4th Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Sunday, December 21, 2008
St. Clement’s Catholic Church; Saratoga Springs, NY

2 Samuel 7: 1 – 5, 8b – 12, 14a, 16
Psalm 89: 2 – 3, 4 – 5, 27, 29
Romans 16: 25 – 27
Luke 1: 26 –38

Stories are an important part of our history. Think about what happens often at the end of a day. The family gathers around the dinner table and someone will ask another member of the family how their day was. Sometimes there might be a shrug of the shoulder and other times a member of the family launches into a colorful tale of some event of the day. We tell stories about past holidays and past snow storms. A phrase many of us might use this week will be: “Do you remember when…” and the tale begins. It doesn’t matter if we’ve heard the story one time or a hundred times, we listen intently and even will even help a relative with the details should they omit one or two of them.

This week our Church family once again shares a familiar story. It’s a story that even the youngest amongst us know. The story of a young couple and their travel to a distant town. The story of a young couple that cannot find any room at the inn. A story with angels and shepherds and kings. But the heart of the story begins with the tale we just heard this morning. “Joy to the World” “O Come All Ye Faithful” none of them would ever have been sung if not for the yes by the maid to the angel Gabriel. It is Mary’s affirmative answer that starts our story in motion.

Today we hear a story about a young woman who trusted completely in her God. A young maid who at first was not exactly sure what was happening. Her story is so familiar to us that we can tell it ourselves from memory. As we reflect on this story today try to imagine yourself in the room itself. Imagine what Mary is wearing, what are the sparse furnishings that fill her room. Picture how the angel appeared to her and once again hear the conversation between the two. Hear the angel say: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” And hear Mary’s response of: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

This week once again hear anew and picture afresh the story of the birth of Our God in Bethlehem.

We all recall even the secular stories of this time of year. We read or watch the stories about Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and my favorite of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Three Spirits in Dickens’s Christmas Carol.

One of the most famous secular Christmas stories is a poem that was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823, and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. Authorship was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore and the poem was included in an 1844 anthology of his works. Many of you might read for your children The Night Before Christmas sometime during this week.

As the snow falls outside and the feeling of Christmas comes upon all of us, I would like to share with you an adapted version of that poem that I wrote a number of years ago and revised for here at St. Clement’s.

‘Twas the Fourth Week of Advent, when all through the world
Four candles were lit; purple and pink all a swirled.
The streets now of ‘Toga, had lights here and there
All sensed a good feeling of joy in the air.

The shopping and baking were almost all done,
The cards were all written, it was now time for fun.
I went to St. Clement’s, and took off my cap
And figured I get a good morning’s nap.

I listened to music, to an old Advent tune,
And slowly but surely, I started humming along.
Then came time for the readings, some stories were read;
They sounded familiar, they stuck in my head.

The story of a woman and an angel I heard
When I heard it before, I always thought it absurd.
But now as I listened and the words settled in,
I listened intently, I felt a chill on my skin.

How could this be, our God comes to earth;
A young maid named Mary, was found of great worth.
She must have been frightened, she must have been scared;
And then she realized that this was how much God cared.

“Hail full of grace! The Lord is with you!”
The Angel has spoken; the words they are true!
But how can this be, since she still was not wed
“God’s spirit is with you” the Angel has said.

She trusted the words, her heart filled with joy;
She was blessed by the Lord; she would give birth to his boy.
A son she would bear, to bring peace to the earth
He would show by his life, that each person has worth.

I started to doze, the story started to fade;
And I felt a sense of peace, I was no longer afraid.
This story is true and it’s why each December
We gather together, to reflect and remember.

We remember the reason for shopping and baking;
We recall the reason for all this picture taking.
It’s because of a woman who said yes to the Lord
It’s because of a baby, that our lives are restored.

I must take this feeling of God’s love in my heart
To every place on the earth; yes, even Wal-Mart!
For the babe born of Mary, in a stable years ago
Still lives on the earth, he wants me to show.

The peace of the season, the joy of the year
Should stay with us always, there is nothing to fear.
God leapt down from heaven, we celebrate his birth
And we should bring it to ‘Toga, to each person on earth.

