Well folks, so sorry for the late posts! I was traveling for most of the time in between posts and then hit the ground running upon my return to Mexico. So, what happened over the past few weeks?
Well, I went to St. Louis to attend Provincial Council meetings. The meetings were long, but fruitful. I am always happy to begin them, and after 2.5 days, very happy to finish with them! I like to go to St. Louis because I am able to catch up with friends, community members, see doctors, and be a priest in English at the parish! The pic above is the Cathedral. Our Provincial Offices are right around the corner from the Cathedral. I was on a lunch break and trying to get my "steps" in after sitting for hours and thought it would be good to take a picture of this space.
I was very happy to be able to spend some time with my friend Becky and her husband Mike and my friend Fr. Tom one evening. We sat around the kitchen and had a few drinks and "heavy pupus" (appetizers) as they say in Hawaii. It was great to share stories and memories and to talk Catholic education "shop" with other long time educators. I've known Becky since 1993 when I first went to LIFE Camp at Tecaboca outside of San Antonio, TX. We shared many a long meeting and long hot 12 days at camp together over the years.
Saturday night I was able to attend a reception at the parish that was the official Kick Off of the Capital Campaign for the parish. Fr. Tom and his team have been working diligently for almost a year now to raise the funds necessary to make the needed improvements to the parish. Now, the parish is in the "official" phase of the Campaign. It was a great opportunity to see so many people. Almost everyone came up to me and said, "Father, it is so good that you are here. What are you doing in town?" To which I responded, "I heard there was a party at Pillar!" I was told by more than one person, that going to a party was very Marianist!
Later that morning I hopped on a plane and headed to Orlando to visit with my dad. I was in Orlando until Friday morning. The weather was perfect. I walked every morning and actually laid out by the pool one day. I took my dad out to lunch 2 days and then visited after lunch another day. As I said in an earlier post, it is just different visiting my dad now. He has really adapted well to his new living space, but now he is very scheduled, and anything that goes against his schedule becomes worrisome for him. So, I have to adapt.... The plus side was that I did get to spend some time with my brother Jimmy, his wife Donna and two of their children, Abigail and Jimmy. The oldest, Emma, is rarely home. She is your typical young adult, trying to juggle work, school, commitments and social life all at once. We had some good times just talking and catching up on The Big Bang Theory and the survivalist show, Naked and Afraid. So you can only imagine the conversations we were having!
I returned to Mexico on Friday afternoon only to face our typical Friday eve, Saturday classes with our professor. Friday night was very difficult for me. Change of time and travel all day to sit in a class in Spanish for three hours was almost more than I could bare....but bare I did! A good nights rest found me much better the next day. After class we all ate La Comida together and then I needed to walk for a bit. After my walk, I sat down to prepare the homily for Sunday. I celebrated the 9:30am Mass on Sunday morning and I could hear some people saying, "Es Padre Amen" (It's Fr. Amen)
The beginning of this week found me tending to usual chores, laundry, food shopping, cooking, getting my haircut and preparing for me next trip to......Lima, Peru! Yes, tomorrow I am headed to Lima, Peru for a meeting of Latin American Educators who work in Marianist sponsored schools in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. I will travel with another Mexican brother and we will meet up with an additional Mexican brother who is currently completing an internship with our schools in Peru. I am very excited! Br. Juan Pablo and I will spend some time traveling and visiting some of our schools in Lima and also doing some "touristy" things. The conference begins next Thursday and will be held at a retreat center. I am looking forward to meeting other lay and religious men and women who work at our schools in the various countries where we have membership. My brain will certainly be on "overload" with translating, but I think I will be okay. As I've said before, it is always an act of humility when I open my mouth to communicate in Spanish! I am hoping that we will have internet service so that I can post while I am there, if not, you will have to wait until my return.
So, have a great week all! Keep me in your prayers as I travel to yet another country! So far since I've arrived in Mexico I have visited Colombia, Ivory Coast, and now Peru! My passport is really getting a workout! Many hugs and peace.
Homily
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Morning Church! Happy Easter!!! Yes, we are still
celebrating the season of Easter. The
Church provides us with fifty days of inspiring stories of faith so that we can
live our faith fully and inspired, Amen?
Now, you all know the difference between a noun and a verb, right? A
noun is a person, place or thing. A verb
is an action word. Many people think
that Catholic is a noun. Well, yes, a
Catholic describes a person, so in fact it is a noun. But, may I suggest that Catholic is also a
verb. Too many Catholics live their
faith like it’s a noun, like it describes something. That is far too passive. We Catholics need to live our faith like it’s
a verb, like we are people of action, Amen?
