Deep Church Thoughts – Page 5 – Fr. Leo's Benevolent Blog!

November 13, 2022November 13, 2022

It’s Not the End of the World

[Hey, folks. Deacon Mick Fornelli hit another one out of the park this weekend. I do like to hear him preach. Here is the vid of his homily on what we are to make of Jesus words about the tribulations in his age and in our own.

My own musings on the same readings, albeit with a very different take, are below.]

Dcn. Mick Fornelli – It’s Not the End of the World

BECAUSE OF THE NAME

Fall is football season. With football comes pre-game. With pre-game, comes pep talks.

The purpose of a pep talk is to inspire the squad to achieve higher than their expectations of others and perhaps even of themselves. Pep talks inspire confidence, build courage, unite teammates and set the heart on fire to aspire to great deeds. They usually have a great punchline like, “Win one for the Gipper!”

Today in the gospel, Jesus is also giving a kind of pep talk. He mentions how his disciples will be betrayed by those closest to them. How they will be dragged before religious and civil authorities because of his name. And so what is his punchline?

“You will be hated by all because of my name!”

What’s up with that?!

Unlike the first Christians, we have the benefit of history. We know what happened in the three centuries following Pentecost. Almost immediately, Christians were persecuted, first in the synagogues, and then at various times in the Roman Empire until Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD. (Ironically, because they did not sacrifice to the gods, the early Christians were persecuted as atheists.)

But it has not stopped there. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, 900,000 Christians were killed in the last decade, about one every six minutes. Fortunately, this is down by about half from the previous decade that saw 1.9 million Christians killed in various parts of the world. These are sobering numbers.

Jesus was not being morbid, he was simply being realistic. It’s no different today than it was then. The simple fact of the matter is this. In today’s world, to be Christian, and especially to be Catholic, is to put a target on your back. If the political climate of the last few years in this country has taught us anything, it is that if you try to live your faith, even if you do it poorly, there are those in society who will find this very annoying. Finding it very annoying, they seek to remove us from the public square.

In this country, this has taken on the guise of the privatization of religious sentiment. Briefly put, it goes thus: “You may believe what you want, but don’t bring the insights or collective wisdom of your faith into polite public discourse. I find it offensive that your faith might seek to make a contribution to public discourse, let alone public policy.”

The fallacy of such a position seems obvious. Is this the only age in which human beings have existed in history? Could we not learn from the lived experience of our forebears? Are we doomed to simply repeat the errors of history, content in our own self-aggrandizement?

Hardly. For the past 2100 years, the Church is the only institution which has seen every political power and social movement come and go. We are not going anywhere. We have a place in the public square. As we have spoken in every age, we have a sacred duty to speak to the present age. A polite silence helps no one, saves no one.

Catholics in America are no strangers to subtle, polite persecution.

The question is, will we speak or remain silent?

November 6, 2022

The Four Last Things

[I don’t think we can really begin to live fully until we come to terms with our own mortality – not in a morbid way, but in a healthy way, born of the hope that is in store for all of us.]

Well, winter is here and the liturgical year is winding down. Only two more Sundays before we start Advent. As we get to the end of Ordinary Time, the Church asks us to contemplate the end of all time. In this light, it’s not a bad idea to review the Four Last Things. As you recall, they are: death, judgment, heaven or hell.

In truth, I don’t think any of us can really begin to live until we come to terms with our own mortality.

[The Fr. McGillicuddy joke was told here. You have to watch the video to hear the joke! There is also a bonus joke about the Sadducees. ]

We don’t tend to contemplate our own death in the normal course of the day. However, I suspect that many of us have done so in the wake of the recent pandemic. I think living in the harsh beauty of Alaska also makes us pause from time to time. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time has lost a friend or a loved one to the wilderness. Twenty-eight years of ministry have also taught me that the more familiar you are with death, the less scary it becomes. There are certain people who have taught me how to die well as I have accompanied them to their passing. The moment of death can be a very grace-filled, and beautiful encounter. A friend’s wife once commented that it was very similar to being present at a birth. For the Christian, death is not something we hasten, but neither is it something we fear. As St. Paul says, “For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” (2Cor 5:1). Death then is simply the next step to the fulfillment of God’s plan for us.

