Carnies And Swap Meets | November 18, 2016

November 18, 2016

It’s hard for us to imagine the scene in today’s gospel because while our churches might sell things like donuts and coffee for the Knights of Columbus after mass, and host an informational ministry fair with various booths every now and then, we don’t ever really have vendors walking up and down the aisles selling popcorn and peanuts, or rogue pigeons for sale running around, or the smell of barnyard animals wafting in during the homily, or to have to pay to get a seat or our sins forgiven. I guess we should picture if unkempt carnies from the fair brought an entire swap meet to our church along with a mobile petting zoo. The scene should be chaotic, offensive, irreverent, and just plain crude. As one could imagine, Jesus might have been a little extra stressed because his passion and death were around the corner and his 3 years of active ministry and really his 33 years of Messiah on earth were coming to an end (at the hand of one of his best friends) and people still weren’t getting the message!

With tensions high in his human self, he saw what he was used to seeing at the temple in Jerusalem; this was not a new “shit show”, but the same one he had been competing with as he preached God’s message of love, mercy, prayer, kindness toward neighbor, love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you, etc. all these years. Can you picture a great homily being given by your favorite priest and a carny outside trying to get the latecomers to play their hit the balloon with a dart game? Jesus needed to act in righteous anger because this would be his last shot in Jerusalem before his trial and it would quite honestly be the very act that would get him turned in. He was always in control of his sacrificial act of love and his timing was always perfect. Raise your hand if you’ve ever spoken up about something and it got you into trouble.

Even though our churches don’t get this out of hand with swap meets and carnies, they sure do become chaotic, offensive, irreverent, and just plain crude, when our pews become a place of pride and jealousy, our vestibules swarm with gossip and hate, our political views divide us, our rules and regulations make no room for mercy and forgiveness, contributions to the offertory give some people louder voices and opinions, not all are welcome, we focus on an institution and not on a person. This is our modern day “shit show” and this kind of temple also needs to be cleansed so that the church can be a “Field Hospital” for the sick and sinful (Pope Francis) and not an elite country club only for people who behave and dress a certain way, or give a certain amount of money each week. (NOTE: I love my church and honor it, but am just making a comment that similar things apply today as they did in Jesus’ time, making the scriptures always relevant to our own lives. I am not dissing the Church, just connecting us to the meaning of this gospel in the best way I know how.)

When Francis of Assisi had his conversion, the cross at San Damiano spoke to him saying, “Go, Francis, and repair my Church which, as you see, is falling into ruin.” At first Francis took this quote literally and he began collecting stones to rebuild the actual building, but as he matured in his spiritual life, he realized that the temple needed to be cleansed and the real message of Christ be edified. Pope Francis thankfully carries on that same exact call today and is trying to rebuild a broken church beginning, of course, with mercy. As St. Paul reminds us, we are also temples of the Holy Spirit, so we can start today by cleansing the chaotic, offensive, irreverent, and just plain crude things from our own temples. Then we need to go to the “Field Hospital” to be healed by hearing the Word and eating the Word. This is the way we can turn a “den of thieves” into a “house of prayer.” Have a blessed day.

Reading 1 RV 10:8-11

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me.
Then the voice spoke to me and said:
“Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel
who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll.
He said to me, “Take and swallow it.
It will turn your stomach sour,
but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it.
In my mouth it was like sweet honey,
but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again
about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Alleluia JN 10:27

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things, saying to them,
“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
And every day he was teaching in the temple area.
The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,
were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose
because all the people were hanging on his words.

Don’t Cry For Me Argentina! | November 17, 2016

November 17, 2016

We’ve all heard that iconic statement from the musical, Evita, when political leader Eva Peron sings, “Don’t cry for me Argentina!!” and let’s face it, certain cities right now are crying over politics, but have YOU ever wept over a city? I have. The first time I flew into Rome, I had Andrea Bocelli’s The Prayer playing on my iPod and I simply started weeping as we touched down. I had dreamt of going to Italy my whole life. I was recently divorced and trying to get back to my center, similar to where I am at right now in my life. I guess when I grieve, I need to go away and collect myself before I can plant my feet firmly enough to move forward. I did not anticipate weeping over a city, but I sure did as I landed in Rome. Recently, I stole away to my favorite place in the entire world, Assisi, and after 2 weeks of walking those dreamy medieval streets and talking with my spiritual director, St. Francis, I also wept as I said goodbye to my city on the hill.

There are certain places that have a sacredness to them that just get under your skin and into the depth of your soul. Everyone has their special place where they feel whole. Weeping over a place is not a foreign concept to me, so in today’s gospel when Jesus approaches Jerusalem and it says he wept over the city, I totally get it.