We need to be active. The Easter
Season is all about action. If we are to
be an Easter people, then we must be nouns and verbs, Amen?
And so, what are the verbs presented to us today in
the Word of God? Are you ready? Do you
really want to know? Okay, here
goes….the Word of God challenges us to commit, to renew, and to love. What are the three action words? COMMIT,
RENEW, LOVE. Turn to the person next
to you and tell them the words…..COMMIT,
RENEW, LOVE. You are doing great
Church!
I love the Easter season because we have the chance to
hear most of the Acts of the Apostles.
The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of what happened when scared,
tired, lonely, insecure disciples of Jesus were enlivened by the action of the
Holy Spirit. They changed their lives
and perspectives to be on fire with faith, energetic in preaching the word,
confident, and never alone because they had one another and the promise of the
Holy Spirit. The disciples continued the
work that Jesus started. They fulfilled
the mission because they COMMIT to a
new way of life. They gave their lives
to the mission of Jesus. They endured
hardships and sacrifice, beatings and ridicule, misunderstanding and
disagreements even among themselves, but they did not give up! They were
committed! To whom and what are you committed? For whom and what do you
sacrifice in your life? What are you committed to this Easter Season? I think Catholics are much better at
celebrating Lent than we are at celebrating Easter. Easter is a commitment to joy. Easter is a commitment to hope. Easter is a commitment to possibilities. Are you an Easter Catholic? Are you a verb or are you a noun? We commit
to someone or something. It demands an
action. Parents, are you committed to
having your children grow in their faith?
Are you committed to being an example to them by attending Mass and
celebrating the sacraments of the Church?
If you don’t do it, your children will not do it either. Children can spot hypocrisy a kilometer
away. Paul and Barnabus endured trial
and hardships for the faith. The
preached to others who did not want to hear their message, and still to others
who wanted to kill them for their message.
Paul and Barnabus were committed.
They kept the faith. They did something. Will you?
So, what is the first verb for today?
COMMIT
The next verb for an Easter people is RENEW. Turn to the person next to you and
say, the word is RENEW It reminds us that every day is a new creation. Every day we have a new possibility to live
our lives in a new way. Every day, we
can change old attitudes in for new and improved attitudes. The Book of Revelation gives us a wonderful
vision: A new heaven and a new earth.
The writer takes concepts that the people understood, heaven and earth and
stated that when we live a life in Christ we can envision a new heaven and a
new earth. New possibilities. Better relationships with one another. A caring community. A place where all needs are met. A vision of
hope and possibilities. A vision that
builds upon former concepts and makes them better. That is a wonderful image for ourselves….that
God wants to renew us. God wants to take
who we are and make better versions of who we already are. God see’s the potential and possibility in
each one of us. This is the vision that
God has for our lives. When we RENEW, we imagine ourselves
differently. So, what do you need to
RENEW in your life? Is it your image of
yourself? Your marriage? Your commitment
to a project? Your relationship with your teenagers? Your relationship with
elderly parents? Catholic is a
verb. What will you RENEW to live your
life as a verb? At the end of the
reading we hear the promise that, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and
there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order
has passed away.” The One who sat on the
throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
That is quite a promise, Amen? And so what is the second verb for today?
RENEW
And finally we come to our last verb. Can you remember the word? LOVE. A small word with a powerful meaning,
Amen? Turn to the person next to you and
say, “I know about love.” This small word can be so difficult at times,
Amen? If we are to be an Easter people,
we have to live our Catholic faith as a verb and love others, Amen? Jesus even goes as far as telling his
disciples that love is not a suggestion, it is a commandment! A commandment! So Catholics have eleven commandments,
Amen? The Ten Commandments given to
Moses by God and the Eleventh Commandment given to us by Jesus: Love one
another. And Jesus just does not say to
love in a romantic way. He tells his
disciples and he tells us, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one
another.” And how did Jesus love his
disciples? He saw the good qualities in
each of them. He forgave them when they
did not understand or did not do things correctly. He remained faithful to them when they were
not faithful to him. He gave his life
for them. Now that is some kind of love,
Amen? That’s what the Eleventh
Commandment is all about. It is a
sacrificial love that does not expect anything in return. Wow!!!
Like anything else in life, LOVE takes practice. Sometimes we LOVE well, and other times we do not. The Easter Season is a reminder of one of the
basics of our faith- LOVE. If we call ourselves Catholics and we do not
LOVE others, then we are liars and hypocrites, then we dishonor the name of
Jesus. Yes, those are strong words, but
the small word of love holds much power and expectation. Jesus commanded us to love one another. It was not a suggestion. If we are to be Catholics who are verbs and
nouns then we must put our words into action, Amen? And so what is the last verb for today? LOVE
The Easter season prepares us to be Catholics who are
nouns and verbs. We need to be both in
our life. The Easter season is a time of
joy, hope, possibility and promise. The
way in which these words become a reality in our own lives is if we live our
faith as verbs. We will see joy, hope,
possibility and promise when we COMMIT,
RENEW AND LOVE, AMEN? This is the season of action, what will you do today
to be a person of action? When we live in Christ, action is not a challenge but
a commandment, Amen? Go do something good for the Lord today!
