Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am away this weekend on a fact-finding mission to examine the palms we will use for Passion Sunday at the end of Lent. It is hard work, but someone has to do it. In my absence, I know that you are well cared for by Fr. Tim and our parish staff!

Though we still have a few weeks, I would like to plant a seed in your minds and hearts regarding the great and holy season of Lent. During these forty days, the Church invites us to a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, spiritual tools meant to help us prepare for the Paschal mystery of our faith. There can often be an overemphasis on fasting—what are you giving up?—that leads to the neglect of prayer and almsgiving. At the same time, in recent years, there is a tendency to say things like “You can give something up or you can do something.” But the Church’s wisdom handed down through the centuries has never suggested that the Lenten discipline is an “or” proposition. On the contrary, it is all about and. A successful Lenten season is built on the strong foundation of all three disciplines—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

It is easy enough to come up with a sacrifice of food or drink that we will undertake. It can be much harder to think through ways we can give alms, serve the poor, or engage in regular works of charity. Likewise, it can be challenging to increase our prayer…we start a devotion or prayer practice, but then schedules get in the way, we forget, and soon we have unintentionally given up the commitment to deeper prayer. Still, the Church proposes all three as pillars of a healthy and fruitful Lenten season.

As we prepare for Lent, then, I would like to suggest a few things. First, let us remove “or” from our Lenten preparations. Instead, let us embrace “and,” aware that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving all contribute to the fruitfulness of the season. Second, don’t worry about failing. The whole purpose of the Lenten disciplines is to help us practice and get better. When practicing, we are bound to fail, but that’s the whole point…failure teaches us how to succeed, how to learn from our mistakes, how to do better next time. Third, even though we can’t worry about failing in the Lenten discipline, we can make plans. Ash Wednesday is March 6, meaning we have about two weeks to carefully consider how we will live out the holy season of Lent, two weeks in which we can examine our own hearts and consciences, two weeks in which to lay out a spiritual road map for the forty days of Lent. Reflect on the ways in which you need to grow in your relationship with God, virtues you need to shore up. Invite the Holy Spirit to enlighten you, to help you hear the voice of God, to listen for the ways Jesus is asking you to follow Him and grow in holiness.

Peace,

Fr. Sam

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Perfection is not a prerequisite. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” says the first pope, St. Peter, in today’s Gospel. The prophet Isaiah proclaims himself a “man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips,” while St. Paul describes his being called “last of all” to serve and preach the Gospel. At no time does the Lord require our perfection as prerequisite for calling us to serve.

This radical method is entirely contrary to our first instinct, to successful business best practices, to almost everything we would anticipate. Under any ordinary circumstance, we seek out the most qualified candidates. We hide our flaws and share the best part of our resumes. On social media, only our best photos are shared, and if ever we share a bad photo, it comes with a caption meant to inspire. In so many areas of our lives, perfection is a prerequisite, though it is virtually impossible to attain. In society, we expect perfection from public figures such that when one fails, we virtually erase them from our collective memory. How often we find ourselves paralyzed by our own imperfections, wishing we could make a difference while convinced that our flaws, sins, or failures are an insurmountable obstacle.

God never sees it that way. He chooses Isaiah even though he is imperfect. He chooses Paul who once persecuted His Church! Jesus chooses the simple fisherman Peter, a sinful man, and gives a great mission. When God calls us it is not because of our qualifications but rather because of what He desires to do in and through our lives. The simple fact is that God has created each of us with some purpose in mind and He sends us out into the world to accomplish it, to bring His light to the world. We are all entrusted with a mission to share the story of His love and mercy. When we look at our lives and fear that our flaws take away our ability to be witnesses, we need to be reminded that Paul was the greatest of sinners, Peter begged Jesus to depart from him, Isaiah did not believe himself to be capable…yet they all allowed God to work in their hearts and so bring His message to the world. The Lord desires to do the same in you. What is more, when we allow God to call us in spite of our imperfection, He begins the merciful labor of bringing us closer to perfection. When we say yes to the Lord who calls, He makes us more than we could ask or imagine. That Isaiah, Paul, and Peter became such effective witnesses says nothing about their goodness, but rather demonstrates the greatness, mercy, and glory of our Heavenly Father who wills to do so much through the weak vessels that we are!

