Listen to audio of Irish Blessing

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Fr. Jim Deiters

Before my younger sister Rita died of cancer, one year ago this weekend, I was blessed to have some good prayer time with her as well as plenty of laughter over some childhood memories.  Since she and I were less than thirteen months apart in age, we spent a lot of time together as children, especially with our mutual love of cats.  In a galaxy far away, before video games and computers, we could leave this world and entertain ourselves for hours with each new litter of kittens that came along, sometimes training them to sit still during our pretend Mass that we had!

A child’s mind is beautiful in how it lives completely in the present moment and enters a world with whatever is in front of them.  Oftentimes a child’s upset happens when we adults attempt to pull them from their self-centered world into our own version of reality.  For example, I MIGHT have thrown a fit or two when we had to put the cats aside and help set the table for dinner. That is why parents, grandparents, educators, and religious formation have the critical role of shaping a child and teenage mind as they will usually imitate what they see us doing and saying.  We must continually remind them that the most ‘real world’ they belong to is God’s Kingdom, which is their real identity.

With many outside influences in forming our version of reality, we each start to create a world of our own, often forgetting our primary identity as a child of God…and our essential belonging to God’s world.  Of course God wants us to enjoy this beautiful Earth he gave us as a home, but as St. Paul reminds us today, “Our citizenship is in heaven.”  Once we are baptized, our passport and ID card beautifully claim us as citizens of heaven and belonging to God.

But, is that the version of reality we really live in?  To what or whom are we most dedicated and passionate?  If one travels the world and sees the harsh realities of so many people, we realize how privileged we are to have the gift of citizenship here in the United States of America.  But of course Jesus commands that we use ourprivileged status in a holy and helpful way for the majority of God’s children who live with so little.  History teaches us that versions of the word “citizenship” has caused hatred and divisions, wars and genocide, as we humans vie for power, land, and natural resources, forgetting to whom ‘all of this’ belongs in the first place.

And so I find that the way St. Paul uses the word “citizenship” is very freeing and can help us see the bigger picture of what I call the “Constitution of Christianity” and to whom we belong – which is God and hisKingdom of justice for all people.  This biblical version of “citizenship” places a big responsibility upon us Christians to always work for bigger causes than our own personal freedom and happiness.

In this Lenten scripture text, St. Paul is challenging us to re-evaluate how much of our time and energy is based on what he calls “earthly things”…compared to keeping our focus on what it means to be “citizens of heaven” and working on things that matter to God…which we learn from Jesus’ example.

It is interesting to think of Jesus as being an earthly citizen of the Roman Empire and from the farming region of Galilee…and yet he constantly had his eyes and heart on his heavenly Father and his ultimate home of heaven.  It certainly helped that in his prayer, as we learn in the Transfiguration Event, he always listened for God calling him his “Beloved” and “Chosen.”  Jesus teaches us that through daily prayer time with God, we remain grounded in our ‘nationality’ as God’s beloved…and our real homeland in the bigger Communion of the Trinity.

What does this have to do with Lent and our journey to the empty tomb of Easter?  Again we turn to the text from St. Paul when he says that as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, he will “change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body…”  This is it!  We use these days of Lent to pray and learn ‘what’ in our bodies need to change, be conformed and transfigured, to be more like Jesus’ thinking and actions.  What am I putting into my body, eyes, or mind that is not helping me be more like Jesus, a compassionate citizen of heaven?

Such a question can serve as a good examination of conscience for what we ask help with at Mass today and in our prayer this week.  We might also ask our self: What versions of citizenship or belonging do I give my time and energy…and what needs to be transfigured in my world that better reflects my primary citizenship with God in heaven?

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Fr. Jim Deiters

Because most of us have dealt with it among family or friends, we know that dementia and Alzheimer’s are possibly the worst illnesses since the memory fades and one can lose a sense of identity and history.  It is especially painful for the family members who so want their loved one to remember them and we have to give up that need.  Without making light of this terrible condition, part of the spiritual journey we focus on during Lent is about correcting our own amnesia or forgetfulness about who we are and where we are going as sons and daughters of God.