Homilía Quinto Domingo de Pascua
Buenos días Iglesia! ¡¡¡Felices Pascuas!!! Sí, todavía estamos celebrando la temporada de Pascua. La Iglesia nos ofrece con cincuenta días de inspiradoras historias de fe para que podamos vivir nuestra fe y totalmente inspirados, Amén? Ahora, todos ustedes saben la diferencia entre un sustantivo y un verbo, ¿verdad? Un sustantivo es una persona, lugar o cosa. Un verbo es una palabra de acción. Mucha gente piensa que es un sustantivo Católica. Bueno, sí, un católico describe a una persona, por lo que en realidad se trata de un sustantivo. Pero, puedo sugerir que católica es también un verbo. Demasiados católicos viven su fe como si fuera un sustantivo, como se describe algo. Eso es demasiado pasiva. Nosotros los católicos necesitamos para vivir nuestra fe como si fuera un verbo, como somos gente de acción, Amén? Tenemos que estar activo. El tiempo de Pascua es todo acerca de la acción. Si queremos ser un pueblo Pascual, entonces debemos ser sustantivos y verbos, Amén?
Y así,
cuáles son los verbos que se nos presenta hoy en la Palabra de Dios? ¿Están
listo? ¿Realmente Uds. quieren saber? De acuerdo, aquí va ... la Palabra de
Dios nos desafía a comprometerse, renovar, y amar. ¿Cuáles son las tres
palabras de acción? COMPROMETERSE, RENOVAR,
AMAR. Gira a la persona a tu lado y
les dirá las palabras ... ..COMPROMETERSE,
RENOVAR, AMAR. Que están haciendo muy bien Iglesia!
Me
encanta la temporada de Pascua, porque tenemos la oportunidad de escuchar la
mayor parte de los Hechos de los Apóstoles. Los Hechos de los Apóstoles narra
la historia de lo que ocurrió cuando los discípulos estaban asustado, cansado,
solos, inseguros, fueron animadas por la
acción del Espíritu Santo. Ellos cambiaron sus vidas y perspectivas estar en
llamas con la fe, enérgico en la predicación de la palabra, confianza, y nunca
solo porque tenían el uno al otro y la promesa del Espíritu Santo. Los discípulos
continuaron la obra que Jesús comenzó. Ellos cumplen la misión, ya que se
comprometen a una nueva forma de vida. Dieron sus vidas a la misión de Jesús.
Ellos soportaron penurias y sacrificios, golpes y burlas, malentendidos y
desacuerdos incluso entre ellos mismos, pero no se dan por vencidos! Estaban
comprometidos! A quién y qué estás comprometido? Para quién y qué se sacrifica
en su vida? ¿Qué estás comprometido con este tiempo de Pascua? Creo que los
católicos son mucho mejores para celebrar la Cuaresma que estamos en la
celebración de Pascua. Pascua es un compromiso con la alegría. Pascua es un
compromiso a la esperanza. Pascua es un compromiso de posibilidades. ¿Son ustedes
un católico Pascua? ¿Son ustedes un verbo o un sustantivo? Nos comprometemos a
alguien o algo. Exige una acción. Los padres, ¿Están comprometido a tener a sus
hijos a crecer en su fe? ¿Están comprometido a ser un ejemplo para ellos,
asistiendo a misa y celebración de los sacramentos de la Iglesia? Si no lo hacen,
sus hijos no lo harán tampoco. Los niños pueden detectar la hipocresía de un
kilómetro de distancia. Pablo y Bernabé soportaron el juicio y dificultades
para la fe. Ellos predicaron a otros que
no quieren escuchar su mensaje, y aún otros que querían matarlos por su mensaje.
Pablo y Bernabé fueron cometidos. Se mantuveron la fe. Ellos hicieron algo.
¿Podrían Uds? Así que, ¿cuál es el primer verbo para hoy? COMPROMETIRSE
El
siguiente verbo para un pueblo Pascual es RENOVAR.
