Tag Archives: Faith and Culture

Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025

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Rev. James M. DiLuzio CSP

The Gospel was, is, and always will be the GREAT REVERSAL, a re-ordering of the flawed foundations of society. God designed it to “go against the grain,” “swim against the downstream flow,” insisting that in every age “death and resurrection,” or, in secular terms, “improvements in the human condition and mindset in confluence with the True God,” be achieved. The goal, of course, is PEACE, JUSTICE, HARMONY, RECIPROCITY AMONG PEOPLES united in Love of God and Neighbor. But Jesus, ever-the-realist as affirmed by the beautiful phrase in John’s Gospel, chapter 2: who “did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well,” recognized true peace comes with a price. The Crucifixion itself made that very clear.    

The Roman Empire did not welcome new perspectives on how to view human nature beyond their own vision of Emperor as god, and a hierarchy of aristocracy, soldiers, merchants, and plebians. Of course, the Holy Spirit is active in all times and places, and there were some Roman Senators inspired to act on behalf of the poor — mostly field hands and laborers, but that depended on individual Senator’s personalities and his political objectives. Beyond that, should “the lowly be lifted up,” according to the Virgin Mary’s MAGNIFICAT, the needs of the poor could be considered treachery. Moreover, Rome was wary of Jewish prophets and religious leaders –often suspect of sedition. Add to that, Jesus was critical of aspects of the Temple Cult –as were some pharisees at that time—and criticism, should it be realized, would prove detrimental to  both the Sadducees and the Romans in their delicate, frail, and fragile collaboration on taxes, tourism, immigration and other matters.         

But the “blazing fire” and ruptures to family life – ‘father against son; mother against daughter” that Jesus anticipates here is the age-old disruption of differing religious and political views within a family, among neighbors, and within society at large. Even before Jesus, the diversity in Jewish beliefs and practices caused friction withing the religious and political realms. The Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels make clear that  people differed on Messianic expectations, and in a belief in life after death. Roman paganism highlighted eternity only for Emperors and an elite group, and belief in Resurrection from the dead was a public conflict between Sadducees and Pharisees. When some members of a family insisted on Jesus as Messiah who rose from the dead – well, claiming certainty about these matters provoked great conflict. 

These and other religious, social and political contentions are evident in our times as well–when religion and political discussions are either avoided, conclude in brutal condescension, or erupt violent altercations emotionally and/or physically–we have a sense on what Jesus meant. THE GOSPEL’s Great Reversal is an insistence that Christian Values of Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes – extensions and clarification of the Two Great Commandments: Love of God and Love of Neighbor as we love ourselves and care for our families, must remain the foundation of life. For our faith to be practiced diligently, we must evaluate issues of economy, labor, religious freedom, social norms on the Golden Rule criteria. No society past or present has fully realized these essential Gospel values. How may we contribute to their advancement in our life span? That is the essential Catholic question for today. For until that time when all societal, communal, and international laws and practices are continually evaluated by Love of God and Neighbor, patient perseverance and HOPE must remain steadfast. Indeed, we all have a good deal of work ahead putting our faith into practice, and Jesus will help us through sacrament and inspiration.   And this is the Jubilee Year of HOPE to help solidify  this concept in our hearts and minds. In this era of constant scapegoating — blaming individuals or groups for all our problems rather than collaborating on addressing the issues, no one person or group warrants Crucifixion or its counterparts in prejudice, or the human causes or emotional and physical suffering for the advancement of others, don’t you agree? 

Remember, the prophet Jeremiah suffered for speaking out on God’s behalf – thrown as he was into a cistern of mud, and, if we truly believe Jesus died “once for all,” alleviating suffering remains the challenge for our age, too.  We must not be afraid. Let these words from today’s Letter to the Hebrews echo in our hearts: “In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood,” knowing that Jesus did resist, and shares his body and blood with us to strengthen in us courage, faith, hope, and love. 

NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS 

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A Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024 by Fr. James DiLuzio  

Kate Chopin, a Catholic and early feminist writer of the late 1800’s, authored a short story entitled BEYOND THE BAYOU. La Folle, an African American Creole, is thirty-five years old. She lives alone, self-sufficient working her plot of land, but never crossing the bayou to engage with the world beyond her cabin. Yet she knows, that beyond a stretch of woods, the waterway that she sees is shallow, sometimes nothing more than wet sand. One could walk across it easily. Never mind! She was content, and pleased to welcome people who occasionally came to her home.  

Twenty years before our story takes place, the son of the plantation owner for whom she worked, was wounded in a gun accident in the woods. He ran to her cabin for relief. She nursed the boy into recovery.  

Now fully grown, this boy became the plantation owner himself, and, with life-long gratitude, visits La Folle  often with his wife and children. She becomes exceptionally fond of his ten-year-old son whom she calls “Cherie.” Like his father before him, Cherie goes hunting with his rifle. And he, unlike his father, brings La Folle various game, and, in return, she bakes him cakes which they eat together.  

One day, she hears his cries in the woods. Running to him from her cabin, she finds him gravely injured. His is a wound she cannot heal.  

She picks up the ten-year-old and runs frantically across the bayou for the first time in her life toward Cherie’s family home on the opposite shore. Responding to her screams, the family takes the child from her just as La Folle collapses from exhaustion. The incident leaves her near-death, but in time she recovers.  

Soon afterward, she walks across the bayou, now more casually taking in the scene, appreciating the breeze, the sounds of life all around her. She crosses to  

see Cherie, who is improving, but remains in a state of recovery. When she arrives, his parents tell her he is  

sleeping, but she chooses to wait. It is a Sunday morning, and our story concludes as La Folle sits on the front porch of the family’s house, gazing at the sunrise that hovers up and over the bayou, beyond the trees, above her cabin, smiling as she responds to the golden glow.  

Lovely story, isn’t it? Sometimes it takes a harrowing event, but change will come. Change is inevitable sometimes because of, sometimes despite us. Through necessity or by sheer will, we must claim a new set of priorities for ourselves and others. Jesus tells us repeatedly, “Your vision has to change.”  

The person with leprosy in today’s gospel was ready for change. He saw Jesus in ways that other people did not. And Jesus saw the sick fellow as others did not. One might say this alternate vision, distinct from the commonplace, brought about the person’s healing. Indeed, a different point of view can make a world of difference. 

We have heard today’s Gospel dozens of times, haven’t we? And yet disciples remain startled that Jesus says to the man after he heals him, “Tell no one.”  Why? Why would Jesus say that? The patient is healed. Reborn. Shout it out! Scream “Hallelujah!” No. Instead, Jesus says, “tell no one, “Because he is trying to convey our need to “To Wait.” “Tarry a little.” “To Ponder it.”  

Remember all the nameless people in the Gospels are meant to convey EVERYONE. So, Jesus is saying to the man and to us: 

“Think! This healing is not about You—even though it has begun with you. This healing is not about me—even though it comes through me. Your recovery is an experience of GOD. Everything is about GOD! It is a miracle, but miracles are not ends in themselves; they are beginnings. They are overtures to faith, hope, and love that originates in God.  

So, when we hear a story of a Miracle, know that Jesus is inviting us to look at the world in new way. Miracles are meant to inspire us to new ways of living. Ponder that! 

And while we are pondering this, the Gospel says Jesus tells the man: “Go show yourself to the priest.” In other words, “follow traditions, follow the religious laws and requirements of our faith, but know that even our practices, our rituals are not ends in themselves but God-decreed conduits for change, for something beyond the ordinary. They are vehicles of transportation to a heavenly realm – so that as Jesus lifts us up into a communion with the Saints, heaven comes down to earth, and we see God WITH US in all things.”  

Because God is with us in Christmas and ORDINARY TIME, in miracles and in the mundane, we can see better, live better, choose better. Through sacraments and prayer and lives lived well, Jesus beckons us beyond the world of might makes right, of intimidation, judgments, and cruelty to transform it into the Kingdom of God.  

