St. Maurice

Third Sunday of Eater

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:35:31 +0000

Standing up for what is right and just as a true follower of the Risen Lord will cost you; and I don’t mean in money, rather in your commitment to practicing your faith, reaching out to the poor and marginalized; what many theologians have said about Jesus’s “preferential option for the poor.” We are already seeing the prime example of this in Pope Francis and his recent statement calling for a “poor church for the poor.” Which means his desire is for a missionary church, a church that moves out into the streets to meet people where they are and to respond to their real needs, both human and spiritual.
Returning to our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear clearly the forces they were up against in the Jewish leadership warning that the name Jesus was never be spoken about again. And when they were hauled in before the Sanhedrin they were, in plain English told to “shut-up about this man Jesus.” The authorities were clearly threatening the apostles that the same thing would happen to them as did Jesus if they didn’t stop speaking about him. However, they apostles were not about to stop speaking about Jesus and working miracles in his name; nevertheless, I am sure somewhere in their psyche they had to be experiencing some fear. For in fact, we know from history that eventually all were put to death for their preaching.
This raises a serious question for us today as we sit here, “what am I willing to pay to suffer for the name of Jesus, if I am in fact going to be a fully committed Christian?” This question challenges us to the very core of our faith.
Far too many of us do the bare minimum by attending mass and then calling ourselves good Christians. But, is that enough? What do you suppose would have happened if the disciples and those first apostles would have said, oh yes, I am a follower of Jesus and then went home and about their private lives? I have my doubts that we would even be sitting here today and Jesus would have been relegated to a footnote in the history of time.
Pope Francis has been in office just a month and has been very active in leading us into a much deeper awareness of the problems that the world and us, the church, are facing: local and global poverty that perhaps our world has never witnessed before: slavery of children and sex workers, all sorts of injustices against women, gay people, and the sick who are left to die or shuttled off to some nursing home at best, and left never to be seen again by relatives.
There is a saying, “If you want peace, then work for justice.” We are so used to hearing, “may peace, love, and justice reign in your heart.” Concerning this the Holy Father in his Easter Homily spoke of, “Peace in the whole world, still divided by greed looking for easy gain…selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most extensive form of slavery in the 21st century!”
We seem to have forgotten that love demands justice, that we do not have peace in our hearts because we lack justice in our actions. And where the is injustice to the least of my sisters and brothers, then thee can be no peace in our hearts and love will remain an elusive dream that continues to be a possibility that may never come to pass. As long as we remain silent and do not speak out against injustice wherever it exists, then we are not taking the Risen Lords command seriously, “love one another as I love you.” Through Christ’s suffering and death on the cross he has shown us the true cost of love.
Again Pope Francis spoke about this at his mass with the cardinals after his election: “Without the Cross we are not disciples of the Lord; we are worldly. We are bishops, priests, cardinals and popes – but we are not disciples of the Lord.” Before the Lords Ascension he told us, “Go out to all the world baptize, teach, and heal in my name for I will be with you for all time.”
The challenges that we face today are as difficult as they were for the early church. The difference is in the fact that we have a long history which shows clearly that bearing the name Christian costs; it does not come at an easy price as witnessed by the martyrs of the first few centuries that gave birth to our church. And second, in baring the name Christian we have the responsibility to carry on with Jesus’ mission to build God’s kingdom where all experience the true love of God through justice, equality, and liberty for all.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis in closing his Easter homily states this clearly: “Bear in your families and in your countries the message of joy, hope and peace which every year, on this day, is powerfully renewed.” And finally he ends saying, “To all of you I affectionately say again: may the risen Christ guide all of you and the whole of humanity on the paths of justice, love and peace.” Let us give serious concern to these words of our pope this week. AMEN.

