Category: Uncategorized

(To hear the homily, press on the little black arrow below.)

If you did not figure it out from the gospel reading today (or the little sign on the Ambo) the theme from the Gospel today is REPENTANCE.   It reminds me of a story…

[The Curate Painting the Church]

In all the gospels there are few figures more compelling than John the Baptist.  He is at once a prophet and a herald.  As the last and greatest of the prophets, he is a bridge to the coming of the Age of Grace, calling people to repentance and faithfulness to God. As herald of the Messiah, he prepares the way of the Lord. This week I’ll concentrate on his role as prophet.  Next week, I will explain his role as herald. 

     Let’s talk about prophets. To be a prophet in Israel was a unique and often difficult task. Their principal task was NOT to predict the future. Rather, their primary role was to be the messenger of God, calling the people to return to fidelity to the Lord and their covenant with him. 

     As the messenger of the Lord, a prophet had access to the highest levels of civil and religious authority. A true prophet spoke only what the Lord had instructed him. (A false prophet would not, saying what would gain him favor with those in power.) Most often we see the words of the prophets addressed to those in authority, since they were the ones who had been entrusted with the welfare of the people. In this week’s gospel, we see John doing exactly that when he calls the Pharisees and Sadducees to task.  It’s a good reminder for all of us who seek to follow Christ not to get too full of ourselves. God can raise up good Catholics from the very stones. We are in need of repentance. 

How does it work?  Let’s look at the various elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to guide our discourse.

1) Conversion,

       This is when we look honesty at our lives, realize that we need to get our lives in order and turn back to God.  It is that moment when you realize that your life is out of whack and you need to get it back in whack.  It is there that we stand at the foot of the cross and say, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.”

       I spoke about this in great detail on the 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.  You can check it out on Fr. Leo’s Benevolent Blog (https://frleowalsh.com

       In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this usually takes the form of a good examination of conscience. 

2) Confession – in the confessional or penance service

       No doubt you have heard the question, perhaps you have asked the question: “Why do I have to confess to a priest?  Why can’t I just tell my sins to God and be forgiven?”  This is a very good question and it has a very good answer.  

       First, you can respond by saying, “Yes!  Absolutely, you should tell your sins to God, but that is only the beginning.”

       Why?  Because there is no such thing as a private sin. The scripture that helps us is the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11ff.  Remember, in the story, the son says, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you.”

       Just as the great commandment has two elements, love and God and love of neighbor, so too sin is against God and neighbor.

       St. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 12, “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts feel its effects.”

       Don’t believe me? Try this little spiritual exercise that you can do in the comfort of your own home: Take off your shoes, stand at one end of your living room, close your eyes, and then walk briskly across the floor.  As your little, pinky toe intersects with the leg of the coffee table and you jump up and down probably saying some things that good Christians should not say, tell me then is not true that if even the smallest part of the body is injured the rest of the body suffers with it. 

       In the same say, there is no such thing as a private sin.  My sin affects you and your sin affects me. 

       The early church had a keen sense of the communal nature of sin and the need for reconciliation with both God and the Church. Confession was done in front of the congregation and the penances were quite strict, sometimes lasting years before one was readmitted to communion. 

       But then in the 7^th century, from the north came the Irish monks.  Now, the Irish being a great and noble race, and also a monastic Church, brought with them the practice of individual confession to the abbe’, the father, the priest.  This made sense because it was the priest who could speak for both Christ and the Church. Indeed, in every sacrament, the priest acts in persona Christi/in the person of Christ and in persona ecclesiae/in the person of the Church. 

       This works in the temporal order as well. This past week we finally closed on the purchase of a house to serve as the rectory.  As pastor, with the authorization of the bishop, I signed the documents and the parish was obligated. 

       In similar way, when the priest says your sins are forgiven, he is speaking on behalf of Christ and on behalf of the parish and the Church universal.

       Confession to the priest allows for both of the offended parties, God and the community of faith.

3) The next part of the rite is some instruction and the giving of a Penance

       A penance is a token act. You can’t earn God’s forgiveness won for you on Cross.  It is a gift.

       You cannot earn it, but you can be grateful. 

       In a way, your penance is like a little thank you card that helps to restore the moral order.  

       One note, it needs to be reasonable. If the priest gives you a penance that is physically or morally impossible for you to complete, you should ask him for another one. 

       I’ve actually had people ask me for more difficult ones and I’m always happy to oblige.

       John Vianney, who would hear confessions for up to sixteen hours a day was once chided by a colleague that he gave out penances that were too easy.  He responded, “Oh, I give them very strict penances, but I only make them say a little part of it, and I say the rest of it later.”  You can see why he is the patron saint of parish priests.

4) Contrition – is the matter of the sacrament. As the confessor, the only thing I need to forgive someone’s sins is that they are sorry.  That finds its ritual expression in and Act of Contrition. There are many versions of it, but they all have these three things in common:

       – sorrow for sins

       – a dependence of God’s grace

       – a resolution to reform one’s life. 

5) Satisfaction. You must perform your penance to receive the fruits of the sacrament. Don’t put this off. Try to do it before leaving the Church. 

Conversion, Confession, Penance, Contrition, and Satisfaction – these are the elements of Reconciliation to God and to one another. 

As prophet, John the Baptist continues to be a compelling figure for us today.  John’s example exhorts us to turn from our sins and return to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Please avail yourself of this most precious gift.  The dates and times of all the penances services throughout the Archdiocese are in the Anchor and all those around Anchorage are in the bulletin. Our penance service here will be on December 18^th, at 7:00 PM. At that service there will be at least four other confessors who have NO IDEA who you are.  What a great opportunity to avail yourself of the gift of God’s forgiving grace. 

Next week, we will hear how, as herald, John reminds us that Christ will come in glory at the end of the age. We are a people who await for his coming. As the liturgy says at the end of the Our Father, we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior Jesus Christ.    

[Click on the little arrow below to begin the audio file of the homily.]

To be Catholic is to be a bit out of sync with modern America. While the rest of the country is beginning the “Holiday Season,” we are entering into the Holy Season of Advent. Amid the din and frenetic activity that surrounds us at this time of year, we Catholics are invited to quietly prepare for the coming of the Lord in glory at the end of the age, even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming in humility at Christmas.

One thing that the Holiday Season and the Holy Seaons of Advent have in common is that they both involve waiting.

But we all know that there are two different ways of waiting.

       We can wait with great irritation, or

       We can wait in joyful hope.

There is a difference. 

In a world with Amazon Prime, we seem to have grown used to the idea that anything we can desire and afford (or that we desire and can NOT afford) can be delivered the next day. We live in a world of fast food, fast cars, instant pudding, instant coffee, instantaneous communications.

       Just this morning I was on FaceTime with a colleague in Italy. 

       We are used to getting what we want, when we want it, how we want it.

And if we are forced to wait…we get irritated.

Now, a word of prophecy…Between now and Christmas Day, you are going to find yourself waiting.

       It may be in line in a store

              It may be in traffic

       And as you are forced to wait behind this person you are going to start to feel irritated. 

       When that feeling of irritation begins to rise within your craw and you begin to plot their demise in mean and nasty ways…

       Think of my words today…and do this instead:

       – Say a Hail Mary for this person, because they are probably having a worse day than you.

       – and when you are done with that, pray for the person behind you, because are going to have to wait longer than you. 

       Simply put, as a Christian, REFUSE to wait with great irritation.  That is not your call, that is not your destiny. That is not the message that is our gift to the world.

Isaiah helps us to understand this. 

       He paints a marvelous picture of a world at peace. As instruction goes forth from Zion, and justice is established for the nations, all peoples are caught up in world set aright. Swords are beaten into plowshares; spears into pruning hooks.

       Isaiah teaches us that peace is not simply the absence of conflict.  Rather peace is when everything is as it was meant be.  When things are thus, war and conflict simply don’t make sense. 

       Theologically speaking, what Isaiah is describing is the Messianic Age – the age of Grace, the very age in which we live.   

       Paul alludes to this when he tells us that “our  salvation is near at hand.

       The night of our past sins is spent and it is time to walk in the light.      

       Paul’s words are reflective of a Church that was waiting with great expectation for the glorious coming of Christ at the end of the age.

       This glorious coming is what our Our Lord was talking about when he said that we must also be prepared,

       ‘for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

       To be Christian is to live awaiting the blessed hope of the resurrection and the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And so the Church gives us this season of Advent to help us to prepare.  We do so in many ways.  Simple ways they may be, but they help us remember who are and the life of grace to which we are called.  As Peter says, we are a “holy nation, a people set apart.”  I prefer to think of us as, the joyful, dyssynchronous People of God.

What are some of these ways?

       The color purple—is the color of penitential preparation. Advent is very much a “little Lent” in one sense. The Savior born to us, saves us by the forgiveness of our sins.  What better time to take stock of our lives and come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation? All the communal penance services in the Archdiocese are listed in this month’s edition of the Catholic Anchor. Our penance service will be held on December 18th at 7:00 PM. 

     The Advent Wreath—forms a circle representing the eternal love of God for us. The world was in the darkness of sin and death, but the light of Christ dispels the darkness. A candle is lit each week. Like the return of the sun at the winter solstice, the increasing light of each new candle reminds us of the light of Christ who comes into the world. 

     The Sunday readings—call us in the first three weeks to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist figures prominently this year.  He reminds us of our prophetic role in proclaiming the coming of Christ at the end of the age.  We need to be ready.

     Advent Calendars—are just plain fun! Some can be purchased, but it’s super fun to make them yourself. I have one that is a model house with 25 different windows to open. Some families I know make them treats, but also with special notes inside that say things like, “Today I will hug my sister.”  or “Today I will pray for a classmate.” 

      The One Percent Challenge!—Can you give one percent of your day to prayer during Advent?  We make it easy this year with a little card to jump start your prayer life.  Take one and see what happens!           

To be Catholic is to be a bit out of sync with modern society. While others are celebrating the “Holiday Season,” we enter into the Holy Season of Advent, quietly preparing for the coming of the Lord in glory at the end of the age,

       As the liturgy says, “We await the Blessed Hope, and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

Short and sweet.

[Click on the little arrow below to start here the homily.]

Thanksgiving

[Joke: The Woman and the Obscene Parrot. ]

I like Thanksgiving. It’s our last national religious holiday.

But in a world that is increasingly secular nature, I wonder to whom does an atheist give thanks

       And why?

Let’s get philosophical for a moment…why do we give thanks?

       For what we have worked for? 

              That is called justice

       For what is owed to us? 

              That is called a payment of debt.

No, we give thanks for that which we could not have obtained on our own.

       That which is given to us, by no merit of our own. We give thanks for gifts.

 To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to understand that in the end, all that we have and all that we are is a gift from Almighty God.

       – our lives,

       – our families

       – our faith,

       – our Church

       – and our country

None of us in this room can claim ownership on any of one of these. 

But we can be grateful.

       Ultimately, slowly, we come to realize that all is gift.

       Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God

       For it is right and just. 

Once again, Deacon Mick knocks one out of the park, this time for the Solemnity of Christ the King. I did not get his text, but click on the audio file below to hear his homily.

[Click on the arrow to hear a recording of the homily.]

     Last week I chatted about the priest and the rabbi waving a sign saying, “The End is Near!”

        Today in the gospel we hear the people asking for a sign from Christ.  It’s all the more important to them given that he has just told them that their national symbol, the very dwelling place of God in their midst, will be destroyed.  Such an idea is pretty startling.  It’s like those apocalyptic movies where the aliens blow up the U.S. capitol building and the White House. 

     Then Jesus goes on to talk about the end of the age, and the need for perseverance in the face of trial and tribulation.

        This is tough stuff to listen to.  Try starting a movement gand gathering disciples by saying, “You will be hated by all because of my name.”  See how far you get. 

        Sometimes discipleship may not seem very glamorous.  But it is always worth it. As the saying goes, “Working for the Lord doesn’t pay much, but the retirement benefits are out of this world!”

        So, the world will come to an end, but in the meantime we are here.  What should we be doing? 

     The life of any parish revolves around three actions—the celebration of the liturgy and the other sacraments; the formation of disciples; and the proclamation of the gospel in word and deed. Of these, the celebration of the liturgy is preeminent. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council made this abundantly clear when they said that the liturgy “is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the source from which all her power flows.” (Sacrosanctam Concilium,10)

     It follows then that the well-conceived and well-rendered celebration of the liturgy should be the first priority of the parish. Intentional discipleship begins with intentional liturgy. For this reason, earlier in the year I called together the coordinators of the various liturgical ministries to form the Liturgy Committee.  Their task is to assist the Pastor in planning all aspects of the liturgies that will take place in the parish throughout the year. 

     One of the things that became apparent in our first meeting was a pressing need for recruitment, training, support and appreciation of all liturgical ministers. Our sacristans do a wonderful job, but all too often they are scrambling at the last minute to make sure that all the ministries for a particular Mass are covered. People are very generous and most are able to pitch in on such short notice. Nevertheless, it is a matter of critical importance that needs to be addressed. The first step is to invite members of the congregation who feel called to place their gifts at the service of the community in the litrugy. 

     To this end, we are having a “Mini Ministry Faire” for all liturgical ministries this weekend. In the Gathering Area after Mass are really nice folks who can tell you all about their ministry and answer any questions you have.

   So how do you sign up? In your hymnal and in the pews this weekend, you will find a bookmark with an invitation to participate. On it are listed all the liturgical ministries in the parish. I ask that you take a moment to look it over, pray a little prayer of discernment, and then check the box that best applies for the ministry that speaks to your heart.  There are three options:

     Interested:  You are interested in this ministry and would like more information, such as its training requirements and time commitments. You are not signing up for the ministry at this stage, just asking for more information.

     Continuing:  You like being a part of this ministry and would like to continue to serve for another year. Make sure you check the box, just because you have been doing it for many years, we will not assume you want to continue.

     Leaving:  Life happens. Sometimes change is good. Maybe you have been doing this ministry for a while and just want to try something new. Maybe you need a break. Checking this box is a simple way to “un-volunteer” with dignity. 

        [The story of “Gladys” and the linens at Holy Family.]

     Once you have discerned your choice(s), simply place the bookmark in the collection basket when it comes around or in the basket in the Gathering Area. If you would like more time or want more information about a particular ministry, please stop by their booth at Mini-Ministry Faire. 

     Commitment forms will be collected through the end of November. At that point, we will compile the lists in the office and the coordinator of that ministry will be contacting you in mid-December. Liturgical trainings will take place after Christmas and be finished by Ash Wednesday. Typically, training is offered once a weekday and repeated on a Saturday. Make-up sessions are held later if you can’t make an earlier one.  

        Commitment to any liturgical ministry is for a period of one year. 

        Someone has asked that if they have been involved in a ministry for some time, do they need to sign up again and do they need to come to the training.  The answer to the first question is “yes.”  First, your renewed commitment is a liturgical act of offering your gift of time and talent to Our Lord and to the parish family. That is you it should be put it in the basket at offertory with the other gifts, if at all possible.  On a more practical note, lists need to be updated every year and recommitting for the coming year helps us do that in the simplest possible way.

     Do you have to come to the training even if you’ve been doing a ministry for years?  Again, the answer is ‘yes’.  By and large things are set up pretty good here, but there will be some minor changes for every liturgical ministry to bring us into conformity with universal and particular law.  Also, at each training there will be a number of resources given out.  These are essential for your success in your ministry. 

    We’re going to make it as easy as possible to come to a training.  As I mentioned, each ministry will have at least three opportunities, one during the week, one on a weekend and a make-up session later.

    As I said, someday, this beautiful church that we worked so hard to build so many years ago will not be standing, and we will be quite happy about that, because it means the fulfillment of all our hopes and desires. 

     In the meantime, we are here.

     I thank you in advance. Through the joyful and intentional celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, may we draw closer in communion with Christ and with one another as we celebrate these sacred mysteries. 

       After a torrential rainstorm, a priest and a rabbi are standing next to the road with a sign that read: “The end is near!”  Not too much later, a big pickup truck comes roaring by. They start waving the sign excitedly. As the truck passes by, the driver yells out, “You stupid religious nuts!  Go home!”  And he careens around the bend. Three seconds later, there is the sound of screeching tires and then a big splash.

       The rabbi turns to the priest and says, “Do you think we should have written, ‘The bridge is down!’?” 

       As I promised last week, we see the Sunday readings taking a decidedly eschatological turn. That is, we are invited to contemplate the “last things” that will occur at the “eschaton” – the end of the age when Christ will come again in glory, the world as we know it will come to an end, and all things will be fulfilled in the person of Christ. Given the scale of the transformation, it is a bit scary in one sense, but also very exciting in another.

       The disconcerting thing is that we don’t know when it will happen. Thus, we need to be vigilant. On the first Sunday of Advent we will hear Jesus say, “Be watchful!  Stay awake!  You do not know the hour when the Son of Man is coming.”  (Mt. 25:13) In the meantime, we need to get our lives in order. We need to experience conversion. 

So let us look at the idea of conversion.  There are things I would like to emphasize this week:

1.  Conversion involves the whole person
2.  It takes time.  It is a process.

Conversion involves the whole person, intellectually/emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  These three aspects of mind, body and spirit are the essential components of our humanity.  They are like a three-legged stool.  We are at our best when all three are in balance.  They are the three components of any authentic experience of conversion. 

Second, conversion is a process.  As I mentioned last week, conversion is that process by which we realize that God is God and we are not. We are not self-sufficient. As Aquinas said, we humans are dependent beings. We did not create ourselves. We owe our creation to God as well as our continued existence.

     Notice that I use the word “PROCESS” very intentionally. Conversion is not a “one and done” kind of thing.  Even a quick study of the great saints can be quite revealing. The conversion of St. Paul took at least nine years. Similarly, that St. Francis took at least seven.

       So how does it work? As you will hear many times in the coming months and years, there are seven steps of conversion into intentional, missionary disciples.

1. Pre-evangelization,
2. evangelization,
3. Initial Conversion/Intentional Discipleship,
4. Initiatory Catechesis
5. Adherence
6. Ongoing formation
7. Mission Discipleship

In the interest of time, I’m going to just get us to step 4 today. 

       Pre-evangelization.  First there has to be a favorable environment that encourages an openness to the gospel message.  Within the parish family, amongst ourselves, this is where a vibrant social life and community building come into play. Senior dances, youth hikes, parish picnics, CHAOS and other fun stuff. Really, if church isn’t fun, then we are doing it wrong.  In Muldoon and Nunaka Valley and wherever else you might be, this means being a good neighbor, being involved in the local community, serving on community councils, the Thanksgiving Blessing, Outreach, and whatnot.  As I mentioned in my first homily, our job as a parish is to become so much a part of our neighborhood so that they cannot imagine life without us.  Pre-evangelization. 

       The second step, evangelization, is the sharing of the content of the faith and introduction to the encounter with the Risen Christ, manifested in the life of our parish family.  It is an intentional invitation.  This might be on an ACTS retreat, or a parish or diocesan pilgrimage, or during the liturgy.  Or it may be a simple invitation to a neighbor to come with you to Church one day. 

   The third step is Initial Conversion/Intentional Discipleship. At a certain point, the Holy Spirit moves, and there is that “aha moment” when everything comes into focus.  This is unique and different for every person. For some it is when they are at their best, for others it is when they are at their worst.  Most of us are somewhere in between. It has been described various ways.  “Seeing the light”; “bottoming out”; “being saved” are just some of the ways that people have tried to describe it. This is when our priorities change and we being to order our lives around Christ and stop expecting him to order his life around ours.  Many people can point to the exact time or moment that this happened.  For others, it may have been more gradual, or just the environment in which they were raised.  Regardless, at some point, we take the good news to heart and make it our own. At this stage we may not be able to articulate it all that well, but we want to.

     That is why conversion cannot stop there. Otherwise we are simply bumper sticker Christians. True conversion involves moving into ever deepening communion with Christ and His Church.

       This is where initial and initiating catechesis comes in.  The wonderful thing about being Catholic is that we don’t have to figure it out on our own.  We have a 2000-year intellectual history of thinking about, pondering and coming up with effective ways of articulating the faith the comes to us from the apostles.  This has been compiled into a marvelous compendium called the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The various means of Faith Formation here in the parish are all based on this document, whether it is Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Faith Journeys, adult Bible study, or any of the myriad of other things going on, and especially in the Sunday homily.  This is where we are informed and inspired so that as St. Peter says we are “always ready to give an accounting of the joy that is within you.” 

       I’ll get into Adherence, Ongoing Formation and Missionary Discipleship later, but this is enough for today. 

   For now it is enough to realize that conversion involves the whole person – mind, body and spirit.  Also, it is a lifelong-ongoing process.  It involves the reordering of our priorities and placing Christ in the center of our lives. It means intentionally engaging with the parish in the sacred assembly, in one’s household, and in small groups that will support and deepen our desire for ongoing communion. 

       Sure, it takes time. But we have to start somewhere.  Why not here?  Why not now?            

A friend checked out this humble blog last week and commented on how she enjoyed reading the homilies. I mentioned to her, “You know, you can listen to it too.”

“What?” she said.

“Yeah,” I replied, “Just click on the play button on the audio file. Right under the title of each post. It’s that little black triangle right there. ”

“Oh, my goodness! Well, will you look at that! Who’d have thought.”

       I enjoy bumper sticker theology and pithy church sign sayings. Sometimes they incorporate different eras of pop culture. Who would not be moved by: “The fact that there is a ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and a ‘Highway to Hell’ tells you a lot about anticipated traffic patterns.” They may be exhortative.  What self-righteous church goer would not be knocked off their pedestal by: “Acting perfectly in Church is like dressing up for an X-ray.”  They may also take an eschatological bent. This one for passing motorists: “Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet him now.”  Some of them are just darn good theology.  My favorite is one reminiscent of one of Pope Francis’ early talks: “The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.” 

     In the next few weeks, you will note a decided shift of emphasis in the readings.  As we near the end of Ordinary Time, the Church invites us to get our spiritual house in order so that we may be prepared for the glorious second coming of Christ at the end of the age.

       Fall is a great time to get rid of clutter in one’s life.  And the staff will tell you that I hate clutter.  Clutter is one of the great evils that plagues the Church.

       How does physical clutter start?

       Like all insidious vices, it starts with an immediate need. “I have need of this item, so I will put it here, in this place, so that I may have ready access to it.”  Or perhaps: “I have need of this now so I will put it here.  I will put it back when I no longer need it.”

       But the item does not get put back.  And there it remains.  Soon other items gather near it as if by force of gravity. Eventually, the space that it occupies is no longer recognizable or useful for its original purpose, and it has taken on a life of its own.

       Let me tell you a story.

       May 5, 1996, was a momentous day in the life of St. Patrick Parish.  Do you know what happened here then?

       – We dedicated the new church building.

       It was a glorious day. All the priests of the Archdiocese were here, several bishops, and every member of the parish.

       About an hour or two beforehand, the Pastor, Fr. Steven Moore, realized that there was no table on which to set the programs for the liturgy. 

       He turned to his young associate, Fr. Leo Walsh, and said, “Leo, run over to the rectory and get one of the sofa tables.  We’ll use that to put the programs on.  We can put it back when we are done.”

       So off the young associate dutifully ran and grabbed the sofa table, a nice piece about a foot wide and four feet long.  We put it in the middle of the Gathering Area and it worked great.

       But the next week, we had no table on which to put the bulletins, so the table remained so that we could use it for that.

       One week turned into two, and two into three.  Months went by and the table remained.

       In due time the young associate was reassigned, but he returned every few years and sure enough every time he looked in the Gathering Area, that sofa table was still there with various items laid upon it. 

       Years went by, and in God’s good providence, the young Associate returned, but this time as Pastor of St. Patrick Parish.  Upon his arrival, he gazed into the gathering area, and sure enough, that trusty sofa table stood resolutely in the Gathering area, now covered with hymnals and bulletins and children’s activity sheets and whatnot and surrounded by many other tables and racks of various shapes and sizes…

       And the little sofa table was happy. 

       And there it remains to this day…

       This, my dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish, is how clutter happens.

Spiritual clutter follows the same dynamic. Fall is a great time to clean up one’s spiritual house. 

       The first step is to remove any and all obstacles that come between us and Christ.  I’m talking about sins.

       In my 25 years of priesthood and 55 years of life, I have never seen anyone who purposefully set out to sin mortally.  Usually, it begins with one, small seemingly harmless venial sin, but that leads to another and to another and another…eventually, disaster looms. 

       The current sloppy weather, gives us another good example.  Think about this the next time you are driving and you notice a little speck of mud on your windshield.  Now a single speck is not that big of a deal, but soon there is another here, and then another…here a speck, there a speck, everywhere a speck, speck…

       Eventually, you cannot see the road in front of you and if you don’t take corrective action, disaster looms. 

       So it is with spiritual clutter. 

       When we stand honestly before Almighty God, we have to admit that wherever we are on the moral spectrum, we all are in need of conversion, repentance, and reconciliation.  I’ll go more into each of these in the weeks to come, but for now a short introduction.

    Conversion is the initial moment when we turn back to God.  The Greek word for this turning back is “metanoia.”  It’s a navigational term.  When they were traveling across the desert, sometimes they would get off the right path. So they had to “turn back” to get back on track.  Conversion is that initial turning back to the Lord.  When we realize that things are out of whack and we need to get back on the right path in life.  We see that when Zaccheus changes course to intercept Jesus on the road in Jericho.

    When our heart turns back to the Lord, repentance for sin is the next logical step. We realize that some of our actions or inactions have harmed our relationship with God, self or others.  We need to set those aright.

       Zaccheus does this in a big way.  (“Half of what I own I give to the poor and if I have extorted anyone in the past, I pay them back fourfold.)  

       Also,  I am comforted by the insight from the Book of Wisdom that reminds us that we typically don’t get hit full-force by all of our sins at once, but rather that God will “rebuke offenders little by little.” (Wis 12:2). The Holy Spirit is very kind to us.  There is only one who has taken all of our sins upon Himself at once. For the rest of us, the Holy Spirit only gives us what we can handle at any given time.  So don’t get to distraught if after about three months of getting back into regular confession that a big nasty sin from your past will come to mind.  It is actually a sign of spiritual maturity.  That is the Holy Spirit saying, “Okay, now that you have progressed to this point in your spiritual life, let’s get this one reconciled too.”

     Reconciliation is the process by which are restored to communion with Christ and His Church.  This involves a good examination of conscience, sacramental confession, absolution, and satisfaction of one’s penance.

       Again, we see how Christ restores Zaccheus to the community of Israel.  “Today, salvation has come to this house.  For this one too is a child of Abraham.”  Zaccheus is restored and reconciled to the community of believers by Christ, and so are we.

     Yes, fall is a great time to get rid of the physical clutter in one’s life. In her wisdom, the Church invites us to get rid of the spiritual clutter as well.  Christ will most definitely come in glory at the end of the age.  Let us get our spiritual house in order.  The Church is a hospital for sinners, it is not a rest home for saints.  Let us be moved to conversion, repentance and reconciliation so that we may be prepared as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

       You don’t see many real lepers these days.  Treatment with sulfite-based medications in the 60’s, and now antibiotics such as dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine allow for the cure of Hansen’s disease, as leprosy is more properly known. Today, the disease and the stigma that accompanied it are almost completely unknown…almost. 

     Believe it or not, the United States still has a leper colony located at Kalaupapa on the Island of Moloka’i in Hawaii. Of the 8000 people that were forcibly sent there beginning in 1865, six of the 16 surviving patients still remain.  The youngest is 79 year-old Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa.  Boogie was diagnosed with Hansen’s disease at the age of 18.  He was taken from his family, and sent to Kalaupapa in 1959.  While other former residents have gone to live on the mainland or elsewhere, Boogie and five of his fellow patients have chosen to stay.  Kalaupapa is the only real home they have known. 

     I met Boogie a few years ago when I went to Kalaupapa at the invitation of Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu.  In the course of our visit, I stopped by the only library and bookstore of the town.  Boogie was standing by the counter greeting people as they came by. He was a very jovial fellow. Still, the disease had not left him untouched.  He was bald as an egg, his hands were affected by the disease, and one of his feet was in a modified boot. He had a voice of pure gravel that emerged from a radiant smile.  When he saw me, his eyes lit up and he said, “Hey are you a priest?!”

     “You bet!” I replied. 

     “Say, could I get a blessing from you?” 

     “Sure,” I said.  Then I said the priestly blessing over him, planting my hand firmly on his bowed forehead as I finished.  He dutifully made the Sign of the Cross and then vigorously shook my hand. “No loss of strength there,” I thought, as my knuckles cried out for mercy. 

     “Hey, thanks a lot, Father!” he said.  “Thanks for coming.”

     When I think back on my encounter with Boogie, I am struck by his final words of gratitude more than anything else.  Here is a man who by the standards of the world, has every right to be bitter and resentful.  Instead, he radiated a spirit of joy and gratitude.  Other residents shared with us that one of the things we needed to tell people was the essential role that the Church played in their lives on Kalaupapa. It could have been a dismal place, but instead their faith gave them dignity and hope. They chose to be grateful.

     There is a lesson to be learned here. The intentional disciple is intentionally grateful. The grateful heart cannot be bitter or resentful, even in what might otherwise be the worst of circumstances.  Such is the power of the Gospel.

So how to you get there?

       Gratitude just doesn’t happen

Rather, it has its origins in a more seminal virtue, namely

       HUMILITY.

You don’t get to be grateful without first being humble.

So, what is humility anyway?

        I have found that humility is simply this:  to know yourself without illusion before Almighty God.

       That means acknowledging without apology, everything about you that is right and true and beautiful and just.

       At the same time, it also means acknowledging all that is broken and self-centered and sinful, without sugar-coating it.

       Thus understood, we can begin to understand the primary temptation against authentic humility.

       The first temptation is to downplay our gifts with pointless and dishonest self-denigration or a misdirected interior sense of worthlessness.  Few people have spoken more eloquently about this than Marianne Williamson in her book, Return to Love (Harper and Collins, 1992).  She says:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of

God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people

permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

Our presence automatically liberates others.”

Amazing insight, isn’t it? Marianne Williamson. A Return to Love.

       The second temptation is like the first, namely a kind of smug presumption on the mercy of God characterized by a lack of honesty about the seriousness and the impact of our sins on others.  We might say things to ourselves like, “Well, I’m only human.” or “It really wasn’t all that bad.” or “Well, nobody really got hurt.”

       How does this temptation work?  A short story helps illustrate this dynamic.

       The devil was speaking with his demons about how they might be able to misdirect more souls from grace.  The first demon spoke up and said, “I know, Boss, let’s try to convince people that there is no heaven!  That way they will lose all sense of hope and turn away from virtue.”

       The devil replied, “No, that will not work.  There will always be people who believe in heaven, try as we might we cannot snuff out hope completely. What else have you got?

       The second demon spoke up, “I know, Boss, how about we try to convince them that there is no hell?  That way they will think there are no consequences for their actions, and we can steal a few souls that way.”

       The devil replied, “Better, but still not enough. Sinful actions have immediate and eternal consequences. Some will still repent.  We need to do better.  What else have you got?”

       The third demon thought for a moment and then said,
“I know, Boss, let’s convince them that there is a heaven and there is a hell…but not yet!” 

       “Ahhh…” the devil replied, “Now we are getting somewhere.”

       If we are truly honest with ourselves, we come to realize that our sins really are that bad, they do have consequences and yes people get hurt.  There is an immediacy to our need for confession and reconciliation.  St. Paul tells us as much when he says, “if one part of the body is hurting, all the other parts feels its effects.”  (1Cor 12:26) There is no such thing as a private sin.

       But when we come honestly, humbly before Our Lord, the  miracle of faith is this: Christ looks at each of us and says, “Yes, I know everything about you that is right and true and beautiful and just, because I put that there when I created you.

And yes, I know all of your sins…ALL of them.  (Yes, even that one.) because it was for them that I died on the Cross, Rejoice. You are forgiven.  You are free.” 

My dear friends in Christ, when we understand what we have been given, when we understand what we have be FORgiven, what response is appropriate?  What response is even possible, save gratitude? 

       Meister Ekhard, the great medieval mystic once said, “If you only prayer that you can muster is ‘Thank You,’ it is enough. 

       Did you know that the word Eucharist come from the Greek word, “ευχαριστία” which means “Thanksgiving?” 

Therefore, in this sacred assembly, let us give thanks to the Lord Our God, for it is so very right and just. It is here that we are gathered; it is here that we proclaim the Word; it is there that we break the bread; and it is from here that we are sent into the world to proclaim the Good News with grateful hearts, founded on an authentic humility.

       The grateful heart cannot be contained. You were not made for mediocrity. Our parish is not made for mediocrity. You were made to be a great saint! Please, please, please.  Do not settle for anything less.

Hello, blogosphere! I did not preach to the parish this weekend, but I did start a column in the parish bulletin. I think I’ll put these in as well. Let me know what you think.

---

First, read this.

Reading 1HAB 1:2-3; 2:2-4

How long, O LORD?  I cry for help
 but you do not listen!
 I cry out to you, “Violence!”
 but you do not intervene.
 Why do you let me see ruin;
 why must I look at misery?
 Destruction and violence are before me;
 there is strife, and clamorous discord.
 Then the LORD answered me and said:
 Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
 so that one can read it readily.
 For the vision still has its time,
 presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
 if it delays, wait for it,
 it will surely come, it will not be late.
 The rash one has no integrity;
 but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

---

Take a good look a the reading from Habakkuk in this week’s scriptures.  Now, think about your own prayer life, how often have you used these or similar words: “How long, O LORD?  I cry for help, but you do not listen!”

     These words of Habakkuk are in the scriptures because at some time or another, every disciple has experienced shouting, pleading, and sometimes ranting at a Silent God.

     There are many reasons for this I suppose. One might be that too often we pray “MY will be done!” instead of “THY will be done.”  But I think this is not so common.

    Rather, I think it is because in our insta-gram, fast food, give-it-to-me-now, culture we are not very good at waiting. We want it right done right, we want it courteously, and we want it NOW!  For reasons we often do not fully understand, waiting irritates us.

    And yet, as Christians, waiting is an essential element of the faith. We await the coming of Christ in glory at the end of the age. As we here in the Embolism at the end of the Lord’s Prayer: “…as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

     There is a great difference between waiting with great irritation and waiting in joyful hope. Often times there are many things in the background that we are unaware of that the need to happen before the good stuff can happen. For example, I’m told that the cone of certain pine trees will lay dormant for decades and will not germinate until a wildfire burns the husk and activates the seed. It may be urban (or more precisely “arborial”) myth, but the point is well taken. 

     In the same way, 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…always.

     Finally, it is important to remember that God has three way of answering prayers: a) “Yes.” b) Not Yet”, and c) “I have something better in mind for you.”

