Category: Homilies

(Deacon Mick was up in the pulpit this weekend. Some good things to ponder here.)

There is at least one word in the English language that

has the power to elect politicians to a high office,

finance the military,

cause economic hardship,

and get you to pull your hair out of your head. 

One word. 

Wars have been fought over this word,

nations established,

and people sent to jail for not taking heed

when this word was spoken. 

The word is taxes.

In today’s Gospel,

the enemies of Jesus thought that

they really had Jesus in trouble this time. 

The gospel tells us

he was approached by Pharisees and Herodians. 

Now, these two groups were bitter enemies. 

Israel was under Roman rule

and the Herodians were totally loyal to Rome. 

They would have immediately accused Jesus of

promoting civil rebellion and revolution

if he had said “don’t pay the taxes.” 

The Pharisees, on the other hand,

held that God alone was their king and Lord

and they viewed the paying of taxes to Rome

as caving in to the hated Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar,

a foreigner and a pagan at that. 

This hot issue was made worse by the fact that

Rome’s tax burden on the Jewish people

was extremely heavy. 

Jesus asked them to show him a Roman coin. 

The fact that they could produce one was evidence that,

like it or not,

they participated in Rome’s commerce and economy. 

Jesus’ answer to their question is well known,

“Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s

and to God the things that are God’s”

Jesus avoided getting caught in their trap. 

He reminded us

we have obligations to both God and civil authority. 

We need good leadership in our country

and in all the countries of the world. 

With good leadership the citizenship will prosper. 

Without it, the people will suffer. 

Even St. Paul reminds us to

pray for our leaders and obey them. 

In this particular confrontation from the Gospel,

Jesus did imply that

since the people chose to participate in the Roman economy,

they had obligations there. 

But Jesus didn’t answer how

we are to treat some of those modern thorny issues that

we have to deal with in a society that

believes in the separation of church and state.

We have to figure out most of those issues ourselves,

taking a cue from other things Jesus taught us,

especially from his teaching that

obeying God is our greatest responsibility. 

When we break the laws of our country,

we get arrested or fined or

have to pay some consequence. 

When we break God’s laws, however,

God doesn’t come knocking on out door

ready to fine us or lock us in jail. 

If he did,

there wouldn’t be many people out on the streets. 

God isn’t in the business of being a policeman. 

Rather

he is interested in having us love him

and doing what is right because of love. 

And love cannot be forced;

it must be given freely. 

God could have made us all robots

and we would have done exactly what he wanted us to do, but

if we were robots

we would not be human

nor would we be capable of love. 

When God gave us free will,

God took a big chance that

we might choose not to love him. 

Apparently, he thought it was worth taking that chance.

Give back to God what is God’s, Jesus tells us. 

And because God does not come knocking on our doors

when we do not give him what we owe him,

it’s easy for us to say I’ll pray later,

or I’ll go to church later next week

or I’ll be a good person later. 

My friends,

later just may not be there for any of us. 

Nothing is more important than our relationship with God. 

Someday we will leave behind

all the other things we think are so important,

and the only thing we will have left

is the love for God and for others that

we have demonstrated in our daily lives. 

That love will grow and develop

only by prayer and good works. 

In our society,

which wants immediate results,

many important things in life

do not give immediate pay offs. 

When we plant a seed in the ground,

it doesn’t produce fruit the first day. 

If we buy stock in a good company today,

it probably won’t go up 50 points tomorrow. 

A good education takes many years

before it pays dividends. 

The things we do to serve and obey our God

are an investment,

an investment that will bless us in this present life,

but the full reward of living such a life are off in the future. 

As St. Paul tells us,

“…eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

nor has it entered into our hearts

what things God has prepared for those who love him.”

What God asks of us is simple; 

Prayer, obedience, love,

love of God and for each other. 

In line with prayer,

we cannot neglect the most important prayer we have,

the Eucharist. 

“Do this in memory of me,” he said. 

That’s why we are here today,

to give to God our ears to listen,

our hearts to be united with him,

our gratitude, our expressions of faith

as we praise him and receive him.

