tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38427085530411850952024-02-02T07:51:56.485-08:00Lower Your Nets"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." - Lk 5:4Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-61222215203326115032014-01-26T06:51:00.000-08:002014-01-30T06:51:22.239-08:00Unexpected Grace Out of Unexpected Trial<span style="font-size: large;">3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A</span><br />
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Last week I went on pilgrimage with a few hundred teens from our diocese to the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. <a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/FrAndrew/2014/2014-01-26%20Fr%20Andrew%203rd%20Sunday%20In%20Ordinary%20Time.mp3">Here's my homily from this past Sunday.</a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-49482301449314432712013-06-02T06:25:00.000-07:002013-07-14T06:36:58.958-07:00Real Presence<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) - Year C</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Mass isn't a flashback, it's time travel. The events of the Last Supper and Calvary aren't just "remembered" they are realities re-presented to us, here and now.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-06-02.mp3"><b>Click here to listen to this homily.</b></a></span></span>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-31825102451532679372013-05-12T06:31:00.000-07:002013-07-14T06:31:37.967-07:00You Will Be My Witnesses<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord - Year C</span><br />
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Before ascending to his Father, Jesus told his disciples, "You will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth." This is our call: to be witnesses to Jesus Christ by what we say and do.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-05-12.mp3">Click here to listen to this homily.</a></b>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-60176568938981495842013-05-05T06:35:00.000-07:002013-07-14T06:35:40.351-07:00Family Meeting<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 6th Sunday of Easter - Year C</span><br />
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Ever have a "family meeting" to hash out house rules and restore peace and order? The Church is a true family. Occasionally, she calls "family meetings" known as Ecumenical Councils to restore peace and order to our lives as Christians.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-05-05.mp3">Click here to listen to this homily.</a></b>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-91071672433949862532013-04-28T16:00:00.000-07:002013-04-28T16:00:00.455-07:00Necessary Hardships<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 5th Sunday of Easter - Year C</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">It goes without saying that we all want to get to Heaven. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">When it comes down to it, that’s why we’re all here right now. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">This is part of our plan for getting to Heaven: we pray, we listen to the Word of God, we receive the Eucharist, and we do so as a family, a Church.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But there’s still one more thing we must do to get to Heaven. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">St. Paul tells us what it is in today’s first reading. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And it’s difficult to hear.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s stark. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">St. Paul says, “It is </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>necessary</i></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have been undergoing many hardships lately. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Boston... West, Texas </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The other day a factory collapsed in Bangladesh; over 300 people are dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And we don’t have to look far and wide to see hardship. We find it in our own families and communities. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Marriages fall apart. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Friends and relatives are stricken with illness. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The innocent lose their lives.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And we ask, “Why? Why is there all this suffering in the world? Why this hardship?” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We ask God that question. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And we wait for answers. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And sometimes it seems that answers don’t come.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We don’t hear an explanation. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The thing is though, the answer to our suffering and hardship doesn’t come with words.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A lady once told me about the time she was sharing the story of her hardship, her suffering with her husband. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And after listening for a little bit, the husband offered her a few answers, some advice and a possible solution. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And she stopped him and said, “I didn’t ask you to fix my problem.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I asked you just to listen.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That’s the response of a lover. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A lover listens. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A lover empathizes. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A lover is there with you in your hardship. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is how God answers our hardship and suffering.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ds-c0epUPnMHj3ZNaTcpSt1yvGrUtPWEbj2SMhhxdxaBw1Y9wWFayXtu95A7WwC2Bk9wgLcBNfJl-ECL-gaYsjeYk34Cwwuu_L02_Jr8vmKwBTQdrd_k4o7LprT7KINByOcD1LZ03So/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ds-c0epUPnMHj3ZNaTcpSt1yvGrUtPWEbj2SMhhxdxaBw1Y9wWFayXtu95A7WwC2Bk9wgLcBNfJl-ECL-gaYsjeYk34Cwwuu_L02_Jr8vmKwBTQdrd_k4o7LprT7KINByOcD1LZ03So/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Sense-Suffering-Peter-Kreeft/dp/0892832193">Click here to buy this book.</a></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Peter Kreeft talks about this beautifully in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Sense-Suffering-Peter-Kreeft/dp/0892832193">“Making Sense Out of Suffering.”</a> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He points out that in the midst of suffering, we often times desire someone there with us, rather than an explanation for our suffering. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And God is with us.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“God didn’t varnish over our sin and our suffering.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He came into it... </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We needed a surgeon, and he came and reached into our wounds with bloody hands.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He didn’t give us a placebo or a pill or good advice.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He gave us himself... I</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">n coming into our world he came also into our suffering.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He sits beside us in the stalled car in the snowbank.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sometimes he starts the car for us, but even when he doesn’t, he is there.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That is the only thing that matters.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Who cares about cars and success and miracles and long life when you have God sitting beside you?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And when we look at the Cross, that’s what we see. We see God sitting beside us.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Peter Kreeft asks, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Are we broken?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He is broken with us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Are we rejected?... He was ‘despised and rejected of men.’ </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Do we weep?... He was ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.’ </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Do people misunderstand us, turn away from us?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They hid their faces from him as from an outcast, a leper. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Is our love betrayed?... He too loved and was betrayed by the ones he loved.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we feel the weight of the world crashing down upon us - we must know - that he is here with us.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Every tear we shed becomes his tear.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He may not yet wipe them away, but he makes them his.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And when we suffer, we can as Peter Kreeft says pretty well, “use our very brokenness as nourishment for those we love. Since we are his body, we too are the bread that is broken for others... our very tears help wipe away tears.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">St. Paul says is even better in his letter to the Colossians: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">All of our sufferings are transformable into the work Jesus does from his Cross. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When we suffer for each other, we “love one another” as Christ has loved us</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“In summary,” Kreeft says, “Jesus did three things to solve the problem of suffering. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“First, he came.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He suffered with us. He wept. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Second, in becoming man he transformed the meaning of our suffering; it is now part of his work of redemption. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Third, he died and rose.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Dying he paid the price for sin and opened heaven to us; rising, he transformed death from a hole into a door, from an end into a beginning."</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That’s what we’re celebrating this Easter season, the opening of that door, that new beginning, that leads to Heaven. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where “he will wipe away ever tear... and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He will “make all things new”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So pray, my brother’s and sisters, that Christ’s sacrifice... that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-1765029559825006102013-04-28T12:24:00.000-07:002013-04-28T12:24:05.927-07:00Be Lightly Clad and Jump In<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 3rd Sunday of Easter - Year C (Life Teen Retreat Closing Mass)</span><br />
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Here's the homily from the Mass at the conclusion of the Spring Life Teen Retreat "United in the Cross."<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-04-14.mp3">Click here to listen.</a></b>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-11343935992963056272013-03-31T13:36:00.001-07:002013-03-31T13:38:09.714-07:00Resurrection - True Story<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Homily from Easter Sunday - Year C </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">My friend Mark Hart, the vice-president of Life Teen, got onto a plane one day and the guy </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sitting next to him asked him what he did for a living. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">When Mark told him he worked in Catholic youth ministry, the man politely explained that he wasn’t a believer </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">and it was his belief that the resurrection of Jesus was faked; that the Apostles stole the body of Jesus and what we are doing today is worshipping an ideal and not the risen Son of God.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGys5GhnH2vbf1go1in8Dc4GxJo7d7vt_dgFSRWYJq4bqmzdSAPAwCHGdWMnC8dXHJe96_408kc4rZayIpr3ty21lJvHl3PPJtfLloK1gksnrU-zYdsiGNZ2mM-F1jBF0_u39eZ4Zd2A/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGys5GhnH2vbf1go1in8Dc4GxJo7d7vt_dgFSRWYJq4bqmzdSAPAwCHGdWMnC8dXHJe96_408kc4rZayIpr3ty21lJvHl3PPJtfLloK1gksnrU-zYdsiGNZ2mM-F1jBF0_u39eZ4Zd2A/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Mark listened intently, acknowledged the man’s concerns, then took a moment to share withhim what he believed. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Namely that God did in fact become man, took flesh and built a Church </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">to allow us to become partakers in His Divine nature through it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then Mark told the man that if he was right, that if Christ hadn’t risen from the dead </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">then this man’s explanation was an even more implausible miracle. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That a handful of fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot and other uneducated day laborers invented the biggest lie in the history of the world </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(one that has re-shaped the world) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and they were all martyred for it, all just to protect a lie.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Basically they left the comfort of their businesses, homes and families… </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">went to the corners of the earth, were chased out of towns, spat upon, imprisoned, tortured and hunted… </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">they were crucified upside down, burned alive at the stake, cut up by gladiators, fed to wild animals, dragged behind chariots and hurled hundreds of feet down to their deaths…all to keep their sham quiet, all to protect a lie.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">So, either God did what He said He would…took flesh and came to save us from ourselves, or, a</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"> motley crew of sailors decided to invent a Messiah</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"> and then perish without a second thought to themselves or their family, singing hymns of joy and gratitude while being brutally </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">martyred. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, we have to ask ourselves - which is more implausible - </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">God fulfilling prophecies thousands of years old out of His fidelity and great love... </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">or tradesmen hatching a hair-brained scheme and sealing it with their blood?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am often asked what made me want to become a priest. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And there are a number of reasons. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But, truth to be told, the real reason why I am a priest is because of the Resurrection. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because 2,000 years ago, a man said he was the Son of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then (in what must have seemed impossible for his disciples to believe) God was killed. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And then (in what was nearly impossible for his disciples to believe) he rose from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why some of us have traveled long distances to be with our families this day is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">we want to be close to loved ones. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because we are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why you give your lives unselfishly to your spouses and children in the everyday sacrifices is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">it is your duty as mothers and fathers. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because you are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why there are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">we have beautiful music, art, liturgy and preaching. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because we are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why we the Church has fed, clothed, and housed more people in need than any other group or institution in history is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">we want to do good for one another. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because we are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why there are institutions such as hospitals and universities in the world is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">it is a moral responsibility to care for the sick and to educate the young. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because we are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(Did you know that?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There were no hospitals before Jesus.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The sick sat on the side of the road.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It wasn’t until after his resurrection that we decided we needed to do something about sickness in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason why you and I are here in this Church, right now, and every Sunday of the year, is not merely because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">we want to fulfill an obligation. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s because we are responding to the fact that the Son of God has risen from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real reason for all our hope, all our joy, all our faith, all our love... the reason why we are alive; why our hearts beat, our lungs breath, our minds think and our souls are perpetual motion machines destined for eternal bliss in Heaven </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">is because, as my friend Mark says, “God would rather die than risk spending eternity without you.” That is a meditation we can reflect on all day today; indeed, all of our lives: "God would rather die than risk spending eternity without you."</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The reason for all of this is because He has, in fact, risen from the dead.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-22890327994073043452013-03-28T17:30:00.000-07:002013-03-28T20:37:17.696-07:00Kissed by Christ<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from Holy Thursday - Year C</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs9HsHErLISrkOXB1emztdIgEhx-t3NKU2I1jk2LSAJezrQt47UQZabmamCQfsxHePQufH8UAryOryx0zGuTMxcGYtvUBRmR1v1RjMaRChoGot96HMZWvCN_bxMeg-9CLNemy2vrPwrs/s1600/SRE303_POPE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs9HsHErLISrkOXB1emztdIgEhx-t3NKU2I1jk2LSAJezrQt47UQZabmamCQfsxHePQufH8UAryOryx0zGuTMxcGYtvUBRmR1v1RjMaRChoGot96HMZWvCN_bxMeg-9CLNemy2vrPwrs/s320/SRE303_POPE.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">I love our Pope. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">I have been fascinated with his every move since his election. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Beginning with his first action as Pope which he made before we even saw his face: </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">the taking of the name, Francis.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As you know, he is the first Pope to take the name Francis. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So, it’s an act that carries great significance. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I recently saw a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOU3bYmMOA&list=UUDfNrxA5dMp0co1siQOLrjg&index=4">YouTube video</a> where a Franciscan priest points out, “In taking the name Francis, the Pope wishes to evoke something in us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He wants us to think about ‘What does Francis mean?’”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One of the things St. Francis did, which you can read about in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/TAN-Classic-Francis-Assisi-Classics/dp/0895551519/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1364506986&sr=8-9&keywords=life+of+st.+francis+of+assisi">“The Life of St. Francis”</a> written by that other great Franciscan, St. Bonaventure, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">involves his encounters with lepers.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One day (before he had entered into the “religious life” and formed his community of the brothers minor) he was riding a horse across the plain of Assisi </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and he saw this leper. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And his first reaction was one of fear and horror. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But then he remembered a resolution he had made to make himself completely obedient to the will of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So he got down from his horse and went to meet the leper. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And when the poor man stretched his out his hand to receive alms. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Francis kissed his leprous hand and filled it with money.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On another occasion he lived among a community of lepers. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He served them, washed their feet, bound up their wounds. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And having done this he kissed the wounds of lepers.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved Saints of all time, not because of who he was, but because of what he did. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He once said, “Preach always.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When necessary, use words.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">His actions, such as kissing the lepers, spoke volumes more than his sermons. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because in his actions he reflected, not himself, but the love of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And this is what we see our Pope, our Francis, do today. We see him imitate Saint Francis' example. We see him imitate the love of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A few days ago, at his first Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jl7qMXRJko">Francis ordered the Popemobile to stop several times</a>. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because parents were holding their babies up to him to be blessed. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And in addition to blessing the babies, he had his attendants take the babies from their</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">parents hands, and lift them up into the hands of the Pope and he kissed them. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He did this over and over again. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And a little girl was watching this with her little brother and she said to him, “When we have babies we’ll come back and he will kiss them.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When the Popemobile drove alongside people with special needs, he again ordered it to stop. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he embraced them, and kissed them.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Earlier today, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaGMM2Jn6cM&list=UUxshhzR907v2w6DjICyAgLQ&index=1">Francis celebrated this Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile detention center. </a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Days ago, when it was announced to the young people there that the Pope was coming to see them one of them exclaimed, “At last I’ll get to meet someone who says he is my father!” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And after Francis washed the feet of twelve imprisoned minors, including two girls, he kissed their feet.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are fascinated with Pope Francis, w</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">e are fascinated with Saint Francis, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">because ultimately, we are fascinated with Jesus Christ. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And we long with our hearts deepest desire to be touched by Christ, to be embraced by Christ, to be kissed by Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are all infants, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">completely dependent upon our parent, our Heavenly Father. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And we want to be taken up into His embrace and kissed by Him.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are all people with special needs, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">who desperately need the attention, the love and the care of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And we want to be seen by Him, to be recognized by Him and kissed by Him.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are all prisoners, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">held bound by our sins and the sufferings this fallen world imposes upon us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And we want to set free and cleansed of our sins by Jesus Christ and to be kissed by Him.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What we celebrate tonight, is the fact, that God does this. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus Christ has entered into the prison of our world. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He becomes an infant, he embraces lepers and others with special needs, and he washes the feet of his disciples.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And on this night, Jesus institutes two Sacraments, he gives us two gifts, by which he kisses us: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Eucharist,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">in which he hands over to us, his own Body and Blood, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">to be touched to our lips, so that we might receive a divine kiss from God Himself; a</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">nd the priesthood,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">in which he shares his one priesthood with his disciples</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">so that they in turn would share it with the men who would succeed them</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">up to the present day so that we might receive this divine kiss from God Himself.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we come to communion tonight, let us take up as a meditation </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">how tremendously God loves us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That in this Eucharist, we enter into the most profound intimacy Heaven and Earth have ever known: the union of the Creator with His creation.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And as we turn to offer each other the sign of peace and as we go out into the world </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">let us follow Christ’s command in the words he spoke to the Apostles after he washed their feet: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let us love one another with the love Pope Francis and Saint Francis exemplify for us: the love of Jesus Christ.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-70427569593455566232013-03-24T14:33:00.000-07:002013-03-28T14:33:45.363-07:00Empty Yourself<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from Passion Sunday - Year C</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-03-24.mp3"><b>Click here to listen to this homily.</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My high school football coach had a sign with quote on it hanging on his office wall and I’ve never forgotten it. It said, "Today I gave everything I had. And what I've kept for myself, I've lost forever."</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s another way of saying: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Put forth your best effort. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Don’t hold anything back. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because as soon as today becomes yesterday, it’s in the history books.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Another way of putting it is “Give it all you’ve got.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is what St. Paul is talking about in his letter to the Philippians. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You could say that today’s second reading is an ancient “Win One For the Gipper” speech from 2,000 years ago. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He’s talking about how Jesus, in his passion, death and resurrection gave it everything he had.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Imagine yourself sitting at the feet of Paul and he says these words to you about the one called Jesus:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>did not regard equality with God</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Rather, he emptied himself,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>taking the form of a slave,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>coming in human likeness;</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>and found human in appearance,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>he humbled himself,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>becoming obedient to the point of death,</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>even death on a cross.</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jesus gave us everything he had. He kept nothing for himself. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Paul uses that wonderful phrase “he emptied himself” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">To continue the sports analogy, Jesus left it all on the court.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(Or all on the cross.)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And like a great coach, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Paul wishes to inspire you and I to imitate the example of Christ. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just as Christ emptied himself for us; so too we should empty ourselves for him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Specifically, we should empty ourselves of our sin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jesus emptied himself of his own life so that you and I might escape our death. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Conversely, you and I need to empty ourselves of our own death, the death that is our sins within us, so that we might embrace his life.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tomorrow night, is our parish penance service. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And here we are on it’s eve, like a</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> team in the locker room minutes before taking the field. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My Spiritual Director instructed me to pray about how this Holy Week was going to be different from past Holy Weeks. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well, the first thing I’m going to do to is become different myself, by going to confession tomorrow night. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And I want to invite each and every one of you to do the same.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We shouldn’t keep carrying around our sins. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let Christ carry what he came to earth carry. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let him take your sins upon his shoulders. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let him take them up to his cross. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let him put your sins to death with his last breath. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And let him raise you to new life through his resurrection.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our Church should be packed tomorrow night. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let’s make it happen.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let’s fill these pews. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And if the thought of waiting in line for confession seems like an imposition; all the more reason to come.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Offer your waiting in line up for the poor, the starving, the unloved.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unite your sufferings to Christ’s.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’ll be thinking of that quote before I go to confession tomorrow: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Today I gave everything I had, and what I’ve kept for myself I’ve lost forever.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tomorrow night, let’s empty ourselves.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-7144351118624883152013-03-20T09:27:00.002-07:002013-03-20T09:30:10.081-07:00What I'm Reading: "The Story of a Soul" by St. Therese of Lisieux<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ54ppwI1jCSlhArtGT1o9h-Nxh3dVq5B3vU3ccLydOqEzv_Gpv_yPmC0Tls2c2lzvYmA2JILZ6hGogeo7D_ohQCFHPJBve6EYzreXWWpr-GSM8xKXZVgjeihWx-ZuTX2aZ-3y2IZ-i6g/s1600/storyofasoul0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ54ppwI1jCSlhArtGT1o9h-Nxh3dVq5B3vU3ccLydOqEzv_Gpv_yPmC0Tls2c2lzvYmA2JILZ6hGogeo7D_ohQCFHPJBve6EYzreXWWpr-GSM8xKXZVgjeihWx-ZuTX2aZ-3y2IZ-i6g/s320/storyofasoul0001.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895551551/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0935216588&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1YD0HQK5ZJFMZXCS0QGJ">Order this book from Amazon</a></td></tr>
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I can't believe I've lived 39 years as a Catholic and have not, until now, read the autobiography of The Little Flower: "The Story of a Soul" by St. Therese of Lisieux. It is a work of beauty, by a work of beauty, for the One whose work is Beauty.<br />
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If you've only heard about Therese's "Little Way" but have not read it in her own words, make this part of your spiritual reading in the near future.<br />
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Here are just a few of my favorite excerpts:<br />
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<i>"I saw that every flower He has created has a beauty of its own, that the splendor of the rose and the lily's whiteness do not deprive the violet of its scent nor make less ravishing the daisy's charm. I saw that if every little flower wished to be a rose, Nature would lose her spring adornments, and the fields would be no longer enameled with their varied flowers. So it is with the world of souls, the living garden of the Lord. It pleases Him to create great Saints, who may be compared with the lilies or the rose; but He has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets, nestling at His feet to delight His eyes when He should choose to look at them. The happier they are to be as He wills, the more perfect they are."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I am daringly confident that one day I shall become a great Saint. I am not relying on my own merits, because I haven't any. I hope in Him, who is Virtue and Sanctity itself; He alone, content with my frail efforts, will lift me up to Himself, clothe me with His own merits and make me a Saint. I did not realize in those days that one had to go through much suffering to become a Saint."</i><br />
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<i>"My mortification consisted in checking my self-will, keeping back an impatient word, doing little things for those around me without their knowledge and countless things like that."</i><br />
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<i>"The closer we come to God, the more simple we become."</i><br />
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<i>"The more one advances, the further off one sees the goal to be."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I liken you, Mother, to the more valuable brush which Jesus lovingly takes up when He has in mind some great work upon your children's souls. I am the very little brush He uses afterwards for minor details."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Prayer, for me, is simply a raising of the heart, a simple glance towards Heaven, an expression of love and gratitude in the midst of trial, as well as in times of joy; in a word, it is something noble and supernatural expanding my soul and uniting it to God."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Jesus does not ask for glorious deeds. He asks only for self-surrender and for gratitude."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"If only I were a priest! How lovingly I would bear You in my hands, my Jesus, when my voice had brought You down from Heaven. How lovingly I would give You to souls! Yet while wanting to be a priest, I admire St. Francis of Assisi and envy his humility, longing to imitate him in refusing this sublime dignity."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"In a transport of ecstatic joy I cried: 'Jesus, my Love, I have at last found my vocation; <b>it is love!</b> I have found my place in the Church's heart, the place You Yourself have given me, my God, Yes, there in the heart of Mother Church <b>I will be love</b>; so shall I be all things, so shall my dreams come true.'"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Love proves itself by deed, and how shall I prove mint? <b>The little child will scatter flowers </b>whose fragrant perfume will surround the royal throne, and in a voice that is silver-toned, she will sin the <b>canticle of love</b>."</i><br />
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And lastly, after having seen her cousin's wedding invitations, St. Therese decided to write an invitation to her own marriage to Christ, her Heavenly Spouse:<br />
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<i>"ALMIGHTY GOD</i></div>
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<i>The Creator of Heaven & Earth</i></div>
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<i>and Ruler of the World</i></div>
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<i>and </i></div>
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<i>THE MOST GLORIOUS VIRGIN MARY</i></div>
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<i>Queen of the Court of Heaven</i></div>
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<i>Invite you to the Spiritual Marriage of Their August Son</i></div>
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<i>JESUS, KING OF KINGS,</i></div>
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<i>and LORD OF LORDS</i></div>
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<i>with </i></div>
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<i>Little Therese Martin, </i></div>
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<i>now Lady and Princess of the Kingdoms of the Childhood</i></div>
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<i>and Passion of Jesus, given in dowry by her Divine Spouse, </i></div>
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<i>from whom she holds her titles of nobility:</i></div>
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<i>OF THE CHILD JESUS and OF THE HOLY FACE.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>It was not possible to invite you to the Wedding Feast</i></div>
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<i>celebrated on Mount Carmel on September 8, 1890,</i></div>
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<i>only the Celestial Court being admitted.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>You are nevertheless invited to the Bride's RECEPTION</i></div>
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<i>tomorrow, the Day of Eternity, when Jesus, the Son of God, </i></div>
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<i>will come in splendor on the clouds of Heaven to judge the </i></div>
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<i>Living and the Dead.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>The hour being uncertain, please hold yourself in readiness and watch."</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tan+classics">Tan Classics has reissued a handful of the great spiritual classics</a> such as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Interior-Castle-Tan-Classics/dp/0895552272/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363796307&sr=1-13&keywords=tan+classics">"The Interior Castle" by St. Teresa of Avila</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imitation-Christ-Catholic-Classics/dp/0895552256/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363796385&sr=1-25&keywords=tan+classics">"The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/TAN-Classic-Introduction-Devout-Classics/dp/0895552280/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363796425&sr=1-2&keywords=tan+classics">"An Introduction to the Devout Life" by St. Francis de Sales</a>, and many more. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, I'm on to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/TAN-Classic-Francis-Assisi-Classics/dp/0895551519/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363796524&sr=1-7&keywords=tan+classics">"The Life of St. Francis of Assisi" by St. Bonaventure</a> to learn more about this great Saint after whom our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has taken his name.</div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-83776010566927800832013-03-10T12:06:00.000-07:002013-03-18T12:07:24.822-07:00The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 4th Sunday of Lent - Year A Readings</span><br />
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A couple of weeks ago <a href="http://dynamiccatholic.com/">Matthew Kelly</a> spoke at the Diocesan Men's Conference about his research on engaged Catholics and the four signs they have in common. You may have heard of the 80/20 rule that says 80% of effects are produced by 20% of causes. Matthew Kelly's research revealed that 80% of a parishes volunteer and financial resources from from 7% of registered parishoners. This is something we can, and must, change.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-03-10.mp3"><b>Click here to listen to this homily.</b></a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-72953778162325551162013-03-03T11:59:00.000-08:002013-03-18T11:59:53.147-07:00Holy Is His Name<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 3rd Sunday of Lent - Year C</span><br />
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Why is it, the name of the Lord is literally the only name that is used as a curse? Answer: it's a diabolical attack. If Satan can get use God's name "in vain" or in an empty or useless way, he can get us to see God as empty and useless.<br />
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<a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-03-03.mp3"><b>Click here to listen to this homily.</b></a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-8784618473506386502013-02-27T10:30:00.002-08:002013-02-27T10:30:53.762-08:00Final Words From Our PastorOne of the best ways to understand and fall in love with our Catholic faith is to listen to the words of our pastor. And not just the pastor of our local Church, but the pastor of our one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church, the successor of St. Peter, chief of the Apostles: Pope Benedict XVI.<br />