I’ll go forth today with a song raised on high;
I’ll let my soul soar, it will go to the sky!
For the angels still sing, they are with us today
I will go forth this morning and Prepare God his way!

His way into my heart, and your heart there too
He came down from heaven, believe me, its true!
Celebrate his birth, remember his love;
It’s still with us today, it comes from above.

I love these Christmas stories, I love this time of year’
I’m happy that the Maid said Yes; I’m happy our God is so near.
As the Fourth Week of Advent, turns soon to Christmas Eve
Look at the Babe in the Manager and you too will believe.

2nd Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Sunday, December 7, 2008
St. Clement’s Catholic Church; Saratoga Springs, NY

Isaiah 40: 1 – 5, 9 – 11
Psalm 85: 9 – 10, 11 – 12, 13 – 14
2 Peter 3: 8 – 14
Mark 1: 1 – 8

I had this story all planned to share with you even before the cold and snowy weather came upon us over night. One of the joys of being a Redemptorist is that I have had the privilege to go quite often to our Caribbean Missions. I have preached in a number of our parishes down there and had to attend a number of meetings there as well. One island in particular that I have enjoyed traveling to is the island of Dominica. Dominica is called the Nature Island; there are not many good beaches but the island is full of mountains and rain forests. To get from the airport on the north end of the island to the Redemptorist Retreat House on the south end of the island is about a 20 miles ride that can take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. I can’t imagine how they built the roads on the island of Dominica, which are about as wide as our main aisle. They had to cut through dense rain forests and blast their way through mountains. Sections that run close to the ocean I am sure they had to fill in to make a more level road. The job of road construction there, and anywhere indeed, is not an easy task.

As we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent we might call today “Road Construction” Sunday. Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah mentions it: “A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.” (Isaiah 40: 3 – 4) As I mentioned last week, the people of Israel were in exile at the time the prophet was writing. He lifts them up telling them that soon they will be returning home and they must “Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!” (Isaiah 40: 3) The time as coming close for them to return to their homeland and when that day arrived they would have to make a straight path thru the dessert.

Mark mentions a similar thing at the start of his Gospel when he talks about John the Baptist. “A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Mark 1: 3) John is that voice that was preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. He appears on the scene to tell the people that they too needed to do some “road construction.” The road construction that both Isaiah and John the Baptist are talking about is not the physical type where we blast thru mountains and cut down trees to clear a path. The type of road construction they are talking about is the spiritual type – where you and I remove the obstacles, the road blocks that keep the path for the coming of Jesus into our hearts cluttered.

That is what the season of Advent is about for us -- a time to look at our lives and see where we are blocking the coming of Christ into our hearts and our lives. While not a physical road construction there are a number of obstacles and road blocks in our lives that we must tear down. Our sinful behavior needs to be torn down to allow for a straight path for the coming of Christ. We put up obstacles of greed, gossiping, jealousy and the like that are like high mountains that needed to be blasted away. This “Road Construction” Sunday is a time for us to take a look at our road blocks. It’s a gradual process of cleaning out the detours. Again, I refer you to the Advent Wreath – two candles are now lit and we might want all four to be blazing bright to show that Christmas is almost here. But we need patience, we need to take our time. We need to make straight the path in our hearts so the God may enter. Even when we finally have cleared a path we need to keep working at it. If you notice that road construction never seems to be finished. Once the potholes are filled in it seems like it no time they are back doing the same work. That’s the beauty of Advent that we celebrate year after year after year. Our “road repairs” are never completely finished. Once we have straightened the path for the Lord sometimes are sinful behaviors revisit us and we need to do some more road repairs. It is a never ending task and a tiring one as well.

