Letters from Bishop Noonan on Faith Fit

Choosing God is not something that we do individually and keep it to ourselves. Choosing God is a commitment to bring God into the world; to make ourselves the sanctuary for God and from us into our homes, our workplaces, our leisure. Choosing God is delivering His family to Him no matter where we are.

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ: Already the beginning of August! For parents or grandparents or guardians, the beginning of August starts a ‘new year’ as we prepare our children to return to school, whether Catholic or public. For those children who attend public school, we are also registering our children for Faith Formation classes.

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ, When you arise in the morning, do you praise God as the psalmist suggests? When you make ready for your day, do you pray that all your works give thanks to the Lord? When you arrive home from your daily routine, do you glorify God as you enter His house?

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ: To whom did Christ send us to bring glad tidings to the poor? Our immediate family? Our extended family? Those who are without homes? Those who are hungry? Our business associates? Our parishioners? Those who are sick?

Bishop Noonan shares how St. Joseph’s YES to become the guardian of Jesus is an amazing example of great love!

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ, For many months, we were starving. We were in ‘lockdown’ as we compassionately cared for our sisters and brothers—to protect them from a deadly disease. It was our proclamation of life in its fullest—a proclamation of the gift of the Eucharist—that we deprived ourselves of so great a gift that we might serve God extraordinarily. We were deprived of sacred food and drink for months at a time because of our unity through, with and in Christ.

Why are you standing there and looking at the sky? Jesus is not to be found looking up to there. His continued Presence lies within each one of you—through the Church. Jesus left us everything we need to bring His Presence known to one another. He left us His GPS to love one another as He loves us.

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ: St. John reminds us that we are beloved. He tells us of the Father’s indelible love He offers us through His Son who came to live among us that we may be called His children. He proclaims to us that we are holy. God honors us as sacred, through, with and in Him. If we are in a relationship with God, then we cannot but show the face of God in everything we do. We bring His Son forever into this world by our love of God. He is truly risen.

“May our alleluias of this Easter season not be empty, but full of God’s love to declare the works of the Lord.” – Bishop Noonan⁠

Last year on Good Friday, our Holy Father greeted us in the darkness of the night. It was a profound encounter with Him as he stood alone – isolated – on the street, a solitary figure and then after prayer, he bowed and kissed the feet of Jesus on the Cross tenderly. The image of the Cross illuminated the evening and brought forth the light of Christ.

“Don’t pick at that scab,” said my mother. She said this to keep the wound which the scab covered protected and sterile from the outside world. The scab helped the physical wound to heal. Sometimes, when we are not reconciled with God, we have a tendency to ‘pick at the scab’, to continue to open the wound and bring up something for which we had already offered forgiveness; but didn’t mean.

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ, God asks Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” Now, we also hear Him asking Abraham, where are you? The response of Adam and Eve was cloaked in difficulty because their eyes were closed to God. Abraham does not falter, “Here I am Lord.” On this second Sunday of Lent, God asks us, “Where are you?” Are you drawing near to me? Abraham, in his yes to God, offers himself intensely to God.

Blessings to you this holy season of Christmas! It strikes me that we experienced our season of Advent more intimately these past weeks as we understand it to be the season of waiting and longing. For what were we waiting?

During the season of Advent, we are reminded through Scripture to stay awake, to be alert, to make ready. We hear descriptions of light penetrating the darkness. To be faithful is a common theme. The fulfillment of the promise is offered to us.

A well-known theologian, Father Hans Urs von Balthasar, said, “We must make every effort to arouse the sense of community within the liturgy . . . enlarging the scope of prayer, so often, narrow and selfish, to embrace the concerns of the whole Church and, indeed – as in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord: “Where two or three are gathered together . . . “ – that is, where individuals, in profound faith and obedience, desire to be and to realize the Church – there I am in the midst of you.”

Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Ezekiel prophesies God’s covenant. God will tend to us as a shepherd; He will not abandon us but provide us great care. God will give us the rest we need; He will search after us when we are lost and bring us back to Him.  He will care for our wounds and heal them. God bestows His eternal promise of love for all the people.

In the papal encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis joyfully shares, “Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bring the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.”

