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To Be a Pilgrim in the Holy Land

Hey, Church fans! As many of you know, I am in the Holy Land on the parish pilgrimage. Stay tuned for the next couple of weeks as I will take you along to some of the holy sites. I believe every Christian should come to the Holy Land at least once in his or her lifetime. There are two reason, among many. One is spiritual. The other is practical. First, you will never read the Sacred Scriptures the same way again. Second, it is important to come here to understand the political situation and especially how it negatively affects the life of Christians in the Holy Land. Coming on pilgrimage helps to support the Christians who have managed to remain here, despite the economic and political challenges. It is important that we help them remain so that the holy sites can continue to have vibrant worshiping communities and not become museums.

Day 1 – Mt. Carmel and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Home of the Brown Scapular.

After 27 hours in transit, we arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday morning. We met our hosts, Friar Page and Friar Anthony, both Franciscan priests. Once on the bus, we were whisked up to the port city of Haifa located at the top of the Carmel Mountains. You will recall that it was from here that the prophet Elijah had the showdown with the 450 prophets of the false god Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah and then ended the three and a half year drought (1Kings18:1-46). In the 4th century, Christian monks have been here in the spirit of Elijah. From this tradition, the Brown Scapular has grown. The Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel sit on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We had Mass there in a side chapel. I picked up some scapulars in the gift shop.

Above the high altar at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Day 2 – Basilica of the Annunciation and Mt. Tabor

We arrived in Nazareth last night. The Friars have been here for over eight centuries and boy, can they pick real estate. Their guest house, the “Casa Nova”, is right across the street from the Basilica of the Annunciation. So why is it so called? Quite simply, because it is built over the site where the Incarnation actually took place. No kidding.

There are two types of sites in the Holy Land, those that are commemorative and those where the biblical events actually took place. There are seven criteria or seven “arrows” that point to a site to determine which type it is. These include the scriptures, various types of archeological evidence, and the historical documentation. A “seven arrow” site means that all seven criteria are pointing to a site as the authentic place where the biblical event actually happened. In this case we are talking about Luke 1:26-38 where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced to her that she would conceive through the Holy Spirit and bear the Messiah. The modern Basilica was completed in 1969. It is build around the house that Mary was raised in Nazareth. The description “Verbum caro hic factum est” translates “Here, the Word was made flesh.”

We had Mass in the friars’ chapel off to the side since the parish was having their regular Sunday morning Mass. Then I went back and said a rosary for you.

The Basilica of the Annunciation from my room at the Friars Guest House
2100 years of history in one shot. Inside the present day basilica you can see the wall of the 11th century Crusader church in the background, the aps of the 4th century Byzantine Church in the foreground and the childhood home of Mary in the center.
The Interior of Mary’s childhood home.
Here the Word was made flesh.
Parishioners of the Basilica of the Annunciation having coffee and donuts after Mass. One more thing that makes the Church truly universal.

Mt. Tabor – the place of the Transfiguration

Jesus took the Peter James and John up a high mountain and there he was transfigured before them. (Matthew 17:1-8; Mk 9:2–8; Lk 9:28–36. ) This is a four or five arrow site. It’s pretty certain that the Transfiguration happened here, but we don’t know exactly where on the mountain. Archeological evidence under the basilica indicates that sacrifices were offered on this spot long before even the Hebrews arrived. Present basilica was built in the early 20th century. “Lord, it is good that we are here.”

Facade of the Basilica of the Transfiguration

Interior of the Basilica of the Transfiguration – Nice mosaic of Jesus, Moses and Elijah with Peter, James, and John below.

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Ask Fr. Leo – Disposing of Old Bibles, Anniversary Blessings

Dear Fr. Leo, 

          I am in the process of moving and realizing between my husband and myself we have many bibles. I want to dispose of them properly, but I am not sure how to go about that. Please educate me on the proper disposal of them. – C         

Dear C,

          If possible, it is best to give old Bibles away. I suggest donating them to a church or school or a religious Thrift Store. That way, it makes them available to others at reasonable price and the proceeds go a good cause. The same is true for sacramentals and other blessed objects such as crucifixes, rosaries, and holy cards, etc. If a Bible or sacramental is in such a deteriorated condition that it cannot be given away, it is proper to bury or burn it completely. For rosaries and whatnot, you may want to salvage the crucifix and the medallion and give it to someone who makes rosaries so that they can be recycled. The same is true for the corpus and sign on a wooden crucifix.  

