GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY HOMILY

Posted on April 21, 2024 by frjamesdiluzio

Homily by Fr. James DiLuzio

We live in an angry age. Disputes abound. Collaboration is labeled “compromise” –now an almost derogatory word as if one is “selling oneself out,” and people work so hard to manifest their “brand,” that they dig their heels into the ground, unmovable, intractable, hard-pressed any dimension of our basic, common humanity. Who can lead us out of the single-minded confines of our own willfulness?

In another angry time, the Catholic Church was fearful of change. Almost every attempt at spiritual renewal was suspect. Onto that 13^th century stage appeared two who would eventually become Saints. Their names were Francis and Dominic, each with new vision of God’s care for us, a new emphasis on how to address some of the problems of their age. One of the stories about Saint Francis continues to offer insights. Entitled “The Tale of the Wolf of Gubbio.” Gubbio was and is an Italian village, in the Umbria region of Italy. At that time, a wolf was terrorizing the entire population, attacking sheep, chickens, howling nightly inhibiting sleep, growling so forcefully that all were afeared of going out at night to visit their relatives and neighbors. For the longest time, they commissioned their best hunters, expert marksmen to hunt the wolf and rid them of it, but to no avail.

Eventually word of a holy man who praised God continually for life—human life and the life of all creatures, who allegedly spoke to animals, reached their village. After much prayer and penance, almost miraculously, some villagers encountered Francis walking in the forest. Explaining their situation with heartfelt urgency, they pleaded with Francis to come to their aid. Looking lovingly upon them all and said, “Feed your wolf.” What? was their incredulous reply. “Feed your wolf,” is all he said.

That night villagers put plates of their leftovers on every doorstep. The wolf’s howling ceased. The next night, in thanksgiving, they placed choice meats and vegetables, and not a sheep was lost. The third night, no sounds from the hen house, and in the morning, they found Francis in the town square, the wolf bowing before the Saint. The wolf became the friend of Gubbio and good be found gnawing on bones and choice meats at all the village festivals. Ω

“Who is the wolf in this story?” Who is the wolf? “WE are the Wolf.” Who will feed us in our anger, our confusion, our fears? Who will free us from our hateful thoughts? Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, reminding is we have here one—and only one– acceptable answer: Jesus, our Christ. Jesus took on every aspect of our human nature, underwent every temptation to say to our angry selves: “Hello. I know you — everything about you. Even as you dwell in your dark abode, I have love for you, and I will patiently guide you through every wicked thought, every hopeless feeling. I will fulfill for you, even now, the words of the 23^rdPsalm: “Yea though you walk in the valley of death, I will be at your side, to guide you through your anger and temptations to hate, to rage, to despair,” not with condemnation but with redemption. You, too, shall be resurrected.

Do we think our times are any different from Jesus’ times, or different from any other century “in the course of human events?” Violence, hate, prejudice, fear, human willfulness, are everywhere and always will be taking hold of us, and others—whenever we are at our most desperate. Fear, lack of trust in God’s timing, God’s providence, frequent failures to acknowledge a vibrant Holy Spirit present amid sin and sadness, instead we lash out, howling like hungry wolves, losing lost touch with our common humanity. Now is the time we stop justifying our wrath as if we are participating in the wrath of God? The Wrath of God? “Judgement is Mine,” says the Lord, and Jesus makes clear that “The wrath of God” nothing more than “zeal for souls.” That’s your soul. That’s mine.

Jesus doesn’t condemn us for these thought and feelings, but he does ask us to work with him before we act upon them. Therefore, we need not be afraid to bring even our darkest thoughts and vengeful wishes to Him in prayer, in meditation, and in confession be a priest or anyone we can trust. Saint Paul repeated confirmed time and time again, “Nothing separates from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus.” Let’s admit, only weeks ago, we cried “Crucify Him, Crucify Him,” and now, in this Fourth week of Easter and Jesus says to us, “Let me Resurrect you. Let me bring you to fullness of life and the peace that only I can give.” He does this by feeding us. He feeds us with His Very Being, in this and every Eucharist. If we let Him, He will shepherd us today, tomorrow, and the next day, just as He did for the disciples before and after His Resurrection, even as they found, and we, too, may find ourselves in an angry world.

