Category: Archived

Love One Another As I Love You

Posted on by Father Cioppi

What a daunting command Jesus leaves us with this morning: “Love one another as I love you.”  Sharing of ourselves as Christ did, with a self-emptying love, is the greatest expression of love there is.  It comes from a choice we make togive our self completely to others; and in doing so share the joy that is our love.  I think we learn a lot about God’s love for us, and how to live his command, by observing His love at work in others.

This past March, while Philadelphia enjoyed summer-like weather, several states were rocked by a series of devastating tornados. You may remember the stories about it in the national news. As one tornado thundered across Indiana, Stephanie Decker gathered her son Dominic and daughter Reese into the basement of their home. She huddled them under a comforter and then laid her body on top of them.  When the winds of the tornado hit their house they were blowing at 175 miles-per-hour.  The house was leveled in seconds and debris rained down on top of Stephanie.

After the tornado passed Stephanie realized that she couldn’t move.  But her children were unhurt.  She sent 8 year old Dominic to get help and, within minutes, a neighbor found Stephanie under a pile of rubble.  Her legs were crushed by the aftermath of the storm. Continue reading “Love One Another As I Love You” →

We were chosen for joy! John 15:9-17

Posted on by Father Cioppi

The Gospel passage is proclaimed within the context that it was not we who chose God, but rather God who, in his grace, approached us with a call and an offer made out of his love. This Gospel reveals the purpose of our call:

We are chosen for joy! We are chosen for love! We are chosen to be his friends!

The Christian is a person whose joy may be complete. No matter what charism a Christian has been given, if it isn’t accompanied by joy the charism will not ignite the human heart. Joy is the first charism of the Christian and radiates more brightly in darkened times.

The Christian is a person who defines love by his life. “No one can show greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ For the Christian, love extends even to enemies and so we must work to love even those who despise us.

Finally, Jesus chose us to be his friends and the friends of God. No longer do we need to approach God from far off. We are not slaves. Jesus gave us an intimacy with God, so that he no is longer distant or a stranger, but very close, in fact as close to us as our heart.

If we truly believe in the power of our baptism we will live out the call of Christ to complete our joy, extend our love and define our friendship, ‘because love is of God; (and) everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God…not that we have loved God, but that he loved us…’

My dear friends, if we find ourselves struggling with this Gospel ask yourself, have I loved God enough? If not, then love Him more!

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

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THE EASTER VIGIL – The Mother of all Vigils – It is wonderful that the church celebrates Easter for so long.  The Easter Season seems to last forever.  And rightly so.  This gives us the time to savor the experience of the Easter Vigil – the anticipation of the resurrection of Jesus.  Each year the vigil is celebrated in the same way, but it never gets old.  It is celebrated as if it is a first time experience and it is for some.  I do believe that my favorite part is the lighting of the fire and the preparation of the Paschal Candle.  The candle is lit and carried into the church in procession and the people enter behind it.  The church is in darkness except for the light from the Paschal Candle, that one flame.  As often as I enter the church and think I know my way, when it is dark, I stumble and hold onto the pews to find my way until all of the candles held by the people are lit.  Then, we become secure again in our journey forward — the following the Light of Christ — Jesus, the light of the world.  Once in church, we hear the readings from the Old Testament which relate to us the saving power of God which moves us into the salvation story.  All that was “lost” during or Lenten journey — the holy wanter, the bells, the candles, the alleluias return during theis celebration.  This year, we were blessed to have 7 people receive the sacraments of initiation — Baptism, Confirmaion and Holy communion.  The community grows in number and our spirit is strengthened.  The Paschal Candle is now lit for all of our liturgies as a reminder to us that Jesus is alive and lives among us.  May we never lose the excitement experienced during this Vigil.

There’s a Shepherd in Each of Us

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Being a shepherd is not a glamorous job and it’s certainly not an easy one.  It’s hard, physical work that requires 24 hour vigilance.   Being a Good Shepherd is even tougher.  A good shepherd not only herds his sheep, he knows the needs of each one of them.  He knows how to care for them; how to nourish them and protect them from all sorts of predators that lurk in waiting.

