Anamchara

THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS--PRAYING FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

 
One of the great myths of our modern age is that all the dead just instantly go to heaven.  I believe in merciful God but I also believe we can only see God face to face when we have been perfected.  Most of us die with unfinished business.  Hence the need to pray for the dead.  Kathleen Raine, the great Celtic poet reflects on the passing of our loved ones:

HIGHLAND GRAVEYARD

Today a fine old face has gone under the soil;

For generations past women hereabouts have borne

Her same name and stamp of feature.

Her brief identity was not her own

But theirs who formed and sent her out

To wear the proud bones of her clan, and live its story,

Who now receive back into the ground

Worn features of ancestral mould...

Many songs they knew who now are silent.

Into their memories the dead are gone

Who haunt the living in an ancient tongue

Sung by old voices to the young,

Telling of sea and isles, of boat and byre and glen;

And from their music the living are reborn

Into a remembered land,

To call ancestral memories home

And all that ancient grief and love our own.

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS--SURROUNDED BY AN INVISIBLE CLOUD OF WITNESSES

 

One of the images I love best about the Feast of All Saints comes from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews where he speaks of us as being surrounded by an "invisible cloud of witnesses" cheering us on and supporting us through our lives as faithful Christians.  This Celtic poem, by the great Kathleen Raine, captures that feeling perfectly:

THE COMPANY

So many gathered in my room last night.

I felt them close all round me, existences,

Living presences, invisible essences,

Each centred in its own peculiar secret joy...

Not in the world, and yet they gathered in my room;

Some stood still, inside the door, some

Thronged the firelight and the shadows...

Where had they come from?

Out of my joy, out of my sorrow,

Living entities sprung into life from the dust

Of my existence, taking wing, making song?

Or were they there already before I came

Alone into my room, waiting

Until my joy should open eyes to see them,

Until my sorrow should reach down

Into the depths of being, and there find them,

Find such a company of living multitude?

THE FEAST OF ALL HALLOWS EVE--CELTIC SAMHAIN CELEBRATED FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

 
The Celtic Feast of Samhain was replaced by All Hallow's Eve--Halloween--once St. Patrick and his confreres converted the Celtic world.  From a pagan harvest feast where the dead walked the world, to a time when we reflect on the nature of death and life, Halloween has evolved.  Yet, it would be a mistake to miss its haunting, spiritual nature which evokes a lot of thinking on the last things.  This year, let's celebrate all three feasts--All Hallow's, All Saints, and All Soul's--with the great Celtic poet Kathleen Raine.

FOR ALL HALLOW'S EVE, FROM KATHLEEN RAINE'S NORTHUMBRIAN SEQUENCE:

Let in the wind

Let in the rain

Let in the moors tonight.

The storm beats on my window-pane,

Night stands at my bed-foot,

Let in the fear,

Let in the Pain,

Let in the trees that toss and groan,

Let in the north tonight.

Let int he nameless formless power

That beats upon my door,

Let in the ice, let in the snow,

The banshee howling on the moor,

The bracken-bush on the bleak hillside,

Let in the dead tonight.

The whistling ghost behind the dyke,

The dead that rot in mire,

Let in the thronging ancestors

The unfulfilled desire,

Let in the wraith of the dead earl,

Let in the unborn tonight.

HOMILY FOR 31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10//31/10--FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD BRINGS RESPONSIBILITY

 

31ST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR--1O/31/10

   by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

READING: LK 19:1-10

　

I. Zaccheus

A. Being short like Zaccheus sometimes has its disadvantages, but being short is nothing compared with having to live in Jericho. I know; I was in Jericho back in the autumn of '78, and let me tell you, Saturday night in Jericho is about as fun as the weekly Fish Fry in Bagley, Wisconsin. Like the song says, it's like being nowhere at all. Of course, it didn't always used to be this way. Two thousand years ago, Jericho was a thriving town of commerce and the only thing dead about it was the Dead Sea just down the road a bit. It was the place to be for business ventures and entertainment in the Jordan valley. And because it was so important, it had many tax collectors, and, of course, the tax collectors were, next to garbage, the rottenest things around. Their boss was the chief tax collector, a short little man named Zaccheus who was very rich. The townfolks thought him the lowest type of scum, a breaker of the Covenant, a renegade to the Jewish race, a traitor to Israel, a leech of Rome.