We will get in trouble with the law

if we do not give back to Caesar

the things that are Caesar’s,

but we have the most to loose

if we do not give back to God

the things that are God’s.

That loss could be our eternal happiness.

I’m fascinated by science and space exploration.

       Thus I took great interest that in preparation for the colonization of the Moon and the eventual mission to Mars, NASA and Space X had recently put several cows into orbit…It was the herd shot round the world. 

       Don’t laugh, the steaks have never been higher!  

But it was not well done. They burned up on reentry.  It was udder disaster. 

       (I’m going to get some searing comments about that one.) 

Anyhoo, I like a good steak.  Even more I enjoy having a good steak or any good meal with the friends in my bubble around a nice table. The parish house is very blessed to have a nice set of china donated by Helen and an equally nice set of silver. 

       Incidentally, as a COVID survival technique.  I encourage you to break out the good China and crystal at least once a week, maybe for Sunday dinner and cook up an outrageously elaborate meal and share it with those in your bubble.

       There are lot of reasons for doing this. 

       1.  It’s fun.

       2.  It brings elegance and class into an increasingly drab world.

       3.  It’s a good way to give thanks to God for his generosity.

In a way, that’s a lot of what our Lord is getting at today in the Gospel with the parable of the Wedding Banquet.

First, let’s look at the first reading.

       What’s the lesson here?

              THE LORD WILL PROVIDE…IN ABUNDANCE!

Listen to the language

       On this mountain the LORD of hosts

              will provide for all peoples

              a feast of rich food and choice wines,

              juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.   

 Then he goes on to say that the Lord will establish peace among peoples, and destroy even death itself

       What Isaiah is describing this the “messianic age” when the world and everyone in it will reconciled to God and live in harmony in accord with God’s plan. In a word, everything will be as it is intended to be. 

The 23^rd psalm echoes this sense of harmony and abundance.

       “He spread the table before me in the sight of my foes.

He anoints my head with oil – my cup overflows. ”

Paul also speaks to the abundance of God’s generosity  In this case, he downplays the role of the material in this world. For him, it just didn’t matter,

       I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,

              of living in abundance and of being in need.

But he is very clear that God is not stingy, especially when it comes to bestowing his grace and spirituals gifts on his beloved (that’s us). 

       My God will fully supply whatever you need,

              in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

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So, now that we understand that God does not just give us what we need, but far more than what we need, especially when it comes to the grace and power we need to live the life to which we have been called, let’s dive into the parable.

Like all parables, it lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation. But the context of this one is pretty clear. Like last week, it is addressed to the chief priests and the elders.  In short, those who have been entrusted with the spiritual heritage of God’s people. 

With this in mind, the intent of the parable is clear. Jesus is chewing them out for being poor stewards of their heritage

The King who throws the banquet is the Lord God.

       Those first invited are the religious leaders.

The wedding feast is the Kingdom of God and the very messianic age described by Isaiah in the first reading.

A word about wedding feasts in ancient Palestine.

       They were outrageously lavish affairs.

       Remember there were four parts to the wedding ritual.

              The contract,

              the betrothal,

              the transfer of the bride to the household of the groom,

              and the wedding banquet. 

These wedding banquets went on for days.

       It is surmised that the wedding at Cana had been going on for three days before they ran out of wine. Imagine that.

You can imagine how elaborate a royal wedding feast could be. That is the image that Jesus wanted in people’s minds when he was talking about the heavenly banquet.

The King sends out the invitation.

       The messengers or the Old Testament prophets.

Surprisingly, the invited guests don’t come. 

       And we know from other places in the sacred text that many prophets were rejected, and some, like Jeremiah, were actually killed.

       Here, he is scolding the religious leaders of his day for doing the exact same thing as their forebears. 

So, echoing last week’s words: “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom before you,”

       the parable continues with the invitation to whomever they can find. 

       It’s sort of a messianic “come as you are party.” 

And that’s pretty much what we try to do as well as the Church. The call to discipleship is universal. 

