Go in Peace to Love and serve the Lord

Today many parishes are celebrating Catechetical Sunday here at Nativity we will celebrate next Sunday so that Bro. Rey can personally give our catechist a blessing for the New Year. Our theme that the United States Council of Catholic Bishops has commissioned for this year is “Prayer: The Faith Prayed.”  Those whom the community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.  Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being witness to the Gospel. In his encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio Pope John Paul II, says: “Among the laity who become evangelizers, catechist have a place of honor…Catechists are among those who have received Christ’s command to “go and teach all nations.” (Guide for Catechist 33)

As a catechist, each of us is responding to a call to share the gift of faith with others, even as you deepen your own faith.  I like to remind parents as often as I can that they are the primary catechist in their children’s lives, and that is why it is so important that parents commit themselves daily in spending time with God in prayer or just in total silence. In an article in the Catechist magazine titled Catechesis and the Domestic Church by Kathy and Mitch Finely; they speak about how families are the first people that begin the faith journey for their children. You can read the entire article atwww.mitchandkathyfinley.com 

May peace prevail on earth is an age old question that so many of ask ourselves daily.  Today’s gospel has many challenges as Jesus teaches no one can serve “two masters” what he is referring to are God and money (“mammon” is the Semitic word for “wealth’).  Today at mass we are celebrating World Day of Peace and our children have been given the symbol of a crane to process in with.  There is a very interesting story about the prayer of a little girl during World War II who tried to make a thousand cranes for healing and peace. The title of the book is One Thousand Paper Cranes for Peace: The Story of Sadako Sasaki.

In another book titled “Peace is the way: Bringing War and Violence to and End” by Deepak Chopra he writes about the seven practices for peace for each day of the week.  The first practice challenges you to take five minutes beginning today with your family, children or friends and mediate for peace.  Focus all of your attention on your heart, mind and spirit as you repeat these four words peace, harmony, laughter and love.  As you end your meditation, say to yourself.  Today I will relinquish all resentments and grievances.  Bring into your mind anyone against whom you have a grievance with and let it go.  Send that person your forgiveness-- now close your eyes and imagine how many people you will join together with today and this week in spirit as you pray for peace and healing. This is my answer to the question on how peace can prevail on this earth. What is your answer?  Share it with someone today.
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“Peace be upon you” Translated in the traditional Jewish greeting, Shalom Aleichem

It’s hard to believe summer is officially over and in a minute it will be Christmas.  Tim is moving by so quickly.  In November, it will be two years since I’ve been with you.  Wow!  It’s been a good two years, though a struggle for all of us as we make changes since Fr. Singer died.  My hope is that as we welcome Coleman Ward to Nativity this week, it will truly be a grace filled change and a time of hop for all of us.

The other matter I would like to discuss is one that is not easy and might be received as “bad news” by some.  It has to do with the reception of Eucharist.  I realize that intinction (‘the dipping of the host into the precious blood’) has been a custom for some at Nativity.  I don’t how it started or the reason for it starting here at Nativity.  It has been done in some of the Orthodox and Eastern Churches, but has not been part of the common practice of the Roman Church.  I suspect this may have begun because people saw it as a way to protect against germs.  It may have helped that person, but then germs were spread to the next person by dipping their fingers in the cup.  It also puts in danger those who are gluten free among us as we place the wheat host in the precious blood.  My thought is that if you’re worried about germs, you should just reverence the cup and not receive from it.  How we receive communion is an important symbol of how we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and how we believe in each other as brother and sister.  The theology of receive Eucharist I learned in the Seminary still makes sense to me now.  When we receive the host and are told “Body of Christ,” we are reminded we are receiving the Body of Christ and we are called to be Christ in the world.  We say “AMEN” meaning so be it…yes…I agree.  Then we go to the cup and hear the words, “Blood of Christ,” and we are being asked the question Jesus asked the disciples.  “Will you drink the cup that I will drink?”  Will you be the Body of Christ in the world, even to the point of shedding your own blood?  When we share the cup, we are not only saying yes to Jesus, but by drinking from the same cup, we are saying that all who drink from this cup are my brothers and sisters and their tears are my tears, their joys are my joys, their struggles are my struggles...we are together in this!  That is why “dipping” seems so foreign to my theology.  It seems more like a person act than a communal act.  When we come to Mass, we come to be a part of a community.  We unite our own personal prayers to the prayer of the community.
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Please know that I say this not to be petty or to pick on anyone but, to me, it is a profound gesture of trust in Jesus and in one another.  If you don’t know by now, I am not looking to follow every ritual move even though the Archdiocese has instructed all parishes to stop the practice of intinction.  However when thins have a deep meaning, I feel a responsibility as the Pastor to let you know.  I would ask those who cannot drink from the cup for whatever reason would receive the host and reverence the cup by holding it for a moment, but no longer dip the host in the chalice.  If this makes no sense to you or you would like to talk to me, I would be glad to talk to anyone about it.  I would also ask you to meditate on this truth of drinking from the same cup as you watch other people receive and to think about what profound meaning lies in the action of drinking from the same cup.  May God continue to bless us at Nativity!

TAKING A WALK THROUGH THE HOLY DOOR OF MERCY

More often than we think, we are so flustered by the hardships of our current life that we can sometimes forget about the life that God has promised us through His grace.  Many pilgrims travel to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to forget these current times and feel the presence of God’s grace by walking through the Holy Door.  For over seven hundred years, the Holy Door has served as a tangible tool to open people’s hearts and bring them into full communion with God.

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to walk through the Holy Door.  However, I did not have to travel to Rome to do so.  There is a Holy Door right here in Detroit.

In honor of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has asked every diocese in the world to build their own Holy Door so that more people may have the chance to be in full communion with God.   I went to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament so that I could experience what it is like to walk through the Holy Door.  By the end of the event, I felt God’s presence more so than I had ever experienced before.  Throughout the entire event, I knew that God was walking through the door with me, and His Love was so powerful that I was nearly speechless during the entire event.

The entire even has taught me a lot about the importance of mercy and forgiveness.  Just as Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for the forgiveness of all of our sins, we, too, can find it in our hearts to forgive those who have hurt us.  It is easy to remember all of the afflictions that people have done to us and the people we love; but it is more fulfilling to give and ask for forgiveness no matter how difficult it may be.

There is still a chance for you to walk through the Holy Door.  I encourage you to walk the path of mercy on September 24, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.  By partaking in this even, you will experience God’s love and grace in a new and breathtaking way.
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I hope you are able to attend this event planned for our Parish!