Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday Year B by Fr.

Tommy Lane Why should we pray when God already knows what we want? is a question I am asked. It is true that God already knows what we need but why then did Bartimaeus have to ask Jesus for help in todays Gospel? Anyone watching would no doubt have thought that it must be obvious that the man wants Jesus to restore his sight but yet Jesus asked him, What do you want me to do for you. And when he said, Master, let me see again, Jesus cured him. Jesus knew everything about people; he knew Judas was going to betray him, he knew about Nathanael under the fig tree (John 1), he knew the woman in Samaria had five husbands before her present partner (John 4). Jesus knew about this blind man, he didnt need to be told he needed his sight restored but yet he asked him what he wanted. Bartimaeus didnt need to tell Jesus but telling Jesus was preparing Bartimaeus heart for the gift of having his sight restored. Once again the question I am asked is Why should we pray when God already knows what we want? My response is that prayer is not about informing God what our needs are. God already knows our needs and doesnt need our prayer to keep him up to date on what is happening in our lives. Instead prayer is for our benefit, not Gods benefit. Prayer is to prepare our heart for what God wishes to give us. What did Bartimaeus do after his sight was restored? He followed Jesus along the road. In the Gospels when we read that someone followed Jesus it means they became a disciple of Jesus. Jesus had twelve apostles but he had many disciples. All these followers and disciples of Jesus listened to his teaching and allowed it to change their lives. So the healing of Bartimaeus was really only the beginning of his journey following Jesus, being a disciple of Jesus and learning from Jesus. He did not just pray to have his sight restored and then disappear. Afterwards Bartimaeus whole way of life was such that it revolved around Jesus. So when someone asks Why should we pray when God already knows what we want? I say that praying for what we need is only part of our relationship with God. Our whole life is to be a prayer to God because our whole life is about following Jesus, being a disciple of Jesus. If we only pray when we are in a crisis are we really Christian? Prayer is not a magic formula to be recited to bring about the desired results. Prayer is also a way of living, it is following Jesus on the road. Notice the way in which Bartimaeus made his request or prayed to Jesus. Firstly he said, have mercy (literally in Greek) on me. It was only later that he asked, let me see again. His first request was have mercy on me. Why did Bartimaeus ask Jesus to have mercy on him before restoring his sight? Bartimaeus was sufficiently in tune with himself to know that what he needed most was deeper than restoration of sight. His deepest need was for spiritual healing, a far deeper need than his need for physical healing. He asked for spiritual healing and no doubt he received it since he also received physical healing. Again the question I am asked is, Why should we pray when God already knows what we want? Sometimes we pray for what we want and instead God gives us what we need. What we need is not always what we want but God in his provident mercy gives us what we need. Notice that Jesus said to Bartimaeus, your faith has saved you. Bartimaeus

was a person of faith, not a person who prayed only in a crisis to get what he wanted from God. He had a deep relationship with God and that faith, that deep relationship with God, firstly answered his deepest need, his need for salvation, a far greater need than restoration of sight. He reminds me of the teaching of Jesus in Matt 6, Seek the kingdom of God first and all these other things will be given you as well. Bartimaeus sought the kingdom of God first Gods mercy- and the other thing, restoration of sight, was given him as well. Why should we pray when God already knows what we want? God already knows what our needs are and doesnt need our prayer to keep him up to date on what is happening in our lives. Instead prayer is for our benefit. Prayer is to prepare our heart for what God wishes to give us. What we need is not always what we want but God in his provident mercy gives us what we need. Our whole life is to be a prayer to God because our whole life is about following Jesus, being a disciple of Jesus. Prayer is a way of living, it is following Jesus on the road. Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter by Fr. Tommy Lane You go on holidays every year and I do also. We need time away to recharge our batteries and replenish our energy. Many of you tell me where you go on vacation and you go to all sorts of interesting places. As well as going on holidays every year priests and religious also go on holidays with the Lord; it is called a retreat. Priests and Sisters take this holiday with the Lord every year but an increasing number of lay people also take this holiday with the Lord, a retreat, every year. Why? The pace of life is such now that we need a quiet time to spend with the Lord, loving him and soaking up his love and reflecting on our lives and where were going. We all need our private space and time apart, our time with the Lord. After Jesus Ascension his disciples returned to the upper room where they had celebrated the Last Supper and gathered in prayer with Mary, the women, the apostles and many disciples. They needed time apart after Jesus Ascension. It was like a time of retreat for them. Jesus had said to them to stay in the city until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). Jesus had promised that he would send them a Comforter or Advocate, the Holy Spirit. So they spent these days on retreat praying for the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus would no longer be with them as he had been, he would continue to be with them as they celebrated the Eucharist and would be with them through his Spirit whom they would receive at Pentecost after this time of prayer together. Remembering Mary, the women, apostles and disciples gathered in prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit reminds us of the importance of praying for what we need.