Franciscan Friar and author Richard Rohr reminds us that the world operates at the lowest degrees of human nature. Societies often employ “the lowest level of motivations to get things going, particularly “rewards-and-punishments.” Jesus knew that this framework can only take us so far. True self-esteem and motivation must come from somewhere else. From someone else. Self-worth comes from God, and knowing each of us are part of God’s grandeur, and a plan for a better world NOW and in the Future, beckoning at every sunrise, at every horizon. 

For only Christ’s love is true love. Only faith in Christ will motivate us to see the true goods there are in this world, and– yes, although there is a lot to discourage us, there is true good here. But we need to tend it, to help it grow. And what is not good, we need to change, and we can, and we will by the grace of God. 

Making a better NOW is the Gospel. The Good News. Dying and Rising is The Kingdom of God. Although we may be afraid of it, it is Jesus’ power of true life. The only fulfilling life. The gifts of the HOLY SPIRIT are in us to reclaim, to activate today, tomorrow, and the next day.  

It is time we see this world of ours as challenging but redeemable. We must LET LOVE HAPPEN. Lent is on the horizon. It is time for a CHANGE. We need to pick up our lifeless world and run with it. Go for the goal beyond the Superbowl. Allow the kingdom of God to take precedent NOW for a better future tomorrow. As you come to the Eucharistic table today, take and eat the Vision that is for you, for me, for everyone: the Kingdom of God is at hand. 

The Horrors of Hamas and a Possible Solution

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Rev. James M. DiLuzio CSP

9 October 2023 and REVISED 10 October due to recent events

 On October 9th, I began my post with Prayers for the Jewish People and the Nation of Israel. Hamas’ attack is not only anti-Israel, it evidences true hatred for the Jewish people. I now must call for prayers for all the innocent Palestinian civilians, including so many children and infants, killed by what I believe is Israel’s inordinate revenge. You will note in my post (see below) that I hoped the Israeli government would be far more moderate in its response to terrorism than the USA was in response to 9/11. That has not happened, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to cut off all water and electricity to the entire Gaza region is a humanitarian crisis in itself.

I still hold to my belief that it remains a tragedy that Gaza did not build its own infrastructure and free its dependence on Israel in much the same way our nation’s states maintain independent infrastructure apart from federal interstate issues. How much the Israeli government and how much Gaza governing bodies are responsible for that crisis, is too complicated to go into here. With that stated, here’s my original post, with some revisions. .

I’ve been thinking a lot about this and here’s what I have to say: The Horrors of Hamas and a Possible Solution Rev. James M. DiLuzio CSP 10 October 2023 REVISED TYPE IN BOLD

The tragedy of Humas and its attack on Israel, over 900 dead at the latest count this morning, makes it evident that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Aligned with hate for Israel along with its confreres in Iran.* Hamas and its counterparts have confirmed that they have a devastating hatred for the Jewish people as a whole –Racism and its violent expressions are among the world’s greatest sins.

Hamas’ leaders, and those who support them from other nations, need to be arrested and brought before an International Tribunal and tried for war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This is what the US should have done after 9/11. Yes, it was fitting that we went into Afghanistan in search of Taliban organizers, but the escalation of bombing there and the subsequent invasion of Iraq proved unwarranted. How much Afghanistan was willing to help identify the perpetrators is not widely known. Still, Hundreds of thousands if not a million or more people died as a result, and US tactics proved immoral in my estimation. With that in mind, Israel and its allies need to respond to the attacks, but I pray, they will do so with caution and restraint, to protect the hostages, and innocent civilians.

