February 20, 2022: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
I came across this article not so long ago and wasn’t sure if I’d ever get a chance to share it. So, now’s my chance. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.
“I might have a full floweret of broccoli in my teeth, but all I can see is the tiny sesame seed in yours. Jesus taught self-awareness, so why are so many of us believers more aware of others than we are of ourselves when it comes to weaknesses and flaws?
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is another way of saying, “Be the kind of person you wish others were to you.”
Want a spouse that is compassionate, attentive, forgiving, joyful, and faithful? Be that.
Want a reliable, friend who is tuned-in? Be one.
Want co-workers that are responsible, truthful, kind, and considerate of you? Be that.
Want a parent that listens with empathy? Be one.
We need to stop noticing everyone else’s imperfections and start seeing our own. The only way to this level of self-reflection and awareness is through the transforming power of Jesus. It’s just too easy to be critical of others and too hard to be hard on ourselves!
The pathway to change is through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How does that happen? By establishing Jesus as the leader of our lives day by day. First, we need to know we are loved and that our sins are not just forgiven, they are gone! That gives us something to be happy about! The Gospel is truly Good News! Armed with this Good News, we can speak the Good News to others, and tell them that there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. We can let the Word of God do it’s work in the lives of our loved ones, and we can take our critical thoughts and ideas, and get out of the way.
Sick of being a critical person, unhappy about the performance of everyone around you? Be the change you seek in others. Set your gaze above, and pray this plain and simple prayer.”
Lord,
If you are even the slightest bit as critical of me as I am of others, I am toast. But You are not! I made up my mind that I was going to be like You, but I haven’t followed through with that vow very well. Perfect, though you are, Jesus, you said that you didn’t come to condemn the world. So why should I, as imperfect as I am? Why should I notice other people’s mistakes and inadequacies when I’m loaded with them?
Would you please forgive my arrogance?
Would you please make me new? Like You?
I receive Your forgiveness as well as Your cleansing power to transform me from a foe to a follower, from puffed-up to loved-up. From self-important to other-centric. From vain to insanely kind. From a grumbler to one who is humbler. From uppity to one who is abundantly caring. From toxic to philanthropic!
Herringshaw, N. and J. Praying the Golden Rule. https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/prayerplainandsimple/2017/05/praying-golden-rule.html
Blessings,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
February 13, 2022: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
In today’s Gospel, we read Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, one that names less groups of people who are blessed and totally unlike Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes, calls out those who should be worried because they are not going to experience God’s blessings. It’s easy to hear these words and immediately think that Jesus is condemning the things of the world. I recently read an article that discusses in plain language what the “woes” of Luke’s Gospel mean and thought I would share it with you.
“But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
No, if you are rich in wealth, this is not talking about you. The woes address the blessings. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit.’ Meaning those who recognize how unworthy they are to come before God. They realize how much they need Him and go to Him in repentance. But the ‘rich,’ those who believe they are ‘good enough,’ have received their consolation. Jesus would have been referring to the Temple priests and teachers of the day. Those who were corrupt on the inside but acted righteously on the outside. They believed (as many do today) that their good deeds would make them right with God. Their self-righteousness excluded their need for repentance. So their ‘consolation’ (their comfort) was found in the eyes of others who looked up to them.
Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger.
The poor in spirit mourn their sinful state and hunger for a closer relationship with God. The rich in spirit are already satisfied with their lot in life. They do not hunger for a more intimate relationship with God, nor do they seek to know Him through His Holy Word. They are satisfied with their lives and with the praise of others. They are content to rest in the fact that they will make it to heaven on their good deeds alone. Yet, they will be hungry for more. They will always be searching for something else to fill that void. But they will never be completely satisfied until they come to the Lord on their knees with a repentant heart.
Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.