While prayer is principally to make us more open to God, to help us respond better to Gods grace in our lives, we also believe that Gods love leads him to hear and answer our prayers of petition. We greatly admire the faith of people who pray to God every day for a request and a long time afterwards have their prayer answered. Each one of us knows people whose prayers seem to be always answered, and then they are asked to pray for others also. People often ask priests and sisters to pray for their intentions and ask priests to offer Mass for their intentions; that is good, but it is also good that each of us prays for ourselves. Dont you all leave it to me to pray for your intentions; you should all pray for your intentions. Jesus himself taught the importance of asking God for what we need, Ask and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him (Luke 11:910). Once Jesus also told a parable about someone visiting his friend in the middle of the night looking for bread because he had a surprise visitor. Although the friend did not want to get up, Jesus said persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants (Luke 11:5-8). In this parable Jesus wanted to teach us to keep asking God for what we want. So please pray. Is prayer wasting time instead of doing something good? We need both work and prayer in our lives. Remember what Jesus said to Martha who was busy serving Jesus while Mary sat listening at his feet, Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part and it shall not be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42). If we do not pray every day there is a huge void in our lives and we cannot hope to be happy. Not all prayers are answered, or I should say, not answered in the way we wanted. Even though not all prayers are answered in they way we desired, hopefully we can see that we have received graces we probably would not have received had those prayers been answered as we wished. We have plans and sometimes our plans are not fulfilled. Our lives can sometimes revolve around me or I or myself. But God has still more wonderful plans for us if we will allow them to be fulfilled. It is only in the next life that we will fully understand Gods plans. Even after Jesus resurrection some of Jesus disciples asked him when he would restore the kingdom to Israel as we heard in the first reading for the Ascension (Acts 1:6). They still believed he was a Messiah to drive out the Romans from Israel and did not yet fully understand that he was a Messiah to save us from our sins. They would understand Jesus only when they would receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They needed the grace of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to fully understand Jesus. Like them when we wait in prayer like Mary, the women and apostles and disciples before Pentecost we will receive graces from prayer that otherwise we would not receive. During this week before Pentecost I ask you to please pray like Mary, the women, the apostles and disciples for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church and on all of us that we may respond to God better. Please believe that your prayer will be answered. Pray that our celebration of Pentecost will lead to the Church being renewed

and strengthened by Gods Spirit. Also as well as going on holidays every year why not give some thought to taking a holiday with the Lord by going on a retreat? Lord God, you promised not to leave us orphaned but to remain with us always. Be with us in our confusion and disappointment when we do not know what to do. Grant that we may hear your call to silence and prayer and withdraw to our upstairs room. There we ask you to pour out on us afresh your Holy Spirit that we may be better witnesses to you in our families, parishes and places of work. Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane Since the apparition of Our Lady in Lourdes in 1858 more than twelve hundred physical healings claimed to have occurred there have been said by doctors to be scientifically inexplicable. The Church has strict guidelines on accepting a healing as a miracle and so fifty-four of those healings have been accepted by the Church as miracles (according to Ren Latourelle The Miracles of Jesus and the Theology of Miracles pages 313-314 published in 1988). Since the mid 1990s the amount of research in the US on the effects of prayer on health has doubled. The results of the research are very interesting. In May 1999 the Demography magazine published the findings of studies about the effects of prayer. The study was carried out on 22,000 people over nine years. Those who attend church weekly live 10% longer than those who do not. People doubted the results of the findings because they said regular church goers live healthier lives but the study had already taken that into account and had already made adjustments for lower rates of alcohol and tobacco use among church goers. So the researchers stood over their results. Recently Duke University released the results of a study on 4,000 people over the age of 65. Those who prayed regularly had significantly lower blood pressure than those who did not. Those who attended religious services had healthier immune systems. More findings from Duke University and from Dartmouth and Yale Universities show that people in hospital who never attend church regularly have an average stay in hospital three times longer than those who do attend church regularly. Elderly people who never or rarely attend church have a stroke rate almost double that of those who do go to church. Studies in Israel show that religious people have a 40% lower death rate from cardiovascular disease and cancer. So the data is there, the secret is out of the bag, prayer works. Why is prayer so good for ones health? A scientist at Harvard, Herbert Benson, has conducted MRI brain scans on those who meditate. The scans have shown that physical changes take place in the body when someone meditates. (Intense activity takes place in the brains parietal lobe circuits, and a quietude envelops the brain, the frontal and temporal lobe circuits become disengaged, and the limbic system becomes activated.)

