MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU AND AWAKEN YOU! STAR WARS WATCHERS TAKE NOTICE

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU AND AWAKEN YOU! STAR WAR WATCHERS JOIN ME SUNDAY FOR 12 NOON MASS IN YOUR FAVORITE 'STAR WARS' COSTUME, AND, SIT UP FRONT IN THE HISTORIC SAINT ANNE CHURCH BY THE AMBASSADOR BRIDGE IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA. AND, MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU AND AWAKEN YOU EVEN MORE DEEPLY IN 2016.

Christ's Mass / Christmas, 2015

So, it is Christmas. It is. That is on December 25th. Some prefer to skip it as John Grisham wrote in his tome, "Skipping Christmas." I love Christmas, and, I relish saying "Merry Christmas" to everyone I meet. Christmas is a gift. It is a present. It is, in fact, the Presence of God-become-one with human flesh. The reason for the season is front and center. It is. Merry Christmas!

Standing Together: From Poland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Africa, and More

These holidays hold out hope. They do. For all of us. After all, we all have roots to other nations. My own Polish great grandparents came to these United States centuries ago from Poland, for example. We're full of immigrants. This town is saturated with roots and relationships from numerous countries. And, America's Muslim community is here to stay in southeast Michigan. Routinely, I can walk into Imam Husham Al-Husainy's Karbalaa Islamic Education Center on Warren Avenue near Greenfield in Dearborn, Michigan. The same Imam who fled Iraq's terror has been to my home in Harrison Township. We're that kind of people here in the Detroit area. The interfaith community has tight bonds that have blossomed over years and decades of dialogue. From the many diverse roots we are one, and, better in our fabric of differences. From the many, we are one, indeed, in fact, one nation under God. Citizens who take time to get to know the varieties of immigrants know well. Employment opportunities attracted our Muslim acquaintances, friends and neighbors. As a Catholic pastor who strives for unity, I have discovered true friends in the Muslim community. Like bonds that build and grow over time, much talk and conversation has brought the Detroit area, Hamtramck and Dearborn to the place of harmony it is today. Whether it is Al-Husainy, Iranian Imam Ali Elahi of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, or Bosnian Arif Huskic who steers the Common Word Alliance in Hamtramck, MI., common ground issues have been faced together for the betterment of this town. Anything other than standing together with Muslims, and any other immigrant is an assault on our God-given freedom. At this time when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus the Christ, I am mindful of Imam Al-Husainy, his University of Michigan son, and many others from his Karbalaa who replied affirmatively to my invitation for them to join me last Christmas Eve for midnight Mass at the historic Saint Aluburtus Catholic Church with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, presiding in that revered, iconic and ancient edifice that welcomes all God's people near downtown Detroit. Even though it is now shuttered,it is allowed by archdiocesan officials to open up for significant seasonal holy days like Christmas and Easter. We all will be better for taking time to talk with those residents who are different from any one of us. We will. God blesses such generous and abundant love.

Stewarding We Go!

Light switch on in the bathroom. When done, I turn it off. Yes, I do. While in there, flush, when done. Wash hands, wipe dry, or, power dry 'em. Waste not, want not! Where did I hear that from? Was it from my mother, or, my father, both farming-town youngsters who came to Detroit to find factory jobs in their early teens from Cheboygan and Port Austin, MI. They used every minute well, it seemed to the seven of their children with two sets of twins when diapers were cloth, and, far from the 'throw-away' today. Waste! Got to hate it, right? Senate Bill 1150 seeks to change the Michigan Vehicle Code to limit the gross total weight of trucks, not to exceed 80,000 pounds. Got to give it to Michigan State Senator Steve Bieda pressing to pack more gently on the asphalt, even though this time 'round it went down like a flat tire! Speaking of fledgling roads, the good Senator is concerned about declining gas tax revenues caused by increased vehicle fuel economy that has resulted in a significant drop in fuel tax revenue, notes Bieda, representing Warren, MI., a blue-collar town in a fest-shrinking middle class. Whether the light switch, saving water at the sink, or elsewhere on the lawn, for example, a little bit of enlightenment and information helps us all conserve and be wise stewards of time, talent, treasure, and trees, too! Anyone out there today who will lighten the burden on roads these days, and, be a 'light' to the world saving some, somehow today? After all, it's Stewardship Sunday across Catholic congregations today! The power of oneness may be the answer in the living Temple of the Holy Spirit that get to give an accounting at the general and particular judgement day when my final breath of living energy ebbs.

