Fr_Mark_Burger_2007

Father Mark Berger, a pastor in Cincinnati, has a passion for missionary work and has traveled to different countries to experience different cultures. He has a website where he shares his talks titled "Lunch with the Lord." Father Mark believes that Jesus is present at the conference and wants to speak to the wounded and brokenhearted. He shares a story from a book by Simon Wiesenthal about forgiveness and healing. Roger Bacon High School and was ordained a priest in 1980. Many of you might know him because he's been a pastor or an assistant pastor at a number of parishes in the Cincinnati Archdiocese. You know also that he returns for the third year to our conference. Currently Father Mark is the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Westchester, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Father Mark has a true appreciation for the greater world around us. One of his chief interests is missionary work, so he has spent time in countries in different parts of the world living in varying cultures to get a sense of what the church is like in the third world. Among the countries that he has visited in this search are India, Nepal, Peru, and Mexico. An outgrowth of that experience is that he has first-hand knowledge of prayer in many cultures and he brings the best of that to us today. As kind of a newsworthy announcement, Father has a website, if you've got your pencils handy, it's www.catholiccincinnati.org, www.catholiccincinnati.org. It contains his talks titled Lunch with the Lord, which is a Lenten series. That is also available on iPod and it's free there. And of course you can listen on the Internet to his talks. You'll soon recognize when you experience his presentation that he is one of our most powerful speakers and why he returns for the third time. Gentlemen, let's give a warm welcome to one of our own Cincinnati natives, Father Mark Berger. Thank you. You know, it's an interesting thing to fill this slot every year, for the last three years anyway, to have somebody like Jesse fighting the devil. That always scares the hell out of me. I like to be with the Lord, the other guy I don't want anything to do with. So, today what I want to, as they're setting up over here, I'm doing something totally different than the other two wonderful speakers did. My purpose with you today is to bring Jesus to you in a way that's different from the way they did. When I pray, my prayer is so bizarre that I'm always embarrassed to talk about it because I think if anybody knew this was going on, they'd think I was bad. But I'm going to risk that because in the prayer that's been happening to me in the last couple of years, when I sit down to pray, I can hear him speak to me. And it's not with my ears and I'm not some interlocutionist, none of those things, but I can hear him. And it's very strong when he speaks. And sometimes, as I'm preparing to preach on Sundays, I have a homily prepared and I'm sitting there listening to the reader. And as the reader is speaking, I'm hearing another voice say, say this to them. And I'm like, I ain't got to say that to them, I don't know where to go with that. And then I think, no, I'm not going to do it. And then as they finish their reading and they're playing the hallelujah verse and I'm carrying the gospel book, I'm hearing, say this to them. I always picture Jesus speaking through his teeth and when he does that, I listen. And today, when I was sitting down here and Jesse was going around with that big sword, I heard him say again through his teeth, say this to them. And this is what he said. There are two important people here today. It wasn't any of the speakers, it's not me. The first one is Jesus. He is here. The second important person who is here today is you. Jesus is here today for you. So what I have to say to you is from him and it's for you. It might be for the guy next to you, but that's not your concern. What I have to say to you is for you. And so as we begin this time together here, I'm going to ask you to be aware that Jesus is here. They put a chair here. I don't think Jesus would sit in that chair. But that's what that chair represents, that Jesus is here. And he really is. I've heard him speak. He's speaking now. And so as my friendly musicians over here lead us in a hymn, it's a hymn so that we come to quiet, so that you can hear what Jesus has to say to you. Because do you know why Jesus wants to speak to you? It's because Jesus is here for the wounded. That's you and me, the wounded ones. So as we begin, I would just ask you to close your eyes and let this music take you into the presence of Jesus, who is right here for you. Amen. Amen. Be still, be still, and know that I am God. Be still, be still, and know that I am God. Be still, be still, and know that I am God. In the presence of the living God, hear God's word. Jesus went into the temple as was his custom, and when he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, he stood up and read, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to set captives free, and to bring sight to the blind, and to deliver those who are oppressed, and to announce a year of favor from the Lord. There are two days in a person's life that are the most important. The first is the day you're born, and the second is the day you discover why you were born. This day, when Jesus stands up in the temple and reads that prophet Isaiah, he is declaring that he has discovered the reason he was born. He is the anointed one who has come for one thing that we want to hear today, to heal the brokenhearted. That's you and me. And you know, as Jesus was concluding his public ministry, there's another passage in the Gospel of Luke I want to read, and then we're going to hear some more music. And I want you to hear this, because this is Jesus with a broken heart. And every one of us have experienced our hearts being broken. And this is Jesus who has been preaching for three years. It's the Jesus who has healed the sick and raised the dead. He's preached over and over again. He's been with his people, and he knows that still so many are lost, that so many are not healed, that so many are brokenhearted. And so he comes to go to Jerusalem, where he knows he will pour out his life. And the Gospel of Luke says, Having spoken to the crowds, Jesus went ahead with his ascent to Jerusalem, and then coming up over the hill, and within sight of the great city Jerusalem, he wept over it and said, If only you had known the path of peace this day, but you have completely lost it from you. You have completely lost it from you. Jesus wept. Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. And Jesus can heal the brokenhearted. And he can do more than heal the brokenhearted from a distance. Jesus can heal the brokenhearted because his heart was broken. His heart was broken when he saw Jerusalem, and he saw all these people who had lost their way and they should know better, and still they go the wrong way. His heart was broken when he was in agony over what was going to happen to him in the garden. And he asked his friends, his closest friends, watch with me, pray with me. And what did they do? They went to sleep. He knows what it's like to be brokenhearted. You and I know what it's like to be brokenhearted. And so today, as I said, there are two people here, the most important, Jesus who is here, and you. And I'm going to ask you right now to look into your own heart. Where are you brokenhearted? Where have you been wounded? How have you been hurt? Where are you brokenhearted with yourself because you know you've let someone else down or broken someone else's heart? That you haven't been what you've been called to be. That you haven't lived up to all the things that God has asked you to do. That you haven't been faithful. That you haven't cared the way you hoped you would. That you've fallen short. Brokenhearts. I came across a book some while ago that I had never seen before. Never even heard of it. By Simon Wiesenthal. The famous survivor of Nazi Holocaust. It's called Sunflower, I think. But in that book, he tells about an experience of his own brokenness. Of his own broken heart. And he was two years in a concentration camp. He had witnessed his own mother being shoved on a cattle car. And never seeing her again. He saw his own mother-in-law machine gunned in front of him. He saw 89 of his relatives murdered by the Nazis. And then he was taken off to a concentration camp himself. And in this book, he tells about an experience when he was having a very, very bad day. He was outside and he was suffering terribly. And a nurse appeared and tapped him on the shoulder and said, Come with me. And he was terrified because he thought that meant he was in trouble. Or that he was going to be killed. And she took him into this makeshift hospital. Into a room where there was one patient who looked like the mummy. All wrapped up in bandages. Obviously, the victim of burns. And she said, This man needs you. And so he sat down. And he took the man's hand and he said, Can I help you? And the man said, I need you. I need you to speak to me. And he said, Are you a Jew? And he said, Yes, I'm a Jew. Thinking that the patient was a Jew. He said, How can I help you? We're in this together. And he said, They tell me I have hours to live. And I need you. I need you to help me. And he said, What can I do for you? Is there someone you want me to talk to? Is there something I can do for you? He said, Yes. I need you to forgive me. He said, Forgive you? Why would I forgive you? And the patient lifted his head and looked him in the eye and said, Because I am not a Jew. I am a Nazi. I'm a member of the SS. And you see me here burn because of what I have done. He said, For the last four years, I have rounded up Jews. I've killed many. And just yesterday, I packed a warehouse full of your kind. And I set it on fire. And anybody who came out, I shot. And now I know that I'm going to die. I've been burned, and I'm going to die. And he said, You know, I was raised a Catholic. I went to Catholic education. I went to catechism with the parish priest. But when the Nazi Party came into power and the Hitler Youth was formed, I gave up being Catholic and became a Hitler Youth. And they recruited me to be SS. And I've done everything they told me to do. And now I'm going to die. And I know that I've done wrong. And I need you to forgive me. And Simon dropped that patient's hand and stared at him. And the Nazi said, Will you forgive me in the name of all your people? Because I am sorry for what I have done. I really am sorry. And Simon said, I looked him in the eye. I wanted to say a lot, but I said nothing. And I stood up, and I walked out of the room. The man died. And in his book, Simon says, Later on, I regretted what I had done. This broken-hearted little boy who had been taken in by these Nazis, who had been converted to their hatred, was trying to claw his way out. And I was his ladder. And I wouldn't allow it because my heart was too full of hatred to allow a young boy who had lost his way to find his way home. And then he wrote this book and asked people, What would you have done? You had seen your whole family killed, and somebody asked for forgiveness. Could you have given forgiveness? That's what the book's about. But I wonder in your life, is there someone who has lost their way that needed your forgiveness and you withheld it? Is there someone in your life who really got caught up in all the wrong things and thought they were doing wonderful things only to discover that they were doing horrible things and turned to you as a way out, and you walked out of the room? I bet every one of us have done that because every one of us does that to ourselves. Because how many of us have broken hearts that we haven't measured up to what we thought we would be? How many husbands think, If I'd only been a better husband? And how many times have I heard that when I stand next to a husband who has just