Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2024

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. 

For seven Sundays this summer we journeyed with Jesus and His apostles coming to understand that we receive Him. For the rest of Ordinary Time and the special Solemnities of our Church, Jesus discusses applying His presence within us. How do we do it?

Today, our Holy Church offers us a special Solemnity focused on the Christian Family.

Family is the perfect environment for applying the presence of Jesus within us. We might all laugh a bit and say, ‘That’s for sure.’ Family really gives me agita.

Rather than focusing on that, I ask you to imagine concentric circles, a large circle with smaller and smaller circles inside of it. That is a representation of family as we generally envision it.

At the center we find our immediate family, mother, father, children. As we proceed outward, circle after circle, we get to more distant family. First grandparents, then aunts and uncles, cousins, 2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins, one twice, three times removed. You know your priest is an amateur genealogist when he gets into that much detail.

Getting to the outermost circles we may find our fellow church members, maybe co-workers, members of organizations we belong to, neighbors, and our larger community.

The problem with this vision of concentric circles is that each of the circles is a point of demarcation, a separation, a thing that defines boundaries. That is not what God intended.

In our passage from Genesis God shows us a vision of totality. Adam, Eve, nature, and God included was all part of one big reality. There was no separation, no boundaries. All shared in everything.

 God’s vision and creation is the totality of family.

We know that the problem of sin is what causes the demarcations and divisions. We set boundaries both as a way to protect us from the sin of others and as part of our own sinfulness, a guard against fully expressing Christian charity.

To get past sinful inclination we must re-vision our notion of family to come into conformity with God’s vision. We need to look at family as one big circle.

Consider this singular circle filled with the presence and light of God. See in it our entire personal families and the entire family of faith. That, brother and sisters, is what the Kingdom of God is.

This is a wonderful vision. It is so good because it is as God intends. It is also immensely attractive for those who hurt, who need family. God saw that it was very good, and so must we.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2023

And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 

Once again, we take a break from Ordinary Time to focus on this special Solemnity only celebrated in our Holy Church, the Solemnity of the Christian Family.

While taking this break we, in a very special way, continue to study and commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus as His family. That is the essence of family, to be together as one in Jesus.

It may seem strange in our day; families are often separated by time, distance, and priorities.

In this separation, we tend to get caught up in the minutia. Certainly, some things are important like work and school, but when it comes down to it, there are plenty of opportunities to come together and strengthen the family.

We see this when the happy and tragic moments confront us. Someone is in the hospital, a baby or wedding shower, the wedding or christening, a funeral. A flood comes and we need to help our family. At these times you will surely find someone saying: We ought to get together more often, let’s have a reunion, let’s stay in contact. But then… missed opportunities. Strengthening each other requires more than occasional time together.

We heard that people were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and answers. In the various gospels we hear this theme repeated: 

Matthew 7:28: …the crowds were astonished. Matthew 22:33: …they were astonished at His teaching. Mark 1:22: The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority. Mark 11:18: …they looked for a way to kill Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

This astonishment or amazement is rendered existanto in Greek. People were changed in encountering Jesus, they saw things in a new and previously unheard-of ways.

The same existanto is used for those times people met the first Christians. Those encounters changed their lives and relationships.

Things are different because we, the Christian family, get together to strengthen each other in Christ. Jesus understands our need and gives us this place and each other as strong family, both at home and in the wider Body of Christ, so to live differently because of Him and amaze those we meet.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2022

Living as God’s own.

Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house.

Welcome and thank you for joining us this Sunday as we testify to our faith in our Lord and Savior, join in fellowship in His Holy Name, and celebrate the entire family of faith which is all of us who dwell in the Kingdom.

As I have occasionally commented, our Church takes this time, about mid-October, to transport us into the Christmas season as we consider the childhood of Jesus and His life within the Holy Family; as we consider our lives within the family of faith, the Kingdom of God.

It seems sort of funny, our Church was ahead of the current day Christmas rush as far back as 1914 when this Solemnity was established at Holy Synod.   

On this occasion, with its focus on family and a kind-of Christmassy theme we may feel transported back to our own childhoods, the lives of our children and grandchildren, especially in their earliest years, our families, the love, events, and even trials we have shared. Family – and the idea of Christmas – we connect with all that, and that is good. For most people it is the place good is first felt.

Considering all that we experience and share in our own families, how do we feel, what do we think, when we consider, hear about, and ponder the family of God, the Holy Church, the Christian Family?

