Feast of the Baptism of Jesus--A Reflection

 While the commercial world took down the lights and started getting ready for Valentine's Day on December 26, the Church continues to explore the depths of the wonderful mystery of the Incarnation. Last week we celebrated the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus the light of the world to the magi, representatives of the Gentile world. 

  This Sunday we have another celebration of Jesus being revealed as Son of God as we recall His baptism by John in the Jordan River. This year's Gospel account is taken from Matthew's rendition of that wonderful moment. (See Mt. 3:13-17) I suppose it is natural to ask why was Jesus baptized in a baptism of repentance being that Jesus is the sinless one who has no need of repentance.After all John the Baptist himself asks the same question.

  There are several answers to that question.  Some Scripture scholars tell us that in order for Him to be the High Priest of the New Covenant He had had to fulfill the requirements of being a priest of the Old Covenant which required cleansing with water. This is part of Jesus' response that it was to fulfill all righteousness.  The descending of the dove (Holy Spirit) over the waters  with the words from the heavens, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," represents a revelation of God as Trinity, but also it points to creation beginning anew in Jesus.  Remember that at the beginning of Genesis a might wind sweeps over the waters.  Now it is the breath of the Spirit.

   In addition to the theological richness of all of the above references there is also the belief, going back to early Christianity, that Jesus was baptized because, though sinless, He wanted to identify with sinners.

   In light of where Pope Francis is trying to lead us I think that this last point is important.  Pope Francis has been misunderstood or misinterpreted by those who want to fir him into their own agendas. What he is trying to do is what Jesus did during his earthly ministry.  He hung around with tax collectors and prostitutes not to condone their behavior but because He understood that their conversion could best be brought about by love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness. Though He was the Son of God He journeyed with them as a fellow human rather than standing above them.

   As was the case in Jesus' time many are uncomfortable with that. Many think that unless the point and wag fingers they are not getting the job done.  I think that it is an act of faith to trust that if something was the way of Jesus that it will work for us.

   While I don't pretend to present myself as the perfect model for all of this I will say that some of the most rewarding moments in my life as a friar and as a priest have come from witnessing the mercy of God touching the lives of drug addicts, prostitutes, sex addicts and various kinds of thieves and turning them into saints.  Unlike Jesus we are all sinners.  Saying that I am a sinner but my sin as not as bad as yours is probably one of the biggest pitfalls that stands in the way of our simply walking with everyone as a sister or brother on the journey towards God, not to mention that it shows a great deal of self-righteousness.

   As we celebrate Jesus' baptism in the Jordan let us rejoice in the fact that we are beside Him in those waters.

Jamaica, Part III

Mountain view from Strawberry Hills

 As you may have surmised from the previous two entries Jamaica is a land of contrasts. Amidst the poverty here there is a lot of natural beauty.  On Thursday I was treated to some of that as we climbed the mountains to a place called Strawberry Hills where we had "Tea". I use the quotation marks because as often as I have heard our British friends talk of Tea I was never treated to tea as an event.

  Jamaica  was once a British colony and so customs such as "Tea" in the late afternoon are still part of life here.

   Again the pictures speak for themselves.

Ready for Tea

Sun  setting over Kingston viewed from Strawberry Hills

Sr. Grace in for ground walking up to restaurant for tea.

    Moving on to Friday's experience I would like to point out that unlike my experience in Honduras where I go on a mission trip the Jamaica experience has put me more in the role of an observer, not as directly involved with the local people as I am in Honduras, though I did have some fine conversations with some Jamaicans.

    Friday took us to the north coast of Jamaica (Kingston is on the south coast).   We stopped for some Jamiacan Jerk (a way of preparing fire-grilled meat, not to be confused with American Beef Jerky) which we took to the residence of the Oratorian Fathers who staff several parishes in that region. We also stopped to visit beautiful Somerset Falls.  Again, let the pictures below speak for themselves.

Stopping for "Jerk Meat"

Somerset Falls

Somerset Falls

Me, Sr. Grace and Margaret (graduate of IC High School, instructor of architecture)

Buying some local fruit

Town of San antonio

Sr. Grace with Oratorian Fathers

View from Back of Father's Residence

Jamaica, Part Two

Very Typical spot along the road in Jamaica

 After the retreat for the sisters here in Jamaica I was treated to 3 days of touring to see the country and its natural beauty and to visit some of the ministry sites of the sisters here.  In this first group of pictures I went with several Franciscan sisters from the Philippines who work here and with Sr. Grace Yap, an Allegheny Franciscan to visit a cooperative organic farm that Sr. Grace is beginning as well as a student center in the town of Brees River where students can go after school to do homework and receive tutoring. The canter is partially funded by Bread for the world.  Both projects are part of the many things that Sr. Grace is involved with. We went there on January 1 in the evening for a New Year's Day appreciation banquet.