       It’s not about being worthy, it’s about being called.

       The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.

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But now we get to the troubling part of the parable. The casting out of the fellow without the wedding garment.  

It’s very intriguing because it seems so harsh What’s Jesus trying to say here?

Jesus knew the human condition better than just about anybody.  And he knew his disciples were not immune from the same tendency.

       They can see what he is doing, putting the religious leaders in their place. I could imagine Jesus disciples getting pretty smug as they listened to the parable about the feast.

       So, the second part of the parable is for them

              and for us.

In a word…don’t get smug!  Don’t get complacent just because you’ve been invited to the feast.

So what’s the deal with the wedding garment?

       Well, apparently in those days, especially at royal functions, as a courtesy to elevate the dignity of the guests and to make sure the decorum of the gathering was maintained, the host would give to each guest a garment to be worn.

       It was a gesture of hospitality. The host wanted to you to look good for the occasion, and so he gave you the means to do so.

This would have been the case at the wedding feast described in the parable.

       The implication here, is that this particular fellow was given the wedding garment when he arrived, but had removed it at some point, thus insulting the king. 

       The implications for us are profound. 

       For us, the wedding garment is the white garment placed on us at our baptism. Very much like the one (the server), Deacon Mick, and I am wearing now. 

       We are wearing them, of course, on your behalf.  But if you wanted to, I suppose you could wear one every time you came into the church. Wouldn’t that be something to see? 

      
We are each given on of these at our baptism, but like this fellow who removed his wedding garment, when we sin or when we even fail to identify ourselves as disciples of Jesus by our actions or inactions, in effect we remove the baptismal garment given to us by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when he invited us to this Eucharistic feast. 

       Think about your physical baptismal garment.

       Where is it? What does it look like now?

Now thing about your spiritual baptismal garment, the one you wear on the inside, next to your heart and soul.  

Is it worn or stained?  Is it moth-eaten or musty for lack of use?  Does it need a good mending or washing in the sacrament of reconciliation to make it presentable at feast?  

       I could go on. But my point is clear.

In the abundance of God’s love and mercy, we have each been invited to the feast.

       Have we been good stewards of this great gift of faith? 

       Have we cherished our baptism in and worn the our baptismal garment in gratitude and steadfast faith?

       If so, then as Paul says, we can do all things in him who strengthens us.

       If not, then it’s time to get to the confessional.

Let me close by reminding us all of the words that were said to us at our baptism when we were clothed in white garment symbolizing that our sins are always washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish (and beyond),

you have become a new creation,

and have clothed yourself in Christ.

See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity.

With your family and friends to help you by word and example,

bring that dignity unstained

into the everlasting life of heaven. All: Amen     

Once again, Deacon Mick has given an excellent homilly – this time on Respect Life Sunday. His text is below. – LAW

The parable of the vineyard, to a certain degree
sums up the story of redemption.
The leaders of Israel were given care of the vineyard but
they didn’t produce for the Lord.
They rejected and killed the Son
who came to help, assist and guide them
in producing a yield for the Lord.
Finally, the vineyard
was then given to new stewards and keepers.
These new stewards, these new keepers,
these new managers of the vineyard in todays world
are you and me.

The vineyard is our world, our society.
It is rich in abundant blessings.
So—what are we doing with the vineyard?
How are we caring for it?
You see, within this vineyard is the most precious gift of all,
the gift of human life.

Do we reverence life?
Of course, we reverence life when we see a beautiful baby,
a young married couple,
a person at the height of his or her powers.
If something should ever happen to such individuals,
all the medical resources of this society
would be gathered and mobilized to help save a life.

The real challenge
we bring to our vineyard, our country
is to ask not
whether we reverence life in the beautiful,
the healthy, the talented
but whether we care for all human life.

Now, some people say the Catholic Church is preoccupied with abortion, with protecting the unborn.
Once a baby is born, they say,
the Catholic Church disappears.
This is absolutely false!
If there is any institution on earth that
for the twenty centuries of its existence
has looked after the poor, the sick,
the orphans, the hungry, the uneducated,
those afflicted with cancer, aids, Covid-19,
the homeless, addicts,
refugees and immigrants (even when unpopular),
it’s the Catholic Church.

