The readings this Sunday remind me once again of a time long ago when youth had to face the challenge of growing up. Isaiah sees the glory of God and draws back. Peter sees the power of Christ’s invitation and wants to escape. In both cases they were given a moment of strengthening, the power to trust that the risk they were about to take would be protected by God. Ah Youth!!

When God made young people, he put huge amounts of hormones in them to make them brave, passionate, risk takers. (Without that, I wonder if we’d ever move out of our parent’s home.)

We wonder why we can’t have guarantees in life; why is life such a risk? Because if everything turned out just the way we wanted, love would wither and die. We’d EXPECT success in any effort we make…. that wouldn’t be love. Love has to give itself away. No promise of payback.

Every couple has that moment of risk; (a romantic setting, a ring, “Will you?”, “Yes!!” and later on . . . “Shall we?” . . . “Shall we what?” . . . “Shall we have a baby?”, “Of course! Why do you think I bought the roses?!!”) “Love believes all things, hopes all things.” ! Cor:13

Below you’ll find my “risk moment” in becoming a priest. I’ve written about it before but it still speaks to me. It happened 46 years ago.

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A grain of wheat. What is it but a little package of life? In it is contained all that is needed for a new plant, or tree, or wild flower. But something has to happen for it to become what it was made to be. It has to die. Unless it dies, Jesus says rather plaintively, “It remains just a grain of wheat.” As if to say “what good is that? A seed that won’t die”.

We are like a seed, a package of Christ’s life given to us at baptism.

And like Christ, we must die to ourselves like a seed in the ground. I’d like to share a moment when God made this crystal clear for me in a very personal way.

It was late August of my 26th year. I was renting the up- per half of a house owned by a nice widowed woman. I had been teaching high school the past two years and after much struggle was accepted into the seminary for studies for the priesthood. But now serious second thoughts were occurring as school was a week away. “What were you thinking?” I asked myself. “Do you really want to do this?” I was all knotted up.

To help clear my head I offered my land lady to clean the gutters of leaves on the second floor roof. Climbing out my window onto the roof I had a lovely view of the street and garden just below. Looking down I saw all these little green oak tree sprouts growing just under the gutter. The acorns had rolled off the roof and onto the ground and there they grew.

All but one acorn . . . it had fallen into the gutter and sat for who knows how long. It was big and round and still had its little acorn hat. “What a smart little acorn you are,” I thought. “Staying nice and safe in this gutter. You didn’t die like your little brother and sisters down below.”

So with my thumb I pried the little cap off the acorn to look inside. And there it was, filling the entire acorn with its bright orange body . . . a giant maggot. It had eaten the entire inside of the acorn. No green little oak leaves sprouting up from the ground, this acorn was now home to a giant worm.

I threw the acorn to the ground and not a minute later the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart “. . . but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Unlike that hesitant acorn I came down off that roof and planted myself in the seminary . . . where I had to die about ten times before becoming a priest!! Those little oak trees would be 45 years old by now.

Message to youth, – – – pray about it – – – then do it!

Fr. Tim

There’s a crab apple tree outside my office window. I’d say it’s some 15 to 20 years old. Each spring it explodes into a wonderful cloud of pink blossoms that last for about 10 days.

It stands naked right now except for several thousand little crab apples arranged throughout its skinny tree limbs. They’ll all be eaten by hungry robins come spring. And here friends, hangs our lesson for the week.

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Against the dull gray sky, the tree is all in black silhouette. Each little crab apple hangs at random, like a drop- let along each branch. The whole tree fits exactly in my window as if it were a picture frame.

It’s perfect. And that’s the point. The tree just happened. There wasn’t a care in the world when each apple began to grow on the tree, yet it has a balance and proportion any artist would covet. You could entitle the art of my window view . . . “Crab Apple Against a Winter Sky”.

I’m sure you’ve seen this “effortless beauty” of nature for yourself. Walk through a pine forest. Look down at the random pine needles on the ground. They’re perfectly, beautifully arranged where they’ve fallen. See the perfect curve of the snow drift at the corner of your house (how did the wind get to be such an artist?). I won’t even start with the random beauty of clouds or sun light.

The point is . . . it’s exquisite. And it’s free for any eye that wishes to really look. Listen to the leaves in the wind, waves on the beach, thunder in the storm . . . they’re perfect in a wondrous way. And it all happens with a carelessness that would make any artist jealous for the brilliance it displays.

And guess what? It’s FOR YOU. God made it for you, not for any other creature. Do you think the deer in the forest gives a fig for the brilliant Fall leaves that surround it?