I recently read an article about a joint study conducted by Harvard and Columbia Universities that covered 20 years of data.  The study tracked over 1 million fourth grade students into their early adulthood.  It focused on the difference that was made in the student’s life from being assigned a highly rated 4th grade teacher. The difference between having a strong teacher or a poor one was dramatic – much like the difference Jesus describes between having a good shepherd or a hired hand tend your sheep. Continue reading “There’s a Shepherd in Each of Us” →

A time to wait on God and a time to work for God Luke 24:35-48

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From the Gospel today we can learn three things: That the person who stood before the Apostles in the Upper Room after the crucifixion is real. He reveals his wounds to them and invites them to ‘touch and see.’ This is the person who wants now to have a faithful relationship with us.

The second lesson we can learn is that the Cross is a necessary part of Divine Providence.  It is not a last minute cure when all else failed, for the Cross is the one place on earth, where in a moment of time, we see the eternal love of God.

The third lesson we can learn are the secret of power. All authority, place and action comes from God and without Him there is tyranny over the human spirit. There may be times when people think we are wasting our time here in the silence of this sacred space. They may think that our Sunday gathering as a parish is ‘stupid.’ But the wisdom of God tells us that there is a time to wait on God and a time to work for God. And this is a time to wait on God.

These times that we wait on the Lord are important not just for our parish and ourselves but also for the world and for humanity. Listening is the beginning of good preaching.

Our faith is meant to be shared in the image of God. Take what you have heard and by your actions announce the Good News to a barren world. Be salt for the earth!

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

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CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S PASSION – With the all-night vigil with Jesus from the Last Supper to Good Friday morning behind us, we reflect on what Jesus would have experienced during those night hours.  Arrested and moved from place to place, questioned and finally lowered into the prison cell, weak, tired and afraid.  The morn comes and He is once again treated cruelly, he is condemned to die and begins his journey to Calvary.  Our celebration of the Lord’s passion remembers this with the Liturgy of the Word and the Proclamation of the Passion.  How our hearts skip a beat when we read that He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.   We kneel in reverence of Jesus’ total giving of self for our sins and love of His Father.  We then move to the second section of this liturgy and reverence the Cross of Christ.  The crucifix, draped in a red cloth with the symbol of His wounds visible, is carried in procession on the shoulders of our Deacon and Deacon candidate through the church with lighted candles.  The silence at this time is palpable.  Once at the altar, the crucifix is uncovered and placed before us in the stark reality of the death of Jesus.  We all process forward and offer a sign of respect and love for what Jesus has done for us.  During this procession, we sing “Were You There” – it does cause me to tremble realizing that my sins are part of Jesus suffering.  But, it also brings great joy to know that through this action of Jesus, our sin are forgiven – all sins are forgiven.  We then celebrate the Communion Rite and receive the broken body of our Savior, Jesus Christ.   Our celebration ends in silence with the crucifix before us as a reminder of Jesus gift of salvation to us on that Good Friday.  This action continues today each time Mass is celebrated.  Let us rejoice in the great love that God has for us, to give His only Son for our sake.  This is why this Friday is called “Good”.

Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe! John 20:19-31

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The Doubting Thomas of the Gospel poses a challenge for us who seek to be committed to parish life and to life with God.

Certainly we saw the numbers of people who came to Mass last Sunday and said in the back of our minds, if only they would come every week!

How is it possible for a person who has encountered Christ to loose their faith? Faith is a fragile gift. Certainly we can practice our faith first as a parish on Sunday and secondly as a family at home. People can become complacent in their practice and allow themselves to become lost and confused in their relationship with God. They endanger their true worship of God and risk loosing the faith freely given them.