This massive commitment by the Catholic Church
to the works of mercy
is true not only in the United States but around the world.
Today, however,
the Church focuses especially on the unborn because
that is where a major threat resides today.

To disregard life at its most vulnerable,
when you can’t see it, can’t tickle it,
can’t touch it, can’t look into its eyes
is the beginning of the dehumanizing
and trivializing of all human life,
the start of the slippery slope
to the disregard for all human life
that we see escalating today.

That is why the Church today is the voice of the unborn,
as she was for the lepers,
the disabled, and the orphan in the past.
The wider issue, of course,
is not only what is happening to the unborn
but what is happening to us.

There are groups around that
take care of the environment
because the environment can’t take care of itself.
There are groups of people dedicated
to the taking care of wildlife,
following the mandate of Genesis,
because wildlife in today’s world can’t protect itself.

So what about the care of human life,
especially unborn life?
These human beings cannot protect themselves either.

God gave us a beautiful world
in which we can come to grow
in His image and to know Him.
The crown of this vineyard is human life.

If this portion of the vineyard, human life, is ravaged,
it won’t be from outer space,
it will be from neglect here on earth.
It won’t be from some outside invasion
but from within,
as human life is wasted and destroyed by our action or inaction.

My friends, choose some dimension of human life,
the elderly, the disabled, or especially today,
the unborn and make that your area of special care,
your way of serving the Lord and caring for the vineyard.

The month of October and specifically this Sunday
has been designated
Respect Life Month
by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It’s a time for us to evaluate
how well we are doing in the vineyard
to respect life of —
all ages, races, colors, and creeds from conception to natural death.
To respect the precious gift of life
especially for those who are unable to protect themselves
or speak for themselves.

God has given us a vineyard,
the only one like it, as far as we know, in the universe
blessed with the miracle of human life.
The Lord has sent his Son to help us
through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord has truly given us a beautiful country,
this vineyard called the United States.
Whether it’s a place where
all human life has a chance to grow and thrive
is up to us — up to you and me.
Whether the future holds a respect for human life
is not decided by the stars,
it will be decided by ourselves.

We have been given a job to do by the Lord.
None of us can do everything.
We all can do something
to restore respect for human life
In our vineyard —- in our time of stewardship.

Or as we heard in today’s gospel——-

“Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit”

Last week I talked about how every sin we have ever committed or ever will commit has already been forgiven by God. Our response to that grace is to place ourselves at the foot of the Cross in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). This week sort of follows up on that with the parable of the generous vintner. 

       It was a common thing in the ancient world (and even the modern world in some places, like Home Depot) that day laborers would gather in central square and those landowners and contractors who needed workers would go there to hire them for the day. The usual daily wage was a silver coin worth ten donkeys called a denarius. (Hence the name, for you Latin scholars out there.) A typical workday was from dawn to dusk.

       Given the brief hiring process, the owner usually had to keep an eye on the workers so that they didn’t slack off or steal his stuff. The odd thing about the story is that he keeps going there at different hours of the day. This should be the first hint to the listener that my thoughts are not your thoughts/nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. (Is 55:7)

       This is an important thing for us to keep in mind, especially in a parish like this. Alaska is one of those places where longevity brings credibility and status.  People will introduce themselves to you and immediately tell you how long they have been in the state, in the parish, in the neighborhood, etc.  There is a temptation to think of oneself as a bit more important or deserving simply because one has been here more than one winter.

       At the same time, we Alaskans and St. Patrick’s folks are pretty darn good at welcoming the newcomer. We love our state, our town, our neighborhood, and our parish. We want other people to love it too. So we bring cookies to new neighbors, help folks out with furniture, get them connected to things going on in the local scene that might interest them. In many ways we do this better than in other places. Probably because most of us came here from somewhere else too.