We could consider a gamut of thoughts and feelings. Just as in any family, there will be those who say all things must change, those who say we need improvements, those who say nothing must ever change. There is a whole range of opinions from one end to the other. However, lets step away from all that and consider something completely different – our Lord’s words: Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house.

Jesus’ incarnation, birth, and young life in the family ushered in the very thing He preached. It was the message He was meant to bring: The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, believe.

In ushering in the Kingdom, in drawing us into one family, Jesus seeks an essential change in us, His Kingdom dwellers and workers. We are called to now focus our priorities and lives on the new reality, the Kingdom reality. We are now to live as God’s own family with the Father at the head and Jesus as our brother, united in the Spirit.

In our new reality, the strictures and structures of family have vastly expanded. Relationship has evolved. We have become a new people, reborn, regenerated, and connected one to another. Being there, we have cause to proclaim: Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house. Saying so, and truly living as a family, we join in carrying out our responsibilities in our Kingdom work of evangelism, fellowship, and worship. We rejoice as family, as God’s very own.

October 2022 Newsletter – Gifts To Good Use

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

UhOh! It’s October. Pumpkin spice, apple pie and crisps, gourds, the colors of Fall, and all that goes with it. That means we will shortly be bombarded with the need to shop for our Christmas gifts. The disciples gathered (Acts 1:1-11) and asked Jesus a lot of questions. They wanted to know the times and occasions for various future events. Jesus spoke to them rather about gifts. Our knowledge of what is to come is indeed influenced by our experiences, plans, and calendars. We prepare for Holy Synod, decorations, the covering of flower beds in anticipation of frost. Yet we can never fully know our tomorrow. Jesus was not interested in tomorrow or what was coming. That was for His Father (Matthew 24:36). Jesus was interested in and wanted to prepare us for action now. So in addressing His disciples (yes, us), He promised the Holy Spirit, Who would outpour gifts on us.

Gifts are wonderful, aren’t they? God’s gifts are particularly special. But just as with every gift we must make decisions. Will I use it, leave it unused, misuse it, or ignore it. The Holy Spirit has indeed come. We celebrated that fact on June 5th this year. We momentarily reflected on the outpouring of the Spirit’s sevenfold gifts. Perhaps some of us were moved to more deeply explore those gifts, to see where they were active in our lives and the life of our parish and wider Church. And yes, the Holy Spirit has been busy while we reflected! Never doubt that. We have been granted wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Of course we should give thanks, but more-so we should be active in setting those gifts to work in our lives, in the life of our parish, and in the wider Church.

Jesus wants us to rightly use the gifts we possess and make ourselves visible in doing His work in the world. No worry about tomorrow. Decide to put the Spirit’s sevenfold gifts to work today and urgently work so that all their qualities shine from us as we show Jesus to the world.

Welcome to October and all the beauty and grace God offers to His faithful!!!

In October we stand as an ally during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). We celebrate the month of the Holy Rosary, honor St. Francis with the Blessing of Pets, stand with St. Clare of Assisi in our devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, prepare for the XXVI Holy Synod of our Church and the grand celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Organization of our Church. We continue our series of devotions to the Infant of Prague in the Polish Language — Koronka do Praskiego DzieciÄ…tka Jezus w Waszych intencjach w każdy wtorek o godz. 12:30 po poÅ‚udniu. We celebrate the Solemnity of the Christian Family. Also, note the reminder concerning All Souls Day.

Get you tickets for our Christmas Vigil Raffle with a chance to win $2,500 and check out the great insurance special being offered by our sister organization, the Polish National Union.

Check that and more in our October 2022 Newsletter.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2021

Strength of Faith

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Over the months of Ordinary Time, a time dedicated to growth, we focus on how we live out the Christian faith, how we walk in Strength of Faith. We are focusing on our growth in Strength of Faith.

There are several ways of translating what Jesus says to Mary and Joseph. Our scriptures read today recount Jesus saying: â€œI must be in My Father’s house.” This can also be rendered â€œI must be about my Father’s business.” Literally, I must be in the things that are My Father’s—i.e., in His work.

It seems odd to us to have a twelve-year-old be so bold as to stay behind in a city of over a million people (especially at festival time), but some context helps.

A Jewish boy reaching the age of twelve, became ‘a son of the Law,’ and took upon himself the religious responsibilities which had previously been his parents. 

