yearthereafter.

Some Important Christmas Reminders from Tim Tebow

2011-12-25T12:39:00.000-05:00

Tim Tebow

(Christmas 2011: This homily wasgiven on December 25, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. RaymondSuriani. Read Matthew 1: 18-25.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Christmas 2011]

Syndicated writer Susan Stamper Brown began a recent columnshe wrote with the following words:

Despite thefact that in America, 60 to 70 percent of people identify themselves as“Christian” to one degree or another, Christian-bashing seems to be just aboutas popular a pastime as watching football these days. And when a national football player commitsthe unpardonable sins of being both pro-life and vociferously, pro-Jesus, youend up with pundits who cast ridiculous judgments from on top of their loftythrones, much like the old Muppet Show characters Statler and Waldorf.

Thepersecution of Christians has been going on since the days of the Roman Empire;it continues today in many third world countries, brutally, and here inAmerica, more subtly. Tolerant of mostother religions, pre-fall Rome viewed Christianity as a fanatical Jewish sectwhich was so easy to hate they made a sport of it. Sure, it’s a stretch to make an absolutecorrelation between 21^st Century America and first CenturyRome. Nonetheless, replace sticks withdiatribes and stones with denigrations for similar results. One kills the body; the other slays thespirit.

If you’re a football fan who’sbeen following the National Football League this year, you can probablyidentify, quite easily, the person Susan Stamper Brown is alluding to in thesetwo paragraphs I just read. It is, ofcourse, Tim Tebow, the second year quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

Now let me begin by saying that,as someone who’s been a Green Bay Packer fan for nearly 50 years, I’ve neverhad any interest whatoever in promoting the football fortunes of the DenverBroncos—especially since they beat the Packers back in Super Bowl XXXII!

But I must confess that duringthe last couple of months I’ve found myself sitting in front of a televisionset several times on Sunday afternoons cheering for Tim Tebow—not so much forwho he is on the football field, but rather for who and what he has been offthe field, in his personal life.

I’m happy to see someone like himdoing so well in his chosen profession (as long as he’s not doing it againstthe Green Bay Packers).

For the benefit of those who arenot football fans: Before the Broncos drafted him in 2010, Tim Tebow played forthe University of Florida, where he was part of two national championshipteams. In 2007, he also won the HeismanTrophy as the nation’s best college football player. But football has never been the most importantreality in his life—as he would be more than happy to tell you. In fact, he’s often said that football isjust a game and that God really doesn’t care who wins and loses. For Tebow, the person who’s number 1—theperson who gives meaning and purpose and direction to his earthly existence—isthe person (the divine person) whosebirth we’re celebrating today, Jesus Christ. And it seems that he’s one of the few people in public life these dayswho does more than talk the talk when it comes to his personal beliefs. From all external indications, at least, TimTebow also makes the effort to “walk the walk”—i.e., the walk of a Christian disciple. When he was a student at the University ofFlorida, for example, he used to spend his summers helping the poor and needyin the Philippines, primarily at an orphanage run by members of his family. He spoke in prisons, led an on campus Biblestudy, and used his fame to help a number of good, charitable causes. This line from his family’s web page says itwell: “Tim’s faith is the driving force in his life, and he is acutely awarethat ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ He keeps a poem in his roomthat reminds him of an athlete’s accountability to be a role model for thelittle boys who want to be just like him.”

Oh, and did I mention that he’salso “saving himself” for marriage? Byhis own personal example, Tim Tebow is teaching the youth of America that“virgin” is not a dirty word!

What a great public service!

But, as Susan Stamper Brownpoints out in her little article, all these virtues—because they’re rooted inhis Christianity—have brought the man more criticism than acclaim—at least insome segments of our society. Shewrites, “Under normal circumstances,Tebow would be praised for his accomplishments, talent and leadership fromaround the Monday morning water cooler, but in these days of pseudo politicalcorrectness (PC), the words ‘normal’ and ‘Christian’ cannot run together in thesame sentence. Those who praise theirmaker for their talent are not considered talented; they are just creepy.”

She then gives some examples ofcomments she’s heard: “Maybe he can cureleprosy.” “He’d be a better passer if he’d give in and sleep around town.” “Idon’t want to hear about his faith every other sentence.” “Even Jesus istelling Tim he has had enough.”

She ends her piece with thefollowing thought-provoking questions and comment: “What is it about Tebow that brings out such nastiness in so many ofus? Why does the Jesus in Tebow bringout the devil in us? Why is Tebow such alightning rod to those who haven’t seen the same light? Might it be that we can’t sit back to enjoythe game and appreciate Tebow’s talent because Tebow’s goodness makes usuncomfortable with our own not-sogoodness? If that’s the case, heaven help us.”

I think Susan Stamper Brown has avalid insight there, but I also think it goes a little deeper than that (andhere’s where the connection with Christmas comes into the picture). You see, Tim Tebow and others like him remindus of a central fact of Christianity (a fact that some people would like toignore or forget): they remind us that Jesus Christ is alive! He’s not just a figure of past history, whowas born on Christmas Day and died 33 years later. He’s the King of kings and the Lord of lords,who demands our obedience; he’s the way, the truth and the life; he’s the onlyway to the Father; he’s the risen Savior who wants to save us from our sins ANDWHO WILL SAVE US FROM OUR SINS, if we let him!

Tim Tebow and others like himremind us at Christmas that we must never, ever treat Jesus Christ like alifeless figure in a lifeless crèche! Wemust relate to him as a Person—a living Person—a living divine Person—who created us out of love, who came to thisearth 2,000 years ago out of that same love, and who invites us to live in aloving relationship with him here on earth, so that we will someday liveforever with him in his glorious and eternal kingdom of heaven.

It’s a simple message, isn’t it? But it’s a message that can qualitativelychange our lives for the better—if we believe it and then act upon it.

Have you ever wondered why TimTebow is almost always smiling—even when he loses (which is not too often thesedays)?

It’s because he understands thismessage better than most people do. And it’s because he’s ACTED ON IT!

But Fr. Ray, what if hefalls? What if we find out on some darkday in the future that Tim Tebow has committed a terrible, horrific sin?

Well, then he’ll have theopportunity to remind us, by hisrepentance, that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die on that cross specificallyfor the forgiveness of our sins, and that there’s more joy in heaven over onerepentant sinner than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance.

Please hear that if you’resomeone who’s been away from Mass and Confession for a long time. The Lord is calling you home this Christmas.

But until that dark day comes forTim Tebow (and I hope it never will), I will pray very hard for him. I will pray for him to keep on being a good,faithful witness to Jesus Christ and his Christian faith.

And I’ll even root for him on thefootball field, as long as the team he’s playing is not from Green Bay,Wisconsin!

Joy and 'Circumstances'

2011-12-11T12:35:00.001-05:00

(Third Sunday of Advent (B): Thishomily was given on December 11, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. byFr. Raymond Suriani. Read Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Third Sunday of Advent 2011]

Most people would probably saythat the opposite of joy is sorrow.

But I would say that the oppositeof joy—at this time of the year, at least—is not sorrow; rather it’s“circumstances.”

I say that because our sorrow atthis time of year, during these 4 weeks of Advent, is usually rooted in circumstances—negativecircumstances—challenging circumstances—discouraging and depressingcircumstances—either in our own families and personal lives, or somewhere outthere in the world.

I’m sure we all can remember badthings that have happened in years past just before Christmas. When I was a student at Providence College,for example, they had a terrible dorm fire in Aquinas Hall one night inmid-December, which killed ten young women. I think of that tragic event every year at this time. It’s one of the negative circumstances I haveto deal with annually during Advent. Getting diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease two days before Christmaslast year will be another one I can add to my list from now on—at least until Iget cured or healed!

We all have our lists, don’twe? Perhaps someone you love died thisDecember, or in a December of the past; maybe you lost your job this month—ormaybe you lost it this month a year agoand have been unemployed ever since. Orperhaps it’s just the moral decline and growing secularization of our societythat’s getting you discouraged—something that was symbolized so well in ourstate a couple of weeks ago by our own governor, who, sadly, doesn’t seem toknow what a Christmas tree is!

Talk about a depressingcircumstance!

And then we come to Mass on thisThird Sunday of Advent and the Church tells us to “Rejoice!” In our first reading Isaiah says, “I rejoiceheartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul!” In the responsorial psalm we say (or sing),“My soul rejoices in my God.” And thenSt. Paul tells us in this text from 1 Thessalonians 5 to “Rejoice ALWAYS”—notjust sometimes, not just when things are going well, not just in goodcircumstances on sunny days in July—but ALWAYS!

Today is Gaudete Sunday. It’s the Sunday when we light the pink candleon the Advent wreath, signifying that Advent is more than half over and that Christmasis fast approaching. Gaudete in Latinliterally means, “Rejoice!” It’s animperative; it’s a command—from Jesus, through his Church.

But it’s a tough command for manyof us to obey as much as we might like to, because of those negative circumstancesI mentioned earlier. Now to some extent,these realities are always present inour lives and in our world; however they do seem to have more of a negative impacton us at this time of year. I thinkthat’s because, with all the festivity and celebration that’s going on aroundus, it can seem like everyone else is perfectly happy and having a great time.

But that’s an illusion. As I indicated a few moments ago, everyone hasa list of circumstances—circumstances that threaten to undermine their joy. Even if they don’t seem to have a list, trustme, they do!

So here’s the situation we findourselves in during this holy season (and to some extent throughout the year):Either our negative circumstances will overcome our joy, or joy will overcome ournegative circumstances.

It’s either one or the other.

If circumstances win out in us,we will be miserable; if joy wins, then we’ll be able to rejoice in the waythat our Scriptures today tell us to. We’llbe able to do that in spite of all our problems.

In this regard, I came acrosssomething very interesting the other day in a homily by Fr. Roger Landry, who’sa priest from the Diocese of Fall River. In this talk that I read online, he lists 4 things that can rob us ofour joy (4 things, in other words, that can cause negative circumstances to winthe victory in us). See if you canidentify with any of these:

The first is self-pity: “Oh woe is me—I have so many problems; I have so many moreproblems than other people have. I havemore cooking to do than anyone else. Ihave more shopping to do than anyone else. I have more aches and pains than anyoneelse. I have to go and listen to Fr. Rayevery week at church. Poor, poor me!”

You know the kind of litany I’mtalking about.

The second is worry. Worry and joy cannot co-exist, just like self-pity and joy cannotco-exist. In his homily, Fr. Landrymentioned Pope John XXIII, who, as you might imagine, had an awful lot to worryabout as the leader of the Church at the beginning of Vatican II. But he conquered his worry through prayer—byconsciously and consistently putting his own life and the life of the Churchinto God’s hands. Fr. Landry wrote, “PopeJohn XXIII, who had responsibility for the whole Church, used to go in to visitthe Lord in his private chapel each night and give the problems back to [God],saying, ’It’s your Church, Lord, I’m going to bed.’”

Sometimes the simplest prayersare the best!

The third thing that can underminejoy happens, Fr. Landry says, “When weplace our happiness in something other than God, on acclaim, advancement,promotion, recognition, fame, prestige, power, money, anything.” And this is exactly what the world encouragesus to do at this time of year, is it not? No wonder so many people are miserable! The cultural message we get every December is, “Buy this, and you’ll behappy”; “Drink this, eat this, get this game, have this at your party andyou’ll have Christmas joy in your heart.”

It’s a lie, but it’s a lie thatmany people believe—or at least they actlike they believe it.

Which brings us to the 4^threality that can ruin joy: complaining. Chronic complainers are fixated on thenegative, and being fixated on the negative makes rejoicing almostimpossible. As Fr. Landry put it, “Welose our joy by complaining.” He thenadded, “Some of us would have complained about the menu at the Last Supper.”

I’m sure that’s not true of anyonehere in our parish, but apparently it was true of some people in his.

The final point that needs to bemade in all this concerns the alternative. Yes, self-pity, worry, focusing on things other than God and complainingall rob us of joy—that’s true. Butwhat’s the alternative? What is it that willdeepen our joy in December and in every other month of the year? What will give us the ability to rejoicealways, as St. Paul tells us to in today’s second reading?

The answer is simple, but very hardto put into practice: We need to focus on what we know, by faith, tobe true. In other words, weneed to reflect and meditate on what we believe about God and about life—andabout ourselves! This, not surprisingly,is where Isaiah the prophet found his joy. Notice what he says here. Hesays, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord(not in things—not in other people—not in the good circumstances of life—IN THELORD!), in my God is the joy of mysoul!” The psalm refrain (which is a directquote from Mary in her Magnificat) has the same message: “My soul rejoices in my God.”

Mary and Isaiah understood thisprinciple.

So the bottom line is this: God createdyou in his image and likeness. He lovesyou, perfectly, completely and unconditionally. He sent his Son into this world 2,000 years ago to save you from yoursins and to give you a kingdom that will last forever. He will never abandon you, and will always providefor your needs.

Those are some of thefoundational truths of our Catholic faith. They were true yesterday; they’re true today; they will always betrue.

That means they will be true inthe best circumstances of our lives and in the absolute worst of circumstancesof our lives! So we can always rejoice inthem, because they are unchanging! They’re timeless! My health may change,my family may change, my friends may change, my job situation may change—butthe truth of who God is and what he has done for me will never, ever change.

So that’s where my focus andyours needs to be, in December—and always.

Do You Try to ‘Pull Mary Down’ to Your Level, or Do You Let Mary ‘Pull You Up’ Closer to Hers?

2011-12-08T21:27:00.001-05:00

(Immaculate Conception 2011: Thishomily was given on December 8, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., byFr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 1:26-38.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Immaculate Conception 2011]

On December 1, CTV (a Canadiantelevision network) aired a Christmas special, “A Russell Peters Christmas,” duringwhich there was a little comedy sketch that involved the Holy Family. Peters, who’s a comedian from Brampton,Ontario, played the role of St. Joseph in the skit. But guess who was chosen to play the role ofMary, our Blessed Mother.

Pamela Anderson.

(No, I’m not kidding. I wish I were, but I’m not.)

The woman described by columnistBrent Bozell as “the ridiculously surgically enhanced former Playboy Playmate,home-movie porn specialist and ‘Baywatch’ star’,” was hired to play the role ofthe all-holy, immaculately-conceived, ever-virgin mother of our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ!

Russell Peters and those incharge of CTV should be ashamed of themselves.

But, of course, they aren’t. If anything, they’re proud of what they’vedone! In fact, when Peters wasquestioned about the matter in late November, he was quoted as saying, “We hadwritten the sketch and we didn't know who we were putting in it and we thoughthey Pam Anderson is Canadian, we can use more Canadian people in this show. . .. I didn't even think of the other side of Pam Anderson which is so long ago,it's like come on, give the chick a break already.”

Have you noticed how often Mary isblasphemed and ridiculed like this in contemporary western culture? People love to try to “pull her down” totheir level, morally and spiritually. Ithappens all the time, but especially right before Christmas and Easter eachyear.

And have you ever wondered why? Why would people want to blaspheme andridicule and tear down someone like Mary, a woman who was—and who is—so goodand so loving and so holy?

Well, believe it or not I thinkthe answer to that question is rooted in the feast we’re celebrating today inthe Church, the feast of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception. Let me begin with a little catechetical review:As Catholics we believe that Mary was the holiest human person who ever lived. (Jesus, remember, is a divine person so he’s in a separate category.) She was, in the words of the poet WilliamWordsworth, “our tainted nature’s solitary boast”—and that’s primarily becauseof the truth about her that’s contained in the dogma of the ImmaculateConception.

Many Catholics think that thisdogma concerns the virginal conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. That, of course, is wrong. The feast that commemorates Jesus’ conceptionin the womb of our Blessed Mother is known as the Annunciation, which is celebrated9 months before Christmas, on March 25. (Ifyou’re not sure why that is, you should enroll immediately in Biology101!)

So why was the story of theAnnunciation read as our gospel text today? It's because Mary’s Immaculate Conception prepared her for thatAnnunciation event—and for all that would follow in her role as the Mother ofthe Savior of the world.

The Immaculate Conception, properly speaking, refers to the conceptionof Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Ann. It teaches us that, by a special grace of God, given in view of what herSon Jesus would accomplish many years later on the cross, Mary was preservedfrom original sin. The preface for thisMass says it perfectly: “For you preserved the most Blessed Virgin Mary fromall stain of original sin, so that in her, endowed with the rich fullness ofyour grace, you might prepare a worthy Mother for your Son.”

Mary was free from originalsin—which means that she had sanctifying grace in her soul from the moment ofher conception. Not only that, she nevercommitted even one personal sin—mortal or venial—at any point during her earthlylife.

Mary, therefore, reminds us of the power of God’s saving grace. She reminds of the great things that God cando in our lives, if we let him. Shereminds us that we can be better people than we now are, with the Lord’s powerfulassistance.

For those of us who are reallytrying to live the Gospel, that’s good news—really good news!

But what happens, my brothers andsisters, if you’re not interested in being any better than you currently are? What happens if you’re perfectly content withthe lust and anger and greed and other sinful attitudes that are in your heart atthe present time? What happens if youdon’t want to change your life in a positive way and become holy like Mary andthe rest of the saints?

Well, then you’ll do exactly whatcomedian Russell Peters did. You’ll dowhat all the anti-Mary blasphemers do: You’lltry to pull our Blessed Mother down to your level! You’ll make fun ofher; you’ll ridicule her holiness; you’ll have Pamela Anderson portray her in atelevision sketch! You’ll do anythingand everything you can to try to convince yourself that she’s no better thanyou are.

