WHAT IS SOMETHING WE DO ALL THE TIME BUT SELDOM THINK ABOUT IT?

HERE IS A HINT…THE HEBREW WORD FOR SPIRIT IS “RUAH.” THE PRONUNCIATION OF THIS WORD SHOULD HELP YOU. IT MEANS WIND OR BREATH.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE WORD “CONSPIRE” MEANS TO BREATHE TOGETHER?

LET’S CONSPIRE for a moment!

DO ME A FAVOR, TAKE A DEEP BREATH. NOW HOLD IT. NOW BLOW IT OUT. I FIGURE THAT BECAUSE WE WERE CONSPIRING, WE JUST LAUNCHED A CONSPIRACY! AND IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY TO THAT WORD “CONSPIRACY,” YOU WILL HEAR THE WORD “SPIRIT” IN THERE ALSO.

– TO CONSPIRE – IS TO BE FILLED WITH THE SAME SPIRIT, TO BE ENLIVENED BY THE SAME WIND.

THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS AMONG US WHEN WE COME TOGETHER TO WORSHIP GOD. THE HOLY SPIRIT SWOOPS IN KNITTING US TOGTHER THROUGH THE SONGS WE SING, THE PRAYERS WE PRAY, THE BREATHS WE BREATHE.

TAKE ANOTHER BREATH. HOLD IT. BLOW IT OUT AGAIN. IF YOU’VE EVER STUDIED EARTH SCIENCE, THEN YOU KNOW THAT OUR PLANET IS WRAPPED IN A PROTECTIVE VEIL WE CALL THE ATMOSPHERE. THE ATMOSPHERE SEPARATES THE AIR WE BREATHE FROM THE COLD VACUUM OF OUTER SPACE. BENEATH THE ATMOSPHERE IS ALL THE AIR THAT EVER WAS. NO CLEANING COMPANY COMES ALONG EVERY HUNDRED YEARS OR SO TO SUCK OUT THE OLD AIR AND PUMP IN SOME NEW AIR. WHILE PLANTS CAN CREATE MORE OXYGEN FOR US TO BREATH, BASICALLY, THE SAME AIR JUST KEEPS RECIRCULATING, WHICH MEANS EVERY TIME ANY OF US BREATHES:

• WE BREATHE STAR DUST LEFT OVER FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.
• WE BREATHE DINDSAUR BREATH.
• WE BREATHE AIR FROM THE RAIN FORESTS OF KENYA AND AIR WHICH IS YELLOW WITH SULFUR FROM MEXICO CITY.
• WE BREATHE THE SAME AIR PLATO. BREATHED,
• AND MOZART
• AND MICHELANGELO…AND JESUS!
• EVERY TIME WE BREATHE, WE TAKE IN WHAT WAS ONCE SOME BABY’S FIRST BREATH, OR SOME DYING PERSON’S LAST BREATH.

WE TAKE THE AIR IN, WE USE IT TO LIVE, AND WHEN WE BREATHE OUT, IT CARRIES SOME OF US WITH IT INTO THE NEXT PERSON, OR TREE, OR ANIMAL WHO ALSO USES IT TO LIVE.

TAKE ANOTHER BREATH. HOLD IT. BLOW IT OUT AGAIN. I HAVE A SENSE THAT WHEN JESUS WILLINGLY LET GO OF HIS LAST BREATH, FOR LOVE OF US, THAT BREATH HOVERED IN THE AIR IN FRONT OF HIM FOR A MOMENT AND THEN IT WAS SET LOOSE ON THE EARTH.

IT WAS A BREATH – SO FULL OF PASSION, SO FULL OF LIFE – IT DIDN’T SIMPLY DISSIPATE.

INSTEAD… IT GREW IN STRENGTH AND VOLUME UNTIL IT WAS A MIGHTY WIND THAT GOD SENT SPINNING THROUGH AN UPPER ROOM IN JERUSALEM ON PENTECOST DAY CENTURIES AGO.

WE ARE TOLD THAT THERE WERE ABOUT 120 OF THEM, ALL MOPING AROUND WONDERING WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO WITHOUT JESUS NOW THAT HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, WHEN THEY HEARD A MIGHTY WIND BLOW THROUGH THE ENTIRE HOUSE …AND THEY WERE FILLED WITH GOD’S OWN BREATH!! THEN THEY BREATHED OUT AND OUT OF THEM CAME LANGUAGES THEY DID NOT EVEN KNOW THEY KNEW.

         CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WERE IN JERUSALEM FOR THE FESTIVAL. IMAGINE HOW SURPRIZED THEY WERE TO HEAR THEIR OWN NATIVE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY STRANGERS – AND NOT JUST ANY STRANGERS – BUT A BUNCH OF GALILEANS – COMMON FISHERMAN FROM NORTHERN ISRAEL DRESSED IN THE EQUIVALENT OF FIRST CENTURY OVERALLS – ALL OF THEM GOING ON AND ON ABOUT GOD’S MIGHTY ACTS LIKE A BUNCH OF PH.D.’S

TAKE ANOTHER BREATH. HOLD IT. BLOW IT OUT AGAIN. WE ARE TOLD THAT BEFORE THE DAY WAS OVER THE CHURCH HAD GROWN FROM 120 TO MORE THAN 3000!!!

BY BREATHING IN THE BREATH OF GOD, THE SHY BECAME BOLD, THOSE WHO WERE LOST FOUND DIRECTION. DISCIPLES WHO DIDN’T THINK THEY COULD TIE THEIR OWN SANDLES WITHOUT JESUS DISCOVERED ABILITIES WITHIN THEMSELVES THEY NEVER KNEW THEY HAD.

• WHEN THEY OPENED THEIR MOUTHS TO SPEAK, THEY SOUNDED LIKE JESUS.
• WHEN THEY LAID HANDS UPON THE SICK, IT WAS AS IF JESUS HIMSELF HAD TOUCHED THEM.
• THEY WERE DOING THINGS THEY HAD ONLY SEEN JESUS DO.

AND THERE WAS NO EXPLANATION FOR IT…

EXCEPT THAT THEY HAD DARED TO INHALE ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

THEY BREATHED IN GOD’S OWN BREATH AND WERE TRANSFORMED BY IT.

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD ENTERED INTO THEM THE SAME WAY THE SPIRIT ENTERED INTO MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS, AND FOR THE SAME REASON. IT WAS TIME FOR GOD TO BE BORN AGAIN ­NOT IN ONE BODY THIS TIME, BUT IN A BODY OF BELIEVERS WHO WOULD RECEIVE THE BREATH OF LIFE FROM THEIR LORD AND PASS IT ON.

TAKE ANOTHER BREATH. HOLD IT. BLOW IT OUT AGAIN. DO WE STILL BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO ACTS THE WAY GOD DID THAT PENTECOST DAY SO LONG AGO?

DO WE STILL BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO BLOWS THROUGH CLOSED DOORS AND SETS OUR HEARTS ON FIRE? DO WE STILL BELIEVE IN A GOD WITH POWER TO TRANSFORM ORDINARY BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST? DO WE STILL BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS THE POWER TO TRANSFORM US, BOTH AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A PEOPLE?

…OR HAVE WE COME TO AN UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT THAT OUR GOD IS PRETTY OLD AND TIRED BY NOW! SOMEONE TO WHOM WE ADDRESS OUR PRAYER REQUESTS BUT NOT ANYONE WE REALLY EXPECT TO CHANGE OUR LIVES?

EVIDENCE OF THE SPIRIT’S PRESENCE AND ACTION ISN’T THAT DIFFICULT TO SPOT.

• WHENEVER ONE PLUS ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS ONE,
•  WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF SPEAKING WITH ELOQUENCE YOU KNOW YOU DO NOT HAVE,
• OR OFFERING FORGIVENESS YOU HAD NOT MEANT TO OFFER,
• WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF TAKING RISKS YOU THOUGHT YOU DID NOT HAVE THE COURAGE TO TAKE
• OR REACHING OUT TO SOMEONE YOU HAD INTENDED TO WALK A WAY FROM

YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE SPIRIT IS AT WORK IN YOUR HEART.

AND MORE THAN THAT, YOU ARE TAKING PART IN IT, BREATHING IN AND BREATHING OUT, TAKING GOD INTO YOU AND GIVING GOD BACK TO THE WORLD AGAIN.

NOW TAKE A DEEP BREATH. AND JUST KEEP BREATHING.

THIS AIR IS SACRED IT IS IMBUED WITH GOD’S SPIRIT.

OPEN YOU HEART TO THAT SPIRIT AND DISCOVER THE TRUTH THAT ST. PAUL SHARES WITH US IN THE SECOND READING. HAVE THE COURAGE TO SHARE YOUR GIFTS AND TALENTS AND EXPERIENCE ONCE AGAIN THE MIRICLE OF PENTECOST!!

NEXT TIME YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL IN THAT BREATH AND INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT IN.

Have you ever heard “The Hand Song?” It is a beautiful portrayal of Jesus’ “new commandment” in today’s Gospel.

 In the song a young boy picks roses for his mother. The trouble is, she has been raising these roses with great care, and he has now broken off all the beautiful flowers. As he brings them to her, thorns dig into his hands. She lovingly extracts these, reminders of her roses. And the song states:

…and she knew it was love. It was one she could understand.
He was showing his love and that’s how he hurt his hands.