Have you often seen a road crew working on road repairs and wonder why one person is working, one is directing traffic, another is leaning on their shovel and another is drinking a cup of coffee? Because road construction is tiring business – you can’t be about it for eight straight hours without taking a break. You can’t do road construction by yourself without the help of others. In our task of spiritual road construction we too need help. That help comes to us in the way of our God who is ever ready to help us. As we tear down the mountains of our sinful behaviors it is our God who comes to us and fills in the holes. If we allow him God can give us the gifts of His Spirit to help level and smooth things out. He fills in the holes we have created with his gifts of wisdom and understanding, with his gifts of courage and fear of the Lord. Our valleys and rough spots are filled up with his gifts of joy, peace, love and happiness.

“A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.” (Isaiah 40: 3 – 4) This is the beautiful message of “Road Construction” Sunday as we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent. Our God has indeed already come with his birth as a Babe in Bethlehem. We continue to prepare his coming now only on Christmas Day but on every day of our lives. He wants to be part of us, he desires to live in our hearts, our souls our very lives. But we need to do some work. I am sure that those of you who are expecting visitors over the Christmas Holidays are already busy preparing things around the house. You clean out the clutter, you straighten up the guest room, and you clean the ring from around the bath tub. You are making a nice place to receive your guests.

Take time to get ready to receive Jesus Christ as your guest. Whatever road block is up, may we have the courage to begin to tear it down. Wherever there are areas in our lives that need to be smoothed out and straightened, let us allow our God to help. We still have some time this Advent Season to get things in order. Today is “Road Construction” Sunday and it is tiring work that will never end. But think about why we are doing it – so that our God can have a straight path into our lives. That’s what Advent is all about – cleaning away our sinful behaviors so that the Lord can enter. That’s what happened at the first Christmas and hopefully it will happen to us again this Christmas and every days of our lives!

AMEN!

1st Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Sunday, November 30, 2008
St. Clement’s Catholic Church; Saratoga Springs, NY

Isaiah 63: 16b – 17, 19b; 64: 2 – 7
Psalm 80: 2 – 3, 15 – 16, 18 – 19
1 Corinthians 1: 3 – 9
Mark 13: 33 – 37

There is a story about a family preparing Christmas dinner. As the mom and young daughter were working in the kitchen, the daughter noticed that her mom cut the Christmas ham into two pieces, placing them in two separate pans. She asked her mom, “Mom, why do you cut the ham into two pieces and place them in two pans?” To which the mom replied, “That’s the way your grandmother cooked ham. Ask her when she comes for dinner.” So when the grandmother came to the house that day, the young daughter asked, “Grandma, why do you cut the ham into two pieces and place them in two pans?” To which the grandmother replied, “That’s the way your great-grandmother cooked ham. Ask her when she comes for dinner.” So when the great-grandmother came to the house that day, the young daughter asked, “Great-Grandma, why do you cut the ham into two pieces and place them in two pans?” To which the grandmother replied, “I did? Oh yes, now I recall. I cut the ham into two pieces and placed in two pans because when your great-grandfather and myself were first married we didn’t have a pan big enough to hold the entire ham.”

Traditions. They are a part of our life and part of our family stories. We all have them and at times we may not even know what they are or why they exist. Our church family has many traditions and one we begin to celebrate today – the season of Advent. However, like many traditions that exist we may have forgotten exactly what it means and why we still celebrate them.

A major part of the tradition of Advent is the lighting of the Advent wreath. Now many of us, especially those who are young, would probably wish we could light all four candles today and just get to the celebration of Christmas. The wisdom of the Church is that we light the candles one week at a time and they help us to patiently wait for the celebration of Christmas. Each week another candle will be lit so that by the end of the Advent Season all four candles will be aflame and show us that the time to celebrate the birth of Christ the Light breaking into our world has come.

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah we have a wonderful yet haunting line. Isaiah was writing at a time when Israel was in exile, things looked bleak for them and he laments that it seems God is nowhere to be found. Isaiah cries out: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you.” (Isaiah 63: 19) His cry is that God come down to fix things for Israel, to help them out of the dark situation they are in. Even today Isaiah’s cry could be ours. Our world is seemingly in a mess. The recent tragic events that occurred in India this past week, the financial crisis our country is experiencing, people continue to struggle to find food and clothing and employment, war and violence still rage throughout our planet and in our neighborhoods. It seems to be a bleak, dark time to live on planet earth. We too may want to raise our eyes to the heavens and cry out like Isaiah: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” God come down to visit us and save us from the awful situation we find ourselves in.

