The Bridge - May 2015 - Our Lady of Charity Parish

upcoming events
the bridge
news and views for the Our Lady of Charity community
volume 33, number 5
May 4, 2015
St. Ambrose
Liturgy meeting 7:00 pm
May 5, 12, 19, 26, 2015
Holy Family
Peaceful Dove - 7:00 pm
May 6, 13, 20, 27, 2015
St. Ambrose
Bible Study 9:00 am
May 6, 2015
St. Ambrose
Adoration & Benediction
3:30 pm
Spiritual Life - 7:00 pm
May 10, 2015
Holy Family
May Crowning - after
11:00 Mass
May 10, 2015
St. Ambrose
May Crowning - 6:15 pm
May 18, 2015
Holy Family
Parish Council -7 pm
May 25, 2015
Memorial Day Mass at
St. Theresa - 9:30 am
May 29, 2015
St. Ambrose
Anointing of the Sick
8:30 am
May 2015
The View from a Pew
By Steve Banko
“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living,
we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.”
The quotation above was spoken by Franciscan writer Richard Rohr. I
was unaware of his existence, much less his writings and teachings. I encountered
him on a website I read regularly and after a little research, I decided to undertake
one of his books as my Lenten reading. I know I’ve written in this space before
about reading that book. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m going to
call your attention to him again, this time in the same context with one of my alltime heroes, Hugh Brady. Hugh died a year ago but not before finishing his book,
“The Spirituality of Being Human.” I read Hugh’s book right after reading Rohr’s
“Immortal Diamond” and while the two styles were markedly different the message
of both these incredible thinkers was essentially the same: we emphasize Christ’s
divinity at the expense of ignoring his humanity.
Both authors recognize in Jesus His humanity; a humanity that creates in
each of us who share it as a measure of His divinity. Catechism taught us that we
were made in the image and likeness of God. If you are anything like me, you
memorized that fact for the religion test coming up and never thought about it much
ever again. But if we truly believe that we are made in God’s image and likeness,
we should understand the latent divinity that such creation entails. These men delve
into the duality of humanity divinity and its mirror, divine humanity. They want us
to accept that we are true brothers and sisters of Christ but most of all they want us
to embrace the human divine and channel it into the real message of Christianity:
love God and your neighbor.
In last week’s readings, the Acts of the Apostles relates a tale of St. Peter
healing on the Sabbath, as did Jesus. And just like the reaction to Jesus, the Pharisees
take great exception. The Pharisees, like many modern preachers, look at form and
ignore substance. The form, in these cases, was the rule of the Sabbath. The rule
was created by a few to evaluate the worthiness of the many. If you adhere to the
rule, that’s enough. But by elevating form over substance, they ignored the central
truth of loving our neighbor. What kind of apostle would Peter be if he told the
afflicted man “come back tomorrow”?
In Christ’s humanity He recognized human frailty and human suffering. He
was a far cry from vengeful God of the Old Testament. He lived simply in the midst
Continued on page 2
May 2015
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of humans, among the persecuted Israelites. They
were seeking a hero to deliver them from Roman rule
and couldn’t understand that Jesus was not that kind
of hero.
The crucified Christ was the hero of the New
Testament. He was the hero who stopped the stoning
of the adulteress by telling the one without sin should
cast the first stone. (Judge not lest ye be judged.) He
was the hero who wept at the death of Lazarus before
returning him to life. He was the hero who led by
example not by pious proclamation.
I’ve long pondered the question of why Jesus had
to die such a violent and tragic death. “For our sins”
just doesn’t cut it for me. After reading both these
books, I believe that He suffered such sustained abuse
and such an ignominious death to lead by example
once again; to show us there is suffering and pain in
the world and that death is no longer to be feared. Just
as Christ rose from the dead, we arise daily from the
ashes of our own failings. We do so because we are
the children of a loving, forgiving God who wants us to
live without fear. In one of Rohr’s books he mentions
that the most recurring one liner in the Bible is “be not
afraid.” It appears 365 times – or once a day for us.
What I share here is obviously my own opinion.
You could read the same books and come away with
completely different interpretations. If you choose to
do your reading, Rohr has several books in print. The
one I read is the “Immortal Diamond.” Hugh Brady
has but one, “The Spirituality of Being Human.” Rohr
can be tough reading. Brady is much more readable.
For information on purchasing Hugh Brady's
book go to: http://www.buffaloheritage.com/shop/aspirituality-of-being-human/
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page 2
Taking Things For Granted
By Mary Blake
(Thoughts shared from a Communion Service on
Thursday April 23, 2015)
I’d like to share a few thoughts on taking things
for granted. During the past few weeks, several things
have happened here that made me realize how often
we take things for granted.