B. We heard his story in the Gospel today, but now let's read between the lines and see if we can flesh out what happened. For Zaccheus, tired of being pushed around by a hostile and angry crowd of people who hated him, climbed a tree so he could see who the Galilean people were calling "Messiah." The things he heard about Jesus penetrated even the greed in his heart; he wanted to catch a glimpse of this extraordinary person. What do you suppose happened when Jesus got to the tree where Zaccheus was? I used to wonder about whether Jesus ever laughed. Surely this had to be one of those times. And when the laughing Christ looked up at Zaccheus and said, "I want to stay at your house tonight," what did Zaccheus see and hear? Well, I'll tell you what I think he saw and felt. When the laughing eyes of the man from Galilee looked at Zaccheus, the tax collector saw the human face of God. He looked into those eyes of Jesus and felt an offer of mercy and forgiveness.

C. And when the words, "Zaccheus, I'm staying at your house today," were spoken, Zaccheus heard Christ accepting him for who he was . Christ did not ask for repentance but simply accepted the tax collector saying,"Zaccheus, I like you, let's have lunch." To Zaccheus, it did not matter that he was short; he did not care that the crowd hated him. Jesus had given him dignity just by noticing him and together they went walking through the shocked crowd toward Zaccheus' house. But extraordinary as that was, it was not the end of the story. For as the crowd griped and complained about Jesus' action, Zaccheus remembered what else he saw in the eyes of Jesus--not just unconditional love and acceptance, but an offer, an offer of friendship. And to accept that offer, Zaccheus had to choose to change. He had to repent not because Christ demanded it, but because friendship with God is a two-way street: If he wanted to be a friend of God, he had to change his life. And so, Zaccheus stood up and announced he was making restitution, and giving away half of his property to the poor. And Jesus said, "You're saved!" Then they had a great party.

II. The Message

A. Three things happened in this Gospel and if you get these three things, you've got the point of the Gospel and my homily. The first two points are easy to accept; the third one is quite difficult to swallow.

1. FIRST, JESUS ACCEPTS US JUST AS WE ARE. No matter how we have lived, we are loved unconditionally, no strings attached. And that ought to be a comfort to all of us who feel less than perfect, who do things wrong, who sin. Yes, unconditional love is great--it's wonderful to be loved by God no matter how bad we sometimes are, but within this unconditional love is something else, a second thing.

2. SECOND, JESUS OFFERS US FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD. This offer is what Zaccheus saw in the face of Christ. He could accept or reject that offer--God would not have loved him any less. Jesus wants us to be more than just normal, everyday, average folks. He wants us to be what his Father has destined us to be, and that can only happen if we become God's friends. The moment Zaccheus accepted Christ's friendship, he became a Christian, and then the really hard reality set in.

3. THIRD, THE MOMENT WE ACCEPT GOD'S FRIENDSHIP, WE HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES. One who accepts the offer of Christ must accept the terms of Christ's friendship: we must be responsible for living our faith, we must be responsible for others, we must be faithful. God's love is unconditional; God's friendship is not. And this is the killer. Unconditional love, we can accept. The offer of friendship with God sounds great--but this--this responsibility we are shackled with if we accept the offer of God's friendship--well, that's pretty difficult. But it's also the key to being a Christian.

B. We can receive unconditional love all day long--God saying, "I love you, I love you, I love you"--but we are only transformed when like Zaccheus, we accept the offer of friendship and repent, change our lives. Zaccheus didn't become a new person up in that tree. He was just interested, intrigued by Christ. Jesus didn't say, "Zaccheus, you are saved, let's go have a Big Mac." Jesus only pronounced salvation when Zaccheus changed and offered to make restitution, when he allowed the love of God to transform his life. So there you have it--the Gospel message: God loves, God offers friendship, and we respond by changing our lives.

