Oregon Trail, Age of Empires, and Clash of Clans

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

When I was in middle school, probably my favorite computer game was Oregon Trail.  We didn’t have the greatest graphics then, everything was still green and black, so it wasn’t too life-like, but it was fun trying to take settlers from St. Louis to Oregon, without them dying from dysentery or starving to death because there was no food to hunt.  When I was in college, graphics had improved a lot, and my new favorite game was Age of Empires, where you got to build civilizations and defend from bands of foreign armies.  There were many a Friday night where I was playing with or against fellow seminarians on our dorm network.  Now that I’m an adult, I’ve moved on to much more sophisticated things, like Clash of Clans.  In this game, you build a city with walls and attack and defend from other players.  You can also hold mock wars with other groups, and win gold, elixir, and dark elixir.

The common thread in all of these games is the ability to control persons or civilizations.  Perhaps I have a bit of a control-complex, but it’s fun to help civilizations grow and use them to attack other groups.  There’s something fun about being in control.

But Jesus reminds us today that control in life is limited to very few things.  In most aspects of our life, we don’t have any control.  But Jesus tells us not to worry or be anxious.  If you’re like me, that’s easier said than done.  In a more and more chaotic world, the temptation is to try to gain more and more control over our circumstances in life.  

Now certainly, Jesus is not telling us that we should ignore our responsibilities in life and just let things go in favor of seeing how God works.  Jesus is not telling us that we no longer need to go to work, no longer need to pay our bills, no longer need to do our homework, etc.  Those are our responsibilities as part of being a parent or student.  

But think about all the other things we worry about over which we have no control whatsoever.  Probably one of the biggest is what people think of us.  How much time do we spend wondering what someone would think if we do a certain good or neutral action?  We can spend so much time trying to imagine what other people are going to say or think about us that we miss the opportunity to do the good that God wants us to do.

Another area that people commonly worry about is the state of the world.  There are very few things that we are going to do that will have a direct impact on our nations or other nations.  But, if we stop worrying about it and “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” in our lives, then we will be doing what we can, however indirectly, to bring peace and truth and justice to the world.  We can’t control the actions of our nation or other nations, and so should not worry about it.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t do anything about it.  But we shouldn’t be anxious about things over which we cannot control.  We can control our own actions, how we treat others, and so should do our best to live a peaceful and holy life.

Another area of worry is children who do not practice their faith.  Even if they’re not our kids, so many of us at least know someone who has stopped practicing their Catholic faith, and people can spend no small amount of time wondering about where they went wrong, what more they could have done, etc.  We shouldn’t worry about that.  Again, this doesn’t mean we should do nothing.  What we can do is first and foremost, pray for that person.  Spend a good deal of time praying for that person.  Maybe even offer your Lenten penances for that person.  And then, as you feel moved by the Holy Spirit, invite them to come to confession with you, and then Mass.  If they decline, let them know the offer is always there.  

Trust in God is also important in the other areas of our life: marriage, how many kids to have, whether or not to send those kids to a Catholic school.  Certainly, in all those decisions, we should use the gift of reason that God gave us, as well as the teachings of the Church.  But all those decisions also rely on trust in God: trust that we will choose the right person to marry, the person with whom we want to be a saint; trust that, following the teachings of the Church and using Natural Family Planning, that if God surprises us with another child, we will have the ability to love and care for that child; trust that, even if we have to give up a few of our creature comforts, God will help us provide a quality, Catholic education to our children.  

Trust can be hard.  It’s easier to try to control things.  But if we really think about, there is very little that we actually control.  If we rely on the one who actually does have control, then we can find greater happiness from not worrying and wasting energy about things beyond us.  Simply follow the advice of Jesus: “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

You're Sick

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Context helps us to understand the meaning of a situation that could be interpreted in a number of ways.  For example: if I were to say, “You’re sick” to a person who has a runny nose, cough, and looks exhausted, I mean that the person should get some rest because he or she has an illness.  If I were to say those same two words, “You’re sick” to a person who eats rotten cheese, I mean that the person has some disgusting habits.  If I say, “You’re sick” to a football player who just returned a punt for a touchdown, I mean that the person is amazing.  Without the context, “You’re sick” can mean a number of different things. 

            We need some context to understand today’s Gospel passage better.  The parable is not too mysterious.  And yet, as we know the context, we understand it better.  A first bit of context comes from when this parable is told.  Earlier in this same chapter 21, Jesus arrived triumphantly into Jerusalem, receiving the messianic shouts of “‘Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest’”, similar words to those we sing to usher in the Eucharistic prayer.  Earlier in this same chapter, Jesus cleanses the temple by throwing out those who were selling animals and exchanging money and says that those who are engaging in such things are making the house of God a “‘den of thieves’”, quoting both Isaiah and Jeremiah.  The Pharisees have questioned Jesus’ authority to do all of this, and Jesus asks them about John the Baptist’s authority, which silences the chief priests and the elders.  And now we come to this parable. 

            Another important part of the context is actually supplied by our first reading.  Jesus’ parable of the vineyard mirrors the same parable that Isaiah gave to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.  In that parable, God accuses the people of not taking care of the vineyard He has entrusted to their care.  This vineyard is the faith God had given to Judah.  God cleared the vineyard (the land flowing with milk and honey) of the stones (the foreign nations), planted the choicest vines (the good seed of the Word of God), built watchtowers (the judges and prophets) so that he could harvest good grapes (the results of the faith of the people).  But instead he received wild grapes (infidelity, idolatry, injustice), or, as the Hebrew word might more closely be translated, rotten grapes.

            Jesus takes the parable, familiar to the crowd, and twists the message a little.  He still talks about how God has been so good to Israel by giving it a land flowing with milk and honey, clearing out the foreign nations, and giving them the Word of God, especially through the prophets.  But God also sends servants (prophets) like John the Baptist who are to make sure that only the good grapes grow.  These servants are beaten and killed by the tenants of the vineyard.  So the landowner sends his son to them, thinking, “‘They will respect my son’”, but even the son is killed by the tenants.  When Jesus asks the chief priests and the elders (the tenants) what should be done, they advocate putting those “‘wretched men to a wretched death’” and giving the vineyard to new tenants.  While Jesus does not put those chief priests and elders to death, because His mercy is much more expansive than human mercy, he prophesies giving the vineyard into the hands of the Gentiles, who will produce good grapes at the proper time.

            The question for us is whether or not we are good tenants, good stewards of what God has given to us.  Have we produced good grapes which yield good wine, or have we produced wild, rotten grapes which are good for nothing?  The question of our stewardship is an important one. 

            At this point, maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “Stewardship.  Great!  Father’s going to ask us to give more money.”  And certainly, I would not refuse your generosity to the parish.  Catholics, on average, give only about 1-2% of their yearly income to the Church.  But stewardship is not just about money.  We usually use three Ts to talk about stewardship: time, talent, and treasure.  Notice that treasure is at the end.

            God gives us so many gifts, more than we deserve.  He gives our faith and salvation through Jesus.  He gives us talents that help us to praise His glory, find employment, and assist others.  He gives many of us good salaries, even in these difficult economic times.  We deserve none of it.  And yet God gives us His good gifts anyway.  If we are grateful for those gifts, then we should thank Him, not only by our words, but also by our actions.  Otherwise we are ungrateful for the gifts, and produce rotten grapes. 

            Stewardship is a way of life.  It is a response to the generosity of God.  If we are generous with our time then we’re not simply punching the clock at Sunday Mass, hoping for a short homily so we don’t have to spend more than 60 minutes in the Church, but try to focus time each day on our relationship with God, the most important relationship we have.  If we are generous with our talents then we take stock of the many ways in which we can build up our community for good by using those skills that God has blessed us with to preach the Good News, to help others in need, to spend time volunteering for the Church.  And yes, if we are generous with our treasures, then we do take stock of how much we’re donating to the Church.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of some of our members who contribute large percentages of their income for the good of this Catholic community.  For you students, that may mean putting in a dollar or two or five each week.  For others it means giving more.  But the point is good stewardship, not a dollar amount.

            The Diocese of Wichita in Kansas is usually held up as a model for stewardship.  Their local church is invested in using well the time, talents, and treasure that God has given to them.  Because of this, their participation is up in parishes, and Catholic schools are free to any registered Catholic in the diocese.  When we are good stewards, the impossible becomes reality.  Let’s rise to the challenge to produce good grapes and be good stewards of the many gifts God has given to us.  Let’s be the good tenants to whom God can entrust his vineyard.