The result is that the body becomes more relaxed and body activity becomes more evenly regulated. So prayer and meditation is good for you. In the Gospel today (Luke 11:1-13) Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lords Prayer, the Our Father. We listened to Lukes Gospel today and you will notice that the Lords Prayer in Luke is slightly different to the version we pray. In Matthews Gospel Jesus teaches a longer version of the prayer and it is Matthews version that the Christian Churches use. After the prayer we see Jesus teaching to pray for what we need (Luke 11:5-13). If you go to your friend in the middle of the night for something and he is slow to get up to answer the door, if you persist your friend will get up to give you what you need. In other words, keep praying to God for what you need, do not stop praying, continue to pray until your prayers are answered. Jesus continued, Ask and it will be given to you; search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives, the one who searches always find, the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. (Luke 11:9-10) Why did Jesus say to keep on praying? Jesus knew that prayer is good for us, we had to wait almost 2000 years for the scientists to discover the same but Jesus knew and so he emphasized the importance of prayer. There are many other reasons why Jesus said to keep on praying. Sometimes when we pray for something our intentions are not always good. Sometimes our intentions in prayer are selfish and need to be purified and by praying for some request over a long time our intention is purified. Often you would hear sick people who went to Lourdes say that although they did not receive physical healing they received the grace of acceptance. There are also those occasions when there seems to be no answer of any kind to prayer, at least for now. This is a real test of faith and some people have crosses to carry, often silently and unknown, and that makes them real heroes. Suffering is a mystery and we do not know all the answers, we only see bits and pieces of the answer in this life. But as Jesus said, we keep praying no matter what. Not only is prayer good for your health, not only did Jesus ask us to pray, but we actually need to pray for our happiness. If we do not pray we will not be happy because the deepest part of our being will be starving for God. A beautiful Psalm, Ps 63 describes our longing for God like this, O God, you are my God, for you I long; For you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you Like a dry weary land without water. (Listen to my meditation on Psalm 63 mp3) So just as a desert is thirsty for water we are thirsty for God and we satisfy that thirst in prayer. So let us pray, it is good for our health, Jesus asked us to pray and prayer satisfies our thirst for God.

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane When I was in Florida recently I visited the Kennedy Space Center. I saw Cape Canaveral and the launch site for the space shuttle. In the Space Center I was able to look at and touch moon rock. Through the miracle of modern science and space travel, I reached out and touched the moon! When we pray we leave this world and touch God. When we pray things happen. Prayer changes us and others to be ready to receive the grace of God. Perhaps sometimes that is why our prayers are not answered quickly, because we need time to prepare our souls for the grace God will give us. We pray expecting our prayer to change the outcome of events. In the first reading (Gen 18:20-32) Abraham interceded on behalf of the city of Sodom that it might not be destroyed because of its sin. Abraham believed that his prayer could change the course of history, that his prayer could save a city. What is leading Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction? Various passages in the Old Testament mention different sins in Sodom but the passage in Genesis 19 immediately following what we just heard today refers to homosexual acts. The Church distinguishes between homosexual orientation and activity. On orientation the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill Gods will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lords Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. (CCC 2358) Because homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law (CCC 2357) the Church calls on homosexual people to live celibately (CCC 2359) and offers the support group called Courage. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection. (CCC 2359) Abraham knew and believed that prayer can change the future course of history and so he prayed and interceded before God to prevent a catastrophe. In the Gospel (Luke 11:1-13) Jesus taught the parable about someone going to his friend in the middle of the night for bread. If friendship will not make his friend get up out of bed, persistence at the door will. So Jesus said,

I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10) With human eyes we cannot understand why sometimes a prayer request is granted quickly, and at other times it seems like it will never be granted. However we do believe that prayer is never wasted and somehow our prayer will be answered in Gods own way even if we have to wait until the next life to see how our prayer helped. Let us never think a situation is hopeless and so let us never give up praying. Christians are never without hope because we see everything in the context of eternity. As we heard in the second reading, you were also raised with Christ through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Col 2:12) So let us keep praying because Jesus, brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:13-14) Sometimes people see the hand of God afterwards in the way situations worked themselves out. As Christians believing in the power of prayer we know that our futures are not controlled by the stars or tealeaves in a cup or the lines on the palm of our hand. Our futures depend on decisions we make and we know and believe that when we pray we can change the future course of events. One of the prayers that has special significance for us is the Our Father, the Lords Prayer, because it was taught to us by Jesus. Although we listened to the Our Father today in Lukes Gospel, the version the Church uses is the one in Matthew which is slightly longer than Lukes version. Our Father who art in heaven: Jesus taught us to call God Father because he is the source of all life. Jesus taught us to call God Father because this shows the intimacy that should exist between us and our heavenly Father. We see Jesus calling his Father Abba in Mark 14:36. Aramaic was the language spoken in Palestine and Abba was approximately the equivalent of our word Daddy. Calling God Abba was quite unique because until then people had been accustomed to God as Yahweh. What is your image of the Father? The Father is Abba, Daddy, who wants you to reach out to him every day and be intimate with him. (See stories about God as Father) We call God OUR Father because we are all one family in the Church. Civil society makes distinctions and differences but it is not so in the Church. Since baptism we all belong to the one family of God. Baptism is what gives us dignity in the Church.