No, he is not pronouncing judgement on happy people! That would be absurd. But, just as the blessings build on one another, so do the woes. If you are satisfied with your life, you will never seek to know the Creator of the Universe. You will trust in your own moral code or your good deeds to get into heaven. While the Pharisees and scribes appeared to honour God in public, Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs. Full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28)! Applying these verses to people today, it is easy to see what happens. If you are content to live a life without God you convince yourself there is no God and so you have no worries about an afterlife. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life unless you leave God out of it.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
It is obvious who Jesus was talking about in His Sermon on the Mount. Every one of these woes were directed at the Temple priests and scribes who loved the adoration of the people, the money they made from them and the power they wielded as priests, over them. They loved parading around in their distinctive robes, indicating who they were. They were so self-important they cared more about the applause and adoration of the common man than the God they were supposed to be serving. But these examples can also be applied to many people today.
In the end, the four woes Jesus pronounced after he spoke of the eight blessings, are meant to be a warning to those who ‘speak their own truth.’ It is for those who have become so full of themselves they have no need of God. It is for anyone who believes that being good enough is enough.
Woe to you if you think it is.”1
In the end, we should still be comforted in the knowledge that we will be blessed as Jesus described during the Sermon on Mount and throughout his time here on earth should we choose to live as he taught. Howevers Mess Luke’s ‘woes’ are a good reminder that if we choose to life a live that puts ourselves and our worldly pleasures before serving God, we may not experience eternal happiness.
Blessings,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
1. Davis, Laura J. 2019. Why the Four Woes of Jesus Matter. https://www.laurajdavis.com/biblestudies/why-the-four-woes-of-jesus-matter
February 6, 2022: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
The Gospel says that
“Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.’
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21)
Jesus made the announcement that he is the Messiah, the anointed One, the Savior has arrived and that things are changing, the Messianic era has arrived. Jesus would be in the world as a teacher and preacher for three years, then he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Before he ascended into Heaven, he had taught how to build the Kingdom of God (with love), he appointed Apostles to go throughout the world to make the message of the Kingdom and salvation known, he also made it clear that he needed his followers to continue his mission.
All these years later, we are his followers charged with continuing his mission. This mission is to bring glad tidings to the poor (material help), proclaim liberty to captives (captured by sin) and recovery of sight to the blind (those who don’t know or see God). Let the oppressed go free (those stuck in terrible situations). We see all these situations in our Archdiocese, sadly.
I like the Annual Appeal because what Jesus proclaimed in that synagogue was not just for him and during his time, but for us. We have the opportunity to bring glad tidings to the poor; to help those who are captive, perhaps by addiction, those who do not know/see God. That is the purpose of our Annual Appeal, nothing other than to build up the Kingdom of God and bring glad tidings/good news to those who are marginalized or don’t yet know Jesus.
The video that we showed at Mass shows whom the Appeal helps: the food pantries; children in Catholic school who want to know Christ; the young adults who want to build a better relationship with Christ; the seminarians who want to serve as priests and will serve you here one day; mothers who have no one to help them, so they go to Mercy House in Newark for supplies and food for their babies. This Appeal is to bring Good News/ glad tidings to the poor.
This year our goal this year is $82,300, the same as last year, which we reached, and I thank you. We have 1,700 families, so if every family contributes what they can, we will easily reach our goal. If we exceed it like we did last year, the amount that exceeds our goal comes back to St. Cassian Parish. It is a win-win.
The Appeal lasts until December, so your gift can be spread out through December, but if we achieve our goal of helping the poor by the end of June, we receive some great financial rewards that will help our Parish as well. I would love to have this complete by May or early June the latest so that we can accomplish this early and quickly.
I give to the Appeal every year (20+ years) and it is a sacrifice for me, but I know that it is worth it, and I am happy to do it.
Many of you have already received letters and envelopes from the Archdiocese about this (some have already given), but if you haven’t you can grab an envelope in the church, in the pews or back table. You can return your gift this weekend but know that we will earmark the weekends of Feb. 5/6 and Feb. 12/13 as Collection Weekends.
Please consider a gift to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to help the oppressed go free.
Blessings and thank you for your generosity,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
January 30, 2022: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
The Gospel says that
“Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.’
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21)
Jesus made the announcement that he is the Messiah, the anointed One, the Savior has arrived and that things are changing, the Messianic era has arrived. Jesus would be in the world as a teacher and preacher for three years, then he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Before he ascended into Heaven, he had taught how to build the Kingdom of God (with love), he appointed Apostles to go throughout the world to make the message of the Kingdom and salvation known, he also made it clear that he needed his followers to continue his mission.
