In Pursuit of "Truth"

 

Dear Parishioners,

Listening to lies, deceptions, half-truths, cover-ups, etc. can become exhausting. Add to the this the endless political messages this time of year as we approach the election of a new governor (and others) for New Jersey in November.

There’s a tremendous amount of confusion circulating today. My head continues to throb daily as I, like many people, question and seek out the truth. Pilate once questioned Jesus as He stood before him in judgment:  What is truth?  (Jn. 18: 38) It seems we are still looking for the answer to this question.

Going back to my days as a philosophy major in college, truth is defined as the conformity of the mind to reality. Jesus declared himself to be the way, the truth and the life. (Jn. 14:6) If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God Incarnate, then we had better pay close attention to Him and His teaching. Contrast this with Satan who is seen as the father of lies and we can begin to see the battle lines being drawn.

Lies and deception can potentially take place in any situation, circumstance and institution—unfortunately, even in the Catholic Church. That is how we find ourselves in cover-ups and scandals. The reason why a person traditionally was sworn in (with a hand on the bible) when giving testimony or taking an oath of office is to call God as a witness to what is being said “so help me God.”  When someone lies under oath, this is seen as committing the crime/sin of perjury.

Unfortunately, oaths and vows before God apparently are not taken too seriously anymore by far too many. Married couples walk away from their marriage vows exchanged with each other before God. Priests and religious are seen breaking their promises/vows of celibacy or chastity. While people may not admit to lying under oath, they may have lapses of memory, inadequate recall or parse words or phrases. “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” May I remind you of these words from a former President of the United States regarding his sexual indiscretions?

When searching for the truth, we need to look to Jesus.  We need to look to the Gospel and its eternal wisdom:

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (Jn. 3: 19-21)

When no wrong is done, there is absolutely nothing to hide. There is no need for continual silence, stalling tactics, deflection, or cover-ups. This is true in politics, church management, and in a person’s personal life and morality.

To the faithful Catholics in the pews seeking truth, I predict the days ahead will get even more ugly as various hidden things are brought to light. However, through it all, Jesus and His Church will endure in the end.  He promised it would. (See Mt. 16: 17-19) Unfortunately, it can be relatively certain that there will be many battle scars and casualties. 

There already has been.

Fr. Ed Namiotka 

Pastor

Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time "C" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

The Bible on Beads

Dear Parishioners,

In one of my previous parishes, my predecessor, as pastor, put out a challenge to the parishioners to read the Holy Bible each day.  He even distributed bibles to anyone who asked for one. Being a priest who majored in Sacred Scripture in the seminary, how could I not be an advocate of such an initiative as well?

While I still believe in the importance of reading and reflecting on Sacred Scripture, I also think that our turbulent times necessitate a revival/renewal of an ancient, time-tested practice—praying the daily rosary. After all, these are days of intense spiritual warfare and in such circumstances we need spiritual weapons to do battle.

The history of the holy rosary reveals its power combating heresy (against the Albigensians) and providing victory in battle (the Battle of Lepanto). It was requested by our Lady herself during various Church approved Marian apparitions (Fatima). It has tremendous spiritual benefits for those who faithfully pray it.

Simply stated, the rosary traces the highlights of the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and the life of his Mother Mary as found in Sacred Scripture and Church Tradition. It is, in a sense, the bible on beads. We can use the rosary to help us spiritually each day as we recall and reflect on various mysteries of our faith and our salvation.

The repetition of the prayers is meant to help us get into a spiritual rhythm and a reflective mindset. The meditation on the mysteries helps us to recall and reinforce essential truths of our faith. The rosary also seeks the intercession of Our Lady who is essential to the plan for our salvation. She is our spiritual mother guiding us and accompanying us on our journey of life.

If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of praying the rosary or do not know the various mysteries given for meditation, these can be found very easily online and then printed out for reference. The rosary has evolved with time even adding elements such as the Fatima prayer and the Luminous Mysteries.

The challenge that I put out to all of you who will read this is to pray the holy rosary daily. Maybe it has to start with simply praying a decade each day (perhaps, before going to bed?), but I hope that it will grow into a devotion that will bring much peace and consolation to your soul. May I suggest that you pray it with the intention of bringing back to the faith someone in your family or among your friends who has left the Catholic faith or no longer practices it? That intention should keep us all busy for quite some time.