C. So what are you going to do? In the past few months, from this pulpit, you've heard how to examine your conscience each night before going to bed--do you do it? You've heard the basics of how to pray--have you done it? The Church is open every day--have you stopped in for a visit? You've had opportunities each day to speak kindly of someone, to help someone, to heal someone--have you done this? We have had the same opportunity as Zaccheus, but I fear most of us have not taken the same advantage of that opportunity as Zaccheus. We're glad Christ loves us; we're flattered that he wants to be our friend, but we just don't commit. Zaccheus changed his life and will be remembered forever, but is that going to happen to us? I fear we are left up in that sycamore tree waving as Christ passes by and watching him fade into the distance. Or maybe we are bold enough even to accept his invitation to dinner--after all, most of us receive the Eucharist here--but we make no dramatic gesture like Zaccheus; we don't change. We say, "Thanks for supper, let's do it again sometime," and we walk away from Jesus. What a missed opportunity. We are loved, God asks us to be friends, but we don't accept our responsibilities. We let eternal life slip away from us. We make the fatal mistake of assuming that since God loves us no matter what, we will be saved no matter what. Rest assured, if Zaccheus had not repented, Christ would still have loved him, but Zaccheus would not have been saved, and Christ would have wept. We have it within our power to accept salvation; we must accept it or we will not be saved. To each of us, Jesus says, "I want to have dinner in your home today--I want to be your friend, a part of your life." Zaccheus said yes. What is your response going to be?

HOMILY FOR 30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10/24/10--HUMILITY EQUALS INTIMACY WITH GOD

 

30^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME–10/24/10

      by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

READING: LUKE 19:9-14

 

 

I. Adam and God

 

A. I’m haunted by the image in the book of Genesis of God searching for humanity after they sinned. I can’t really picture God walking in the Garden of Eden so instead I picture this wind blowing through the trees, only it’s not just any breeze, it’s God, its Somebody, and he is searching. And in the early evening, that sad evening in the Garden of Eden, Adam is running, running, running, Adam is running away from God. And as the wind blows a voice is heard crying out to the First Man ever to walk the face of earth, God is crying out to Adam:

 

I looked for you but could not find you;

I sought you and you were not there;

I reached out my hand to you and you ran from me;

Do not go into the night, into the dark, into the night;

Turn back, turn back to the Light, turn back to me.

 

That’s what God says to the human being who flees before him.

 

B. And from that day forward, human beings have always run from God, even when they thought they were doing his will.

 

II. Prayer: Our Relationship With God

 

A. With that fact in mind, look at the parable Jesus tells us today. It has nothing to do with either being rich or poor, weak or powerful. It has everything to do with attitude. Prayer isn’t something that helps us in our relationship with God; it is our relationship with God. Look at the characters:

 

1. Here is the Pharisee, the one who always went to Temple and synagogue, who always tithed, who always did exactly what his religion demanded. But did he experience God, did he have a faith life that went deep to his heart? By his very attitude we see that he did not.

 

2. Look at the tax collector–any difference between him and the Pharisee? Yes, one big one. He stepped before God and said, "O Lord, I need you, be merciful to me, I am a sinner, I am a person in need of your love." And God was close to him and not the other.

 

B. Why? What characteristic does Christ think is important in prayer that the tax collector has and the Pharisee does not?

 

1. Humility–a stance towards God that says "I need you God; I need to be saved." If you were to ask the Pharisee how his relationship with God was, he'd clap you on the back, offer you a Bud Light, and say, "My faith is between me and God, but I'll tell you son, we are just like this--he and I see eye to eye." The Pharisee thinks he’s okay with God and tries to convince God he is better than other people. He’s running from God because he has not admitted he needs God. He thinks God has a stamp on his divinity that says, "Use as needed." He wants God, but only on his terms, not God’s. On the other hand, look at the tax collector who knows he falls short of the perfection of God and approaches his Lord humbly and with full knowledge that he is a sinner; and he is sorry. And yet, clearly, he does not grovel, cringe, beg, stoop, fall in sniveling sorrow–he’s just honest and humble and knows God will be merciful to him. Why, we can just about hear the awe in his voice as he approaches the God who will forgive him and continue to love him despite his imperfections. No so the Pharisee–all he receives is his own self-congratulation.

