Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

Go ahead and just say it, particularly if you are certain that you are addressing another Christian.  We live in a world of growing secularism where God, organized Religion and the Catholic Church are pushed off it to the corners with hopes of being just seen and not heard.  This trend did not start overnight; it has been creeping in slowly during the last several decades.  Even the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony has few religious Christmas songs during the hour long television event.  In days gone by, many Christmas television programs were aired with a good deal of both religious and secular Christmas music.  As a child and even teenager, I can remember my parents watching Christmas shows featuring Perry Como singing Adeste Fidelis and Andy Williams singing the Ave Maria and Ring Christmas Bells with the lyrics saying, Ring Christmas Bells Loudly Proclaim the birthday of Jesus is near!”    Even the Radio City Christmas Spectacular has shortened the grand finale of the show, the traditional Nativity scene, in order to make more time for Santa and the Rockettes.   We must ask ourselves, what happened?  Secularization is what happened, and a desire to be politically correct.

While we never want to offend anyone, I find it puzzling to hear fellow Christians, many of whom are Catholic to be wishing each other a Happy Holiday, or have a great holiday season.  Something is very wrong with this, as we are keeping the main celebration and focus of this special time of year obscured!

It is the celebration of God made man…the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ!  One year a well-meaning parishioner in one of my former assignments said to me after Christmas Eve mass, “Have great holiday Father!”  I responded thanks so much, and it is okay to say Merry Christmas to me; I am a Catholic priest you know but that goes to illustrate just how conditioned we have become to this phenomenon.

Most if not all Christians, whether churched or unchurched will have no problem with it, and if you know for certain the recipient of your greeting is Jewish, then do not be afraid to wish them a Happy Chanukah.  I have wished many of our Jewish brothers and sister this greeting and they smile and return it with and Merry Christmas to you!  I suppose if you are absolutely certain someone is something other than an individual from the Judeo-Christian tradition then it is acceptable to wish them a Happy Holiday.

We need to keep Christ in Christmas, and the belief of God in the public sector.  Just perhaps it will raise our consciousness and hopefully get others to think about Jesus Christ and a sense of spirituality and respect for Religion which is sorely lacking of late in this country.

Other ways to promote and remind people of the reason for the season is to send religious Christmas cards and most certainly every Catholic home should have a Nativity Set proudly displayed either inside the home or outside.  Better yet, display two, one inside and one outside.  So go ahead say it and do it,  MERRY CHRISTMAS and KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS!

Fr. Kevin Dillon’s letter appears here weekly and in print in our Parish Bulletin

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

As many of you know, I attended St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale.  Pius was the high school Seminary for our Diocese.  The faculty was composed of several priests, a religious sister and a good number of lay men and women.  The priests were very supportive and certainly served as good role models for young men who were considering a vocation to the priesthood.  Sadly, due to declining enrollment and few priestly vocations from the school, Bishop McGann closed it in the early 1980’s.

I remember once speaking to one of my favorite teachers, Fr. Brendan Riordan about the life of a priest and how I was concerned about being able to give a homily at mass.  Fr. Riordan gently said,

“Don’t worry; God will take care of that for you.”  Then he said, “It’s a wonderful life and Our Lord will be with you every step of the way.   Now as a priest I realize what he meant, especially with regard to preaching and that is reliance on the Holy Spirit.  In and of himself, the priest can accomplish very little; it is Our Lord who does the inspiring and the priest simply cooperates with that.

Many biblical passages clearly indicate that there is no Biblical basis for self-esteem, self-love, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-image or any of the other isms advocated by the worldly system of psychology.  The Bible’s answer for many of our emotional problems is to turn away from self to Christ and His all sufficient word.  Some examples of this include “I can do all things in Christ, who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) and Jesus, said “With humans it is impossible, but not for God.  For God all things are possible!”  (Mk. 10:27) Christmas is exactly three weeks away, and many people find this time of year busy and hectic to say the least.

