Homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time "B" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

The Diabolical Litmus Test

 

Ah! Those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness to light, and light into darkness, who change bitter to sweet, and sweet into bitter! (Is. 5: 20)

Dear Parishioners,

I will be glad when this election season is over. I am tired—exhausted—with all of the lies, the confusion, the visceral attacks, the compromised candidates, etc. that seem to be ever more present with each election. I will state for the thousandth time that I am an independent voter—neither democrat nor republican. I have never registered with or contributed to either party. My soul belongs to Jesus Christ and to Him alone, not any political party. Period.

With this being clearly stated, there is something diabolical going on once again. What is an intrinsic evil is continually being portrayed as a good on many fronts, but especially when it comes to the lives of the innocent children in the womb. There is no “right” to take an innocent human life in the womb. If a civil law permits such, it is an unjust law and needs to be changed. Whether it is by chemical or surgical means, by a pill or a suction machine, the willful destruction of the innocent baby in the womb—euphemized as the “termination of a pregnancy”—is immoral in the sight of God. It is against Divine Law and natural law.

Yes, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision gave the situation back to each state to decide for itself—for better or for worse. The diabolical litmus test for political candidates is whether they support the “right to choose.” Let’s finish the sentence here. The right to choose . . . what? Rape? Murder? Terrorism? Theft? Abortion? There is an object of any choice. We choose something. We can use our God-given intelligence to see that we indeed have the ability to make free choices. However, choices have consequences for the person choosing and for others impacted by the choice itself.

The baby in the womb had no choice, either to be conceived or to be killed. He or she is innocent. He or she is a person in the image and likeness of God. Termination of this person is being portrayed as a good, in some twisted, diabolical corruption of the thought process. In reality, it is not. A baby is dead. A potential life with all of its possibilities is gone.

Something very telling happened at one of the political rallies recently. As one of the presidential candidates was speaking emphatically about this right to choose, two college-aged Christian students peacefully shouted out, Jesus is Lord and Christ is King. The democratic candidate responded, “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally . . . no, I think you were meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” She was referring to the republican rally taking place at the same time in another location. This was certainly an eye opening statement for many people as the two students were subsequently escorted from the building.

Is Jesus Lord of your life? Is Christ the King of the Universe? Do the lives of the unborn matter or are they merely disposable? Is marriage between a man and a woman? Did God make us male and female? Are we willing to ask some fundamental questions about God, faith, morality, society, government, etc.?

Asking these questions is not hate speech, but rather a call to make a decision about the future of our own family and our nation. Our decisions, our choices, will ultimately determine our path towards or away from God’s plan for humanity. Are we with Jesus or against Him? While Election Day is one decision process we can and should participate in, there is much more at stake than what meets the eye. There is a battle both for the soul of our country and for our individual souls. Choices matter.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time "B" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Praying for the Dead

Dear Parishioners,

As we approach the month of November, we should consider the importance of remembering and praying for the dead. We begin with two notable liturgical celebrations—All Saints and All Souls days. St. Paul reminds us . . . Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Phil. 3:20)

Saints are destined for heaven. Once their lives are finished on earth they will spend eternity enjoying the Beatific Vision—the "Face" of God—in God's time and according to God's plan. Many saints will not be officially canonized and placed on the church calendar. However, the Solemnity of All Saints reminds us of all those intercessors in heaven closely united with God who pray for us. (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, #956)  Where they have gone, we hope to follow someday. They have been called the Church Triumphant. Just as we may ask a friend here on earth to say a prayer for us, we can ask the saints in heaven to pray to God for us. Once they reach heaven, they no longer need our prayers but they can certainly pray and make intercession on our behalf.

While we may hope that our deceased relatives and friends are in heaven, we do not have that absolute certainty simply because of our hoping or desiring it to be so. While our Christian funerals are meant to strengthen our hope in eternal life, they are not meant to be canonizations.  Only God knows the ultimate destiny of any soul as he alone knows the disposition of the person when he or she dies. Did the person die in the state of grace or not? We can only hope and pray. We should pray.

Still, we can take great consolation if a person receives the last rites of the church—the sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick. I remind people constantly that the sacraments are for the living and we should not wait until a person dies (if at all possible) to call for the priest. If the person is homebound, elderly, on hospice, in the hospital, terminally ill, etc. let the priest know so that a pastoral visit can be arranged. Moreover, we should all try to be living continually in the state of grace and not be conscious of any mortal or serious sin. The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (confession) is the ordinary means that we have to keep the fullness of God's life (grace) alive in us. God's mercy will be given if we but ask for it!

