188 Reasons to Give Thanks

“As two pieces of wax fuse together make one, so those who receive Holy Communion are so united with Christ that Christ is in them and they are in Christ.”

– St. Cyril of Alexandria

On August 3, 1946 at St. George Catholic Church in Lisbon, OH, my mother, Mary Jane Divita (Jones), married David William Jones. My father died in 1986, after 40 years of marriage to her. He told Mom that she would have to enter the “promised land” alone. However, the spirit of their fidelity, loyalty, commitment, and sacrifice was unprecedented.

During 2012, we offered Pre-Cana classes here at St. Joseph Parish on 3 occasions. On January 28, we had 77 couples come to us. On April 28, 57 couples were in attendance. On August 25, there were 54 couples. A total of 188 couples have been prepared for the "largest step" in their lives. All other commitments pale to this.

Joshua, the successor of Moses and the leader of the Israelite people set a challenge before them. To decide today whether or not to serve the true God. He drew the line in the sand in this defining statement as he invited the people to promise fidelity to God: “As for me and my house (family), we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Joshua says that we can choose the gods of our ancestors, who worshiped in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, or the gods of the Canaanites, or the gods of the Amorites. But there comes a point in time when we must make a choice, and hopefully a positive choice, that will effect generations to come by our pledged fidelity to a God who gave us life.

The greatest sin of the Old Testament is idolatry, the preeminent sin of the entire Bible. It distorts our thinking, making us believe that we can live without God. As we know, after the time of Joshua, the Israelites ultimately self-destructed through their bad choices. So too, our choices define us. Our choices can make us healthy or sick, free or in bondage, life-giving or death-dealing, holy or sinful.

We are responsible for our virtues and our vices. If we choose to wallow in bad habits and blame it on genetics or upbringing, or our rotten luck, then it is not good news. But if we embrace the freedom that we are offered and accept responsibility for our actions, then it is good news. Indeed, we can grow, we can learn, we can change. It’s our choice and it’s never too late. God doesn’t give up on any of us!

It is promising and exciting that the Church renews itself in every generation to grow in faith and love. A wise woman once said to her husband, “I didn’t marry you because you were perfect, I married you because you gave me a promise before God and that promise made up for your faults. The promise I gave you made up for mine.” It is two imperfect people who get married. It is the promise made to each other that makes the marriage work, as it is a covenant made with God, who gives it strength to endure.

Married life, like any life has its ups and downs, its joys and sorrows, its successes and failures. But, when we receive unconditional love and fidelity from our spouse, it’s a taste of God’s love for us. And when we give unconditional love and fidelity to our spouse, we become a sign of God’s love for others.

During Jesus’ time, the Jewish ideal of marriage was the highest imaginable. The Talmud comments, “The very altar sheds tears when a man divorces the wife of his youth.” In those times, divorce was easy to attain. One school of law held that even the spilling of a dish of food was grounds for divorce, talking to a strange man, criticizing in-laws, or even speaking too loudly. Through a written bill of divorce, it was easy to dismiss the relationship. But Jesus reaffirmed the original state and stated God’s idea of man, woman, and marriage were to be forever for life.

The Lord's relationship with Israel is often referred to as a marriage covenant. God is wedded to His people and forever faithful. Just as a couple promises to love each other for better or worse, through the plusses and minuses of life, so too, our God promises to love us in good times when we love, honor, and obey Him, but also in bad when we fail to return God’s love. Fidelity is a promise of loyalty, which is steadfast in the face of hardship, temptation, boredom, and tragedy, or whatever else a couple may be asked to face over the course of a lifetime.

Jesus said in John 15:13, “There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.” Thus, he revealed that those who enter marriage must grow to a level of love that is ready for sacrifice - a truly self-giving love, not one that is intent on gratification; not a love that is subject to whims and impulse, but a love that is firmly established and endures. We do not marry angels, saints, or gods, but human beings with fears, temptations, hopes, desires, longings, and dreams. Let’s be honest. Love can turn to hatred, joys can turn to sorrows and marriages can turn to divorce. When the forces that divide us are stronger than the forces that unite us, it empties into the pain and sting of separation.

