First Reading: Ephesians 4:32-5:8
(And) be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. So do not be associated with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Gospel: Luke 13: 10-17
He was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, "There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the Sabbath day." The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the Sabbath day from this bondage?" When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
We Remember… Queen of Heaven Church
I stated in the introduction to this blog that one of my joys in ministry has been that I have been able to serve the men and women who have walked before me. The blessing to me has been that I am able to honor fathers and mothers everywhere. Honoring father and mother is not just a task that refers to biological human parents, of course. Many individuals can be fathers and mothers without ever bearing biological children. In the same way our Earth is thought of as mother to life, and our Church is thought of as mother to faith. I have heard it said that “institutions” and “buildings” are not important to the Church. The “people are the Church.” Certainly I agree that the people are what is important (hence the name of this blog!), but I also have a great appreciation for “places” that are important to the people. The Native American Indians have a beautiful spirituality for many reasons. One such reason is the lesson that our brothers teach us about the importance of the spirit of a place. The Earth is sacred and the places on the Earth that have been sanctified by tradition are sacred. Today we remember Queen of Heaven Church…a church that is a “mother” to many throughout Southern New Jersey. In our faith tradition, as in the sacred traditions of our Native brothers and sisters, our natural inclination is to feel drawn to the spirit of such a place, even though some will dismiss its significance as simply a “building.”
I am reminded of the moment in the scripture when Jesus says, “Who is my mother and brother and sister? All those who do the will of the Father.” I dare say that this applies to more forms of life than just biological human life, as does the command to honor father and mother. I say that certain sacred places and life-giving institutions too are mothers and brothers and sisters of the Lord. Queen of Heaven Church is one such place. She is a mother, though (and sadly) a neglected and forgotten one.
Queen of Heaven Church was established as a parish on April 6, 1955. The church building was dedicated on December 18 of that year. Even though the parish started out as a mission of Christ the King Parish, it gave birth to St. Pius X Parish, St. Peter Celestine Parish, and St. Mary’s Parish. This sacred space gave life from itself, and therefore become a mother. It is unfortunate that in the reconfiguration of the local church, it was the mother church of Queen of Heaven that was sacrificed to save the others. Some might say that it is fitting and even poetic that this holy mother gave up her own life for the lives of the parishes that were her children, but I do not see it that way. My God is a God of life not death. My Father does not want any of his own to have to die. He is not a God that demands sacrifice in exchange for prosperity.
I have a very personal attachment to Queen of Heaven Church, because it was a mother to me in many ways. In particular a very special woman, who became a mother to me, was a member of that parish. Additionally, the members of the parish were a family, each being mother and brother and sister to all who came to their little enclave of Southern New Jersey. It was there in Queen of Heaven Church that I learned what the spirit of a Mother really is. I lament her loss. I will forever lament her loss, but I will never forget her great impact and her wellspring of Love.
I questioned the Holy Spirit concerning why I was inspired to post this particular remembrance today, in light of the scripture readings. St. Paul warns us not to engage in talk that will lead to arguments. He advises us to remain in love and peace. Certainly, my words today concerning Queen of Heaven---while they are intended as a loving remembrance---will certainly stir up feelings of loss for some. This seems to go against St. Paul’s advice for the day. Then we come to Jesus. The Gospel gives us a different example. In today’s Gospel we see Jesus doing precisely what St. Paul tells us to avoid. Jesus is stirring conflict and---in some people’s view---breaking the holy laws.
What are these seemingly conflicting scripture readings to tell us about our own duties? Am I doing the right thing to preach again about my lament of the loss of one of the historic parishes of the Churchin Southern New Jersey or should I leave well enough alone and let things be? What can I glean from today’s readings? I glean love. I always take love away from the scripture. The readings affirm for us that when love is the goal and the motive---as it is for me, in all things---that we should allow love to speak through us. So today I speak for love and in defense of the crippled woman, Queen of Heaven Church. As Jesus went his own way and healed the woman of today’s Gospel, I pray that someone somewhere will remember the mothers who are suffering in all forms. Let us not become desensitized to any mother in need be she a human mother of a human child or our mother Church or our Mother Land.
