Father Greg

Abide in Peace

Carmelite homily for Sunday, March 22, 2020 – Lectionary 31 (John 9:1-41)

On this Fourth Sunday of Lent we’re halfway through this season. And Saint John of the Cross writes, “Abide in peace, banish cares, and take no account of all that happens – this serves God, and you will rest in him.” In today’s Gospel there’s a lot of upset: with the man born blind, and his parents, and the Pharisees, and everyone. And all that turmoil even exists today: the political scene, the cultural scene, and the ecclesial scene, and the Covid-19 scene. Let’s make this our life for the second half of Lent: “Abide in peace, banish cares, and take no account of all that happens – this serves God, and you will rest in him.” Let us rest in God.

Pulled to Perfection

Carmelite homily for Saturday, March 21, 2020 – Lectionary 242 (Luke 18:9-14)

In today’s Gospel we have the well-known parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, sometimes called the Pharisee and the Publican. The Pharisee is up in front saying, “wow, God, look at me! And I’m glad I’m not like that tax collector.” And the tax collector is way in the back saying, “Have mercy on me.” Saint John of the Cross writes, “Everyone’s actions are in direct continuity with the habit of perfection they have acquired.” I think that’s simply the call of today’s Gospel – not to look at the Pharisee or the tax collector – but to look at ourselves. What are our actions? What our accusations? What is our level of perfection we have acquired? Maybe reach out and have the Lord pull us there.

Spiraling Upward

Carmelite homily for Friday, March 20, 2020 – Lectionary 24 (Mark 12:28-34)

In today’s Gospel we have ‘The Greatest Commandment’ – to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body; and to love your neighbor as yourself. How do we do either one of these, though? They’re very high, very difficult, beyond human, aren’t they? To love God with everything? And to love your neighbor as yourself? To put your neighbor equal or even higher? How do we do this? Saint John of the Cross, I think, has the answer. He writes, “For as the love of neighbor increases, so does the love of God; and as the love of God increases, so does the love of neighbor.” It’s a perfect solution! It’s love! We love God, that enables us to love our neighbor, which then informs our love God, which then informs our love of neighbor, which informs our love of God. And it spirals higher and higher. So when we’re given this Great Commandment it doesn’t mean to do it now. I think it means do it and grow into it and spiral higher through a lifetime of love of God and love of neighbor.

New Foundations

Carmelite homily for Thursday, March 19, 2020 – Lectionary 543 (Matthew 1:16-24)

When the Carmelites came to Europe from the Holy Land in the 1200s they brought with them a devotion – to Saint Joseph. Not very common in Europe at the time. And every new foundation, and in a new place or a new way, is dedicated to Saint Joseph. That’s why Saint Teresa of Avila dedicates her first monastery, reformed monastery, to Saint Joseph. And when the Carmelites came to the United States, their first parish is named Saint Joseph. We staff it to this day. On this Solemnity of Saint Joseph, let’s dedicate this day – this first day; every day is a first day – to Saint Joseph. Modeling our lives, our trust, our faith, our love, on his.

True Friar

Carmelite homily for Wednesday, March 18, 2020 – Lectionary 239 (Matthew 5:17-19

There’s a well-known incident in the life of Saint Teresa of Avila where she’s at dinner, and enjoying dinner, and one of the nuns looks at her unapprovingly because she’s obviously enjoying dinner so much she mustn’t be a holy woman. And Teresa says, “When I pray I pray, and when I partridge I partridge .” That was the menu that day. We can get so caught up in the externals we miss the deeper things. Saint Teresa of Avila says, “Being a friar doesn’t consist in the habit – I mean wearing it – but in enjoying the state of higher perfection, which is what it means to be a true friar.” That’s what she’s calling us to. And what today’s Gospel is calling us to. To being more than just fussing with the letter of the Law but allowing that Law to change our inside, to transform us in love, to be deeper, richer, truer, more mature people. That’s the call of today’s Gospel.

Know No Arithmetic

Carmelite homily for Tuesday, March 17, 2020 – Lectionary 238 (Matthew 18:21-35)

I’m sure she said this ‘tongue in cheek’ but it’s a good quotation from Saint Therese. She says, “There is one science God does not know – arithmetic. Our sins only serve to glorify the mercy of God.” That’s exactly what’s going on in today’s Gospel. A man comes in to the steward owing a large amount and the steward doesn’t know arithmetic and forgives it all. And then the man runs into someone who owes him a small amount but demands arithmetic, ‘you owe me this money!’ If God does not know arithmetic, Jesus is saying, then we shouldn’t know arithmetic. We shouldn’t demand revenge, or an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth. As Saint Paul says, “Love keeps no record of a wrong.” That’s the call of today’s Gospel: to know no arithmetic.