We come to Mass each morning expecting Fr.
Lee to greet us and lead us in prayer. We just take it
for granted.
We’re used to seeing many of the same people
sitting in the same seats (everyone has their own seat).
If they happen to miss a day or two, we wonder why
and hope everything is okay because we just take it
for granted that they should be here.
The recent loss of David (Ferrari) and Jim
(Hillery) made me realize we should never take
anything for granted. The seats they sat in may be
empty, but I still take it for granted that they remain
here with us.
We have to remind ourselves that each new day
is a gift from God and we must accept the changes
that come with it.
We can’t always take things for granted because
God often has other plans.
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May 2015
Compassionate Conviction: Creating
Change and Building Peace
By Eileen Charleton
On Sunday, April 19, the Sr. Karen Klimczak
Center for Non-Violence presented their annual
fund-raising presentation. Six persons who
regularly worship at Our Lady of Charity Parish
were in the audience that filled SS Columba-Brigid
Church. Sister Simone Campbell, a member of the
Sisters of Social Service, and one of the “Nuns on
the Bus” gave a powerful and up-lifitng, as well
as challenging talk.
The foundation of her talk was radical
acceptance, that we have to hold in love those
persons with whom we do not agree. She said,
“We need to allow our hearts to be broken open
to hear the stories of others.” We need to “fight
for” a vision rather than against people. Our vision
should be founded on our Catholic values. She
said that it is the “fire of the Holy Spirit alive in
us that draws people in.”
Using The Joy Of The Gospel by Pope
Francis, Sr. Simone spoke of the four steps of
healing.
1) Time and dialog ... we must be
“Missionaries of Dialog”… being prepared to
listen to the stories of others, especially those
with whom we do not agree. This takes time and
patience.
2) Unity prevails over conflict …we need to
give up our desire to “win” and to hunger for unity.
3) Realities are more important than theories
or fears ... we have to listen with our hearts wide
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page 3
open and not be overcome with fear.
4) The whole is greater than the parts … we
have to create structures where all are welcome.
She went on to say that we need to re-claim our
democracy and that “democracy is not a spectator
sport” … it is work in which we all must participate.
Echoing Sr. Karen’s love for the Gospel, Sister
Simone said that we need to make Joy and Bounce a
big part of our reality. Joy and Hope go together and
they are community efforts. We have to remember
the teachings of the Gospel of Joy. It is up to us to
keep that Joy and Hope alive.
Baptisms
Moira Christine Hill
Aria Esther Pratt
Jaxx Daniel Weaver
Colton James Zawistowski
At the Easter Vigil we welcomed:
Joe’l Roeth and her children
Xavier Luis and Zachary Thomas
Angel Edith Schneider
Jennifer Lynn Smiley
New Parishioners
Patrick Carson
Jason Law and his children:
Connor and Liam
Carl and Andrea Remmes
Marie Jakubowski
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May 2015
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Friendship Corner
page 4
Monthly Money Minutes
By Pat Margerum
By Amy Jo Lauber
Certified Financial Planner ™ Professional and president
By obedience to the truth you have purified
yourselves for a genuine love of your brothers;
therefore love one another constantly from the heart.
1Peter22
of Lauber Financial Planning
No one can serve two masters. Either you will
hate the one and love the other, or you will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money. Matthew
6:24
“All mankind is grass and the glory of men
is like the flower of the field. The grass withers,
the flower wilts, but the word of the Lord endures
forever.”
Now this “word” is the Gospel which was
preached to you.
1Peter1
As a financial planner, I strive to help people
understand that they can and indeed should work
– for money – but not to let the money be the
master of them; to let God be their only master.
For where is there love, mercy, faith or grace in
money? Only when we apply a virtuous mind and
heart to the way we use it.
Friends need to affirm and believe in our
potential as we ourselves must believe in our
giftedness.
First Corinthians chapter 13 tells us of the
excellence of love: love is patient, love is kind, love
is never rude, it is not self-seeking…
Let others know that you see the good within
them.
Remember the Blessed
Mother in the month
of May.
the bridge
Published by
Our Lady of Charity Parish Council
http://ourladyofcharityparish.com
65 Ridgewood Road
Buffalo, NY 14220
822-5962
Student Honors - Third Quarter
St. Francis High School
First Honors
Anthony J. Petricca
Second Honors
David J. Blaszkowiak
Michael J. Schaefer
Rev. Msgr. David Lee, Moderator
Shirley Banko, Editor
submit articles to:sabanko@roadrunner.com
Staff
Steve Banko
Pat Margerum