Second Sunday of Easter

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:33:42 +0000

Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early followers of  Jesus, his apostles and the work they were doing to carry out Jesus’ message to go out to the  entire world and preach and teach, and heal, and give witness to my love for ALL people. We  see this clearly in how the people flocked to the Disciple Peter and how he was in the Lords  name able to cure, heal, and dispel the demons that plagued the people. And their numbers  kept growing and growing.
These miracles we read, about all have one common element that runs through them all as the  scriptures tell us, “they laid hands on them and they were cured.” We look back to Jesus’  healing ministry and always his healing involved his touch, either his physical touching of the  person or the emotional bond that he was able to create with those who came to him in need.
Pope Francis’ Easter homily spoke clearly about changing hatred into love and our need  to see all people as our brothers and sisters. He called on Catholics and people of the world to  reach out to those most in need and offer them our loving service. He called on all of humanity  to love as our Risen Savior loves us, and to protect God’s gift.of creation to all his children to  share equally in its abundance.
At the end of the mass, the Pope drove around St. Peter’s square blessing the people,  shaking hands and waving to all. Then suddenly he stopped and waved to someone in the  distance. At first we could not see who, then suddenly the camera pans out and we see this  young boy who has cerebral palsy which has left his body twisted, bend, and disfigured. The  boy’s name we came to find out later is Dominic. His father tried to walk through the crowd  after the Pope had waved him over but it was so crowded that the people began to pass  Dominic from person to person over their heads until he reached the pope who pulled him up  embraced and kissed him. In the video you could see how Dominic also embraced the Holy  Father. It was a beautiful sign of Resurrection, people working together as one unit to get the  boy to the pope; the embrace was so like Jesus who welcomed and embraced so many children  when he walked with us.
It was a glorious moment, people all around were crying, you could feel the love, it was  so real. I felt I was there in that moment. A Resurrection moment! Isn’t this what Easter is  about, people reaching out to each other to embrace a handicapped boy and our pope who  reaches out to lift him up and embrace him?
In a later interview with Dominic’s mother, she opens her heart to usand shares with  the entire world how difficult it is to be the constant caregiver. As she admits her frustrations in  saying, “it’s constantly me who must help him.” We feel her frustration and pain; our culture  looks upon the disabled as: weak, needy individuals and are seen by some among us as only
/
takers, contributing nothing to society. How terrible wrong we can be. The cross of Christ is of  a twisted, bend, bloody dying person. Hopes were dashed and many walked away.
The picture of Pope Francis holding Dominic is an example of how the true wisdom of  the cross confounds human understanding. I see a parallel between the Pope’s embrace of  Dominic and our reading from Acts of the Apostles today. The true value of the cross is to  show, no prove, the unconditional love God has for ALL humanity; as we pray in the Eucharist,  “… he died for the forgiveness of the sins of ALL;” Proving God’s unconditional love for ALL  people – not just for some.
Dominic’s story is the story of the cross. As I said on Good Friday, suffering has no  meaning in and of itself; Dominic’s twisted suffering offers to all of us the opportunity to see  beyond our own self-imposed prison of selfishness to join ourselves to millions of others  suffering. His mother admitted herself that this was a transformation experience for her. She  had become so aware of her own suffering in caring for her son, she had lost sight of the gift  that Dominic was – the daily opportunity to share in his suffering and seeing in him the  suffering of Christ, who ultimately overcomes death in the light of the Resurrection. Her son  offers her and us, the opportunity to love – unconditionally, in the same way that Jesus’s  suffering the cross shows us his sharing in our suffering. The cross becomes our transformation  experience when we join our suffering to that of others; our daily lives become our  Resurrection. The wisdom of the cross is God’s unconditional love for us and challenges us to  a transforming life when we see and offer our love in acts of kindness and generosity to those  who are in dire need of our care.
Dominic’s mother was transformed when she could look beyond her feeling, “it’s  constantly me who must help him,” and could see how her son offered her the daily gift to love  him unconditionally.
I leave us to ponder this question, “what can I learn about myself from the story of  Dominic and his mother; how can this be a Resurrection moment in my life?” AMEN.

Second Sunday of Easter

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:32:32 +0000

Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early followers of Jesus, his apostles and the work they were doing to carry out Jesus’ message to go out to the entire world and preach and teach, and heal, and give witness to my love for ALL people. We see this clearly in how the people flocked to the Disciple Peter and how he was in the Lords name able to cure, heal, and dispel the demons that plagued the people. And their numbers kept growing and growing.
These miracles we read about all have one common element that runs through them all as the scriptures tell us, “they laid hands on them and they were cured.” We look back to Jesus’ healing ministry and always his healing involved his touch, either his physical touching of the person or the emotional bond that he was able to create with those who came to him in need.
Pope Francis’ Easter homily spoke clearly about changing hatred into love and our need to see all people as our brothers and sisters. He called on Catholics and people of the world to reach out to those most in need and offer them our loving service. He called on all of humanity to love as our Risen Savior loves us, and to protect God’s gift all of creation to all his children to share equally in its abundance.
At the end of the mass, the Pope drove around St. Peter’s square blessing the people, shaking hands and waving to all. Then suddenly he stopped and waved to someone in the distance. At first we could not see who, then suddenly the camera pans out and we see this young boy who has cerebral palsy which has left his body twisted, bend, and disfigured. The boy’s name we came to find out later is Dominic. His father tried to walk through the crowd after the Pope had waved him over but it was so crowded that the people began to pass Dominic from person to person over their heads until he reached the pope who pulled him up embraced and kissed him. In the video you could see how Dominic also embraced the Holy Father. It was a beautiful sign of Resurrection, people working together as one unit to get the boy to the pope; the embrace was so like Jesus who welcomed and embraced so many children when he walked with us.
It was a glorious moment, people all around were crying, you could feel the love, it was so real. I felt I was there in that moment. A Resurrection moment! Isn’t this what Easter is about, people reaching out to each other to embrace a handicapped boy and our pope who reaches out to lift him up and embrace him?
In a later interview with Dominic’s mother, she opens her heart to us and shares with the entire world how difficult it is to be the constant caregiver. As she admits her frustrations in saying, “it’s constantly me who must help him.” We feel her frustration and pain; our culture looks upon the disabled as: weak, needy individuals and are seen by some among us as only takers, contributing nothing to society. How terrible wrong we can be. The cross of Christ is of a twisted, bend, bloody dying person. Hopes were dashed and so many walked away.
The picture of Pope Francis holding Dominic is an example of how the true wisdom of the cross confounds human understanding. I see a parallel between the Pope’s embrace of Dominic and our reading from Acts of the Apostles today. The true value of the cross is to show, no prove, the unconditional love God has for ALL humanity; as we pray in the Eucharist, “…he died for the forgiveness of the sins of ALL;” Proving God’s unconditional love for ALL people – not just for some.
Dominic’s story is the story of the cross. As I said on Good Friday, suffering has no meaning in and of itself; Dominic’s twisted suffering offers to all of us the opportunity to see beyond our own self-imposed prison of selfishness to join ourselves to millions of others suffering. His mother admitted herself that this was a transformation experience for her. She had become so aware of her own suffering in caring for her son, she had lost sight of the gift that Dominic was – the daily opportunity to share in his suffering and seeing in him the suffering of Christ, who ultimately overcomes death in the light of the Resurrection. Her son offers her and us, the opportunity to love – unconditionally, in the same way that Jesus’s suffering the cross shows us his sharing in our suffering. The cross becomes our transformation experience when we join our suffering to that of others; our daily lives become our Resurrection. The wisdom of the cross is God’s love for us is unconditional and challenges us to a transforming life when we see and offer our love in acts of kindness and generosity to those who are in dire need of our care.
Dominic’s mother was transformed when she could look beyond her feeling, “it’s constantly me who must help him,” and could see how her son offered her the daily gift to love him unconditionally. She is quoted as saying, “