Hallowed be Thy Name: In this petition we ask that Gods name be recognized as hallowed and holy all over the world. The respect shown to Gods name by the Jewish people reminds us of the holiness of Gods name; when reading the Hebrew Scriptures they could not pronounce the word Yahweh and instead said Adonai. The only person allowed to pronounce Yahweh was the high priest and he was allowed to do so only once a year (on the day of Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies.) In the New Testament we see miracles performed using the name of Jesus. Peter said to the crippled man, I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the NAME of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk. (Acts 3:6) We also read in Acts 4:12 that only in the NAME of Jesus is there salvation. Too often there is a lack of respect for the holiness of Jesus name and in this petition we pray that the whole world may respect Gods name. Thy Kingdom Come: Jesus preached many times about the Kingdom of God using parables. When praying this petition we pray that our world will more and more come to reflect the goodness and love of God. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven: This petition is only in Matthews version of the prayer (not in Lukes). We pray in this petition that Gods plan may be fulfilled in our lives and in the life of every person in the whole world. When Gods will is done in our lives, then we become most fully who we are meant to be. Give us this day our daily bread: we ask God to provide us with all the physical needs we have e.g. food, house, car. Although we work to earn money to provide for our needs we know that ultimately everything we have is a gift from God. We can also see this petition as asking God to fulfill our spiritual needs, which God does in the Eucharist. We fill our minds with much information every day from TV, newspapers, magazines etc. This petition reminds us that we need to fill our minds above all every day with spiritual food. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us: We all stand in need of Gods mercy. There is no limit to Gods mercy. Let us not put limits on Gods mercy to us. Both Peter and Judas failed Jesus during his Passion in different ways but the difference between Peter and Judas was that Judas put limits on Gods mercy. Let us reach out to God for his mercy. This petition also reminds us to forgive those who hurt us because we ask God to forgive us just as we forgive others. Forgiveness is not just an emotion, it is a decision. We need to decide to forgive those who hurt us. Forgiveness does not mean suppressing painful memories but it does mean not acting out of them. When the hurt is deep, counseling may be necessary to develop the skill of not being controlled by former painful events. For those who find it difficult to forgive I say to people to say to themselves, I will not allow X to control my life. I take control of my life back from X. From now on I will control my life. Another help is to picture the person who caused the hurt beneath the cross of Jesus and Jesus dying for that person. Jesus loves that person just as much as he loves you. Praying in that way helps to free us from acting out of pain that has been inflicted on us. Giving up the need to control another person in the sense of expecting them to

apologize to us also frees us to forgive them. I say to couples who have difficulty forgiving each other to remember their enthusiastic love when they were first in love and to rekindle that enthusiastic love once again. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: Obviously God does not want us to fall into temptation or be overcome by evil; in this petition we ask God to prevent us from falling into temptation, but God forbid, should we do so then to rescue us from temptation and evil. Testing and temptation can be an occasion for us to strengthen our relationship with God. Our future is not controlled by the stars or tealeaves in a cup or the lines on the palms of our hands. Our future depends on decisions we make and depends on our prayer. Let us reach out and touch God in prayer because we know and believe that prayer can change our lives and the lives of others. Prayer can change the course of history. So let us pray, pray, pray. Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10) Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane What prayers did Jesus say every day? The Rosary didnt exist at the time of Jesus. The Psalms were the prayers Jesus prayed every day. There are 150 Psalms and many Jews would have known most of them off by heart. Because the Psalms were the prayers that Jesus used every day, I think we should pay more attention to them. Some of the Psalms are very beautiful, like the Psalm in todays Mass. Can I ask you is there any emptiness in your life? Is there any lack of fulfillment in your life? Money, riches or possessions wont fill that gap or space. In 1982 an article appeared in Readers Digest. It was about an advertising executive. In spite of her successful career, she felt an emptiness in her life. One morning, during a breakfast meeting with her marketing consultant, she mentioned that emptiness. Do you want to fill it? her colleague asked. Of Course I do, she said. He looked at her and replied, Then start each day with an hour of prayer. She looked at him and said, Don, youve got to be kidding. If I tried that, Id go off my rocker. Her friend smiled and said, Thats exactly what I said 20 years ago. Then he said something else that really made her think. He said Youre trying to fit God into your life. Instead you should be trying to make your life revolve around God. The woman left the restaurant in turmoil. Begin each morning with prayer? Begin each morning with an hour of prayer? Absolutely out of the question! Yet, the next morning she found herself doing exactly that. And shes been

doing it ever since. The woman is the first to admit that it has not always been easy. There have been mornings when she was filled with great peace and joy. But there have been other mornings when she was filled with nothing but weariness. And it was on these weary mornings that she remembered something else that her marketing consultant said. There will be times when your mind just wont go into Gods sanctuary. Thats when you spend your hour in Gods waiting room. Still, youre there, and God appreciates your struggle to stay there. (I found a synopsis of the Reader's Digest article in Illustrated Sunday Homilies Year C/Series 1 (page 78) by Fr. Mark Link, S.J.) That story about the advertising executive finding her emptiness filled with prayer reminds me of that beautiful Psalm in todays Mass. In many different ways the Psalm says that only in God will we find the happiness we are seeking. (Here I ask the congregation to follow the Psalm of todays Mass (Ps 16). I quote the first two verses of the Psalm commenting ad lib on each line somewhat similar to the following though in more detail and repeating the line from the Psalm after the comment:) (Psalm) Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. (Comment) When I am in trouble I turn to God for help who is my refuge and I say to God, Preserve me. (Psalm) I say to the Lord: You are my God. (Comment) Lord God, you are my only hope, you are the only one who can help me. (Psalm) O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. (Comment) Lord God you alone can satisfy me and I am deluded if I think the pleasures of this world will bring me fulfillment. (Psalm) I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel. (Comment) I thank you, Lord, that on those occasions when I did not know what to do, you helped me arrive at a decision, often with the help and advice of another. I bless you Lord for giving me counsel. (Psalm) I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. (Comment) I thank you Lord that even when I sleep you look after my whole being at every moment. (Psalm) I keep the Lord ever in my sight. (Comment) Lord, I try to love you above all else, with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. (Psalm) since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