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Think about it. Our Church isn't just St. Vincent de Paul or St. Charles Borromeo. These are just particular gatherings of members of the Church. In reality, the Church has over 1 billion visible members. We can't all fit into one building. So, we gather where we are. But we do have one head, one shepherd, and one true, high Priest: Jesus Christ; who gives others a share in his ministerial priesthood. And to one in particular, through the Holy Spirit, he elects as his Vicar: the Pope, the pastor of our Church.<br />
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So, our Church will soon have a new pastor, a new Pope, I would like to recommend reading the Pope's words from his weekly general audiences every Wednesday and his weekly Angelus message every Sunday.<br />
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Here is the text from Pope Benedict's greeting to the English speaking pilgrims at today's Wednesday general audience, his last:<br />
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<span style="color: #663300; font-family: Times New Roman;">BENEDICT XVI</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #663300; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">GENERAL AUDIENCE</span></b></span></i></div>
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<em><span style="color: #663300; font-family: Times New Roman;">Saint Peter's Square</span></em><span style="color: #663300;"><br /><i>Wednesday, 27 February</i></span><span style="color: #663300; font-family: Times New Roman;"><em> 2013</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: #663300; font-family: Times New Roman;"><em><br /></em></span></div>
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<i>"Dear Brothers and Sisters,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I offer a warm and affectionate greeting to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors who have joined me for this, my last General Audience. Like Saint Paul, whose words we heard earlier, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his Church and her growth in faith and love, and I embrace all of you with joy and gratitude.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>During this Year of Faith, we have been called to renew our joyful trust in the Lord’s presence in our lives and in the life of the Church. I am personally grateful for his unfailing love and guidance in the eight years since I accepted his call to serve as the Successor of Peter. I am also deeply grateful for the understanding, support and prayers of so many of you, not only here in Rome, but also throughout the world.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God’s will and a deep love of Christ’s Church. I will continue to accompany the Church with my prayers, and I ask each of you to pray for me and for the new Pope. In union with Mary and all the saints, let us entrust ourselves in faith and hope to God, who continues to watch over our lives and to guide the journey of the Church and our world along the paths of history.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I commend all of you, with great affection, to his loving care, asking him to strengthen you in the hope which opens our hearts to the fullness of life that he alone can give. To you and your families, I impart my blessing. Thank you!"</i><br />
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-50435555094697404972013-02-24T16:24:00.000-08:002013-02-27T10:35:12.961-08:00Change<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 2nd Sunday of Lent - Year C</span><br />
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Jesus' transfiguration reminds us of the continual conversion we must undergo to be made ready for the glory that is our destiny.<br />
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/february-24th-2013-2nd-sunday/id602933969?i=134049967&mt=2"><b>Click here to listen!</b></a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-78524372250311923992013-02-21T10:28:00.003-08:002013-02-21T10:29:56.207-08:00How a Pope is Elected<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2123g1XF26EbbmdRljfuTHxE2kHwXI_6ut3HyWw6Qgv7kSHKENOpcy-189fCBVtbGKP8alhTBwxFaFcMPTs-devZ8rwrGLAkO7CpArLeW6OZfgxhwyNUK-NDwz5MEpsIFeiXCwNR6nCs/s320/infografica375x150_EN.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/come-si-elegge-il-papa/">Click here to start the presentation.</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<a href="http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/come-si-elegge-il-papa/">Here is a fantastic and fun Flash presentation of how a Pope is elected. </a><br />
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On Wednesday night, our high school teens enacted a Conclave and Caleb Cardinal Cruse was elected and took the name Pope Lando II.<br />
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On Monday night, our 7th and 8th grade students will enact a Conclave at Edge. The gathering space will be turned into the Sistine Chapel and one of our students will be "elected Pope!"Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-40405941254529448822013-02-17T13:40:00.000-08:002013-02-26T16:29:05.992-08:00Call of Duty<span style="font-size: large;">1st Sunday of Lent - Year C</span><br />
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Jesus faced temptation by Satan during his 40 days fast in the desert. By saying "no" to temptation, his "yes" meant more. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to lead us through the wilderness of temptation and say "no" to all that desensitizes us.<br />
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/2013-02-17/id602933969?i=133202752&mt=2">Here's the podcast of my homily.</a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-69696450413146852462013-02-10T09:17:00.000-08:002013-02-11T21:27:30.458-08:00What Are You Letting Go of This Lent?<span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C</span><br />
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Lent is just days away. Many of us will give something up for those forty days, a noble practice. At the same time, we may want to use this Lent as an opportunity to let go of something for good that stands in the way of our relationship with Jesus. <br />
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<a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-02-10.mp3">Here is the audio from my homily this past Sunday.</a> I want to thank Frankie Strzelecki and Bob Nicola for making these audio clips possible.<br />
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<a href="http://www.saintv.org/departments/Parish_Life/Homily/2013/2013-02-10.mp3">Fr. Andrew's Homily Podcast - Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013</a>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-37019598022209717262013-02-03T16:00:00.000-08:002013-02-03T16:00:07.302-08:00What is Love?<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">By a show of hands, as you heard today’s second reading, how many of you thought of, or were reminded of, a wedding? </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">That reading is easily, the most popular reading at weddings.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’ve only been a priest for a couple years. If I’ve done 50 weddings, that reading has been read at over 45 of them.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Appropriately so, right? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because young couples on their wedding day are so intensely in love. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They love their spouse. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They love the fact that they’re beginning their life together as husband and wife. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They love that they’re in love!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There’s no greater feeling than love.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And newlywed couples want to get it right. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They want to keep that love going and keep it on fire. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So, in St. Paul’s words they hear a prescription of love.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">They hear what love is: “love is patient, love is kind... it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And newlywed couples say, “Yeah, we wanna do that!”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And they hear what love is not: “It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And the couples say, “Yeah, and we wanna avoid all that; all that bad stuff.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So what is love? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s one of the most overused words in the English language.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We use it for everything. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I love God... I love my mother... I love my baby’s laugh... I love coming home... I love my computer...</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love my car... I love the Super Bowl... I love bacon.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">How can “love” be an accurate word in all those instances? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I mean can we really use the same word to describe how we feel about both God and a material thing like bacon? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As tempted as I am to say “yes” right now, I won’t blaspheme.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The dictionary defines “love” in part as: “a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties... warm attachment, enthusiasm or devotion." </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That definition stinks.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Those are just warm fuzzies. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus says, “love your enemies” (Mt 5:44) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean “have warm fuzzies for your enemies." </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’m sorry, but I don’t have, and I’m not going to have “strong affection” for my enemies. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’m not going to have “strong affection” for terrorists.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Love isn’t affection. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Affection is one of the many forms love takes.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So is suffering.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So what is love?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think there are two really, really good definitions of love. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first is by St. Thomas Aquinas, who says, love is “to will the good of the other.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That makes sense. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love my family.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I want the good for them. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love you.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I want the good for you. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And according to this definition, I can love my enemies.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I can want their good.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sometimes, what is good for my enemies (such as terrorists) is that they go to jail so they can’t harm anyone. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What is also good about Thomas’ definition is that it focuses on the other and not on the self.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And St. Paul defines love similarly. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Love is patient, love is kind.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Those are attitudes one has when one is concerned for the other.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The ego has no place in a heart full of love. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">St. Paul says this too, right?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Look at all the things Paul says love is not: they all have to do with focusing on one's self. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Love is not jealous - not caring if someone is outshining me. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Love is not pompous or inflated - there’s no ego directing attention to one's self. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Love does not seek it’s own interests - it seeks the interests of the other. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Love does not brood over injury - the ego is very attentive to how one has been hurt</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The other really, really good definition of love is a perfect definition of love. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s by St. John the Evangelist who says in his First Letter: “God is love.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Make’s perfect sense when thinking about St. Thomas’ definition right? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For who wishes the good of the other, the good of us, more than God?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Love is patient, love is kind” - who is more patient, who is more kind than God? He is so incredibly patient and kind with us despite how we repeatedly sin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Love “is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude.” God is none of these things. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">God has no ego.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He is infinitely concerned with us.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well, that’s what God does for us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus bears and endures us.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He puts up with us in our sin.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He bears the cross and endures his passion and death</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Love never fails.” God never fails. God always wins. No one is ever going to defeat God. He even defeats death.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometime very soon, break open your Bible and read this passage again: 1 Cor 13. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">While you read it, look upon the Crucifix and look upon the definition of love. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And as you do so, look upon your God who wills the good of the other, who wills your good.