The lesson of the juxtaposition of today's readings has become clear to me: when one talks of, acts in, and defends love, there is no argument. Any who will argue with you when you are healing and loving are the ones to avoid. If we are united in love for a person, group of people, or a sacred place, that love will be respected and protected by the Heavens. No one who is with God will ever criticize you for acting out of love. So, if love inspires you to act, then act(so long as you do not harm or seek to enslave any other by your act---this cannot be love). If you meet with resistence or argument, walk away from the ones who oppose you because it is not you they oppose, it is love---and love will win out.
Please remember Queen of Heaven Church, please honor your Mothers.
About this blog
Please remember the Faith Communities that have been God's own Family and yours...
One of my favorite Christian artists is a singer/songwriter called Michael Card. His song “So Many Books” has always been a favorite of mine. During my time in the novice period of formation as a Dominican tertiary I particularly enjoyed the song. The chorus sings to us thus: “So many books, so little time…so many hunger…so many blind. Starving for words they must wait in the night, to open a Bible and move towards the Light.” As a young learner I looked to the “books” of the printed word for knowledge as many young people do. I searched for meaning in the texts of what I called tradition.
As I matured and grew in age and wisdom I came to understand the lyrics of the song of life a little differently. I understand now that the greatest books ever written are written not by man but by God and that these books are not all found in the canonical Bible. These great works of the Father are found in the form of his own children. Your life is part of God’s great library. Each person represents a volume in the encyclopedic work of life. People are God’s tradition. Now as a bishop, I see God’s wisdom in the men and women who have walked before me. I see the beauty of God’s love in all that the older generations have worked to build up for those who come after them. I believe it is the duty of bishops to preserve Tradition by preserving what has been handed to us from our elder brothers and sisters in God.
Memory is important in tradition. We honor our fathers and mothers by remembering them. Parish communities act as libraries in that they house the books of the families of God. In recent years we have witness the downsizing of many dioceses throughout the US. I lament this trend because when the parish fades out of history there is a danger that we will forget those people who were God’s instruments in bringing the parish into the world. I wish my little community of believers had the ability to save all those parishes from extinction.
This little blog is part of my effort to remember the parishes throughout our land that have played a crucial role in building up the library of God’s love for his people. I will post a link to Mass readings and sometimes I’ll offer a brief commentary or I will post other news or information that may be of interest to readers. Along with this information I will sometimes post a section entitled “We Remember” which will highlight memories of a particular parish community, priest, or bishop. I write this blog as a person of love and faith, not as any official minister. This blog is not connected to the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy or any diocese or parish, nor is it my intention to lead anyone to believe it is so connected. It is however rooted in the love God has for his children and the communities that have breathed his love into the world for countless generations. It is also my personal gift to those men and women of history who deserve to be remembered.
As a young priest and eventually a bishop in the independent Catholic movement (a movement that has enjoyed much attention in recent years due to the efforts of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI to welcome many “wandering bishops” back home to the Church), I have come to appreciate the beauty of God’s people. It is not uncommon in the independent movement for bishops and pastors to be younger than those in the mainstream Catholic Church. I have never questioned this trend because of the fact that Jesus began his public ministry at age thirty and because the first apostles were either younger or not much older than the thirty-year-old-Jesus. I have always found a certain beauty in this trend because I have been able to minster to men and women of older generations. This is a privilege because it has afforded me the opportunity to live out the command to honor father and mother in a deeply spiritual way. Even though some may jeer at the practice of ordaining younger men to the order of bishop, it is a tradition that more closely follows the example of the ministry and choice of Jesus.
I believe that God gives his Son in the form of youth so that Hope can be visible in the community. What do I mean? Jesus comes to us as a man in his thirties and by doing so reaches into the community of the young and the community of the older. He is in essence the bridge of that which has been called the “generation gap.” He gives hope to the very young and to the very old in that he represents the future for both groups. For the young he is what they aspire to be. For the old he is the embodiment of what they leave as their legacy of love to the world.
I have had the honor of ministering to many members of the faithful who, by the labor of their lives, paved the way for those like me to inherit the joys of the Kingdom. I hope that this little web page will also expose me to more of the love and wisdom of the generations of elders that I seek to cherish and honor. If you have a story you would like to share about the history of your faith community of a special minister who touched your life, e-mail me at dominicanvocations@hotmail.com and I will do my best to share it with the world in the form of this blog site.
I also encourage you to start your own “We Remember” effort by means of your own web page or blog or by commemorating the history of your faith family in some other way. The Catholic tradition in Southern New Jersey will be celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in 2012, so now is the perfect time to begin to collect and publish your memories of the past 75 years of the Tradition of God’s People here at home.