In our first reading from Exodus we have Moses giving a sermon on remembering to the Israelites.  He walks through a memory log of all the times that God helped them and their ancestors in difficult times.  Here in the Mass, we do a similar exercise as we always listen to the Scriptures of God’s timeless care for us… and then at the Altar, we pray the Eucharistic Prayer which reminds us the saving actions of Jesus’ suffering, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.  The whole Mass is a REMEMBERING exercise that challenges us to really listen and recall all that God has done and is saving us on a daily basis.

One way of interpreting the story of Jesus’ Temptations is to see it as an act of remembering; Jesus faces his temptations by going deep within himself to remember who he IS as God’s Beloved.  What I think is most interesting and powerful is how Jesus actually talks to his temptations and puts the devil in his place…as less powerful than God’s Grace and help.

Have you ever tried talking to your sinful temptations like Jesus did?  Instead of trying to stop the temptations from arising, Jesus confronted his temptations by talking back to his tempting thoughts by remembering his identity, mission and purpose. This is one of those Scripture passages that reveals Jesus experiencing the fullness of our humanity.  God knows that one of the greatest things we struggle with is our temptations to make bad choices and so he came to experience our temptations and to teach us how to work through themwithout giving in to them.  This is God facing human temptations in a very real way, showing us that we havemore power over the devil than we think we do. 

The problem with our temptations is that they often appear as the right or ‘feel good’ thing to do…which is part of the devil’s lie.  Giving in to sinful temptations is usually rooted in a forgetting who we are as “temples of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus models for us that to resist temptations we have to remember that we were created by God to be holy and that our body, heart, and soul belong to God.  If we start each day with remembering this, it helps us tell the difference between what ‘feels’ right and what really is right.  Jesus gives us such a powerful tool and example by talking back to his temptations, basically saying to the devil, “This cannot be right, this is not who I am or what I am committed to.” 

I always teach our youth that living in a world of lies, we Christians, more than ever, have to know what we really believe in and are committed to.  We have to have a clear understanding of the values and non-negotiables for which we stand. Of course this is the essence of good parenting too – giving our children a strong understanding of themselves as sons and daughters of God, committed to the selfless example of Jesus. 

So what are we to do with sinful temptations?  Jesus demonstrates three ways to talk back to them by remembering who we are:

1. Remembering what you stand for and believe in. Have in our mind, our heart, and our soul, a clear understanding of our Christian commitments and values– love, compassion, forgiveness, truth, and justice.  We must make these non-negotiables.

2.     Remembering the power of God we have been given.  At moments of temptation, tell the devil that we will not believe his lies.  We follow God alone and will not serve any other god by giving into false pleasures.  Our eternal joy is with Jesus Christ.

3.     Remembering who we really are.  Jesus came to know himself as God’s Beloved… and a commitment to that identity shaped all of his choices.  We must tell ourselves daily that we belong to God as his son or daughter…and all our behaviors must reflect this identity. Our other life commitments flow out of our primary commitment to God. 

The holy Mass is our “memory bank” where we recall time and again the simple and profound ways that our loving God has always provided for our needs…and is at our side, helping us resist sinful temptations with the power of the Holy Spirit.

EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

For my birthday in January I received from some good friends a wonderful book of poems by the Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver.  If you are not familiar with her writings, Mary Oliver had this incredible gift of noticing the beauty and miracle of nature…and inviting the reader to pay more attention to the wisdom of God’s Creation all around and within us.  In just a few poetic lines, either about a grasshopper, an ocean wave or peonies, Oliver gets you to slow down and leave this world for a few minutes and asks you in the poem “The Summer Day,”  “what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Through most of Jesus’ teaching, I hear him asking a similar question, “What are you doing with your life?”  Mostly he does it with parables, like the ones we hear today, that sort of tell us to stand on our head and re-examine our life from a new perspective.  Jesus uses strong poetic language like “did you even notice the beam in your eye… or the rotten fruit coming off your tree… or the ugly words coming out of your mouth?”  Since most of us need greater self-awareness, this is definitely a pre-Lenten challenging Gospel which gives us plenty of options of what to work on during the purifying Lent season starting on Wednesday.