A family in our parish recently suffered a terrible tragedy. Last Sunday, they attended Mass. Throughout the liturgy, they struggled to hold their emotions in. As Mass ended, a woman seated behind them, not knowing anything of the reason for their great sorrow but sensing that they were in pain, tapped them on the shoulder to offer a hug. It was a simple gesture that brought great comfort to a family in need. This woman was attentive to God at work in her own heart. Her imperfect knowledge of the situation, the New England instinct to keep a respectful distance, and the natural social hesitation to approach total strangers served as no obstacle to what Jesus wanted to accomplish in that moment. For it was there, in the back pews of St. Pius X Church, that Jesus wanted to show what can happen when we say yes to Him. Her “yes” helped a family continue on, and reminded them that they are part of a parish family that loves them. The truth is that every day we are presented with similar invitations and opportunities – people in need who we can serve, a prompting from Christ in prayer that we can answer. He does not prompt us because we are perfect, nor does he give us these opportunities because of our skills. Rather, our God chooses to be glorified in our humble works. Never be afraid to place your gifts and talents, your imperfections and flaws, at the service of our Lord, for through them He is calling you to be part of His eternal work of love. Perfection is not a prerequisite.

Peace,

Fr. Sam

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The readings from Scripture this weekend present some powerful ideas. The prophet Jeremiah is called from the womb to be a witness to the nations and to preach without fear, even when powers stand against him. St. Paul speaks of the fundamental need for the virtue of charity in all things – we can have any number of gifts or talents, but without love, we are nothing. Jesus passes through the midst of the mob and goes away when they want to kill him for speaking truthfully about their history.

We live in an era that desperately needs courage and truth. As Jeremiah was called from the womb to be a witness to the truth and to courageously bring God’s presence to his people, so the Church is called to witness the truth of the Gospel in every time and place. In a world that so often rejects the truth of the Gospel – or selects the parts of the Gospel that are most palatable and least challenging – it can be difficult to share the Gospel in a meaningful, integrated way. This is made harder when leaders in the Church struggle with courage themselves. Too often we see bishops trying to pacify everyone…and in the end saying (or doing) nothing. Too often the Church has remained silent, or insisted on silence, when what we need is the thundering voice of Jeremiah to speak the truth and bring the nation to conversion.

This is not just about the Church at the macro level. This is not an accusative finger pointed just at bishops. This is not a limited critique of a few priests. To write any of this, I must hold a mirror up to myself. How often I lack courage to say challenging things because I do not relish the negative feedback it might generate. How often I avoid certain situations because they are uncomfortable. How often I run from speaking frankly with brother priests or Diocesan offices because I am worried about my reputation or making waves. Jeremiah, known by God even before the womb, sent as a prophet to the nations, called to courageous speech no matter the opposition, must be part of the inspiration for every priest.

St. Paul’s law of charity is the complement to courage. Charity, love given and poured out unconditionally, must speak to courage. For a bishop to privately (or, if necessary, publicly) correct a Catholic politician who has supported legislation contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church (as ought to happen with Gov. Cuomo and the bishops of New York) is not only an act of courage, but an act of charity. To truly love someone is to will the absolute best for them, the ultimate good. The ultimate good is eternal salvation and our words and actions in this life can impede our progress toward heaven. It is the role of bishops to courageously and charitably guide us to our ultimate good. It is a spiritual work of mercy to correct the sinner. It is a demand of justice to protect the innocent, to help victims heal. Do our bishops have the courage and charity to correct, protect, and heal? Do I? Do you?

In a world that needs courage, charity, and truth, we are all called – every baptized person – to proclaim the truth, to be fearless in the face of opposition, to do all things with the love of Christ as our measure, and to trust that God will deliver us from every evil. Let us pray this week that as a Church, locally and universally, we would have the courage of Jeremiah and the charity of Paul so that we can bring the name, grace, and salvation of Jesus Christ into our world.

Peace,

Fr. Sam

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On behalf of Fr. Tim, our parish staff, and Msgr. Esposito’s family, I would like to thank you all for your kind expressions of sympathy, for your prayerful presence, and for your kind gestures of support after the passing of Msgr. Ernest T. Esposito. There are so many things we can say in his memory, and for many of you, the memories of this beloved priest go back decades and are very personally entwined in special moments in your lives. His passing allows us to glimpse the profound impact a good priest can have on the world. At his funeral Mass, Msgr. James Cuneo alluded to many of Msgr. Esposito’s personality traits, but above all, he highlighted the evident love for God that Monsignor always exhibited. The priest is not here primarily to be in charge, nor is the priest meant to be only a sacramental minister, nor is the priest simply the one who leads prayer. Rather, the priest is to be a bridge who brings people into communion with God. The priest is an alter Christus, another Christ, who, like Jesus, reveals the face of God. In order to do this, the priest must first of all, live daily in this profound communion with God. Leadership, sacramental ministry, public roles…all these follow after the priest’s constant desire to live in union with God.