Our scripture readings for Sundays and the weekdays of Advent are indicative of a good number of people who were filled with hopeful enthusiasm and optimism regarding God’s active presence in their lives.  Mary, the Mother of God     is a prime example when she was asked to be the Theotokos, or God-bearer.  Although a bit unsure and perhaps somewhat anxious, Our Lady cooperates with God’s plan for salvation and responds to the angel Gabriel, “Let it be done unto me, according to Your Word.”  In other words, Mary directs it back to God and helps fulfill God’s plan of redemption for humanity.

Saint John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth also acknowledge that it is God who is in charge, not them.  Elizabeth, despite her old age, has complete and utter confidence that with God, all things are possible, and her son, St. John the Baptist reminds us that it is He who must increase and us who must decrease.  Even John’s dad, Zechariah, who in the beginning refuses to believe ultimately, realizes that it is God who is at work, when he writes his new son’s name on the tablet, “His name shall be called John.”  Customarily, Zechariah’s son should have been named after his father, but Zechariah now realizes that God has a hand in this.

Take some time during these busy days to recognize God’s active presence in your life.  Perhaps attend daily mass one or two days a week, attend Handle’s Messiah concert this Sunday at 4pm followed by our Tree Lighting and Christmas Around the World Celebration or our Advent Mission Christmas in Story, Song Word and Art this Tuesday, December 6 at 7:30pm in Church, or avail yourself of the sacrament of Reconciliation to help you prepare for the great feast of the Incarnation.

— Fr. Kevin

Fr. Kevin Dillon’s letter appears here weekly online and in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

“Sing, Sing a Song” was a popular soft rock tune performed by the Carpenters in the early 1970’s.  The lyrics are quite simple and extol and praise the values of singing, and encourage all to sing whether they have good voices or not.  Since Vatican II, the Church has introduced the value of congregational singing and many Catholics seem to enjoy worshipping God through song.  That is wonderful because like St. Augustine says, “he [she] who sings, prays twice!”  Singing, is indeed, a beautiful way to worship God.

Singing together is not only a form of prayer, but also has several emotional and psychological benefits as well.  According to a recent article in Time magazine, singing changes the brain.  According to the article when people sing musical vibrations move through the person and that alters people’s physical and emotional landscape.  Simply put, it makes us feel better.  Think about small children.  Most of us have either been sung to by a loving mother or other caring adult at some point in our youth to soothe and calm us when we were upset or frightened about something.  If this was not the case for you, perhaps you have seen this being done by someone else to a child and how usually the child stops crying or fussing.  Singing or being sung to has great power to change our emotions from sad and negative to happy and hopefully calmer.  Researchers have been hard at work  trying to explain why it has such a calming, soothing, peaceful effects, yet, has equally energizing and life giving effects on us.

What researchers are concluding is that singing is like an infusion of the perfect tranquilizer, the kind that both soothes our nerves and simultaneously elevates our spirits.  This for us is a win, win situation in our stress filled and busy world, and for us as Christians it is a spiritual endeavor as well because like the Psalm says, Sing a New Song to the Lord, (Psalm 96) or Break into Song and Sing Praise (Psalm 98).  The virtues of singing are found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament.  Mary’s Magnificat is ultimately a song of praise!

Group singing for those who have done it, is the most exhilarating and transformative of all because it takes something incredibly intimate and personal, a sound that begins inside of the person and ultimately shares it with a room full of people and then comes back as something even more exhilarating and thrilling then when it first started and that is called harmony.  Research further shows that even if someone’s voice is only mediocre, the health benefits are worth their weight in gold because our bodies produce lower amounts of cortisol and our heart rates are raised.

Here at St. Boniface, we are blessed with a talented and competent Music Ministry under the direction of Jeffery Schneider.  Our cantors and musicians are here to lead us in song and encourage us to sing.  I am sure they will agree with me that they are NOT here to perform but assist us in giving glory and praise to our God, Jesus Christ.  So don’t be afraid; SING OUT LOUD AND MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO THE LORD!