(Comment) I do not fear the future and will not fear no matter what happens because you are at my right hand and you will help me to stand firm. (Then I repeat the first two verses of the Psalm once again and now they should mean much more to the congregation.) I would like to encourage you to find time to pray every day, like Jesus who prayed the Psalms, and like the advertising executive. Time spent in prayer is not time wasted, but is deeply rewarding. It is only what you would expect. What better companion to meet every day than God. St. Augustine wrote, You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. I conclude with the words of the Psalm: Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: You are my God. O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. (Ps 16) Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane You tell me that you do your work well, you dont harm anyone, so you are a good Christian, although you admit that you dont pray. I would like to ask you, If you do your work well, you dont harm anyone, but you dont pray, what is the difference between you and a computer? No difference. Computers work well, harm no one, and dont pray. We can get so busy that we forget what life is all about. We can get so involved in pursuing the things money can buy that we forget the things money cant buy. Jesus never said to work always, but he did say to pray always. We are not meant to be workaholics. We are sons and daughters of God since baptism. We could not be more privileged. It is a pity to see work reducing us sometimes to the level of computers. Martha was distracted with all the serving while Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to him. No doubt Martha would describe herself as someone who did her work well and didnt harm anyone. But it did not bring her peace of mind; she was vexed with her sister and Jesus was not entirely satisfied with her either: Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Clearly working well and harming no one is not nearly as good as also spending time with Jesus. Martha learned that Jesus would be much happier if she spent time with him rather than running all over the house. Perhaps we could express this in a more mundane way; we would be much more pleasing to Jesus if we spent time with him in prayer every day as well as doing good, rather than being a do gooder who does not pray. Or again

perhaps we could express it in this way; we are called to be Christians - people in relationship with Christ - and not just do gooders. I would like to encourage you to spend a substantial amount of time in prayer every day. Two minutes, three minutes, or five minutes is not enough. I believe God calls Christians to pray for hours every day. It is great to see so many who spend one hour before Jesus in the Eucharist in the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapels. Time spend in prayer is not time wasted. It is the most fruitful time of all. No one would say that prayer is easy, but it is certainly rewarding. We live such busy lives that sometimes we might not even be aware of what is really going on deep within us. We only become aware when we take the time to quieten down and pray. Usually people call the awareness during prayer of what is happening deep within them distractions, but these distractions are often messages to help us get our lives in order. Distractions can be of many kinds. If something painful from the past keeps popping into our head during prayer, that may signal that God wants to give us the grace of healing that wound in prayer. That wound is an obstacle to our friendship with God and needs to be healed. Then ask God in prayer to heal that wound. Whatever emotions or desires arise in our mind during prayer may be a message to us to bring that matter before the Lord in prayer to get it resolved in prayer. For example, anger and forgiveness arising during prayer make us aware of the need to forgive. Sometimes we become distracted in prayer simply because our minds are so active. St Teresa of Avila, writing about this, said it is like having a mad man in the attic. We may need to give the mad man in the attic something to occupy himself if we are to have less distractions during prayer. There is a story told about someone riding an elephant through an African village. The elephant would poke his trunk into everything while passing by and cause damage. So to prevent this, the man gave the elephant a stick to hold in his trunk. He was then able to ride through the village without the elephant causing any trouble. That was his way to occupy the mad man in the attic. How do we occupy the mad man in the attic or give the elephant a stick for his trunk? Maybe playing very quiet easy-listening reflective music in the background might help. Looking at a holy picture or a lighted candle might help. When you notice yourself becoming distracted you can look at the picture or candle again. Reading a few verses from the Bible would help you to concentrate again. Whatever way we occupy the mad man in the attic the important thing is to meet Jesus in prayer. If we really meet Jesus in prayer we will be uplifted and much better afterwards. Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane

This homily was delivered in a cloistered convent. Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus is often taken to be a model for the contemplative consecrated life (for example Vita Consecrata 109; Perfectae Caritatis 5). Mary sat at Jesus feet, spending time listening to him. She withdrew from the activities around her so as to concentrate on the Lord. She needed silence in order to listen to the Lord. She received praise from the Lord who said, Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) To be with the Lord we need space and silence, and the cloister gives that space and silence needed for a special relationship with the Lord. Indeed to someone coming in from outside, being inside this cloister gives the impression of already being halfway to heaven. Mary in the Gospel not only found space at the Lords feet to be with him but had to withdraw from doing things so as to give time to the Lord. Living in the cloister is withdrawing from activity to be with the Lord. Mary in the Gospel also had to withdraw from her sister while she spent time with the Lord. Living in the cloister also means renouncing some of the goods of creation to make space for the best of all, the Lord himself. Marys sister, Martha, did not understand and complained about her sister. Not understanding the call and grace to love the Lord in this special way goes right back to the time Christ himself was on earth, and therefore is nothing new. One of the twelve apostles even showed the same lack of understanding Judas when he complained about the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus (John 12:7). Living in the cloister you live out union with Christ joyfully by means of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Just as Mary was an example by spending time with the Lord, this particular way in which you live out your relationship with the Lord by means of poverty, chastity, and obedience, is also a much needed example of the importance of these values in a world which is ever more getting lost in what has no value. We are well aware that this country had become materialistic, greedy, and selfish during the economic boom of recent years but your life of evangelical poverty is a response which shows that having the Lord in ones heart is the one thing necessary or the better part spoken of by the Lord in todays Gospel (Luke 10:42).

Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) We are well aware that society is losing sight of Gods plan for the gift of sexuality, and separating sexuality from morality. Society is forgetting God the giver of the gift, and forgetting the boundary that God has put around his gift of sexuality. Your life of perfect chastity here in the cloister is a response which shows that with the grace of God it is possible to love God with all ones heart, soul, mind and strength; that it is possible to love God above everything and everybody, and to do so joyfully. Thirdly we are aware of perverted notions of freedom in society today that have separated freedom and morality, separated freedom from living under God. Your life in the cloister is a response which shows that true freedom is freedom in Christ, and therefore freedom is obedient to Christ. Any other freedom would ultimately end up in slavery. Indeed we might ask if the current economic collapse and mountain of debt (2010) is an example of a return to slavery after irresponsible and immoral freedom during the economic boom. There is only one freedom, freedom for Christ. By your living of poverty, chastity, and obedience here in the cloister you are living examples of the love Mary showed to Jesus in the Gospel today. Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Of course living the cloistered consecrated life is a dying to oneself and a sharing in its own particular way in the Passion of Christ, but a sharing to find new life in the joyful resurrection of Christ. We all share in some way in the Passion of Christ when we offer our suffering to the Lord for the Kingdom. Your renunciation of self in so many ways is akin to Paul in the second reading today (Col 1:24-28) who said that in his own body he made up what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the salvation of the Church (Col 1:24). You make up in your own bodies what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the salvation of this parish, this diocese, this country. But this renunciation of self always lead to joy because the cross leads to resurrection. Your renunciation of self leads to closer union with Christ your Spouse. Indeed we sometimes talk of Christ as your Spouse due to the special relationship of consecrated religious with the Lord (for example Vita Consecrata 34; 59; 93). The Church values you and your life of prayer and commitment to Christ so much as well as depending on your prayers and example. Indeed the Church teaches that your consecrated life has an objective superiority because it is so rich a manifestation of the values of the Gospel of Christ and already anticipates the future fullness of the Kingdom of God (for example Vita Consecrata 32) Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus is often taken

to be a model for the contemplative and consecrated life (for example Vita Consecrata 109; Perfectae Caritatis 5). Mary withdrew from the activities around her so as to concentrate on the Lord just as you have renounced so many good things for the best, the Lord himself. Your poverty, chastity and obedience are examples to the world of what has true value. Your life manifests richly the values of Christs Gospel and rightly does the Church often say that your Spouse is Christ. Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane When you are ill and go to the doctor it would not make much sense to tell the doctor about another persons illness. The doctor would not be able to treat you if complained about someone elses illness and did not tell your own symptoms. If you were to do that you would go home again just as sick as when you went to see the doctor. (Sermon 351.1 of St. Augustine on todays Gospel) Strange as that may seem it is precisely what happens in the parable that Jesus tells in todays Gospel (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee and tax collector both go to the Temple to pray. However the Pharisee, instead of presenting himself humbly before God asking for Gods help and grace, lists the faults of others, and complains also about the tax collector praying nearby. O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanitygreedy, dishonest, adulterousor even like this tax collector. (Luke 18:11) Therefore it is no surprise when we hear that the Pharisee did not go home justified after his prayer in the temple (Luke 18:14). We might think the Pharisee came to God with the right attitude since he fasted twice a week. While the Jewish Law or Torah decreed fasting only once a year on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), as the years went by Jewish piety added more fasting. But these additional fasts were not to repent of sins. Instead they were fasts to ask God for a favor or protection from calamities. They even fasted to prevent bad dreams or to understand how to interpret dreams. So the Pharisees fasting was not repentance. On the other hand the tax collector goes to the temple in repentance. Even his body language displays his repentance: he stood away at a distance, did not raise his eyes and he beat his breast. But it is above all in his prayer that we see his repentance, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13) Unlike the Pharisee, he did not try to conceal who he really was or put on a mask to hide his real self from God. He came to God as he was. Therefore God met him where he was and lifted him up and went home justified (Luke 18:14). When you are ill and go to the doctor it would not make much sense to tell the doctor about another persons illness. The doctor would not be able to treat you if complained about someone elses illness and did not tell your own symptoms. If you were to do that