Elijah and Elisha and Anyone Who Follows Jesus

Carmelite homily for Monday, March 16, 2020 – Lectionary 237 (Luke 4:24-30)

In today’s Gospel Jesus references both Elijah and Elisha, prophets of the First Book of Kings which Carmelites say are our spiritual founders. Elijah comes from the east bank of the Jordan, from a town called Tishbe, and Elisha comes from the west bank – very different backgrounds and situations. I think that’s why Jesus mentions them, because he says, ‘Elijah was sent to a widow of Zarephath’ – that’s up in Phoenicia, a foreign land. And to Elisha, Naaman the Syrian came to be healed of leprosy, again a foreign land. I think that’s what Jesus is getting at. His message and our message shouldn’t be limited to just this group or these people or just this. But should be, could be, and with grace, IS for everyone, envelopes everyone, embraces everyone. That’s the call of today’s Gospel – to open our hearts like Elisha, like Elijah, like anyone who wears the Carmelite habit, or like anyone who follows Jesus.

Ignatian Guided Meditation

This is a meditation on the passage of ‘The Woman at the Well’ (John 4:5-42) using a method of praying with scripture taught by Saint Ignatius.

Today I’m going to try something different. Instead of giving a Carmelite-themed homily for this Third Sunday of Lent – the passage is ‘The Woman at the Well’ from John’s Gospel – I’m going to give an Ignatian Guided Meditation. It’s a way Ignatius, Saint Ignatius, teaches us to pray with scripture. He says, ‘immerse yourself in the passage; engage all the senses.’ What does it smell like? What do you see? What do you hear? Engage your senses and immerse yourself in. Then lean in and listen to what Jesus might have to tell you. So let us begin…

We’re in Samaria; you’re in Samaria. It’s noon. You’ve been walking all morning and you’re tired. It’s hot. You sit down on a rock near the well. Jesus is sitting at the well. You’re thirsty; very thirsty, and he’s doing nothing about getting water. But then this woman comes up. And you can hear her jewels and her bracelets clanking as she’s walking. And you’re thinking, ‘what is she doing here? No one is at the well this time of day.’ And she sits down near Jesus and you can hear them, but not hear them distinctly, talking to each other. That’s because the wind which is so hot (it’s midday) is blowing against your ears. That’s what you hear more than their talking – the wind. Where did those disciples go? Oh yeah, Jesus sent them into town. So it’s just you, her, and Jesus. You smell the heat on the rocks. You smell some perfume. Is that her perfume? She’s wearing perfume in the middle of the day! All of a sudden she runs off and then Jesus turns to you and says to you, ‘and what are you here for? what are you looking for?’ And you say to Jesus:

Message to the Order regarding the Coronavirus

From Míceál O’Neill, O.Carm., Prior General

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this rare occasion I want to address a word of support to all our members who in one way or another are affected by the continuing spread of Covid-19. Here in the Curia we have heard the instructions of the Italian government and we have done our best to follow all the instructions. This has meant saying to our staff that they should not come to work until further instructions. We have organized our life in such a way that none of us will have people coming to the house and no one will leave the house until the ban is lifted, except for emergencies and essential services. We recognize the sacrifice that this entails, but we feel that we have to allow ourselves to be guided by the advice of the experts.

We will keep in our thoughts and prayers, those who have died and their families who are in mourning. We will pray for the medical profession, that the researchers may succeed in identifying this virus and finding the best ways to protect the population from infection, and the doctors and nurses may be able to help all who have fallen victim to it.

We must not allow ourselves to lose confidence or to be gripped by fear. This experience may lead us to reflect on how powerless we are, despite all our progress. At moments like this we realize more clearly that without God, we can do nothing. It is a good moment for us to renew our faith in God and our commitment to the wellbeing of one another, and in a special way our care for the poor, for the ones who are least able to cope when life gets difficult. In the time that we spend confined to our homes, we may find ourselves thinking and praying more, at one with Mary the Mother of God who kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Míceál O’Neill, O.Carm.
Prior General

Be That Kind of Rock

Carmelite homily for Friday, March 13, 2020 – Lectionary 234 (Matthew 21:33-46)