Chapter and Council Meetings. For us S.M. stands for Society of Mary, but also, Still Meeting!

Greetings good people!  Well, my time in St. Louis was great, long, tedious, tiring, and inspiring all at the same time! 

The first part of my trip was spent at the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center located in Eureka, Missouri, about 35 minutes outside of St. Louis.  The first part of my trip was devoted to our Provincial Chapter.  There were almost twenty five of us gathered from Thursday evening until Monday morning to discuss issues in the Province.  The days were long, but the conversations and the prayers were inspiring.  The weather was a little cold in the beginning but then the temperatures warmed up a bit during the day.  I took advantage of the time after lunch to walk the trails on the property...all that sitting is not good! Here's more of the property...

After the meetings out at Eureka, we returned to St. Louis for Provincial Council meetings in the Central West End of the city of St. Louis.  The meetings were filled with vibrant discussions and some tough decisions.  I was able to stay in the community where I lived last year and I always feel "at home" there.  I was able to preside at two weekday Masses at the parish and so I was able to catch up with some of the parishioners there.  All in all a good time, but a long time to be away.

Once again, my travel back to Queretaro was a challenge.  I was supposed to leave St. Louis at 8:30am, change planes in Houston and arrive in Queretaro at 1:15pm.  So, of course I was at the airport a little early and waited to board the first flight.  We began getting in line for the flight only to be told that the plane at the gate was going elsewhere.  We were now departing out of another gate.  We all went to that gate only to find out that we were re-assigned to yet another flight.  It was now past 8:30.  I called United knowing that I would never make the connection.  I was re-booked on a later flight, but that flight did not leave Houston until 6pm.  So, I knew I would be waiting in Houston for an additional 6 hours.  Ugh!!!  Well, that did not come to pass because as we finally boarded our plane to Houston almost 45 minutes late, we pulled off the tarmac and sat there for another 15 minutes until we finally took off.  Phew!  Well....45 minutes into the flight the captain told us that we were turning around and heading back to St. Louis because he could not regularize the pressure.  So, turn around we did and had to wait to board another plane.  We finally took off from St. Louis around noon....so, while I still had to wait until 6pm for my flight to Queretaro, I did not have to wait 6 hours in the airport.  I arrived in Queretaro at 8:15pm and finally made it through immigration and customs by 9pm.  We arrived back home close to 10pm.   Yep...more than a 12 hour day for me.

This past weekend we had round two of our educational course.  We met on Friday eve from 5-8pm and Saturday from 9am-2pm.  As you might imagine, after all of that time in Spanish, my brain was fried and I still had to prepare a homily for the next day.  I actually took a little siesta after our afternoon meal and then walked for about an hour and then got down to business to write and translate the homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent....yes, the end is in sight! 

Right before I left for St. Louis I had a meeting with one of the Brothers regarding the Mission that the community was going to preach in a very poor rural area of Mexico.  I began the conversation by telling him that I had some concerns and some fears around doing this at this point in my time in Mexico.  I was relieved when he said to me that he was discussing this issue with the other members of the community and they felt that maybe I should stay home this year.  I  WAS SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!! I really felt like I needed to observe the rituals of Holy Week at least once before I had the sole responsibility for carrying them out.  Each day of the Triduum is very different and complicated in English!  Now, add Spanish, a different poor rural community with no internet access, and differing customs to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster!  So, I am staying home and I will be helping out here at our Chapel and also assisting at one of the Chapels we staff.  I know the communities and they know my limitations in Spanish.  I will attend classes at the Language School for three days during Holy Week and assist or preside at the liturgies for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil.  I will have one of the Masses on Easter Sunday.  So, I am a bit relieved that it all worked out this way. 

Tomorrow our community will have a Retreat Day to reflect on Lent and the Year of Mercy.  I will attend school from Tuesday-Friday and then we will have classes again on Friday.  So, things are moving along here.  I hope all of you are doing well. 

Here is my homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent:

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Morning Church! Are you remaining faithful to your Lenten promises? Have you made a few mistakes along the way?  Say, Amen if you made a few mistakes…Amen.  Yes, I am with you.  I made a few mistakes along the way too.  That’s why we hear today in the Word of God that God makes a way when there is no way.  God makes a way when there is no way….if you know what I am talking about say, Amen!  Yes, I am sure everyone in this Church felt at some point in your life that you could not do something, that you could not endure something, that you could not try something new, that you could not remain with something, and yet with God all things are possible, Amen?  God makes a way when there is no way.  Repeat after me, God makes a way when there is no way….