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-57623565516576834602013-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:002013-01-27T17:00:02.485-08:00Practicing the Presence<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Talk from XLT</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When do you feel the presence of God? Where do you fell the presence of God?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I recently finished a book called “The Practice of the Presence of God.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Its considered a spiritual classic. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It was written by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He was a lay brother who lived in a Carmelite monastery in Paris in the 17th century.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He spent most of his life within the monastery. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He didn’t have a lofty title or important job. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He spent most of his life working in the kitchen and repairing his brothers’ sandals.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, he possessed a holiness that drew many people to seek his spiritual guidance. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And the wisdom he passed on to them in conversation and letters became the basis for his book, “The Practice of the Presence of God.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Spending all that time working in the kitchen helped him develop a spirituality that was deeply intertwined with work and the simple tasks of everyday life.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Presence-Brother-Lawrence-Resurrection/dp/0385128614/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1359234786&sr=8-8&keywords=practicing+the+presence+of+god+by+brother+lawrence">Click here to buy this book.</a></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once, in conversation with a visitor seeking his wisdom, Brother Lawrence said that </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“we should establish ourselves in the presence of God by continually talking to Him... </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That we should feed our souls on lofty thoughts of God, and so find great joy in being with Him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That we should surrender ourselves in things temporal and in things spiritual, entirely and with complete abandonment to God...” (PPG p. 24)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He seems to have taken St. Paul, literally, when the Apostle said to the Thessalonians: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Rejoice always.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Pray without ceasing.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In all circumstances give thanks...” (1 Thes 5:16-18)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, Brother Lawrence’s ceaseless prayer wasn’t done on the knees of his body. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But rather, on the knees of his heart, his will, and his spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He told one of his directees that practicing the presence of God </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“consists of renouncing once and for all everything that does not lead to God,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">so that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">a conversation free of mystery and of the utmost simplicity. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That we needed only to know God intimately present in us,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">to address ourselves to HIm at every moment,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">to ask His aid, to discern His will in doubtful things,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and to do well those things we see clearly He is demanding of us </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">offering them to Him before doing them and giving Him thanks for having done them for Him after we have done them.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(PPG p. 37)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And that’s basically it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s a method of simply being aware of God’s presence that is already there, simply waiting for us to engage the Lord in conversation. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It seems too simple right? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I have to admit, when I read the book, I thought to myself, “Really?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So many people came from all over just to hear Brother Lawrence say that?” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And the truth is, it is extremely simple. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But simple doesn’t mean “easy.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">To live as Brother Lawrence did, seeing God in every task of every day of our life, is a challenge. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But a challenge that, if undertaken, will bring us into greater intimacy with God in precisely those moments where He belongs.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Which is simply, every single moment of our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Although it is a challenge, Brother Lawrence reminds us that God gives us everything we need to practice his presence at all times. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He says that God “does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration... </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">the least little remembrance will always be most pleasing to Him.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(PPG p. 51)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Your presence here right now is a sign that you know something about practicing the presence. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You know quite a bit about it because you’ve come to be here where He is so profoundly present to us in the Eucharist. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What Brother Lawrence suggests is that our experience here won’t end in an hour. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But can be taken with us after we walk out those doors and be sustained by God’s grace until we meet again.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He says, “It is not necessary to be always in church to be with God, we can make a private chapel of our heart, where we can retire from time to time to commune with Him, peacefully, humbly, lovingly... </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">offer Him your heart from time to time during the day in the midst of your work, at every moment if you can; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">do not burden yourself with rules or particular devotions but act with faith, with love and with humility.” (PPG p. 52)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Practicing the presence of God, which we do now, is pure joy. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because it is the closest thing to Heaven when will not merely practice the presence of God, but actually live within His presence eternally. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You and I can experience right now, at this very moment, a foretaste of Heaven when the Father will drown you with His love.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“This King,” Brother Lawrence says, “filled with goodness and mercy, far from chastising me, lovingly embraces me, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the keys of His treasures and treats me as His favorite. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He talks with me and is delighted with me in a thousand and one ways;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He forgives me and relieves me of my principal bad habits without talking about them” (PPG p. 55-56).</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-21924591155576011082013-01-27T16:00:00.000-08:002013-01-27T16:00:08.074-08:00An Accurate, Orderly and Certain Gospel<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfACWQslnsLWqb9KpkjnzX8zjFjdyG2zTOiZyGCuhN_TyeY5Mi8u1f_p8ut0vzysidxyPFzA_slcYLtGcLYNEUSzcXmIEyUcimGqvwzitt-RbVMa_-j5Zl-B_oKje3fJ5P7K-scpTinU/s1600/cat_caravaggio_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfACWQslnsLWqb9KpkjnzX8zjFjdyG2zTOiZyGCuhN_TyeY5Mi8u1f_p8ut0vzysidxyPFzA_slcYLtGcLYNEUSzcXmIEyUcimGqvwzitt-RbVMa_-j5Zl-B_oKje3fJ5P7K-scpTinU/s320/cat_caravaggio_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Incredulity of St. Thomas" by Caravaggio</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I have here before us a painting. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Without me offering any explanation of it, you can tell me a number of things about it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You can tell me what you see.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You can tell me who is in the picture. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The man on the left is obviously Jesus.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He has the usual Jesus haircut and beard, the white robe, and you see the wounds of his crucifixion: the holes in his hands and his pierced side. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The man on the right is obviously Thomas.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">His finger enters the pierced side of Christ.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he is amazed by what he sees indicated by the exaggerated furrrowing of his brow.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You can tell me about other things that you see: the other men in the painting, the color of their clothing, or the stark black background.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But there other things you can tell me about this painting. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You can tell me things about this painting you don’t see, but nevertheless can be certain about.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For instance, on the back of the painting is a well worn hanging wire. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even though you’ve never seen this picture hanging on a wall, you can certain though logical deduction that it has hung on a wall somewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Another thing: this painting is matted and framed. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even though you’ve never seen the act of this painting being matted and framed, you can be certain through logical deduction that at some point in the past someone chose a matte, frame and glass, cut them all and fitted the painting within it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Lastly, and quite simply, it is a painting. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Meaning that it has a painter. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This painting didn’t just come into existence on its own. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even though you’ve never seen him face to face, you know that this creation has a creator. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He’s one of my favorite painters and his name is Caravaggio.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The beginning of today’s Gospel reading are the very first words of the Gospel of Luke. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Listen again to St. Luke’s words, particularly the claims, the bold claims he makes: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.” (Lk 1:3-4)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What are the bold claims Luke makes at the beginning of his Gospel? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Three words in particular stand out: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That he has investigated everything </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>accurately</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That he has written down his findings in an </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>orderly</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> manner. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And that we may be </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>certain</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Luke claims that what we read in his Gospel is </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>accurate</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>orderly</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, and </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>certain</i></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In other words, it’s true.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">How Do We Know? How Can We Be Certain? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Like a painting, we can be certain that Luke tells us, not only by what we see or hear, such as the words of his Gospel which he pledge is accurate and orderly, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">but we can also be certain about the claims of Luke, the claims of the other Gospel writers, Saint Paul, and the Church by what we can deduce, by those things we can know without seeing. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because there are effects of the truth of the Gospel.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There is evidence of the truth of the Gospel.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We as Christians believe that there is a God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But how can we be certain? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well, consider His effects, His creatures. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Everywhere you look, you see something; you see creation. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You see trees, little rivers, mountains Gandalf, mountains! </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We’re looking at God’s painting. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just as we can say with confidence that this painting has a painter, likewise, we can say with confidence that creation must have a creator.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfkmT-K_gtu1NlkPPMKzmmmdjUTlcQEvYAUS3nMGY8TvkpYCAYq29CfjJl2SHdgyPtj1kodVbTV194Ix9Wxdpk3KFvdbtlcKSo8Pf2HD9zENT8Nrnfvcfn66rE_6on77IR3ZF1b4GxJ0/s1600/thomas-2-sized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfkmT-K_gtu1NlkPPMKzmmmdjUTlcQEvYAUS3nMGY8TvkpYCAYq29CfjJl2SHdgyPtj1kodVbTV194Ix9Wxdpk3KFvdbtlcKSo8Pf2HD9zENT8Nrnfvcfn66rE_6on77IR3ZF1b4GxJ0/s1600/thomas-2-sized.