Prayers for Newtown

Homily for Third Sunday of Advent, December 16, 2012Father Bernard A. Healey

We were all shocked and saddened by the tragedy in Newtown, CT.  And while today is Gaudate Sunday, Rose Sunday, a time to celebrate with joy that Christ is coming soon, that Christmas will soon be here I am sure that we are not feeling any joy.  Rather this morning we may be more like the crowd standing before John the Baptist in today’s Gospel who ask the simple yet profound question:  What should we do?

Even for the believer, there is no satisfactory answer for why the innocent suffer.  Why do bad things happen to good people? It is the question that echoes throughout all of history but in our limited humanity we can never truly make sense of the senseless.

However we do have our faith.  And our faith teaches us that in this Advent season as we must cry out for Emmanuel to come, He must be the one we long for with all our hearts.  Certainly that cry is made all the more urgent given this terrible tragedy.

Where is God? God is right there with the people who are grieving and sorrowful in Newtown.  God was in the teachers who pulled children to safety. God was in the first responders who got survivors safely reunited with their families.

God is right beside everyone, because he is the God who knows the pain we feel and shares the sorrow we experience.  He is Emmanuel, God with us.  He is God with us in the sorrow as well as the joy of this season.

The Babe of Bethlehem, who we prepare for in this season, is also the Christ of Golgotha.  The wood of the manger would become the wood of the cross.  God suffers along with us.

We believe that God became human and that God underwent all the things we do. Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”  Ours is not an impersonal God, but a God who understands what it means to suffer; a God who understands even us at our worst, our lowest, and our deepest despair.  Our faith tells us that He is here with us: with us in our confusion and anger; with us in our anguish and sorrow.

In my own life, when I have felt great sorrow I have trusted that God is with me and that I do not face my struggles alone.  For it is often when we suffer in sorrow that God can break into our lives more easily, more profoundly.  It’s not that God is closer; it’s that we’re more open.

And so brothers and sisters, what should we do?

First, we should and must pray.  Pray for the victims, pray for the survivors, and pray for those who suffer such profound grief, pray also for those first responders who came to the aid of the victims and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, pray even for the one who is responsible for this horrific evil.

What should we do?

Call someone we’ve been avoiding and listen to them.

Visit someone we’ve overlooked and who is waiting for us to stop and notice them.

Reach out to someone who is isolated and hurting, alone and afraid.

Invite someone who is left-out to join us.

Forgive someone who has hurt us.

Make peace with the enemy.

And let love conquer all fear and doubt; let joy overcome all grief and sorrow, let hope defeat all despair and anguish.

“O come, O come, Emmanuel, ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.”

May the innocent of Newtown rest in eternal peace and may the perpetual light shine upon them.

Christmas is Coming!

Dear Parishioners: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  The lights and wreaths are up and  this weekend our  very hard working decorating committee begins the final preparations for the Savior’s birth.  Beautiful plants and trees and the crèche help us to mark the great feast of the Incarnation.   Father Shemek and I have a small tree in the Rectory that we decorated this week.  The  candles have been put in the windows for a week as we await the coming of Christ at Christmas.  The light of the season is truly needed perhaps this year even more.  The darkness that has been cast over our land needs the light of Christ to pierce it and let faith, hope and love shine forth. Most certainly some of that light has been cast by your generous support of the OLM Outreach efforts to provide gifts, gift cards and other items for those in need during this time of year.  In their name, I thank you for your generosity in making the true spirit of the season alive for so many who are need. The light also shined last Sunday night as members of our OLM Youth Group gathered to celebrate the season.  Their celebration included assembling nearly one hundred bags of much needed toiletries for McAuley House.  What a great way to celebrate Christ’s coming! I offer our gratitude to the Youth Group for making His presence felt for those who might otherwise go without or remain forgotten.   I know the good folks at McAuley House are also very appreciative. In preparing for Christmas, I came across the words of the late Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.  He was assassinated for his prophetic witness for the poor and marginalized in his country.  At what would be his final Christmas Mass, he offered the following words:  “No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor.  The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God, for them there will be no Christmas. Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on their behalf, will have that someone.  That someone is God.  Emmanuel. God-with-us.  Without poverty of spirit there can be no abundance of God. “ Most certainly we all need Christ to come this year.  We truly need the Messiah to come on our behalf.  So let us continue to prepare the empty manger in our hearts for the Lord to be reborn this Christmas.  May we continue to feel His presence in our lives and make His presence known in our words and deeds.  We rejoice because not only do we need our Savior to come but because He already with us.  Let us celebrate the joy, the hope and the peace of Christmas as a parish by sharing our faith in Jesus Christ.  Perhaps you might invite someone to Christmas Mass who doesn’t usually come to Church. Why not give them a gift of the real presence of Christ at Christmas! Father Shemek and I offer you and your families a very Merry Christmas.  We are truly blessed to be part of such a great parish family and are truly looking forward to our first  celebration of Christmas at Our Lady of Mercy. Know that you are remembered at Christmas Masses. My prayer is that you will have a Joyful Christmas that is rooted in the tranquility  deep faith provides, strong enough to survive the sorrows and  carry the burdens that life delivers to our doorstep yet lively enough to celebrate life’s happiest moments. May the birthday of Christ touch you with deep joy.  I pray, too, for a Peaceful Christmas: the peace the world so clearly is unable to give itself; the peace that broken hearts long for; the peace that is ours to share with one another in forgiveness, kindness and charity. May the birthday of Christ sow seeds of peace in your heart.  Finally, I pray that you have a Hopeful Christmas. So much in the world around us can diminish hope yet  the message of Christmas is at its very foundation one of hopefulness. Such hope is needed this year more than ever.  May the birthday of Christ renew hope in your heart.  I wish you a Joyful, Peaceful, Hopeful Christmas and should your Christmas be Merry and Happy, too – all the better! Please pray the same for me. God Bless. Merry Christmas!