Joshua asked the Israelites where their loyalty and allegiance lies. Saint Paul encouraged husband and wife to support and build one another up. Jesus asked the Twelve a heart-breaking and heart-wrenching question, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68). Jesus loves us so much that he respects our freedom. We can choose wisely or foolishly. We can live well or live stupidly. The covenant of God leads to wisdom, joy, light and life. The way of evil leads to foolishness, suffering, darkness, and death. Let us live our calling of our vocation of love to bless present and future generations to come.

A Suffering Servant Remembered: Fr. Bernie Shulik

On Monday, August 13, I attended the Mass of Resurrection for Fr. Bernard P. Shulik at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland. Bishop David A. Zubik, who knew him for 45 years, said that Fr. Bernie’s heart pulsated with God’s love and compassion. The Bishop presided, along with concelebrants Bishop William J. Walterscheid and Bishop William J. Winter. There were 23 priests present at the Mass. Fr. Gary Krummert delivered the homily to approximately 80 people in attendance. Fr. Bernie, who was a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for 38 years, died of natural causes at age 64. The son of the late William P. and Margaret Zavacky Shulik, he was born in Lyndora, Pa., a Butler County steel town, on February 7, 1948, and felt right at home serving those same steel town communities in the years of his priesthood. Fr. Bernie was ordained a priest by Bishop Vincent M. Leonard on May 4, 1974 and called home to God from Vincentian Regency Nursing Home on August 8, 2012. He is survived by his two brothers, David (Mary), of Clark, Pa. and William (Karen), of Bridgeville, Pa., along with 2 nephews, 3 nieces, 3 great-nephews, and a great niece. He was also preceded in death by his brother, James.

He served as pastor of St. Joseph Parish and St. Clare of Assisi in Clairton, St. Anthony Parish in Monongahela. He was Chaplain of Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead. He had an “un-common” touch with the “common” person. His last assignment was in service to the Felician Sisters and he was well-known to our community of St. Joseph Parish for over a decade.

Fr. Krummert mentioned at the onset of his homily that while Fr. Bernie was on a school bus at the close of 7th grade, a classmate mentioned to him that he would see him next year in 8th grade, to which Bernie replied, “No you won’t, I’m off to our Lady of Lourdes High School and Seminary in Cassadaga, NY.” At a tender age, he had a vision and a goal, to which he strove a passion to become a priest. He attended Duquesne University and St. Mary University in Rollins Park, MD (Baltimore).

When I came to St. Joseph over 4 years ago I remember the first weekend after Fr. Bernie listened to confessions. He told me that he was St. Joseph’s “assistant” for many years. He loved the church, the people and the community. He prayed that I would fall in love with it as well as quickly as he did. I was deeply moved by that comment and I begged, as I fell to my knees, a prayer to help sustain and strengthen me in this new ministry in this faith-community. Countless people told me of his measureless compassion and mercy in the confessional, which seemed to be a hallmark of his ministry. They would stand in long lines to hear a comforting and reassuring word to the sinner, to come back home to be in God’s graces, even calling the rectory to find out if he was hearing confessions. He had an uncanny ability in today’s “fast-paced” society to take one person at a time, face-to-face, and heart-to-heart. He never forgot a name. At the 10:00 AM Mass at St. Joseph there is a blind man who uses a seeing eye dog. Fr. Bernie made sure he spoke to him each week and petted his dog. When he celebrated a Mass with children it seemed to bring him back to life and give him hope and strength in his ministry as a priest. He would always end his Christmas and Easter Masses with a message in his native tongue of Croatian.

I soon found out that Fr. Bernie was a “circuit-rider” priest. He offered Masses at the Pittsburgh Greater International Airport, the 911th Air Base in Moon Twp. St. Margaret Mary, St. James and surrounding areas. He would always head out to St. Coleman Church in Turtle Creek on Sunday evenings to celebrate Mass at 5:30 PM for Fr. Jim Kunkel, who was a season ticket holder for the Steelers. He knew that it would be a small crowd in attendance for that Mass, but delighted that his friend could enjoy the football game and he knew that the Steelers needed their prayers!