That plan is that we become what God has intended us to be. There is a subtle, but real heresay out there that when we human beings die we become angels. It’s a nice thought and it makes for good Christmas stories, but it limps theologically. Angels are spiritual beings. They do not have a body. By comparison, we human beings are spiritual and corporeal. We have a body and a soul. When Christ came to redeem us, he took on our human nature, body and soul in the Incarnation. This is why the resurrection of Christ is so significant. By his own resurrection, Christ has shown us what lies in store for all the baptized who remain faithful. Namely, that at the end of the age, these lowly bodies of ours, such as they are, will be raised. Then comes particular and general judgment. If we have remained faithful, then we become what God has intended us to be—perfectly human, body and soul.

In talking about the last things, there is a temptation to see them as something distant and remote. But they are not. Our judgment at the end of the age depends entirely on our relationship with Christ now and throughout the rest of our lives. So in a very real sense, heaven begins now. (Hell also begins now, for that matter.) It’s a matter of trajectory. If we enter into communion with Christ now and deepen that communion in the future, that relationship continues and is fulfilled when we pass through the veil. If, however, we sever communion with Christ, then that is our fate. Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

The decisions we make now will carry us into eternity.

October 30, 2022

The Uninvited Guest

“Hey, honey! Guess who’s coming to dinner?” How is Zacchaeus going to explain THIS to his wife? No need really. Check it out.

Zacchaeus gets an uninvited guest for dinner.

Everybody likes to be liked. It’s part of human nature. Conversely, nobody likes to be despised. It hurts our sense of self-worth. But sometimes, either because of the choices we make or the choices of others, we might find ourselves the object of people’s ire. (Often this will happen in traffic!)

It’s hard to imagine how much the people despised a guy like Zacchaeus. He was a Jew, but he was also a tax collector for the Roman occupational government. As such, he was seen as a collaborator. Unlike our own Internal Revenue Service, which is highly regulated and can only take what the government is legally entitled to, one of the common practices of the day among tax collectors was to charge more than the actual tax and pocket the rest. By his own admission, Zacchaeus appears to have done exactly that. People hated his guts.

Given all this, at first glance he’s not the kind of person that you would normally expect to seek out Jesus. Yet, there he is, climbing the sycamore tree to get a glimpse. That’s when things get interesting.

I truly believe that the last thing on Zacchaeus’ mind was that Jesus would invite himself to dinner. But that’s how Jesus works, sort of like a traveling salesman.

[Incidentally, you know what you do when the health food salesman knocks at your door? Go ahead and ‘vite – him – in!]

Like the door-to-door salesman, Jesus invites himself into our world and into our lives without apology. He does this all the time. It’s what happens next that makes the difference between a detached observer, a consumer of religious goods and services, or a disciple.

Zacchaeus did not ask Jesus to barge into his life; but when he does, Zacchaeus recognizes Jesus for who he is and the opportunity for what it is. Here is salvation from his miserable existence. Here is Hope Incarnate standing right below him. The repentance of Zacchaeus is profound and genuine because the forgiveness and reconciliation offered him is profound and genuine. The lesson of Zacchaeus is a lesson for us. No matter how wretched or despised we may think we are, Jesus barges into our lives. Today, salvation will come to this house. It’s how we respond that will make the difference.

October 16, 2022

Persistence in Prayer

Does persistent prayer change God’s mind? Would you believe in such a fickle God?

Last Sunday evening, I was celebrating Mass at St. Elizabeth’s. You know how you always check out things at another parish to see what good ideas you can steal. I learned from a poster in their Narthex that they have I have a Trivia Night every so often to raise money for their World Youth Day pilgrims. Let’s take a team over and clean house!

It got me to thinking that how much cool stuff I have been privileged to learn in the course of my life, but also how much little known and useless information I have amassed over that same period.

For example, in high school, a friend of mine and I challenged each other to learn all the American presidents, the order in which they served, and the years that they served.

I found that much like the genealogies of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, the American presidents are a diverse lot. There are great saints and great sinners. Geniuses and men of…shall we say, elusive intelligence. However, all seem to have wanted what was best for their country.