But for a person who works at his/her relationship with God and becomes ignited by the fire of his grace, it is possible never to forget the promises made to them by God here at this Altar for eternal life. Divine Mercy helps us to remember the fragility of our faith and with what mercy God desires us to reconcile ourselves with him.

Yes, it is possible to loose our faith by ignoring it or by denying it through complacency and shame. The risen life is a struggling life-it is also, because of that struggle, a life filled with joy at being with God. It is a life that is more real, more human, and more virtuous.

In order to live the resurrection, we have to practice Christian virtues and worship here as a People called by God.  All of us who have been fully initiated into the Catholic faith have, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, gifts of virtue like patience, hope, fortitude, fear of the Lord, charity, temperance and courage. The resurrection means taking a proactive stance in the life of virtue and consciously practicing them in the parish, knowing that sometimes we will fail.

Today’s scripture presents Thomas who cannot believe without more evidence, without more signs. Christ even reveals his wounds and yet he does not believe.  Jesus tells him: “Do not persist in your unbelief but believe.”

As we embrace the  risen life let us more diligently practice those virtues that have become a contradiction to the world in which we live. We who are faithful to our commitment to the Church in our family and in this parish should pray for those who have become complacent. Bring them back, O Lord,  to the place you wish them to be. Infuse in their hearts a fire that will burn through Divine Mercy.

The Church announces paschal joy to the whole of humanity. In that joy resounds victory over our fear and mediocrity. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” Accepting the life of faith will invigorate the old world and make it new!

This is the day to take great consolation in the words, “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

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CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER – Thursday of Holy Week is filled with varied experiences.  As we noted in the beginning of these reflections, the Chrism Mass opens the day.  The day ends with the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  Here, we are offered two graces – service and Sacrament (Eucharist and Priesthood).  Part of the celebration includes the “washing of the feet”.  It is here that Jesus calls us to service in His Church.  Before I came to Mother of DivineProvidence Parish, my ministry was at St. Charles Seminary in the Permanent Diaconte Formation Program.  The charism of the deacon is service and we used the washing of the feet to symbolize this.  We are all called to service — to wash each other’s feet – we do this in so many different ways.  We visit the sick, feed the hungry, comfort those who are grieving – any service, any kindess we offer to someone is how we “wash feet”.  The gift of the Eucharist remembered this night is perhaps the greatest gift.  Imagine, Jesus loves us so much that he found a way to be present to us in our Churches — present in the Blessed Sacrament.  Do we realize the gift that we have in this Sacrament?  Or do we take it for granted?  We  (the Sisters of Mercy) are blessed to have the Eucharist in our convent chapel.  But, on Holy Thursday evening the tabernacle is emptied and remains so until after the Ester Vigil.  The loss of the Eucharistic presence just for those 2 days left an empty space in our home for me.  May the celebration of the Lord’s Supper deepen our appreciation of the power of the Eucharistic in our lives and allow It to strengthen us in our ministry of “foot washing”.

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

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With the Triduum behind us, we live now in the light of Christ.  We, as Christians, are called to bring the light of Chirst to our world.  The past three days of liturgical celebrations have given us much to be grateful for and much to reflect on.  These days always put me on sensory overload —  there are so may sights and smells and sounds that I am not able to absorb it all.  It will take days, perhaps weeks, to capture the meanng of this experience and how to live it in daily life.  THE CHRISM MASS –The celebrations begin with the celebration of the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul by our new Archbishop Charles Chaput.  If you have not had an opportunity to attend this Mass, I suggest that you try to be present next year.  It is at this Mass the the Archbishop blesses the holy oils used for the Sacraments — the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens and the Chrism.  The oils are caried to the altar in solemn procession and blessed before the “whole church”.  Representatives of the entire Chruch are present — laity, religious, deacons, priests and bishops.  At this celebration, we also witness the priests of the archdiocese renew their priestly promises and commitment to the service of God’s people.  As lay faithful, we are then asked to support our priests in prayer for their ministry.  There was standing room only at this Mass.  The beauty of it for me is that everyone who attends really wants to be there.  The singing and the responses fill the Cathedral.  The people are on fire with their faith and love for the Chruch, the whole church.  It is at this celebration that we begin to move out of the sacrifice and “darkness” of Lent and the light becomes visible to us in the faith of the people of God.  Please stay tuned as we move forward in our reflections on the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the Passion of the Lord and the Easter Vigil, the Mother of all vigils.