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

Most will agree that this election season has been anything but normal; although some might say it is politics as usual with all the name calling and accusations that candidates for political office have engaged in during the past year.  This kind of rhetoric can discourage the average person and even turn off the individual from exercising his/her moral obligation to VOTE.

In the document Faithful Citizenship, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops reminds Catholics that voting is indeed, an important and moral obligation.  The Bishops say, “In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in political life is a moral obligation.  As Catholics, we should be guided by our moral convictions, than by attachment to any particular political party or special interest group.  Even those who cannot vote should raise their voices on matters that affect their lives and the common good.”

Long after this election is over, the two candidates representing each of the major political parties of our nation will still be very rich and famous.  After all, even the loser will be able to say “I ran for President of the United States!”  Not many people in our Nation’s history can say that.  The majority of people will be able to say, “We won.”  The other group will have four more years to say, “That’s why I didn’t vote for ___________.

Just remember, we live in a different America than they do.  We have to live, work, eat and play with each other in our America.  None of us get to fly on private jets to leave our community’s problems; we do not get twenty four hour security protection, and truth be told most of us probably are very happy about that and would not trade our private lives in for such things.   Collectively, as ordinary and  private citizens we are what makes this country great  and to take it a step further, as Catholics we make this terrific country even better with our extensive health care, education and social services programs that welcomes everyone, NOT JUST CATHOLICS!

No candidate for political office will stop crime in our communities; he/she will not stop someone from stealing your identity and neither will stop violence and drugs from affecting our neighborhoods.  They will not teach your children right from wrong, but YOU CAN!  They will not come to your home and help your child with math, but YOU CAN!  Neither one will coach your son’s/daughter’s soccer team but YOU CAN!  Neither will volunteer at their local parish’s food bank or Religious Education program but YOU CAN!

The Bishops remind us, “Our nation faces political challenges that demand urgent moral choices.  We are a nation at war with all of its human costs; a country often divided by race and ethnicity, a nation of immigrants struggling with immigration.  We are an affluent society where too many people live in poverty and where basic human dignities are often ignored and private or individual rights over shadow the common good.”    We as a united people with sound values, morals, and ethics can shape and make this country whatever we want.  VOTE on Tuesday, November 8 for whomever you want taking into account Catholic Social Teaching, but remember we are the ones that shape our communities and parishes, NOT them.

For more information the document Faithful Citizenship & how to vote as an informed Catholic go to: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithfulcitizenship.org.

— Fr. Kevin

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

I already read that!  That is a common statement made by high school students when an English teacher announces his/her class will be reading a particular literary work.  As a teacher, I heard this phrase many times and I would simply reply that one can always gain something new from a second, third, or even fourth reading of a novel or other literary genre.  I can remember that experience vividly when I read William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice for a third time.  The first time I read it was when I was in the ninth grade and I absolutely hated it.  It is not written in modern English and so to a teenager it almost seemed like a foreign language.  My second experience with the play was at Queens College and the professor was terrific and I actually enjoyed the experience, and that paved the way for a deeper and fuller understanding of the play when I was required to read it for my MA Degree.

“The quality of mercy is not strained.  It doppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the blessed beneath; it is twice blessed.  It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”  This well-known quote is taken from The Merchant of Venice;  Portia, the heroine of the play pleads with Shylock, a Jewish merchant about the quality of mercy and extending it to her fiancé’s best friend, Antonio who owes Shylock money.  She reminds Shylock that mercy is a Divine attribute. Shylock wants justice, but Portia implies justice belongs to God, but the practice of mercy should be employed by all.  Authors often write about their lived experiences;  just maybe that was Shakespeare’s intention; he may have been the recipient of mercy.  What matters is that he developed the theme of mercy in The Merchant of Venice.

Two weeks ago several parishioners and I travelled to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC for our Diocesan Jubilee Year of Mercy Pilgrimage.  Our keynote speaker was Dr. Christopher Ruddy, a Professor of Systematic Theology at Catholic University.