His triumphal entry had just happened complete with palm branches in the street, Hosanna’s, autographs, selfies with the King, celebration, thanksgiving, a real Messiah on the red carpet welcome! He stopped to ponder what was about to happen. These same “fans” would soon turn into “haters”, and their shouts would turn into spitting, and the palm branches to thorns on his head. We never do anticipate those that love us and cherish us and know us deep down inside, as a good-hearted person would turn around in a heartbeat and actively try to destroy our lives. That is the very reason why betrayal is so despicable, because it is one of those “never” statements. “My best friends would never do that to me” or “My Apostles would never leave my side if I were in trouble” or “My acquaintances love me and listen to my teachings and talks with open hearts and respect, they would never shout ‘CRUCIFY HIM!’” or “My best friend would never deny that he knows me…ever!” Betrayal is one of those “never” statements that we truly believe otherwise we would “never” really enter into any intimate relationships. That’s why it not only hurts on the outside like Jesus’ physical torment, or losing your job, or becoming ill from the stress, it wounds something in our very soul. We store these “never” statements in the core of our being, because if they weren’t in our core, they would be inauthentic and shallow. Relationships must have depth and intimacy in order to be real and so when we are betrayed in the core of our being, something in our soul is scarred for life. Grieving this kind of deep wound in the depth of our soul can only be done with supernatural grace and time.

Jesus knew this was happening to him, but his weeping also included what was going to happen to Jerusalem and its people in general. The Temple would be destroyed in 70AD and up until then Jews, Gentiles, and Christians would be persecuted, slandered, betrayed, brutally treated, murdered, destroyed, and this beautiful city that had been a sacred and holy place for so many of them would lose its center, its soul…their precious Temple. He wept for them. He knew that they were not really paying attention to the message and were perhaps a little caught up in his hype, popularity, and controversy (sounds like a certain presidential election that shall not be named). He was saddened that a lot of them had missed the heart of the matter.

This is a very good reminder for us to pay close attention to Christ’s message, which is always very clear, but we also get caught up in the drama, and hype, and minutia of religion. The message is, as our very Christ-like Pope Francis has strongly and PASSIONATELY encouraged us to practice radically: “I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think — and I say it with humility — that this is the Lord's most powerful message: mercy.” (Pope Francis) The name of God is MERCY. We must love deeply from the depth of our souls where the Spirit of God resides in each one of us no matter who we are or what we have done, and if we are acting in the name of God, then we are acting in the name of Mercy. Mercy is pardon for the guilty, rooted in our love for God and in God’s unconditional love for us, and it is the only way God deals with us. Get to the heart of the matter so our “temple” doesn’t get destroyed. Have a merciful day.

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
Lectionary: 500

Reading 1 RV 5:1-10

I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.
It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll or to examine it.
I shed many tears because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to examine it.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.
The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,
enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”

Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne
and the four living creatures and the elders
a Lamb that seemed to have been slain.
He had seven horns and seven eyes;
these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.
He came and received the scroll from the right hand
of the one who sat on the throne.
When he took it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb.
Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones.
They sang a new hymn:

“Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,
and they will reign on earth.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 149:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B

R. (Rev. 5:10) The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia PS 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Trade Don’t Save | November 16, 2016

November 16, 2016

I’ve never been a saver. When people say things like, “ We had to dip into our savings to pay for it,” or “That purchase (of something like an entire kitchen remodel) really depleted most of our savings,” I generally tilt my head to the side like a dog trying really hard to understand the words coming out of your mouth. I am good at stashing money away for an exciting vacation every year, but I absolutely spend every single penny of that stashed away money! My friend and I often comment to each other, “Will we start ‘saving money’ when we become grown ups?” Yes, I recognize that this makes me completely irresponsible, as my very sound and practical mom and brother would remind me. The whole having at least 3 months rent/mortgage in savings just in case you lose your job thing…..um, well that has never been a priority for me and let’s just say I’m kicking myself a lot right now, as I would be homeless if I didn’t live with my very financially sound and stable mom. Humility is one of the highest virtues and I am really beginning to flourish in it, so that is good I guess.

Today’s gospel is NOT about having a super grown up and responsible savings account!!! Whew!!! Today’s gospel is about taking the gifts given to us by God and doing something fruitful with them. Let’s look at the instructions given by the King to the servants that he gave 10 gold coins to, “Engage in trade with them until I return.” Isn’t that an interesting sentence? Trade means to share something and get something back, and not all trades are necessarily equal depending on what and how we share something, could mean that we receive much more in return. Huh? Who does that sound like, “For it is in giving that we receive.”? (Shout out to my boyfriend St. Francis!!) God gives us free gifts and the instructions are, “Engage in trade with them until I return.”