Ignite other hearts to an active and vital participation in the life of God

Posted on by Father Cioppi

In the long history since the creation of the world, we have come to understand that “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

God created us and established in our human nature a relationship that is eternal and loving. God reached deep into the ocean of his love and formed humanity in his image and likeness. We are good from the core of our being and free to return his love, which is mirrored in our living a virtuous life.

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When Adam and Eve turned away from God they chose to be alienated from him and estranged from one another. They found in their shame no way home and wandered aimlessly without direction; lost and confused in their own self-absorption. This rejection of God was repeated many times throughout history. Every time God reached out in love, we ignored or rejected him.… the more I called to them, the further they went from me (Hosea 11:2).

But then something happened, an event ritualized in these past few days that abruptly changed reality for the world. God gave up his Son to death, the last and most desperate result of Adam’s sin, so the new Adam might lead us back to the Father.

We are present now in the most ancient tradition of the Catholic Church to bring these men and women to the point of their death in Christ. They do not run away, they are running toward the font of living water. Through this Baptism, Christ will lead them back to the Father and the new Adam will give them full communion in His Church.

With the rising of the Sun we will hear a voice calling us to return ‘on the first day of the week.’  It will ignite our Church with new life! The message will reverberate around the world, lighting up its darkened corners and nourishing it’s most wanting dwellings. He will be Risen!  Alleluia!

My dear friends, now we too can proclaim what has been handed down to us through the Apostles! We too can give testimony to the truth and be salt for the earth! Christ is alive and “makes all things new.”

Pope Benedict, in his call for a Year of Faith (Porta Fidei, 2011) wrote: “We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn 4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation.”

This call will convert souls, crushing their complacency with a great fire re-ignited this holy night! The fire your hold in your heart, Jesus asks you to release it into the world as a leaven! Release your faith to be salt for the earth!

The Resurrection of Jesus transforms the contentment of our religious practice with a missionary zeal that will transform the earth to a temple for the virtuous life rather than a prison for the vices.

Christ can help us convert souls, illuminating the darkness of this world and filling it with grace.  The barriers we built up to stop Christ, all destroyed, all shattered in the wind of the Holy Spirit.

The man who walked through Galilee walks with us still.  Evil in all its forms does not have the last word. The final triumph is Christ’s! If we are prepared to suffer and die with Him, as St. Paul reminds us his life becomes our life. We are certain of this truth which is eternal and unchanging!

This now is a new age of Christian hope and faithful maturity, where the virtues will root us in the glory of God. We will save souls in this parish, a small part of the Kingdom of God. We will follow our Apostle to teach and sanctify God’s holy People.

Let us begin by welcoming those who have been lost, confused or like us, complacent, in our faith practice. In our joy this holy night, we welcome them home and invite them to share in the new life Christ gives to us all.

God’s love begins at home, in our families and in our hearts. It is a spark of resurrection joy that helps us forgive; helps us recognize in each other the Christ we seek. In the school of the family, we can enrich a culture that supports virtue; builds solid communities of hope and ensures that neighborhoods and homes practice human respect, consequences for wrongdoing and dignity for all.

Here and now, we can take the light given and proclaimed through us and rededicate our parish to ignite other hearts to an active and vital participation in the life of God.

All Christians are called this day to interior meditation on the mysteries we hold sacred; called to live the virtuous life with a quieter and more serene countenance. But to preach as if Christ is plunging his hands into our hearts and pulling forth love, forgiveness and joy for anyone who seeks him! Christ is alive and “makes all things new!”