Msgr. Esposito made every effort to live this way. No conversation with Monsignor was complete without some reference to God’s love for us, without some discussion of how powerfully the saints lived in union with God, without some introduction of the need to pray intensely. Fr. Tim and I were privileged to witness his deep love for God in the rectory. While his hours of operation sometimes confounded us (our retired resident was very much a night-owl), we knew that much of his time was absorbed in prayer. If he was out of the house for any period of time, it was usually time spent before or after Mass at a church making a holy hour or two. He taught us by example that no ministry or role can be undertaken without prayer—prayer before, prayer throughout, and prayer after. We were truly blessed to have this kind priestly presence as part of our home.

And so I am grateful to all of you. In a special way, I thank our staff who took care of so many things while Fr. Tim and I were with Monsignor at the hospital. I thank our choir and ushers who assisted with the funeral liturgies and helped us, in the midst of sadness and long memories, to worship the God Msgr. Esposito pointed us toward. I thank all of you who came to support his family and who honored him by your presence or by sharing your memories of his life and ministry. Thank you also to the staff of the MICU at Bridgeport Hospital who treated Monsignor with such compassion and dignity.

In my experience, when a brother priest dies, while there is a certain amount of grief, it is a grief that quickly gives way to hope in the Resurrection. More immediately, it gives way to an examination of the virtues and gifts in the life of the priest. Reflecting on those priestly qualities that made the deceased priest who they are, I consistently find myself desiring to imitate those virtues. As we pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of Msgr. Ernie Esposito, please pray for me and Fr. Tim, that the virtues our brother Ernie lived, most especially his love for God, would be the inspiration for our own growth in those virtues, and that his priestly example would inspire our own priestly ministry to you and to all we encounter.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he Rest In Peace. Amen.

Peace,

Fr. Sam

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The prophet Isaiah speaks these powerful words in the first reading today: “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” The prophet raises his voice so that the word of the Lord will be heard, known, and understood by all people. Isaiah is proclaiming the truth of God’s power and mercy, while calling the people to follow. “For Zion’s sake” is almost Biblical-code for “for the sake of the truth” or “for the sake of justice.”

This weekend, we are reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, for the sake of justice, proclaimed the truth that all are created equal. His fight against racial discrimination changed our nation and our culture. We are aware, too, that this battle against racism continues in many ways. Our Catholic faith calls us to acknowledge the dignity of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or country of origin. For Zion’s sake, for Jerusalem’s sake, we cannot be silent but must proclaim and live the truth that God has endowed every human life of every race with inherent, infinite worth.

This week also marks the annual March for Life, when hundreds of thousands will gather in Washington, D.C. to stand for the right to life on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. In his encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope St. John Paul II wrote “[H]uman life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. For this reason procured abortion and euthanasia are absolutely unacceptable. Not only must human life not be taken, but it must be protected with loving concern. The meaning of life is found in giving and receiving love, and in this light human sexuality and procreation reach their true and full significance. Love also gives meaning to suffering and death; despite the mystery which surrounds them, they can become saving events. Respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of man and his integral development. Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person’s life.”
With that in mind, I am reminded of a conversation I had many years ago with a volunteer at Malta House of Good Counsel in Norwalk, a home and ministry to mothers in crisis. The volunteer, explaining their mission, told me that it is one thing to say that we are pro-life and wish to see human life protected and another thing entirely to do something about it. Malta House, she said, tries to provide women a real alternative to the tragic prospect of abortion. There are many other organizations and ministries that do the same, thanks be to God! Additionally, the Church has many ministries to support women who have had abortions and to help them find hope and healing. I encourage you to visit https://www.maltahouse.org/, http://www.sistersoflife.org/, and http://hopeafterabortion.com/ to see some of the valuable work in support of families, children born and unborn, and those who are most in need.

In closing, I offer you this call from Pope St. John Paul II: “What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life. All together, we must build a new culture of life: new, because it will be able to confront and solve today’s unprecedented problems affecting human life; new, because it will be adopted with a deeper and more dynamic conviction by all Christians; new, because it will be capable of brining about a serious and courageous cultural dialogue among all parties. While the urgent need for such a cultural transformation is linked to the present historical situation, it is also rooted in the Church’s mission of evangelization. The purpose of the Gospel, in fact is “to transform humanity from within and to make it new.” Like the yeast which leavens the whole measure of dough (cf. Mt 13:33), the Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them life from within, so that they may express the full truth about the human person and about human life (Evangelium Vitae).”

Peace,

Fr. Sam