An inspirational story of a man who serves his community

3rd Sunday of Lent 2012

 My Brothers in Christ,

This weeks Gospel Reading is the only time where Jesus is seen losing His temper. He is visibly upset and drives the merchants out of the Temple using a whip, overturns tables, and berates all who are present. Why was this situation different? Why with all the wrongs in the world and situations that Jesus interacted with within His ministry was this circumstance so different that he actually got physical? There is a messsage here in His actions. He obviously wanted to get our attention and sometimes actions do speak louder than words. It is like Jesus has grabbed our face with His hands and put His face two inches from ours. He is trying to tell us something.

One of the biggest feasts on the Jewish Calander is the Feast of Passover. In the time of Jesus, Jews from all over the world would come to the temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrafices to God and fufill their religeous obligations. What was once a very solemn event had turned into a money-making opportunity. The Jewish Community had lost their focus and the true meaning of the ritual was lost. The temple was becoming a center of commerce. Its true purpose was blurred. What was once a testament to their faith had become a cultural center. Jesus was sending a clear message: “You have lost your focus!”

Today, Jesus is sending that message to us in the form of a warning: “Don’t lose your focus!” We have just passed the Third Sunday of Lent and our journey has just barely begun; yet with the lures of society and the lures of sin it is very easy to forget why we are here. It is very easy to forget our religeous obligations. We need to keep ourselves empty of everything except for Jesus. It must be the central aspect of this season as we journey with Him carrying our own crosses to Calvary. It is so easy at this point to throw down our cross and abandon the journey. That is what temptation is all about: we are here because we want to be here. We have responded to Jesus’ call for us to love Him. Yet, we can always ignore Him instead of confronting our own pain, sin, and short-comings. We can always forget that we are part of something far bigger than ourselves. We do not need to help our brothers and sisters and treat others as we expect to be treated: with love and compassion.

It is so easy to take the road that offers no challenges and lowers expectations. Christian Life is not easy. It is arguably the hardest life that one can choose to live; but the rewards our endless. We become one with our God and that relationship becomes so intimate and personal like no other realtionship we can ever comprehend having. Let the Holy Spirit move you and let Jesus love you. There is no better feeling than being moved by the Spirit and knowing that Jesus is with you always.

“DON’T LOSE YOUR FOCUS.”

DEACON TOM

2nd Sunday of Lent 2012

My Brothers in Christ,

 Through the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals himself to Peter, James, and John  on a mountain in all of His glory. From that point on, there is no doubt as to who He is: the Son of God. His kingship is also solitified by the presence of Moses, Elijah, and God himself.

It is important to understand why Peter, James, and John were there and no one else. It is also important to understand why Elijah and Moses were there. Peter, James, and John were the key disciples of Jesus’ “Inner Circle” of 12. After Jesus left this earth, it was Peter, James, and John who were instrumental to spreading His message of everlasting life and salvation. Peter was “The Rock” from which the Church was built upon, James brought the Faith to Spain and evangelized throughout Jerusalem. He and his brother John were known for their fiery tempers and passion for the Faith. In the end, this caused him to be the first Apostle to be martyred. John, the Apostle whom Jesus loved, was the only one who did not suffer matyrdom. He lived well into the next century until the age of 94. He was central to the founding of the Early Church at the end of the Apostolic Age. Saint Polycarp, one of the most important Bishops in the Early Church, was a disciple of John.

The signifigance of Moses and Elijah being present with Jesus in the center is an indication that Jesus is indeed the Son of God: Elijah represents all of the prophets whose messages point to Jesus’ coming and Moses represents the Law of God. Then there is God Himself reveiling Jesus as His Son.

During this Lenten Season we all can relate to the Transfiguration. As Jesus and the three climbed a mountain to its peak, we are climbing our own mountains to reach a greater glory through our own suffering and struggles. To get to the peak and to the Easter Glory that waits us, we must first challenge ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually to achieve our own Transfiguration that awaits us. Jesus is at work in all of us. We need to recognize this and let Him influence our lives. The more we ajoin ourselves to the Suffering Christ during this season the more we will understand our relationship with Christ.