Rejoice in the Mercy of God!

Dear Parishioners:“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.”  So goes the Entrance Antiphon for the Third Sunday of Advent.   The Third Sunday of Advent is commonly called Gaudete Sunday and sometimes Rose Sunday, this Sunday when we light the rose candle on the Advent wreath.   It is called Gaudete from the Latin to rejoice.  It is a command ordering us to rejoice! In these days of repentance and preparation leading up to the feast of our Savior's birth, it reminds us of the joy that is to come, and serves, amid this season of Advent as a kind of 'break' when we recall the hope we have because of the coming of Jesus. So how might we rejoice? We can come to the celebration of Advent Lessons and Carols Sunday night in Church at 5:00 pm.  There we can with prayer and praise prepare the way rejoicing at the Lord’s coming.  It is a wonderful celebration of the season that calls us to prepare with prayer and patience but also with joyful anticipation.  I hope you join us for this great event for our parish.  We will take up a free-will collection for the Diocesan Keep the Heat Fund so those who are less fortunate than us might also rejoice. If you cannot make it on Sunday to rejoice than perhaps you can come on Tuesday night for the OLM School Pageant.  Father Shemek and I are excited about experiencing our first pageant at OLM as we’ve been told it is a great celebration of the season by our schools kids.  So if you can, please join us on Tuesday at 7:00 pm, it should be a great time! You might also come to the OLM School Band Concert on Thursday at 7:00 pm. Try to stop by and rejoice a little in the season. Of course, if you really need some rejoicing in the season I invite you to consider going to Confession.  This week our OLM School children as well as our RE Classes Grades 7-9  have the opportunity to rejoice in the mercy and forgiveness of God as we will be joined by several visiting priests to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession. Going to Confession is truly a Sacrament of joy as it offers to us the chance to experience God’s unconditional love and mercy. When is the last time you made a good Confession?  When is the last time you rejoiced that God not only loves you but also forgives your sins?  Confession is available every Saturday at OLM at 3:00 pm.  If you cannot make it on a Saturday afternoon before Christmas, don’t worry.  Father Shemek and I will be in our confessionals on Christmas Eve Day (December 24th) from 10:00 am until Noon.  So why not give yourself the best Christmas gift you’ll ever receive, God’s loving mercy and forgiveness.  Why not make a little room for the Lord before Christmas?  Stop by and visit Him in the Confessional before Christmas comes, He’s waiting to meet you and forgive you! Advent is  truly the time to prepare for His coming into our own lives and reflect upon our own poverty, the poverty of spirit. No one wants to admit to being needy.  It is, after all, allowing someone else to have strength and power to deliver what we are desperate for. When we are well fed and hydrated, healed, clothed and safe in our homes, it is difficult to be considered “needy”.  Yet most of us are ultimately bereft and spiritually impoverished, needing God even when we won’t admit it, or even reject Him. Despite the wealth with which we surround ourselves every day, our need is still great; we stand empty and ready to be filled–abundantly. Only God can fill that emptiness, only God can truly nourish us, and only God can truly save us.  We sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” but Emmanuel means God-with-us.  So we prepare in Advent for God to come to fill the voids in our lives, to nourish us with His eternal presence and to save us from the snares of this world, sin and selfishness.   But we also  rejoice that we that we have a Savior who is with us today! It’s Advent so stop and be silent, prepare and pray!  But also as Philippians reminds us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” Have a great week. God Bless.