HOLY SATURDAY Meditation from Rachel Held Evans

Posted on March 30, 2024 by frjamesdiluzio

An inspirational meditation for Holy Saturday from Rachel Held Evans, from her book Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church:

“Lately I’ve been wondering if a little death and resurrection might be just what church needs right now, if maybe all this talk of waning numbers and shrinking influence means our empire-building days are over, and if maybe that’s a good thing.

Death is something empires worry about, not something gardeners worry about. It’s certainly not something resurrection people worry about.

G. K Chesterton put it this way: “Christendom has had a series of revolutions, and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” I don’t know exactly what this new revolution will look like, but as the center of Christianity shifts from the global West to the global South and East, and as Christians in the United States are forced to gauge the success of the church by something other than money and power, I hope it looks like altars transforming into tables, gates transforming into open doors, and cure-alls transforming into healing oils. I hope it looks like a kingdom that belongs not to the rich, but to the poor, not to the triumphant but to the meek, not to the culture warriors but to the peacemakers. If Christianity must die, may it die to the old way of dominance and control and be resurrected to the Way of Jesus, the Way of the cross. (pp 225-226)

As the shape of Christianity changes and our churches adapt to a new world, we have a choice: we can drive our hearses around bemoaning every augur of death, or we can trust that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead is busy making something new. As long as Christians are breaking the bread and pouring the wine, as long as we are healing the sick and baptizing sinners, as long as we are preaching the Word and paying attention, the church lives, and Jesus said even the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. We might as well trust him, since he knows a thing or two about the way out of the grave.

“New life starts in the dark,” writes Barbara Brown Taylor. “Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.”

NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS

Posted on February 10, 2024 by frjamesdiluzio

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.

TOGETHER IN HOPE Winter Issue 2023

Posted on December 9, 2023 by frjamesdiluzio

Compiled by Fr. James DiLuzio CSP

As we anticipate the oncoming of WINTER in the Northern Hemisphere (I believe all our subscribers are in the Northern Hemisphere) and continue to celebrate Hanukkah, Advent, and prepare for Christmas, and Kwanzaa, I invite us to acknowledge upcoming festivals beyond our more commonly known ones. (Kwanzaa begins 16 December 2023 through 1 January 2024.) More on Kwanzaa? See: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kwanzaa), Before you do, I invite the Christians among us to explore my blog entry: Suggestions for a CHRIST-CENTERED CHRISTMAS (Revised & Updated) But now, here’s this:

The Winter Solstice

21 December 2023 Winter Solstice. (Pagan origins but commemorated in a variety of ways by almost every religious tradition) Actually, scientists designate it as an official “moment” on a particular day and not a “day” at all. What is constant: the Northern Hemisphere’s Winter Solstice usually takes place between December 20 and 23, depending on the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the 2023 winter solstice will occur on December 21, 10:28 p.m. EST. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will occur on June 21 at 14:58 GMT which is 10:58 a.m. EDT. Source # 1: https://starwalk.space/en/news/what-is-a-solstice

Source # 2: https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/winter-solstice.html

Source # 3: WINTER SOLSTICE 2023 around the WORLD: https://www.rd.com/list/winter-solstice-traditions/

YULE

22 December 2023: YULE: What we used to designate as “Pagan” religions, are finding a growing number of adherents today. Along with many others, the contemporary Wicca movement celebrates YULE, marking the New Year in the Anglo-Saxon and northern traditions of Wicca. It honors the birth of the god called the “Winter Born King.” It is described as a time for ritually shedding the impurities of the past year, and for contemplating avenues of spiritual development in the year ahead. Source: Multifaith Calendar 2023 published by The Multifaith Action Society https://multifaithaction.jimdo.com/ More on “Paganism” begins with a good definition https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism and this website among many others: https://www.learnreligions.com/overview-of-modern-paganism-2561680