I begin these thoughts with the prayer from Scripture; that of Ephesians, Chapter 1. The prayer of St. Paul moves from God and Christ to the Ephesians and the church. St. Paul asks that the blessing imparted by God the Father be strengthened in the Ephesians through the message of the Gospel, for the Ephesians were somewhat fickle in following Jesus and thus, losing hope.

On Wednesday, August 26, during his catechesis for the General Audience, Pope Francis said, “In the face of the pandemic and its social consequences, many risk losing hope. In this time of uncertainty and anguish, I invite everyone to welcome the gift of hope that comes from Christ.  It is He who helps us navigate the tumultuous waters of sickness, death and injustice, which do not have the last word over our final destination.” If it is true that no one can save him/herself on his/her own, then our need, our longing for hope must give way to prayer.

With the pandemic still at large, I pray that you can better understand Jesus’s words from St. Matthew Chapter 16. Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for His coming death. Jesus wants them to know about what following Him involves, what true discipleship means for their daily living…

What is the line of divide among us? Is it wearing a mask vs. not? Is it having food vs. not? Or living in one section of a town vs. another? Is it the color of one’s skin? Is it one denomination vs. another? Is it the nationality of one vs. another? Is it the political party to which we profess? Is it old vs. young? From the beginning of time and throughout the ages, God has called us to Him and declared us sacred…

Name one person whom you love. Name two people. Name five people whom you love. Think now of all the worries you have, all the confusion, all the discomfort in living in this world today. The most important part of your daily living is the people whom you love.

Who carries the Good News this day? The local media? Social media? National news? My sisters and brothers, the carrier of the Good News is each one of you! We cannot rely on others to tell our stories of faith. We must individually and collectively speak the richness of God’s goodness and live so that God’s goodness flourishes upon this earth.

What is a desert experience? When I think of a desert, I think of dry land with sand all around. I think of earth scorching my bare feet. I think of a blistering sun upon my skin. I think of profound loneliness. I think of an extraordinary thirst for water, for life.

Bread. It is one of the four major food groups. It was sustenance for the Israelites throughout their journey in the desert. It was an essential part of the meal in which Jesus and his disciples shared. It was the source of revelation to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. For us as Catholics, when consecrated the bread becomes the Real Presence of Christ among us.

We may think that holiness is reserved for a priest or religious sister or for someone who is often seen at the church praying. When you arise in the morning and make ready for the day, look in the mirror. I hope that you see a model for holiness!

What strong and beautiful words we hear proclaimed in Scripture on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Think of the imagery from the words of the Prophet Isaiah: I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people. To grasp someone’s hand effects a sense of urgency, a desire for the person. God chooses us and forms us. We fulfill His covenant; that is, we carry forth His light for all the nations.

We often marvel at this word, peace. It is spoken about during the holiest of days and it rests upon the birth of the Christ Child. The peace of which God speaks, His Peace, is not of this world. It is of God. SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/2PDrgFC Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/36SsAdz

The season of Advent is a time of interior reflection upon our life in Christ.  We anticipate the birth of our savior and realize that our choosing salvation is our inner struggle between good and evil.  The season of Advent brings us great light and we ask God to know what is happening within us.

Awareness of God’s presence is a gift of faith. It is not enough to want to be good or to do good or to follow our conscience. First, we have to be aware of God’s presence. Then, all that we are becomes an orientation toward God.

St. Paul tells us that God’s presence is always with us, seeking our well-being. God’s presence is profoundly known when we incarnate this truth in our loving care of one another. In the Eucharist, we become what we receive; as we partake of this heavenly feast with Christ to transform the world. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

The saints are a guide to holiness. The processes of beatification and canonization recognize the signs of heroic virtue, the sacrifice of one’s life in martyrdom, and certain cases where a life is constantly offered for others, even until death. Our churches are named for the saints and we seek to emulate their examples of faithfulness.

Offering thanksgiving proclaims hope in God. The theme for Respect Life Month, the month of October is, “Christ Our Hope: In Every Season of Life.” Through our Christian hope in the Resurrection, we are given the grace to persevere in faith.

Our relationship with God cannot be one that we turn on and off, that when we are in need, we seek Him. Our relationship with God is the fullness of life. Just as we are attentive to members of our families, our friends, so we also should be attentive to God.