Feast of the Holy Family 2006

[Fr.Paul Weinberger]

Homily by:
Father Paul Weinberger, Pastor
St. William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
Feast of the Holy Family
December 31, 2006

After three days they found Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Amen

As you can see by the photograph on the cover of the bulletin, there is a picture of the Holy Family, the one that is right outside of the Education bldg. It is a beautiful statue and today is the Feast of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. The statue represents a fast-forward, if you will, of this image before us in the Nativity scene.

Had my dad lived, today would have been his birthday. He died at the age of 67, on December 21st, just days before his birthday. My father’s first name was Isidore and his middle name was Sylvester. He always went by his initials I.S. or Issy Weinberger. Tomorrow is the Feast of Pope St. Sylvester, who became Pope in the year 314. Evidentially after my grandparent came up with the first name, Isidore, the second name was easy enough to come up with by looking at the next day, the Feast of St. Sylvester.

When I was eighteen I asked my grandmother why she and grandpa named him Isidore. I thought it might have been because he was being named after some relative or something like that. Just as frank as my grandmother could be she said,

“Well, I talked to the neighbor lady and she said that there had not been someone named Isidore in a long time.” [Laughter]

But you know what, St. Isidore is called St. Isidore the Farmer, St. Isidore the Laborer, and St. Isidore the Worker. My father spent the majority of his life helping other workers and their work environment. But Sylvester…that is kind of a funny name, especially when you think about the cartoon figures like Sylvester the cat. Why did they give my dad such a funny name?

Back when I was a kid, Art Linkletter had a program. This is back when your children could actually watch TV and not be committing venial or mortal sins. We had decent television like the Red Skeleton Show, right? He got out when television got bad. Some may ask who Red Skeleton is; well that is how long ago it has been since television was decent. Anyway, Art Linkletter had a program and it was called, “Kids Say the Darndest Things”. Of course he is right!

The First Reading today is about the child Samuel, who was weaned around the ages of 3-5. I know this sounds odd to our ears, but this is thousands of years ago. Abraham threw a big feast when Isaac was finally weaned so the Mother Anna is presenting the child in the temple probably at the age of 3, 4, or 5. It is amazing how children can be alert to what is around them. We act as if children today don’t know what is going on at the age of seven. But, there are children who advance much more quickly.

Today would have been the birthday of Father John Hardon; perhaps you’ve read some of his writings or have heard some of his tapes. Behind Fr. Hardon’s name you will see “S.J.” He was a Jesuit and a true son of St. Ignatius. Some friends of mine, the Donahue’s, who used to live up in Michigan…God help them…When I was there and leaving on the plane I felt like hanging out the window and telling everyone to get out and invite them to Texas. [Laughter] It is so sad up there. Fr. Hardon retired at the grotto up in Detroit.

Anyway the Donahue’s were talking to Father Hardon and he was relating to them the time he reached the age of reason. You have to have attained the age of reason to know right from wrong before you can receive Holy Communion, right? Fr. Hardon told the family that he remembered the exact moment when he reached this age of reason. His mother was spanking him and she told him that if he stopped yelling she would stop spanking him. So he put it together and stopped yelling and she stopped spanking him. A priest who was living up there said,

“Yes and at the age of one and a half, after this happened Fr. Hardon ran upstairs and wrote it all down” [Laughter]

Father Hardon was amazing considering the tremendous obstacles he had in his life. His father died when he was about a year and a half old and of course there was the depression. It was very difficult and Fr. Hardon is one of the finest priests that you will ever hear about or be able to read about as well as hear on audio. We have some audio of him in the religious goods store.

So, years ago when the Donahue’s were expecting another child, they had a little boy and named him Marcellinus John Hardon Donahue. Now Marcellinus is at that weaning age; he is four. If you don’t know who the Donahue’s are, they are parishioners here and have twelve kids. Dr. Donahue has a blog and it is called Scorpion Stalking Duck by dadwithnoisykids.

“Oh, I know that family!”

Marcellinus is a handful and he perfected the Tarzan yell years ago and he is only four. Then to top it off he taught everything he knew to his younger brother Max. Anyway, Marcellinus John Hardon Donahue was named after Fr. Hardon.