Beds for plants at Sr. Grace's Portiuncula Farm

Worker's house at Portiuncula Farm

With two of the Filipino Sisters outside student center

The pictures here are captioned and pretty much speak for themselves.

   The name of the Farm, Portiuncula Farm, is from the name of the first Franciscan church and friary in Assisi dedicated to Our lady of thge Angels but popularly called the Portiuncula, or little portion.  Sr. Grace explains that just as the whole Franciscan order sprang from that first little portion, so wonderful things will grow from this farm

Typical Jamaican homes in Brees river

Getting ready for the New Year appreciation banquet at student center

Beginning An International Year--Jamaica

Outside the Kingston Airport

 As the year 2014 kicks off I realize that it is going to be an international year.  I have been in Kingston, Jamaica since Dec. 26 to preach a retreat to the Allegheny Franciscan Sisters here. the retreat ended on New Year's Day and I am staying a few days longer to get to see the country and some of the other work that the sisters do here.  Later in the year I will be going to Honduras again with Christ the King parish in Little Rock, AR, and in October I am to be the spiritual director on a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome.

View from my "palatial" quarters at the Franciscan sisters convent

  With this blog entry I will share the retreat and in a few days share about the second half of the experience. As you can tell by the pictures the  convent is on a beautiful piece of property which was once the Constant Springs Hotel when Jamaica was a British colony.  It is part of the campus of Immaculate Conception High school begun by Scotish Franciscans in the 1800's and later given to the care of the Allegheny Franciscans.  The school provides a wonderful education to girls from all strata of Jamaican society.  Unlike the US state aid is given to religious schools here. The sisters can be rightly proud of the work they are doing.

   The retreat takes place over Christmas vacation. In some of the pictures you can see the sisters gathered for their conferences as well as for Mass. I have been very well received here and look forward to venturing out and seeing the rest of the country and other work that the sisters are doing here.
                                                                                          

Convent, Once the Constant Springs Hotel

                                                                                          

Sisters Gathered for retreat conference

 

Convent Chapel with Christmas decorations

Ready to begin Mass--Sisters in wheelchairs not part of the retreat but 

very well cared for by their community

Happy 98th birthday to Sr. Jean Frances Chen

After New Year's Eve Mass for peace with Carol Anglin, perhaps a distant cousin

A Blessed Christmas to all--For Unto Us A Child Is Born

 This past year has been filled with so many incredible blessings and great experiences. The list includes another trip to Honduras, the publication of my book, The Wandering Friar, as well as the great reception the book has received at parish missions and various book signings, the opportunity to appear on Catholic TV to celebrate Mass and to be interviewed about the book,  the great send-offs given to me by the parishes in northern Wisconsin that I have served over the past 18 years. As wonderful as all of these events were, the top moment of the year by far was the birth of my grandniece Madeline Elizabeth Donahue on May 11 to her proud parents Kevin and Michelle, that along with her Baptism in August.

    Although I have only been to Boston twice since Madeline's birth--her baptism in August and again on a family visit at Thanksgiving--I have delighted in the impact that she has had on her parents, grandparents, and everyone in our family, an impact that I became keenly aware of when I began to prepare this Christmas reflection.  One of my favorite parts of Handel's Messiah is the chorus, For Unto Us a Child is Born, based on a prophecy found in Isaiah.

     What happens when a child is born unto us?  In the case of the arrival of Madeline she certainly brought great joy.  She has a beautiful smile to heighten that joy and like any little baby she just draws the love right of of you.  The pictures below of her and of her with her grandmother Laureen illustrate all of that.  In addition a little baby has to be cared for and nurtured, a 24 hour job of feeding, changing, bathing, soothing and so much more.  I admire the way that her parents share that responsibility, which is also shared by her four grandparents and her aunt Laurie.