In brief, it seems right and just that Israel should use its military power to identify and arrest all responsible for the deaths of civilians, the hostage crisis, and other atrocities, but Israel should learn from our mistakes. Hopefully, perpetrators will soon be arrested, and then the government should bring them before the World Court as an example of what comprises true justice and honesty in human relations. Yes, Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank have legitimate reasons to protest the Israeli government, but now is the time for them to organize peaceful demonstrations, marches, and offer humane steps for compromise and collaboration. Furthermore, it is time Palestinians elect leaders with a deeper sense of humanity, people who can propose policies that offer stability, dignity, and reverence for all.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_in_the_war_in_Afghanistan_(2001–2021)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

Here’s a little more insight to the bigger picture:

The crimes of Hamas over the decades go even beyond Hamas’ violence, exposing the roots of its loss of humanity. As Thomas Friedman wrote in the NYTIMES (October 7: “Israel’s Worst Day at War”):

“Hamas has been a deadly curse for the Palestinian people since it took over Gaza in 2007. The billion-plus dollars in aid that it received from Qatar alone over the years could have gone into building Gaza into a productive society, with decent schools, universities, and infrastructure, that might have been a model for a future Palestinian state with the West Bank. Instead, Hamas has devoted most of its energies and resources to digging tunnels into Israel and building rockets to try to destroy a vastly more powerful enemy — thus depriving Gazans of any chance to realize their full potential, via a government that is decent, democratic, and productive.”

* Note: In my first version, I added Qatar to Iran as another nation supporting Hamas. I’ve deleted Qatar in this context due to this statement in the Washington Post at 11 am, 10 October 2023: ” Qatar works with Hamas to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in the Gaza Strip, but it does not directly support the group.”

PS: I am posting this opinion on my FACEBOOK Page as well. If you prefer to dialogue there go to LUKELIVE on Facebook. Otherwise, I welcome comments below. Note that a couple have come in already and are worth your consideration.

Movie Review & Reflection: LA LA LAND

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Movie Review & Reflection:  LA LA LAND

Fr. James DiLuzio C.S.P.

Do you have to enjoy Hollywood musicals to enjoy LA LA LAND?  Yes and No.  YES, if you have ever had the urge to break into a song and dance in moment of comfort and joy.   YES, if you enjoy dancing and appreciate it as one of humanity’s greater pleasures.  YES, if you have a trace of nostalgia for that great AN AMERICAN IN PARIS ballet. (I956, MGM, Gene Keely, Leslie Caron; available on Blu Ray and Streaming.)  Director Damien Chazelle and Choreographer Mandy Moore’s (not the actress /singer) song and dance finale (almost finale) is a tribute to that ballet and it’s charming and magical.  But, oh, how I wish they had kept the company dancing in a flowing, ever-enlarging dance spectacle. So.  If you answered YES to all the above: GO!  If you answered “No” because you are the kind of person who interiorizes your moments of joy and/or never add a dance to your step or skip about for the fun of it, or find musicals silly, silly, silly, then stay home.  But before you settle in beside your Christmas / Hanukkah fire, be forewarned: there’s more to LA LA LAND than song and dance.

LA LA LAND focuses on the creative artistry, goals and objectives of two young lovers who, as they fall in love, exemplify the simple joys of love, music and art for their own sake.  These segments are the heart of the film and offer its greatest pleasures (the “almost-finale” notwithstanding). Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, the consummate jazz pianist seeking ART not popularity, and he plays the role well. As always, he’ a photogenic, attractive leading man and, in this film, he even has a dancer’s physique so when he glides aspiring actress Mia (the charming Emma Stone) into the gentle choreography of a starlit summer night, it all seems (almost) natural.  Now don’t expect Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers because Gosling and Stone are not polished professional dancers or singers. But that reality is precisely one of the points this movie makes:  Don’t leave everything to the professionals!    Sing a little, dance a little.  Walk on the “Sunny Side of the Street.”  (Or live in Los Angeles along with everyone else who wants to be Fred and Ginger who never get to sing or dance or act for pay and just keep basking in the sunshine year-round.)