October is the month traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary. It is also Respect Life Month. Why not pray the rosary with the intention of ending the scourge of abortion in our country and throughout the world? We can pray that all human life be seen and treated as sacred from conception until natural death. We can pray for the conversion of the hearts of those politicians who continue to support this unjust practice.

Please take the time to strengthen, renew or begin this devotion in your personal spiritual life and in the life of your family.     

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Our Lady of Fatima and the 3 Visionaries

Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time "C" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time "C" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Setting Some Priorities

 

Dear Parishioners,

As a pastor for many years with a few previous assignments, I have observed how people often have various ideas regarding how a parish should be organized or operate. We certainly can differ in opinion when asking some important questions: What should a parish's priorities be? What activities or programs should we support? Where should we place our time, energy and resources?

Similarly, people can disagree on their expectation of the role of a pastor. We need a pastor who is a holy, spiritual leader . . . a  talented administrator . . . a gifted fundraiser . . . a creative, dynamic shepherd . . . a riveting preacher . . . a brilliant teacher . . . etc., etc. Let me remind everyone that although Jesus was indeed the Son of God and the most perfect man who ever lived, even He did not meet certain people's expectations and was nailed to a cross by His dissenters. Any pastor, with his human flaws and weaknesses, will sadly fall short of some people's expectations.

People should know that a priest, by his ordination, is meant to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the people. I was ordained to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for my people. I am not primarily a counselor, social worker, fundraiser, etc. I am a pastor/priest whose primary roles are to preach and teach, to sanctify (administer the sacraments) and to govern (the parish). These are my priorities here or wherever I may be assigned by the bishop. 

So, I want to spell out as clearly as possible how I envision the situation here at St. Thomas More, having been pastor for about five years. You should know what I am thinking.

Since we are a very small parish, we necessarily must emphasize the need for continual parish growth. To achieve such, we should see a commitment by parishioners to regular Mass attendance, to adequate financial support, and to volunteering. Sadly, many of our older, established parishioners have passed. Without younger families, more children and young adults as well as faithful Mass attendance by all, we will be heading down a dangerous path with a very uncertain parish future.

Priority One. Pray more. Attend Mass weekly (especially, if you are not currently doing so). Go to confession (the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation) regularly. Be an active part of the parish.

Priority Two. Bring people to Christ. We must evangelize! Invite people to Mass. Ask people if they ever thought about becoming a Catholic. Talk about your faith. Any future parish activities or suggestions first need to ask this question: How is my idea going to bring people to Christ and help to grow our congregation? How am I making new disciples for Christ? In my opinion, this will be time well spent.     

Priority Three. Seek out our lukewarm or inactive Catholics. There are far too many non-practicing Catholics. We need to counter any utilitarian mentality where people come to the Church only when they need something or find it personally convenient. A sad joke that has circulated church circles for years was that people would seek out the Catholic Church only to be hatched (baptism), matched (marriage) and dispatched (funeral rites). We have frequently labeled inactive members as Christmas and Easter Catholics. The point behind the labels is that too many Catholics no longer practice their faith regularly. Catholics primarily worship through the Mass. The term "New Evangelization" has been used to indicate the task of bringing back those baptized Catholics who no longer practice their faith. This should be important to us all. Start with any inactive family members.

While the above list is by no means complete, we have to start somewhere and this is where I think our collective energy currently needs to be spent.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor   

Coping with the Chaos in our World

 

Dear Parishioners,

With all of the craziness and divisiveness in our world today, I am careful not to become another polarizing figure contributing to the chaos. However, I believe we must always try to speak the truth with love (see Eph. 4:15) as St. Paul encourages.

The recent death and injury of school children trying to attend Mass in Minnesota was tragic and heinous. I dare say it was diabolical. So was the murder of an innocent Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the train in Charlotte, North Carolina. She did absolutely nothing deserving death. Whether a person liked or agreed with Charlie Kirk or not, an assassin’s bullet is never the answer to solve any disagreement. Yet, some people took a type of sick and twisted pleasure in witnessing another human being’s tragic demise. Can’t we see how cheap life has become to various disturbed people in our society?

Moreover, as a remedy to any problem or injustice, people should never riot and destroy property, burn down buildings, loot retail stores, throw rocks at cars, or justify causing physical pain in the name of some cause. We can all remember times in the not-so-distant past when this all occurred. Will pulling down historic statues actually change history or make life better? Will murdering or assaulting people in the cities, towns or villages make people want to live in those areas? Where has the moral compass gone?

