I had a Sector Council meeting on Thursday morning from 10-1 where we discussed some of the ongoing issues in the Sector. It was a productive meeting and I am hoping that some of the procedures that encouraged us to follow for meetings will help us be more efficient and communicative in the future. Later that afternoon I had another meeting from 4-6:30pm with the committee that is working on the educational project. Again, a great meeting with great people who really believe in this project. We are encountering some financial obstacles with the government so we are looking at some alternative options for the foreseeable future. The Provincial, Fr. Marty, arrived on Thursday afternoon to receive the Perpetual Vows on Saturday.
Friday was a day of meetings with me, Marty, and some of the Mexican brothers. I actually had to translate! I think I did okay, but there were times when I had to ask other questions and clarify because I did not directly know some of the words the Brothers were saying. So, yes, I was very tired after all of that! We held the rehearsal for the Perpetual Vows on Friday eve and I had a role in the ceremony. I read the parts in Spanish that normally the Provincial reads. It was an honor to be able to do that at this ceremony. We also had a little celebration Friday evening for Br. Juan and many people were in attendance- nothing like cerveza y tequila para hacer una buena fiesta!
Starting on Thursday many guests starting arriving. We had a full house from Thursday-Sunday. A few other Brothers came from the US and the Brothers from Puebla came as well. Family members of Br. Juan's took a 15 hour road trip from the south to be in attendance. I am thinking that all together we may have been 20-25 people in the house....and while I love a party, I am very happy that they have all left!
Saturday morning we had another meeting of all the Brothers in the Sector of Mexico to discuss a few topics and make some decisions about some future events. The Perpetual Vows were held at the parish at noon and there were approximately 250 people in attendance. The Mass was very beautiful. Br. Juan processed in with his family, followed by the Brothers and the celebrants for the Mass. Br. Juan sat on one side with family, and the Brothers sat on the other side. Before Br. Juan professed his perpetual vows he lie prostrate before the altar while we sang the Litany of the Saints. Then, he went to his mother and father and received their blessing and then he approached the altar and professed his Perpetual Vows and received his gold ring- a sign of our perpetual commitment in the Society of Mary (Compania de Maria). Directly after, Juan proceded in front of the altar to receive the blessing from his Brothers. All of us gathered around him and extended our hands in blessing while Fr. Raymundo prayed the blessing. After the blessing, all of us, one by one, welcomed him into the community with a hug and a word of hope. After this ritual, Br. Juan symbolically left behind his family, and sat in the midst of the Brothers. All involved were moved by the ceremony. For me, whenever I attend a Final Vow ceremony, I think of my own commitment and my own journey and pray that I will continue to be faithful to my community.
After the Mass, we were outside under a tent and were treated to a Mexican fiesta....everyone from the Church came to the fiesta. Teenagers from the youth group served everyone and we were also treated to live entertainment with a mariachi band, and later, we were treated to parishioners who danced specific folk dances from the region where Br. Juan was from. I finally left the party around 4:15pm because I still needed to prepare my homily for Mass the next day.
Saturday evening, we once again gathered to share in a meal and share in some good times with one another. Sunday morning I was the presider for the 8:30am Mass and Fr. Quentin and Fr. Marty concelebrated. Many of the Brothers were at the Mass, in addition to many of the other guests. All in all it was a great weekend. A weekend of laughter, sharing, community, language, prayer, food, drink, and Brotherhood. I felt blessed to be part of all of this. At the end of the week, several of us will travel south to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving at the parish where Br. Juan grew up. You can say that it will be a "Mexican road trip"! I will let you know how it all goes....
Br. Juan with mom and dad
The Brothers with Br. Juan
The Cake (It was delicious and worth every calorie)
The Mariachi Band
Homily
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Morning Church! Does anyone here want to be loved? If
so, turn to the person next to you and say, I want to be loved...Does anyone
here want to be known? If so, turn to the person next to you and say, I want
people to know me. To be loved, and to
be known are two fundamental human needs that we all share. Have there been times in your life when you
did not feel loved? Say, amen if you
know that feeling…Amen. Have there been
times when you did not feel known, or felt misunderstood? Say, amen if you know that
feeling….Amen. Yes, we are all in good
company here in this Church and the Word of God gives us some answers today to
these questions. Do you want to know the
answers? Then pay attention! And stop
sleeping!
When there are times in my life when I do not feel
loved or known, I think of the words from the prophet Jeremiah. God says to
Jerimiah, before you were formed in the womb I knew you, before you were born I
dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. From the very first moment of my life, God
knew me, loved me, and had a plan for me.