I leave us to ponder this question, “what can I learn about myself from the story of Dominic and his mother; how can this be a Resurrection moment in my life?” AMEN.

5th Sunday in Lent

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 17:44:17 +0000

From the Prophet Isaiah we hear, “see, I am doing something new…do you not perceive it?”
Habemus Papam – We have a pope! We are living in a momentous time in the history of our church. On February 28, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI resigned his office as Bishop of Rome and Pope of the universal Roman Catholic Church. This is the first pope in history to do this willingly on his own, not being forced to as were others in the past. The last one was 819 years ago Pope Celestine V in 1294. Prior to him was Pope St. Silverius, was deposed by a Byzantine Empress Theodora in 536 because he would not ordain her heretics as bishops.
Benedict made a courageous decision and I admire him for it as ten of our US cardinals have affirmed. We will probably never know all the reasons for his resignation; I doubt that we need to know. However, his courageous act has set the church up for something new, just as the Prophet Isaiah told the Israelites to give them hope and reassurance that God was still with them during their time of exile, “see, I am doing something new.”
Words of hope are never out of season. The election of our Holy Father Francis 1 is a sure sign that something new is happening. Did you see him when he walked out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s? He was noticeable shaken, nervous and I dare say scared. Who wouldn’t be having the hopes and needs of not only Roman Catholics laid upon his shoulders, but truly the weight of the world?
(As a side note: I remember clearly at my ordination after the bishop laid his hands on my head and blessed my hands with sacred oil, we turned around and presented ourselves to our families, friends, co-workers, fellow students, professors, the people of God and our fellow brother priests who had also laid hands on our heads. I can still remember 31 years later; as if it happened yesterday the thunderous applause we received. It was truly over-whelming and the words of Isaiah ran out once more, “see, I am doing something new.” It’s joyful, momentous, and frightening all at the same time, and yet my experience is minor compared to Pope Francis who now must lead 1.2 billion Roman Catholics spread across this great planet we call home.)
Paul’s letter to the Philippians has one clear message for us today, on this 5th Sunday of Lent – Paul considers all things as of no importance when compared to what he gains in wedding himself to Christ and the cross. Where are we in our life journey to become so wedded to Christ that nothing can compare to it? Far too often we cling to the things of this world: cloths, house, youth, strength, beauty, our health and try as we might to life itself. Lent is the time for letting go of our illusions of control and grandeur in order to begin again, “see, I am doing something new, do you not perceive it?”
That night when Pope Francis came out on the balcony he indicated by his words and gestures that something new is about to begin. What struck me the most was his humility in asking the people of Rome and the world to pray for him. For those two minutes of silence he bowed low to receive our blessing. Then he continued with two statements that were sticking to me; he said, “We, bishop and people are on this journey together;” no previous pope in my life time has ever made such a sticking statement and one that I hope will set the tone of direction for his papacy. Then he gave his blessing to all of us followed by thunderous applause. That was supposed to be the end of it. The standard protocol was finished. And just as they were taking the microphone away, he called it back and made a most genuine example of his simplicity and joyfulness, in Spanish he said, ‘”Good night, and have a good rest.” Stunning, simply stunning!
The following day he celebrated the Eucharist in the Sistine Chapel, where he had just been elected the day before, with all the cardinals. His homily was extemporaneous, not prepared remarks as we would expect but from his heart and his deep spirituality. He spoke about being committed to walking with Christ on his journey to the cross. He said, “It doesn’t matter if you are a deacon, pr3ist, bishop, cardinal or pope, if you are not witnessing the cross of Christ in your daily life, then we are hypocrites and not true disciples of the Lord.” That was very powerful for me.
He speaks as one with us, not one who lords it over us. These first few examples of his words and behavior are setting a tone for the future. He is truly a man of the people and sees himself as one of the poor ones. His private life as Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires shows us this so clearly, he lived in a small apartment, cooked and shopped for himself, and rode the bus to work. From all indications the opulence of the Vatican is going to make him feel uncomfortable. He has spent his life living and working among the poor witnessing the disparity between the rich and poor in Argentina but also around the world. He is certainly a pope who is in touch with the needs of the poor, destitude, and marginalized of society.
Pope Francis I has a huge task ahead of him. It’s also very interesting in an interview with his sister, she was very candid in saying, and “he never wanted to be pope.” There is a saying, “those who campaign going into the conclave to be pope, come out a cardinal.” If anyone from the Americas was considered a front runner it was the Cardinal of Brazil, with the largest catholic population of one country in the world.
These past few weeks have made history in the church that has never been seen before – from the resignation of Benedict XVI, to the election of the first pope from the America’s, the first Jesuit priest, the first to take the name Francis, the first to begin his papacy with asking the people for our blessing, and the first to say: “We, the bishop and people are on this journey together.”
I feel renewed and filled with much hope that what Isaiah said nearly 3,000 years ago, “see, something new is happening, do you not perceive it,” is happening once again. Pope Francis is far from perfect, God doesn’t choose perfect people as leaders, furthermore no human is perfect; God chooses the weak, the sinner, who knows his/her need for God and to unite oneself with Christ’ cross to one day be united with the Lord in his Resurrection. For that is what we are called to be – people of the cross of suffering and one day to be united with Jesus Christ in his Resurrection. AMEN.