The problem with modern society is complex, but underlying it all is a spiritual warfare taking place before our eyes. There is a battle for the soul of each person, the soul of our nation and the world. Chaos, destruction, lies and falsehoods are products of the devil and his legions. Do not deceive yourself. Satan hates humanity and wants to see its utter destruction. In his mind, God was a fool creating us and even more absurd in becoming one of us and redeeming us through the Blood of Christ. Death on a cross? We were never worth the effort. Abortion, euthanasia, a redefined marriage and human sexuality, a self-imposed gender identity, and anything distorting Almighty God’s plan for us are seen as good things—within our “rights” as humans—rather than evil and contrary to His will.

The only lasting solution to our problems is a turning (a conversion) to Jesus Christ and His message of salvation. The Gospel is good news for a reason. And, I did not simply say a return to god, because not all images and understanding of the true God (the Holy Trinity) are equal. There are many, many false gods in the world. Jesus is the Son of God and He came to establish God’s Kingdom on this earth as it is and will be forever in Heaven. He came to do His Father’s will. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide and protect the Church.

The spiritual battle will continue, I fear, because of the stubbornness of our hearts, the abuse of our free-will, the enticements of the devil, our lack of concern or initiative, our pride and arrogance toward God, and many other reasons. However, time will run out for all of us. Whether it be by death (which comes to all) or by the Lord’s return in glory, we will soon be facing God quicker than most of us would like to admit. Judgment and eternity are right around the corner, especially as we age and realize our limitations. Act now while there is time.

The Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation and Holy Communion (Mass) are the most important spiritual helps for daily living within the Catholic Church. Participate in them often. Attend Mass in person every week (when you are physically able). Sacraments bring us grace (God’s life) unlike anything else. Yes, we need to pray, to read the Bible, to participate in works of mercy and demonstrate charity as well. We need to be other Christs—Christians. 

But time will run out.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

“The One with the Man on It”

Dear Parishioners,

Some time ago a person related to me her experience of attempting to buy a cross/crucifix from a jewelry store. As she questioned the salesperson about various crosses/crucifixes that were on display in the store, the salesperson innocently asked, “Do you want one with the man on it or not?”

Hmm. I was left speechless when I heard this story. Sad, I thought. Very sad. Doesn’t everyone know who Jesus is? 

Didn’t this person know what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross?

Truth be told, I really don’t know what the person knew, understood or believed. The experience, however, got me thinking. Why would someone in this day and age—with all of our technology and resources—not know the Gospel message. Why would someone not know who Jesus is and what He did for us? How do we relate to them this Good News?

“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rm. 10: 17)

We are currently in a Jubilee Year of Hope.  It is an invitation to have faith and hope in the Person of Jesus. We believe He is the Son of God sent to us to reveal to us the love that God has for us. He suffered and died on the cross for us and for the forgiveness of our sin. Most importantly, He conquered sin and death—giving us eternal life—by His Resurrection from the dead.

That’s the basic Christian message. It’s pretty simple. All people need to hear it somehow.

If a person doesn’t go to church, where the message is routinely proclaimed, then there has to be various other means to get the message out. Besides preaching, I try by putting something out in the church bulletin and on the internet weekly. I also try to live out my faith—albeit imperfectly—in the community in which I live. I certainly need to be a living Gospel message.

In the end, this message of salvation in Jesus Christ has to get out into the world through a united effort—all of us.  It’s not the just the priest’s job. I (or any other priest) can only reach a limited number of people. They are mostly those who are already coming to church.

We all have to be what we say that we are—followers of Christ, Christians. We have to bear witness to others the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Don’t be afraid. Tell them the Good News:

Yes, my friend, I would like a crucifix with Jesus on it. He is truly the Man, par excellence. He suffered and died for me and you on that cross. And I want the entire world to see it and to know it!

As we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross this weekend, remember how strange is must seem to non-believers and the uncatechized that Catholics honor an instrument of execution from Roman times—a cross. Hopefully, we understand what was accomplished for us by Jesus’ death on a cross. The Son of God suffered and died on that cross for us and for our eternal salvation.

While to unbelievers Jesus' crucifixion may have appeared merely an execution, to believers it was a redemptive sacrifice of love on our behalf.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time "C" - Fr. Edward Namiotka