World Mission Sunday: Are we in mission territory?

 

Today we have a recurring guest blogger:  Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, pastor of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org) 

Submission to the blog of Dcn. Thomas Tortorella for World Mission Sunday

by Rev. Fr. Arthur F. Rojas © All Rights Reserved, October 19, 2023 ©

World Mission Sunday: Are we in mission territory?

By Fr. Arthur F. Rojas © All rights reserved personally by Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, Oct. 19, 2023 ©

It seems to me that if and when most Catholics think about the missions, the missions are regarded for places far away in geography, socioeconomic development, and culture. Certainly, the second collections for the Church where she is materially poor in various areas of the world or even in certain communities of our vast country may foster that perception. When a cleric or religious brother/friar shares vignettes of missionary time abroad in his preaching at our churches, that sense may be reinforced. We may be led further by the long history of the Catholic Church in New York state, as reflected by the ultimate sacrifice made by the North American Martyrs at Auriesville centuries ago along with the contemporaneous life of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and further presence of saints such as Ss. John Neumann and Frances Xavier Cabrini, to say nothing of the remaining (and/or no longer present) Catholic institutions lining Route 9W in the mid-Hudson Valley, once called “Catholic Alley,” including the Redemptorists fondly remembered by many Catholics locally.

However, honesty requires us to look deeper. It is statistically evident that the pandemic and its aftereffects have diminished what was already a minority percentage of local Catholics – let alone Catholics in America – who attend Mass regularly on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, who seek the sacraments and other Catholic rites for themselves, their children, and even their practicing Catholic relatives such as baptisms, confessions, marriages, Anointings of the Sick, and funerals. Attitudes of certain parents show indifference or even resistance to requests by catechetical programs of their enrolled children to attend Sunday Mass regularly (already required by God in the Third Commandment) or to pursue homework and testing with equivalent diligence to their regular schooling. Finding godparents or sponsors who are practicing Catholics can become a challenge. Although the Catholic pro-life movement is enjoying a welcome revival in my county, there are self-identified Catholics who publicly flout the Church’s teachings on moral issues, including human life and God’s plan for the family. Although progress has been achieved locally, reluctance is perceptible to publicly showing, sharing, or defending our Catholic faith, whilst societal actors locally and nationally mold the imagination and attitudes of our youth and even mature Catholics in ways that contravene the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The evidence abounds that the Empire State and the Big Apple need reclaiming for Christ, starting with ourselves. Although we are blessed with help from abroad with our clerics ministering locally and we should support the Church’s missionary efforts abroad, the American saying “Charity begins at home” makes demands of us local Catholics. The spread of the True Faith abroad that we support with prayers and offerings also needs to be spread here with time, talent, and if need be, treasure. There is not so much need for programs as there is need for us to get out of our comfort zones, starting with our families and neighbors who are no longer practicing Catholics, to invite them to our churches, to share the good things happening at our parishes and groups, to raise the possibility of priestly, diaconal, and religious/monastic vocations to our children and youths, and to reach out also to those of no faith or other faiths with the beauty and truth of our lived Catholic identity as something not only good for us but as something also good for them. One small way is to pass your bulletin to someone else when you are finished reading it. May our charity for the well-being in body and soul of our relatives and neighbors reach home as well as abroad, starting this World Mission Sunday.

“Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as Jesus Christ can endure all things.”

 

Deacon Tom’s Reflection for the Lay Carmelite Newsletter, October 2023

“Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as Jesus Christ can endure all things.” St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

During the month of October, we have two great Carmelite Saints: St. Therese of the Child Jesus on October 1^st, and St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) on October 15^th. Since these days fall on a Sunday this year, the church will not be celebrating these feasts since the Sunday celebration supersedes these feasts. But let us meditate on how they lived out their vocation as Carmelites.

In the above quote from St. Teresa of Avila, we are reminded that we, as Carmelites and as Catholic Christians, are to always remember to live out our lives living in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to remember that in all we do in our lives beyond our praying the Divine Office and the regular attendance of Mass, we are still in the presence of Jesus Christ. In our day-to-day struggles of work and family we are to remember that Jesus is present to us and we are to respond to all situations trusting that Jesus will be present to us in our struggles. Further, in our response to those in our lives that may be difficult to get along with, we are to see Christ in them and respond with love and patience. It is in remembering that Christ is present in all our activities that we can endure all these struggles that occur when we come across difficult situations or difficult people.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, in her autobiography, while reflecting on 1 Corinthians, realized that her vocation is LOVE: “Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: “O Jesus, my Love…my vocation, at last I found it…my vocation is Love!” Such beautiful words for us to reflect upon. All of us have the same vocation: that of Love. We are to not only love God with our whole mind, body, and soul; we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It's our vocation: to have love at the center of all we do in relationship with God and with those we meet.

Let us always remember that as Lay Carmelites, we are always walking in the presence of Jesus, and that we are to respond to all people in our lives with that of Love.

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today we hear of the conflict between Martha and Mary. Martha, always worried about making sure things are ready for the Lord, and Mary wanting to be at the feet of Jesus hearing his wisdom and teachings. Martha complains to the Lord in order to get Mary to help her in the preparation of the food in the kitchen.  But Mary knows that it's important to make time to be with the Lord. And the Lord responds, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things!" (Luke 10:41) Who do you relate to: Martha or Mary?

Being active in order to serve the Lord in the different ministries at Church, as Martha wanted to do that day the Lord visited her, is important. But what if being busy prevents you from hearing the wisdom and teachings of Jesus? If it's causing us to be "anxious", like Martha, it's time to step back and be open to what the Lord is trying to teach us. You'll notice that Jesus is not discounting the "busyness" of Martha. But the Lord says, "There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." (Luke 10:42) It's all about balance.

Like Mary, I would encourage everyone to take time to hear the wisdom of the Lord by frequent reading of scripture and making time hear what the Lord is saying to us, whether it's through the readings from Mass, or just by reading, chapter by chapter, the New Testament. Just being open to the Lord's presence in our lives and in scripture will bring us that can come only by sitting at His feat, learning from Him what He wants us to learn in our lives.

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today Jesus is teaching us what it means by being a true believer in God. The scholar of the law points out rightly that it is central to all believers to not only to love God with our whole being, but to love our neighbors as ourselves. Then the scholar asks Jesus to clarify who his neighbor is.

In the Jewish culture of the time, the Jews despised the Samaritans. Yet, Jesus uses the example of a Samaritan to get across the message that we are to be neighbors to all people, no matter what our differences may be. In the parable, a priest and Levite avoid helping the one attacked by robbers. They may have had their reasons: the priest may have been on his way to a service, and the Levite may have been afraid of being made "unclean" according to Jewish law by touching someone who was bleeding and wounded. Instead of looking at the need of the one hurt, they were more worried about themselves. It was only the Samaritan that went over and above to help the one attacked by the robbers, without any worry about what effect it would have on him. The Samaritan saw someone in need and went out of his way to help the victim. 

We are all called to reach out to those in need around us. Maybe not as dramatically as the Samaritan did, but there are those we come across in our day to day lives that may need our care or help: whether it's a family member or friend. Or by helping those we may encounter in our daily lives! For example, there were times when I would be on my way to work and getting a cup of coffee from the coffee shop before going into the office, and I would encounter someone out front asking for help to get food. I would offer t buy him/her breakfast at the coffee shop. In helping that person get food, I was being neighbor to that person. The person was grateful, and, in that person, I saw not only my neighbor, but I saw Christ. 

I attempt to live out this law of love of God and neighbor daily. Let us look beyond the differences we see in the people we encounter and look at them as those made in the image and likeness of God.

Whoever listen to you listens to me

 

The scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today, we hear the continuation of the Lord sending out the 72 disciples ahead of him to the various towns and places he intended to visit. Between yesterday’s and today’s gospel, our Lord was making it clear that their job in proclaiming the kingdom of God will be challenging.

In yesterday’s gospel we hear the Lord tell his disciples that there is s a rich harvest of those who need to hear the Good News of God’s love for them. Then he goes on to say that he’s sending them like “lambs among wolfs.” (Luke 10:3) In other words, it won’t be easy. There will be people that will reject the message they are bringing from the Lord Jesus: that there is love and healing in God’s love for each one of them. He instructs the disciples to tell all they meet, “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” The job of those 72 disciples is to help everyone to know the Love God has for each one of them.

In today’s gospel he goes on to warn those who reject the message of the Gospel that it won’t be easy for them on judgement day. The Lord is teaching that we are to put God in the center of all we do to make this a world where God’s love is in the center of all who we are. We are to turn away from sinfulness and make God the center of all we do.

Listening to the Lord is to learn that Jesus is teaching us to love God with our whole minds, hearts and being, and to love others as we love God. That’s what the Lord is calling us to do when he says to his disciples, “whoever listens to you listens to me.” The Lord is calling us to turn away from the selfish way of life that many of us may be living, and to turn to God by serving Him and loving all those God has placed in our lives.

Further, like those first 72 disciples, the Lord is sending us into the world to bring the Good News of God’s love to everyone we meet. It won’t be easy, but we are to bring the love of God into every situation of our lives. We are to share God’s love not only with our words, but in our actions. When people see us, can they see the love of God in how we live out our lives? That’s how we are to bring the Kingdom of God into the world: by our way of life in Christ. We are to be visible examples of God’s love for everyone.

As we go throughout our days beyond our time in prayer, let us remember that God is sending us out as His disciples, like lambs among wolfs. In doing so we are bringing God’s love into a world that needs to know God is present and cares for all people.

For the love of money is the root of all evils…

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our first reading for today from St.Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we hear Paul continue to teach on how to live out a life as a Christian. We are to remain focused not on the riches of this world, but on things spiritual. We are to continue to look to Jesus as the example of how to live out our lives in love of God and love of neighbor.

St. Paul is reminding us to not to worry about accumulating money or material wealth. Paul clearly teaches that the love of money is the root of all evils. If we’re more worried about accumulating wealth and objects than about loving and serving God and helping those in our families and those in need, we have strayed from how God wants us to live our lives. Paul goes on to say that those who want to be rich will fall into the trap that will lead them to ruin and destruction.

Paul is teaching us that love of God should always be the center of who we are. There’s a saying that goes, “God will provide.” And certainly, God does indeed provide all our needs. All we need to do is to trust in him to provide for us.

Does this mean that we should be careless with the financial blessings the Lord has given us? Certainly not. We all have a certain amount of income that we are blessed with, thanks be to God, and we are to be responsible with the money and property we have accumulated over the course of our lives. But the money and accumulations we have been blessed with are not to replace our love for God and the love we are to show to others in our lives.  We are to use the money we have as a way of caring for ourselves and for those others God placed in our lives. As God has blessed us with certain financial blessings, we are to use these blessings to give glory and praise to God by using it in a way pleasing to God. Further we are to be generous with our money to certain charities that care for the poor and needy in our community.

Today’s reading from St. Paul to Timothy concludes with encouragement to live out our lives in pursuit of righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Living in this way, with Jesus at the center of all we do, will lead us to greater glory and praise of God.

I will walk with a blameless heart.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our first reading for today from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy. Paul is explaining very clearly the responsibilities of those called to being bishops and deacons in the church. Of bishops Paul says they must be temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle… In other words, the bishop must live out his life in imitation of Christ. He needs to be humbled and self-controlled. He must be a visible example of Christ in his position as bishop.

St. Augustine once said, “The day I became a bishop, a burden was laid on my shoulders for which it will be no easy task to render an account.” St.  Augustine, familiar with the words of St. Paul to Timothy, knew that he must lead those Christians in his care towards Christ. He must be kind and not aggressive.

St. Augustine also said, “I must distinguish carefully between two aspects of the role the Lord has given me, a role that demands rigorous accountability.” Augustine would go on to say, “I am a Christian is to my own advantage, but I am a leader for your advantage.” He knew those Christians in his care would turn to him for guidance to lead them to follow Christ more faithfully. As bishop, he knew that he must be ready to clearly explain what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Januarius. who was a bishop and martyr, in Naples. St. Januarius was martyred by the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305. He lived out his call as Bishop and Christian by remaining strong in his faith in Jesus Christ.  Rather than deny his faith in Jesus Christ, Januarius chose to die for this faith in the Lord. He was first thrown to the wild beast, and then eventually beheaded. St. Januarius knew the words of St. Paul well of being self-controlled. He remained strong in his faith as a follower of Jesus Christ.

St. Paul’s letter goes on to teach us further that whatever place we are in the Church, whether a deacon or women of faith, we are to attempt to live out our lives as Christians by loving God and loving our neighbors. We are all called to be living examples of what it means to be Christian. We are to be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything.

By living out our lives in this way, others will see that we are faithful Christians, and we can hope to lead them as well to a life in relationship with Christ.