 

Loved by Nana

  Now what does all of this tell us about Christmas?  A great deal I think.  We gaze upon the newborn child in the manger.  He is sent by the Father as a gift of love to all of us, but he also evokes love from us, just as Madeline and any newborn baby does.  The challenge for us is that Jesus needs to be cared for in all kinds of ways.  In humbling himself to come down to us as a baby born in a manger He trusted that He would be cared for.  Think of that, God needing us to provide care.  Now Mary and Joseph did a great job. they did all the things that Madeline's parents, Kevin and Michelle, are doing and even more because there were no modern conveniences. The apostles took a while before they stepped up to the plate  .  But

Madeline's winning smile

      Do we realize that He also trusts us to care for Him today?  How is that so. We often think of the great mystery of the Incarnation, of God taking on flesh, as a 33 year event that ended with the Resurrection and Ascension.  But that was only the beginning.  That mystery continues today in the Church and in the sacraments. Jesus is among us and through the Spirit dwells in us.  We care for Him well in our life of prayer and in reverently approaching Him in the Eucharist.  But there is another way in which He is so often neglected.  In the oft-quoted 25th chapter of Matthew we are told, "I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, sick or imprisoned and you visited me." How is the Christ being cared for in that way?  By many that job is being well done, but by others not so much.  I have to admit that I have lived on both sides of that equation.

      This Christmas may our hearts be filed with joy because unto us a child is born.  We celebrate not only that He was born all those years ago in Bethlehem, but that He desires to be born in us today, in our own lives and most especially in the lives of the so many poor and needy where He awaits our loving care.

    Merry Christmas Everyone!
As a special treat listen to the London Symphony Orchestra Rendition of For Unto Us a Child is Born

                                            

Friar Alessandro--An Angelic Voice

  I'm getting my Christmas blog message ready but in the meantime I just thought I'd share with you a beautiful rendition of the popular Italian Christmas carol by Friar Alessandro, a young friar who lives in Assisi and has hit the world stage with his beautiful singing voice.
  

Rejoice in the Lord always, Gaudete Sunday

 The word joy has been in the Catholic mindset quite often in recent months mainly due to the influence of Pope Francis, especially after his recently published apostolic exhortation entitled Evangelii Guadium (The Joy of the Gospel) Today the Church officially brings "Joy" to the forefront with the Third Sunday of Advent being called "Gaudete" or "rejoice" Sunday.  Along with Laetare (which also means rejoice) Sunday which comes in the middle of Lent we have two days placed in the middle of penitential seasons that call us to have joy, to rejoice.  On both of these Sundays the priest is asked to wear rose colored vestments to indicate this call to rejoice.

   What, though, does it mean to have joy, to rejoice.  The fact that both of these Sundays are placed in the middle of penitential seasons ought to give us a clue.  The word joy has several shades of meaning. We could say that there was joy in my home city of Boston this year when the Red Sox won the World Series. Indeed there was joy, but the joy of vicariously celebrating the triumph of one's favorite local athletes, though wonderful, is a fleeting joy. It doesn't really help anyone to eal with life's problems and challenges.

  More to the point is the joy of a married couple celebrating an anniversary after many years of living the Sacrament of Matrimony.  I was delighted to participate a few weeks ago in the surprise 40th Anniversary of my brother Michael and his wife Laureen.  Their joy was a deep one because they had endured many challenges over those 40 years including Michael's suffering a stroke last year. They have raised two beautiful daughters and now are grandparents. They were able to celebrate that their love for each other and their faith in God had sustained them through all the ups and downs that marriage presents.

  On the level of faith joy does not mean being in a state of bliss that removes us from our problems. If we read Pope Francis work closely we see that joy for Christians comes from encountering Christ and from knowing through that encounter that even though we may have to carry the cross there is live and resurrection on the other side of the cross. This is why we talk of "celebrating" the Mass because in the Eucharist that living encounter with Christ is renewed. The Mass is indeed both a sacrifice and a celebration because their cannot be joy without sacrifice--in marriage, in religious life, in the priesthood, in life in general.

   To sum this up I refer you to a meditation that I heard several years ago during Holy Week.  In this reflection it was stated that little children have fun. They play.  Even as adults we like to have fun, and fun is a good thing if we seek the right kind of fun.  But fun is not joy.  In late childhood and adolescence we are more likely to experience pleasure.  Pleasure is something wonderful, but also dangerous.  We can seek pleasure all to easily in the wrong things, or make it an end in itself.  Nonetheless it is good, but it is not joy.

  Finally when Jesus was dying on the cross He was certainly not having fun, nor was He experiencing pleasure.  His heart though was filled with joy because He was pouring out His love for us.
The Letter to the Philipians (4:4) tells us "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice"

  May your lives be filled with true joy.