The truth of the matter is that 2,000 years ago our God did split the heavens and visited us. In the still of a cold December night, God leapt down from the heavens and came to his people. His presence brought light into our world. Yet, we still yearn for that light. The season of Advent is a time for us to prepare to bring Christ into the world again. At Mary’s yes, the Word became flesh. We will not bring Christ into the world in a physical sense but our Advent preparation is to help us enable Christ to be brought into the world on a daily basis by the way we live our lives.

I am sure that over the years many a preacher has told you to be patient, to try and slow down during the month of December. That is the hustle and bustle of the season we need to stop and truly reflect on the great event that we are preparing to celebrate. We all have a long list of things to do: the cards need to be written and mailed out, the gifts need to be bought and wrapped, the cookies need to be baked, the tree needs to be bought, the lights need to be hung … the list is quite long. There is so much we need to do that it is just impossible to take a break. True, so what I ask all of us to do is to write the cards, bake the cookies, buy the gifts, hang the lights, put up the tree and that when every we do one of these things we remember why we are doing so. We write the cards to extend God’s blessing to our family and friends. We put up the lights to remind us that it is Christ who brings light to our darkened world. We bake cookies to remind us that the Word was made Flesh and comes to us each time we receive the Eucharist. We may not be able to completely stop and slow down but we can still prepare for the Birth of Christ as we reflect on why we do what we do this month.

For those of you who are parents, especially you who are mothers. Think about the time before the birth of your child. You probably wished the child would be born right away but for nine months the child grew in your womb. The time was needed for your child to grow and develop. You did not sit by idle but you were actively waiting. You painted a room, picked out clothing, choose a name – all the while waiting for the great event. Advent is very similar; we might want it to be December 25th right now but there is much that we need to do – we need to prepare ourselves to bring the Christ into the world again.

This past Friday we heard about the tragic events at the Walmart on Long Island. A worker was trampled to death as the doors of the store were opened on Black Friday. The tragedy was compounded by the fact that when shoppers were told the store was closing due to the tragic death, some of them replied: “But you can’t close the store. We’ve been waiting here since yesterday morning to get in and shop.” These men and women waited and when the time came their passion turned to tragedy. There time of waiting came to an end and the result brought death. We are people who are waiting to and hopefully when our waiting is over we can have similar passion that is unleashed but not a passion that causes death but a passion that brings life. A passion of a people who wish to bring Christ into the world. A passion that allows love to come to a world that seems devoid of love, a passion that brings peace to a world seemingly full of violence, a passion that brings joy and hope to a saddened planet, a passion that brings the light of Christ to a darkened world.

This is why we patiently wait. This is why we light one candle at a time, so that like the Advent wreath we may enflame our love for God slowly but surely. So, bake the cookies, hang the lights, write the cards and buy the presents but never forget the reason you are doing so. With each reminder of the Christmas Season we can prepare ourselves to allow Christ to enter the world. Our hope is that when Christmas day dawns we may be full of light, love and joy. We may be people who have prepared well; that we may be people who are like Mary and allow the Word of God to enlighten the world.

Patience. Prepare. Watch. Is part of the tradition of our Catholic family.

AMEN!

Next Activity for the Young Adult Group at St. Clement's Church

For those reading this blog in the area of Saratoga Springs, NY . . .

The next activity for the St. Clement’s Young Adult Group will be a Movie Night on Sunday, November 16 at 8:30 in Our Lady's Chapel. The film Bella will be shown.

"Sooner or later every one of us will face an irreversible moment that will change our lives forever. If it hasn't happened to you yet...it will. BELLA is a true love story about how one day in New York City changed three people forever."

The Young Adult Group is open to all single and married people in their twenties, and thirties (and yes, even those in their forties!). For more information contact Fr. Paul Borowski via email at pborowski@stclementschurch.com

Proclamations of Abraham Lincoln (1863)

From a Proclamation appointing a National Day of Fasting written on March 30, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

From a Proclamation of Thanksgiving written on October 3, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in the heavens.