There is a special kind of Grace that can only be experienced through suffering and pain. All of us here are in a unique poisition to experience it. All of us here have had something taken away from us and have experieinced a crisis in our lives that have brought us to this point. The challenge now is to let it affect us in a positive manner and to prevent it from destroying us. Through this Lenten Season we will then be able to experience our own Transfiguration and become closer to Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Tom

Lenten Message to the Prisoners at Concord MCI

My Brothers and Sisters,

We have reached the First Sunday of Lent. Our journey together is still very fresh and very new. We haven't fully gotten to know each other but, in many ways, we are old friends. You see, there is an immediate trust between us because we are truly Brothers and Sisters through Our Lord Jesus Christ; and with that, we need to open our hearts to each other and be completely honest. That is what Jesus wants us to do.

The scripture Readings this past Sunday deal a lot with trust. In the First Reading, God renewed the world with water. Her cleansed it of its evil and brought forth a new creation. Today, the Church uses this imagery to explain our own baptism and relationship with God. God washes away our sins and cleanses our soul when we are baptized and we are then orientated towards God. As we progress through our life, we find ourselves sinning and making mistakes just as children will always do, for we are indeed Children of God. But God still gives us that opportunity to say that we are sorry; then, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are washed away clean again.

God further tells us today that he will never cleanse the world physically again with water. Instead, God spiritually cleanses us through baptism and keeps us clean through Reconciliation: from no hope to hope. We can always make our life new just as the Great Flood did the same to the world. The Covenant has been made, evil was punished, and we have an opportunity for salvation.

Peter mentioned this also: linking the great Flood to baptism. Water cleanses us and lifts us higher to God much the same way the arc was lifted by the floodwater. Remember, through baptism and the cleansing water of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we remain His forever. We will always be tempted to sin; that is our nature. But Jesus understands this. In His human nature Jesus was tempted also. He let this happen so as to serve as an example to us all: we all are tempted but through faith and love in Jesus Christ we can overcome these things.

Know that Jesus is with you this entire way and that I am with you always.

As I mentioned before, we all have lifted our crosses this Lenten Season and have begun walking together towards Calvary. When you get tired, talk to one another. When you grow weak, ask for help.

Remember, we all are in this together.

Deacon Tom

Season of Lent 2012

My Brothers in Christ,

With Ash Wednesday, we have entered the Season of Lent. This is a very important time in the Church and should be a very important time in all of your lives. This is a time where we should all realize that we are sinners and that we all are human. With that, our lives are hopeless and lost without Our Lord Jesus Christ. We come forward to receive the ashes on our foreheads to remind us that we are sinners and that our time on this earth is limited. We all have been born, we all have sinned, and we all are going to face the same end: death. We are then presented with a choice: Do we live our lives with Jesus and his meassage of forgiveness and salvation or do we turn our backs on Him and face the consenquinces of a death without forgiveness and eternal life? It cannot be made planer than this: Do we walk with Jesus or without Jesus?

During this Season of Lent, we are encouraged to focus on the Human Jesus Christ; the Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our sins. This same Jesus is the one took up his cross for us and journeyed towards Calvary for us because of our sinful nature. As we try to picture this event, we must also reflect on our own sins and the struggles we encounter in our own lives. Jesus truly shares in these struggles and the pain that they bring. We are never alone in this life: JESUS IS WITH US THE WHOLE WAY. Lent serves as areminder of this. To truly experience our faith we must reflect on this for the entire season of Lent. Through this exercise we will become closer to Jesus and our faith. There is an exchange of feeling and love: we feel Jesus’ pain and torment during his crucifixtion and he feels ours as we journey through this life. No one is without hardship, pain, and suffering; NOT EVEN JESUS.

