OLS - Reno Homilies

I recently watched a video and the speaker was saying that even the best person, who loves all and is willing to help so many will stop if they are continually let down by another. Some people we may know make it difficult to be there for them. They accept invitations and then cancel at the last minute repeatedly. They say they want to hang out, but they find other things to do; they accept help from others, but giving that help back… and after a while it gets exhausting. So we stop extending invitations, we don’t give the time as we done previously. It is not that it is a quid pro quo we want, but a little respect, a little fidelity. Nobody likes to feel taken for granted. Years ago during my internship at Stanford hospital as a seminarian, I was called to a room (I have shared this story before, but I find it powerful). A mother was there with her young daughter and the mother was very very upset. I listened to her, and she revealed that they had recently been baptized as Christians...

In seminary there seemed to be three types of students: those hungry and excited for the challenge and learning of theology; those ambivalent about it, just getting through classes; and those who were upset because what they thought they knew was being challenged. This last group of guys tended to have a more difficult time during seminary. One particular man in my class was a convert from Presbyterianism. He had been raised as a biblical literalist; an older fellow for seminary, maybe late 30’s early 40’s. Nice guy. We took our first Scripture class and all the assumptions he had were being destroyed. The profs told him that this was our Catholic understanding and what he thought he knew, he misunderstood. The poor guy was devastated. He ended up taking a year and more off to grasp the situation, and he never was quite the same. One theme I continually raise in homilies is the need to continue to grow in our understanding of God and of our Catholic Faith. The more we understand, the ...

An observation I have made about Europeans and Cultures, of their people, is that they seem to have long memories. When I was in Ireland on a tour they spoke of Oliver Cromwell with a vehemence, as if he was just there attempting to destroy them, not 500 years ago. Or when the former Yugoslavia broke apart and led to the conflicts and ethnic cleansings, they fought over generational conflicts; even the ongoing conflict in Israel-Gaza has it violence continuing through long memories. But not all that is about badness. Some memories are good, of saints and heroes, of community pride. Of course it helps that there are buildings and churches that are hundreds if not thousands of years old that surround them. People also have deep roots in the land, sometimes owned for multiple generations. An observation I have of us in the USA, our memories tend to be much much shorter. Maybe because we are a younger country? Maybe our viewpoint is more directed to a future? We experience things, good and...

Some 11 years ago I took a six week retreat with the Camoldolese Monks at Big Sur. Part of my spiritual exercise was a daily walk in which I asked either the Father, Son or Holy Spirit to walk with me. My sense most often, and it surprised me, it was the Father who came; sometimes the Holy Spirit; the Son almost never. I would engage the Father, have conversations; and one time I had the impression the Father was laughing at me (for good reason). I really think my understanding of God was changed through those experiences. Throughout Religious Education as a kid and teen, we are taught of God. This is a good thing, because it provides a foundation. Seminary also teaches seminarians of God, theology. We take lots of classes and most seminaries will include what is called the Summa by St. Thomas Aquinas. A TOME of Thomas’ in which he logically and systematically explains God and the Catholic Faith. It is a good thing. Of course there are many more theologians that we studied, and their...

Graduations will start soon! Graduations from High School, University, and apparently kindergartens now. We will start getting those notices, those cards and pictures; it is always nice to get them. It means though our kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews, are growing up, and life is changing for them. Kind of exciting, and a little sad too. Graduates too get excited. They are “released” into the world. They have it all! They can go and do whatever! Nothing more is needed… They think REAL life will start. Well we know that may be the fantasy, but reality has a different view. Learning and growth continues really for all of our lives. We always need to be updated and grow in our knowledge. School, University, Seminary provides the groundwork and teaches us how to think and grow. We will need to also take the initiative and continue our own formation. This risk is that if we do not, we stagnate, we get left behind, or worse we cause harm to others with faulty understanding. None of us wou...

Like many events in our Scripture and Gospels, there are different takes on how and what happened. Today’s feast day, the Ascension of the Lord is a perfect example. The first reading, from Acts which was written by Luke, has Jesus with his disciples for 40 days after the resurrection, then ascending to heaven. The Gospel of Mark, once read fully, has Jesus ascend the same day as his resurrection. And ironically Luke’s gospel also has Jesus ascend the same day as his resurrection, so he gives two different stories. Matthew and John will also have their views. So what are we to make of this? I knew a man once that when I pointed out these contradictions he would get upset at me, telling me I was saying Scripture was not true.  The timing really does not matter, it is the core of the event and the action of the disciples. It speaks really to a need in our own lives as well, some 2000 years later. The Core event, the Son of God came down from heaven and was incarnated, became a hum...

To live life eternally, do we grasp the fuller meaning of this? Eternal means more than forever, it actually means for us that there is no time at all. It is hard to wrap our minds around this, but God is eternal, and God does not exist in time, so there is no forever, there is no reference in time. If we think on that too much, we will get a headache. We humans cannot not think of time. To live life eternally in one sense is that we continue on, in some form, after our physical life comes to an end. We believe this as Christians. And it also means more… God is eternal and God is love. So using logic, we can say Love is eternal. Love has always been, is now and ever shall be. It is an eternal value. As well any value we equate with God, which actually derives from Love, such as mercy, kindness, compassion, generosity. Heaven is that state in which the fullness of God exists, and thus the fullness of these values, the fullness of love.  God created the heavens and the earth, to be o...