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Thursday, November 27, 2008
St. Clement’s Catholic Church; Saratoga Springs, NY

Sirach 50: 22 – 24
I Chronicle 29: 10bc, 11, 12
1 Corinthians 1: 3 – 9
Luke 17: 11 – 19

On a stormy night on Lake Michigan in 1860 a boating mishap turned into an enormous tragedy. A side-wheeler steamboat was rammed by another boat. The steamboat was sinking fast. It was about a mile offshore from the village of Winnetka, Illinois.

Out of 393 passengers on board, 279 drowned. Several of the survivors owed their lives to the superhuman efforts of one young man.

A young Methodist theological student named Edward Spencer, from his seminary room witnessed the tragedy and heard the piercing screams for help from people who were drowning.

As the survivors were screaming for help, he plunged into the lake and swam to the drowning people. He brought one person to shore, and then, he would dive back into the cold waters to rescue another. He pushed his body beyond human endurance, and after he had dragged the seventeenth person to safety, he collapsed on the lakeshore.

When he regained consciousness in a hospital, the nerves in his legs were so completely damaged that he could never walk again. He remained an invalid for the rest of his life.

On his eightieth birthday, someone asked him to relate his most vivid memory of that dreadful day. He replied sadly, "Not one of the seventeen returned to thank me."

These are two of the simplest words of the English language. They are two words that from our youngest years we are taught. When we received our first Christmas gift from a relative or family friend, there was our mom or dad asking us: “And what do you say?”

And yet often they are the words that we first forget how to say. We make excuses. “Well, they were expected to do that for me or give that to me – no need for me to say thanks.” We tell ourselves that the other person knows how we feel. “They know how grateful I am, there’s no need to say it.” We take the moral high road. “They shouldn’t expect thanks, they should just be Christian.”

“Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” And yet, we wait until the fourth Thursday in the month of November. Words that should flow from our mouths daily come slowly to our lips on this autumn day. We don’t like to admit that we are in need of anyone else. We can’t admit that we are weak. We can’t admit that we are dependent on anyone or anything else. We have been given life. We have been rescued. And yet, and yet ... The most vivid memory of that dreadful day for Edward Spencer: “Not one of the seventeen returned . . .”

There is a legend about a tyrant who had an ironclad grip over all parts of his kingdom, except for one frustrating area. He was unable to destroy the people's belief in God.

He summoned his counselors and put the question to them: "Where can I hide God so that the people will end up forgetting him?"

One counselor suggested that God be hidden on the dark side of the moon. This proposal was debated for some time, but voted down because it was believed that one day scientists would discover a means of space travel and God would end being found again.

Another advisor to the tyrant came up with idea of burying God beneath the depths of the ocean floor. This was voted down for basically the same reason - it was felt that scientific advancement would lead to the discovery of God even beneath the depths of the ocean floor.

Finally the oldest and wisest of the counselors had a flash of insight. "I know", he said, "why don't we hide God where no one will ever think of finding him?" He explained, "If we hide God in the ordinary events of people's everyday lives they'll never find him." And so it was done - and they say that people are still looking for God - even today.

We are a people of glitz and glamour. We love the big show. The more lights, the more special effects the better we believe it should be.

The things that I am most grateful for, but I often take for granted are the ordinary things of day to day life. Yes, when I’ve seen the Grand Canyon or the majestic peaks of the Alps in Austria or the beautiful sunset from the rectory on the island of St. Croix I’ve uttered a prayer of gratitude to the maker of the heavens and the earth.

However, one past Thanksgiving time when I was working with the Young Adult leaders of Bethpage we were asked to create a list of what we are thankful for. We were challenged to come up with one hundred items. Some of the easy things leaped to my mind: my life, my faith, my vocation, my friends. But as I did this exercise again this week I listened closely to my heart my pen began to write down some things that many might not consider a blessing and some might even consider a curse.