All Souls Day reminds us that we should pray for the dead. Our prayers can help them if they are in a state of purification that we call purgatory. Remember that if someone is in heaven, they do not need our prayers. If they die not in the state of grace, being unrepentant, obstinate, and alienated from God—thus being in a state of hell or eternal separation from God—our prayers cannot help them. Church teaching encourages us to pray and to offer Mass for the dead. The greatest spiritual gift that we can give to our deceased loved ones is to have a Mass offered for them. The Catholic Mass is a re-presentation of the offering of Jesus himself on the cross. We have no better intercessor with the Father than Jesus who suffered and died for us.

Souls in purgatory, in a state of cleansing or purification—what I like to refer to as the fringes of heaven—can pray for us as we can assist them on their eventual journey to heaven. They have been referred to as the Church Suffering, in regard to their temporarily being kept from the fullness of heaven.

Finally, members of the Church on earth all are saints-in-potential. As baptized Christians, part of the Body of Christ, while we are alive in Christ Jesus, our ultimate destiny is heaven. Only our choice to sin gravely, to put ourselves out of the state of God's life, His grace, will keep us from that path. We are the Church Militant, currently battling sin and evil. 

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones [saints] and members of the household of God. . . . (Eph. 2:19)  May we live up to our calling!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time "B" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

"How Did We Get Here?"

Dear Parishioners,

I recently heard our Coadjutor Bishop, Joseph A. Williams, speak about how he would attend daily Mass with his father. His father is a physician with a family of nine children, yet found time not only to attend Mass each Sunday but each and every day. God bless him!

Over the years I have heard hundreds, if not thousands, of the confessions of children whether it was in the Catholic school or in the religious education programs. I regularly try to put the children at ease and try to help them realize that God is a forgiving God, if only we request His mercy. I tell them that there is no sin God can’t forgive, if we are truly sorry. My emphasis is on how merciful God is to all of us. I want this sacrament to be one in which children will never be afraid and will continue to keep a positive attitude toward it as they mature into adulthood.

Without going very long I usually begin hearing from the young children how they are “too busy” to go to Sunday Mass, that they “have sports on Sunday,” that their family “usually goes to Mass for Christmas and Easter” but not necessarily each week, and a whole bunch of similar comments. All this is unfortunately telling me that going to Mass each Sunday is far from a priority in many, many families. I dare not even mention Holy Days of Obligation—like the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (August 15), All Saints Day, (November 1), or the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 8). Holy Days of Obligation are treated with an attitude of optional at best, similar to the overwhelming number of Catholics who think in similar manner about Sunday Mass attendance each week.

Let me answer a few questions directly. Do Catholics still have an obligation to attend Mass each week? Yes  Has this requirement changed over the years? No 

"Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church." "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass." (2192, CCC)  

[Please refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) under the section on The Ten Commandments for a complete explanation.]  

So what is a pastor like me to do? I certainly have an obligation and accountability before God for the spiritual well-being of my people. I care about them. I love them. I pray for them each day.  

1) Maybe I can pretend that there is no problem. Just be silent and not bring up the topic. I will only alienate people further.  (How much worse can it get?  About four-fifths of the average parish is missing each Sunday already!?)  

2) Maybe I can gently urge and try warmly to invite people.  (Realistically, I have been attempting to do this almost every day of my priestly life. The results, unfortunately, have not been overwhelming.)  

3) Should I preach hell, fire and damnation like the good, old days? (While I think that the Fear of the Lord is a much needed virtue for our times, most of society does not want to be told what to do—rarely, if ever.)  

4) Should I go on trying to live and lead by example? Will my striving for personal holiness and my desire for conversion of life became contagious and lead people to Christ? (I can only hope and pray!)

Growing up as a child in the 60’s and 70’s was, in my humble opinion, a very crazy time.  Free-love, the drug culture, Vietnam, the Cold War, unrest on college campuses, racial tension, etc. all seemed overwhelming to me as a kid. Yet, somehow God was present to me in the midst of it all. Despite the many adversities, I mysteriously heard the call to be Jesus’ disciple. God could truly penetrate even the most difficult of situations—then and now. Just look at the cross. Didn’t this, too, seem to be the worst of all situations? When I ask myself today “How did we get here?” as a culture and as a Church, I know deep down I must continue to trust that God is still in charge and in His plan for salvation good will ultimately triumph.

Please come to Mass each week.  I will never stop asking (begging). I care about your eternal salvation much too much.                                                                                                                           

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time "B" - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

My Spiritual Journey with St. Joseph

 

When I began elementary school at St. Ann Regional School in Wildwood, NJ, I first became acquainted with the Sisters of St. Joseph (Chestnut Hill/Philadelphia). They taught me for twelve years both in grade school and at Wildwood Catholic High School. Later, when I entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia for college, some of the faculty members were also sisters from that same community.