You’ll engage, in other words, inthe ultimate delusion.

If we love Mary, we will never, evertry to pull her down to our level of imperfection and sin; rather, we will constantlyask her to “pull us up” to her level of holiness! We will say, “Mary, you show me what a humanperson can be if they really trust in God and yield to his grace. You said yes to the Lord at every moment ofyour life; help me to say yes to him more often in mine. By the grace of God you never sinned; prayfor me that by the same grace of God I will sin less frequently. Sometimes I get discouraged and think that Ican’t be better than I am; sometimes other people tell me that I can’t bebetter than I am; but you have shown me by your life that I can always be abetter, holier, more Christ-like person than I am right now.”

That’s the kind of prayer we willsay if we want to be “pulled up” by our Blessed Mother. Or we could keep it really simple and just say,“Mary, I love you. Please pull me up! Please pull me up a little higher today.”

She’ll know what we mean.

If I Think Something is Right, Does THAT FACT ALONE Make It Right?

2011-12-04T12:23:00.001-05:00

Bishop Tobin

(Second Sunday of Advent (B):This homily was given on December 3, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Mark 1: 1-8.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Second Sunday of Advent 2011]

Our bishop, Thomas Tobin, wrote acolumn in the November 10 issue of the Rhode Island Catholic entitled, “Don’tAsk, Don’t Tell . . . Don’t Sin.” In ithe did nothing surprising: He first of all reiterated the Catholic Church’stimeless teaching on the issue of homosexuality (a teaching which is firmly rootedin Sacred Scripture and the Natural Law). He also criticized those activists and politicians and others who aretrying to force everyone in our society to accept homosexuality and thehomosexual lifestyle as normal and moral. And he challenged individual Catholics to stand up for the truth in thepublic square, and to do their best to help people they know who experience samesex attraction to follow the path of virtue in their lives. He said, “If you really love someone you havean obligation to challenge their sinful ways and encourage them to follow amore virtuous path.”

In the final paragraph of thepiece, he summed up his message with these words: “Members of the Church,particularly those in positions of authority—bishops, priests, deacons,catechists, and especially parents—have an obligation to understand and presentwhat we believe about the sinful nature of homosexual acts. We have an equallyimportant obligation to foster respect for persons with same sex attraction. Weshould love them, respect them, pray with them, and welcome them into ourchurches. But we do them a grave disservice if we do not urge them to embrace alifestyle marked by the Christian virtues of chastity and purity.”

The following week a letteropposing the Bishop appeared in our diocesan newspaper. It was written by a man named Henry Miller,who lives in Youngstown, Ohio. (I’m notsure how he obtained a copy of the Rhode Island Catholic, but he did—perhaps itwas the online version.) Listen now tosome of what he said:

“Now, as to whether, as thebishop suggests, we have an ’obligation to challenge their (gays’) sinful waysand encourage them to follow a more virtuous path’ I can’t imagine the bishophas actually thought this advice through. It suggests that we be adversarial and that could lead to our beingpunched in the nose. After all who arewe to judge who is living a sinful life and who is not. Not everyone who is living a homosexual lifeis committing a sin if he (or she) believes he is not. This is second grade moral theology which welater learned as adults is called ‘primacy of conscience.’”

I’ll leave aside the remark aboutbeing punched in the nose. As far as I’mconcerned, that’s too ridiculous and juvenile to merit a comment.

But what about his otherpoint—which is really the key point of his letter? I hope and pray that you were horrified byhis words here. Listen again to what hesaid: “Not everyone who is living a homosexual life is committing a sin if he(or she) believes he is not.”

Say what, Mr. Miller? I hope you’re not serious—but I’m afraid youare. Are you telling me, sir, that if Ithink that something is right, that fact alonemakes it right? Are you saying that theultimate criterion for a morally good act is whether or not I believe it’s amorally good act?

I certainly hope not, sir, becausethat means that anything—and I mean ANYTHING (even the worst moral evil)—can bejustified.

Let me now illustrate theabsurdity of Mr. Miller’s statement by replacing “homosexual activity” with afew other sins:

Not everyone who intentionally flies a passenger plane into a skyscraper in New York City is committing a sin if he (or she) believes he is not.

Not everyone who rapes is committing a sin if he (or she) believes he is not.

Not everyone who steals millions of dollars through a Ponzi Scheme is committing a sin if he (or she) believes he is not.

Not everyone who murders innocent people is committing a sin if he (or she) believes he is not.

What Mr. Miller calls the“primacy of conscience” is really the “primacy of the badly-formed conscience.” Hesays this is “second grade moral theology.” Well, if that’s true, then someone should tell Mr. Miller that he needsto go back to kindergarten and start over again with his moral theology lessons!

Of course, the really scary thingis, he’s not alone. There are manypeople—and that includes many Christians!—who think this way.

And we wonder why our world is insuch a mess? This is the kind ofmentality that tears families and societies and nations apart!

This is also the kind ofmentality that keeps many Catholics away from Confession.

Each Advent we encounter John theBaptist, the precursor of the Messiah, who “appeared in the desert proclaiminga baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (as we heard a few momentsago in our gospel reading from Mark 1). That passage goes on to say that people from the Judean countryside andfrom Jerusalem went to the Jordan River to be baptized by him as they “acknowledgedtheir sins.” It doesn’t say theyacknowledged the things they “felt” were sins, or the things they “believed”were sins—as if they themselves had the power to determine what was right andwhat was wrong. It simply says they acknowledged their sins—indicating thatthere was an objective moral standard they had somehow violated. They didn’t determine what that standard was,God did. It was built into the veryfabric of reality as God had designedit.

Jesus came into this world tosave us from our sins. His name literallymeans “Savior.” But he can only save usfrom our sins if we acknowledge them,as the people who went to John for baptism did. And we need to acknowledge them asthey truly are, not as we would like them to be. That’s difficult, for sure—but it’s alsoliberating; because, when we repent of those sins and receive forgiveness fromGod for them, we can finally put them behind us—forever!

We encounter John the Baptistevery Advent to remind us that there’s no better way to prepare to receiveJesus more completely into our lives at Christmas than through sincererepentance for our sins. To assist youin that task this Advent I’ve inserted a very good and thorough examination ofconscience into this weekend’s bulletin (yet another reason to take yourbulletin home with you!). On that sheetis God’s objective standardconcerning right and wrong. It’s notmine; it’s not yours; it’s not the standard of Mr. Miller, the guy who wrote theletter I read from earlier; it’s not even Bishop Tobin’s personal standard!

It’s the Lord’s—and hisalone. Which means it’s the truth thatwill set us free!—free from our guilt, free from our sadness, free from theeternal consequences of whatever it is we’ve done.

But it will only do that for usif we have the courage to look at our lives honestly, in light of what’swritten on that sheet, and then repent, making a good confession if we need to.

For those who are interested indoing that, I will be in my confessional next Saturday at 3:30, as I am everyweek; and then, on the following Saturday, Fr. Giudice and I will be here fortwo hours, for your convenience, from 2:30 until 4:30 pm.

The ‘Challenge’ of Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T10:21:00.001-05:00

(Thanksgiving 2011: This homilywas given on November 24, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 17: 11-19.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thanksgiving 2011]

My homily this morning is on the“challenge” of giving thanks.

Most people would agree (andrightly so!) that it’s a good idea to give thanks—and not just on one Thursday inNovember, but every single day of the year. They might not always recognize the fact that God is the one “from whomall good things come,” as we say in the third Eucharistic prayer—hence he should be the one to whom theirgratitude is primarily directed—but they do recognize and understand that givingthanks is an important activity for them to engage in.

And yet, it can also be achallenge—for them, and for all of us.

In today’s gospel, for example, ahealed Samaritan leper comes back to Jesus and gives thanks to God for hishealing.

That certainly makes him a lot morevirtuous than the other nine lepers who were also healed that day but did notcome back. However, the question thatreally interests me is: Would this manhave done the same thing if he had notbeen healed? In other words, would thisSamaritan leper have still been able to give thanks to God in the midst of his terribleillness, if it had not been takenaway? Would he still have been able tofind a reason (or a number of reasons) to say “thank you” to the Lord?

Obviously, we can’t know withabsolute certitude the answers to those questions, although we can certainlyspeculate on the matter. But there isone thing we do know for sure: It wouldhave been much more of a challenge! Giving thanks after a great physical healing like the one this manexperienced is relatively easy. Givingthanks when God says no to the request for a healing and allows you to go onsuffering is far, far more difficult.

But it’s just as important! In fact, it’s even more important—because crosses and sufferings are never completelyabsent from anyone’s life! So if we’reonly going to give thanks when everything is “perfect,” then obviously we won’tbe giving thanks very often!

And we will be miserable—becauseungrateful people are some of the most miserable people on the planet!

I suppose all of this came tomind because of my own experience during the last 12 months. As most of you know, last December I wasdiagnosed as being in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, which means thatthis is my first Thanksgiving since the diagnosis.

Consequently it’s a very“challenging” Thanksgiving holiday for me. In all honesty, it was much easier for me to give thanks in years past whenI had no major health issues to deal with.

Ah, the good old days!

But the same is probably true formost, if not all, of you. You might nothave Parkinson’s (and I pray you don’t!), but that doesn’t mean you’re completelyfree from the challenge to be grateful. You might be challenged today in your thanksgiving by cancer, or heartdisease, or diabetes, or lupus or some other serious ailment—or simply by oldage. You might be challenged today inyour thanksgiving not because your own physical health is deteriorating, butrather because someone you love is really sick.

Or because someone you care aboutdeeply recently died.

Of course, it’s not only physicalhealth problems that can challenge our willingness to be grateful in this life;we can also be challenged by other crossesand difficulties, some of which come into our lives with little or no warning:a lost job, a broken friendship, a failed marriage, a betrayal—the list goes onand on.

In preparing for this homily Idecided to take what might be called “the thanksgiving challenge,” and writedown some of the things that I am grateful for in the midst of my presenthealth situation. I’ll conclude myhomily by briefly sharing these insights with you. Perhaps you’ll relate to some of them, suchthat you’ll be led to thank the Lord for the same realities in your life:

I’m thankful to God for the love he has shown me through other people since my diagnosis. That love has been most evident through the faithful, daily prayers that are being said on my behalf—some by people I’ve never even met!

I’m thankful to God for the opportunity this disease has given me to grow in empathy and in compassion for others. It’s much easier to relate to those who are suffering and to console them when you are suffering yourself.

I’m thankful to God for giving me the opportunity through this illness to offer up some suffering in reparation for my sins and for other people—especially the souls in purgatory. Hopefully that will make my own experience of purgatory a lot easier!

I’m thankful to God for using this illness to keep me from getting complacent in my spiritual life. We all tend to pray more—and to pray more fervently and attentively—when things are difficult in our lives.

I’m thankful to God for the way this disease has made me more grateful for the little blessings of life that I experience every day—things I used to take for granted.

I’m thankful to God for the motivation that Parkinson’s has given me to refine my priorities. Not that my priorities were way out of order beforehand, but they definitely needed a little “tweaking”—which is probably the case for most of us.

And, finally, I’m grateful to God for the way that Parkinson’s Disease has made me more repentant. When you have a serious illness of any kind, you realize that, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, “We do not have here, on earth, a lasting city.” Consequently, keeping your relationship with God in good order becomes extremely important.

Those are some of the ways that I’vebecome more grateful to the Lord during the past year. Hopefully you can identify with at least someof them, based on whatever is challengingyour gratitude at the present time.

Of course, I look forward to aThanksgiving Day in the future when I can stand at this very same pulpit andtell you that I’m grateful to God for something else: a cure or a healing.

Now, I admit, it wouldn’t be verychallenging to be grateful on that Thanksgiving Day—but it would definitely benice!

Getting Ready for the First Sunday of Advent 2011

2011-11-13T12:13:00.001-05:00

In place of a regular Sunday homily, Fr. Ray made the following comments this morning on the revised prayers of the Roman
Missal . . .

What exactly will be happening onthe first Sunday of Advent?

Well,very simply, some of the prayers of the Mass will be changing. Most of the changes will be slight and hardlynoticeable, but the changes to some prayers of the Mass (like the Gloria and theCreed) will be extensive. They will takesome getting used to. (But don’t feeltoo bad, we priests have even more changes to deal with than you do!)

Nowplease keep in mind: the structure of the Mass isn’t changing, the two basicparts of the Mass are not changing, only some of the prayers within the Massare.

Why?

It’sbecause all the English prayers we use at Mass are translations from the Latinoriginals. The Latin originals arecontained in a big book known as the Roman Missal. The Sacramentary—that big, red book that thepriest prays from at the altar—is the current English translation of the RomanMissal. It’s been around since the1970s. It will be replaced in a fewweeks with the revised version.

But why is this necessary? Can’t we leave ‘well enough’ alone? Well, here’show one recently published instructional pamphlet explained it:

“For centuries Catholics prayed the Mass only inLatin. After the Second Vatican Council [inthe 1960s] the liturgical texts were translated for the first time into thevernacular or language of the local people. The groups involved in the translation process worked under pressure tocomplete their job quickly. Theytranslated using the principles of dynamic equivalence. This approach to translation attempts toconvey the overall meaning of the original Latin text rather than giving aword-for-word translation, an approach known as formal equivalence. Now that we have had more than 40 yearsexperience of using these texts in worship, we are able to see where the textsmight be improved. The new Englishversion, based on the principles of formal equivalence, is meant to be a bettertranslation of the original Latin source texts.”

Sothe new translation is more literal, more faithful to the original Latin, andmore theologically precise.

ButI warn you, for a time, it will also be more confusing! A lot more confusing. So we will all have to be patient: patientwith the process, patient with one another. Initially we will make a lot of mistakes, but practice makes perfect, asthey say. So please don’t be offended ifI ask you to repeat a prayer or a response from time to time. They say repetition is the mother oflearning. So the more we repeat theseresponses, the more likely we will be to learn them.

Wewill also have these prayer cards there for you in the pews along with yourmissalettes. Please leave them in thepews; don’t take them with you. Thesewill have the major changes on them that you as laypeople will need to beconcerned with. So I may ask you atcertain points in the Mass to pick up these cards and use them—especiallyduring the Gloria and the Creed, because there are several changes in thoseprayers that will be hard to remember, at least initially.

Nowyou’ll be happy to know that we won’t go over all of the changes during thenext few weeks, but we will touch on some of the more important ones in ourhomilies, so that you’ll understand the “why” of some of the specific changesin addition to knowing “what” they are.

Actually,if you’ve been reading the bulletin inserts that we’ve provided over the lastfew months, you already know some of these things. But it will be good to review them anyway.

The first important change thatyou need to be aware of comes at the very beginning of Mass and several timesthereafter in the Liturgy. It’s theresponse to the priest’s statement, “The Lord be with you.” Your response to this line has always been,“And also with you”; but now it will be, “And with your spirit.” This is a literal translation of the Latinoriginal, which is, “Et cum spiritu tuo.”

Thishas been changed because the new response conveys the idea more clearly thatthe Holy Spirit is active in the priest in a unique way at Mass, empowering himto offer the Eucharistic sacrifice. It’salso a biblical expression that we find in the writings of St. Paul.

The only other prayer I want tofocus on today is the Creed. Previously we always began by saying, “We believe in one God.” But the Latin original begins with the word“Credo,” which literally means, “Ibelieve.” (“We believe” would be “Credimus”.) When we profess our faith during this part ofthe Mass, we’re doing it together—that’s true—but each of us is making ourprofession of faith INDIVIDUALLY. Eachof us is saying, in effect, “This is what I, personally, believe—about God andthe Church and eternal life, etc.”

So that’s what we’ll explicitlysay from now on: “I believe.”

Someother words and phrases that will change in the Creed . . .

Instead of saying that Jesus is“the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,” we will say that Jesusis “the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.” “Onlybegotten” is a more literal translation of the Latin original, and “born of theFather before all ages” expresses more clearly the idea that Jesus dwelt withthe Father before time began. As St.John puts it in chapter 1 of his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, andthe Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God [that is to say, with God the Father].”

In the Creed, therefore, we clearlyaffirm our belief that Jesus Christ is God. Now one of the other ways we did this in the older version of the prayerwas by saying that Jesus is “one in being” with the Father. In the new version we will affirm that sametruth with a word that translates the Latin more accurately: “consubstantial.” (Yes, thatis a mouthful!) Here’s one writer’s explanationfor this change: “The question of howJesus relates to the Father has immense importance. Heresies have divided Christians over thisvery issue. The early Church councilsforged a vocabulary that carefully articulates orthodox faith, and they chosethis word [consubstantial] to express the dogma of Jesus’ divinity. The Latin word means ‘having the samesubstance,’ which is even more fundamental than ‘one in being.’ [Admittedly] ‘consubstantial’ is a veryunusual word. We don’t use it foranything else. But it is describing avery unusual thing—the nature of Jesus Christ. He is not like anything or anyone else.”

Indescribing the birth of Jesus, the new version of the Creed uses the word‘incarnate’—which basically means ‘given flesh’. Jesus was given flesh through the yes of the BlessedVirgin Mary. This is where we get theword “Incarnation,” which, thankfully, is a word that most Catholics have heard before.

Insteadof using two verbs to describe what happened to Jesus on Good Friday (the verbssuffered and died), the new version of the Creed simply says that Jesus“suffered death”. The point is that Jesusreally died. His death was not an act oran illusion (which is precisely what some heretics in the early days ofChristianity believed).