BUDDHIST WINTER COMMEMORATION

December 26: Sanghamitta Day–the Anniversary of the arrival of Sanghamitta, daughter of King Asoka, who started the Order of Nuns in Sri Lanka and brought a branch of the Bodhi Tree (which still survives in the ancient capital of Anuradhapura). It occurs on /near the Full Moon day of December

Source: Multifaith Calendar 2023 published by The Multifaith Action Society https://multifaithaction.jimdo.com/ More on this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree and, for your convenience: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism

BOXING DAY

December 26: BOXING DAY Does anyone actually remember any of the possible explanations for this observance in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? Hint: it has nothing to do with a sport requiring gloves that takes place in a designated space encircled by a rope. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boxing-Day

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PRAY FOR PEACE

As we continue to grieve the Russian-Ukranian War, the Israeli-Hamas War, and the pervasive violence evident throughout the world, I offer you this plaintive song by Judy Collins written in 1994 during the Yugoslav War 1991-2001 in the Balkans. Entitled Song for Sarajevo (I Dream of Peace), it conveys the kind of heartbreak all war should invoke along with a prayer of hope. Listening to it keeps me sensitive to human suffering in all of its forms and contexts. It engages me in prayer. Let me know what you find helpful as conduits to prayer in the comment section below.

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A PRAYER FOR PEACE (from Catholic Relief Service)

Lord, Father of our human family,

You created all human beings equal in dignity:

pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit

and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,

dialogue, justice, and peace.

Move us to create healthier societies,

and a more dignified world,

a world without hunger, poverty, violence, and war.

May our hearts be open

to all the peoples and nations of the earth,

May we recognize the goodness and beauty

that you have sown in each of us,

and thus, forge bonds of unity,

common projects, and shared dreams.

https://www.crs.org/

PLEASE ADD in the comments YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY so we may have an abundance of Multi-faith agencies at our fingertips. Perhaps, in the future, we could pledge to a friend’s agency to honor another faith or denomination’s life-giving efforts.

MORE ON WAR AND PEACE

FREE DOWNLOAD: HOW TO TALK TO JUST ABOUT ANYONE ABOUT ISRAEL PALESTINE: https://www.mybrotherfromanothermother.org/download-guide/

I became aware of this resource through an online event sponsored by https://www.sharingsacredspaces.org/ — a website we all need to “Bookmark” for the many seminars, programs, and educational tools it offers for Interfaith dialogue. The program was entitled “The Israeli-Palestinian Situation: Skills for Conflict Transformation” offered by long-time peace activist Dr. Yehezkel Landau whose website offers a multitude of resources. https://landau-interfaith.com/ AND https://www.mybrotherfromanothermother.org/

SOURCES FOR ONGOING EDUCATION – Engaging in Controversies in Conversation:

HOW DID WE GET HERE? I want to offer you a Terrific Presentation on the Modern History of the Conflict Between the Jews and Palestinian Peoples PART ONE. I attended this workshop offered by Fordham University’s Center for Jewish Studies in New York City “LIVE.” I was in awe of the way these two revered professors artfully condensed and contextualized the essential roots of the trials and suffering of two peoples that began in the 19th century. I think you will find this presentation helpful in distancing us, if only a bit, from the strong emotions the current war invokes in all who want to talk about it. I am confident we all agree that more education will help.

You may contribute to the many efforts of Fordham’s Center for Jewish Studies here: https://www.fordham.edu/academics/departments/jewish-studies/

Here are some more extraordinary websites to add to the conversation:

Dueling Narratives, Shared Histories

https://thirdnarrative.org/narratives/

BOOK CLUB 2024

I continue to ask for input on these choices for next year. WHAT IS GOD? by John Haught. The author suggests five ways of thinking realistically about God by reflecting on profound human depth experiences of the Future (aka ‘Horizon’), Freedom, Beauty, and Truth. Dates: I will offer morning and evening sessions the WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4 through 9th. Times to be designated after all confirm their interest. Please Respond by Monday, January 15th with your available dates and preferred time frame Morning or Evening.