One of the most maligned is Calvin Coolidge, the nation’s 30^th president who served the White House from 1923 to 1929, and was in office at the outset of the Great Depression. His nicknames were: Cautious Cal, Cool Cal, Silent Cal, and the Sphinx of the Potomac.

Not many people know much about President Coolidge today. But if you Google him, the first 49,000 citations will mention this one passage that he gave in a speech in 1929. He said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Mr. Coolidge was right. In a way, he is echoing what our Lord is saying in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. Does she prevail solely on the merits of her case? Not really. Does she prevail because of the benevolence of the judge? Hardly. No, it is her persistence that wins the day.

Why does Jesus ask us to be so persistent in prayer? Our prayer certainly does not change God’s mind. God already knows what we need long before we ask. Parents are the best examples of this. Our mom or dad could give us what we need without our asking, but would we really appreciate it? Probably not. How delightful it is to a parent when a child comes to their own realization of what is best and then asks for it.

Three and a half millennia of human experience has shown that persistence in prayer has profound effects upon the one doing the praying. God does not change as a result of prayer. We do. Persistence in prayer allows us to discern God’s ultimate desire for us and to make that desire our own.

As I said before, more often than not, time is an ingredient. A monk much wiser than me once said,

“I have found that so much of prayer is simply waiting on God; and I have learned that if I am willing to wait long enough, insight always comes.”

Timing is everything. And God’s timing is so much better than our own. He not only knows what we need, but when we need it.

Persistence in prayer allows us to move from praying, “MY will be done.” to “THY will be done.”

As we spend more time in prayer we begin to realize that God has three ways of answering prayer. 1) “Yes.” 2) “Not yet.” and 3) “I have something better in mind for you.”

Okay great, Fr. Leo. How do I do this?

It’s not that complicated, but it require some discipline. You need to find a time and a place. To take some time each day to unplug from the distractions of this world. Find a quiet place and spend some time with the Lord. Decide on a time each day that will work for you. You may have to tweak this a bit. And this may change depending on your situation.

For example, at one parish my prayer time happened at 9:00 at night. Here at St. Pat’s, since we are the party parish, it has to happen in the morning at 7:30.

You may need to adjust this time, you may need to fight for this time, but you need to make time.

I’ve said it about 163 times so far as your pastor, so you should be able to complete this quote for me.

“If you can’t find ten minutes a day for private prayer with our Lord, your life is what…? [OUT OF CONTROL!]

And you need to do what…? [MAKE ADJUSTMENTS]

Any excuses….? [NO!]

You are not far from the kingdom.

So first, make the time.

Second, find a place.

Create a space in the home.

Or change your routine to bring you to a holy place.

I love this one quotation that is popping up on the door in many churches in France. In four short sentences it says:

It is possible that on entering this church, you may hear the Call of God.

On the other hand, it is not likely that he will contact you by phone. Thank you for turning off your phone.

If you would like to talk to God, come in, choose a quiet place, and talk to him.

If you would like to see him, send him a text while driving.

Or get creative. I love to tell the story of the fellow at St. Benedict’s who had two issues. First, because of his weird work schedule, he couldn’t find his ten minutes and he kept bringing the stress of his work home with him.

As we chatted, the Holy Spirit kicked in and I asked him, “You live right down the street from the parish, right?

Why don’t you just pull your truck in and park in front of that big crucifix in front of the church on your way home?”

You know, he did.

About a month later he was in my office again and said, “You know, Father, that ten minutes has made all the difference. I don’t even get out of my truck. I just do my Magnificat right there. And I’ve also found that I can just leave all of the stresses and burdens of the day right there at the foot of the Cross. I suppose I could pick them back up again, but I’ve never seen the need.”

Let me end by paraphrasing Mr. Coolidge.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence in prayer. Vocation will not; nothing is more common than unfulfilled vocations. Cleverness will not; you cannot outmaneuver God. Erudition will not; the world is full of theological derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Pray On! has opened and always will open the door to grace for the human race.”

October 9, 2022

Two Grateful Lepers

[Howdy, Church fans! Well, we are all recovered from the trip to the Holy Land. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Deacon John is preaching this week, but I will be covering St. Elizabeth’s this evening before I blast off the the Canon Law convention in Cleveland. If you want to catch the livestream of that, you can go to their Facebook page by clicking here; https://www.facebook.com/SaintElizabethAnnSetonParishAnchorage

In the meantime, here’s my thoughts on today’s gospel with an added bonus at the end.