Gira a la persona a tu lado y decir, la palabra es renovar. Nos recuerda
que cada día es una nueva creación. Todos los días tenemos una nueva
posibilidad de vivir nuestras vidas de una manera nueva. Todos los días,
podemos cambiar viejas actitudes en las actitudes nuevas y mejoradas. El libro
de Apocalipsis nos da una visión maravillosa: Un nuevo cielo y una nueva
tierra. El escritor toma conceptos que las personas entendidas, cielo y la
tierra y declaró que cuando vivimos una vida en Cristo podemos imaginar un
cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva. Nuevas posibilidades. Mejores relaciones con
los demás. Una comunidad solidaria. Un lugar donde se cumplen todas las
necesidades. Una visión de esperanza y posibilidades. Una visión que se basa en
conceptos antiguos y los hace mejores. Esa es una imagen maravillosa para
nosotros mismos... .que Dios quiere renovar. Dios quiere tomar lo que somos y
tomar mejores versiones de lo que ya somos. Dios es ver el potencial y la
posibilidad en cada uno de nosotros. Esta es la visión que Dios tiene para
nuestras vidas. Cuando renovamos, nos imaginamos a nosotros mismos de manera
diferente. Por lo tanto, ¿qué necesidad de renovar en su vida? ¿Es su imagen de
sí mismo? ¿Su matrimonio? Su compromiso con un proyecto? Su relación con sus
hijos jóvenes? Su relación con los padres de edad avanzada? Católica es un
verbo. Lo que te renovará a vivir su vida como un verbo? Al final de la lectura
escuchamos la promesa de que, "Dios les enjugará todas sus lágrimas de sus
ojos, y ya no habrá muerte ni duelo, ni penas
ni llantos, porque ya todo lo antiguo término”. El que estaba sentado en el
trono dijo: "Ahora yo voy a hacer nuevas todas las cosas." Ese es un
promesa, Amén? Y así, lo que es el segundo verbo para hoy? RENOVAR
Y
finalmente llegamos a nuestro último verbo. ¿Pueden ustedes recordar la
palabra? AMAR. Una pequeña palabra
con un significado de gran alcance, Amén? Gira a la persona a tu lado y decir:
"Yo sé sobre el amor." Esta pequeña palabra puede ser tan difícil a
veces, Amén? Si queremos ser un pueblo Pascual, tenemos que vivir nuestra fe
católica como un verbo y amar a los demás, Amén? Jesús incluso va tan lejos
como diciendo a sus discípulos que el amor no es una sugerencia, es un
mandamiento! Un mandamiento! Así que los católicos tienen once mandamientos,
Amén? Los diez mandamientos dados a Moisés por Dios y el undécimo mandamiento
que nos ha dado Jesús: Ama unos a otros. Y Jesús simplemente no dice que el
amor de una manera romántica. Él le dice a sus discípulos y nos dice:
"Como yo los he amado, así ámense también ustedes los unos a los
otros." Y cómo amó Jesús a sus discípulos? Vio las buenas cualidades en
cada uno de ellos. Los perdonó cuando no entendían o no hicieron las cosas
correctamente. Se mantuvo fiel a ellos cuando no eran fieles a él. Él dio su
vida por ellos. Ahora que es una especie de amor, Amén? Eso es lo que el
undécimo mandamiento se trata. Es un sacrificio de amor que no espera nada a
cambio. ¡¡¡Caramba!! Al igual que cualquier otra cosa en la vida, el amor
requiere práctica. A veces nos encanta así, y otras veces no lo hacemos. El tiempo
de Pascua es un recordatorio de uno de los fundamentos de nuestra fe: AMAR. Si nos llamamos católicos y no lo
hace el amor a otros, entonces somos mentirosos y los hipócritas, a
continuación, deshonramos el nombre de Jesús. Sí, esas son palabras fuertes,
pero la pequeña palabra de amor lleva a cabo tanto poder y la expectativa.
Jesús nos mandó a amarnos unos a otros. No fue una sugerencia. Si hemos de ser
católicos que son los verbos y los sustantivos entonces debemos poner nuestras
palabras en acción, Amén? Y así, ¿cuál es el último verbo para hoy? AMAR
El
tiempo de Pascua nos prepara para ser católicos que son sustantivos y verbos.
Tenemos que ser a la vez en nuestra vida. El tiempo de Pascua es un tiempo de
alegría, esperanza, posibilidades y promesas. La forma en que estas palabras se
convierten en una realidad en nuestras propias vidas es si vivimos nuestra fe
como verbos. Veremos la alegría, la esperanza, la posibilidad y promesa cuando COMPROMETERSE, RENOVAR y AMAR, AMEN?
Esta es la temporada de la acción, lo que Uds. van a hacer hoy para ser una
persona de acción? Cuando vivimos en Cristo, la acción no es un reto, sino un
mandamiento, Amén? Ir y hacer algo bueno
para el Señor hoy!
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