Now the Donahue family doesn’t have a TV in their home so they listen to their kids. It really is an either or thing. These parents actually hear most of the things their kids say, and kids say the darndest things. A few months ago Marcellinus asked his mom,

“Why did you and daddy give me such a funny name?”

His mother asked him to repeat that and so Marcellinus asked the question again. His mother asked Marcellinus which name he was referring to and Marcellinus answered,

“JOHN!” [Laughter]

So Marcellinus John Hardon Donahue thought that “John” was the funny name.

Marcellinus is mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer that we will use today. It is interesting that on January 2nd there is a St. Marcellinus, January 9th is another St. Marcellinus and on January 16th there was Pope St. Marcellinus, who was martyred in the year 304. Pope St. Sylvester became Pope in the year 314, just ten years later.

Marcellinus John Hardon Donahue is a handful. I was talking to his parents and after Christmas came they started playing Christmas music. As Catholics we wait the four weeks before Christmas comes and then after Christmas day we have the weeks ahead to celebrate Christmas. We have weeks to prepare and weeks to celebrate. If you go into a restaurant and say Merry Christmas they look at you and say,

“HUH?”

I remember when my folks played Gene Autry’s Christmas Album; that is the one I grew up on. But in the Donahue home you could hear Nat King Cole, who had a beautiful voice. Then there was Eartha Kitt singing Santa Baby. So they have this collection in their home of different people singing Christmas Hymns and they were playing them over and over again. So they had all these songs being played repeatedly and all of a sudden, last week four-year-old Marcellinus said,

“Santa baby? I don’t like that song!”

So picking up on this his mother asked what he meant and he said,

“Santa doesn’t have a baby!”

Marcellinus has already learned that Santa is the abbreviated version of Saint Nicholas, whose feast is December 6th. The “ho, ho, ho,” that we get today is all invented but there was a Saint Nicholas. Saint or “Santa” in another language. So here was Marcellinus talking about Santa Baby but it was no reflection on Eartha Kitt; he still didn’t like the song. He told his mother that Santa had no baby because Santa was a Bishop and Bishops don’t have babies. St. Nicholas was a Bishop and don’t you know Marcellinus’ parents were thinking,

“What else has he seen that we haven’t realized?”

Parents! Count back! Can you imagine years later when Fr. John Hardon told his mother that at the age of one and a half he knew right from wrong how she reacted? I remember when this happened to me; I was around the age of fourteen! [Laughter]

Just look at how amazing it is that a kid could hear a song and then work his way back from Eartha Kitt to St. Nicholas and then put it all together in the present. It wasn’t as if the family was having this theological discussion at home. It is interesting to see what is possible in a four-year-old and then extrapolate to our adult years.

Now, we are on the edge of a new year and if someone were to tell you that they could extend your life by thirteen years, many people would agree and say it is good. Recently Michael Medved reported that the most recent study out is that Americans spend thirteen years over a lifetime in front of the TV! That is 24/7 for thirteen years and that is how much that is thrown out and is one year more than the age of Jesus in the Gospel today; that is a crime! I bring this up because we are about to start a new year and before anyone else gets to you with his or her resolutions, we need to start thinking of resolutions here, first with God. So, let us start with God or as we do on January 1st, with the Mother of God. Mary is the mother of Jesus and Jesus is God so she is the Mother of God. If you don’t like it, take it up with HIM!

Think about this; one of the regrets that every single person here has to admit, including the one speaking into this microphone, is that we do not pray enough.

“Boy, 2006 is finally over and I have just spent so much time praying, agh! Can’t wait to kind of shake that off and get into 2007 and kind of limber up, right?”

And what is prayer but conversation with God? Jesus was in the Temple speaking to the Elders and was no doubt pointing out things or connections they had never seen before. The Elders could have said aloud or thought to themselves,

“Gee, He speaks with such authority and knows all about this stuff! It is almost as if all this is written about Him! ”

Why else would Jesus spend those days with them in the Temple? So He could help them advance in their knowledge and wisdom.