Fr. Bernie was an avid skier, who loved to travel both home and abroad. He would regularly ski with other Pittsburgh priests. He had a great passion for music and loved playing the piano. He had 2 St. Bernard dogs (because of his own name sake), which were his canine companions, riding along with him wherever he went in his Jeep Cherokee. I spoke to a retired priest who remembered Fr. Bernie receiving frequent deliveries of various packages from UPS and FedEx to St. John Vianney Manor. He loved to watch the QVC shopping channel, and order things online.

His brother David commented, “His passion for the priesthood and touching people’s lives was the driving force in his priesthood.” The one thing that I learned first hand from my brother, Bernie, was how to embrace with resiliency long-suffering. He had countless battles with health issues which limited his ability to minister as much as he would have liked to. He persevered with faith through personal limitations, difficulties, challenges, and sickness.

Despite carrying many burdens himself, he sought to relieve the fears and sorrows of others. My life, priesthood, and ministry is far richer for having walked with my brother, Bernie. As his cross is now ended, may he share the victory of the Risen Christ.

Compassion Feeds Others

"We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son."

- Blessed John Paul II

While preaching my homily at the 8:00 AM Mass last Sunday, a distressed and trouble 35-year-old woman entered the side door and stood in the front aisle near the pulpit while I was preaching. Aware that Ginny Ambrose was taping my homily for our web site, I nodded with my head for her to take a seat in the front pew. A parishioner sitting nearby was watching and cautious of the situation. I am sure that many other parishioners likewise were watching how this would play out. As she walked, she bobbed and weaved. When she approached for Holy Communion, I noticed that her hands were very black and dirty. She seemed uncomfortable in the setting but, she remained for the duration of worship with us.

At the end of Mass, she made a bee-line to tell me her plight and predicament. She told me that her car was broken down and that she needed gas to get to Breezewood to help her son. After she was given some financial assistance, she got in her truck and sped off.

Situations like these make you wonder where the truth lies. You wonder if the person is in need or are they conning you. My rector at the seminary, Msgr. Richard M. McGinnis, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, used to say in pastoral practice class, "It's always best to err on the side of compassion." And, "When in doubt, give it out." Whenever I meet distressed, confused or agonizing people, I feel compelled to help them. As a priest, I am driven to respond to human hurts and dilemmas with pastoral instinct.

I bring this story to your attention to make us ever mindful and sensitive to those around us, to be acutely aware of our surroundings. Whether we meet a person with an unkempt appearnace, physical disability, mental challenge, or spiritual difficulty, we must be compassionate.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, encourages us through these words: "So be imitators of God, as beloved children and live in love as Christ loved us and handed Himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma" (5: 1-2). St. Paul reminds us that if the Holy Spirit truly fills us, we will reflect holiness to each and to all. St. Paul wants us to avoid feeding on anger, hatred, self-centeredness, control, judgment and unruly passions. But rather, we must feed on jesus, the Living Bread -- the Bread of compassion, of reconciliation, of justice, of peace -- that not only nourishes us but inspires us to be bread for others. We must be strengthened through the divine encouragement the Lord gives us in His Holy Word, the Eucharist, and the life of the Holy Spirit within us. We are challenged to follow Christ in love and to love as Christ loves.

There are many hungers of the human heart. We hunger for a feeling of importance. We want to feel we are special, that we matter. Nobody wants to be a nobody. And we all want to tell our story and we all have the right to be heard and respected. We have a hunger for acceptance, understanding, and compassion -- with warts and all, with our proficiencies and deficiencies, with our assets and liabilities. We hunger of faith, to have a compass that sets us on a course of positive beliefs and values leading us to a destination. We hunger for hope. In a world that oftentimes puts a pall on promise, hope and truth, there is no spiritual hunger strike of hope in Jesus' vocabulary.