Does the eagle pause in midflight to marvel at the beauty in the valley below? Do the flames dancing in your fire place giving calm and comfort mean anything to your cat?

How little mind we give this gift. Sometimes I imagine the Lord saying, “Look, nobody gets it. I make all this cool stuff and all my creatures just take it for granted. Fish swim in it. Birds fly in it. Buffalo graze on it but not one “Wow!”. Not one, ‘Thanks Lord'”. You man, you woman. Can’t I get a little appreciation here.”

When you think about it, we humans are the spokespersons for the rest of creation. We have a voice to speak on behalf of the running stream, the soaring eagle . . . “Thank you Lord.”

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Pope Francis has written an encyclical called Laudato Si (“Praise be to You”). In it he points to an appreciation of this created world as a gift of God. He reminds us that the earth is humanity’s common home; it needs our care and protection in the way we use its natural resources. The generations to come have an equal right to drink clean water and breathe clean air.

But back to us humans for a moment. Of all the beauty of God’s creation, (the birds, the flowers, and yes, those little puppies) can you think of anything quite as captivating, and endlessly expressive as the human face? Why is that? Because it is the window to the human spirit . . . which, in case you’d forgotten, is a face that God had. To look on the human face is to see some faint image of God himself.

All this to say, “Oh Lord, how great thou art.” Open your eyes. His glory is everywhere.

Fr. Tim

“It is not good for man to be alone.” These remarkable words are spoken by God in the Book of Genesis as he seeks for a way to brighten things for a sad and lonely Adam. So God creates Eve, and she and Adam became “partners”.

Problem solved? For a while. But then it happened. In a way we’ll never know fully here on earth, our first parents chose to walk away from God who created them. And that’s when the sadness and loneliness of life settled in.

God comes calling for Adam and Eve; but they hide from him. The man and woman can no longer look at each other as they are so they cover themselves with leaves. Loneliness is born. Oh dear.

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God made us “to be with” other humans. It makes us a “family” not a herd. We share a common planet and a future destiny. But we’re torn. We want to connect, but there’s no one who we can trust to know us completely.

Do you begin to see the peaceful co-existence of the world’s peoples can only come when God is universally acknowledged as our creator and savior? Without the assurance of the love of God upholding creation and calling humanity to himself, we’re left with a profound mistrust of one another.

Not even friend, lover, husband or wife will put to rest our craving for unity and completion in this broken world. God is the only “other” that can complete us and his plan for all creation.

And so . . . . we’re lonely. No one knows us as we truly are. We’re even a mystery to ourselves. We so want someone to have “all of us” but there’s no one around who knows our origins and who has the eyes to see us as we are.

So what do we do? Here’s where people can get lost. Some people will medicate their loneliness (food, alcohol, pills, etc.). Some will try to fill it with people and constant activity. Some go shopping! Why not travel?

Spiritual writers urge us to accept our loneliness. It’s part of life. It goes along with all the other moments humans experience. “There is a season and a time for every purpose. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to laugh, a time to weep . . . ” Ecclesiastes.

In fact loneliness can add an unexpected blessing in our lives. It can force us to know ourselves, to truly embrace who we are (the good and the bad, the happy and sad). We stop running away from ourselves. Being alone is not so bad.

Best of all, loneliness can invite you to reach out to God in prayer. To confide in God what you’d speak to no other . . . . knowing that he hears and understands all of you.

Do you know who the loneliest guy in the world is? It has to be Jesus. Who on earth could possibly understand who he was? Who could ever know the weight his mission placed on his shoulders? What must have been his loneli- ness in the garden that terrible night?

But he was never alone for he knew his Father. (How of- ten the scripture refers to Jesus spending the night alone in prayer to his Father “who sees in secret”.)

Lonely? Of course. Embrace it. Make friends with it (“Sister Loneliness”, St. Francis might say). You’ll be surprised how it will make you a better person; it can make you aware of the loneliness of others. It’s called compassion.

Last thought. There’s no loneliness in heaven. God will permeate every speck of our being. “For now we see as through a glass darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known.” 1 Cor. 13:12.

God sees you . . . and loves you. Fr. Tim

Romans 7: 14-25 (Read it!)

The older I get the more interested I become in what moves people to want what they want. What is it that resonates in a person that makes them want to spend their time and money on some object or activity?

It starts with our appetites. Certain things are built into us that create a readiness for what appeals to the senses or the imagination. Most things come to us this way. Smelling bacon in the morning starts a wonderful desire that leads to breakfast.

Other things appeal to our spiritual senses. Telling the truth. Being faithful, courageous, or generous. These things have True Value as do. . . people, family, faith, country.