No Man Is an Island by John Donne No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. No man, or person, is an island, a poem by John Donne from the early 1600’s. A poem of the connectedness of humanity. A theme also picked up on a book by Thomas Merton of the same name. Who are we and how do we live and operate? Have we ever stopped, considered our actions, our choices, our ethics, our morals and how we came to have them? It could be something as small as when we eat dinner, to core beliefs that drive us. I think one of the values of aging is a certain wisdom and a certain objectivity about ourselves and life. We can see things with a little mo...

There are some books that we race through and will read within a day or two; and there are others we will take a long time to get through. Often the distinction is this, the quick reads are fun reads, great characters and a plot that moves fast. There is not too much depth to them, but still good reads nonetheless. I can think of Tom Clancy novels, and such. The slow reads, well there is depth to them. There are nuances to them, depth of characters and plot that need to be considered. The language and vocabulary are gorgeous, maybe even challenging. There is a story that needs to be understood, a story that to understand we must sit with it. They evoke an emotional response. These are books we will read and reread again and discover new insights. These could be those classic novels, or Russian authors, Shakespeare, or Spiritual books. The Liturgical Season of Easter, all 50 days of it, provides us the opportunity to contemplate the mystery of Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, his life, death and...

It is said to know about ourselves and who we are now, we need to look at how we got to here. This is truth. When I was in counseling for depression, my therapist often asked about old patterns, where did they come from… The idea was to recognize the unhealthy ones and change them to healthy patterns. That way my future could be more livable. We may also know others who have what they call a “type”. They only date persons who act the same, or look the same; and they may not even know it. But others viewing from the outside can see a long pattern and make some predictions on the future. “Know thyself” was written in an ancient Greek Temple, and from it, this maxim found its way into our Christian Western Cultures. A wise statement because wisdom and a better life come from a deeper understanding of who we are and how we got here. None of us just popped into existence ready made, all of us have had to make a journey to get to here and to now; a journey with happiness and sorrow, patienc...

I do not think this statement will be an over generalization; nobody enjoys, likes, desires to be broken up. Nobody enjoys being estranged from those who we consider family and friends; having our hearts broken through betrayal and loss; having our dreams and goals taken away from us; feeling victimized by others; have a disease or injury take away our lifestyle. And when we get broken we feel pulled in a thousand different ways, unsure of ourselves, our intentions and motives. We can’t find our way in life. We lose trust in ourselves and who we think we are. It is devastating.  How many tears I have witnessed from others and shed personally. How do we get back to self? The Hebrew word “Shalom” is a potent word; full of depth and meaning. Translators will apply the English word “Peace”; but our minds hear this word differently. Peace for us tends to mean lack of violence, calmness, or quiet. We really don’t have one word that means all of Shalom. Shalom speaks of wholeness, of bein...

Those born and raised in Nevada will understand this, those who have moved here, we hopefully eventually will understand this…winter here in Northern Nevada does not always want to let go. We all know the experience or the stories of people who want to camp during Memorial Day weekend, and they don’t take cold weather clothes. We know that our sweaters, sweatshirts, beanies are never packed away completely. We don’t plant tomatoes in Reno-Sparks until Peavine is clear. We know snow in June, and even in July at times. Winter will not let go. People can be like that too. We will not let go. We will not let go of the past. Especially past mistakes, past traumas, past grief, past wounds and hurt… We will replay events, hurts, wounds again and again in our minds and hearts. We can feel the hurt all over. A hurt we caused and which we think we need to be punished. A hurt caused to us, and which we think we need to punish the other. We will hold on tightly to the past. This impedes us in lif...

  Recently I saw a video on TikTok. The speaker was relating how a teacher had the classroom of kids each blow up a balloon and write their name on it. Then all the balloons were collected and placed into the hallway. The kids were told they had 5 minutes to find their own balloon.  Only a few did. Then the balloons were again placed out into the hallway, and this time the teacher said, the first balloon you pick up, read the name on it and give it to that person. By the end, all had their respective balloons. The moral of the story; trying to find your own happiness does not often work; but when we help others to find theirs, we can find ours too. Now replace the word happiness with joy, and we come to the Christian sense of what we celebrate tonight, and live always. A continuing struggle with Jesus’ disciples and in general with the people: what kind of messiah was he? Some thought he was the political messiah, the one who would really be king, would restore Israel to its g...

Bob woke up one Sunday morning and the bed felt so comfortable and he was so tired, he decided he would skip mass. However he heard his Mom knock on the door: “Bob, are you awake?” “Yes” he reluctantly replied. “It’s getting late, you need to get ready to go to church.” She stated. “I am not going.” he said, “I am tired, besides the people there are mean and grumpy, the music is uninspiring, and I don’t like it.” Mom said: “I don’t care, you are the priest, that is your parish, get up and go to mass!” Years ago in a galaxy far away, in another parish, we brought in a group, at the suggestion of a parishioner, for a Youth Retreat. The group was from Southern California and the parishioner said that they were spirit filled, with teen leaders and adults, and it would be transformative for our kids. An adult leader arrived ahead of the main group to begin prep work, a man of probably about late 50’s into his 60’s. He was excited for us. The main group arrived later in the evening, cons...