       This is the virtue that Jesus is talking about in the parable. In this sense, the denarius represents our relationship with God and each other. What matters is that at some point we have been invited into the vineyard. When we get there is meaningless. 

       This is because the Kingdom of God is about relationships. Sometimes you will hear me talk about “Our parish family”. This is very intentional. Think about your own immediate family, such as it is?  Is the last child any less a part of the family than the first child, simply because they arrived on the scene later?  No.  In the same way, none of us is less a member of the parish, less a member of the Church, less a member of the Kingdom because we got here later than someone else.

       Let us strive then to welcome others into this little part of the vineyard we call St. Patrick’s Parish, and to invite as many as we can into this gathering of holy goofballs we call the St. Patrick Parish family. 

Hi, there, People of God!

We’ve been shut down for a week here at St. Patrick’s in Muldoon. The threat is real. So do all the things that are being recommended. It does mean that we have become a bit more creative in how we are bringing the Word, if not the Sacraments to the masses. To wit:

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• Livestreaming “CyberMass” on our parish Facebook page www.facebook.com/stpatsak/ Daily Mass is at 12:00 noon ADT, Weekends on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
• and on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCce6fxZKR1vqgyhuTO7e7VA

The office is shut down too, so we are all working from home as best we can.

Let’s all keep each other in prayer, as well as those most directly affected by the virus, and especially those who care for them.

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The text of this weekend’s homily is below. You can see and hear it at the links above.

    During this COVID-19 Inter-MISSION, it is normal to ask the  question, “Why? Why is this happening?” Some of my well-meaning friends of other Christian traditions, and also some Catholics have shared with me that they think it is divine retribution for all the sinfulness found in society at the present time. The story of the Man Born Blind in the gospel this week obliterates such a notion. Seeing the man, his disciples ask, “Who sinned?  This man or his parents?”  It was a common notion in those days, based on Deuteronomy 5:9, that if anyone bowed down to a foreign god, the Lord would bring punishment for their “parents’ wickedness on the children…down to the third and fourth generation.”  Jesus response is firm.  It wasn’t him. It wasn’t his parents.

       The harsh reality is that because the world is not God, it is not perfect. Sometimes those imperfections are merely irritating, such as a broken shoelace or a vending machine that takes your money without delivering the goods. But at other times, it can be tragic—a child born blind or a viral pandemic that paralyzes the world. The world is neither benevolent or malevolent; it is simply indifferent and imperfect. 

       The Good News is that we have a God who is neither indifferent nor imperfect. Rather, the benevolent God enters into the very imperfection of the world and transforms it by his presence. This happened in particular way for the Man Born Blind who received his sight.  It happens in a universal way for all of us who receive the forgiveness of our sins. 

       But strangely enough, such sacred mysteries are not self-evident. It takes a bit of humility to realize that we, like the world, are imperfect. This was the mistake of the Pharisees. In their zeal, they lacked the humility necessary to see the significance of the miracle. Thus our Lord can say to them. “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”

       We live in an extraordinary time that has deprived us, for a time, of the sacraments which are ordinary means of grace. Can we have eyes of faith that see God entering this new, imperfect reality of the present day and transforming it with extraordinary grace?  I pray that we can.

Well, it’s been a good week here at St. Patrick Parish. I’m still living with my mom, but we have found another really nice house not too far from here and we the deal may be done by the first of December.  Kind of reminds me of a story.

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church. 

He replied, “I’m not going.” 

“Why not?” she asked.

“I’ll give you two good reasons,” he said. “(1), they don’t like me, and (2), I don’t like them.”

His mother replied, “I’ll give you two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church: (1) You’re 59 years old, and (2) you’re the pastor!”

     A couple of weeks ago, I talked about what can be seen a true meaning of “humility.”  Namely, humility is simply to know yourself as you are, without illusion, before Almighty God.  This involves acknowledging everything about you that is right and true and beautiful and just, without falling prey to the temptation of false modesty.  At the same time, it also involves acknowledging the gravity of our capacity to sin without being Pollyannaish (sugar-coating it). In the end, when we fully appreciate what we have been given, and what we have been FORgiven, the only response possible, and the only response necessary, is gratitude. 

