"Jesus, help me to recognize your true likeness in myself and in others." This simple prayer was the conclusion of a meditation by Thomas Merton on the fifth Sunday of Lent. In the thoughts that led up to this prayer Merton spoke about how in order to love others, we must first love ourselves. But in order to do that we must first find the likeness of Christ in ourselves as well as in others. Merton says, "In order to find Christ we must first give up our own limited idea of Christ. He is not what we think he is. He is not, and cannot be, merely our own idealized image of ourselves. The Christ we must find in ourselves is not identified with what we vainly seek to admire and idolize in ourselves."

"Welcome!" "I am so happy to see you!" To hear those words of greeting is a wonderful source of joy and happiness. And just as much as we are uplifted when these words are spoken to us, so others are uplifted when we speak them to others. Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. Its origin is the welcome entrance Jesus received when He came into that holy city. The crowds welcomed Him by spreading palm branches on the road, a sort of red carpet treatment. Today we will take palm branches and place them in various places in our homes. We probably put them in the same place as the ones we took down from last year. It is very easy to put them up and then forget about them until next Palm Sunday. But these simple branches pose a very powerful question: "How welcome is Jesus in our presence?" At what part of our day do we findourselves welcoming Him into our minds and hearts?

To act in a way that is unexpected or to speak what is not expected is at times called "thinking outside the box." It is very easy to live in our own little world. At times we get stuck in that little world as we see only what we want or expect to see. That leads us to react to those who contradict what we see and think. We are reluctant to change or be open to a new or another way of seeing and doing things. Pride becomes an integral part of our security, a security that is all too fragile and has no solid foundation.

Lent is our time to not only thank God for His goodness to us but also to see ever more clearly our need for Him. A clear sign that we see our need for God is gratitude and humility. How good it is when an important part of our prayer is simply saying to God from our heart, "Thank you." Thank you for the gift of life, the gift of faith, the gift of love from family and friends, the blessing of living in America. The list can go on and on, and that is good. It is not only a sign of our gratitude, but also of our humility. We are who we are because of the goodness, love, and grace of God. In the second reading on February 2nd we heard these powerful, humble, grateful words from St. Paul: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Lent is not only a time to turn away from sin, it is also a God-given time to recognize His goodness, love, and mercy personally and as the Body of Christ, the Church in the world.

One of the images we use for the Pope in calling him the Supreme Pontiff is that he is a bridge builder. We saw this thought come out a few weeks ago when reporters tried to stir up a controversy between Pope Francis and Donald Trump. Pope Francis spoke about building bridges to connect us to each other, not walls to separate us. This thought goes much deeper than the controversy over illegal immigrants coming into our country from Mexico. Before we even think about how to solve that problem, we must first see clearly what Pope Francis is talking about.

One of the ironies I see in our society today is the compulsion of many people to tell everyone what they are doing by way of Facebook, but it does not lead to any great desire to find peace by revealing our sins and sorrow to God so we can find the peace only He can give us in the Sacrament of Penance. Who are the people we trust enough to reveal who we are, what we think, and how we feel? In today's Gospel we see a very personal revelation by Jesus to Peter, James, and John. He takes them up on a mountain and is transfigured before them. They get a preview of His heavenly glory. Not only do they see Jesus in His glory, they also see Moses and Elijah talking with Him. How awesome and even fearful that experience had to be.

The advances of technology are amazing. When I visited a couple in Florida a while ago, when we got up one morning they said their phone rang at 5:00am giving them a tornado warning. My question was, “Doesn’t your phone have a 631 area code number? How did they know you were in Florida?” Because their phone was on during the night and it had a GPS app the tornado warning knew where they were and sent a message.

We have all heard the expression, "He wears his heart on his sleeve." This means we can tell when that person is happy or sad, excited or disappointed, enthusiastic or apathetic, or a variety of other feelings. This coming Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, many of us will come to church to have blessed ashes placed on our foreheads. These ashes are a public proclamation that we are flawed. We have done things we regret. We are sinners and intend to repent. Lent is a time when we are given a gift as individuals and as the Church to look into our hearts and find the source of our lives. We are not defined by our flaws or sins. These are the result of not recognizing who we truly are and what we are really capable of.

During the last six years we have been blessed with two newly ordained priests here at St. Patrick’s. In June 2010 we received the gift of Fr. David Regan. The newly ordained are given a five-year term for their first assignment. Fr. Regan’s five years here were a blessing for all of us. He is a hard working, compassionate, intelligent man who is delighted to be a priest and to use all his time and talents to serve the people entrusted to his care. He was a joy to live with in the rectory and helped to make our community of priests at St. Patrick’s a true brotherhood of prayer, love, and service. This past June we were blessed once again when Fr. Regan left and Fr. Sean Magaldi came as a newly ordained priest. His joy, enthusiasm, and new priestly heart are a gift to all of us. He, like all the other priests I have had the honor of living and working with here at St. Patrick’s since June 2003, is a life giving part of our priestly and parish community. Currently we are also blessed with Fr. Shibi Pappan who is a holy, joyful, humble, gentle priest from India who will be with us a total of four and a half years. These priests along with Fr. Xavier who is the chaplain at St. Catherine’s Hospital and Fr. Fred who is a retired chaplain of St. Catherine’s after thirty-three years of service there help to make our rectory a wonderful home and a community of priests who are so grateful to be here at St. Patrick’s with you.

During the last six years we have been blessed with two newly ordained priests here at St. Patrick’s. In June 2010 we received the gift of Fr. David Regan. The newly ordained are given a five year term for their first assignment. Fr. Regan’s five years here were a blessing for all of us. He is a hard working, compassionate, intelligent man who is delighted to be a priest and to use all his time and talents to serve the people entrusted to his care.

Anniversaries are times to remember and celebrate. Milestones of 25 and 50 years are usually wonderful occasions where we celebrate the present and look back with joy at all that has happened in those time periods. Even when we remember the anniversary date of those who have died we find our sadness is soothed by the gratitude for their past and even current presence in our lives. In these instances separation does not stop love, it only makes us appreciate our loved ones more.

There are many things that change and transform our lives. We are changed and transformed most powerfully by those we love and those who love us. Those of you who are married have been transformed by the presence of a spouse who knows and loves you more than anyone else. You have the gift of a person not only who knows you but who trusts you and who you can trust. The gift of children opens our eyes to the joy of loving them and their innate trust in us, especially in their early and formative years. They are beloved children. They elicit from our hearts love, sacrifice, joy, and wonder.

Now that New Year’s Eve is over and a new year has begun, we are probably back into our normal routines. Sometimes we make resolutions that we hope will enhance our lives and the lives of others. We will get another opportunity for growth and improvement personally and communally this year when we hear the call to repent on Ash Wednesday, Feb 10, as we begin our forty day spiritual journey to Easter.