Available at https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/2754-7/what-is-god.aspx

In JUNE 2024, I propose we try WHAT IS RELIGION? by the same author. In this book, John Haught invites us “to uncover what it is that religions have in common: the archetypal human need to find meaningful routes through life, and to stay in touch with their spiritual potential.”

Available at

https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/3117-X/what-is-religion.aspx

More about John Haught here: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_F._Haught

Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on August 29, 2021 by frjamesdiluzio

By Father James DiLuzio CSP

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-2

During my 6 years as Associate Pastor in a parish in Los Angeles, I had the privilege of being chaplain to 4 pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The experiences provided me with numerous Spiritual Highs. I was filled with a deeper conviction of my faith–our faith–and a liberating joy. Even when we entered Gethsemane and stood on the places of sorrow and recalled Jesus’ and the Blessed Mother’s agonies and pains, the pilgrims and I meditated on the tragic aspects of sin and Christ’s sacrifice with a foundational hope. What we discovered, in a new, visceral way, was that as we engaged ourselves in the Holy Family’s sorrows, we more readily united our personal sorrows with those of others. Stories of sadness and hurts surfaced among us, and as we attended to each one, we found ourselves released from our own hurts, disappointments, fears, and disappointments. Christ was with us. On the Mount of Olives, or on the meadows where Jesus preached, Compassion overwhelmed us and engaged us in Resurrection experiences –the foundation of our Christian faith.

I need to remind myself of these Holy Land experiences, for now, some 20 years ago, I can detach from those feelings and insights all too readily. Time and time again I find myself struggling with the Paschal Mystery.

When Jesus ridicules the religious leaders for rote observance of laws and rituals, for not having conversion of heart, there are times I see myself as one of those Scribes and Pharisees. It’s not all so bad, this identification. I imagine they were struggling with the same inner tension so many of us have -conflicts between engaging in outward signs and not always feeling the intellectual and emotional commitment to worship. Am I giving of my true self—in all that I am and am not—as an offering to God, a genuine gift of thanksgiving for my very life? We subsist in God’s life, no other. Our Sacraments engage us in outward signs, yes! Yet they offer something more: active participation in the life of Jesus and the Apostles. Woe to all when our participation becomes an empty ritual, devoid of conversion of heart. Confident in God’s compassion and infinite patience with us, we must have the courage to be honest that we are not worthy, but we are loved. Who among us isn’t guilty of some aspect of hypocrisy when walking the path of LOVE?

Moses was recorded in Deuteronomy saying, “Observe (the Laws, the Covenant) carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people,” Today, let’s face it “the nations could care less what we do, what we believe,” for the world is exceedingly secular and humanistic. Clearly, our society is most attentive to signs of our sins and is quick to call out “hypocrisy!” We have no control over the ways people perceive us as people of faith. We know we cannot be compassionate 24 – 7. Nevertheless, we are called to public witness.

In the end, the greatest gauge of true faith are not our rituals or prayer practices but our embodying the 2 Great Commandments: “Love God, Love Self (not because of our family tree, our personal talents, and accomplishments but) because each of us are part of God’s design, God’s plan for the generation in which we live — Destined to find our fulfillment in loving others.” It always comes down to that. As disciples of Jesus, Our Lord, it must always come down to that.

As we strive for sincere hearts of faith, genuine commitment to participation in Christ, the true sacrament, we must “Pick up the Cross,” and, essentially, that Cross is The Golden Rule. Ask, “What do I really want from each and every other person in my life?”— Understanding, respect, loyalty, compassion, acceptance? Well, then, offer each and everyone what we ourselves need. If not, we’re prone to all the dark, inner resentments, the ugly desires Jesus enumerates in Matthew’s Gospel—greed, malice, envy, and the like.