It was not an easy thing to be a leper in Jesus’ day. Unlike today, where the use of sulfates has pretty much eradicated the effects, and the stigma, of the disease, to be a leper in the first century was to be completely outcast from society. Not only were you physically disfigured and rather smelly, you were ritually unclean as well. This meant that you could not worship with the believing community. Indeed, you were seen as cursed because of some sin of yours or a recent ancestor.

Two grateful lepers are offered for our consideration in this week’s scripture readings, both are Gentiles. The first is Naaman the Syrian. You may recall that he was a general of the army of the King of Aram. At first, he was disappointed that Elisha did not do some outrageous ritual. Instead, he just had him bath in the Jordan seven times. But at the advice of his servant, he did and was cleansed. His gratitude knew no bounds.

The ten lepers that approach Jesus, also in Samaria. Jesus is even less dramatic than Elisha. He simply has them show themselves to the priests to verify that they are now ritually pure and the curse lifted. They go off to do what he says and are healed on the way.
So why the big deal about the Samaritan leper who comes back to give thanks? If you look at it on the face of it, the other nine, apparently Jews, were obedient and presumably did go and show themselves to the priests, just as Jesus instructed them. The Samaritan does not follow instructions. Instead, he returns to give thanks.

The lesson here is that gratitude is the higher virtue. Once they were cured, they could all move about freely anywhere they wanted. They could have gone to the priests first or they could have returned and given thanks first. Only the Samaritan gets it right.
As Christians, when we realize what we have been given, and what we have been forgiven, our first response should always be grateful. It is in the warmth of this gratitude that all our other acts of charity and duty take on luster of grace.

BONUS!

As many of you know, I fly a little airplane around the Alaskan wilderness to many secret fishing holes and a few cabins that people let me use in their kindness. It is a float equipped Citabria 7GCBC with a 160 horse-Lycoming I0-360. It is great for getting me wherever I want to go. Here are some pics of the past summer. Enjoy.

Mt. Saint Augustine as seen from Bruin Bay.

September 26, 2022

On the Road to Emmaus.

The day after the resurrection, two of Jesus’ disciples left Jerusalem and were on their way to Emmaus discussing all the events of the last few days, As they walked along Jesus joined them and helped them understand what it all meant. The couldn’t recognize him at first, but they finally recognized him “in the breaking of the bread.” You can read all about it in Luke 24:13-35.

Interestingly enough, the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus follows the same structure as the Mass. The Council tells us that Christ is present in four ways: 1) when the people gather, 2) in the proclamation and explanation of the Sacred Scriptures, 3) in the person of the Church’s Minister, and 4) in the Eucharistic species, i.e., bread and wine which are broken and poured out. The disciples are together on the road and by golly, Jesus is in their midst. Then he explains the Scriptures to them. Finally, they recognize him in “the breaking of the bread.” This phrase, in Latin “factio panis” was how the disciples in the early Church referred to the Eucharist.

The present day shrine in Emmaus is in now the occupied territories. Because of the political situation, the road to Emmaus is not so easily traveled these days and very few pilgrim groups go there. Nevertheless, we made the trip and I’m glad we did.

There is also a very large priory and what used to be a boarding school for boys on the property. Sadly, all that ended as a result of the Six Days War in 1967. Now two friars maintain the property. The town that was around it is pretty much gone. What is left is in decay. In a few years, there won’t be anything here but the Shrine. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas.

Altar piece in the Apse of the Emmaus Church

Side altar dedicated to St. Cleopas, one of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

Side altar dedicated to St. Simeon, the other disciple on the Road.

We end our pilgrimage this evening. Hope you enjoyed the ride.

Many blessings,

Fr. Leo

September 23, 2022

From the Dead Sea to Bethlehem

Hey, Cyber-pilgrims!

In the last couple of days we have gone from the Dead Sea to the birthplaces of Jesus and John the Baptist.