 He used a wonderful image of cracks; usually, cracks are a determent most times such as cracks in our ceilings or foundations of our homes where we are required to seal the cracks shut, but Dr. Ruddy put a positive spin on it where our loving and compassionate God seeks out every available opening in our hearts and minds to flood it with His grace a mercy.  What an uplifting and powerful image about the nature of God and to what lengths God seeks to draw us into closer union with Him!

Our day continued with the celebration of the sacrament of God’s mercy where thousands of pilgrims availed themselves of God’s forgiveness, followed by the praying of the Rosary in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Polish in song and story.  The day culminated with the celebration of the Eucharist, again multi lingual, in English, Spanish and Latin.  It was an opportunity for us to come together and celebrate the universality of the Church.  Bishop Murphy reminded us in his homily about the Good Samaritan that we not only need to ask ourselves who our neighbor is, but what can we concretely do for our neighbor?  When we go out of our way for our neighbors, we are usually acting mercifully.  

A priest in one of my former assignments once said, “In the early Church, the Romans threw Christians to the lions; in the 21^st century Church, Christians are still being thrown to the lions!  This time, however, it’s not being done by the Romans, but by other Christians!”  Unfortunately, there is much truth to this statement; perhaps we would do well to contemplate the following quotes from Scripture:  “With the merciful, you show yourself merciful; with the blameless one, you show yourself blameless.” (2 Samuel 22-26)  “Be merciful even as your Father in heaven is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)  The authors of the Hebrew Scripture got it right;  Jesus exhorts us in the Gospels to practice mercy and even William Shakespeare gets it!  Why can’t we?

 —Fr. Kevin

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

Back in the mid 1980’s while I was pursuing a Graduate Degree at Queens College, I had a part time job in the Training and Human Resources Department of The Dime Savings Bank of New York.  It was a very convenient and rather prestigious job for someone who only worked part time three nights a week and every other Saturday.  There were two other older men who also worked in the Department as Training Instructors as well, and they also held full time jobs as English teachers in public school districts.  The three of us were responsible for training and supervising new bank tellers and customer service representatives.  We were not best friends and we did not socialize with each other after work, but I suppose we were good acquaintances and did a fair amount of sharing about our families and personal lives especially during break time.

One day one of the gentlemen, named Jerry, shared how he was a fallen away Catholic and no longer practiced his faith, but when he was in high school he was a devout Catholic and even gave serious thought to be a priest.  In fact, he went as far as to say, he no longer believed there was a God, and that the Church should stay out of the public arena!  His remarks were spoken in reply to a comment I made about my desire to be a priest.  I must admit that I was a bit scandalized by his statements.  Looking back, he was probably one of the first people I met that had such strong feelings against God and the Church.  It certainly was an eye opening experience for me.

However, it got worse and I was shocked a bit more when the other man we worked with spoke up and forcefully and almost triumphantly proclaimed that he and his wife had an abortion.  His exact words were “Esther and I were expecting a child and we didn’t want it; so we had an abortion!”  His tone of speech and cavalier attitude towards human life were alarming to me.  Just the way his words were spoken to me… “We didn’t want it, so we had an abortion.” It sounded as if he were simply disposing of an old pair of shoes and other form of refuse.

I never forgot either of these two conversations, and I suppose I lost some of my innocence and naiveté that day back in 1985.  I tell these two stories because today all over the United States is Respect Life Sunday, and the Catholic Church is squarely and definitively in the forefront of supporting this cause.

All of us need to be realists and confront the notion that there is a serious threat to human life in all forms.  Pope St. John Paul II referred to this as The Culture of Death.  Abortion is NOT the only issue, however, physician assisted suicide is also a real and imminent problem.  Several states, including Oregon now endorse one’s right to terminate his/her own life.

Numerous other forms of a culture of death pervade our society such as terrorism, murders, and a blatant and general disregard for the dignity of the human person.  ALL BELIEVERS IN GOD need to be concerned with issues such as basic and affordable health care and the fact that many people flee oppressive and evil governments that trample upon the rights of basic human dignity.