In the end, we form a bond with Jesus because of this shared experience. Jesus knows that this life is hard. Jesus knows that we all suffer on one level or another. Yes, we all sin. No one does not sin. The first person who tells you otherwise or judges your is a hypocrite. Jesus says this himself. The only way to overcome our sinful nature is to come forward, admit our sin, and beg Jesus for forgiveness. If we do this, if we beg for forgiveness, it will be given. Jesus has never turned away anybody who has asked for forgivesness.

Lent is the season of new beginnings and forgiveness. It is a time when we confront ourselves, admit we have done wrong, then throw our sins away in the garnage and being anew.  I invite you all to do this. Join me in prayer, celebration, and redemption and Brothers and Sisters through our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the ashes are placed on your forehead, remember, YOUR JOURNEY BEINGS TODAY!!!!!

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Tom.

Newsletter - Jan 2012

   

 My Brothers in Christ,

 I hope you all have had a blessed Christmas and a safe New Year. My heart goes out to all of those who have found themselves confronted with obstacles, trials, and tribulations. As you all know, I have had my share pertaining to the safety and security of my daughter but remember this: Christ does indeed hear our prayers and grants them. We as Children of God should never forget this. As long as we maintain our faith and hand over everything to Christ, he will be there to guide us, strengthen us, and ultimately save us. Through adversity comes Grace, Love, and Salvation. For everything bad that comes our way, Christ will be there to stand with us and help us when necessary.

I would like to share with you some wonderful news that I have been waiting on for months now. The position I have been waiting for as full-time chaplain at Concord MCI has been funded and I start February 13^th. This completes my transition to Prison Ministry where I feel God has been calling me to. I will be retaining my position at the Nashua Street Jail also. I have been waiting for this moment since November 3^rd and now it has come to fruitation. Please pray for me as I go forward to build up the Kingdom of God here on this earth. Those that are to be served are truly the Lost Sheep.

It must be remembered that we are all Children of God and must not be judged except for that which Christ himself has said: “Stop judging that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” In the end, realize that we are all Children of God and come to Christ as sinners seeking redemption. And how can we ask for redemption if we do not offer forgiveness?

Bless you all and thank you for what you do.

Deacon Tom

WHY I LOVE TIM TEBOW

There has been a lot of criticism and accolades for Tim Tebow, much of it stemming from his unorthodox playing style and because of the way he professes his faith so openly. There appears to be no grey area regarding him and, as the Denver Broncos trudge forward in the playoffs, football fans appear to be lining up on both sides.

One observation I do have is why is there such a fuss about his religion and the way he has decided to practice it. He is a devout Christian, pro-life, and a professed virgin. He dedicates a large amount of his time to charity and regularly invites those less fortunate than himself to participate in the limelight with him. He has taken the opportunity that comes with his popularity to help the needy and to evangelize the faith (which we have all been commissioned to do by Christ). Yet, this makes a lot of people uncomfortable and downright angry. Tim Tebow has become a lighting rod for those who wish that he “would shut up and play.” Those against him try in vain to point out that he is not a “typical NFL quarterback” and that he is lacking in many areas. When the Denver Broncos have lost, the same individuals announce that “Tebow Time has ended.” Yet, Tim Tebow continues forward smiling, encouraging his team and giving thanks to God for the opportunity to utilize his talents; not for winning a football game.

When I started following Tim Tebow I couldn’t help but draw a comparison to other NFL Players and the lack of criticism and negative press they received:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger: accused THREE TIMES FOR RAPE (http://www.politicolnews.com/roethlisberger-3rd-rape/)

Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis: convicted of murder

Chicago Bears Sam Hurd: indicted on possession of cocaine and possible drug trafficking.

In 2011 alone, there were over 82 NFL and ex-NFL players charged with a variety of crimes from rape, stabblings, to domestic violence. This has been a focus of the current NFL Comissioner: to “Clean up the NFL” and change its image. Yet, here we are: a devote Christian is being criticized for proclaiming his love for Jesus and basically putting his money where his mouth is.

