"In the early days of the western United States,

a masked man and an Indian rode the plains,

searching for truth and justice."

"Return with us now

to those thrilling days of yesteryear,

when from out of the past

come the thundering hoofbeats

of the great horse Silver!

The Lone Ranger rides again!"

"Come on, Silver!

Let's go, big fellow!

Hi-yo Silver! Away!"

If you grew-up in the 40’s listening to the Lone Ranger on the radio -  WXYZ Detroit, The Mutual Broadcasting Company – then you might, like me, will find the latest movie one of the most entertaining movies ever! My wife, who fell asleep during the movie Skyfall – not only stayed awake but, like me, laughed through the entire movie, a thoroughly enjoyable time!

The movie has spectacular scenery and the special effects are awesome!  The humor with Johnny Depp as Tonto is the best ever.

So Kemosahbee, don’t miss this movie! Yes it is totally crazy and you have to use your imagination (old time “radio listeners” are naturals at this!) I had tears of laughter streaming down my face through the entire movie.  Don’t be swayed by the critics – remember they are paid to criticize (I guess if they didn’t criticize, they would be called “praisers!”)

I give this movie 20 stars!

 

Many of my friends give me 'static' about always going to, or talking about, the Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan - Well, here is just one of the reasons (yes, more will follow) - the Sun Rise over East Bay!

 

GOD’S CALL AND OUR RESPONSE

HOMILY – June 29/30, 2013

The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, as prophet to succeed you.”
Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, he went over to him and threw his cloak over him.

But, Elisha hesitates and wants to delay responding to Elijah call.

“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.”

And in the Gospel Jesus asks two of his followers to follow him.

And they, like Elisha, also hesitate, wanting to delay their response to Jesus’ call.

And to another Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Like the others he delays and replies, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” 

Also in today’s Gospel, James and John – apostles of Jesus – in an act of revenge -  want to bring fire and destruction down on the people of the Samaritan village.

Jesus turns and rebukes them, not only asking for this, but even thinking of doing such an thing!

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? 

Are these responses of self-interest and retaliation typical only of the people living at the time these scriptures were written?

No, of course not!

Have you ever felt “called to” -  or perceived a “calling to” some action and hesitated – or even neglected to respond – even though it may have been a call to great cause and worthy of your attention and acceptance?

Have you ever let feelings of uncertainty or the possible risks of accepting a call  - influence and threaten your sense of personal freedom?

I certainly can’t answer those questions for you – but I can say that like the people in the scripture readings – I too have at times have felt reluctant to risk or accept the call – having more concern or fear for myself, then venturing out into the unknown to follow even God’s call to service or forgiveness.

While all calls to growth and service come from God, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be a call to something “religious,” it could very well be a calling to grow in some manner, be it advancing your education, or skills, or any activity that would help build the kingdom of God by positively influencing the lives of others.

Why did St. Paul say:

“I do not understand my own actions.

For I do not do what I should do,

but I do the very thing I should not do?”  (Romans 7:14)

Why are we so much like St. Paul, often struggling with doing the “right thing?”

I remember back in the 70’s there was a comedian named Flip Wilson who had a comic routine where he had a character named Geraldine who whenever she was caught making a bad decision would say:  

“The devil made me do it!”

It’s not my intent to minimize or make light of the existence or the actions of the devil in our lives by quoting a comedian - when in fact we have good evidence and verification of the very real existence and presence of the devil recorded in the Bible and also in our liturgy.

He called the twelve . . . and gave them authority

over the unclean spirits.

They cast out many demons. (Mark 6)

There is a prayer of exorcism In the Rite of Baptism for Children:

“Now we pray for these children

who will have to face the world with its temptations,

and fight the devil in all his cunning.

And in the New Testament, 1 John, Chapter 5 verse 19:

We know that we are God’s children,

and that the whole world lives

under the power of the evil one.

Take a moment to use the gift of imagination, and visualize what God looks like.

Now, using that same imagination, visualize what the devil, the ‘unclean spirit,’ looks like.