lost his wife? She was so good, and I was so selfish. How many times have I heard men say, I wish I had been a better father. If only I hadn't been so concerned about other things. If only. Those words come to haunt us. And that's why Jesus comes. Because he knows you. And he knows where you are broken hearted. He knows you in your failures. He knows you in your success. But most importantly, he knows you in the deepest part of your heart that wishes you were better. No matter how good any of us can be, we always wish we were better. We always wish there was this one thing we could just do. This one thing we could just let go of. This one thing about us that was different. Jesus comes today to be with you. To let you know that he will never walk out of the room on you. That he will always be a ladder for you. You know, one of my favorite images of Moses in the Old Testament is when Moses comes down after having been faced with God, comes down bringing the Ten Commandments, comes down the mountain, and he looks out at the people, the people that he formed, that he brought out of slavery, that he led by God's grace, and he sees them worshiping a false god. And Moses is broken hearted because they've missed it. And so he breaks the two tablets on the ground into a million pieces. And you know, the rabbis teach that those pieces were gathered up and put into the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder that every human being has shattered dreams. That every one of us has fallen short, has missed the mark, has not always done what they know they could do. Has not said no when they needed to say no. One of the greatest graces that God can give us is the grace of freedom to say no. The grace of the freedom to say no to whatever it is that says, be something other than you're supposed to be. The grace of the freedom to say no. And also the grace of the freedom to say yes. To say yes to sacrifice, to say yes to laying down your life, to say yes to God when God wants to heal you. And I am here to tell you that Jesus is here to heal your broken heart. Every one of us is broken hearted. Every one of us is incomplete. Every one of us is weak. And we pretend to be strong and we pretend to have it all together. But Jesus knows. As sure as I am standing in front of you, he knows. He knows where you are. And that's why he is here. And so I'm going to ask you as the music begins to imagine in your own heart that Jesus is sitting across from you. And this is what he asks from you. Give me your broken heart. Hand it over to me. Give me your failures. Give me your weakness. Give me the part of you you don't want to admit you have. Give me that part of your heart that is too dark for you to even look at. Give it to me. Do not let it burden you. Do not let it drag you down. Do not let it keep you broken hearted. Let him mend your heart. So when the music begins, whatever that is in your life that keeps you broken hearted with yourself, whatever failure, whatever in your life keeps you from peace of heart, give it to him right now. ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶ In my trials walk with me. ¶ In my trials walk with me. ¶ When the shades of life are falling, ¶ I want Jesus to walk with me. O Lord Jesus, we know that you are here among us and that each of us in our own ways have experienced a broken heart. We ask that you touch our wounded hearts, that you heal us, that you give us the courage to stand up and to accept the gift of your forgiveness, the gift of healing, the gift of your love, the gift of your presence. Help us start again and let us not refuse to forgive but to always forgive and most especially to forgive ourselves, to let go of the burdens we carry. You, Lord Jesus, wept over Jerusalem. You wept when your best friend Lazarus died. In the garden you wept as you watched your own friends fall asleep when you were greatestly in need. Forgive us when we have fallen asleep in the presence of the suffering of those we love whom we should be there for. Forgive us when we have not been there. We ask that you forgive each one of us when we have been unfaithful in many ways, when we have not measured up to the great call that you have given each one of us. We ask you to make us faithful to the baptismal call you gave us when many of us were even infants. Some of us made that profession as adults. But when each of us entered into the death with Jesus, we also enter into life with him and resurrection. Let each one here this day know your healing touch. May each person here who is burdened in any way be set free. Let them not be captives anymore because you came and were anointed to proclaim liberty to captives, to heal the brokenhearted. And so, Lord, we beg you, heal the brokenhearted in this room. Set captives free who may be ensnared by sin or fear or anxiety or worry, who may be overwhelmed by depression, who may feel destroyed or worthless for that there's no hope in their world. You are here, and so there is always hope for those going through divorce, for those separated from loved ones, from those who are without work, from those who feel worthless, for those who feel lost, for all those in any way who are wounded, for those who can't take back words they've spoken in anger to someone they love, for those who can't take back children they've thrown out, for all those people who are wounded in any way, we ask you to become so present in their life today that they are new people, created anew. We ask that you renew for each one of us the grace of our own baptism, where we put into that water, where we bury in the waters of baptism fear, anger, hatred, anything evil, and we rise out of that water free, healed, wounded healers we become, because you, Lord, are the good shepherd who never leaves his flock untended. And so while great speakers may come to this podium and speak, there is none greater in this room than you, and none more in need of you than each one of us. And so, Lord, we are here, and we ask you to