Youth Group Flea Market – April 6th

eddiediaz2011 — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:26:00 +0000

Saturday April 6th at 8am
Sell your treasure’s
Keep the money you make
Vendor spaces $15 each 2 for $25
additional spaces $10
Rent tables for $10
Reserve your space on the deck
after mass or in the Office

5th Sunday in Ordinary

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 17:17:44 +0000

We are all sinners and stand in need of God’s forgiveness every day; to act otherwise is to be arrogant. God always stands ready to forgive and forget our failings as he poured out his life on the cross for us and in this Eucharist. It takes a good healthy dose of humility to recognize that we fail to love others as Jesus has asked us to do, and we know we can and want to do better. And yet, we find ourselves struggling with our weaknesses time and again, year after year. I believe that many have even given up, and accepted their fate in life. Too often one hears that’s just the way it is Father. We settle for far too little falling into guilt and shame because we don’t see progress being made. And for that reason, among others, people stop coming to church, and stop availing themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In our first reading today, Isaiah is called by God to be his prophet, his spokesman who’s role it is to remind the people of God’s love and forgiveness and as prophet he has to constantly call them back to follow God’s ways, and not their own will, that so often leads to self-destruction. God doesn’t demand perfection of us but what He does want is for us to believe in Him, trust in his love and care and always be willing to turn back to him when we stray.

The Prophet recognizes his own sinfulness and therefore believes in his heart he is not worthy to be called God’s representative to the people, “For I am a man of unclean lips…” Here’s where the re-telling of Isaiah’s call becomes very dramatic. The wind blows, the house fills with smoke, Isaiah “sees” the Lord God on high. Oh, it gets even better, an angel brings a hot fiery coal and touches his lips and his self-belief that he is a sinful man who is not worthy to be called God’s servant is changed. His doubting leaves him, at least for the moment, and he accepts God’s forgiveness in humility, and responds, “Here I am…send me.”

It wasn’t Isaiah being a sinful man that would have disqualified him from being called; rather, it was his humility in recognizing his sinfulness that opened his eyes to see that God was calling him, a sinner.

Being a sinner does not disqualify a person from being called into God’s service; the qualifier is accepting who I am and in humility accepting God’s forgiveness and mercy, in this way accepting God’s call to service. It appears that throughout the Hebrew Testament and the early Christian community God had employed rather gracious and dramatic ways of calling people into leadership.

In today’s gospel from Luke we hear this same story playing itself out in the call of the apostles. They were simple, uneducated, poor fishermen, just trying to feed their families and keep body and soul together. Luke describes for us what could have been a rather simple calling; he turns into a mighty big tale – perhaps similar when you hear people tell you they’re oversized fish story that we have all heard, right?
The writers and keepers of the history of how God interacts with his people is meant to excite, and create great interest, it’s all in the drama of storytelling. We recall Peter, the rock who is to lead these men; and St. Paul, a persecutor of Christians is called by God in this dramatic story of being thrown off his horse, and blinded until he finally recognizes that Jesus has called him into his service in a q unique way. Paul is called to go beyond Jerusalem and becomes our greatest missionary in our Christian story. If it had not been for Paul, perhaps the church never would have grown and spread across the entire Middle East, all the way to Rome. He took Jesus’ closing message to the apostles seriously; to go out to the entire world and baptize in my name. After the early church is well established only in a handful of certain saints do we read such dramatic callings.

God has never stopped calling people to certain tasks to spread his words of Good News. St. Francis, St. Benedict, St. Teresa of the Little Flower, and others right on up to our times with St. Mother Therese of Calcutta; and in my own missionary community, our founder, St. Arnold Janssen and our first missionary priest to China, St. Joseph Fernadamitz, and most recently our first Native American Indian, Techawetha. Even though we don’t hear the dramatic calling stories like of old, they still go on. But for those who are called into God’s special ministry it is just as dramatic in their lives as I myself confessed last week in my homily.

Nevertheless, it is not only the saints, and founders of religious communities, and people who are doing fantastic works as laity that are called – YOU, the people of God are also called into God’s service as single people who dedicate themselves to a particular cause for justice; and others who live among the poor whether here in the U.S. or abroad in poverty stricken area’s around the world whom we hear too little about, so fewer and fewer aspire to do these great acts of self-less giving. They are among us; we just don’t hear their stories.

Married couples are also called into God’s service to share and grow and show forth their love of God in their love for each other. And those who are called to be parents, as lofty calling as any other to be co-creators with God in bringing children into this world; to raise them in love and setting them out with life skills that will form them in both their self-image and how they will see the world around them is special, in my book. As I have said on many occasions, an assume responsibility that I know God has not called me too but one that I admire greatly in those who are.

No one is left out of God’s call to be a beloved daughter or son and given a special ministry of service to others for the building up of God’s kingdom of justice, peace, and love. The virtue that is called forth from us if we are to truly and completely answer God’s call is humility. The humility to accept who we are, as redeemed sinners and accept God’s call as Isaiah, and Paul, and Peter, and so many others before us have done in the full-knowledge that we are not worthy, but God has called us anyway. Our response needs to be that of our great ancestor Isaiah, “Here I am Lord, send me.” AMEN.

4th Sunday Ordinary

eddiediaz2011 — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 17:16:42 +0000

For a time in my life I was confused, I didn’t have a clear sense of where I was going, what I wanted to do with my life. In the 5th grade I did a geography project on this little known country, Papua New Guinea, in the South Pacific just north of Australia. I guess I felt attracted to it after some encyclopedia (remember we had encyclopedia’s back then, it was 1962); research on this strange, out of the way, far off land. I think maybe it was the mountains, tropical rainforest, and the people who lived simple, close to the earth lives as subsistence farmers – eating what they could grow that attracted me the most.
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Little did I know at the time that the Lord was already leading me down a path that would get me to PNG many years later in 1976.

Today’s reading from my favorite Prophet Jeremiah, tells us that God knows us and dedicates us to some special mission that we are not consciously aware of, perhaps for most of our lives. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” Jeremiah’s initial response to God’s call was to say, “Aye Lord God, I know not how to speak; I am too young…” Surely an understandable response from a young man with no education; however God would not be persuaded otherwise and Jeremiah eventually was.

As children we think about doing many things in life: usually some hero type character like policeman, fireman, social worker, doctor, nurse, etc. Perhaps somewhere during those formative years (especially if you went to a catholic school) you thought about being a priest, sister or brother and dedicating your life to God’s service.

That thought came to me while I was working on my geography project in 5th grade – maybe I would like to be a missionary priest?” When and how did you start asking yourself, “what do I want to do with my life?”
In the early part of my 7th grade there was a calendar on the bulletin board from this missionary order, Divine Word Missionaries. There was a tear off card to write in for more information, so I did. A few weeks later, a priest from the seminary college in Iowa called, asking a lot of questions (a role I was to have many years later as a vocation recruiter in 1985.)

A priest, Fr. Fred Rudolph, S.V.D. drove from Iowa to Montana to see me. I was so impressed, as were my parents and siblings; we stayed in touch; that summer between 7 – 8 grades I went to the SVD summer camp in East Troy, Wis. As I recall I really enjoyed myself with all the outdoor activities, meeting guys from all across the country, the routine of Morning Prayer, mass and night prayer, it all felt so comfortable and right.

But that’s were things changed, we slept dormitory style with bed, chair, bed, chair and small gym type lockers all around the walls, that was it. Well, it only took a night or two of all the sleeping night time sounds (you know what I mean…) that I decided this sleeping arrangement was not for me. I went home, back to high school, but the thought never left me – could God be calling me to be a missionary priest? Do you recall ever being called?

Looking back it’s now rather obvious to me that slowly and gently God was leading me down a path I did not know; nor could have seen what lay ahead for me. During summer break after sophomore year, I went to visit the college-seminary in Iowa where two years later in 1970 I entered officially into seminary life.
At this point I could say, well, you know the rest of the story, but far be it for me to say the rest of the journey was smooth riding, far from it. The one mistake that most people make when they think about entering the seminary, it means I AM going to a priest; and others are thinking the same thing. How very far from the truth that assumption is. It’s a long and winding journey constantly asking yourself the question, “Lord, are you calling me to be a priest?” You have your own doubts and superiors in the seminary have their doubts too. It is anything but smooth sailing.

Jeremiah had his doubts right from the beginning too, just like most of the saints throughout all of history. As you travel along this sometimes lonely road, you’re constantly wondering, having doubrts and fears, apprehesive, and just don’t know. It’s such a major step into a life-time carrier choice that you don’t enter into it on a whim. Besides you would never make it, there are too many hurdles to jump throughout many long years of study, and self-examination and whether or not you are being called.

We read in the Gospel today following last week’s gospel where Jesus read from the scriptures, then told the leadership, “today you have hear this prophesy fulfilled in your hearing.” At such a young age, did Jesus really know so clearly what he was being called to, who he was, what the journey ahead would hold in store for him? It is doubtful, but certainly he had some idea in taking the leap of faith to read such a passage and to believe that he was the one of whom the scriptures was speaking. Do any scriptures speak to us about our calling?

When I was growing up I never felt such absurdity, but Jesus being fully human, which I learned through all my studies, I don’t think he knew much about what he was saying either. This brings us to the point of today’s readings. I once made a banner that read, “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a puzzle to be solved.” It changed my life and I began to see that I didn’t have to have the answers, I just had to step out in faith, in God’s providence, and trust that He would lead, if I would open myself to following him. Not an easy task when you’re acting in the blind most of the time. But as another scripture reads, “We walk by faith, not by sight…”

I believe there are two key emotions involved here and they are: willingness to take a RISK and the other TRUST in the Lord; two emotions that we feel so intensely and yet try to avoid as much as possible, instead of embracing them. There is a prayer from Cardinal John Henry Newman that I pray almost daily that helps to strengthen me in continuing to take the risk and TRUST in the Lord even when I have doubts still. Part of it reads,
“God has created me to do Him some definite service, He has committed
Some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my
Mission – I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.”
And another is by the well-known Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, it reads:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road
Ahead of me….But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
Therefore will I TRUST you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the
Shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will
Never leave me to face my perils alone.”

I stumbled across these two prayers a few years back while on a retreat and they have become part of my spiritual life that helps me to keep going; OR were they put there by God for me to find? Like most priests, we have doubts even up to ordination, perhaps much like brides and grooms before their wedding; and these doubts don’t go away easily if at all.

After 32 years of being God’s servant priest, I have come to learn and accept the fact that we are all on a journey back to God and that that journey has many twists and turns, ups and downs, fraught with many doubts and wondering if you made the right decision. I don’t believe this is limited to religious vocations but to the vocation of married life as well as others.

If there is anything we can take away from our readings today is this: we are called to a vocation in life long before we discover it for ourselves and once we have to fully embrace it. Taking the risks that come along often in this journey of life but believing and trusting in what St. Paul tells us today, that we are loved beyond measure by our compassionate God who understands us much better than we will ever know ourselves. And that belief and trust that we are loved, because we are God’s creation that is the key to keep going, never afraid to question what we are doing along our journey and taking the risk to make the necessary changes when they are necessary to fulfilling God’s plan for us.

Come judgment day we will not be judged on how perfect we are but rather, on how well we struggled to always find God’s will in our life and to follow it no matter what the cost.
AMEN.

2013 Archbishop’s Charity and Development Drive (ABCD)

eddiediaz2011 — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:49:06 +0000

Next week every parishioner will have the opportunity to put their Faith in action by supporting the 2013 Archbishop’s Charity and Development Drive (ABCD). During Mass you will receive information and a pledge card to make your sacrificial pledge. If you have not already responded to Archbishop Wenski’s letter received by mail, please take time this week to consider the pledge you will wish to make, a pledge that gives witness to your gratitude for God’s blessings in your life.

This year, we celebrate and share our faith—a faith that gives purpose and direction to our lives – a faith that calls upon us to help those in need. Because of you, we continue to help those in need through the life-changing ministries and programs supported by the ABCD. We do this in so many ways—through Catholic Charities, Religious Education Programs, Lay Ministry; we do this through our support of our seminarians and priests, through Radio Paz and The Florida Catholic, through our support of Respect Life, and in many more countless ways. It allows us to make a difference together as an Archdiocese what a single parish could not fully accomplish.

We ask for your continued support by making a sacrificial pledge and join together to be One in Faith, One in Hope and One in Charity.

Campaña de Caridades y Desarrollo del Arzobispo – Unidos en la Fe, Unidos en la Esperanza, Unidos en la Caridad

Durante la semana que viene todos los feligreses tendrán la oportunidad de poner su Fe en acción mediante el apoyo a la Campaña de Caridades y Desarrollo del Arzobispo (ABCD) del 2013. Durante la Misa, recibirán información y una tarjeta de compromiso para hacer su promesa de sacrificio. Si usted no ha respondido a la carta del Arzobispo Wenski que recibió por correo, por favor, tómese algún tiempo esta semana para considerar el compromiso que desea realizar, una promesa que dé testimonio de su gratitud por las bendiciones recibidas de Dios a lo largo de su vida.

Este año, celebramos y compartimos nuestra Fe: una Fe que da sentido y dirección a nuestras vidas, una Fe que nos invita a ayudar a los necesitados. Gracias a ustedes, seguimos ayudando a los necesitados por medio de los ministerios y programas que son apoyados por el ABCD. Hacemos esto de varias maneras: por medio de Caridades Católicas, de Educación Religiosa, de Ministerios Laicos; lo hacemos a través de nuestro apoyo a nuestros seminaristas y sacerdotes, a través de Radio Paz y The Florida Catholic, a través de nuestro apoyo a Respeto a la Vida, y en muchas otras maneras. Esto nos permite obrar unidos como Arquidiócesis para dejar una huella transformadora, algo que una parroquia sola no podría lograr plenamente.

Les pedimos que nos den su apoyo una vez más, haciendo una promesa de sacrificio y obrando Unidos en la Fe, Unidos en la Esperanza, Unidos en la Caridad.

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time

eddiediaz2011 — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:38:29 +0000

What’s in a name? Isaiah describes in the most positive and beautiful words God’s new relationship with his people Israel. He was bringing them back from slavery where all seemed lost; the people felt like God had abandoned them. Isaiah calls them “Forsaken,” and the land “Desolate;” a very gloomy picture indeed. However, now Yahweh is restoring them, their land, their city Jerusalem and reversing the bond Israel had broken and now calls them, “My Delight,” his “Espoused.”

The Prophet continues describing his relationship as two people who are in love and ready to seal their love in the bond of marriage. It is this everlasting bond that God makes with his people Israel that the Church has modeled our sacrament of marriage. This bond will never be broken, at least not on God’s side.
So, what’s in a name? Parents have an assume responsibility in naming their children. Names should have meaning not just some passing fad that is popular in the moment. By your name God will know you for all eternity. Native Americans, as well as, many other ancient civilizations gave names to their new borns that have true significance, special meaning. In the Christian era names of saints have often been given or a past relatives name for their character.

Which raises the question, how or by what name do you call God? Some examples maybe: Father, creator, brother, friend, Redeemer, Savior, King, judge,condemer, to name just a few. The name by which we know God carries with it our relationship with Him. How we see and understand God and his role in our lives. For example, there is a vast difference between the image of God as judge, and God as father or creator or friend.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians his description of God is that of one who showers his gifts, in fact, his very life upon his people. No one is left without a gift; all are worthy to receive gifts, although the gifts may vary from person to person, as St. Paul says, “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” Have you ever asked yourself, “what gifts have God given to me that give my life meaning, purpose, and value? (MPV) Mazda. Here in we find the true significance of a name, it has the power to give meaning, purpose and value to that individual, and in turn reflects the gifts they may have and develop throughout their life.

The name by which you know God has significance in how you use the gifts you have received. Gifts are given for the building up of God’s Kingdom and the church. The Spirit gives all these gifts and distributes them individually to each person as she wishes. I ask you again, what gifts do you have to contribute to the building of God’s kingdom and this community? Or are you unaware of your special gifts; or do you ignore and bury those gifts so deep inside that you believe you don’t not have any gifts to offer to the community?
At the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus gives the gift of wine to the bride and groom. However, this is merely a symbol or metaphor for the giving of his very self, the life force within him, his blood, which we receive in this Eucharistic Feast. The gift we receive is not merely wine and bread as we read in the gospel today at Cana but rather, its very essence is transformed into his body and blood. What more precious gift can Jesus possible give to us?

I close with this question – “what gift have you been given to be used to help transform this community?” Something for us to ponder this week. AMEN.

Baptism of the Lord

eddiediaz2011 — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:35:43 +0000

A long time ago in a distant land lived a man, a prophet by the name Isaiah, who was a man of God and chosen by God to Speak on His behalf to the people. Words of encouragement and words that were harsh trying to lead God’s people. He was also the one in today’s reading gives us a beautiful description of the Messiah who would come and bring peace to His people. He would be a suffering servant doing the Will of His Father, taking upon himself the sins of the world so that the relationship between God and human would remain unbroken for all time.