One other change worth notingcomes at the very end, where, instead of saying that we “look for theresurrection,” we will now say that we “look forward to the resurrection.” It’s aslight change, but it expresses a much more confident expectation of whatawaits us if we live the Creed that we’ve just professed.

Letme end now by reading to you the new version of the Creed in its entirety. You can contrast this with what we’ll saytogether in a few moments after I return to the presidential chair:

I believe in one God
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only-begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
He came down from heaven.

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
He suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead.
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets;
I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

What Would You Do If You Knew You Were Going to Die Within the Next 24 Hours?

2011-11-01T11:09:00.001-04:00

(All Saints Day 2011: This homilywas given on November 1, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3;Matthew 5: 1-12a.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: All Saints 2011]

The doctor looks at you and says,“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, but you’ve contracted a serious and incurableblood disease, and by this time tomorrow, you’ll be dead.”

What a nice way to begin yourhomily, Fr. Ray! What a lovely thought!

Well, it may not be the mostpleasant and uplifting thought we can possibly have, but it’s certainly auseful one, because it can help us to discern how close (or how far away) weare from true holiness in our lives.

Try, as best you can, to imagineyourself in that situation I just described. The doctor, in effect, has just told you that you have about 24 hours tolive.

What would you do during thattime? What would you do during your last24 hours on planet earth? Aside fromsaying goodbye to those you love the most, what would you do to get ready tomeet Jesus Christ face to face?

Is there anything that you knowyou’d need to do?

For example, would you feel theneed to make an appointment with a local priest (me or somebody else), becauseyou know you need to confess some serious sins that you’ve never confessedbefore?

Would you need to make peace withsome people in your life? Would you needto say you’re sorry to certain members of your family, or to some estrangedfriends or co-workers?

Would you immediately stop doingsome of the things you’ve been doing habitually—on the internet or at thecasino, perhaps?

Would you feel the need to “cleanup your act” as soon as possible?

Would you feel a lot of regretfor some good things that you didn’t do that you know you should have done?

Would you say, “I wish I had beena lot more ___________ (fill in the blank: patient, forgiving, kind,understanding, committed to Christ and his truth, etc.)”?

Would you say, “I wish I had prayedmore often; I wish I had gone to Mass more often; I wish I had taken theBeatitudes and the other teachings of Jesus Christ more seriously in my life”?

If you know yourself well—and ifyou’re willing to be brutally honest with yourself (and those are two very big“ifs”)—then reflecting hypothetically on your last 24 hours of life can be a profitableactivity to engage in at least every once in awhile. It can certainly provide a powerful incentiveto examine your conscience well.

In this regard, many years ago Iread a little story about one of the great saints of the Church. One day this man was out plowing hisfield. A friend stopped him and askedhim the question, “What would you do if you found out that this was to be thelast day of your life?”

The saint answered, “I would keepon plowing my field.”

He had no need to run to churchto confess any mortal sins; he had no need to go and ask others to forgive him;he didn’t have any major regrets about good things he should have done buthadn’t. He didn’t have the need to makeany major changes before he left this life.

So he figured he’d just continuedoing what God wanted him to do that day, which was to plow his field.

Today’s feast reminds us of whatour ultimate end will be if we’re as ready as that saint was: we shall “see God as he is” (as St. Johntells us in our second reading); we shall be part of that vast crowd that St.John couldn’t count in today’s first reading—that happy group of people who hadwashed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb through baptism,and by living lives of faith and charity.

There’s an old saying: Live eachday as if it were your last, and one day you’ll be right. But not only will you be right; if you liveeach day in this way then in all likelihood you’ll also be ready: ready for death, ready for judgment, ready to meet JesusChrist face to face.

Which means that today’s feastday—the Solemnity of All Saints—will someday be your feast day!

The ‘Celebrity Priest’

2011-10-30T12:18:00.001-04:00

(Thirty-first Sunday of the Year(A): This homily was given on October 30, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. Read Malachi 1: 14b-2: 2b, 8-10; 1 Thessalonians 2: 7b-9, 13; Matthew 23: 1-12.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thirty-first Sunday 2011]

The “celebrity priest.” That’s a term that’s been used quite often inrecent years in both secular and religious publications. And, most of the time, it has not been used in a complimentary way. For example, the National Catholic Registerran an article just a couple of weeks ago that had the ominous title, “Bewareof the Celebrity Priesthood.” Similarly,back in 2009, the New York Times had an online piece entitled, “CelebrityPriest Torn Between Church and Girlfriend.” It was about a well-known priestfrom Florida named Alberto Cutie. I’msure some of you remember this story. Atthe time, Fr. Cutie had his own talk show on radio and television, and was asuccessful author. He wrote abest-selling book, as well as a column for several Spanish language newspapersin the United States and Latin America. Needless to say, he was a very popular and well-liked priest. People in the secular media referred to himas “Father Oprah”—because he was such a good interviewer.

Well, unfortunately, Fr. Cutie wasalso having an affair with a divorced woman when this New York Times article appeared. He has since left the Catholic Church,civilly married the woman, and become an Episcopalian minister.

Priests are called to becounter-cultural, because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always counter-cultural. We’recalled to be counter-cultural in what we preach and teach—and also in the waywe live. And this is precisely why somany priests who become celebrities get into trouble. You see, it’s very hard to becounter-cultural when the culture is patting you on the back and telling youhow great you are! And that applies asmuch to the “Church culture” as it does to the wider secular culture. Just think of someone like Fr. John Corapi. People in the secular culture detested him becausehe preached the full Gospel message without compromise—but faithful Catholicsin the “Church culture” loved him. Theythought he was great. They watched himon EWTN every week; they bought his books and CDs. To them he was a kind of cult-hero.

Well apparently somewhere alongthe line it all went to his head, so to speak. As many of us know, this man who used to preach obedience to everyoneelse has been defiantly disobedient to his religious superiors in recent months. There have also been credible accusations madeagainst him of immoral activities with prostitutes, illegal drug abuse andfinancial improprieties.

Speaking of financialimproprieties, Fr. Frank Pavone, another popular priest who was on EWTN quiteoften, is also being investigated for possibly mismanaging funds that peopledonated to Priests for Life, the excellent pro-life organization that he usedto be the head of. Hopefully, he willeventually be exonerated from any wrongdoing.

The list of celebrity priests whohave fallen in one way or another has gotten long in recent years—much toolong; although I should add that there’s no direct connection between being acelebrity priest and getting into trouble. One does not necessarilyfollow the other. Many priests andbishops, for example, have been treated as celebrities either in the Church orin secular society—or in both places—and yet they’ve happily maintained theirmoral integrity and faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Some are even on the way tocanonization. Blessed John Paul II,Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, and Fr. Michael Scanlan aresome of the more noteworthy examples of holy and virtuous “celebrity priests.”

But for every Pope John Paul II, BishopSheen, Fr. Groeschel, and Fr. Scanlan, there are 10 Fr. Corapis. That’s the sad reality.

Which really shouldn’t surpriseus, because priests are weak and fallible human beings who are subject to the verysame temptations that the rest of the human race is subject to.

Now one of the unfortunateresults of all this is that some people try to use the disobedience and moralfailings of these members of the clergy as an excuse for not obeying the Lordin their own lives. They say, “Well thesepriests have disobeyed; they’ve been unfaithful to God in various ways in theirlives, so why should I make the effort to be faithful to God in my life?”

You’ve heard that excuse before,I’m sure. Hopefully, you’ve neveractually used it, but you’ve no doubt heard it.

Well, the simple answer to thatquestion is this: We should make the effort to be faithful to God even whenothers have failed, because Jesus Christ tells us that we should! Jesus taught that we must obey God and those whom God has appointed topositions of authority over us, even when those leaders disobey God themselves! According to Jesus, their disobedience mustnever be used as an excuse for our disobedience.

Notice what he said to hisdisciples in today’s gospel text from Matthew 23. Here he talks specifically about the scribesand Pharisees, who were some of the recognized religious leaders of their day; akin,in some respects, to priests and clergy in the modern Church. From what Jesus said about them in thisscene, it’s clear that these men enjoyed a kind of celebrity status among theirfellow Jews. Or at least they often acted like they were celebrities. Celebrities, for example, like to be noticed—andso did many of the scribes and Pharisees! As Jesus said here, “All their works are performed to be seen.”

Celebrities also love to becatered to and fussed over—just like the scribes and Pharisees enjoyed beingcatered to and fussed over. As Jesus putit in this gospel, “They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor insynagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi’.”

But, as we also heard, theydidn’t practice what they preached! Their celebrity status, in effect, went to their heads, and many of them lived lives that were filled withselfish pride.

And yet, what did Jesus tell hisdisciples and the others who were present that day? Did he give them permission to disobey thesemen? Did he say, “From now on, you cancompletely disregard what these evil scribes and Pharisees tell you; you cantune them out completely. They don’tobey God and Moses in their lives, so you don’t have to obey God and Moses inyour lives”?

No!

He said just the opposite. He said, “The scribes and the Pharisees havetaken their seat on the chair of Moses [the ‘chair’ spoken of here is a symbolof authority—the legitimate authority given to them by God]. Therefore, do and observe all thingswhatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.”

Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you.

As long as what they wereteaching was in accord with the law of God and Moses, the people were obligedto be obedient.

The disobedience of theirteachers was not a valid excuse for their disobedience.

It’s like the situation that manyof you parents face in raising your children. Can you imagine your children ever saying to you, “Mom and dad, how canyou punish us for fighting with each other today? How can you send us to our rooms and takeaway our privileges? That’s totallyunfair. After all, both of you foughtwith your brothers and sisters when you were growing up! You did the same thing back then that we’redoing right now. You told us you did!”

Parents, that kind of lame excusewouldn’t fly in your home, would it? Youwould never allow your disobedience many years ago to be used as an excuse foryour children’s disobedience now!

Nor should you allow it!

It’s sad when great preachers andteachers of the Faith like Fr. John Corapi fall from grace. It’s tragic and it’s scandalous. But his fall does not negate the truth that hetaught with such incredible clarity and conviction when he was a priest in goodstanding. The truth he taught is stillthe truth that will set us free, if we believe it—and live it!

There were unfaithful OldTestament priests before the time of Jesus. We heard God’s tough message to some of them in today’s first readingfrom the book of the prophet Malachi. There were unfaithful religious leaders at the time of Jesus, as weheard in today’s gospel; and there have been unfaithful leaders ever sincethen, as we know from watching the evening news.

Thankfully, most priests today are faithful—well over 90% of them. They do the work the Lord calls them to doquietly and without any fanfare or publicity. They’re not celebrities—and believe me they’re quite happy aboutthat. They can relate to the words ofSt. Paul in today’s second reading from 1 Thessalonians 2, where he talks aboutworking tirelessly night and day to proclaim the gospel of God.

Pray for these good priests: prayfor them to remain faithful always. And pray for the conversion of the others,especially those like Fr. John Corapi, who have allowed the trappings ofcelebrity to tarnish and to undermine their true vocations.

To Love Yourself is to Desire to Become the Best Possible Version of Yourself.

2011-10-23T12:11:00.000-04:00

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory

(Thirtieth Sunday of the Year(A): This homily was given on October 23, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 22:34-40.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thirtieth Sunday 2011]

Self-love is not a bad thing.

At least, the Christian versionof self-love isn’t a bad thing.

It can’t be, because Jesusexplicitly tells us in Scripture—in this gospel passage we just heard fromMatthew 22—that we are to love other people aswe love ourselves.

So obviously we won’t be able tolove others properly—that is to say, in the way that Jesus wants us to—unlesswe first love ourselves in theway that Jesus wants us to!

A healthy self-love is aprerequisite, a precondition, for a healthy love of neighbor.

That’s not Fr. Ray’s idea; it’sJesus’ idea.

Which means that we’d better takeit seriously!

Now when most people think ofloving themselves they probably think of the worldly version of the phenomenon—which is why they think it’sincompatible with Christianity.

The worldly version of self-loveincludes things like selfishness, self-centeredness, arrogance and pride—all ofwhich ARE incompatible with being a true disciple of Jesus.

Are you familiar with thecharacter, Sheldon Cooper, on that show TheBig Bang Theory? Because he’s a genius,Sheldon thinks that he’s better than everyone else—a ‘more highly evolved’human being, as he likes to put it.

He’s a great example of someonewho’s filled with the worldly versionof self-love.

Now that makes for some good televisioncomedy—but it’s awful when you have to deal with somebody like Sheldon in reallife!

So what is true, Christian self-love? What exactly does it involve? Well, to use an expression that you findquite often in Matthew Kelly’s books, to love yourself means to have the desireto become the best possible version of yourself.

To love yourself is to desire to become the best possible version ofyourself.

That’s the ultimate goal of true,Christian self-love.

Now let’s be clear about it, thebest possible versions of you and me do not include sin—any sin at all! That’s a crucial point that needs to bementioned here—which means that selfish, self-centered, arrogant, pridefulpeople like Sheldon Cooper really don’t love themselves! They’re “full of themselves,” so to speak,but they do not have true, Christian self-love.

Neither do people, for example,who live with their intended spouses before marriage! I think of this whenever I meet with anengaged couple that’s living together and sexually active (which happens quiteoften, unfortunately!). I’m sure theydon’t realize it, but they really don’t love themselves (if they did theywouldn’t endanger their own salvation by having relations outside of marriage);nor do they really love the person they intend to marry (if they did, they’dnever put that person’s salvation in jeopardy either!).

But it does illustrate Jesus’point, does it not? He links love of selfwith love of neighbor, implying that the quality of our self-love will directly influence the quality of ourlove for other people.

Let me conclude my homily today bysharing with you a little reflection that’s often attributed to Blessed MotherTeresa, although in my research I discovered that it was actually written by aman named Kent Keith. But Mother Teresa obviouslyapproved of it, because she allowed it to be hung on a wall in her home forchildren in Calcutta. Someone sent methis reflection a couple of months ago. On the surface, it might not seem to be about Christian self-love, but Iassure you it is. I’ll talk about theconnection after I read it.

It begins . . .

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and somegenuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

So what’s the connection betweenthis reflection and the idea of loving yourself in the true, Christian sense?

Simple. The reflection, first of all, talks aboutforgiveness. To be the best version ofyourself (which, as I said earlier, is the goal of truly loving yourself), youmust forgive others.

The reflection talks aboutkindness. To be the best version ofyourself, you must be kind.

The reflection talks aboutsuccess. I’m sure Mother Teresa wouldsay that this is not about being successful in the eyes of the world. Rather, it’s about being successful in theeyes of God—which is simply another way of talking about being the bestpossible version of yourself.

The reflection talks abouthonesty. Obviously you can’t be the bestpossible version of yourself if you’re deceitful.

The reflection talks about beingcreative—in the sense of using the gifts God has given you for the building upof his kingdom here on earth. Beingcreative in this way is definitely part of what it means to be the bestpossible version of yourself.

The serenity and happinessmentioned here come from being right with God and neighbor. That’s what Mother Teresa would certainlysay. Once again, these are qualities ofthose who are sincerely striving to be the best versions of themselves.

And, finally, the reflectionspeaks about doing good and giving your very best. Here again we encounter the connectionbetween loving ourselves properly and loving our brothers and sisters. Those who are striving to be the bestversions of themselves don’t focus on themselves (as ironic as that mightsound!); rather, they focus on the needs of their brothers and sisters. They do good and give their best effort—inloving service.

To love yourself is to desire to become the best possible version ofyourself. That’s the line toremember.

Or, to put it another way, tolove yourself is to have the desire to become a saint!

Since Blessed Mother Teresa likedthis reflection I just shared, I think it’s fitting that I end my homily todayby seeking her intercession for all of us: Blessed Mother Teresa, from your exalted placein God’s heavenly kingdom, pray for us. Prayfor us today and every day. Pray that wewill have this kind of self-love(and not the worldly version) in our hearts always, so that we will be able tolove our brothers and sisters in the way that Jesus wants us to love them, inthe way that you loved others during your time on this earth; because, as Jesusindicated in today’s gospel reading, we will only be able to love our brothersand sisters properly if we first love ourselves properly. Amen.

Moral Responsibility and the Marriage Feast of the King’s Son

2011-10-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Prime Minister David Cameron with Pope Benedict XVI last year

(Twenty-eighth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was givenon October 9, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly,R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. ReadMatthew 22: 1-14.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-eighth Sunday 2011]

Between August 6^th andAugust 10^th of this year, there was widespread rioting, looting andarson in several cities in England.

Most of us saw the frighteningfootage on the cable news stations: the people engaged in this activity were completelyout of control. They indiscriminatelydestroyed the private property of others, and caused good, law-abiding citizensto fear for their safety and their lives.

The world was shocked—although,according to the Prime Minster of England, David Cameron, the world—and thatincludes the people of Great Britain—should nothave been shocked!

They should not have been at allsurprised.

Listen now, to a few of thethings he said to the citizens of his country in a speech he gave a few daysafter the chaos was over:

[He began by saying] Itis time for our country to take stock.

Last week we saw someof the most sickening acts on our streets. . . .

[Then, a few lines later, he got down to the‘nitty-gritty’:] So as we begin the necessaryprocesses of inquiry, investigation, listening and learning: let's be clear.

These riots were notabout race: the perpetrators and the victims were white, black and Asian.

These riots were notabout government cuts: they were directed at high street stores, notParliament.

And these riots werenot about poverty: that insults the millions of people who, whatever thehardship, would never dream of making others suffer like this.

No, this was aboutbehaviour...

...people showingindifference to right and wrong...