In this one short gospel, we actually have three parables in which Jesus is having us review: 1) how we are looking at or judging people; 2) how we are acting or behaving; and 3) what is coming out of our mouth.  In other words, the three parables are asking about integrity in our life.  Do my vision, actions, and speech truly reflect that I am a disciple of Jesus?  More specifically, both the first reading from Sirach and the Gospel remind us that there is a direct link between what is in our heart…and what is coming out in our words.  Lent is a time to seriously examine what is going on in our heart that needs converted so that our heart, words, and actions are more and more like those of Jesus, our true guide of how to live our life.

While we can gripe all we want about the lies that continually come out of some of our public leaders, Jesus puts a mirror in front of us with these parables by zooming in on what is going on in our personal life.  But this is not just about being a ‘nice’ person. Atheists can be nice people!  No, this is about truly becoming more like Jesus in all we say and do.  Which in Catholic language, we say that our heart has to be transformed orconverted into the heart of Jesus.

Why the need for conversion and changing our ways?  It comes down to integrity.  With the ultimate goal of Jesus wanting to use our life as a witness of love to others, people will only be drawn closer to Jesus if they see a powerful connection between our claim to be Christian and how they observe us living our life.  Particularly,youth and young adults are seeking to belong to groups who model a genuine faith in how we treat others and work to change systems of injustice.

Poetry and parables always challenge us to become more aware of our self and the world around us…and what needs to change.  Let us pray this week for the Holy Spirit to help us know what needs to change in the way we see, act, and speak.

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

My grandma always said that a measuring cup interfered in cooking.  When we were at her house and invited to help bake something, she said that the best recipes are in your head and you don’t need measuring cups.  I try to follow her wisdom but ask her heavenly pardon when trying a new recipe with minute details.  Whether you cook much or not, we all use version of measuring cups in how we perceive or judge persons on a daily basis. Jesus uses the image of “measuring” in his harsh lesson today demanding forgiveness and love toward people who hate or hurt us.  Jesus’ teachings and example of non-violence are so difficult that this sermon was a turning point in his ministry that caused many of his followers to walk away concluding his teachings were too difficult.

Without turning this into a therapy session of how to be healed of painful hurts and forgive hateful people, I hear Jesus simply asking us this question, “What are you using for your measuring cup…for love?”  Or more specifically we can ask our self, “Who taught me how big my measuring cup for forgiveness should be?”  Early in our childhood development, with various influences, we start to formulate what love means…as well as therisks and benefits of giving and receiving love.  And at some point we set up clearly defined “measuring cups” that set limits and boundaries of who and how much we can forgive and love.  And our limits get reinforced orshrink each time we feel betrayed or get hurt in a relationship.  At the same time we create all kinds ofexpectations on others…that if I pour out my cup of love on you…I can expect this or that in return?  (Of course breaking civil law has its own rules that must be followed.)

We see a test of forgiveness being played out within our Universal Church right now as Catholics are reexamining their trust in Church leadership as some leaders have betrayed the flock.  But even within our own family life, we are tested in how large a measure of love we can give to a sibling, spouse, child or friend, when it seems they have used up every drop of charity we thought we had.  How is it possible to heed Jesus’ teaching to “give without counting or expecting anything in return?”  This is radical stuff!

When we hear this tough challenge…we want to scream out, “BUT Jesus, what about this hurtful thing or that unforgiveable deed?”   Jesus then adds salt to the commandment by simply telling us THIS: think about how forgiving and loving God is to you.  That’s it! “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Putting this into practice requires starting each day meditating on how much LOVE God has for you…and that reflectioninspires us to be more generous in loving others.

Since God’s essence is unconditional love and forgiveness…and we are made in God’s Image…what makes us think that we don’t have the power to love and forgive as God does?  Why do we doubt this power we have been given?  We often pull back from using our God-given power…because we have defined and limited our measuring cup of how much love we think we are capable of. 

