It’s striking how many of the New Testament letters begin in a similar way. Historians may tell us that it is a stylized greeting format, but there were many such greetings at the time. The Biblical authors chose to begin their letters with potent reminders of a simple truth we all need to hear.
> Saint Paul to the Christians in Corinth: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He wrote the same to the church in Galatia, in Ephesus, in Philippi, in Colossae, and in Thessalonika: “Grace to you and peace.” To Timothy he wrote, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
> Saint Peter in his first letter: “May grace and peace be yours in abundance,” adding in his second letter, “through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
> Saint Jude in his letter: “May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.”
> GRACE, MERCY, PEACE, LOVE: all of these are signs of God’s presence. Where they are present, God is there. Where they are lacking, God is not. Are they not road signs for us to follow in life? As a plant or flower reaches out toward the sun, do not our souls grow toward grace, mercy, peace, and love? Where we find these things in life, let us rest in God’s presence. Where they are lacking, let us move away to seek them elsewhere. It is a simple but profound rule. Seek the things of God, flee from whatever leads away from them.
> And so the question becomes, “What leads you closer to grace, mercy, peace, and love?” Pursue it rabidly, for there God is leading you. Conversely, know that where you find the opposite it is not God who leads you but the enemy. Linger not there, it is darkness, and we are children of the light.
> Grace, mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

June 7, 2012

Rev. Msgr. William J. King

A little reminder from a Jesuit scientist-theologian of the past century, whose deep spirituality led him through challenges time and again:
...
Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages, We are impatient of being on the way to do something
unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability— and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
—Rev. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

June 7, 2012

Rev. Msgr. William J. King

John 17:20-26 — “Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed…that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them." What consolation we can find in the prayer of Jesus. It was the love of the Father that protected the infant Jesus from Herod’s troops; it was the love of the Father that safeguarded a precocious 12-year-old runaway in the Temple. It was the same love that enfolded Him when He was attacked by Satan in the desert, that gave Him courage in the midst of persecution, that held Him in the garden of Gethsemane, that infused strength for carrying the cross, that raised Him to life anew on Easter, and that drew Him to Heaven in the Ascension. And Jesus prays that the same love be in us! Secure in that love, we can weather any storm and rejoice in every good thing.

May 24, 2012

Rev. Msgr. William J. King

Alleluia! Our fallen nature, tainted by sin and now redeemed by the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, is raised. The first Adam's sin of taking is redeemed by the new Adam's total giving of Himself to the Father. Disobedience, self-centeredness, greed, power -- all redeemed by one perfect offering of self to the Father. May we allow our Lord to capture our highest goals and dreams, and take them to the Father as we celebrate His ascension to the Father's right hand. May all that was fallen in us be raised to heaven in Christ, that may we offer ourselves in Christ as selfless gifts to the Father, lost in wonder as we sing Alleluia!

 May 17, 2012

 Msgr. William J. King

To every parishioner of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton parish, your parish wants to say thank you for everything you do. On Sunday, June 3 at 6 in the evening, please join fellow parishioners in the Parish Center for an Appreciation Dinner (no charge). All parishioners are welcome and wanted. There are reservation forms in the back of church, or you may call the parish office to give your name and the number of people attending (just so we have enough noodles in the pot). There's no catch, no strings attached, no ulterior purpose -- just to say thanks for being a wonderful parish! Well, okay, there is one thing: we'll be talking about something pretty exciting that's going to happen in our parish, but it doesn't involve asking for money, so you can leave your wallets at home -- just bring you and your faith!

 

May 17, 2012

 

Msgr. William J. King

Chemistry teaches us that there are 4 states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. The major difference between them is how the molecules are arranged – how tightly compressed they are. From the point of view of chemistry, we might wonder about Jesus’ statements in John’s gospel, to the effect that “I am in you and you are in me,” or “remain in me as I remain in you.” As another preacher put it, “I can put a bowl in a box and I can put a box in a bowl, but I can’t put them both in one another at the same time.” That’s true of solids, because the molecules are too tightly bound. Because the molecules are clinging together, they repel another solid. It’s sometimes is as simple as adding some heat to get those molecules to loosen up, to get the atoms to stop clinging so tightly to each other. When they stop clinging and loosen up, a solid can turn to a liquid, and whereas two solids can’t usually occupy the same space, many liquids can. Red wine and white can be poured together into the same glass (not very tasty), and orange juice and water can mix. So… if you think God may be adding a little heat to your life, maybe it’s in order to get you to loosen up a bit and stop clinging, so that He can abide in you and you in Him. If you’re wound too tight, there’s no room for God – you’re clinging to yourself like the molecules in a solid. Take the heat and let go of whatever you’re clinging to. Loosen up a little bit and give God room to get in you, and you in Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 9, 2012

Msgr. William J. King

 