We hunger for love. St. Paul reminds us that love never fails. Life can fail us, people can fail us, health can fail us, work can fail us, our family and friends can fail us. But God remains. I have found that the common denominator in all my counseling situations is whether a person has been loved or whether there is a deficiency in love. We hunger for relationships. not co-dependent or addictive ones that are death-dealing rather than life-giving, but relationships that are healthy, holy, happy, that helps one to ward off the coldness of anguish and loneliness.

As I am at the middle stage of my life, I realize that the key to life is life-giving relationships. We must nourish relationships, encourage them and strengthen them. For example, one of the ways I have found I can stay in touch with those I have met through the years is through e-mail companions. I now have over 600 e-mail companiions that I reach out to each week. You need to have relationships that are "nutrient rich" and not "nutrient deficient" through exploitation and manipulation.

Ultimately, we hunger for eternal life. And only God can satisfy the deepest hunger that earth can't fill, that time can't fill, that people can't fill, that our profession can't fill and that our children can't fill. In other words, we hunger fo God.

The following is from a book I will be teaching in an 8-week course beginning August 27. May this be a blessing for you.

My cup of compassion holds tears of the world;

It overflows with sorrow, struggles and sadness.

My cup of compassion holds the cries of childrens,

unfed, unloved, unsheltered, uneducated, unwanted.

My cup of compassion holds the screams of war,

the tortured, slain, imprisoned, the raped, the disabled.

My cup of compassion holds the bruised and battered,

victims of incest and abuse, gang wars, violent crimes.

My cup of compassion holds the voice of silent ones,

the mentally ill, illegal immigrants, the unborn, the homeless.

My cup of compassion holds the emptiness of the poor,

the searing pain of racism, the impotency of injustice.

My cup of compassion holds the heartache of loss,

the sigh of the dying, the sting of the divorced.

My cup of compassion holds the agony of the earth,

species terminated, air polluted, land destroyed, rivers with refuse.

My cup of compassion, I hold it to my heart where the Divine dwells

Where love in strong than death and disaster.

- Joyce Rupp, "The Cup of Our Life"

From Pittsburgh to the Ends of the Earth

The less you have the more you can give, and the more you have, the less you can give.”

— Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Recently I celebrated my 4th anniversary in serving the faith community here at St. Joseph in Coraopolis. Around the time of my anniversary, I was searching high and low and for a picture of the Last Supper to place in the rectory dining room. Lo and behold, a parishioner who was downsizing and selling her house brought in a beautiful painting of the Last Supper. I was glad that I patiently waited because the picture’s character, size and beauty, and that fact that it was such an important part of her large household, made it all the greater a blessing for the rectory for many years to come.

During these five weeks of summer, we are reading from the Bread of Life Discourse from John 6. It makes one reflect on the precious gift of the Eucharist as each Sunday we have the joy of gathering around at the Table of the Word and the Table of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Lest one ever forget, Jesus is the one who ultimately feeds us. And from the nourishment and strength He gives us, we are called to feed others in His name. I remember my homiletic professor once telling us that the difference between a good sermon and a bad sermon is that a good sermon causes you to want more, but a bad sermon leaves you wanting less. Jesus always leaves us wanting more!

Today in our electronic society we are programmed to expect instant answers, immediate results, and we live with a rush-hour mentality. We have even been called “the fast-food nation.” Our society can be a frantic, frenetic and frenzied blizzard of text, tweets and emails. We often live in a breakneck world of work with untold stresses, pressures, demands and deadlines. Within our consumer mentality in “keeping up with Joneses,” we pursue more things, endlessly seeking the latest gadgetry and gizmos.

Many times we are comparing ourselves with others, focusing only on the gap between us. Whether that something which creates a barrier between us is talent, resources, religion, history, looks, social background, status, money, knowledge and education, special abilities, or relationships, we compare and compete with others. Role, title, position, status can easily destroy why God put us on this earth—to do the very best of our ability in the way that only we can do it. And no one can do it better than you. Let us not confuse our superficial identity with our authentic being.