     This week, Our Lord gives us a very good example of that in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In the Jewish mind of first century Palestine, you could not get a more diverse comparison. The Pharisees were seen as those who studied the Law of Moses and tried to live it out to fullest. They were held in highest regard.  On the other hand, tax collectors were seen as collaborators with the Roman occupational government and enriching themselves by their position.  They were despised by all. So at the outset of the parable, the sympathies of the crowd would very much have been with the Pharisee and very much against the tax collector. 

     But Jesus turns that notion on upside down.  In the parable, it is the arrogant Pharisee whose prayer is fruitless and the tax collector who goes away justified.  The reason is clear.  The Pharisee is honest, but arrogant; the tax collector stands honest and humble.     

     Can humility be so easily perverted? Absolutely. There is one kind which is particularly insidious. Sometimes it is a wisp of subtle, underlying cynicism. At other times, it is a pervasive sense of accommodation to a make-shift solution.  Most often it is an expression of undeniable frustration. Or the ubiquitous, “That’s just the way it’s done around here.

      In Psychology, this phenomenon is called “learned helplessness.” Fr. Dan spoke to this a couple of homilies ago when he gave the example of the elephant that remains tied to the stake because he does not believe he has the strength to pull it out.

    Oddly enough, even when things are out of whack, and even when we know they are out of whack, we are oddly resistant to change. 

[Here I told the THE THOU ARE EAGLE STORY. Really, it’s best just to listen to it on the audio file.]

And so my dear friends in at St. Patrick Parish, I have but one question for you…

       Are you chicken?

       or are you eagle?

     As Christians, we are never helpless. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we are a light on a lampstand, the salt of the earth, the city set on a hill. We were created to be great saints, right now, right here in 99504.  

Well, it’s been a good week here so far in St. Patrick Parish.  I’m finally over my cold, it seems, and the voice has returned. So hopefully, you can hear me this week. 

Summers in Alaska are always fun. Summer is when we go outside to play, and stay up way too late talking because it’s still light out.  

Right now, my mom’s house if full of out of family and out-of-town guests.  It’s a part of the joyful chaos that is summer in Alaska.

       We Alaskans are particularly good at hospitality, I think, don’t you?  We are always welcoming guests and showing guests around and taking them fishing and playing tour guide.  For many of us, it’s the only way we get to see certain things in our own state.  I don’t know about you, but the only time I ever go to Denali National Park is when I have guests in town.

So I would imagine that most of us can identify quite well with Abraham and Sarah and Martha and Mary as they demonstrate for us in today’s reading the value of hospitality as a religious virtue

       I’d like to spend a few minutes reflecting on Christian Hospitality as a hallmark of the good disciple and of the good Catholic parish.  

It was Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, in 1825, who said:

To welcome a guest is to be answerable for his or her happiness so long as he is beneath your roof.

To help us do exactly that I think we all need to be aware of at least these seven attributes of remarkable hospitality. This is true in our homes and in our parish:

In short, Good hospitality:

• Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
• Is knowledgeable
• Is efficient
• Is flexible
• Is consistent
• Communicates effectively
• Exceeds expectations

Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous

First impressions matter. 

Are people greeted as they come through the door?

Are there designated and trained greeters and/or ushers?

Are they well dressed and groomed?

Are people with special needs accommodated in architecture and design?

Do ushers/greeters and parishioners smile?

Is knowledgeable

Where is the first aid kit?

Where is the defibrillator? 

Are ushers trained in its use?

Are there gluten free hosts available?  If so, where are they?

Do greeters/ushers know who the medical personnel in the parish are?

Is efficient

Are people greeted immediately at the door? In the narthex?

Are there enough ushers to seat people expeditiously?

Is the collection taken with a smile and without wasted effort?

(Second Collection after the first.)

Are major announcements done BEFORE Mass?

Is flexible

• Are all parishioners trained in the basics?
• Can they change their routine to accommodate the guest?