          Many prayers during the move. It is always a bit exciting, but very stressful as well.  Here is a suggestion for when you get to your destination and start to unpack. Go out to a thrift store and get yourself a small tabletop Christmas tree. Decorate it up. Next, stack all your boxes in the living room or garage or wherever. Then put the tree in the middle and start playing Christmas music. Wine is optional. This changes the whole dynamic of unpacking.  Suddenly, you find yourself saying, “Ooooh look at this!  Bathroom towels! Just what we needed!” It also helps one remember that everything we have is ultimately a gift from God and from others.  

Dear Fr. Leo:

          My husband and I are having our 25th wedding anniversary soon. We wanted to renew our wedding vows, but the priest said that we don’t do that in the Catholic Church.  So how do we celebrate our twenty-five years of marriage?  – F

Dear F,

          First of all, let me thank and congratulate you both for your faithful witness in the vocation of Holy Matrimony. The world has changed. Sadly, your steadfast fidelity to Christ and to each other is not well understood in the present day.  It needs to be celebrated from the rooftops. We have a great way of doing that in the Church, but it does not involve renewing your vows. Here’s why.  

          Because the Church holds married life is such high regard, it’s important to remember what happens when a man and a woman profess their vows according to the laws of the Church in the sight of God, each other, and the gathered community. In doing so, they are making a total gift of themselves, body and soul, without reservation and without condition. This exchange of consent is what creates the marriage. To do so, you have to know yourself inside out and backwards – you can’t give yourself away if you are not your own person. Also, you have to know the one you are giving yourself to -one should never give oneself away without profound and prayerful discernment.  Finally, you have the know the nature of the relationship into which you are both entering, namely a permanent, indissoluble union that is life-giving in so many ways.

          As the saying goes, “The wedding is a day. The marriage is a lifetime.” Recognizing this, marital consent is given only once at the exchange of vows. This is true for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Unlike a Netflix subscription, or temporary religious vows, your marriage vows do not expire. Thus, it is unnecessary to renew them. The Church presumes the couple meant what they said and will continue to grow into those vows as life goes on. 

          So how do we celebrate such a profound vocation? Ask your priest or deacon for the Blessing of a Married Couple found in the Book of Blessings.  It is very lovely and involves the reading of scripture, the blessing of your rings, some intercessions, and several options of prayers for blessing of the couple. In our parish, we like to do this during Sunday Mass. That way everyone can join in the blessing and celebrate the couple. 

          We do this because a good marriage does not just benefit the couple and their family. Its faithfulness and fruitfulness radiate out to include all the rest of us. The Irish, being a great and noble race of people, have a wonderful saying, “May the love of God warm your heart like a great fire so that a friend may come and warm himself there.”  A good marriage does the same thing.

          Thank you so much for being married! May God bless you in your next twenty-five years.   

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Doing the Math

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     This can happen on many levels. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is it worth it?  Absolutely.

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Being “catholic”

Having lived in a foreign country for some time, moving in their culture and speaking their language, I have a great admiration for anyone who emigrates to the United States. English is not an easy language to learn! Other languages have rules. We have rules, but break them with impunity. Here is a poem I found about that very thing. Sadly, I do not know who to credit it to. Please help me out if you can. Whoever wrote it deserves credit.

English is a Funny Language

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,

But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,

Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,

Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,

Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,

And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,

Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,

And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,

But though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,

But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Yes, English is a strange language.  Once in high school in my AP English course, the teacher, a very kind man who was always looking for ways to expand our vocabularies noticed that one of our classmates was very expansive in her preferences. “Goodness, Laurie,” he said to her. “You certainly have very catholic tastes!” At this, the class broke out in laughter. “What have I said?” he asked innocently.

       She laughed and said, “Dr. Jenkins…I’m Jewish!”  He blushed a bit and explained that ‘catholic’ in the sense that he had used it simply meant “universal” or “all encompassing.” 

       As I mentioned last week, it is this sense of universality and expansiveness that led J.K. Chesterton to once describe the Church as “Here comes everybody!”

       This is a very different from the early days in salvation history. As we read in the Old Testament, when things started out, it was a very exclusive relationship between God and his Chosen People.

       However, as time passed we see the prophets proclaiming, as Isaiah does in today’s first reading, how starting with Israel, the Lord will eventually gather all the nations to himself.  Again, it’s all about relationship.

       Jesus is very clear, however, that there is no preference for seniority in the Kingdom of God. Thus, “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” It doesn’t matter when you arrive at the reunion. Once you walk through the door, we are all family.

       That being said, it’s helpful to assess from time to time how ‘catholic’ we really are in how we live our lives.  Namely, does our Catholic Faith inform every part of our lives or just certain parts of it?

At home do we stop what we are doing everyday and gather for prayer, besides just before meals?

At work, do our coworkers know that we are Catholic by the values that we bring to the workplace.

In society, This is an election year. How much does Catholic Social Teaching inform how we vote on the candidates and the issues?        

May our faith and our lives always be truly “Catholic”, not just in name, but in fact, and in action. 

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Always Part of the Family

There are eight of us kids in the Walsh family. Two boys and six girls. We are all very different, and we all get along very well these days. But as a kid, I remember some very…uh, heated discussions. Usually, it was about trivial things that siblings fight about. Sometimes it was about important things.  I’m reminded of Katherine Hepburn’s famous line in the classic film The Lion in Winter, “But what family doesn’t have its ups and downs?”  I think this could apply to the Church as well.

One of the most apt descriptions of the Catholic Church is “the worldwide family of God.”  This makes a lot of sense. The Kingdom of God is built of relationships. The relationship that all members of the Church share is to be in communion with Christ and each other.  Even Canon Law states that the first duty of the Christian faithful is to “maintain communion with the Church.” (Can. 209 §1).  

In its most basic sense, this means that we are united in faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. In its most profound sense, it means we are united at the very level of our being. Remember, faith is first and foremost a relationship of communion with Christ and with each other. Therefore, the description of the Church as family is very apt. 

Look at any family and it becomes obvious they are a pretty diverse bunch. Each member has a variety of strengths and each has different areas where he or she needs the other members to be strong for them. It’s the same in our parish family and the same in the Church universal. The Church is marvelously diverse in its unity. So much so that G.K. Chesterton once described the Catholic Church as, “Here comes everybody!” 

We all have different likes and dislikes.  Different musical tastes and senses of humor. Different cultural backgrounds and pious practices. All of this is what helps make the Church truly “catholic.” In light of this, a problem arises when one or more members of the family begins to see themselves as the “real” members of the family and the others as less so. Granted, some members of the family may not stay in touch as well as others. Sometimes they do things that are against the way they were raised and may even do hurtful things to bring scandal to the family. That does not make them any less a member of the family. 

It’s the same in the worldwide family of God, the Church. Some members remain very close to home. Others may drift away. Others might even say and do things that are diametrically opposed to how we are called to live our faith. But we never give up on them. They are always part of the family. Our task in such circumstances to continually invite all members of the Church to continual conversion of mind and heart; to deepen that relationship of communion with Christ and each other. Reflecting the mercy of Christ, we “admonish the sinner” not to cast them out and show how good and pious we are, but rather to invite him or her in love to a renewed and deeper communion.

Each member of the family is unique and is in diverse circumstances. Therefore, the approach to each will be equally diverse. There is no one-size-fits-all remedy, whether it is a fellow parishioner or a public official. We may be sorely disappointed by another’s behavior. We may be saddened by their absence.  But we are never allowed to cease caring about them.  They are always part of the family.

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Involved or Committed?

Hey, Church fans! Had a great time last week flying a couple of kids around to see the local glaciers. This week, we hear Jesus say, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What’s he getting at? Check it out.

Are You Involved or Committed? XIX Sunday in Ordinary Time

      

Yesterday, I had had breakfast with a friend at a local iconic establishment. 

       We both ordered bacon and eggs.

       As our food arrived, he looked at me and said, “You know, that’s the difference between being involved and being committed. 

       “How do you figure?” I asked.

       “Well,” he said, “Look at your breakfast.”

       “Yeah,” I said, “Bacon and eggs.”

       “Yep, bacon and eggs,” he said. “Think about it. The chicken is involved…the pig is committed!” 

       He’s right, you know. 

       It raises a good question for each of us in light of Jesus’ words in the gospel today.

       When it comes to being a disciple of Jesus in St. Patrick’s

       Are you involved

              Or are you committed? 

One thing I like about St. Patrick’s is that we never do anything halfway.

We go all in. We sing every verse and we don’t leave Mass early, even when the donuts are right outside the door! 

       We do this for a reason. First know hat one should never be in a hurry to leave the House of God. 

Second, we remember with sadness that Judas was the first one to leave Mass early…

We are here to praise God, to share our stories, to share communion and fellowship with God and one another, and to be sent back into the world to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection and the forgiveness of sins.

       But at certain point each one of us has to decided, “I am merely involved, or am I committed?” 

How you answer that question will make all the difference.

This is what Jesus is getting at when he says, “Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart.”

If our “treasure”, i.e., that which is most valuable to us is our relationship with God and others, those relationships will take priority over everything else. That is when we become committed.  That’s when we organize our time and our resources to building up those relationships.

I’ve said it before, “Show me your calendar and your bank statement and I will tell you what your priorities are.”

But such a commitment isn’t easy and it doesn’t come overnight. Such stewardship of our time and resources takes time, practice, vigilance.

There are lots of things that compete for our attention. Very few of these are bad in and of themselves. Indeed, if I was the evil one, I would fill your life with so many good things that you would not have time for the essential relationships that give life joy and meaning.

It we are not careful our lives can become like our garages, filled with so much cool stuff that we can no longer use it for the reason it was built. 

We need to pay attention. We need to be vigilant. We need to be like “servants who await our master’s return.” We need to examine our priorities every day to make sure we are focused on who and what really matters.

       As individuals and as a parish family, we have all been given so much. Thus, much will be demanded of us. At the end of the age, when we stand together as a parish before the Lord, he will ask us what we did to build up the Kingdom here in 99504.

       Now is a good time to examine where our heart is. Now is a good time to look at our calendar and our bank statement. Is our relationship with Christ, with our parish family, with the Church our first priority? If not, where do we need to make adjustments? There is no guarantee of tomorrow. The Master could return at any moment. Now is the time to decide if we are involved or committed.

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What Matters to God?

[Hello, Church fans! Wow! Did Deacon Mick hit it out of the park this weekend. Probably one of his top five homilies of all time and certainly worth sharing with the blogosphere. Here it is. My musings on the same readings are below. ]

Deacon Mick Fornelli – “Your money or your life?!”

Way back when, as I was filling out the application to be a seminarian for the Archdiocese, I came across the last question which read: “If you were not applying to become a priest, what do you see yourself doing in five years?”  I have a business degree from a big, fancy university.  So I paused for a moment and then wrote down: “Working on my third million!”

The way I would do it is simple. I would open up a Self Storage facility. These things are essentially a     license to print money. There is a very good reason for this—People have too much stuff! 

They say that we spend the first third of our live wanting stuff, the second third accumulating stuff, and the last third trying to get rid of stuff. Coming to the end of what is likely the second third of my life, I can relate. If you have a storage unit, or have ever had a storage unit, you know what I am talking about.

When I was in college and up through the time I was ordained at 29, I had a simple rule. “If it didn’t fit in the pickup, it didn’t go.” But eventually, stuff started to fill up the corners of the garage, and then the center, and well…. All I can say is thank the Lord for Craigslist and Marketplace. Now I can get rid of stuff.

The point of the parable about the foolish rich man with the big barns is pretty clear to us. Stuff is nice. Stuff is useful. But in the long run, stuff doesn’t matter in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Heaven is built on relationships. Thus, the only stuff we take with us from this life are the relationships that we build up in this life with Christ, and with one another. This is what we mean by “the communion of saints.” 

Relationships are not rocket science. If you want a relationship to grow, you give it time and attention.  So, spend time in prayer, giving your attention to the Lord. Spend time with your parish family in liturgy and fellowship. Spend time with your friends, giving them your love and attention.  This is the stuff of the Kingdom. This is our treasure in heaven.  

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Ask Big!

[Hey, Church fans! It was a great time fishing in western Alaska at our family’s fish camp. I landed the biggest red (sockeye) in my life on the third day. While we are fishing for meat, and size is not really a priority, it was something to pull in a 15.2 pound (6.9kg) sockeye salmon. At 29.5 inches, (75cm) he was a fat one. Here’s the pic:

Fr. Leo – Fisher of Men, Fisher of Fish!

Deacon John Ostrom gave the homily this weekend, so there is no vid, but here my column for the week. Enjoy.

     So, first things first. The fishing was great. I had a great time. I have a bunch of reds in the freezer. The trip was shorter due to iffy weather that delayed my departure by several days.

    Just as there are not atheists in foxholes, I doubt there are any of us who fly small airplanes in the mountains who have not raised up a prayer or two to the Almighty  either in thanksgiving for the joy of flight or pleading for better weather. It’s a similar thing to what is going on in the readings the Church gives us this week for our contemplation. Even a quick study of them reveals that the prayer of the Christian should have certain qualities.

First, our prayer should be persistent. This is not so much because it changes God’s heart or mind on the matter at hand. God is crazy in love with us. God knows what we need and wants to give us what will lead to our ultimate happiness. However, persistence in prayer does change our hearts and minds to be in conformity with the heart and mind of God. All too often we pray, “My will be done!” not “THY will be done.” Persistence in prayer helps us see the bigger picture beyond our immediate needs.

Second, every one of our prayers should include some form or adoration, contrition, thanksgiving , and supplication. (The acronym “ACTS” helps us to remember this.)  Posture is important too. When we bow our heads or kneel or prostrate before the Lord, we acknowledge that God is the Supreme Being, not us. He alone is worthy of adoration. In the Lucan version of the Lord’s Prayer, a primary emphasis is on contrition for sins and plea for the grace to forgive others. We also need to acknowledge that all we have and are is a gift from God. This is the heart of our stewardship of such gifts for the good of the Church and the world. Finally, we need to make supplication to the Lord for ourselves and especially for others.  I’m struck at how Abraham intercedes for Sodom, asking God to spare it even if there are only ten good people. Our Lord also gives a great  example of persistent prayer in the context of sacred hospitality.

God wants us to ask. As Our Lord points out, if we know how to give good things to others, how much more so will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Therein lies the rub. All too often we set our sights too low. We ask for those things which we could readily get on our own through persistence and hard work. How much better to ask big! How much more beautiful to ask for the things that only Almighty God can provide—to feel God’s presence, to know God’s will, to receive God’s Holy Spirit. So ask, seek and knock! Keeping in mind that God has three ways of answering our prayers.

1) “Yes.” 

2) “Not yet.” and

3) “I have something better in mind for you.”           

Have a great week!

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Heralds of the Kingdom

[Greetings, Blog fans! Hey, FB go their software figured out and so now I can download videos again. Here’s the vid and the text. Blessed Independence Day. God bless you and God bless America.]

I’ve heard some complaints that the supply of dad jokes in the homilies has diminished somewhat.  To remedy this sad situation, here are three dad jokes to help you celebrate Independence Day…

  1. Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell? – Yep, it cracks me up!
  2. What did one flag say to the other flag?      – Nothing.  It just waved.
  3. Why are there no “Knock Knock” jokes about American Independence?  – Because freedom rings!

     In ancient and medieval times, the king and his court were always on the move, riding from town to town and village to village. There were very practical reasons for this. First, it was important that people physically saw him so that they would remember that they had a king. Secondly, it was a practical way for the king to be available to render justice and to resolve legal disputes. But before he came to a place, he would send a herald. The herald had a twofold mission. First, to proclaim that the king is coming, and second, to instruct the people on how to properly receive their sovereign and to get the town ready for his arrival. To make sure the herald was credible, he was dressed in the finest raiment of the court. His announcement was preceded with great pomp, perhaps even the blowing of trumpets to get the people’s attention. There could be no doubt that the message was real and the king was actually coming. Once that was done, he would enlist the local authorities and townspeople to clean up the town and get it decorated. Finally, he would instruct them on the proper protocol on how to receive the king and how to address the nobles of the court that accompanied him. It was a big deal.

       In the sending of the seventy-two that we hear proclaimed in today’s gospel, we see Jesus doing essentially the same thing. He is sending his heralds to prepare the towns and villages that he intended to visit. But how very different are the heralds of the Kingdom of God! They are sent as mendicants without fancy clothes, not even any sandals or spending money. They are totally dependent on God and on those who will receive them for food and lodging. There can be no doubt that the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus is very different from any earthly kingdom. Its worth cannot be given a monetary value.

       While the simplicity of the messengers’ life gives them a  certain credibility, how much more so does the power of their message. Their message is accompanied by powerful works. In short, they are doing the very things that Jesus is doing. they cure the sick, they expel demons, they proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Who would not believe a message accompanied by such miracles. Even the seventy-two are amazed. 

       While the times have changed, the power of the message has not.  Jesus still sends out messengers to proclaim the Kingdom in this time and in this place. The only difference is that now those messengers look a lot like me and like you. By our baptism, each one of us is called to be a herald of the Kingdom.

       The character of that witness will differ for each one of us. Why? Because just like the early disciples, each one of us has a different experience of the Risen Christ in the life of the Church.

       So here is a little tip on how to do that.  So often when asked about Christ or the Church, we don’t know where to start?  Do you start with the Nicene Creed?  The Apostles Creed, the Catechism?  The Liturgy? Dogma? 

       Well, you can, but before you do, remember these three things:

1.  The first question people ask is seldom the one they want answered.

       I’m fortunate to have learned this early on in ministry.

When I was Fr. Young Priest, people would come up to me and say something like, “Hey, Father, what does the Church teach about annulments?”

       And I always answer, “That’s a very good question. Why do you ask?”

       “Well, my sister is going through a divorce and she was wondering about her status in the Church.”

       “Ahhh…” I reply, “Let’s talk about your sister…”

2. Unless you have a particular expertise in a particular ecclesiological field, do not feel like you have to articulate every theological article or defend every aspect of the history of the Church.

       However, you are the world expert in one thing…your own faith. Tell them how you have experienced Christ in your life.  Tell them of your significant moments of conversion and how you live your faith here in the midst of  your parish family. Keep in mind that you may be the only Gospel this person will ever hear.

3. Take a genuine interest in your interlocutor’s life and desires.  Ask lots of questions.  And always…always be kind. People will seldom remember what you say. They will never forget how you made them feel. 

In the end, we are the present-day heralds of the Kingdom of God. Jesus has sent us to every place and person he intends to visit.  The credibility of our witness, and the power of our proclamation will rest on how well we have come to know Christ, so that we may make him known. 

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Towards a Consistent Ethic of Life, for a Culture that Chooses Life

     On January 22, 1973, I was a little over eight years old. I was not old enough to understand the social upheavals of the day or the issues involved in the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand in the United States. But I do remember that the following weekend, Fr. Tom Connery stood in the pulpit at Holy Family exclaiming loudly, “Abortion is murder!” several times. I didn’t know what abortion was at that time or why it was murder. That horrible understanding came later.

Now, after almost 50 years, that decision which resulted in the deaths of over 50 million infants in the womb has been reversed and the issue has been remanded back to the individual states. While there is cause for rejoicing that an eclipse of reason resulting in a grave injustice has been ended, we must not gloat. If we are to heal the polarization that has characterized the tenor of public discourse in recent decades, now is a time for the exercise of charity more than ever. We must choose our words charitably and wisely. Furthermore, we must be able to articulate what it means to support and defend human life in all of its stages from conception to natural death if we are to grow a culture of that chooses life within our great society. 

One of the most compelling and succinct such articulations was formulated by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernadine of Chicago. It is not enough to be anti-abortion. What we need, the Cardinal said, is a consistent ethic of life, “a seamless garment.”

Briefly stated the consistent life ethic is this. Life is sacred and social. Because it is sacred, its dignity must be defended and upheld at all times and in all circumstances from conception to natural death.  Because it is social, society has a duty to defend and uphold it at all times and in all circumstances. 

Understanding the breadth of the implications of a consistent ethic of life is important. If we are to defend and uphold the dignity of life in all stages and all circumstances, that will certainly mean at its beginning. But it also means that we must support and defend those things which support the dignity of human persons throughout their lives. As the U.S. Bishops have exhorted us, it means walking with women in crisis pregnancies so that they may have the material, psychological and spiritual resources available to choose life. It also includes things like affordable housing, education, a just wage, affordable child care, and affordable health care. It also causes us to reexamine closely the morality and practicality of the death penalty. Finally, it involves end of life issues such as palliative care and related issues. And the list goes on.

It is a time for rejoicing but not in the sense of winners and losers. Not it is about moving deeper into the truth and walking with others in that truth with love. Our greatest work is still ahead of us.