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas Aquinas</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">St. Thomas Aquinas called this his argument for the existence of God based on contingency. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In it, he says that all things come into being and pass out of being. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In his documentary series, Catholicism, Fr. Robert Barron uses the example of a summer cloud to illustrate the point. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A summer cloud will come into being in the sky and just as easily pass away.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So you ask yourself, where did it come from? How did it get there?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, someone who is a skeptic of God’s existence might say that the cloud was formed by moisture, the wind and the atmosphere. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But these too are contingent.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where did they come from? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well, someone may argue that they come from the jet stream and the movement of the planet. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But likewise the planet is contingent.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where did it come from? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Someone might argue that the earth came into existence by the great events and structures of the universe.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But still, scientists say that even the universe came into existence 13 billion years ago. Where did it come from?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Eventually, St. Thomas says, you must finally admit to a reality that does exist through itself. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We must come to some necessary being whose very nature is to be. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is what people mean by God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is what God Himself says He is, when Moses asks Him HIs name: “I am who I am.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When we look at the world, when we read the Sacred Scriptures (the Bible), when we see the witness of the martyrs, we are looking upon the effects, the evidence, of a God who really exists. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We are looking upon a painting that has a real painter behind it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Conversion of St. Paul" by Caravaggio</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Consider just one of the effects of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This past Friday was the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You’re all familiar with the story: b</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">efore he was known by the name Paul, the man named Saul was a devout Jew. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And being a devout Jew, he thought this new religion known as Christianity was gross blasphemy. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And so he made it his mission in life to put Christianity to death by throwing its members in prison and standing by while others were stoned to death.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then, all of a sudden, his life does a complete 180. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He becomes a Christian and it’s greatest promoter traveling the known world; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">proclaiming the Good News and establishing Churches in the name of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">How? Why? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We’re told, in St. Luke’s sequel to his Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, that Saul met Christ on the road to Damascus, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">was blinded by Christ’s light and heard the voice of Jesus which asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (cf. Acts 22:6-9)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, that’s what Paul says anyway. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">How can we be certain that Luke’s investigation is accurate and orderly?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, if Jesus doesn’t really exist and if Paul made it all up, it doesn’t make sense. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because Paul was not looking for Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Paul hated Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He hated the followers of Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He hated the Christian Church. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He was a Jew and also a Roman citizen who enjoyed all the privilege of that citizenship. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">His life was great before he met Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And from an earthly point of view, his life got incredibly worse after meeting Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Five times at the hands of the Jews he was whipped 39 times, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">three times he was beaten with rods, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">once he was stoned,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">three times he was shipwrecked. Finally, he was beheaded with a sword.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Why would Paul leave his former life and choose this new one? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because he met someone he wasn’t even trying to find. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He met Christ. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And Christ was real. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And meeting him changed Paul’s life forever. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Paul is just one corner of the great painting of Christianity. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And God is the painter. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">No man could make this up. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">No man would make this up.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Paul wouldn’t choose his life on his own. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He chose it because Christ is real.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">God is real. Just look at the world around you. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Christ is real.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just look at his Church, his martyrs, his Saints. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Eucharist you are about to receive is real.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just look within your own heart and your own faith.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What St. Luke tells us today, and what he will continue to tell us all year long is real. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">God has sent us His Son. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“to bring glad tidings to the poor” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“to proclaim liberty to captives” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">to give “sight to the blind” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“to let the oppressed go free” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (cf Lk 4:18-19)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It is accurate. It is orderly. It is certain. It is true.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-8200181775018808942013-01-20T14:35:00.000-08:002013-01-25T14:35:32.703-08:00A Marriage Destroyed, Repaired and Restored<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7vQ0Ta3F2jhYOlPOmUoSkTrIyb8GVVCddmsN_OcO4HS4SI1QOKoPAyM5lBq1Wy5xqh2s2u_oPImjc50Dmn0b7s7zxPPtBOsE0SXBQw-RJpmEe2kz0nKlvgu6OY0hAh2BoOOAa8bpfBk/s1600/Wedding+Couple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7vQ0Ta3F2jhYOlPOmUoSkTrIyb8GVVCddmsN_OcO4HS4SI1QOKoPAyM5lBq1Wy5xqh2s2u_oPImjc50Dmn0b7s7zxPPtBOsE0SXBQw-RJpmEe2kz0nKlvgu6OY0hAh2BoOOAa8bpfBk/s320/Wedding+Couple.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This couple I know got married a while back. They were the perfect couple. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When he first saw her, he said, “This is the girl of my dreams.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There is no one else for me.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They fell completely in love and got married. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the beginning, everything was perfect. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They loved and respected each other completely. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They shared everything. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They had a great relationship with God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They were the perfect couple living in a perfect world.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then things went sour. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Their communication with one another started to fall apart. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As did their communication with God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Their attention turned to material things. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They started hiding things from one another. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Indeed, they started hiding themselves, their own lives from one another. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The perfect couple and the perfect world fell apart.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, a few years after the breakup, this couple’s family intervened. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Specifically, their mother and son, stepped into the picture to patch things up. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Mom noticed right away, as a mother would, how things weren’t as they once were. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">She saw that the joy this couple once had had now run out. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And being a wise mother, she knew she couldn’t fix this on her own, she didn’t have the power to do so. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So she called the son for help and he came to the rescue.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You know the names of the perfect couple whose marriage went sour. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Their names are Adam & Eve. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the beginning, everything was perfect. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Until they decided they knew better than God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then their world (and ours) came tumbling down. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And their marriage (and ours) came tumbling down.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And you know the names of the mother and son who intervened. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Their names are Mary and Jesus. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">At Cana, Mary saw that the couple’s wine had run out.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They had lost their joy. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And she knew, she didn’t have the power to fix what had gone wrong. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">However, she knew better than anyone else who to go to. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So she called her son for help and Jesus came to the rescue.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, Jesus’ rescue mission didn’t consist merely of changing water into wine. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And his rescue mission didn’t consist merely of repairing the marriage of Adam and Eve. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rather, his rescue mission restored </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">our</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> marriage. </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Our</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> marriage with God the Father.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah says, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“As a young man married a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">God wants to marry us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">God is our Builder.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He is the bridegroom and we are the bride. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He wants an indissoluble union with us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He freely chooses to enter into a covenant with us and he invites us to freely choose to enter that covenant with Him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He is faithful to us and he wants us to be faithful to him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he wants our union with him to be fruitful.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So he sent us His Son, Jesus, and gave him to our Mother, Mary, so that the two of them, together, could unravel and reverse the destruction wrought by Adam and Eve in Eden.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Whereas, Eve lead Adam to take of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Mary, the New Eve, lead Jesus, the New Adam, to change water into the fruit of the vine.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Whereas, Adam and Eve reached for the fruit from the branch of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus, the New Adam, reached for the branches of the Tree of Life, the Cross, and allowed his outstretched arms to be nailed to it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Whereas, God the Father cast Adam into a deep sleep and from his open side took a rib and formed it into his bride, Eve; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">God the Father cast Jesus, the New Adam, into the deep sleep of death and from his open side brought forth his bride, the Church, through the blood and water, signs of the Eucharist and Baptism, that poured from his heart</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Whereas Adam and Eve said “no” to God’s will through their disobedience; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Mary, the New Eve, said “yes” when the angel Gabriel announced it was God’s will that she be the mother of Jesus. A</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">nd Jesus, the New Adam, said “yes” to God’s will that he give his life as a ransom for many.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus calls Mary “woman” at Cana, saying that his hour had not yet come. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When his hour at last had come when he was nailed to his cross, he again calls Mary “woman” when she entrusts him to the Apostle John. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He calls her “woman” not out of disrespect, but because Mary is the new woman, she is the model of Mother Church. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And so the two times, Jesus calls Mary “woman” are two weddings: the wedding at Cana which foreshadows the wedding at Calvary, when Christ unites himself to his bride, the Church, by doing what all spouses should do for each other: hand their lives over to each other.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">From the Cross, God “marry’s” us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The wedding at Eden was a marriage destroyed. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The wedding at Cana was a marriage repaired. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And the wedding at Calvary is a marriage restored.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I want to conclude by recommending two suggestions for your marriage:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">First, if you are a single person, still discerning marriage </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(and all are called to a marriage of some kind: either marriage to a husband or wife, to the Church as a priest, to Christ as a religious sister or brother, or to Christ and his people as a generous single person) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">if you are still discerning your vocation: pray for your future spouse every day.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You may not even know who they are. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You may not know what they’re doing at this precise moment. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But someday, you will meet them. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And when you get down on your knees and ask them to marry you, when they say “yes,” you can say to them,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I have been praying for you every day for the last however many years. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I didn’t even know you then. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But I prayed just for you and just for this moment.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They will already love you if they’re saying “yes” to your proposal. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Think for a moment how much more they’ll fall in love with you when they learn you prayed for them for years before you even met.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And second, if you are already married and you and your spouse look more like Adam and Eve after the Fall in Eden than you do the newlywed couple at Cana, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">ask for some family intervention. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ask your mother, Mary, and the Son, Jesus for help. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One place you’ll find them for sure, is here in the Church through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxdLTniAfHEv74yZJiRRE344V9VqmbhNc3I2nM0UTtgh68UQQy_rFiFyXlAAAHBRI2cbkxFbBrLDcN1KovL7qhTX8gG6KgJi1XJpvriLw72y_1UXIhuCgOt-F2Nx6S6NYV4LaOvOWOjw/s1600/top.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxdLTniAfHEv74yZJiRRE344V9VqmbhNc3I2nM0UTtgh68UQQy_rFiFyXlAAAHBRI2cbkxFbBrLDcN1KovL7qhTX8gG6KgJi1XJpvriLw72y_1UXIhuCgOt-F2Nx6S6NYV4LaOvOWOjw/s320/top.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thethirdoption.com/">Click here to go to Third Option</a>.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Another is through “<a href="http://www.thethirdoption.com/">Third Option</a>.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Third Option” is an on-going group program to build better marriages. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s designed for all married couples and can be used for marriage enrichment or crisis intervention. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When couples struggle they’ll say they’ve tried everything. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What they usually means is they tried the same two extreme options over and over: they’ve either stuffed their anger or attacked with it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The “Third Option” is the healthy middle ground </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">that teaches relationship skills such as handling anger constructively, ending the blame game, understanding expectations, forgiveness, rebuilding trust and control issues.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our group meets twice a month at an off-campus location to provide complete confidentiality.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There are brochures in the gathering space and next to the exit by the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Pick one up. Or, if you don’t wish someone to see you picking it up, call our office and ask to speak to a priest.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You don’t have to say why to the secretary.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And the priest will help you.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s ironic: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Every marriage is Eden in the beginning.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Everything’s perfect.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But ironically, it doesn’t always feel like paradise.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Eden after all is the place where the first marriage was destroyed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And every marriage is Calvary. There are moments of pain and crucifixion. But ironically, Calvary is the place where our marriages with God and with our spouse are restored.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-69889028645283798392013-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:002013-01-13T16:00:09.804-08:00Signing on the Dotted Line<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord - Year C</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If you’ve ever entered into a contract, you know that the gesture which “seals the deal” and finalizes the terms of the contract is affixing your signature; “signing on the dotted line.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We can look at baptism as a kind of “signing on the dotted line.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the Gospels, we’re told that John the Baptist went around “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So the people came to John the Baptist, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">they acknowledged themselves as sinners, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and, in doing so, expressed repentance </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and their desire to have their sins forgiven by God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And by kneeling down in the Jordan River and permitting John to pour water over their heads, they proverbially “signed their names on the dotted line” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">agreeing to enter into a life of conversion and to turn away from sin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So why on earth would Jesus “sign on the dotted line” through baptism? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus, of course, is without sin. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He has no need for baptism. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So why does he do it?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Why does he kneel down in the Jordan River and permit John to pour the waters of baptism over his head?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jesus “signs on the dotted line” not for his sake, but for ours. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus allows himself to be baptized not because he has to be cleansed of sin, but because we do.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Pope Benedict XVI puts it in these words in volume one of his three volume series, “Jesus of Nazareth.”: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Baptism is offered for the forgiveness of sins. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So, Jesus begins his public ministry, with baptism </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">because his entire life and his death will be offered for the forgiveness of our sins. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Here, at the beginning of Jesus’ public life, we see him already anticipating his death on the Cross.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After all, Jesus often referred to his suffering and death as a “baptism.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When James and John ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left in the Kingdom of Heaven he asks them, “can you... be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mk 10:38) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Meaning, “Will you be able to suffer and die as I will?” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus, anticipating his passion says, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished.” (Lk 12:50)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">By being baptized, Jesus is “signing on the dotted line” in a contract with his Father. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Through his baptism, Jesus is saying to the Father: “I will give my life for them. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So that, just as you Father call me your beloved son, so they may also become your beloved sons and daughters.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When you and I were baptized, we “signed on the dotted line.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Meaning that we become disciples, faithful followers, of the one who “signed on the dotted line” for us for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Or, as Pope Benedict says, “To accept the invitation to be baptized now means to go to the place of Jesus’ Baptism. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It is to go where he identifies himself with us and to receive there our identification with him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The point where he anticipates death has now become the point where we anticipate rising again with him.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go to the place of Jesus’ baptism; to the Jordan River in the Holy Land? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">To even walk into those same waters where Jesus himself walked? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where he lowered himself with the burden of our sins upon his shoulders?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Actually, that’s precisely one of the recommendations we’re given by the Church in this “Year of Faith.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Vatican recommends going on a religious pilgrimage this year. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Perhaps to the Holy Land, or to Rome, or to one of the Marian Shrines such as Lourdes, Fatima or Guadalupe.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, obviously it won’t be possible for all of us to make a pilgrimage for all of us, or even many of us, to one of these suggested sites. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">However, I would like to suggest all of us, who are able, to go on a more attainable religious pilgrimage: s</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">ometime during this “Year of Faith” let’s go, if we are able, to the place where we were baptized.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12Zi2wf3RIcMEJ5Aizis-VrFpjJZV5pQxYiF7Qg8lWk5z644Er852jiEJcpo_RcJ6jMxg4UV_vIavGeYrjYH7BeOnPIyf9ZRCX-Lf2m5rFPsXXYHBbhxNu4XdrFBrjsUVwQ_Bc5IfQAs/s1600/742px-Chrzcielnica_z_chrztu_Jana_Paw%C5%82a_II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12Zi2wf3RIcMEJ5Aizis-VrFpjJZV5pQxYiF7Qg8lWk5z644Er852jiEJcpo_RcJ6jMxg4UV_vIavGeYrjYH7BeOnPIyf9ZRCX-Lf2m5rFPsXXYHBbhxNu4XdrFBrjsUVwQ_Bc5IfQAs/s200/742px-Chrzcielnica_z_chrztu_Jana_Paw%C5%82a_II.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Font where Bl. Pope John Paul II <br />
