Attitude…specifically the type of attitude that one brings to prayer is the main theme of this weekend’s Sacred Scripture. Last week we spoke on prayer itself. Today we find ourselves in the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, fast ap-proaching the Advent Season when an attitude of repentance and reflection will be key to our understanding the Incarnation of God made man, which is the essence of Christmas.
Today’s readings illustrates the difference between an attitude of self-righteousness and one of humility.
Our parents were right when they told us that in life attitude makes all the difference. Never mind the difficulty of the task before us, a good attitude will make the difference. We also know that in many cultures around the world—from an-cient times to the present day—the medical community believes that a positive attitude is important in our physical and mental healing process, even if that mindset is not fully promoted in the Western medical culture.
The same holds true for religious situations. We need a positive and grateful attitude that points us to a God that is loving and caring, a most compassionate deity who desires only righteousness for His creation.
While it may be true that some “religious” people become arrogant, believing that they are “better” than others, partly because there is some truth in that statement and since they may not see the arrogance in their attitude due to the idea that they are “blinded” by the steps they take along the way—steps that are filled with some truth—so their arrogance is often imperceptible since the small bits of truth in their daily steps makes it difficult to see when they go off track.
“The fact is that some religious people are better than the rest of us. At issue, according to Sr. Dianne Bergant, is the reason why they might be better. The arrogant Pharisee clearly believed that he was better because of what he had done, He had been observant, and he was proud of it. The tax collector, on the other hand, was ashamed of what he had done. More to the point, he knew what God was able to do in the face of his sinfulness, and so he asked for mercy. Justification comes from God; it is not an equitable return for a job well done. The tax collector knew this; the Pharisee did not. The Pharisee asked for nothing of God, and so he received nothing.”
There are many ways each of us illustrates our self-righteousness, which shows that we have forgotten that God is God and we are not. We become too wrapped up in what we can do because of our educational degrees, our talents and skills, our determination and our hard work… drive and desire which we develop in life.
This is most definitely the attitude that Jesus condemns. Our success has very little to do with our own power and more to do with our free will and cooperation with the power of God. While many sociologists remind us that the ob-servance of cultural mores and practices are important, our Catholic Faith clearly teaches us that that does not justify a person--only the goodness of God does that.
Attitude is important in prayer and it is important in how we bring ourselves before God, for the manner in which we come before Him—or how we let Him into our lives—says a whole lot more about what we really believe than the words we speak. And this is illustrated in our attitudinal humility or lack thereof when it comes to God.
As we continue to think about our prayer life and how we come before God we must also consider just how we think about God in general in our lives. What is our commitment to God? What priority does He possess in our daily lives and in our worship of Him? Do we prepare to be with Him at Mass and in prayer, or do we just happen to “fit Him in” by making prayer or Mass an add-on to everything else we have to do? How do we present ourselves to Him…is He our God and if so, is He deserv-ing of our respect by being on time for Mass or being ready to pray or being dressed as though Mass is a special time, not just a thing to accomplish?
Attitude—particularly the one we are called to have as Catholic Christians—means that we are like the tax collector, knowing of our sinfulness and coming before God to seek His grace in our lives. Ask and ye shall receive! The Pharisee, who saw no need to ask for God’s help and favor, received none.
Speaking of Gratitude…
Father Henry Dery who has so wonderfully and loyally been helping out here at St. Catherine of Siena for many years has told me that he will no longer be able to celebrate the Mass on Sunday mornings. It is truly our loss. Fr. Dery will turn 92 years young this coming May, and he is taking a well-deserved break from nearly full time ministry. I know that those who regularly go to the Sunday 8 a.m. Mass will miss his wisdom, his holiness, his kind and gentle way and all of his wonderful life experiences which he shared in his homilies. I know I will miss being able to sneak in and hear his homily and then rewrite my own homily for the rest of the weekend…
However, while Fr. Dery will no longer celebrate the Mass, he will still be providing our parishioners with his priestly services by hearing confessions on Saturday afternoons from 4 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., before the Vigil Mass. Fr. Dery has also of-fered to meet with parishioners, who might wish to discuss certain issues with a priest or have their confession heard at a different time, by meeting with him at his residence at St. Thomas Semi-nary in Bloomfield. If you would like to take advantage of his experience and knowledge of the Faith, please feel free to call Fr. Dery directly at 860/761-7421.
I want to take this time to personally thank Father Henry Dery for all his service and love to our Church and this parish, and for all his help and guidance to me over these last three years. I also want our parishioners to know that we will host a celebration for Father Dery in the near future following the 8 a.m. Mass. Details will follow soon.
With Grateful Thanks!
Our parish family is grateful for the gifts, talents, and time of Barbara Hopkins and Terry Longo for arranging all the beautiful fall decorations in front of the Church and the rectory. The property looks fantastic, Ladies!
All Souls Annual Mass of Remembrance
Our All Souls Mass will be celebrated at 11:00a.m.on Sunday, November 7th, complete with a celebration of Light and prayers for the noble souls of those who have died this year from our parish family as well as names of our loved ones and friends from other places. Please notify the parish office by calling 860/658-1642 or by email to stcathy@comcast.net, with any names of deceased loved ones from outside this parish by Thursday, November 4th. Also, All Souls Envelopes are in the vestibule and atrium for use during the month-long remembrances at Mass and in Father Whyte’s daily breviary prayers.
