Author: Father Cioppi

Every person is born to fulfill God’s purpose! Mark 13:24-32

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Every person is born to fulfill God’s purpose.
The Gospel tells us that we are like fig trees called upon to bear fruit. In the parable, the fig tree produces no fruit. It is wasting space. We can relate this situation to other Gospel images such as the light hidden under a basket, the squandered inheritance, or the salt that has lost its favor.
Each parable calls the disciple to act on their faith and to complete the work Jesus set out to accomplish.If you look back over the past year and can admit that nothing has really changed in your living the virtues; that your life with God has not produced anything, then the Gospel is for you.
To find heaven read the scriptures and then go out and allow the words to produce much fruit.My friends, your life shortens with every breath.Take responsibility for your faith or your soul will surely waste away, not by a sudden tragic event, but from inertia, from your own choice to do nothing, like the fig tree.
“Worship God first” according the Rites given you by the Church and then, “go out and make disciples” from those who are lost, confused or who deny God.It is in the very act of ‘going out’ that produces the fruit that fulfills God’s purpose in you!

Called to give everything for the love of Jesus and His Church

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As you know, our parish is participating in the CALLED BY NAME PROGRAM for vocations. Priests have been asked to tell their vocation story as part of the program. So, after 34 years, I’ll see what I can remember.

When I was five years old, my mother and father took us to England to visit my mother’s family. During that visit we went to a nearby Benedictine monastery to visit a friend of my uncle’s who raised bees on the monastery grounds.

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God calls more men to be His Priests!

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Today’s Feast immerses us in the lives of countless saints who struggled in their lives to do God’s Will. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy Will be dome on earth as it is in heaven.” And so the saints tried to live as if they were already in heaven.

The example they give us encourages us to accomplish what He Himself started – bringing others into union with God.  God not only calls us to be holy. He gives us the strength to live it through the Eucharist.

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Do you really ‘want to see?’ Mark 10:46-52

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Christ never encounters a person on the superficial level. He always goes right for the heart and tears it open, laying it bear.
Today, Bartimaeus encounters Jesus and begins superficially, “I want to see.” Christ knows that in order to ‘see’ Bartimaeus must first trust Him to redefine what it means to see. The physical reality of seeing material things is superficial compared with the seeing of the heart of faith. It takes a lot of courage.

What would you sacrifice for the good of another?

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Dr. Lloyd Judd practiced medicine in rural Oklahoma. Many of his patients were poor and had no transportation. He often had to drive long hours to their homes to treat them.

One day Dr. Judd checked into a hospital and discovered that he had terminal cancer. His children, distraught, asked why he extended himself so much for his patients. He said, with great satisfaction, ‘because they were my patients, I had to care for them.’

We would consider the doctor’s dedication heroic, wouldn’t we, because he was a true servant for his patients? He showed his family and the medical community that being last often times means going out of your comfort zone to help others; that giving up your own life for the sake of others is the greatest gift you can give.

Lay down your false desires & cling to one thing: God alone!

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The Gospel presents us with a great story today; great because it has wonderful emotion and good counsel.

The rich man comes to Jesus full of excitement and passion. So much so, he could not see clearly. Even Jesus was infected by this passionate moment, as must everyone around them. But Jesus did what he expects all true disciples to do and so teaches us a valuable lesson.

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The Bread of Life is our sign of Holy Communion! John 6:1-15

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Each human being is created uniquely to serve the will of God. Each person is fashioned at conception to fulfill the dreams God has for his people.

So our lives are not only our own but really a reflection of the divine life into which we have been called. The beauty of our life rests in the fact that we have the freedom to say ‘yes’ to Divine Providence. ‘No,’ is not really freedom at all but enslavement to sin.

Our ‘yes’ to God and our surrender to His Way frees us to enjoy the purpose, dignity and integrity of our individual human life as well as our common life with others. We don’t often think about ‘the common good,’ but it is what keeps the fabric of our human society unified in Christ. This is why we need the Church, She keeps us on the straight and narrow path to heaven.

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You can create the ‘time’ to pray – Mark 6:30-34

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When the disciples returned from their mission, so many people were after them, that Jesus took the disciples with him to be alone and quiet. Here we see what might be called the rhythm of the Christian life.  For the Christian life is a continuous ‘going into’ the presence of God from the presence of men, and a ‘going out’ into the presence of men from the presence of God. It is like the rhythm of sleep and work. We cannot work well unless we have enough sleep. Sleep will not be sound unless we have worked well.

It may be a difficult in your own life and in the lives of your children when you give God no opportunity to speak to you because you have lost the knowledge of how to be still and listen for His voice. I know in my own life busyness can take control of your life, all these things we have to do.  All of which takes time away from God, with one another; and time away from listening and sustaining a still composure.

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The dispossessed heart discovers God – Mark 6:7-13

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E.B. Washburne described how Ulysses S.  Grant went into battle during the Civil War: “The success of the battle depended upon the swiftness of movement. It was important that Grant should be encumbered with as little baggage as possible. He took with him no orderly…or an overcoat, not even a clean shirt. His entire baggage for six days was a toothbrush. He lived like a common soldier, sleeping on the ground with no covering except the canopy of heaven.”

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Charity eradicates all vice – Mark 6:1-6a

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If you look up the word ‘envy’ in the dictionary, it means ‘A feeling of resentment aroused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.’ If envy goes unchecked, it can destroy everything we love and care for.

The Olympics dates back from Greeks games held on the plains of Olympus in 776 BC. Ancient towns often honored the victorious with statues. One day an envious loser rocked the statue of his opponent until it fell. The problem was, the statue fell the wrong way and crushed him to death.

When you look into an envious person’s eyes, you see nothing but a shallow pool of bitterness, only because they cannot possess what others have. Their hearts gradually harden with ingratitude and self-loathing.

However, there is a way out of envy. Charitable works. Giving until it hurts. This charity will reopen the heart and fill those blank eyes with meaning, purpose, light, compassion and forgiveness.

If someone were to look into your eyes, what would they see? Gratitude or bitter indifference?