Mission Weekend

Well, did I wake you up a little? It’s good to hear the scriptures in a little different way, isn’t it? We fall into our rut. So we try little different things here and there. And that’s what I’m about. That’s what our parish mission is about, to take the great traditions and the formal ways and just infuse them with something a little different, a little energy. So we perk up. And here’s something in a different little different way. My name is Father James DiLucio, and I’m a Paulist Father. We were the first order of Catholic priests that were started here in the United States. And our mission is to keep Catholic Christianity in conversation with American culture and society.

And in doing so, we have embraced a particular devotion to the Holy Spirit, the activity of God in the world, the source of every inspiration that’s all good, the Holy Spirit that makes Jesus present in our world, the Spirit who infuses us with grace, from baptism, and, and confirmation and the Eucharist and everything that we celebrate.

One of the particulars of the Holy Spirit is the particular way grace is evidenced in you and me. And so, as Paulists, we affirm people’s experiences, and the uniqueness of each individual, because your interests, talents, and enthusiasms are very much God at work in you. What makes you most fully alive is your primary experience of God. Remember that all the sacraments here are not limited to this time, space, and place; they’re meant to be touchstones that engage us in all aspects of life. So what are your favorite things? What is your work? What are your hobbies? What are your interests and your pastimes? This is the Holy Spirit.

And I hope to witness that in the parish mission because I’m witnessing how God has infused me with interests and how I can use that in sharing my faith. I started as an English teacher and pursued acting for a few years. I went to Montclair State, and I was an English major in education and a theater minor. Growing up in New Jersey, I feel at home here. It’s fun. It’s really good to be here. And so it was engagement with the scriptures and working as a lector in New York, and my parish happened to be the Paulist Fathers’ parish.

And the Paulists asked me to give workshops to the other electors. That infused in me the importance of connecting Jesus’ story with my story and our story and the importance of recognizing that the most extraordinary story ever told, in Christ Jesus, by God’s design, was left on finished. It’s an unfinished story. Jesus is inviting the disciples, the Apostles, all and all the baptized generations right down to you, with no exception here to say, continue my story. Continue my story of the love of God and love of neighbor; make me present to everyone in your time, from school to work to play here and elsewhere.

The importance of making connections based on your interests and your enthusiasms. We all have different favorite sections of the Bible. Honor that it’s your favorite. What part of the Bible do you remember most? That’s important. That’s the Holy Spirit working through you, and honor your favorites and all your favorite things. This is part of the Holy Spirit. This is how grace is enacted and present in the world.

Now, I do hope that you will come to the mission to engage more in this conversation to claim how Jesus is working through your life, as individuals, as family members, as people in the work field, as people who retired, whatever your situation may be, as Paul says, that engaging with the scriptures is an essential part of our lives. And it’s convenient because it’s accessible. And it’s also inconvenient. Because the world has a different outlook than the one that Jesus gave us, I know it may be convenient for some and inconvenient to come to a parish mission.

We’re all busy people. But I hope you’ll strive through the inconvenience because this story is yours. And I’m here to try and help you claim this story more fully as your own. But if you’re not able to come for the two nights, Monday and Tuesday, from 7:00-8:30 pm, there’s also a chance to go in the morning; I’ll be celebrating the 9:00 am mass and give a shortened condensed version of my presentations for about an hour in the morning.

But I do want to leave you with this; I want to leave you with this. And repeat it. Repeat it when you go home and have brunch or whatever your plans are. Jesus’s story is continuing through me. And that it’s our obligation to take our experiences and put them in conversation with the scriptures. That’s what we’re meant to be. That’s their purpose. So let’s look at the gospel. This morning from Luke, we heard a story of a persistent widow.

And Jesus wants to make the point that prayers are always important. Well, what does that have to do with you? That’s the important question. So let’s look at the gospel reading. What is she crying for? She’s crying for justice. Well, listen to that, you and me and everybody. Whenever we’re in those experiences, and I know everybody’s had them, it doesn’t matter what age you are when you can cry out. This is not fair. Right?

Sometimes you’re playing a game at school, somebody usurps the ball or doesn’t play by the rules. This is not fair. We say it as kids; we say it as adults. It is being disregarded and disrespected. Someone’s putting me down and not listening to my point of view. I have something to contribute. Who has not felt and said that out loud or to themselves? This is the widow. This is you. This is me. And Jesus was a realist. He knew very well life is unfair.

So that’s why he’s telling the story. And he wants to affirm that we can speak up and need one another to help because there are a lot of unjust judges in the world who neither fear God nor respect anybody. But those two things are the exact opposite of us to the ten commandments, love of God, and love of neighbor as ourselves. So we need each other.

We need to share these experiences so that together we can say we’re speaking up. We need courage if someone is being left out or someone else is being left out of this conversation. And everyone’s point of view is essential. It’s hard work.

So Jesus says, Pray, pray, always. So you’re always conscious of the connection. Again, we need life experience, and you can say, “Well, I can only come to mass once a week,” or “I can only say the rosary from time to time.” And it’s not a matter of bulk. It would be best if you did more of that.

But instead, it’s understanding that everything you do can be prayer. It’s just a matter of our consciousness. So thank you, God, for a hot shower. You know, thank you, thank you, God. Let me not take for granted that the food on my table is part of your life in me that I’m providing food because you’ve given me the ability to have work. You’ve given me the ability to have a family who supports me if you’re so blessed at this particular time.

And anybody else so that we can stand firm even among unjust judges. And in a world that has no respect for God or human beings. So here we are, and I hope you will join me. If you can’t come on both days, go when you can. It will also be live-streamed if you’re stuck at home.

  • 908-232-1214
  • Monday - Friday: 9:30am - 5:00pm
Mass Schedule:
Daily: Monday-Saturday 9am
Weekend: Sat 5pm | Sun 8am | 10am | 12pm | 6pm
  • 1600 Rahway Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090
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