Conversion entails tackling the obstacles that prevent us from responding generously to Jesus’ invitation “Come follow me”. These obstacles are almost always of our own invention: bad habits, egoism and selfishness, fear, lack of trust. We are challenged by Lent to make substantive changes, step by step. Practicing the opposite of bad habits is a helpful strategy in conversion. The bad habit of gossip, for example, can be overcome by a healthy measure of discretion and silence. Selfishness can gradually be replaced by paying attention carefully to the people with whom we live. What are their needs? How can I help?
When these questions replace “What can I get”? Then real progress is possible. That which is sacrificial is often experienced as painful because it is “putting to death the old self and putting on the new self of life in Christ”. Lent is that time of dying and rising that incorporates our life experiences into the dying and rising of Christ.
We can dedicate ourselves to Christ’s sacrificial way if we try in everything to align our thoughts, words,
feelings and deeds with the will of God. To take all that we are and have and give it over so that God can
accomplish great things through us, is the deep spiritual meaning of Lent. We give up the disordered and directionless ways of this world so that God can fashion and use us for good and to build His Kingdom. It is
a giving up that ennobles us and transforms our world. It is a “giving over” that leads to a most profound peace and joy.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
Lent by its very nature is designed for a trip that is new and exciting and takes us out of our comfort zone and into the desert or its equivalent. From a spiritual perspective, it is helpful to think of any desert not only as a place of trial and danger but also as
the home of refreshing oases, deep wells, fresh water and warm hospitality. During Lent, God wants us to venture into the desert for some new experiences of mercy and forgiveness, enlightenment and truth, hope and inspiration.
In the Fourth and Fifth centuries in Egypt, Syria and other parts of the Middle East, Christian women and men fled into the real desert in order to find God and themselves in solitude, asceticism, silence, prayer and hospitality toward other seekers of Jesus’ Way. They left behind for us a treasure trove of desert wisdom collected in the form of sayings and words of counsel.
What was new and experimental about their spirituality? They prayed simply and with few words, often repeating a sacred word over and over as a sort of focusing mantra. They were particularly attentive to living without creature comforts and with simplicity of possessions. They lived with a lot of quiet and solitude so that they could do battle with the demons both within and without of themselves. Their approach to scripture was one that saw God’s Word as simple, clear, challenging and transforming. It was this Word of God that, digested as real food for the spirit, taught them humility, courage, perseverance and deepest joy. In our times, such a commitment to silence, honest and simplicity is itself an ascetical discipline.
One of the most characteristic of the prayers that have come down to us from the desert is the Jesus Prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy upon me a Sinner.” This prayer is to be repeated over and over, united with our breathing, until it actually becomes a prayer of the heart and allows us in the words of Saint Paul “to pray always.” On the surface this prayer may seem a little harsh since it suggests that we are all only sinners. It is important, however, to remember that we are sinners saved in Jesus Christ and that the reality of our helplessness is far surpassed by the mercy and re-creating grace of God.
The Jesus Prayer might just be an pathway to new wisdom, self-knowledge and virtue. It could be that oasis of Lenten refreshment that we seek (in the office, driving home, doing chores, exercising, visiting our Chapel.) Try it out as a Lenten experiment in prayer and you might be surprised and journey far through this desert way. As one Desert Father said “Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything.” Wherever that cell might be located
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
For people of faith, Saint Valentine Day presents us with the opportunity to more deeply understand the mystery of romantic love and its place in God’s creation and will. While we recognize that its origin is not particularly “spiritual,” Saint Valentine’s Day can be a “spiritual” celebration too. It gives the Christian community a natural opportunity to give thanks to God, the source of all love, for the gift of romantic love. This great gift of God energizes and powers our first playground and teen age infatuations, our anxiety fraught dating, our gradual selection (in some mysterious way) of our husbands and wives. Within the context of faith, we believe that all that might appear mysterious or accidental is in reality part of God’s marvelous plan for human happiness and our participation in the creation of precious new human life.
This romantic love concerning, which so many poems have been written and movies produced, is first of all part of God’s plan for our human happiness and fulfillment. We are designed and created by God to find completion and our deepest joy is in giving and receiving love that is unconditional, self-sacrificing, faithful and joyful. In the Christian view of things, romantic love as it is lived out in marriage and family life is a great miracle. Growth in prayer, commitment, communication, intimacy and a shared life bring couples into deeper union with one another and with God. Children who are the fruit of a mature romantic life seal the love and give it reality in the flesh.