touch each of us, heal our broken hearts, and give us the ability to heal others whose hearts have been broken. May the healing we receive from you this day flow through us out to others, and may all who come in contact with any one of us be healed as we are healed. O Lord, in a few moments I will ask this group to rise and to renew their baptismal promises, and as they stand, see it as a sign of our willingness to accept the healing love you wish to pour out on each of us. At the beginning of this day, we prayed for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May that outpouring continue now over each one gathered here. Give each one of us a new heart. Replace our cold, stony hearts with hearts of flesh, broken, healed, forgiven, set free. We thank you. We praise you, God, for you are our Savior. You are the Lord of life. You are our Good Shepherd. You are the healer of every wound. Amen. And now if you would all stand. And now I'm going to ask all of you to renew your baptismal promises and allow the Lord to pour out the grace of your own baptism anew in you this day. And when I ask you these questions, these are the questions that were asked if you were an infant of your godparents, to speak for you. But today, publicly, you can stand up and say you are Jesus' own. You belong to Him. And so I'm going to ask all believers to answer, I do, with your whole heart and your whole soul to each of these questions. If you're not a believer, you can just shut up. But if you are a believer, this is your chance to proclaim to the Lord, to your brothers in the room and your sisters in the room, to all those who are gathered here today that you are indeed a disciple, a friend of Jesus. And so I ask you, do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises? Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of our Father? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? This is our faith. We are proud to profess it because we are the friends of Jesus. Amen. And now as we conclude our time together, we're going to have some more music. We're going to rest in Jesus. And as the music begins, again, turn your heart over to Jesus and let Him heal you. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Rest now in me, rest now in me. All that you need, I will provide. Rest now in me, rest now in me. Oh, let all you have ears hear now the mysteries of the kingdom. Come to me, all you who labor, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am me, and humble apart. Rest now in me, rest now in me, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. I am your God, the Lamb who was slain. Rest now in me, rest now in me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Rest now in me, rest now in me. Oh, let all you have ears hear now the mysteries of the kingdom. Come to me, all you who labor, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am me, and humble apart. Rest now in me, rest now in me, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. Rest in him now and be healed. Amen. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. God is good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you, Father. You can please be seated again. And Bobby will lead us in additional music and singing. There it is. It was good and potent. I'm still on. It's wonderful. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. One of the things as Christians that we've been reminded of this morning is our need to turn to God because each and every one of us, especially we recognize this in this season of Lent, that we are all sinners and we are in need of God, in need of God's grace. And several hundred years ago, this song was written as a prayer from a person who experienced conversion at an extremely deep level. John Newton, Sir John Newton. It's one song that we've all come to know and to love. And we did sing this in all of our churches across the country a couple weeks ago in celebration of the abolition of slavery in England, the anniversary of that. And unfortunately, today, slavery is as prevalent as it ever was in this country, as prevalent as it ever was in this country, in other parts of the world where people are sold and owned. So as part of our prayer and our own need to confer conversion, let us pray for an end to this, this horrible sin and for all the sins in our lives. We turn to our God. Amazing Grace Amazing Grace Amazing Grace How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost But now am found Was blind but now I see T'was grace that taught T'was grace that taught My heart to fear And grace my fears relieved How precious did That grace appear The hour I first believed Through many dangers Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come His grace has brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home The Lord has promised The Lord has promised good His word will be secure He will my shield and portion be As long as I am in your arms When we've been there 10,000 years Bright shining as the sun We've no less days To sing God's praise Than when we first begun Okay, if you would please keep your seats for just a few minutes. We have some announcements and then we'll break for lunch and confessions. First, a reminder about the CDs. All speakers' presentations will be available on CD and again, you can only order them today. The price is $15 for the set. You can buy a ticket on the concourse from the ladies with a sign that says CD sales or at the information desk. The CDs will be mailed within a few weeks. And we ask again, of course, that you buy the CDs and listen again to our speakers and consider sharing them with other men. Also, Bobby Fisher, as I mentioned earlier, has a CD available at the information desk also. Catholic Radio. Our next announcement is about Catholic Radio. As many of you know, Sacred Heart Radio, 740 AM, is Cincinnati's only full-time Catholic radio station. Please remember that Sacred Heart Radio plays no commercials and is totally listener-supported. You can