This marked moment shows Jesus’ maturity and His acceptance of those responsibilities, to learn, to study, to question, and penultimately to do His Father’s will. Jesus asserts that right in staying behind, not to contravene Mary and Joseph, but rather to grab unto an opportunity. 

In this opportunity He speaks a few words – His first recorded gospel words – words we are to take to heart and emulate – “I must be about My Father’s business,” I must do His work.

These words cause us to consider more fully not just the where of Jesus’ statement, Hey, I’ve got to hang out in the Temple because… but rather the what of His statement.

When Jesus says “must” He says that His doing is the on-going accomplishment of the necessary appointed work of the Father. He accepts His Father’s commands and continues forward in carrying out His duty. 

We, as the Christian family are called to be more than a presence in a place, church on Sundays. We are called to also share and increase the love of family between ourselves and in the world. We are to act in Strength of Faith in the carrying out of our kingdom mission, opening God’s loving family just as Jesus showed us.

The ties and connection of family go beyond place to the life – style we live. How do we style our lives? If we style them to be about our heavenly Father’s business, to doing His work, what we do in a place on Sunday, the worship, praise, and learning, bears fruit Monday through Saturday in the doing. We live and do as Jesus lived and did. We are in the Father’s work.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Easter 2021

Membership.

But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.

The words membership and identity are hot terms in these days. That said, they have been terms used throughout history to impose or self-impose a sense of communal belonging. 

In some cases, membership and identity were imposed upon others as a result of prejudices – in an accusatory manner – to differ the other from self, to reduce people’s humanity. In other cases, we have taken on our own memberships and definitions of identity.

If we took a moment to pull out our wallets and purses, we could quickly list some of our memberships. Here are some of mine: SEFCU member, NY driver, PACC member, AARP member (how did that happen?), BJ’s Club member, and others. A quick look at someone’s Facebook – memberships and identity markers abound. Where in all of that is our Jesus card?

The most significant sign of our belonging to Christ is that we bear markers that cannot be reduced to a card or social profile.

Our communal membership, our mutuality, our identity as Christians starts with that which was written on our souls at Baptism-Confirmation, our regeneration, from which our membership and identity as family, as brothers and sisters permeates our entire being and way of living.

Jesus, joined with His disciples as recounted today, told them that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations. This statement directed His disciples to go out and bear witness throughout the world. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit and, as St. John’s letter describes, the keeping of His word, they grew the family of faith. Out of people of every nation, class, status, color, and gender the Church grew as family.

Faithfulness to Jesus does not make us individuals, separate from each other. Rather, we are defined by our belonging, our obligation to God and each other.

We, the people of the Church, are not a separate people, each on his or her own path who just happen to get together for a moment. Instead, our getting together in worship is sign and symbol that we belong to God, that He belongs to us, and that we belong to each other. God infuses us with a grace to see beyond self to the family. He causes us to share with the Body of Christ as a symbol – a sacrament – of our love and of each person’s dignity.

In today’s Psalm we hear, for you alone, O LORD, bring security to my dwelling. This is not just our home, a physical structure in which we reside. Rather, the term my dwelling refers to our house, the place we reside together. He secures us in the family of faith and calls us to show our Jesus card by being â€œwitnesses of these things” and bearing perfected love.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Christian Family 2020

Power of together.

God said, “let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.”

The early Church understood the power of community. The Book of Acts tells us, right from the get-go, after Jesus’ Ascension: All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer. In other words, they were together, of one heart and mind, one in prayer, one in love and support for each other. Even in the face of all they feared, they were together as One in the Lord! 

Pentecost came and thereafter the community grew. People were added, not at distance, but in community. Led by the Holy Spirit, a pattern of life developed: They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life… All who believed were together and had all things in common; Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

We may find it hard to fathom, but they could not get together by phone, Skype, Zoom, or Facebook. They could not support each other by sending a check. In fact, to learn from the Apostles, to pray, and to do what Church does, required them to be together. This togetherness brought them a power and influence beyond human comprehension.

What did this togetherness do? It brought them favor with all the people, i.e., the people saw their goodness, it was apparent and every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. People wanted part of what the Church had and were brought to salvation in Christ exactly because of the together they observed. That’s real power, power from together.

Now, many a preacher could launch into the lack of togetherness in today’s world and heap laments on all of us, but it is not true. The vestiges of the early Christian together life, that power, remain still today.