you would go home again just as sick as when you went to see the doctor. The Pharisee and tax collector received from God what they deserved. The Pharisee came to God complaining about others sins and did not go home with the peace of God in his heart. On the other hand the tax collector came before God in complete humility, admitting who he really was, and went home at peace with God. The tax collector is really living the first beatitude, Blessed are the poor in spirit. He is poor in spirit. He is just like another tax collector, Zacchaeus, whom we will hear about next Sunday, who humbly meets Jesus in a spirit of repentance and is also saved (Luke 19:1-10) Throughout Scripture we see God coming to those who know their need of God. The first reading today from Eccliasticus/Sirach reminds us that God does not have favorites and hears the cry of the oppressed (35:12-13) and that the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds (35:17). In the second reading Paul (or someone expressing Pauls thought) is also poor in spirit before God. Paul knows he will soon be martyred so he says he is already being poured out as a libation (2 Tim 4:6). A libation of wine was poured over sacrifices so Paul is indicating he knows his life will end in the sacrifice of martyrdom. All Pauls witnesses abandoned him when he had to defend himself. So he is left with only the Lord to be with him. He wrote in our second reading, But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lions mouth. (2 Tim 4:17) St. Paul too is living the attitude of the tax collector. He has no masks. What about us? Surely the Lord is saying to us in the parable that we have nothing to fear in approaching him just as we are. In fact, it is the correct way to approach God because otherwise we block God out from our life. Let us humbly admit our nothingness before God and our dependence on God like St. Paul. It is when we realize that we have nothing that we are ready to receive Gods grace. When you are ill and go to the doctor it would not make much sense to tell the doctor about another persons illness. The doctor would not be able to treat you if complained about someone elses illness and did not tell your own symptoms. Humble repentance before God opens us to Gods grace. It is such humble repentance that also gives us the grace to receive the Lords forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. That sacrament is a beautiful way to meet the Lord and go home peaceful again like the tax collector. Let us not be too proud like the Pharisee but humble like the tax collector so that we can make frequent use of the sacrament go home peaceful again like the tax collector. Sin is glamorized on TV but sin is sin and needs to be repented of. Glamorizing of sin on TV and other media is closing the door to God. Instead the Lord is waiting to fill us with his grace, forgiveness and love, if only we come before him in humble repentance saying like the tax collector, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13) For the same reason we begin every Mass asking God to forgive us and again before receiving Holy Communion we say, Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed. The Lord is waiting to fill us with his grace, forgiveness and love, if only we come before him in humble repentance saying like the tax collector, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane What prayers did Jesus say every day? The Rosary didnt exist at the time of Jesus. The Psalms were the prayers Jesus prayed every day. There are 150 Psalms and many Jews would have known most of them off by heart. Because the Psalms were the prayers that Jesus used every day, I think we should pay more attention to them. Some of the Psalms are very beautiful, like the Psalm in todays Mass. Can I ask you is there any emptiness in your life? Is there any lack of fulfillment in your life? Money, riches or possessions wont fill that gap or space. In 1982 an article appeared in Readers Digest. It was about an advertising executive. In spite of her successful career, she felt an emptiness in her life. One morning, during a breakfast meeting with her marketing consultant, she mentioned that emptiness. Do you want to fill it? her colleague asked. Of Course I do, she said. He looked at her and replied, Then start each day with an hour of prayer. She looked at him and said, Don, youve got to be kidding. If I tried that, Id go off my rocker. Her friend smiled and said, Thats exactly what I said 20 years ago. Then he said something else that really made her think. He said Youre trying to fit God into your life. Instead you should be trying to make your life revolve around God. The woman left the restaurant in turmoil. Begin each morning with prayer? Begin each morning with an hour of prayer? Absolutely out of the question! Yet, the next morning she found herself doing exactly that. And shes been doing it ever since. The woman is the first to admit that it has not always been easy. There have been mornings when she was filled with great peace and joy. But there have been other mornings when she was filled with nothing but weariness. And it was on these weary mornings that she remembered something else that her marketing consultant said. There will be times when your mind just wont go into Gods sanctuary. Thats when you spend your hour in Gods waiting room. Still, youre there, and God appreciates your struggle to stay there. (I found a synopsis of the Reader's Digest article in Illustrated Sunday Homilies Year C/Series 1 (page 78) by Fr. Mark Link, S.J.) That story about the advertising executive finding her emptiness filled with prayer reminds me of that beautiful Psalm in todays Mass. In many different ways the Psalm says that only in God will we find the happiness we are seeking. (Here I ask the congregation to follow the Psalm of todays Mass (Ps 16). I quote the first two verses of the Psalm commenting ad lib on each line somewhat similar to the following though in more detail and repeating the line from the Psalm after the comment:) (Psalm) Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. (Comment) When I am in trouble I turn to God for help who is my refuge and I say to God, Preserve me.

(Psalm) I say to the Lord: You are my God. (Comment) Lord God, you are my only hope, you are the only one who can help me. (Psalm) O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. (Comment) Lord God you alone can satisfy me and I am deluded if I think the pleasures of this world will bring me fulfillment. (Psalm) I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel. (Comment) I thank you, Lord, that on those occasions when I did not know what to do, you helped me arrive at a decision, often with the help and advice of another. I bless you Lord for giving me counsel. (Psalm) I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. (Comment) I thank you Lord that even when I sleep you look after my whole being at every moment. (Psalm) I keep the Lord ever in my sight. (Comment) Lord, I try to love you above all else, with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. (Psalm) since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. (Comment) I do not fear the future and will not fear no matter what happens because you are at my right hand and you will help me to stand firm. (Then I repeat the first two verses of the Psalm once again and now they should mean much more to the congregation.) I would like to encourage you to find time to pray every day, like Jesus who prayed the Psalms, and like the advertising executive. Time spent in prayer is not time wasted, but is deeply rewarding. It is only what you would expect. What better companion to meet every day than God. St. Augustine wrote, You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. I conclude with the words of the Psalm: Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: You are my God. O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. (Ps 16) Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday of Year C by Fr. Tommy Lane