So, as we celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day with some appropriate secular festivities, we should also express the more profound truth that as we live romantically in loving unions filled with joy and exhilaration, we also celebrate and say thank you to the Source of all love. What a special joy it is, as husband and wife, to be growing closer to God with each New Year and each anniversary. What a Valentine’s Day gift!
But remember that the other gifts are important too. Especially, chocolate. Or better a fruit basket. lol
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
Now that we have entered the Liturgical Season of Ordinary Time it might be helpful for us to consider the word “ordinary” and what it holds as possibilities in this New Year. In between Christmas Season and Lent and Easter Season,
we have a chance for a breather and an opportunity to consider some not so ordinary things to do:
• Consciously and actively showing concern and support for the significant people in our lives
• Forgiving past hurts and letting them go
• Keeping ourselves updated about what is going on in the world and our involvement as the U.S. in the world scene
• Extending our compassion toward others through intentional prayer for them
• As families, praying together, eating together and playing together
• As volunteers in the ministries of our parish to give a little more of ourselves particularly to those who
are lonely or socially isolated
• To attend Mass regularly and to be really “there”
• To spend a half hour each day in quiet and with self-reflection and contemplation of God
If we take any of the above seriously and try to put them into practice, these upcoming weeks will be anything but “ordinary”. They might even become “extraordinary”. The “ordinary” habits of the spiritual life are the foundation and building blocks of a Purposeful Christian life, well worth living.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
As Catholics, we believe that one of our most important responsibilities is to live and pass on our faith to the next generation. This passing on begins with Baptism and is learned by example and by the doing of our faith within the context of family, the “domestic Church”. In addition to being an important parental and grand-parental responsibility, families also delegate some of this responsibility to our parish C.C.D. and to our parish school. This year, Catholic Schools Week is January 27 thru February 2 and will be marked by many activities in our school and with a special Mass in the Church at 8:15am on Wednesday, January 30.
This week, in particular, I would like to thank all of our faith formation faculty, our school faculty and all administrators and volunteers. Without all of this hard work and good example, it would be impossible for our parish to fulfill our faith formation responsibilities. Although the passing on of faith is a complex process, it is essentially a person to person gift that is credible only if we “practice what we preach” and thus make it clear that following Jesus is really possible in our times.
If it takes an entire tribe to raise a child, it takes an entire parish to raise a Catholic child. All that we do in our worship, education, social life and community service is creative of an environment that can help to offset the secularism and non-spiritual characteristics of our culture and its values. In that sense, every one of us is a faith formation team member and has a role to play. We can show by word and example that the “spiritual realm” of God, faith, hope, compassion and virtuous courage in the face of adversity truly ennoble us and perfect our character. As we together create a counter-culture of generosity, unselfishness and altruism, our future will be secure in the hands of our children. If they can trust in their God-given gifts and strengths, they can build a better world than the one we hand on to them.
Please pray for all of the children and youth of our parish as they navigate their ways as integral and valued members of our faith community and as most powerful signs of hope in our world. As Jesus said “Let the little children come to me for it is to just such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs”.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
“Wash the car, wash your face, wash the dog, wash behind your ears, wash the dishes!” We are all very familiar with the different kinds of washing that we do each day. The Feast of The Baptism of the Lord reminds us of the most important washing that ever happened to us. On that day, although most of us don’t remember it, our life was forever changed. We were washed clean of any sin and emerged as a beautiful pure new creation of God’s mercy. We were dressed in a white garment and joined all of the angels and saints in praising and glorifying Jesus. Our parents and godparents were presented with a lighted candle to symbolize the Christ, the Light of the World. We were also anointed with aromatic and blessed oil to symbolize our new, elevated royal state. The Baptism we received bound us to Jesus in an eternal union so that we became “one with Christ” and were filled with supernatural life. Our Baptism also opened up for us all of the other sacraments so that gradually as we mature in faith we are blessed at each stage of our spiritual development. We also receive the quest and elevated challenge to witness to Christ and to the Church in all of our words and actions. Baptism begins a vocation that lasts a lifetime.
