Tag: #alaskapriest

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Holy Families

[Here’s some thoughts along with a couple of fun pictures from the Christmas pageant last weekend.]

I hate needless distractions.

**SQUIRREL!!!**

 
But alas, that is exactly what happens when St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians is read as we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. All too often we forget about the first part of the reading and get distracted by the part about “wives, be subordinate to your husbands, etc.” All too often it turns into “Husbands, elbow your wives and wink. Wives, glare at your husbands. Children, look on in exasperation at your parents.” 

We need to be more noble than that. 

If we learn one thing from Our Lord, it is that whether it be in the Church at home, in the Church at the parish, in the Church at the archdiocese, or in the Church universal, any authority exercised in the Church must be exercised in a spirit of loving service to the other. Otherwise, we are no better than secular society where authority is often wielded like a club to beat others into submission. Our Lord says very plainly, “But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.” (Mt. 20:25)

St. Paul shows us how. “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another…” (Col 3:12)

They say that charity begins at home. Nowhere is this more true than in the Christian family. If we want our families to be holy families in imitation of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we need to take a good look at how they lived.

A good reminder is the statue of the Holy Family in our parish church. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, prayer, faithfulness to God and to each other…this is what makes every Christian family a holy family.

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The Source of Our Joy

[Here is the base text, the actual homily has much more. Check it out at: https://fb.watch/o-067RIHvs/]

  If I ever found a religious order (and I just might!), they will not be mendicants, like the Franciscans or the Dominicans, they will be hunter/gatherers. They will hunt and fish and trap and grow big gardens and go berry picking and such so that they can be connected to this land and its people. The habit will also be something special. Based on the Dominican habit, the cowl and hood will be the camouflage that is appropriate for the season. The Capa Magna will also be camo, but be made of fleece lined Gor-tex. In addition to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they will have to take a vow of joy.

       Our Holy Father, whose 87th birthday is today, has hit the nail on the head when he affirms that joy is a hallmark of those who embrace the gospel. Those who open themselves to the grace of God and seek to do his will cannot help but radiate a holy joy. How fitting that the Church asks us to reflect on holy joy on the Third Sunday of Advent, known as “Gaudete Sunday”, which is Latin for “rejoice” or “be joyful.”

       As we do so, it is important not to confuse joy with mere happiness. Happiness is an emotion. Our secular society talks much about “the pursuit of happiness”, but this is an unfortunately misplaced desire. Happiness is an emotion. It is a symptom, the result of something else. No emotion lasts very long. If someone is always happy, we call them “manic” and refer them to a mental health professional. 

       Joy is different.  It comes from a much deeper source. Much to the perplexity of secular society, the Christian can be joyful even in the midst of great trial, illness, or affliction. Many of the Roman officials were impressed and some converted by the joy they saw on the martyrs faces as they went to a most horrible death. 

       At its heart, joy springs from the state of blessedness (“beatitude”) when the will of God and the will of the human person are in perfect harmony.  I had a religious sister exclaim to me once, “You know, Leo, you just can’t beat doing the will of God!” 

       So the first task of the Christian, and the source of our joy, is to discern the will of God, in general and in particular. To get insight into God’s plan for the salvation of the world, I highly recommend a reading of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, known as Gaudium et Spes. If you want to know what we are all about as the Church in the modern world, read this document.

       Regarding ourselves, discerning the will of God takes time. We need to spend time in silence and prayer. We need to tune out all the noise that seeks to distract or misdirect us, so that we can hear the still small voice that will lead us to know God’s will and therein find the source of our joy.

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“Be Not Afraid!”

When Pope St. John Paul II stood on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected the first non-Italian pope in six centuries, his first words to the Church and to the world were, “Be not afraid.”

     These were no small words from a man whose entire ministry had been carried out under the oppression of a communist regime. We all know how that story played out. The Church in Poland is still there, and the communist regime is not.

In truth, as the largest organization in the world, the Catholic Church has often lived in tension with civil authorities who see it, erroneously, as a threat to their base of power. In the present age, like any corporate citizen, the Church reserves the right to speak in the public forum regarding matters that affect the dignity of person and the common good.  Nevertheless, since the pontificate of John Paul I, the Church has made it clear that it does not desire, nor does it see as constructive, to assume the trappings of civil governance. Nevertheless, where the Church is seen as a threat, it is often persecuted, sometime with deadly force. The sad and volatile situation in Nicaragua and China bears witness to this fact. Even in our own American society, where the Church advocates for the dignity of the human person and the protection of human life from conception to natural death, we see a deliberate attempt to marginalize religion in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, in order to remove our voice from the public square. Looking at current trends, the late Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago quipped, “I expect to die in my bed. I expect my successor to die in prison. I expect his successor to die a martyr in the public square.”

Are such trends cause for concern? On one level, yes. As a Church, as an Archdiocese, as a parish and as individual Catholics we can do much to mitigate this trend by proactively and constructively engaging the society in which we live. The Church has a face. As individual Catholics, we should actively engaged in our neighborhoods. We need to know our neighbors and they need to know us. As a parish, we need to proactively and constructively engage the community around us. For example, there are two community councils within our parish boundaries. We need to have a regular and effective voice at both of them.  Similarly, we need to engage the neighborhoods around us so that they see us as a vital part of life on this side of town.  In short, as a parish, we need to become so much a part of the local community that they cannot imagine life without us. 

Still, if things get out of hand, as they have from time to time throughout history, there is no cause for fear. Our Lord said that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church.  He did not say that they wouldn’t try really hard!

There is nothing in the present age that we have not seen several times throughout the centuries. They are all gone.  The Church remains. If we are true to Christ and to His Church, there is nothing we cannot overcome. There is no one we need fear to fear, because there is no limit to God’s love for us.