...people with atwisted moral code...

...people with acomplete absence of self-restraint.

Now I know as soon asI use words like 'behaviour' and 'moral' people will say - what givespoliticians the right to lecture us?

Of course we're notperfect.

But politicians shyingaway from speaking the truth about behaviour, about morality...this hasactually helped to cause the social problems we see around us. [Pro-choice Catholic politicians in thiscountry need to read this speech!]

We have been toounwilling for too long to talk about what is right and what is wrong.

We have too oftenavoided saying what needs to be said - about everything from
marriage to welfare to common courtesy.

[After giving some reasons why this is the case, he added] In this risk-free ground of moralneutrality there are no bad choices, just different lifestyles.

People aren't thearchitects of their own problems, they are victims of circumstance.

'Live and let live'becomes 'do what you please.'

Well actually, whatlast week has shown is that this moral neutrality, this relativism - it's notgoing to cut it any more. [Sounds alot like Pope Benedict XVI, does it not? He’s always talking about moral relativism and its consequences. This is yet another example, my brothers andsisters, of how the Church is way ahead of the world! The Church doesn’t need to ‘get with theworld’; the world needs to ‘get with the Church!’ Well maybe that’s finally happening—to someextent at least—over in England. Cameroncontinued,]

One of the biggestlessons of these riots is that we've got to talk honestly about behaviour andthen act - because bad behaviour has literally arrived on people's doorsteps.

And we can't shy awayfrom the truth anymore.

So this must be awake-up call for our country.

Social problems thathave been festering for decades have exploded in our face.

God bless Prime Minister DavidCameron, for making it clear to his people that we are all human beings withfree will, who have the power to make moral decisions which have definite consequences—consequencesfor us as individuals, as well as consequences for our families and for thesociety in which we live.

It’s a message that people inEngland and the entire western world need to hear more often.

And, of course, as CatholicChristians we would add that our personal moral decisions also have eternal repercussions: What we do here on earth will ultimatelydetermine who we are and what we are and where we are for all eternity!

Our gospel readings for the lastfew weeks have reminded us of this truth. Notice that in today’s parable the wedding guests are all invited to the celebration (thecelebration here is a metaphor for heaven!). They are not compelled; they are not coerced; they are not undulypressured. They are simply ‘invited.’ (Did you catch how many times a form of theword ‘invite’ was used in this text?)

The king wants them there for hisson’s wedding (in other words, God wants all people to be saved)—in fact hegoes so far as to send messengers to personally extend the invitation (themessengers symbolize the prophets in Old Testament times and therepresentatives of the Church in New Testament times: the Pope; the bishops inunion with him, etc.).

Unfortunately, many who get theinvitation make the personal decision either to ignore it or to attack themessengers (that, of course, still goes on today with respect to those whoconstantly attack the Church and her teaching).

But it’s not enough to decidethat you want to go to the eternal wedding feast of the king’s son, Jesus; youalso have to make the decision to dress properly for the occasion by putting ona ‘wedding garment’. In modern Catholicterms, that garment is a symbol for being in the state of grace. It’s a sign of the fact that the moralchoices a person made during his or her life were the right ones, preservingbaptismal innocence; or, if they were the wrong ones, it implies that theperson repented of those sins and was absolved of them before death. Those inthis last category are like the ‘bad’ people in the parable who got invited atthe end. They changed and put on weddinggarments before they arrived at the celebration—with the exception of that one,bad dude who thought he could get in without changing his dirty, sin-stainedclothes. That, as we heard a few momentsago, didn’t cut it with the king. He wasnot impressed!

I think Prime Minister Cameronwould like this parable, because it contains a message about personalresponsibility and accountability—a message that far too many people in hiscountry (and ours!) have tried to ignore for several decades.

Let me close now, by quoting afew more lines from his speech on August 15, which illustrate this verypoint. He said,

Just as people last week wanted criminals robustly confronted on ourstreets, so they want to see these social problems taken on and defeated.

Our security fightback must be matched by a social fightback.

We must fight back against the attitudes and assumptions that havebrought parts of our society to this shocking state.

We know what's gone wrong: the question is, do we have thedetermination to put it right?

Do we have the determination to confront the slow-motion moral collapsethat has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations?

Irresponsibility. Selfishness. Behaving as if your choices have noconsequences.

Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward withouteffort.

Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communitieswithout control.

Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged -sometimes even incentivised - by a state and its agencies that in parts havebecome literally de-moralised.

So, do we have the determination to confront all this and turn itaround?

I have the very strong sense that the responsible majority of people inthis country not only have that determination; they are crying out for theirgovernment to act upon it.

Of course, it’s a mistake tothink that government alone can change these things, Mr. Prime Minister. Hopefully you realize that. The change must begin with us—with each ofus, individually, examining our lives, converting our hearts, and changing forthe better—every day!

Do the people of England have thedetermination to do that? I pray they do. And on this Columbus Day weekend I pray thatwe in the United States do as well.

Paul’s Saintly Self-Confidence

2011-10-02T14:20:00.001-04:00

Philip Rivers

(Twenty-seventh Sunday of theYear (A): This homily was given on October 2, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Philippians 4:6-9.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-seventh Sunday 2011]

In the last line of today’ssecond reading from Philippians 4, St. Paul writes these words: “Keep on doingwhat you have learned and received and heard and seen IN ME. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Do you sense a bit of arrogance inthat statement? I mean, you have toadmit that it sounds a little prideful, does it not? Paul, in effect, is saying to the people ofPhilippi, “My dear friends, if you want to know what it means to be a true,dedicated, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, just look at me! Follow me around for awhile. Imitate myexample. See how I act in situations of temptation and stress and conflict. Listen to the things I say; watch how I treatother people—and conduct yourselves accordingly. Then you’ll be good Christians, too.”

Well, let me offer you analternative interpretation this morning. Rather than being filled with pride, I would say that Paul was filledwith what might be called ‘a saintly self-confidence’. He knew he was a sinner like everyone else—infact, in his first letter to Timothy he called himself “the worst of sinners”—butby the time he wrote this letter to the Philippians he had been forgiven for themajor sins in his life and had completely turned away from them. And he was so confident in the way he was currentlyliving that he knew he could, in good conscience, be a true role model for theChristians at Philippi. He didn’t haveany deep, dark secrets; he didn’t have any skeletons in his closet (so tospeak); he didn’t have to worry about causing scandal among the faithful. He was continually and consistently ‘fightingthe good fight and running the race and keeping the faith,’ so he had no qualmswhatsoever about encouraging the people of Philippi to imitate him.

Obviously our world today needsmore Christians like St. Paul, especially, I dare say, more MALE Christianslike him—since men are called to exercise many roles of leadership, especiallyas fathers!

I had this thought after I readan email last Friday from one of the female adults who attends our Thursdaynight youth group. The previous eveningshe had been present when I had the teens read an article about a man named PhilipRivers. Now for those of you who are notfollowers of the NFL, Philip Rivers is the star quarterback of the San DiegoChargers football team. He’s also a verycommitted Catholic. Earlier this year hewas the guest speaker at a Catholic men’s conference in Phoenix, Arizona, wherehe did an interview with a representative of the Life Teen organization.

It was the transcript of thatinterview that the teens and I read that particular Thursday night. Now what was somewhat amusing (at least itwas somewhat amusing to me) was the starry-eyed reaction that some of thefemale teens had to Mr. Rivers. Needlessto say, they found the young quarterback to be very attractive—although it wentbeyond looks. As this adult womanreminded me in her email the following day, it was the ideas Rivers expressedin his interview—his commitment to faith and prayer and marriage and family inparticular—that also appealed to many of the women who were present, young andnot-so-young. This female adult wrote,“Our men need more prayer warrior role models. Men like Philip Rivers and Jason Evert and others are rooted in prayer.They have that solid foundation. Theyare men who shout to the world, ‘Bring it on… we’ve got what it takes to win!’ That’s why we were all ‘goo-ing’ and ‘gaa-ing’over Philip Rivers!”

Let me share with you now a fewexcerpts from the Rivers interview. These are some of the responses that had them ‘goo-ing’ and ‘gaa-ing’ (I’mnot sure those are real words, by the way, but they were in her email, so I’lluse them to make the point).

The interviewer said, “So you grew up in a Catholic home, and youtook that into your adulthood as a football player. That’s pretty rare for professionalathletes. How did you do that?”

Rivers responded, “I was fortunateto grow up in the faith; my mom taught me the faith. In North Alabama there were only like 15 ofus in my county in my confirmation class. We were quite the minority in Alabama. But one thing I remember is when I went tocollege at North Carolina State, the biggest thing that stuck in my head frommy mom was never miss Mass. That was thething that she definitely got across. Whenyou go to college, that’s when the faith becomes your own. Your mom and dad aren’t waking you up andreminding you, ‘Hey this a good day to go to confession.’ It’s up to you.”

He was asked about the challenges of getting to Mass on game day. His answer indicated that, like a true man ofGod, he takes responsibility for his actions and makes sure he gets to Mass nomatter what. He said that he considersit “special” to go to Mass on Sundaybefore the game begins. I suppose youcould say his philosophy is “Pray beforeyou play.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if more Catholic parents had thatphilosophy—especially Catholic parents here in Westerly whose childrenparticipate in weekend sporting activities?

When Rivers was asked, “Is there any piece of advice that you would giveto high school young men?” his answer was very St. Paul-like. He said, “[Iwould tell them to] Appreciate thefaith. Appreciate what we have and what a great gift the sacraments are. It’s hard to see that as a young man, but Ithink that, again, [young men are called to be] the leaders of their age. Theygrow in their faith and everybody will follow—both their girlfriends andothers. And then also, this can apply totheir faith but also to anything else they do. My dad always said that if you’re going to dosomething, do it all the way. If you’regoing to be a Catholic man, be it all the way. If you’re going to clean your room, clean it the right way. You know, all those little things add up andthey stick with you.”

And finally, regarding the temptations and challenges he faces as a profootball player, Rivers said, “The biggest key to avoid those temptationsis not to put yourself in those situations. And it’s not just as a NFL player, it’s in anywork-place, in any city, anything you’re doing, anywhere after dark, aftermidnight. I think it’s [in 1 Corinthians15 where it] says ‘bad company corrupts good morals.’ If you’re not in the wrong, but you continueto put yourself in tempting situations, eventually you may give in. So that’s always been something I’ve lived byall the way through—don’t put yourself in those situations. Even though you may be strong enough to gosomewhere and not fall into the sin, avoiding it from the get-go will certainlyhelp.”

I should also add that I was pleasantly surprised to see that, when he talkedabout his family life, Rivers explicitly mentioned NFP (Natural FamilyPlanning), and the positive impact that has had on his relationship with hiswife.

No artificial contraception for Mr. and Mrs. Philip Rivers.

He really IS a serious Catholic!

In fact, based on all that he said in this interview, it seems that PhilipRivers is even more serious about his faith than he is about football (which issaying a lot, because he’s an extremelyintense player—one of the most intense in the entire National FootballLeague!).

I ask you to join me today in praying for him that he will remain acommitted Catholic throughout his life—because it’s not a given! He could give in to one of those temptationshe talked about and turn away from God in an instant, if he chose to.

He has free will just like the rest of us!

Let’s pray that he’ll stay the course, and grow in his faithfulness tothe Lord each and every day, so that eventually he’ll be able to say to hischildren and to his grandchildren and to the other people in his life the samewords that St. Paul said to the Philippians in this reading: “Keep ondoing what you have learned and received and heard and seen IN ME. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Let’s pray that he’ll be able tosay those words as Paul did—with saintlyself-confidence.

And, while we’re at it, let’s also pray for ourselves and for one anotherduring this Mass, that we’ll be able to do the very same thing.

Reverence For the Holy and Powerful Name of Jesus

2011-09-25T12:09:00.000-04:00

(Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year(A): This homily was given on September 25, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Philippians 2:6-11.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-sixth Sunday 2011]

Father Gabriele Amorth is the chiefexorcist of the Diocese of Rome. In arecent issue of the Magnificatmagazine, he was quoted as saying the following:

Christ’s centrality tells us that we can be saved only in hisname. It is only in his name that we canwin and free ourselves from the enemy of our salvation, Satan. At the end of the most difficult exorcisms,when I am confronted with total demonic possession, I pray the Christologicalhymn of the Letter of Paul to the Philippians [2: 6-11, which we heard inour second reading at this Mass]. When I speak the words “so that all beingsin the heavens, on earth, and in the underworld should bend the knee at thename of Jesus,” I kneel, everyone present kneels, and always the one possessed by the demons is also compelled tokneel. It is a moving andpowerful moment. I always feel that allthe legions of the angels are surrounding us, kneeling at the name of Jesus.

It’s very interesting—even duringan exorcism, the demons of hell must acknowledge the truth about Jesus Christ,our Savior. Although I’m sure they don’twant to, they’re compelled to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, and to expressreverence for his holy name.

So what are we to conclude aboutthose human beings—those men and women in our world today—who regularly use ourSavior’s name as a curse word?

People possessed by demons bend theirknees at the name of Jesus, and these others use the Lord’s holy name to express their anger or to curse out theirneighbors!

I’d like to think that no onehere does that, but there are many out there who do! And that includes some who call themselvesChristians!

On that note, have you noticedhow the television and radio censors have changed their policy in recentyears? I’m sure some of you have. It used to be the case that all 4-letterwords, as well as all curses involving the name of God and the name of Jesus,got censored on network TV and on radio.

But not anymore! Oh yes, the 4-letter words still get“bleeped-out” (at least some of the time!) but all the curses that mention Godand Jesus are left alone.

If you haven’t noticed that trendbefore in the media, pay attention to it in the future.

Paragraph 2146 of the Catechismstates: “The second commandment forbids the abuse of God’s name, i.e., everyimproper use of the names of God, Jesus Christ, but also of the Virgin Mary andall the saints.”

I don’t know about you, but Icringe when I hear the name of God or Jesus or Mary or one of the saints usedin an improper way—especially when it’s done by someone who claims to love theLord!

Would a husband who claimed tolove his wife ever use her name as a curse word? Would a wife who claimed to love her husband everuse his name in that way?

Of course not!

Here I think we Christians canlearn a very important lesson from our Jewish brothers and sisters. The Jews, you know, have an incrediblereverence for the name of God. Theyalways have. In Old Testament times, forexample, God was designated by many titles—El, Elohim, Adonai, etc.—but theproper name of God (that is to say, the name he revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai:Yahweh) was never said either in religious rituals or in casual conversation. The only time it was ever spoken was once ayear, by the high priest, when he went into the Holy of Holies of the Temple fora special ceremony on the Day of Atonement.

Other than that, nobody saidit. Nobody DARED to say it. This was a sign of the reverence the Jewishpeople had for the Lord who had rescued them from slavery and brought them intothe Promised Land. And it was also asign that they recognized God’s supreme and ultimate authority over theirlives.

That’s because when we humanbeings use someone’s name, we often do it to assert our authority over that particularperson. When I did something wrong as achild, for example, my mother would begin her reprimand in one of 3 ways. She would sometimes say, “Raymond!”—then Iknew I was in trouble; or she’d say, “Raymond Nicholas!”—then I knew I was inbig trouble; or she’d say, “Raymond Nicholas Suriani!”—then I knew I’d betterget out of town fast!

She asserted her authority overme by using my name (in various forms!).

Jews don’t speak God’s name atall, because they understand that they don’t have authority over him; rather he has authority over them!

On this same point, many of youknow Carol Marzano, John’s wife. Carolcomes to Mass with John almost every Sunday, although she is Jewish. She’s actually more faithful to Sunday Massthan many Catholics are! Well every oncein awhile Carol will send me an email, and she’ll end it by saying “God bless”;however God will be written G-d. Infact, anytime she mentions God in a letter that’s how she’ll write the word.

To this day, good Jews like CarolMarzano continue to show special reverence for God by not speaking his propername, and by leaving out the middle letter “o” whenever they write or type theword “God”.

And to think that so many Christiansuse the name of Yahweh’s divine Son, Jesus Christ, as a curse word! Or that they use the name of God as anexclamation—as a way of expressing surprise or fear: “Oh my God!” Even that, my brothers and sisters, issomething I think we should try to avoid—out of reverence for the Lord. The only time an exclamation like that wouldbe acceptable is if it’s at the beginning of a prayer: “Oh my God, please helpme!” Otherwise it would be better to saysomething else: “Oh my gosh!”; “Oh my goodness”—something along those lines.

The name of Jesus, when it’s spokenwith love and reverence, has great power, as Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the exorcist,attests in that paragraph I read to you at the beginning of my homily. In the old Catholic Encyclopedia it says this:The name of Jesus, invoked withconfidence . . .

1. Brings helpin bodily needs, according to the promise of Christ [given in Mark16:17-18]. In the name of Jesus the apostlesgave strength to the lame (Acts 3:6; 9:34) and life to the dead (Acts 9:40).

2. [The name ofJesus] gives consolation in spiritual trials. The name of Jesus reminds thesinner of the prodigal son's father and of the Good Samaritan; it recalls tothe just the suffering and death of the innocent Lamb of God.

3. [The name ofJesus] protects us against Satan and his wiles, for the Devil fears the name ofJesus, who has conquered him on the Cross.

4. In the nameof Jesus we obtain every blessing and grace for time and eternity, for Christhas said: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give ityou." (John 16:23) Therefore the Church concludes all herprayers by the words: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ", etc.

And so, Lord Jesus, please help us—and please help every Christianon this planet—to speak your holy name with the love and with the reverencethat it deserves—for your glory, and for our benefit. Amen.