Some time later, she held  the boy close on her knee, and he listened to her read stories from the bible. He saw a picture of Jesus and cried out, Momma, he’s got some scars just like me.

And he knew it was love. It was one he could understand.
He was showing His love and that’s how He hurt His hands.

As a young man he is called by Uncle Sam. His “number” is drawn, and in battle he throws himself in front of a friend to shield him from gunfire. He gives his life, something he had learned from the roses and from the cross.

And they knew it was love. It was one they could understand.
He was showing his love, and that’s how he hurt his hands.

And they knew it was love. It was one they could understand.
He was showing his love, and that’s how he hurt his hands.

Jesus said…I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We see in the wounds in Jesus hands what it costs to really love. Is it “one we can understand?” Is it an example that you and I are willing to follow? If we want to be his disciples then it is one we need to understand and follow!

Don’t forget, “The Lord is with you!”              Fr. Stan

I was blessed with a wonderful mother who shared her unconditional love for me and all my brothers and sisters. One of my sisters is a mother and grandmother now!! She is following beautifully in our mother’s footsteps. In addition to her love, out of love she shared her faith with me. Her love for God was evident by the life she led. Even when I strayed from the faith it was her prayers and example that brought me back to the faith that she shared with me and because of her, I too fell in love with Jesus and chose to respond to the invitation of the Good Shepherd and become a priest.

I am also aware that offering a mother’s love to another does not necessitate physically giving birth to a child. On Saturday I presided at the funeral for Sister Susan Cain, a Sister of Mercy. She work as the driving force of Steuben Rural Ministry which reaches out in mercy and charity to those who need a hand up. She was always there to assist those who came and to love them with a mother’s / a shepherd’s love! Women such as her and my own mother inspire and challenge me every day. Many of these women also offer me support and encouragement on my journey for which I will always be grateful and pray God’s blessings upon them.

The following is a blessing we prayed over the mother’s in church on this mother’s day. I hope you will join me in this prayer of blessing. Our world is sorely in need of good mothers/good shepherds!

Loving God, source and sustainer of all life, we thank you for the precious gift of our mothers, who through their unconditional love and constant care model your love for your Church as the Good Shepherd.

We ask your blessing upon the mothers who are unable to be with us here today.  May they know how much we love them.

We pray for birth mothers who have loved their children so much, they have shared the gift of their child with those who could better care for them and their needs. 

We pray for adoptive mothers, that they may always know they are a revelation of God’s love for their children. 

We pray for women who have never given birth, yet who bestow a mother’s love upon those whose lives they touch.

We ask your blessing upon expectant mothers, and upon those who would very much like to be mothers but who are unable to have children or are experiencing difficulty having a child.

We pray for mothers who have lost children through miscarriage, stillbirth, crib death, accident, and tragedy, that they may know your peace and consolation.

Bless these women.  Give them strength to live faith-filled and loving lives.  Protect them, guide them, and keep them always in your care.We ask this through Christ our Lord.  AMEN.

On May 5th at St. Ann’s and on May 12 at St. Mary’s we will officially introduce the my parish app for our parish. It is a great tool for communication and for spiritual growth right on your phone. Stay tuned for more information to come!click to learn more

Have you ever found yourself in complete, total darkness? The kind where you
can’t see your hand in front of your face? It can be a terrifying place.
I remember one time when I was about 8 or nine years old I went with my big
brother and one of his friends to a baseball game at the Red wing Stadium in
Rochester. At one point in the game I had to go to the restroom (as often happens
with 8 year olds). So I got up walked to the restroom under the stadium and then
began to walk back but I could not find where we were sitting. Although it was in
daylight I sure felt like I was in darkness and began to panic. Then I saw a police
officer and told him I was lost and could not find my brother…
Have you ever been in a place like that? We all have. Maybe you haven’t been lost
or in actual darkness, but sometimes it sure can feel like it. It is the darkness of the
loss of someone dear to us, whose absence we fear we will never be able to deal
with. The darkness of a terrifying diagnosis. The darkness of not knowing where a
child of ours is. The darkness of a shattering reality that we had no idea was
coming our way. Or the darkness of an unknown future…
The Easter Vigil service begins in darkness, at least it’s supposed to. It is the
darkness of the closed up tomb where Jesus’ body lay on Holy Saturday. The stone
has been rolled in front of it. No light enters. It is utterly dark. Jesus’ torn and
beaten body is already beginning to stink-the women are planning to bring spices
to help preserve his body in the morning. But now, it is Saturday, in the dark,
airless, deathly still tomb. It is not a pleasant place to be.
Unlike the hosannas of Palm Sunday and the glory of Easter Day that we yearn for,
this day in Holy Week, Holy Saturday, speaks most directly to the daily reality of
our lives. After the shock of death or words that bring despair–words like cancer,
divorce, terminal, downsizing–we find ourselves living with the “what next” of
life–and we enter the dark void of unknowing.
This is where many of us live, from time to time. Yes, there are times when we
experience the stark gut-wrenching pain of Good Friday, and there are also times when
we know the jubilation of Easter. But this night, Holy Saturday, is the time in
between death and resurrection. It is the valley of grief and unknowing; for us as
well as for the first disciples. On Holy Saturday we, and they, don’t know what the
future will bring. Whether the cancer will be cured, or we will love again, or find a
job that fulfills our calling. It is a time of dark uncertainty.