Morning coffee; fresh baked chocolate chip cookies; Hot water in the shower; a few moments of quiet in the chapel in the afternoon; memories of Portland, ME; Music – any type of music from classical to Bruce Springsteen to Jimmy Buffet to James Taylor; Golf Clubs that don’t get as much use as they would like to get; Mornings at West End, NJ and evenings at Esopus, NY

My God is in these things – and too many more that I can list right now or that I can even remember to list when I get the chance. He’s present in my Redemptorist vocation which echoes the words of St. Alphonsus who says: “The paradise of God, so to say, is the heart of man.”

One afternoon a shopper at the local mall felt the need for a coffee break. She bought herself a little bag of cookies and put them in her shopping bag. She then got in line for coffee, found a place to sit at one of the crowded tables, and then taking the lid off her coffee and taking out a magazine she began to sip her coffee and read. Across the table from her a man sat reading a newspaper. After a minute or two she reached out and took a cookie. As she did, the man seated across the table reached out and took one too. This put her off, but she did not say anything. A few moments later she took another cookie. Once again the man did so too. Now she was getting a bit upset, but still she did not say anything. After having a couple of sips of coffee she once again took another cookie. So did the man. She was really upset by this - especially since now only one cookie was left. Apparently the man also realized that only one cookie was left. Before she could say anything he took it, broke it in half, offered half to her, and proceeded to eat the other half himself. Then he smiled at her and, putting the paper under his arm, rose and walked off. Was she steamed. Her coffee break ruined, already thinking ahead of how she would tell this offense to her family, she folded her magazine, opened her shopping bag, and there discovered her own unopened bag of cookies.

We think that we have it all together. We at times buy into the ideas of our present American society that says: “Mine.” We have forgotten where it all comes from; we have forgotten how to share.

God is the giver of all good gifts. He is the Creator and he shares freely with us. There is nothing that God asks for in return. Love that’s freely given, wants to freely be received. And yet, we are possessive of the gifts that God has bestowed upon us. We gather them in and fence them off from others.

The gift you have received give as a gift. Give without asking for in return. Share without expecting a pat on a back.

Let me return back to today's Gospel. Why did only one cleansed leper return to thank Jesus? The following are nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:

Leper #1 "This is fantastic, I'm just so excited."
Leper #2 "I've got to hurry home to tell my family."
Leper #3 "Well, it's about time God answered my prayer!"
Leper #4 "This is great, for the first time ever I will be able to hug my son."
Leper #5 "This must be a coincidence; He never even touched me. How can I know for sure it was God who did this?"
Leper #6 "I'm going to call the publisher, this story will sell!"
Leper #7 "Man, I've got a lot of making up to do, an education to get, a business to start."
Leper #8 "Maybe this is just a brief 'remission'; I'm going to 'wait and see' if this healing really sticks."
Leper #9 "But Jesus said go to the priest, if he confirms it, then we'll come back to give thanks."
In contrast to all these, Leper #10 said, "You can do whatever you want, I'm going right back to give thanks to the One who healed me."

The fourth Thursday of November we are the Tenth Leper. We come back to the one who has saved us and we say “Thank You.” However, often times we are like the other nine –busy with our lives, taking credit for our own successes or making excuses for why it is finally our time to shine. Let us continue to Thank God this day as we continue with our Eucharist. Let us sing God’s praises as we continue to raise our voices in song. Let us be of grateful heart as we share fellowship and food with one another after this Liturgy. But the real test is whether the celebration of Thanksgiving continues tomorrow, or better yet Monday, when we all get back to our regular lives and see how we respond – like the other nine or like the Tenth leper, still thankful.

Commemoration of All Souls

There is a poem that I often share at the start of a funeral homily. Today as we remember All Souls I would simple like to share that poem with you in my Blog this week. Let us always remember those who have gone before us in faith and pray for our loved ones and all the souls in purgatory, especially during this month of November.

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says; "There, she is gone!" "Gone where?" Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says, "There, she is gone!" There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout; "Here she comes!" And that is dying. (Henry Van Dyke)

"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11: 25 — 26)