Prepare the Way of the Lord!

Dear Parishioners:Advent moves quickly if you don’t stop to truly prepare the way of the Lord.  The hectic pace of our world and the speed with which our culture celebrates Christmas can distract us from truly preparing with prayer and patience.   So try this week to take a break from “the holiday” preparations like shopping, card writing and decorating and instead spend some time in prayer, coming to Daily Mass, praying the Rosary or reading the powerful scriptures of the Advent Season. It’s Advent catch the spirit while you still can!

Of course one of the hallmarks of this joyful season is giving to those less fortunate than ourselves.  This weekend our OLM Youth Group is collecting toiletry items for McAuley House after all Masses.  These simple items for personal care are greatly needed by those who can little afford them but have great need for them.  I am grateful to the Youth Group for coordinating this great effort to reach out to the needy in this season.

Many people have commented on the new look of the bulletin.  Yes, if you haven’t noticed it has changed in appearance and in size.  It is now fully color and has more pages.  I hope this change will enhance its use for the parish as not only a means of finding information but also as a catechetical tool.  In this Year of Faith, I hope to use the bulletin as a resource to deepen our knowledge and enliven our understanding of the faith.

You will notice a new column called appropriately enough, “The Catechism Corner.”  This will be a weekly column dedicated to a particular topic of our faith.  Each column will offer some insight and understanding on some aspect of the Catholic Faith and provide a reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for further study.  I hope every family and household owns a copy of the Catechism as it is a valuable reference tool and important way to learn more about our Catholic Faith.  As the column reminds us each week, check it out in the Catechism!

I hope you like the new hymnals that arrived last week. I thank Brother Roger for his leadership in choosing the hymnal and coordinating the order.   It isn’t easy to do as there are all kinds of hymnals to choose from and each offers something useful.  The Worship Hymnal is the updated version of the one that has long been used at Our Lady of Mercy so it should prove to be an easy transition.

You will notice listed in the inside cover  are  the revised translation of the Mass parts.  This will replace the use of the large cards that were placed in the pews last December.  It also contains the Order of Mass and the readings of each Sunday.  We are currently in Cycle C of the readings and you can find them located toward the back of the hymnal.  While no hymnal is perfect nor does every hymnal contain all the desired hymns we might wish, this Fourth Edition of the Worship Hymnal  provides what we need for our worship at OLM.

Speaking of hymns, please take note  that next Sunday at 5:00pm our Adult and Children’s Choirs along with the Handbell Choir are having a Service of Advent Lessons and Carols. They have been practicing hard and it should be a delightful celebration of song and scripture. Lessons and Carols is a service of Scripture and song that dates to the late 19th century. In this service, we listen to  Scripture lessons which recount the Fall, the promise of a Messiah, the  Incarnation, and the Great Commission to preach the Good News. Each lesson is followed by a carol or other song that reflects on the lesson's message.  Not only will the choirs be singing but there will also be congregational singing.  It is a great way to rejoice in the Advent season.  In the spirit of the season a free-will offering for Bishop Tobin’s Keep the Heat On Fund will be taken up.

So please mark your calendars and be sure to join us. Have you taken the time this Advent to stop, pause and pray?  It’s never too late to patiently prepare for the Lord’s coming.  Remember we are called to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths!”  God Bless.  Have a great week.  Go Pats!

Advent is here, are you ready?

Dear Parishioners:“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as the song that typifies the Season of Advent calls forth.  Yes, we begin this Sunday the time of preparation and prayer of the coming of Christ at Christmas. We begin the season by blessing the Advent Wreath and marking the First Sunday of Advent.  The priests don violet vestments to remind us of the somberness of the season.  The gospel reminds us this weekend to “be vigilant at all times and pray.” Advent is also a time to prepare for the second coming of the Lord. We say in the Creed, He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. This truth flows directly from Scripture which teaches clearly two things on which we must reflect. First, He will come again in glory. Second we cannot know the day or the hour that he will return. In fact, though some signs will precede his coming, the  emphasis of Scripture falls upon the suddenness of the event.  Since this is to be the case we must live lives of readiness for that day. Advent is a time when we especially reflect of the necessity of our readiness.