was baptized.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Blessed Pope John Paul II did this several times. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He went there in 1966, when he was Archbishop of the Diocese of Krakow. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He visited again on the 50th anniversary of his baptism when he was a Cardinal. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And again in 1979, when he visited there as Pope. And e</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">ach time, he kissed the baptismal font.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let’s go on pilgrimage to, and pray at, the exact spot where we were washed of Original Sin. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let’s go to the place where we reborn into new life as adopted sons and daughters of God the Father. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let’s go to the place where we were made living temples of the Holy Spirit and members of the Body of Christ, the Church. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This year, let’s go to the place where we “signed on the dotted line.”</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-44182429861586584652013-01-06T16:00:00.000-08:002013-01-06T16:00:10.635-08:00Don't Wander. Follow A Star.<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord - Year C</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I need a volunteer. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’ve hidden something very important somewhere in this building and I want you to go find it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s very, very precious to me. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Next to the Eucharist, it may be the most important things in my life. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s bacon. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’ve hidden some bacon somewhere in this building. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Now go find it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">How? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You need a map.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While they’re looking for the bacon, have any of you seen the Catholics Come Home commercial with Lou Holtz? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s fantastic.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You may know Coach Holtz is Catholic.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In fact, he’s a daily communicant (which means he goes to Mass and receives communion every day.) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And in the video, he invites those who may have fallen away from the practice of the faith to come back home to the Catholic church. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If you want to see it, just tune in to the National Championship game Monday night where it will air on national television. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Coach Holtz begins the video saying, “For victory in life, we’ve got to keep focused on the goal; and the goal is Heaven.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We all want to go to Heaven. That’s our goal. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But ask yourself this question:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">How are you going to get there?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What’s your plan?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What’s your roadmap? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just like our friend here who couldn’t find the bacon without directions, we can’t get to Heaven without directions either. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If we try to wander our way into Heaven, the chances are very slim we’ll get there.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When the Wise Men decided to go look for the child Jesus, they didn’t wander aimlessly across the desert hoping to run into him. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They followed instructions.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They followed a roadmap.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">They followed the guiding light given to them by God: they followed the star.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I made a resolution to lose 20 lbs this year. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That’s my goal. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But I won’t reach my goal without a plan; without a guiding star if you will. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So, my plan is to go to the gym, once a week in January.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(Baby steps.) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In February, I’ll go twice a week. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Come March, we’ll see if I’m stupid enough to go three times a week.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Heaven is a destination like any other. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Actually, Heaven is a destination unlike any other. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So we should have a plan to get there unlike any other.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">God has given us a guiding light for getting to Heaven: Christ and his Church. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Before Christ ascended to Heaven, he gave his Apostles one last instruction: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:19) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where did you receive that gift of Christ, your baptism?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Here in the Church. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where did you first hear the Word of God and where do you continue to hear it week after week?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Here in the Church. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Where do you receive the gift of Jesus Christ’s Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist?</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Here in the Church.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Where do you gather together with your brothers and sisters in Christ to offer sacrifice and worship to the Lord? Here in the Church.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, what is your plan for getting to Heaven? (and trust me, I ask this question of myself as well.) </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">How are we going to move closer to Christ and closer to Heaven this year through our life in the Church? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Some of them are givens like going to Mass every Sunday, praying every day, going to Confession regularly. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But what will you do differently this year?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What is your concrete plan?</span></div>
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<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you read a book of the Bible this month?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you read a spiritual classic by one of the Saints this year?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you go on a Christ Renews His Parish weekend?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you attend the diocesan men’s conference or women’s conference?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you seek the answer to your question about the Catholic faith by asking a priest or listening to Redeemer Radio?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If your marriage needs help, will you seek counseling or attend Third Option?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If you repeatedly struggle with vice of anger or gossip or pornography or any other habitual sin will you seek the loving counsel of a priest in confession and take concrete steps to turn away from it?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you try to patch up that relationship that has gone sour?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you go on the Edge or Life Teen retreats this year?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you clean out the closet of any clothes you haven’t worn in a year and give them to the poor?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you clean out the pantry of food you can share with the hungry?</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Will you make a weekly or daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">There are literally hundreds of things we could do this year to move closer to Christ and Heaven. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">But none of them will matter unless we actually choose and do one or two of them. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">This is the time of year where we make resolutions. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Today, let’s resolve to get to Heaven. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">But let’s not wander our way there. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Let’s take a moment now to prayerfully discern in silence the concrete plan, the guiding star, we’ll follow as we journey this year to Christ and our Heavenly destination.</span><br />
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Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-36480548521639504722013-01-04T06:01:00.001-08:002013-01-04T06:01:12.554-08:00Lou Holtz Calls Us Home<span style="font-size: large;">Check out this awesome "Catholics Come Home" video featuring Lou Holtz. It will air nationally during the BCS Championship game on Monday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">God bless and Go Irish!!!</span>Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842708553041185095.post-27593297823994306872013-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:002012-12-31T08:01:22.714-08:00"And the Friend Jumps In the Hole."<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homily from the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God - Year C</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A few years ago there was a popular television show called The West Wing and it was about the behind the scenes activity of the White House. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In one of the episodes, one of the characters tells a friend a story about a man who fell down a hole.</span></div>
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'"</span></i></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That’s basically what we’ve been celebrating this past Christmas. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That when God sees humanity fall into the hole of sin, He doesn’t just throw down a prescription or a prayer on a piece of paper. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rather, he jumps down into the hole with us by becoming one of us; by being born as a man, in order to show us the way out of the hole of our sin and into grace.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That’s really what we’re celebrating today on this Feast of Mary, Mother of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It may sound like a feast to honor Mary (and it is, in part). </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But primarily, it is a feast to honor Jesus for coming to save us by being born as one of us and lead us out of sin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We call Mary, the Mother of God all the time. We have no problem with it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">However, centuries ago, some people did have a problem with it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Way back, in the 5th century, one person in particular, a bishop named Nestorius said we shouldn’t call Mary the Mother of God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He was concerned with a couple things: </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">first, that calling Mary the Mother of God suggested she was some sort of goddess; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and second, that the all-powerful God could not possibly suffer and die.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nestorius basically said that Jesus’ two natures: his divine nature as God and his human nature as man could not be united in the person of Jesus Christ. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That somehow, Jesus put aside his divine nature for a time; then was born as a man and took on human nature; suffered, died and was buried; then put back on his divine nature at the resurrection.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, the Church said, that’s not what we believe. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because no mere man can save humanity. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Only God can save us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jesus is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He, who is of the same substance, or consubstantial, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, also became consubstantial with us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He, who possessed the divine nature took on our human nature </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">so he could lift us human beings into his divinity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In a few moments, when we prepare the altar for the Eucharist, I’ll pour a little bit of water into the wine. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One of the things the water and wine represent are the two natures of Christ.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The water represents his human nature and the wine represents his divine nature. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And as I mix them, I silently pray, <i>“By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” </i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As St. Paul said to the Galatians in our second reading: <i>“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”</i> (Gal 4:4-5)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That’s why Jesus jumped into the hole with us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because he knows we don’t belong there. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he knows the way out.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the story, the guy who jumps into the hole says, “I’ve been here before, I know the way out.” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In a sense Jesus has been here before too.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Not that he’s ever fallen into sin. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rather, he knows what true human nature is.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He is the perfect human being.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He understands what His Father’s design for humanity was before Adam and Eve fell and took all of us with them into that hole. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So, it we want to know what it really means to be a human being in it’s fullest meaning, we must look to the person of Jesus Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">New Years is the time we make resolutions. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Allow me to suggest one; and I’m going to make it extremely broad so that you can discern how you want to do it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This year, let Christ lead you out of the hole. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We will be tempted to turn to so many other things to try to pull ourselves out of our holes: diets, self-improvement, intellectual pursuits, more money. And while all of these can be goods, none of them can take the place of the supreme good: Jesus Christ and none of them, in and of themselves can lead us out of our holes. Only Christ can do that.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let Christ be the one who leads you out of your hole. Recognize, that we’re all in the hole. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And at the same time, recognize that this isn’t our true nature.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s not where we belong. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There is a way out. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It may take a lifetime and beyond to get out of it completely. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But recognize that Christ has jumped down into the hole with us. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he’s the only one who can get us out. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So let’s follow him more closely in 2013.</span></div>
Fr. Andrew Budzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14085480873667829433noreply@blogger.com0