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Why the Book of Job?

While I won’t say the Book of Job is my favorite, there are certain parts I really like. You might ask, “Hey Father Leo, why is the Book of Job in the Bible anyway? It’s sooooo depressing! Isn’t scripture supposed to inspire not depress?” Well, yes and no. Scripture bears privileged witness to Revelation and usually that is pretty inspiring. But it also is expressive of the People’s experience of God and the lessons they learn from that encounter. Why is Job in the Bible? Because, quite frankly, sometimes the human experience is not much fun. Who of us, especially in the midst of the present pandemic, has not at one time or another echoed the words of good ol’ Job: “Is not life a drudgery?!” or in the midst of sorrow exclaimed, “I shall never see happiness again!”

Let’s be honest.  Life is usually pretty good, but sometimes it really stinks. Wouldn’t you want a God who is present to you not just when life is all sweetness and roses, but especially when you are at your worst?

A careful reading of the book shows that God never abandons Job in his affliction; and, incidentally neither do the three friends of Job who come to comfort him. One notes also that Job never gives up his faith in God and is eventually restored tenfold.

Job is especially relevant to the Christian. The story shows us how God never gives up on us. Sure, usually life is pretty good, but sometimes trial and affliction and even our own sins bring us to our knees. If the Cross teaches us anything, it is that through Christ’s redemptive suffering, God is especially present to us when we are at our worst.  For those who persevere to the end, the crown of righteousness awaits. 

The friends of Job show us that, as the Body of Christ, we are called to share in the burdens of others. When we feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, bury the dead,
give alms to the poor, we are heart and arms and hands of Christ reaching out to others in their need.  

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Making Sense of Suffering

[Deacon Mick gave a good one today. As always you can check out the whole Mass here. And hey, I’ve also learned how to post just the homilies on YouTube. You can do that here.

The readings today

address the sickness and suffering of people that

filled a typical day in the life of Jesus. 

In one degree or another,

sickness and suffering are universal experiences.

And never so much as in today’s world.

You might say suffering is very democratic (with a small ‘d”). 

It doesn’t come only to the selfish;

it doesn’t come only to the sinful;

it doesn’t come only to people who are evil. 

It comes to the young and to the old,

to the wise and to the foolish,

to saints and to sinners.

Our first reading today

from the Old Testament Book of Job

is sometimes called “Job’s Lament.” 

He says,

“My pain is more than I can bear. 

I can’t sleep at night. 

I shall not see happiness again.” 

Job’s lament

is a cry we all feel within ourselves when

we became seriously ill or

when someone we love becomes ill or dies.

When we read in the Scriptures about

individuals speaking with God

and their mystical experiences,

we may or may not be able to relate to that, but

we can all connect to human suffering. 

Maybe our hurt is not physical but emotional

like a marriage in distress or a friends betrayal

or being bullied in school. 

When we feel pain,

regardless of the source,

we want to join Job and say.

“I shall never see happiness again/“

Into this world of suffering and pain comes Jesus. 

In today’s Gospel reading,

the lord heals Simon’s mother-in-law and then

people with all sorts of illnesses. 

In fact,

he heals so many people that

the Lord has to find time alone in the desert for prayer.

Some people are healed physically and others

are healed spiritually by the power of Jesus’ teaching. 

Jesus sees that

the deepest healing we all need is spiritual. 

That’s why the Lord moves on to preach in another town.

People are healed spiritually

when they are given the strength to accept their condition in life,

even to make their suffering a place of strength,

depth and compassion for others. 

That’s a powerful, healing grace because

suffering can make us bitter, isolated, and self-absorbed. 

It’s a sign of the touch of Christ

when our suffering gives us depth of understanding,

spiritual strength and compassion for others.

Now, this may sound like ambo rhetoric

until we see it happen in human lives

as people in the deepest suffering become like Christ. 

In their suffering,

they see a deep truth about the world. 

They see that

ours is not the perfect world and

we are not the perfect people

portrayed in television advertising.

They see that life

is not filled with happy endings as in the movies. 

Through suffering we experience the fragility of life

and see what is important

and how we all need the grace and redemption of Christ.

When people unite their suffering,

which is always a sign of our broken world,

with the cross of Christ,

they make their own pain

an occasion for spiritual victory for themselves

and for others.

SO – It’s in this context that

we can best understand

the Sacrament of Healing,

the Sacrament of the Sick,

the Anointing of the Sick. 

This is the sacrament that

for centuries was given to people who were seriously ill. 

Eventually, it became limited to those who were dying

and then used to be called the last anointing

or the “Extreme Unction”  or last rites. 

But the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick

is meant to be a sacrament of spiritual healing, strength and peace. 

And so the Church has restored it

as a sacrament not just for those at the point of death

but for all those who are seriously ill.

It can also be administered to those over 55 years of age. 

I guess they feel we are so close to death after that age that

we should not take any chances.

But seriously,

as in all  the sacraments,

the Lord Jesus is present in this sacrament

at a time in our life when we need him very much. 