I consulted the Paulist Biblical Commentary on today’s readings, and I found this: “In the Biblical Tradition, the heart is the center of a person’s life, the seat of actions and emotion, (the seat of human) will, and thoughts, and conscience . . . The heart is the determining factor in one’s standing before God.”

So, to respond to what we’ve heard today, may we continually pray, “Change our hearts, Lord, change our hearts! Bless us with an ever-deepening conversion. Ground us in pure and sincere worship, so that your Divine Heart, will secure for us all the joys of faith, in good times and in bad times, for ourselves and for others. Oh, // Lord, Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us, for we are sinners. // May this humble, honest prayer (modeled for us by Saint Matthew, the tax collector) bring us all to Life, to God, to the Resurrection and all the promises of Christ.”

My Life’s Philosophy as Told to a Child

Posted on January 30, 2019 by frjamesdiluzio

My 9 year old Godson interviewed me last week for a school project. I humbly share it with you to remind me of what I always need to be about! God bless us, everyone!

LETTING OUR LIGHT SHINE

I called my Godfather, Fr. James DiLuzio for the essay. He was in the middle of writing a Homily for mass. He put down his pencil, and said he would take a break from writing and do the interview with me. I think that was really nice of him. The interview was based on my nine questions. He said:

“I was born in Nyack, New York on August 18th. I’m a Catholic priest, and am not married. Our tradition invites us to focus on our friendship with Jesus and share that friendship with everybody. The secret to happiness in any life is to be thankful for what we have and the people in our life, and not to worry about what we don’t have. My most important decision was to become a priest and to begin my work as a Paulist Father-Missionary. God is everywhere and his spirit is in all people, and the most important thing of God’s spirit is his invitation to be patient and loving with one another. I learned that helping other people is important, but at the same time, each of us have to use the special talents God gives us so that we can please ourselves while helping others, and that’s a good balance for praising God. Jesus told us to let our light shine, and as I got older, I appreciated that teaching more. The major values that I live by are love, kindness and as much patience as I can cultivate with God’s help, and as little judgment on myself and others as possible.”

Father Jim has a great outlook on life. I learned a lot from him. You can too!

Celebrate Saint Luke the Evangelist Today!

Posted on October 18, 2016 by frjamesdiluzio

Catholic and Orthodox Christianity celebrate Saint Luke, the Evangelist today, October 18. He is the author of Luke’s Gospel and Acts of the Apostles in what I like to call “the Second Testament” (because the Hebrew Scriptures are certainly “the First Testament.”) If you would like to hear selections from my Luke Live! ministry, go to:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/revjamesmdiluziocsp

Movie Review: THE REVENANT

Posted on February 1, 2016 by frjamesdiluzio

Movie Review: THE REVENANT

Fr. James DiLuzio C.S.P.

The vagaries of nature often wreak havoc in the minds of believers as they try to reconcile the hardships and challenges nature inflicts on the human condition with our insistence on a loving, merciful God. The best possible explanation comes from centuries of theological discernment and debate, but it is a simple one: God honors God’s creation on its own terms: Nature will be as Nature needs to be, i.e., based on the aptitudes and limits of its essence and design. Most every believer acknowledges these days that “Nature” is not God’s moral agent of reward and punishment because ancient biblical understanding was framed in a more primitive mindset. Nature simply is what it is for God allows the material world to exist within its own laws and limitations. Occasional interventions notwithstanding.

The same applies to human nature, particularly regarding man’s inhumanity to man.* The suffering we inflict upon one another through God’s gift of free will certainly vindicates God from any blame. God’s grace may empower and expand the good we chose but the evil we display grounds itself in our freedom to act against conscience and inherent moral codes of the human psyche. A psyche illumined and informed by the collective (and, for believers, God-inspired) wisdom on display in the Ten Commandments, Jesus’ Beatitudes, teachings of Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and many, many more.