[‘YOU’RE SITTING IN MY SEAT!!]

• Are parents with children accommodated with courtesy?

Is consistent

People may come to our church for many reasons, but they will return for only one

…They like it! 

Consistency can make the difference.

Communicates Effectively

• Does signage and posted placards help people find their way to the restroom, parish hall or office?
• Are the fire extinguishers well marked? 
• Is the information desk/rack easily accessible?
• Do ushers/greeters give clear, concise information and instructions?

Exceeds expectations

• Are people asked their name and place of origin?  Are these announced by the Presider?
  • Are birthdays, anniversaries or other significant events noted in the bulletin, monitors and pulpit?
  • Are returning guests remembered?
  • Are new families welcomed and given information about the parish?
    • Welcoming breakfasts/luncheons?

In short, Good hospitality:

• Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
• Is knowledgeable
• Is efficient
• Is flexible
• Is consistent
• Communicates effectively
• Exceeds expectations

Hospitality comes easily to us Alaskans because it literally comes with the territory.   By and large, as a parish, I think we do a pretty fair job, at least this newcomer’s first impression is pretty good.  Nevertheless, there are many things I think we can do that would set us in a class by ourselves.

Good hospitality is not only an act of kindness, it is one of the primary Christian virtues.  To welcome the stranger it is a corporal work of mercy.  As a parish family, may we be the heart and the arms and the hands of Christ, reaching out in welcome to those come to our doors, so that they may indeed encounter Risen Christ within these walls and return to the world refreshed,  renewed, and better for the experience. 

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish.

       It is nice to be here after 24 years of being away. 

       For me, this is a bit of a homecoming.  As many of you know, I was the Associate Pastor here from 1995-1996, while we were building the building in which we now worship. 

It is always an exciting and nervous time for a parish to get a new pastor.  The first question that most people ask is a positive one:

1.  What is he like?

The second is more tenuous…

What’s going to change?! 

Let me answer the second question first and the first question second.

1. What’s going to change?
2. The quick answer is: Nothing for now.

The reason for this is simple.  The first order for me is to become a part of the parish community. 

       Yes, your new pastor comes with a lot of local, national and international experience.

       …and WAAAAY too much education. 

As I mentioned last week, I just finished 27^th Grade! 

       In due time, all that experience and expertise will be put to good use. 

       But not right now.

Now is the time to listen, to learn, to get to know each other. 

       This is a very different place than when I was here 25 years ago.

       Let’s take our time…and get to know each other.

Which brings us to the second question: What’s he like?

Actually, in the weeks, months and years to come, you are going to get to know me pretty darn well.

So instead, let me tell you what I have heard about you! 

Let’s start general and then get a bit more specific.

As you know, St. Patrick Parish was founded in 1971. The name was chosen, quite frankly, because the Archbishop’s name was Ryan and the parish was to be located on Muldoon Road. Its boundaries were drawn to coincide with the 99504 zip code, and remain unchanged to this day.

       The parish covers approximately 6.3 square miles.  

       It is primarily a residential area.  There are 15,642 households, of which 14,986 are occupied, meaning there are 656 unoccupied dwellings in the parish.

       Of those 14,986 occupied households, 1128 of them are registered parishioners of St. Patrick Parish.

       The parish is home to 40,917 people, about 4174 of whom are members of the parish.  Thus, we are a little over 10% of the population in the area.

The average household income in the parish is $92,815 which puts us about in the middle for the Anchorage Bowl.  We are not poor, we are middle to upper middle class. Statistically, 6.8% of our households make over $200,000 a year.

You are fairly generous. Last year, ordinary revenues from Sunday and Holy Day Collections and donations was $708,920.67, although this was about a 11% from the previous year of $723,780.64

       Also, I was happy to note that just this week, you have just passed your parish goal for the One Bread One Body Archdiocesan Appeal. Now everything that comes in goes directly to the parish. 