Now there’s a problem. Sometimes the “lower senses” of our physical nature can overpower our higher sensibilities. (try being patient when you haven’t eaten all day!). Other appetites insist we possess certain things: a new cell phone, lap top, puppy, vacation spot, etc. These can have a certain urgency that creates a “want” before we realize it.

What’s wrong with wanting something? Nothing at all. It’s how God made us. The problem comes when “wanting” is for something I “Shouldn’t have”. This can cause a real tussle. “But I WAAAANT IT!”, we cried as children (as our parents wisely hid the candy, or ordered the TV turned off). And thus began the life long struggle to achieve the proper balance between need and want.

As a priest I get a bird’s eye view of this struggle when hearing confessions. People come to confess their sins. Most often sin starts by “wanting” something contrary to what is right and good. This wanting can be VERY powerful. Eventually it can outweigh the attraction to the higher good. The good loses its appeal. We fall prey to a desire that takes us away from who we really want to be. Addictions can begin here.

So how can we stop wanting what is bad for us? It comes in finding something I want more. Something in us has to be bigger than the powerful desires for booze, sex, possessions, prestige, popularity, etc.

The problem is at the feeling level. I can know an ideal is good but not FEEL it. But with (pick your go to sin!) . . . your brain knows it’s sinful but there’s a powerful wanting at the feeling level.

What can give us, not just the knowledge about what is right, but the felt “wanting” to do it?

The answer of course is love. Love in the form of “loyalty”. Think for a moment of those people who are privileged to have your love and loyalty . . . your spouse, the children, your best friend.

Think how many times you walked away from something you really wanted because of your love for them. In most cases it wasn’t even close! (Your daughter’s need for braces far outweighed your wanting that vacation trip)

Finally . . . God wants to be in that same privileged place as your daughter or friend. He wants us to walk away from some of our wants because of our love for Him. Jesus did this very thing in the garden. “Father please. Take this away . . . but not what I want . . . help me to want what YOU want.”

It’s a grace from God to want what He wants. Ask for it. His will for us is our peace.

Fr. Tim

Some time ago, in a previous parish, I lived and worked with an old retired pastor. He was revered as a priest who knew his parishioners and had that “golden touch” with people who were troubled or lost. People flocked to him to receive his gentle wisdom.

He had one particular habit however that bugged me. At the end of every mass he celebrated on Sunday he’d tell the congregation, “Be sure to share your smile”. It was his sign off. People waited for these last words from him.

As for me I thought how “corny” it was. It was just too simple. I mean for all the problems we face, for all the worries we have for the coming week, for all the problems of the world . . . all you can say is “share your smile”?!

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But you know what? He’s right. Share your smile is brilliant. Why? Because it sends a universal message. Everyone knows what a smile means. Webster defines it as “a favorable, pleasing, or agreeable appearance; characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth.”

And what does this “upward curving of the mouth” say? It says “you’re worth it. You are not invisible. You’re a fellow human being and I’m sending you my good wishes.”

It can literally change a person’s day. Suddenly someone has seen me and cares enough to offer me a tiny “be well”. A smile disarms us of our fears, touches us briefly with kindness, and becomes a light in the midst of gray and shadow.

Some people have that gift in spades. They have a wonderful smile. I remember a seminarian who sometimes worried whether he had the pastoral skills needed but who had something the rest of the class lacked – – – he had a magical smile that brightened any room he walked into.

You just feel better when someone smiles at you, don’t you? So why don’t we do that more often? I think it’s because: 1. We’re afraid. We’re afraid of being “misinterpreted” or frowned upon or ignored. And 2. We’re self-absorbed. “I’ve got too many things on my mind right now. Too much to do. You stay in your lane; I’ll stay in mine.”

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So how do we get over our fear and self-absorption in order to give the gift of a smile? Some thoughts:

So I’m going to work on my smile this new year. I’m not going to expect people to return it. After all it’s a gift. And should I forget, maybe your smile will remind me.

So I’ll end this column like that old pastor . . . “be sure to share your smile.”

God’s smile upon you.

Fr. Tim

I’d like to share with you something a wise old priest told me some 40 years ago. It changed my life. It can change anyone’s.

First you need to know the turmoil I was in as I contemplated whether or not I could live life as a priest. Back and forth I went; sometimes I felt confident and excited about this way of life. Other times (equal in frequency) I felt overwhelmed by my selfishness and ability to find fault with everything and everybody. How could I possi- bly be a priest with such an attitude?

So all tied up in knots, I went to my friend, Fr. Francis. “Father”, I said, “I don’t know if I can do this (priesthood). But I don’t want to let God down. If I leave, maybe God will be upset with me.”