All these years later, we are his followers charged with continuing his mission. This mission is to bring glad tidings to the poor (material help), proclaim liberty to captives (captured by sin) and recovery of sight to the blind (those who don’t know or see God). Let the oppressed go free (those stuck in terrible situations). We see all these situations in our Archdiocese, sadly.
I like the Annual Appeal because what Jesus proclaimed in that synagogue was not just for him and during his time, but for us. We have the opportunity to bring glad tidings to the poor; to help those who are captive, perhaps by addiction, those who do not know/see God. That is the purpose of our Annual Appeal, nothing other than to build up the Kingdom of God and bring glad tidings/good news to those who are marginalized or don’t yet know Jesus.
The video that we showed at Mass shows whom the Appeal helps: the food pantries; children in Catholic school who want to know Christ; the young adults who want to build a better relationship with Christ; the seminarians who want to serve as priests and will serve you here one day; mothers who have no one to help them, so they go to Mercy House in Newark for supplies and food for their babies. This Appeal is to bring Good News/ glad tidings to the poor.
This year our goal this year is $82,300, the same as last year, which we reached, and I thank you. We have 1,700 families, so if every family contributes what they can, we will easily reach our goal. If we exceed it like we did last year, the amount that exceeds our goal comes back to St. Cassian Parish. It is a win-win.
The Appeal lasts until December, so your gift can be spread out through December, but if we achieve our goal of helping the poor by the end of June, we receive some great financial rewards that will help our Parish as well. I would love to have this complete by May or early June the latest so that we can accomplish this early and quickly.
I give to the Appeal every year (20+ years) and it is a sacrifice for me, but I know that it is worth it, and I am happy to do it.
Many of you have already received letters and envelopes from the Archdiocese about this (some have already given), but if you haven’t you can grab an envelope in the church, in the pews or back table. You can return your gift this weekend but know that we will earmark the weekends of Feb. 5/6 and Feb. 12/13 as Collection Weekends.
Please consider a gift to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to help the oppressed go free.
Blessings and thank you for your generosity,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
January 23, 2022: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
Two years ago almost to the day, a Washington state man became the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the world, and our little corner of it, was plunged into an abyss of fear, severe illness and death. Countries worldwide locked their doors to outsiders. Families, friends and neighbors did the same thing. Scientists worked 24/7 around the world to find a way to stop the spread. They’ve done a great job and all of us have done our part to follow the guidance they gave us to stay healthy and safe.
In the midst of all the loss of loved ones and terrible things we heard and saw during the first full year of the pandemic, something amazing happened. People reached out to people anyway they could. From the immense sacrifices of healthcare professionals and first responders sacrificed to the small acts of kindness like little libraries popping up on someone’s lawn, each of us wanted to do something, anything, to relieve someone’s suffering be it physical, emotional or financial.
We are grateful to God that we are on a positive path. But we have not yet completely conquered this enemy. Nor have we found a sustainable way to conquer the enemy that has plagued our world for at least as long as there is recorded history - need. The ability to extinguish need of many kinds always seem to be just an arm’s length out of reach. But, as we did during the worst of the pandemic, we continue trying to do our own part, in our own corner of the world, to meet the needs of others.
This weekend at all the masses, we viewed the video produced by the Archdiocese that introduced us to some of the needs of the those around us. Many of those needs are invisible as people go about their day. Some of them, sadly, are too visible. All of us here today are in need of the spiritual healing that only being fully together as a family of faith can bring. I realize that life today does not provide the certainties we once enjoyed and it’s not easy to ask you to dig into pockets that may not be as deep as they may have been before our world was turned upside down. But I ask you today to consider some gift to the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal as a way of reaching out to those in need who, now more than ever, may literally be your neighbor. Regardless of who we are, what we do to make a living, our politics, or anything else that makes us different from one another, the past two years have been undeniable reminders that we need each other.
Thank you for your continued support of our parish so we can continue to provide this beautiful place of worship and spiritual sanctuary and support you any and every way we can on your journey. And thank you for any contribution you can make to the Annual Appeal.
Blessings,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