When we are seriously ill,

we are challenged in our faith. 

We need the special help of God’s grace

in this time of anxiety so that

we will not be broken in spirit, or feel isolated and alone.

The Anointing of the Sick

gives us the courage and grace

to hold to our faith in the face of this challenge. 

It helps us see that

when we think we are alone, we are not. 

It helps us see that when our body is weak,

our soul can be strong. 

It provides healing that

is sometimes physical, sometimes emotional and always spiritual.

When we feel that

no one could possibly understand what we are going through,

Jesus joins us in our suffering

and turns a moment of desperation

into a moment of conversion.

My brothers and sisters,

don’t wait until a loved one is expiring

or lapsing into unconsciousness

to call a priest. 

When someone is seriously ill,

he or she needs this sacrament

when they can hear the words of the prayers

and make those prayers their own. 

Illness can be frightening. 

The Anointing of the Sick assures us that

Jesus is with us. 

He is there to protect us

from the doubts and anxiety that plagued Job. 

He is there to give us

the courage and grace to journey with him

and even,

even to make our illness an instrument of salvation

to ourselves and to others so that

whatever illness may do to our body,

Jesus, through the Sacrament of the Sick

will bring clarity, peace and dignity to our soul.

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By What Authority?

[Hey, Church fans! How do you know the faith you were taught was not made up by some guy named Ned in the Middle Ages? Your answer is below.

Don’t forget, you can always see the homily on our parish Facebook page by clicking here. ]

     When I am doing lectio divina, my meditations will often fall to the more obscure references in a particular scripture passage. For example, in today’s gospel, we are told that Jesus “taught with authority and not like their scribes.”         Which begs the question—how did the scribes teach? One gets the impression that they were a bit mealy-mouthed. They probably had lots of footnotes. 

       Jesus is different. He does not cite any sources. Rather, he comes preaching himself and the Kingdom. As the Incarnate Word of God, he IS the primary source of revelation. There is no higher authority.

       The expulsion of the demon, done by his own authority, further drives the point home. He appeals to no one. As the divine second person of the Holy Trinity Jesus teaches and preaches and heals and expels demons

       …on his own authority. 

       The people in the synagogue, including his disciples, don’t realize this yet of course. That will come later. In the meantime, they are left to wonder, “What is this all about?”

       To Mark’s mind, it is all about the authority of Christ over all things “in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” (Phil 2:10)

       So here is a question for you.

       Did that authority of Christ end with his ascension into heaven? 

       The obvious answer is, “No.”

       At Pentecost, Christ passed on this same authority to St. Peter and the apostles and to their successors, the bishops. Thus, the Church teaches and sanctifies and governs with the same authority of Christ.

       Why is this so important?

       Well, let me ask you another question.  It’s one you may have even asked yourself at one time.  I know I did, when I was about 15.  The question is this:

       “How do you know?

       How do you know that the faith that you have been taught is authentic – that it is the same faith taught by the Apostle Peter, by the Apostle Paul? 

       How do you know it just wasn’t MADE UP in the middle ages by some guy named Ned Jones, or in the 19th century by some fellow named Joe Smith?

       What is your guarantee?

       As a believing Christian, it is imperative that you know that your faith is authentic.

So how would you go about getting that certainty?

       If I were you, I would want to get as close to the source as possible. 

       I would try to find out if the very Church that Christ founded was still around,

       and once found them,

              and I would want to make sure that they had                                     some very good safeguards in place

              to make sure that what they taught today is                                  exactly what was taught then;

       Because if they did, they would be the only ones who would have the authority to authentically teach and tell their own story.

       These would be the present day witnesses to the Risen Christ.

       You deserve that kind of certainty…

And here you have it.

       My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish and those who are watching on the livestream or the recorded wherever you are.

       You are indeed sitting in the midst of or watching the local expression of the very community founded by Christ.

       For us in the Roman Catholic Church, we trace our faith in a direct line all the back to the Apostles Peter and Paul, authentic witnesses of the resurrection.

       Paul, whose life was changed forever when  encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus and soon began to proclaim the very Faith he was persecuting,

       Who went to Arabia, back to Damascus, then to Jerusalem, where he his teaching was affirmed by the Apostles,

       then on four missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean, and finally taken as a prisoner to Rome, where he witnessed to the faith, even under house arrest.

       And where, in the persecution of Nero, he was beheaded, outside the city at Tre Fontane, and where his grave is located under the high altar of the Basilica that bears his name.

       Peter, who was with Christ from the beginning, who recognized him as the Messiah, who walked out across the water to Christ in the raging storm, who denied him three times and was three times restored.

       Who at Pentecost received the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the risen Christ to the crowd with such conviction that 3000 were added that day.

       Who healed the crippled man on the steps of the Temple.

       Who led the Church in Antioch and then the Church in Rome for 25 years.