The Reward Will Be the Same, But People’s Capacity to Enjoy the Reward Will Be Different!

2011-09-18T12:45:00.001-04:00

(Twenty-fifth Sunday of the Year(A): This homily was given on September 18, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr.Raymond Suriani. Read Isaiah 55: 6-9; Matthew20: 1-16a.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-fifth Sunday 2011]

The reward will be the same, but people’s capacity to enjoy the rewardwill be different.

This is a very important truthfor us to keep in mind when we’re trying to understand the parable we justheard from Matthew 20, this well-known story of the workers in the vineyard.

First of all, however, we need tomake a crucial distinction: we need to distinguish between the primary meaningof this parable as it was told by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, and thelegitimate—but secondary—application of the parable that people very oftenmake.

The primary meaning of this storyis that Gentiles, through God’s saving grace, have the same opportunity to goto heaven that Jews have. That’s it, ina nutshell. Here’s how one Biblecommentary explains it:

This parable is addressed to the Jewish people, whom God called at anearly hour, centuries ago. Now theGentiles are also being called—with an equal right to form part of a new peopleof God, the Church. In both cases it isa matter of a gratuitous, unmerited, invitation; therefore, those who were the‘first’ to receive the call have no grounds for complaining when God calls the‘last’ and gives them the same reward. . . . Jesus leaves no doubt thatalthough he calls us to follow different ways, all receive the samereward—heaven.” (Navarre BibleCommentary on the Gospel of Matthew, page 173.)

This brings us to the secondaryapplication of the story, which is where people often get confused. Let me frame the issue in this way: From theway the story is told, it seems that non-believers who convert and get baptizedon their deathbeds—and lapsed Catholics who make a good and sincere confessionright before they die—get the best of both worlds (so to speak). They live their entire lives doing what they wantand having a good old time, but in the end they get the same heavenly rewardthat someone like Mother Teresa gets!

So people read this text and say,“Why should I make the effort to know, love and serve God every day? Why should I try to be holy and obedient tothe Lord in all things? Why should Ifight the good fight and run the race and keep the faith? What difference does it make? According to what Jesus says here I can dowhatever I want for my entire life, convert at the end, and I’ll get the samereward as the great saints who served God faithfully for their entire lives!”

Ah yes, but these good people areforgetting one thing—one very important thing; as I said a few moments ago, the reward will be the same, but people’s capacity to enjoy the rewardwill be different.

Everyone, in other words, whodies in the state of grace will eventually get into the eternal kingdom of God—evenif their conversion (or re-version to Christ) happened at the “11^thhour” of their life. So the “reward” ofevery saved person will be the same: heaven. But the capacity of a particular person—me, for example, to experience Godand his blessings in the kingdom will be greater or lesser, depending on thelevel of holiness I attained during my earthly life.

Jesus indicated this when hetalked about “the least” and “the greatest” in the kingdom of heaven, and whenhe spoke about the seat at his right hand and the seat at his left hand in hisFather’s kingdom. We also see an indicationof it in John 14, where our Lord said, “In my Father’s house there are manydwelling places.”

St. Augustine described this situationby, in effect, comparing our souls to different sized containers. Pope Benedict alludes to this idea ofAugustine in one of his encyclicals when he writes: “Man was created forgreatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart istoo small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. [As St. Augustine says,] ‘By delaying [hisgift], God strengthens our desire; through desire he enlarges our soul and byexpanding it he increases its capacity [for receiving him].’” (Spe Salvi, n. 33)

By following the advice thatIsaiah gives us in today’s first reading and seeking the Lord faithfullythrough prayer and through the sacraments; by living in faith and performingacts of selfless charity; by growing closer to Jesus Christ and becoming morelike him—that is to say, by growing in holiness each day—we increase our capacity for God. That’s Augustine’s point here.

This means that someone who has aconversion on his deathbed will probably have a much smaller capacity for God inheaven than a great saint like Pius X—or even compared to an ordinary Christianwho grew in faith and in holiness for many years on earth.

The person who has a conversionat the end of his life will probably have a capacity for God in heaven that’sthe size of a thimble. Comparativelyspeaking, the ordinary, holy Christian will have a capacity for God that’s thesize of a pint or quart; whereas the great saints of the Church like Pius X andMother Teresa will be like gallons!

Now the interesting thing is, inheaven everyone will be full: everyone will be full of God and his grace! But the fullness experienced by thethimble-sized soul will be a lot different than the fullness experienced by thegallon-sized soul of the saint!

So yes, the reward will be thesame, but people’s capacity to enjoy thereward will be different.

I was trying to think of anotherearthly analogy that I could use to conclude my homily today and drive homethis point, and what came to me was the following example:

Imagine two men, John and Bill,who work for the same company. One daythe boss calls them into his office and says, “Gentlemen, you’ve done excellentwork lately, and to show my appreciation I’m going to give you my two ticketsto this Sunday’s Patriots’ game. I’mgoing out of town this weekend, so I can’t use them. Here they are. Enjoy!—they’re great seats, on the 50 yardline, ten rows up.”

John and Bill say, “Thank youvery much, sir!” and they immediately make plans to go to the game.

Here now is a little essential backgroundinformation on these two men:

John has been a Patriots’ fan foras long as he can remember—ever since he was a little boy 50 years ago. He’s been loyal to the team in good times andin bad—which includes the mid-1960s, when the Patriots were one of the worstteams in the old AFL. He watches everygame; he knows the statistics of Tom Brady and all the key players; he hasPatriots memorabilia all over his house!

Bill also is a Patriots’fan—although he’s only been one for a couple of years. One reason for that is that he’s originallyfrom Australia, where “football” means something very different than it doeshere in the United States. In fact, he’sstill learning about our game. Forexample, the last time he watched a game of American football on television, thepunter punted the ball out of the end zone and Bill thought the man had justkicked a field goal!

So I ask you, in all likelihood whichof these two men will enjoy Sunday’s Patriots’ game more? Which one will have the capacity—theability—to enjoy it more?

The answer, of course, isJohn. Because John has been a faithfulfollower of the Pats for so many years; because he knows the game of football sowell and has persevered with his team through thick and thin, HIS CAPACITY TOENJOY THIS REWARD FROM HIS BOSS WILL BE MUCH, MUCH GREATER THAN BILL’S, sinceBill barely knows what an American football is!

But notice—both men will have thesame experience—the exact same experience; both will have the same reward fromtheir boss—a free ticket to this game.

Their reward will be the same, buttheir capacity to enjoy the reward will be different!

And so it will be for souls inheaven.

Persevering Peter

2011-08-27T20:59:00.001-04:00

"Quo vadis, Domine?"

(Twenty-second Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on August 28, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 16: 21-27.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-second Sunday 2011]

“Persevering Peter”

That’s the title of today’s homily: Persevering Peter.

Now when we think of Peter—and here I’m talking specifically about Peter before the Resurrection (in other words, the Peter we encounter during the earthly ministry of Jesus)—perseverance is probably not the first word that comes to mind. Some words that do come to mind when describing the Peter we see during Jesus’ 3-year ministry (at least they come to my mind!) are words like: impulsive, weak, inconsistent, impatient, erratic and hot-headed.

But even back then he was also a man of perseverance—almost incredible perseverance.

Which is probably one of the biggest reasons why Jesus chose him to be the very first pope!

Can you imagine how frustrating and how discouraging it can be at times to be the spiritual leader of a worldwide community of faith that includes not only some of the greatest saints on the planet, but also some of the worst—some of the most reprehensible—sinners on the planet?

Obviously our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict, needs an immense amount of perseverance to lead the Church in the midst of those circumstances.

And so did Peter 2,000 years ago!

Well, by the grace of God, the man had it—in great abundance—even before Jesus rose from the dead and anointed him with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We see Peter exercising perseverance throughout the gospels, but especially in passages like the one we heard last Sunday and the one we heard this morning (these two texts from Matthew, chapter 16). Recall, for a moment, what we were told last weekend in our gospel reading: Jesus was with his apostles at Caesarea Philippi and there he asked them a crucial question: “Who do you say that I am?”

Peter spoke up and gave his famous answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”; to which Jesus immediately responded, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Peter must have felt like a million bucks when Jesus said those words to him. I know that’s how I would have felt! I’m sure he didn’t fully understand what our Lord meant in telling him these things, but he knew it sounded pretty good—especially the part about having “the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

Well today’s gospel reading picks up where last week’s left off. Jesus begins to teach his apostles that he will be a suffering Messiah, not a great earthly ruler like King David (which was the kind of Messiah the Jews were expecting at the time: someone who would get rid of the Romans and make Israel a great earthly nation again).

It was also the kind of Messiah Peter was expecting—which explains his reaction to this prophecy of our Lord about his suffering and death. Peter says to him, in effect, “No way, Jesus! That can’t possibly happen to you! You’re the Messiah—you’re God’s anointed one—you’re gonna help us get rid of the Romans and become a great nation again! You can’t suffer and die like that.”

Jesus immediately turns on Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Why, oh why, did he call Peter, “Satan”?

It’s because at that moment Peter was saying to Jesus exactly what Satan would have wanted him to say to Jesus! Satan, you see, did not want our Lord to go to the cross on Good Friday, because he knew that if Jesus died on that cross his kingdom would be destroyed—since the sacrifice of Jesus would make it possible for every human person to avoid hell and go to heaven!

This, incidentally, was the constant and most serious temptation that Jesus faced during his time on this earth: the temptation to abandon the mission the Father had given him and forget about the cross. It was the temptation Satan threw at him in the desert just before his earthly ministry began; it was the temptation that Satan presented to him through the mouth of Peter in this event at Caesarea Philippi; and it was the last temptation our Lord faced as he hung on the cross. (No, the last temptation of Christ had nothing to do with Mary Magdalene. Please tell that to film director Martin Scorsese!)

Coming back now, to Peter’s dialogue with Jesus: If you had been in Peter’s shoes that day, what would you have done? How would you have responded? Try to imagine this: Jesus, the Messiah, the only-begotten Son of the Father, doesn’t just reprimand you (that would have been bad enough!); he doesn’t simply tell you that you’re wrong—he actually goes so far as to call you “Satan”!

He equates you, in some way, with the devil himself!

I think most people, if they’re truly honest with themselves, would tell you that they would have been so undone—so completely devastated by these words of Jesus—that in all likelihood they would have walked away in despair and never come back.

I know I would have been tempted to respond in that way.

But Peter didn’t! That’s what’s so amazing about him.

He didn’t throw in the towel; he didn’t despair. In spite of the horrible feeling he must have had on the inside, he didn’t walk away like the rich young man did when Jesus challenged him to give up all his possessions.

Peter took the rebuke, and persevered. He kept on following the Lord.

Peter’s perseverance was also evident at the end of the Bread of Life Discourse in John 6: Jesus told the people that he intended to give them his Body and Blood for their spiritual nourishment, and most of them freaked out! Even a lot of our Lord’s disciples walked away.

But not Peter! He persevered—as usual. When Jesus said to his apostles, “Are you going to leave me, too?” Peter immediately responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe; we are convinced that you are God’s holy one.”

Even on Holy Thursday, after he denied the Lord 3 times, he didn’t give up! Judas did, but Peter didn’t. And let’s remember, their sins were both grave: both betrayed their Lord and Savior. Judas despaired and hung himself, but Peter came back and repented.

He always did.

I mention all this today because there are many times in our lives when we can be tempted to give up on God and our Catholic faith: when a loved one dies suddenly and unexpectedly; when we come down with a serious disease (Parkinson’s, cancer, heart disease—whatever it might be), when we’re praying for something for a long time and God doesn’t seem to be answering; when we find ourselves falling into the same sins over and over and over again.

In situations like these it would be good to say a prayer to St. Peter, asking for his special intercession so that we might receive from God the grace we need: the grace of perseverance—a grace that Peter had in such great abundance.

We need to pray because even persevering people can be tempted at times NOT to persevere! Such was the case, apparently, even for Peter himself—at least on one occasion.

Some of you have probably heard the story. It’s not found in the Bible, but in a very ancient Christian tradition. The event happened during the terrible persecution of the Church under the Roman Emperor Nero. Peter, of course, was Pope by then—the official leader of God’s New Testament people—but, in the midst of all the violence and confusion, he decided that enough was enough. So he left the city. He abandoned his post—and his flock—in fear, and fled from Rome on the famous Appian Way.

But as he was going along he ran into somebody—Jesus—walking in the opposite direction toward the city. Peter said to him, “Quo vadis, Domine?” (“Where are you going, Lord?”)

Jesus answered, “I’m going to the city of Rome, to be crucified again.”

Peter got the message. He turned around; he went back; and he courageously led the Church until he was martyred—crucified upside down—in that area now known as St. Peter’s Square.

People who persevere can sometimes be tempted—even strongly tempted—not to persevere. But in the end, by the grace of God, they remain faithful.

Just like Peter.

Standing Alone for Christ

2011-08-21T13:19:00.001-04:00

Leah Darrow

(Twenty-first Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on August 21, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 16: 13-20.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-first Sunday 2011]

Thirty-one-year-old Leah Darrow was the Friday night speaker at this year’s Steubenville East Youth Conference, which was held at URI on the weekend of July 24th. Leah has become a well-known and highly-respected chastity speaker in recent years, but before that her big claim to fame was that she was a contestant on “America’s Next Top Model”. She was on during Cycle 3 of the series, which aired back in 2004.

When she gave her personal testimony during the conference, she said that she grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, the oldest of six children. Her family practiced the faith: they all went to Sunday Mass; they even prayed a Rosary together every evening. However during her teenage years Leah began to drift spiritually. She experienced what she now describes as a “slow fade” away from her Catholic faith: she got a new circle of friends who were not the best influence on her (that happens to a lot of teens—even some teens here in our community), and she eventually embraced a very hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered lifestyle.

In the midst of all this she began to do some modeling, and after she graduated college she decided on a whim to try out for the so-called “reality show,” “America’s Next Top Model.” I say “so-called” because—as Leah said during her testimony—“there’s nothing real about reality TV”! So often, as most of us know, they film scenes of conflict between the contestants on these shows. But, as Leah noted in her talk, most of the time the producers and directors of the programs create the circumstances that contribute to the conflict. (That’s the part they don’t tell you.) For example, Leah said that she and the other contestants had no privacy whatsoever when they were competing. In fact, the producers took all the doors off the hinges in the hotel where they were staying—and that includes the door to the bathroom! Consequently, these young women had men (that is to say, male persons) following them around with cameras 24 hours a day. Literally 24 hours a day! They also didn’t give the contestants enough food or enough rest.

So I ask you: Would you or would you not be a little bit edgy if you were hungry and sleep-deprived and living in a hotel with a bunch of strangers—a hotel in which you had absolutely no privacy and no time for yourself?

The answer should be obvious.

Leah was eventually eliminated from “America’s Next Top Model,” but her appearance on the program opened the doors to a number of big modeling jobs. Of course the interesting thing is that during this part of her life she really wasn’t happy. She had a measure of fame and notoriety, she was making a good bit of money, she had physical relationships with a number of different men—but she had no peace.

Finally it all came to a crisis point during a big photo shoot that she did in New York City for an international magazine. She had been asked to wear a very skimpy, immodest outfit—more revealing than anything she had ever modeled before. She said that she felt “uncomfortable—scared—exposed” and she suddenly came to the realization that she had been squandering the gifts God had given her. She said that she had a “St. Paul moment” in which she imagined herself standing before Almighty God at the end of her life, wearing the outfit she had worn in the photo shoot, with her hands—her cupped hands—out in front of her, as if she was offering what was in them to God. The problem was that her hands were EMPTY, symbolic of the fact that she had nothing good to offer to God, based on the way she had been living her life in recent years: no acts of love, no acts of selfless charity—nothing.

It was a graced moment; and in that graced moment she said (and here I quote): “I knew I had to change—not because I had to, but because I wanted to.”

And so she said to the photographer and the crew, “I can’t do this anymore” (referring not just to the photo shoot, but to the whole lifestyle). They responded with several threats, and several choice words. The photographer said, “If you walk out of here, if you don’t finish this, you will be a nobody. You will never work here again.”

They didn’t realize it, but Leah was happy to hear that! And so, when she got to the door, she turned the handle, looked back and said, “Do you promise? Do you promise that I’ll be a nobody? That’s great. I want to be a nobody to this, because I want to be somebody to Christ.”

And she walked out.

She cried all the way back to her apartment, called her dad immediately and said to him, “Daddy if you don’t come and get me I’m going to lose my soul.”

So her dad came. He got into his car, drove all the way from St. Louis to New York, encouraged his daughter to make a good confession, and then actually took her to church so she could meet with a local priest and receive the sacrament.

The rest, as they say, is history. Leah got her life together, renewed her faith, got reconnected to the Church, and has since become a very effective speaker at conferences like the one our teenagers attended at URI a couple of weeks ago.

She’s now doing some great things for the Lord. But it all started at that decisive moment when she was willing to stand apart and stand alone for Jesus Christ! That’s the key point to remember, and it’s why I shared her story today in this homily. Think about it. If Leah Darrow had not been willing to confront that photographer during that photo shoot and walk out the door, she would still have ‘empty hands’ at the present time, she would still be miserable—more miserable than ever—and her life would be going in a completely different direction.

Leah’s story popped into my mind as I read today’s gospel reading and thought about Peter’s confession of faith. As we heard a few moments ago, at Caesarea Philippi that day Jesus asked his disciples a question—a crucial question—a decisive question: “Who do you say that I am?”