 

 

2. Jesus is pretty tough–he says the proud cannot pray. Those who do not admit they sin don’t get to experience God. Relying on themselves, they run away from God. That is why they are lost.

THE HOBBIT.....FINALLY!!!

 
NEWS COMING OVER THE INTERNET ON THE AFTERNOON OF OCTOBER 15 TELLS US THAT THE HOBBIT IS A GO, FILMING TO BEGIN IN FEBRUARY, AND PETER JACKSON IS THE DIRECTOR!  GREAT NEWS FOR WHAT IS SURE TO BE A GREAT 2 PART FILM!

HOMILY FOR 29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10/17/10--PERSISTENT PRAYER

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME–10/18/98

    by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

　

READINGS: EX 17:8-13; LK 18:1-8

　

A. For forty years the Israelites had wandered in the desert and now they were approaching the Promised Land. And it was then, as their long journey came to an end, that they faced the most fearsome enemy since Pharaoh had sent his horses, his chariots and his charioteers after them. The nation of Amalek had come to give battle, to prevent the Chosen People from going further towards the Promised Land--the nation of Amalek, the Amalekites, had come to destroy Israel. And this time there was no Red Sea to swallow up the enemy; there was only dry, desert land between the People of Israel and the armies of Amalek.

1. The People were afraid, but Moses was not. He was old and could no longer lead the People in battle, but he asked Joshua to lead the fighting men. Old he may have been, but Moses knew what was needed. After all, he had spoken face to face with God! And he could speak again to the Lord.

2. Moses climbed a hill and he stood with his staff, the staff of God, his staff outstretched so that all could see. And he prayed; he prayed for Israel. And an amazing thing happened. Against all odds, the Israelites fought well. As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites had the better of the battle. But Moses was old, and he tired easily, and gradually, his arms got lower and lower. And when that happened, the Israelites began to lose the battle. Two men came and got Moses a tall rock to sit on, and they stood by his side and held up his arms. All day long they did this, and the Israelites again had the better of the battle. And at sunset, the victory was theirs.

3. The moral of the story: Prayer takes effort, but the effort brings results.

HOMILY FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10/10/10--GRATITUDE IS AN ATTITUDE

 

28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10/10/10

       by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

READING: LK 17:11-19

　

 

I. Gratitude Equals Discovery

A. Okay, I'm going to give you the basic point of this homily right from the very beginning: WHEN I AM GRATEFUL TO GOD, I DISCOVER GOD. Doesn't sound so profound does it? But it is; it is! That's why it won't be just enough to remember the basic point but you have to remember what it means to your life, to the lives of all of us here at St. Rita Parish.

B. The basic point of this homily is the basic point of the Gospel. Jesus has just cured 10 lepers of their hideous disease. That disease was the most horrific disease of its day--it took years to die from and was very disfiguring. Yet Jesus heals 10 of them, and 9 of them simply accept the fact and go about their business. But one–a Samaritan–comes back and says thanks, and Jesus says--"You are truly saved for you have come to me and proclaimed your belief in me, and because you are saved, go now, go your way." And what Jesus meant was not, "Get out of here, you bother me." No, he sent him on his way because he knew that man would go out into the world and tell the Good News. "When I am grateful to God, I discover God, I actively respond to God." That's what the cured leper did. But the other 9--well, they may have been happy, but the cure didn't really change their lives because they didn't allow the cure to touch their hearts. The awesomeness of the miracle wore off and they went back to the dull drudgery of their lives. In fact, I can just hear them now, griping and moaning: One says, "He cured my leprosy but he didn’t make me rich." Another says, "Where was he when I was younger? I’m sixty-five now. If he would have cured me earlier I would have been young and handsome and could have had my pick of any of the pretty girls in the village. What good will my cure do now?" Another says, "I deserved that cure; I’ve always been faithful to God; now it’s time he did something for me." And on and on they speak in their ingratitude.