The First Act of LA LA LAND could be tighter.   Gosling and Stone have chemistry, so we would have a lot more fun if the sparks of antagonism, approach/avoidance were ignited more fully at the onset.  (There’s a moment after the opening number where you think the sparks will fly but the script postpones the joy.)  Instead we get a good deal of the clichés of “the struggling artist.”  (The limited National Endowment for the Arts notwithstanding – will Americans ever truly support the ARTS in Education and local communities beyond buying high-priced concert tickets?)  But once Sebastian and Mia’s romance is in bloom, the film enchants and gives us a bit of punch, too, in some very well acted dramatic scenes.  Odd for a musical but it’s these dramatic scenes that help us care about the couple and give us reason to want to care more.  The songs they and others sing are better than serviceable but I found only a couple memorable.  I liked the ballads CITY OF STARS, the emotional and dramatic context of FOOLS WHO DREAM (engaging lyrics) and the rhythmic START A FIRE, the latter enhanced by the performance of John Legend, a most welcomed guest star. The jazz arrangements and orchestrations for all the numbers are excellent.  (Music by Justin Herwitz, Songs by Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul.)

LA LA LAND is a Hollywood Musical more about the ordinary than the glamorous, more about the reality than fantasy of show business. Meanwhile, it kind of insists that we keep romance and music in the picture.  As it is in this picture, may it be in YOUR picture, too.

Questions for Discussion:

  1. Now most people would agree that “popular’ isn’t necessarily better (although it can be). BUT how can creative people earn their living when their work does not prove popular, remunerative or classifiable as genius?
  2. Is it a waste of time to attend to things you enjoy (especially singing, dancing, acting/ play-acting) if you are merely good but not spectacular at them?
  3. Can people follow their bliss, carve out a generative, joyful life without having to be on the big screen, the great white way or go viral streaming on the internet? Must there always be an audience for every act of creativity? (Can “ART” be its own reward?)
  4. Our competitive culture practically demands SUCCESS. How do you identify it?  Is it all relative? How important is it to you? Is it the same as recognition (an important human dynamic) or is it recognition-run-amuck?
  5. No one wants to be “left behind.” No one wants to be taken for granted yet society offers a living template of “winners” and “losers.”  Who “wins” and who “loses” in LA LA LAND?  Sebastian or Mia?  Director / Writer Damien Chazelle or YOU as a moviegoer?

 

 

 

Film Review: Florence Foster Jenkins Rev. James M. DiLuzio C.S.P.

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The film Florence Jenkins is not a comedy, although it has comedic elements.  It’s the story of a woman filled with romantic ideals and the finances to indulge them.  A passionate philanthropist showering the 1940’s Manhattan classical music scene with gifts and grants, Florence wants to belong, to participate in ways far beyond her means.  Not her monetary means. Her treasuries are overflowing.  No, she longs to belong as a member of the artists’ circle, to be known, to be loved not for her money but as a celebrated operatic soprano.  At last, in her waning years, she hopes to command the attention and praise she never received as a child nor as wife in her first marriage to a philandering yet fortuitously wealthy-now- deceased husband.  Poor, wealthy Ms. Jenkins.  She aspires to become one of the great sopranos in the exacting and starry heights of the opera world without a trace of talent or a wisp of capacity for self-scrutiny.  She is a wealthy version of Mama Rose from the musical fable GYPSY (by the way, was Madame Rose’s talent real or imaginary?)  and, even more so, DON QUIXOTE all rolled into one. And, like, Gypsy Rose Lee’s mom and Cervantes whose presence is everywhere felt throughout his early 17th century novel, Mrs. Foster Jenkins is a real, historical person.  Quite a centerpiece for any movie; quite a role for any actress.  And in this version, the actress is Meryl Streep offering a formidable incarnation of the complex and contradictory nature of dreamers and the tragedy of anyone who loses touch with reality.  Ms. Streep gives an honest, exquisite performance.

 

The relationship to GYPSY notwithstanding, director Stephen Frears has chosen to emphasize the DON QUIXOTE aspects of the story, focusing on its “illusion version reality” dynamic. He gives the film a sense of balance by attending equally to the two men who support Florence Jenkins as he does to the woman herself.   In that, the screenwriter Nicholas Martin brought his heroine to light in the same way Cervantes conveyed insights into his “knight of the woeful countenance” through the characters that interact with him.  In FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS, one of these persons is purposefully overindulgent, the other reluctant but ultimately resigned.  And, as in Don Quixote, others in the fine supporting cast are simply cruel.