I say this question was crucial and decisive because the answer they gave would determine a lot of things: It would determine their level of loyalty to Jesus; it would determine their willingness to listen to Jesus and obey him; it would determine their willingness to follow Jesus when things got tough.

You see, if they thought that Jesus was just a great teacher or just a great philosopher, they could justify disobeying him or disagreeing with his “opinions” or walking away from him when things got difficult.

But if he was something more—if he was the Messiah who had a special and unique relationship with the heavenly Father—then they couldn’t justify any of those things! They would have to be loyal to Jesus and listen to Jesus and obey Jesus and follow Jesus no matter what!

Well, we all know what happened. Peter stepped forward and boldly declared what he believed. Like Leah Darrow, he stood apart and stood alone for the Lord. He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Now perhaps the other apostles—or at least some of the other apostles—were thinking the same thing. Perhaps some of them had the very same belief about Jesus.

But we don’t know that for sure. In fact, I think it’s much more likely that the other 11 did NOT believe what Peter believed—at least not fully. I say that because, according to Matthew, Mark and Luke (the 3 gospel writers who record this event for us), none of the other apostles said anything after Peter made his profession of faith. They were totally and completely silent. Which leads to the obvious question: If they did believe the same thing about Jesus that Peter believed, then why didn’t they speak up immediately after Peter did? Why didn’t they all say, “Yes, Jesus, Peter’s right. We agree. You are the Messiah, the Son of God!”?

Their silence, I think, says a lot.

To his great credit, Peter was not influenced by whatever hesitancy or doubts his fellow apostles were experiencing. He believed Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God—and he said it!

And his willingness to step out in faith and lead his fellow apostles was still rewarded by our Lord, who made him, in effect, the very first pope: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

Standing up for Jesus Christ and his truth ALWAYS has its reward: sometimes in this life, always in eternity—and sometimes both here and in the hereafter (as was the case for Peter).

For Leah Darrow, the reward is coming as she sees the lives of young people—and not-so-young people—change for the better through the talks she gives in settings like the Steubenville East Youth Conference.

We live right now in a society where anti-Catholicism is rampant. I’m sure that’s not news to anyone here. As someone once said, “Anti-Catholicism is the last respectable prejudice left in America.”

When you face those attacks at work or at school—or even in your own family—do you respond like Peter and Leah Darrow? Or do you remain silent?

That’s the key question of the day for all of us.

To those who of you who do respond in defense of Christ and his Church—to those of you who stand up and affirm your faith like Peter and Leah Darrow—let me give this word of encouragement: When your life is over and all is said and done, you’ll be very glad you did.

God’s Great Spiritual Remedy For All The Noise In Our Lives

2011-08-07T13:50:00.003-04:00

(Nineteenth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on August 7, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read 1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a; Matthew 14: 22-33.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Nineteenth Sunday 2011]

“Leave me alone!”

“Give me some space!”

“Give me some time to gather my thoughts.”

“I want some peace and quiet for a change!”

“I need to get away from the rat race!”

All those common expressions are ways of affirming the very same truth: Quiet is good!

Or to use another well-known adage, Silence is golden.

And these days, very few of us have enough of it—including yours truly.

We live, unfortunately, in what has to be the noisiest era of human history—most especially because of all the technological gizmos that we have at our disposal, many of which were sold to us with the idea that they would make our lives simpler and easier.

And, to some extent, I suppose they have. But they’ve also caused us to be bombarded by noise—lots of noise—almost incessant noise—all day long.

We even have what I would call “silent noise” to contend with. (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn’t.) Silent noise includes activities like text-messaging and tweeting and emailing—you know, all those things we do when we’re not talking on the phone, listening to the iPod or the radio, playing a video game, or watching television or a movie!

Is it any wonder that so many people in our modern world can’t deal with silence? The lack of noise positively freaks them out! Is it any wonder that so many of our young people can’t focus their attention on one thing for more than 2 minutes? Psychologists say it’s ADD or ADHD, but at times I think it’s because these young people “OD”! They OD—they “overdose” so to speak—on the non-stop noise in their lives!

I mention this today because this noise saturation that we all have to deal with directly affects our relationship with God. That’s because our most profound encounters with the Lord usually happen in the quiet silence of our hearts. Based on this morning’s first reading you might choose to call this “the Elijah-rule of the spiritual life.” There, as we heard a few moments ago, Elijah the prophet encounters God on Mt. Horeb. But notice that this encounter does NOT happen in the noise! It doesn’t happen in the howling wind and crashing rocks; it doesn’t happen in the earthquake or in the noisy havoc caused by the fire. Elijah meets the Lord in the “tiny whispering sound”; that is to say, in an experience of almost total silence.

Today’s gospel, in its own way, makes the very same point. Yes, the apostles meet Jesus on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a very noisy storm, but their deepest encounter with the Lord happens afterward in the silence of their hearts, as they allow the experience they just had to sink in and strengthen their faith. The text reads, “After they got into the boat, the wind died down. [In other words, it got very quiet.] Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’”

So, I ask you, how often do you go before the Lord in silence? Do you ever go to the Lord in that way? Do you make an effort, for example, to be here early for Mass each week so that you can spend a few moments in quiet prayer, preparing to meet your Lord in word and in sacrament?

And how about Eucharistic Adoration? Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament provides us Catholics with the perfect opportunity to encounter our Lord in silence. And that’s true even if the Eucharist is in the tabernacle and not exposed in the monstrance on the altar. Now if you’re like me you do way too much talking and not enough listening during Adoration (and that affects the quality of the experience, for sure)—but at least during Adoration the atmosphere is right for us to have a profound encounter with our God.

I sat down the other day and made a little list of some of the great benefits that can come to us from spending time each week in quiet prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Here they are:

1. First of all, Adoration provides us with an opportunity to hear God speak to us through a word of Scripture that we might happen to read, or even in the silence of our heart.

2. Adoration provides us with an opportunity to take our important decisions to the Lord, and to receive guidance and insight from him on those decisions.

3. Adoration opens us up to special blessings from the Lord.

4. Adoration gives us an opportunity to evaluate our own lives soberly and accurately in the light of God’s revealed truth (that is to say, it gives us an opportunity to examine our consciences—which we all need to from time to time).

5. Adoration gives us an opportunity to “get away”. (And it’s a lot cheaper than a ticket on Southwest Airlines!)

6. Adoration gives us the chance to reprioritize and to be revitalized.

7. And, finally, adoration gives us the opportunity to—in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews—“cast all our cares on the Lord” who cares for us!

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of possible benefits. Some of you could add others, I’m sure, based on your own personal experience of praying to the Lord in this way.

Let me close this morning (afternoon) by giving the last word on the subject to some holy men and women of Church history. Here’s what they said about Adoration:

First, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She wrote, “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven, and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth.”

St. Peter of Alcantara said, "Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces, and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them."

Archbishop Fulton Sheen (who made a Eucharistic Holy Hour every single day of his priestly life) said, "Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world,"

And again, Mother Teresa: "When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength."

And, finally, my own insight (which is far less profound than these others but equally true, I believe): “Eucharistic Adoration can be for us a remedy—God’s remedy—God’s great spiritual remedy—given to us so that we don’t overdose on all the noise in our lives.”

Congratulations, Sister Christine!

2011-08-02T19:07:00.001-04:00

Sister Christine with Bishop Michael Cote of Norwich, who celebrated the Mass.

Last Saturday I was honored to concelebrate the Mass at which Sister Christine Hoffner took her final vows for the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an order of religious sisters whose provincial house is located in Hamden, Ct.

Although she was never a member of St. Pius X Parish, Sister Christine used to attend our Thursday night youth group when she was in high school and college. We've been praying for her at our Sunday Masses for many years, along with the others in our community who are studying for the priesthood, the diaconate or religious life.

May God bless you, Sister Christine, with many years in his service!

More Steubie East Pictures!

2011-07-28T14:33:00.002-04:00

A few more pictures from the conference from Elizabeth Eiva . . .

Steubenville East Pictures!

2011-07-27T10:03:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from the Steubenville East Conference.

Thanks to Darren Blier and Deb Carey for sending them.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Two young women from South Kingstown who used to come to our youth group in the late 1990s: Jackie Bertrand (in the middle) who led the conference group from St. Francis in Wakefield this year; and the former Trish Meehan (now Franciscan Sister Pia). It's great to see that so many of our "kids" from the past are now doing great things in the Lord's service.

The experience was overwhelming to some of our chaperones.
Or is this that homeless guy who ate with us?

Steubenville East 2011!

2011-07-25T12:34:00.004-04:00

Each year we take our teenagers to the powerful Steubenville East Youth Conference, which is now held at the Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island.

It's a life-changing event for many of the young people who attend--and for the chaperones as well!

This year's theme was "Rooted," based on this line from the second chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Colossians: "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

It's so important for each of us to meet Jesus and to begin a personal relationship with him. But if that's where it all ends, we will bear little or no fruit for Jesus in our lives. We might even fall back into some seriously sinful habits which will threaten our eternal salvation.

So we need to GET--and STAY--ROOTED: Rooted in Christ; Rooted in our Catholic Faith!

This weekend gave the 3,000 young people who attended (as well as their not-so-young chaperones!) an opportunity to "dig their spiritual roots" more deeply into the Lord and his saving Gospel.

And I would say that most took full advantage of the opportunity. PRAISE GOD!

The true sign of the power of a weekend like this is seen in the number of confessions that take place. (That's because we need to clear the sin out of our lives if we want to be filled with God and be firmly rooted in him.) Thankfully, there are always lots of confessions on this retreat--but I've never seen confession lines as long as I saw them this year! It was amazing--and a sign of how hungry our young people are for the truth and freedom that only Jesus can give them.

To the young people from our group I want to say this: You were awesome! You "disconnected" from the world for a couple of days, and most (if not all) of you made a strong and deep connection with the Lord.

That's great! But now the challenge is to STAY ROOTED! Thankfully, you have the means to do that through Mass, the Bible, prayer, regular confession--and, of course, Thursday night youth group. (You didn't think I'd leave that last one out, did you?!!!)

So I'll see you Thursday!

In the meantime, I'll share with all of you a few pictures that I just received. Keep checking this blog for more pictures. They will be posted soon.

Also, I found out this morning that they did a live streaming of the conference, and that the video files are archived online. Here's the link to the Sunday Mass video: Sunday Mass . Others videos are available from this link.

One more thing . . . Leah Darrow, the young woman who spoke to us on Friday night--who had a conversion after being a contestant on "America's Next Top Model"--was interviewed recently on EWTN's "Life on the Rock." That program can be found by clicking on this link: Leah Darrow Interview

Here are the pictures:

These are the two homeless guys we invited to dinner.

“Dear Jesus, Give Me More of Number Four!”

2011-07-10T12:12:00.002-04:00

(Fifteenth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on July 10, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 13: 1-23.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Fifteenth Sunday 2011]

Here’s an interesting footnote to the parable of the sower that we just heard: You could own a piece of property that has on it ALL FOUR TYPES OF SOIL that Jesus mentions in this story.

And you do! You do own a piece of property like that, and so do I.

It’s called our soul.

Jesus in this text talks about four different responses to God’s word in terms of four different kinds of soil—each type dwelling in the heart of a different individual. But, in reality, these four types of soil are all present (or at least potentially all present) in EVERY human heart that’s been wounded by original sin.

And, of course, both you and I fit into that category.

Take the first: The packed-down soil of the footpath, which does not allow the seed to grow at all. Protestant Scripture scholar William Barclay has an interesting take on this: he says that this type of soil represents the hearer with the shut mind.

That’s a great description! Now we can all fall into this category at times, if we hear a truth contained in the word of God that condemns something we’re currently doing or contradicts the way we happen to be living—and we tune it out.

How many Catholic couples, for example, have responded like “packed-down soil” in the last 50 years with respect to the Church’s teaching against artificial contraception? An awful lot, if you believe the news polls. They’ve made up their minds that the practice is morally acceptable, and nothing can possibly make them reconsider their behavior. Telling them about the unitive and procreative dimensions of the marital act and how these are found in the Bible right in the Book of Genesis makes no impression. Nothing does.

Some of us might respond like “packed-down soil” when God’s word challenges us to forgive other people totally and unconditionally, and we’re in the midst of a conflict with someone we don’t want to forgive!

The Catholic politicians in this state who voted for civil unions last week for gay couples—after having been reminded of the truth of God’s word many times by Bishop Tobin and others—are certainly in this category as well. Actually, in my opinion they’re even beyond “packed-down soil”.

They’re more like hardened cement!

The second type of soil Jesus mentions in this parable is the “rocky ground,” which, unlike the packed-down soil of the footpath, does allow the seed to grow for a short period of time. But, because of the shallow root system, the plant that comes from the seed doesn’t last. It gets scorched and destroyed in the summer heat. Professor Barclay compares this soil to people who fail to think things out and think them through.

Another marvelous description! The example of this phenomenon in the modern world that comes to mind almost immediately concerns the position some Christians take on innocent pre-born human life.

The science of genetics has proven—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that human life begins at conception. Geneticists tell us that from the moment a human egg is fertilized in a woman’s fallopian tube, the newly created “zygote” has its own distinct genetic code—which means that from the moment of fertilization we’re dealing with a distinct human individual. Now, if a Christian begins his reflection with that one, indisputable scientific truth in mind, and then “thinks things out and thinks things through” logically with the help of God’s word, he can only reach one conclusion. His conclusion has to be that this new, innocent human life must always be respected! His conclusion has to be that the 5th commandment (“Thou shalt not kill”) applies to this new, living being in the womb!

But, as Professor Barclay reminds us, not all Christians “think things out and think things through” with respect to this issue and many others. And so we have Catholics and other professed believers who call themselves “pro-choice”, although they’d be much more honest (and accurate) if they simply referred to themselves as “rocky-grounders”—since there’s obviously a lot of rocky ground in their souls at the present time.

Of course, even if we’re staunchly pro-life (as I hope we all are), we can become a “rocky-grounder” too on some other matter, if we’re not careful.

The third type of soil Jesus mentions in this parable is the soil that’s engulfed in thorns, which Barclay describes as the hearer of God’s word who has so many interests in life that often the most important things get crowded out.

Now that puts a very practical spin on the matter, does it not?

For example, God’s word tells us that we are to love the Lord with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind and all our strength. But it’s extremely easy—given the fact that we live such busy lives—to put God in the “back seat,” so to speak, of our day-to-day existence.

For instance, many Catholics go on summer vacation and they forget to go to Sunday Mass. Some Catholics never remember to go to Mass on holy days. Many Catholics and other Christians pray only sporadically—or when they’re in trouble and really need something! Every CCD director will tell you how frustrating it is to deal with certain parents, who attach a greater importance to their children’s involvement in sports and dance and other extra-curricular activities than they do to their children’s religious education and formation in the Faith.

When all is said and done, my brothers and sisters, this third type of soil reminds us that we need to work constantly at setting the right priorities in life.

It’s not something we can do “once and for all”; it’s something we must do all the time—simply because our lives are constantly changing.

Finally, the fourth type of soil—the fertile kind—is the one where the seed takes root and actually bears fruit. This soil is present in us whenever we receive God’s truth with an open mind, say “Amen” to it, and then incorporate it to our daily life by thinking it through, making it a priority, and carrying it out.

The challenge we all face—the challenge every Catholic and Christian faces—is the challenge to make THIS soil the dominant one in our heart. Mathematically speaking, it’s a question of percentages. In fact, the only difference between a great saint like Pius X and a mediocre Catholic is the percentage of soil number four in their respective hearts. That’s it. As I said at the beginning of my homily, spiritually speaking, we all have these four types of soil in our souls. The great saints just had a great deal of the fourth kind, and very little of the first three.

So here’s a simple prayer that I invite you to say after you receive Communion this morning and after you hear this gospel parable again the future:

“Dear Jesus, give me more of number four!”

That’s the whole prayer: “Dear Jesus, please give me more of number four! Amen.”

God: Our True Standard of Fatherhood

2011-06-19T12:56:00.005-04:00

(Trinity Sunday 2011 (A): This homily was given on June 19, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9; John 3: 16-18.)

For the audio version of this homily, click here: Trinity Sunday 2011]

Matthew Kelly, a very popular Catholic author, begins his book, Rediscovering Catholicism, with a little story. I begin my homily today with that story, which has a message for everyone—but especially for the fathers in the congregation on this Father’s Day weekend.

You're driving home from work next Monday after a long day. You tune in your radio. You hear a blurb about a little village in India where some villagers have died suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been seen before. It's not influenza, but three or four people are dead, and it's kind of interesting, and they are sending some doctors over there to investigate it. You don't think much about it, but coming home from church on Sunday you hear another radio spot. Only they say it's not three villagers, it's 30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of India, and it's on TV that night. CNN runs a little blurb: people are heading there from the disease center in Atlanta because this disease strain has never been seen before.

By Monday morning when you get up, it's the lead story. It's not just India; it's Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and before you know it, you're hearing this story everywhere, and they have now coined it as "the mystery flu." The President has made some comment that he and his family are praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But everyone is wondering, "How are we going to contain it?"

That's when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders. No flights from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing has been seen. And that's why that night you are watching a little bit of CNN before going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is translated in English from a French news program. There's a man lying in a hospital in Paris, dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe.

Panic strikes. As best they can tell, after contracting the disease, you have it for a week before you even know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms. And then you die. Britain closes its borders, but it's too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton, and it's Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement: "Due to a national-security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing."