Those words are very consoling, Amen?
God spoke those words to Jeremiah, but God speaks them to each one of
us. All of us are special in God’s
eyes. God knows your name. God cares about you. God has a plan for you. In times of doubt and confusion, those words
are hopeful, Amen? I know these words
intellectually and personally too. Last
year I had an experience where I felt unloved and misunderstood by several
people who were close to me. It was very
difficult to endure. The words of the
prophet helped me to understand that I am never unloved, I am never unknown,
and I am never without a purpose, because God always loves me. God always knows my name and understands
me. God always has a purpose for
me. So repeat after me, God loves me….
God knows me….God has a purpose for me.
That is a truth that we can live by, Amen?
The Word of God is important in our lives because it
gives us a way to follow the Lord. One
interesting fact about the Word of God, is that besides the mention of the name
of God or Jesus, the word love is mentioned the most times in both the Old and
New Testaments. Love is mentioned more
than faith, pray, and sin….so, if we were to say what is important to do as a
follower of Jesus it would be first and foremost to love. Today in our second reading from Saint Paul
to the Corinthians we hear the very familiar words of what love is, and what
love is not. Paul reminds us that love
is the greatest thing that will last and the most important thing for those who
are believers. Love has a way of
softening our hard edges and ideas. Love
and mercy go hand in hand, Amen? So, if
you want to be loved, then you must love.
If you want to experience a loving relationship with friends, family,
wife, or husband, then you must become love.
Let’s try something. I will
replace the word love with my name in this reading, and you do the same. If I want to be loved, I have to be
love. John is patient and kind, he is
not jealous, he is not inflated or pompous, he is not rude, he does not seek
his own interests, he is not quick tempered.
He does not brood over injuries, he does not rejoice over wrongdoings
but rejoices with the truth. He bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and he endures all things. So now love is not an intellectual exercise,
but a reality check for my life. When
you replaced love with your name, could you say that all those statements were
true for you? If I am honest, I have to
say that I have some things to work on in my own life. If you want to be loved, then love. If you want to be loved, then be love. I think we all have some homework to do,
Amen?
Finally the Gospel lets me know that Jesus too felt
unknown and misunderstood in his life.
Directly after Jesus proclaimed the prophecy from Isaiah, the people
identified with him and they liked him.
They thought he was going to be a Messiah we released them from Roman
rule. But Jesus had something else in
mind. He was a Messiah who would care
for the poor, seek out the lost and forsaken, speak to the Gentiles, associate
with sinners, honor women, and point out the hypocrisy of religion. Who was he to do this? Wasn’t he the son of the carpenter? Just who
did Jesus think he was? Yes, Jesus was
misunderstood and mislabeled. I am sure
Jesus felt very badly about this. One
minute, the people are excited about his message, and then in the next minute
they want to kill him. I am sure that
Jesus remembered the words of the prophet Jeremiah in that moment, before you
were formed in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a
prophet to the nations I appointed you.
In order for Jesus to continue in his ministry and mission, he needed to
remember that he was loved, known, and had a purpose.
So, do you want to be loved? Then love. Do you want to be known? Then go out of your
way to know others. When you love others
and know who you are, then you will know your purpose in life. It worked for Jeremiah. It worked for Jesus. It can work for you and it can for me. Amen?
Buenos días Iglesia! ¿Alguien aquí quiere ser amado? Si es
así, gire a la persona a tu lado
y decir, yo quiero ser amado ... ¿Alguien aquí quiere
ser conocido? Si es así, gire a
la persona a tu lado y decir:
Quiero ser conocida. Para ser amado, y ser conocidos son dos
necesidades humanas fundamentales
que todos compartimos. ¿Se momentos de su vida fue cuando no sientes amado? Decir Amén si sabes
este sentimiento... Amén. ¿Ha habido momentos en que
no te sientes conocido, o se sintieron mal entendido? Decir Amén si sabes
este sentimiento ... .Amen. Sí, todos
estamos en buena compañía aquí en
esta Iglesia y la Palabra de Dios nos da algunas
respuestas a estas preguntas hoy.
¿Quieres saber las respuestas? Entonces presta atención! Y dejar de dormir!
Cuando
hay momentos en mi vida en que no me siento amado o conocido pienso en las
palabras del profeta Jeremías. Dios dice a Jeremías, antes de que te formase en
el vientre te conocí, y antes que nacieras, te consagré profeta de las naciones
te señalada. Desde el primer momento de mi vida, Dios me conocía, me amó, y tenía
un plan para mí. Esas palabras son muy consoladora, Amén? Dios habló estas
palabras a Jeremías, pero Dios les habla a cada uno de nosotros. Todos somos
especiales a los ojos de Dios. Dios sabe su nombre. Dios se preocupa por ti.