       Just to give a nudge to those of you who are still contemplating what you are going to do for OBOB. I have yet to make my own pledge, but I plan to do so in the amount of $500.  I never ask my parishioners to do something I am not willing to do myself. You may take this as a guide, or a challenge as you so choose.

As a community of faith, we have a history that is long, and colorful, sometimes magic, sometimes tragic.    

       St. Patrick’s has always known how to throw a good party.  We love to sing and dance and celebrate the best parts of life and liturgy.

       But we have also known the worst trauma that a parish can experience in the betrayal of sacred trust by the founding pastor.

       Here at St. Patrick Parish, the scandal of clergy sexual abuse is not an abstract distant concept,

for many in the parish, your new pastor included, it has a name and it has a face. It is personal.

Many of us are still hurting from this betrayal. Let us walk together on the path to healing. 

       In recent times we have also experienced a lesser tragedy with some notable earthquake damage to many parish buildings, including the probable loss of the JPII Center.  The primary result of this is not only the loss of needed meeting and classroom space, but also it also means that there is no place for your pastor to live.

       We’re going to take our time on this. There are many people in the parish I need to consult with.  I’m still finding out who they are.  But in due time we will take care of this and related issues in a way that makes the most practical and financial sense for the parish. 

Finally, I am convinced that our best and most exciting years lie just ahead. 

       In the past few years, I have noticed that both physically and spiritually, you have been embarking on a deliberate program of making something beautiful for God.

       Whether in the Sacred Liturgy, or programs of catechesis, the deliberate formation of intentional disciples, or evangelization to those in the parish who are not yet part of the parish family;

       Whether in the multitude of ministries of service already in place to those within the parish family or to those in our parish boundaries who have never set foot on the grounds;

       Whether in our personal lives of prayer, in our homes, our small groups, and finally our liturgical and other ministries of service to the parish or the community

       It is important that we build something beautiful for God. 

       Beautiful lives of faith, a beautiful community of grace

       Housed in beautiful spaces to celebrate them as only the people of St. Patrick Parish know how.

The basics of discipleship are not hard.

       As Moses said to the people:

[It] is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’

Believe me, I have been across the sea.  It is no different here than it is there. In fact, here we have a lot more fun here than in Italy, but perhaps not as much as in Africa…yet.  Back to discipleship…
       No, Moses says, it is not something far away…

…it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out

St. Paul rightly points out that the fullness of the Mystery of God’s love was revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  He is “the image of the invisible God.”

       Nothing mysterious here.

Finally, in his interaction with the scholar of the law 

[Yes, my canon lawyer radar went up at the reference…]

Jesus reveals to us just how simple it is.

The exchange follows the typical style for rabbinical teaching of the day.  It is ritual dialogue.

       It begins with a standard question by the student.

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”

This is followed by an insightful answer by the teacher.

His interlocutor is a scholar of the law, so Jesus refers him to the law. With great insight, he articulates for Jesus, the Great Commandment for love of God and love of neighbor.

       Once they have established common ground, the student is expected to justify himself by asking a more probing question.   “And who is my neighbor.”

Here we dive with Jesus into the depths of understanding. Thus, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

       The point of the story is clear.

       As disciples of Jesus Christ

       As stewards of the many gifts that God has given us here in 99504

       As a community of faith

       As the parish family of St. Patrick’s

Our task is two-fold

       We must love God, with all our heart, being, strength and mind

       And we must love our neighbors as ourselves.

       In short, our job as disciples, as families, and as a parish is to become so much a part of the life of the community in which we find ourselves that they cannot imagine life without us.

       This will be true in your home, on your street, in your neighborhood, in all of this part of the Kingdom in Anchorage which Our Lord has given us to look after for him,

known to the world simply as 99504,

but known to God and to us in the realm of grace, as St. Patrick Parish of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

We have a mission.  

We have been given this little part of the Kingdom to do with as we please.

Hopefully, we will care for it in a way that is pleasing to the Giver.

So that in due time, we may give it all back to him better than we found it.  

To become so much a part of the landscape, that they cannot imagine life without us.

I am so very happy to be here.

       Together, let us make something beautiful for God.