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a
formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep…” (Genesis 1:1-2a). In the
beginning, all was a dark void. And in this tomb we find the same reality–it is a
dark void. Beloved, how many times will we find ourselves in that dark place?
A place where any ray of hope is extinguished in the vacuum of fear, of not
knowing, of total emptiness.
But…in that place, somehow through the grace of God, we must be patient. We
must wait for the wind of the Spirit, the “wind from God [that sweeps] over the
face of the waters” in Genesis 1, to fan the dim embers of our faith.
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light…. God called the light Day
and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning,
the first day” (Genesis 1:3,5).
You see, both darkness and light are part of the first day. Darkness and light are
halves of every day ever since that first day. Darkness and light are essential parts
of our lives. And when we find ourselves in that dark, tight, stinky, lonely place,
we must remind ourselves of this truth. There will always ultimately be light
(God’s light to shine) in the midst of the darkness.
Barbara Brown Taylor, wrote a book that’s called Learning to Walk in the Dark. In it she writes, “Darkness is shorthand for anything that scares me–either because I am sure that I do not have the resources to survive it or because I do not want to find out. If I had my way, I would eliminate everything from chronic back pain to the fear of the devil from my life and the lives of those I love. At least I think I would.”

“The problem is this,” she writes, “when, despite all my best efforts, the lights have gone off in my life, plunging me into the kind of darkness that turns my knees to
water, I have not died. The monsters have not dragged me out of bed and taken me
back to their lair. Instead, I have learned things in the dark that I could never have
learned in the light–things that have saved my life over and over again. So that
there is really only one logical conclusion: I need darkness as much as I need
light.” In her book, Barbara guides us on a journey to understanding darkness and rereading scripture to see all the times God shows up at night. Because God does.
In the reading from Exodus 14, as God leads Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt
at night, the Israelites cry out to God in fear and uncertainty as they see the
massive army of Pharaoh in pursuit behind them, while in front of them is the sea–
they are trapped in the darkness of fear and faithlessness. “It would have been
better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!” they cry out. But
Moses tells them, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the
Lord will accomplish for you today…. The Lord will fight for you, and you have
only to keep still.”

It is so hard to keep still in the fearful dark, isn’t it? It is so hard to trust that the
wind of God’s spirit will, finally, blow on the dim embers of our cooling faith.
And did you notice verse 19 and 20 in Exodus 14? “The angel of God who was
going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of
cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.” Why? “It came
between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with
the darkness, and it lit up the night.”
The divine presence, the angel of God, glowing within the cloud in the darkness,
blocks the oncoming threat of the Egyptian army. You see, there will always be
light in the midst of darkness. God will show up at night. We have only to keep
still.
Brothers and sisters, darkness is part of every day. But there will be light! What would our lives with God look like if we trusted this rhythm of darkness and light instead of fighting it?
The Exsultet, which is sung during the Vigil, beautifully proclaims this rhythm of
dark and light, of night and dawn, of death and resurrection: “This is the
night…when you brought our ancestors, the children of Israel, out of bondage in
Egypt….
“This is the night…when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of
sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life….
“This is the night…when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose
victorious from the grave….
“How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away.
It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those who mourn…..
“How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and we are reconciled
to God.”
Even in the darkness of our lives–darkness that comes and goes like the night–we
are reconciled to God. Our baptism is the sign of this reconciliation, when we are
marked as Christ’s own forever. So hear the invitation of God through the prophet Isaiah, whose words we heard tonight: “To, everyone who thirsts”– for hope, for joy, for light, for reconciliation-everyone who thirsts, “come to the waters.” We may find ourselves in darkness now, but just wait. Wait for the dawn of hope and resurrection.
“How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and we are reconciled
to God.”

And so now we have moved from our darkened church to the light of Baptism;
ESPECIALLY FOR ZACHARY LINCOLN AND TED AND STACY ILLI WHO WILL BE RECEIVED INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND FOR ALL OF US AS WE WILL RENEW OUR BAPTISMAL PROMISES.

Thanks for joining me!

On this site I will post some of my weekly homilies as seeds for your faith journey. I hope you find them helpful.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton