Corpus Christi Monastery

Since late Friday afternoon I have been on a private retreat at Corpus Christi Monastery in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, NY. I do this private retreat every year at around the same time and look forward to being alone with God and praying with these women of prayer.

I join them in their rounds of the Liturgy of the Hours, Mass and Rosary. The rest of the time I spend by myself, reading scripture, and praying for those in my life that need prayer. I also pray for myself in order to become a better Christian and better deacon in order to serve the Lord more faithfully.

Today the church commemorates the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our lady's whole life was that of being totally opened to the will of God in her life and the service of others. In the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), we hear the angel Gabriel announce to Mary that she will be the mother of the Messiah. At first Mary was puzzled, but then, after Gabriel explains, Mary says, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).

Then, after hearing that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, is pregnant (with John the Baptist), Mary "set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah" (Luke 1:39) in order to be with Elizabeth in her time of need.

In the gospel for today's feast, we hear the familiar passage of the Child Jesus being missing, only to be found three days later talking to the teachers at the temple. Though Mary chastised Jesus for giving them this anxiety, she still pondered on what happened, and "kept all these things in her heart." (Luke 2:51).

The trust that Mary had in God at all times in her life, even during that anxious time of not knowing where Jesus was, is an example of how we are to live out our lives. We are to live in complete trust in God, even during those times in our lives when we are anxious or troubled about what may be happening in our lives.

Like Mary, we are to have Jesus at the center of our lives and to trust in God completely, in good times and even in those times when we are anxious about the problems we are facing. Then we will have the peace of God in us, knowing that Our Lord and His Mother are with us to help us through anything and everything.

For more information about Corpus Christi Monastery go to http://www.opbronx.org/. I'm sure also they would love to receive a financial gift from you, as well, for their ministry of prayer.

Receive the Gospel of Christ!

It was four years ago today at the 9:00 Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral that 12 of my classmates and I, were ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon. After the ordination, Cardinal Timothy Dolan handed us the Book of the Gospels and said to each of us, "Receive the Gospel of Christ,whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe,and practice what you teach."

Over the four years since my ordination, I have performed wakes, baptisms, visited those in Morningside Nursing Home, assisted at numerous Masses. Through all the work that I have done since being ordained, I still have this joy of doing God's will as a deacon.

One of the residents at Morningside Nursing Home always reminds me of how I am to be grateful in what I do for God and where I am at in relationship with Him. Whenever I see Rosalyn and ask how she is, she responds, always with faith and with that gleam in her eyes, "As God would have me!"

So, as I carry out God's will for me, in whatever I do, I have to recall that it is where God would have me!

This Saturday, June 21st, at St. Patrick's Cathedral 11 more men will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon to serve Christ in His Church. Pray for these men as they respond to Christ's Call with a YES!

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Prayer

Last Sunday, June 1st, I had the honor of doing a Holy Hour at the Carmelite Monastery in Flemington, NJ. Their website can be found at http://www.flemingtoncarmel.org/

It was the 7th Sunday after Easter and the Gospel for that day was from John, chapter 17. Following is the Homily I gave on it for the Sisters at Carmel. Feel free to comment on it. Also, feel free to support the sisters and their community.

Homily on John 17:1-11a

“I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me.”

This portion of the gospel of St. John, chapter 17, has come to be known as the High priestly prayer. It’s all about relationship. Relationship between Jesus and His Father, and Jesus and His disciples. It sums up all that Jesus came to do and the intimate relationship between Him and the Father that allowed him to complete his work.
This gospel is ideal for this time of year when there are many men being ordained to priestly ministry. They are ordained not for themselves, but for the Church, not just to deepen their own spiritual life but to go into the world as representatives and evangelist of the Lord and His Gospel. They are ordained not for their own salvation but for the salvation of others. They are called to be in the world though not of the world. This is also true for all Christians.

In this prayer Jesus prays for the disciples and the community of faith. In this prayer he prays to the Father to give strength and protection to his faithful believers, as Jesus prepares to return to God the Father.

This prayer of Jesus is not only for those first followers of Jesus, but for us also. It teaches us the value of prayer being central in all we do.

This priestly prayer of Jesus is especially suitable for us here in Carmel. Prayer is central for the Carmelite way of life as it was to the life of Jesus. In the Carmelite rule of St. Albert, we read, “Each one of you is to stay in his own cell or nearby, pondering the Lord's law day and night and keeping watch at his prayers unless attending to some other duty.” Further, St. Theresa of Jesus tells us, “prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us." And St. Therese of Lisieux says, “For me prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look towards heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

Living out your vocation as Carmelites and followers of Christ, you will have both trials and joys, but God has been revealed to you through Jesus Christ. You belong to God. As Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.”

Through the intercession of his Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, you have come to know the one true God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, you have eternal life. You are in relationship with God, as well as in community and relationship with each other. You are called to live out your Christian vocation here in Carmel by being Christ to one another, and to those who you pray for.