In the midst of the frenzied season of shopping, card writing, baking, wrapping, decorating, and going to parties, it’s important to remind ourselves why we do all this and more!  Advent is a time for each of us to stop and listen to the voice of God in our lives.  Perhaps we might consider beginning our Advent Day by coming to Daily Mass during the week, turning off the radio and praying the Rosary on the way to work, or reading the scriptures of the season to begin our day.  Take some time to prepare the way for Christ with prayer and devotion.

Here at OLM we will also celebrate the Season of Advent by helping those less fortunate than ourselves.  Next weekend our OLM Youth Group will be collecting toiletries for McAuley House after all Masses.  They also just recently raked the leaves at the homes of some our parish shut-ins.  You can see them in action on our parish webpage (www.olmparish.org).  So please consider helping them help the needy during this season. The OLM Outreach Ministry is again placing an Advent Sharing Tree in the vestibule of Church.  There is need of gift cards and money cards for  the needy.  You can also take an envelope and purchase a Christmas gift for an elderly resident at the Jeanne Jugan Residence.

Your great and generous response at Thanksgiving enabled us to prepare and distribute many baskets for the needy in our own area.  Also because of your generous support of the Outreach Ministry we were able to send a check for $1,000 to McAuley House to help them with their many services for the homeless.  In their name, I thank you for your generous and faithful support of the needy and the poor.

Next Saturday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Our Mother Mary under this title is the patroness of our nation and so it is a holy day of obligation for Catholics.  There are three Masses for the holy day including a Vigil Mass on Friday.  Please  join us as we honor our national patroness and our Mother, Mary.

I am very grateful for the many parishioners who were so generous and supportive in responding to the Annual Collection.  It is a great start to helping us with capital improvement costs.  One of them was the purchase of new hymnals for $11,000. These hymnals which we begin using this weekend, provide updated translations of the revised Roman Missal  as well as the scriptures.  They also provide a wide variety of hymns and settings for our worship at Mass. They should last for  over a decade like the old ones.

Also my thanks goes out to the members of our Confirmation Class  for their coat drive before Thanksgiving.  Hundreds of coats were donated and were given for those most in need of them.  Thanks to all who donated them!  With the cold weather now arrived, they are a blessing for many.

Have a great week.  Celebrate the Advent Season!  Stop, pray and listen for He is coming!  God Bless. Go Pats!

Long Live Christ the King!

Dear Parishioners: It has often been said that “history repeats itself.”  It was this thought that came to mind as I reflected upon our recent national election.  The election results indicate that we are a nation politically divided, the red states and the blue states as it is often described.  But for me what is even more troubling is the fact that we seem to be a nation deeply divided on some very fundamental issues about the sanctity of human life and dignity, the nature and meaning of marriage, our obligations to the poor and needy, and the free exercise of religion and conscience.  In some ways it seems we are a nation divided by those who have religious faith and those who do not have any religious faith.

A recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates that the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public - and a third of adults under 30 - are religiously unaffiliated today.  Nearly 33 million people  say they have no particular religious affiliation.  While those Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular religion have seen the greatest growth in numbers as a result of changes in affiliation, the Catholic Faith has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic.  Very alarming statistics indeed!

These statistics suggest that many in our nation “want a king without the kingdom; a shepherd without the other sheep; a father, with us as the only child; a general without an army; to believe without belonging.”  Upon reflecting on the growth in secularism the U.S. Bishops state: “there are many men—and their number is daily increasing—who in practice live their lives without recognizing that this is God's world. For the most part they do not deny God. On formal occasions they may even mention His name.  But they fail to bring an awareness of their responsibility to God into their thought and action as individuals and members of society.” The rise of secularism is not new as history does seem to repeat itself.  You see the statement above was written in 1947 not 2012!  And over twenty years earlier in 1925 Pope Pius XI established the great feast we celebrate this weekend, the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  He did so as an antidote to the growth of secularism especially in Europe in the 1920s. The feast proclaims in a striking and effective manner Christ's reign over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

Let’s prayerfully reflect upon these startling statistics as we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. And as we  begin to prepare for the holy season of Advent next week, let us pray for all those alienated from God and Church, all those lost and confused about Christ and His teachings, and for ourselves and our parish family that we may always let our Lord and King, Jesus Christ rule our hearts and homes.  Together let us echo the last words of the Blessed Martyr Miguel Pro: “Long live Christ the King!”