Spiritual reflection is inherent in THE REVENANT. God is an ever present but silent force in this narrative because of the way director Alejandro G. Iῆarritu’s tells his story. The film, the script and the scenery all evoke questions about faith, morality, nature and humanity. The movie is more than just about one person’s survival (or inability to survive—no spoilers here) in part because characters invoke Christianity and in some cases a false understanding of Christianity in key scenes. There’s an implicit sense throughout the film that not only is the protagonist’s life at stake, but so, too, his soul. All the characters hang in the balance between good and evil, with many if not all tipping the scale to the dark side as we, the audience, look on and ponder survival of the fittest and so much more.

THE REVENANT is a fascinating cinematic exploration of one man’s attempt to survive the cruel, dark impulses of the human heart and will in the context of all of nature’s menace. Is it revenge that animates him or something else entirely? The man in the question is Hugh Glass, an historical American figure of the 1820’s western expansion and fur trade, played by Leonardo DiCaprio employing all the tools of the great method acting tradition with aplomb. In a captivating performance, Leonardo reveals the inner struggles of a man confronting fears and prejudices, hate and greed on grand display among the warring French and American fur traders and native American tribes for whom betrayal, scapegoating and murder are often excuses for living. Furthermore, Hugh has many inner demons of his own, while, at the same time his courage, intelligence and his love and devotion toward his son Hawk and the memory of his martyred wife gain our respect and admiration. In many silent stretches of struggle, victory and defeat, DiCaprio keeps us in suspense and awe. He deserves his Oscar nomination.

And amidst all the human conflict, the magnificent vistas of Wyoming’s majestic mountains, trees, sparkling rivers and roaring waterfalls alternately cast their spell of beauty, grandeur and indifference just as God seems to do at times. THE REVENANT (the word means “ghost” or “one that returns after death or a long absence”) is an adventure story turned into theological reflection. I dare anyone who sees it not to be steeped in deep thought about life, nature and survival—and the choices between fully living and mere existence. At times the visuals are raw, the tearing of human flesh, the gutting of entrails human and animal—the result of arrow and gunfire, fire and stone. And much has been written about Hugh’s battle with a mother bear ferociously defending her cubs after his unwitting encroachment. (Extraordinary computer generated images.) But the whole offers a profundity much greater then these individual parts. The film is slowly paced, contemplative and for that, it stands alone among most modern cinema with the exception of the works of Terence Malik whose visuals also convey spiritual dynamics and questions of God and Nature (TREE OF LIFE). The crucible of Hugh Glass we see on the screen also serves as a test to viewers’ ability to pay attention to detail, to focus one moment at a time, to surrender the impatience that can occur when accustomed to so many fast paced action adventures. Good for the soul.

THE REVENANT features stunning cinematography, seamless editing and evidences first-class direction. Great acting, too, not in any way limited to DiCaprio alone. Antagonist Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald is a perfect foil for Glass and there are compelling performances by Domnhall Gleeson as Captain Andrew Henry (government agent in charge of the trader’s security), Forrest Goodluck as Glass’ son and Arthur RedCloud as a benevolent Native American. The latter three provide some welcomed moments of compassion and attempts toward a greater good. The film’s conclusion offers possibilities of transcendence but remains ambiguous. A perfect opportunity to engage in conversation and debate with others about the worlds without and within.

*Fellow feminists be warned: there is only one woman in this film and she is featured briefly in flashbacks and in visions. Appropriately she reinforces a multi-layered theme–a “revenant” inspiring the “revenant” aspects of the title character.

Thanksgiving: Share the Love

Posted on November 26, 2015 by frjamesdiluzio

The most fundamental definition of LOVE is to WILL the GOOD of the OTHER. God WILLS THE GOOD for each and every one of us. When we love we often “will” what we think is best for our loved ones. God’s good will is different. There’s no expectation, no particular role God needs us to fill. What God “wills” is for each of us to love readily, forgive freely, hope steadily, building up the human race, not contributing to its pain or destruction, reverencing God and God’s creation so that we can sustain life’s joys and sorrows with grace. In other words, God wills us to thrive in what is good. What we choose for our livelihood, how we choose to live is our way of exercising the gift of free will. God only desires that our choices empower us and others to thrive.