In the Eucharist, Jesus pours God’s divine love and mercy INTO our humanity and expands our measuring cupto be able to give, forgive and love beyond our limited imagination.  THIS is the miracle of the Eucharist that we truly need!

Now, this may seem like a curve ball…but I see a powerful connection between this difficult teaching of Jesus and our parish building project.  This church building, this Altar, and the people sitting next to you share a common Mission -- which is to lead people to Jesus and know of God’s unconditional love.  Presently we arelimited in how effective we can DO this mission.  Our old office building on the hill is falling apart…and our fellowship hall and nursery are too small for us to keep welcoming all the new people moving into our area…who are looking for a community centered in Jesus Christ.  Every square foot of our new addition will be in service of our MISSION to serve God and others.  Some have the resources to help build their portion of 1 square foot…and others have the capability to add 1000 square feet toward the total project.  Each of us has theprivileged opportunity of leaving a legacy of expanding our space for people searching for God’s love for the next 150 years!

What we are building is an extra-large ‘measuring cup’ that will help more and more people expand their thinking -- to enable them to know how much they are loved by God and have the power to love others just as much.  If you find God’s love and forgiveness in this space, then join your fellow Catholics in the pew around you in helping us create an even larger ‘cup’ of God’s overflowing grace and mercy!

For now, let us prepare to let Jesus pour God’s limitless love into our small cup.

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

So, I was having this really good conversation with a young adult who no longer goes to church.  He was being really honest with me when he said that he couldn’t bring together his present lifestyle with teachings about God and the Catholic faith…and that his weekend was “too full” with work and friends to have time for church.  As I listened to what was all going on in his life, I simply asked him if he was really happy and felt good about his future.  He smiled and asked, “Can a person ever be really happy?”  Which was the perfect question for me to give a short witness of why I stay with the Catholic faith and think going to church is good for people.

His question about happiness came to mind when I was mulling over these scriptures and our opening hymn (“I Know that my Redeemer Lives”) that all use this word “blessed” many times over.    I hear people only using the word “blessed” at times like when some health tests came back favorably…or after a loved one dies to describe how the person touched their life.  But the scriptures and various hymns about ‘blessedness’ call us to think of the word more as a ‘state of being’ or as a ‘paradigm’ out of which one lives and breathes on a daily basis.

While the young adult’s question, “Is it possible to really be happy?” deserves a deeper philosophical debate, St. Paul, in our letter to the Corinthians interestingly centers the whole conversation on happiness and being blessed around the Resurrection of Jesus.   As I always tell young people, “If you can get your mind around and really believe in the absolute miracle that Jesus came back to life after being completely dead, then everything else falls in place.”  St. Paul is teaching us that living in a state of blessedness and happiness is about realizing that, through Jesus’ Resurrection, we each live in a new realm of existence…that puts everything else in perspective…and helps us deal with life’s problems.

That does not mean that the trials and sufferings of this life will disappear, but rather I now see and ‘interpret’the things going on in my life THROUGH this new life I live in Christ!  Jesus’ Resurrection allows me toreinterpret such things as health problems, my child’s disability, a broken relationship, or the loss of a loved one.  It doesn’t change the situation, but living IN Jesus’ Resurrected Life, I can always cling to my ‘blessed’ life in God…and anchor myself in the bedrock of Christ-centered happiness as the core of my being.

This then is how we can interpret Jesus talking about being “blessed,” even when things are not going well in my life.  In a sense, every one of us lives in some version of poverty, hunger, or grief…but often we don’t call it that; we mistakenly think that we are supposed to have it all together and keep our life full and busy…so that no one will know that deep down we are struggling and hungering for something more meaningful.  Or as the young man told me, “My weekend is too full to have time for church.”  Blessed really…are those whorecognize how poor and hungry they are deep down…and how much they need God’s help and mercy!   Or, as Jeremiah said it so beautifully, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who hope is in the Lord.  She is like atree planted near the water…stretching its roots to the stream.”

Am I stretching my roots to the stream of God’s love, peace, and mercy?

Stretching out our roots… means making that time for daily prayer in the morning and in Eucharistic Adoration; making a good confession to admit how hungry and empty I feel; and recognizing that some of my busy-ness might be a cover-up for being unsatisfied?  Jesus uses symbolic words like “satisfied” and “laughing” and “leaping for joy” to describe the person who centers their life in the Kingdom of God…withdeep roots in the stream of his Resurrected Life.  These are the ones who know deep in their heart and soul that they ARE BLESSED…even in the midst of family issues, health problems, or grief.

The only reason that Jesus uses the ‘woe to you’ statements is out of his love and concern for those who are too full of themselves or their things that they don’t have time or room… for the Blessed Life of living in Christ and his Resurrection.  Living IN Jesus’ Resurrection means we are detached from the things of this world even while appreciating their beauty and goodness.

We so need to teach and model for our young people that: Every Eucharist is a personal encounter with theRisen Christ…where we remember how BLESSED we really are!  How powerful to know that in the midst of our hunger and poverty…here at the Altar we are “planted” in the stream of Jesus’ life-giving mercy!
 

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters
 
In 2010, a group of us from St. Clare made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land that was a remarkable spiritual experience.  One of the many highlights was seeing in a museum the archeological treasure of a First Century fishing boat that was discovered in 1986 when the Sea of Galilee area had a drought and the wooden boat was exposed in the mud.  Based on the location of its discovery, there is a good chance that it could have been one used by Jesus’ first disciples.  I was surprised by its size of 27 feet long and almost 8 feet wide.  There was something powerful about being in the presence of something that was such a central part of Jesus’ life…which we hear about in the gospel today in the calling of the first disciples who were fishermen.
 
While this story has many symbols layered into Jesus’ calling for us to follow him, I want to focus on one part of it that I think is very helpful as to where we are in the challenges and opportunities we face as a Church - universally, in the diocese, and in our parish.  Just when we can sometimes get worried about our future and want to cling to the shore, Jesus commands us to “go out into the deep.”
 
As with many other times in our 2000-year-old Catholic history, our Church is going through some challenging, clarifying times.  Pope Francis is trying his best to lead us through purification, healing, and trust.  And our own bishop is asking all parishes to prepare for the reality that there will only be about 25 active diocesan priests in five years.  Add to that whatever challenges you are going through in your personal life and we can be tempted to say to Jesus like Peter did, “Lord we have worked hard…and our tired.”

But we can get motivated by Jesus’ command to “put out into the deep...for a big catch…” as we think about the positive direction of our parish that is thriving and needing more space.   For 150 years, St. Clare parishioners HAVE been casting out “into the deep” and we have many new disciples who keep coming to our seaside seeking to get “into the boat” with Jesus and us.
 
If we look around and see the waves coming at the boat of the Church, there is a temptation to be fearful and want to return to shore and give up “fishing” for more disciples.  Especially as so many cultural pressures lure us to stay in the shallow and take the minimalist approach and do the least, we have a great opportunity at St. Clare to heed Jesus’ command to “put out into the deep” and take the bold step of expanding for the bright future of the Catholic faith!
 
Our present building project that we are launching is NOT just a building, but a large “net” of services and ministries that will catch a large number of present and new disciples to get closer to Jesus.  Attracting and ‘catching’ new disciples for Jesus is the real purpose of our life as Christians. And notice how Jesus calls his new followers.  He meets them right in the midst of their busy working family lives…and invites them to be a part of something bigger.
 
They could have responded with things like “but the fishing market is not good right now,” or “but we are just simple people with not much to offer.”  But instead, they take this big leap of faith and trusted in Jesus’ vision for something bigger and better.  Many Christians go to church to GET something…in the Word and sacraments.  But if we say yes to Jesus’ summons to go into the deep, we are called to give and become ‘involved’ in the hard work of discipleship…even as the security of the shore looks comfortable and safe. 