Here at St. Boniface during the month of October we will pray the Rosary within the context of Eucharistic Adoration several times during the month of October for Pro-life and a deeper appreciation for human dignity. These services will be held Saturday October 1 and all Wednesdays of October at 7 PM in Church and on Sunday October 30 at 3 PM in front of the shrine outside of Church.

I urge you on this RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY to attend these events and to support the Pro-life efforts of the Church and our own Diocese.

 —Fr. Kevin

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

You may remember that I went away in early August to Baltimore for a Professional Development Conference sponsored by the Dominican Fathers on Becoming a More Effective Preacher.  Conferences and seminars were held all day and the schedule was quite rigorous and demanding; however, evenings were free for dinner and priestly fraternity.   Msgr. James McDonald, Pastor of St. Aidan, Fr. John McCartney, Pastor of St. Mary’s in Roslyn and I were seated enjoying a pre-dinner cocktail at Phillips Crab House in the Inner Harbor when two young men approached us with an important question.

They knew we were priests because we were dressed in black suits with Roman Collars.  They asked us if it was true as to whether Pope Francis had done away with the belief that hell exists, and they were wondering, and hoping I suppose that this, was indeed the case.

I must admit we were surprised that two young men who were probably no more than 22 or 23 years old were worried or interested in the notion of hell and whether Francis had made a change in Church teaching.  We were also happy that they actually took the time and felt comfortable enough to approach three priests, all of whom were at least twice there age to ask us the question.  It was also surprising because they told us they were Protestant, and we know Protestants DO NOT accept the teaching of the Holy Father.

Of course we told them Francis made NO SUCH STATEMENT, nor can he ever. Catholics and non-Catholics alike often have asked me if the Pope is the supreme head of the Church, why can’t he just make changes on his own?  The answer is simple if Jesus said it, the teaching cannot be changed.  All one has to do is look at Holy Scripture, take Matt. 25 for example.  Jesus speaks about the fate of those who ignored their brothers and sisters in this earthly life: “Depart from me you cursed, into the everlasting fires prepared for the devil and all his angels.”  If Jesus said it, the logic goes, the Church cannot change it!  As Catholics we believe Holy Scripture is inspired by God, and thus the writings of Scripture are DIVINELY REVEALED.  Furthermore, Jesus is God and so for Christians, Jesus is the fullness of Divine Revelation.

Many people will remember the noted television evangelist and preacher Rev. Dr. Billy Graham.  He was a non-Catholic who preached a good number of sermons about Hell.  His sermons were very clear and definitive about the existence of hell.  He was an evangelical Protestant and they disagree vehemently with Catholics on many points, yet they are one with us about accepting the existence of hell as taught by Jesus Christ and proclaimed by His Holy Catholic Church. 

Personally, I do not spend a lot of time fretting over the notion of hell; I much prefer to mediate and rejoice over the infinite mercy of our loving God.  Stay close to Jesus Christ and His Church, and then you will have no need to worry about hell.

This weekend we celebrate Catechetical Sunday and we honor and salute all teachers of Religious Education, whether in Catholic Schools or our own Parish Religious Education Program.  These individuals labor tirelessly to teach our young people about Jesus Christ and help them achieve and strive for their ETERNAL SALAVTION, life with Our Lord FOREVER!

 —Fr. Kevin

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

Those of us who came of age in the 1970’s and 1980’s would probably agree life was simpler and easier.  While this period in history was by no means completely perfect, it was a less hectic and complex way of living.  We drank water from the tap and used a rotary phone; there was no Facebook, mobile phones or television remotes.  Prime time television shows featured programs like Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Walton’s and The Partridge Family.  Most of us from that era grew up happy and adjusted well into adulthood.

Life in the last 25 or 30 years has become increasingly challenging and uncertain.  Teenagers of today face a myriad of social problems.  Among some of these problems are drug addiction (particularly heroin), alcohol abuse, and bullying!  True, there was bullying years ago; usually in what used to be referred to as school yard bullying and taunting from males and females alike.  Now bullying has been taken to a whole new level.  Many young people are bullied through cyberspace on the various modes of social media.  In essence, the bully follows the tormented individual home every night and enters into his/her house through the guise of computers and other electronic devices.  This is scary for anyone, but even harder for teens and young people.  This phenomenon can become so crippling and debilitating that the person being bullied becomes afraid to go to school!  NO PERSON, CHILD OR ADULT should ever have to live in fear.  Yes, sadly even some adults are bullied in the work place and other venues.