The story of Jesus feeding the multitude is the only miracle found in all four Gospels. Thus it points to and highlights the importance of this account for the life of the Church. No matter where one finds this miracle recorded, the most striking element is the people’s hunger and Jesus’ readiness to feed them. Little things always mean much in the hands of Jesus. The celebration of the Eucharist is the miracle to convert us from selfishness to selflessness. It is quality time when we listen to how someone’s day was today. It’s quality time when we put others’ needs before our own preferences, schedules and interests. It’s quality time when we read a story to a child at bedtime without being concerned about checking our phone for new messages. It’s quality time when we invite our neighbors around for a meal or block party. It’s quality time when we come to the Lord’s house for time in prayer. And if we want to see our offerings to God multiplied, we need to realize that we have an essential role to play. We all have different gifts, different life situations, different opportunities that will present themselves in our lives. But one thing is sure: each of us will have an opportunity to do something important for the kingdom of God.

Recently on July 23-27, the 35th annual convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians was held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The theme this year was “Renew the Face of the Earth.” It was a spiritual high to gather with people from around our country and beyond, from the Atlantic coastline of New Jersey to Pacific shoreline of California, and the heart of Texas to the Minnesota lakes. The event was packed with uplifting prayer services, keynote addresses, breakout workshops and a feast of performances, event venues and activities. It was heartwarming to see so many faith leaders and servants in our city. At the convention we met new and old friends, we shared experiences, listened to new music, new liturgical expressions and new perspectives to bring back home to our faith communities. New graces poured over us along the river banks of Pittsburgh. It is in moments like this that we see the special treasure and gift that faith is and the ways in which we can share our God-given talents to bless the world over.

Looking out at that vast throng of people that descended on our beautiful city of Pittsburgh to gather as Christ’s Church to be in one place at one time in prayer and thanksgiving was resoundingly beautiful, uplifting and inspiring. New waves of grace came over us to minister and evangelize and bear witness in the culture and times we live. Whether one is 20, 50 or 80 plus, we hunger for Jesus the Bread of Life who gives meaning, purpose and direction to our life.

As an avid sports fan who loves the hometown Penguins, Pirates and Steelers, I was prouder to be a part of Church community that worships as one Body of Christ across our nation than a part of any faithful participant at a sporting event. In a world that offers us myriads of interests and distractions, we must find Jesus. It was wonderful to be at a week-long event that put faith at center stage, for it is faith that holds life together. And as our faith is strengthened through other believers and witnesses, we in turn can share our faith with others.

We are all pilgrims on the journey. We are all companions on the way. We are all seekers striving for holiness. We are all bridge-builders. We are torch bearers setting the world ablaze with God’s love. We are table mates of the Lord and one another. And through the gift of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us, we are called to renew the face of the earth.

Praise the Lord!

The Spiritual Olympics: Keeping Spiritually Fit

“In all of life’s events, recognize God’s divine will; adore it, bless it. Do not be eager to free yourself from the things that are hard for you. And particularly the things that are the hardest.”

- St. Pio

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger." The motto was proposed in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin, the “Father of the Modern Olympic Games." De Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest and athletics enthusiast. The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The Summer Olympics Games will be held in London this year with the opening on July 27 and closing ceremonies on August 12. Chiseled and crafted athletes will captivate the world’s attention at the greatest sporting spectacle as they put sports and skills on display, and each country will cheer on their beloved homelands.

St. Paul gives us a checklist throughout his writings to help us hone the Christian virtues of humility, selflessness and sacrifice. Paul admonishes us to excel in virtue, while reminding us that improving any skill takes hard practice. Faith opens a way to realizing our highest good and having faith makes one more optimistic, healthier and more prosperous.

In the Greek world athletics was a very important dimension of life. And St. Paul, who traveled and preached in Greece, must have had a great affinity and identification with athletes since so many of his letters compare living the Christian life with being an athlete. As we view the Olympic games let us reflect not just on being fit for the rigors of stellar physical performances, but let us do an inventory of our own spiritual health to see how fit we are to win the greatest prize, Jesus Christ. Perhaps we could consider this checklist for spiritual fitness as the Summer Olympic games are being played:

1. Pray Every Day: St. John Vianney once said, “The less I pray, the less I want to pray. The more I pray, the more I want to pray.” Do we make an appointment for God each day where we carve out time and a place to pray? In today’s world, time is a great enemy of prayer. “Tempus fugit” (or time flies), we all know means that we feel dominated by the urgent. Time is so elusive and evasive. Time dedicated to God, of peace, calmness and quiet, ensures that we will grow closer to God day by day.