You tell me that you do your work well, you dont harm anyone, so you are a good Christian, although you admit that you dont pray. I would like to ask you, If you do your work well, you dont harm anyone, but you dont pray, what is the difference between you and a computer? No difference. Computers work well, harm no one, and dont pray. We can get so busy that we forget what life is all about. We can get so involved in pursuing the things money can buy that we forget the things money cant buy. Jesus never said to work always, but he did say to pray always. We are not meant to be workaholics. We are sons and daughters of God since baptism. We could not be more privileged. It is a pity to see work reducing us sometimes to the level of computers. Martha was distracted with all the serving while Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to him. No doubt Martha would describe herself as someone who did her work well and didnt harm anyone. But it did not bring her peace of mind; she was vexed with her sister and Jesus was not entirely satisfied with her either: Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42) Clearly working well and harming no one is not nearly as good as also spending time with Jesus. Martha learned that Jesus would be much happier if she spent time with him rather than running all over the house. Perhaps we could express this in a more mundane way; we would be much more pleasing to Jesus if we spent time with him in prayer every day as well as doing good, rather than being a do gooder who does not pray. Or again perhaps we could express it in this way; we are called to be Christians - people in relationship with Christ - and not just do gooders. I would like to encourage you to spend a substantial amount of time in prayer every day. Two minutes, three minutes, or five minutes is not enough. I believe God calls Christians to pray for hours every day. It is great to see so many who spend one hour before Jesus in the Eucharist in the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapels. Time spend in prayer is not time wasted. It is the most fruitful time of all. No one would say that prayer is easy, but it is certainly rewarding. We live such busy lives that sometimes we might not even be aware of what is really going on deep within us. We only become aware when we take the time to quieten down and pray. Usually people call the awareness during prayer of what is happening deep within them distractions, but these distractions are often messages to help us get our lives in order. Distractions can be of many kinds. If something painful from the past keeps popping into our head during prayer, that may signal that God wants to give us the grace of healing that wound in prayer. That wound is an obstacle to our friendship with God and needs to be healed. Then ask God in prayer to heal that wound. Whatever emotions or desires arise in our mind during prayer may be a message to us to bring that matter before the Lord in prayer to get it resolved in prayer. For example, anger and forgiveness arising during prayer make us aware of the need to forgive.

Sometimes we become distracted in prayer simply because our minds are so active. St Teresa of Avila, writing about this, said it is like having a mad man in the attic. We may need to give the mad man in the attic something to occupy himself if we are to have less distractions during prayer. There is a story told about someone riding an elephant through an African village. The elephant would poke his trunk into everything while passing by and cause damage. So to prevent this, the man gave the elephant a stick to hold in his trunk. He was then able to ride through the village without the elephant causing any trouble. That was his way to occupy the mad man in the attic. How do we occupy the mad man in the attic or give the elephant a stick for his trunk? Maybe playing very quiet easy-listening reflective music in the background might help. Looking at a holy picture or a lighted candle might help. When you notice yourself becoming distracted you can look at the picture or candle again. Reading a few verses from the Bible would help you to concentrate again. Whatever way we occupy the mad man in the attic the important thing is to meet Jesus in prayer. If we really meet Jesus in prayer we will be uplifted and much better afterwards. Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, it is not to be taken from her. (Luke 10:41-42)

Distractions in Prayer and St. Bernard

I heard the following related by Archbishop Fulton Sheen in a broadcast. A friend boasted to St. Bernard that he had no distractions. St. Bernard admitted that he had trouble with distractions. One day the two of them were out riding on horseback and St. Bernard said he would give his friend his horse if he got off his horse and could pray the Our Father without any distractions. His friend got as far as, Give us this day our daily bread when he looked at St. Bernard and asked, Can I have the saddle too? I am convinced that if enough people prayed the course of world history could be changed. We dont believe enough in the power of prayer. If we did, we would pray more. Think about this example. Dr David Jeremiah relates the following incident. While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, I traveled every two weeks by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This required camping overnight halfway. On one of these trips, I saw two men fighting in the city. One was seriously hurt so I treated him and witnessed to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then returned home without incident. Upon arriving in the city several weeks later, I was approached by the man I had treated earlier. He told me he had known that I carried money and medicine. He said, Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. Just as we were about to move into your campsite, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. I laughed at this and said, I was certainly all alone out in the jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, No sir, I was not the only one

to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone. At this point of my church presentation in Michigan, one of the men in the church stood up and interrupted me. He asked, Can you tell me the exact date when this happened? I thought for a while and recalled the date. The man in the congregation then gave his side of the story. He stated, On that night in Africa it was day here. I was preparing to play golf. As I put my bags in the car, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. In fact, the urging was so great that I called the men of this church together to pray for you. Will all those men who met to pray please stand? The men who had met that day to pray together stood. . . there were 26 of them! (Dr. David Jeremiahs story about prayer is published in Prayer, the Great Adventure)