Jesus’ invitation to “put out into the deep” is for each of us to hear and follow with faith and trust.  It can mean a variety of things: from leaving our comfort zone and getting more involved in parish life or outreach to the poor; or adventuring out from the shallow waters where we want easy answers to life’s complex problems and instead wade into the deep waters of faith in God; instead of just blaming the pope or bishops for the tangled nets of the Church…we can choose to put our efforts toward the successful discipleship “fishing activities” of our parish so it can continue to grow.  Every ministry we do at St. Clare and every dollar we spend in our parish “fishing business” is meant to bring more people to Jesus Christ.
 
We learn from the story that Jesus always takes the initiative to meet us at whatever “seashore of life” we are at… and calls us to come experience something deeper and be a part of something bigger.  Jesus wants to USE our simple lives and the resources God has given us to build up the Catholic Church for more and more people to know God’s love and mercy.  When it may feel a little frightening to push out from the shallow…and into the deep, Jesus says to us with his calming words “Do not be afraid.”  From this Gospel, the question that we bring to the Altar today and to our prayer this week is this: What do I need to leave at the shore…to better follow Jesus?

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

One time on retreat, the director had each of us take two pieces of paper.  On the first one he had us write out in 50 words or less what we would want printed in our obituary.  After we finished that, we were to write on the other sheet how people would describe us after we died.  Would the eulogy at your funeral be a list of academic, financial, or athletic accomplishments...or a list of examples of love?  The latter list of love is the real purpose of a Christian during our time here on earth.  But we often forget our goal of being a saint...to continually grow in love of God and others.  

To remind us of our ultimate goal of love, we have this beautiful passage from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that serves as an ‘examination of conscience’ where we are at on the path of love...the road to heaven.  It is the follow up to last week’s passage to live as one Body of Christ.  Paul starts out saying that no matter how big our accomplishments, how knowledgeable we are, how generous we are, how smart we are...none of thatmatters if we do not have love.  NOTHING in our life matters if we are not people of love!

But, what kind of love is St. Paul talking about?  In English, we use the word love loosely: from our ‘love’ of chocolate to love of our mother.  But it is also often used to describe an emotional attraction or erotic feelings.  This is why some marriages fail when people say, “I fell out of love” as if the marriage was just a feeling.  For Paul, Christian love for others is rooted in the Greek word ‘agape.’ In this understanding, true love, clarified by St. Thomas Aquinas, is: desiring the good of the other.  This is epitomized in the example of Christ dying for love of us.  His main desire was for our good!  Christian- agape love for someone is when my main desire is for the other person’s well-being.

Often times in our misunderstanding of love, we keep waiting for the other to love US in return...or meet MY needs.  Agape love keeps being patient and kind...giving up my need for the other person to love me in return....or give me something for what I have done for them.  The frustration that often comes in a relationship is when I’m the one that keeps giving and the other person doesn’t give back...or accept my love for them.  At first that sounds like a fair, basic expectation in a relationship.  BUT, in ‘agape-Christian’ love, I simply give love away without a single expectation of getting anything in return.  This is a VERY different way of thinking about love from how many of us were raised.

As children we learned to help our parents or others thinking they will love us more if we do things for them.  We buy or do things for a friend or spouse with some unconscious idea that they will love me more if I keep doing good things for them.  Am I doing it out of love...or to get people to like and admire me?  As good as our actions may be, if you think about it, they are still sometimes rooted in an ego desire to get something for myself.  

So Paul walks us through various examples of true ‘agape’ love that never tires of wanting the good of the other.  When you live with agape love, you would never rejoice in another person’s downfall...but are happyfor the other person’s gifts and accomplishments.  Compare that with how we often join in gossip or thrive on news about people’s mistakes or sins.