Masada, Herod’s Palace Fortress – Imagine building a fortress on an isolated mountain peak in the middle of nowhere, just because you wanted a place to get away. That’s what Herod did rather ingeniously. Because of the remote location, he had 27 storerooms that held tons of goods. It also had one of the most sophisticated water collection systems ever, storing tens of thousands of gallons of water from the surrounding hills. The place was made for defense and to hold out forever in a siege. This is exactly what happened in 63 AD in the first Jewish revolt. When the Romans crushed the rebellion in Jerusalem, about 960 rebels fled to Masada and held out for months and months. Finally the Romans built a ramp up the 1600 foot peak to breach the walls.

Herod: “Hey, guys! Let’s build a fancy palace-fortress way up there!”

The Roman Encampments are still visibile to this day.

Qumran – The site of the Essene commune. They were an apocalyptical community who went to the desert to prepare themselves for the final battle between themselves, the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness. As part of that, they copied and studied the Jewish Scriptures. When the Romans came down the valley on their way to Masada they hid their documents in nearby caves until they could come back to get them. They never returned. The documents lay in the caves until they were discovered in the mid-20th century. Did John the Baptist spend time with the Essenes? Who knows?

Bethany – Home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Jesus spent a lot of time in Bethany with his friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. His most famous miracle there was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. He waited four days because the Jews believed that the soul of the person hung around their body for three days. So by waiting another day, there could be no doubt that Lazarus was really, really, really dead. Thus, Jesus is shown as the Lord of the living and the dead.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” Note that Martha, who doubted, is standing and does not have a halo. Mary, who believed, is kneeling and has the halo indicating her belief. Pretty clever artwork.

On to Bethlehem – The Birthplace of Jesus

As I said, after being here for 800 years, the Friars have picked up some pretty good real estate. Their guesthouse is adjacent to the Church of the Nativity.

We rose early this morning and had Mass in the grotto where Jesus was born. This is a seven arrow site, meaning that this was the actual place. As I think I mentioned before, houses were often built in front of a caves. The bottom of the house was built out in front of the cave. A second story or “upper room” was often built on top. The people lived in the second floor and the animals lived downstairs in the back. The Greek word ἀνώγεον (anógeon) can mean both “upper room” or “inn”. Contrary to many Christmas pageants, it’s unlikely that Joseph and Mary could not get a room at the local Motel 6. Rather, they were most likely at the home of one of Joseph’s relative and there simply wasn’t room upstairs where the people were. Also, women usually gave birth in the lower part because of ritual purity concerns and the fact that it was warmer and there was lots of hay to make things a bit more sanitary.

It was not possible to take pictures in the Grotto itself. You can see many pictures online. We said Mass in the little Chapel of the Magi, about eight feet from the birthplace of Jesus.

A little free marketing on the way to Bethlehem.

The Nave of St. Catherine of Alexandria Church. The Catholic Church next to the Church of the Nativity, The Church of the Nativity was given by the Turks to the Greek Orthodox.

The “Door of Humility”. The main entrance to the Church of the Nativity. It was made thus so that they Turks could not ride their horses into the building and desecrate it. You have to stoop pretty low to get in there.

Inside the Church of the Nativity. The grotto is below the altar.

A picture of your humble servant in the dining hall of the guest house.

Another distinguished guest who visited the guest house previously.

September 22, 2022

Check back tomorrow

Howdy, Cyber-pilgrims!

The evening kind of got away from us today and we have a 5:00 AM wakeup tomorrow for Mass at the very place where Jesus was born. Today we went to Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumran and Bethany before making our way to Bethlehem.

Check back tomorrow for the update. In the meantime, here is a screenshot I took right on the shore of the Dead Sea. Note that we were 1410 feet BELOW sea level. This is the lowest place on the surface of the earth. Pretty darn cool.

Okay, here is another shot. I just couldn’t resist. And yes, the beer was tasty.

How low can you go? Beer is tasty at 1410 feet below sea level. At this “altitude”, because of the negative air pressure, the head is actually on the bottom of the beer. No, really!

September 21, 2022

One Thousand Feet Below Sea Level

Hey, Pilgrims! Today we ventured into the occupied territories on the West Bank. First stop was Jacob’s Well in Nablus. As the noted biblical archeologist, Zeljko Gregor, once said, “The nice things about wells is that they don’t move.” So you can be rest assured that this was the real place.