Within four days, our nation has been plunged into an unbelievable fear. People are wondering, "What if it comes to this country?" And preachers on Tuesday are saying it's the scourge of God. It's Wednesday night, and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and yells, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!" And while everyone in church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made. Two women are lying, in a Long Island hospital, dying from the mystery flu. Within hours it seems, the disease envelopes the country.

People are working around the clock, trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts. It's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders.

And then all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected, and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood analyzed. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals.

Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line, and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your spouse and your kids are out there, and they take your blood and say, "Wait here in the parking lot, and if we call your name, you can be dismissed and go home." You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what on earth is going on, and if this is the end of the world.

Suddenly, a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. “What”? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me." Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. "Wait a minute. Hold on!" And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has the right blood type."

Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses crying and hugging one another-some are even laughing. It's the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir. Your son's blood is perfect. It's clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine."

As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying. But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we...we need you to sign a consent form."

You begin to sign, and then you see that the box for the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty. "H-h-h-how many pints?" And that is when the old doctor's smile fades, and he says, "We had no idea it would be a little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!” … “But...but...I don't understand. He's my only son!” .... “We are talking about the whole world here. Please sign. We...we...need to hurry!"

"But can't you give him a transfusion?” “If we had clean blood we would. Please, will you please sign?" In numb silence you do. Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?"

Could you walk back? Could you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Could you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you, and we would never, ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be! Do you understand that?" And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying," could you leave? Could you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why...why have you abandoned me?"

I shared that story with our teenagers at youth group a couple of months ago, and it wasn’t until the very end that many of them said, “Oh, I get it. NOW I get it!”

Do you get it?

If you’re having trouble, look again at the first line of today’s gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

We cannot understand what it meant for God to give his Son, Jesus, in sacrifice for our sins except by analogy—and Matthew Kelly’s analogy in this story is one of the best I’ve ever come across.

But, remember, it’s only an analogy. Believe it or not, the reality of what God did for us is far more radical than what this story conveys! For example, in this story, the Son does not die willingly out of pure love—but Jesus did. Furthermore, in this story, the boy dies for men and women who are his equals. But Jesus died for inferiors—creatures—HIS creatures. It would be like one of us dying to cure all the dogs of the world of some dread disease.

And yet, even that doesn’t capture the essence of it, because, in the hierarchy of being, there’s a much greater distance between us and God than there is between us and dogs.

I hope that doesn’t offend anyone—but even if it does, the fact of the matter is it’s true.

This little story should also help us to understand why God must be the true standard of fatherhood for each of us—and not our earthly father! A father is called to give his best to his family—like God the Father gave his best to us, his adopted children—but no earthly father does that, because every earthly father is imperfect. For example, I had a great dad. I thank God for my dad. I thank God for the 14 years I had him in my life—before he died of cancer at the age of 46.

But my dad was not perfect. He gave my sister and me lots of love, and lots of support, and lots of care. But he didn’t do those things perfectly. I’m sure there were times, for example, when he disciplined us too much; I’m sure there were other times when he didn’t discipline us enough!

God, our heavenly Father, on the other hand, is perfectly just.

My earthly father also taught us right from wrong by his words and by his actions—but not perfectly. He was a sinner, like every earthly dad.

God the Father, on the other hand, is perfect. He never violated any of those Ten Commandments that he gave to Moses on the stone tablets we heard about in today’s first reading.

Some people have a poor image of God because they mistakenly make their earthly fathers, who have failed them in various ways, their standards of fatherhood. That leads them to look up to God and say, “You tell me to call you, ‘Father,’ and to love you with all my heart, but my earthly dad has hurt me and let me down at certain times in my life. Well, if that’s what fathers are like, God, then that must be what YOU are like! So, I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can love you so completely and unconditionally—since you’ll probably hurt me, too.”

The right perspective is to see God as the full expression of what it means to be a father—since he gave us his “all” in giving us his only begotten Son—and to see our earthly fathers as reflecting the heavenly Father’s love to us. So instead of saying, “God the Father must be like my earthly dad”; it’s more proper to say, “My dad is a little bit like God the Father in all the ways he is good and loving to his family.”

On this weekend when we honor our earthly dads, let’s thank the Lord for the ways our earthly fathers have reflected his love to us over the years, however imperfectly. And then let’s ask God our Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, to help our earthly fathers to reflect his love to us even more perfectly and more completely, in the future.

Waiting Well

2011-06-05T13:33:00.000-04:00

(Seventh Sunday of Easter (A): This homily was given on June 5, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, RI, by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Acts 1: 12-14.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Seventh Sunday of Easter 2011]

We do it at traffic lights.
We do it at restaurants.
We do it at airports.
We do it at checkout counters.
We do it at sporting events.
We do it at gas stations.

You even do it here at church—especially in the middle of my homilies.
And what, exactly, is “it”?

WAIT!

By the way, I’m not postponing the answer—that IS the answer! “Waiting” is what we do at traffic lights and restaurants and airports and checkout counters and sporting events and gas stations—and just about every place else!

And yes, you even wait here in church, especially during my homilies.
YOU WAIT FOR THEM TO END, DO YOU NOT?

(And sometimes it’s a really long wait, isn’t it?)

Today’s homily is on how to “wait well”. Since we do it so often, it’s important for us to know how to do it well—especially when it comes to matters of great importance: when you’re waiting, for example, for an answer to a specific prayer, or for a physical, emotional or spiritual healing (from cancer or heart disease or some other serious illness); or when you’re waiting for an insight from God as to what you’re supposed to do with your life, or an insight on some other important decision you need to make in the not-too-distant future.

Now it’s important for me to begin by saying that on this particular issue I am definitely a work-in-progress. I am not someone, in other words, who waits well, generally speaking. I’m sure it’s hard for some of you to believe, but—trust me—I am not the most patient guy on the planet! I do not like to wait—for anything!

But, with the help of God, I’m trying to get better.

So these tips on “waiting well” that I’ll share with you this morning are tips that I also need to work at putting into practice in the future.

They’re not just for you; they’re for all of us.

And they come to us, courtesy of our Blessed Mother and the 12 apostles and the others who were with them in the upper room during the time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday. In this regard, today’s first reading, from Acts 1, follows the first reading we heard a few days ago on Ascension Thursday (you did remember that we had a holy day of obligation this past week, right?). Anyway, in that other reading, St. Luke says this: “[Jesus] presented himself alive to [his apostles] by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to WAIT for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

Today’s text picks up where Thursday’s left off. In part it reads as follows: “After Jesus had been taken up to heaven the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying . . . All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

In short, they went there to wait: to wait on the Lord; to wait for the special gift that Jesus had promised he would send them sometime after his ascension. Now they probably did not understand what (or Who) this gift was; but they did know they were supposed to wait for it. And so they obeyed.

Which brings us to the first tip on how to wait well: Obey! If the apostles and Mary and the others had not followed Jesus’ instructions and remained in Jerusalem after the ascension, they would not have been ready to receive the Spirit when he finally came! By the same token, if we’re waiting for direction or for guidance or for special help from the Lord in our lives, we need to be making every effort to live in obedience to him.

If we’re not—if we’re’ living in disobedience—we probably won’t hear him when he speaks to us, nor will we be open to whatever blessings he wants to give us.

So all our waiting will be in vain.

Something else we learn from this story—another tip on how to wait well—Pray! (Hopefully that doesn’t surprise anyone!) But don’t just pray alone; also get others to pray for you and even with you! When Mary and the apostles and the others were waiting in the upper room, it says (and here I quote): “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” “Devoted” is a pretty strong word; it signifies intensity: THEY WERE REALLY PRAYING!

And might we presume that part of their daily prayer included Mass? I think that’s a reasonable presumption, given the fact that Jesus told the apostles at the Last Supper (in that very same Upper Room): “Do this in memory of me.”

So if you’re waiting for direction or for a special favor from God you might try going to Mass during the week as well as on the weekend.

It can’t hurt!

Notice, too, that when they were waiting they surrounded themselves with believers who gave them support and encouragement. That’s also important to do if we want to wait well. As I wait for a cure or a healing from Parkinson’s Disease, it means so much to get cards and emails and words of support from faithful people in this parish and many other places. For example, when I wrote to my shoulder surgeon in Boston to tell him the diagnosis just after Christmas, he sent back an email that read, “This is a tough time to receive news of this diagnosis but your faith and the many prayers that are being said in your name will make you well.”

Words like those help a lot.

They help you to trust and to persevere in your waiting—which is the last tip I want to focus on today. Remember, there were nine days between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday. That’s a relatively long time to be sitting around in a large room waiting for a gift from heaven that you don’t fully understand. I can imagine that some of those who were present got a bit impatient in the midst of all that nervous expectation.

Perhaps even Peter did (he was known, after all, for being impatient at times!). I can imagine Mary saying to him, “Now Peter, calm down. The gift will come. My Son said it would—and my Son always tells the truth. In fact, my Son IS the truth!”

When we’re waiting for direction or for a favor from Lord—and we wait a long time—it’s hard to trust and persevere: it’s hard to trust that God is in control; it’s hard to trust that he will give us what we need, even if it’s not what we want.

And it’s really hard to trust that if he keeps us waiting for something indefinitely, it’s because he wants to give us something better—like greater inner strength and holiness.

There’s a line from an old prayer group song that comes to mind—based on a text from Isaiah 40: “I delight in the Lord with all my mind, with all my heart and my soul. And as I wait upon the Lord I GROW STRONGER every day.”

As I wait upon the Lord I grow stronger.

There is always a blessing that comes from “waiting well” upon the Lord, even if it’s only the blessing—the very important and necessary blessing—of growing stronger in our faith.

And now to those of you who have been waiting patiently throughout this homily—the Lord says, “Rejoice! Your prayers have been answered! Your waiting has come to an end! Fr. Ray is finally finished—at least for today!”

What We Need to Know, and What We Don’t Need to Know

2011-06-02T13:48:00.003-04:00

(Ascension Thursday 2011: This homily was given on June 2, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Acts 1: 1-14)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Ascension Thursday 2011]

See if you can follow this . . .

The world is full of people who desperately want to know what they don’t need to know; and, who, at the very same time, don’t know what they should know and what they do need to know!

That’s one reason why more people gossip than read the Bible or the Catechism!

C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, understood this human tendency as well as anyone. That’s why he often has Aslan, the Great Lion, tell the other characters in these 7 stories to—for lack of a better expression—mind their own business! (Aslan, remember, represents Jesus in these novels.) For example, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lucy, one of the children, asks Aslan whether her cousin Eustace will ever come back again to Narnia. Aslan answers her by saying, “Child, do you really need to know that?” Along the same lines, in one of the other stories, The Horse and His Boy, Aslan says to Shasta, one of the main characters, “I tell no-one any story but his own.”

I mention this today because in our first reading we’re told that just before Jesus ascended into heaven 2,000 years ago the apostles asked him a question about the future of the nation of Israel. Their “inquiring minds” wanted to know. They said, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Apparently, they still had this idea in their heads that the Messiah had come to restore the nation of Israel to the place of prominence that it had under King David many years before.

Obviously they didn’t fully understand that the Messiah’s kingdom extended far beyond the bounds of little, old Palestine—and far beyond the bounds of this mortal life.

Jesus didn’t argue the point directly, but he did tell them, in effect, that this was something that they did not need to know about. He said, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.”

How easy it is for us to be like these apostles! Before the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, they desperately wanted to know things that they did not need to know. This story makes that fact crystal clear. But at the very same time they were completely unaware of some other things that they should have known and needed to know—like where the Messiah’s kingdom was to be found!

The world is full of people who desperately want to know what they don’t need to know; and, who, at the very same time, don’t know what they should know and what they do need to know!

I thought of this a few weeks back when I was having a conversation with a young woman from the parish—a young woman who attends a certain Catholic high school in the Wakefield area (gee, I wonder what Catholic school that is?). She was very upset because her French teacher was in the process of showing the movie, The DaVinci Code, to her class, without providing any explanatory information to the students. In other words, she had them watch this film without telling them about the numerous lies it contains about the Church and about the history of Christianity.

That’s probably because the teacher herself doesn’t know what the lies are!

Not surprisingly, this was causing a lot of confusion among the students in the class, and was even causing some of them to question their Catholic faith!

What those students need to know about their Catholic faith, they don’t know (and, unfortunately, they aren’t being taught!).

And yet, I’ll bet many of them know lot about actor Tom Hanks! I’ll bet some them even know a few things about Ron Howard, the director of the film. I know it’s ancient history, but I’m sure that at least a couple of them know he starred in the old sitcom “Happy Days” and that he played “Opie” on the old “Andy Griffith Show.”

All of which is nice to know, but relatively unimportant when it comes to living this life successfully and getting to heaven when this life is over!

The bottom line is this: Like the apostles in today’s first reading, we all want to know many things—some of which we really don’t need to know, and some of which we can never know on this side of the grave: Why did God allow my loved one to die at such a young age? Why doesn’t everyone believe in God? Why do some evil people seem to suffer so little in this life? Why, Fr. Ray, did God let you get Parkinson’s Disease?

I don’t know the answer to that last question—and I don’t think I ever will while I’m here on this earth. But, to be perfectly frank, I don’t need to know it.

That’s certainly what Aslan would tell me if I lived in the magical world of Narnia.

And yet, in the midst of the frustration that comes with not knowing everything we’d like to know, we CAN still know many things! In fact, the good news is that we can know everything we NEED to know in order to be saved—everything we need to know to get to heaven!

May the Lord help us to know those things, and to focus on those things, and to be faithful to those things, so that we will someday reach our heavenly goal—the goal that Jesus reached on the very first Ascension Thursday.

Is Jesus Christ your Lord—your Good Shepherd—In Your Response To The Death Of Osama bin Laden?

2011-05-15T12:24:00.003-04:00

(Fourth Sunday of Easter (A): This homily was given on May 15, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read John 10: 1-10.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Fourth Sunday of Easter 2011]

Jesus is THE Good Shepherd. He tells us that explicitly in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11.

But the decisive question is: Is he MY Good Shepherd?

To call Jesus THE Good Shepherd says something objective about Jesus and his identity. To say that Jesus is MY Good Shepherd is to say something about MY personal relationship with him.

Jesus is THE Good Shepherd whether I follow him or not; however he’s only MY Good Shepherd if I make the personal decision to live as his disciple.

And to be a true member of Jesus’ flock I must have the intention of being obedient to him in ALL things. There’s an old saying that some of our Protestant brothers and sisters use, and there’s a lot of truth in it: If Jesus isn’t Lord of all (in other words of all in my life), then he’s not Lord at all.

So I ask you today, is Jesus Christ your Lord—your Good Shepherd—in your response to the death of Osama bin Laden?

On the basis of what I’ve been hearing and reading in recent days, I think that’s a very difficult question for many Christians to answer. For example, I’ve listened to certain commentators in the media—men and women who identify themselves as Christians, and whose opinions I usually agree with—spewing the kind of hatred and venom that you would normally expect to hear from someone like Osama bin Laden!

Is that what we’ve come to?

Have we descended to his level in all this?

I certainly hope not.

That having been said, what is the proper Christian perspective on this issue—the perspective of someone who can honestly call Jesus, “MY Good Shepherd”?

Well let me begin by saying that a true Christian can—and should, I believe—support how our troops acted in this situation. God bless the courageous men who were a part of this very dangerous mission in Pakistan.

However we shouldn’t support what they did because this was a case of “getting even with an evil man”; we should support what they did because their actions helped to protect and defend innocent human lives—innocent human lives here in the United States and throughout the world. I think you could make a very good case that if they had tried to take bin Laden alive (as some are suggesting they should have), they would have put their own lives and the lives of many others in grave danger.

Here we need to understand the teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the 5^th commandment, which is, of course, “Thou shalt not kill.” I highly encourage you to read the relevant section of the Catechism—the section on the 5^th commandment—in its entirety when you have the chance. The Church distinguishes there between the taking of innocent human life (which is always forbidden—that’s why abortion and euthanasia are wrong), and dealing an unjust aggressor (someone who is trying to attack and kill you) a lethal blow. Taking an innocent human life is never right, but dealing an unjust aggressor—which bin Laden certainly was—a lethal blow is sometimes morally permissible.

Let me quote to you now a few important lines from the Catechism itself. In paragraph 2264, it says: “The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing.” Then, in the next paragraph, it says: “Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow.” And, finally, in paragraph 2265 it says: “Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.”

The most loving thing those soldiers could have done for their brothers and sisters in the free world, was exactly what they did: render this unjust aggressor incapable of doing any more evil. In fact, some might even try to make the case that this was the most loving thing they could have done for Osama bin Laden himself!

But none of this justifies hatred toward bin Laden or toward anyone else! That’s where we have to draw the line, as Christians, if Jesus Christ is truly to be OUR Good Shepherd.

So, can we hate what he did in orchestrating the deaths of so many innocent people here in the United States and in other parts of the world? Yes, we can hate what he did—and well we should! It was despicable!

Can we be angry about it? Yes, we should be angry at every gross moral evil!

Can we be happy about the fact that he will no longer be able to carry out his murderous missions here and in other places on the planet? Yes, we can be—and should be—happy about that!

And yet, at the very same time, we must love and forgive—which, of course, is not easy! But it is possible, by the grace of God. We need to do these things, first of all, because Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, told us to love our enemies and to forgive others.

And secondly, we need to do these things because, if we don’t, unforgiveness and hatred will eat us up on the inside, and eventually turn us into the very kind of monsters that we say we detest.