Paul goes on to say that when you live with agape selfless love, you never ‘brood’ over injuries.  When our egois in charge, we keep re-hashing an old wound, ‘brooding’ and reminding our self of the hurt the other person has done to us.  The hurt is so deep sometimes that our memory gets stuck there.  Love cannot waste time brooding...but seeks to find a way OUT of the hurt....forgiving, or just forgetting it...patiently wanting the goodof the other....even when the person does not meet my need. Love sets us free from past hurts… AND you give the other person the freedom to move on if they won’t accept my love.  Connected with all this, Paul says that “Love bears all things!”  Imagine that!  We usually set limits on what we can put up with or forgive; but if we let God’s Love possess our heart we can actually “bear” someone else’s lack of love or forgiveness...and then that same love of God in us helps us “endure all things.”

We are talking about real faith here because this kind of love is often beyond our imagining or experience.   This is why St. Paul says that we have to put aside “childish” ways and live with a love that is adult and Christ-centered – which allows us to love in ways that we never thought possible.  Love that sets others free and hasno expectations… actually is what sets us free! 

This is the kind of love that Jesus wants to ‘pour into us’ in the Eucharist - one that changes our limited view of love into God’s version of love that only wants the good of the other.  It requires a willingness to die to our self and be raised up into a new person who is as loving as Jesus Christ himself.  Let us recommit our self to our goal of being a saint on the road to heaven...and beseech Jesus to change our heart to love others like God’s heart does for us.

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

Throughout the past year, I have written a variety of articles for you and spoken at various parish events about our much-needed building project coming up this year.  The main thing I have focused on thus far has been on how much we need to replace the little red-brick farmhouse that we have used for offices but is now falling apart and costing us a lot of money.  At the Town Hall meeting of parishioners we had last spring I heard from many of you how much we also need to expand our fellowship hall, kitchen, and nursery.  As we are about to embark on this project, I want to share with you how a parish building project such as this is directly connected to what we just heard in our reading St. Paul to the Corinthians…about being ONE Body of Christ.

One of the beautiful things I discovered as I have helped lead our parish through past building projects such as this church and our large school addition is how the process, planning, and fundraising really brings about a deepening sense of unity in our parish.  Building something togethergives us the opportunity to practice what St. Paul is talking about today when he describes the Church (parish) as a body…and how each part of the body needs the other parts to function well as a whole. 

Especially in a parish as large as ours, and in a culture where everyone is busy scurrying around to achieve their personal dreams, we need something that helps see ourselves as CONNECTED and united to something bigger – that is to Christ and his Church.  St. Paul is challenging us to see that each of our lives has a particular PURPOSE that God needs to make up the whole Body of Christ.  Sometimes, a parishioner does not realize how much they are needed to make this Body of Christ, called a “parish,” work!  Often times we might think that some ELSE will volunteer for that…or donate more.

Each member of the Church has a particular function and purpose and NEEDS the other members to make up the whole.  Paul writes, “Just as the hand of a body needs the feet and the ears need the eyes to do their part, so too do we each need each other” and no ONE person is any less significant than the other.  This image is particularly helpful when we notice the differences of personalities or abilities within parish life.  A ‘body’ needs each and every person and what they can contribute to make the whole Body of Christ function well.

The kind of ‘unity’ that St. Paul is describing goes much deeper than just having a ‘function’ in the community.  He is talking about being ‘united’ in terms of committing our self to the bigger picture – the whole Body of Christ!  While the Eucharist is the ultimate ‘Unifier’ of us all, what St. Paul is saying is that each person has been given certain gifts or charisms or resources that are NEEDED to make the Body of Christ complete.  Some can donate more time to volunteer or pray, others can give more financially, but each person is needed and valued…as together we make up ONE Body of Christ!

Paul reminds us that when we contribute with our gifts of time, talent, and treasure, it is meant to benefit the Body of Christ – the parish and Universal Church.  Our generosity should be based on our desire to support the bigger picture of the Church and the mission of the Gospel.  We come to Sunday Mass to remember our connection and responsibility to CHRIST’S BODY.  Can you see the difference…between choosing to be an active, contributing part of Christ’s Body…and not just searching for a ‘social club’ of people similar to myself?

