I believe that we are committed to the sentence from today’s Gospel which says: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” But there’s more to this than what most people do: “love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you” and “stop judging; forgive.”These are some of the characteristics of those who seriously follow Jesus and it is challenging. Our first response and our natural inclinations are the opposite: “get even; get the upper hand; I’ll show you.” It takes a lot of humility to say, “I have a long way to go.”We can all think of those times and places where our automatic response was far from what Jesus expects of us, but just because other people do not show a good attitude or are nasty or pushy or inconsiderate, does not mean that we cannot do better. Carry this Gospel with you this week: in your car, on the subway, on the street and I can guarantee this Gospel will speak to you. Jesus believes in us or else he wouldn’t have given us the words in today’s Gospel.

I wanted to share with you what the May 2020 Pilgrimage is about and why we are advertising it so early and taking reservations. The highlight of this Alpine tour is our attending the Passion Play in the town of Oberammergau, Germany. It is held every ten years and features a cast, an orchestra and a choir from this town. In 1634 the Black Plague was wiping out towns throughout Europe. The people of Oberammergau promised God that if they were spared, they would put on a Passion Play every ten years and so here we are at 2020. It is a six hour enactment of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. There is a break after the first three hours for a dinner break and then back to the remainder of the play. This play draws people from throughout the world and the play runs only from May to September almost daily. This is why we are advertising and taking reservations now so that we will be guaranteed seats and a tour in addition. This is a beautiful part of Germany and Switzerland: the Rhine Valley, Lake Lucerne, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Munich in addition to the play. The price includes your flight, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, tickets to the play, and a tour guide. We’ll arrange for daily Mass. Think about it, but don’t wait too long to put down the required deposit.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”

This beatitude speaks of those whose hearts are simple, pure, and undefiled, for a heart capable of love admits nothing that might harm, weaken or endanger that love. The Bible uses the heart to describe our real intentions, the things we truly seek and desire, apart from all appearances. “Man sees the appearances but the Lord looks into the heart.” God wants to speak to our hearts; there he desires to write his law. In a word, he wants to give us a new heart.

Certainly, there can be no love without works of love, but this beatitude reminds us that the Lord expects a  commitment to our brothers and sisters that comes from the heart. For “if I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have no love, I gain nothing.”

A heart that loves God and neighbor genuinely and not merely in words, is a pure heart, it can see God…Keeping a heart free of all that tarnishes love: That is holiness.

Today’s Gospel from St. Luke is his version of the Sermon on the Mount although Jesus delivers this from “level ground.” It is shorter than Matthew’s version and ends with a series of “Woes.” The first part addresses those who are open to God because they do not find fulfillment now, but are dealing with life’s imperfections. These are those whose “souls are restless.” They recognize the importance of God in their lives. The “woes” are directed to those who are smug and have little need for God. These “Sermons” from Luke and Matthew are at the core of Jesus’ teaching and are at the heart of our lives. Compare this Gospel with the one from Matthew. See the Book Review below.

There are two Pilgrimages being advertised here at St. Francis. The first is this November and it will take pilgrims to the Shrines of France. We begin the pilgrimage in Geneva, Switzerland and then move into France, stopping at the famous Basilica of the Visitation in Annecy and the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere in Lyon, and on to chateaux country with the Cathedral of Chartres and the monastery at Mont St. Michel. We will visit St. Thérèse’s home of Lisieux and end up in Paris. Sign up now. Pilgrimage Information and registration forms are available at the reception desk or you may email me at areitz@stfrancisnyc.org.

Next week, I will give information on our 2020 Pilgrimage to the famous Passion Play in the German town of Oberammergau performed every ten years since the 1600’s.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Mercy has two aspects. It involves giving, helping and serving others, but it also includes forgiveness and understanding. Matthew sums it up in one golden rule: “In everything, do to
others as you would have them do to you.” Giving and forgiving means reproducing in our lives some small measure of God’s perfection, which gives and forgives superabundantly.

In the Gospel of Luke, we hear the words, “Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not so you will not be condemned; forgive and you
will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you… The measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Seeing and acting with mercy: That is holiness.

I wish to share with you some excerpts from a recent letter by Cardinal Dolan on the New York State abortion legislation:

“This chilling law, if you have not heard, insists on the right to an abortion up to the moment of birth; drops all charges against an abortionist who allows an aborted baby, who somehow survived the scissors, scalpel, saline, and dismemberment, to die; mandates that, to make an abortion more convenient and easy, a physician need not perform it; and could be used to suppress the conscience rights of healthcare professionals not to assist in the grisly procedure. All this in a state which already had the most permissive abortion climate, and one of the highest rates of abortion, in the nation…

In the ‘throw-away’ culture that Pope Francis so often decries, we saw actual celebrations at the passage of a bill that makes it even easier to dispose of a life that someone might find inconvenient or troublesome, for any reason at all. Those who told us that abortion had to remain safe, legal, and rare, now have made it dangerous, imposed, and frequent…

I’m a pastor, not a politician, and as a pastor, I am obliged to challenge our political leaders, to urge them to re-examine their priorities, and to respect and protect the unborn baby in the womb as strongly and passionately as we should the undocumented immigrant, the single mom worrying how she will feed her family, our dying grandparents, or the poor struggling to make it.”

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.