1 JN 3:18-24 — “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.”
SYNDERESIS: the word is used by Saint Jerome to describe the bringing together of knowledge, spirituality, and practicality in a decision to do or not to do something. Today we call it “conscience.” It’s what Saint John, in the text above, called loving in deed and in truth, in a way that our hearts do not condemn us. The Greek verb “syndeo” literally means to bind together, and as Saint Jerome applied it to the Christian walk of faith it means to bind my goals and ideals together with those of Jesus Christ. Again, Saint John notes this in the text: “love one another, just as he commanded us.”
We hear the word “conscience” a lot. “Freedom of conscience” is a cherished freedom in any free society, and it is the erosion of that freedom — the freedom to bring together all our knowledge and beliefs into choices and decisions in practical ways — that many are decrying in contemporary America.
What is “conscience?” Every world religion has some concept of conscience, some notion of an inner guide, internal voice, inner light that aids us in making right choices. From a secular point of view, developmental psychologists such as Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, and Erik Erikson all considered conscience to be an important milestone in human development. Kohlberg considered critical conscience to be an important stage in the proper human development, associated with the capacity to rationally weigh options and make responsible decisions.
Saints through the centuries have considered it an important part of every day to “examine” our conscience – that is, to review the decisions and actions I made during the day and in prayer ask God if they were good decisions. Saint Ignatius of Loyola told his followers that this prayer was so important, even if they hadn’t prayed at all during the day they should never omit the examination of conscience — it is that important in helping us grow in love.
Saint Thomas Aquinas defined conscience as “the last practical judgment concerning the right and wrong of an action here and now to be performed.” That’s a mouthful, but it has some clear points: it is (a) a judgment ; it (b) has to do with right and wrong; and it (c) leads to action. A judgment about the rightness or wrongness of an act or decision — that’s a fairly good and succinct definition of conscience.
In other words, conscience means that I make a decision to do something or not do something. But that decision is not made without some context, and we Believers understand that the proper context for our decision-making is the commandment of Jesus, just as Saint John points out above, to love: to love God above all else, and our neighbor as ourself.
So, before I choose something, before I buy something, before I say something, before I write something, before I hit the “send” button — in all of these things, by bringing my conscience into the act I ask if this will enable me to love more. Will this thing I want to buy or say or do draw me closer to faith, hope, and love? Or will it lead me farther from faith, hope, and love? Saint John teaches us that we know we belong to the truth when “our hearts do not condemn us.” When we know that our guilt is expiated by Christ’s sacrifice, and moreover that we are walking in the path of love, we have a clear conscience: our hearts do not condemn us.
So, how do I learn the ways of love so that I know that my conscience is acting correctly? In Catholic theology, we call this a “well-formed conscience.” How do I form my conscience properly? Here’s the first and perhaps most important point: surprise, it doesn’t come from secular media. You won’t learn the ways of the Gospel from the local newspaper or a national magazine, or even a news website or blog. If that’s your best source of information about what the Bible contains or what the Church teaches, then you probably don’t have a well-formed conscience! Put the newspaper and magazine aside, and pick up the Bible first. Read, pray, study the Bible. Then look around your church for some CD’s or DVD’s or books that will help you to learn the authentic teaching of the Bible and the Church.
God speaks to us in Divine Revelation, and the authentic and definitive source of that revelation is Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Where do you find Jesus? Look first to the Bible, and then to the magisterium or teaching authority which Jesus established in His Church, since the Holy Spirit assists the Church in penetrating the mystery of Revelation. With a good CD that reviews Biblical and Church teaching, you might even start praying for a traffic jam so you can hear more and understand more.
There is no better source than the authentic teaching itself, so look to official web sites like the Vatican’s vatican.va or the Pennsylvania bishops’ pacatholic.org to find the documents themselves. Don’t depend on what s weekly news magazine or cable television network tells you the document says: read it yourself!
Then, with a well-formed conscience that understands what is really being taught, take your decision to prayer. By surrounding every major decision with prayer, before and after, by cushioning it in prayer, by packaging it in prayer, we ask the Divine voice of the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes, to open our heart and mind, to recognize the right choice and to give us the grace to follow through with that choice.
Then how do I know if I’ve made the right choice, a choice that draws me closer to God in faith, hope, and love? That’s the easy part: Saint Paul tells us exactly how to do that. Look for the “fruits of the Holy Spirit.” In his letter to the Christians in Galatia, he tells us that every good and holy decision will leave us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). By contrast, a bad or ill-formed decision will leave us with “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21). Look at the results of your decision: if it leads you closer to faith, hope, and love, and produces the fruits of the Spirit, it was the right decision. A good examination of conscience will help you understand what led you to the decision and how to make a good decision in similar circumstances when they next arise. If the opposite, you know it was the wrong decision. A good examination of conscience will help to show you how to reverse the decision and avoid a similar mistake in the future.
SYNDERESIS: it means bringing together all the elements of my faith and life to make a good practical decision here and now: one that is made with a properly-formed conscience and that will lead to the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

May 6, 2012

Msgr. William J. King