Jesus showed us The Way and we should all be filled with joy because of our Baptism and give thanks for the “Wash Up Big Time” we received on that grace filled Baptismal day.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
The beginning of a New Year lends itself to good intentions and changes. Almost all of us use this first week of the year as a time to take a look at our lives with the purpose of improvement. If we judge from television commercial time, we are specially preoccupied with exercise and dieting. While for many of us exercise and nutrition may well be a great place to start, I would like to suggest that as people of faith we begin by counting the blessings of the year just passed and rediscovering the presence of God and God’s providential love. Paying attention with reverence and patience to the life enriching people and moments of 2018 inevitably leads us to discover totally gratuitous acts of love and generosity. Faces, words, gestures, times and places bring the blessings of the past into the present. Prayerful reflection sets the stage for change and provides reason for gratefulness, and hope, and enthusiasm for the future we will create.
For Christians, at the heart of our New Year remembering is the memory of the Birth of the Lord Jesus and all that that event has meant for human history. We are truly blessed through Emmanuel, God with us. The New Year affords us unlimited opportunities for remembering blessings and making positive changes that will make our families and our world better. It could well be that if we are fitter, healthier and more active, that we will all become more the cause of new blessings, new hope and new light for the parts of the world still languishing in darkness and despair. So let’s start those crunches, record those calories and count those blessings.What better way to begin 2019?
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
Once again in this New Year 2019 we confront the fact that life is a “mixed bag.” We begin the year by celebrating the Feast of Mary the Mother of God. We remember her “yes” of faith and how that openness to God’s will transformed her own life and all of history. We certainly need that type of faith ourselves. We should ask Our Lord for His Mother’s faith and also for her humility because we can accomplish little of lasting impact without the power and grace of God. As we begin this New Year, we also celebrate a World Day of Prayer for Peace (1-1-19). This too invites us to set aside the ways of anger and revenge in order to create the Kingdom of God within ourselves and in our world. We need to make room for the Prince of Peace to truly dwell within us and to help us transform our relationships with others. Creating space for God is only possible if we throw out what we don’t need in terms of attachments and bad habits and are truly open to the “new from God” in the New Year. Nothing can prepare us better for a different future than worship, prayer, meditation upon God’s Word and active works of mercy. Throughout this 60th Anniversary year of our foundation as a parish, it is with great joy that we also pray and continue our parish life into the future.A “Happy New Year” in the Christian sense is what we will bring about with God’s grace and our hard work and imagination. Let’s welcome the New Year by creating the holy space and time and opportunities that we long for and that will give us true happiness.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
Each year we remember with great joy and gratefulness the Birth of Our Messiah and Lord. Many of the great spiritual teachers in our Church’s history have invited us to understand that the mystery of the Nativity of the Lord is both an historical fact and an ongoing and everyday miracle. The Lord Jesus seeks to be born each day in the depths of our souls in order to fill us with His Presence. Like Mary we are challenged to say “YES” and to surrender and make room for the Divine Presence. The Nativity of the Lord is thus both past and present and future. His second coming that we await even as we treasure the first coming, reminds us that our salvation history is ever dynamic and liberating of each of us, our Church and our world. Each Christmas is a powerful reminder that our gracious presence makes His Presence “Good News“ for all the world to hear.
A blessed Christmas and Peace in our hearts, families and everywhere. Amen, Alleluia.
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw
This Sunday is called Gaudette Sunday or “Rejoice” Sunday and breaks up for a weekend the more penitential mood and spirit of Advent. Even the rose vestment colors announce the Good News of our joyful freedom in Christ. It is true that sometimes in our complicated and multi-problem world it takes some searching to find reasons for joy and rejoicing. But every birth of a new baby, every healing and recovering from illness, every successful solution of problems in a family and every start in a new job may be a reason for rejoicing. When we look at our own lives and the state of the world through the prism of faith, we discover the hand of God at work. It becomes clear that all is grace and all tragedy is in the end absorbed into the glorious victory of Christ Risen. This Advent it is well worth our time to count our blessings and the evidences of God’s love and mercy present in our lives. Contemplation and appreciating how filled with God’s presence every moment of life is, will put a smile on our faces and a song of joy in our hearts.
Rejoice, again I say rejoice!
-Msgr. Michael D. McGraw