Fr. Francis laughed. “Tim, do you think God needs you? God will accomplish his will either with you or without you. Nothing can keep God from finishing what he’s started. Bottom line . . . God doesn’t need you Tim.”

I was shocked. “You mean I’m free to leave? God won’t be mad at me?” “Yes, you’re free to leave. He won’t be mad.”

I can’t describe the huge weight that lifted off my shoulders at that moment. Suddenly it became clear what God was doing. He was offering an invitation. And it was just that . . . an invitation, a gift.

Did I have to accept it? No. Would there be other gifts and invitations? Yes. Could I choose another way of life that would be pleasing to God? Of course. That’s the way God is. He never gives up on us. Never takes his ball and goes home.

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Ah, but God knows our deepest happiness, and has a grace (gift) prepared to offer us if we want to say “yes”.

So let’s talk about you. What is God offering you to participate in? The answer most times comes in looking at the “here and now”. What’s your situation? Married? Children? Student? Single? Sad? Feeling blessed? Need money? Worried?

Whatever and wherever you find yourself – – – There is God’s Spirit. In each of these situations there is work to be done. This present moment contains an invitation to co-operate with God in bringing goodness (Christ) to the world.

We can wish we were somewhere else. Perhaps it was our thoughtlessness or selfishness that got us where we are. In the end it doesn’t matter. What matters is “right now”. God is with you (Emmanuel). What do you feel called to do with God’s help?

And it’s in saying “yes” to God and his invitation that we discover a “lightness” to God’s will. A new purpose suddenly appears where before there was confusion, frustration, sadness. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart. And you will find rest . . . . for my yoke is easy, my burden light.” Mt. 11:30

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This week we begin a new year. Maybe this time we can begin to see the invitation God gives us to partner with Him. Remember. It’s an invitation. God doesn’t need you silly. He WANTS you.

“Lord, here I am. You know I’d be in a better place if I’d only listened to you. But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that, with your help, I start to do what you’ve put into my heart to do. You’ve been there all along, haven’t you? But now Lord I see. And now I want to do things your way. Please help me.”

Happy New Year. God is with you.

Fr. Tim

The following article has appeared in this bulletin twice before and was read as part of the homily for the fourth Sunday of Advent this year. Several people have asked if a copy of it may be obtained and so it is offered here below.

During World War II, a French writer being held captive by the Nazis was asked by his fellow POW’s to write a Christmas play. This writer was an atheist, but his words speak profoundly. As he describes the characters in his play, he writes this about Mary:

“The Virgin is pale as she looks at the child. If I were a painter, I would paint an anxious amazement on her face that has only appeared once on a human face. For the Christ is her child, the flesh of her flesh and the fruit of her womb. She carried him for nine months and she will feed him at her breast. Her milk will become the blood of God. For a minute the temptation is so strong that she forgets that he is God. She squeezes him in her arms and says – “My little one.”

But, at other times she remains bewildered and she thinks “This is God!?!” and she is overcome with awe for this silent God, this unique child.

All mothers have a moment when they feel like exiles in the presence of their own children, when they realize that the new life created inside of them has his or her own foreign thoughts. This particular child, most of all, exceeds the limits that his mother, Mary, can imagine.

But there are other moments, rapid and fleeting, when Mary perceives by faith that the Christ is her son, her little one, and that he is God. She looks at him and she thinks: “This is my child. This is divine flesh. He is made from me. He has my eyes, and the shape of his mouth is the shape of mine. He looks like me. He is God and He looks like me.”

Remember Christmas lasts for eight days. Share your joy!.

Fr. Tim

The Incarnation . . .Impress Your Friends.

Do you like fancy words? They can be fun sometimes just because they sound cool . . . anaphora, oxymoron, protean (look ’em up!).
Here’s your word for the Christmas Season – – – Incarnation. It means “to become flesh”. It’s what happened when your dad winked at your mom and she smiled back. Their love became incarnate . . . in you!

And that’s what happened when Mary said “Yes” to the Holy Spirit. God became incarnate in the child Jesus. The whole Christmas Season echo’s this one astounding fact – God the Invisible One has become a human being . . . and that means “in the flesh”.

In my youth I thought it would all work out. This world would get it together. Good people, working together for the common good, would make this world a happy place.

If we just put our minds to it, we can solve the problems that cause so much pain in the world. Hunger, poverty, hatred . . . are all fixable if we just work together.

I don’t believe that anymore. Something is broken. (Of course, we keep trying….that’s why God put us here. Read on.)