Of course, in fulfilling these commands of our Lord we need to understand what it really means to love and to forgive other people. To love another person does not mean to ignore his or her sins or to dispense with justice. To love means to desire “the good” for the person; and the ultimate good we can and should desire for every man and woman is eternal life. Now, if someone like Osama bin Laden was to attain eternal life, he would need to come to terms with all the evil he did in his life as a terrorist. And he would need to do that before he died. He would need to experience true sorrow (and even remorse) for the innocent lives he destroyed, the families he ruined, and the hatred he inspired in others.

So that’s my prayer for this man: in love I pray that he finally—at some point before he died—came to terms with his heinous crimes against humanity, repented of them, and sincerely sought the mercy of God. If that did happen, I can assure you, it was the most unpleasant experience of bin Laden’s life, the most horrific experience of his life. When someone who engages in diabolical activity like this finally faces the reality of what they’ve done, it can be overwhelming.

But the pain of that experience definitely beats the eternal pains of hell!

And what about forgiveness for bin Laden and for our other enemies?

To forgive someone means to “let go” of an offence, but it does not mean that we’re supposed to completely forget about justice in our relationship with the person! Not at all! For example, if I steal $10 from you, you can forgive me (and hopefully you will!)—but you still have every right to demand that I give you back your $10!

That’s justice, after all.

And please also understand: my forgiveness of someone does not automatically make things right between that person and Almighty God. If I forgive you for something terrible that you did to me, but you’re not truly sorry for your sin, you are not “off the hook,” so to speak, with the Lord! Not by any stretch of the imagination!

So forgiving a mass murderer like Osama bin Laden does not automatically exonerate him of his sins before God!

Rather, it gets us “off the hook,” by keeping the sin of unforgiveness out of our hearts.

And it keeps us from becoming hateful people ourselves.

I come back, now, to the question I asked at the beginning: Is Jesus Christ your Lord—your Good Shepherd—in your response to the death of Osama bin Laden?

I pray that, for each of us, the answer is a sincere—and an obedient—yes.

‘Awareness’ and Motherhood

2011-05-08T12:26:00.000-04:00

(Third Sunday of Easter (A): This homily was given on May 8, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 24: 13-35.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Third Sunday of Easter 2011]

Awareness.

It’s what the disciples lacked, but desperately needed. I’m talking here specifically about the two disciples we heard about in today’s gospel reading, who met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus on Easter Sunday. They lacked awareness, first of all, that it was Jesus himself who was walking with them. They thought they had met up with a Passover visitor to Jerusalem who was completely out of touch with the local news: “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”

But they also lacked awareness of some other things—some other very important things. For example, they were not aware of the prophecies of what we now call the Old Testament, and how these prophecies related to what they had seen and heard during the previous week. And so Jesus set them straight. As St. Luke tells us, “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.” (By the way, that had to be a really long homily that Jesus gave them. So don’t complain about the length of mine!)

Obviously they were also unaware of the fact that the true Messiah—the one God had chosen for his people—was to be a suffering Messiah, and not a powerful king like David, who had ruled the nation of Israel many years before. Thus these men were unaware of the necessity of the cross in God’s plan of salvation: that the Messiah had to suffer and die to save us from sin and eternal death. “Oh, how foolish you are!’ Jesus said to them, ‘How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter his glory?”

Throughout the course of the day they spent with Jesus, the awareness of these two disciples increased, until it finally became complete when Jesus did for them what he had done for his apostles at the Last Supper a few days earlier: he fed them with the Eucharist! “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.”

Awareness. It’s what Cleopas and his friend needed—and received—from our Lord on the first Easter Sunday. It’s also what every child needs—and receives—from his or her mother (if that mother is fulfilling her vocation well). On this Mother’s Day, that’s a truth that needs to be both noted and emphasized. This flows from a mother’s role as the “chief nurturer” of the family.

A good mother, for example, helps her children to be aware of their identity as children of God, created in his image and likeness. She thus helps her children to be aware of their intrinsic value as human beings. Let’s face it, our self-worth (or lack thereof) is, to a great extent, instilled in us at an early age by our mothers, since they’re usually with us the most!

A good mother also helps her children to become aware of the true meaning of life—if she herself knows it and is being faithful to it.

A good mother helps her children to be aware of their responsibilities to God, and to the members of their family, and to others.

A good mother helps her children grow in their awareness of the need they have to say they’re sorry.

A good mother helps her children to grow in their awareness of how to handle success and deal with failure.

She helps them to grow in their awareness of how to set the right priorities in life (presuming she has the right ones herself!).

And of course a good mother, if she’s Catholic, also helps her children to grow in their awareness of the need they have to pray, and attend Mass, and go to Confession, and put God first in their lives.

To the extent that you received awareness of these things from your earthly mother, thank God today. Thank him from the bottom of your heart—because not everyone is so blessed!

But even if your earthly mother failed you or hurt you in some serious way—even if she did not fulfill her vocation very well—fear not. You see, regardless of what your earthly mother was like, if you’re a baptized Catholic you DO have a mother who has not failed you and will never fail you—a mother who teaches awareness in all those areas I just mentioned. I’M TALKING HERE ABOUT HOLY MOTHER CHURCH! In fact, she teaches all these things even more clearly and consistently than our good earthly mothers do. The Church teaches us our identity as children of God; she teaches us that we are loved and valued by God beyond what we can even imagine. She teaches us the meaning of life; she helps us to become aware of our responsibilities to God, and to our brothers and sisters. She teaches us that we’re sinners who need to say we’re sorry; she teaches us how to handle success and deal with failure. And, of course, she teaches us the importance of prayer, and Mass, and Confession, and putting God first in our lives.

I recently read that Blessed John Paul II rarely mentioned his earthly mother in conversation or in writing. He spoke of his dad all the time, but not his mom. That’s probably because she died when he was just a small child. He never had the opportunity to get to know her in the same way that he was able to get to know his father, who had a very powerful impact on him during his youth.

But John Paul II did have Holy Mother Church in his life always—and she formed him pretty well, I would say (with the assistance, of course, of our Blessed Mother!).

So there’s always hope.

Lord, today we thank you for the many ways that our earthly mothers helped us to be aware of our identity, our value, and our call to live as your disciples. But most of all we thank you for giving us Holy Mother Church, through which we are born again to eternal life, and through which we receive the grace, the love and the knowledge we need to attain that heavenly goal. Amen.

Blessed John Paul II: A Man Unafraid!

2011-05-01T12:08:00.000-04:00

(Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A): This homily was given on May 1, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read John 20: 19-31.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Divine Mercy Sunday 2011]

“Be not afraid!”

That’s a command that Jesus uttered many times during his 3-year earthly ministry, and it’s a command that his Vicar on earth, Pope John Paul II, repeated many times during his 26 years as the Successor of St. Peter, beginning at his first Mass as Holy Father.

And today that same John Paul II, who lived a life of fearless discipleship, is being beatified. Beatification, of course, is the second-to-the-last step in the canonization process. A person is beatified by the Catholic Church only after his or her life has been analyzed, and scrutinized, and meticulously investigated—and after a miracle has been attributed to his or her heavenly intercession. (The Church, incidentally, has very strict standards as to what qualifies as an official miracle!) As most of you know, the healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, of Parkinson’s Disease back in 2005, was the miracle attributed to the heavenly prayers of John Paul.

He’ll need another one before he can be canonized a saint—something for which I have humbly volunteered my services. Whatever I can do to help Blessed John Paul II become Saint John Paul II I’ll be glad to do.

What a nice guy I am!

As I prayed about what I would say on this day of his beatification, that famous line of his came to mind: “Be not afraid!”

It’s been said that “love makes the world go ‘round”—and there’s a lot of truth in that statement; but because we live in a world that’s tainted by original sin, it’s also true to say that much of this world “goes ‘round” in FEAR, not love!

• People fear that they won’t be appreciated at work or at school, so to make themselves look good they put down their co-workers or fellow students and spread nasty rumors about them

• People fear that they won’t have enough money for themselves when they retire, so they steal—or they cheat on their taxes

• We fear that we’ll lose our friends if we don’t engage in the same immoral activity that they engage in on a regular basis, so we compromise our moral values and follow our friends into sin (that’s what we usually call “peer pressure”)

• A young woman fears that her boyfriend will reject her if she doesn’t give into his sexual advances, so one day she finally gives in

• We fear that others will perceive us as weak and take advantage of us if we forgive, so we nurse grudges against the people who have hurt us

And on and on it goes.

Reflect on your own life today, my brothers and sisters. If you do so—honestly—you’ll find that many of the things that you do (and don’t do) each and every day are motivated by fear.

The fear is usually unconscious, but it’s real nonetheless.

To which Blessed John Paul II would say: “Be not afraid!”

These words, incidentally, were words that he himself made every effort to live by! Make no mistake about it, when it came to dealing with fear, John Paul II’s LIFE stood behind his teaching. Because of the events of his personal life, and because of the political and social situation he had to deal with for many years, John Paul confronted fear constantly—from the earliest days of his youth.

But, by the grace of God, he consistently won the battle. And if he can do it, so can we!

So what words would John Paul say to us today, if he were standing here at this pulpit? What insights would he give us on battling fear, based on his own personal experience? Well, we can’t know the answer to that question for sure, but I strongly suspect he would say things like this:

• “Do not fear that God will fail to provide for your needs. He will always provide. Remember, I lost my entire family before I was 21 years of age. My only sister died before I was born. My mother died when I was 8. My elder (and only) brother, a medical doctor whom I greatly loved and admired, died 3 years later; and my father, who was my greatest spiritual inspiration, died tragically less than a decade after that. At 20, I had already lost all the people I loved. But the Lord was always there for me, and he will always be there for you.”

• “Do not be afraid of lies—the lies the world tells you every day about the human person and about life and its meaning. When I lived under Nazi and Communist rule in Poland I battled these lies every day. But I knew the truth, rooted in my faith, and I proclaimed it as openly and as clearly as I could. Nazism and Communism were political and economic systems built on the very worst of lies, so they were doomed from the start. Many people were surprised when Soviet Communism crumbled in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, but I wasn’t. What’s built on lies, eventually dies. So don’t be afraid of them.”

• “Do not be afraid of suffering. I suffered in so many ways in my life. I just told you about some of them: losing all the members of my family before I was 21; living for years under Nazi and Communist oppression (I was even forced to study for the priesthood secretly, in an underground seminary). But there were many other sufferings as well: for example, the time I was shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981 and nearly died; and, of course, my long and difficult battle with Parkinson’s Disease. But through these and all the other trials of my life, I looked to God and found my strength in him. His grace was always sufficient for me, and it will always be sufficient for you. So don’t be afraid.”

• “Do not be afraid to confront your sin and repent of it. I instituted today’s feast, the feast of the Divine Mercy, to remind the world that every sin can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. And don’t be afraid to take your sins to the sacrament of Confession. Jesus gave the power to priests to dispense his mercy to repentant sinners. As you heard him say to the very first priests in today’s gospel, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.”

• “And speaking of forgiveness, do not be afraid to extend forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness; it’s an act of strength. And it’s an act that brings with it liberation and peace. Remember how I forgave the man who tried to assassinate me back in 1981? I did that because it was the right thing to do—the thing Jesus wanted me to do—and I did it to set an example for the world. Hate destroys, but forgiveness heals.”

• “Do not be afraid to face the tough issues and the tough questions—after all, as a Catholic you possess the truth! Because I wasn’t afraid of taking on the difficult contemporary issues relative to sexual morality, I gave the world a series of teachings known as ‘the Theology of the Body’—teachings that will help people to find fulfillment in their relationships for generations to come.”

• “And finally, do not be afraid of the future; and certainly do not be afraid of death. Jesus promised to be with us always, until the end of time. And he told us that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling places—including one for us, if we remain faithful. Remember how I approached death: I put myself confidently in the hands of Jesus through Mary. The last words my secretary heard me say on my deathbed were, ‘Totus tuus’—‘Totally yours, Mary.’ And without any fear in my heart I said to a nun in my final hours, “Let me go to the Lord.”

I hope you will join me today in thanking God for the gift of John Paul II, and for the many lessons our former Holy Father taught us—especially that very important lesson: “Be not afraid!”

Given the fact that he is now Blessed John Paul II, I think the best way for us to conclude this morning is to seek his heavenly intercession for all of our special intentions. For this purpose, I’ll use the prayer I gave out for people to say for my healing. I ask you now to kneel as I say the prayer in the name of each of us:

O Blessed Trinity, we thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II, and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.

Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

What Was the Best Day of Dismas’ Life?

2011-04-22T21:36:00.000-04:00

(Good Friday 2011: This homily was given on April 22, 2011 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, RI, by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12; also read the Passion Narrative of St. Luke.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Good Friday 2011]

What was the best day of Dismas’ life?

Dismas, of course, was the so-called “Good Thief,” who had a change of heart as he hung on the cross next to Jesus on Good Friday. The Bible indicates that at first both he and the other criminal verbally abused our Lord after they were crucified. As we are told in Matthew 27: 44, “The insurgents who had been crucified with [Jesus] kept taunting him in the same way [that is, in the same way that the chief priests and scribes and elders were taunting him].”

However, at some point during the 3 hours that he hung there with Jesus, the Good Thief experienced a genuine conversion of heart.

Why?

Well, we don’t know for sure. The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us. One of my theories is that he was deeply impressed by how Jesus responded to the verbal attacks that were being hurled at him. I’m sure that most people who were crucified by the Romans in the first century did NOT respond in such a loving way to the insults of those passing by! They probably answered those insults with a lot of words that cannot be repeated from this pulpit.

Jesus, on the other hand, responded with love and with silence—the silence of a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse (to use Isaiah’s famous image that we heard in today’s first reading).

I also believe that Dismas was deeply moved by the way Jesus forgave his murderers. Contrary to what many people believe, forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. You don’t need any inner strength at all to let anger and unforgiveness get the better of you. That’s easy—all you have to do is let your negative emotions take over!

Only a strong person can sincerely forgive.

And it takes a doubly-strong person to forgive the people who have harmed him while he’s in the midst of experiencing the suffering that they have inflicted on him! It’s one thing to forgive somebody after you’ve had time to deal with the pain they’ve caused you and perhaps get over it; it’s quite another thing to forgive people while you’re experiencing the pain they’ve caused you at its worst!

Jesus forgave his murderers—totally and completely—while they were in the process of murdering him! That had to be impressive to a man like Dismas, whose life up to that point had probably been ruled by hatred and unforgiveness.

We do not know for sure why the Good Thief opened his heart to Christ, but we do know that he did. And that’s enough for us to know, because it means that his personal life story—as bad as it might have been previously—had a happy ending!

Once his heart had been touched, he said those famous words of repentance to Jesus: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom”; and our Lord responded with his famous words of forgiveness and mercy, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Which brings us back to the question I asked at the beginning: What was the best day of Dismas’ life?

If you had questioned the Good Thief himself about that, as he was being nailed to the cross late Good Friday morning—if you had said to him at that precise moment, “Dismas, what was the best day of your life?” he might have said, “Any day but this one!”

Of course, if he was married, he also might have said, “The best day of my life was the day I met my future wife.” If he had a child, he might have said, “The best day of my life was the day my child was born.”

There are many possibilities. There are many things that we can reasonably assume he might have said.

But there’s one thing we can be 99.999% certain he would NOT have said at the moment he was being crucified. He would not have said, “The best day of my life is THIS ONE.”

But it was! Good Friday was, without question, the best day of this man’s life on planet earth. And the very best part, of his very best day, was the part when he hung on the cross next to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in utter agony!

How’s that for ironic?

It was best day of the Good Thief’s life, because it was the day he opened his heart to Jesus Christ and received the gift of salvation. Without that day—and specifically without the suffering of that day—he would probably have spent eternity in hell!

And I’m sure that Dismas himself realized this once he heard Jesus say to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

So, if you had asked him this question just a minute before he died: “Dismas, what was the best day of your life?” he would have given you a very different answer than he would have given 3 hours earlier. Looking at his life from a new perspective—an eternal perspective—would have led him to say, “TODAY is the best day of my life, without question—not because of my suffering on this cross, but rather because of how I’ve responded to my suffering.”

Hopefully, you can see how all of this applies to us.

Speaking personally, for example, I wonder: When my life is over (which I hope it won’t be for awhile!) will I look back and say, “One of the best days of my life was the day my father died”; “One of the best days of my life was the day my mother died”; “One of the best days of my life was the day I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease”?

Not if I’m on my way to hell! But if I’m on my way to heaven, in part because I’ve allowed the tragic experiences of my life to affect me in the same way that the Good Thief allowed his suffering to affect him, then yes, in the end I will look on many of the most difficult days of my life as great days—or perhaps I should say “blessed” days—because in the midst of them I will have grown in faith and holiness. And that will have a direct influence on the level of happiness I experience forever in heaven! To paraphrase Bishop Sheen on this point: Sometimes God allows us to suffer to make us good (as was the case with Dismas); but, if we’re already good, there are times when God allows us to suffer to make us better.

And better we will definitely be, IF we make the choice to respond to our crosses like Dismas, the Good Thief, responded to his.

The Passion of Jesus--In Wilcox Park!

2011-04-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 2 p.m., in Wilcox Park, Westerly, RI, the Stage Door Theater Company performed "The Passion of Christ," written, produced and directed by Eugene J. Celico, artistic director of the company.

Please forgive the quality of the audio as it was a windy afternoon in an open field.

To view the YouTube video, click here: The Passion of Jesus]