The challenge is this: who would we rather have for a roll model and a spokesperson: Ben Roethisberger or Tim Tebow?

Better yet, which one would we rather mentor our sons or bring our daughters on a date?

Pastoral Letter for January 4 2012

My Brothers and  Sisters in Christ,

I spoke to many of you and promised you this pastoral letter as an update regarding my own Spiritual Journey and what is happening in my life. I am fully immersed in my Prison Ministry and it has taken on so many new dimensions. I am still preparing to accept the position at Concord MCI with much anticipation. The only piece that needs to fall into place now is the funding for the position that takes awhile because of the financial situation of the state (2 to three months). In the interim, my hours have increased at the Nashua Street Jail and I truly believe this is where God wants me to be.

The Christmas Season has slowed everything down to a crawl, especially regarding my new Home Parish Assignment, but I feel that in the next few weeks more solid information will be forthcoming. Truthfully, I am in now hurry. I have taken this opportunity to acquire a new spiritual director and to concentrate on my family where I feel I have taken for granted for some time now.

I do have a wonderful story that I do want to share with you and one that really hits close to home. It has really impacted my prison ministry, my relationship with my family, and my faith. It is necessary to tell it in the third person but, at the same time, those closest to me will not find it hard to understand who am I am talking about:

It is a story about a 16 year old girl named Renee. The youngest of six children, she has always been known as a “fighter” and one who isn't afraid to speak out or step up to get what she wants. She has always had a very charismatic and outgoing personality which has attracted people to her. She has always been very popular and outgoing. She has never been lacking in the “friends department” and has been known to be active, especially in sports. At a younger age, she could be classified as a “Tom Boy” and has broken many of the sex barriers with sports including competing in boys soccer and baseball; keeping up and surpassing the stronger sex.

About three years ago, something happened to Renee which was horrifying to any parent. During an innocent snowball fight between a group of twelve kids, a random snowball hit a house. The owner, a 48 year old man charged out of the house and focused on the first person he saw: Renee. He then proceeded to assault this girl by punching her, strangling her, and dragging her across the ground. The event was so shocking that traffic stopped and people got out of their cars to implore this man to stop. Finally, he did. Charges were filed but the damage to the girl was done. She described that this was the only time in her short life that she was truly in fear of dying.

The next day, the man's children seeking revenge for the charges files, sought assistance from a 19 year old man to attack Renee with a police baton and another assault ensued.

This initiated three years of a personal hell for Renee and her parents. There was a personality change that was baffling. “Daddy's Little Peanut”  became someone no one knew anymore. She became a fighter where she didn't start a confrontation but finished it. Someone would call her a name and she would return a barrage of insults and derogatory insults which would make a drunken sailor blush. If someone would push her, she would unleash a barrage of physical retaliation that would cause someone to think she was a professional boxer. Everything would be immediately brought to the extreme. There was also a rejection of established institutions such as school, church, and authority in general.

Soon, Renee established a reputation with the school system and the police department. They viewed here in a very negative manner. At the same time, there were glimmers of hope which masked the true diagnosis of what was happening. In the eighth grade, Renee discovered basketball and a mentor who was the coach. She excelled in the sport where she was being recruited early on by high-school coaches throughout the city where she lived. Yet, when she was off the basketball court, trouble always ensued. There appeared to be a tug o' war between doing what was right and her instincts for survival and being safe.

An incident happened over the summer before high school where her and her brother were accused of throwing rocks at a police car, which they did not. Her brother, an honor roll student, was assaulted by a police office along with Renee. This caused a situation where the father had to meet with the Deputy Chief of Police and possibly bring forward a civil suite. Changes against the children were dropped but Renee continued her behavior of acting out and fighting.