Sunday's Sermon: A Homily

Friendship. We all have one or two. And, tons of acquaintances. For sure. I learned that from the famous Father Edward Popielarz, a parish priest of the late Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish where my family of nine, including two sets of twins, worshiped, and, went to school. Ruth and Naomi were friends. Really good friends. They were faithful and true like a 'best' priest friend, and, a high school chum from the East Side of Detroit, my Motown - another friend of a town! That's another sermon, however. Committed friends. Ruth and Naomi, Biblical friends way back. They were. Side by side, heart to heart, they spoke, shared, and, I bet they cried also, at times. Both characters of the Sacred Scriptures - the Living Word of God that you and I walk these days in our limbs and legs and living Temples. Small in stature compared to the love God has for you and me, among all others, including creatures that crawl the earth. God's love is huge. A really big heart. In fact, unimaginable for us frail, limited and at times sinful humans. Yep. I can't imagine the size, let alone an adequate Name for the largesse of the Maker of men and women like me, like you, all of us here today giving praise to God at this Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist (a Greek word that means 'thanksgiving'). Feeding here on the living Word and easting of the Body and Blood of Christ with the communion of Saints. With Mary, the mother of God, her mom, Saint Anne, Saint Lawrence, the deacon,and, the entire heavenly host of all saints such as you and me, and, the officially canonized Saints. Even those "poor souls" in Purgatory that we all prayed for, I bet. That feast we marked November 2nd, called All Soul's Day. So many saint among the dead and the living, and...among the Living forever, for eternity. Be blessed these holy days all the way to Thanksgiving Day, and beyond. Give thanks. For saints. For friends. Acquaintances also. And, for friendship with God, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. Be one. Be a friend. Befriend one or two, and reach out if you need one. Know, however, that God is a Friend forever especially at those low points, down moments that come and go like the spiritual life, like consolation and desolation, the 'ups and downs' of living daily lives. Like the roller-coaster at Edge-water Park on Seven Mile near Telegraph. Anyone remember?

OCTOBER 25, 2015 Sunday's Sermon: A Homily Based on John's Miracle Story of the Blind Beggar

A family went to Africa to hunt lions. Dad and mom wanted to do this as a dream of their lifetime. Lions seemed lazy, they all thought. Outraged at the lifestyle there, they judged the Nation as one filled with people who could changed everything if but they were motivated like Americans, dad and mom concluded. "We will never return here again," they declared. And, the kids agreed. As a matter of principle, the parents taught their children to never give cash to beggars. To any of the street beggars, and anybody else. You just never know what they want the loot for? Can't trust anyone? When they returned home they showed their photos to others they frequently visited in their upper-scale community. They agreed that they wouldn't visit there ever again, also. Do you have any sympathy for the poor and needy, one relative inquired. How can you feel for lazy, unmotivated people, anywhere? they shot back.

People's Pope of Family Stepped One Step to Far?

I don't know. But, perhaps Pope Francis is a bit too brave. And, courageous. Although I savor such stellar stepping out, did he go one step too far earlier today when he addressed the joint session of the U.S. Congress at the Capital Building in Washington, D.C.? I don't know, but I'm paying attention to my parish priest who would have relished the image of the family at a fireplace like a folkloric feast with food and fellowship, so to speak. The late Father Edward Popielzarz of Polish origin in Saginaw, Michigan, perhaps, unlike any other mentor and pastor of my seven decades, taught me to listen well to my feelings, and, to heed what joy or 'heartaches by the number' I may be entertaining at any given time or day. For sure. When Francis called for conclusively eliminating this Nation's death penalty, evangelicals and fundamentalists must have had the hairs on their head, or, neck rise in anger. Really! After a splendid, urgent, and clarion call in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," Pope Francis' urging for the prayer and dialogue of my favorite Cistercian monk of Gethsemane, Kentucky, buried at my favorite retreat house, Father Thomas Merton, got the pope to want the world to emulate Merton, and, connect with the Creator often each day. And, Abraham Lincoln's cry for liberty was held up high for us all, and, union of the Civil War era, finally, revered Catholic Worker Dorothy Day's pleading for social justice, and, the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights' race, and massive march on Washington, D.C., did the pope of the people and the poor and impoverished lean a step to far? I think so. But, I may be wrong. Of course the arc of justice is long, and, it leans toward justice, as King would have applauded the Pontiff, but, one can spoil the soup, so to speak, with one step too much, no? Who knows? With little clarity, the Pope concluded on the side of mercy and hope and rehabilitation possibilities for criminals on 'death's row. He did. I affirm that also. However, some fine nuancing, and, elaboration on this 'magical' man's point would have helped Francis to trek on in his firm, feisty, and virtuous procession through the weekend in Philadelphia for the World Family Meeting without a glitch, and 'possession' of unnecessary attachments, to borrow from his speech to Congress today. The fallout may follow. We'll see. Too risky for the fledgling U.S. family that needs all the help that it can give. The late, and former Archbishop of Detroit, John Cardinal Dearden, would agree. "We never do enough for family," bolted the reasoned and progressive Dearden who participated in all of the sessions of the ecumenical Vatican II Council from 1962-65.