A Simple Something To Take Into Your Day

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year  grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his  step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly  grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk  spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.  We must do something about Grandfather, said the son. I've had enough of  his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and  wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while  the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in  Grandfather's direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.  Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he  dropped a fork or spilled food.  The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the  father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the  child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded,  "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mom for when you are old ".  The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

May we today be aware of someone slower, someone who is challenged, someone who is clumsy, someone who is frail and may we not make a wooden bowl for them, or ourselves, by our behavior. 

4th Sunday of Lent

Throughout this season of Lent, we want to continually focus on the Cross as we move towards Good Friday. The Cross serves as a reminder not only of the great gift that Jesus gave each of us but also the ultimate reward of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

We have placed a large wooden cross at the front of the church. On Ash Wednesday, each Sunday during Lent, and in Holy Week we will place a symbol of Christ’s upcoming, Passion, death, and Resurrection at the foot of the cross to serve as a visual reminder of what this Season of Lent represents. Take note each week of what the symbol is that has been added and seek to comprehend and apply how it connects to His word and our journey.

This week, a cane was put to the side of the cross near the bucket, beside the three branches of a cactus, and the candle which were placed near the bowl of ashes. This reminds us of aide, the strengthening, that Jesus gave to the Man Born Blind, and that we are called to give to one another.

In the Gospel of today we are introduced to the born blind: here are a couple things we know about him – he never saw light, he never knew vision, he never experienced sight, but he always wanted all three!  Today’s Gospel provides us with an opportunity to discuss aiding those who have lost their sight.

Recently, I ran across a "fascinating list" that carried this intriguing title: "Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned." Let me share a few of these "great truths" with you.

1. "When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair."
2. "Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato… or an egg."
3. "You can't trust dogs to watch your food for you."
4. "Don't sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair."
5. "You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk."
6. "Never wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts… no matter how cute the underwear is."

Now, it is virtually certain that the children learned these "great truths" and came to these bold new insights after some dramatic eye-opening experience in their own personal lives. Can't you just see in your mind's eye…some children trying all of those things and learning full well from that experience that this is just not a good thing to do. The point is clear: A dramatic personal eye-opening experience can give us new insight, new perception, new vision.

On a much deeper level and on a much more positive level, that's precisely what we discover in this amazing story in the Gospel of today. A man blind from birth has a dramatic eye-opening experience with Jesus… and talk about new vision, talk about new insight… he is completely and totally healed. He is made whole and he comes back from the pool of Siloam with 20/20 vision,… able to see perfectly for the first time in his life. His transformation is so complete and so dramatic that he even looks a little different. The townspeople see him and say: "Hey, isn't that the blind beggar? He can see now. Is that him? No, it's just someone who looks like him. Couldn't be him," And the formerly blind man says: "It's me alright. I am the man."

The Season of Lent calls us to that time of encounter with Jesus – rooted in a personal moment with Him where by we see more clearly. This encounter comes through such experiences of Mercy as the Sacrament of Reconciliation which I hope you participated in last week. It also comes in our outreach as we seek to help others encounter Christ – especially those who have lost their sight. Maybe not their literal sight; but their ability to see the light of hope, their vision of a future, their sight of a world, a life, rooted in goodness and charity

Signs of Love

Once upon a time there was a man who loved his little son so much that he gave him presents all the time. He lived so far from the nearest village that he couldn't buy his son anything. But he didn't have to. Whenever he wanted to give his son a present, he'd design it himself, build it from scratch, all by himself, and then give it to his son. That's how much he loved his son, and his son loved him in return.

One day, the little boy asked his father if he could have a piano. So, right away, the father designed a piano, and then started building it right there in their humble shack.

As he was making the piano, his noisy work was observed by a family of mice that lived in the wall of the house. As they watched, one mouse said to another, "What is the giant building now?" "I don't know," replied another, "but it looks like a huge box of some kind." "Maybe it's a new mouse house just for us!" cried a baby mouse. "Yes, that's it!" they all squeaked excitedly, "We won't have to live in these cold, damp walls any more! What a wonderful giant he is! Let's move into our new house the moment he finishes building it! I wonder what it'll be like?"

And so the mice watched the piano grow day by day, thinking that it was being built for them, not knowing that the father was really building it for his son.

One day when the boy was outside playing, his father finished building the piano. The mice watched as the father sat down in front of it, paused a moment, and then reached out and touched it. The mice were astonished at the beautiful music that suddenly filled the shack. "What is that sound?" they whispered to one another. "It's coming from our new mouse house!" said one. "It's finished and the giant is playing music to welcome us into our new home!" And with much rejoicing they scurried across the floor and squeezed through the holes into the back of the piano.