Over the Christmas Season we kind of get in touch with people. I talked to someone the other day I had not heard from in years and it was so good to hear from this person again. It seemed like we had to start all over again because it had been so long. Whenever we lose touch with friends or relatives we do have to start all over again. When we lose contact with these friends and relatives we know more about what is going on next door or down the street than we do with our friends and family. Vocal prayer or verbal prayer is very important so why don’t we start there because it is the most basic.

There is something called cognitive rational therapy. Take my mother for example; about a year ago she gave up cigarettes and then a few months into it she wanted a cigarette and decided to go out and buy a carton, not one cigarette but one carton. Then evidently someone said a prayer for her because she remembered that she was a non-smoker. This is cognitive rational therapy. It is thinking about what is going on and as if you are looking at yourself from above. Now, at this time of year, rocks are hard, water is wet, and we eat too much. I’ve heard about ya’ll!

Consider this. What if every time we started to eat anything we stopped and thought about some things. Father Denis O’Brien, who was a Maryknoll and an excellent priest used to say that any time you eat anything without saying a blessing, it is gluttony! Wow! Now, I guess we could do the “blanket prayer” and say grace before meals when we get up in the morning and then the last prayer we say before we go to sleep is the prayer after meals. If that is ok with you, we have the test back and you are a Pharisee! Ok? No, we say grace before meals and grace after meals! What if you’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing Christmas dinner and your kid or grand kid just threw it on the ground and let the dog eat it? Mom tells the kid that if they don’t like it to put it back for someone else and not to give it to the dog and the kid responds,

“Well, you gave it to me!”

Mom or grandma then says that she didn’t slave away in the kitchen just to have them throw it on the floor. This would be someone who is taking advantage of your generosity and also they need to reach the age of reason. If the parents would only try what Father Hardon’s mother tried on him we would all live better…a little spanking wouldn’t hurt. No one likes being taken for granted.

“Oh but Father, God…He is stupid and He doesn’t know better!”

No! God is NOT stupid and He is wisdom through and through and knows everything! Every good thing that you and I have gotten or ever will get is from God! Take that beautiful rain we had. How many people today, in their ignorance said,

“Well, you know, we needed the rain but just not that much.”

Oh really? Tell that to the people who live along Lake Levon over there! What we should have been doing all days is giving thanks that we didn’t get the tornados that they got in other areas. Oh, I am sorry, we have probably all spent an hour or so giving thanks that none of that weather caused a tornado here in Greenville, Texas. Amen. Let us just admit that we don’t pray enough. And what is the number one killer of prayer? TV Right! Remember those thirteen years? You are not going to get it all back on the other end of life and you may not want it back now, but thirteen years shows a lot of time.

So, just by saying grace before meals and grace after meals, saying “please and thank you”…this is typical of courteous behavior. We can see it in others when it doesn’t happen. God isn’t more God when we say grace before and after meals, but we are changed and resemble God more than we did when before, we said the grace before and after meals. You can use the traditional prayer and if you don’t know it, now would be a good time to buy a book of traditional prayers and start learning those prayers. Ah, ah, ah! How many kids like Marcellinus remind the family that they haven’t prayed yet? He often looks like he isn’t paying attention but that one time and you know that Mr. Smarty Pants is going to come up with that, right?

“ah, ah ,ah, we haven’t said grace before meals!”

This would be a good place to start as well as the verbal prayers we say, such as the rosary.

Now, if you have a Bible but haven’t been opening it in 2006, rational cognitive therapy says admit it!

“I haven’t been opening the Bible and I am going to find it around here somewhere. Oh, it is right here under the VCR.”

Hum, that tells you something, right? It makes the VCR just the right height so you don’t have to lean down to punch the clicker, right? The Bible is the perfect size. Pull the Bible out and make an act of reparation and open it to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and have it there when you plan to pray the Rosary. During Christmas, the writings, especially of St. Luke are very helpful. There are so many scenes like the Visitation and the Annunciation or the Birth of Jesus; they are all in there. You don’t have to just use the Gospel of Luke; you can use the other Gospels as well. When you find something that strikes you just take a little post it note and put it in the margin that shows where the scripture concerning the Visitation or Annunciation can be found. That way, the next time you pray you don’t have to flip around for the verses.