It starts here in our together and the together we have with every Sunday worshiping Christian. It comes from our baptism into the one body of Christ. It comes from our sharing in the bread and cup, the Lord undivided.  It comes from our reading the Acts and Epistles and reading the ‘you’ therein as the plural ‘you.’

From here, we bring the symbols and signs, the sacrament of together to the world as families. This is where our Christian growth, maturity, and discipleship are most often seen. It is the place from which will come favor with all the people. And those who are being saved. It is what we specially celebrate today.

October 2020 Newsletter – A Blessed Family and a Blessed Heritage

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This month, along with the celebration of the Solemnity of the Christian Family, we also celebrate Heritage Sunday (October 18th). Why? Reading through the documents created in the Church’s organizing years we see so many references to humanity, established in nations, to be bearers and sharers of the gifts God has given them. In the Tenant and Aims Document it is recorded: “The most important objective of the Church… is to maintain, enrich and develop the life of God in the soul of man…” Likewise, the Confession of Faith, our Creedal Document. Familiarize yourself with these statements, for they are a call to us and to the world. We are to recognize the dignity and value of each person and nation in their contribution toward helping us know God. These documents from the early 1900’s a sure cure to the inequality we still face today. We are not called to division, but to celebrate each other in unity and equality. We celebrate heritage because God has given us gifts, attributes, and experiences that when shared adds to our collective knowledge of God. A paraphrase of the Preamble to our Constitution sums this up: “Religion is the source of life and regeneration. Religion [that] possess the character of a nation [transmits innate] moral principles from which we achieve real freedom and stature.” As we celebrate let us each experience God more fully in each other and in what we share of ourselves.

October, our next jam packed month of events and opportunities. We bless pets on Sunday, October 4th. We celebrate the Solemnity of the Christian Family, a feast unique to our Church as well as Heritage Sunday. We will pray the Rosary every Wednesday evening in church and virtually. And … Fr. Jim is in the kitchen cooking up a yummy take-out/take-away American Goulash Dinner for Sunday, October 25th. Your efforts at discipleship and evangelism are drawing people to church – keep up the good work in the ministries you each have. There are some great prayers for family and our nation and a wonderful reflection on Certainty in God.

Read about all it in our October 2020 Newsletter.

Reflection for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

What do I say?

Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen…”

Have you ever served on a Board of Directors? Certainly, our Parish Committee members do. It is an honor to serve as well as an interesting and challenging task. I have served on many Boards of Directors. Looking at my old resume, at least eight. One of the most interesting was my service with our homeowner’s association.

Some communities have a homeowner’s association. There are a set of rules and regulations you agree to when you buy your home. You pay some sort of annual dues that take care of maintenance in the neighborhood. These associations are governed by an annually elected Board of homeowners.

Being an accountant by training, I usually get selected to be the Treasurer of any Board I am on. Yep, they elected me treasurer. What did we do? We made sure common areas were mowed, our ponds were properly attended to, and that homeowners followed the rules they agreed to. If people wanted to make changes to their homes, they would have to seek approval. Generally, mundane stuff. Mundane until there was a problem.

The part that got the heads of the Board members shaking was when people would come to the Board with their little disputes. My neighbor’s grill sends smoke into my yard. You get the picture. Our general answer was – Talk to your neighbor. That never seemed to work. 

It is hard to talk with someone if they’re headed in the wrong direction. What to say? We have trouble doing it with those closest to us, and here Jesus tells us our obligation is toward the whole family of faith, to call people back to faithfulness.

There is a distinction and a caution. The distinction – our obligation is toward members of the Christian community, not to the worldly. If people are members of the Christian family, we have the same understanding of who we must be, and we can call them back. The caution – we refrain from judging. Because someone is heading in the wrong direction does not mean they are bad or evil.

What do I say when a believer goes off track? We are to seek after them like Jesus seeks after the lost sheep, with love and compassion. We are to call people back to faithfulness, remind them of what we hold in common as the regenerated. Let us make every effort in calling those who stray back to God’s standard and to live faithfully ourselves.

Bible Study for the 28th Week in Ordinary Time 2019

This week’s memory verse: “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6:18
  • 10/13 – Proverbs 22:6
  • 10/14 – Genesis 2:24
  • 10/15 – 1 John 4:7
  • 10/16 – Ephesians 3:14-15
  • 10/17 – Acts 2:39
  • 10/18 – Joshua 24:15
  • 10/19 – John 17:21

Pray the week: Lord, bless and prosper every family united with You. Draw those who do not know You so that they share in our inheritance.