Fun and Insight with Disney/Pixar’s INSIDE OUT – a movie review and spiritual reflection

Posted on June 24, 2015 by frjamesdiluzio

Disney/Pixar’s INSIDE OUT is a joyous ride through Psychology 101 fitting for children of all ages. Well, I’ll qualify that: 8 or older. I think it is a little too complex for the Pre-School and Kindergarten set, although it is colorful to an eye-popping degree The heart of the story concerns an 11 year old girl adjusting from a family move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Encouraged to be the family’s “happy girl,” as an anchor for her parents’ anxieties, Riley has nowhere to go with her feelings of loss of place, friendships, school and those deeper ones evoked as she tries to renegotiate her relationship with her parents and her new surroundings.

Enter the film’s central conceit: Riley’s” Interior Self” is personified by characters representing primal feelings: Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear. Empowered by Riley’s parents and our cultural compulsions to be “Happy, Happy, Happy,” the effervescent Joy works overtime in limiting the impact of the others–all to Riley and her families’ detriment. Sadness in particular demonstrates through heightened dramatic conflict a truth that Joy tries desperately never to acknowledge: all feelings need to be acknowledged. Meanwhile, audiences can enjoy the affirmation of our interior feelings being exposed along with all their associated thoughts and impulses in such a playful, conflicted arena as the human heart and brain. I give INSIDE OUT an A + for originality, cleverness and success in accomplishing its noble goals. Indeed, INSIDE OUT is a wonderful movie that will surely evoke laughter and tears most readily in most viewers.

As for the spiritual dimensions of the film, I invite you to consider the many ways psychology and spirituality intersect. The tremendous benefits of psychology and the advances in the behavioral sciences notwithstanding, there are deep spiritual roots in the value of tears. After all, the phrase “It’s alright to cry” didn’t have its origin in the 1960’s. Jesus conveyed this 2,000 years ago in his admonition “Blessed are those who mourn.” For those who take the scriptures beyond their face value (I hope we all do), it is clear Jesus is highlighting here far more than basic grieving of the death of our loved ones, important though that is. Building on his Jewish heritage as recorded in the PSALMS, Jesus acknowledges the benefits of lament, complaint and frustration over all kinds of “deaths” – failures, tragedies, disappointments. His statement makes evident that tears, in fact, are prayers. Tears also are indications of healthy bodies and healthy relationships—two essential LIFE criteria!

To cry with and for others reflects the reality that we all belong to one race, one humanity. When we cry with others, we may find gratitude in the fact that we have cultivated relationships of trust and that there are those with whom we can express ourselves freely. When trust brings forth a wellspring of tears, we have a little bit of heaven on earth, a deeper experience of God’s compassion for the human condition through one another.

When we cry alone we are in fact reverencing our bodies and the way God made us; tears shed in solitude invite us to embrace the outright loneliness that is a universal aspect of the human condition. In the great paradox of being, even experiencing loneliness unites us to everyone on the planet. To quote an ancient Native American proverb: “Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the great silence alone.” Ironically, accepting our aloneness can bring us to a place where we are more humble and more compassionate in the company of others. Loneliness is not alienation unless we make it so. Being alone offers opportunity to encounter God Himself/Herself.

However and wherever we find release of our emotions through tears, we increase our ultimate capacity for JOY. As we and/ or others acknowledge our hurts, fears, angers and all of their composite sadness without judging or dismissing them, Joy is in the offing. “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of JOY.” (Psalm 126: 5) You will experience both watching INSIDE OUT.

To explore the film’s psychological dynamics further, read this excellent article in the NYTIMES SUNDAY REVIEW, July 3, 2015:

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Homilies, Spiritual Reflections, Movie Reviews

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