pick up more information on supporting 740 AM at their booth and they have an ad in today's program. But as always, the most important way you can support Catholic Radio is by your daily prayers and by telling everyone you know about Sacred Heart Catholic Radio on 740 AM. On a national front, I want to bring you up to date on the status of the Catholic men's movement across the country. The National Fellowship of Catholic Men reports powerful movement among Catholic men. What is occurring here in Cincinnati is occurring all across the country. Last year, there were 40 Catholic men's conferences conducted and over 45 are scheduled this year. Even today, there are conferences being held in West Palm Beach, Sugar Land, Texas, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Houma, Louisiana. The national group tells us there's been a significant increase in parish men's fellowship groups also. Their website has an ad in your program book. On their website, you will have access to numerous materials and you can also email them or call for help and support. In addition, the national group has a display in the ballroom where they're offering a special CD program. This one is close to home. On Sunday, October 7, 2007, our brothers in Dayton, Ohio are planning their third family rosary rally. It will be held at the University of Dayton Arena and the event is free, even parking. That's Sunday, October 7 at the University of Dayton Arena. And this rally provides a wonderful opportunity to honor Mary and bring families closer together. In the afternoon, we're going to suggest that you join a parish men's fellowship group if you have not already done so. At lunch, you might wish to talk with your friends or in such group about the benefits. It might help you make a decision later today. If you've already decided and want to fill out the card in your program, you can give it to any usher or place it in one of the buckets placed at various locations. As a matter of fact, I forgot that. One of these buckets will be placed in various locations. Then all the bookstores and displays are either in the lobbies on the first or second floors or in the ballroom on the second floor. Danny Abramowitz and Dave Hartline, authors of two outstanding Catholic books, Dave Hartline's The Tide is Turning Toward Catholicism, and Danny's Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint, these men will be signing these books in the ballroom. And to get to the ballroom, use the escalators on this side over here. Finally, the lunch and confession directions. If you wish to go to confession first, before lunch, the confession room is in the Corbett Tower, which is in the third floor in the rear. We ask you to use the north stairs over there to get there. No matter where you are in the building, please go to those stairs to get to the Corbett Tower. There will be a short wait to participate in the sacrament of reconciliation. While in line, you might wish to turn to pages 31 and 32 in the conference program book where you can prayerfully reflect on the points there. For those men who wish to go to lunch first, for the upper floor, the lunches will be served in the ballroom on this side of the building. For the lower floor, exit the main doors in the rear and proceed outside to pick up your lunch. As another reminder, please do not bring any food or drinks into the auditorium. You can find a spot in any of the hallways to eat, and there are a limited number of chairs in the ballroom. After eating, we ask that you empty your plastic container in a trash barrel and stack that container alongside of the barrel. In a note that may be of interest to you, one of the many side benefits of these conferences is that the extra lunches and items such as uneaten apples are collected. We have a dedicated group of men who will be here after lunch to load those extra lunches and extra apples and other extras into a truck. They then deliver that food to the food bank that's just around the corner here. So if you don't eat part of your lunch, please place that apple or chips or cookies in the boxes next to the trash barrels. Finally, ushers are stationed in all the halls to provide direction. Now we'll ask Fr. Ken Sommer to lead us in saying grace before lunch. Fr. Ken. My first prayer is right now to pray. You know, there's nothing greater to get together with a bunch of men, a bunch of guys, and just jabber, just to talk, just to share, just to sit there. So my prayer is bless our conversation. Bless the ability to just sit down with a bunch of guys and say, boy, just to let it come out, it's terrific. You know, so I've been to a community and they eat as quick as they can, get out, or they don't even talk at table, they just sit there. Some will mumble, and it's horrible. So my prayer is that we can just jabber. We can just feel, if you're an extrovert, just talk, talk, talk, and if you're an introvert, just sit there and kind of listen and take it all in. But it's terrific. And you don't have to act like you're walking on eggs, or you have to be careful. And if you don't know what to talk about, last night we had a little meeting, and we said, tell us about your theatrical experiences. Well, there you are. Talk about that. Or tell, I played sports, tell about your victories. They get better all the time. Or some of your trials and tribulations in life. Or what do you enjoy in life? Or what about your wife? Or what about your kids? Or just jabber about the Bengals. But it's so good to be with guys where you can just jabber and sit down and talk. And another thing is if you know the guys and you might want to meet somebody else, you say, hey, what's your name? And I'm from so-and-so. And you get to know a new buddy. And you might communicate with them. So my prayer is, God, bless our conversation. And also, bless our food. Will you say it together? Bless us, O Lord, these gifts which we are about to receive from Thy goodness through Christ our Lord. Amen. Enjoy the food. God bless.