Once inside, they were speechless.The Father left the shack to find his son and show him his handiwork. When the music stopped, the oldest and wisest mouse told the others, "Now don't you ever forget who made this house for us, and who plays that music for us! The giant must love us very much to do such wonderful things for us! We can never repay him, so let's always remember this day! Let's never bother the giant any more! Let's only go hunting for food at night when he=s asleep! If you agree, I'll remind you of this every day of my life!" And they all enthusiastically agreed.

The father and son sometimes took turns playing the piano, and sometimes they played it together. And as the boy learned to play, his father was glad that he had built the piano for him, and even more glad that he had such an intelligent son. And when they were playing the piano together, they laughed and sang together with such love and enthusiasm that the whole mountain rang with the joyful sound.

Now, it came to pass that the old mouse died. The next oldest mouse took up his cause of passing down to the next generation the story of the giant who built their mouse house and who played the music for them. As the months flew by, he too died and was replaced by the next generation, and the following generation, and so on. Years went by, and all the original mice died, and none of the new mice had ever actually seen the giant because they only left at night. More years went by, until the mice had only their traditions and legends to tell them about the giant.

One day, as the father and grown-up son were playing the piano together, the oldest mouse was passing their mousy traditions on to the little ones. One young mouse piped up. "I don't believe it," he said. "I don't think there's any giant out there. Have you ever seen this giant?" "No," replied the old mouse, "but I know he's there." "How do you know that?" challenged the young mouse; "maybe this mouse house just came into being by random chance." " but what about the music?" the old mouse replied. "If there's no giant making the music, where does it come from?" The old mouse was satisfied with this display of logic, but the young mouse was not satisfied. he shouted, "it's NOT from some mythical giant! It comes from METAL STRINGS that VIBRATE! I told you that there wasn't any giant!"

Another mouse, shocked by this revelation, began to doubt not only everything he'd ever heard before. The oldest mouse sadly shook his head, but all the other mice began to argue angrily about whether there really was a giant at all.

The old mouse slipped away from the other mice and silently crept into unexplored regions inside the piano. When he saw the vibrating metal strings his heart skipped a beat, but he kept on going. Then he saw the hammers, and kept on going. Then he saw a tiny hole in the mouse house wall, with sunlight streaming through it. He peeked out the hole, and when his eye got accustomed to the light, he knew immediately that the legend was true, but incomplete. For there in plain view before him were TWO giants, playing the music with their fingers. And they were clearly enjoying it so much that the love between them was almost tangible.

That's when it dawned on the old mouse: they had not seen the giant for far too long and it was time to show the other mice the giant to they could understand what the music was all about. 

The Fable of the Wise Servant

The fable of the wise servant and the philosopher has an important lesson for us. Xanthus, the philosopher, sent his faithful servant Aesop and told him to bring the best food he could find for a sumptuous banquet. Aesop went to the market and brought back tongues from all kinds of different animals. He served a full-course dinner. He would serve one tongue with a certain kind of sauce, and then the next course came along, and it was another kind of tongue with a different sauce on it.

Finally, Xanthus was just furious and called Aesop in and said to him, "Servant, I sent you to the market to get the best thing you could find – the best thing possible – and you brought us these tongues. Now tell me, what is this madness?"

Aesop, the wise servant, said, "Tongues are the best of all foods. For out of the tongue comes the bond of civilization. Out of the tongue comes the organ of truth and reason. The tongue is the instrument of praise and adoration. What better food could there be than a tongue?"

Xanthus said, "Then tomorrow you go to the marketplace and bring me the worst food you can find."

The next day Aesop served the meal, and he had tongues for every course – served with different sauces, but tongues again.

Xanthus called him aside and said, "I thought I told you to bring the worst food. You've got tongues again. Yesterday it was the best food, and today it is the worst food! Tell me, why are we having tongues as the worst food?"

Aesop the faithful servant said, "Tongues are the instrument of all strife and tension. Tongues! The inventor of lawsuits and slander. Tongues! The organ of error, lies, and all kinds of strife and problems. So I brought you the worst food – that is the tongue."

The best of foods and the worst of foods, this instrument called the tongue.

The tongue is the greatest force in the universe! Our words have the power to elevate our thinking. Your self-talk and the words you speak will determine whether you think negative or positive thoughts and whether you feel bad or feel good. Our words can also do the same for another.  

Pride and Rebellion

I have been think a great deal about the The Gospel from this past Sunday —the encounter Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well. We don’t know her name or her age. But her conversation with Jesus is his longest one-on-one conversation recorded in Scripture. So maybe this is a real important passage that we

should pay attention to.

