Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

A Different Kind of Spiritual Retreat This Year

 

Dear Parishioners,

By the time you read this, I will have completed my annual retreat.  Unfortunately, this year it was not made at a Trappist Monastery, as has been my frequent custom.  In fact, the monastery that I have visited for the past 40+ years—the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, NY—is not receiving visitors at this time due to Covid-19 restrictions.  Many of the Trappist Monks are elderly, some even infirm, and I can understand their caution in not accepting retreatants at this time.  Maybe next year?

This does not mean that I do not take my annual retreat seriously, despite the unusual circumstances.  I have told some that my first month in my new rectory was like being on a 30-day retreat already.  The rectory had no TV or internet for about a month after I first moved in.  Moreover, in my last assignment I lived with three or four other priests.  Suddenly, I was all alone.  I knew hardly anyone in this new assignment.  People were (and still are) wearing masks so I could not see their faces or observe their expressions.  Attendance at Mass was unprecedentedly low.  I, for a time, felt like St. Thomas More all alone in the Tower of London awaiting execution.  Thank God I was able to keep my head through it all!

Two of my priest-friends, who usually go on retreat with me, joined me this past week in my rectory.  We prayed together, watched some pre-recorded spiritual talks on video, offered Mass and enjoyed some camaraderie and fraternity.  Everyone knows how unusual 2020 has been, and making an annual spiritual retreat was not exempt.

As I related in an earlier bulletin message, I now have a small chapel in the rectory for prayer and reflection.   I am really never alone with Jesus here in the Blessed Sacrament.  No matter what part of the day it is—even on those nights where I may have some difficulty sleeping—I can make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for some peace and solitude.

As Advent progresses, please remember to be counter-cultural and not be celebrating Christmas before it is time to do so.  Advent is for spiritual preparation to watch and wait for Jesus.  It has been a blessing for me to begin this new liturgical year with some time for prayer and reflection.

The Trappist monks, who begin their daily prayer with Vigils, get up when most of us are still sleeping (3:30 AM) and keep watch for the Lord Jesus in communal prayer.  It should be a consoling thought that there are contemplatives throughout the world like them who pray for us and the world.  Despite their mostly hidden lives, they are active in prayer and manual labor (ora et labora).  The monks at the Abbey of the Genesee have supported the monastery by baking bread (Monks’ Bread) and other baked goods. Maybe you would like to check them out online: (https://www.geneseeabbey.org/ or https://monksbread.com/)?

Besides the opportunity to pray and worship with the monks, I will miss not being able to bring home a few loaves of Monks’ Bread this year! 

Oh well!  My stomach does not need the additional carbs anyway.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Some of the Monks' Bread products

Advent Is Here!

Dear Parishioners,

It’s hard to believe that another liturgical year begins this weekend.  Welcome to the First Sunday of Advent!

Advent is a time of commemoration, anticipation and preparation.  We recall the Birth of Jesus Christ while the Church reminds us that Christ will come again.  When?  This has been an unanswered question for the last two thousand plus years.

Hopefully, we as Christians have not become too complacent or even indifferent towards this teaching of our faith.  What if Jesus did return in glory to judge the living and the dead tomorrow, next week or next month?

I guess some people would panic:  “When was the last time I attended Mass?”  “I haven’t been to confession in years!”  “My life is not really in order right now!”  “I never did forgive my dad!” “I haven’t spoken to my sister in years!”  “I’ve been preoccupied with so many things and never take the time to pray!”  “I really do not know Jesus Christ.”

Jesus warns us: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.”  (Mark 13:33) We are told by St. Paul that the day of the Lord “will come like a thief at night. “ (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

I do not want people to become fanatical like those who run around with signs claiming that the end of the world is near.  However, as Christians we need to live continually in the presence of the Lord.  And, we should be living in the state of grace (not conscious of any unconfessed grave or mortal sin.)  Christ is aware of us and is there for us at all times.  Unfortunately, as humans we do not think about this at every moment, nor do we always live appropriately even if we believe it.

Advent is here.  Don’t waste the time by getting caught up in all of the materialism that the world is concerned about and sells us every day.  Take time for your spiritual life.  After all, we as humans are comprised of body and soul.  Take time to know, love and serve Jesus Christ. 

I find that when my spiritual priorities are in order and Christ is forefront in my life, everything else mysteriously seems to fall into place.  I may have to learn this lesson over and over again, but someday I may finally get it right.  One can only hope!

A great way to start the Advent season is to make not only a gift list, but a list of my spiritual priorities.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

The Meeting Tent

Dear Parishioners,

If you refer to Chapter 33: 7-11 of the Book of Exodus (the Hebrew Scriptures) you will read about Moses encountering God.  This took place in a meeting tent where Moses would talk to God face to face.

I have been fascinated by this passage since my college seminary days.  Back then, when I was reading an article about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s daily Eucharistic Holy Hour, this reference to Moses and his personal encounter with God was mentioned.  The piece described how Moses’ face became radiant—he was visibly changed—because of his spending time conversing with God.

As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he spoke with the LORD. When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him . . . When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. (Ex. 34: 29-30, 33)

Over many years, following the example of Archbishop Sheen, I have sought to spend time with the Lord before the Blessed Sacrament.  My reasoning is simple:  If we, as Catholics, truly believe that the Lord Jesus is present in the Eucharist, how could we not want to spend time with Him?  It is often an uphill battle trying to get people—sometimes even priests—to understand how precious this time alone with the Lord means to me.

Pope Saint John Paul II once wrote the following, which increased my determination to spend time in Eucharistic Adoration:

To priests the Council also recommends, in addition to the daily celebration of the Mass, personal devotion to the Holy Eucharist, and especially that "daily colloquy with Christ, a visit to and veneration of the Most Holy Eucharist" (PO 18). Faith in and love for the Eucharist cannot allow Christ's presence in the tabernacle to remain alone (cf. CCC 1418). Already in the Old Testament we read that God dwelt in a "tent" (or "tabernacle"), which was called the "meeting tent" (Ex 33:7). The meeting was desired by God. It can be said that in the tabernacle of the Eucharist too Christ is present in view of a dialogue with his new people and with individual believers. The presbyter is the first one called to enter this meeting tent, to visit Christ in the tabernacle for a "daily talk." (June 9, 1993)

The above factors led me, in this and in my two last parishes, to construct my own meeting tent in the rectory—a small, private Eucharistic chapel where I can be alone with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  There is no phone, no Internet, and minimal distractions.  I want to be disconnected from worldly matters and tuned in completely to Jesus.  Period.  Over the years, I have often tried praying in the church but inevitably I am interrupted for some reason or another.  While some may perceive this as anti-social behavior, please take some consolation in this:  your pastor takes his prayer life very seriously, believes in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and is praying for you.  

While my face may not become radiant like Moses, my disposition frequently is more pleasant!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor (wanna-be monk)

Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints - Fr. Edward Namiotka