Before, he took his own life, Daniel Fitzpatrick of Staten Island, taunted and bullied unmercifully, wrote a gut wrenching and heart breaking letter lamenting the fact that no one from Holy Angels Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge Brooklyn did anything to intervene on behalf of this seventh grader’s passionate plea for help.  Just last week the media reported this story on television.  According to news reports the bullying had gone unchecked for almost a year.  Bullying in any situation is terrible, but in a Catholic school where Gospel values are taught and hopefully lived is especially disheartening.  News accounts even report male teachers in that school publicly mocking Daniel.

Statistics shows 48% of young people, particularly pre-teens, have experienced some sort of bullying.  This is an alarming statistic. Signs of bullying include withdrawal, wanting to get a weapon, missing items like lunches, back packs or electronic devices.  Sometimes a child will be reluctant to go to school, and perhaps feign illness.

We are a Church that advocates for life in all its forms.  Many Catholics seem to be under the impression that this philosophy only applies to unborn babies.  Yes, that is of great importance, but children who are bullied in school are also robbed of life!  Their inner peace and emotional welling being are stolen from them.  They are deprived of peace of mind and getting a full and life giving education.

While bullying cannot be stopped, I think it can be reduced.  Maybe we can teach young people to not manipulate others; perhaps just a simple conversation with our children will get them thinking about how they treat/mistreat others.  Peer pressure is great, but sometimes talking with young people helps.  It will certainly get them thinking and just perhaps help form their consciences in the ways of the Gospel and Jesus Christ.

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

Life is a onetime offer; use it well!  This quote recently appeared on a Facebook post.  The post went on to say that July 1 has special significance for the person who posted this comment.  The authors of this post are Linda and Patrick Connolly, parishioners of St. Boniface, Martyr.  They recently moved here from Ann Arbor, MI and found our parish to be a vibrant, embracing, warm and faith filled community!

 Their son, Ryan left his parents, Linda and Patrick on this day to meet Jesus Christ face to face.  Ryan was only five years old when he died.  Ryan battled Neuroblastoma cancer for close to three years, so it is safe to say; Ryan never knew anything but cancer.  Even though his life was very short, Ryan’s life was a fruitful and productive one because he taught his parents and all of us an important lesson.  Despite numerous chemotherapy and radiation treatments and array of other medical procedures, he was able to smile, have joyous moments and be a happy child in the midst of pain and suffering.

For any parent to lose a child is a heart wrenching and traumatic experience, but Linda and Patrick took a cue from their son and remained optimistic and faith filled.  They travelled frequently from Michigan to New York City so their son could receive the best treatment possible at a renowned hospital, Sloan Kettering.  Since Ryan’s death, Patrick and Linda have shed many tears and relived painful and difficult moments.  After all, who wouldn’t?  However, rather than letting grief consume them they used their faith, trust and belief in Jesus Christ to move forward knowing with utter conviction they will see him again someday free from cancer!

His mom and dad posted a beautiful picture on Facebook with Ryan and his dad.  The little guy is in a hospital bed with what appears to be machines at his bedside and yet, he is jumping up for joy with as much or even more enthusiasm as any other four or five year old.  As adults we sometimes think children don’t get it, but I dare say, sometimes they get it more than adults!  Think of Jesus’ own words, “Unless you become like little children you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

You will remember, if you read last week’s article, I wrote on regrets, and sometimes not having second chances.  Immediately after I sent my article to the bulletin editor, this post appeared on my Facebook news feed.  I commented to Linda how true her post was, especially the quote  about LIFE BEING A ONE TIME OFFER and how ironic it was that what I said in last week’s article and her post being very similar and yet WE NEVER PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED ANY OF THIS.  Obviously, there is only one logical and faith filled reason.  THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS AT PLAY!  IT IS NOT JUST AN EERRIE OR FREAKISH COINCIDENCE!  In case anyone is wondering Linda and Patrick gave me permission to tell their story.