St. Paul goes on, “When one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; and if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.”  Our pews are set up around the Altar as a symbol of our unity in sharing our sufferings and joys.  A parish creates a sense of community and faithfulness to Christ...when we each make a commitment to be active and contributing for the good of the WHOLE Body of Christ.  Giving our best is a sign of our commitment is to Jesus Christ! The more we see our self as belonging to CHRIST, the more we are willing to SHARE of our resources and time for the good of the whole body! 

However small and insignificant we THINK we are, here at the Altar it is Christ Jesus who stands before us inviting us to know how important each of us IS in making up the whole Body of Christ.  The Eucharist calls us OUT OF our isolation and unites us once again to the other members.  It is through our commitment to CHRIST that we are then more committed to ALL the other members of Christ’s Body – here in the parish and throughout the world.

LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Fr. Jim Deiters

In our Church and in our world this week we have a powerful intersection between various groups praying for peace.  Tens of thousands are in Washington D.C. at the Prolife Rally praying for peace for babies in the womb; Millions more are praying and dancing this weekend that the dreams for racial peace of Martin Luther King, Jr become reality; and Christian leaders of the world joined Pope Francis on Friday to begin our annual week of prayer for unity among all Christian denominations.  Even though our human history is wrought with division, war, and segregation, we Christians must never tire of spending our life for the sake of God’s Peace to be a reality for all people– for the baby in the womb, the migrant looking for a home, and for anyone oppressed for their skin color, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.

It is an understatement that being a peacemaker and actively seeking peace for others is really hard work.  Especially in our world being so divided, we can easily throw in the towel or walk away from difficult conflict resolution…falling into the trap of isolation or individualism and keeping to our self.  Especially when we see what happens to active peacemakers like Martin Luther King Jr…and Jesus himself, we are tempted to shrink from our Christian responsibilities to break down walls of division and hate.  The other problem we experience is that we often feel inadequate or lacking the skills to make any difference in Jesus’ goal for unity among all people.  How can my little life make any contribution to such mammoth issues as the dignity and respect of each human life?

Using today’s Gospel of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water to wine, we have to start with one “water jar” at a time. In other words, when it looks and feels like our own life’s ‘water jar’ is empty, Jesus wants to fill us and change us into a vessel of life-giving wine that overflows to bless the lives of others. While the story highlights Jesus power to change water into wine…and eventually wine into his Precious Blood, the miracle reveals a deeper message that Jesus ushers in a whole new way of looking at life. 

The miracle at the wedding in Cana is NOT just about having more wine to drink.  Following his baptism, Jesus is making it public that a new marriage is taking place between God and humanity.  The wedding feast of the Messianic age has begun!  And every day we are privileged servants at God’s Wedding Feast… where God wants all people to feast on his banquet of peace and justice! The lack of wine and empty jars represent our thirsting humanity separated from God by Original Sin.  Jesus’ changing the water to wine is the changing of humanity...converting the water jar of our life into a vessel that gives drink to the thirsty and peace to those who live in fear.  Ultimately, when we ourselves drink of Jesus’ Spirit, our empty-water-jar lives turn into overflowing ‘best wine’ forothers.

Every day of life, but especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, is a wedding feast in the Kingdom that Jesus has inaugurated. We simply have to bring to God our empty water jar and desire to be filled and willing to be changed.  The starting point however, is recognizing that the ‘water jar’ of our life is beautiful, holy, and worthy to ‘hold’ Jesus’ wine of love and peace for others at God’s Banquet of life. 

The Gospel writer John includes for us the unique special instructions for serving at Jesus’ Wedding Feast.  It comes from our Mother Mary as she point us in the right direction when she says, “Do whatever he tells you.”  This is it!  These are the last words that Mary speaks in the Gospel...summarizing the Way to the heavenly wedding feast. “Doing what Jesus tells us...webecome the beloved, the espoused of God!  The Mass then IS the wedding feast of the Lamb - our humanity married to God’s divinity!  We simply have to admit that our jar is empty …and bring it here to God...with a willingness to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Then, through the Eucharist, our ‘watered-down’ lives become Jesus’ great wine of compassion and mercy for others.