Dios tiene un plan para ti. En momentos de duda y confusión, esas palabras
tienen la esperanza, Amén? Sé que estas palabras intelectual y personalmente
también. El año pasado tuve una experiencia donde no me sentí amado y entendido
mal por varias personas que estaban cerca de mí. Fue muy difícil de soportar.
Las palabras del profeta me ayudaron a entender que yo nunca estoy sin amor, yo
nunca soy desconocido, y yo nunca estoy sin un propósito, porque Dios me ama
siempre. Dios siempre sabe mi nombre y me entiende. Dios siempre tiene un
propósito para mí. Así que repite después de mí, Dios me ama .... Dios me
conoce ... Dios tiene un propósito para mí. Esa es una verdad que podemos vivir
, Amén?
La
Palabra de Dios es importante en nuestras vidas porque nos da una manera de
seguir al Señor. Un hecho interesante acerca de la Palabra de Dios, es que
además de la mención del nombre de Dios o Jesús, la palabra amor se menciona
más veces en el Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento, casi cinco ciento cincuenta veces
El amor se menciona más de fe, orar, y el pecado ... ., entonces, si tuviéramos
que decir lo que es importante hacer como un seguidor de Jesús sería, ante
todo, a amar. Hoy en nuestra segunda lectura de San Pablo a los Corintios que
escuchamos las palabras muy familiares de lo que es el amor, y lo que el amor
no es. Pablo nos recuerda que el amor es la cosa más grande que va a durar y lo
más importante para aquellos que son creyentes. El amor tiene una manera de
suavizar nuestras bordes duros e ideas. El amor y la misericordia van de la
mano, Amén? Así que, si quieres ser amado, luego tienes que amor. Si quieres
experimentar una relación amorosa con amigos, familia, esposa, o esposo,
entonces debe convertirse en amor. Vamos a intentar algo. Voy a sustituir la
palabra amor con mi nombre en esta lectura, y hacer lo mismo. Si quiero ser amado,
tengo que ser el amor. Juan es comprensivo, Juan es benigno, Él no tiene envidia, no presumido ni
se envanece, Juan no es grosero o egoísta, no se irrita ni guarda rencor, Juan
no se alegra con la injusticia, sino goza con la verdad, Juan disculpa sin límites, confía sin límites,
espera sin límites, y soporta sin límites. Así que ahora el amor no es un
ejercicio intelectual, sino una revisión de la realidad de mi vida. Cuando se
ha sustituido el amor con tu nombre, ¿podría decir que todas esas declaraciones
eran verdad para ti? Si soy sincero, tengo que decir que tengo algunas cosas
para trabajar en mi propia vida. Si quieres ser amado, entonces amor. Yo creo
que todos tenemos un poco de tarea que hacer, Amén?
Finalmente
el Evangelio me hace saber que Jesús se sentía demasiado desconocido e
incomprendido en su vida. Directamente después de que Jesús proclamó la
profecía de Isaías, el pueblo identificado con él y le gustaba. Ellos pensaban
que iba a ser un Mesías que los liberó de la dominación romana. Pero Jesús
tenía otra cosa en mente. Él era un Mesías que cuidar de los pobres, buscar a
los perdidos y abandonados, hablar a los gentiles, asociado con los pecadores,
honrar a las mujeres, y señalar la hipocresía de la religión. ¿Quién era él
para hacer esto? ¿No era el hijo del carpintero? Así que dijo Jesús que era?
Sí, Jesús fue mal entendido y mal etiquetados. Estoy seguro de que Jesús se
sentía muy mal por esto. En un momento, la gente es muy entusiasmado con su
mensaje, y luego en el siguiente minuto que quieren matarlo. Estoy seguro de
que Jesús recordó las palabras del profeta Jeremías en ese momento, antes de
que te formase en el vientre te conocí, y antes que nacieras, te consagré
profeta de las naciones te señalada. Para que Jesús continúe en su ministerio y
misión, que tenía que recordar que él fue amado, conocido, y tenía un
propósito.
Así que, ¿quieres ser
amado? Entonces amor. ¿Quieres ser conocido? A continuación, salir de su manera
de conocer a los demás. Cuando amas a los demás y sabes quién eres, entonces
usted sabrás que tu propósito en la vida. Funcionó para Jeremías. Funcionó para
Jesús. Puede ser exitoso para ti y para mí, Amen?
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