 

Hugh Grant plays Mrs. Jenkins boyfriends and platonic lover St. Clair Bayfield as the willing Sancho Panza with heartbreaking panache and Simon Helberg embodies the pianist / accompanist Cosmé McMoon with a kooky but nuanced performance that truly engages us as he transcends his disgust over Mrs. Jenkins performances and learns to love the woman despite her desperate games of make-believe.  Streep, Grant and Helberg are all excellent.  The sum total of the performances, period design and costumes (wonderful Production Design by Alan MacDonald and Costumes by Consolata Boyle), and overall direction makes this film well worthwhile even though, to be honest, the plot sags in energy from time to time.

 

In essence, the movie FLORENE FOSTER JENKINS is a love story with edge.  It poses a question that certainly will benefit all who are willing to address it: What is the best relationship between Truth, Beauty and Love?  There is, of course, no one-size-fits all balanced response to such a query, but this movie brings to mind Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians: “So, faith, hope and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

 

 

More than “Mind over Matter”

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Mind over Matter is only part of the human reality.  Circumstances, Health, Relationships, Opportunities (and genuine lack thereof) and I daresay “Providence” also need to be part of the equation.  As noted in this NYTIMES Op-Ed: “equality, justice, truth and ethics” must compliment the American Dream.  If everyone continues to buy into the self-empowered “Superman / Superwoman”  ideology – that ever-present  Nietzsche (1844-1900)  concept –  to the exclusion of other realities that comprise the human experience, will there be room for Love, Peace, for learning about others beyond the confines of our self-empowered “little worlds?”

Interested in this topic?  Read Carl Cederstrom’s OP-Ed in today’s New York Times. 

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/18/the-dangers-of-happiness/?ref=opinion

Also related: T. M. Luhrman on “The Anxious Americans”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/opinion/sunday/the-anxious-americans.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

THE AVENGERS: ULTRON a brief commentary

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I saw THE AVENGERS: Ultron last night.  It is a riff on Noah and the Ark!  In this case Ultron plays God who is fed up with humanity and wants to start over.  It reminds me of how we need to read the Noah epic differently than the ways our ancestors did.  NOAH expresses how humanity often has the urge to “start over,” and wipe out the past. It is far more human centered story than an exploration of God. So, too, Ultron, though a robot, is a simplistic expression of human’ nature’s shadow side. Not a bad story, nor a bad movie.  This time the Hulk and Black Widow have the greater focus.   Enjoyable but with a couple battle scenes too many.

Love You As You Are

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I must call your attention to David Brooks again. Every parent MUST read this! Plus every believing adult must know that true Faith offers a God with Unconditional LOVE that is NOT based on what we do but for the unique individuals that God created. Think of those times when you simply LOVE BEING YOU when you are not doing or achieving anything. Like waking up in the morning or having your coffee or comfortably drifting off to sleep at night. GOD LOVES YOU!

Forthcoming biography of playwright Tennessee Williams

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American playwright Tennessee Williams whose great plays THE GLASS MENAGERIE, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA highlighted the tragedy of human vulnerability to the point of despair, was a man of sorrow who either found little comfort in and/or was unable to surrender to the ways faith can transform sensitivity from tragedy to grace. That said, I have to note that CAT and IGUANA probably came as close as possible to grace-filled resolutions. Agree?

I am writing about Williams today as the NYTIMES features an excellent article about John Lahr’s upcoming bio on Williams that looks like it will be well worth the purchase for those of us who love the theatre and it’s potential to explore our meaning and purpose. John Lahr (son of the actor Burt Lahr, know for The Wizard of Oz on film and WAITING FOR GODOT on stage plus LAYS Potato Chips commercials in the 1960s) is one excellent and insightful writer and drama critic. Here’s the article: