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Wisdom, Prudence and Vigilance – The Ten Wise and Foolish Virgins

It is an interesting experience to travel by air these days. In truth I did not find it all that unpleasant.  Planes and airports are a little less crowded.  Airline staff and passengers seem to be very prudent in their actions. Folks are being vigilant.

It’s easy to be prudent and vigilant in the midst of a pandemic when the consequences are more immediate.  Much less so at other times. We get lazy.  So in her wisdom, as we near the end of Ordinary Time, the Church asks us to contemplate the end of all time, when at the end of the age, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.  Make no mistake about it, Christ is coming.  We need to be ready.  Paul

       This weekend, we are invited to contemplate virtues of wisdom, prudence and vigilance. 

Let’s talk about wisdom first. 

First of all, what is it? 

In short, Wisdom is insight gained from experience,

So how does one become wise?  A couple of ways, I think.

       1.  Live long enough to gain lots of experience, pay attention and learn from it, so that it may be useful in the future, or

       2. Seek out wise people, either in person or in literature and learn from them. 

Now there are two cautions here. 

First, experience of itself does not necessarily impart wisdom. As the writer of the Book of Wisdom tells us, very plainly.  Wisdom is readily available to those who seek her…but you have to seek her!   

       Here is where contemplation and self-reflection comes into the equation if one is to learn from experience and become truly wise. 

This is perhaps one of big mistakes we make as a society today in raising our children. I can’t count how many times I have heard a parent say to me, “I want my kid to experience this, or experience that.”  That’s fine, I suppose, but we have to realize that their job is only half complete.  How do we help our children reflect on their experiences and learn from them. In my experience, our young people are so busy getting all these experiences that they don’t have time to learn anything from them.  The result is exhausted, frustrated young people. 

       Teach your children values first, and then the experiences they have will have a context that will allow them to grow in wisdom.   

Second caution, wisdom should not be confused with knowledge; by this I mean the simple accumulation of information. The world is full of educated, unreflected fools.

       As the saying goes, knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 

       Wisdom needs to be sought. It should be the goal of education because it leads to the second virtue in our meditation today, namely prudence. 

       Simply put, prudence is being able to do the right thing at the right time.  

       Don’t you wish you had perfect prudence- to always do the right thing at the right time?     

       The wise person is prudent. 

       This implies that we must be able to discern the signs of the times.

       And to know what is right, so that we may do it.            

Do you see now how prudence is born of wisdom?

       Become wise, so that you may not act foolishly. 

So now let’s look at the wise and foolish virgins that Our Lord tells us about in today’s gospel. 

The parable is set at the city gates as the maidens await the arrival of the groom with his bride for the wedding feast. 

       What’s that all about? 

       In ancient semitic culture, the customs surrounding marriage had four stages.

       1.  the contract

       2. the betrothal

       3. the transfer of the bride to the house of the groom

       4. the wedding feast

First of all, you seldom married someone from your own village.  This for the simple reason that they found that if they did so, eventually the kids would not turn out right as the gene pool was just too small. 

The contract was pounded out between the heads of the two households.  This could happen when the children were infants, but usually before puberty. It was done with much fanfare and ritual arguing. Then they had a party to celebrate.

The betrothal usually came in mid-adolescence.  A rabbi or synagogue official would bless the anticipated union with formulary prayers of anticipation, blessing the future union.  And then they would have a party. (Do you see a pattern developing here?)

Then at the appropriate time some years later, the bridegroom would travel to the village of the bride and bring her back to his own house. The bride was dressed in the finest her family could afford and presented with great pomp and circumstance.  Travel being what it was in those days, it might take several hours or several days to get back to the bridegroom’s village.  In the meantime, the bridal party would prepare to receive the couple with great fanfare. In the day, it would mean flower laurels, juniper branches, and a huge procession from the gates of the town to his house.  If at light, it would involve torches and lamps, such as the ten virgins were carrying. He could show up at any time and you had to be ready to receive him and his bride. 

And that’s the point. 

When the Kingdom of Heaven arrives, it is expected, but you are not quite sure when that will be.

Thus, the wise and prudent person is vigilant. He or she is prepared, like the wise virgins who brought the extra oil. 

So we too need to be prepared.  But how?

       It’s important to remember that the Kingdom comes in two ways,

       1. In the ordinariness of everyday life

       2. definitively at the end of the age, when all things are consummated in Christ.

So we have to be prepared for both ways.

       The Kingdom of Heaven may come to us in prayer, or in the kindness or keen insight of another person.

If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

       It may come to us in the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned, those who mourn, or the poor. (Yes, those are the corporal works of mercy.)

       If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

       It may come to us in the ignorant, the doubtful, the sinner, those who do us harm or offend us, in the afflicted, or any who need our prayers, both living dead. (the spiritual works of mercy)

       If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

If we are prepared to recognize Christ in the midst in the ordinariness of everyday life, how much more will we be prepared for his coming at the end of the age, and be recognized by him.

Wisdom, prudence and vigilance.  These are the virtues by which we prepare for the coming of the kingdom.  Like those wise ones who await the bridegroom with their lamps alight, let us keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts “as we await the blessed hope, and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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To God, What is God’s

(Deacon Mick was up in the pulpit this weekend. Some good things to ponder here.)

There is at least one word in the English language that

has the power to elect politicians to a high office,

finance the military,

cause economic hardship,

and get you to pull your hair out of your head. 

One word. 

Wars have been fought over this word,

nations established,

and people sent to jail for not taking heed

when this word was spoken. 

The word is taxes.

In today’s Gospel,

the enemies of Jesus thought that

they really had Jesus in trouble this time. 

The gospel tells us

he was approached by Pharisees and Herodians. 

Now, these two groups were bitter enemies. 

Israel was under Roman rule

and the Herodians were totally loyal to Rome. 

They would have immediately accused Jesus of

promoting civil rebellion and revolution

if he had said “don’t pay the taxes.” 

The Pharisees, on the other hand,

held that God alone was their king and Lord

and they viewed the paying of taxes to Rome

as caving in to the hated Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar,

a foreigner and a pagan at that. 

This hot issue was made worse by the fact that

Rome’s tax burden on the Jewish people

was extremely heavy. 

Jesus asked them to show him a Roman coin. 

The fact that they could produce one was evidence that,

like it or not,

they participated in Rome’s commerce and economy. 

Jesus’ answer to their question is well known,

“Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s

and to God the things that are God’s”

Jesus avoided getting caught in their trap. 

He reminded us

we have obligations to both God and civil authority. 

We need good leadership in our country

and in all the countries of the world. 

With good leadership the citizenship will prosper. 

Without it, the people will suffer. 

Even St. Paul reminds us to

pray for our leaders and obey them. 

In this particular confrontation from the Gospel,

Jesus did imply that

since the people chose to participate in the Roman economy,

they had obligations there. 

But Jesus didn’t answer how

we are to treat some of those modern thorny issues that

we have to deal with in a society that

believes in the separation of church and state.

We have to figure out most of those issues ourselves,

taking a cue from other things Jesus taught us,

especially from his teaching that

obeying God is our greatest responsibility. 

When we break the laws of our country,

we get arrested or fined or

have to pay some consequence. 

When we break God’s laws, however,

God doesn’t come knocking on out door

ready to fine us or lock us in jail. 

If he did,

there wouldn’t be many people out on the streets. 

God isn’t in the business of being a policeman. 

Rather

he is interested in having us love him

and doing what is right because of love. 

And love cannot be forced;

it must be given freely. 

God could have made us all robots

and we would have done exactly what he wanted us to do, but

if we were robots

we would not be human

nor would we be capable of love. 

When God gave us free will,

God took a big chance that

we might choose not to love him. 

Apparently, he thought it was worth taking that chance.

Give back to God what is God’s, Jesus tells us. 

And because God does not come knocking on our doors

when we do not give him what we owe him,

it’s easy for us to say I’ll pray later,

or I’ll go to church later next week

or I’ll be a good person later. 

My friends,

later just may not be there for any of us. 

Nothing is more important than our relationship with God. 

Someday we will leave behind

all the other things we think are so important,

and the only thing we will have left

is the love for God and for others that

we have demonstrated in our daily lives. 

That love will grow and develop

only by prayer and good works. 

In our society,

which wants immediate results,

many important things in life

do not give immediate pay offs. 

When we plant a seed in the ground,

it doesn’t produce fruit the first day. 

If we buy stock in a good company today,

it probably won’t go up 50 points tomorrow. 

A good education takes many years

before it pays dividends. 

The things we do to serve and obey our God

are an investment,

an investment that will bless us in this present life,

but the full reward of living such a life are off in the future. 

As St. Paul tells us,

“…eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

nor has it entered into our hearts

what things God has prepared for those who love him.”

What God asks of us is simple; 

Prayer, obedience, love,

love of God and for each other. 

In line with prayer,

we cannot neglect the most important prayer we have,

the Eucharist. 

“Do this in memory of me,” he said. 

That’s why we are here today,

to give to God our ears to listen,

our hearts to be united with him,

our gratitude, our expressions of faith

as we praise him and receive him.

We will get in trouble with the law

if we do not give back to Caesar

the things that are Caesar’s,

but we have the most to loose

if we do not give back to God

the things that are God’s.

That loss could be our eternal happiness.

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Rights and Responsibilities

At the end of the month, I will be heading out of state to southwestern North Dakota to help rid the countryside of an infestation of ringneck pheasants who are terrorizing the locals. Since I will be gone election day, I dropped my absentee ballot off at the post office earlier this week. As a citizen, it is not only my right, but my responsibility to vote in the upcoming election. As a Christian, it is my sacred duty to vote with a conscience informed by the heart of the Church’s social teaching. Our Catholic faith is not simply an outer garment we can wear on the outside and then take off when we enter the voting booth (or mail in our absentee ballot).

Catholic Social Teaching, as well as our own U.S. Declaration of Independence, is very clear that in a just society, citizens are endowed with certain “inalienable rights.” But with enjoyment of these rights comes correlative responsibilities towards the society in which we are a part.  For example, as Catholics we are very clear that the right to life from conception to natural death is inviolable.  But at the same time then, we have a responsibility to foster and protect life at EVERY stage along the spectrum of life, not just at its beginning. 

There are many other examples of this.  To learn more about Rights and Responsibilities in Catholic Social Teaching, please watch this 3-minute video:

then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/rights-and-responsibilities

We all have a responsibility to vote an informed conscience. To do otherwise is morally irresponsible.

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Stewards of Gods’ Abundant Gifts

I’m fascinated by science and space exploration.

       Thus I took great interest that in preparation for the colonization of the Moon and the eventual mission to Mars, NASA and Space X had recently put several cows into orbit…It was the herd shot round the world. 

       Don’t laugh, the steaks have never been higher!  

But it was not well done. They burned up on reentry.  It was udder disaster. 

       (I’m going to get some searing comments about that one.) 

Anyhoo, I like a good steak.  Even more I enjoy having a good steak or any good meal with the friends in my bubble around a nice table. The parish house is very blessed to have a nice set of china donated by Helen and an equally nice set of silver. 

       Incidentally, as a COVID survival technique.  I encourage you to break out the good China and crystal at least once a week, maybe for Sunday dinner and cook up an outrageously elaborate meal and share it with those in your bubble.

       There are lot of reasons for doing this. 

       1.  It’s fun.

       2.  It brings elegance and class into an increasingly drab world.

       3.  It’s a good way to give thanks to God for his generosity.

In a way, that’s a lot of what our Lord is getting at today in the Gospel with the parable of the Wedding Banquet.

First, let’s look at the first reading.

       What’s the lesson here?

              THE LORD WILL PROVIDE…IN ABUNDANCE!

Listen to the language

       On this mountain the LORD of hosts

              will provide for all peoples

              a feast of rich food and choice wines,

              juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.   

 Then he goes on to say that the Lord will establish peace among peoples, and destroy even death itself

       What Isaiah is describing this the “messianic age” when the world and everyone in it will reconciled to God and live in harmony in accord with God’s plan. In a word, everything will be as it is intended to be. 

The 23rd psalm echoes this sense of harmony and abundance.

       “He spread the table before me in the sight of my foes.

He anoints my head with oil – my cup overflows. ”

Paul also speaks to the abundance of God’s generosity  In this case, he downplays the role of the material in this world. For him, it just didn’t matter,

       I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,

              of living in abundance and of being in need.

But he is very clear that God is not stingy, especially when it comes to bestowing his grace and spirituals gifts on his beloved (that’s us). 

       My God will fully supply whatever you need,

              in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

So, now that we understand that God does not just give us what we need, but far more than what we need, especially when it comes to the grace and power we need to live the life to which we have been called, let’s dive into the parable.

Like all parables, it lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation. But the context of this one is pretty clear. Like last week, it is addressed to the chief priests and the elders.  In short, those who have been entrusted with the spiritual heritage of God’s people. 

With this in mind, the intent of the parable is clear. Jesus is chewing them out for being poor stewards of their heritage

The King who throws the banquet is the Lord God.

       Those first invited are the religious leaders.

The wedding feast is the Kingdom of God and the very messianic age described by Isaiah in the first reading.

A word about wedding feasts in ancient Palestine.

       They were outrageously lavish affairs.

       Remember there were four parts to the wedding ritual.

              The contract,

              the betrothal,

              the transfer of the bride to the household of the groom,

              and the wedding banquet. 

These wedding banquets went on for days.

       It is surmised that the wedding at Cana had been going on for three days before they ran out of wine. Imagine that.

You can imagine how elaborate a royal wedding feast could be. That is the image that Jesus wanted in people’s minds when he was talking about the heavenly banquet.

The King sends out the invitation.

       The messengers or the Old Testament prophets.

Surprisingly, the invited guests don’t come. 

       And we know from other places in the sacred text that many prophets were rejected, and some, like Jeremiah, were actually killed.

       Here, he is scolding the religious leaders of his day for doing the exact same thing as their forebears. 

So, echoing last week’s words: “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom before you,”

       the parable continues with the invitation to whomever they can find. 

       It’s sort of a messianic “come as you are party.” 

And that’s pretty much what we try to do as well as the Church. The call to discipleship is universal. 

       It’s not about being worthy, it’s about being called.

       The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.

But now we get to the troubling part of the parable. The casting out of the fellow without the wedding garment.  

It’s very intriguing because it seems so harsh What’s Jesus trying to say here?

Jesus knew the human condition better than just about anybody.  And he knew his disciples were not immune from the same tendency.

       They can see what he is doing, putting the religious leaders in their place. I could imagine Jesus disciples getting pretty smug as they listened to the parable about the feast.

       So, the second part of the parable is for them

              and for us.

In a word…don’t get smug!  Don’t get complacent just because you’ve been invited to the feast.

So what’s the deal with the wedding garment?

       Well, apparently in those days, especially at royal functions, as a courtesy to elevate the dignity of the guests and to make sure the decorum of the gathering was maintained, the host would give to each guest a garment to be worn.

       It was a gesture of hospitality. The host wanted to you to look good for the occasion, and so he gave you the means to do so.

This would have been the case at the wedding feast described in the parable.

       The implication here, is that this particular fellow was given the wedding garment when he arrived, but had removed it at some point, thus insulting the king. 

       The implications for us are profound. 

       For us, the wedding garment is the white garment placed on us at our baptism. Very much like the one (the server), Deacon Mick, and I am wearing now. 

       We are wearing them, of course, on your behalf.  But if you wanted to, I suppose you could wear one every time you came into the church. Wouldn’t that be something to see? 

      
We are each given on of these at our baptism, but like this fellow who removed his wedding garment, when we sin or when we even fail to identify ourselves as disciples of Jesus by our actions or inactions, in effect we remove the baptismal garment given to us by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when he invited us to this Eucharistic feast. 

       Think about your physical baptismal garment.

       Where is it? What does it look like now?

Now thing about your spiritual baptismal garment, the one you wear on the inside, next to your heart and soul.  

Is it worn or stained?  Is it moth-eaten or musty for lack of use?  Does it need a good mending or washing in the sacrament of reconciliation to make it presentable at feast?  

       I could go on. But my point is clear.

In the abundance of God’s love and mercy, we have each been invited to the feast.

       Have we been good stewards of this great gift of faith? 

       Have we cherished our baptism in and worn the our baptismal garment in gratitude and steadfast faith?

       If so, then as Paul says, we can do all things in him who strengthens us.

       If not, then it’s time to get to the confessional.

Let me close by reminding us all of the words that were said to us at our baptism when we were clothed in white garment symbolizing that our sins are always washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish (and beyond),

you have become a new creation,

and have clothed yourself in Christ.

See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity.

With your family and friends to help you by word and example,

bring that dignity unstained

into the everlasting life of heaven. All: Amen     

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Catholic Social Teaching II, The Call to Family, Community and Participation

     I saw a bumper sticker the other day: “Alaska—Land of the individual and other endangered species.”  Indeed, here in the Great Land, we have always admired the guys like Dick Proenneke who can go into the wilderness, chop down trees, build a cabin, and live in it for years, hunting and trapping and whatnot. The self-reliant individual is one of our great cultural myths. I say “myth” because in reality, there is no such thing as a completely self-reliant individual. As impressive as these guys are, we have to also admit that there is something a bit eccentric about them. As John Donne said so well in his 17th century poem, “No Man is an Island.”  Eventually, even Dick Proenneke had to come into town for supplies.

To be human is to be a social being.  We are born into a family, we grow up in our neighborhood, our school, our town.  We identify ourselves within the context of a nation, a people…a Church.

The laws of society and the public policies that enact them must first protect and the defend the rights of the nuclear family.  Perhaps at no time in our nation’s history have the unintended negative consequences of well-meaning, but poorly conceived public policy had such a devastating effect on the most basic unit of human society, the nuclear family.

Similarly, we have an obligation and a right to form communal ties with others as a Church, in fraternal and charitable organizations, even political parties, that help to build up a just society.

Finally, a just society must allow for all citizens to participate in the political process that will determine the course of civil society at the local, state, and national levels.  It is not enough simply to provide the legal right to participate, but people must also have the practical means by which they can actually do so. 

Society is at its best when it promotes and protects healthy families, healthy communities, and the participation in civic life of all members of society.

To learn more about the call to Family, Community and Participation, please watch this 3-minute video:

then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/call-to-family-community-and-participation

This is a critical time in our society. Voting with an informed conscience is everybody’s responsibility.               – Fr. Leo

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Respect Life Sunday – Deacon Mick Fornelli

Once again, Deacon Mick has given an excellent homilly – this time on Respect Life Sunday. His text is below. – LAW

The parable of the vineyard, to a certain degree
sums up the story of redemption.
The leaders of Israel were given care of the vineyard but
they didn’t produce for the Lord.
They rejected and killed the Son
who came to help, assist and guide them
in producing a yield for the Lord.
Finally, the vineyard
was then given to new stewards and keepers.
These new stewards, these new keepers,
these new managers of the vineyard in todays world
are you and me.

The vineyard is our world, our society.
It is rich in abundant blessings.
So—what are we doing with the vineyard?
How are we caring for it?
You see, within this vineyard is the most precious gift of all,
the gift of human life.

Do we reverence life?
Of course, we reverence life when we see a beautiful baby,
a young married couple,
a person at the height of his or her powers.
If something should ever happen to such individuals,
all the medical resources of this society
would be gathered and mobilized to help save a life.

The real challenge
we bring to our vineyard, our country
is to ask not
whether we reverence life in the beautiful,
the healthy, the talented
but whether we care for all human life.

Now, some people say the Catholic Church is preoccupied with abortion, with protecting the unborn.
Once a baby is born, they say,
the Catholic Church disappears.
This is absolutely false!
If there is any institution on earth that
for the twenty centuries of its existence
has looked after the poor, the sick,
the orphans, the hungry, the uneducated,
those afflicted with cancer, aids, Covid-19,
the homeless, addicts,
refugees and immigrants (even when unpopular),
it’s the Catholic Church.

This massive commitment by the Catholic Church
to the works of mercy
is true not only in the United States but around the world.
Today, however,
the Church focuses especially on the unborn because
that is where a major threat resides today.

To disregard life at its most vulnerable,
when you can’t see it, can’t tickle it,
can’t touch it, can’t look into its eyes
is the beginning of the dehumanizing
and trivializing of all human life,
the start of the slippery slope
to the disregard for all human life
that we see escalating today.

That is why the Church today is the voice of the unborn,
as she was for the lepers,
the disabled, and the orphan in the past.
The wider issue, of course,
is not only what is happening to the unborn
but what is happening to us.

There are groups around that
take care of the environment
because the environment can’t take care of itself.
There are groups of people dedicated
to the taking care of wildlife,
following the mandate of Genesis,
because wildlife in today’s world can’t protect itself.

So what about the care of human life,
especially unborn life?
These human beings cannot protect themselves either.

God gave us a beautiful world
in which we can come to grow
in His image and to know Him.
The crown of this vineyard is human life.

If this portion of the vineyard, human life, is ravaged,
it won’t be from outer space,
it will be from neglect here on earth.
It won’t be from some outside invasion
but from within,
as human life is wasted and destroyed by our action or inaction.

My friends, choose some dimension of human life,
the elderly, the disabled, or especially today,
the unborn and make that your area of special care,
your way of serving the Lord and caring for the vineyard.

The month of October and specifically this Sunday
has been designated
Respect Life Month
by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It’s a time for us to evaluate
how well we are doing in the vineyard
to respect life of —
all ages, races, colors, and creeds from conception to natural death.
To respect the precious gift of life
especially for those who are unable to protect themselves
or speak for themselves.

God has given us a vineyard,
the only one like it, as far as we know, in the universe
blessed with the miracle of human life.
The Lord has sent his Son to help us
through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord has truly given us a beautiful country,
this vineyard called the United States.
Whether it’s a place where
all human life has a chance to grow and thrive
is up to us — up to you and me.
Whether the future holds a respect for human life
is not decided by the stars,
it will be decided by ourselves.

We have been given a job to do by the Lord.
None of us can do everything.
We all can do something
to restore respect for human life
In our vineyard —- in our time of stewardship.

Or as we heard in today’s gospel——-

“Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit”

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The Life and Dignity of the Human Person

The Catholic Church has seen every empire, kingdom and government come and go for the last 2100 years. In that time, we’ve learned a thing or two.

     As we prepare for the upcoming election, it is our moral obligation to vote with a well-formed conscience. No matter where you might see yourself on the political spectrum, to ignore the wisdom of the one institution that has survived history would be patently irresponsible.

The first thing that makes for a just society is a healthy respect and the protection of the law for the life and dignity of the human person. All other rights are predicated on this fundamental principle. Without the right to life and protection of the dignity of one’s person, no other civil rights are possible.

The essential question here is: WHO is considered a full participant in civil society?  What is the standard by which one is considered a “person” in civil law so that they may exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations within society? 

The Church has always maintained that one is considered a human person from the moment of conception. But it does not stop there. It is not enough simply to be “Pro-conception” or “Pro-birth.” Life is sacred AND social. Thus, we all have a continuing obligation to promote the dignity of every person in society at every stage of life from conception to natural death. This includes attention to such things as affordable housing, access to health care, a living wage, participation in civic life, equal justice under the law, and the right to one’s life and dignity as he or she nears the end of life. In a nutshell, as a society, we are judged on how we treat our most vulnerable members, as well as who we consider to be members in the first place.

To learn more about the Life and Dignity of the Human Person, please watch this 3-minute video:

then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/life-and-dignity-of-the-human-person

This is a critical time in our society. Voting with an informed conscience is everybody’s responsibility.               – Fr. Leo

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Faithful, Charitable Citizenship

Every couple of years I hate listening to the radio or turning on the TV.  The six weeks before the election provide some of the most acrimonious advertising you will ever see. This year is no exception as obscene amounts of money are being spent here to sway the balance of power in the Senate and House of Representatives. Because of our small media market, Alaska is especially inundated with political advertising. To get the same media penetration on the east coast as here, political parties and special interest groups would have to spend up to ten times more. Lucky us. The result is a never-ending stream of vitriol and negative advertising. We have ceased to talk policy and have resorted to character assassination. Surely we can do better than that.  

As Catholics, we are morally bound to exercise our civic duty to vote and participate in the political process and civic activities. Thankfully, the Church in her wisdom has articulated its social teaching in seven central principles that help us make sense of it all. These are:

· The Life and Dignity of the Human Person.

· Solidarity

· Care for God’s Creation

· Call to Family, Community and Participation

· Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

· Rights and Responsibilities

· Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers

Between now and the election, I will be featuring one or more of these themes in each column.  In the meantime, if you want to learn more go to:

· https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching   or

· https://www.crs.org/resource-center/CST-101

We all have a duty to vote an INFORMED CONSCIENCE.  This is a good places to start.   – Fr. Leo

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God’s Ways, Our Ways

Last week I talked about how every sin we have ever committed or ever will commit has already been forgiven by God. Our response to that grace is to place ourselves at the foot of the Cross in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). This week sort of follows up on that with the parable of the generous vintner. 

       It was a common thing in the ancient world (and even the modern world in some places, like Home Depot) that day laborers would gather in central square and those landowners and contractors who needed workers would go there to hire them for the day. The usual daily wage was a silver coin worth ten donkeys called a denarius. (Hence the name, for you Latin scholars out there.) A typical workday was from dawn to dusk.

       Given the brief hiring process, the owner usually had to keep an eye on the workers so that they didn’t slack off or steal his stuff. The odd thing about the story is that he keeps going there at different hours of the day. This should be the first hint to the listener that my thoughts are not your thoughts/nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. (Is 55:7)

       This is an important thing for us to keep in mind, especially in a parish like this. Alaska is one of those places where longevity brings credibility and status.  People will introduce themselves to you and immediately tell you how long they have been in the state, in the parish, in the neighborhood, etc.  There is a temptation to think of oneself as a bit more important or deserving simply because one has been here more than one winter.

       At the same time, we Alaskans and St. Patrick’s folks are pretty darn good at welcoming the newcomer. We love our state, our town, our neighborhood, and our parish. We want other people to love it too. So we bring cookies to new neighbors, help folks out with furniture, get them connected to things going on in the local scene that might interest them. In many ways we do this better than in other places. Probably because most of us came here from somewhere else too.

       This is the virtue that Jesus is talking about in the parable. In this sense, the denarius represents our relationship with God and each other. What matters is that at some point we have been invited into the vineyard. When we get there is meaningless. 

       This is because the Kingdom of God is about relationships. Sometimes you will hear me talk about “Our parish family”. This is very intentional. Think about your own immediate family, such as it is?  Is the last child any less a part of the family than the first child, simply because they arrived on the scene later?  No.  In the same way, none of us is less a member of the parish, less a member of the Church, less a member of the Kingdom because we got here later than someone else.

       Let us strive then to welcome others into this little part of the vineyard we call St. Patrick’s Parish, and to invite as many as we can into this gathering of holy goofballs we call the St. Patrick Parish family. 

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The Challenge of Forgiveness

I have mentioned that I have found at least three ways that we are made in the image and likeness of God – 1. We can love as God loves.  2.  We can create, taking what God has given us and helping the world become what he has intended it to be.  And 3. We can forgive as God forgives. 

       The second two flow from the first.  Love by its very nature creates and when creation goes astray, love by its very nature restores. Today, the Lord is very clear that we must forgive if we are to enter the kingdom of God.

       Love is an interesting thing. Love intends what is good for the other, not what is evil. If I am a loving person, I want what will make you whole, not what will diminish or destroy you. The desire and the absolute human need for love is part of the human condition. Yet, one must experience being loved before he or she can authentically love another. It’s a learned phenomenon. It’s very tough to love someone else if you have never experienced what love looks like and feels like. Forgiveness finds its origin in love. It’s easy when you are doing what is right. It gets a little harder when you are doing something that is hurting others. 

       And here is where the parable of the unforgiving servant helps us out.  Peter was being quite benevolent when he suggested forgiving another seven times. Seven is a perfect number symbolizing completeness.  It seems to make sense and there were probably nods of agreement from the other disciples when he said it.  But Jesus is insistent that it is not even close.

       The meaning of the parable is clear.  We can only forgive others to the degree that we ourselves have been forgiven. The point of the story here is that just like the this servant, we have been forgiven a HUGE debt.  Every sin we have ever committed or will commit has been forgiven by Christ in his one perfect sacrifice on the cross. Yet, we have to experience the enormity of that forgiveness.  Otherwise, we will not be able to give that same gift to others. 

       That is why the sacrament of reconciliation is so important.  It’s one thing to know intellectually that one’s sins are forgiven.  It’s quite another to experience that definitively in the confessional.

       I always encourage folks to get to confession about once a month.  I don’t know about you, I can’t go a month without sinning.  In the sacraments we kneel at the foot of the cross and sometimes the best we can do is say, Lord be merciful to me, a sinner. 

       Confession is good for the soul, and frequent confession is the source of grace we need to forgive others.  In a way, it’s like making frequent adjustments to the steering wheel.  If you do it often enough, the adjustments are pretty minor.  But if you wait too long then the adjustment is much more severe. If we wait too long, our negligence can have eternal consequences.  Don’t delay.

       Christ has forgiven you everything.  Should you not do the same for those who sin against you?  Love wants what is best for the other.  Should not you who have been loved and forgiven, love and forgive the one who sins against you?  It is not easy, but if the Cross teaches us anything, it is that it is possible. 

       As I said, I have found three ways in which we are made in the image and likeness of God. 1.  We can love.  2. We can create and 3.  We can forgive.  Let us forgive one another as we ourselves have been forgiven.