The High School Years brought about a series of fights and situation that, with hindsight, could be linked to that initial assault by the 48 year old and the actions of the police department. It became an ongoing cycle where Renee would seek the approval of adults and utterly reject authority when she felt threatened. Her parents defended her, advocated for her, and fought for her without the full understanding what she was going through.

Finally, this past Thanksgiving, everything came to a climax. On Thanksgiving Eve (Wed Night), Renee was arrested in her own home for assault and battery and held without bail in a Youth Detention Facility. Every parents' nightmare became true: their child was gone. Renee spent the next 23 days in Dorchester Massachusetts at a detention facility as she went through the system. Renee's father and mother fought to bring her home but to no avail: the intent was to hold her for 60 days.

The facility was an alternative facility which concentrated on positive reinforcement and therapy. It was here that Renee was diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). She started receiving treatment and the parents brought in an outside team to help. Renee flourished in the environment and was termed, “The best detainee that we ever had.” The juvenile court realized the situation and gave Renee the break that she needed: all charges were continued and she was to receive treatment.” Renee was home for Christmas.

An emotional moment was when a church group went into the facility as asked what the children wanted to pray about. Renee, who rejected the church for years, stood up and came forward: She said she wanted to pray to God to help her go home.

Renee is now getting the treatment that she needs and a group of adults that believe in her. She is looking for a fresh start in a new school and playing basketball again.

Another emotional moment was when the judge looked at her and said, “I do not know why I am doing this but I am continuing all charges against you. You have your fresh start. You can go home.” She immediately burst into tears and ran to her parents yelling, “I love you!”

Renee's journey to recovery has just begun. It will be a hard road forward but one that is necessary.

Prayers are definitely answered. Saint Jude, the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes (the Prisoners' Saint) truly does intercede. And, above all, Our God is a Loving God.

This story sums up why God has called me to be a Prison Chaplain. There are thousands of untold stories out there such as this.

Be thankful for Christ in your lives and thank you for all of your prayers.

-Deacon Tom.

Pastoral Letter November 20, 2011

My Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

I have been a member of this parish community for over 7 ½ years now. I brought my family over from All Saints Parish and settled here as I journeyed forward through formation and ultimately to ordination as a Permanent Deacon. It was here where I received my first assignment and began exercising my office. Throughout this time I feel that I have served the community to the best of my abilities as I Proclaimed the Gospels and evangelized the faith. Throughout this time period I have experienced new things that have both validated my office and challenged me. I grew in my faith and knowledge as I progressed upon my own journey of faith. I felt both blessed and honored to be accepted into this community and have come to know each and every one of you as friends.

There have also been some unique circumstances within this parish community which have impacted us all in different ways. Over the past year and a half, I have lost my spiritual director and have been asked to perform many tasks and functions which have taken away from my own continuing formation and development. Personally, I had to deal with circumstances that I have never had to deal with before in a parish setting while in my professional capacity I had to do the same with the strike situation at the Methuen Distribution Center of Shaw’s Supermarkets. It was not uncommon for me to be working over 100 hours per week as a deacon and as a manager at the Shaw’s Distribution Center all the while attempting to maintain a stable family life. This continued up until the present time as I have tried to stabilize all areas which I have found myself involved in.

I was pleased to make the sacrifices and have never complained but in the end there are things that cannot be ignored: I have only been on retreat once in almost four years, I have no spiritual director, I have ignored my continuing development, and my family has shared these sacrifices along with me.

Recently, I took on the role as Chaplain at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston for Suffolk County, which was the first action regarding continued formation and development within the Permanent Diaconate that I had done in quite some time. This ministry has produced much fruit and a spiritual awakening; but there is much more that I have to do regarding spiritual and professional development. After much deliberation, conversations with Father Murray, and prayer, we feel that it is time that my ministries come to an end at Saint John the Baptist Church. This is a hard painful decision that Father Murray and I have not arrived at lightly and we agree that this is the best path forward. We believe that Christ had called me to serve this parish and brought me here for a particular purpose and now that purpose has ended.