2. Read the Bible Every Day: When we learn to hear God’s Word speak to us, we are changed and challenged to be more contemplative and more linked to Him. When we take time to read the Bible we learn from God His Wisdom. We are taught by God and we encounter Him. In so doing, we communicate God’s presence to others.

3. Examine Your Conscience Every Day: The Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Today we seem to have lost the art of self-examination. The Christian writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) once wrote the following letter to the newspaper, “Dear Sir: What is wrong with the human race? I am. Yours Sincerely, GK Chesterton.” Seriously examining our conscience is vital to be spiritually healthy and alive. Most of our problems in life stem from our inability to be still.

4. Fight the Battle for the Mind Every Day: We must make a choice to hold on to positive Godly thoughts or be overwhelmed by our own negative thoughts. We can’t afford the luxury to dwell, ruminate and obsess on fear, hatred, revenge and violence, but must cultivate forgiveness, hopefulness, peace and love. I remind each penitent that God loves them, God forgives them, God is with them and God has a plan for their life.

5. Repent Every Day: We must turn to God as beggars. We are all sinners. And what sinners do best is sin. But if we are humble, contrite and wise we will stay connected to the source of life Who is God. By a daily act of contrition or repentance, we are drawn closer to God. And God is always close to us when we are brokenhearted and repentant. I always like to say — name it, claim it and let it go into the ocean of God’s infinite mercy.

6. Grow in our Eucharistic Adoration: The Eucharist is the “source and the summit” of our Catholic Faith; it reminds us that God’s greatest gift is to us to feed us in this life and in the life to come. We are called to a mature faith and time spent with the Eucharistic Lord facilitates this. Every Wednesday in our parish at St. Joseph we have all-day Eucharistic adoration in the middle of the week to remind our people not to lose sight of the gift of God. I am humbly amazed to see how many come to adore the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to deepen a love in them for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

7. Make Time for Spiritual Reading: Throughout the centuries the Church has always encouraged the practice of Lectio Divina or sacred reading. By reflecting on the insights and wisdom in Christian living from such spiritual masterpieces as The Confessions of St. Augustine, the Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux or the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, we find strength and direction for our Christian lives through great and holy spiritual companions.

8. Love Your Neighbor and Your Enemy: The “Great Commandment” is to love God and neighbor, (even if that neighbor is your enemy). Without God’s grace and help we cannot love. Love challenges us to take the high road and go the extra mile by being forgiving, being tolerant of others and being prepared to witness to Gospel.

9. Cultivate the Virtue of Hope: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about the hope of eternal life and the promise of God’s love. It’s not easy to hear and accept this if we are stuck in the rut of hopelessness and despair and lose sight of God’s love. The cure is to turn back to God, repent, believe His Gospel and be filled with hope.

10. Be Joyful and Happy: Believers of Jesus Christ should be the happiest people on earth. This joyfulness, borne of the Holy Spirit, never makes us shallow, superficial or facile but wells within us with infectious joy and happiness. May we go and spread the joy of the Holy Spirit today and everyday.

Let us be Olympians — Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Vacation: An Option or a Necessity?

“Rest for the frequently restless. Rest for the easily slighted. Rest for the unjustly treated. Rest for the inwardly disturbed. Rest for the innocently harmed. Rest for the physically pained. Rest for the harshly betrayed. Draw as close when we are in need. Do not let us forget what we can receive in thy true rest.”

— Julian of Norwich

Last week I traveled 400 miles to Long Branch, NJ with three brother-priests to San Alphonso Retreat House. It is a center for Christian renewal that has been run by the Redemptorist fathers and brothers for over eighty years. It is situated on eight beautiful acres along the New Jersey coastland, and it is where “the sea meets the sky.” I have attended Seton Hall University International Institute for Clergy Formation for the 24 years that I have been a priest. It has been a wellspring of fresh life and spiritual rejuvenation each summer.