I think a quote from another spiritual leader, although not of our faith sums it up succinctly.  He said, “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done.  One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe and do and MOSTLY BELIEVE!” (Dali Lama).

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.

Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.

At some point in our lives these three words have probably been a part of our conversation, and more often than not they express regret on the speaker’s part. It is fair to say that all of us live with some sort of regrets, some more serious than others.  It is a part of human nature, so we should not beat ourselves up unnecessarily, but perhaps become more conscious of future life giving and life affirming opportunities.

As most of you know, I made my annual retreat last month at Campion Retreat and Renewal Center in Weston, Massachusetts and while on retreat an interesting poster caught my attention on one of the office doors.  It read, “Live Life; Take Chances; Be Crazy; Don’t Wait because right now is the oldest you have ever been and the youngest you will ever be again”   To some this may sound a bit risky and I suppose it is but on the other hand,  there is definitely a degree of truth to the statement.  A lot of times when faced with a new challenge or the possibility of some sort of change in our lives we hold back.  While it is always good to give some prudent thought to our decisions, sometimes we pass on some new and life giving adventures.  Many times, after the fact we then say to ourselves, “I should have done that; I could have done that or I would have done that but… but what?  In many circumstances fear gets in the way. We get comfortable with things and the thought of something different causes some anxiety for us.  The most basic reason for hesitating and declining something new is often based simply on FEAR!  As human beings and creatures of habit, we simply don’t like change!  Change, however, is inevitable.  We see that especially in technology.

Generally speaking, we are afraid of the unknown.  Will I like it?  Will I be a success?  These are just a few of the questions we might raise on something new.  Yet, time and time again, Jesus is always calling us to change and new possibilities to further build the Kingdom here on earth.  The Scriptures are filled with the words and wisdom of Jesus to follow Him.  Just look at when He called the Twelve Apostles to follow Him; they let go of everything and it was not until after His resurrection that they knew what it meant for them and all people, ETERNAL LIFE, but even before we reach heaven how blessed we are on earth to know Him and how His Spirit comforts and guides us in our daily activities!  Think about the rich young man in scripture; he ultimately went away sad because he was probably AFRAID.  What might he have been afraid of?  Fear of letting go, fear of failure, fear of less freedom just to name a few examples.  I have often wondered if the young man regretted his decision not to embark upon this adventure of a lifetime.  We will never know.

A few weeks ago, I had regret, or at least I thought I did until some people put some sense into me.  I wanted to take part in an event that my Trainer was sponsoring called The Rugged Maniac. I thought it sounded interesting and fun and I like to try new and challenging things.  It is a series of obstacle courses almost like Army or Marine Training.  Originally, I declined the invitation because of shoulder issues, but then on the day of the event I was upset I did not accept the challenge.  I thought of it as a missed opportunity.  However, when I found out that a number of people, one of whom was my age and another who was only 30 had some injuries afterward, I thought it probably was good that I did not participate. Who knows; I might right now be saying to my Trainer, “I should have listened better and taken your advice to not participate!”   He and others have told me there are other ways to move out of your comfort zone besides this, and they are right!

Think about some missed opportunities in your lives this week.  What might you have not done that you now wish you had done?  Some things only come along once in life, and perhaps they are invitations by GOD to deepen our experience and relationship with HIM.  These are missed opportunities of grace.

Perhaps there are opportunities to forgive someone or reach out to a friend you have not spoken to in a long time, or to simply tell someone you love them.  Maybe God is calling someone in this parish to Religious Life, the Permanent Diaconate, or Priesthood.  Believe it or not, there are age limitations for all of these vocation choices.

In the blink of an eye, everything can change.  So forgive often and love with all your heart.  You may never know when you may not have the chance again!

Fr. Kevin’s letter appears each week in print and online in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.