Be assured of my prayers for you and your faith communities. Please pray for me.
With hope for the future, I am,
+ Tomas Martin, OPD
Bishop of the OPD Community
One of my favorite Christian artists is a singer/songwriter called Michael Card. His song “So Many Books” has always been a favorite of mine. During my time in the novice period of formation as a Dominican tertiary I particularly enjoyed the song. The chorus sings to us thus: “So many books, so little time…so many hunger…so many blind. Starving for words they must wait in the night, to open a Bible and move towards the Light.” As a young learner I looked to the “books” of the printed word for knowledge as many young people do. I searched for meaning in the texts of what I called tradition.
As I matured and grew in age and wisdom I came to understand the lyrics of the song of life a little differently. I understand now that the greatest books ever written are written not by man but by God and that these books are not all found in the canonical Bible. These great works of the Father are found in the form of his own children. Your life is part of God’s great library. Each person represents a volume in the encyclopedic work of life. People are God’s tradition. Now as a bishop, I see God’s wisdom in the men and women who have walked before me. I see the beauty of God’s love in all that the older generations have worked to build up for those who come after them. I believe it is the duty of bishops to preserve Tradition by preserving what has been handed to us from our elder brothers and sisters in God.
Memory is important in tradition. We honor our fathers and mothers by remembering them. Parish communities act as libraries in that they house the books of the families of God. In recent years we have witness the downsizing of many dioceses throughout the US. I lament this trend because when the parish fades out of history there is a danger that we will forget those people who were God’s instruments in bringing the parish into the world. I wish my little community of believers had the ability to save all those parishes from extinction.
This little blog is part of my effort to remember the parishes throughout our land that have played a crucial role in building up the library of God’s love for his people. I will post a link to Mass readings and sometimes I’ll offer a brief commentary or I will post other news or information that may be of interest to readers. Along with this information I will sometimes post a section entitled “We Remember” which will highlight memories of a particular parish community, priest, or bishop. I write this blog as a person of love and faith, not as any official minister. This blog is not connected to the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy or any diocese or parish, nor is it my intention to lead anyone to believe it is so connected. It is however rooted in the love God has for his children and the communities that have breathed his love into the world for countless generations. It is also my personal gift to those men and women of history who deserve to be remembered.
As a young priest and eventually a bishop in the independent Catholic movement (a movement that has enjoyed much attention in recent years due to the efforts of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI to welcome many “wandering bishops” back home to the Church), I have come to appreciate the beauty of God’s people. It is not uncommon in the independent movement for bishops and pastors to be younger than those in the mainstream Catholic Church. I have never questioned this trend because of the fact that Jesus began his public ministry at age thirty and because the first apostles were either younger or not much older than the thirty-year-old-Jesus. I have always found a certain beauty in this trend because I have been able to minster to men and women of older generations. This is a privilege because it has afforded me the opportunity to live out the command to honor father and mother in a deeply spiritual way. Even though some may jeer at the practice of ordaining younger men to the order of bishop, it is a tradition that more closely follows the example of the ministry and choice of Jesus.
I believe that God gives his Son in the form of youth so that Hope can be visible in the community. What do I mean? Jesus comes to us as a man in his thirties and by doing so reaches into the community of the young and the community of the older. He is in essence the bridge of that which has been called the “generation gap.” He gives hope to the very young and to the very old in that he represents the future for both groups. For the young he is what they aspire to be. For the old he is the embodiment of what they leave as their legacy of love to the world.
I have had the honor of ministering to many members of the faithful who, by the labor of their lives, paved the way for those like me to inherit the joys of the Kingdom. I hope that this little web page will also expose me to more of the love and wisdom of the generations of elders that I seek to cherish and honor. If you have a story you would like to share about the history of your faith community of a special minister who touched your life, e-mail me at dominicanvocations@hotmail.com and I will do my best to share it with the world in the form of this blog site.
I also encourage you to start your own “We Remember” effort by means of your own web page or blog or by commemorating the history of your faith family in some other way. The Catholic tradition in Southern New Jersey will be celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in 2012, so now is the perfect time to begin to collect and publish your memories of the past 75 years of the Tradition of God’s People here at home.
Be assured of my prayers for you and your faith communities. Please pray for me.
With hope for the future, I am,
+ Tomas Martin, OPD
Bishop of the OPD Community