There were thirty-six priests from around the United States there last week. Listening to fine presenters, sharing fraternal support, gathering in prayer and being at the Atlantic Ocean with fishermen, surfers and beach worshippers was a perfect setting for a week of “R & R.” Each morning I got up before the sunrise and watched the horizon of the beach as I ran the boardwalk. That bright orange sun filled me with the warmth of a new day. There was a police academy survival training of 30 men and women down at the beach. As I jogged along the boardwalk, I heard the riveting sound of the drill sergeant hammering out commands for the prospective recruits to the police academy. I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be focused, dedicated and disciplined and ready to serve after going through such a regimented training.”

We are all pilgrim people as we journey through the varied landscapes of our lives on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. Jesus reminds His disciples that rest is an essential ingredient for the rhythm of effective Christian living. For we cannot work well unless we have sufficient enough rest, and we will not rest well until we have toiled and worked until we are spent. There is a danger in our times of too much information, too quick technology, too fast-paced life-styles, and being too overwhelmed, that sometimes we fail to hit the pause button of life just to rest, relax and rejuvenate. In the Christian life we must meet with God in the secret place of prayer and oasis of silence if we are to serve others well in the marketplace. We all need strength to keep going. We all need inspiration to lift us out of ourselves and beyond ourselves. And we all need new road maps to continue to walk in the path of selflessness and continue to follow Christ in faith and hope toward the promised Kingdom of God.

Jesus, like a good teacher, cared for His disciples. He was a aware of their condition and He knew they needed rest and relaxation as much as instruction and correction. Jesus’ loving and tender care extends beyond His disciples to each and everyone of us. He wants us to never tire of turning to Him, for He is always ready to bless, to heal and to forgive. Each Sunday Jesus invites us to “come away” to be with Him and “rest awhile” in His grace and love to restore us with new strength for discipleship. Jesus had compassion for His apostles who worked so hard to spread the good news of the reign of the Kingdom of God. He tells them to “take a break," have “downtime” and “seek a quiet place” to rest. So they go to the lake, borrow a boat and find a deserted shore.

I used to say when I was a hospital chaplain at Mercy that “When it is my day off, I’m off. And when it my time to work and be on call, I am ready to answer the call to serve.” The truth is, you can’t “be truly on” if you never “turn yourself off." I can recall during long car trips with my family as a child nagging and badgering my parents. In my restlessness, the drive seemed endless. I was constantly asking, “When will we get there?” and “Is it time to eat again?” I learned at a young age that resting and eating are key components to any happy journey!

Paradoxically, the best time we spend “on the job” is the time we are away. It enables us to come back to our responsibilities with a new lens to see what we do each day. It gives us a new perspective to appreciate our God-given talents to share with others. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It is my hope and prayer that we take Jesus’ advice to come away and rest awhile as a prescription for happiness, holiness and healthfulness.

Grant me, most dear and loving Jesus,

To rest in You above created things;

Above health and beauty;

Above all glory and honor;

Above all power and dignity;

Above all knowledge and skill;

Above all praise and fame;

Above all sweetness and consolation;

Above all hope and promise;

Above all merit and desire;

Above all gifts and favors that You can bestow and shower upon us;

Above all joy and jubilation that the mind can conceive and know;

Above angels and archangels and all the hosts of heaven;

Above all things visible and invisible;

And above everything that is not Yourself, O my God.

— Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Vacation Plans: Which Direction Are You Headed?

“When the soul is troubled, lonely and darkened, then it turns easily to the outer comfort and to the empty enjoyments of the world.”

— St. Francis of Assisi

One of the parish secretary’s desktops has the word “summer” on it. It is refreshing to see this on her computer screen. In the image are pictures of hot air balloons, the ocean, fish, seagulls, the sun, blue sky and white puffy clouds. The word “summer” is submerged in water. When I see that screen I rejoice in the blessings summer brings.