Today the prophet Isaiah recounts the story of how God rescued the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt.  God rescued the Israelites from the army of Egyptians who were in pursuit of them by parting the sea and making a way when there was no way.  When the Israelites wandered in the desert and were tired, hungry and thirsty, God made a way when there was no way and provided the Israelites with rest, manna, water, quail and an oasis.  The psalmist reminds us today that the Lord has done great things for us.  I think if we look back on our lives, we can see that the Lord has done great things for us, Amen? Saint Paul reminds us today that all is loss except our relationship with Christ.  Paul had a different life before his encounter with Jesus.  Paul was following another way.  Paul persecuted the Church until God made a way when there was no way in the life of Paul.  If God can do that Paul, God can do that you with and me, Amen?  Even though Paul found a new life in Christ, he still needed to work on that relationship.  He still needed to avoid temptations, he still needed to avoid occasions of sin, he still needed to pray, he still needed to care for the needs of others, he still needed to focus his life on Christ.  We are like Paul, Amen?  Even though we come to Church each week, even though we know we have been saved by the death and resurrection of Christ, we still know that there is work to do that keeps us honest and focused on building the Kingdom of God, Amen?

I am sure that the woman today in the Gospel of John really felt that God makes a way when there is no way.  This story only appears in the Gospel of John, but it is a story of hope and forgiveness.  It is a story that God makes a way when there is no way.  I am always intrigued by this story because it is a story of broken and restored relationships.  The woman is brought before Jesus because she broke the Law of Moses.  She was caught committing adultery.  I always wonder where the man is in the story.  After all, it takes two to commit adultery!  In the end, the woman was engaged in breaking a relationship.  She participated in breaking a relationship between the man and his wife, and now she was involved in breaking a relationship between herself and the community.  The community wanted to kill her.  Jesus wanted to restore her relationship, he wanted to put her back into a right relationship with others and with God.  When Jesus is asked how he should handle this situation, he begins to write in the sand.  What was he writing?  Some people claim that perhaps he was writing down the sins of each of the individuals who wanted to kill her, and just as her sin was publically exposed, their sins were now publically exposed too.  The elders of the community left first, maybe they left because they had more sins because of their age! It’s hard to throw a rock at someone for sinning when your sin is right in front of your face, Amen?  Now the key to the story is that Jesus does not just say to the woman, okay, now you can go, everything is fine.  No, he says to her, “Does no one condemn you?  Neither do I condemn you.  Go now and sin no more.”  Jesus acknowledges that what she did was wrong but he does not condemn her.  There is a difference between judging right from wrong and condemnation.  We all make mistakes.  We should not be condemned for our mistakes, but rather, should learn from them and be given the opportunity to change our lives.  I am sure that woman changed her life because of her encounter with Jesus.  If the Jews killed her, she would not have the opportunity to change her life.  God makes a way when there is no way…And we should too.  If God can believe in our possibilities and ability to change, then we have to believe that about one another.  Maybe there you have a family member who you think will never change….God will not give up on them, and neither should you.  Perhaps you did something for which you are not proud, for which you bear great guilt and shame, Jesus does not condemn you, and neither should you condemn yourself.  Condemnation closes the door to the possibility of change.  God makes a way when there is no way.  Maybe you think there is no way in your life right now or the life of a loved one.  Do not give up, God will make a way…repeat after me, God will make a way….God will make a way.

And so today is about hope, possibility, compassion, and forgiveness.  These are great words and actions for us to continue our Lenten journey, Amen?  Because, God makes a way when there is no way

Quinto Domingo de Cuaresma

Buenos días iglesia! ¿Están siendo fiel a sus promesas de Cuaresma? ¿Han hecho algunos errores en el camino? Decir, Amén si han hecho algunos errores... Amén. Sí, yo estoy con ustedes. Hice algunos errores en el camino también. Es por eso que oímos hoy en la Palabra de Dios que Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera. Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera... si ustedes saben lo que estoy hablando, dicen Amén! Sí, estoy seguro de que todos los miembros de esta Iglesia se sintieron en algún momento de sus vidas que no se podían hacer algo, que no se podían soportar algo, que no se podían probar algo nuevo, que no podían quedarse con algo, y sin embargo con Dios todas las cosas son posibles, Amén? Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera. Repita después de mí, Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera

Hoy en día el profeta Isaías relata la historia de cómo Dios rescató a los israelitas durante su salida de Egipto. Dios rescató a los israelitas de que el ejército de los egipcios que estaban en la búsqueda de ellos cortando el mar y haciendo un camino cuando no había manera. Cuando los israelitas vagaron en el desierto y estaban cansados, con hambre y sed, Dios hizo un camino cuando no había manera y proporcionó a los israelitas con el descanso, el maná, el agua, la codorniz y un oasis. El salmista nos recuerda hoy que el Señor ha hecho grandes cosas por nosotros. Creo que si miramos hacia atrás en nuestras vidas, podemos ver que el Señor ha hecho grandes cosas por nosotros, Amén? San Pablo nos recuerda hoy que todo es pérdida, excepto nuestra relación con Cristo. Pablo tuvo una vida diferente antes de su encuentro con Jesús. Pablo estaba siguiendo otro camino. Pablo persiguió a la Iglesia hasta que Dios hizo un camino cuando no había manera en la vida de Pablo. Si Dios puede hacer que Pablo, Dios puede hacer que ustedes y yo, Amén? A pesar de que Pablo encontró una nueva vida en Cristo, todavía tenía que trabajar en esa relación. Todavía necesitaba para evitar tentaciones, aún necesitaba para evitar las ocasiones de pecado, que todavía necesitaba orar, todavía necesitaba para cuidar de las necesidades de los demás, él todavía tenía que centrar su vida en Cristo. Somos como Pablo, Amén? A pesar de que venimos a la iglesia cada semana, a pesar de que sabemos que hemos sido salvados por la muerte y resurrección de Cristo, aún sabemos que hay trabajo por hacer que nos mantiene honestos y nos centramos en la construcción del Reino de Dios, Amén?

Estoy seguro de que la mujer de hoy en el Evangelio de San Juan realmente sentía que Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera. Esta historia sólo aparece en el Evangelio de Juan, pero es una historia de esperanza y perdón. Es una historia que Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera. Siempre estoy intrigado por esta historia porque es una historia de relaciones rotas y restauradas. La mujer se pone delante de Jesús porque ella rompió la ley de Moisés. Ella fue sorprendida en adulterio. Siempre me pregunto dónde está el hombre en la historia. Después de todo, se necesitan dos para adulterar! Pero, la mujer se dedicaba a romper una relación. Ella participó en la ruptura de una relación entre el hombre y su mujer, y ahora ella estaba involucrada en la ruptura de una relación entre ella y la comunidad. La comunidad quería matarla. Jesús quería restaurar su relación, que quería poner su espalda en una relación correcta con los demás y con Dios. Cuando se le preguntó a Jesús cómo debe manejar esta situación, comienza a escribir en la arena. ¿Qué estaba escribiendo? Algunas personas afirman que tal vez estaba escribiendo los pecados de cada uno de los individuos que querían matar a ella, y al igual que el pecado de la mujer fue expuesto públicamente, los pecados de la gente fueron expuestos públicamente ahora también. Los ancianos de la comunidad dejaron en primer lugar, tal vez salieron porque tenían más pecados a causa de su edad! Es difícil tirar una piedra a alguien por pecar cuando su pecado está directamente en frente de su cara, Amén?

Ahora la clave de la historia es que Jesús no se limita a decir a la mujer, está bien, ahora se puede ir, todo está bien. No, él le dice: "¿Nadie te ha condenado? Tampoco yo te condeno. Vete y ya no vuelvas a pecar.” Jesús reconoce que lo que hizo estuvo mal pero no la condena. Hay una diferencia entre juzgar el bien del mal y la condenación. Todos cometemos errores. No debemos ser condenados por nuestros errores, sino más bien, deberíamos aprender de ellos y se les dará la oportunidad de cambiar nuestras vidas. Estoy seguro de que la mujer le cambió la vida a causa de su encuentro con Jesús. Si los judíos la mataron, ella no tendría la oportunidad de cambiar su vida. Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera... Y nosotros también deberíamos hacerlo. Si Dios puede creer en nuestras posibilidades y capacidad de cambiar, entonces tenemos que creer que el uno del otro. Tal vez hay que tener un miembro de la familia que le parece que nunca va a cambiar... Dios no va a renunciar a ellos, y nosotros tampoco deberíamos. Tal vez usted hizo algo para lo que no está orgulloso, para el que soportar un gran sentimiento de culpa y vergüenza, Jesús no le condena, y tampoco debería ti mismo te condenas. La condena se cierra la puerta a la posibilidad de cambio. Dios hace una manera cuando no hay manera. Tal vez usted piensa que no hay manera en sus vidas en este momento o la vida de un ser querido. No se dio por vencido, Dios hará un camino... repite después de mí, Dios hará un camino... Dios hará un camino.

Y por eso hoy es sobre la esperanza, posibilidad, la compasión y el perdón. Estas son las grandes palabras y acciones para nosotros para continuar nuestro camino cuaresmal, Amén? Porque, Dios hace un camino cuando no hay manera.