I am a musician, praise and worship leader, and very available with my time. I often do music at retreats, masses, funerals, weddings, adoration, or just hanging out at the beach. These are my “10 coins” and my engaging in trade with them. The results are varied, but mostly people’s hearts are lifted toward God in prayer, praise, release, love, joy, conversion, return, tenderness, tears, thanksgiving, etc. This trade is an amazing transaction of people giving their hearts and the gifts in their souls to each other. My musician friends and I often talk about how we receive so much more when we see our music being received, participated in, and given back. There is nothing better than leading a Spirit-filled praise and worship session and to have the band stop singing, but the crowd continues with full voice! It fills me up beyond compare and the trade of my “10 coins” multiplies in countless return, giving me the inspiration to go all in the next time and the next time and the next. My praise and worship band at St. Therese began with just a few super talented and eager musicians sharing their “10 coins” enthusiastically with our congregation, and it has grown to over 20 amazingly talented and Spirit-filled musicians that received something in the “trade” that made them want to give back 100-fold.

This is what God wants us to do: share our own unique gifts abundantly without any hoarding and without reserve and He knows when we do that, the gifts will continue to grow, thrive, bear good fruit, and that growth will be infectious suddenly allowing us all to be who we were made to be, and that my friends, is a glimpse into heaven!!

When we stifle the gifts that God has blessed us with, bury them, hoard them, or stifle them in others through jealousy, scandal, rage, slander, bullying, and sheer selfishness, we do not bring about God’s kingdom on earth. When you see someone with a special gift, help them in any way to embrace that in them and encourage them to share it with others. This has been one of my own gifts (10 coins) especially in my youth and music ministry vocations: to see something special in a person and to nurture them with love to be confident enough to share it. I have watched shy awkward middle school girls who could barely speak to an adult, grow into amazing and talented multi-instrument playing musicians, singers, and composers, sharing their original music with congregations, on retreats, and for God’s glory. I have watched young men that loved to hear themselves talk just to impress the ladies, turn into amazing speakers about how God has worked in their lives, because I could help in some way turn their gift of speech from peacocking into giving glory to God in front of an audience. I have seen extreme introverts or “wallflowers” become incredible and eloquent writers, because I know that a lot of introverts express themselves best when they can process their thoughts on paper. I’ve experienced a misunderstood student in class find their voice because I affirmed their love of dragons by engaging in a sincerely interested conversation with them as to why they love dragons so much. I have seen guitar students of mine; play in talent shows, open mic nights, youth group, adoration, women’s retreats, and leading music for both elementary school masses and Sunday masses for parishes while they are still teens. I have coached and choreographed an extremely talented teen experience being in a musical for the first time, and decide that this is her life calling, then watching her do everything she can toward that goal. She now directs my praise and worship band at St. Therese because she has taken her 10 coins and traded them into so much more, and all for God!!!

The “10 coins” (free gifts) we have to share can be listening, a hug, praying with someone, sending a love not in the mail, asking a shy kid to join the choir, inviting someone to coffee, texting “you’re my favorite” to someone you love, singing at a funeral for free, choreographing a dance for a teen auditioning for Juilliard, holding a devastated boy crying because his girlfriend broke up with him, answering a text at 1:43am from a friend asking if I’m still awake, helping a friend who sucks at math because math is your thing, writing gospel reflections because you want people to fall in love with scripture, giving in to an argument to bring peace, and the list could go on and on. These are the 10 coins that God has entrusted to us to trade/share/invest/use until He returns. Think about your 10 coins today and trade them, don’t save them. Have a blessed day.  

Reading 1 RV 4:1-11

I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven,
and I heard the trumpetlike voice
that had spoken to me before, saying,
“Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.”
At once I was caught up in spirit.
A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one
whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.
Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.
Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones
on which twenty-four elders sat,
dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne came flashes of lightning,
rumblings, and peals of thunder.
Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne,
which are the seven spirits of God.
In front of the throne was something that resembled
a sea of glass like crystal.

In the center and around the throne,
there were four living creatures
covered with eyes in front and in back.
The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf,
the third had a face like that of a man,
and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.
The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
were covered with eyes inside and out.
Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks
to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down
before the one who sits on the throne
and worship him, who lives forever and ever.
They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

“Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 150:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Alleluia SEE JN 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak,
he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem
and they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately.
So he said,
“A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
‘We do not want this man to be our king.’
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,
he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,
to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said,
‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’
He replied, ‘Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.’
Then the second came and reported,
‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’
And to this servant too he said,
‘You, take charge of five cities.’
Then the other servant came and said,
‘Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.’
He said to him,
‘With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’
And to those standing by he said,
‘Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.’
But they said to him,
‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’
He replied, ‘I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,
bring them here and slay them before me.’”

After he had said this,
he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.