After ordination, I spent twenty years in Catholic education, fourteen of which were at Sacred Heart High School in Vineland, also staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Ironically, I was to become the first principal of the school who was not a member of that religious community. From the high school’s establishment, every principal until me had been a Sister of St. Joseph.

Some years later, I was appointed pastor of St. Joseph Church, Somers Point, NJ. With an elementary school and convent on the campus, I once again experienced the presence of the same community of religious sisters. They continued to be a part of my life and ministry.

It was during my time as pastor of St. Joseph Church that my choir director suggested to me that I compose a hymn dedicated to St. Joseph. I took on the task and with the help of some of my friends O Joseph, Righteous One—an original hymn honoring St. Joseph—came to be.

In more recent times, after a dinner discussion with a longtime friend, Tom Raniszewski, while I was back in my hometown, we decided to compose a Christmas piece from the unique perspective of St. Joseph. It was my thought that St. Joseph never received much attention in the Christmas story, although he was usually seen in every Nativity scene with the Virgin-Mother Mary and the Baby Jesus. I knew how much Tom loved Christmas and everything related to this feast. If I was going to take on such a project, Tom seemed the right person for the task.

From a completely unconventional manner of composing a song, The Carpenter’s Son came into being. Tom and I did not ever sit in the same room or, in fact, collaborate other than through text messages, e-mails and phone calls. Yet, everything miraculously seemed to come together. The finished product is now available on most streaming platforms in time for Christmas. The gifted vocalist is Drew Seigla, a Julliard graduate and New York musical theater performer. The streaming proceeds will be donated to the South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal.

St. Joseph has been accompanying me since my youth and this latest accomplishment is but another time he has influenced my thinking and spiritual journey. Although he says nothing in the Sacred Scriptures, his actions speak boldly and clearly. He was obedient to God. He was described as a righteous man whom God entrusted with the care of His Only-Begotten Son. Joseph loved, cared for, protected, and provided for both Jesus and Mary. Jesus was known as the carpenter’s son (Mt. 13:55).

I hope that you will listen to and enjoy this piece and that it will help more people to incorporate St. Joseph into their spiritual journey as well.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

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

 

Thoughts from the Monastery

 

Sanctuary at the Abbey of the Genesee 

Dear Parishioners,

I recently returned from my retreat at the Trappist monastery, the Abbey of the Genesee, in western New York State. I spent the week with two of my priest-friends in an atmosphere of prayer and peaceful silence. I now share with you some of my personal observations and thoughts after this time away from the parish routine.

Temporarily leaving the world and entering the spiritual desert, you first begin to slow down from the pace of life with which we have become too familiar. The traffic, the lines in the grocery store, the crowds at sporting events, the constant need to do something, all cease when you enter a place of solitude like a monastery.

You experience silence. You can begin to hear yourself think. Even more importantly, you can hear God speak. The silence can sometimes be deafening, especially in the middle of the night. You stop hearing all of the man-made noise and begin to hear the birds and the crickets chirp, the bees buzzing, the wind blowing and acorns falling to the ground. You experience the night sky and the stars in a darkness away from the city lights.

God speaks to you. Whether it be in thought or imagination, in reading of the Scriptures or a spiritual book, in praying the rosary, in a moment of Eucharistic adoration or during the daily Mass, God is speaking ever-more loudly and clearly. He speaks particularly when the psalms are chanted by the monks throughout the day and night.

You begin a process of introspection. You examine your conscience. You think about what I have done and what I have failed to do. You prepare to meet God someday face to face. Sometimes the events of your life pass before you again and you get to see the mistakes you made and/or your proper decisions.

You think of and pray for those you promised to pray for, those who have asked for your prayers, those you should be praying for and even those who have no desire to pray. You pray for the living and the dead. You pray for your parishioners, past and present. You sometimes even may pray for your enemies and those who persecute you, have betrayed you, lied about you and hurt you. And you beg forgiveness from God if you have done such things to anyone else.

You confront your demons. Just as Jesus was tempted by the devil three times when He went into the desert, so temptations and the demons behind them may rear their ugly heads. It is at these times you realize that the spiritual battle continues and that the final victory in your life is far from achieved.

You may experience some dryness in prayer or moments when God seems extremely close and real. You may hear God urging the heart to something more or hear nothing at all.

Each time I have visited the monastery, God is there waiting and watching. Some may think that such a retreat is a waste of time and this time can be better spent in some other manner.

I beg to differ.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Exterior of the Abbey of the Genesee