Certain prayers like the Rosary lend themselves to abuse, as if we have to get in one Rosary, three Rosaries, or five Rosaries a day like we are doing peace work in a factory. When you begin the Rosary what you are hoping to do is pray prayers that are very solid prayers, like the Our Father and the Hail Mary. This is merely the entrance to something bigger; it’s like coming into the church. You pass the vestibule to come into the Church, which is much bigger. Think of the Rosary, perhaps for the first time in a very different way because the Rosary can be used as an opening to something much bigger. For example, what if you misdialed your phone and all of a sudden you realized you called the Pope and he answered.

{b] “Oh gee, Pope Benedict is that you?”[/b]

You are talking to him but someone else is paying for it, ok? [Laughter] Or let us do it this way, he misdialed and he called you, ok? That way it is his dime; some second collection is paying for it. [Laughter] So, as you are speaking to the Pope on the phone the door opens and there stands Pope Benedict and he has his telephone and you have yours and you continue talking into the phone when you could put it down and talk to him face to face. Think of it this way; so many times in prayer God is going to lead us and advance us in wisdom; He is going to point things out to us that have escaped us and these things are far beyond our ability to put together like Marcellinus putting that Christmas song together. It is like God saying,

“Here, let me just flip this card over for you. Let me turn this and reveal it to you.”

”Well, God, no because I have got to finish my Rosary! No thank You God, I don’t want to talk directly to You but I want to say this prayer about You.”

That is the problem that so many people have faced and they have thrown the Rosary overboard because they find that there is no flexibility in praying the Rosary. When we pray the Rosary in common here in Church we don’t have that flexibility, but this is not so when praying it at home. You may have been praying the Rosary and say you are getting nothing out of it. Really? Well, where and when are you praying the Rosary? Oh, in deep traffic! Well, who can get anything out of praying in deep traffic? I mean, you can listen to Mozart on the radio and you are not transported because you are in traffic, which is lousy. Who like being in traffic? If your only experience in praying the Rosary is in that setting, try another setting!

Mental prayer begins when God is knocking on the door but we don’t let Him in even when He gives us some inspiration, something beautiful like an insight into the Annunciation or the Visitation or the Birth of Jesus; we don’t have time for Him because we have to get this Rosary in. Really? Then whom are you sending this prayer to? Why not just talk face to face to God? We can!

Let us just admit what is as in cognitive rational therapy and saying you don’t need a cigarette because you are a non-smoker. My mother didn’t buy a carton of cigarettes; she didn’t even buy one. Whenever we do this it can be with anything, like eating the last piece of fruitcake or whatever it is.

“I haven’t said grace before meals and if I have to say grace before the fruitcake then just forget it!”

Good! Good! Then you’ll slim down like I am! [Laughter]

There is a New Year upon us and like someone said,

“If there is no change, there is any change.”

People today think that the only reason people are being denied entrance into Heaven is because they weigh too much. That is ridiculous! St. Thomas Aquinas was a big guy. That is way down on the list. We don’t just have access but we are freed from so many of the menial tasks that our parents and grandparents had, like putting the pot out in the back yard and then boil the laundry and then run it through the wringer and have to iron the sheets. No one here can remember that! Right!

We have time and the opportunity to pray! If you have read the newspaper or have seen magazines in the last week or two, I am surprised that every head in the Church is not white. They scare us to death with the news.

“Look at Saddam Hussein, he was executed yesterday.”

Jesus said that fear is useless; what is needed is faith. The reason we are so fearful is we pray too much.

Father Paul uses a hand sign to spell out TV.

Fear is useless and as Tarzan would say,

“Fear bad!”

If we pray our prayers will help many in our family and us; but we are doing that secondarily and we are doing it because we can. God wishes to speak to us and guide us; it is amazing how much more advanced we can be in dealing with difficulties and with our families, with friends and fears if we pray. We can definitely all say together that one thing about 2006 is that we have not been praying too much.

Our Lord comes to us in mental prayer, which can be started with verbal prayer. Mental prayer is conversation with God. If we have spent an hour praying the Rosary and the first five or ten minutes were done according to the way we prayed when we were younger but the last thirty or forty minutes were prayed contemplating a verse in the Bible and God showing something to us and then saying more prayers… then it has not been a waste of time.

After three days they found Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Amen