Regardless what you just imagined - the reality is they both look the same!

You see if the devil really looked like the scary image you just imagined, there would never be a problem of avoiding giving in to the temptations of the devil; we would never have difficulty to rebuke or ignore, or condemn the attempts of the devil to influence or direct our lives.  We would  run as fast as we could from the scary and evil presence of that evil spirit – Satan, the devil.

To be effective, the devil, the “bad spirit” will always present himself as being the good guy, the helper and wise one, the “good” spirit. This is why in 1John 4 it is written:

“: . . .do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits

to see whether they are from God . . .

from this you will know the spirit of truth – and the spirit of error.

The children of the devil are revealed in this way.”

Does the devil really exist in our lives today?

How can we be aware of, and identify, where Satan is active in our world, in our country, in our town, in our church, in our homes, and in our very lives?

THE LITMUS TEST

“TESTING” OF THE SPIRITS:

DEVIL – THE EVIL SPIRIT                 GOD – THE GOOD SPIRIT

The father of lies.                                                      The father of truthfulness.

The one who scatters and destroys.                      The one who gathers and builds.

The one who accuses and criticizes.                     The one who lifts up & affirms.

The promoter of the culture of death.                     The creator and giver of life.

The spirit of error         .                                            The spirit of truth.

The devil pushes us to self-indulgence.                 God encourages our self-sacrificing.

To which “spirit” do we most often feel compelled, forced,or attracted to?  

In the 2^nd Reading of St Paul we heard:

For you were called for freedom,

But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh;

rather, use it to serve one another through love.

Thomas Merton, in his book “No Man is an Island” wrote about freedom:

The essence of freedom is making choices that perfect us

in our own being, making choices that fulfill the deepest

capabilities of our real selves.

In Psalm 16 today we petition God saying:

O Lord, you are my inheritance,

Keep me, O God,

for in you I take refuge;

Let us pray: In you Lord we take protection; it is you who counsels us, you show us the path to life. You will never abandon us; your presence is the fullness of our joy. Help us Lord, to focus on love and on service rather than on our self-indulgence and need for control.  Help us today Jesus to want to follow you with all readiness and willingness.   Amen.  

BONUS MATERIAL - The “Back-Story!”

You didn't want to mess with Elijah and Elisha.  They were “take-no-prisoners” kinds of prophets. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah has 450 prophets of the pagan god Baal killed after publicly humiliating them (1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:1-16); and when a bunch of boys called Elisha “baldy” they were attacked and killed by bears! (2 Kings 2:23-24)

Sunday’s reading only tells a very small part of the story of prophets of Elijah and Elisha – the expanded story is an interesting one!  If you don't read the “back-story” – you miss a lot of the excitement and meaning of knowing about these two prophets. I would recommend that you take the time to read “the rest of the story.”  It is there that we learn of the extreme risks God has asked Elijah to take by his returning to the land of the Israelites, and the strange (or unique) way in which God communicated with Elijah. See the Old Testament readings of Elijah’s triumph over the priests of Baal.

Corpus Christi Sunday

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

 

          On Sunday, June 2^nd, the Church throughout the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

          The primary purpose of this celebration is to focus our attention on the Eucharist. At every Mass our attention is called to the Real, True, and Full, Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’ ” (1374)  

          This is the key doctrine of the faith and a teaching that sets Catholics apart from most other Christians.

          The secondary focus of this celebration is the Body of Christ as it is present in the Church. The Church is called the Body of Christ because of the intimate unity which Jesus shares with his disciples – and with us

 

Gospel of John 6:51-54, 55-67

 

                   “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

 The disciples quarreled among themselves, saying,

 “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

 

Jesus said to them,

                   “. . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and me in them.”

 

Then many of his disciples who were listening said,

“This is hard to understand and to believe; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring and complaining about this, he said to them,

 

                   “Does this shock you? The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

 

As a result of this, many his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer followed him or believed in him.

 Jesus then said to the Twelve,

“Do you also want to leave?”