Even on our best days, there’s just something in the human condition that causes us to go off the rail. This dark pull causes many to turn to an anxious life of getting and protecting what they can. A suspicion about people’s motives keeps us from trusting each other. And on and on.

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But something outrageous has happened.

Someone has come into the world to show us how to fix the downward spiral of selfishness. God, who is love, has come to make “all things new”. There is in the human heart a self-inflicted wound that brings fear, greed and other nasty things. But the remedy God provides is beyond our wildest expectations.

The short of it is, God gives us a new heart . . . a heart like His.

How will this happen? (Here’s the mind boggling part). God became a human being. God took a human heart (God’s human heart . . . think of it!). Born of Mary, his human name is Jesus.

He has the only remedy deep enough and true enough to break the chains of the selfishness that grips the world. How will Jesus show us this life changing love? (Get ready. This is the part that’s hard to understand.) He will have to die.

Why does he have to die? Because love can only “love to the end”. And by dying, Sin has finally met its match – – – a love that is willing to die at the hand of the hater for the purpose of revealing the love of God for humanity.

St. Paul tells us, He “became sin for us. He who knew no sin.” (2Cor. 5:21) And he took all that sin can do and KISSED IT! Taking it in his loving arms down with him when he died. “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”. (Lk. 23:34.) Sin and Death died in Christ. It’s a kind of love never seen before.

God’s not done.

He will raise this noble heart of Jesus to a new life in the Resurrection. And here’s where we get a new heart. We now are reborn by the grace of God. By adoption we be- come Children of God and begin a new life “in Christ” seeking to live as Christ lived.

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This changes everything. There is something really new here. Now there is Hope. Hope that, with Christ (ONLY with Christ. . . we’ve tried everything else!) . . . with Christ we are reconciled to one another since we have all been loved and saved by Christ who kissed us in our sin. He lives in you. He lives in me.

We are brothers and sisters in Christ who has loved us all. Let’s let the world know.

But first, on this fourth Advent Sunday, we wait and pray. “Lord, come into my heart. Change me. Help me to trust in your promise that I can live a new life.”

A blessed Christmas to you and your loved ones.

Fr. Tim

I was visiting friends for a dinner celebration not long ago. A daughter had come home for a visit with her husband and their two little children.

By the end of the meal, the youngest child (about 2 yrs. old) began to fuss and cry that she wanted to go home. For all the gentle attempts on the part of mom and dad, nothing would calm her.

Finally the wise young mother announced that her daughter was tired and overwrought from all the excitement and off they went to cuddle up in the bedroom, just the two of them. The child returned about an hour later, smiling and ready to enjoy the family.

I started thinking this young girl was a lot like us this time of year. Don’t you feel sometimes like you’ve come to the end of your rope? You’re trying so hard to make this a memorable time for friends and family; gift buying, cooking, visits to relatives, planning special events. (And oh . . . don’t you dare forget anyone.)

We can get sad and empty. Everything is pouring out of you till there’s nothing left to give. Tears. “What’s wrong?” we wonder.

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What’s wrong? Nothing. You’re OK. It’s just that, like the child, you’ve gotten overwrought. Too many plans, too many connections, too many hopes for everyone’s happiness. It’s overwhelming. You can’t do it all.

So how can we avoid a pre-Christmas melt down? A couple things come to mind . . . see what you think.

First. Sadness comes to all of us. (Especially if God has given you a tender heart.) You see things that make you sad; poverty, disappointment, suffering, innocence dashed. We feel these things more at this time of year than any other.

Embrace it. It’s part of life here on earth. It’s why God sent His Son to be born among us – – to set things right. To reveal God’s radically different kind of love, one that embraces the darkness of the world in order to “make all things new”. Rev. 21:5.

But . . . it’s not set right quite yet. God’s plan has not fully unfolded. Christ is letting you share a little bit of His longing till it is fulfilled. Don’t run away from these feelings. They can bring you closer to Jesus.

Second. “Get small”. What did our mothers tell us? “It’s the little things that count.” Big things like parties, or presents, or visits, take planning and organizing. The little things are right in front of you (in the moment). Try a nice smile to the check-out person, let someone go in front of you, look for the sadness (see above) in others and offer kind words. Hey . . . do to others what you’d like to be given you. You’ll figure it out . . . just be human.

Third. Like the child and her mother, cuddle up with God. Go to your room (Mt. 6:6). Spend some time in prayer. Every day. Like a mother, the Lord will calm you and remind you that you are His child and together (not by yourself!) you can bring a love to your family and this world that is real and simple and powerful in its own way.

So here we go now. Embrace your sadness. Get small. Pray every day. And wait . . . Joy is coming!

Much love,
Fr. Tim