In life and ministry there comes a time where hard decisions have to be made and this is one of the hardest that I have had to come to. In the end, it is felt that it is the right decision.

The Archdiocese of Boston has assigned me officially to the Nashua Street Jail as the Chaplain and has asked that my ministries be concentrated there for the time being. I have also been instructed to find a spiritual director and focus on continued development. I will be assigned a “home parish” within the next few weeks as my time here ends on November 20^th, the Feast of Christ the King.

I will always consider Saint John the Baptist as my family and will hold each and every one of its parishioners near and dear to my heart. I truly love you all and ask for you to pray for me and I will pray for you.

Yours always and forever in Christ,

Deacon Tom Anthony

Pastoral Letter 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Brothers & Sisters in Christ:

Children misbehave. That is one of the things that can be expected when interacting with or raising children: they won't always be perfect and they will make mistakes. It is through these errors and behaviors that children learn what boundaries, rules, and expectations are. Without the experience of making a mistake or doing something wrong, a child cannot grow and fully understand the reasons behind why he or she can or cannot do something. Learned experiences provide some the most valuable insight into a person and how they relate to others. Through the guidance of parents and mentors these experiences take on an even deeper meaning. By following guidelines set forth by them, a child formulates a structure to live by and gages what is truly right and wrong. Guided by a conscious and these lessons, the child develops and grows, hopefully shaping its personhood by all of these things mentioned.

This can be said about our own faith and relationship with God. We are His children and as Jesus himself said, to enter his kingdom one must become like a child. Our spirituality and relationship with God is constantly being shaped by the way we approach it. Through prayer, sacred scripture, and the Church we learn how to follow God's plan for us and what He wants us to do with our time on this earth. There is a certain way we are expected to act and functions to perform as Christians endowed with the gift of eternal salvation. We are asked to open our hearts to God and evangelize that same faith which has become an intricate part of our lives.

At the same time we must realize that we are not perfect and will fall short of God's expectations and our own: we came to Christ broken and in many ways will remain broken until we achieve perfection through Jesus Christ when we are finally reunited with him for eternity. Many times, like children, we will have an inclination to do wrong or will make mistakes created through our own ignorance or sinful nature.

Just as a child will act out in defiance to a parent and do something that it knows is "against the rules" so will we be tempted to do the same; many times regardless of the known consequences. This is a

regardles of Original Sin and our fallen nature. We will be tested and will at times fail that test.

When we do fail the test we must acknowledge our imperfections and ask for forgiveness through the only way that we can be made whole again: The Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through this wonderful Sacrament, we can reestablish our relationship with God. This is a true exemplification of His love for us that He offers us the chance of forgiveness by acknowledging what we did was wrong. All we need to do is come forward and recognize our mistake. If we do not do this, there is a great risk that not only the act itself, but the overwhelming guilt that accompanies it can become an impediment to the reception of God's love and our relationship with Him. It becomes a stumbling block.

Jesus ministered to those who needed him the most: the sinner, the downtrodden, and the forgotten. As they were lifted up, all of humanity was lifted up out of the darkness. To lift up an object from the ground, you must grab it from the bottom and that is exactly what Jesus did when he ministered to the neediest in society. And the first step when being ministered to is acknowledging the necessity that what is being spoken

C,being needs to be heard. Jesus Christ died for everyone. He loves everyone the same regardless of what was done in the past and what might happen in the future. He truly hopes that His love will influence us and strengthen us so as to live our entire lives obeying His words and acknowledging that love through actions which emulate it. Yet, there will be those times where that same love will be the only thing that will be able to rescue us, comfort us, and make us whole; especially when we have turned our backs on Him by sinning.

Jesus is not only there when times are good. He is also there when we need Him the most and that is when we can truly understand the Crucified Christ and what He did for us for one simple reason: We are His children and He loves us.         

Yours in Christ, Deacon Tom