 Did Jesus mean that it is necessary to really eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Did Jesus mean that the bread and wine only “figuratively” represented His flesh and blood? 

 

Did Jesus ever imply that the Eucharist was just a mere symbol?

 

DID JESUS REALLY MEAN WHAT HE SAID?

 

          The disciples would probably not have been so outraged and scandalized if they had thought or believed that Jesus was talking only about a mere “symbol” of His Body and Blood.

           If they had misunderstood Jesus, thinking that He meant to literally eat His flesh and drink His blood – then Jesus could have very easily clarified his point. 

          And since “many” of the disciples left Jesus because of this teaching, Jesus would have certainly felt obligated to explain to them, if it was true, that he was just speaking in purely “symbolic” terms.

But Jesus did not make such a clarification.

 Why not?

 

THE HEART OF THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

           At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration is the bread and wine. There is an important symbolic meaning to these gifts of bread and wine:

·        They are gifts brought forward by the baptized to be presented to the priest, thus symbolizing the action and involvement of the community.

·        Bread and wine are not purely “natural” symbols as is water in Baptism, but are the product of cooperation between God the Creator and we as human beings. God does not make bread and wine; human beings do.

 THE GATHERING OF THE FAITHFUL

           We come to a particular place for the celebration of the Mass, being aware that our coming together is not like our coming to any other place.

It is the grace of God that brings us together in this place. It is in this coming together we form a sign that it is God who gathers us, and that now He will act. Both the priest and the assembly interact together. Everything that is said and done is done together, the priest and the assembly. It is all a sign of the Church as Christ’s body and Christ as the head of that body.

 EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

During the Eucharistic Prayer, Christ in the person of the priest, gives thanksgiving for the action and praise that He is now about to perform.

Through the hands of the priest that rest over the gifts of bread and wine, he prays:

 ·        asking the Father to send down His Spirit so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,

 ·        That those who take part in this Eucharist may be one body and one spirit.

 ·        The priest lifts up the true presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord, and

 ·        Presents them to God the Father as the perfect offering made to the glory of His name.

 In that moment, we as the Church are doing what Christ did and forever does: the Church offers His one Body, to which the Church has been joined, to the Father for the glory of his name and for the salvation of the world.

HOLY COMMUNION

Each one of us in receiving, eating, and ingesting the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are:  

·        now united to Christ in an intensely and deeply personal way.

·        now In the body of the gathered assembly, we become an enormous sign of Christ’s presence in the world.

 How should all this affect . . .

 

·        Our belief in God? 

·        Our relationship with Jesus?

·        Our relationship with each other?
·        Our living out our Christian life as Catholics?

 Let us pray,

“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”

 

        Strengthen our faith, reinforce our belief, and banish the darkness of doubt.  Help us to pray courageously, to do good to all, and to guard against losing the spiritual salt of our faith. Give us the resolve and the wisdom to be Jesus’ follower, even when it isn’t easy.  Help us to receive the truth of your presence in our lives.

Worth Reading!
 

Here are two worthwhile ‘reads’ from other Blogs.

The first is a humorous writing that any mother who has raised two or more boys will certainly identify with, (Happy Mother’s Day!):

The Theology of the Bathroom – located at:

 http://www.ncregister.com/blog/simcha-fisher/the-theology-of-the-bathroom

 

This Blog is about Where Calumny is, There is the Devil.  Calumny is a word that today is probably better understood as “Dissing” – or the disrespecting of others.  I think it is a topic that we don’t often think about, but should. (also see Ephesians 4:19-32)

Where Calumny is, There is the Devil – located at:

 

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-calumny-is-of-the-devil

 

 

God's Promise and Gifts for All – Shalom!

          A new survey published on March 26th by the American Bible Society – as reported in the Jesuit magazine America - finds that Americans overwhelmingly believe morals and values are declining in the United States.

What was the most often cited cause for this decline?

           The main reason given was the lack of reading and putting into practice the lessons and teachings found in the Bible.

 ·        66 percent of those surveyed agreed that the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life,

But. . .  