It was midday and hot. Jesus, tired from traveling, chose a sensible rest stop—Jacob’s well on the outskirts of town. He decided to wait there while his disciples went into town for food. An unnamed woman appears with clay jar in hand. Jesus makes a simple request: “Will you give me a drink?” This is where Jesus broke all the barriers of nationality and Jewish custom. Jews weren’t supposed to speak to Samaritans. Men weren’t

permitted to address women without their husbands present. And rabbis had no business speaking to shady ladies such as this one. Jesus was willing to toss out the rules, but the woman at the well wasn’t. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman,” she reminded him. “How can you ask me for a drink?” The Jews and Samaritans had been divided for centuries. They had no dealings with one another, avoiding all social contact. If their paths crossed it would not be unusual for hostility to break out. But instead of insisting she pour him a drink of water, he offered her Living Water. She begins to question Jesus wanting to know how he was going to draw this Living Water when he didn’t even have a bucket.

To continue the conversation Jesus tells her to go and get her husband. When she confessed, “I have no husband” Jesus affirmed her answer, then gently exposed her sin: “The fact is, you have had five husbands,

and the man you now have is not your husband.” Five marriages didn’t make her a sinner. But sharing her bed with a sixth man who wasn’t her husband? That was a sin. Did she confess? Nope. She changed the subject. She talked about worship, Jerusalem, the differences between Jews and Samaritans. Again, we understand her evasion. We’ve probably done it ourselves. This conversation was getting too scary and way too personal. Finally, the woman at the well did her best to shut Jesus down. “When [the Messiah] comes, he will explain everything to us”. How stunned she must have been at Jesus’ revelation: “I who speak to you am he”.

Now the disciples show up and confirm his identity and gave the woman time to process the truth: The Anointed One had come! Overjoyed, she left her water jar and went back into town to urge her

neighbors, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” What can we learn from this encounter? Jesus showed the universality of the Gospel. No one is barred from the love of God and the good news of salvation. Where will we encounter Jesus? What will our reaction be? Remember, the only thing that can keep us from God and his redeeming love — our stubborn pride and willful rebellion. 

The Annunciation

"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you.'"She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her,

'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a Son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.'

"Mary said to the angel,

'How can this come about, since I am a virgin?'
"'The Holy Spirit will come upon you,' the angel answered, 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.'

The Annunciation - Fra Angelico

"'I am the handmaid of the Lord,' said Mary. 'Let what you have said be done to me.'
"And the angel left her." (Luke 1:26-38)

The Gospels, compiled years after these events at Nazareth, tell the story of Jesus and recall Mary only incidentally. True, St. Luke's account sees Mary favored by God, the Lord's handmaid, a model believer. His story describes her fear and perplexity, her faith and acceptance during the angel's visit. But still, we are left to ourselves to imagine Mary's life and her experience when the angel left her.

The angel's message struck like lightning, changing everthing for her. Immense joy filled the young girl's soul when she conceived the child by the power of the Holy Spirit. But when the angel left, Mary was alone.

Yet Mary, profoundly knew she was not alone. God was with Her. So the same for us. The Lord is with us as events of life strike us, occurrences take us off track, life derails. We are not alone. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation - An examination of conscience

Tomorrow evening - Tuesday March 25th at 7:00pm - our parish celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some five priests will join us to offer this Sacrament not only in English, but Italian, French, Portuguese, and Polish. We pray that as we mark the Annunication of Our Lord, that our Blessed Mother will truly intercede and permit many to come and experience God's mercy and refreshment on Tuesday evening. 

A good examination of conscience can be a great help in making a new start in the life of faith.We use an examination of conscience to help call to mind our sins and failings during a period of quiet reflection before approaching the priest in Confession.

It's important for a good examination of conscience to be thorough. This will help you learn about things that you may not be aware of. It's also a chance to develop your conscience. 

To make an examination:

• Set aside some quiet time for reflection.
• Start by praying to the Holy Spirit, asking for help in making a good examination to prepare for Confession.
• Read through the items on this list and honestly reflect on your behavior for each item.
• If necessary, take this list or some brief notes (keep them private!) to Confession to help you remember things. 

First Commandment: I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

1. Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God?

Second Commandment:You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

1. Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people?

Third Commandment: Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

1. Do I go to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday Vigil) ? 
2. Do I avoid, when possible, work that impedes worship to God, joy for the Lord’s Day, and proper relaxation of mind and body? 
3. Do I look for ways to spend time with family or in service on Sunday?

Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.

1. Do I show my parents due respect? 
2. Do I seek to maintain good communication with my parents where possible? 
3. Do I criticize them for lacking skills I think they should have?

Fifth & Eighth Commandments: You shall not kill & You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

1. Have I harmed another through physical, verbal, or emotional means, including gossip or manipulation of any kind?
2. Have I gossiped, told lies, or embellished stories at the expense of another?

Sixth & Ninth Commandments: You shall not commit adultery & You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.

1. Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself?
2. Have I honored my spouse with my full affection and exclusive love?

Seventh & Tenth Commandments: You shall not steal &You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

1. Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another?
2. Am I content with my own means and needs, or do I compare myself to others unnecessarily?