II. Practical Applications

A. Look, gratitude is an attitude. It leads us to God. Ungratefulness is hatefulness. Ingratitude leads to negativity. And Jesus wants to point out the tremendous spiritual power of gratitude and the great destruction negativity causes. First of all, let’s look at the downside–negativity. The lepers were ungrateful and presumably had excuses, negative ones, for not coming back to thank Jesus. You’ve met these lepers before; maybe you are even one yourself. You know, you are on the job, a co-worker or supervisor has nothing good to say to you, always carping, always making the worst out of a good situation. Or perhaps you yourself are negative–never seeing the good, always pointing out the bad. Ever noticed something about negative people? They never say thank you. You can do something good for them; they only see the bad or the things you didn’t do. They cast a blight of sorrow wherever they go. They feel bad, they make you feel bad, they suck the joy out of every occasion. Look what happened to the lepers who did not come back to thank Christ. God was here; they were over there. Their lack of gratitude led them away from God.

B. On the other hand, a spirit of thankfulness leads us to God. It’s simple really. When I’m a thankful person, I’m on the lookout for those who have blessed me, helped me, supported me. Gratitude gives dignity to another person. When that leper came back and thanked Jesus, he wasn’t just saying thanks, he was professing his faith, "You are my Lord and God; you healed me; I thank you, my Savior." Think about it. Only when the leper realized that God had touched him, only when he felt gratitude, only when he returned and expressed faith in Christ, was he allowed to approach the Son of God. He had to accept the touch of God in his life before he could really begin to have a relationship with Christ.

C. The burning crisis in our faith today is the lack of a personal experience of God, of Christ. In the matter of knowing Jesus, most of us are lepers. We keep our distance from God, we allow bad times and bad experiences to overwhelm us, and when times are rough or we are in danger we cry out to him in a crisis–"Have mercy God; save me!" And if God responds, we do not–we go our own way, we may mutter a thanks, or we may blame our good fortune on luck–but we do not take advantage of that touch of God in our lives to go back to our Lord and say, "My God you really do exist–I want to know you, love you, serve you!" But what if we did? What if we had the attitude of gratitude? Then just like the leper who recognized that the one who touched him was God, we will discover that God is very active in our lives.

D. Did you notice how Jesus healed? He had the lepers go show themselves to the priests–a common ritual Jewish act–and on the way he healed them. No sound and light show, no special affects–they we just doing what their faith prescribed. What if we did the same? What if we prayed more, did the normal religious things with a little extra fervor, paid better attention at Mass, noticed other human beings who help us and support us–and had an attitude of gratitude while doing all that? Maybe like the one leper, we would see the hand of God in the touch of a friend, hear the voice of God in prayer, see the face of God in the eyes of someone who needs us. A grateful heart leads us to God.

VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER FAITHFUL TO SPIRITUAL VISION OF BOOK

 
 

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA,"THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER", PREMIERS DECEMBER 10!

The long awaited sequel, directed by Michael Apted, promises to be faithful to the spiritual vision of the book's author, C. S. Lewis.  For an in depth look on what you can expect, please check here.

Here's a bit of Michael Apted's musings on the film:

Another of the big challenges was to really honor the book because the book has a spiritual quality to it that I feel is important. Hopefully it is a spiritual thing that is accessible to everyone. It’s about another world and I think in this day and age it is not a bad message to be giving to people who are growing up. The growing up part of it is very important for me because I think it is a universal story,” he explained. “It’s a story that has English roots but its relatable to every child on the planet because its about growing up, finding yourself, coming to terms with yourself and knowing what your values are, that is really the heart of this film. Those were the two things really that we had to be careful of and I had to be very watchful of honoring the book.”