·        58 percent say they do not personally want wisdom and advice from the Bible,

·        57 percent say they read the Bible fewer than five times per year.

 

          The Bible, even though it is often referred to as the “ultimate instruction guide on how to live a moral life;” unfortunately, it seems, that more than half of Americans rarely, if ever, read it!

 

If we had a cure for cancer,

wouldn’t everyone with cancer take it?

          Americans are telling us that the cure for declining morality is sitting right on our bookshelves, but many are simply letting the cure gather dust.

          Fortunately for Catholics, the Church directs that in a continuing and repeating 3 year cycle, all the bible scripture writings are to be read and proclaimed at daily and weekend Masses. This directive of the church insures that we will have an opportunity to hear and learn God’s Word as it is in the Scriptures.

Jesus assures and promises

          In this Sunday’s Gospel,(JN 14:23-29; May 5, 2012) which is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse, Jesus assures and promises to his disciples – and you and me too – that he will not leave us as orphans. His impending departure will not leave the disciples or us lacking or deprived, in any way, of his love.

           Today these Assurances and Promises are presented to us in their fullness in Jesus Christ.

The Message

          There are 4 distinct messages for us in today’s Gospel of John

First:

THE “PROMISE”:

 “Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them,

What is this “word” that Jesus refers to? 

When Jesus was asked “What is the greatest Commandment?” – Jesus’ reply was: “. . . to love one other as I have loved you. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)

. . . and we will come to them

 and make our dwelling with them.”

 

 

 St. Teresa of Avila reminds us that, “If Christ Jesus dwells in you as your friend and noble leader, then you can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us.”

 Secondly: 

 THE SUPPORT:

 "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."

 The Holy Spirit – the Advocate – brings seven gifts to each of us helping us to lead a Christian Life. These Gifts are:

WISDOM: Through wisdom, we come to value properly those things which we believe through faith. That the truth of Christian belief is more important than the things of this world

 

UNDERSTANDING: Allows us grasp, at least in a limited way, the very essence of the truths of the Catholic Faith. Through understanding, we gain a conviction about our beliefs that moves beyond faith.

 

COUNSEL/GUIDANCE: Through this gift of the Holy Spirit, we are able to judge how best to act almost by intuition. Because of the gift of counsel, we need not fear to stand up for the truths of the Faith, because the Holy Spirit will guide us in defending those truths.

 

FORTITUDE/COURAGE: Gives us the strength to act and follow through on our Christian faith. Fortitude is the virtue of the martyrs that allows them to suffer any outcome rather than to renounce their Christian Faith.

 

KNOWLEDGE: Allows us to see our life the way that God sees us.

 

PIETY/FAITHFULNESS: The willingness to worship and to serve God; a willingness that goes beyond a sense of duty, so that we desire to worship God and to serve Him out of love.

 

FEAR OF GOD: This gift of the Holy Spirit gives us the desire not to offend God, as well as the certainty that God will supply us the grace that we need in order to keep from offending Him.

 

Thirdly:

 THE PROMISE OF PEACE:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you."

To wish another “peace” is to wish for their fulfillment, for an abundance of all they need, for prosperity. Peace is not merely the end of wars, or the end of violence; rather, “ true peace” is the very presence of God entering in to the human heart.

And finally:

THE PROMISE OF HOPE:

 "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
I am going away and I will come back to you."

 

We are instructed to live a life of “hope,” a hope that transcends and over comes the many times we fall victim to the feelings of fear, doubt, and anger and the life experiences of loss and pain.  Peter who was a witness of Jesus’ life and teachings writes:

 

Blessed be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who in his great mercy gave us a new birth

to a living hope

to an inheritance that is

imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,

and kept in heaven for you,

 In this you rejoice,  

 

 1Peter 1:4-9

 

 

Let us Pray: 

We give thanks to you, our God, because of your constant love for us; you have given us the promise of everlasting life with you.

Holy Spirit, give us the courage and wisdom to be Jesus’ follower, even when it isn’t easy.  Fill us with the joy and peace that comes from doing your will.   Amen.