How to be a Holy Family

Feast of the Holy Family

            A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure to visit Lansing Catholic High School and talk with the sophomores in Theology class.  Part of the class was spent talking about how I had discerned that the Lord was calling me to be a priest.  The other part of the class was answering prepared questions that they had penned anonymously.  One of the many great questions they asked was why marriage and family isn’t talked about more.  And so, here we are, at the feast of the Holy Family, the day after Christmas, when we get to focus on family life, including marriage.

            Having a holy family, based upon the example of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, is often thought of as impossible.  After all, Jesus is fully God and fully man, Mary was conceived without original sin, and Joseph kept getting these dreams from God to tell him what to do to care for the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child. 

Statues of the Holy Family in Flight to Egypt,
in Bethlehem, the West Bank

            But what made the Holy Family holy?  It was that, in every circumstance, they were obedient to the will of the Lord.  They were always ready to say “yes” to God, even if it meant leaving home and family to go to Egypt, so that Jesus would be protected from King Herod’s murderous decree.

            The life the Holy Family led was not easy!  Following the will of God included challenges, real and monumental challenges. But still, despite the trials and tribulations, they were resolute in saying “yes” to God.

            Things have not gotten any easier for families in the two millennia since Christ walked the earth.  Too many mothers feel forced to kill their unborn child because there is no support from the father of the child or from the mother’s family; marriage as it was created by God, between a man and a woman for life, seems to be under constant attack from the secular culture in the name of a false view of compassion and diversity; too many children do not have enough to eat or drink because of underemployment and unemployment; families, especially in our own State, have had to leave their homes and families in search or a stable job in other States.

            How hard it is to say “yes” to God these days! To choose life in a culture of death; to take seriously the call of every husband and wife, not just to be open to life and have children, but to raise them and form them in the faith, starting with the life of faith lived out at home, but also including trying to make sure that children receive the best education and religious formation possible; to stand up for the indissolubility of the marital bond between a man and a woman.  While many of the challenges are different now then they were in first-century Palestine, striving for holiness as a family, striving to say “yes” to the will of God in all circumstances, is no easier.

            In the midst of these trials, and many others that I have not named, the Church stands behind you!  While we need priests to bring the sacramental life to the People of God, most especially the Eucharist, we also need families to fill the culture with the Gospel; to preach Christ crucified and raised from the dead; to pass on the faith to their children.  From these holy families will come holy priests, and more holy families to continue to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight His paths.

            How does the Church stand behind you?  First and foremost through the Sacraments which give you the grace to be holy families.  It is impossible to be a holy family without the grace, the inner life, the love, of God in you.  And so we stand ready to impart that grace to you through the Sacraments.  We also stand with you to help you through the tough times, whether they are financial or emotional.  Through the work of so many great services that the Church offers, we can help you to choose life, even if no one else wants to support you in that choice; to find a way to provide for your children; to talk problems out and find counseling for the times when families are struggling to simply be civil in dialogue; to give your children the full benefit of a quality academic and religious formation, especially in our Catholic schools, so that they can become, not only good citizens of the City of Man, to quote St. Augustine, but more importantly good citizens of the City of God. 

            I could spend hours talking about all the ways that we as a parish community help each other out to be holy families.  Our St. Vincent de Paul Society works tirelessly, not only to provide clothes, but also to help with utility payments, and other basic necessities, especially after one or two members of the household have lost their jobs and are coming up a little short to keep a roof over their heads. 

            Our students do great work with Alternative Spring Break, and so many members of the permanent community here help them in many ways, to provide basic necessities for the underprivileged members of our nation and in other countries.

            Our Right to Life committee works hard to make sure that new mothers and fathers know that there are people who will support them in bringing their child to term and providing for the needs of the family during pregnancies.

            Our school children provided a vast amount of presents to families that otherwise would have gone without this year, spreading their own blessings out to those who are struggling.  And our pastor, teachers, and family members of the school are very generous in ensuring that, if a child of our parish wants to attend our great school, and receive the quality education and formation which it provides, money will not be the issue that prevents that desire from becoming a reality.

            The Holy Family had challenges in living a holy life, and families today have challenges in living a holy life.  But the basic ingredient in the Holy Family’s life, and in any family’s life that wants to be holy, is saying “yes” to God: in the big things and in the small, seemingly insignificant things.  But remember, you are never alone.  We as a Church: the saints in heaven like Mary and Joseph, and those still struggling here on earth to make it heaven, are behind you 100% so that you can say “yes” to God.