Jacob’s Well – Jesus Meets the Samaritan Woman

Here’s a fun fact. In sacred scripture, wells were the places where lots of men met their wives. So it was with Jacob who met Rachel by a well. He was crazy for her, but because Laban her father switched her older sister for Rachel at the wedding, he had to wait fourteen years before he could marry her. Moses also met his first wife by a well. So it’s an interesting thing that Jesus would meet with the Samaritan woman by a well. (See John 4:4-42) Of course, he did not wish to marry her, but he did bring her into relationship with him as the Messiah. Note in John’s account how she goes through three stages of knowing Christ. First she sees him as a very special man, then as a prophet, and finally as the Messiah. Just like plumbing the depths of the well, Jesus takes her deeper and deeper in to the mystery of who he is. Pretty darn cool. I think he does something similar with all of us as we gradually get to know him for who he really is, and in the process get to know ourselves for who we really are.

We drew some water out of the well. The well itself is about 35 feet deep and the water has a depth of about 6 feet. It comes out crystal clear. This is some really good water. The Greek Orthodox monks there were most hospitable to us. They have been very busy making the church beautiful. It is the fifth or sixth church on the site since the fourth century. The well is in the crypt chapel below the sanctuary.

Facade of Jacob’s Well Orthodox Church. It’s based on the crusader church that preceded it.

Jacob’s Well. I found it interesting that the gift shop was within five feet of it in the crypt chapel off to the right. Oh well…

The Jordan River – Most people have this image of the Jordan River as some mighty flowing waterway. The reality can be a bit underwhelming. It’s actually only about ten of fifteen meters across. One reason for this is that so much of it is syphoned off for irrigation. This far downstream, about a mile from it’s terminus in the Dead Sea it is slow and murky. Nevertheless, most scholars agree that this is the area nearest to where Christ was baptized. It is also the general area where the Israelites would have crossed into the promised land on their way to Jericho. The walls have never been rebuilt, by the way. We stopped and renewed our baptismal promises there.

Looking across the Jordan River into the Kingdom of Jordan. The river serves as the international border between the two countries. Note the Jordanian flags on the other side.

Fr. Page gives us a good sprinkle after we renewed our baptismal promises, just like on Easter Sunday. Oblivious Canadian pilgrims are in the background.

Jericho – Guess who’s coming to dinner? Jericho was a surprisingly important town in Jesus’s day. Since there was only room for so many priests in Jerusalem, the rest of them hung out here. It was a center of learning and commerce. Thus, Zacchaeus would have made a good living as a tax collector. His conversion is a good lesson for us all. Jesus doesn’t need much of an opening to invite himself in. There is hope for us all.

A sycamore tree. Not THE sycamore tree, but you can see how easy it would have been for a little guy like Zacchaeus to climb one of these.

September 4, 2022

Doing the Math

[Do you really have to hate your mother and father to follow Jesus?}

This week marks something of a milestone in space exploration as NASA is continuing to ramp up for a return to the moon.

I find this of great interest. One of my earliest childhood memories was crowding around the television in our basement watching the first lunar landing and seeing Neil Armstrong exit the landing craft and become the first human being to walk on the moon.

Space and things astronomical have always fascinated me. So it was with great anticipation that I awaited the first images from the Hubble space telescope as it was launched into low earth orbit in 1990. With great precision, the engineers pointed this amazing contraption into the heavens. Then they hit the button and awaited the first images to be beamed back to earth…

…The images were blurry. The telescope would not focus properly.

After no small amount of analysis, it was found that the problem was due to a simple error in math. One engineering team had been designing using the metric system and another had been using the imperial system. Fortunately, the problem was corrected three years later by a crew from the Space Shuttle and now even thirty years later, we can enjoy vivid, high-resolution images of galaxies and nebulae and all kinds of cool things that are out there in the great expanse of space.

I think of this embarrassing, and very expensive episode with the Hubble Telescope where the greatest minds of our time got it wrong, and I am reminded of a plaque that hung in the office of the Superintendent at the jobsite on Adak in the Aleutian Islands where I worked construction in the summers during college. It read:

“PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS…uh, PRETTY POOR PERFORMANCE.”