Isaiah describes very clearly the qualities or characteristics of this suffering servant on behalf of the people. Isaiah uses key words that describe faithful: reliable, the person you can count on to always stand on your side; dedicated, the person who is authentic, who shows his true self to others; committed, who shows he is fully engaged and invested in his mission. These qualities describe Jesus as the faithful servant of God.
These qualities are also a description of who we as Christians are called to be, followers of Christ. It’s not just about what we do but more so about whom we are. We are called not to just show up for example for Sunday mass, that’s a minimalists’ participation; rather, as heirs to God’s kingdom we are summoned to the highest level of investment and participation in our faith. Jesus goes about doing good, teaching and healing the people, showing Gods unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness. We are called throughout baptism to continue building this world of ours into a world of justice, peace, and love as he showed us and called us to do. We are to be fully engaged and committed to these same goals as heirs to God’s kingdom. We cannot be satisfied with doing the bare minimum as Christians and merely show up. We must be active participants, reliable and dedicated to God’s cause. Jesus is counting on us to be his hands and feet going about doing the same good works as he did.

Jesus enters onto the scene today and is baptized by his cousin John at the Jordan River; thereby committing himself to serving the call and mission of his Father. Our entrance into this same call and mission is through our baptism. Baptism makes us coheirs to God’s kingdom; it’s like our passport to an undiscovered country. A place that we have never been before, for most of us we received this great gift, our passport, when we were babies, as it has been throughout our tradition. Baptism brings us in and makes us part of the Christian Community who’s responsibility is to take up the call and mission that Jesus received and continue to build his kingdom, our world into the vision that God had as a place of peace and harmony among all his people.

People all around the world hold this special passport but so many are not using it. I ask myself the question: why are so many people holding this passport so reluctant to use it? Some may not realize the power of this passport, baptism, which gives them the key to unlocking the door of the treasury that is God’s unconditional love, forgiveness, and mercy. I suppose one person’s gold is another’s bane or undoing. Many are unwilling to leave their comfort zone, all that is familiar to them where we feel safe because who know what’s going on, how to do things; our daily routines. Leaving that comfortable place causes uncomfortability – what we do not know, we fear. Some people are so hemmed in by their own fears they are not willing to let go and reach out into the unknown that could bring them new adventures. Our passport is the door that opens us to the realm of God’s Kingdom.

In the movie, “The Adventures of Nardia,” the children are visiting their grandfather. They are adventurist kids who love to explore. However, there is one room in the mansion that their grandfather warns them not to go into. However, like most children who do the opposite of what they are told, can’t resist the temptation to peek into that room. When they do enter the room they see a large closet and they cannot resist the temptation to look into this forbidden closet. And when they do, they step into an undiscovered place, called Nardia, another palace and time, that is nothing even remotely close to the lives they had. They took the risk, stepped out of what was the daily, humdrum of their lives, into an adventure that took them beyond anything they could have ever imagined. A story book, a fairyland where they met people unlike they had ever known, and strange and wonderful new animals that looked like nothing they had ever seen before – and these animals could talk. Their adventure is one that is exciting and thrilling as well as possesses dangers that could be life threating. As the story draws to a close and they step back out of the closet and re-enter the old and familiar, they realize they have changed, they see life in a whole new way that opens their eye’s and minds, and hearts to the realm of possibility and not just what has been and what is.

In the sequel to the movie, the children have grown and cannot resist when they return to their grandfather’s house to enter again the closet that will take them b back to the land of Nardia that they had so longed to return to. However, once again they discover that things are not the same as when they had left. A lesson for all of us to learn, that life is always changing and for those who are held back by their fears of change remain unfulfilled and never reach their potential as human beings and children of God. They lack the qualities it takes to be a servant of God and follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus. Stuck in a time warp they never come to experience the thrill and excitement of what it fully means to be a beloved child of God. For them, the thrill of the unknown is also the anxiety of the unfamiliar. They never truly take up call and mission of baptism, their free passport remains in the locked closet to fearful to open it and step into the land of adventure, enlightenment, and wholeness that is offered to all of us by Jesus, to come follow me and I will make you fishers of people.

Their baptism remains dormant, never exploding into the adventure of seeing the world through God’s eyes where all live in peace, harmony, and joy. They never allow themselves the opportunity to step into the land of Nardia, where God is seen face to face.

Let me finish, it is very sad that so many baptized Christians that hold this passport to new life in Jesus let it lay unused, tucked away in the bottom of some drawer. We have all been given the opportunity to take the adventure of a life time and yet far too many of us are fearful and afraid of the adventure that we sit holding this great gift failing to use it. And for them as well as us, we are all cut short of what could be for what is.

As we begin a new year that holds out to us so many wonderful possibilities of what can be, are you going to jump into the River Jordan with Jesus and experience the excitement that a life fully lives in the Lord is worth taking the risk of change and experience the thrill of a life waling in the footprints of our Lord? Its your choice, what will you choose?