Are you planning a vacation this summer? Vacations are a freeing experience: free from schedules, free from daily routine, free from workload, free from the daily grind, free from responsibilities, free from mental pressures, and free to spend special time with those we love. As a kid it seemed like summer would last forever: no school for three months, going to Kennywood in West Mifflin and the Banksville Pool in Dormont, neighborhood baseball games, trips to Nags Head, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC, and spending untold hours soaking up the sun, (not a good thing, my dermatologist brother Dan would say today). Then those inevitable “Back to School” ads would pop up in the newspaper and Mom would whisk us off to the department store to get new clothes, bringing our bliss to an all-too-swift end.

As a parish priest you look forward to summertime to get relief from the pressures of meetings, a beehive of activities and the hustle and bustle of an endless train of motion, going with great power and force through the year. It seems life is a busy enterprise. It seems there are always more things to do, places to go and people to meet. The fast-paced life threatens to rob us of the peace we really need. Vacation time allows us to stop and take a break from the busy-ness of life so that we can refuel our soul.

The Greek word apostolos means “apostle,” “ambassador” or “one who is sent.” Today we read Jesus’ instructions to His apostles as they are sent out to share in the work of evangelization. It is an exciting moment. He sends them out to begin the mission for which He has chosen them. They are to carry on His mission through performing similar works to those in His own ministry — preaching, teaching repentance, expelling demons and anointing and healing the sick (Mk 6:12-13). He equips the twelve as His authorized representatives; they are to bring His spirit and life to the world.

Though the sending was exciting, His instructions were challenging. In our 21st century American mindset we may find Jesus’ instructions rigorous, demanding and foreign. Jesus admonishes the apostles not to make provisions for themselves but to rely on God and the hospitality of those who would hear and accept their words. He stressed the dependence on Him and the urgency of the apostles' work. Sometimes our human condition tries to control God, reality or others, but Jesus reminds His apostles to suspend those desires. They were not to have possessions or money. They were not to have fine accommodations. They were not to have great credentials, status, clout, worldly power or prestige. And they were to move on and move out when they faced rejection or failures.

Sometimes the atmosphere we go in to may be that of critical coldness, bland indifference or hostile opposition. However, we must no lose heart or the hope that Jesus is with us. Sometimes in life the door will be slammed in our face, and other times wide with possibility. Although we may want to reach out to others, we may reach an impasse which is beyond our control. In those moments, we must admit defeat and move on. This is part of the detachment Jesus calls us to. Doing the work of ministry doesn’t always guarantee a welcome. Jesus wants us to be aware of God’s call—that we are to travel light and risk rejection and difficulties, for these are the “carry ons” of true prophets. No life ever grows great until it’s focused, dedicated and disciplined.

Jesus is saying to detach from possessions and live a simple life style. Attach to Him. Jesus also sends His apostles two-by-two to remind us that we should not walk alone in life or ministry, for we need one another’s support, companionship and prayers. The lifestyle of the kingdom of God must include nonviolence, vulnerability and hospitable interdependence. Our identity and security is in identifying with Jesus. Don't get weighed down or distracted by non-essentials. For our survival training we must hold on to Jesus, His message and His mission above everything else.

Communion Meditation

To do the work of Christ

Is not a complicated thing.

It’s really quite simple.

It means to be faithful in little things,

For to be faithful in little things is a big thing.

It means to do one’s task,

No matter how humble it may be

Not only thoroughly but joyfully.

It means to make oneself available,

Yet never to seek the limelight.

It means to make oneself useful,

Without seeking to push oneself.

It means to strive to remain calm

Amid the hustle and bustle of life.

It means to carry one’s own burden,

Without, as far as possible, becoming a burden on others.

In a word it means to be at one’s post,

Helpful and faithful, loyal and constant.

As Mother Teresa says:

“We can do no great things —

Only little things with great love.

You can do what I can’t do.

I can do what you can’t do.

Together we can do something beautiful for God.”

— Flor McCarthy, SDB Sunday &; Holy Day Liturgies