Today I will talk about  – Wealth, Poverty the Middle Class and the Kingdom of God

Jesus spoke in parables for a reason

       They can be interpreted on many levels

       Literally – real weath and real poverty

       Spiritually – rich in faith, poor in spirit

       Analogically – rich man as the pharisees, Lazarus as the people of Israel

       Today I will be looking at the parable in the literal sense.

       Also, when someone remains unnamed in a parable, the listener is invited to see themselves in that role.

       From our earlier meditations, we know that wealth in and of itself is neither sinful, nor virtuous,

       Poverty in an of itself is neither sinful nor virtuous

Being somewhere in the middle class is neither sinful nor virtuous

       Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of King Wenceslaus, who ruled an empire,

       on Friday we will celebrate the feast of St. Francis

          who renounced all wealth and lived and died in abject poverty. 

       Both and many like them are celebrated as great saints.

       So, what’s key?

       If wealth or poverty is neither virtuous nor sinful,  what was the Rich Man’s sin? Was it that he did not feed Lazarus with the scraps from this table? Not really.  Was it that he did not bath his wounds so that he might be healed?  No so much…

       No, the Rich Man’s sin was that he did not even SEE Lazarus. He was blind to the reality of another man who was right on his doorstep. He had the means, but he did not have the vision.

       Wealth, in and of itself is neither virtuous nor sinful, but wealth at the service of the gospel can make all the difference! By the same token, poverty in and of itself is neither sinful nor virtuous, but poverty lived in service to the gospel can make all the difference. 

       It’s not being rich or poor or somewhere in between that matters…It’s what you do with it. None of us is without the means the to live the truth of the gospel, to proclaim it in lives of faithful service of the gospel

       But to do so, we see, pray, discern, and then to act as we are able. 

       I’m not sure what has been going on in this town since I left for Italy three years ago, but we have a marvelous gift in that it is virtually impossible to drive through town without seeing the poor. 

This believe it or not, is a marvelous gift.  What do I mean?

       Well, let me tell you about the first time I ever met Mother Teresa, now know as St. Teresa Kolkata

       (actually, it’s the only time I ever met Mother Teresa)

       It was while I was in the seminary in the mid-1990’s. The seminary was having an in-house silent day of reflection on the Compassion of Christ. There was a morning, an afternoon and an evening conference.

       At the afternoon conference, at the end of his talk the spiritual director the house said, “Gentlemen, the dress code for Vespers this evening is formal.  We have a very special guest coming.”

       Now we had all been on enough high school retreats by this time and so we laughed among ourselves and said, “Oh yes!  Jesus is coming!” 

       But then he continued and said, “Mother Teresa is in Rome.  We have invited to join us for evening prayer and she has accepted.”

       Not that was something different.  So we said among ourselves.  “Are you going to dress up? Do you think she is really coming?”

       Well, we did and she did.

She entered the room and we all stood up out of respect.

       Then she knelt down to pray.

       So we all knelt down to pray. 

And at the appropriate time during Vespers, the rector invited her to speak.

       Now the first thing you noticed about Mother Teresa was that she was only about 4 and a half feet tall.  Apparently height is neither virtuous nor sinful either. 

       The second thing is that she liked to talk and there was no one  in that room who was going to try to silence her. 

       We were all anticipating what great pearls of wisdom might come from the mouth of the saint.

       And this is what she said to us, “My young brothers, you who want to be priests, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength…and this is how I have done it…”

       And then for the next 45 minutes she just told us stories about things she had done and how God had opened her eyes to see the poverty on the streets of Kolkata, and she had found her vocation in serving Christ in the poorest of the poor. She did not do it to get noticed.  In fact in the middle of her talk she said: “You know, I would rather bathe a leper than talk to the press.”

       And as she continued, we all noticed that there was really nothing all that extraordinary to what she was doing, nothing any of us could not do. 

       No, the great wisdom of Mother Teresa is that she did very ordinary things, with an extraordinary love, and she did it without compromise. 

       Near the end she said to us, “People are always saying to me, Mother Teresa, I want to come to Kolkata to help you serve the poor.  And I always say to them, ‘Don’t come.  You find the poor in your own neighborhood and you serve Christ in them.’”

       If we have eyes to see, we do not have to look very hard to find the poor in our town.  How shall we serve Christ, by serving them?

       I encourage you to read my column in the bulletin this week.  In there I note with great interest how three private entities have pledged over $40 million over the next five years to address the problem of homeless in Anchorage.  That is quite a lot of resources. Time will tell if it will make a difference. 

       But what about you?  What about me?  What about all of us as the parish family of St. Patrick?  What shall we do…such as we are – wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between?

       We may not all be called to extraordinary things, (Although I am convinced some in this room are.)

       But we are all called to see, to pray, to discern, and then to act as we are able.

[The Story of the Boy and the Starfish.]

       Perhaps it is something as simple as washing feet at the Brother Francis Shelter, or to bring food for Clare House, or to donate clothes, or to fund a worthwhile project…

No, it’s not so much doing the extraordinary things that will get us to heaven, but rather doing very ordinary things with an extraordinary, uncompromising love.       

       And that, I assure you, makes all the difference.