In short, if you want to do the job right, you better know what you are getting yourself into beforehand.

That is essentially what Jesus is doing as he speaks with his disciples in this week’s gospel from Luke 14. If you are going be his disciple, you’ve got to know what you are getting yourself into.

Our Holy Father said this morning that these are very difficult words. Jesus is going up to Jerusalem. A great crowd is following him, many simply because he is a superstar. Jesus stops and tells them in no uncertain terms that discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

First, your relationship with Christ, must come before your family. This is not to say that you have to disown your family. But it does make sense. They say that “blood is thicker than water.” The question here could be WHOSE blood? When it comes to a case of facts, we have to admit that the blood of our family heritage that brought us to life in this passing world always gives way to the blood of Christ who has given us eternal life. The primary relationship HAS to be Christ for even our relationships with our family to be rightly ordered.

Second, being a follower of Christ will involves SACRIFICE. For Jesus to say, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” would have made absolutely no sense to his listeners. Crucifixion was a brutal Roman means of execution. In our own day, it is as if he had said, “Whoever does not sit in his own electric chair cannot be my disciple.” Or “whoever does not lie on his own lethal injection table cannot be my disciple.”

What are we to make of this? If we listen to what he says elsewhere, we cannot escape the conclusion that if Christ is truly the center of our lives; if we try to be his disciples; even if we do this poorly, there are those who will find it very annoying. And finding it annoying they would like to see us removed from the public square.

This can happen on many levels.

In its most benign sense, it may mean that we will be snubbed and ignored in matters of public discourse. And this is certainly true. In the wake of the Enlightenment, truth is in the eye of the beholder.

It was Descartes who famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” In so doing he made himself the center of the universe around which everything else revolved.

How small is the intellectual leap from seeing truth as an objective reality to a subjective one. Unthinkable a few generations ago, now the airwaves and screens are full of those who hold sincerely that my truth is as real as your truth. This bodes ill for those of us Christians for whom the truth is not a something, but a someone – Jesus the Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Furthermore, it is a sad testimony that in the secular West, a person is free to embrace just about any religion…except Christianity. Among Christians, we Catholics are the most suspect.

In its most extreme sense, this desire to remove us from society takes on the form of brutal, repressive persecution of the Church, even to the point of death. Earlier this month, President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, forcibly closed seven Catholic radio stations and placed the Cardinal Archbishop of Managua under house arrest on charges of sedition and treason. Cardinal Alvarez’s alleged crime was that he supported student protesters who had demonstrated against the policies and practices of the regime. Namely, that all opposition candidates in the recent election had all been arrested and incarcerated before the last election.

We say to ourselves, “Oh that could never happen here!” Personally, given the momentum of history, I am not so optimistic. But neither am I worried if it does. Persecution is part of discipleship. The seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of martyrs. Why should we think it will be any different in our own time?

In light of this, Jesus’ comment that “Anyone who does not renounce all of his possessions cannot be my disciple” is almost an afterthought. Still it bears reflection. They say that you spend the first third of your life wanting stuff, the second third of your life accumulating stuff and the last third of your life trying to get rid of stuff. Nevertheless, at some point each one of us must ask the question: “Do I own my possessions? Or do my possessions own me? The answer to that question will tell us much about ourselves and where we are on the spectrum of discipleship. In the end we know that we are stewards, not owners. We leave everything behind in this world. In the meantime, we are each given gifts of time, talent and treasure. The key is to use these gifts in a way that is pleasing to the Giver, and to return them to the Lord with increase.

The words of Jesus today are very hard in one sense, but they are very liberating in another. When we stop to think about it, Jesus is not asking us to do anything he has not already done himself. Furthermore, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the power of God’s love alive in the world; the same Spirit that animated the life of Christ, descended upon Mary and the Apostles at Pentecost; the same Spirit that animates the life of every Christian; through this Holy Spirit, Our Lord has given us the means to live our Catholic faith in the midst of the world courageously and joyfully.

We stand in the truth in love in the world and for the world. In so doing, we transform the world and help it to become what God has created it to be.

Is it easy? No, and it never has been.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.