       Who in the persecution of 64 AD was cast into the Mamertine Prison and then crucified upside down on the spine of the Circus of Nero at the foot of the Vatican Hillside and was buried in a simple grave in the necropolis nearby.

       Where today, the Basilica that bears his name is built so that the high altar is directly over his simple grave.

       St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, whose authority was passed to his successor Linus,

       and Linus to Cletus,

              and Cletus to Clement

and so on, in an unbroken line of apostolic succession,

       to a man named Francis, the 265th direct successor          to the Apostle Peter,

              whose first task is to hold and teach the Catholic Faith, whole and entire, without corruption

       who second task, in communion with the bishops

              the successors of the apostles,

       is to interpret and proclaim that Faith in the modern world.

       So what’s our guarantee here in 99504?

       Well, here in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau, we have an archbishop named Andrew Bellisario, who was appointed by the very same Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ,

       Before he came to us, he was subjected to a process of scrutiny that lasted almost a year and a half.

       In due time, the personal representative of the Holy Father, the Papal Nuncio, came to Anchorage for the installation.

       And before Archbishop Bellisario was installed, the question was asked of him, “Do you have the Papal Mandate?”

       What the heck is the papal mandate?

       Simply put, it is a letter from the Holy Father, to the people of the Archdiocese stating without question that the man who currently holds the office of Archbishop of Anchorage-Juneau holds and teaches the same faith the Church has held and taught and preserved since Christ founded it. 

       The Nuncio held up the letter from the Holy Father for all to see.

       If you would like, you can go to the Archbishop’s office and take a look at it. 

       This papal mandate is your guarantee that the faith you have received as a Catholic in 99504 in 2021 is the same faith as the apostle Paul, as the apostle Peter.

Jesus taught with authority. 

       The Church teaches with the same authority.

              The Apostolic Succession is our guarantee that                    the witness we have received is true. 

       May our lives reflect that truth.

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Taking a Leap

       Try this little spiritual exercise. Sometime this week stand at the step of City Hall

       And for an hour, shout at the top of your lungs:

       “Forty-days more and this city will be destroyed!!!”

Then, come back next week and tell me how it went…

       The conversion of the city if Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah goes to show you that the only reason he was effective as that he was literally on a mission from God.

But with Jonah and with Paul and even with our Lord, we can see a certain urgency with which they go about their tasks. 

       “Forty days more…”

       “I tell you, brothers and sisters, that time is running out…”

       ““This is the time of fulfillment.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

       You can feel the urgency in their message.

       When I was younger, I was captivated by Peter, James, John and Andrew, who left everything, seemingly on the spur of the moment, to follow Jesus simply because he asked them.

“What faith!” I thought. “What fervor!” 

       Then, as I grew older and started adulting, I thought to myself, “Self!  Hold on a minute. Normal people don’t this that.  They don’t just up leave everything because some stranger says, ‘Follow me.’” In fact, we see several other places where Jesus give the same invitation and they don’t follow him, such as the rich, young man in Mark 10:17-31.

       There has to be more to the story.

       Fortunately, we get our insight in last week’s gospel from the call of Andrew and Peter in the Gospel of John 

(Jn 1:35-42). As you recall, once Andrew spent the rest of the day with Jesus he sought out his brother Simon and exclaimed, “We have found the Messiah!” If we keep reading, we see that the next day the scene is repeated with Philip and Nathaniel. In this case, Philip says, ““We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” (Jn 1:45) 

       What becomes abundantly clear in a reading of John is that, like everyone else at the time, those who would become the first disciples were primed and ready for his appearance. They were on the lookout, and when they found themselves in his presence, they recognized in him the long-expected Messiah.

       They didn’t know what following him would entail, of course, but really they didn’t have to. He was there. He asked them to be his disciples. That was enough for the moment. The rest would take care of itself.

       It’s a good lesson for all of us who choose to follow Jesus. Do we recognize in Jesus the fulfillment of all our hopes and deepest longings? Do we choose to follow him daily? If we do, then every other decision from then on will flow from that choice. The rest is just details.

       The problem is, human beings are naturally averse to the unknown. We like a bit of certainty before we take a leap of faith. 

       We like the road map, not just trail markers.

       In the morning I like to listen the local news radio. It seems that every news and talk radio station has at least one featured show on planning your financial future and setting a road map to success.

       And yes, we should plan prudently in this regard.

       But in the end, it is all an illusion.

              “The world in its present form is passing away.”

You never see a hearse with a U-Haul behind it. 

       In her essay, the Open Door, Helen Keller once said something that I greatly admire:

          “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

                                           – Helen Keller, The Open Door

Still, we like a bit of certainty before we take a leap of faith. 

       If not in what we are getting ourselves into,

       then at least in the ONE who is asking us to do it. 

       This trust in the other is called faith.

This is not something esoteric or complicated.

       Anyone who has watched a child leap into the swimming pool at his father’s beckoning knows what I am talking about.  

       The water is deeper than the child’s head.

       The child knows this.

       The child also knows that it is only about chest deep on his father.

       And he knows that since his father is there, he will be safe.

       And so…he leaps.

Is it any different for you and me as we stand on the edge as Christ beckons us out of the kiddy pool and into the deep end of discipleship?

       It is Jesus who is calling us.    

       What could we possibly be afraid of? 

              What could possibly hold us back?

       He has gone all the way to the Cross for us.  

His arms are still outstretched to embrace us. 

       What could possibly make us hesitate any longer?  

       Yet, still.  Some of us do.

In 1958, Thomas Merton, prolific author and monk of Gethsemane Abbey in Louisville, KY, wrote a book called “Thoughts in Solitude.”  In this book is a short prayer about this very moment in the life of every Christian. 

       It is now called “The Merton Prayer.”

              It is often quoted, even today.

       So I will conclude with it in hopes that you will find it helpful:

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end,
         nor do I really know myself,
         and the fact that I think I am following your will
         does not mean that I am actually doing so.


But I believe that the desire to please you
         does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
         and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. 

Amen.

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The Dynamics, Dignity, and Drama of Discipleship

[Howdy, Church fans! Today, Deacon Mick took us on a very good meditation on some various aspects of discipleship as presented in the Sunday readings. As always, you can see the video of the Mass by clicking here.

Our readings today are about calls to discipleship. 

They focus on the dynamics,

the dignity and the drama

of living and being a follower of Christ.

The first reading

from the Old Testament Book of Samuel

describes God calling young Samuel

in the middle of the night. 

In the Gospel,

Jesus calls Andrew

and it’s Andrew who brings Peter to Jesus

for the first time. 

Here we see something the dynamics of discipleship

that still continues today.

Some people

are called directly by God like Samuel. 

They can say,

“Here I am Lord, I have heard you calling in the night.” 

Most of us, however,

have been brought to the Lord

by people like Andrew in today’s Gospel reading. 

We were baptized as infants

and brought to the church by others. 

We grew up in the Church

and were taught truths of the faith by others. 

We were encouraged

to follow Christ in everything we do by others. 

The Lord called us through others

just as surely as he called Samuel in the middle the night. 

There was an ‘Andrew’ in our life that

the Lord used to reach us, to teach us and to guide us. 

That’s something of the dynamics of discipleship,

how people receive the call. 

Some receive it directly in the middle of the night;

most receive it through others.

Then —— there is the dignity of discipleship.

What prompted Jesus to call Andrew & Peter?

What did Jesus see in Peter and in Andrew? 

Of course, Jesus saw them as they were but

I believe — he also saw what they could become. 

When we look at people,

we often see them only for what they are right now. 

Jesus saw more. 

He saw their potential.

Show a entrepreneur an empty city corner

and he sees a future store. 

Show a sculptor a stone

and he visualizes the image it can be. 

That’s how the Lord looked at people. 

The Lord does the same today. 

He looks at each of us

and through the Church ——

he shows us what we can become. 

That’s the dignity of our discipleship.

Finally there is the drama of discipleship

in how we give witness to the teachings of Christ.

St. Paul is writing about this in today’s second reading. 

Unfortunately, we live, as did the Corinthians,

in a sex-saturated society,

a society that trivializes the sacrament of marriage

a culture —— uncaring for the lives the unborn and the elderly. 

Today, I want join with St. Paul

to focus on the dignity of the body,

of how sexuality gets trivialized.

Now, some say that the Catholic Church is preoccupied with sex. 

In fact, it’s our society that is preoccupied with sex. 

Sex is a subject of humor, discussion, gossip,

entertainment, novels, movies, news,

all the media and advertisements. 

A person can’t watch television

for a brief period of time

without encountering sexual innuendo in some form.

And let’s not even begin the discussion

about the excess of pornography on the internet.

The proliferation of “secular experts”

and books about so-called “sexual liberation”

have all left society in shambles

and families broken apart. 

This liberation has taken down politicians,

religious leaders, and the average man and woman. 

This liberation has made multiple marriages & divorces acceptable

and living together before marriage

the common reality in this sex addicted world.

My brothers and sisters,

St. Paul is teaching us about

sexual responsibility and sexual integrity. 

Sex is not a demon. 

It’s part of human life,

but only a part. 

There are other,

more important dimensions to what a person is

and the most important is our baptism in faith,

our vocation to our life as Christians,

and our call to discipleship. 

Every part of our life

needs to be integrated in our vocation as a Catholic Christians. 

Our commitment has to be complete and total.

Our Catholic faith, belief and teachings

are not a Catholic cafeteria or buffet line

where we can pick and choose what we like

because a secular society says it’s OK!

If Jesus is not Lord of every part of our life,

we can end up as a spiritual Jekyll and Hyde. 

We pray one way and live another.

Our witness to the world today

must be that the seal of love,

the expression of love

belongs to those who have made a public

lifelong commitment to each other

that we call marriage. 

Outside of marriage,

the sexual expression of love is irresponsible and wrong. 

That’s the immorality to which St. Paul refers

and it’s as common today as in Corinth. 

My brothers and sisters,

the key to happiness – to maturity

comes not from sexual experience alone

but from the commitment, the fidelity,

the loyalty, and the family life

it was designed by God to imply. 

Not only has sex without marriage not brought happiness,

it has led to the use, abuse and distortion of people’s lives. 

And history has shown us that

a degeneration of morality

has lead to the downfall of almost every major empire or civilization.

In this kind of world,

we disciples of Christ

must bring a message of hope

and respect for sexuality. 

We must believe and profess that

our bodies are more than biological units. 

They are temples of the HolySpirit.  

Here, at Mass,

the Church calls us to the truth that

we don’t have to settle for the lowest

but can aspire to the highest.

Every Sunday,

the Lord calls us to live in the image of God

we were created to be. 

We can be peacemakers,

we can respect the commitment of marriage

(our own and that of others),

we can honor the sanctity of human life and love,

we can learn to reconcile, to forgive,

to build a civilization based on the Gospel. 

At ever Mass,

the Lord looks at us, as he did Peter and Andrew. 

He sees us as we are

and each Sunday,

he shows us once more what we can become. 

The dignity and drama of our discipleship

is not to settle for what we are

but to aspire

to what each of us can become in Christ.

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Being Andrew

Howdy, Church fans! Hope your team wins this weekend! . Below is the column. As always, you can catch the livestream at our FB page:

“So how did you decide to be a priest?”  It’s a question I get a lot. The short answer is, I was invited by another person. It’s as simple as that.

Vocations are not rocket science, but it is important to realize that every person in the parish has an essential role to play in calling forth, from our own parish family, men and women to serve the Archdiocese as priests, deacons, and religious. Vocations are everybody’s responsibility. Think about it. What could be better than helping someone answer the calling that Jesus has wanted for that person since he or she was created?  How cool is that?!

I’m also painfully aware that as we approach our 50th anniversary as a parish, I can think of no one whom the parish has called to the holy priesthood for the Archdiocese. I think we are about due, don’t you?

So how does it work? How do you invite someone to follow Christ into the priesthood?  We can get an idea from call of Peter through Andrew in today’s Gospel. The encounter shows us six easy steps.

Step 1. Look for Jesus yourself. 

Step 2. Follow Jesus yourself.

Step 3. Spend time with Jesus. 

Step 4. Seek out the other.

Step 5. Invite the other to follow Jesus. 

Step 6. Keep praying and trust Jesus to do the rest.

Step 1. We see that Andrew (and presumably John) were already looking for the Messiah, that’s probably why they were disciples of John. 

Step 2. Once John points him out, off they go!

Step 3. They came. They saw and spent the rest of the day in the Lord’s presence. That’s essentially what prayer is. Spending time with the Lord. We spend time with Jesus in private prayer, in small group prayer, and most profoundly in the liturgical prayer of the Sacred Assembly at Holy Mass.

Step 4. Having come to know Jesus, Andrew seeks out his brother, who apparently was also looking for Jesus.

Step 5. Once he finds him, he says, “Simon! You gotta come with me! We found him! This is the guy! Come and see!”  Then he brought him to Jesus.

Step 6. Jesus receives Simon…and Simon’s name, and his life, are forever changed. And, we should note, so is Andrew’s.

Remember. No Andrew, no St. Peter.  So be Andrew! Follow steps 1-3 and when the time is right go up to that young man and say: “You know, I see the qualities in you that would make a good priest. Would you please consider it?  I’m going to be praying for you.”  Then keep praying and let Jesus do the rest.     

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In God We Trust

My Dear Friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish:

I began this week much like the rest of you – thankful for the gifts of faith, the gift of family, of health, among others.

One of those things which I apparently took for granted was the freedom to celebrate these gifts by giving thanks to Almighty God in our parish church in the Christmas liturgies, including today’s celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.

And then on Wednesday, I watched with interest and then with disgust as our Nation’s capital building, the very seat of our republic and a primary, living symbol of that freedom, was overrun by an unruly mob. The lives of five people were lost tragically, and the people of our Nation, indeed, of the world, asked with one voice, “How could this happen?” 

How indeed? 

I offer to you, my dear friends, and to all those of goodwill, that roots of this tragedy and every other tragedy that befalls our nation and all humanity are sown in the soil of a misplaced sense of in what and in whom shall we put our hope. 

As a human institution based on principles of Enlightenment philosophy, no one has ever claimed that the American experiment is immune from error.  Even the second verse of the hymn, America the Beautiful pleads, “God mend thine every flaw.”

And as good as it is, not even the greatest defenders of freedom and democracy have upheld the infallibility of our system of government.  It was Sir Winston Churchill who once famously quipped:

“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.  Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

I agree with Sir Winston, but we must remember that democracy is not an end unto itself.  Rather, even as flawed as it is, it remains the best instrument at hand to uphold and defend the principles and freedoms upon which this nation was founded. These principles are articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the writings of the Founding Fathers.  They are given concrete expression in the Constitution of Unite States. 

The freedoms expressed therein have been given different articulations throughout the last 245 years.  One of the most poignant was given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his famous “Four Freedoms” speech.  It was given on January 6, 1941, almost 80 years ago to the day, at the president’s annual address to Congress.  At that time, Europe and Asia were firmly in the grip of Second World War. The totalitarian powers of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Mussolini’s Italy, and the Soviet Union continued to grow unabated.  The United States had remained essentially neutral in the conflict, but was growing ever more wary as the tides of war ebbed ever closer to its shores. In the shadow of this ominous threat, the President addressed the nation, saying:

       In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

 The first is freedom of speech and expression–everywhere in the world.

        The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way–everywhere in the world.

        The third is freedom from want–which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.

        The fourth is freedom from fear–which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor–anywhere in the world.

Freedom of speech and expression; freedom of religion; freedom from want; freedom from fear – these are some of the essential freedoms upheld in the past century.  They have formed the cornerstone upon which much of our social discourse has been taken place for the past four generations. 

Yet even these are dependent on even more fundamental principles, not discerned by human reason alone, but revealed by Almighty God and passed on through the centuries by men and women of faith.

It was just such a man of faith who held the office of President at the conclusion that that exhaustive conflict just mentioned, who when faced with the mighty task of rebuilding a broken world, reminded the Nation once again that our strength and our hope must come from a deeper source.  In a radio address as Part of the Program ‘Religion in American Life’, 30 October 1949, President Harry Truman said:

“The United States has been a deeply religious Nation from its earliest beginnings. The need which the founders of our country felt–the need to be free to worship God, each man in his own way–was one of the strongest impulses that brought men from Europe to the New World. As the pioneers carved a civilization from the forest, they set a pattern which has lasted to our time. First, they built homes and then, knowing the need for religion in their daily lives, they built churches. When the United States was established, its coins bore witness to the American faith in a benevolent deity. The motto then was “In God We Trust.” That is still our motto and we, as a people, still place our firm trust in God.

“Building on this foundation of faith, the United States has grown from a small country in the wilderness to a position of great strength and great responsibility among the family of nations. Other countries look today to the United States for leadership in the ways of peace, and it is our task to meet that challenge.

“I am convinced that we are strong enough to meet the challenge. We are strong enough because we have a profound religious faith. The basic source of our strength as a nation is spiritual. We believe in the dignity of man. We believe that he is created in the image of God, who is the Father of us all.

“It is this faith that makes us determined that every citizen in our own land shall have an equal right and an equal opportunity to grow in wisdom and in stature, and to play his part in the affairs of our Nation.

“It is this faith that makes us respect the right of men everywhere to worship as they please and to live their own lives free from the fear of tyranny and strife.

“It is this faith that inspires us to work for a world in which life will be more worthwhile–a world of tolerance, unselfishness, and brotherhood–a world that lives according to the precepts of the Sermon on the Mount.

“I believe that every problem in the world today could be solved if men would only live by the principles of the ancient prophets and the Sermon on the Mount.

“Each one of us can do his part by a renewed devotion to his religion. If there is any danger to the religious life of our Nation, it lies in our taking our religious heritage too much for granted. Religion is not a static thing. It exists not in buildings, but in the minds and hearts of our people.

“Religion is like freedom. We cannot take it for granted. Man–to be free–must work at it. And man–to be truly religious–must work at that, too. Unless men live by their faith, and practice that faith in their daily lives, religion cannot be a living force in the world today.

“That is why each of us has a duty to participate-actively-in the religious life of his community and to support generously his own religious institutions.

“Just as an active faith sustained and guided the pioneers in conquering the wilderness, so today an active faith will sustain and guide us as we work for a just peace, freedom for all, and a world where human life is truly held sacred.

“Religious faith and religious work must be our reliance as we strive to fulfill our destiny in the world.”

In truth, any democratic society, even own great
Republic, cannot thrive or even survive apart from religious faith.

The dignity of the human person, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness all find their origins in

a reliance on Almighty God and the principles of sound religion. 

The farther we stray as individual citizens and as a nation from our religious faith and practice, the more perilous becomes the survival of our Great Republic, as the democratic principles on which it is founded and the freedoms which it defends are inexorably eroded.  

Our ultimate hope cannot, must not reside in any particular political figure or party.  

Nor ultimately can we place our trust even in the exceptional institutions of remarkable human governance.

The testimony of our own history is clear.  There is only one maxim by which our nation has endured the tribulations of our past and through which we will endure the trials of the future.

“In God we trust.” 

May it ever be so. 

May God bless America.    

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What is a ‘Magi’ Anyway? Thoughts on Epiphany.

Howdy, Church fans! Merry Christmas, Day 10! As always, you can catch the video of any our Sunday Masses at the St. Pat’s Facebook page. Click here to be whisked away!

I put out an outdoor Nativity Scene this year that for the neighborhood. Its kind of nice.

I’m reminded of a good friend of mine, a priest from England. He is one of those guys who have that deep basso voice and that incredible Oxford accent. With a combination like that, he can say the most inane things but they come across with a disproportionate amount of credibility. Truly, we may speak it, but it is their language.

Anyhoo, said friend loves to travel throughout America. He found himself in the deep
South, where they also have lovely accents. As he passed through a particular small town about this time of year, he noticed an nativity scene just outside the church in the town square. He noticed that all of the wise men were wearing custom-made classic red hats of a type worn by firefighters. Perplexed, he asked a woman coming out of the church what it was all about.

“Have you not read your Bible, young man?” she asked him in return.

“Well, yes, Madam,” he replied, “In fact, I am quite familiar with it, particularly the new testament. But I am sixes and sevens over the meaning of the firemen’s helmets.”

“Well, sonny, ” she replied, “Did you not read that the wise men came from a fahr?”

       Traditionally, the Epiphany is celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th, but in this part of the world we celebrate it on the second Sunday after Christmas. The readings we have are from Matthew’s gospel which tell the story of the Magi from the East coming to pay the child Jesus homage as “the newborn King of the Jews.” 

       Who were these guys anyway? Magi were interesting characters. Just as in the present day, there was a fascination with the exotic, mystic arts of the East in Persia and India. These magi would have been court advisors or mystics who looked to the heavens for portents and omens. Incidentally, they did not become kings until 1863 when John H. Hopkins wrote his famous carol by that name. (I am unsure when the lyrics involving the exploding cigar originated.) But they would have been astute enough to notice at that time that Jupiter, the royal planet, moved into Aries, the constellation that represented Israel. The obvious conclusion was that a new king had been born to the Jews. At least that is one theory.

       What is important for Matthew is that they are important, exotic, and foreign. We know this for one reason because Astrology was forbidden in the Law of the Moses.  rust is in God alone.

       That the magi, who represent the wisdom of the nations, would come to pay homage to Christ shows for Matthew that even they recognize the universal impact that he will have. Even from his earliest days, Matthew says, Christ’s mission was not just for the house of Israel, but for all the nations.

       At that time, the nations came to Christ in the guise of the Magi.

       From that time until today, through the missionary efforts of the Church, Christ has been made known to all the nations. 

       This revealing of Christ, this manifestation, this Epiphany, is not a static phenomenon, but something that continues into the present day. We each have a role in making him known to that part of the world in which we live.

       When they look at us? Do they see Christ?

       When they listen to us, do they hear the good news?  When they watch us, will they learn what it means to         be redeemed by Christ?

       We have a message and a wisdom far beyond what the Magi possessed as they traveled. When they saw the Christ child, they left rejoicing.

       I pray that we may have the same impact on those who encounter us in our St. Patrick’s Parish family.

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The Holy Family – Your Family

[Deacon Mick is at it again. This is his homily from the Feast of the Holy Family. As always, you can catch the livestream at www.facebook.com/stpatsak/]

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.

There was a 98 year old Grandfather from Ireland who was dying. The family gathered around his bed trying to make his last journey comfortable. They gave him some warm milk to drink but he refused. Then one of the his sons, remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, took the glass back to the kitchen, he poured a generous amount of the whiskey into the warm milk. Returning to his Grandfathers’s bed, he held the glass to his grandfathers lips. Grandfather drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, he had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. “Grandfather,” the family asked with earnest, “please give us some wisdom before you die.”

Grandfather raised himself up in bed and with a smiling but pious look on his face said, “Whatever you do, don’t sell that cow!

Well as I said, today we celebrate Holy Family Sunday

and it’s an opportunity for us

to reflect on family life, our family’s life. 

On December 8th, the Holy Father declared this year

dedicated to St. Joseph — who is the patron of families,

Fathers, expectant mothers and the Universal Church.

You see, family life

is something we had in common with Jesus,

something Jesus shared with us,

and, like Jesus,

we are all profoundly influenced by our families.

We are most deeply shaped, mentally, emotionally,

and spiritually by the people in our families

and by family events

such as births, deaths, marriages and illness. 

The family is the most important community

to which we will ever belong.

Our readings today

emphasize three points about the family,

first – the family as a bridge,

second – as a factory

and third – as a living cell.

SO!  Let’s explore those points——

The first reading from the Old Testament Book of Sirach

speaks about human life

as connected across generations. 

We have responsibilities and relationships

with the generations before us as well as those after us.

In our modern world,

we hear a great deal about

our responsibility to the future generations

but what about our responsibility to those

who have gone before us:

to respect and care for our parents

as they become older, weaker, more easily distracted. 

Sirach writes,

“My son, take care of your father (and I will add “and mother”)

when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. 

Even if his mind fail,

be considerate of him;

revile him not all the days of his life;

kindness to a father will not be forgotten…” 

While we think about our responsibilities to the next generation,

we need to remember the generation that preceded us. 

We are to be instruments

of Christ’s care and love to them as well. 

The family is a community in which

one generation cares for another.

That’s the wisdom of Sirach for us on this Holy Family Sunday —

the family is a bridge that

connects generation to generation to generation.

Second – The family is also a spiritual community,

a community of faith. 

St. Paul writes to the Colossians in today’s second reading

about the virtues that hold a church or family together:

patience, forgiveness, and joint prayer.

It would be nice to say that

with our Baptism,

the whole of Christian life sort of unfolds automatically. 

But it doesn’t happen that way. 

None of us is on a spiritual auto pilot.

We need to learn what it means to be a Christian. 

We need to learn how to pray,

how to be patient,

how to reconcile,

how to be bridge-builders. 

The family is where those lessons about life are started. 

The family is the factory of love.

Now, in my lifetime

I’ve worked in factories

and factories are not neat and clean places. 

and families are a little like that as well.

They are not always neat and clean places because

growing-up and growing in the Lord

are not parts of a neat and tidy process.

The family is where

we start to learn the virtues of patience,

responsibility, cooperation,

self-discipline, self-control

and dealing with authority. 

The family,

that first Christian community to which we belong,

is really the beta test site,

the testing-ground for how deep our discipleship really is.

It’s a real factory of faith where

the rough edges get smoothed,

where shape and structure come into our lives,

where we start to learn what it means to follow Christ

and just how far ———- we may have yet to go. 

The family is a community where

we can learn to grow in Jesus Christ. 

That’s the wisdom of St. Paul on this Holy Family Sunday,

the family as a factory of faith.

Lastly, in the Gospel,

we have Mary and Joseph

bringing Jesus to the Temple for Passover. 

By rituals such as this,

they are joining their family to the their larger family of Judaism.

When people come to Church as a family,

they are joining their family

to the larger family life of the Catholic Church. 

Here, in Church,

we come to see the Church’s mission as our mission,

to see the Church’s concerns as our concerns. 

Each family is a living cell of the huge Body of Christ. 

That’s part of the wisdom of this Gospel scene for us of the

Holy Family coming to the Temple together. 

The family that prays together grows, unites and stays together.

The family is the living cell of the larger Church.

My brothers & sisters — Today, we lift all our families

including our Church family

to the Lord in prayer

to ask for healing, grace, and strength because

family life is not easy today in this world in which we live.

During this year dedicated to St. Joseph – Patron of Families

and especially on this Holy Family Sunday ——

we have a chance not simply to reflect on family life in general,

but to make a decision

on how we can strengthen our own family’s life in the coming year,

on how to make it a stronger bridge that connects generations,

on how to make it a more effective factory of faith,

and on how to make it a vital, living cell of the Body of Christ.

I leave you with one simple suggestion,

in this year dedicated to St. Joseph

there is a powerful opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence.

Take advantage of this great gift    

AND do it —— as a family.

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How to Be a Holy Family

Merry Christmas…Day 3! 

     One of the great things about being Catholic is that for us, Christmas is not just a day, but a whole season. This year Christmas lasts until the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord on January 10th.  That’s actually 17 days of Christmas.  So don’t take that tree down yet!

     This week, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. A central focus of the feast is the family as the first expression of the Church. Indeed, it’s vitally important for us to remember that Church exists first at home. If it does not, then what we do here on the weekends will have limited impact.

So how do you raise a Catholic household?  How can each of us be a “holy family?”  Simple.  In the Church we sanctify (set aside for God) three things: 1) People, 2) Places, and 3) Time.  So start with the basics:

1. Sanctify the members of the family. In the Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers there are lots and lots of blessings that parents can impart at certain times of the year. I particularly like the blessing of children as they leave for school each day.  There are also blessings for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, and just about anything else you can think of. 

2.  Set aside a special place in the house that is dedicated to family prayer. You have a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to watch TV.  Where in the house will you make a place to pray? As a child, I remember kneeling around our parents’ bed to pray the Rosary. Make sure there is a crucifix prominently displayed in the main part of the house. Does every bedroom have a crucifix above the bed or the doorway.  Have a depiction of the Last Supper in your dining room.

3. Make sacred family time.  Make the Church calendar, your family’s calendar. The parish calendars that we hand out can help in this regard. Celebrate all the liturgical seasons at home. Decorate with the liturgical colors.  Advent calendars and Advent wreathes are great for preparing for Christmas. Leave the Nativity Scene and other Christmas decorations up until the Baptism of the Lord (some will even do so until Candlemas on February 2nd.) Set aside a certain time each day for simple family prayer. 

4. Learn your faith and have resources on hand for quick reference.  Here are five essential Catholic books in every household: 1) New American Study Bible (Revised Edition), 2) Catechism of the Catholic Church 3) Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers. 4) Flannery’s Documents of Vatican II, Volume I. 4) Butler’s Lives of the Saints (Revised). 5) The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom by John Hardon, S.J.

  Raising a holy Catholic family is not rocket science, but it does take some planning and resolve. The traditions established in the home now will pay dividends for generations.